Little Wing

Some men are born great.

Some men achieve greatness.

And some men have greatness thrust upon them.

Shakespeare is the most quoted man

to have walked the earth.

And I chose him as my inspirational artist because...

Because you always do the right thing,

Tessa Lu. Since first grade,

you've been on a collision course of greatness.

You come from a nice family,

you always know the perfect thing to say

and the perfect way to act.

I mean, I even voted for you for class president.

Twice.

- And you were perfect. - Perfect.

Perfect presentation.

Thank you, Miss Gibbons.

So, wouldn't it be perfect

if this story was about Tessa Lu?

But it's not.

- It's about me. - Kaitlyn McKay.

You're next on my list.

Have you selected your inspirational artist?

Um...

Have you researched quotes

from said artist?

No, Miss Gibbons.

I have not decided yet.

But I do feel that Britney Spears inspires me

and she did say...

"Ding-dang, y'all, I'm rich.

It's weird, but I'm really rich. I mean, ding-dang, y'all."

Free Britney.

Kaitlyn, you had better begin to take this seriously.

This assignment is for the entire term.

And if you don't finish the assignment,

I will have to see your face...

...in this class again.

Well, be careful.

Miss Gibbons can make your life miserable.

Adam King.

We've always gone to school together.

We've always been best friends. Always.

Did you see Tessa today?

Ooh. God.

He's really smart, but now that he's 13,

all he can think about is girls.

When Tessa Lu was talking today...

My gosh. She is so hot.

And what she said,

"Some have greatness thrust upon them."

You wanted to thrust your greatness upon her?

Na... No.

OK. Fine. A little bit. Yeah.

Who'd you pick for your inspirational artist?

I'm not gonna do it.

Come on, Kat. You gotta do it.

No, I don't. My parent's just got divorced

and I'm in a period of emotional upheaval.

I mean, just ask the school therapist.

You can't keep trading on that, you know?

Watch me, fanboy.

- Smell you later. - Smell you later.

Pat Litch.

Divorce is like Christmas to a real estate agent.

Trading on people's emotion and misery.

Great business.

Hey, Pat. Can I get this back to you?

Sure. It's gonna be great.

Thank you.

Hey, honey.

So I'm losing my dad and my house in the same year?

You're not losing your dad. We're getting a divorce, honey.

And you knew about selling the house.

Yeah, well I'm not moving to West Linn or wherever.

Well, we won't be moving till after the summer,

so you'll be able to see the school year out.

I'm not going.

This is my house.

It'll be good.

Kat, I promise.

I guess everyone lies to themselves.

Hey. Have you seen your brother?

Do you walk home together anymore?

- Nope. Haven't seen him. - Hey.

Kat, the Lashers are coming over for dinner,

so do your homework.

Ben Lasher, or should I say Captain Ben,

has been my mom's boss for years now.

My mom's a detective with the Portland Police.

Although boring and dry as dirt,

Ben and his wife are nice people, I guess.

I always suspected they help my mom out financially

- here and there. - So, Matt,

do you think the Blazers are gonna win everything this year?

Earth to Matty.

Hey.

I don't know.

Well, I happen to know that the Celtics are coming to town.

You know, I got some pretty good seats.

Thought you might wanna come with me.

That's nice.

Sure.

Thank you.

Ben, you have a gift for Kaitlyn too.

- Why don't you go get it? - Great idea.

Left it in the truck. Be right back.

I knew what it was.

Be nice.

I couldn't wait.

It was the only thing I'd asked my mom for.

There was no way she could forget that night I asked.

It was a Wednesday night and my father said...

Your mother and I are... We're getting a divorce.

How could you do this to us?

Can I have a phone?

All's fair in love and war.

And divorce is exactly that.

Please?

I had wanted an iPhone forever.

But I would settle for whatever cell phone he gave me.

These are for you.

Birds.

- They're pigeons. - Racing pigeons.

You should have just given me chickens.

Chickens?

Yeah. At least I could eat those.

Kat, go to your room.

Gladly.

Maybe you can learn some manners.

My mom doesn't get it.

First, my dad walked out on us nine months ago,

now she wants us to pack up

and leave the only home we've ever known as a family.

Sometimes it makes me just wanna

tear this whole place down and do the job for her.

I've lost enough already.

Haven't I?

I'm not gonna lose this too.

Did I, or didn't I?

No. Answer me.

Did I, or didn't I?

Did I get the house free and clear

in the divorce settlement? Yes!

OK. So I can sell it.

Of course I don't! Of course I don't!

I don't wanna uproot everybody.

I can't afford it. What don't you understand?

I owe 100 grand on the house

and the mortgage repayments by myself, I can't...

No, I can't pull any more shifts.

I don't see the kids enough as it is.

You know, why don't you talk to me

when you're in a better mood and you can actually listen?

A few weeks before Dad moved out,

Matt had just gone quiet...

Yes! If 100 grand suddenly magically appeared...

... and he hasn't said much since.

I think birds are cool. Homing pigeons do cool stuff.

Yeah, like pooping and making noises all night.

Is that cool?

I'll take them. I mean...

I'd have to ask my mom, but...

if you're gonna give them back, I'll take 'em.

My mom told her boss she'd give me a week to warm up to them

before she gave them back.

Don't let your mom give them back. I want 'em.

Hey.

What do you want for them?

Know what?

I want $465,000.

What?

Is that what this house is worth?

All I know is that my mom owes 100 grand on the house.

And if I had that money,

I'd buy this house and kick everyone out.

I'd live in here forever.

You know, if I had that money,

I'd give it to you.

- Bull crap. - I would, Kat.

I don't want you to move.

- I gotta go. - Yeah.

- See you in the morning. - Yeah.

Can I take the pigeon magazines?

Um, yeah. Take those. Yeah.

OK. Ooh, got a lot of stuff.

Kaitlyn, they are amazing.

Who?

The birds.

- The birds? - The pigeons.

I was up all night reading about them.

Did you know that they helped kill Hitler?

It was sweet how Adam fell in love

with the birds.

He really had done his homework.

Homing pigeons have been known to fly thousands of miles

- back to their original home. - Adam, catch!

I'm out, Max! How many times do I have to tell you?

Thousands of miles?

Yes!