Ramona awakens the following day feeling a bit better but still weak. She realizes that her mother stayed home from work to care for her. Mr. Quimby left Ramona a sketch of her looking sad, along with the broken car. Ramona worries that her mother’s boss will fire her, but Mrs. Quimby assures her that she has found someone to fill her place for the day. Ramona eats dry toast and what she calls “grown-up tea,” and falls back asleep thinking of all the other kids who have thrown up at school.

When she wakes from her nap, Ramona is grouchy and hungry and demands toast with butter, but her mother says no to the butter. She tries watching television but only enjoys the cat commercials and particularly a pizza commercial where a man claims to have eaten an entire pizza. Ramona thinks Mrs. Whaley is only nice to her because she’s paid to be kind to students. She asks her mother who pays teachers. Mrs. Quimby explains that everyone pays teachers by paying their taxes. Ramona remembers that paying taxes causes her parents to stress and proclaims that they should stop paying them. Mrs. Quimby says they must pay them because they are still paying for their home addition.