Everything, Everything

This is my favorite room.

Most days I love it,

because I can imagine the glass

falling away and I'm outside.

I don't leave my house.

I haven't left my

house in 17 years.

If I went outside, I'd die.

Sorry to sound morose.

Irradiators

sterilize my clothes.

I own 100 white T-shirts.

It's my standard uniform.

The airlock is a sealed room

surrounding the front door.

It's airtight.

Nothing can leak into the

house when the door's open.

It's not that I don't want

to go outside.

I can't.

Simple viruses can kill me. It's

like I'm allergic to everything.

What I eat, what I touch,

they all have consequences.

I have severe

combined immunodeficiency.

My immune system sucks.

Here's a drawing to explain.

In every drop of blood there are

special cells called lymphocytes.

Some of these lymphocytes are

really good at fighting bad guys,

like viruses and bacteria.

But I have SCID,

which means I have way fewer

lymphocytes than normal.

And the ones that I do have...

Well, they're not

so good at fighting.

My mom made me

join a support group.

Some of them are really sick.

Others have a hard time

with social interactions.

At least I have the Internet.

I exercise.

I read a lot of books.

When I'm done,

I write short reviews.

I take

an architecture class online.

Whenever I make a new model,

I put an astronaut inside.

I can relate to him.

I feel like an astronaut,

stranded in space.

Every day feels

exactly the same.

Maybe today's different.

Hi.

If you're going

to have an illness

that requires

someone to constantly

watch if you're still breathing,

it's convenient for

your mother to be a doctor.

I was diagnosed

with SCID pretty early.

My mom figured

out what was wrong

with me after

eight ear infections

and two cases of pneumonia.

I couldn't gain

any weight as a baby.

Most kids don't make it

past two years old.

Doctor Whittier.

Today's my birthday.

I'm 18.

Which means

nothing inside here.

This is the face

her patients normally see,

slightly distant, concerned.

I wonder if they

find it comforting.

I do.

You didn't have to

take the day off.

I always take the day off.

What do you want to do today?

Same thing we always do.

Spatlit...

What does that say?

Spotlight.

No, it doesn't.

You're not goo

at phonetic Scrabble.

Because it

doesn't make any sense.

You're the one who

always wants to play.

It was your dad's favorite game.

Did he beat you, too?

Yeah.

But he let me win sometimes.

-I can't do that.

-Why not?

I'm in love with you.

Snap out of it!

I can't.

I'll get it.

Stay here.

And you

won't come to the wedding.

I'll come to the wedding.

I am telling you

you can't come.

Hi.

My mom sent a Bundt.

It's not very good.

It's kind of a thing

our mom does

every time we

move in somewhere.

She'll make us bring one

to the neighbor, so...

It's actually

more of, an apology

than an introduction.

What's she apologizing for?

For moving in.

That's nice.

Actually,

I can't accept that.

Why not?

It's complicated.

But please thank

your mother for me,

and welcome

to the neighborhood.

Is your daughter around?

So, that's why you came.

-That's not why I came.

-Yeah, it is. Yep.

No, she isn't.

You take the Bundt next time.

Right Wear it as a hat.

Watch it.

Madeline, do you

want to finish the movie?

I'd rather know what a

Bundt cake tastes like.

It's dry.

You're not missing out

on anything.

No, just everything.

There's a short list

of people that know I'm alive.

My mom, my nurse, Carla,

and her daughter, Rosa.

I can't remember Carla

not being with us.

She's been working

here for 15 years.

Sometimes, I think she's

trapped inside here with me.

Morning, Carla.

Feliz cumpleanos.

Thank you!

Thank you so much.

Una nota.

That's terrible.

Hi, Olly.

Hi, Maddy.

I tell myself I won'

text back immediately

when Olly texts me.

And then I text back.

Immediately.

Are you on house arrest?

Why do you think

I'm on house arrest?

'Cause I haven't seen you

outside once since we got here.

I'm not on house arrest,

but I can't leave the house.

Very mysterious.

Are you a ghost?

'Cause, it would just my luck

that the girl next door

is not actually alive.

I'm, like,

98% sure that I'm alive.

So, what is it? Is it a guy?

Are you knocked up?

My God.

Well, what if I was?

I'd be conflicted.

About what?

Do you have a boyfriend?

No. I don't have a boyfriend,

and I'm not pregnant.

Have you spent all day

thinking that I was pregnant?

Yeah, kind of.

I mean, it would

have been awkward

flirting with

a pregnant girl, so...

Right.

Don't you wanna know

if I have a girlfriend?

No.

I'm hurt.

I mean, that stings.

So, where'd you

move here from?

Boston, but I'm

from New York.

I wanna move back.

I always imagined myself working

in a bakery in New York.

You know, like Nicolas Cage

in that movie, Moonstruck?

No.

"Snap out of it!"

It's from the movie.

Yeah, I figured.

All right,

here's a game.

Fast Five Favorites.

-Okay?

-Okay.

So, book, word,

color, vice, person.

Okay. All right.

So, I guess...

Come on. Type faster.

Don't think about it.

Okay. All right.

The Little Prince.

Uxorious.

Aquamarine.

I don't have any vices.

And my mom.

Come on.

Everyone has vices.

How many vices

do you have?

Enough to choose a favorite.

-Your turn.

-All right.

Lord of the Flies.

-Macabre.

-Okay.

Black.

Petty theft.

And my sister.

Lord of the Flies?

So, you're bleak.

I've been told that I have

a poor outlook on life.

Right.

Are your parents

still together?

My dad's dead,

so, no.

That was really awkward.

I don't know why

I made that so...

-I shouldn't have asked.

-No, it's...

He died in a car accident

with my brother.

I'm sorry.

You don't go to SF Valley High?

No, I don't go to school.

I go online.

Why?

I'm sick.

Are you dying?

Not right now.

Soon?

If I left the house,

yeah, probably.

What is it?

It's called severe combined

immunodeficiency.

So, it means my body can't

fight bacteria or infections.

Is there a cure?

For common kinds of SCID, yeah.

But I am very uncommon.

You're feeling sorry for me.

You're totally

feeling sorry for me.

No, no, no. I...

Yeah.

I'm not feeling sorry for you.

You're alive now.

You have the Internet.

So, I don't feel sorry for you.

Good.

I wish I could

meet you in person.

Yeah. Me, too.

Wait, come to the window.

What's so interesting

on that laptop?

Nothing.

It's not nothing.

Something's making you laugh.

It's just cat videos.

You don't wanna

see this one, Carla.

The cat dies.

You're an idiot.

I'm not an idiot.

You are an idiot,

and you're not a good liar.

You mean to tell me that the only

thing you could think to say

was that it was a dead cat?

So, you know?

If I didn't know before,

I do now.

You're not very

good at hiding things.

I see you checking your

email and looking for him

out the window.

Maybe he could visit?

Teenagers are all the same.

Is that a no?

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