Party of Five (1994–2000): Season 3, Episode 16 - I Declare - full transcript

[soft R&B music playing
on radio]

A little too retro, right?

A little.

[music stops]

Who needs music when you have
all this nature?

Right. Nature.

[crickets chirping]

Boy, this is, uh, weird, huh?

What, this?

It's not weird.

It's fine. We're fine.



Charlie, come on,
it's beautiful here,
but let's face it.

The only reason we're here
is because you thought

every other place
was either too romantic
or not romantic enough.

I mean, are you sure
we wanna be here?

Of course we do.

I mean, I think.

'Cause if you aren't,
I understand.

You just came off
this giant relationship.

Well, it is a little weird
to be starting something
up again.

If it feels a little strange,
then we'll just--

We'll take it slow.

Okay, good.

Okay. Slow.

How slow is slow?



I don't know.

Is this okay?

Yeah.

How about this?

Uh-huh.

And this?

We breaking any
posted limits?

[chuckles]

[theme song playing]

♪ Everybody wants to live ♪

♪ Like they wanna live ♪

♪ And everybody wants to love ♪

♪ Like they wanna love ♪

♪ Everybody wants to be ♪

♪ Closer to free ♪

♪ Closer to free ♪

[Claudia] Ross, you're
such a cool dad.

Tessy in her
Christmas dress.

Tessy doing
her Annie Lennox.

Hmm...

Tessy in the tub.

She's gonna kill me
for that some day.

But luckily, Mr. Bubbles'
strategically placed.

This one's for the fridge.
Can I get a copy?

Sure. I got two-fers.

Oh.

Look at this. Who's--

Wait a minute.
That's Mr. Archer.

-You know him?
-Duh.

He teaches 9th grade English.
Why are you--

Well, actually,
I was gonna tell you.

-Paul and I are--
-You and Mr. Archer?

You guys, you're like a thing?

Look at you. You are.

I can't believe--
How did you guys meet?

In the produce section.

He stopped to talk to Tess.

We started talking arugula.
Next thing I know, we're
having coffee.

Well, is it serious?

Kind of.
I mean, it might be.

We've only been seeing each
other for a couple months so...

A couple of months
and you didn't even tell me?

Well, I don't know. I'm just--
I'm not pushing this.

It's been a while for me.
So I'm taking it kind of slow.

He is cute, though, isn't he?

Man, look at you.

You got it bad.

How about this?

"Freshman wrestler
Bailey Salinger

"made San Francisco State
history twice last week

"when he won
a the Big 6 match

and qualified for the statewide
all-star tournament."

You've been busy. Yeah.

So you're a wrestling fan?

Well, sort of.
I wrestled in high school.

No kidding. I bet you were good.

Well, not good enough to make
the college team unfortunately.

Big disappointment.

Because in those days,
all I was really interested in

was kicking butt
on the wrestling team,

chasing everything in a skirt,
drinking all the beer I could,

and doing as little homework
as humanly possible.

You know, there are so few
of you guys who really
get what it's like.

Did you know that students
on academic probation

are not allowed to participate
in interschool sports?

I guess I've heard that, yeah.

You're currently failing
this course, Bailey.

If you don't get at least
a B-plus on Friday's paper

your midterm average
will be a D,

and that automatically
places you on probation.

A B-plus?

In, in Comparative
Modern Poetry? That's--

College is about choices,
Bailey.

I mean,
something's gotta give.

Either the wrestling
or the partying
or the grades.

My God,
I had no idea because--

'Cause you're--
You're absolutely right.
Something has to give.

And I know what it is.

Good.

I gotta cut back
on the partying,

and I gotta spend more time
in the books.

I gotta make a solemn
promise to myself.

-I gotta say--
-Would you mind
saying it later

because I've got some
people waiting outside.

Yeah. Thanks.

[girl] Wow.

Good column.

I love this one to
"Confused at 14."

You don't think it's too
After School Special?

Are you kidding?

You're not the problem.

It's cool the way
you turned it around.

I wouldn't have a clue
what to say to him.

Well, see, yeah. The problem
isn't that he thinks he's gay.

It's just that he doesn't have
anybody to talk to about it.

Well, it's great.
But, you know, everyone's gonna be asking
about the teacher.

The teacher...

"People we all know
and respect.

"Family, friends,

even one of Whitman's
most popular teachers."

But that's, I mean, I'm just
saying that he's not alone.

I mean, who cares
who the teacher is?

Okay, Claud, I've got
five bucks riding on this.

I say it's Banks.

-What?
-No way. Miss Rausch.

I mean, the haircut.
Please, dead giveaway.

-What'd I tell you?
-I know. But Banks
talks funny.

-And he's popular.
-Did you guys--

I mean, did you even
read my column?

No Claud, we just looked
at he pictures. Now,
come on, who is it?

But, I mean, it's not even
about that. Okay?

It's about being honest
with yourself.

Hey, what about Patterson?

Come on, guys,
will you just cut it out?

I mean, what's the big deal?
It's Mr. Archer. Okay?

What?

[door opens]

-She's coming.
-Here she is, here she is.

Hey.

What are you guys--

It came, Jule.

And it's thick.

Too thick to hold up
to the light.

So you're
gonna have to open it
and end the suspense.

-Congratulations.
-[all laugh]

Hold on for a minute there,
buddy. Go on.

Okay.

[all] Well?

Um, "Dear Miss Salinger,

we are pleased to welcome you
into Stanford's class of 2001."

-Yes!
-I knew it!

I knew it. I knew it.
I knew you would get in.

Whoa.

-Congratulations.
-Thank you.

-Now?
-Now.

Congratulations.

-To Julia.
-To Julia.

Oh, come on, you guys.
Please don't.

Why not? This is an occasion.

Here's to knowing what you want,
going for it--

And generally kicking ass.

Three more sips, and then
you're switching over to soda.

Here. She can have mine.

You're not toasting?

I'm toasting,
but I'm not drinking.

As a matter of fact,
you are all my witnesses.

As of 4:35,

I am swearing off
all forms of partying

until I write
10 pages on a poem
about a guy named...

Prudence?

Prufish?
Help me out here, Jule.

The Love Song
of J. Alfred Prufrock.

See, that's why you
got into Stanford.

You probably even
read it for fun.

[Claudia]
And Stanford isn't far away
either, which is great,

because maybe
I could come visit,

-you know, spend a weekend?
-Yeah.

It might be fun
to go down there and--
And see some games.

The teams
aren't half-bad.

I hear Palo Alto's
a really cool town too.

I mean, if your mom
and sister go,

does that mean
you have a better
chance of getting in?

[Bailey] Maybe.

[chattering]

[rock music playing]

Callie.

Cal, hey,
what the hell is going on here?

I told you I was having
some people over.

This isn't some people.
This is all of them.

Look, just chill,
Bailey. Okay?

Drink your beer
and you know--

-This isn't my beer.
-Yeah. Okay.

I gotta work, Callie.

I got a really important paper
I have to write.

-What? Now?
-Yes, now.

It's due on Friday, and it has
to be a B-plus paper.

Well, so just write it first
thing in the morning, okay?

Just have a beer
and relax.

No. No beer.
I have a beer,

and then it's, "What the hell,
I'll have another." And then--

Then it's, "Hey, let's play
a drinking game."

All of a sudden,
I'm on academic probation.

So, what am I supposed to do?
Kick all these people out?

Do you want me do it?
Do you want me to do it?

-It would be my pleasure.
-No, no, no.

It's my place, my lease,
my party. Okay?

Hey,
I paid for this room.

All right.
I'll tell you what.

I'll give you an upgrade.
Do your work in my room.

-How am I--
-Best offer you're gonna get.

Wait. Wait. Hold on.

We gotta--
Wait. I think--

I think we're getting a little,
you know, speedy.

You're right. You're right.

And speedy is bad because

why exactly?

You-- You know, we--
We talked.

-But that was forever ago.
-No.

Actually,
that was last night.

And if we--
If we go down this road,

I mean, pretty soon
we're gonna be
screening our calls

because we're afraid
things are getting
too intense,

and then we're gonna start
wondering if maybe

we did something wrong,
and then before we know it,

we're not gonna be sure
if the other one likes us.

Wait. Aren't I the one
that's supposed to wonder
what all this means tomorrow?

Grace, believe me,
I hate saying this.

I really do.

But this--
Things like this,

can't-wait,
gotta-have-it-now sex, I--

It always gets me into trouble.

And I really don't want
anything to mess this up.

So when did you get so sensible
and forward-thinking?

Actually, it was pretty recent.

Yeah. Just my luck.

I get the brand new model
with the automatic seat belts.

[school bell ringing]

[chatter]

[mouths indistinctly]

Bye.

What? Really?

Yeah. "Dear Miss Reeves,
we regret to inform you--"

God, Sarah,
I was sure you'd--

I mean,
they've got to be idiots.

Well, obviously not. I mean,
they picked you, right?

God, that is so great, Jule.
You must be, like, floating.

Well, yeah, I guess.

Okay. Let's go back
and try that again,

maybe this time
with some feeling.

Well, it's not a big deal.

I mean, the guy
who read my application

probably just saw
that I was an alumni brat,

or thought I was somehow
related to J.D.,

or got up on the right side
of bed that day.

You know, it's just luck.

That's all it is.

You don't have to do this,
Julia.

Do what?

You know,
try to make me feel better.
You deserve to get in.

And better one of us
than none of us, right?

Besides, you are gonna have
an incredible time there.

I guess. Yeah.

[knocking on door]

Coming.

Could somebody tell me,
'cause I'm dying to know,

was there anybody
in San Francisco

who was not in this
apartment last night?

Callie!

Talk to her.

Oh, my God.
Mr. Burns, I am so sorry.

People just kept
just showing up.

And-- And I tried
to keep them out but--

Look, maybe you think,
"Why does he rent
to college kids

"if he can't take
a few parties in his units?

'Cause everyone knows
that's what college kids do."

-Not all of 'em.
-They party and they party,

and four years later,
some egghead in a cape says,

"Congratulations.
You drank all the beer.

Now, here's a sheepskin
and get a life."

And, yeah, I knew all that
before I gave you the place.

But people have their limits,
and you found mine.

So you're done.

End of the month,
you're moving out.

What?

No, no, no.
You can't do that.

I don't have time to deal
with this now.

-I gotta finish this paper.
-No.

Okay. You can't force us out.

You tried that before,
but we have a lease.

Okay? We have rights.

But-- But more importantly
than that,

we have a real desire
to work this out.

Save the bullbrown
for your term paper, slick.

Your words just bounce
right off me.

Boink. Boink. Boink.

Start looking for a new place
for your keg.

February 1, you're out.

[doorbell buzzing]

-Hey.
-Hi.

I'll get dressed in a sec.

Okay.

Is that what
you're wearing?

No. I just came
from the restaurant.
I brought some old stuff.

Well, you might wanna change
now 'cause everything

at the community center's
covered in wet paint.

Yeah. Good idea.

[sighs]

What's the big deal?
I mean, they asked and I told.

It's junior high, Ross.
It's not the military.

Look, it's a big deal
to Paul. Okay?

He didn't want to bring
his personal life into his job,

and he didn't give you
permission to do it for him.

How was I supposed to know that?

I mean, you didn't tell me
it was a secret.

That's because it never occurred
to me that you'd print it
in the damn newspaper.

I didn't even use his name.

I know. And what he's going
through is hard, but
that still doesn't mean--

I was just trying to tell him
that he's not alone and--

And I thought that--
That Mr. Archer--

He would feel like
this really positive example.

But, obviously I was wrong.

Obviously, you know,
what I should've told him

is he'd be better off lying
for the rest of his life.

Claudia,
that is not what I'm saying.

Isn't that what he's doing?

I mean, isn't that the example
Mr. Archer is setting?

You know, if you're gay,
you better not tell anybody.

No. It's not that simple.

And if it's okay for him
to lie about who he is,

doesn't that mean
he's lying about you too?

Are you--
Are you kidding me?

This is great.
This is--

Why do you look like
you're about to throw up?

I don't know.

Ugh!

I don't know.
I keep reading it

and trying to feel great
about it,

but every time I do,
my stomach--

Wait. This is something
you want.

Really?

When did I decide that?

I mean, when did I weigh
my options and say,

"Yes, college"?

Never.

Never. It was always assumed
by everyone.

My family, my teachers, me.

Okay. Come here.

Maybe you need
to decide that.

Think it through.

I'm trying.

I keep telling myself that
this is a great opportunity,

but for what?

You know, I--
For proving yet again
that I'm a good student?

I know that. It's the one thing
I do know about myself.

But so what?

I mean, it's not like
it means anything.

How you do in school
is not who you are.

So... You don't wanna go?

Hey,

it's okay to say that you've
had it with school.

[sighs]

I think--

I think I've had it with school.

I think I don't wanna go.

Any warmer in here?

No.

Hey, we're still here,
aren't we?

He knows he can't
kick us out.

Oh, no. No.
'Cause we have our rights,

like the right to have
our heat turned off

so he can chuck
our frozen corpses
and rent this place to nuns.

So how's the paper coming?

Hmm, let's see.
The library's closed

so I have to study here where
my brain is, like, frozen.

And if I pick up the pen
to try and write, I run the risk
of losing fingers.

You're funny when
you're afraid for your life.

Is that supposed to cheer me up?

Because it doesn't.

Look,
why are we still fighting? Because I think we're both
on the same side here.

Mmm.

Boy, it's too bad you can't have
a little brandy to warm up
because it actually works.

Yeah. It's too bad because
it's out of the question.

All I have is tonight
and tomorrow.
That's five pages a day.

And considering
I don't even
have an outline yet.

Not that five pages a day
would be all that hard.

Well, what if I just
poured you a little sip,

you know, not enough to hurt
your concentration?

And all I really need to get
done tonight is the outline.

Then tomorrow,

I just write a page
every two or three hours.

Yeah.
You make a good argument.

Just enough to warm me up.

No more.

Am I even gonna feel this?

Oh.

There you go.

Bottoms up.

[sighs]

My head.

[pipes rumbling]

Callie!

Callie!

Damn landlord.

Quick.

[mumbling indistinctly]

[door opens]

Hey. Thirsty?

I got it covered. Thanks.

What's all that?

Law books. I'm drafting a letter
to the landlord from hell.

I thought I'd do it over lunch.
You wanna come?

I had three days to write
this paper, Callie.

Then I had two.
And now I have one.

I am a dead man.

Why don't you just
break it down into steps. Okay?

Like, say, uh, you have
to finish the outline by 2:00,

you got a good 10 hours
to write it, right?

That's writing a page
every hour,

or a line a minute
or a letter a second.

-Whoa, Bailey--
-Don't "whoa" me, Callie.

I don't have time.
I'm already three words behind.

All right. Look, would it make
it any easier if I helped?

You help? You help?

I love that idea. How?

Have you just been
standing there?

No. Just for a second.

So, going to meet Grace?

Yeah. Food pickups.

That's great.

I mean, helping out.

You know, I-I'd really like
to do more of that.

More what?

Do you see my belt?

Uh, on the chair.

I don't know.
Um, volunteer stuff.

Non-academic stuff.
Maybe work with kids.

I mean, there are so many things
that I'm interested in

that I've never
had a chance to,
uh, um...

It's just that my whole life
is pretty much about school.

Well, you're almost done, right?

Why don't you take
some time for yourself?

Do what you want.

Charlie, that is great
that you said that,

'cause that's exactly
what I was thinking,

you know, take time off.

Keys. Keys.

Yeah. Why not? I mean, 'cause
September's gonna be here
before you know it.

Y-yeah. Well, actually,
I was kind of thinking--

I remember what that was like
right before college.

That was a great couple months.

You know, I think you should
take the time off,

'cause this is it, Jule.

After this,
it gets serious.

You know, that--
That isn't exactly what I--

You know what?
Um, I'll talk to Grace about
volunteer programs. Okay?

Thanks.

Wow. You were right.
It's deserted today.

Told you, as soon as
the job's almost done,

they move all the volunteers
to the next site.

Suckers like us get to finish,
huh?

Ah, it's not that bad.
Just a coat of paint and some
trim. We can do it alone.

Sure.

No problem.

What? Are you nervous
about us being alone?

No. Are you?

Of course not.

Owen, look at you.

What are you doing?

I'm hiding, and I'm painting.

Yeah, you are, aren't you?

Well, Jule had some plans
so I took him today.

-Uh-huh.
-No, she did.

Gracie, you dragged me over here
to help you with that garden.

There's nothing out back
except concrete.

Nana, Charlie.
Charlie, Nana.

Mrs. Huffman, hi.

-I was looking for--
-There she is.

[exclaims]
My success story.

I heard last night.
How does it feel?

Um, actually,
I feel pretty good, but--

All those talks we had
about safety schools--

Ah. Stanford, I--
I can just see you there, Julia,

amazing the faculty,
bewitching the boys.

Yeah, that's what I wanted
to talk to you about.

I don't think
I'm gonna go.

So I don't know if there's
anything your office needs to do
like send a letter or--

Well, um,
you're deferring a year?

Julia, Stanford's not
gonna like that.
You applied early.

No, not a year.
I mean, maybe a year. Maybe two.
Maybe I'll never go.

Julia, I don't understand.
Stanford's your first choice.

-Why would you--
-No. See, this is great.

I'll finally be able
to take the time to figure out

what I wanna do with my life.
It's the perfect solution.

Julia, wait.
You know, I think you need give
this some more thought.

No, I don't. Really.

So I'm gonna write
and tell them.

And if you need to do anything
through your office, will you?

[school bell ringing]

[violin playing]

Okay. It's getting there.

Getting there?

You gotta keep your tempo sharp
all the way through, and--

And your fingering's lazy
in the last passage.

Work on that.

Okey-dokey.

[knocking]

-Hey.
-Hey.

I thought we said 8:00.

No. We did.
It's just, uh, I'm--

Oh, I-I'm sorry. Am I, um--

-Hi.
-[Ross] No, no, no.

We were finishing.
Something wrong?

No, no, no.
It's just about tonight.

I'm such an idiot.
I totally forgot.

I promised my mom I'd come by
and hook up her VCR.

So could we meet
a little later?

Well, sure. But, um, she lives
in North Beach, right?

Why don't I just
come with you?

We can eat over there.

Um, I don't know, Ross. I-- It would--

It's better if we meet up later.

But why?

I mean,
I'm not very good with VCRs,
but I'm pretty good with moms.

Look, it's just not
a good idea, okay?

I think I'm gonna...

...something.

Paul, I thought, um--

I thought you told me
you were out to your mom.

She, uh...

No.

But that doesn't mean--

Look, why don't we meet up
at that Moroccan place
you told me about--

Okay. Or how about
a dark alley somewhere?
Would that work for you?

What?

-Ross, that's not what this--
-I'm sorry.

It's just that I can understand

wanting to be discreet at work.
That much I get.

But this is a thing with you,
isn't it?

-Ross, please--
-You know what?

I know what it's like.

But that means that
you look at us as something
to be ashamed of.

That being with me isn't worth
people knowing
who you really are.

I'm, uh--

I'm just not ready.

Call me when you are.

"I regret to inform you,
Mr. Burns,

"that Dad's law firm
has taken the case,

"and I wouldn't want to be
the losing defendant
who had to pay his fees."

[laughs]

-Is any of this actually true?
-No.

My dad's a stockbroker.

I can't believe this.
This is brilliant.

I can't believe
you wrote this with--

-With six beers in your system.
-No, no, no. I only had four.

Oh.

Oh, then, I guess two
of those must be mine.

So how's the paper coming?
Looks like you got a lot done.

Tons. I did tons.

I got-- Look at this, I got--
I got quotes.

I got footnotes.

I got arguments
arguing with arguments.

You got 10 pages worth yet?

Well, the incentive plan called
for a beer a page.

So counting your two
over there, that is...

Seven pages.
Bailey, that's great.

Well, give or take a few.

'Cause every plan has it's--
It's fine print.

You know, like--
Like this beer here

was for this cool symbol thing
I found in one of these stanzas.

And, and this,
this was just a bonus beer

for setting a new
personal record.

One hundred and eighty minutes
of consecutive study.

Whoa.

-Sorry, sorry.
-Bailey.

I'm sorry.

Excuse me. Could--
Could we get two more, please?

Bailey, are you sure?

I'm inspired by your
greatness, Cal.

If you can write like that with
four beers in your system,

think what I can do with ten.

[Nana]
Oh, Gracie, I'm hungry.

When's the last time this boy
had anything to eat?

He's fine. And we're gonna go
home and eat dinner in a bit.

[Nana]
That's what you said
an hour ago, an--

Oh, my God, it's so late.

Well, I brought some snacks.
They're in my bag.

[Nana] I've seen what you eat.
And nuts and grain
is not what I need.

How does a hamburger sound,
Owen?

No. He hates junk food.

Burger! Burger! Burger! Burger!

Nana, can't you stay
a little while longer?

The poor boy is starving.

No. He's fine.
He's just having some fun.

You may think you're doing good
around here, young man,

but charity begins at home.

Come on, champ.

Burger. Okay?

Burger, burger, burger,
burger, burger.

I'm with you.

Burger, burger, burger,
burger, burger, burger.

Well, I should probably finish. Yeah.
And I still gotta--

[chatter]

Hey, what are you--

Oh, Owen left these yesterday.
I just thought--

Thanks.

Look, um, I was gonna call
last night, but--

Yeah, me too, but I--

I mean, I just wasn't sure if--

I know.

I have to say, though,
last night was definitely--

It was great.

It was great.

Except?

It's just...

I really wish it was
four months from now.

I wish it was summer.

Summer? How come?

Just so that we'd had all that
time to get past this stuff?

Which stuff?

The stuff where we're afraid
to go too far too fast

'cause we're not sure
we're ready.

I mean, I wish it was summer
so all that stuff was gone.

Then we could just... You know?

No, I don't,
because I don't feel that stuff.

I mean, I'm sorry.
But I think we've done
everything right.

We started out
as friends, so,

in a way we've already
taken our time
in the beginning.

But if you don't feel like
you're ready, that's okay.

'Cause now that I know
what I'm waiting for,

I can be a little patient.

You think this would fit her?

What?

Oh, yeah. Yeah.
That should be fine.

Did I tell you
there's this, um--

There's this new waiter
at the restaurant.

Really smart and--

Well, anyway, I was, um--

I was talking to him
yesterday and

turns out that
he's single and--

Don't. Okay, Claud?

That's really not the answer.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry about you
and Mr. Archer.

It's just, I think
you did the right thing.

You know what?

It's, it's fine to go around
saying, "Be who you are."

But until you've been there...

Remember how you reacted
when I came out to you?

I thought you were never
gonna speak to me again.

I was 11.

And in case you hadn't noticed,
I got over it.

Yeah. Well, not everybody does.
Okay?

I have friends whose parents
disowned them or--

Or they lost friends
when they came out and that's--

So I--
I know what Paul's afraid of,
what he's going through.

But if I stayed with him, if I--
If I let myself do that,

I would be right back
in the closet.

And nothing is worth that.

So you're better off.

Yeah.

A whole lot better.

So, um, what are you gonna do,
you know, instead?

I don't know, get a job.

Get a few jobs,
keep getting them until
I find one that I love.

Uh, I'm sorry.
I'm a little lost here.

When did this--
Is this, like,
a reaction to Libby?

A little.

Sure.

But you know what?

I think there were things
that I was already
struggling with, you know?

Things that I had
on my mind for a while.

Really?

Like, how long?

Say, back when we were doing
the application?

Yeah.

You know, it took me four days
to mail that envelope.

So even then I must have been
having doubts.

So this was just kind of
like a, an ego exercise
for you?

What? No.

That's kind of what
it sounds like. You know,
see how much they want you

even though
you don't want them.

Sarah, what is your problem?
I, I thought you of all people
would be understanding.

God, Julia, you took one
of the early decisions places

at Stanford,
one that you knew I wanted.

I didn't take it, okay?

It was offered to me,
and I'm not taking it.

-So you can still--
-Thanks for the charity.

You're what?

Did you just say that
you're not going to Stanford?

That's-- That's what I was
trying to tell you.

And this is done?

I mean, let's at least
talk about this--

Why? So, so that you can
tell me I'm wrong too?

-No, thank you.
-Jule, don't just walk away.

Thanks for the support,
Sarah.

[sighs]

[Bailey groaning]

B-- Bailey.

Bailey, hey, wake up.

God, it's hot in here.

Doesn't your class meet soon?

Why is it like
a furnace in here?

Oh, well, last night,
slipped my letter
under Burns' door.

And this morning, voila.

It did it.
Some of my best work.

I mean, I don't even know
where it came from.

It's just like these beautiful
lies just flowed and flowed.

I can't even tell
what order these go in.

Oh, come on, last night
you said it was great.

This whole page,
I, I, I pulled a quote,

and I copied half the poem.

And here, my God,
I wrote the same paragraph two--

No, three different times.

Oh, come on,
it can't be that bad.

Listen to this.

"When the poet
T.S. Eliot writes,

"Like a patient etherized
Upon a table

he seems to be saying
that there is a patient

"and there is a table,
and he is on it,

"the patient, and he
is also on a substance,
most likely ether."

Callie, was I totally drunk?

Eventually.

Pretty much.

Oh, my God.

[sighs]

-Hey, you're Claudia, right?
-Yeah.

Hey, I'm Frank,
Frank Boyd.

We're in lab together
with Mr. Gordon. Oh, right.
Yeah, yeah.

Was that a snoozefest
today or what?

Tell me about it.

Well, actually, I just wanted
to tell you I read your column,
and it's, it's good.

Hey, thanks.

Not just me. I mean,
you really got people talking,
and that's cool.

Well, anyways, you know,
I just wanted to tell you that.

That's always
nice to hear.

-That's cool.
-Hey, thanks a lot.

All right.

Claudia. It was me.

"Confused at 14."

I was the one
that wrote the letter.

That was me.

[laughs nervously] Whoo!

You're the first person
I've ever told.

Thanks.

Jule, hang on.

Can't we at least have
a conversation about this?

This is a huge decision,
and I really--

I wanna know
what you're thinking about.

It's like--

It's like I'm tired
of being me.

That me, the A student,

always reliable me.

It's like-- Do you--
Do you remember

when we used to make these
when we were little kids?

When mom would put them up,
we could always tell

whose was whose
'cause you and Bailey--
I mean, your--

Your clouds were purple
and your skies were orange.

Mine,

white clouds, blue skies,
green trees.

I always did it right,
by the book, every time.

This is just a phase.
Senior spring.

-Everybody--
-No, it's not.

Charlie, it's me.

I need to find out who I am.

So go to college and do that.

-And then when you finish--
-You're not listening to me.

No. I can't just sit by
and watch you make
this huge mistake.

-I'm not gonna make a mistake.
-[Sam clears throat]

-I'll wait outside.
-No.

Sam, wait. It's nothing you
haven't heard already.

You two have talked
about this?

Yes. That is allowed, Charlie.

Oh, okay.

So that's what this is about.
This was his idea, right?

[Sam] Whoa.

All I did was listen to her,
Charlie.
I never told her what to do.

You know what?
Butt out. I'm talking to her.

Oh, yeah? Well,
you're talking about me now.

Think I'm gonna stand here,
let you accuse me?

Okay. Fine.
So then why don't you leave?

Cut it out, Charlie.

I'm serious. I don't want you
in this house. Get out.

No problem.

Who the hell
do you think you are?
You don't have the right.

I am your guardian.
And if you go letting a guy
screw up your life,

it's my fault.

Oh, okay, I get it.
You don't care about me
or my life.

You just care about
how I reflect on you.

That-- That is great parenting,
Charlie.

I'm sure Mom and Dad
would approve.

Ah, Mr. Salinger,
missed you in class today.

Did you come
to turn in your paper?

No.

See, 'cause--
'Cause, here's the thing.

I have been working so hard
on this paper,

and I'm really excited about it.
I've got this great thesis,
and--

And I think it's gonna be
an excellent paper.

But this morning,
I was reading through it,

and it isn't quite there yet.

Well,
I don't give extensions.

Well, I know. I know normally,
you wouldn't give an extension,

but if you knew how hard
I've been working on this paper.

I think I made that clear.

And a late paper
loses a grade every day.

Then I would need to write
an A-plus paper
to stay off probation.

It's been done before.

Look, I don't think you're
being fair to me here.

I'm being fair to everyone.

Now, if you want to show me
what you've done so far--

No. No. I don't.
That's not the point.

If I drop this class
and take an incomplete,

that doesn't affect my GPA,
does it?

I mean, I'd stay off probation,
right?

That's right. But it'd show up
on your transcript--

Yeah.
Well, I can live with that.

I mean, let's face it.
I'm never gonna be
an English major here.

Bailey, I think you're
making a mistake.

You know what? I'm not.

'Cause you were right before,
what you said. College is about
making choices,

about figuring out
what's important to you.
So that's what I'm doing.

I'm making room
for what's important to me.

Charlie, hi.

Hi.

Come on in. Just in the neighborhood?

Nowhere near.

Oh.

Things were, uh, pretty crazy
at the house today,

and I needed some air
so I went out.

And you know what I noticed?

What?

It definitely got warmer today.
The weather,
a couple of degrees.

I mean, I, I was walking
and the sun was in my face,

and, I mean,
I have to say there for a while,

it felt a lot like summer.

Oh, yeah, I know what you mean,

because in a couple of weeks,
it'll be spring and then boom,

you got summer.

And you know
what I like about summer?

Tell me, please.

Summer's full of nature,

don't you think?

Nature's--

Nature's a wonderful thing.

Life just chugs on
and everything--

You know, everything does
what comes naturally.

[chuckles]

You know how I know
when it's summer?

There's this flowering
dogwood tree
outside my bedroom window.

Can I show you?