Episode Report Card Niki: D | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Mediation
By Niki | Season 1 | Episode 13 | Aired on 01.23.2000
The mediator, who happens to be about two years pregnant, excuses herself to go to the bathroom. You get the impression she doesn't have much holding power, and Lily graciously says "Of course," but then asks the woman how far along she is. Then just as the poor woman is about to close the bathroom door (her washroom is conveniently located behind her desk), Lily stops her to ask another "quick question." Looking like she's going to cry, explode, or both, the mediator listens as Lily wonders whether they'll have to sell the house. Like it can't wait until after the pregnant lady goes to the bathroom. Although her teeth must be close to floating, the mediator explains that in about ninety percent of divorces, there just aren't enough assets to divide so that one spouse can keep the house while the other still gets fair value. And with that, she shuts the door to seek sweet relief.
Cut to the high-school, where the bell is ringing, and Jennifer is looking really happy to see Grace in the doorway of the tutoring office. She then switches Eli's current "backstabber" tutor for Grace, since things are less likely "to turn into a whole socializing thing" with her. Eli walks in and looks pretty unexcited when Jennifer tells him Grace is his tutor.
Meanwhile, Rick is at David's desk, demanding to know why the facade on a design has changed again. "Not epic enough" David answers scornfully. Rick repeats the answer in disbelief. David says the client wants the building to inspire "awe and dread" as "only great architecture can." Rick still can't believe it, to which David says he's "gotta meet his guy." Rick offers to tag along the next day, saying "maybe [he] can supply the dread."
Grace and Eli are sitting in one of those "special use" classrooms -- the kind that have tables and chairs instead of desks. Eli's rooting around in his bag looking for his assignment. Grace asks if it's going to be a problem, and Eli thinks she's asking about the tutoring in general, and he proceeds to slide into some jock-talk, explaining how he's gotta do it for the team. But, duh, she meant is it a problem that she's tutoring him. He says no, so they dive right into the assignment -- writing an essay about "Kaymuss's [sic] The Stranger" -- and provide an opportunity for all of the literary snobs in the audience to smile condescendingly and congratulate themselves for being so smart because they know the author's name, Camus, rhymes with Shamoo not Amos. When he says that he has to explain why "the hero, or why the guy, is an anti-hero," Grace perceptively asks him if he knows what an anti-hero is. As she explains the concept to him, she subtly works in a proper pronunciation of the author's name, and Eli looks a little embarrassed. Grace misunderstands the source of his uncomfortable expression, and says that it was dumb of her to think he'd want her as a tutor just because their parents used to date. Eli's ears visibly perk at this statement, and Grace is astonished that he didn't know of the split. "Wow. It explains so much" Eli says. Looks like Grace is learnin' him all sortsa important stuff.