Episode Report Card Niki: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Go Greyhound
By Niki | Season 2 | Episode 21 | Aired on 04.24.2001
Cut to Eli hovering in the doorway to a gym or something. It's all rigged out with a stage and lighting equipment. He spots Grace mingling with another student near the stage, and calls her over to the door. Grace is wearing the same redone denim skirt she's worn a few times now. I like that about this show -- that characters seem to have actual closets full of a finite number of clothes, just like real people. Anyway, Eli asks whether Wannabe said anything to Grace about her stepmother wanting to send her back to "rehab, or whatever it's called." Grace flutters her eyes sarcastically and says, "It's a therapeutic community." Eli says that Wannabe's not going home. Grace's gaze shifts to the floor. Eli says that he'd invite Wannabe to stay at his place, but that his "parents would never go for that." Ha! There's an understatement. The ass-pole would splinter into a thousand toothpicks if it ever encountered Wannabe. Eli hesitates and tentatively asks Grace ask to have Wannabe stay at her place. Grace hedges. Eli stares into her eyes and gives her a little smile, saying, "It would be great if [she] could" ask. Grace melts. Eli thanks her, and Grace heads back to the stage.
Cut to Rick's place as he throws open the door for a mover who's wheeling out his coffee table. Eli moves past the mover into the apartment. Rick's busy talking on the cordless phone to someone about ideas to pitch for some new job. He tosses out a "climbing wall in the lobby" and directs the person on the other end to pull some old plans. So things appear to be looking up a little on the business front. Eli slyly shuffles through the mail and pulls out an envelope. It's a rejection letter from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He hurriedly scans it and shoves it inside his jacket as Rick ends his call. Eli hands Rick the rest of the mail and books for the stairs. Suddenly, packing his room has never seemed so appealing. Rick says that "if [they] can get the kitchen stuff and the rest of the books over to Lily's by tonight, that'd be huge." Eli forces enthusiasm. He heads for the safety of his room, but pauses on the landing to glance back at Rick with a mix of guilt over his failure and disgust at Rick's cluelessness. He shakes his head and continues up the stairs.
Judy, meanwhile, is busily pinning the hem of some mauve dress. The camera pans back, and we see that it's Jessie in the dress. Zoe is standing next to her, in a matching dress. Judy tells Jessie that "the dress looks amazing on [her]," and Zoe agrees. Zoe pops up on her tiptoes and asks if she can wear high heels. Lily distractedly sighs, "We'll see." She hears the front door open and bellows for Grace to come in and try on her dress. Grace and Wannabe appear in the doorway. Grace says she'll "just wear heels if it's too long." Lily whines at Grace's obvious lack of enthusiasm. Wannabe hangs up her jacket and her carpetbag and wanders into the living room, smiling and saying with wonder, "Are these the dresses? They're beautiful, really beautiful." She glances down at Judy and says, "Hi, I'm Carla." Judy says she knows, they've met. Wannabe doesn't remember, but she's friendly about it. Judy smiles at her. Wannabe asks Lily if she can use the washroom. Who is this girl, full of manners and kind words? And is she only behaving nicely because she needs a place to stay? As soon as Wannabe leaves the room, Zoe bends down and stage whispers to Lily, "She is so bizarre!" Grace takes a few menacing steps and warns Zoe to head off the Wannabe-bashing. Zoe rolls her eyes and "whatever"s. Lily sternly whispers for both of them to stop it. Judy smiles at Jessie and mutters, "Sisters," to break the tension. Grace asks to speak with Lily in private.