Miss Perumal was Reynie's tutor at the orphanage until Reynie's escapades with the Mysterious Benedict Society. She was fond of teaching Reynie, as an extra challenge for his extraordinary intelligence. After the adventure in the first book, Miss Perumal adopts Reynie. Reynie calls her Amma, the Tamil word for mom.
Appearance[]
Biography[]
Early Life[]
The Mysterious Benedict Society []
Miss Perumal serves as Reynie's tutor, the orphanage director having realized that Reynie's knowledge is already beyond what is being taught at the classes there. She often teaches him Tamil, her native language, as they talk over breakfast. She discovers Nicholas Benedict's ad, "Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" She talks Reynie into taking the test and drives him to it, even though she worries that she may never see him again. During the testing, Reynie tries several times to contact her, but is rebuffed. He later learns that this was part of the testing, to see how we would react, but also that he will not be learned to contact her due to the secrecy of the mission to Nomansan Island and The Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened. During his time on the island, he often writes her mental letters as a calming exercise, even though he knows he can never actually write or send them. Following the mission, he is reunited with Miss Perumal, who asks him if he would agree with her adopting him, having missed him deeply while he was gone. He happily agrees, though wonders what to call her, thinking he might use Amma, the Tamil word for "mother."
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey []
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma []
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages[]
TV series[]
Miss Perumal's role is expanded in the television series based on the novels. After Reynie has taken the tests, she is contacted by Number Two, who tells him that Reynie was the winner of a scholarship to the Boatwright Academy. However, upon sending a package to him and having it returned, she contacts the academy by phone. She is then told by an official at the academy that Reynie is not enrolled there and declares that she is coming over to look into the matter herself. She eventually does so and after much persistence, gets them to admit that Reynie is not enrolled there.
She then does some digging, seeking out the identity of the group who originally posted the advertisement for the special opportunities, and discovers the name "Cheri Turpintown," an alas with no known address. She realizes the name is an anagram for "Power in Truth Inc." a shell corporation with only a P.O. Box. She then stakes out the P.O. Box until she finds Number Two eventually tracks her back to the woods where she, Nicholas Benedict, Rhonda Kazembe and Milligan are hiding. She declares that she has earned the right to know and asks them where Reynie is. Mr. Benedict then invites her for a meal to explain the truth.
Benedict tries to explain the mission and its importance, but Perumal does not believe him, declaring that she is contacting child services. He tells her that he wishes she would, but that his brother has shut down any agencies that might be of help. Despite this, she tries anyway, only to discover that the agency has indeed been dismantled.
Stymied in her efforts for the time being, Miss Perumal settles in back at home. She is pleased discover that her mother has laid off on watching game shows, but disturbed when she suddenly leaves, saying she must go shopping. She then unwittingly witnesses Curtain's first successful attempt at direct mind control when her mother purchases a blue beret, part of a large crowd making the same purchase.
Disturbed by this, Miss Perumal returns to Mr. Benedict, just when they were about to leave to the island, and sends a letter to Reynie by Number Two's falcon.
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