On the first day of school after summer vacation, Judy is in a bad mood and does not want to get out of bed. She especially dreads the changes she will face in her new classroom. Judy feels bad that she doesn’t have any cool t-shirts from fancy vacations since her only trip was a visit to her grandparents.

Judy remembers that she ate a fish at a market and makes a homemade t-shirt that reads “I ate a shark” with a shark drawn on it. She runs outside and is glad to see her friend, Rocky, at the bus stop. He notices that she is in a bad mood, and she agrees.

Judy meets her new teacher, Mr. Todd, and her new class pet, Tucson the Turtle. Judy is disappointed that she is assigned a seat next to Frank, a boy who has always bothered her with unwanted notes and gifts.

Mr. Todd announces that all the children will make a collage about themselves to introduce themselves to the class. Judy privately thinks that this sounds like a fun assignment. During spelling, Judy finds many secret words hidden in Mr. Todd’s whiteboard but only writes down the negative ones like gnat, rat, no, and spit.