Episode Report Card Niki: D | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT My Brilliant Career
By Niki | Season 1 | Episode 20 | Aired on 04.09.2000
We don't have to wait too long for an answer as Lily follows the sound of the boss-girl's very loud, very crusty voice to her office. We don't actually see Idiot yet, just a pair of high-heeled, lace-up boots resting decisively on the desk. Lily waits in the doorway while the girl finishes chewing out her victim. When she spots Lily, she welcomes her to the "asylum." Truer words were never spoken. Idiot proceeds to bitch and moan about all the editing and rewriting there is to do, especially since the "rehab-boy" she was complaining about on the phone has taken a powder on his piece, leaving her to ghost-write it. The piece is going to trace the downfall of the guy back to his mother -- not to "blame" but to "explain" how she contributed to the mess his life's become -- and Idiot says she'll just model his mother on her own. She says it's great how her mother's never recognized herself in Idiot's articles before. I'm beginning to rethink the girl's nickname at this point. Crusty Parker seems somehow apropos. In revealing this less-than-savory side of herself, Crusty has been implying that Lily will be helping her with this monstrous workload. Not quite. She proceeds to quash Lily's hopes by informing her that she's going to get started by addressing some swag. She explains the intricate complexities of the assignment, like how the right people need to get the right sized t-shirt, and the address cards are going to be tied on by hand. Then she asks the all-important question: Does Lily have good handwriting? Crusty gravely informs her that, if she doesn't, now's the time to confess. Lily assuages her fears by assuring Crusty that she has excellent penmanship, and receives two perky thumbs-up as a reward. Guess Crusty is all out of little gold stars. On her way out of the office, Lily lets us know how flustered she is by walking into the doorway.
We cut to the hallway of Grace's high school. Jared's passing by, and he stops to cast an appreciative eye and tell her she looks "goo-ood." He asks if she did something different with her hair. When I stop laughing, I realize he wasn't, in fact, kidding. Somehow, he's missed the purple beacons that are her eyelids, and is busily trying to figure out why she looks so fresh. Grace is all awkward and self-conscious, silently praying that he doesn't solve the mystery and say it out loud. Regarding her hair, she says no, she didn't do anything different. "Maybe in an alternate universe, but not this one." Wha?? Apparently, her strategy is to confuse the boy so thoroughly that he forgets his quest. It seems to work. Jared changes the subject to his father, who's a systems analyst with a side gig as a jazz pianist. He's got a gig that night, and it involves a free meal, so Jared wants to know if Grace would like to join him. She gushes out an answer just before getting clobbered by a classroom door that swings open unexpectedly.