Macdonald Hall:
The Wizzle War
From the book:
At
a corner table in the dining hall, Bruno Walton was holding a council
of war.
"All
right, you guys, who knows anything about this dress code?"
"Well,"
began studious Elmer Drimsdale, "starting tomorrow morning with the
opening assembly, everyone must wear a jacket and tie for all school
functions, including classes and meals --"
"Yeah,
yeah, we all know that," said Bruno impatiently. "What I want to know
is why The Fish would do this to us! We've never had a dress code
here before. And it's not as though any of us ever go around dressed
in real rags. What's going on?"
"I
don't know if this has anything to do with it," put in Larry Wilson,
who was Mr. Sturgeon's office messenger, "but I checked in at the
office half an hour ago and they've got a Magnetronic computer
installed in there. A big one."
"A
computer?"
"Yes,"
said Elmer, his eyes lighting up behind his thick glasses. "A 515,
the latest model of the Magnetronic line. An improvement on their
415, it's one of the most modern computers available to an
institution like Macdonald Hall. We're very fortunate to have such a
machine."
"No,
that can't be it," said Bruno with characteristic single-mindedness.
"A computer wouldn't care what we wear. Haven't you guys heard
anything at all about the dress code?"
"Maybe
they'll explain it at the assembly tomorrow morning," suggested Mark
Davies, the editor of the school newspaper.
"But
we'll be in our ties by then!" protested Bruno. "I want to knock this
thing off before it gets started!"
"I
don't understand what all the fuss is about," said Elmer, who
habitually sported a white shirt and neat black tie. "There's nothing
wrong with wearing a tie. "
"It's
uncomfortable," complained Chris Talbot.
"And
you can't eat," added Wilbur, lifting his head out of the huge
casserole he was tackling.
"I
can't move in a tie!" put in Sidney Rampulsky.
"That's
good," grinned Boots. "That's a plus. If Sidney can't move, he won't
be falling down and breaking things."
"Aw,
lay off!" Sidney gestured in annoyance and accidentally thrust his
hand into the hot mashed potatoes. "Ow!"
A
roar of laughter rocked the dining hall.
Bruno
stood up and pounded the table. "How can you laugh when our world is
crumbling around us? The sanctity of Macdonald Hall is being
threatened! You guys don't seem to realize the seriousness of this
situation! Tomorrow morning you'll have to put your necks in a noose!
Now, as chairman of the Anti-DressCode Committee, I'm going to lead
the delegation to The Fish's house tonight. Who's coming with
me?"
There
was dead silence, broken only by the sound of Wilbur slurping at his
dinner.
"Come
on!" groaned Bruno, annoyed. "You can't expect Boots and me to go
alone!"
"Me?
Why me?" squealed Boots. "I didn't volunteer for anything!"
"You're
vice-chairman of the committee," explained Bruno. "You have to go.
Come on, I need some volunteers. Wilbur, Elmer, Sidney, Chris, Larry,
Mark -- there, that's enough. That should do it."
"I
don't want to go," said Sidney plaintively.
"It's
all arranged," said Bruno. "We'll go right after dinner and settle
this once and for all."
"Bruno,
you're crazy!" Boots exploded. "Do you really think that if you walk
up to The Fish and tell him you don't like wearing a tie, he'll just
say, 'Oh, well, then the dress code is off'?"
"Maybe.
Come on, eat up. We've got to get going on this."
Copyright © 1980 Gordon korman, used by permission
Bruno Walton has declared war. Macdonald Hall has a new administrative assistant who is determined to bring the aging school up to date. Bruno doesn't like Mr. Wizzle, he isn't fond of Wizzle's Magnetronic 515 computer, and he utterly detests Wizzle's new jacket-and-tie dress code. But when he is the first to start collecting Wizzle's demerits, and is the first to be assigned to write lines (Boy, that Mr. Wizzle sure is up-to-date), the kid gloves are off!
Unfortunately, Bruno may have to work alone. After their first brush with Wizzle's authority, most of his friends (even Boots) have decided the only way to deal with Wizzle is to toe the line. Even Scrimmage's seems to be out-of-bounds, since the arrival of its own new assistant, Miss Gloria Peabody, a former marine who is dedicated to the idea of teaching war games in a girls' finishing school.
But when Wizzle takes Wilbur's food from him, confiscates Elmer's experiments, bans Chris from the school newspaper and makes Sidney "Butterfingers" Rampulsky start taking ballet lessons at Scrimmage's, one by one the boys return to Bruno's side, and soon Bruno will have the entire school organized around the not-so-simple goal of evicting Wizzle from the school. Cathy and Diane are embarked on the same task at Scrimmage's, and both schools' regular instructors and staff are caught in the middle of a war zone.
In this book, I believe we've got the first appearance of the name G. Gavin Gunhold, a fictitious student Bruno decides to program into Wizzle's computer, as a practical joke on the administrator. The name would show up in some context in almost every book Korman writes from here on out. According to Gordon, further mention of Gunhold was added for the amusement of his fans, a chance to say there's that name again. I wonder what it means?