Original subtitles

(Irv narrating) Ask any mom or dad and they´ll tell you

with drop-dead certainty that their child is extraordinary.

A genius of some kind..

...gifted by the gods and deserving of great privilege.

One in a million might even be right.

Just try to tell the other

couple of hundred thousand they´re not.

Wow.

I think Everwood got its own stock exchange.

Since when is college such an ordeal?

No, no. You´re dealing with

college admissions, raw competition.

From here on out, parents you once carpooled with

are the enemy.

They´re just juniors.

Just juniors?

Don´t you know anything about getting into college?

Well, I thought I did until you asked me that.

You have no idea, do you?

You haven´t read the guidebooks? School rankings?

Talked to guidance counselors? Anything at all?

Well, I´m here.

Oh, this? This is a chance for actual face time

with actual admissions officers.

Even with a candidate as strong as Amy, that takes preparation.

I had her make her priority list weeks ago. Amy?

I´m going to sketch out my game plan.

Alright. Only because your son´s future hangs in the balance.

Pay attention.

You´ve got two hours. You´re battling a class

full of parents.

Give eight minutes per reach school. Six for safeties.

Pick up a bumper sticker for anything on West Coast.

You need me, I´m with the Ivies.

(Andy) ´Hey.´

I guess I should check this out.

Have fun.

I thought you were diving in.

I was gonna check out the Tufts kiosk...

...but Betsey Baird´s mom cross-checked me out of the way.

Survival of the pushiest.

This year is gonna hurt, isn´t it?

Mm. Grade polishing. SAT tutoring. Resume stuffing.

Parent management.

No.

That´s the one advantage of having a father

who has no idea what´s going on.

He´s too clueless to become one of the pod parents.

Ephram. Hey, Ephram. Come on down.

Duke´s giving away Frisbees.

Oh, God. He´s become one of them.

Welcome.

You look tired.

I was up all night with these college books.

In my day, you threw out two or three applications

maybe...and you knew you were gonna get in..

...but now, it´s like this whole continent

I´ve never heard of before. Number of kids applying.

All these extracurricular activities

you need to do to stand out.

Newspaper, yearbook, club sports, public service hours.

You ever done any of this stuff?

Probably, but I don´t think I enjoyed it.

This is just to get ready to apply next year.

We are so behind the curve here.

What we, white man?

We got so many college brochures in the mail...

...I assumed they´d be more solicitous.

Look at this.

"Top 10 universities take 80 percent of their students

from the top 5 percent of high-school classes."

I guess we know where I´m not going.

Dad, can I wear this shirt?

Sure, why not?

I can´t remember if I wore it yesterday.

I don´t think it matters in fourth grade, honey.

You and I aren´t done talking.

We need to work on an academic strategy.

I have a year before I have to worry about this.

You´re a junior, Ephram. This is a big deal.

If you´re gonna be competitive, you need to get your grades up

...and build a better profile.

We need a plan here.

Well, you can help yourself

but we have a shower to take and homework to finish on the bus.

- Wow, I want these. - No way, these are better.

(powerpuff on tv) ´I´ll have these.´

(Harry) ´Amy.´

(Harry) ´Amy?´

(professor x) ´I can´t see where I--´

Did you know that Woodrow Wilson

was the 13th president of Princeton

...before he became president of the United States?

I was not aware of that.

Well, you will by tomorrow at 4:30.

Aren´t you going to ask me?

- What´s tomorrow at 4:30, Dad? - Oh, well.

Only afternoon tea with the admissions rep from Princeton.

She´s looping back up through Everwood on her way to Cheyenne

and is stopping to meet with us.

Well, meet with you.

Is it okay if I´m not sure that I wanna apply there?

Not want to?

And miss your chance to walk the same halls as Eugene O´Neill

F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jimmy Stewart, Einstein?

Do you know how many Nobel laureates

have graduated from Princeton?

I´m sure I will by tomorrow.

[CHUCKLES]

If you would. I´ve already downloaded some information

just so you can familiarize yourself with school history..

...class demographics.

Eight percent Latino. Mm.

Oh, and if I may be so bold as to make

one note on wardrobe..

...you would look quite promising in the Burberry skirt

that you wore last Founder´s Day.

[Harry clapping]

[school bell ringing]

(Bright) ´Hey, are you gonna eat these?´

Your father has deep-ended.

"The Princeton library carries 1.2 volumes

in the reference section alone."

- He wants me as a tour guide. - I´m sorry.

I wish I could be there to talk Jersey history

but I got football practice. Homecoming grudge match

this Friday against the Ben Franklin Poor-Men!

[crowd booing]

Yeah, I didn´t notice.

Uriel Alvarez just graduated.

Their new running back totally sucks. So if I can hold him

we got the greatest chance to take the playoffs this year.

[cheerleaders cheering]

Don´t look now, incoming.

(Woman # 1) ´Ready.´

(Woman 2) ´Go, County.´

(cheerleaders) ´Miners go in long!´

´Miners go in deep!´

´Miners do it with helmets on And never go to sleep!´

´Miners go in long!´

´Miners go in deep! Miners do it--´

-Who is the new girl? -Stacey Wilson.

It´s kind of hard to tell since she--

Since the hooter fairy paid a visit.

Damn.

Wallflower to prom queen in two cup sizes.

Oh, I love puberty. Are you sure she´s not new?

Too bad you only know she´s alive now that she´s stacked.

It´s not my fault I´m shallow. It´s how God made me. Blame him.

(Beels) ´Bright Abbott?´

Excuse me, I´m, uh, Mr. Beels, the new guidance counselor.

- Can I borrow you for a second? - Uh, could you wait a minute?

Um, they´re about to make the pyramid.

(cheerleaders) ´Miners do it with helmets on And never go to sleep!´

Is it wrong to have enjoyed that?

Technically, I´m not the new guidance counselor

it turns out I´m the first.

The board decided that a gym teacher

who passed a correspondence course wasn´t the best way

to shepherd students on the road to excellence, so..

Oh. Mrs. Lippman was cool. She got me out of Spanish.

Uh, look, Bright, I hate to be the sheriff on this

but there´s a problem with your math grades.

Oh, right, my, uh, trig thing. I blew the final last spring

but I took it over this summer at ECC.

Yeah, that´s the problem. We got your grades back

um, and..

You failed the class.

Um, I can take it over again, right?

I already worked out a new schedule for you.

But here´s the part you´re not gonna like

you can´t play until you pass the class.

What about-- What about football?

It´s school policy. You can´t fail a class

and play varsity. I´m sorry.

But I´m a senior now.

I´m applying to colleges right now.

And I´m hoping to get recruited for football.

How can I apply if I can´t play football?

There are other strategies for getting into college.

How do you feel about your grades?

(Andy) ´Well, luckily, nothing´s broken.´

Ice packs tonight and keep the weight off it for about a week.

I think we should stay off the top of the pyramid for a while.

Any idea how you fell?

I was having killer cramps all day

but I just got made new co-head cheerleader

and I didn´t wanna miss my first rally.

- I got your message. - Mom, you didn´t have to come.

- I was worried. Is she alright? - It´s barely even a sprain.

He said I´m fine. I´ll be out in a second.

(Andy) ´We´re almost finished here. You can stay.´

You know, Stacey, I could prescribe something

for those cramps, if you´d like.

You had cramps or did you have chest pain?

It´s nothing.

(Wilson) ´It might not be nothing.´

She had breast implants before summer.

I can´t believe you just told him that.

Could you just not say anything, please?

You had implants?

I mean, Stacey, you just turned 17

your body´s barely done developing.

I offered her a Jetta for her birthday

but she knew what she wanted.

It´s not like everybody doesn´t have something done anymore.

Demi Moore, and, like, half the cast of "Friends".

My mom had a peel at the same time. It´s totally normal.

I´m concerned you´re still experiencing pain

three months after surgery. If you don´t mind

I´d like to have it looked at.

They said it would be normal for it to hurt for a while.

Yeah, well, you are the new co-head cheerleader.

I mean, you can´t afford to take any risks with your health.

(Gellar) ´Someone told me I could find Ephram Brown here, did I?´

Depends how much trouble he´s in.

I´m James Gellar.

I´m with the App-Fest crowd here, visiting from Juilliard.

Oh, you´re looking for me?

Well, if you´re the kid who played the Schubert

at the Denver Rep teen recital last year..

I heard all about you.

Is it okay if that freaks me out a little bit?

What´s all this?

Oh, just checking out the SAT vocab list.

Turns out there´s a lot I don´t know.

I´ve been at it two hours and I´m still in the B´s.

You know, most performing arts schools don´t require SATs.

I like to think of it as time wasted on entrance tests

as time that should be spent on your instrument.

You wanna say that into a tape recorder for my dad?

[chuckles]

But, you know, people

they forget how rare this kind of gift is.

Do you realize the confluence of events required

to get one great player?

Well, the right ear, ha, ha..

...is one in a million.

Musical ability to let it all shine, 1 in 50,000.

Now, to bring those two together in one person, do the math.

Well, if I could, I wouldn´t have to study for the SATs.

A kid with those kinds of odds shouldn´t have to.

Why don´t you play for me tomorrow?

Not an audition or anything like that.

Just to, um, let you know where you stand.

-Are you interested? -Sure, yeah. Anything specific?

You know this one?

-Not yet. -Good.

See you tomorrow at 3.

[piano music]

(Andy) ´Hey, Ephram.´

Close your eyes.

Why?

If you don´t close, you´ll know what it is.

I won´t close them.

Remember when I told you we needed a plan

and you said, "Help yourself"?

It´s the new regime for college applications.

We know what needs to be done and when. What do you think?

You got a chance of getting into Yale.

Hey, you´ve got a lot to do this year.

I don´t wanna let anything slip past us.

I don´t think you have this skill for organization.

They medicate for this much organization.

"Monday, Chemistry 3:30 to 4:30."

"Social Studies 4:30 to 5:00, Sci--"

I´ve never even heard of Science League.

Well, colleges want kids who are well-rounded

And, uh, TV doesn´t count, I checked.

Besides, this times out well with your SAT prep class.

- I don´t think I need it. -Oh, really?

Really. Conservatories don´t even look at SAT scores

piano gets me free.

You don´t know that.

I mean, an art school sounds like a great idea

but you can´t count on that.

What if you change your mind? What if you don´t get in?

A BFA doesn´t anchor a resume like a BA.

I just wanna make sure you´ve got all your options open

and you´ve got a backup plan.

You didn´t have a backup plan.

I didn´t have a father who gave a damn.

He was done after he taught me to swim.

Well, how do I get on that plan?

Hey, if, uh, Science League calls, tell them I´m practicing.

(Man) ´Someone else! Go!´

[whistle blowing]

Come on. You´re not gonna take that crap, are you?

Coach?

Hey, I heard about what happened.

Sorry they had to bench you, you´re one of the best

I got out here.

- Thanks. - So how´d your folks take it?

I haven´t told them yet.

I tried telling my dad last night

he´s emergency-eBaying half of Princeton.

I got no D-line without you.

-I could use you this week. -I´d really like to be there.

(Austin) ´Well, there´s nothing I can do about that.´

I talked to Mr. Beels, I told him

you were a really solid student and all that..

...but, uh, they´ve got the rule and, uh, it´s not a bad one.

It´s not only just that I wanna play. I mean, I need this.

If I wanna get anywhere worth going next year.

There´s gotta be some way I can get back out there.

Well, there is.

I´ve, uh, been asking around.

You blew the class when things were going rough.

You didn´t exactly have the easiest summer there.

The whole thing with Colin, I mean

that hit us all a little hard, but you..

...you two were a team.

I don´t think it´d be out of line for you to say so.

I don´t think I wanna play it like that, coach.

I mean, Colin died, I´m not gonna..

...use that, you know?

Yeah, that´s what I thought you´d say.

(Austin) ´Come on.´

Well, it´s always a gamble which is why

your breast is still under warranty, if you can believe it.

- But a rupture? - Yep.

Right there.

Probably sustained in the initial surgery

which accounts for all the soreness.

The good news is that with saline

there´s no danger of toxicity

and the tear is actually quite miniscule.

So I´m not gonna deflate or anything?

Not today. But you are gonna have the implant taken out soon.

But they can replace it right away?

- They can, but-- - But what?

It´s your fault I have to get the surgery again.

You made me get them in the first place.

Made you? You begged me for those for a year.

You picked out the doctor.

I wanted to wait. I wanted to buy you the car.

Well, you know, you can always get it replaced, Stacey.

But you could also see this as a chance

to correct your decision and have both implants removed.

I can´t go back to school flat again.

Everyone will know. I´ll be just like Karen Fenmore.

She got her nose done

and now anytime you ask what she´s doing, all they say is

"Oh, I hear she got a nose job."

Not, "I hear she got a Fulbright."

Well, I understand the pressure or the rewards

of looking a certain way

but there are certain complications here.

There´s capsular contracture, infection, nodules.

Plus the added recovery time.

It is something to think about, sweetie.

We´re gonna listen to him?

I´ll be in the car.

I´m sorry. It might be hard to get her to listen to you

after all that happened with Colin.

You might wanna get a second opinion.

Maybe she´ll listen to someone else.

[piano music]

[music continues]

Have you ever played that piece before?

Not really, but I like it.

Well, that was, um..

What? That was what?

I don´t know..

...how much I should disappoint you.

Well, I was hoping not too much, but--

It´s clear. You have the ear.

And you bring a genuinely remarkable

dynamics and phrasing but, God, you´re a mess of bad habits.

Why, your wrists are stiff, your posture´s hollow

you utterly refuse to move your carriage to the music

but that´s not what gets me. All that I can stand.

You don´t sight read very well. You barely looked at the music.

I learned it.

Still, you must always look at the music.

The sheet is like a movie you´ve watched 10 times.

You may know it by heart, but you find

something new in it every time.

You´ve been getting by on that ear and muscle memory

and it´s a problem.

Well, I´m allowed to make a mistake, right?

As long as I have the ear and the mechanics.

You need the eye too.

You haven´t been putting in your three hours a day.

Look..

...if you wanna be the best lounge player in Denver..

...that´s great.

But if you wanna get into Juilliard..

...if you wanna sit in the center, command performances..

It´s all too ordinary, really.

It´s an unfortunate combination of bad habits..

...bad teachers that let you get away with it.

Well, now I know what to work on through the year, right?

If I wanted to be nice, I would say yes.

But I´m afraid too many people have done

you a disservice by trying to be nice.

Sheet music is like a language, Ephram.

The acquisition´s the same.

If you´re not fluent by the time you´re 8

it´ll always be a foreign language, a struggle.

But to play concert level..

...it must be your primary mode of communication.

I´m sorry.

No, I mean, that can´t be it. Come on.

There´s gotta be something I can do.

How are you doing with your vocabulary?

I hear wonderful things about your women´s studies program.

I´m sure Amy will be here shortly.

I´m sure.

So your mother served tea

we had some little cucumber sandwiches..

...after which I brought the photo albums

so she would know what you look like.

Oh, the ones from your seventh grade gymnastics tournament

really took the cake.

It wasn´t just embarrassing, it was insulting to her.

I said I was sorry.

(Rose) ´We don´t ask that much of you.´

Everyone in this family does their part.

Your father and I go to work. Bright goes for football.

No one needs to be reminded 10 times.

No one needs to have a cattle prod.

To look at you, I´d guess you don´t have

the slightest concern about your future.

Well, I don´t.

- Can I be done here? - Absolute--

(Harry) ´Rose.´

Yes.

Go ahead.

(Rose) ´Now, hold on.´

I know this is hard. I do.

You can´t just forget about everything

that was important to you.

(Harry) ´Rose.´

We don´t have to do this now.

(Harry) ´Go on.´

Excuse me?

We´re angry. She knows it.

That´s enough.

[scoffing]

That is hardly enough.

It was a united front that got us this far with them, Harold.

If we intend to get anywhere with her--

There´s nowhere to go.

Not now. Can´t you see she´s hurting? And with good reaso n.

- I can´t punish that. - We don´t have to punish it.

But I cannot let her continue in this void.

Of course I can see she´s hurting. She doesn´t eat.

She´s up half the night with the TV on. It´s not normal.

She´s not supposed to be normal.

You know, Amy´s not just grieving for Colin

she´s grieving for the life that she wanted and expected.

I met you when I was Colin´s age.

Right now, the rest of her life is like a second choice.

She´s becoming someone I don´t even recognize.

I miss her. I miss her life.

All I have now are eggshells everywhere

and this fear that I´ll say something wrong to remind her.

Am I really supposed to just do nothing?

Yes. You are.

Be thankful that you have the easier job.

Dr. Brown said he could send over the MRI if need be..

...but the rupture was pretty clear.

- The only question-- - Is when it will be replaced.

I don´t know why we´re still talking about this.

- And how old are you, Stacey? - Seventeen.

Seventeen.

What was Dr. Brown´s assessment, if you don´t mind my asking?

He said that getting it replaced probably wasn´t the best idea.

Like after 7 grand and a week of tubes

I´m gonna take them out and use them as a paperweight?

I don´t know why I went to Dr. Brown.

I´m lucky I came out alive.

And I assume you let him know how you feel?

I didn´t tell him anything he didn´t already know.

He suggested we get a second opinion.

I see.

Well, I´m afraid I can´t offer you one.

- You don´t have an opinion? - None.

None whatsoever. No opinions here. Fresh out. Tabula rasa.

Wait, doctor. It wasn´t easy to get her to come in.

Oh, I´m sure it wasn´t. Good day.

And good luck with your breast.

[knocking]

(Harry) ´Yeah?´

Generally, I´m thrilled to take in refugees

from your inferior medicine.

I´m surprised patients don´t flee across the street

from your office more often.

But when you give them good reason to run

you take all the fun out of it.

I just met with your patient, the adolescent implant case.

They needed a second opinion

from someone who wasn´t a plastic surgeon.

Should I not send people your way?

Well, I expect a minimum of discretion.

Any idiot would know that that girl has no business

getting more plastic surgery.

She should have never gotten any in the first place.

It became very clear very quickly

that she didn´t wanna hear that from me.

(Harry) ´And since when does that stop you?´

Ever since you moved here, all you´ve done

is make people listen. You´re Andy Brown.

You meddle, you push, you enmesh and embroil.

Irritate till you get your way. You´re like pestilence.

Look, if they don´t trust me, if they look at me

and all they see is Colin Hart´s memorial photo

there´s not much I can do.

You´re not gonna win their trust

by sending anything more complicated

than a bagel wound to me.

Forgive my saying so but this whole attempt

at rule-abiding good behavior makes you painfully ordinary

and quite frankly, you have no talent for it.

[phone ringing]

That ring takes all the authority

out of everything you just said.

Hello, Rose. What?

What? No, no, I´ll be right home.

[frog croaking]

At least fake it.

If you´re here for the prep class

you´re about two weeks late.

- Traffic. - Will you be joining us?

Looks that way.

You can pay for the book next time. We´ll see how you do.

Am I about to be as bored as I think?

And paying for the privilege.

And what, you´ve known how long? You didn´t bother to tell us?

I had to hear it from Evanston Keller at the Readersmart.

I mean, why didn´t you

just tell us you´re kicked off the team?

- Think we´d be that mad? - Because we are.

I figured you had enough going on without me.

Just because Amy´s having a rough time it doesn´t mean

you get to hide things.

(Bright) ´Yes, it does.´

You don´t wanna hear it from me. You never do.

Everything is always about Amy and her problems.

Amy and her schoolwork.

I always figure everything out on my own.

Well, not this time.

I mean to get you back on that team.

Your guidance counselor may think otherwise

but this battle is far from over. You´ve worked too hard.

I´m not getting back on the team.

I´ve taken on the administration before.

Your mom is not without some influence. We´ll convince them.

There has to be something that we can do.

Yeah, there is.

Coach told me, I need to do is

say I had problems with my classes because of Colin.

Oh.

Well, then that´s what you´ll tell them, then.

First thing tomorrow, we´re making a call.

No, we´re not. I´m not gonna cash in on that.

(Harry) ´Bright, it might seem distasteful.´

But you shouldn´t underestimate how much losing him

may have affected your performance.

You deserve to be back on that team.

You deserve a football scholarship.

You think I wanna be benched?

Having everyone know I´m off the team

because I failed a class no one has a problem with?

- Then why don´t you tell them? - ´Cause I blew the class.

And it wasn´t because of Colin. I failed because I screwed up.

You know, I shouldn´t play.

I wanna go to college but I wanna make it on my own.

Well, we have always assumed the strategy of packaging you

as a student-athlete so it´s a little late to change that.

I mean, making it on your own includes all of your strengths.

My best friend´s death is not one of my strengths.

So, do you even wanna go to college?

- Harold, that´s not-- - No. Let me finish, do you?

It´s my job as your parent..

not to let your personality

stand in the way of your success.

So, you will do whatever you have to do

to get back on that team.

You wanna be mad at me about it, fine, fine.

Let this be my fault. Blame me.

Be mad at me the whole time that you are

in the college of your choice.

If the only way I can get into college is by guilting somebody

then I shouldn´t get in. And I won´t go that way.

So how will you go then, huh?

This isn´t petty rebellion time.

This isn´t some cute wing-stretching opportunity.

This is your future, Bright. You need a football scholarship.

How do you plan to get to college without football?

I´ll work my ass off. I´ll study harder.

I´ll work harder. You push me to play.

You don´t push me to work. I´ll be good at it.

It´s not like we´re hurting so much I can´t get in

- without a scholarship. - It´s not the money.

They won´t accept you without football.

- Why? Why not? - Because you´re not smart.

I-- Now, I didn´t mean..

(TV announcer) ´That is correct.´

Hey.

You know, I was hoping this would be stew

by the time you got home but, okay, we´re having soup tonight.

You´re back late.

- I added a new class. - Oh, really?

- Which one? - SAT prep.

- I´m sorry? - SAT prep, okay?

The one you had no interest in? When did that happen?

I woke up and thought, "How can I make my life more bleak?"

I thought conservatories didn´t care about the SATs.

I thought piano took you out.

Piano´s not taking me anywhere. That plan´s retired.

I don´t understand. Yesterday, you were playing Lincoln Center.

I don´t think my life´s gonna turn out the way I hoped.

If it´s the charts, I´ve recycled them.

It´s not the charts, okay? You were right.

This guy from Juilliard, he came for App-Fest.

He watched me play, gave me a critique. I´m a lounge player.

If I´m lucky, maybe second keyboard in a bar-mitzvah band.

Looks like your backup BA plan´s been pushed to first position.

Wait. Hold on a second. You met with somebody from Juilliard?

When did this happen?

You´re not listening. I sucked.

My technique is ass, there´s nothing I can do about it.

I get to spend my life knowing I blew it.

You get to spend your life gloating about how you

begged me to take playing more serious. I bet you love this.

Love this? I don´t know what happened. I was making soup.

You´d rather be right than have me do well.

That´s not true. I pushed you to study just in case

but I´d rather you be happy doing something you love.

Well, lucky for you, that´s not an option.

I think that´s the longest we´ve ever gone without an insult.

Today is a special day for all.

Well, I´m not so sure about that.

I´m seeing Stacey Wilson again today.

Seems like I´ve had this day before.

Do yourself a favor.

If I offer any more unsolicited advice

on that subject or any other, do the opposite.

Wow.

I´ve never heard you admit you were wrong preemptively before.

Matter of fact, I´ve never heard you admit that you were wrong.

It is, I´m sure, a feeling I´ll get used to.

You have experience having a son who hates you with good reason.

Is there anything I should be doing..

...or is it all just pretty much shouting and regret?

How bad was it?

My fight with Ephram yesterday was about a five, maybe a six.

Nine point five, easy.

-Oh. -Yeah.

Yeah. Ha.

I don´t suppose there´s any way out.

Well, I find that contrition works pretty well.

You just keep telling him what an idiot you are.

They like that. But 9.5?

Yeah, I called you as soon as I saw it.

You´re sure her wrist is broken? You didn´t notice that before?

Well, it´s a hairline fracture. It´s very, very subtle

but it could take a long, long time to heal.

It´s right there, see?

That´s not a fracture, that´s a hair.

Oh.

Wow.

So it is. Ha, ha.

- One of mine. - So my wrist isn´t broken?

I guess not.

While we´re here, we could talk about your surgery options.

Really? We´ve heard plenty from you doctors

- after plenty of visits lately. - I don´t need to listen.

(Andy) ´Oh, I think you do.´

The proof is in those two leaky bags you had hard-pressed

into your chest. Sit down.

Now look.

I don´t knock cosmetic surgery. I´ve seen it save lives.

Not just the cleft palates and reconstructions

but those were adults who had had time to think about it.

You´re a girl who woke up one morning

and decided to buy a woman´s body.

At your age, everybody thinks there´s something wrong.

That´s why most surgeons will make you wait until you´re 18.

Like waiting another year is gonna make a difference.

I´m old enough to decide now.

If your biggest concern when you find out you have

to have your implants replaced is your friends are gonna

find out you´ve got them, you´re not old enough.

Don´t think I blame you.

You´re not the only one who´s at fault here.

I was giving her what she wanted. I kept thinking about

how much better she´d feel about herself.

It wasn´t supposed to be this complicated.

Well, now it is.

By giving in to your daughter, you´ve consigned her

to a lifetime of surgeries.

If you´re lucky, they´re gonna give you trouble now and again.

And so far, you´re not so lucky.

You are 17 years old, Stacey.

You´re gonna be living in that body of yours

for a very long time.

Why don´t you just spend some time in it

and see how it makes you feel?

And then make any changes that you want.

Now...if you will please join us,

we can talk about some of our options?

You´re in Amy´s spot.

Yeah, well, it always worked for her.

I have a quiz tomorrow.

It´s that many books for a quiz?

I´ve got, like, three years to make up.

- Look, Bright-- - You can save it.

You´re not gonna have a football player in the house anymore..

...just a mediocre student.

I never said you were mediocre.

No, no, just dumb.

You failed a class, got kicked off the football team

you didn´t tell us. I got angry.

If I´d known you were having that hard a time

I wouldn´t have come down hard.

You could have told us.

You could have said something.

We don´t talk about that kind of stuff.

Of course we do.

We talk all the time.

No, I mean, tests and grades.

I mean, we talk about what´s going on in my life.

We talk about the game, but--

Well, that doesn´t mean that I´m not interested

in your schoolwork.

But you´re not.

What? Is that why we went to App-Fest?

Looked at all those brochures together, you and I?

No, it´s all stuff you do with Amy.

And she´s always better at the stuff that you were

better at and you paid more attention to her.

You never knew when I had a test.

Or made sure I studied or asked me how I did.

Picked me up from football practice and make sure

I´d ice my shoulder but school´s not our thing.

It never was.

So you really think I won´t get into college without football?

I don´t know what to tell you.

The school´s that you´re looking at, it´ll be tough.

You don´t have the grades.

Well, what if I study now? What about your senior year?

Don´t they notice if people are trying to improve or..?

Maybe.

- Maybe they do. - Alright, well, I´ll try.

Want some help?

I do know a bit about the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act

the successful follow-up to the Dingley Act

if I recall correctly.

I got it.

[drumming]

Well..

[school bell ringing]

- Ephram? - Mm-hm.

(Laynie) ´I think your dad´s here.´

No, impossible. My dad would never show up in school.

- I´d kill him. - No, I really think it´s him.

Oh, please, God, no.

Hi, can I see Ephram for a minute?

Uh, yeah, sure.

Everything okay?

Who was the best piano player of all time?

- What? - The greatest pianist ever?

- Franz Liszt. - Remember how he got there?

1830, he locked himself in his room to practice

didn´t break for food.

1838, he comes out and invents the concert piano.

You got work to do. Let´s go.

- Well, I have class. - You don´t. I´m taking you out.

The schools you´re applying to don´t require SATs.

This is time you should spend practicing.

I´m not good enough to get into a conservatory.

Not yet, but you will be.

Now you know more than Juilliard?

You can´t let one person derail you.

You´re gonna meet a lot of these guys.

My father tried when I told him I wanted

to be a doctor. I´m not about to let

this guy do it with you. I dunno what he told you.

And he had a point about your playing.

But I saw how you blew up at me yesterday.

I blow up at you twice a week.

No, you were angry because someone tried

to take your music away.

I know how that feels.

Ever since Colin died I´ve been doing my best imitation

of a normal doctor but I´m not.

And you´re not a normal kid.

I´m sorry.

You have a gift and it´s weird and I don´t understand it yet

but it´ll always be true.

And it may not take you to Juilliard.

I don´t know where it´ll take you.

But medicine took me around the world and that was pretty cool.

Offer expires when I get to the car.

Can you break me out of gym tomorrow?

[door knocking]

What are you watching?

I´m not sure.

Does anyone really need that much turkey jerky?

(Man) ´for nothing if you ask them, use some soy sauce.´

Do you need anything?

You´re not hungry? You didn´t eat too much at dinner.

No, I´m good, thanks.

- Can I have that back, please? - No.

Maybe you don´t need a TV in your room anymore.

Fine.

Aren´t you angry?

Don´t you wanna get mad? Yell a little? Do something?

We used to fight. We were good at it.

Remember when I tried to take the phone out?

You had a hissy fit all night till I changed my mind.

I said you were tying up the line

and you said, "Well, that´s not fair" or something childish

I said something childish back to you

and then we went at it back and forth like hyenas

for about an hour.

We were absolute brats, both of us.

It was so much fun.

You´re not doing well, you know that.

I guess.

Do you wanna talk to me about it?

Not really.

Would you at least talk to someone?

What, like a therapist?

Like anyone you think might help.

Okay.

(woman on TV) ´Four dollars apiece.´

(Irv) It´s overwhelming, really.

So much purports to be extraordinary

everywhere you go..

...it´s hard to say what really is anymore.

But like an elegantly articulated brushstroke

or a perfect piece of music..

...or even a flawed one, you know it when you see it.

It fills you with a flush.

It holds your breath for you.

[piano music]

You realize it´s 7?

You realize it´s Saturday?

You don´t have to be up for school for about two days.

Are you punishing him?

No, honey.

He´s just practicing.

Let´s go back to bed.

I´m glad I´m not a genius.

I can sleep till noon.

(Irv) You know you´re in the presence of extraordinary

when there´s just no guessing.

And the only thought you can carry..

...is a determination to do even better yourself.