A Penny Saved

Star witness Penny Wise has helped put her old teacher Benjamin Trask behind bars - so why does she feel like the guilty one? Instead of celebrating the verdict, she vanishes, skipping her movie night with Wooton and ignoring his messages. When Connie and Wooton trace her to Campbell College, they discover the art department has turned against her, her job is gone, and she's been quietly living out of her old blue Datsun. Then a police officer spots her at McAlister Park and brings her to the station... where Penny, ever cheerful, assumes she's under arrest for illegal parking. But the officers have something else in mind - a jailhouse celebration for the woman they call a hero. Connie insists that friends are never burdens and takes Penny into her own home, and at a long-postponed picnic overlooking Odyssey, Penny learns she may have lost a false friend, but she's gained true ones.

Found on Clanging Cymbals...and the Meaning of God's Love Album 54 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

8 of 12 0686 The Green Ring Conspiracy As the counterfeiting investigation tightens around Odyssey, Whit follows a faint signal that may finally lead him to the missing Monty - while Buck's web of lies begins to unravel at Whit's End.

9 of 12 0687 The Green Ring Conspiracy While Whit's End closes in on the truth behind the counterfeit money, Jason reveals the dangerous secret behind the Stiletto - but the criminals he's infiltrated are beginning to have doubts of their own.

10 of 12 0688 The Green Ring Conspiracy As the counterfeit investigation closes in on the carnival auction, a boy caught between two worlds must decide where his loyalty truly lies.

11 of 12 0689 The Green Ring Conspiracy As the carnival auction reaches its climax, the truth behind the Green Ring counterfeiting operation finally comes to light - but knowing who's responsible may put Odyssey's friends in the most danger yet.

12 of 12 0690 The Green Ring Conspiracy While the police chase decoy trucks, the fate of the Green Ring's counterfeit fortune - and three missing friends - comes down to a forgotten rail line and an old junkyard switch.

0691 Wooton Knows Best When two siblings compete for the single helper spot on a weekend retreat, Wooton must figure out which of them truly has what the job requires.

0692 A Penny Saved After doing the right thing at great personal cost, Penny disappears, and her friends race to find her before she loses everything.

0693 The Amazing Loser A musical scavenger hunt through Odyssey puts Barrett's teamwork - and his priorities - to the test when winning and doing the right thing pull in opposite directions.

0694 Anger Mismanagement When a classmate steals the spotlight on her friend's homecoming float project, Olivia must learn what to do with her anger before it costs her more than she realizes.

0695 Forgiving More...or Less When a school recording project goes sideways and a broken machine goes unconfessed, young Camilla discovers that forgiving others is a lot trickier than it sounds.

0696 You're Two Kind A student's offer to help a struggling classmate is tested when kindness, secrets, and hurt feelings collide over a class project.

0697 A Penny Earned When free-spirited artist Penny can't find a job in Odyssey, her friends scramble to help her find work before she's forced to move back home.

0698 Never for Nothing When Matthew questions why anyone should keep showing kindness to people who don't deserve it, his grandmother-in-town Lucia's story of a childhood friend who believed love is never wasted begins to reveal an unexpected answer.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 5 more roles

5 supporting roles

Professor Bruce Keith Ferguson College Clerk Actor Unknown Phil the Newscaster Fred Tatasciore Officer Penrose Fred Tatasciore College Student Dominic Catrambone

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Paul McCusker Writer · Director Jonathan Crowe Sound Designer Bob Hoose Producer Dave Arnold Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

Benjamin Trask is found guilty of every charge against him, including counterfeiting, conspiracy, kidnapping, and forgery. Penny has been the prosecution's star witness, but she does not join Whit, Connie, Wooton, and Polehaus when they gather at Whit's End to celebrate. The strain of testifying against a teacher she once trusted has left her upset, and she drives away alone.

Penny fails to meet Wooton for a movie that evening and does not answer the many messages he leaves. The next day, Connie and Wooton search for her at Campbell College. Professor Bruce resents Penny for testifying against Trask and says that no professor in the art department will hire her as a teaching assistant. A student explains that without the job, Penny could no longer afford her campus room and has quietly moved out.

The college registry has no forwarding address, only a description of Penny's old blue Datsun. Connie and Wooton realize that she may be in serious trouble but is too considerate to ask anyone to help her. Wooton admits that after seeing how vulnerable Penny was during the Green Ring case, he wished he could protect her from every danger. Connie gently observes that he loves her, something Wooton has not yet managed to say aloud.

Penny is living in her car and struggling even to find a legal place to park overnight. A police officer recognizes her at McAlister Park and sees that she needs help. Rather than leave her alone, he brings her to the station, where Penny mistakenly thinks she is being arrested for violating the parking rules and cheerfully asks to hear her rights.

Whit, Connie, and Wooton learn from Polehaus that Penny is at the jail. Polehaus explains that she feels guilty for helping put a former friend in prison, even though she did the right thing. The rejection at the college has strengthened her belief that she deserves to lose everything. His officers feel quite differently: they regard Penny as a hero and have filled the jail with a celebration in her honor.

Connie tells Penny that friends are never burdens and insists that she move into Connie's home. Penny gratefully accepts. Some time later, Trask receives a long prison sentence, and Penny, Connie, and Wooton finally enjoy their postponed picnic overlooking Odyssey.

Penny admits that testifying felt like betraying a friend. Trask had been like a second father to her, and she needs time to untangle the grief from the knowledge of what he did. Wooton reminds her that although she has lost one false friend, she has gained true friends who protect her, tell her the truth, and remain beside her when she needs them.