grown-ish

College is like one big, never-ending test.

And not just for your brain...

although sure, that's a part of it.

We all need math, I guess.

But it tests other things, too.

Your character, your beliefs...

and most of all? Your limits.

Your blood-alcohol limit...

Your sexual limits...

Or lack thereof...

Even your physical limits.

And that night's rager...

the biggest of Cal U's fall semester,

"Faded 4 Finals"...

promised to test all of those limits and more.

It sucks that tomorrow morning

I have to take the very last final on campus...

Chemistry 101.

But I have a 3-pronged plan

to make sure I stay safely within my limits for the night.

Timer.

Breathalyzer.

Agua.

So I'm gonna be here for 10 minutes, go hard,

then literally go home.

Boom.

Clear plan, full cup, can't lose.

All right, I better make the next 10 minutes

the best of my college career.

Oh, nine. Got to go.

All right, the party clock has been reset.

10 minutes. Let's do this.

You realize this is the littiest party

of the semester, right?

You realize 10 minutes could never be enough

to witness the exquisite debauchery?

You realize Mr. Dalvin of Jodeci

is rumored to be stopping in, right?

You realize people can actually hear

the stuff that comes out your mouth?

Uh, yeah, and as much as I'd love to meet

the dude from the group who inspired #WashedUpWednesdays,

my Chem 101 final is tomorrow morning.

Zoey, my average-looking yet overly diligent friend.

- I'm stunning. - Unless you're a total moron,

you could legit never open any kind of book ever

and still crack a B-minus, no cap.

Well, if Vivek of all people says the test is easy,

I might actually be okay.

Okay, y'all, shots.

Come on. Squad up. Let's go.

Yo, but where are Ana and Nomi?

Good question.

Lemme text these hoes.

How is it midnight already?!

I guess time flies when you've been transported

to the land of pure, sensual pleasure.

- Yeah? - Yeah.

Then why did it fly this time?

Come on, man.

What?

- What? What? - Nothing.

So, I want to watch Roxane Gay talk about anything

for the rest of my life, always.

Everything you have taken me to this week

has been amazing.

Thank you so much.

Anytime.

Sorry. One second.

- Anything important? - No. It's Zoey.

She's, um, at the rager of the year

and wants me to meet her there.

Well, go have fun.

I don't have to go.

Not right now, anyway.

We could hang out for a little bit longer.

I-I mean, I'd like that.

But that would be selfish,

and you shouldn't stop doing stuff with your friends

just to hang out with me.

Yeah, but...

what if I want to?

Nomi...

these are the best four years you're ever gonna get.

You're here to experience life,

not just talk about it in a classroom.

Go do it.

Okay, fine. Twist my arm, I'm gonna go party.

I'm gonna have an amazing time...

and I will be texting you after.

All right.

Never mind.

Okay, so, technically,

I've been waiting for the alcohol to arrive,

so this shouldn't count towards my "fun time."

So, restarted my party clock just to make up

for those potential precious minutes of lost youth.

- Oh, oh? - Uh, heads-up,

I think my boy Doug is coming through tonight.

Does this outfit look like I give a damn?

- It does not. - No.

She does, though.

Her and Doug haven't talked ever since

our whole rebranding of our IG went down.

- No contact for weeks. - What? For real?

- Zero. - Aw.

Hey, don't "aw" me. I am not checking for Doug.

Hey... y'all let me know if you want some more shots,

because your boy's got V.I.P. access,

so I. Got. Chu.

We tried to tell him.

Vivek, this is a college party.

There is no such thing as a V.I.P. section.

You got played.

Okay, I'm sure my boy Jahi made up

a fake V.I.P. section with bottle service

and a meet-and-greet with Jodeci's Mr. Dalvin

all for a cool hundo.

Okay.

A toast... to Vivek

and asking more questions,

both of which are painfully basic.

- Mm. - Yeah, cheers.

To paraphrase Beyoncé's husband...

after the party is the dorm-room lobby, which is...

where I'm headed for a three-hour block of studying.

No, no, no, no, no. But this is my song, though.

I can't leave now. So for every 10 minutes of partying,

I'll do an extra 10 minutes of studying.

Solid math. All right, let's go.

I'll get the drinks.

Oh, wait, Ana!

Ana!

Ana, hi!

- Hey. - Hi.

I thought you would be studying.

Oh, no, Vivek said the test was, like, super easy,

so I'm just hanging out for a bit,

letting my brain relax

so I can really absorb the info.

- Yeah. Totally. - Now that I think about it,

I haven't seen Nomi.

Or Aaron, for that matter. Have you seen him?

Why would I? I hate him.

Okay, I thought you guys were, like, cool now.

- Nope. Nope, he sucks. - Cool.

- Ooh. - Oh, sorry. Hi.

- Aaron, hey. - Thank you so much

for the two drinks for Zoey and I.

Turns out he doesn't suck.

Thanks?

No, I'm sorry. I'm just resetting my timer.

For what?

It's a reminder to study for my Chem final.

I'm only gonna stay for like 10 minutes,

like, 40, tops.

You're in Mr. Woolery's class, right?

Yeah.

I remember taking that test freshman year.

I'm still traumatized.

But Vivek said it was, like, super easy.

Yeah, but, I mean, you do realize Vivek's a genius, right?

The dude's an engineering major and a drug dealer, okay...

basically all the ingredients of a chemist.

No wonder he aced the test without breaking a sweat.

But you, my homey,

you're .

The thing about limits is you can push them for a while,

but at a certain point, they might start pushing you back.

Whoo!

J. Cole sucks! Yeah! Whoo!

Aaron's words have really sobered me.

Not in the traditional sense...

'cause... I'm faded...

but in the sense that I'm making an early exit

from the party of the semester

to do what I should've done an hour ago...

go back to my room and study.

You know what? Okay, fine, you caught me.

Hours ago.

Alcohol really does dull your judgment.

That's chemistry, right?

Dammit. I have no idea. I really gotta go.

Gotta go. I'm going. That way.

I'm going that way.

My key card. Oh!

Hi. Excuse me.

Uh, can... can one of you let me in?

I-I got locked out. Please?

I-I live right upstairs.

I promise I'm not a serial killer.

Zoey. Zoey.

I need you.

- Jazz won't listen to me. - I actually really...

I have never asked you for anything before

in my entire life, and I probably won't ever do it again.

So are you really gonna miss out on this opportunity?

- No, I'm not. - You're not. Let's go.

And he thought he could tell me

what I could and couldn't post on my socials