Dear Sally...
OK, listen. You're not gonna believe this.
First of all, New York's the best, Thank God I decided to stay,
At first it was scary, even walking down the sidewalk,
It was like being one snowflake in a crazy blizzard,
But then it occurred to me, everyone's one snowflake,
I know my parents are probably freaking out back in California,
so to reassure them New York isn't swallowing their daughter,
I've called them a few times, leaving ten-minute messages,
So here's the thing you won't believe.
I was feeling totally OK about the whole Ben thing,
It was just a stupid crush, It didn't work out, That's all, Over, Next,
I thought things might be weird between me and Julie,
but we talked, and it turns out she's totally over Ben, too,
So we were both over Ben,
- I'll call you later. - Yeah.
- So you're staying?. - Yeah.
I decided to sweat it out for a little bit.
- What?. - Nothing.
I just can't figure you out.
It sort of threw me when he said that,
At the time, I didn't know what to make of it,
OK, finally the thing you're not going to believe,
I was at work-study, filing housing documents,
and Mrs Jessup came up to me,
It seemed someone called the Admissions Office, A young man,
He wanted to know if he could access students' college application essays,
Mine,
Mrs Jessup told him no,
and he hung up without leaving his name,
Then Mrs Jessup congratulated me on having an admirer,
Hold on. I'm just finishing a really bad sentence.
I did the floor calendar.
Great. This is perfect.
You didn't call the Admissions Office, did you?.
- For what?. - To ask for my essay.
I don't understand.
Nothing.
- Why would I call them?. - No, you wouldn't.
- Just forget about it. - Wait. You gotta tell me.
You're obligated to explain.
- Can I... - Yeah.
I find it really easy to talk to you.
Yeah, I feel the same way.
But the other day, when I asked you that question and you said yes,
it just... it makes it harder to talk to you.
I have to clear something up.
When I said I had feelings for you...
- That was the question. - I know.
I get feelings for people a lot. I'm sensitive.
OK.
- I get crushes on everyone. - You do?. OK.
Don't blow this out of proportion.
It was this weird "I'm the RA," which I've never been before,
and you're the new freshman.
It was more like a power trip kind of thing.
I have feelings for you. I like you.
But it's all just natural and unromantic as hell.
- Am I blushing?. - Sort of.
Well, so here's the thing.
You know how I read Ben's college-application essay?.
OK, this is about Ben?. Alright.
- This is way too weird. - No. Wait a minute. It's OK.
I just think that maybe Ben is uncomfortable
that I read his essay behind his back and he didn't read mine.
I think he might have called the Admissions Office to get it.
- You don't want him to see it?. - No way.
I mean, mostly because it's about him.
Your application essay's about Ben?.
I can't show him my essay, right?.
That would be humiliating.
Yeah, I don't think you can let Ben see that essay.
OK.
- I think I'm going to. - You were asking my advice.
- You were a bouncing board. - Bouncing board?.
This was helpful. I'm not going to hand it to him.
That might embarrass him. I'll mail it.
I think you're making a mistake.
This is coming from someone who doesn't have a crush on you.
I'm still sending Ben my essay.
Don't come back unless you're gonna listen to me.
- Thank you, Noel. - I mean it.
Here's my new theory,
No matter what, you can never be ashamed of the truth,
Never,
Anyway, I hope that you're happy,
and that you're finding a life in Santa Fe.
I miss you, Sally.
Talk back soon, OK?.
Love, Felicity.
What are you doing here?.
What is this?.
Come in. Close the door.
We're trying to understand why you're so adamant about New York.
You said you went back home.
- You lied to me?. - We didn't lie.
- I asked if the flight was bumpy... - Your mother said we were fine.
- What did you tell them?. - To talk to their daughter.
We need to understand where this big switch came from.
Nancy even asked me if you were on drugs.
You honestly think I'm on drugs?.
We don't know what to think.
But you could imagine that I'm here because of drugs?.
Are you angry with us?.
We can't get answers anywhere.
Not from you, the Admissions Office, your counsellor.
What do you mean?.
We want to know where this need to be in Manhattan comes from.
You said Admissions Office.
I tried to get a copy of your application essay.
Oh, God.
- They refused to give it to me. - No.
I can't believe this.
Damn it!
She was never like this before.
Hold on.
- Larry, what's up?. - I'm having problems with Lewis.
- What is it?. - He talks in his sleep. Pretty loud.
- That is annoying. - That's not even it.
- It's the subject matter. - What's he talking about?.
Buying knives and killing his roommate.
Which is a problem.
OK. I'll talk to Lewis.
- You'll talk to him?. - I'll handle it.
- Thanks. - Yeah.
Hi. This is kind of a strange request.
I'm curious if you could tell me
if a letter I sent to a friend of mine has arrived.
His name is Ben Covington.
It's a cream envelope, letter-sized. There's no return address on it.
Please?.
I'm not supposed to do that.
Do what?.
Give information vis-à-vis other students, OK?.
This is important.
I sent him an invitation and I just need to know that he got it.
I don't know which box is his.
It's Covington. Ben.
It's a cream-coloured envelope.
Please.
What?.
Is there any way you could give me back that envelope?.
Give it to you?. OK. No.
Sir, I need you to give me that envelope.
It would constitute a federal offence.
- I won't tell anyone. - It might be fine for you.
However, I have a conscience.
What is that supposed to mean?.
How you doing?.
You alright?. You seem a little bit...
No, I'm good. I'm still trying to get all my classes.
Yeah. I haven't signed up for any of mine either.
Really?. You gotta get those electives pretty soon.
- Sorry, brother. You alright?. - I'm alright.
It's alright. I got it.
OK, well, I'll let you...
I was thinking... It's really good that you're staying.
So you have no intention of buying any knives?.
No.
Or killing your roommate?.
No.
I gotta be honest with you, Lewis. I wish you were more convincing.
I wanna finish this conversation later.
Come in.
So guess what. It wasn't Ben who was asking about my essay.
It was my dad.
OK, but you didn't send it to Ben yet, did you?.
That's great.
Years from now, Ben will look back on college
and remember Felicity Porter as that obsessive girl with frizzy hair
who not only followed him across the country,
but then began randomly sending him information about herself,
as if he'd ever asked for any.
If you can live with it, you're OK.
And my parents are meeting with me and my counsellor.
It'll be this horrible mediation attempt.
That's why I'm here. I have a theory about this.
You should invite your parents to the dorm.
They can meet your RA, who'll make them feel secure.
Show them the place.
Otherwise, where you live will always be a mystery.
Do you think that's the best thing to do?.
Yeah, I do. I mean, I'm just your RA, but...
I really appreciate your not saying "I told you so"
about sending Ben the essay.
You're welcome.
- Although, that is all I'm thinking. - I know.
Mark, when you talk to her, make it sound as good as you can.
OK?. Can you hang on a second?.
Hello?.
Felicity. Let me get rid of this call.
- Felicity. - We didn't mean to surprise you.
I know. It's OK.
I was thinking, tomorrow, before we go meet with Papaleo,
maybe you guys would wanna come by the dorm and see where I live.
- We'd love that. - Tell us when.
Two o'clock. Fifth Avenue and Tenth Street.
OK. Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow, then.
Bye.
Well, they're coming.
- I can't wait. - What?.
To meet the people that made you.
Meghan!
Excuse me?. Meghan?.
Feel free to say no to this, obviously,
but my parents are coming tomorrow,
and they're prepossessed to hate this place.
So, anyway, I was curious,
if you wouldn't mind, and don't take this personally,
just for tomorrow, maybe putting away a few of your skulls.
- No. - No?. Really?.
She's got a point.
This is nice, don't you think?.
It's not usually this loud.
- That beer smell doesn't bother you?. - Is it beer?.
I think that's the shampoo they use on the rugs.
This is me.
So, this is it.
Who...?.
Meghan. She's a total freak. She's seriously weird.
But we get along great.
Mom and Dad, this is Meghan.
Think I'm weird?.
You're the one who wears Hush Puppies.
- She seems... - It's that difficult period.
Where you're getting to know everyone. Takes a while.
You got a nice view.
- You should clean the window. - Yeah. I will.
So, what do you think, now that you've seen it?.
It's bigger than I expected.
I know. I lucked out.
Most people have these closet-sized rooms.
Come in.
When do the overbearing parents get here?.
You can't possibly know how I feel having said that.
This is Noel. He's the resident advisor on the floor.
- These are my... - You work here?.
.. my parents.
I'm a sophomore student, as well as Felicity's...
I'm so horrifyingly apologetic for that transgression.
- It's OK. - No, it's really not.
Those were my words and not Felicity's.
- That was my interpretation... - Noel, drop it.
This is a pretty bad impression I've made.
Noel?.
What?. I'm in here.
Look at this.
You said Lewis doesn't wanna kill me.
- That's what he told me, Larry. - He's taken the first step.
Well, I'll talk to him.
- You'd better. - OK.
What's that?.
- I don't know. - Just a fire alarm.
They happen all the time. It almost never means there's an actual blaze.
Although we should evacuate in an orderly fashion.
- I'm really sorry about my comment. - Let it go.
The politics between parents and their kids,
it's complicated,
The same thing with me and my folks.
So I'm not going to presume that we can solve anything here.
I'm just trying to give you all a safe place to hear each other out.
You said you were looking for answers,
so why don't you start off by asking some questions?.
It's very simple.
We never insisted.
We never laid down an ultimatum.
But you always wanted to go to Stanford.
You were gonna be a doctor.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, you have to be in New York.
You're not even sure if you're gonna be Pre-Med any more.
I guess my question is...
.. that if you were sitting where we are,...
.. would you understand what your daughter was up to?.
There was a guy from high school who I sort of had feelings for.
And he was going to a college in New York.
- You came here for a boy?. - Well, initially.
You're gonna scrap Stanford because of a crush?.
I don't think this young man is the reason Felicity's chosen to stay.
Look, yeah, I came here because of Ben,
but I'm staying because of me.
Were we being too controlling?.
No.
Well, then, what was it?.
You know how we go out to dinner on Tuesdays?.
It's our thing. Just the two of us. We've done it forever.
And I love that.
But I was eating dinner the other night,
in the cafeteria.
I was eating a hamburger.
And it occurred to me that it was a Tuesday.
And suddenly...
This is just gonna sound stupid.
No. Say it.
Suddenly, it was the best hamburger, you know?.
Not because I wasn't with you,...
.. but because I was here, on my own.
You know?.
You're feeling the rush of independence. That's wonderful.
But you don't have to move to New York
to have a burger on your own terms.
I don't know what it is.
I just think, for some reason, being here is important.
You know, I agree.
I think it is important.
In fact, I don't know why you want to come home for Thanksgiving.
What do you mean?.
If you've decided to stay in New York, you should stay.
I didn't know Tuesdays were such a problem for you.
I didn't say that.
I wouldn't have wanted to embarrass you.
- I've never been embarrassed. - I never meant to be overbearing.
- All Felicity is saying... - I understand what she's saying.
I'm gonna go back to the hotel. You can stay if you like.
Barbara, will you sit down, please?.
She's just...
Excuse me.
So you got the guitar?.
Yeah.
Yeah. What is it, a Martin?.
- No. It's got the same wood, though. - Yeah.
I couldn't really afford the real thing.
How's it been going?. I haven't really seen you around.
I've just been trying to figure out my schedule.
When you're not playing guitar.
Are you avoiding me, or...
- A little. - Yeah?.
Yeah.
Is that because of what happened with Felicity, or because of me?.
It's not you.
It's not Felicity either.
- I gotta go. - You gotta go?.
Yeah. I'll see you around.
That doesn't mean I never get to hear you play.
I'm sure you'll be unlucky enough to hear that.
What are you doing?.
I just had that meeting with my parents.
I've never seen my mom like that.
How did you leave it?.
My dad said we're supposed to have dinner tonight.
Try again.
She was just so angry at me.
When I told them why I came here,
God, you should have seen her face.
It was like I stabbed her in the heart.
They just feel rejected.
What do you mean?.
Your parents just never expected you to break off on your own.
They're freaking out because they feel you're rejecting their plans.
I sort of have the reverse problem.
My parents have always expected me to break off on my own.
So they work overtime to keep me happy.
What do you mean, your parents always knew you'd leave?.
It's complicated.
Not that complicated. They're my adoptive parents.
I love them, so you don't have to feel sorry for me.
No, I don't.
They're great. They're my mom and my dad.
I always make such a big deal out of this. It's really nothing.
What?.
What they don't know, what I haven't told anyone,...
.. is that I found out my birth mom's name last year,
and she lives in New York.
Is... I mean, that's not why you came here?.
They would be really hurt if they found out.
I won't say anything.
I know.
God. I feel all grown-up.
Me too.
- Felicity?. - Yeah?.
Is there anyone else in there besides you?.
Yeah.
I just wanted to apologise again for what I did.
You were just being honest.
Maybe, but I swear it was one of the dumbest things I've ever done.
Did they say anything about me?.
It's all yours.
Thanks.
So, they hated me, right?. Your parents.
They didn't hate you.
But they didn't say that.
In their minds, you were just one more piece of straw
in this whole miserable haystack.
Do I look OK?.
Dr Porter?.
Noel.
I remember.
I just wanted to say once again
that I'm really regretful.
You're the resident advisor?.
Yes, sir.
Is she OK here?.
I think...
I think that she's, you know, like a chick.
A chick?.
Yeah. A baby chicken. I was going to use a metaphor.
Don't use metaphors. Tell me. Is she alright?.
Yeah. I think she is.
I know this probably doesn't mean anything,
but I'm looking out for her.
And if it ever gets difficult,...
.. I'll do whatever I can to make it better.
That knife thing work out OK?.
Yeah. That's under control. It'll be fine.
Good.
Thanks.
Sure.
- Hi. - Hi.
- Where's Mom?. - She wasn't feeling well.
- You ready?. - Yeah.
I don't wanna have the same discussion every time I see you.
I know.
I'm really trying to understand.
I don't want you here. I want you at Stanford.
But what the hell am I doing, fighting you on this?.
It's your life. Not mine.
Hard as it is for someone like me to swallow.
OK, I'm gonna make one last attempt here.
You sure you wanna stay in New York?.
I think so.
OK.
We should talk about how you're gonna do that.
I mean, practically.
If you'd attended Stanford, I'd have paid your tuition.
Which I'm still prepared to do.
- What?. - But I wanna be fair.
If you'd stayed at home, room and board wouldn't have been an expense.
I think you should be responsible for that.
You think that's fair?.
Dad, you don't have to do that. This is my decision.
I know.
I didn't get to where I am in life
not to see my one daughter through college.
- Dad. - It's important to me.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
I remember thunderstorms when I was little.
I'd be lying in my bed, just terrified.
No, I still think I can make it in. They're picking us up soon.
My mom would come in,
She'd crawl into my bed and stroke my hair,
T ell me that it was going to be OK.
She helped me fall asleep when I was scared,
It's silly, but I guess I expected she'd always do that,
I just don't understand it, why she's so hurt that I'm here,
She was the one who always understood me.
But I guess this is how it happens,
Growing up,
Sorry.
This must just be what it feels like,
Excuse me, do you know Felicity Porter?.
Yeah.
You've never had a student who felt, you know, guilty
just about growing up, have you?.
I thought you were going home.
Come here.
I met your father when I was very young,
which is why I had that reaction.
When you said you'd followed a boy to college,
it sounded so familiar.
I mean, I had you when I was 20 years old,...
.. which I wouldn't trade for anything.
But all those visions I had for my life,
all the dreams you think might possibly one day materialise,
they all started disappearing one by one.
Of course, none of which is your fault.
You know I didn't mean those things I said.
I lived for those Tuesday dinners with you.
I liked them, too.
I think they were a little too important for me.
Here's the thing.
I don't know what it's going to be like now,
without you at home.
Not just for me alone.
What do you mean?.
I'm a little terrified.
But, more than anything,...
.. I'm proud of my brave daughter,...
.. who I can't wait to see on Thanksgiving.
- Hi. How's it going?. - It's good.
I got that... I got your essay that you sent me.
You wrote about me.
Yeah, I did.
- I'm gonna let you... - No. Stay.
This is Ben.
This is my mom.
- Hi. - Very nice to meet you.
Yeah, it's nice to meet you.
So, I'll see you.
Yeah, I'll see you.
OK.
He's cute.
Yeah.