Cheapskates

Cheapskates is the 76th episode of 6teen and the 24th episode of the third season. It aired on Teletoon on March 23, 2008, and on Cartoon Network on May 25, 2009. Jen meets a hot guy at the Penalty Box, but soon finds out that he's extremely cheap. Jude becomes obsessed with Ron's new infrared goggles after he learns they can be used to see farts. And Caitlin falls in love with a guy whom she thinks only speaks Spanish.

Main Plot
Jen is at work at the Penalty Box when she gets into an argument with Coach Halder about the placement of soccer cleats. Naturally, Coach Halder wins this argument by sending Jen to the penalty box, and while there she starts to gripe about their boss with her new co-worker, who has also gotten a penalty. The two start a rapport going, and soon Griffin asks Jen out. Jen happily agrees, and they make a date to go out that night at eight.

Later, Jen is telling her female friends about her date when her male friends walk up. Upon hearing about Jen's date, Jonesy suggests she do something about her unkempt hair, and Jen goes home to change. After she leaves, the group notices Jude swishing his soda around in his mouth, and when they question him on this, he says that it unlocks the flavor. Caitlin isn't happy about it, however, as she needs to go to the bathroom but doesn't want to use the dirty mall washrooms. Unfortunately for her, this only encourages her friends, and they make water noises at her. Soon the pressure becomes too much to bear, and Caitlin grabs Nikki and makes her come along to the bathroom as punishment.

When Jen comes back to the table, she is all done up and ready for her date. Griffin comes by at this point, and takes her on his arm. Their first plan is to go see a movie at the Gigantoplex, but problems crop up when Griffin first finds himself a little short, and then when the movie theater sells out by the time that Griffin and Jen get to the front of the line. Griffin has a backup plan, however: people-watching on a porch swing in a window display while eating free samples from various stores. The date is surprisingly romantic, and Jen finishes the night in high spirits.

The next day, Jen tells Caitlin and Nikki about her perfect date and then receives a call from Griffin. This call asks her out again, but Jen is worried about whether their next date will live up to the first. To assuage these fears, Nikki suggests a double date with her and Jonesy. Jen readily agrees, and the date is set for that night.

That night, the group of four goes to El Sporto's for dinner. While there, though, it turns out that Griffin is broke again and so isn't going to eat anything. Jen can't stand to see her boyfriend starve, and shares her dinner with him. He begins eating like a starving man, and soon chows down on everyone else's food. Jen ends up still hungry, but figures that they'll fill up on movie popcorn; however, at the Gigantoplex Griffin gets into an argument about the unfairness of charging students more than seniors, and convinces Jen to sneak in to teach the theater a lesson. Shortly thereafter, Ron catches them and throws out Jonesy and Nikki as well for being friends with them, even though they paid. Griffin then suggests to Jen that they walk home, which she agrees to do.

The next day, Jen's feet are aching from the walk. Griffin shows up at the Big Squeeze with bandages for her, but unfortunately the glue is all dried up because he bought them at the Cheapo Bin. He then asks what the drink with the most lemon in it per dollar is, and finds out it's lemonade. Unfortunately, he's short, and so is Jen. Caitlin hands him one on the house, and Griffin leaves with Jen. As soon as he leaves, the other friends mention things they saw him do to save money: Jonesy saw him eating mustard packets for breakfast, Nikki saw him steal toilet paper from the mall bathroom, and Wyatt saw him pour leftover coffee from Grind Me into a mug and ask the barista to nuke it–coffee which he may have given to Jen.

At work, Griffin promises Jen another romantic date. Jen is enthused about this prospect, but the date noticeably does not live up to her expectations. First, Griffin takes her to a free children's book reading at the library. Then he takes her on a free pet store tour, where he wrestles a parrot for some birdseed. Finally, he takes her people-watching while eating the birdseed he procured. This final evidence of Griffin's cheapness is the last straw for Jen, who dumps Griffin on the spot.

The next day, the gang has gathered at the lemon and are discussing Griffin. None of them can figure out where his money goes; Wyatt suggests a sick parent, Nikki suggests poor money-management skills, and Jonesy suggests that Griffin is just a mooch. At that moment, Jonesy's stomach acts up, and he invites Jude over to witness his farting with the infrared goggles he stole from Ron. Ron spots Jude, however, and runs over. The two fight over the goggles until Griffin walks by, at which point Jen gets an idea and grabs the goggles. She looks through them and sees that Griffin has plenty of money tucked away in the back pocket of his jeans, proving that Jonesy was right, and she runs after him, wanting a refund for everything she spent on him.

Sub-Plot One: Jude and the Goggles
Jude spits out his drink to try and make Caitlin go, but is informed by his friends that she already left. Ron then shows up, wearing infrared goggles, and tells Jude that he could be hauled in for liquid littering. However, Jude is more enticed by the goggles, especially after Ron reveals to him that the goggles allow him to see farts.

This leads to Jude stealing the goggles and attempting to see farts. Naturally, Jonesy is willing to help him in this endeavor, and at the end of the episode he has a gas attack and calls Jude over to watch. Jude sees the first one and is entranced, but Ron shows up and then fight over the goggles until Jen snatches them away. As Jen chases after Griffin, Jonesy lets out a gigantic fart–and perhaps something else.

Sub-Plot Two: Caitlin's Spanish Lover
While Caitlin is in the restroom with Nikki, she hears Spanish coming through the vents, and when she exits the bathroom, she sees a hot guy standing outside. Putting two and two together, she decides to try and bag him, but thinks she has to learn Spanish first so that they can communicate. As soon as she leaves, another guy exits the bathroom and starts talking to Caitlin's crush. Caitlin's crush tells the newcomer that he would like to ask Caitlin out, and his friend encourages him in Spanish. Caitlin's crush looks back at him, confused, and he translates, revealing simultaneously that he speaks Spanish–and that, more importantly, Caitlin's crush does not.

Later, Caitlin is practicing with her Spanish tapes when her crush comes up to ask her out. Before he can, though, Caitlin asks him to the movies in Spanish. Unable to understand, Jasper heads back to his friend, who offers to help because he knows how to speak Spanish. Jasper accepts his friend's help, and soon he calls Caitlin a hermosa (sweetheart), which she doesn't understand, and then dancing with her without speaking a word of English. However, Caitlin soon discovers that she can't go out with a guy that she can't communicate with, and she ends up dumping him at the end of the episode.

Quotes
Jen: EEE! At eight! Jonesy: That'll give you time to do something with that hair. Jen: What's wrong with my hair? (Her hair sticks up.) Jonesy: Guess the guy's beyond looks. (Nikki punches him.) Ow! Jen: I'm going home to change. (She leaves.) Caitlin: (calling after her) A little lipstick and mascara wouldn't hurt either. Jen: Ugh! Jude: You hold it in your mouth for a bit, then you swallow, dude. Unlocks the flavor. Caitlin: Please, Jude. Stop swishing. I have to pee so badly! Nikki: I've got a suggestion: go to the bathroom. Caitlin: And use the gross washrooms? No way! I can hold it. Jonesy: Have I ever told you guys how much I love waterslides? (He imitates swishing sounds.) Caitlin: Jonesy! Wyatt: Almost as much as I love Niagara Falls. (He imitates waterfall sounds.) Caitlin: WYATT! Nikki: Personally, I love sprinklers. (She imitates a sprinker. Jonesy and Wyatt join in.) Caitlin: Oh, I can't hold it any longer! (She drags Nikki to the washrooms.) Nikki: Hey, what do you need me for? Caitlin: You did this to me! Jonesy: I already know all the Spanish I'll ever need. Caitlin: Teach me! Teach me! Jonesy: Repeat after me. Idiota. Nikki: (covering Caitlin's mouth) Don't listen to Jonesy. He only knows swear words. (Jonesy gasps as Jen arrives dressed formally.) Jude: Whoa, bra! You look sm-o-kin'! Jonesy: (whistling) You're one hot mama- I mean step-sis. (The gang stares at him.) What, too weird? Wyatt: Yep. Nikki: Definitely. Jude: Affirmative, bro. Jonesy: Yep. Jude: Affirmative, bro. Nikki: Definitely. Jude: Rock-a-bye rent-a-cop, in his golf cart, when the fart blows, Jude's world will rock. Nikki: Home? But it's over an hour's walk. Jonesy: Hope you brought your walking shoes. Griffin stole our bus fare! Caitlin: She's going broke bankrolling his cheap butt! Jonesy: I saw El Cheapo eating mustard packets for breakfast. Nikki: I saw him stealing toilet paper from the washroom. Wyatt: I saw him in Grind Me putting all the leftover coffee into a mug. Then he asked the barista to nuke it. Nikki: Please tell me that's not the coffee he gave to Jen.
 * Wyatt: Got a date?
 * Wyatt: Jude, what are you doing?
 * Wyatt: Doesn't your dad speak Spanish? You should ask him to teach you.
 * Wyatt: (about Griffin) That is one good-lookin' fellow. (The gang stares at him.) Too weird?
 * Ron: (as Jude tries to steal the goggles) Mommy, sing me a lullaby.
 * Griffin: Can I walk you home? There's a full moon tonight.
 * Wyatt: I don't get it. What does Jen see in that guy?

Trivia
Jonesy's job: El Sporto's busboy. Reason for firing: He forgot he had a job there.

Errors

 * Nikki claims she saw Griffin stealing toilet paper from the washrooms. This isn't possible, as either she was in the wrong washroom or Griffin was in the women's washrooms.

Episode connections

 * This episode marks the second time Jonesy has worked at El Sporto's. He first worked there (and was later fired) in the episode "Awake the Wyatt Within."
 * This is the second time a bloody foot is shown, courtesy of Jen. The first occurrence was in the episode "Waiting to Ex-Sale", with Nikki as the victim.
 * Both of these instances involved the girls of the main six.
 * Caitlin gets a rose injury in this episode, similarly to how she did in the episode "2-4-1" courtesy of Vince.

Cultural references

 * Nikki says that the Spanish discovered the Americas (Christopher Columbus), created several instantly recognizable dances (tango, mambo, salsa, etc.), and revolutionized modern art (Pablo Picasso).
 * Ron's line "You want the goggles? You can't handle the goggles!" is a reference to Jack Nicholson's commonly misquoted line "You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!" from the film A Few Good Men. Nicholson's character actually asks "You want answers?" and not "You want the truth?"

Video
This clip was provided by 6teen on YouTube.