"[sighs]" "Dear Sally, I got your message." "I just called you back, but your machine picked up." "So I'm a senior now... officially, which is, um..." "Everything's gonna be great." "It's not like..." "You know." "Things have been... much more complicated than this." "Have you ever had such a good summer that it was sort of a problem?" "I spent the last three months here in New York with Noel." "At first, I thought it might be..." "you know, awkward, with everything that happened at the end of last year." "But I was wrong." "The summer was a complete blur." "We spent the whole time in Central Park or the Angelika or at Yankee games and the Strand eating really bad food." "We spent the summer not thinking, which I didn't even realize until I started getting these clippings from my dad." "Oh, my God." " Reading that article on Gwyneth?" " No." "It is fantastic." "Please read it so we can talk." "Another clipping?" ""This girl graduated Harvard Medical at 22." "F.Y.l. I thought you'd be interested." "Love, Dad."" ""F.Y.l. Compare yourself to another successful person that isn't you."" ""P.S. Please return my calls." "Stop avoiding me."" " Are you avoiding him?" " Yes." "He'll start probing me about my life and I'll get nauseous." " Noel, get my back?" " Speaking of nauseous." "The problem is, when you make the jokes, they're never funny." " Here. I'll get you." " You, I love." "Slather me." " Okay." " l burn like Dracula." "Hey, hey, look." "The Saturday puzzle, in ink." "Wow." "Okay, dinner's on me." " That was the motivation." " What were you thinking?" " The new Chinese place?" " Yeah." " You gonna stay, Javier?" " No. I can't." "Before she gets back from Buffalo, I have to perform errands for that bane of my persistence." "Give Elena a break." "She's getting married." "This is the last wedding coordinator gig of my life." "You decide what we're gonna do for dinner. I'm gonna run." " That clipping means nothing." " Thank you." "Yeah." "What?" "Javier." "There is one particular noun l have not heard all day long." " Benjamin." " You know what?" "He's back in two days." "He's my boyfriend. I love him." "Stop." "This year is not gonna be as simple as you like to think." "Ay!" "You're slathered." "I wasn't sure why they bothered me so much, those stupid clippings from my dad about total strangers who were my age who happened to know exactly what they're doing with their lives, as if that's all that matters." "But they did bother me." "They do bother me." "[gasps]" "[whispering] Noel." " Noel?" " Hmm?" "Are you awake?" "Mm-hmm." " Forget it. I'm sorry." " Wait, wait, wait." "What's up?" "Did you have a bad dream?" "I don't know." "Here." "Come in." "[sighs]" "It was just this alligator who was attacking everyone." "Yeah." "You were trying to fight it, and then it killed you." " lt killed me?" " Yeah. lt was horrible." "Then it started chasing me." "Oh, God." " Noel?" " Hmm?" "What's gonna happen this year?" "We're so old." "How can we be seniors already?" "Seniors?" "I already graduated." "This year's just gonna be so weird." "I mean, Elena's getting married." "You're gonna go off and get some big job." "I'm never gonna see you." "There is no job yet." "And you're gonna see me." "You know there's gonna be a job." "All right." "This is..." "This is what happens senior year." "You begin to panic about the future because you can actually, for the first time, start to see it." "You're gonna find something you love..." "...that Honors Art Program?" "You're gonna do great." " l haven't even applied yet." " What?" "Look. I mean, it's a big deal." "It's Jeremy Cavallo." "Come on." "You're crazy." "Your portfolio's amazing." "What if he looks at my stuff and says I'm not good?" "Well, that's not gonna happen." "Trust me." "This is gonna be the best year of your life." "Then why do I feel like this?" "# Can you become" "# Can you become" "# A new version of you" "# New wallpaper" "# New shoe leather" "# A new way home" "# I don't remember" "# New version of you" "# I need a new version of me" "# New version of you" "# I need a new version of me #" "[Sean] How can you say that answer's fair?" "[Meghan] Shut your stinking trap." "Just go over this with me one more time." "Someone save me from this." "[Elena] Who's there?" "Felicity?" " Meghan." " Oh, you'll have to do." "What color are these?" "Bone or white?" "I'm good, thanks." "Have a good summer?" "Pretty good. I'm sorry. I'm in a crisis." " Wanna hear something funny?" " You will lose your ball." "White." " Hey." "Hey, guys." " Hi." "When did you get back?" " Everything is a nightmare." " The wedding?" "If you read that something happened to Javier, I did it." " lt's good to see you." " You, too." " Hey." " Hey." " ls this weird?" " Clam it." "We're on the plane from Switzerland playing a game." "If you could have sex with anybody, who would it be?" "He says Elizabeth Hurley." " What's wrong with that?" " Nothing." "Perfect answer." "You know who Meghan says?" "Tracy." " Oh, my God." " What?" "He's hot." "He's marrying Elena." "He's our friend." "You could have sex with him." "I'm not gonna put you through this." "We're leaving." "You're good." "Right?" " Yeah." " Tracy." "It's so weird." "I'm a senior." "You'd think I'd finally be at a place where... you know, where no one person's opinion of me or what I did would really matter." "We'll meet Friday." "Yeah." "Let's meet Friday." "What?" "Nothing." "Excuse me." "I guess I'm just not there yet." "I didn't really say anything. I just... muttered nothing and made a squeak and ran away." " So you'll go back tomorrow." " No." "Now I'm too embarrassed." " What do you think?" " lt's good. I like the tie." "Take it off." "We have an hour before the sun disappears." "I feel good about these interviews." "Are you kidding?" "You're gonna be turning down jobs." "Did I just ruin my chances of getting into that program?" "Hey." "What are you doing here?" "I, um..." "I came home early." " Hi." " Hi." "Hey." "Look at your hair." " l know." "Hey." "How you doing?" " Good." "How are you?" " l'm good. lt's good to see you." " You, too." "I'm gonna go up to Tar Beach." " What's Tar Beach?" " The roof. I'll meet you in a bit." "You guys hang out." "I'll see you later." "Welcome back." "Thanks, man." "You know how much I missed your face?" " l can't believe you're here." " Yeah, I know." "What is this?" "That, in many Western civilizations, is a dress." " What are these buttons?" " We talked about the buttons." "I never said buttons." "I gave Altadena a picture." "Not Altadena. lt's Almundina, and this is her notion." "That notion is a disaster." " Put on your chill pill. I'll call her." " The hemline is wrong." "Excuse me." "We'll fix everything." "I want it right in the first place." " She can handle this?" " Yes." "For two reasons." "One, she's my cousin." "I don't know why that's a reason." "And two, she's so fast, she's like Rumpelstiltskin." " What?" " Who is Rumpelstiltskin?" "I have to register for class." "Can you handle this?" " Uh-huh." " Good. I'll call you later." "Ooh, lucky me." "[Felicity] Can I tell you something horrible?" "[Ben laughing] Yes." "When you called me last week and you said you could tell from the E.M.T. training program that you didn't wanna be a paramedic..." "Yeah?" "I was relieved." "Why?" "I don't know. lt made me feel like... like I wouldn't be alone in not knowing exactly what I was going to do." "You know?" "Well, it's true. I don't wanna be a paramedic. I know that now." "But I said that because... when I was there, I realized something." "What?" "You can't laugh at this." "I won't laugh." "What?" "I realized I wanna be a doctor." "[phone rings]" "Wow." "[Noel] Hello?" "Yeah." "She's here." " Okay." "Hold on." " [knocking]" " Yeah?" " lt's your dad." "Could you just tell him I'll call him back?" "He's in town." "Don't let him make you feel bad about yourself." " Thanks." " You all right?" " Mm-hmm." " Good." "Hi." "Yeah." "When did..." "Wow." "Dad, you didn't have to... I know." "Dad, I know." "Listen." "Um..." "You know what?" "That's not fair." "No. lt's not." "What do you mean, "for example"?" "Well, for example, I'm in the Honors Art Program." "Yes." "Jeremy Cavallo." "Have you even heard of him?" "Mm-hmm." "Okay." "Yeah." "No." "Tomorrow." "That's good." "All right." "Okay." "Bye." "[sighs]" "You all right?" "You're, uh..." "You're in the Honors Program?" "No." "Oh." "Well, what does he want?" "My dad?" "Um, he's just here to talk to me." "About what?" "Just, uh... I don't know." "My future." "Excuse me." "Professor Cavallo?" "Yeah?" "Hi." "Um, I'm Felicity Porter." " You were here yesterday." " Yes." "Exactly." "Um..." " l was on the phone." " l'm sorry if..." "No. I'm sorry." "Um, it was a bad call, and..." " l may have been a little grouchy." " No." "Little bit?" "A little." "Only a little." " l wanted to drop off my portfolio ..." " For the Honors Program." " if you were still looking." " l'm still looking." "Should I leave it?" " Yeah." "Do you have a contact number?" " Yes. inside." " l will call you." " Thank you very much." "Just... avoid me when I'm on the phone." " Good to know." "Thank you." " l'll see you." "Bye-bye." "Yep." "Yep." "That looks fine." " lt does?" " Sure. I'll sign your drop-add form." " You're a natural for med school." " A natural?" "Really?" "Wow." ""A" in Organic Chem." "A-minus, Bio Chem." "Uh, Mr. Norman?" "Mr. Norman, I never took those classes." " Benjamin Conner?" " No. I'm not Benjamin Conner." " Who are you?" " l'm Ben Covington." "Yeah." "No." "No." "This is a problem." " How so?" " How so?" " Yeah." " Have you seen this?" "Yes, I've seen it." "Sir, I know I'm not the strongest student..." "Mr. Covington, you're looking to take 1 8 credits." " l know." " Fourteen is the norm." " Yes, I know that." " Well, your grades and I'm not trying to bring you down here your grades indicate that taking 1 8 credits could possibly kill you." "I'm the one that's willing to give it a try." " What do you care?" " You should be thanking me." "It is beyond unlikely that you'll be able to do this." "Do what many people do." "Take a fifth year." "I'm gonna have to anyway if I'm gonna make premed." "I'm gonna be honest." "When I got here, I had no idea what I wanted to do." "Now I do." "So, please." "I'll tell you what." "Take this. lt's a placement test." "If you pass that, I'll sign your form." "Thank you." "Okay, keep 'em closed." "Two more seconds." "Okay, open 'em." " What happened to the sleeves?" " You asked to make 'em shorter." "Yeah. I didn't say remove them." "Okay." "Sweetheart, would you tell me..." "if you were doing drugs?" "I'm not doing drugs. I just..." "I want the dress that I asked for." " Then we'll fix it." " You have to redo the whole thing." "You have to stop exploding... I have to do everything myself." "It is a wedding dress." "It is not the wheel." "Can't you get it right?" "No." "Apparently no." "I can't..." "No, I can't get it right." "I have been busting my little behind for you 24-7." "For what?" "To get your sassy mouth?" "No." "You couldn't possibly understand." "I will do it myself." "It's okay." "She liked it." "It would be impossible to have 1 6 meetings and not get one second interview." "The moment I know it is when they say, "Oh." "Looks good."" "There's this pause and they say, "But..." That is the moment." "It's just the first round." "Where did summer go?" "Summer's gone and I have nothing." "You have the Honors Art Program." " l do not." " You do." " My dad is in town." " True." " Dinner tonight is gonna be torture." " No, it's not." "He's the one freaking out, not you." "It's like the spider thing." "What spider thing?" "How scared people get around spiders, but it's the spiders that are scared." "Just keep thinking, "He's not Dad." "He's daddy longlegs."" "Hey, will you come with me?" " You don't really want me to." " l do." "There's nothing worse than these dinners with my dad." "Little moral support." "I'll be there in spirit." "Yeah?" "Yeah." "You'll feel me there." "I'll be right beside you." "Moping about my future." "[Ben] lt looks like I'm gonna have to do one more year." " [man] Wow." " Dad." " Hey." " Hey, sweetie." "We were gonna meet at the restaurant." "I was nearby." "I just came by to pick up those books." "The O-Chem books." " Premed." " l know. I know." "Yeah. I, uh, passed that test, by the way." "The placement test." "That..." "That's great." " You did?" " Yep." " Congratulations." " Thanks a lot." " You ready?" " Yes." "Okay." "Mom sounds like she's doing okay." "Yeah." "Yeah." "She seems, uh... seems happy." "Yeah." " How's..." " Let me say what I wanna say." "Okay." "I think... you're wasting your time." "You've been floating through your experience here, concerning yourself with relationships with boys" " instead of planning." " Dad..." "You're graduating college in nine months." " l know." " Art is fine." "I like the arts. I like museums." "I love that you're artistic, that you paint, but that is not a life." "Felicity, it's time to get back to medicine." "Now, this art thing, you can do that also." "Sam Devonshire." "He's a cardiologist, and he also makes these little what... crafts." "Can I get you folks something to drink?" "Excuse me." "[ringing]" " Hello." " Hey, it's me." " What are you doing?" " Staring at my résumé." " Is dinner over already?" " Just starting." " How bad?" " You said I'd feel you here. I don't." "Look, this is just what parents do." "They're not evil." "They're just stupid sometimes." " He told me I'm wasting my life." " That just proves it." " What?" " He doesn't know you as well as I." "But he's not right, is he?" "Just tell me he's not right." "You have to make your own choices here, even if some of them end up being mistakes." "This is your life we're talking about." "This is not some schedule or some preordained performance." "Life is an obstacle course." " Life is a challenge." " l'm gonna go in there." "Think positive." "Kick ass." "Take names." " Thanks." " No problem." "Bye." "[sighs]" "Look, Dad, I know what you're saying." "Good." "And I know it must seem to you like I'm floundering." "Yes." "But the fact is, I am in this Honors Art Program, and this is a class that is very important to me." "This is my life and I feel like I have to make my own choices, even if some of them are mistakes." " lt's not like I'm on some schedule." " Maybe you should be on one." "Well, that's not how I wanna live my life." "Fair enough." "Then I am not comfortable, and neither is your mother, subsidizing this lifestyle." " Dad, I'm in college." " Look at yourself." "You're no better off than you were three years ago." "Keep this up, where are you gonna be one year from now?" " You can't come here and judge me..." " That is exactly what I can do." "You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me." "If my being here means having to answer to you..." "Your future isn't gonna start years from now." "You're not even listening." "These last three years have been a waste." "A waste of money and time." "Fine. I don't want you to pay for this." "I will pay myself." " That's not what I'm saying." " lt's what I'm saying." "I don't want your help." "I don't need your critique, okay?" "I don't need you." "Felicity." "What are you doing?" " l'm just lying here." " ln your suit?" "Mm." "Why are you in your suit?" "[sighs] Hmm." "I put it on just to look at myself, try to figure out what the problem is." " Things get any better with your dad?" " No." " l'm paying for college now." " Oh, God." "Whatever." "How'd you end it?" "I walked out." "Want some candy?" "Yeah." "[man] There are three steps to take to declare your independence." "First, your parents or legal guardian need to sign these two forms." "Provide us with rent stubs, phone bills, etcetera, as indicated." "You need to sign this form in order to be eligible for a loan." " Thanks." " Yeah." "Next in line." "I went into that office sort of dreading the whole thing." "But you know, the weird thing about declaring your independence, there's something..." "I mean, if you really think about the idea of it it's kind of amazing." "Hey." "Sorry I'm late." "You said you were gonna be here an hour ago." " You're mad?" " Yes. I'm late for my first class." "If there's a reason Tracy and Elena shouldn't get married, it's this dress." "You don't want 'em to get married." "It'll be harder for you to get lucky with the groom." " You know what?" " What?" "Don't ask me a question unless you want an honest answer." "What are you fighting about?" " We're not fighting." " Nothing." " God!" " What is that?" " What?" " What you're eating." "What?" "Cake." "That's the wedding cake!" "Are you kidding?" "It was in the fridge." "You ate their wedding cake." " l didn't know." " lt had a bride and groom on top." "I knew it was a wedding cake." "I didn't know it was the wedding cake." "I'm gonna cry." "You are so busted." " Shut up." " [giggles]" "[Felicity] Rod liked you." "[Noel] No." "Rod loved me." "I told you you'd have good interviews." "This graphics house is amazing." "There's a full-time chef." " Wow." " You won't believe this office." " Hey, so wish me luck." " He's gonna love your work." "You'll see." "You were right about me." "I can't be wrong." " l'm gonna call you later." " Okay." "Bye." "Dad, what are you doing here?" "I wanted to see this class that was so important." "I thought I'd get to your stuff, but I haven't looked." "That's okay." " Jeremy Cavallo." " Edward Porter." "At 2:00 I can tell you whether or not you're in." " Sure." " Good." " l need you to sign these." " What's going on?" "Please just sign." " What is this?" " So I can pay for school." " l have to send them to the accountant." " Whatever you gotta do." " Hi." " Hello." " This is O-Chem?" " lt is." " The door was locked." " Yes, it was." "I'm in this class." " Your name?" " Ben Covington." "You're late." "Door locks on the hour." "There'll be a quiz on today's lecture." "Get the notes online." " Please." " You've been warned." "Miss two lectures, and we drop you from the class." " Hello." " Uh, should I come back or..." "No." "Pull up a seat." "So... [sighs] So..." "Good stuff." " Thanks." " Really. lt's good." "But?" "But, um... I think you should take Composition first." " l already took that." " Okay." "Okay." "Bradshaw's teaching a fantastic class on shading and form." "He's supposed to be really good." " He is." " [phone rings]" "Phone." "Me on the phone. [chuckles]" "Excuse me." "Hello." "Hey." "Yeah." "Seven." "Mm-hmm." "No. lt's just a few things." "Yeah." " Hey." " Hey." "I met with Cavallo." "Do you know how to get this thing to work?" "I wanna print something." "Uh..." "is there paper in there?" "Yeah, there's paper." " What's going on?" " Nothing." "Can you get it to work?" "Um, yeah." "Let me, uh..." " l don't know why it's not working." " l'll do it." " Why are you angry?" " 'Cause I got locked out of class." "Hodges wouldn't let me in, so I missed my first lecture." "That's why I'm angry." "Because I was late." "I've been trying to download for a freakin' hour." "Ben, I'm really sorry." "I don't think you have any idea how hard this year's gonna be." " l told you that, right?" " l didn't mean to be late." "Whatever. I'm just gonna go play some basketball." "Uh, listen." "Um, Almundina gave me something to return to you." "It's the, uh..." "the picture you gave her." " lt's your mother, isn't it?" " Yeah." "I didn't know you were trying to copy your mother's dress." "Ah, it's all right." "I guess I forgot that, uh... I forgot that your mother's not around anymore for you." "That would be so hard for me." "It's just that I thought if I wore this dress, that she would be there with me." "Let's call Almundina... and we'll get that dress perfect." " Hi." " Hi." "Do you wanna come in for a bit?" "No." "No. I have a car waiting... downstairs." "So Ethan looked over the papers." "Said they were standard." "Did you sign them?" "Yeah." "Thanks." "This is not how I wanted this trip to go." "I love you." "I know, Dad." "I love you, too." "I just..." "I think this is important." "I'm not a little girl anymore." "How did the teacher like your stuff?" "He loved it." " You got into the class?" " Yeah." "Yeah. I start on Monday." "Good for you." "[elevator dings]" "Bye." "It's hard to articulate... this thing that I'm so afraid of." "The future." "I mean, why should we be so afraid of the future?" "It's just time." "Isn't it?" " What are you doing here?" " Came to see you, but no one was home." "Thought I'd come up to our summer hangout." "Yeah." "Me, too." "Need to clear my head." "[exhales]" "So, how'd it go?" "The job thing?" " Didn't happen." " What?" "Yeah. lt turns out Rod likes a lot of people." "Turns out that Rod is fickle." "Rod has problems." "Noel." "Oh, it's not a big deal." "Yeah, it is." "Yeah, it is." "Well, I didn't get into the Honors Program, so..." "Oh, no." "He turned me down." "And it occurred to me in sort of a huge way... that my dad's right." "I'm just lost, you know?" "No." "Yeah." "Yeah." "How could we both be so wrong about each other?" "Yeah." "[chuckles]" "Maybe it was just..." "What?" "I don't know." "# Feels so good But damn, it makes me hurt" "# I'm too scared to know How I feel about you now" "# How I feel about you now" "# La Cienega just smiles" "# And says "I'll see you around" #"