WAYSIDE, an elementary school somewhere in the United States. The builders read the plans wrong during its construction, causing the school to be built with thirty floors having one classroom each, and no nineteenth story. Wayside has only two elevators, one that goes only upwards and one that can only travel downwards. They have been used exactly once. The students and faculty normally use the stairs, and as a result are in excellent physical condition. The playground is rather large, making recess an extremely enjoyable activity for the children. There is one gym, a dance hall, a teacher's lounge and the school cafeteria run by Miss Mush. Other faculty members include Louis, the yard teacher; Mrs. Jewls, who currently instructs the class on the thirtieth floor; and Miss Zarves, who teaches on the nineteenth floor. To become a student in Miss Zarves' class one must either be imaginary, completely ignored by all other people, or acknowledge the truth that logistically, there are only twenty-nine floors to the school.
One year the school was unfortunate enough to be caught in a hurricane which threatened to topple the building. Wayside was evacuated, but Mrs. Jewls and her class were trapped on the roof. She rung her cowbell to signal the students to stay nearby, attracting a large number of cows into the school building. The school was closed for 243 days while the bovines where removed.
(Louis Sachar, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, New York, 1978; Louis Sachar, Wayside School is Falling Down, New York, 1989; Louis Sachar, Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, New York, 1995)