Ramona's Bad Day is the seventh episode of Ramona.
Summary[]
One morning, Ramona dishes herself up some oatmeal for breakfast, but Beezus takes it and doesn't give it back. She gets herself some more oatmeal, but Mr. Quimby takes it, and he's already eaten some before she tells him. Luckily, she's able to eat her third bowl of oatmeal, but during breakfast, Mrs. Quimby reveals that Beezus will be away, so she'll have to stay with the Kemps.
On their way to the bus, Ramona notices that Beezus isn't carrying her bookbag, and she reveals that seventh graders don't carry bookbags. Ramona asks for it, but Beezus says no, making Ramona salty. As such, when she asks Beezus why she locks her diary, and she explains that it's where she records personal secrets, Ramona grumpily retorts that she has her own "diary" in her head, then when Beezus tells Ramona to stay out of her diary, Ramona grumpily tells Beezus to stay out of her head. She then angrily waves her lunchbox at Beezus, but drops the lunch. As she picks it up, she hopes her day will improve.
At school, Ramona does badly on a spelling test, and when Mrs. Whaley asks if she studied, she replies that she did but she can't spell. Mrs. Whaley says, "There's no such word as can't." Then, at lunch, Danny and Marsha tease Ramona about her pot roast sandwich, claiming it looks like buffalo meat, making her sulk about her bad day.
At the Kemps', Ramona and Howie discuss her "diary" and he considers starting a diary of his own. Then, Willa Jean roleplays as a rich lady and has Ramona play as her dog against her will. She eventually stops the game, then suggests they reenact "Froggie Went a-Courting", but is interrupted by a visiting Uncle Hobart, who sings a love song with Ramona's name in it. They discuss his job, and then he starts singing again, which prompts her to imagine drenching him with water.
Ramona and Howie take a toy boat into the garage and run the sink to see if it will float. It does, so they pretend there is a hurricane. Ramona then sees a bottle of bluing and wants to use it to dye the fake ocean, remembering Mrs. Whaley's phrase "There's no such word as can't," and deciding that this means nothing is impossible. She manages to get it, but unfortunately spills it on her and Howie's hands and sleeves, because somebody had left the lid off. Mrs. Kemp enters, and she tells Howie to get changed and fetch Ramona a clean shirt, while removing Ramona's own shirt.
At home, Mrs. Quimby discovers that she and Mr. Quimby forgot to plug the crock pot in, causing an argument between the parents over who's at fault. Mrs. Quimby, at the girls' suggestion, cooks pancakes and bacon, but the parents continue arguing. Beezus berates them for "being silly", only to get snapped at by Mrs. Quimby. When Mr. Quimby pokes one of the pancakes to show it's not ready yet, she throws it away, alarming the girls as she normally never throws food away. Then, she even slaps Mr. Quimby on the posterior with the spatula and tells him to cook them himself.
That night, Ramona sulks in bed about having had "the worst day ever", reveals that her parents are giving each other the silent treatment, and then fears they will divorce. She then falls asleep and has a nightmare, in which Mrs. Quimby has become a domestic abuser and both parents kick their daughters out of the house, take their bedding, and leave home, all the while grunting at each other, and then Beezus vanishes into thin air.
Ramona wakes up and enters Beezus's room, complaining of insomnia. She reveals that she can't sleep either, so invites her to sleep in her bed. Ramona expresses her fears about her parents divorcing, but Beezus is confident they won't, and that even if they do, she could look after Ramona.
The next day, the parents have made up, but Ramona is in a bad mood, and blames them for having had a bad night due to their quarrel. Mrs. Quimby explains that they were both tired, and they'd had a bad day. Ramona tells them that she'd had "the worst day ever", and claims that grownups aren't supposed to fight, but rather be "perfect". Mr. Quimby tells her to name one perfect grownup, and she replies, "Your grandma", but Mrs. Quimby explains that no one is perfect. The parents agree that yesterday was a bad day, but everyone has bad days, and they can just disregard it. The parents notice Ramona's stained hands, but Beezus decides to drop the subject as they aren't talking about the previous day. Mr. Quimby tells the girls to get dressed so they can go for a drive in the country, and the parents kiss.
Differences from Book[]
- In the book, it was Mrs. Rudge, Ramona's second-grade teacher, who told her there was no such word as "can't", whereas in the show, it was Mrs. Whaley, her third-grade teacher.
- In the book, Ramona and the Kemp siblings get a chance to roleplay "Froggie Went a-Courting", but in the show, they don't get a chance to as Uncle Hobart shows up.
- In the book, the bluing completely covered Howie and Ramona, whereas in the show, it only got on their hands and sleeves.
- In the book, Mr. Quimby snaps, "Name one parent who's perfect! You can't!" during the dinner scene, but in the show, he matter-of-factly states, "Name one perfect grownup" the next morning. Also, in the book, Ramona doesn't reply, whereas in the episode, she replies, "Your grandma".