6teen/The One with the Text Message

The One with the Text Message
Season 1, Episode 25
Airdate	July 3, 2005
Written by	Jennifer Pertsch
Directed by	Karen Lessmann
← 1x24 It's Always Courtney, Courtney, Courtney!	1x26 → Boo, Dude
6teen — Season One

The One with the Text Message is the twenty-fifth episode of the first season of 6teen.

Guest Stars:

Plot Overview

Jen and Caitlin talk about what outfits they want to get for their first homecoming dance when Jude suggests that they wear what they already have. The girls reject the idea, with Jen telling Jude that she has been saving her paychecks toward her dance outfit for a month, and Caitlin adding that a homecoming dance is a major milestone in girls' lives. Jude asks Jonesy if the same goes for guys, and Jonesy replies no, then criticizes Jen and Caitlin's choice of dates, calling the dates wimps for playing tennis and adding that tennis is "not a sport" (because, in Jonesy's opinion, it does not count as a contact sport), which the girls take issue to. Jude indicates that he is going solo to the dance, leading Jonesy to ask him if Starr has taken him back yet after he threw up in her face during their movie date, to which Jude replies not yet.

Jonesy tells Jen that he plans to take Nikki to the dance, and Wyatt confirms Caitlin's announcement that he and Serena are also going, adding that it's the first dance he will be attending with a girlfriend. Wyatt then pulls out a jewelry box containing a necklace which he plans to give to Serena at the dance to commemorate their 2½-month anniversary, greatly impressing Caitlin and Jen but leaving Jonesy and Jude puzzled as to why an anniversary gift is needed for a half-month. Jonesy then ribs the girls about their dates getting them presents and tosses a french fry at Jen, who replies by tossing one back at him. Jonesy then throws a handful of fries Jen's way, but the giggling Jen and Caitlin duck and the fries accidentally hit Charmaine as she and Serena walk by the food court, prompting an embarrassed Wyatt to give Jonesy heck for it.

Moments later, Nikki arrives and tells the gang that she just got a tip that her parents are at The Galleria. Nikki hopes not to be seen at the mall because she had told her parents she would be studying at the library, although Wyatt and Jude remind her that they don't have to study today because city schools are closed for Professional Development Day. Nikki then asks Jude to run interference for her by keeping her parents distracted so they don't see her, and when Jude asks what the Wongs look like, Nikki replies they may be wearing outfits from 1979. Later at Spin This, Serena is talking with fellow employee Chad (a laid-back, stereotypical slacker/stoner type) when Wyatt arrives and gives her the necklace a day early. Serena is surprised by the gift, but then tells Wyatt that she did not get anything for him. An understanding Wyatt then offers to meet Serena at the food court for lunch and she accepts, although she seems hesitant and uncertain after Wyatt leaves.

Jen and Caitlin go walking through the mall, discussing their dance outfits, when they stop at Jonesy's new job, Soup Village, a food court kiosk selling varieties of soup. After Caitlin comments about Jonesy's hat, she offers to try a bowl of mushroom soup, which Jen turns down due to an allergy to mushrooms, noting that they give her stomach aches and that the last time she ate a food item containing mushrooms, she was in the washroom at El Sporto's for four hours afterward. After Jen's comment causes a few revolted customers to turn and leave (much to Jonesy's chagrin), Caitlin spots a stunning gold formal dress in the window at the Khaki Barn and she takes Jen with her to the store to try it out. Jen asks The Clones if the same style of dress, called the "Look at Me" dress, is available in other colors, and Kirsten notes that the dress Caitlin is trying on is the last one available in the store, so Jen lets a grateful Cait have the dress. To her shock, however, Caitlin discovers that she can't afford the dress because she had already spent half her dance outfit budget on a pair of shoes with three-inch heels, so she regretfully gives up the dress. As the girls leave the store, Jen pictures herself wearing the dress at the dance and decides to buy it for herself.

At the food court during his break, Jonesy makes a bet with Jude and Wyatt that they can't eat ten crackers in one minute without taking a drink, which the guys accept. Serena arrives to meet Wyatt as she sees Jude coughing out his mouthful of crackers, thereby losing his bet with Jonesy, and Serena decides to excuse herself and leave. Meanwhile at the Khaki Barn, Jen tries on the "Look at Me" dress when Nikki asks why she is buying it if she can't afford it. Jen corrects Nikki, noting that Caitlin is the one unable to afford the dress, then asks Nikki not to tell Cait that she wants to buy it. As Nikki points out to Jen that both girls will be attending the same dance, Caitlin returns to the store and spots Jen wearing the very dress that she wants. After asking Jen what she is doing with the dress, Caitlin mentions that she returned the shoes she had bought earlier so she could get the dress for herself because she really wants to have it, but The Clones tell her it's too late as Jen is getting the dress. Caitlin gets angry and tells Jen that she is breaking "girl rules" by taking the dress that she saw first, but Jen counters that girl rules do not apply in their case because Caitlin could not afford the dress earlier. After The Clones start arguing over who is in the right over the dress, Caitlin and Jen refuse to go to the dance together and Cait storms out of the Khaki Barn.

Nikki, having excused herself from the dress argument earlier to take her lunch break, arrives at the food court in the middle of the guys talking when, spotting her parents at the Big Squeeze, she freaks out and ducks behind the guys' table. Nikki asks Jude to do something to distract Mr. and Mrs. Wong, which he does by shouting "FIRE!" and herding the Wongs away from the food court. A greatly relieved Nikki comes back up and comments on her parents' outfits, saying that they had those clothes before she was born and that she was embarrassed by them. A moment later, Wyatt gets a call on his cell phone from Serena and Nikki, Jonesy and Jude tease him about it—until Wyatt discovers that the call is actually a text message, and that Serena used the message to break up with him.

Caitlin shows up moments later to tell the gang about what happened with Jen and the dress, but quickly drops the matter when she hears about Wyatt, as she and the rest of the gang offer to help him out. Jonesy takes Wyatt over to Soup Village to try and score him a new date for the dance, but the depressed vibes Wyatt gives off turn off two potential dates, and when Serena and Charmaine walk by and see Wyatt looking like he feels, they also walk off. Over at the Penalty Box, Caitlin and Jen continue arguing about the "Look at Me" dress, with Cait first throwing herself at Jen's mercy and begging her to let her have the dress, then claiming smugly that Jen won't let her have it because she thinks Caitlin looks cuter in the dress than she does. Jen has enough and tells Caitlin that no amount of following her around the mall will convince her to change her mind and that she should spend her time more wisely by looking for another dress, making Cait storm off in a huff again.

Nikki returns from her break to the Khaki Barn when she spots her parents coming again and she hides behind a planter, then grabs her phone and calls for Jude to meet her outside the store. Jude arrives moments later and introduces himself to the Wongs, then persuades them to join him at the mall aquarium to feed fish heads to the sharks. Nikki calls Jude back and thanks him for the distraction, then promises him some popcorn from the Gigantoplex if he keeps her parents busy for a few more hours. Back inside the Barn, Nikki meets Wyatt and asks him if he's ready to face Serena and get the answers he wants about why she dumped him.

Back at the Big Squeeze, Jude visits Caitlin, who tells him that she still has no dress for the dance, and Jude offers her his latest creation from the Stick It, mushroom pizza stick-its. Caitlin tries one and enjoys it, then asks Jude where Nikki's parents are when Jen arrives and asks about the stick-its, feeling hungry. Caitlin uses the moment to take a jab at Jen about the dress and they begin arguing again before Jen steps off and offers to help Caitlin find another dress, then takes one of the pizza stick-its. Caitlin starts to warn Jen about the stick-it, but remembering what Jen said earlier about her mushroom allergy, she slyly decides instead to hold off on the warning and let Jen eat the food item and take three more stick-its with her, knowing what they would do to her, before Cait becomes remorseful moments later over her act of revenge.

Jude and Mr. and Mrs. Wong head over to the Khaki Barn, where Nikki is red-alerted by Jude announcing their arrival and she ducks behind a display counter. Nikki asks Jude why her folks are in the store and he explains that they wanted to shop where she shops, then Nikki tells Jude that she doesn't shop at the Barn and tells him to get her parents out, so Jude convinces the Wongs to shop at another clothing store with him. Later at Spin This, Nikki offers to help Wyatt deal with Serena (even going so far as to offer to give Serena a shin kick that Nikki recently learned), but Wyatt chooses to go in on his own. Wyatt approaches Serena at the front counter and asks why she broke up with him, and she tells him that she did it because she wanted to get back together with Chad, whom she once dated prior to Wyatt. On hearing this, Nikki runs up and criticizes Serena for dumping Wyatt to return to her ex and for doing so via text message, then Wyatt asks Serena why she went back to Chad. Serena explains that it was about maturity, then adds that she had wanted to break up in person but could not bring herself to do so after Wyatt gave her the necklace. Serena apologizes and offers to give Wyatt back the necklace, but Wyatt lets her keep it and walks out of the store. Nikki wonders why at first, but Wyatt explains that when he achieves maturity in time, it will be Serena's loss, and Nikki inspires Wyatt by telling him that when girls like Serena realize that the "bad boy" types like Chad are not the best thing going, they will go looking for genuine nice guys like Wyatt.

Caitlin finally finds a new dress and tells the gang about it when Jen shows up and asks about Wyatt, who is eating an ice cream sundae Cait brought him as part of his breakup recovery phase. When Caitlin shows Jen the dress she bought for the dance, Jen offers to trade dresses so that Caitlin can have the "Look at Me" dress, making Caitlin very happy as she runs over and hugs Jen. Moments later, to the shock of the two girls, The Clones show up, each wearing the same "Look at Me" dress that they just bought on Khaki Barn employee discount after a new shipment came in. After seeing that, neither Caitlin nor Jen want the dress, both worried that people will think they're with The Clones if either of them wears it, but the stores close before they can return the dress, so Nikki, telling Jen and Caitlin that neither one can now wear the dress as it is because of The Clones, has the girls hand over both dresses and does an impromptu makeover on both items (taking material from each dress and putting it on the other) before giving them back.

Jen and Caitlin make up and forgive each other for their fight, then the gang prepares to head off to the movies when Jen suddenly comes down with stomach cramps. At the women's washroom, Caitlin waits outside the toilet stall Jen is in as Jen describes her attack of diarrhea as just like the time when she ate mushrooms at El Sporto's. Caitlin promises to be with Jen through her ordeal, then tells her she needs to go outside for a moment. Once out the door, Caitlin confesses to Nikki about the pizza stick-its and sharing them with Jen without telling her the ingredients, and Nikki tells her that she now has to make up for what she did by staying with Jen until she feels better, so a forlorn Caitlin sadly wishes Nikki a good time and skips the movie to return into the washroom.

At the Gigantoplex, Wyatt feels better when he sees Chad and Serena walk by him and Jude, and Chad slips and falls on the floor and his popcorn lands on Serena's head. A few rows up the aisle, Jonesy and Nikki watch the movie when Jonesy worries about her parents showing up and seeing them, and Nikki reassures him that they would never come to the kind of movie she and Jonesy are watching. Jude then greets Mr. and Mrs. Wong, who arrive wearing similar outfits to what Jude has when Wyatt reminds him that Nikki and Jonesy are behind them. The Wongs find the seats they want when they spot Nikki in the same row to their surprise, and Nikki is also shocked to find her parents wearing new clothes before calling down to an embarrassed Jude, who realizes the trouble he's in as he pulls his hat over his head.

Arc Advancement

Characters

• This episode marks the first appearance of Nikki's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wong. They wear dated outfits from the 1970s (as noted earlier by Nikki) and speak with slight Chinese accents, indicating that they immigrated to Canada some time before Nikki's birth

Referbacks

• Jonesy makes reference to Jude's vomiting incident with Starr at the movies in "The Khaki Girl"

Trivia

Allusions and References

• The episode's title references the long-running sitcom Friends, in which the title of nearly every episode in that series begins with "The One with..."
• The hat Jonesy wears at his new food court job resembles a can of Campbell's Soup

Quotes

• Wyatt (producing the jewelry box): Check it out! It's our 2½-month anniversary today. (shows off the necklace to the gang)
  Jen (impressed): Aw, Wyatt!
  Caitlin: That's so sweet!
  Jonesy: 2½-month anniversary? What is that?
  Jude: You gotta get a girl a present for a half-a-month?
  Wyatt: No, you don't have to...I just...I don't know, wanted to!
  Jen: (sighs contentedly)
  Caitlin (melting): Awwwww!

• Caitlin (to Jen, commenting about Jonesy's hat at his new job): And I thought my hat was ugly.
  Jonesy: I heard that!

• Caitlin (after spotting Jen in the "Look at Me" dress): Jen? What are you doing in my dress?
  Nikki (to Jen, sarcastically): Good plan!
  Jen (sheepishly): Nothing! What are you doing here?
  Caitlin: I decided I really wanted the dress, so I returned my new shoes.
  Kristen: Too late! She's buying it! (Caitlin gasps, then glares at Jen)
  Jen: Okay, calm down. It's not really your dress, Caitlin.
  Caitlin (getting angry): I AM CALM! And yes it is, DRESS STEALER! (The Clones all gasp simultaneously)
  Jen (matter-of-factly): I don't see your name on it.
  Caitlin: But I saw it first! That's like, totally against girl rules!
  Jen: The "I saw it first" rule doesn't count if you can't buy it! Right, Nikki?
  Nikki: Oh no, I'm not getting dragged into this! I'm going for lunch!

• Nikki (teasingly, as Wyatt gets his phone): Awwwww, lovebirds exchanging poems over their phones now?
  Jonesy (joining the fun): Let me guess! It says, "I wuv you, my wittle Wyattkins!"
  Jude: No, "Ba-ba wa-wa, Schmoopie-woopie!"
  Wyatt (puzzled): I don't get it—I think she just...dumped me! On a text message!
  Jude: No way!
  Nikki: She broke up with you on a text message? What was she thinking? Even I'd never do that!
  Jude: That's harshing my mellow, dude!
  Jonesy (reading the text): "It's not you, it's me"? Yeah, right! Hate to break it to you dude, but it's definitely you!