Tanner Hall

Everything worth anything is both terrifying and beautiful.

Like the first time you do something that you know is wrong.

You know it's wrong and yet you do it anyway.

There was a ladybug crawling around my ankle

when I saw Victoria let her grandmother's bird escape from its cage.

I watched the bird disappear into the endless sky like a lonely balloon.

It was so sad.

That image left a scar that never completely healed,

because until then I thought that bad things

could only happen by accident, never on purpose.

It was Victoria who first made me confront

that danger existed on the inside of everybody.

Now she's coming to my school.

Mom, that's so much worse.

Every year my mother hopes

this five-hour drive to school will be something that it never is.

What I share with my mother is silence.

My heart exists within the stone walls of that building.

That's where I live.

Tanner Hall is majestic but crumbling.

It's just a fact,

as true as the uncertainty of the year ahead.

- Fernie! - Oh!

- Hello! - Fernie!

- Get up here right now! - I'm coming!

Fernie!

- Hello! - I missed you so much!

Oh my God, you look so good!

You're so clumsy, Victoria.

It's not my fault.

He didn't leave me enough room to get out.

This can't possibly be the school.

It looks like the pictures in the orientation packet.

There was an orientation packet? I never saw it.

Oh, I spared you, Vicky.

It was boring.

It's not supposed to read like a magazine.

No wonder Daddy has a girlfriend.

You're such a moron.

Would you just relax?

You're getting yourself worked up over nothing.

Olga, hi!

Ah! Roxanne!

It's so good to see you.

I've been thinking about when we were in school together.

The jerk driver forgot to load my bags into the trunk!

I have jack shit to wear!

Hey, you know what? They'll find your bag, you know.

In the meantime you could maybe borrow some of Fern's clothes.

Fernanda, look at you.

Fern, you remember Victoria, right?

- You knew each other when you were little. - Yeah, sort of.

You forgot to introduce your friends.

Right, sorry.

- This is Lucasta and this is Kate. - Hello.

Let's go check in.

Would you two mind showing me around the school?

Yeah, no problem. I wanted to smoke a cigarette.

How do you know Fern?

So this will allow my friends to be able to take her off campus

- and out to dinner and-- thank you. - Precisely.

- Please sign here. - Mom, I really don't want

to spend my weekends with your friends.

It might be nice to get off campus for a weekend.

- What's in the bag? - Oh, I borrowed it from my roommate.

It stinks.

Uh, what are you doing?

Borrowing clothes, remember?

Oh, right. Uh, let me help you.

- No, that's okay. - Okay.

Mr. Middlewood, hurry!

Mr. Middlewood, we need your help!

Kate fell in the shower!

Mr. Middlewood, help! We need you!

Kate fell in the sho-- Kate fell in the shower.

- She needs you. - Everybody out of my way.

Kate? Sorry.

Kate!

Sorry. Kate!

Kate!

Sorry! God! Oh my God. Sorry.

- Kate. - Oh God. Mr. Middlewood.

Oh my God.

Oh my God. Are you all right?

Yes, it's just my leg.

Does that hurt? Does it hurt when I do this?

A little bit higher.

- Higher? - Higher.

- Does it hurt? - Oh, it just tingles.

Higher. Higher. Higher.

Oh, this is a new feeling to me.

Higher. Shh!

Can we have some privacy, please?

Is that all right? Does that feel okay?

- It's stinging through my pelvic bone. - What? Am I--

Oh my God.

Mr. Middlewood, it hurts so bad.

Can't you do something for the pain?

What's going on?

You, this isn't your floor.

Get back to your dorm. Everyone get back to their rooms.

Go!

Hey.

Fern, are you going to eat all that?

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Maybe, but do you have the metabolism for it?

I'm gonna go get ready for class.

Save me a seat.

Who's that boy?

Oh, that's Peter, the headmistress's son.

He's cute. What's he doing here?

- He goes to school here. - He does?

Miss Wallace is too cheap to pay tuition to another school,

so she makes him go to ours.

To be a boy at an all-girls school.

Yeah, you would think he would know how to have fun

in his situation.

Why would you even waste your vision on him?

- Hello. - Because he has so much access.

- To what? - His mother's files,

her stationery,

the key to the front door.

Hey, can you help? Can you hold this straight for me?

- Mm-hmm. - Just so that the under part

- doesn't go into this. Yeah. - Is this my shirt?

- No. - What are you doing to it?

Victoria found these from the lost and found.

She said they were too plain, so I'm restyling them for her.

No, these are my shirts. She borrowed them from me.

Oh shit. Sorry, Fern.

It's not your fault. it's hers.

- Who? - I'll take it off.

- Victoria. - Oh, she's awesome.

Hey, Fern Fern, can you help me with my homework?

At least she's not in our dorm.

Right?

Victoria, you know we have no empty beds upstairs.

Listen, we're negotiating right now. Let's try to come up with a solution.

I agree! Get me out of this room

and the problem is solved.

Why should I have to sleep in a pisspot

when I am not the bedwetter?

Bedwetting is not that unusual.

It happens to deep sleepers.

I'm going to be ill.

My recommendation would he

that you wake Margaret up

and take her to the toilet every three hours.

- It sounds like a plan. - You must be kidding!

Every three hours.

No.

I don't have to go.

Okay, look up.

Oh my God. You're not putting that blue on me.

Fern, you have a very tough palate.

I'm just trying to make you brighten up a little bit.

Thanks, no. it's blue.

We'll do-- well, first put this on.

You're welcome.

I can't believe I let my mom talk me into hanging out with her loser friends.

- That is such a drag. - I think the blue looks nice, actually.

Victoria, what are you doing today?

- Today is the day. - What day?

- The day I get Peter to hand over the key. - To sneak out?

He's never gonna give you the key. It's not gonna happen.

Do you always have such little faith in your friends?

No, I have a lot of faith in my friends.

- I just don't want to get in trouble. - I fixed it.

Thank you.

We're just gonna have a bit of fun.

Besides, who sits around boarding school obeying every rule?

What?

- Jesus. - Kind of you.

Kate, it's your last year.

Don't you finally want to have some real fun?

Hmm?

- Yeah yeah. If you get the key... - We'll sneak out. Totally.

- Yes. - Consider it done.

Oh my God.

- She's amazing, right? - She's so cool.

I can't even believe it.

Fernanda?

Yeah?

I'm Gio, Gwen's husband.

Gwen, your mother's friend?

Really?

You wanna get in the car?

Okay.

# Your tongue, your transfer #

# Your hand, your answer, on the bus... #

You like this song?

I've never heard it before.

Really? You like music, don't you?

Yeah. it's not my life or anything though.

Okay, that's it.

How about we make a detour into town?

Isn't Gwen expecting us?

She's doing her own thing anyway.

- And what's that? - Decorating the baby's room.

I didn't know you guys had a baby.