Constant squabbling between the girls prompt Mrs. Garrett to announce that the debt for wrecking the van has been paid off and they are all now free to move out and live in the dorms. However, the girls soon realize the living above the cafeteria is something they do not want to change.

Natalie is excited about a job offer to write a weekly column for a New York newspaper. The fact that the job would make her miss school as well as bring her unnecessary pressure causes her to get into an argument with her mother. During the argument, Natalie brings up the fact that she's adopted, this leads her adopted mother to give her the name of her birth mother.

Jo has become close friends with her English teacher, Gail, even inspiring Jo to think about becoming a teacher herself. However, Jo is disappointed to learn that Gail is leaving Eastland presumably for a job that pays more but the real reason she's leaving is nothing Jo ever expected.