After being taken advantage of by the other students, Mikey decides to start a rumor about himself.
Tropes:
- An Aesop:
- There's no such thing as a harmless rumor or a rumor that stays small for long. Even when Mikey tries to start a small one to make himself more intimidating, he's shocked to learn that the rumor grew into something entirely else.
- If you want people to listen to you, speak up.
- Everybody Has Standards: Mikey's friends do want to find the kid who started the rumor about Mikey, but then the gang threatens to actually push Randall into the girl's bathroom if he doesn't spill. Mikey calls them out on how they're just validating the rumor about him in the first place, making them no better than his rumor-self.
- Pet the Dog: When Randall explains to the gang about how the rumor started as he received a phone call from the person who created it, the gang refuses to accept this and attempts to punish Randall by putting him into the girls' bathroom. However, Mikey stops his friends from doing so while telling Randall that he's free to go. Grateful of this, Randall happily runs off to disprove the rumor by admitting to everyone that Mikey is a nice person.
- The Unmasking: A verbal variation. When the Recess Gang start to realize he was the one that started the rumor, Mikey uses his deep baritone singing voice to soberly confirm their guess is correct.
- Wham Line: "I started the rumor!!" Mikey uses his baritone singing voice to let his friends know he was the "man" on the phone who started the rumor and passed it on to Randall.
