"Don't forget, lab reports by the end of the day." "No extensions, no exceptions." "Any sad stories, you can try." "I'm always up for a laugh." " Did you do your paper?" " No." "You?" "I didn't even know there was one." " So what do we tell Sorrell?" " The truth." " That aliens abducted us." " And ate our papers." "Good." "We've got our stories straight." "No, no, no, no, Tommy." "When I said "no exceptions" I didn't mean you." "You rest that touchdown-throwing arm of yours." "Turn your paper in by the end of football season." "I play basketball, too." "Well, then, just forget about it." " Hey, Dr. Sorrell..." " No." "You know what?" "Why don't I handle this?" "Because Dr. Sorrell and I have the kind of close-knit relationship that goes way beyond student-teacher." "I mean, we are very tight." "He didn't even know my name." " What are you so upset about?" " Oh, I don't know." "Could it be staying up all night to finish my paper?" "Could it be breaking into school so my paper's not late?" "Or could it be losing half my pants on the barbed wire?" "I don't know why you didn't just walk through the gate like I did." "It was too easy." "It looked like a trap." "Come on, let's look over here." "You know what bugs me the most?" "Tommy the football hero gets a free ride for throwing a stupid lucky touchdown." "Cory, let me tell you something about breaking and entering." "You usually don't hang around and vent while you're doing it." "He's only fooling himself if he thinks this hero stuff's gonna carry him through life, though." "Oh, yeah." "Troy Aikman's really hurting." "I'm a felon, Hunter." "Don't push me." "All I'm saying is, he's heading for a fall if he believes his own hype." "Come on." "Let's just put our papers on the desk and get out of here." "We are home free." " Uh-oh." " Check the batteries." "OK, OK." "But I need a flashlight." "We need matches now." "All right, we're in a chem lab." "There's gotta be matches around here somewhere, right?" "Ta-da!" "Matches." "As some famous guy once said, "Let there be light."" "Ow, ow, ow, ow!" " Backdraft!" " Oh, my God!" " Was the fire out when you left?" " It's a trash-can fire." "It'll go out by itself." "Or tomorrow, when they take out the trash." "Shawn, Shawn." "It's a chemistry lab." "Chemicals explode." " Oh, no, this is bad." " That's what I'm saying." "No, no, no, no." "I ended my paper, "In conclusion, chemicals don't explode."" " Hey, where you going?" " To save the school." "Hey, while you're in there, can you change the ending on my paper?" " (Cory) Shawn, I'm still scared." " Cory, relax." "We got away with it." "We pulled the alarm, the school didn't burn down, we got our papers in." "And the beauty?" "Nobody knows." "Hey, you two." "I know." " What do you know?" " I know what you did last night." " You, Curly." "Come with me." " Shawn?" "Quick, rub off your DNA." "This is the guy." "After the fire alarm rang, I saw him running down the hall." "Mr Matthews, is this true?" "Well, if he says he saw me, then I guess he saw me." " All right, Matthews." "Attaboy." " Attaboy?" "You betcha." "I was asleep in my office." "Well, closet." "The alarm woke me up and saved my life." "If it wasn't for your courageous action, today some other janitor would be sweeping me up." "Sounds to me like the little feller's a hero." "Yeah." "It does sound that way, doesn't it, Cory?" "Irony." "Well, how fortunate for us that you were passing by the school at that moment." " Yeah, it was." " What exactly were you doing out there?" "Oh, I don't know." "Just one of those right places at the right time things." "And am I glad he was." "Anybody who saves my life is OK in my book." "You know, Shawn, I'm a little uncomfortable with the whole school thinking I'm a hero." " You are a hero." " I don't think so." "Well, whoever laid down this carpet for you sure thinks you are." "Yeah, how do you know they laid it for me?" "It leads directly to your locker." "It does." "Ooh." "Plush." "Cory Matthews." " You know me?" " Do I know you?" "Who doesn't?" "I graded your paper this morning." "A-plus." "But, sir, it's all burned." "The only thing left is my name and the date." "I saw where you were going." "Keep up the good work." "Oh, and, Hunter?" "D." "Chemicals do explode." " I got an A, Shawn." " Wow." "A D." " I'm riding your coattails." " You know, this doesn't feel right." "Cory, this is exactly what you were talking about yesterday." "Your free ride." "Tommy got lucky with his touchdown and you got lucky with the fire." " The one I started?" " Nobody knows that." "Come on, you're always saying how you want to be somebody." "Now you are." " You're a hero." " I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty." "Go ahead." "Press it." "It's a Locker Genie." "You like it?" "And here's an extra clicker for your wife." " Shawn, do you see this?" " Yeah." "The perks of herodom." "You know, I could get used to this." "You deserve it, Cory." "You saved a man's life." "I did, didn't I?" "Click." "And you know what?" "I'm glad I did." "Nice guy, that Janitor Bud." " He deserved to have me save his life." " You're a hero, aren't you?" "You see a burned-down school anywhere?" "Hero." "Shawn, there you are." "We gotta meet Cory." " Where?" " The rally in the caff?" "Oh, right." "For the football teams?" "No, I hate that stuff." "You know, jocks, guys with tubas." "Cheerleaders." "Come on." "A lot of people think I'm a big deal around here because I throw touchdown passes." "And I am." "But I wouldn't have a field to do it on if it wasn't for this guy." "So this Saturday, we're dedicating our big game to our inspiration, Cory Matthews." "So here to introduce the man of the hour is his brother Eric..." " What's your last name?" " It's Matthews." " Wow, same as your brother's." " It's weird, huh?" "OK, I'd like to start off with a megabig Patriots hello to all my fellow students." "Specially you, Christine Wingate." "I see you looking at me." "Cory Matthews." "Cory Matthews," "Cory Matthews." "Now, what can I say, except, well..." "Last week Stephanie and I broke up, so I am currently single and available." "Call me." "Cory Matthews, a hero." "(chanting) Cory, Cory, Cory." "Thank you, Eric." "Thank you, Tommy." "My fellow heroes." "I've been asked to tell my story, to give the football team a little shot in the arm." "Excuse me, I still have some smoke in my lungs." "Now, you guys are playing this weekend, and you're scared, because the other guys are bigger than you." "Well, last night, my friends, those flames were a lot bigger than me." " All right!" " Yeah!" " But did I run away?" " (all) No." "That's right, my friends." "Because if you're gonna succeed in business, or on the gridiron, you have got to believe you can do it." "Remember, there's a little Cory Matthews inside each and every one of you." "It's a metaphor." "(chanting) Cory, Cory." "Isn't it great what's happening to Cory?" "Everyone loves him." "(chanting) Cory, Cory, Cory, Cory!" "This was the greatest day of my life." "Do you think the student council can really do it, Shawn?" " What?" " Get the school named after me." "Cory Adams High." "Look, Cory, I'm glad you're having a free ride and all, but..." "What, Shawn?" "What?" "Well, I just want to make sure you still have your feet on the ground." "You know, it sounds like you're trying to rain on my parade." "Which I believe is on Tuesday." "I'm just saying what you said." "You know, don't buy into your own hype." "Shawn, this is different, all right?" "I'm just letting people think what they want to think." "It's not like I'm gonna walk in this door and lie to my parents." "Surprise!" " For me?" " Yes." "There's the man that saved the school." " Eric told you?" " I didn't have to." "Hey, everybody told us." "That phone hasn't stopped ringing all day." "Well, then, why didn't you just answer it?" "So, Cory, tell us everything." "Well, Mom, Dad, I don't know what you guys have exactly heard, but..." "Here's what really happened." "I was walking back from Chubbie's when I saw the flames." "I didn't have time to think." "The next thing I know, I'm running into the building... (karate noise)" "Shawn, you didn't stay for dinner last night." "Yeah, I wasn't hungry." "Look, I know you're mad at me, and I didn't want to lie to my parents, but I just figured that if I'd told them the truth it would have made things a lot worse, you know?" "Sure you're not just getting off on this whole thing?" "Shawn, I'm just giving people what they want." " I mean, I don't want to disappoint them." " Disappoint them?" "Listen to my morning." "Listen to this." "Photo shoot with the homecoming queen." "Sushi with Dr. Sorrell." "Then I gotta fight traffic to greet the new exchange students at the airport." " I don't know how to make it stop." " You could just tell them no." " Well, I'm afraid to do that." " Why?" "'Cause I don't want to go back to being the same old Cory Matthews." "What was wrong with him?" "Shawn, I've been at this school for two years, and people still call me Eric's brother, Shawn's friend, or my favorite, "Hey, kid, move."" "Cory, aren't you afraid this whole hero thing's getting out of control?" "Look, I lied to my school, I lied to my folks." "How much worse can it get, right?" "Matthews." "How would you like to tell the rest of Philadelphia what a hero you are?" "There's your answer." "Eli called some of his buddies, arranged for an appearance on Philadelphia Tonight." "They want me on TV?" "Not just you, they want your whole family." "They'll be at your house tonight." " Huh?" "How great is that?" " Excuse me." "Famous people." "They're all weird." "Come on, Eli." "He's just nervous." "I mean, he can save a guy from a burning building, but he's scared of a little TV camera." "It's almost cute." "That's it, Shawn." "I've reached my limit." "I can't go through with this." "Can't go through with what, Mr. Matthews?" "Cory's gonna be on TV." "What on earth for?" "They just want him to tell the whole story about the fire." "Oh, wonderful." "I've also been waiting for him to tell the whole story." "Well, Mr. Feeny, I think you pretty much know everything." "Perhaps you're right." " What did he mean by that?" " Oh, it's Feeny." "Three years and I still don't understand a word he says." "(woman's voice) Hello, you're on the air with Dr. Sharon." " Hi, Dr. Sharon." "First-time caller." " And your name is?" "Gomez." "And why are you calling this afternoon?" "Well, I needed somebody to talk to." "Talk to me, Gomez." "Gomez?" "Oh, right." "That's me." "Well, Dr. Sharon, I'm in kind of a bad situation." "See, uh, people think I'm something I'm not, and I want to come clean." "But..." "Well, I'm afraid the truth is only gonna make things worse." "So what I'm hearing is, you're in need of a little courage?" "Yes." "Yes, I am." "But where do I find that?" "I suggest you look deep inside yourself." "I've been on hold for 45 minutes, that's the best you can do?" "I have another suggestion." "This evening at 7:30, tune in to "Philadelphia Tonight."" "They're doing an inspirational story about a brave boy named Cory Matthews." "Ah, what the heck do you know, lady?" "Well, there's no turning back now." "The news van has pulled up." "They're bringing in cameras, cables, lights." " Ooh." " What?" "Bagels." "You know what, Shawn?" "I'm glad you're here with me for this." "Where else would I be, Gomez?" "I mean, I'm partly to blame." "I'm the one who told you to ride this whole thing." "So you're gonna go on TV with me?" "And lie to the entire city?" "What kind of idiot would do something like that?" "Half hour to our debut, boys." "Our debut?" "Eric, what are you talking about?" "I'll tell you what I'm talking about." "Rich Herrera." "What?" "Rich Herrera." "He's the weather guy on Philly Tonight." "He is such a lame-o." "But when the TV audience gets a load of me, Herrera's out, Matthews is in." "Bet you that's not in his five-day forecast, huh?" "Everybody loves Rich Herrera." "Hey, he is nothing but a head of hair and a winning smile." "So." "How do I look?" "Head of hair, winning smile." "Yes!" "I am so the new weatherman." "Eric, what if this TV thing didn't happen tonight?" "What are you saying?" "Well, what if I told you that I'm not really a hero?" "That I'm the one who started the fire, and this whole thing kinda snowballed." "You're protecting Herrera, aren't you?" "Shawn, this is the low point of my life." "I mean, after this I am going straight to hell." " And you know what the worst part is?" " What?" "They'll expect me to put out the fire." "OK, guys." "This is how it's gonna work, OK?" "In 30 seconds they're gonna throw it to us, OK?" "And then I'm gonna pop you a couple question marks." "You know, we'll talk." "You know, "We love him, we love him, we love him."" "OK?" "Now, don't hold back on me." "Tears if you got 'em." "OK?" "We'll do a commercial, we'll march out the hero, he'll tell his story, flames, flames, flames, flames, flames." "We load up the van and we're drinking by nine." "Well, not the young ones, of course." " Did you work for her?" " Before she mellowed." "Hello, Connie." "As seen on TV." "Oh, and who is this handsome young man?" "Hi, I'm Eric Matthews." "The pleasure's all mine." "Have you been outside today?" "With the wind chill factor it's like minus 17 degrees out there." "Brr!" "Put on those parkas, Philadelphia." "Oh, yeah, OK." "OK, guys." "Three things to remember." "I want you to smile, have fun, and don't you dare talk over me." "In five, four, three, two..." "That's right, Charlie." "We are indeed in the home of Cory Matthews, the courageous young man who saved his school." " Psst." " (Connie) And, in the process," " Hey, you." "Here's what we do." " ...pulled so-called Janitor Bud..." "We switch shirts, you do the interview and I'll hold your sound stick." "It'll be a gas." "Uh, excuse me." "Are you part of this?" "Uh, excuse me, yeah." "I helped Cory start the fire." "Later in the program, Cory himself." "But first, his family." " You must be very proud." " Oh, yes, we are." "Yeah, he's... he's... he's a great kid." "And how does it feel, knowing that you've raised such a great kid?" "It..." "Well, Connie, you know, it... it... it's funny." "You, uh, bring this little wrinkled thing home from the hospital, and you never expect that one day..." "Uh, you know, Connie, if I may protrude?" "Uh, yes." "Eric, the brother." "I like to look at Cory as a coastal eddy." "See, he comes home from school heading east, having gathered strength over the ocean..." "Thank you." "I'm going to get right to the point here." "Has being a hero changed Cory?" "Well, you know, Connie, I've also got some birthday wishes." "Gorgeous Edna Stein is a hundred years young today." "Happy birthday, Edna." " Eric, go to your room." " Uh, Dad, this is live TV." " I don't care." " Uh, back to you, Connie." " Go." " Ah, those kids." " He's going." " You know, you asked, um, if Cory has changed now that he's a hero, and, you know, I don't think so." " I don't think so." " That's what's so great about Cory." "He's still the same sweet, wonderful kid he always was." "Well, you have to understand, Connie, that Cory didn't do this to be a hero." "He did this because it... it..." "it had to be done." "I mean, for Cory, doing the right thing..." "That's what makes him special." "And we'll be right back with Cory Matthews himself, after this weather update from our own Rich Herrera." "(Eric screams)" "Hey." "You see these azaleas?" "They thrive on sunshine and water." "Not coaxial cables." "And take your generator off my bramble bush." "Ah, Mr. Matthews." "The eyes of Philadelphia are upon you tonight." " Mr. Feeny, I don't feel so good." " Preshow jitters?" "No, I'm just not comfortable going on TV and being this..." " Hero." " Hero." "What is that, anyway?" "Well, different things to different people, I suppose." "A firefighter can be a hero." "I knew a man who worked in a factory for 30 years at a job he hated." "It was the only way he could support his family." " I felt that he was a hero." " Sounds like one to me." "But, to me, a real hero is someone who does the right thing, when the right thing isn't the easy thing to do." "You know, Mr. Feeny, don't you?" "You've known all along." "Mr. Matthews, I don't have enough facts to make trouble for anyone, if that's what you mean." "You have an interview to do." " Cory." "Hey, what are you doing out here?" " They're ready for you." " Mom, Dad, I don't want to do this." " Don't want to do what?" "Go on lying to you." "Boy, this is hard." "You know that fire I put out?" "I also kind of started that fire." "Cory, what are you talking about?" "Well, I broke into the chem lab one night to turn in a late paper." "I mean I'm no hero, I'm just bad with matches." " You started that fire?" " It was an accident." "And you went on letting people assume you were a hero?" "What were you thinking?" "I was thinking I wanted to be somebody I wasn't." "And I know, I know that was a mistake." "But the bigger mistake was not telling you guys the truth." "Well, Cory, you've made a lot of mistakes here." "Well, I just kept on hoping it would go away, so that I wouldn't get in trouble." "Well, it didn't, and you are." "So now what?" "Now we go inside and we tell Connie that you're not going on TV." "And by "we," I mean "you."" " She's gonna freak on me." " Well, she'll just have to get in line." "Mr. Matthews?" "Well done." "Your story confirmed what I suspected all along." "So you did know." "No, no." "No." "I just knew the character of the young man." "The character?" "Heroic." "Oh, by the way, I'll see you at school tomorrow." " But tomorrow's Saturday." " Yes, I know." "Bring old clothes." "You'll be painting." "Janitor Bud, how can you take away his Locker Genie?" " I mean, he still saved your life." " OK." "I owe you my life." "But Feeny signs the checks." "Clicker." "Mrs. Fraud?" "Well, so much for the perks." "Come on, Cory." "Would you rather go back to being a hero again?" "Nah." "I'm happy just being plain old Cory." "I mean, look." "I got my best friend, I got my girlfriend..." "Hey, kid." "Move." "And I got my old name back." "Hey, Dr. Sorrell." "I got practice tomorrow, and do you think..." "Oh, sure, Tommy." "Miss the lab." "Take all the time you need." "Oh, Dr. Sorrell." "Hey." "Um, listen." "I'm glad I ran into you." "I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and here's a note from my mom." "Tell someone who cares." "It's good to be me."