This is a story about a young girl named Mercedes Jacobs, who is about to start the 5th grade. She is so excited on her first day of school! It's her last year at Willowbrook Elementary, she'll get to see her best friend, and she's been given the responsibility of hall monitor. When things don't go quite as she had planned, Mercedes gets discouraged and isn't so sure about the 5th grade. Mercedes talks to her mom who is able to put everything into perspective, reminding Mercedes of a quote her grandfather use to say: "Your tomorrow will be greater than your today."