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They stood side by side at the front of the room.
“This is a hobo,” said Sharie. “I found him on the way to school.”
“Ooh, how neat!” said Maurecia.
The hobo had long dirty hair and a scraggly beard. His shirt was covered with stains. His pants had lots of colorful patches. His coat was too big for him, but it wasn’t as big as Sharie’s coat.
Sharie was a little girl, but she wore the biggest coat in all of Wayside School.
The hobo wore old black shoes that also looked like they were too big for him, but that might have been because he wasn’t wearing any socks.
“Tell the class something about your hobo,” said Mrs. Jewls.
“His name is Bob,” said Sharie. “I heard him ask a lady for spare change. The lady told him to take a bath. I tried to give him a quarter, but he said he never took money from kids. He said he likes kids a lot. He said he was once a kid himself.”
“Does anybody have any questions they’d like to ask Hobo Bob?” asked Mrs. Jewls.
All the children raised their hands.
The hobo looked around the room. “Yes, you,” he said, pointing at Jason.
“When’s the last time you took a bath?” asked Jason.
“I never take baths,” said the hobo.
“Oh, wow,” said Jason. “You’re lucky!”
“What about a shower?” asked Myron.
“I just walk outside in the rain,” said the hobo.
“When it rains, I have to go inside!” complained Myron.
“Where do you live?” asked Joe.
“All over,” said Bob. “In the winter I jump on a southbound train and ride until it’s warm enough to jump off. In the summer I go north, where it’s not too hot.”
“How come you’re not wearing any socks?” asked Leslie.
“I don’t believe in socks,” said Bob. “Yes, the boy in the green shirt.”
“Were you really a kid once?” asked Todd.
“Yep,” said Bob.
“Did you get in trouble a lot?” asked Todd.
“No, I never got in trouble,” said Bob.
Todd smiled and nodded his head.
“Did you like to pull girls’ pigtails?” asked Paul.
“Of course,” said Bob. “Who doesn’t?”
“Did you like ice cream?” asked Maurecia.
“I loved it,” said Bob.
