6teen/The Journal

The Journal
Season 3, Episode 4
Airdate	October 1, 2007
Written by
Directed by
← 3x03 Selling Out to the Burger Man	3x05 → Silent Butt Deadly
6teen — Season Three

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The Journal is the fourth episode of the third season of 6teen, and the fifty-sixth episode overall.

Guest Stars:

Plot Overview

Jonesy lands a new job working at The Galleria's Lost and Found department and ends up finding a book among the misplaced items. As he starts reading through the book, Jonesy discovers that it's a journal filled with the writer's private thoughts, which he laughs about as he continues reading—until he sees his name mentioned in one journal entry and he finds out that the journal belongs to Jen.

Meanwhile at the Penalty Box, Jen watches Eddie, a boy she likes, when she discovers that her journal, which she always takes with her, has gone missing from her bag. Frantic over the journal's disappearance and fearful that it could fall into the wrong hands, Jen tries in vain to look for it inside the store. During a break from her shift at the Khaki Barn, Nikki heads to Lost and Found to meet with Jonesy and finds him reading Jen's journal. After chiding Jonesy for invading Jen's privacy by reading the journal, Nikki takes the book and tosses it to Caitlin, who volunteers to bring it back to Jen at the Penalty Box. On her way there, however, Caitlin collides with Jude at the mall fountain while Jude is stunt-skateboarding and the journal falls open, so Caitlin starts reading it as well.

Wyatt visits Jonesy at Lost and Found and discovers a classic Gibson Les Paul guitar that had been turned in earlier, and Jonesy invites Wyatt behind the counter to check the guitar out. Jude then drops by and finds a set of bongos that had also been brought in, and he offers to buy the musical instrument off of Jonesy, who then gets an idea to make some cash by selling the lost items.

As Caitlin continues reading Jen's journal at the fountain, its contents start becoming public knowledge and spread rapidly through the mall, including entries about each of the gang (such as when Jen had a crush on Jonesy in Grade 7), personal thoughts and resolutions, and events and other items with the potential for embarassment (like when Jen came down with a rash, and her allergy to mushrooms), and end up being discovered by the rest of the gang themselves, who are shocked over what Jen says about each of them. Finally, after random people start telling her things that only she knew about and she clues in, Jen arrives at the fountain and, to her horror, finds Caitlin with her journal and finds out that everyone knows what she wrote. Angry at the gang for spying in her journal, then feeling violated over her private thoughts being made public, Jen begins to cry and runs away from the fountain.

At the food court, Jonesy and company are feeling terrible about Jen's humiliation over her journal and Nikki asks Jonesy to think what would happen if his thoughts were made public, and Jonesy envisions a scenario in his mind where he and Nikki are walking through the mall when Jonesy looks around at every girl passing by him and talks about which ones he "scored" with, causing Nikki to grab Jonesy by his shirt and punch him in the face. Jonesy empathizes with Jen's dilemma and realizes that the gang has to help her, so he, Nikki, Caitlin, Jude and Wyatt head over to his and Jen's house to apologize to her for looking through the journal, but a depressed Jen, who has been moping in her bed since then and refusing to show her face at the mall, is in no mood for apologies and she orders her friends to leave her room. Back at The Galleria, when the subject of Jen's old secret crush on Jonesy comes up and Jonesy begins bragging about that, Nikki hauls off and punches Jonesy in the face for real. Later, Jonesy runs into trouble at Lost and Found when people arrive to reclaim items they had lost and they find out he had sold them, and Jonesy gets beaten up by the angry crowd and then fired from his job.

The gang eventually come up with an idea to make amends to Jen, countering the gossipy comments about her that they overhear by playing up her good qualities and talking about the things she has done for her friends and other people, which turns out successfully as the gossip dies down and those who had talked about what they found out in Jen's journal are now talking about her in a positive light. Jude then returns to Jen's house and implores her to get out of bed by doing what the rest of the gang did at the mall. Hearing what her friends have done and having her spirits buoyed by being built up as a role model, Jen gets up, showers and gets dressed and returns to the mall with Jude.

Upon arrival, Jen is met by mallgoers who hail her for her good deeds, and with her confidence restored, she makes up with the gang and sets up a date with her crush Eddie. Later at the Big Squeeze, Caitlin presents Jen with an apology gift she, Jonesy, Jude, Wyatt and Nikki bought for her—a lock and key for her journal, so that her written thoughts can stay private.

Arc Advancement

Referbacks

• Jen's allergy to mushrooms (which give her terrible stomach cramps and force her to spend hours in the washroom) is first featured in "The One with the Text Message"
• Jen's teddy bear, Mr. Jingles (whom she talks to while in her pajamas in bed), was first given to her by Jonesy after she won it in a dart-throwing game at The Galleria's indoor amusement park in "The Big Sickie"

Trivia

Allusions and References

• The voice of the old man whom Jonesy tries to sell an umbrella to at the Galleria Lost and Found resembles that of character actor Walter Brennan, who starred in the 1957-63 rural sitcom The Real McCoys and the 1967-69 Western series The Guns of Will Sonnett

Memorable Moments

• Jen running away crying after her crush Eddie asks if the rash she had has cleared up
• The two moments where Nikki punches out Jonesy (first in his mind, then for real later on) due to Jonesy's indiscreet bragging about girls and Jen's old crush on him
• Jen's forgiving of her friends after they make amends by publicly discussing the good things about her

Quotes

• Jen (to the gang at the Big Squeeze): It's good to be back!
  Wyatt: How was the big date with Eddie?
  Jen: I don't think he's boyfriend material. First I was an invisible dork, and then I was a goddess! But I want a guy who just likes me for me.
  Jonesy: Give the lady her present.
  Caitlin: Oh, yeah! We got you something. (Jen gasps as she beholds the present and opens it)
  Nikki: It's a lock for your journal. Juuust in case you ever lose it again.
  Jen (heartfelt): Thanks, guys! And before I lock up, I just need to check one item off my list of Top 10 Things I Want To Do Before I Die: Number 6 - Being a role model. CHECK! (Jen giggles as the entire gang chuckles)