The Bad Grade

Sneaking Out

"Are you sure you're grounded, Deej?"

Looking at her best friend Kimmy Gibbler in surprise, D.J. replied, "Yes, I'm sure."

Even though her ideas and clothes were a little strange and she had a weird outlook on life, Kimmy was a great friend to D.J. and had a cool personality.

Stephanie once referred to Kimmy as an airhead, but D.J. corrected her, saying, "Kimmy's not an airhead — she just hates thinking."

D.J. sighed. "I can't believe I got an F in math. I studied really hard."

"Here's a cool tip — try listening to music. That might help," Kimmy suggested.

"Oh, great idea, Kimmy. Like that'll help me anyway," D.J. replied, her tone a little angry.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help," replied Kimmy in defense.

"I know," D.J. replied, her anger disappearing somewhat. "But what am I gonna do? I hate being grounded."

"I'm sorry, Deej."

That evening during supper (fried chicken that Joey had bought), D.J. said, "Hey Dad, may I go to the mall?"

"Uh, sweetheart," replied Danny, "in case you've forgotten, you're grounded. So you can't go anywhere."

"Dad, that is totally unfair!" D.J. shook her head. "I studied really hard!"

"D.J., you didn't study hard enough. You haven't been taking care of business. You've been falling behind in math," Danny explained.

D.J. groaned, then got up from the table and went up to her room.

Then Steph, who was sitting next to Corey Feldman and Corey Haim, said, "You know, it's a good thing that I'm not grounded, because then I wouldn't be able to go to my dance classes."

"That's true," said the Felddog with a hint of wisdom in his tone of voice. "Dancing is a part of your life."

"Exactly," said the Haimster. "You're a pretty cool little babe."

"Thank you," said Stephanie.

Danny asked, "Steph, why are you so thoughtful about not being grounded?"

"Dad, didn't you hear what I said?" Stephanie replied.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry, Steph — it just slipped my mind," Danny said apologetically.

"It's OK, Dad," Stephanie said. "I forgive you."

Then after dinner, Steph and the Coreys headed up to D.J. and Stephanie's room. But when they walked in the door, they saw that D.J. wasn't there; she'd snuck out.

"I'd better tell Dad about this," said Stephanie.

"We'll go with you," said the Felddog.

Steph walked down the stairs one at a time, the Coreys behind her. "Let me do the talking," said Stephanie, and they nodded. She then turned to Danny and said, "Dad?"

Danny looked up. "Yes, Steph?"

"Um, there's something I have to tell you. But I'm not sure if I should," Stephanie replied.

"You can tell me anything, honey; what is it?" Danny said.

"Well, Haimster, Feldog and I went up to D.J.'s and my bedroom, but when we got there, D.J. was not in the room. I think she snuck out."

"Oh my," said Danny. "Did she go to the mall after I told her she was grounded?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure," said Steph. "Dad, how come you're not freaking out?"

"I'm worried, and I've learned that it's not a good idea to freak out when you're worried. In fact, it just makes things even worse," replied Danny.

"Ah, I see," Steph replied.

Danny was digesting the situation as best he could. D.J., his oldest daughter, had snuck out of the house. When he told his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis about it, Jesse asked, "Why would she do that?"

"She was mad at me; I grounded her because she got a bad grade on her math test," Danny confessed.

"Well," said Rebecca 'Becky' Donaldson, who was Jesse's girlfriend and Danny's co-host on Wake Up, San Francisco, "maybe instead of grounding her, you could've helped her with getting her math grade back up. That's what I would do."

Danny let that sink in. Becky was right — he had been too harsh in grounding D.J. the way he did.

"You're right, Becky," he said. "When D.J. gets back, I'm gonna let Annie talk to her."

"Thanks for your help," he finished, smiling.

"You're welcome," Becky replied.

Then 19-year-old Annabelle "Annie" Johnson, a "big sister" model to all three girls, walked in. She was wearing a pink turtleneck covered by a blue coat with pockets and blue snaps, black Levis and black shoes with Velcro. She was also a genius when it came to writing stories — especially because she knew what to say. She liked all kinds of music — even rock music — but disliked jazz.

"I heard what happened," she said. "I will talk to her."

Danny replied, smiling still, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Annie replied.

Then D.J. walked in. "Hey guys," she said.

"Uh, D.J., we know where you've been," said Danny.

D.J.'s face fell. "Oh, no; you do?"

"Yes; you were at the mall when I told you you were grounded."

"But, Dad—" D.J. began.

"D.J., we have to talk; go to your room," said Annie in a stern voice. Danny recalled Pam and how she sounded that way when it came to discipline sometimes, and smiled.

D.J. walked towards the stairs and up to her room. Annie followed.

"Annie," D.J. queried she and Abigail were sitting on D.J.'s bed, "why did my dad ground me? I did the best I could with my math."

"D.J.," replied Annie, "sometimes adults think in different ways than pre-teens, teens and kids. Your dad grounded you because you've probably been slacking off. I was there when he told you that. Don't you remember?"

"Oh, yeah," said D.J. as she thought back to dinner. "I guess I should accept my punishment, huh?"

"Yeah," Annie said, smiling. Then they hugged each other.

"D.J., I have a confession to make."

"What is it? You can tell me," D.J. said, doing her best to sound reassuring.

Annie paused for a bit, thinking. "Your sister Stephanie's been hanging out with me sometimes, and I wonder if you are feeling... jealous."

"I am," said D.J..

"I'm sorry," said Annie.

"Oh no, Annie. It's OK that Steph wants to hang out with you. It's just... I feel the urge to talk to you about my mom sometimes."

"Ah, I see. I bet your mom was beautiful and golden, and smart, too."

"She was," D.J. replied.

Annie and D.J. sat on the bed for a few minutes remembering Pam — the girls' mother, Danny's wife and Jesse's sister. Both had tears running down their cheeks as memories of her ran through their heads. But they knew that Pam was watching over them. And they would always stick together, no matter what.