"Forever is Never" is the third part of the nineteenth chapter of Wayside School is Falling Down.
Plot[]
Allison, still stuck on the nineteenth story, is being assigned busy work by Miss Zarves. While trying to memorize the dictionary, she remembers that she came from Mrs. Jewls' class, glad that she finally remembers where she came from. However, she then gets teary-eyed as she remembers everybody in her old class. During a break, she consults Mark, as they start wondering what would happen if she were to misbehave in class. Allison realizes that since they have so much busy work, they are never given time to think, so she stops doing her work, and begins reenacting the mannerisms of the other students in her old class to frustrate Miss Zarves and eventually escape the room. Suddenly, Allison finds herself rolling down three stairs, consulted by Ron and Deedee. They then proceed to run back upstairs to Mrs. Jewls's classroom, glad to see that she is being noticed by everyone again. Allison then watches as Jason sets up his new goldfish.
Characters[]
- Allison
- Miss Zarves
- Nick
- Virginia
- Mark Miller
- Ray Gunn (mentioned)
- Albert Einstein (mentioned)
- Deedee
- Ron
- Mrs. Jewls
- Rondi
- Jason
Memorable Quotes[]
- Mark: Maybe we're dead. Maybe we died and went to-
- 'Allison: This isn't heaven!
- Mark: That isn't what I was going to say!
- Mark: Teachers can always find new ways to punish you. They're experts at it.
Trivia[]
- This is the third and final chapter labelled as chapter nineteen in Wayside School is Falling Down. The first two are "A Bad Case of the Sillies" and "A Wonderful Teacher".
- Although labelled as the nineteenth chapter, it is actually the twenty-first.
- A pun is involved in the chapter numbers for this chapter, "A Bad Case of the Sillies," and "A Wonderful Teacher." All three are chapter nineteen, as the plot involves a student getting stuck on the nineteenth story. So similarly, the reader is stuck on the nineteenth story when reading these three chapters.
- While technically the twenty-first chapter of Wayside School Is Falling Down, it is labelled as the nineteenth, as is true for "A Bad Case of the Sillies," the actual nineteenth chapter, and "A Wonderful Teacher," which is actually the twentieth. The twenty-second chapter, "Eric, Eric, and Eric," is labelled as chapter twenty, twenty-one, and twenty-two simultaneously.
- The three chapters of Allison stuck on the nineteenth story is similar to the 1865 novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Both Allison and Alice end up in "some strange world" and return to their own thinking it was all just a dream. Conveniently, Alice is short for Allison, they also both have blonde hair and wear blue.
- This is the first known instance of a student escaping the nineteenth story. Mark Miller would later escape in "The Lost Ear," and in "Dana Checks Out", an episode of the cartoon, Nick escapes the nineteenth story, though Nick is the same character as Louis in the show.
- "Freedom," "Leslie," "A Bad Case of the Sillies," "Homework," and "Another Story About Socks" are all referenced in this chapter.