{Poppy's outfit}
Poppy, DJ and Kimmy were currently in the living room. The trio were sat on the couch as they were trying to come up with a stay in school campaign.
"I've come up with 20 slogans for the stay-in-school campaign and they're all lame." DJ pouts.
"I've come up with 5." Poppy shrugged. "But they're really cringey so..." Poppy trailed off as she scrunched the paper up and tossed it to the side.
"Hold on. I'm taking a personality test." The Gibbler girl spoke up. "I'm this close to having a personality." Kimmy pinched her fingers close together, leaving a small gap between them.
"Kimmy." DJ and Poppy gave their friend a look.
Kimmy let out a sigh. "Okay, you want a stay-in-school slogan? How about this one: be smart and get your schooling, or you'll be living on a couch, burping and drooling."
Poppy hummed in thought. "Well...I suppose it does send out the message in a way."
DJ flicked her cousin on her forehead. "Don't encourage Kimmy and her strange ideas." DJ lightly scolded.
The front door then opens and Jesse and Joey walk in.
DJ sighed in relief once she saw the two men. "I'm glad you guys are home. We've been working on this campaign..." DJ stats as she points at herself, Kimmy and Poppy. "Well, me and Poppy have been working on this campaign." DJ corrected herself.
"It's for the sophomore class, and since all the kids listen to you two on the radio we thought you guys would be perfect spokesmen." Poppy explained to her father and Joey.
"Spokesmen, huh? I guess that means I can date spokesmodels." Joey teases, laughing at his own joke.
"Hey, girls, we're there for you." Jesse nods.
Joey cleared his throat. "What exactly are we spokesmen for?" Joey asks out of curiosity.
"It's a stay-in-school campaign." DJ replied.
"That's pretty cool." Joey nods. "It's a good cause, huh, Jess?"
Jesse cleared his throat. "Yeah. That's, uh...that's a real nice cause, um...but, uh, I'm sorry. I can't help you out with that one." Jesse shook his head.
Poppy frowned. "Why not?"
Jesse shrugged. "Well, I have so many things going on. A lot of projects." The Katsopolis man lied.
Joey narrowed his eyes. "Really? Like what?"
"I have to paint the house." Jesse quickly came up with an excuse.
"The house was just painted." DJ reminded her uncle.
Jesse nervously laughed. "Oh, yeah...and it looks great too. Uh, actually, I have to paint the driveway. That's what I have to paint. The driveway doesn't go with the curb at all. It's a whole clashing thing." Jesse rambled, walking out the living room.
"Girls, I'm sorry. I don't know what the heck's going on with him." Joey apologised on behalf of Jesse.
"That was really weird." DJ furrowed her eyebrows.
Poppy nodded in agreement. "It really was..."
"Yeah, I thought your driveway went great with your curb." Kimmy brightly smiled.
<~~~~~~~~>
Later on.
Joey, DJ and Poppy walk in the kitchen where they see Becky, Danny, Michelle and Stephanie.
"Hey, have you guys seen Jess?" Joey asked the others
"He's been acting so strange." Poppy claimed.
"He just backed out of our stay-in-school campaign with some weird excuse about having to paint the driveway." DJ added on.
"Actually, it's not a bad idea. It never did match the curb." Danny commented.
"Something's going on. The minute we mentioned what the campaign was for he got all weird and started making up excuses to leave the room." Poppy huffed, taking a seat on the kitchen counter.
Danny turned to his niece. "Poppy, I just cleaned the counter, would you please get down?"
Poppy rolled her eyes. "Uncle D, take a chill pill."
Becky spoke up, stopping Danny and Poppy from their bickering. "I can't believe that Jesse won't help." The woman bit her lip, trying to understand why her husband wouldn't help DJ and Poppy with their campaign.
Jesse then came up from the studio. "Hey, everybody." The man took a seat at the kitchen table. As Jesse looked up, he noticed his family staring at him. "We gonna eat or what?"
"Well, honey, we're just concerned. It would mean a lot to DJ and Poppy if you helped with their stay-in-school project." Becky tried to convince Jesse.
Jesse scoffed, standing up. "What's the matter with you people? I told you I'm busy. If I'm busy, I'm busy. That's all." Jesse quickly got defensive.
Jesse went to go back down to the studio, but Joey stood in the front of the steps, blocking Jesse's path. "Painting the driveway?" The Gladstone man raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
"Got something against home improvement?" Jesse snapped.
Jesse then went to head upstairs, but Danny blocked the stairs. "You know, it really is a good cause."
"I'm sure it is." Jesse mumbled, making his way over to the other side of the kitchen where another exit was, but Stephanie and Michelle quickly got in the way.
"There's gotta be a way outta here." Jesse huffed, starting to get very annoyed. Jesse rushed to the door which lead to the living room, but DJ and Poppy quickly ran over and stood in the way.
"Uncle Jesse, you know at my school one kid drops out every week." DJ reminds her uncle.
"Yeah, dad. And if you don't want me to be one of them kids then you'll help." Poppy placed her hands on her hips.
"Look, go talk to the kids who drop-out and stop bugging me about it." Jesse complained. "And Poppy, you're not dropping out of school." Jesse sternly added on.
Becky then watched as her husband made his way over to the back door, so she quickly stood in his way. "Oh, no, you don't. No, you are not leaving here until we get a straight answer. Now, why won't you help Poppy and DJ with their campaign?" Becky demanded an answer.
Jesse clenched his jaw. "Alright, you wanna know why I can't help Poppy and DJ with their campaign?" Jesse faced the two 15 year olds. "I can't help you with your stay-in-school campaign because I didn't stay in school." Jesse explained.
"What?" The family all frown in shock.
"I'm a dropout." Jesse announced. "There. Okay, let's just move on with our lives, okay?" Jesse sighed as he managed to leave the kitchen and head upstairs.
"You heard the man. Let's move on with our lives." Michelle casually shrugged.
The family were all left speechless at how Jesse had dropped a bombshell on them that he dropped out of school.
<~~~~~~~~>
Poppy headed upstairs to the attic where her dad, her step-mom, and her little brothers slept. The teenager went straight into her little brothers bedroom where she saw her dad playing with Nicky and Alex.
Jesse hadn't noticed that Poppy was stood by the door. The Katsopolis man let out a sigh. "You know, boys...I might as well tell you guys the truth. Your old man's a high-school dropout."
Poppy leaned against the door, listening in on the conversation as she felt very bad for her dad.
"Who needs a diploma anyway, right? I mean, does that put food on your plate and diapers on your little tushies? I don't think so. Your old man's doing okay, huh? I mean, I'm no Albert Einstein, but who'd wanna be with that hair? Bucket of mousse couldn't tame that head." Jesse softly spoke to his sons, still not noticing his daughter stood by the door. "What's really important to me is what you guys and your sister think. You know? You three are my kids, my world. I'm guessing you love me with or without a diploma, huh?"
Nicky and Alex just sat on the carpet, clueless to what their father was saying as they were too young to understand.
Poppy cleared her throat, gaining the attention on her. Poppy took a seat on the carpet with her dad and little brothers. "Hey." Poppy smiled.
"Poppy!" The twins babbled, smiling widely.
"Hey, cuties." Poppy cooed, chuckling softly as she watched her little brothers both climb onto her lap.
"How much of that did you hear?" Jesse sheepishly smiled.
"Pretty much all of it." Poppy told her dad. "Look, I gotta ask this because it's all I've been thinking since you told us you dropped out of school." Poppy anxiously bit her lip. "Did you drop out of school because you and mom had me when you guys were teenagers?" Poppy asked.
"What? No!" Jesse immediately shook his head. "Tinker-bell, I tried to stay in school so that I could be smart and get a job to help provide for you. I was so shocked when I saw your mom going to school and getting good grades, she did that for you. But me...I couldn't. I wasn't smart enough for school. But trust me, I didn't drop out of school because of you. It was because I was dumb." Jesse stroked his daughters hair.
Poppy glanced down at her little brothers who sat on her lap. "Me, Nicky and Alex don't think you're dumb. We think you're the best dad ever."
Jesse cracked a small smile. "Come here." He brought his three kids into his arms and hugged them all.
<~~~~~~~~>
{Poppy's outfit}
It was a few days later.
Danny, Joey, DJ, Kimmy, Stephanie and Poppy were all in the living room.
Joey and Danny were putting up a banner on the wall which read out 'Good luck Jesse' since Jesse agreed to go back to school so he could get his diploma.
Danny narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the banner. "Joey, I think your end's a little low."
"Really? Well, I've been working out with my heinie master." Joey joked, stretching a little.
"Just raise the banner." Danny playfully rolled his eyes.
Joey quickly straightened the banner and then climbed down from the ladder.
The front door then opened and Steve and Warren walked in. The two boys had been invited over by DJ and Poppy.
"Hey." Steve greeted the family and then gave DJ a kiss on her cheek.
"Hey." Warren also greeted the family. Warren then pulled Poppy in for a warm hug.
"Hiya." Poppy smiled up at the taller boy in front of her.
"Has your dad left for night school yet?" Warren asked Poppy.
Poppy shook her head. "No, he's still upstairs. He wants his hair to be perfect. He's been doing it since 6 o'clock."
Warren widened his eyes. "For an hour?" The boy exclaimed in shock.
"No, since 6 o'clock this morning." Poppy corrected the boy.
Michelle then entered the room. "I got it!" The child shouted, causing everyone to turn to her. Michelle was currently trying to learn how to tie her shoe laces. "Over, under, around the tree. Swing past the knothole. Pull and see." Michelle sang the song for tying shoes.
The others all begin congratulating Michelle, assuming she'd learnt how to tie her shoes.
Danny proudly smiled at his youngest daughter. "All that practicing really paid off, huh? Now let me see you tie your shoes."
Michelle tilted her head. "My shoe? I just learned the song."
"Here, squirt. Let me show you the Gibbler way to tie your shoe." Kimmy widely grinned as she took off her shoes.
Everyone in the room gagged in disgust as the smell of Kimmy's feet quickly filled the living room.
"Ugh! Gibbler, put your shoes on before you set off the smoke alarm." Stephanie exclaimed.
Becky and Jesse then walked downstairs.
"Okay, everybody. Here he is: America's newest high-school student." Becky announced, causing everyone to look over at Jesse.
"America's oldest high-school student." Kimmy teased.
"Kimmy, even you can't get to me today. I'm in such a great mood." Jesse brightly smiled. Jesse then noticed Warren had his arm wrapped around Poppy's shoulder. "Warren, you've got five seconds to remove your arm away from my daughter before I do it for you." Jesse warned, still brightly smiling.
Warren gulped and pulled his arm away from Poppy. "Whoa, Mr Katsopolis, you're scary when you're mad and smiling at the same time."
"Dad." Poppy whined, clearly embarrassed.
Jesse ignored his daughters whines and continued speaking. "I'm so excited about going back to school. I even stayed up all night memorising this poem 'O captain, my captain' it's really good."
"Hey, is that from 'Star Trek' one or two?" Steve wonders.
"I think it's from two, Steve." Joey answered the boys question. Joey then started imitating an accent. "Oh, captain, my captain, she's breaking up. I've got to have more power." Joey acted out.
Jesse held his finger up. "For your information, it's by a guy named Walt Whitman, one of America's finest poets."
"Steve and I got you this thesaurus." DJ handed her uncle a thesaurus.
Jesse took the thesaurus in his hands. "Thanks."
Steve scratched the back of his neck. "Well, actually, DJ picked it out...and DJ paid for it. But I drove her to the mall."
"Jess, we're all really proud of you." Danny told his friend. "It takes a lot of guts to do what you're doing."
"Yeah, dad, what you're doing is really cool." Poppy commented.
Jesse smiled, feeling grateful for his family's support. "Thanks guys. I guess I should get going."
"Don't be late for your first class." Danny joked.
"Yeah, see you after school." Jesse walked towards the front door.
"Watch out for the big kids at recess." Michelle warned her uncle.
Jesse then left the house as he headed to school.
<~~~~~~~~>
Later on.
Steve, Warren, Kimmy, DJ and Poppy all head into the living room where Becky, Joey, Stephanie and Danny were.
The three girls were currently bickering. Poppy and DJ had come up with a slogan for the stay-in-school campaign, but Kimmy had a slogan of her own. The three girls were arguing over which slogan to use.
"Okay, could you guys help us out, please?" Steve pleaded his girlfriends family.
"These three can't decide on a slogan." Warren points at Kimmy, Poppy and DJ.
"They're arguing so much I can't even hear myself chew." Steve complained, eating an apple.
"Why don't we put it to a vote?" Poppy suggested, linking arms with DJ.
"Great idea." DJ nodded.
"And please, be fair. Don't let me influence you in any way." Kimmy smugly smiled as she held a five dollar note in front of Stephanie's face.
The middle Tanner child scoffed. "You can't buy my vote." Stephanie denied. "But you can rent it for an hour." The blonde then stuffed the cash into her pocket.
DJ cleared her throat. "Okay, here is mine and Poppy's slogan."
"People who are smart finish what they start. Stay in school." Poppy and DJ say their slogan.
"That's very good, girls." Becky compliments them, earning nods of agreements from the family.
"And now the second choice, the only choice: Stay in school. Don't be an idiot. Don't drop out even if you have to glue your butt to a chair." Kimmy announced her slogan.
"Catchy." Joey hummed.
"Okay, it's voting time." DJ told her family. DJ turned to her father. "What do you think?"
"I vote for Poppy and DJ's idea." Danny voiced his opinion.
"Me too." Joey raised his hand in the air.
"Same." Becky nodded.
"And me." Stephanie said, handing Kimmy her money back.
"I vote for Poppy and DJ's idea." Warren pointed over at the Katsopolis girl and the Tanner girl.
"My vote goes to Kimmy." Steve sided with the Gibbler girl.
"Steve." DJ frowned, hurt that her boyfriend was choosing Kimmy's idea.
Steve shrugs. "What? I like that 'gluing your butt' part."
The front door then opened and Jesse walked in.
"Hey, sweetheart, you're back early." Becky went straight over to her husband. "How did it go?"
Jesse handed Becky two books of plain paper. "Here, give these to Nicky and Alex. They can color in them." Jesse then begins heading upstairs.
"I'm guessing it didn't go very well." Poppy twiddled her thumbs.
"You guessed right." Jesse confirmed, halfway up the stairs now.
"Well, what about the campaign?" DJ asked her uncle.
"You girls better find yourselves another stay-in-school poster boy." Jesse harshly replied. "I quit." Jesse then stormed upstairs.
<~~~~~~~~>
Steve, Kimmy and Warren had now gone home.
Danny, Joey, Becky, Poppy, DJ and Stephanie head upstairs into Michelle and Stephanie's bedroom where they see Jesse and Michelle talking.
"Jess, we just had a family meeting." Becky spoke up first.
"And we've decided that we're not gonna let you quit." Danny stated.
"You might hate our guts for this." Joey shrugged.
"You might kick and scream." Stephanie added on.
"You could possibly even cry." Poppy cheekily smiled. "But we ain't giving up on you. You're gonna get that diploma."
"But it's only because we love you." DJ sweetly said.
Jesse stood up. "Okay. You guys win. I'm going back to night school." Jesse accepted his families plan. Jesse then walked out the room.
The family were left dumbfounded to why Jesse agreed so easily.
"You know what it is? I think he knew that I really meant business." Danny insisted as he exited the room.
"Yeah, I wasn't taking no for an answer." Joey tried to act tough. The man then also left the girls bedroom.
"I'm glad we played hardball." Becky firmly nodded, walking out Stephanie and Michelle's room.
"We're so good, we're bad." Stephanie tutted, walking out her own bedroom.
Poppy and DJ glanced at each other, the two girls were still speechless as they just left the bedroom without saying anything.
<~~~~~~~~>
In the end, Michelle learnt how to tie her shoes.