When Punky bears the brunt of the school bully's aggression, she asks professional boxer Marvin Hagler for advice on self-defense.
Punky wants to build a tree house behind her apartment building, but she has trouble getting people to help her.
Punky and Allen cheat on their geography test.
Punky befriends the school janitor who, in spite of her learning disability, is a gifted violin player.
Punky has something in common with her teacher, Mike Fulton: they were both abandoned by their mothers. They work together to try and find the whereabouts of their respective families.