BOOM!

Vince kicked the kickball high into the air as his friends marveled.

"Go Vince, Go!" Spinelli yelled. Vince ran to first base and spun to second.

"I got it, I got it!" Gus said in the outfield, as he tried to predict where the ball would land. It bounced on the field and onto the blacktop.

Gus chased the ball as it made its way across the blacktop. It finally made its way under a wooden table where there were two people playing chess. "Check," one of them said to the other, while adjusting her glasses.

Gus couldn't reach the ball, so he asked one of the girls to reach it for him. As she reached under the table and handed him the ball, Gus could see the distinctive eyes and shape of head underneath that black beret.

Once Gus recognized Gretchen, he was stunned from her new wardrobe. He only quickly ran back to the kickball field as Vince just made a home run and Spinelli high-fived him.

"What's the matter Gus? You just stopped and stared at that girl over on the bench." TJ asked.

"Guys! I think that was Gretchen!" And Spinelli and Vince's cheering stopped.

"C'mon, let's go steal her back," Spinelli insisted. But as the 5 kids looked over to the bench, only Judy Wurtz sat there, staring at the chess board.

"What? She was here a second ago!"

"Judy," Mikey politely asked, "do you know where our friend Gretchen has gone to?"

Judy sighed. "I'm probably not supposed to tell you this, but she ran behind the Ashley's clubhouse."

"We can corner her there. Spinelli, Vince, you go around. Gus and Mikey, positions at the front," TJ ordered.

As Spinelli and Vince ran around the fancy heap of tires, out ran the girl with the black beret and sporty jumpsuit. Mikey, Gus and TJ blocked her way, and she was effectively cornered. The gang felt a pang of guilt they had chased and cornered their good friend.

"Gretchen, it's us! Your pals!" TJ asked in a worried tone.

Gretchen looked around frantically. "Oh, no! I'm not supposed to be seen with you guys!"

"Huh?" Spinelli scratched her head. "Whaddya talking about, Gretch?" They then suddenly saw a tall shadow on the grass and cringed.

"Gretchen Grundler," Ms. Finster said through clenched teeth. "What are YOU doing with these hooligans again? Up to no good I bet!"

"But Ms. Finster, I…"

"No buts, missy! I'll have to tell Principal Prickly about this little escapade! Expect your GPA to go down because of your disobedience!"

Gretchen hung her head low as Ms. Finster walked over to the Principal's office. Her friends turned in shock. "Gretchen, is that true?" Vince asked.

"Yes, it's true. I can't hang out with you guys anymore."

"Gretchen…"

"Don't, TJ." She flung her head and looked right at him, and he could see her weary expression. "It's over. I'm sorry." Gretchen slumped back over to the table with Judy.