In Chapter Three, what happens when Gertie sits in the front row in school?

Just as Gertie settles into a seat in the front row of her class at school, a girl tells Gertie that Gertie is sitting in her seat. When Gertie tells the girl that she is already sitting there, the girl says that Ms. Simms, the teacher said that the girl could sit in the front row because she was new and needed to keep up with everything.