His trademarks are his glow-in-the-dark shoelaces (one pink, one green), the rabbit's foot he keeps attached to his jacket zipper,[1] and his particular fondness for irritating his classmate Ellen Tebbits although he never understands the reason for it.

In one instance, he sabotages the class's science project, which consists of feeding cafeteria food to one rat and bread and soda to another, and monitoring their growth.

In order to impress his classmates on a dare, he cuts off a chunk of Ellen's hair, which she had been painstakingly trying to grow "long enough for pigtails".

This act turns nearly the entire class against him, and for the first time, Otis does not relish the attention he receives from his actions.

The two girls later accost a dejected Otis on the steps of his apartment and offer him his shoes in exchange for an apology to Ellen, and a promise that he will stop pestering her.