I don't need to say much about the School Start Future First branch. The stellar writing, acting alone from this branch makes the entire game worthwhile and stands out in the entire franchise. I would definitely pour one out for Jecka in this branch because she captures that feeling of loss and regret that anyone who has lost loved ones will also resonate on a level. This whole branch is a masterpiece, I cried a few times. The ending is underrated but takes a leaf out of Gus van Sant's Elephant: Instead of showing something abstract like rolling clouds over a blue sky over the indifference of reality over human suffering, Ms Ames explains something similar instead.

Solid although normal Class of '09 story on its own: don't drink and drive, don't abuse benadryl. The ending monologue just confirms to me that Jecka is a bad person and likely worse than Nicole because she doesn't even admit it to herself that she killed someone.

The foot fetish scenes in Home Start $200 branches definitely provoked a lot of mixed reactions because they all took different lessons from this section. This time it highlights uncomfortable truths about why we the players enjoy this franchise using the medium of foot fetishism. I believe the foot fetish scenes are layered: the most obvious layer is highlighting a growing market for sex work made more prolific through the internet with a lack of viable stable economic opportunities. On a more abstract level: it explores the inner mind of creators and how they have to drag their feet with the self-loathing and shame of being publicly associated with creating popular works fearing the day they inevitably become a victim of Rule 34. It also explores the dynamic between content creators (i.e. "foot (ho)s") and its targeted audience (i.e. "foot losers"). On one hand, creators wonder if they are enabling and unintentionally glamourising the player's worst aspects, while slowly becoming dependent on them to pay the bills. Content creators that suffer from success (not in a DJ Khaled way) often do not report their own mental health decline because society expect financially successful people to be put together or have the means to get better help. This is illustrated by Ms Ames kicking her out in the community youth counselling after learning how much money she made. Jecka's unconventional success has also alienated her from her from mainstream society: to avoid social stigma, she has to tiptoe around her experiences in shame when trying to relate or seek advice from both Ms Ames and Ari. The foot fetish branches illustrate how a purely transactional outlook without considering its negative externalities can become a progressively dehumanising path where friends betray each other or saving human lives only for the prospect of economic gain. Her success also slowly erodes Jecka's authenticity and soul, we watch her develop a phobia of men, instinctively wondering if a platonic hug costs extra, and leave heartbroken when we realise Jecka has become indifferent to the news that her favourite forever Ryan Scheckler being in town despite having the means to finally get closer to him. Is the price of success worth losing yourself over? I also think the foot fetish endings were deliberately uncomfortable to watch because we are taking Jecka's perspective: Despite how submissive or respectful or financially generous Jecka's foot losers are, it is irrelevant because the point is that no amount of money will make this transaction enjoyable for Jecka, and that Jecka is trapped by her success. So I think those people complaining that there is some kind of foot fetish conspiracy going on should touch some grass, preferably barefoot with 1 sock on. For the "Justice for Jecka" crowd feeling that Jecka lacks agency because she never gets a happy ending, and I kind of get where they are coming from: Jecka never gets a happy ending in this game while the sociopath Nicole gets a few happy endings despite being awful to everyone around her. Which I actually disagree: Firstly, Jecka is not a saint and like all human beings, she is capable of as much evil as Nicole too: like getting fellow classmates in the first game to follow Mr White and his white supremacy cult and kills Jeffery outright for not following her instructions to deface a synagogue, while the supposedly sociopathic evil Nicole is the one who gets the agency to stop the white nationalists without getting herself lynch-mobbed. Jecka also does not stand up for Nicole when the school tries to cancel Nicole over wrongful accusations of homophobia. And of course the complete indifference and deflection of blame to killing Ari in a car accident. But regardless even if Jecka is a morally upright paragon with no flaws, your strength of morality or character or providing empty platitudes with false moral posturing is insufficient in preventing bad things from happening to other people and yourself. This game is a call to action to not expect happy endings to fall on your lap, we have to start making smarter choices like Nicole to fight and protect the things we care for in order to stand a chance to get a happy ending.

Easily the worst branch in the entire Class of '09 universe the moment they step into the warehouse. Not only does it break its own conventions of realistic storytelling that players expect from this series, it doesn't even try to make an attempt to resolve the warehouse story properly. The Dan Schneider jokes are a little anachronistic to be honest. But I get it: I lived in a time when it was okay to have a foot shaped Nickelodeon logo watching reruns of All That on cable and no one cared about it until someone from that Crazy Days and Nights blog or something pointed that out, and now that my perspective is shifted, I can't re-watch those shows without cringing any longer.

I did not like the anticlimactic way Kelly was shot at the end because it was neither comedic nor meaningful, lazy and worst of all: completely unnecessary because they could have easily ended the scene there but deliberately chose to shoot her. The way Jecka was trafficked felt like a narrative table flip from a lack of ideas on how to end Kelly and Jecka's journey. I think they could have at least tried something different. For example:

• Ditch the surrealism and stick with realism. Focus on a real world affair instead of flipping the table. For example, maybe kidnap both of them to work at a Burmese scam call centre (It's a real thing, definitely a good thing to highlight how screwed up it is). Maybe Jecka has to face a dilemma to trade places with Ari or Kelly or something to take her place in the scam call centre. Something screwed up like that which is based on unreal real life.
  
• Maybe throw away the entire FYE adventure! We could also make the conflict about Emily becoming Jecka's new stepmom, crank up the weird stepmom jokes, and maybe it is so weird that Jecka can't take it any more and conspires with Nicole to plan a way to get rid of Emily together.

I suspect the poor quality of this ending is due to deadlines and lack of interest which is a shame. But strangely enough it makes me appreciate the quality of the other branches and in the other games. Or maybe I'm missing something.

Kudos to you if you actually took the time to read to this point. Now I will go off the rails with this. As explained in my review of this game, why do I think the endings should be played in a specific order? Becuase by playing the endings in this order and by reframing the Flipside as a surreal impressionist story, it makes the entire game and Jecka's behaviour and Nicole's behaviour makes more sense with this new context. So I propose my non-canon interpretation of the story of Flipside:

Flipside takes place after Nicole's "Books Puzzles and Pawns" ending in the first game:

• Jecka meets Nicole for the first time after meeting Crispin, and either Jeffery or Kylar, and become friends
  
• Both the Gym and Photography class routes happen (as Jecka explains in the intro). Both Nicole and Jecka become closer friends from this shared confrontations.

• Jecka and Nicole smokes in the History classroom. Note that this is not the Civics classroom like in the previous game, but the teacher is still Mr Katz.
  
• Jecka rebuffs Nicole and Crispin. Note that Crispin and Nicole seem to be ok with each other unlike in the previous 2 games, and Jecka hates Crispin.

• Because of the events in Class of 09, Jecka's grades slip
  
• Jecka lies that she likes Mr Katz to get out of trouble and to exchange for a better history grade so she can go to college
  
• Jecka chooses Future First in reality. Jecka and Nicole's relationship is strained.
  
• Jecka goes on a date with Mr Katz in Olive Garden. (Remember this Olive Garden, and the emotions Jecka feels before and after this.)
  
• Jecka and Mr Katz continue their arrangement for the 2nd time
  
• Nicole embarks on her hostage friendships arc based on her Mom's advice to be nice to everyone and even started talking to Jeffery, but I also think she did that because of Jecka telling Nicole to find normal friends after selecting the Future First choice.
  
• Mr Katz takes Jecka to Georgetown. Mr Katz becomes scarier and Jecka becomes afraid of rejecting Mr Katz.
  
• Jecka sees Ms Ames the therapist. She learns the relationship is abusive while keeping mum over who she is dating. Ms Ames teach Jecka coping mechanisms, and says something important: "More time and activities with your friends can serve as a temporary coping mechanism". Jecka agrees. This moment is very important. It explains a lot of the insanity that takes place in Class of '09.
  
• Nicole admits to the counsellor that Jecka is "like okay but (she's) not going out of (her) way to hang out with her".

• Both Nicole and Jecka meet Mr Lorre ("the weird guy that hangs out in front of our school") who sells them cigarettes. Both of them are convinced he is not a teacher. This is an important inconsistency with the Re-Up because he is established as an art teacher teaching seniors. Jecka begs Nicole to stay longer because she realises she needs her to cope, but Nicole does not understand Jecka's emotional needs, and is upset that Nicole chooses to go visit her hostage friendship.
  
• Nicole goes to the diner with Jeffery as he talks about the Doki Daisuke anime. We know this because she is wearing the same shirt.
  
• Mr Katz becomes more paranoid which scares Jecka even more
  
• Nicole goes to a concert with Crispin. She bumps into Coach Colby and rejects him. It is implied that Coach Colby later spreads a rumour about Nicole that she slept with everyone in school among the lacrosse team.
  
• Jecka sees Ms Ames more often now. She makes a mistake and reveals that she is dating Mr Katz, and breaks down. She begs Ms Ames not to tell anyone because she wants the grade. And leaves the therapy room.
  
• She runs out of the class and bumps into Nicole. She lashes out at Nicole in anger to choose her or her hostage friendships.
  
• Nicole is ambushed by her hostage friendships who confronts her on sleeping with everyone and leading them on. She either runs to the counsellor or her mom. It does not matter. "Books Puzzles and Pawns" happen.
  
• Jecka is ambushed by Ms Ames who is accompanied by a cop to Jecka's horror. Jecka is upset by Ms Ames supposed betrayal of confidence and runs away
  
• Jecka runs to Nicole's house and discovers that Nicole has hung herself. VERY IMPORTANT: When Jecka opens the door, we get a custom artwork: Pay very close attention to the composition of Jecka and Nicole. Compare it with the scene where Jecka walks into her Dad's bedroom with Nicole. Note how both Jecka and Nicole are positioned in the same position. This reflects the emotional devastation in equal measure at both moments.
  
• She reads Nicole's suicide note about "Books Puzzles and Pawns" and learns that Nicole was under a lot of pressure to be nice to everyone

• Jecka continues to see Ms Ames. Ms Ames talks about how life moves on and Jecka should learn to move on and keep living otherwise she will get left behind by the world. Jecka comes to the realisation that everyone has moved on and is upset that no one cares that Nicole is gone. The therapist tries to reassure her that Jecka will eventually move on, but Jecka takes no comfort in the fact that even Jecka will move on someday. Note this is the only ending without a monologue.

From this point on is unknown because it is purely a projection on my part.

• After graduating, we cue in Jecka's intro monologue as she introduces "Flip Side": an alternative universe Jecka created where Nicole can live a substitute school life fearlessly. Like Atonement's (2007) Briony Tallis, Jecka decides to rewrite an alternate history where Nicole is alive and graduated. Why does Jecka do it? Possibly applying Ms Ames's coping strategies, or as a way to use storytelling to atone for her own guilt of abandoning Nicole.
  
• So yeah except for the School Start: Future First branch, I believe that all the events that happen in Flip Side are a figment of Jecka's imagination twisting real people and real experiences in school with Nicole being inserted into them as if to give Nicole an alternate happy ending where she graduated and is actually still best friends with Jecka in some way.
  
• Notice that in other branches, there is a dreamlike almost absurd quality and a lingering sadness that you can't place. In a way, most players come from the first two games and are used to Nicole being the protagonist. But this sudden change to Jecka kind of leaves a Nicole shaped hole in your heart and this emptiness felt by the player is also felt by Jecka as she creates these alternate stories where Nicole is alive.
  
• School Start Friends First explores Jecka choosing to go with Nicole, starting with Ari bumping into both of them, calling them lazy before going to work for Domino's. Jecka later crashes and kills Ari in the process but she seemed happy and completely glazes over the fact and in fact gets off scot free like she did the right thing. In this world, Ari in a Domino's uniform is Jecka's desire to prioritise her future and selling out her friends and not actually Ari, likely a reference from Nicole's suicide note "a pizza delivery boy with no career prospects". The fact that Jecka drinks and drives, dyes her hair black and works at Hot Topic, is Jecka embracing life and prioritising Nicole over her future. So that is why Ari's death means nothing to her. And why Ron Stumpford is portrayed as only caring about Ari's replacement and not her death. This story is Jecka's projection of her resentment of choosing her future and killing Ari with Nicole in the passenger seat is a kind of emotional catharsis to get herself to admit she was wrong.
  
• Home Start $200 Share the Trauma is Jecka's reimagining of the decision not taken, where Jecka chooses Nicole, we explore going all the way partners in crime with Nicole. Even Jeffery's Mom texts Jecka to say it's okay and she's happy that Jeffery is dead. In this story, especially reading the unhinged monologue, Jeffery represents Mr Katz, and the $800 represents the AP History grade in this case. Jecka appreciates Nicole for trying to save Jecka's life, because Nicole did warn her about dating Mr Katz, but Jecka ignored Nicole's advice. So this monologue is about Jecka admitting that she was wrong and Nicole was right that it was not worth dating Mr Katz, and coming to terms with the uncomfortable reality that Nicole's death saved her from Mr Katz.
  
• Home Start $200 Don't Split The Revenue is Jecka's reimagining of choosing to date Mr Katz over going to the concert with Nicole. Nicole's outburst is a reflection of Jecka's self loathing and guilt punishing her. In Jecka's universe, Ari loves Jecka (even though we know Ari does not like Jecka at all from Re-Up) because this is Jecka's fantasy. Ms Ames therapy is a funhouse twisting of Jecka's therapy session. The foot loser ambush scene in front of her house mirrors Nicole being ambushed by her hostage friendships.
  
• Followed by the scene where Nicole is doing footsie with Jecka's Dad, in an artwork which has the same composition when Jecka hung herself. And it is here, I think Nicole is not real but a metaphor of her guilt of not being there for her friend to notice the warning signs that Nicole is suicidal (Side note: Remember when Nicole endlessly jokes about taking her own life but not taking it seriously and even in the first game joked suggestively that Nicole should kill herself to avoid a concert - And we know that Nicole could have taken her seriously at that point).
  
• When Nicole taunts her, it is here that Nicole represents Jecka's shadow self taunting her. This shadow self is implied by the Hatman in another scene. When Jecka asks how Hatman would kill her, he replies, "Well, I'm made of shadows so I'd have to go into your brain and get you to kill yourself." It is at this moment that the realisation has finally hit Jecka that she chose her future over her friends. So Jecka snaps and swallows a large amount of pills, then gives a monologue about perspective, and observes that her experience with media misrepresents or simplifies the experience of sex workers. Because she was a "dumb stupid foot (ho)" or as phantom Nicole taunts "I needed the money, wasn't that your excuse". Jecka derogatorily insults herself as a "foot (ho)" because she never forgave herself for dating Mr Katz to pass history to get into college which led to a falling out between Nicole and Jecka, leading to Nicole's suicide.
  
• Home Start Normal has a terrible FYE Warehouse ending. The odd way the councillor talks (did they change voice actors?), strange cryptic clues about Crystal City, a kind of treasure hunt. It is only when Kelly contemplates fitting her manager tag onto the warehouse door, that I suddenly have a strong flashback to Betty and Rita in Mulholland Drive figuring out Rita's identity. So I think the absurdity of this branch is a giant clue that we have been in Jecka's dreamscape this whole time. Which is why Kelly's death is emotionally indifferent and Jecka gets trafficked. And Jecka is content with her fate as long as she hopes that Nicole "doesn't get a job at FYE otherwise this could happen to her too". I can only rationalise that the terrible FYE ending is another coping mechanism Jecka develops, but it is consistent with Jecka's overarching guilt leading to punish herself in this story as a victim of human trafficking but still only thinking about Nicole and hoping Nicole never ending up in FYE.

Feel free to ignore this section. It is more of brainstorming as I unsuccessfully attempt to bring the franchise together, but the arguments aren't strong enough.

Both Jecka and Nicole hate Olive Garden, stating something about bread sticks. But I think Nicole as Jecka's subconscious wants Jeffery to throw a rock into Olive Garden because of what Olive Garden represents. Notice they visit Olive Garden on a Friday twice in this game: once during the Home Start $200 Share The Trauma branch, and once in reality in the School Start Future First branch, Jecka goes with Mr Katz to Olive Garden on a Friday after making the choice. So in Jecka's mind, Jecka and phantom Nicole (Jecka's subconscious) detests the choosing to go into Olive Garden on a Friday, which she can only express in her imagined Flip Side alternate reality with Nicole. Which is why Jecka leaves in a hurry without going into Olive Garden or even making a quip, almost as if Jecka is scared of something. Even though we know Jecka is often unafraid in the craziest of situations. Why does Jecka run? Because the sight of Nicole and Jeffery mommy dynamic is a funhouse mirror of the weird daddy dynamic between her and Mr Katz in Olive Garden, and I propose that this scene has brought back unpleasant memories of the real life trauma faced by Jecka that she makes an excuse and exits the scene of her own coping strategy.

I think trauma is the reason why in Re-Up, we never see Jecka appear in scenes with Mr Katz the Civics Teacher because of her real life history with Mr Katz the History Teacher. Jecka also has the means to drive Nicole to PG County but does not do so: not because she is worried about getting carjacked, but because trauma prevents Jecka from letting her self-insert appear in a scene next to Mr Katz. With this new context, I find "I'm not going to let you guilt trip me into driving to PG County, Nicole!" has a new interpretation, that this guilt isn't a response to Nicole's racism accusation, but by following this dream logic, it is a knee jerk reaction to Jecka being unable to face her past yet. So the real reason self-insert Jecka does not drive phantom Nicole to PG County is because of her real life trauma of Jecka with meeting Mr Katz the Civics teacher character. But we do know what happens to Mr Katz the Civics teacher: and he arguably gets the worst ending out of all the teachers because he is not only a desperate crack addict but also drives himself to his death in a car accident.

In the first two games, the only notable contacts are "Jecka", a misspelled "Arri (gay one)" and "911". While in Flip Side, it's "nicole". In the first game, we receive messages from anonymous numbers as if Nicole has committed suicide and her classmates text her on occasion like how a person trauma-dumps when visiting a grave.

Nicole is almost always wearing clothing referencing death, such as the diamond with the crossbones blue tank top, the "suicidal pregnancies" top, and of course her famous ghost being sucked into a wormhole top. There is a consistent theme here: Initially I pegged it to the same reason as to why Nicole is wearing a pair of cookie monster coloured sneakers in the brilliant YouTube videos because she is haunted by her Dad's suicide. But it could also be a foreshadowing of Nicole's true fate, which is the hostage friendships ending.

I could go further and apply the same dreamlike surreal logic for the first 2 games too but it may be stretching it too much. But then again: But it could also be a clue that Nicole is never alive for most of the events of the three games (except for the hostage friendships branch). The other branches could have also been Jecka's own school experiences with Jecka superimposing a phantom Nicole so she can take revenge on everyone in her life at home and in school.

Nicole's supposed sociopathy is flanderised by Jecka, and part of Nicole's Mary Sue character is formed from Jecka's wish fulfilment to atone for Nicole as well as being the kind of "broke b----h with no limits" that Jecka secretly aspires to be despite being actually preppy but wishes hard that she "doesn't give a f--k". And this is also evident from the "Nice Spongebob Impression" scene in Flip Side which takes place in reality, where Jecka complains that Nicole "used to love messing with people" and it "feels like (Jecka) is doing all the work", not to mention Jecka is the one who actually throws the stick so Crispin actually falls. This scene is important in highlighting that the real Nicole is likely more, uh, mild mild mild (sorry couldn't resist) than it actually seems.

This is why Nicole gets crazier and more sociopathic as time goes on. We even see this take a toll on Jecka in the scene where she complains to Nicole "why are our lives so eventful", a kind of meta scene commenting on the crazy situations they both encounter is a result of Jecka taking the sociopath Mary-Sue Nicole to its logical conclusion: that she eventually betrays her own principles of "only doing it to men" and eventually turns on Ari, and then on Jecka in Flip Side when Jeffery dies or Nicole play footsie with her father.

I think the foot endings represent Jecka reaching the limit of her coping strategies and an emotional turning point for Jecka to face reality that Nicole is dead and her failure to be there for her friend when she needs, with her subconscious morphing into Nicole taunting her. This is why I think the composition when Nicole plays footsie with her Dad in an artwork is almost similar to Jecka walking in to Nicole hanging herself, because Jecka is unable to avoid facing her past and her coping strategy fails, leading her to prefer to overdose on pills. (This really feels like Diane's ending from Mulholland Drive)

Apart from Nicole, other characters in the franchise dies in the series (excluding Nicole's dad).

Following the logic that most of the events in Class of '09 and all of the events in Re-Up are part of Jecka's storytelling coping strategy, it is appropriate that Mr Katz and her Mom dies in the first 2 games, and Jecka dies in the third.

Also, Mr Katz not only is a crack addict but drives himself into a car accident.

I believe Jecka is trying to deliver poetic justice in her alternate reality for Nicole because in Jecka's mind, all three of them are responsible for causing Nicole's suicide.

Other characters like Ari, Emily, Kylar and Jeffery dies too. Or everyone in the whole school gets burnt down ending. So yeah, I think this is a dead end.

Sorry for the ramble but I thought this is the best place to put my ideas about what really happened in the franchise. This is a live document so it will keep changing over time.

I'll end this ramble with one scene from Re-Up:

Remember the scene when the councillor sexually harasses a smoking Jecka in a scene, Nicole steps in and gets herself in trouble with the councillor by bullying Jeffery so Jecka can smoke in peace without the councillor bothering her. Jecka tells Nicole that it is "the nicest thing" anyone has ever done for her. To which Nicole replies, "That's sad." And knowing what happens in the Flip Side, I find that really comforting, like Nicole acknowledging the alternate realities Jecka has created to keep her alive.