When Kyle is dictating a complaint letter for Scrivener Elf to write down, Fanboy and Chum Chum bounce by on metal springs. They tell him they're getting ready for spring break. In an effort to get Kyle to join in the fun, they bounce him through the atmosphere with them. But by the time they get back, they're late to class, so they have Scrivener Elf write them an excuse note. When Mr. Mufflin accepts it, the boys are excited, and when it's time to hand in homework they don't have, they get another excuse note made.
This escalates into excuse notes for everything from getting extra food from the cafeteria to having Mr. Mufflin wrestle a bear...until Scrivener Elf is down to his last note and takes off. After Kyle tries and fails repeatedly to conjure more notes, he disguises his own handwriting and uses the last note to excuse himself, Fanboy, and Chum Chum from all of school. But when Fanboy tries to dry the ink on the note with an electric fan, the note ends up in the fan and getting shredded.
Mr. Mufflin still accepts the note after it's taped together, but the poor repair job on it leads him to believe that it is his student "Fankylechum" being excused. Now that Fanboy, Chum Chum, and Kyle have no excuse note for themselves, Kyle tries to lay blame on Fanboy and Chum Chum, saying that they forced him into the excuse note fiasco. He lets it slip that the notes were faked, and Mr. Mufflin then makes the three of them do the work they had gotten out of. The boys then find themselves stuck in class during spring break, while the other kids bounce on springs outside.
Tropes:
- All for Nothing: After Kyle accidentally revealed the fake notes, Mr. Mufflin realizes that Fanboy, Chum Chum, and Kyle had been making up excuses for nothing.
- All There in the Script: The French teacher is named "Madame LaVache", according to the credits.
- An Aesop: Don’t make up excuses to get out of work if you fail to finish it. It’s important to stay on task.
- Artistic License: The three boys spring so hard they bounce into outer space, then drop right back down. They shouldn’t have done this, as there’s no gravity in space where it’s impossible to fall.
- Batman Can Breathe in Space: All three boys, for some reason, don't suffocate from the lack of oxygen when bouncing into space. They also easily drop back down to Earth, which is completely impossible as there's no gravity.
- Bittersweet Ending: Sure, the gang miss out on Spring Break but they did get heaven-knows-how-long earlier than everyone else.
- Comically Missing the Point:Kyle: Why don't you bounce yourselves into a room with a ceiling fan? My elf and I have a note to write.
Chum Chum: Writing before school?!
Fanboy: That sounds like work! - Does This Remind You of Anything?: The boys try to get excused from all school forever...in other words, they plan to get expelled.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!:Kyle: The altitude is making my ears ring!
Fanboy: No, silly! That's the school late bell.
All 3: THE LATE BELL?!?!? WE'RE GONNA BE LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE!!!!!!!!!!!! - Fat Idiot: ...Really, Mr. Mufflin, did you believe every single crock of bulldoink these guys shoved down your throat throughout this episode?
- Forgot About His Powers: Kyle should've just cloned the only note left before writing it, or magically repair it himself when it got ripped up.
- Holding Hands: After successfully tricking Mr. Mufflin, Fanboy and Kyle momentarily hold each other's hands as they talk. When they go silent, they keep holding hands and smiling for a few seconds before they look down and notice, to which they pull away embarrassingly.
- It Began with a Twist of Fate: The episode basically happens because the titular duo bounce Kyle into space with him, right before the bell rings.
- Laser-Guided Karma: All three boys are hit with this hard in the ending. After admitting the notes were fake (technically real note with fake excuses), Mr. Mufflin punishes them into making up everything they got excused from, and they have to miss spring break to do so.
- Mondegreen Gag: Kyle tries to conjure more notes, but accidentally summons n-sounding objects instead, such as newts, gnats, net traps, and an army of knights.
- Oh, Crap!: The trio's reactions to being late and at the end where their plans collapse when Kyle let it slip that all the notes they wrote were fake.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: For the first time, Kyle drops his cynical attitude and acts just as funny as the boys.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Mr. Mufflin gets these when he reads Fanboy's, Chum Chum's, and Kyle's sappy excuse notes because they were "saving kittens in an avalanche" or something similar.
- Real After All: It turns out the "Fan-Kyle-Chum" in the letter is an actual student.
- Running Gag: Every time Kyle tries to conjure more notes, he winds up conjuring other "n"-sounding things instead.
- Time-Passes Montage: The exterior shot of the Fanlair transitioning from day to night to sunrise, complete with the smoke from Kyle's magic causing the roof to spring up.
- The Un-Smile: Seen on Kyle as he and the titular duo are falling back to earth.
- Visual Pun: The kids are preparing for "spring break", which involves doing nothing except bouncing everywhere on foot springs.
- Zany Scheme: The titular boys and the grumpy Child Mage coming up with false excuses to get out of almost anything.
