"¶ Someone once told me the grass is much greener ¶" "¶ On the other side. ¶" "¶ Well, I paid a visit ¶" "¶ While it's possible I missed it ¶" "¶ It seemed different yet exactly the same ¶" "¶ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ¶" "¶ Till further notice ¶" "¶ Till further notice ¶" "¶ I'm in between ¶" "¶ I'm in between ¶" "¶ From where I'm standing ¶" "¶ From where I'm standing ¶" "¶ My grass is green. ¶" "¶ Someone once told me the grass is much greener ¶" "¶ On the other side. ¶" "Captioningsponsoredby THE U.S.DEPARTMENTOF EDUCATION andNICKELODEON" "Oh, what's taking so long?" "Looks like the school assembly is a hot ticket." "Mind if I cut, Ginger?" "You're so nice." "Sorry, ladies." "Last seats just went." "Standing room only." "Looks like nice girls finish last." "( sound system feedback reverberating)" "MILTY:" "In the past several weeks, a handful of junior high students were found loitering off school grounds at the wall." "( students reacting with shock )" "People." "People." "Now, I needn't remind you that the wall is technically part of the high school, therefore only high school students are allowed to congregate there, so as of today, any junior high student caught maxin', relaxin'" "or just plain "cold chillin'" there will be eligible for suspension." "Maybe you should try spending some time there, Ginger." "Then we wouldn't have to see you for a few days." "And break school rules?" "Oh, nonsense, Miranda." "Ginger is a nice girl." "MRS. GORDON:" "An elective class for fifth graders makes about as much sense as elective surgery... but that caught on, so here." "Hear that, Hoods?" "An elective class." "Fill out the form, and return it immediately, as classes are starting tomorrow." "Now, the whole point of an elective class is to choose a subject that genuinely appeals to you, so don't just pick what your friends are picking." "Cooking?" "!" "Why not modern dance, or pole vaulting-- you know, an area where we stand to shine?" "Because cooking is where all the big bucks are." "You learn a few crummy recipes-- instant franchise." "I'm talking cable TV shows, bottled sauce, signature steak knives-- the whole shebang." "I know what a franchise is, Carl." "I learn the same vocabulary words as you." "CARL:" "Point is, everyone and his mother is getting in on it, with the exception of two young boys." "There's a gaping hole in the marketplace just begging to be filled." "But Carl, we don't cook." "We don't cook yet, Hoods." "We don't cook yet." "( panting )" "What did Courtney mean by those "nice girl" cracks?" "Which one-- that they finish last, or that you are one?" "Both." "What's so wrong with being nice, anyway?" "It worked for St. Clair, or is she a lake?" "They said "nice," but what they meant was "uncool."" ""Dorky."" ""Losers."" "( sighs )" "I bet he can wear it." "That's Jake, 10th grade, and anyone with a pierced eyebrow wouldn't be caught dead in petroleum-based action wear." "Those leaners are totally into him." "Leaners?" "Those cool girls he's talking to." "Right... cool, not "nice."" "Don't tell me a nice girl like you might be interested in a cool guy like that." "Hey, I can lean, too, you know." "( whistle blowing )" "That pierced eyebrow's got throbbing infection written all over it." "I don't know..." "I'm thinking about hanging at the wall." "Thinking about hanging out at the wall and actually doing it are not the same thing." "MACIE:" "Enough about the wall." "A person's reputation could be damaged forever." "Macie, our reputations may already be damaged forever... as a bunch of dweebs!" "Ginger's right." "Are you saying hanging, cold chilling and maxing and relaxing at the wall are worth being suspended over?" "Well... no." "Ginger, I hate to dredge up a painful memory, but you do have a preexisting criminal record from when you got busted for trying to steal." "So technically, you've already proven you're not a nice girl." "Macie, water under the bridge is soon forgotten." "Besides, I don't think Ginger means doing anything quite that drastic." "How about we just try passing by the wall on our way home from school today?" "They won't suspend you for that." "Uh... can't." "Dental appointment." "If you're looking for an edgier image, why don't you ask Dr. Weinstein for gold fronts?" "It worked for Kold Mo Gee." "WOMAN:" "And up until recently," "I was proud chef and owner of Chez Maison, the renowned French eatery." "What happened?" "Sometimes adults need new challenges." "CARL:" "Chapter 11, am I right?" "You don't know the work it takes to keep a restaurant going." "The competition is brutal, but the real culprit is all those cable cooking channels." "They convince every amateur who ever boiled an egg that they can puff pastry just by watching someone else do it on TV." "But... my loss is your gain." "( laughing )" "That's what we're banking on." "So Sean, Lexie Lanoux's having a party" "Wednesday night, while her 'rents are off at some conference." "Cool." "It's going to be a real blowout." "Mark's going to DJ, and Will Patterson's going to chug 50 cherry colas and demo extreme burping." "And get this, dudester." "Slick Willy said her parents have a hot tub." "A hot tub?" "Righteous!" "Time for your cleaning, Ginger, though I doubt it will be necessary." "He just went on and on about a party Lexie Lanoux's having Wednesday." "DODIE:" "He didn't notice you at all?" "He did, but at precisely the wrong moment." "I've gone from being nice girl to being nice girl with the clean mouth of the month." "Well, I think I know a way to change the nice girl impression a bit... if you're willing to live a little dangerously." "I'm not sure I like the sound of this." "Are you thinking..." "Crash Lexie's party." "Oh, Dodie, it's brilliant." "If by "brilliant," you mean supremely irresponsible," "I would have to agree." "You'll make yourself cool, reinvent your image to Jake, and all without risking suspension by hanging at the wall." "How do you figure that math?" "Because only someone cool enough to stand at the wall would dare crash a party." "I don't know." "A party on a school night?" "Macie, it's about time we took some risks." "Like my mom always says, "What's life without taking chances?"" "What's for dinner?" "Beats me." "Ask your brother." "Carl?" "In charge of dinner?" "But Mom, I want to live." "You ain't lived till you've sampled my proprietary feet-loaf with trashed potatoes and fried bunions." "Well... ( sniffs ) it doesn't smell bad." "No, not bad at all." "Load me up, cookie foot." "After all, what's life without taking chances?" "Hm..." "I got to be honest with you, kid." "( groans )" "This stuff is great." "You can fry my bunions anytime." "Slam dunk." "Today the Foutleys, tomorrow... everyone else who eats." "Exactly right, Mom." "What is life without taking chances?" "( dance music playing )" "( car horns beeping )" "Observe as they bust a move to the funky remix." "If anyone asks, we're in the ninth grade, and avoid Will Patterson." "If you hear any extreme burping, run." "( dance music playing )" "MACIE:" "That girl's going to twist her spine all the way to the emergency room." "Come on, guys." "This way." "YOUNG MAN:" "Come on in, ladies." "The water's great." "Oh, no... no, thanks." "No." "A virulent bacteria soup, if you ask me, gentlemen." "DODIE:" "I heard the safest place to hang at these things is at the food table." "That way, if you don't want to talk or dance, you can always eat." "What do we do now?" "Just try to act like we belong." "Right... maybe no one will notice that we don't." "( different song playing )" "( yet another song playing )" "I don't think our plan's working, guys." "We haven't talked to anyone, and we haven't seen Jake." "How late will our parents buy us still doing research?" "GINGER:" "You're right." "We better go." "( burping )" "GINGER:" "Oh, that's great." "MACIE:" "Gross." "DODIE:" "That's a gift." "MACIE:" "Hate to be a den mother, but key check." "My house keys." "Oh, no." "I must have dropped them inside." "I'll be right back." "( slow dance song playing )" "Ow!" "Yech." "Hey, it's Clean Mouth of the Month." "What are you doing under the snack table?" "I lost my keys." "Got that beat." "I lost my nachos." "Too much crowd surfing on a full stomach." "Oh... ( laughing nervously )" "I better go." "So what's your name again?" "Ah..." "Ginger." "( laughing nervously )" "Couldn't find them... but I bumped into Jake, literally." "What happened?" "I want full disclosure." "GINGER:" "Nothing happened." "He was cool, and I freaked." "Let's go." "But Carl, how long till the signature steak knives?" "Patience, my friend." "We still have to copyright our sauce." "But once our reputation takes off, we'll be ready for our close-up." "BLAKE:" "Your working-class striving is quite touching, really." "And even though 98% of all small businesses fail within a year, how can I help you?" "By ordering, Gripling." "And we won't fail." "We hold the patent on gross-out cuisine." "We'll be a big hit, and sell out for millions to a food and beverage conglomerate who will then underwrite our cooking show amongst other profit-yielding ventures." "Ah... shrewd business strategy." "So what will it be:" "Mac and Sneeze, or French Flies?" "Both." "After all, the name Gripling is synonymous with culinary adventure." "I thought it was synonymous with Gripling." "Not bad." "The French Flies rest lightly on the palate, and the Mac and Sneeze has a vaguely Stilton-like bouquet." "Hey, you parked your cart on our first base." "Wow!" "This stuff looks a whole lot better than what Chef Bob's slinging." "Give me some of that Mac and Sneeze!" "( all clamoring )" "( panting )" "At least we can say we crashed a high school party." "Primary goal realized, I'd say." "It was even worth losing your keys." "Good thing my mom keeps an emergency one taped under the porch railing." "Ginger, more than the primary goal was reached:" "Jake talked to you." "Come on, guys, like..." "like he'll even remember." "JAKE:" "Yo, Ginger." "( girls gasp )" "Found your house keys." "( sighs nervously )" "Oh... uh..." "Thanks." "( grunts )" "Kind of like when Cinderella left her house keys, right?" "I... thought it was a glass slipper." "I'm not really into literature." "Oh, right..." "well, um... got to get back to class." "See you." "Next party, right?" "Ginger, you know Jake?" "Aren't cool high school guys a little out of your league?" "Oh, we crashed Lexie Lanoux's party last night and ah..." "I ran into him, that's all." "Miranda, remember when I said we should crash that party?" "It was a school night." "But Ginger, how did he get your keys?" "He must have found them under the snack table, after our... tête-à-tête." "Tête-à-tête?" "You were with him under the snack table?" "For, like, two seconds." "Case closed, okay?" "Ginger, you're keeping something from us." "Case closed." "Miranda!" "Make her talk." "Got to run, guys... literally." "It's gym class, you know." "( thunder )" "It's right here in my contract." "I create menus for all three schools." "They're muscling in on my elementary school business." "Not one person ate my delicious refried bean sprouts yesterday." "That hurt." "Frying anything these days is pretty passé, Bob." "Should have seared them, then added a drizzle of balsamic." "CARL:" "You did say pick a subject that genuinely interests you." "A drizzle, you hear?" "That didn't mean to put Chef Bob out of business." "How unfortunate when teachers fail to nurture the obvious gifts of their students." "I still don't understand how you two could draw such business simply with gross-out names for your dishes." "It's the name that draws them in, but it's the taste that keeps them." "If you two don't shut down that stand immediately," "I'll take this up with a higher authority." "Higher authority?" "Try this gross beef sandwich smothered in potatoes au rotten and tell me if the big guy upstairs isn't already involved." "( expressing pleasure )" "Oh, it's like I swallowed a little piece of heaven." "Bob, if I'm not mistaken, there's a clause in your contract regarding outside vendors, something about encouraging healthy competition." "Ladies and gentlemen, this isn't a job." "It's a calling." "Because if you drown the whole dish in dressing, Bob, then you miss the point." "There's more than one way to shut down them kids." "( students clamoring )" "Heads up, Hoods." "We got crossover from the junior high." "Oh, the money crowd." "I don't want to know." "We're running low on supplies, and I've still got a dozen steamy joes to make." "If Ginger won't give us the dish on what happened between her and Jake, maybe her little brother will." "CARL:" "Complimentary slime-ade, ladies." "( giggling )" "Shaken, not stirred." "Oh, Courtney, what say we bypass the tiny toddler, and go straight for the big boy himself?" "Ooh." "Yoohoo..." "Aren't you Jake?" "Guess this food cart's not a secret anymore." "( all clamoring )" "It's not the only thing that's not a secret anymore." "What Miranda means is, we heard Ginger Foutley crashed a party you were at last night." "Oh, yeah..." "Clean Mouth." "Clean Mouth?" "What's that supposed to mean?" "Except it was so dark, I could, like, barely make out her pearly whites, you know?" "Did he say "make out"?" "And she was wearing something "pearly white"?" "Well, gutsy fashion choice for evening, no?" "Wait till Mitzi gets a load of this." "But Miranda, do you think it's right to just trash Ginger's rep?" "Are you kidding?" "It's our duty." "Out of my way, girlfriend." "This piece of gossip is too hot to keep cold." "Ginger, word's gotten out." "You have a rep." "Heard Little Miss Clean Mouth had herself quite a night." "Looks like bad girls finish first." "Oh!" "Did you hear the way she said that?" "Ginger, remember when you were complaining about her calling you nice?" "Oh, how the winds have shifted." "It's a positive sign, if you ask me." "( sighs )" "( gasps )" "GIRL:" "Jake..." "you know." "Slacker Dude?" "She made out with him!" "GIRL 2:" "He had her house keys, too." "What's that about?" "( flushing )" "DODIE:" "Ginger?" "we know you're in there." "We recognize your characteristic triple flush." "Oh, guys." "What they're saying isn't true." "I never made out with Jake." "We believe you, Ginger." "It's just that we're having a hard time getting other people to believe you." "Fast?" "All I did was crash a stupid party, only everyone wants to believe that I did more than that." "It's totally unfair." "School's going to be a nightmare today." "I know everyone's going to make really nasty comments." "What am I supposed to say?" "Rubber, glue, back to you." "Hey, that's not bad." "Sometimes that kid's wise beyond his years." "Rubber, glue, back to you?" "That is so "elementary school."" "Ginger, think about it." "You don't have to explain anything to anyone." "I don't?" "No, why should you?" "Let them talk." "Rubber, glue, back to you." "Yeah, you're right." "Let them think what they want to think." "That's my girl." "Thanks, mom." "( all clamoring )" "Wait your turn." "Wait your turn!" "Hoods..." "could it be?" "Sir, let me guess." "You're with the food channel, and you're here to offer us a sweet deal." "I'm with the Health Department, boys, and I'm here to shut you down." "Boy, Carl, you weren't even close." "Shut us down?" "But what did we do?" "No food protector, hair nets or gloves;" "meat stored with dairy?" "Not to mention, this operation is a breeding ground for germs." "By order of the Health Department, this cart is hereby permanently closed." "But I've got a hood." "I don't need a hair net!" "DODIE:" "And they just shut them down, just like that?" "Yep." "Carl says that now his reputation is also ruined, so I guess it runs in the family." "Let people think what they want to think, right?" "Or let people think what you wanted them to think, right, Ginger?" "I guess... but Macie, I wanted them to think" "I was someone cool enough to crash a high school party, not someone who rolls around under picnic tables with tenth-grade boys." "I would just like to point out that I crashed that party also, and it did absolutely nothing for my reputation." "Nada." "COURTNEY:" "Well, Ginger," "I'm glad those ugly rumors about you have finally been put to rest." "Word is, Jake has a girlfriend, and it's not you." "Surprise." "And my apologies for contributing to the mix-up." "Perhaps I was a little jealous." "I mean, it was bad enough you crashed a party I didn't." "It was a school night, okay?" "But it was très annoying being pushed out of the limelight... if only for a minute." "I was starting to feel like I didn't even know you." "Actually, for a minute there," "I don't think I even knew myself." "Hm... must have been the best minute of your life." "Rubber, glue, back to you, Miranda." "( friends laughing )" "Captioningsponsoredby THE U.S.DEPARTMENTOF EDUCATION andNICKELODEON" "Captioned by MediaAccessGroupatWGBH  access.wgbh.org" "MIRANDA:" "Looks like bad girls finish first."