Head of the Class

I didn't get any sleep last night.

I was up working on my coding project.

Turned out good, though.

I already had swim practice today,

have a trig test later, and AP French presentation.

Nice!

But French is a dead language.

Everybody taking Japanese say "Mochiron da yo!"

Mochiron da yo.

Come on, buddy, get amped.

Your energy is down here, right,

and I need it up here.

Ryan Porter's party invites drop today.

It's gonna be epic.

Bah!

Can you believe because we're women,

we're gonna earn 17.7% less than Mister...

[ Imitates Luke humming ]

"Meet me in the library"?

Let's go.

Sorry, but, um, as a rule,

I don't follow suspicious notes

to a second location, so...

No, come on, Miles, I'm curious now.

Hey, Luke, grab the lectern in case we need it.

You don't get to tell me what to do.

I'm grabbing it.

Alicia: Oh, there's my class! Welcome to Honors Debate.

I'm your new teacher, Ms. Gomez,

but call me Alicia,

Or "My Shero."

Little too much?

You probably didn't need the word "little,"

but yeah.

Okay.

Principal Maris left me an attendance list,

but I don't know who's who, so...

I'll start. I'm --

I want to see if I can make a better second impression

by matching the name to the vibe.

Robyn.

Sounds cool, sounds edgy.

You?

Yeah.

Makes you Makayla?

Yes.

And now the wall of dudes!

I'm gonna go with Terrell, Miles, Luke.

That's amaz-- How did you do that?

It's my gift.

That, and she included your pictures

next to your names.

Gotcha. I'm really proud of that.

Let's start class.

Hey, uh, what happened to your old teacher, anyway?

Oh, Mr. Stasseson watched an X Games promo,

went full-on midlife crisis,

and decided to try snowboarding.

Did he got a concussion or break a bone or something?

That depends. Are teeth bones?

'Cause then,

yeah, all of them.

May I ask a question? Why are we in the library?

You guys are in traditional classrooms all day long,

and it's always been a part of my teaching sell

to, like, switch things up.

Really? Okay. Where did you teach before?

Nowhere. This is my first time.

But I'm feeling really good about it.

Don't worry. I got this.

So, uh, FightingFoxesRule.

Okay!

That's the Wi-Fi password,

so we will teach ourselves

while you do what all the other substitute teachers do --

check your 'Gram,

uh, listen to murder podcasts, whatever.

Hey, dude.

Not a sub.

Permanent teacher in charge of your grade.

Uh-oh!

Think we got off on the wrong foot, Ali.

Can I call you Ali?

Absolutely not.

Okay.

According to the syllabus, you are debating...

cancel culture.

Does anybody want to start us off?

Always happy to go first.

Cancel culture originated

to protect minorities from --

Oh, wait, that is the textbook definition, Terrell.

And I really want to know how it makes you feel.

Well, it's definitely making me regret

the whole "happy to go first" thing.

Look, eventually, somebody's going to ask you guys

for your personal opinion on something,

and if you don't have one,

it's gonna bite you GPA junkies on the ass.

Can she call us junkies?

Well, you can't leave out the GPA part,

'cause that might get me fired,

maybe even canceled.

You see what I did there?

I brought it all the way back.

That was a really good teaching moment, huh?

And she's sitting next to me.

Oh, I like to move around a lot,

so you might want to get used to it.

Alright. Anybody have an actual opinion?

All right, fine. Cancel culture sucks.

Look, I'm captain of the swim team,

and college recruiters are all up in my Insta.

I'm always sweatin' making a mistake,

in or out of the pool.

I'll be back.

So, do you guys feel like, if you make one mistake,

it's gonna ruin your whole life?

Are you familiar with the Internet?

Truth is, we've worked way too hard

to let anything jeopardize our futures,

in or out of the pool.

You really like saying that, don't you?

I really do.

Okay, but we can't make all of our decisions based on fear.

Uh, Miles, what is the biggest risk you've taken this year?

I don't know.

Probably attending class in the library.

Give me my Pop-Tart!

Ms. Gomez.

Principle Maris. Hi.

How is your first day going?

It actually started out kind of rough --

You know what? That's my fault.

I'm not in the mood for small talk today.

Um, this is from the Parents' Association.

Ooh, welcome basket. Nice!

Mm, it's actually more of a "Warning Basket."

You teach an advanced elective

full of academically obsessed teens.

Shocker --

the parents are even more obsessed.

Like in a good way, right?

Yes, because obsession is usually a positive thing.

Anyhoo, um, all these parents care about

is getting their oh-so-very special children

into elite colleges.

And if they feel that you're derailing that in any way,

they're gonna make it my problem,

which, in turn, will be your problem.

Hence the Warning Basket.

Enjoy.

Yeah, no, message received

and processed and...

received.

I couldn't think of a third word.

I'm so sorry.

You're a little scared of me, aren't you?

Yes, I am.

That is so sweet.

Look, you have to understand all the issues

that these young kids are going through,

but you were one of them like 10 minutes ago.

I mean... the way you carry yourself,

your complete unearned confidence.

Honestly, it's like you're still one of them.

You don't seem happy about that.

It's not my favorite.

Still, with your past,

I think you have a unique ability

to connect with these kids.

Or not.

In which case, no biggie,

we'll move on.

Yeah.

Just, like, let me know either way.

Don't make me like you. That's not fair.

Miles: Our names aren't on the list.

No surprise, really. You and I never get invited.

Okay. I know that this is a popularity thing.

But I thought I might pull the invite this year.

After all, I came back 3 inches taller.

I upgraded my look to business casual.

My voice is lower.

'Sup, Sarah?

FYI, I'm getting my driver's license

five months from yesterday.

That exchange went a lot better in your head, didn't it?

Yes, it did.

Live and ya learn.

I really enjoy her.

Whatever!

She's missing out, 'cause I'm like Tesla --

my stock is on the rise.

Miles: Hey, guys.

Hey, I just saw the invites. Are you guys okay?

Yeah, thanks.

It would've been nice to be included.

If it makes you feel any better,

I never go to Ryan's lame-ass parties.