Casper, Brad, Zoe, and Jamie became very good friends after a simple conversation. They soon got their report cards and it was time for the moment of truth. The four students stood together with their cards, holding them covered for now until they would open them and find out what grades they were given this semester.
"We! Want! A's!" The students chanted together before taking a look for the moment of truth.
"Heh, not bad," Zoe smirked to her report card. "One B+ and two A-'s."
"I hate you." Jamie frowned.
"Maybe you should take my card, Jamie," Brad suggested. "It's all A's."
"Oh, that's sweet, but I don't believe you'd fool her parents," Zoe said to him. "The name thing? Male vs Female? Not gonna work."
"She has a point," Casper said. "Oh, cool, my grade moved up to a B for Math!"
"That's nice," Jamie said to him as she walked with them through the hallway. "Maybe you could help me out a little?"
"I'd like that, Jamie." Casper accepted.
Eventually, a teacher passed them.
"Hey, Mr. Blackmer, ready for Art Club tomorrow?" Zoe smiled to the teacher.
"Indeed, and I've been supremely busy whipping up a four-course Italian meal to go with the slides I'll be showing of The Italian Masters' Paintings." The teacher replied.
"That sounds cool." Casper smiled.
"Say, why don't you guys join us?" Mr. Blackmer offered to him and Jamie.
"Ugh... No can do," Jamie sighed. "I gotta work on my Science Fair project."
"Ah, young Da Vinci, huh?" Mr. Blackmer replied. "Look, everyone has something that they love, right, and science is your thing."
Jamie just smiled nervously.
"Eh, maybe?" Casper said, based on Jamie's reaction.
"Anyway, best of luck, Jamie, Brad..." Mr. Blackmer nodded as he soon walked off. "Oh, and Zoe? I will see you tomorrow, huh? Come hungry!"
Zoe nodded and waved to the teacher before sighing to her female friend. "Don't be a Dragola, Jamie," she then told her. "Science isn't your thing. Come to Art Club!"
"Like I have time, Z," Jamie sighed. "We Grovers have turned this into Contest Year. Contests are my thing."
"You shouldn't put too much pressure on yourself." Casper advised.
"Sorry, but I'm off to the Man with a Plan," Jamie sighed. "Let me tell ya something, this card; not apart of the plan. See you later."
"See you." Zoe and Brad replied.
"I should go with her." Casper suggested.
Zoe and Brad then walked off.
"So, um, where are we going then, Jamie?" Casper asked.
"Oh, you're coming too?" Jamie asked him. "Well, I guess that would be okay."
Casper nodded and followed Jamie out of the school.
"My plan, in case you are wondering, is to attend GW next Fall." Jamie said.
"GW?" Casper asked, curiously.
"George Washington Science Magnet School." Jamie explained.
"Ohh..." Casper then said, now understanding.
"Starting to see the picture?" Jamie asked him as they came into a store together. "I feel pressure from my folks, pressure from myself, even pressure from the dog."
Casper glanced at her slightly.
"Okay, we don't have a dog, but I think you get the point," Jamie said to him. "The bottom line: I'm an only child who hates to let her parents down, and that's exactly what I'm doing."
Casper soon realized this was why Drell sent him to talk to Jamie. It seemed to be a self-esteem issue due to being an only child and expecting better of herself from her parents.
"Oh, hey, Dad." Jamie greeted once they came at the end of the aisle they walked down together.
"Oh, hey, honey," Mr. Grover smiled as he arranged a column. "Oh, who's this?"
"This is my new friend, Casper." Jamie introduced.
"Nice to meet you, sir." Casper smiled.
"Nice to meet you too, son." Mr. Grover smiled back.
Jamie took a deep breath and soon held out her report card for her father to see.
"Ah... Okay, my beauty, here we go," Mr. Grover smiled as he took the report card and opened it up in excitement only to see that it wasn't as good as he anticipated for it to be. "Well, the important thing is that you're trying."
"Yeah..." Jamie shrugged.
"That's what I told her." Casper added.
"Hey, come into my office for a sec." Mr. Grover invited.
They soon walked away from the stand and came to sit on displayed toilets for customers to by.
"Some office..." Casper commented.
"It'll get better once I get my college degree." Mr. Grover replied.
"You take classes, sir?" Casper asked.
"Yeah..." Mr. Grover replied. "Once I get a degree, I get a promotion."
"Well, in that case, I wish you a lot of luck." Casper smiled.
"Thanks, kid." Mr. Grover smiled back.
"Uh, I like what you've done with the place." Jamie said once she sat down.
"Yes, thank you; I like to call this style 'Everything But the Kitchen Sink'." Mr. Grover nodded.
"Any reason why?" Casper asked.
"Kitchen sinks are on Aisle 12." Mr. Grover said.
"Ah... Clever..." Casper commented.
Mr. Grover smiled before looking to his daughter. "Oh, honey, you know, once I get my degree, I'm gonna have a much better office."
"Oh, don't worry, I'm gonna get into college." Jamie promised.
"I know, yes, you are, you're gonna be the first Grover to do so, but you know, you gotta start with these baby steps," Mr. Grover advised. "90% of kids who go to George Washington Science Magnet go on to college! That's a lot more than a year of school!"
"I'm working on it; I know the plan." Jamie reassured.
"Okay, okay, I know you know the plan, you're very smart." Mr. Grover smiled as he patted on her shoulders and she smiled back to him.
Casper could now sense a lot of pressure for Jamie about going to college and being an only child. Eventually, the two had to leave and went to keep going.
"So, are we going to your house now?" Casper asked.
"Let's go see Mom real quick." Jamie said.
"Um, okay." Casper replied.
"At least visiting Mom is a whole different experience than seeing Dad," Jamie said as they came to a newspaper building. "Better or worse, you be the judge."
Casper shrugged for now and soon came into the building with her.
"Oh, but Mr. Ziff, you've got to meet her!" Mrs. Grover smiled as she was on the telephone as soon as they came in. "She's industrious, clever, and very bright!" she then whispered to Jamie about what was going on. "I'm trying to get you an internship!"
Jamie forced a smile back before sliding off her backpack and slumped into the couch with Casper. "So, I guess you're feeling better?" she then spoke to her mother as soon as she hung up.
"I'm feeling great, and I almost got you a meeting with Mr. Raymond Ziff." Mrs. Grover beamed.
"That guy who owns the Department Stores?" Casper asked.
"That's him, and he's also a very prominent lawyer, and who might you be?" Mrs. Grover replied.
"I'm Casper," Casper smiled. "Jamie's friend."
"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Jasper." Mrs. Grover smiled back, shaking his hand.
"Casper..." Casper corrected, emphasizing the 'C' in his name.
"Oh, well, that's what I'm gonna be," Jamie rolled her eyes, sarcastically. "A department store owner and a lawyer."
"Don't sell yourself short, Jamie," Mrs. Grover shook her head as she put her coffee cup on top of a fish tank behind them and cupped her daughter's cheeks. "You can be anything. If my parents had told me that, who knows? I might be running The New York Times now instead of Milford Weekly."
"Jamie, don't you have something to show your mother?" Casper prompted.
Jamie looked back at him before sighing and holding out her report card, a bit anxiously.
Mrs. Grover then took the report card with pride and opened up the card only to quickly shut it. "I know you're gonna get into Magnet somehow."
Jamie sighed and then took her report card back.
"Did you bring me the poem from your English class yet?" Mrs. Grover beamed as she went to her desk.
"Oh, no, not that..." Jamie groaned as she sunk in the couch.
"Yes! I want to publish it right-... Right..." Mrs. Grover smiled before she went to look for the poem.
"Talk about invasion of privacy." Casper frowned for Jamie as that had to be embarrassing.
"Mom treats The Milford Weekly like one of those Family Christmas letters where parents bragged about their kids and stuff." Jamie sighed.
"Yikes." Casper said.
"Grover's Corner!" Mrs. Grover beamed once she took a rough draft of her paper.
"The only difference is, Mom got people to pay for the ads." Jamie grumbled.
"Everyone loves to read your stuff, Jamie," Mrs. Grover smiled to her daughter. "Oh, Casper, would you like to stay for dinner?" she then invited.
"Um... Well..." Casper stammered. "Sure, I guess."
"Great!" Mrs. Grover beamed.
"You didn't have to do that." Jamie said to Casper.
"We're friends." Casper smiled.
Eventually, they all sat down together. There was meat loaf with green beans, mashed potatoes, and carrots. Casper liked the dinner alright, but Jamie's parents seemed to pressure her even more than she would like about her future. Casper could now sense a very big problem for Jamie and why she would wish she wasn't an only child anymore.
"Jamie, I'm so sorry," Casper said to the girl. "Your parents must be driving you crazy."
"They are..." Jamie sulked as she lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling once they were in her room. "I don't know what I'm gonna do. Well, besides finish my Science Project."
"You're not gonna run away, are you?" Casper asked.
"Oh, no, no," Jamie shook her head. "I know this is kind of weird, but I love my parents, and they really want the best for me."
"Do you at least want some help?" Casper offered.
"Are you sure it's not too late for you to go home?" Jamie asked.
"I'm sure they'll understand." Casper said as he decided to help her.
"Oh... Thanks, Casper, you're so friendly and helpful." Jamie said, though she didn't realize that she was blushing around him.
"So I've been told." Casper chuckled.
The two then worked on the project for a little while. The telephone then rang.
"Oh, that's Brad... Uh... I'll call him back later..." Jamie said, shyly.
"You sure?" Casper asked.
"Mm-hmm..." Jamie said. "I'm sure it's no big deal."
Casper shrugged and continued to help her out as much as possible.
"Hey, kiddo." Mr. Grover smiled as he came in the room.
"Hey, Dad." Jamie smiled back.
"So, how's it going?" Mr. Grover asked.
"Pretty good, pretty good." Jamie nodded.
"Need any help?" Mr. Grover offered.
"Uh, no, that's okay, Casper's helping me." Jamie replied.
"Ah, all right, that's probably for the best..." Mr. Grover replied. "You're out kind of late, young man."
"It's okay, my parents don't mind." Casper reassured.
"Well, I guess, but the truth is I wouldn't be much help in this science stuff..." Mr. Grover said as he picked up an onion on his daughter's desk. "You know, I was only good at one thing in high school."
"What was that?" Jamie wondered.
"Photography." Mr. Grover smiled.
"Photography, huh?" Casper replied.
"No, wait," Jamie interrupted. "How come when you take those pictures of me and Mom, we're usually, like, way out of focus?"
"I had to give up a long time ago, ya know," Mr. Grover said. "Art, and Music, Photography, just weren't-"
"Part of the plan." Jamie and Mr. Grover then said together, seeming to have something in common right now. The father and daughter then growled to each other, but just playfully.
"Well, I think it looks like a winner with Casper's help," Mr. Grover smiled to his daughter. "I think it's gonna be the first of many, many blue ribbons, right?"
"Yeah... Well, we'll know Friday night." Jamie smiled back.
"Yeah, we will, you'll make us proud, honey," Mr. Grover gently patted her on the back as he went to leave her alone with Casper. "You always do. Call me if you need anything else."
"Okey-Dokey." Jamie replied.
Casper smiled as he continued to help Jamie out until it got pretty late.
"Gee, uh, it's late..." Casper said once he looked at the time. "Maybe now I should get home."
"Do you need a ride?" Jamie offered.
"Uh, that's okay, I have a way." Casper smiled.
"You're a weird kid... But I like you." Jamie smiled back.
"Um, thanks, Jamie, see ya later." Casper waved as he then left.
Outside of the Grover household...
"Okay, guys, do your thing." Casper told his pets.
Yoyo and Doc Croc nodded and then summoned the book when no one was looking. The three soon got onto it and they flew away to go back to the Fudo household.
"Hello? Anyone home?" Casper called out.
"Oh, Casper, there you are," Emily greeted. "We were worried, but Drell told us you're helping a new friend."
"Yeah," Casper replied. "Her name's Jamie."
"Ah, yes, Jim and Nancy's daughter..." Emily then nodded. "I see Jim in the store whenever I buy groceries."
"Uh, sorry for not telling you..." Casper said nervously.
"That's all right." Emily coaxed.
Casper soon yawned. "Um, so, where is everyone?" he then asked.
"Darla's on the phone, Atticus is on a date with Mo, and Patrick had a meeting in the Netherworld." Emily replied.
"Oh... Sorry for leaving you home alone." Casper frowned.
"Oh, it's all right, Casper, I managed to get the house cleaned, so it was probably for the best," Emily replied. "I was sure something important came up, you're such a good boy, you could do no wrong."
"Well, I'm tired right now, so if you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep." Casper said.
"Of course, dear, good night." Emily smiled and hugged him.
"Oh, uh, Mom?" Casper then asked once he thought of something.
"Yes, Casper?" Emily replied.
"Could I go to the Science Fair on Friday?" Casper asked. "Jamie's gonna be in it and I promised her I'd be there."
"Well... I suppose you can go, as long as you promise me you'll do your homework." Emily replied.
"Really? Oh, thank you!" Casper smiled.
"You're welcome, now, get some sleep, you've had a long day." Emily smiled back.
"You said it..." Casper said before yawning slightly. "G'night."
"Good night, Casper." Emily smiled.
And with that, Casper went up to his bedroom, got ready for bed, and soon went to sleep after a bit of a long and tiring day of meeting Jamie. However, that was only the beginning of his new adventure.