Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off

Detention at Odyssey Middle School fills up fast when stolen cell phones mysteriously appear in students' bags - and Emily Jones, Morrie, and Suzu Rydell all swear they've been framed. When the planted phones start ringing with the principal's own number, Emily realizes someone wanted the school's best detectives locked away and the office left completely empty. Picking locks and hacking computers, the unlikely trio uncovers fake emails, a lurking Buck... and Jay, folded up inside a storage cabinet, where he's spent four hours reading Jules's lost diary. It turns out the whole tangled scheme began because Jules was too embarrassed to simply ask for her diary back. Solving the case doesn't get anyone off the hook, and while picking up trash as punishment, Emily finally tells the Rydells how much their tricks have hurt her. Their answer leaves her speechless: "We wish for you to join our team."

Found on Finding a Way Album 70 · 6 episodes

The run See every episode

2 of 2 0903 California Dreams A small-town girl chasing pop stardom in California discovers that fame's price may be higher than she bargained for.

0904 Jumping Off, Jumping In A ten-year-old daredevil's escalating stunts land him in the ER, and only Mr. Whittaker can uncover what he's really trying to prove.

0905 Auto Response When Connie's car vanishes from sleepy, trusting Odyssey, a detective's investigation stirs up old suspicions - and secrets no one wants to confess.

0906 Unrelatable When a caller accuses radio advice host Connie Kendall of being "unrelatable," her on-air quest to prove him wrong connects her with a mysterious listener whose story hits far closer to home than she ever expected.

0907 The Protector A nine-year-old convinced his protective instinct makes him a superhero goes looking for people to save - and discovers the person who really needs him is closer than he thinks.

0908 The Christmas Bells A pastor's mysterious prompting leads him to an antique shop, where a Victorian music box opens the door to the true story of heartbreak and hope behind a beloved Christmas carol.

0909 Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off When three students land in detention for phones that aren't theirs, they realize someone framed them to get the school's best detectives out of the way - and the plot is unfolding right now.

0910 If I Never Told You A surprise Christmas reunion at a snowbound lake cabin forces Penny's mother to face the long-estranged sister she never expected to see again.

0911 Kopfkino: A Hare, a Hedgehog, and a Doof A cheerful German storyteller invites listeners to make "movies in the head" with two Grimm fairy tales - one about a boastful hare challenged to a race by a slow hedgehog, and one about a count's son who can only learn the languages of animals.

0912 The Clown Hero After sneaking out to Odyssey's most legendary birthday party, a girl in a clown costume performs a small act of kindness that accidentally makes her the town's biggest mystery.

0913 Search for a Sunflower When Penny's paintings for a children's hospital fundraiser are stolen from her car, she and Connie launch their own search - and discover that finding the art is easier than deciding what it's really worth.

0914 Hurricane Perkins A well-meaning military family attends a barbecue for new friends - and somehow leaves a trail of chaos in their wake.

0915 The Revenge of Bigfoot A scout's midnight scheme to prank his skeptical friend with a fake Bigfoot nest goes sideways when something very large and very real starts stalking them through the woods.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 1 more roles

1 supporting role

Rhonda Adelaide Barbara Niles

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Bob Hoose Writer Phil Lollar Director Luke Guenot Sound Designer Nathan Hoobler Producer Dave Arnold Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

Emily Jones walks into after-school detention and apologizes to the teacher on duty, Ms. Adelaide, for snapping at her earlier - but she insists the cell phone that got her in trouble isn't hers and that she has no idea how it ended up in her bag. Ms. Adelaide has heard that excuse a lot today: her desk drawer holds several phones with no owners, and sitting nearby are Morrie and Suzu Rydell, who claim the exact same thing. Morrie announces that all three of them are being framed in a scheme that could be dangerous. Ms. Adelaide is unconvinced until Suzu recites the school secretary's phone number from memory, Ms. Adelaide dials it, and one of the mystery phones rings inside her desk. When she calls Principal Vogler's number, a second phone in the drawer rings too. Suddenly there really is, as Morrie puts it, a "phonified mystery."

Emily reasons that someone stole the phones, planted them, and then made them ring in class so all three students would land in detention - meaning someone wanted them out of the way. Ms. Adelaide, who can't leave her detention post, sends the three of them to find Principal Vogler. Emily is wary; after months of the Rydells' tricks making her look foolish, she still suspects they're behind everything. But the school office is locked up early with nobody inside, and Morrie convinces her the puzzle is too intriguing to ignore. Comparing notes on anything odd, they recall that Buck was spotted in the hallway even though he doesn't attend the school, and Suzu describes catching Jay lurking near the office, reaching toward the fire alarm while claiming, "I'm looking for a monkey," and nervously quizzing her about Connie's sister Jules and a rare signed Elvis record album.

Over Emily's objections, Suzu picks the office lock and Morrie hacks the office computer. They discover that at 3:45 - the exact moment detention began - fake emails lured Mrs. Mayes, Principal Vogler, and Vice Principal Morris (the third phone's owner) to different places around town to retrieve their "found" phones. Someone wanted the office completely empty. Realizing the plot must be happening right now, Emily has everyone hide, and moments later the lock rattles: it's Buck, picking his way in. Emily explains that the whole setup smelled of con-man timing, and though Buck has changed since coming to Odyssey, trouble still seems to find him around Jules. Then the last piece clicks for Emily: Buck isn't there to steal anything - he's there to break someone out. Suzu opens the principal's door, a muffled voice cries from the storage cabinet, and out tumbles a very cramped Jay.

When Ms. Adelaide arrives, the whole story spills out. Jules dropped her diary in the school parking lot and watched Principal Vogler pick it up, but she was too embarrassed to admit it was hers, so she offered Jay the Elvis album to sneak it back. Jay slipped into the office during the principal's bathroom break, got trapped, and spent four hours folded inside the cabinet - passing the time by reading the diary. Desperate, he texted Buck, who stole the three phones, planted them to sideline the school's best detectives, and emptied the office with the fake emails. Pressed for details, Jay declares, "I refuse to speak on the grounds that it might incinerate me," before spilling everything. Emily points out that Jules could have simply told the truth and asked for her diary back - the truth is far easier than any scheme. Solving the mystery doesn't spare anyone: breaking in and hacking still earn consequences.

The next day, while the group picks up trash in the schoolyard as punishment, Emily finally unloads on Morrie and Suzu. Their games have left her embarrassed, distrustful of Mr. Whittaker, strained with her friend Matthew, and angry all the time, even though she's been praying for God to take those feelings away. She clearly wants them gone. Instead, Morrie shares that Whit has been teaching them about God and praying for all of them, and that he calls Emily a good leader. Then the Rydells make a request she never saw coming: "We wish for you to join our team." Emily is left utterly speechless.