Episode Report Card Niki: D | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Wake Up, Little Susie
By Niki | Season 2 | Episode 1 | Aired on 10.23.2000
"I always wondered what it would be like to have a sister," B/W Jessie says with a smile. "You know, sharing clothes or whatever. Just someone to save you from being a total geek." Grace may not be the answer you're seeking, little one.
Cut to Jessie walking out into the sunshine at the end of the day. As she walks, Grace swings onto the sidewalk ahead of her, calling out to someone off-screen. Jessie holds back for a minute to let Grace get a safe distance ahead of her. "Hey Grace!" Lily calls. She waves Grace over to the Explorer (I should start charging Ford for this, or something) and spots Jessie a few paces back. She tells Jessie that Karen can't make it, so Jessie is supposed to come with her instead. Grace, caught between them, looks distinctly uncomfortable, and Jessie squirms a little too. That's okay, though, because Zoe comes popping out of the Explorer with enough enthusiasm for all of them. She waves excitedly at Jessie, ignoring Grace, and then brushes past Grace to grab Jessie's arm. Heh. She's cute.
Cut to Lily's office, where the girls are arranged in front of computers. When the girls are settled, Lily offers to bring them a snack or drink. Grace gets a cappuccino, Zoe wants pretzels, and Jessie doesn't want anything. (For those of you keeping track, that's one reference to not having a body, one uneaten lunch, and one refused snack...make of it what you will). Lily apparently has been watching Deadline, as she employs Wallace Benton's famed research methodology: she gets the kids to do it for her while she heads off to procure their goodies. Of course, Benton usually wanders off to procure a drink, but still. Zoe and Jessie dive into the Internet, while Grace decides to try out G.I. Jolie's Pretentious McPouty routine, launching a tirade against computers and saying how "bored" she is with them. Because bored is the affectation of choice for the wannabe rebel, these days. Jessie and Zoe watch her rant, and then Jessie nervously admits that she likes email. Grace concedes that email is all right. Zoe sees her chance: she asks for Jessie's email address. Grace immediately warns Jessie against giving it to Zoe, saying, "She'll put you on her buddy list and bug you every time you log on." Zoe vehemently refutes the accusation, but she knows Grace has her number. Oh, and can I just point out that the barrette misuse has now trickled down the family tree? Zoe is sporting a pair of them now, in the same misguided fashion that Grace was wont to do last season. Of course, Zoe is nine, so she doesn't really know any better. Getting back to it: Crusty rounds the corner and sees the kids sitting there. She's a little taken aback, but instead of unsheathing those killer claws, she just smiles and acts friendly. She goes so far as to introduce herself to them. It's unsettling, really. And she's not much fun to ridicule anymore, either. Lily returns with the goodies and passes them around, and Crusty (really, if she keeps up this nice-guy crap, I'm going to have to give her a new nickname. This is serious) gives Lily a mock guilt trip for not bringing her anything. Lily responds appropriately: "Your wish is my command." The smile this statement elicits has a trace of the old Crusty in it, but alas, it doesn't go anywhere. Grace seems to enjoy her mother's mini-grovel, smirking to herself as the scene ends.