Maggie Schultz takes the bus home from her first day of third grade. After saying goodbye to her friend Jo Ann, she’s greeted by her dog, Kisser. Maggie and Kisser go home, where she’s greeted by her mother. Maggie tells her about her classmates and new teacher, Mrs. Leeper, who some kids think is mean but seemed nice to Maggie. Maggie reveals that she was disappointed to not become a class monitor and to have to sit at a different table than her friend Jo Ann, but she otherwise had a good day. After playing fetch with Kisser, Maggie says hello to her father as he gets home from his office job. She asks about his secretary, Ms. Madden, a friendly lady who sometimes sends Maggie little presents.

While Maggie and her parents are eating dinner, Maggie announces solemnly that she is going to be learning cursive writing soon. When her parents laugh at her and her serious attitude toward cursive, Maggie’s feelings are hurt, and she insists that cursive writing is very difficult. When her mom assures her that she’ll enjoy it, Maggie decides that she definitely won’t and tells her parents that she does not need to learn cursive anyway since she can print and type.