A Kid Like Jake Page #2

I get it.

I am almost..

...done.

Okay.

- My God, your face!

- What?

No -- no. M -- maybe this is

not even worth it.

- Stop. It's terrific.

- Really?

Yes.

There's only one thing --

No, of course.

I mean, you must have notes.

You talk about his imagination,

which is great

since that's really

the best indicator.

Why not use that as a lead-in

to talk a little about

his gender expansive play.

But anecdotes.

So you mean, like..

It could be anything, really.

I was in his classroom

on Tuesday

and he, and Emily, and Michelle

were creating

their own fairy tale

this enchanted forest.

And they'd made trees

out of chairs and pillows

and, and Jake..

Jake was this princess

who didn't know

she was a princess.

And Emily was the witch

who was keeping her locked up

and Michelle was somebody's

helper or something, but..

Anyway, it was really Jake..

...who was the ringleader.

You -- you think talking

about that would..

I -- I mean,

I'm -- I'm sure you're right

I just wanna make sure

that I understand.

Well, for one thing,

someone's gonna read this

and then

they're gonna meet Jake.

And it is always a good sign

when parents seem to really

know their kids

which, of course, you do.

- Right.

- But there's sort of a..

A big part of his personality

that you don't even mention.

Right?

Here's the second thing.

The numbers are ridiculous.

Especially when it

comes to which families

they're gonna help financially.

But what you have to remember is

everybody wants diversity.

Mm-hmm.

Let's be honest, Jake..

...he's, he's very special.

And believe me, this is the part

of my job I hate the most

this, this strategizing.

But I really think that

this is a card you could play.

That's all.

Not to mention, you want him

to be somewhere

he can thrive, right?

And the prince fell..

Standing on..

Look what I made.

I made a base for it.

All right. So it's all about

progression, right?

It's like you have to have

the right story.

So this is my pulled-together

you-don't-have-to-worry-

about-me

because-I'm-a-modern-

independent-working-woman picture.

- Right?

- Mm-hm, very slick.

- Yeah.

- Thank you.

And then this one,

which is loving-mommy..

Loving-mommy, yes-I-have-a-kid

and-if-that-freaks-you-out

well-too-bad-'cause-I'm-not-

gonna-apologize-about-it..

You're sort of pimping him out.

- Stop! No, I'm not!

- W -- wait.

Wait. Show him the message.

Sanjay, come on, baby.

It's that time.

We're not done yet.

Right, okay.

"Wowza, Amal.

You are truly an exotic beauty.

"And your English

is so impressive.

"Maybe we could go

for a ride sometime.

No magic carpet here,

but I do have a Prius."

- What is wrong with people?

- Right? I know.

And that's not even

the half of it.

Come on, baby, I'm not..

Where did they..

- Oh, what in the world? I'm so sorry.

- No, no, no.

- I got it. This is all Jake.

- Are you sure?

- Yes.

- Let me take that.

Thank you. Okay, bye.

Sanjay, come on!

Mommy's had a long day.

- He can't, he can't leave.

- I have to do this first.

You really don't think

it's weird?

About Judy?

I don't know.

I mean, she was strategizing,

right?

Yeah, no.

The strategizing, I get.

But the way she was talking

it was just a little..

I don't know.

I mean, he does like to play

dress-up.

That's not news.

Not that I care, obviously

but he's not exactly

Johnny Basketball.

Johnny what?

You know.

That's not an expression.

I know it's not,

I'm just saying.

What's your day like tomorrow?

I have a break around noon.

I go into Legal Aid till 3:00,

then pick up Jake.

- You okay?

- Yeah. Yeah, of course.

Laurel! Laurel!

- Hi, Greg.

- Hey, listen, um..

I've been meaning to mention

and maybe

you've already noticed it

but the walls here

are a little..

And I.. Most of my patients,

they're pretty tame.

But you know, if you ever,

if there's a noise issue, or..

Oh! You're so sweet!

I haven't even noticed.

Oh, and I wouldn't want you

to worry about that.

I know, in my own work

how important vocalizing can be.

I find it's so helpful

in releasing

all kinds of emotional build-up.

I'm sure you're familiar

with Arthur Janov?

It's scream therapy.

It's what?

It.. Janov.

He was big in the '60s,

it was all about

finding your primal scream

and releasing it into the world.

Jesus.

Yeah, and apparently this is,

like, her niche, you know.

So, which means

this is not going to stop.

- Hello?

- Yeah, sorry. I just..

It's not his personality.

I think that's what bugged me.

What?

About Judy, she, she was acting

like I'd failed to mention

some deep-seated part of him,

and it's like..

Yeah, he likes fairy tales

but maybe that's not the most

critical thing worth mentioning.

He knows all 50 states,

he's already started reading.

How many kids his age

are reading?

Hey, Ally, Ally,

okay, I love you

but I think

that you're fixating.

No, I'm not fixating! I just

think he should get a clean slate.

I don't wanna send him off

to kindergarten labeled as --

I don't think anyone's

trying to label him.

You know, Ally, Judy loves Jake.

Judy loves you.

She's on your side, all right?

She's not, you know,

your mother.

Hey.

Hey, I was kidding.

No, it's fine. Um..

Ally..

Look, I gotta go. Uh..

Uh -- uh, I love you.

Nipples?

I wanna touch your nipple.

What if we pitched it like..

...Jake is not limited

to trucks, or whatever.

Uh, he likes

all sorts of toys and games.

Equal opportunity.

Yeah. "Our son, he walks

into a Toys"R"Us

"and he does not discriminate

on the basis of perceived

gender norms."

That's actually not that bad.

But that's just an idea.

We don't have to..

Oh, my God.

Ally..

What's wrong?

Whoa, whoa.

You're not happy?

- No, no, of course, I'm happy.

- Hey, hey.

I just don't..

I don't want to assume.

No. Of course not.

And we won't.

But with Jake,

everything was fine.

It's not a pattern.

No, it's just, I, I..

I -- I guess I didn't think

it would happen so fast.

Well, I am sorry

that I'm so damn virile.

I don't -- I don't know

what else to say

besides that, though,

I am sorry.

All right, slow down there.

Bye.. Thank you.

This is a very dressed-up dress.

We believe it's our job

to harness every student's

unique potential.

Nurturing

intellectual curiosity.

Critical thinking.

Problem-solving.

Artistic expression.

Jake! Breakfast!

Socks make my feet sticky!

Hey, buddy.

We're running late.

We do give priority to siblings.

My wife is on a ton of boards.

I don't know

if that's helpful, or..

You know,

it's impossible to predict

but on average,

it's approximately 400.

Six hundred.

Nine hundred.

Thirty-six thousand children

applied for a spot

in one of the city's

magnet programs last year.

In a few weeks, we'll visit

some new schools.

And you'll play with some kids

and meet some teachers

and you should just be yourself.

And that's all

that matters, okay?

So it's no big deal at all.

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