[Paige] I guess if I'm honest, I was a tiny bit nervous at the beginning
but, you know, with a new state, new school,
new allergist to get up to speed... [sighs]
but now I love college.
And, I mean, the pressure was on, too,
because my mom met my Aunt Stacy the first week of freshman year,
and I really wanted my own own Aunt Stacy.
Turns out me introducing myself door-to-door was really crucial,
despite, you know, some of the rudeness and the occasional nudity.
I don't just have one Aunt Stacy. I have several.
Wait, you have more than one Aunt Stacy? How do you keep their birthdays straight?
No, Sam, you lost the thread.
I'm talking about college friends.
I mean, what about you? You've not even talked about your new Denton friends.
That's because I don't have any, because I don't need any.
Sam, that's absurd!
Of course you do.
Listen, you're just a little gun-shy because of the whole Tasty Trio debacle,
but we all need as many friends as we can get.
Not me. I already have my real friends, like Zahid.
Zahid's only one friend.
So, I'm only one Sam.
What about me? I'm the one you truly love.
-I told you not to touch my tortoise! -I know. That's why I do it.
Ow! Get out!
I have to go. Edison needs me to put on some soothing music.
This is why you need more friends.
Bye, Paige.
Oh, there you are.
I heard a flush, then you never came out.
I thought I lost you for good.
Sorry, I peed,
but then I heard Sam talking to Paige, so I had to go mess with him.
-Well, obviously. -[phone beeping]
Who is that?
Secret girlfriend.
-What is up with Beth? -She wants to go see Dewey.
He's our dog, lives in New Hampshire.
Shut up. You have a dog?
-Mm-hmm. -What is he doing in New Hampshire?
You know, sniffing butts,
barking at mailmen, just typical canine activity. [laughs]
He lives with our dad.
[Casey] Oh.
And I guess he's not doing too well.
Dewey or your dad?
-Well, Dewey, unfortunately. -Oh.
And Beth wants to go visit him one last time.
What about you?
Yeah, I mean...
it's just every time I visit my dad, I feel like I'm 13 years old.
I just end up yelling at him. And you know me.
I'm not a yeller.
No, you are not.
He just brings out the worst in me.
Yeah, I have no idea what that's like. Elsa makes me my best self.
Do you want me to come with you?
I'll help you stay calm in the face of parental stupidity.
-You? -I'm a certified Zen master. So you know.
Okay, what is that?
Oh, this cool thing?
This just means parents are dumb,
let's not get worked up about it.
-Oh, is that what that is? -Yes.
So when you see this, you know it's time to just relax,
kick back and chill.
Okay.
Yeah, you can come, only 'cause you're dumb and you make me laugh.
I'll take it.
[theme music playing]
[Sam] Tortoises are solitary animals.
They don't need companionship like other animals.
They're happy alone.
In fact, in captivity,
no more than five tortoises can be kept in the same enclosure.
Otherwise, they get aggressive, and it becomes total tortoise mayhem.
My pencil.
Night, Sam. Don't stay too late.
The night janitor gets really talky. Sam.
You okay, dude? You're aura's a little hectic.
Somebody stole my 9B pencil!
Oh, boy, no bueno. You think you misplaced it?
What?
No, of course I didn't misplace it.
How would I have misplaced it? It's a really important pencil.
[scoffs] They all are. I get it.
I lost one of my pastels once and drove into a tree.
Burnt umber.
Maybe it was an accident. Did someone come near your workplace?
Light blue Converse. Light blue Converse.
Never did find that pastel.
I mean, I got a replacement, but it was never as good.
Light blue Converse. Light blue Converse.
9B. That's a good pencil.
Hey, you stole my 9B pencil.
No, I didn't.
I asked if I could borrow it
and you just kind of grunted,
which I thought that yes, so I borrowed it.
Then I told you I was putting it back in the soft case
because that graphite does better in a soft container.
You grunted again, so I thought you were cool with it.
I don't remember any of that.
Okay, bye.
You know, it's pretty cool watching you draw.
You get really into it. Like you have tunnel vision or something.
Thank you.
I'm Abby. Who are you?
I'm Sam Gardner.
Me and my roommates are having a party tomorrow night.
Well, we're calling it an art jam.
I was pushing for shindig,
but Brendan always gets his way.
You should come.
I don't go to parties.
Well, in case you change your mind.
I won't. Good starfish, though.
[Elsa] I had a dream the other night that I drowned in a lake.
I didn't die, but the ice froze over,
and I was trapped,
thrashing around under the water
and I could see everyone above me on the surface,
and they were all doing great without me and I'm...
Well, I think ever since I almost killed Cindy,
that I've been drowning.
You should probably tell them Cindy's a plant.
I thought that was obvious.
So that went pretty well, don't you think?
Yeah, definitely.
I'm starving. You wanna get something to eat?
I don't think so.
-Is everything okay? -[sighs] Elsa stopped by my place.
What?
She said it was to drop off my jacket, but...
I don't know.
Is she okay with our friendship?
Trust me, if Elsa has a problem with something, she'll let me know.
[laughs] Yeah, I did get that impression.
Okay. There's this new Thai place on Maple I've been wanting to check out.
You wanna follow me there?
Yeah. Yeah.
I'll see you in a little bit.
I'll see you there.
Look at this face, look at it.
Is it not lovable? Do you not wanna spend time with his face?
Only when it's attached to your body.
Damn, right!
So why can't the peeps in my nursing school see that?
You'd think with nine chicks to every dude,
I'd be swimming in a sea of potential Valentines.
But instead, I get left out of everything.
Last week a group from my fundamentals of nursing class went and got mani-pedis.
Did they invite the Z-man?
-I have no idea. -They did not.
And you know how much Papa loves a good callus removal.
Oh, and on Sunday, my study group went to see Miley Cyrus in concert.
The whole planet knows how I feel about Miley.
"Wrecking Ball" is the saddest song ever written.
Yet no invite for Z. It's a disgrace.
Well, if it makes you feel any better,
my classmates can be annoying, too, like the pencil thief.
Well, that's not her real name, it's Abby.
She wears light blue shoes.
Oh, I hate her already.
So, what did this Abby do to ya?
She invited me to a party or...
well, an art jam.
We must go.
What?
Dude, I love jam and jams.
I don't know, I've never been to a real party,
and the last time I almost went to one,
Arlo stole my money and pushed me down.
And he's been receiving a small amount of feces in the mail every month ever since.
What?
The less you know the better.
Anyway, Sammy, here is the secret about parties:
each one has the power to change your whole life.
Now, it may not happen, but this could be the one.
No.
[scoffs] Okay, look...
I didn't wanna say this, but I kind of need this right now.
My super smooth social skills have not really been working
with these ladies nurses and, well...
Brown Sugar's feeling adrift.
Would it help if I whimpered? [whimpers]
Definitely not.
Well, think of it like an expedition. Like your boyfriend, Shacklebutt.
Shackleton.
Yeah, that's the stuff.
Come on, what do you say?
Do it for the Big Dog?
-[sighs] Okay, fine. -Yes!
But if the music's too loud or the snacks are mesquite-y, I'm leaving.
Deal, a thousand times deal.
Hey, quick question.
Do you think they're gonna need any nude models for this art deal-y?
'Cause I just bought these slick new tear-away track pants.
I'll bring 'em just in case.
What's going on?
Oh, there's a sweet, young family
in my autism group and they're going through some hard times,
and I've been feeling like I needed a little purpose lately.
So I decided to organize a clothing drive.
Oh, that's nice.
Did you go by Megan's house the other day?
Yep.
Why?
[exhales] Well, she left her jacket here,
and then when you brought those two beers of yours into our kitchen,
I just wanted to rip the skin off her face.
So then went to her house, but then I realized she's just a mom like me.
What's between us is just that:
between us.
Okay.
So, do you have any clothes you wanna donate?
Yeah, I have some old pants and some stuff I'll get.
That'd be great.
This is so fun. It's just like Thelma and Louise
and Louise's brother.
Let's drive off a cliff! [laughs]
Just kidding. Duds for my buds?
Sure, Dud me.
How are you so peppy right now?
We're driving into hell.
It's not hell. It's New Hampshire.
I know Dad can be a bit of a bad apple,
but my Achilles' heel is my big giant heart.
I love that about you.
I love everything about you.
-All right. -[car rumbles]
-Hmm. That was encouraging. -Oh, don't worry.
It's just my car's way of saying hello.
You only have to worry when she doesn't do that.
Hey, do you think Dewey still likes tummy rubs?
I'm gonna find out!
Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but...
you should listen to the Big Dog and be like Ernest Shacklebutt.
-Shackleton. -Oh, who cares?
I'm just excited that you're going to a party.
Just be careful if you bring snacks.
Why?
Well, I didn't wanna say anything 'cause I didn't wanna scare you.
But my roommate Meredith,
she's become sort of a cautionary tale on campus.
Okay.
At first everything was totally fine.
But then she got really homesick.
She stopped showering and started sleeping all the time.
Then me and my friends convinced her to go to a party.
She thought it would be a good idea to bring a nice block of Manchego.
But when we got there, they didn't have a knife, they didn't have any crackers.
So after Meredith had two Aperol spritzes,
she needed something in her belly.
When they finally found her,
she was crouched in a corner nibbling on the block of cheese like a little mouse.
And ever since she's been known as the dorm rat.
[laughs] Oh, that's a funny nickname.
No, it's dumb.
It's dumb, and it's hurtful.
Because now, Meredith spends every night alone in the common area
just staring off into space and eating her microwaved burrito.
The point is,
be social, make friends, it's so important.
Okay.
I'm only really going because the lady nurses are mean to Zahid.
He's probably trying to look down their loose scrub shirts all the time.
-Ah, hey there, Bethy. -Daddy!
Hi.
I made positivity brownies.
I thought a good thought with every stir.
Hmm. Look at you.
I can't believe my boy is 19. [imitates explosion]
How'd that happen?
It didn't. I'm 18.
Well, you look good.
-This is Casey. -Hi.
Hi. Beth's told me me a lot about you. You guys hungry?
-Josie made ham sandwiches. -Oh, okay.
God, he doesn't even know my age.
Hey, remember this.
[Evan sighs]
Casey, come meet Josie.
She's my foxy lady.
Don't get any ideas, Evan, that's your stepmom.
No! [laughs]
Evan, your dad is so proud of you.
We really wanted to come to your high school certificate ceremony,
but since we couldn't, I'm just gonna...
Happy graduation.
Oh, wow.
Just like being in Hawaii, right?
So neat.
Jos took a Photoshop class
through the University of Phoenix. That's where she learned to do all that.
Thanks, Josie.
-This is-- this is-- I love it. -[Casey] Mm-hmm.
Oh, no problem. [laughs]
Oh, here's another one.
I just love this photo of your dad so much.
But your mom was in it, so I just replaced her with a llama.
-It's like he's on safari. -[laughing]
I took that.
So what's going on with you?
You working, taking classes?
Uh... Yeah, I'm working at Don's Pizza Shop.
No community college or anything?
Huh! Good for you. An honest day's pay for an honest day's work.
You're not pretending to be someone you're not. You got grit.
[Beth laughs] He does have grit.
I know it was hard
for you kids when I left,
but in some ways it was the best possible thing that could've happened.
It made you who you are today.
What? Dad, are you serious?
Evan, all I meant was--
Just forget it.
So, where's Dewey?
I made him seven flavored dog brownies.
-Oh. -Oh.
-Um, well, Dewey lives outside now. -Yeah.
-Like all the time? -He likes it that way.
He's got the whole backyard to himself.
You wanna introduce me?
Uh, yeah, yeah.
Cool. We're gonna...
-Hello. -Hi.
Carpooled with Kathy. Need wine now.
Oh.
Oh, no.
-Everything all right? -Hardly.
As you know, I am very connected to the spirit world,
and I'm pretty sure...
Yep, definitely...
YGAGG. You got a ghost, girl.
What?
I've never felt it before, but, I mean, maybe it stowed away in one of the boxes.
Are there any pockets of cool air in this room?
[knock on door]
Did anyone else just hear that?
[Elsa] I got it.
Izzie, hi.
Hi, Mrs. Gardner.
I know Casey isn't here, but I was in the neighborhood
dropping my brother off at his friend's house so I thought I should come by.
I accidentally took...
Casey's math book yesterday.
-Oh, okay. -Yeah.
So...
I should go home.
You know, we could really use your help.
We're doing this big clothing drive,
and you have such a great sense of style.
Give us a hand?
Okay. Yeah.
Question: was the previous occupant of this house named Earl?
Or...
Pearl?
Or...
Worrell?
Worrell? Is that even a name?
Nobody here was ever named Worrell.
Hmm.
I think you're wrong.
Last thing you wanna do is talk shop at a party,
so no artsy-fartsy chitchat.
If you need to leave, tap me on my shoulder
and out we're outie.
Unless I have a honey on the line, in which case, hoof it, capiche?
-Can we go inside now? -No.
When I walk in, I'm gonna pop this, and you're gonna scream, "Party people!"
-Absolutely not. -Too late.
Party train's a'rollin'.
[beat-boxing]
[hip-hop music playing]
♪ Go and keep it going, yeah ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
[both] Whoa.
Hey, Sam. I'm glad you made it.
Oh, hi, Abby.
I wasn't going to come,
but my girlfriend Paige says it's important to make new friends.
Sorry, would you mind turning down your backpack?
Yes, very much.
[music continues playing]
There's a ton of cool people here.
-Have you met any of the potheads? -Potheads?
I was talking about the ceramicists.
-Ceramicists? -They're total psychos. Here, come on.
Okay, buddy, have fun.
Don't worry about me.
I'll just be over here
not listening to DJ Pattycakes, except in my head.
You can't stop this beat. [chuckles]
'Sup?
-[barks] -[laughing] Good boy.
-Come here! -[Casey sighs]
I'm sorry for dragging you into this.
We shouldn't have come here. It's just the same old shit with my dad every time.
-[sighs] -Yeah.
But then we wouldn't get to say goodbye to Dewey.
-[laughing] -[yapping]
[Casey] So what's wrong with Dewey, anyway?
Oh! Yes, Dewey!
I mean, everyone dies sometime.
You said Dewey could go any day.
That is technically true.
Last week I nearly choked to death on a string cheese.
-Life is so precious. -[Evan] So...
There's was never really anything wrong with Dewey, was there?
[sighs] All right, let's go.
Aw, come on, can't a dad just wanna see his kids?
Yeah, most dad's could, not you!
-Okay. -Fine. There is one thing.
I need your signature on some papers.
[Evan] For what?
When you were little, your grandmother started a college savings account for you.
I just figured since you're not using it...
-So, okay, let me get this straight. -[Casey exhales]
You lured us here with a fake dying dog
so you could get my college money from Grandma?
When you say it like that, it sounds bad.
-It is bad. -Dad, do you have any milk to go
with these brownies?
Okay, let loose.
No, let's just go. Look at him.
It's not even worth it.
Yeah, it is.
You know what, Duane?
-You are an asshole. -[Evan gasps]
It is shocking you have kids this great.
And if Evan doesn't wanna go to college, that is his decision.
That's not yours,
it's not mine, it's his.
You lost the right to say shit the moment you walked out the door
and didn't come back or call for, what, 18 months?
Eighteen months?
You jerk.
Thank you for the hospitality.
You seem sweet.
Oh, my God.
I am so sorry. I can't believe I yelled at your dad.
I was the one who was supposed to be keeping you calm.
You are amazing.
That's the first time I haven't yelled at my dad, like, ten years.
-I love you so much. -[laughs]
What's taking Beth so long?
I don't know, but Josie's looking at us. I really wanna get the hell out of here.
Casey, I feel so empowered!
I told my dad to eat sugar and then I dognapped Dewey!
-Oh, my God! -Duane!
Now drive, Evan, drive!
[barking]
[engine turns over]
[musical bell chiming]
[man] Time. Pencils down.
Dude, what? You're a machine.
Thank you.
I like your drawing, too, especially your duck's fedora.
She's going to the royal wedding.
Hey, how do you get your webbed feet to look like that?
It's all in the shading technique.
Can you show me?
I was already going to whether you asked or not.
Do you have your blending stumps?
Five millimeter or ten?
Better keep them both handy.
Yo ho ho, ducks and hats, huh?
I've ducked a few hats in my day, you know what I mean, huh?
Ugh... okay.
Well, looks like the party sorta died down...
before we got here. [chuckles]
Okay, what do you say, Sam? Call it a night?
Oh, okay.
I guess we could go.
Okay. And your next prompt is penguins.
Yes!
You can't smoke that in here.
Because that would be too fun?
No, because Travis has asthma.
[inhales]
Zahid, wait.
Yeah?
If you're going outside anyway, can you take the recycling?
It's in a can by the back door. Thanks.
And go.
[pop music playing faintly]
♪ All I wanted was to break your walls ♪
♪ All you ever did was wreck me ♪
♪ I came in like a wrecking ball... ♪
Miley Cyrus, huh?
You know it.
She's one of the six people on this planet who actually tells the truth.
I've never counted, but I believe you.
You shouldn't. I'm not one of the six.
[chuckles] I'm Zahid.
Gretchen.
So, Gretchen, what is an obviously cultured woman such as yourself
doing hanging out by a dumpster?
[scoffs]
I did that thing where that lady says to toss out anything
that doesn't spark joy.
[Zahid] Ah.
I'm not usually that impressionable,
but I was like, she's right, who needs tons of stuff?
But then when my apartment was empty, I realized... I do.
So here I am.
Hey. You look...
limber.
Wanna swan dive on in there
and tell me if you can see a cool mist humidifier?
Uh... no, but I will look for you.
Sorry, I don't see it.
Damn.
I kind of wanna cry right now,
but maybe it's because this is the saddest song in the universe.
[song continues playing]
Gretchen, I'd like to go absolutely anywhere with you right now
to discuss absolutely anything. You down with that?
Okay.
Hmm?
♪ Yeah, you, you wreck me ♪
Hey.
-So I've been doing some thinking-- -Don't lie.
Sorry.
It's my shit-giving reflex, it's out of control.
I just... I think...
that the reason why I've had...
so much trouble getting my head around the whole...
California thing is just that I...
[sighs]
I just... I don't wanna be like my dad.
What are you talking about? Dude, you could never.
No, I know it doesn't make any sense.
I just...
I think that if I ever left...
I'd always feel like I was abandoning my mom or Beth.
I just can't do that.
You're right.
That doesn't make any sense.
-[gears grind] -Oh!
I think that's your car's way of saying goodbye.
[engine sputters]
-I made that. -[laughs] It's ridiculously adorable.
Hmm. Casey refused to wear it, of course.
But she did put it on her stuffed zebra for a while so I consider that a win.
Okay, nope, you are not giving this one away. [laughs]
Oh, I remember that day.
Casey got in trouble at school for acting out.
She was so upset about it.
So the next day I picked her up early from school
and I took her to Sal E. Sour Cream,
and we had lunch together, and it was special
because we could never go there as a family because Sam hated it,
you know, because of the lights and the noise and...
-Oh, she was so happy. -[laughs]
Oh, honey, honey, I'm sorry.
[sniffles] No, no, no, it's okay.
[laughs]
I don't know why I'm crying, it's so stupid.
No, it's not stupid.
[sniffles]
I don't know, I...
I guess I just wish I had a childhood like that.
Me too.
Growing up, well...
it wasn't a great environment.
I think that's why I always tried so hard...
to make it different for Sam and Casey, you know,
to give them, like,
the perfect, perfect childhood.
I probably went overboard, I mean, I probably still do. [laughs]
I'm gonna tell you something that I wish someone had told me.
Our door is always open.
No matter what you need, anything at all, even if it's a place to stay.
Thanks.
-But I'm really scared of ghosts. -[laughing]
So I don't think so.
Hey, thanks for picking us up. It's a really long drive.
Well, I'm not gonna just leave you guys on the side of the road
with all the stuff I see is an EMT.
It's really cool.
You, like, rescue people.
-You know, you save lives. -Yeah.
Hey, do you to go to college to be an EMT?
No. I know guys that didn't.
But you have time to figure that out. You're, what, 18, right?
Yeah. I am.
Yeah, you plenty of time to figure it all out.
[gasps] Oh, good, are you finally moving out?
Ha ha. Good to see you, too.
Hey, how was it? How are the kids?
They're fine? Did you know they went up there to kidnap a dog?
A dog?
Anyway, I'm gonna hit the back seat of your car with a Dustbuster tomorrow
to get out the rest of that fur.
Thank you.
Looks like you got a lot done. You need any help carrying anything?
Nah, I'm almost finished.
I can do the rest in the morning.
Oh, and Kathy thinks we have a ghost.
Oh, she does?
Well, I just hope it's not another teenager.
[laughs]
Hey, Sam, have you seen Zahid?
He was supposed to be here an hour ago. I'm starting to get worried.
It's not like him.
He has many flaws, but he's usually very punctual.
No, but he did send me a text last night.
Eggplant, water droplet, dragon.
Zahid met a dragon, or he ate a wet eggplant,
or he went swimming with a dragon?
Who the heck's the dragon?
Clearly I'm the dragon, bro.
Sorry, I'm late, buddy, won't happen again.
Great haircut, obviously.
Well, catch you at lunch.
Dude, I just had a 65-hour date
with the most amazing-ass girl I met at that lame-ass party you dragged me to.
Her name is Gretchen. She can touch her tongue to her nose.
She loves jerk goat,
and we're buying a waterbed together! Squeezes.
You thought the party was lame-ass?
Super duper lame-ass, the lamest of all asses.
But it just goes to show you, every party has the power to change your whole life.
[sighs] Kids these days, meeting people on Bumble and Tinder and Squirt...
Not me. I met my love by a dumpster.
-Your love? -That's right, Sammy.
I'm in love!
[sniffs]
I've been so busy falling in love, I haven't showered in a few days.
Can you cover me while I go splash some water on my pits and nuts? Okay, thanks.
[Paige] Wait, that's what an eggplant means?
Oh, my God, I had no idea.
I've used that one a lot. [sighs]
Well, anyway, I'm proud of you, Sam Gardner.
You went to a college party, and you made friends.
It's like I always say, we need as many friends as we can get.
I'm still not sure if that's true,
but I'm glad I went to the party.
I guess I'm not like your microwaved burrito friend after all. [laughs]
A dorm rat has no friends.
[exhales] Well, I should probably get going.
I'm meeting some peeps off campus for dinner.
Lucky for me, my friend Brie has a car.
It's a VW Beetle.
She even has those fake eyelashes on the headlights and everything.
It's hilarious.
Okay, bye, Paige.
Bye, Sam.
[sighs]
[exhales]
♪ We clawed We chained our hearts in vain ♪
♪ We jumped never asking why ♪
♪ We kissed, I fell under your spell... ♪
[microwave beeps]
Look who it is.
Hey, what's up, dorm rat?
Don't forget to put cheese on that burrito.
[laughing, chattering]
[Paige inhales, exhales]
-[shouts] -♪ I came in like a wrecking ball ♪
♪ I never hit so hard in love ♪
♪ All I wanted was to break your walls ♪
♪ All you ever did was wreck me ♪
♪ I came in like a wrecking ball ♪
♪ Yeah, I just closed my eyes and swung ♪
♪ Left me crashing in a blazing fall ♪
♪ All you ever did was wreck me ♪
♪ Yeah, you, you wreck me ♪