Flipped Page #6

...had nothing to do with Bryce.

It was about making our house better.

After what he did with the eggs,

why should I care what he thought?

But I did.

Are you pruning that

or trying to hack it to death?

Hi. I'm Chet Duncan,

Bryce's grandfather.

Sorry it's taken me so long

to come over and introduce myself.

Nice to meet you.

So are you trimming all these

to the same height?

Well, yeah, that's what I was thinking,

but I don't know.

Do you think it would look better

to take them out?

Oh, these are Hicksii shrubs.

These will prune up nicely.

Listen, Mr. Duncan.

Call me Chet.

Chet.

If you're here

because of what Bryce said...

...I don't need your help.

Read about you in the paper.

Renee would've sat up in that tree

with you.

She would've sat up there all night.

Renee?

My wife.

You remind me a lot of her.

JULl:

We worked on the yard for weeks.

And the whole time we worked,

we talked.

- Right there?

- Perfect, yeah.

JULl:
He wanted to know more

about the sycamore tree.

He knew exactly what it meant...

...about the whole being greater

than the sum of its parts.

He said it was the same with people...

...but sometimes with people,

the whole could be less.

I thought that was pretty interesting.

I started looking at people

I'd known since elementary school...

...trying to figure out if they were more

or less than the sum of their parts.

Chet was right. A lot of them were less.

Of all my classmates, the one person

I couldn't seem to place was Bryce.

Until recently, I would've said

with absolute certainty...

...that he was greater, far greater,

than the sum of his parts.

But now I wasn't so sure.

It's looking good, Juli. Nice job.

Thanks. Chet did most of it.

I'm sorry for what I did.

I just don't get it, Bryce.

Why didn't you just tell me?

JULl:

Was he really sorry?

Or was he just saying these things

to make himself feel better?

Then I thought maybe I just wanted him

to be more than the sum of his parts.

But as I looked into his eyes...

...those dazzling eyes...

...for the first time...

...I was pretty sure

that Bryce Loski was less.

We're going to invite the Bakers

over for dinner.

- What?

- I don't know, Mom.

I think that's a marvelous idea.

Patsy, what purpose does this serve?

Trina Baker is a very nice person.

- And Matt and Mark are really cool.

- I hate cool.

Something we should've done years ago.

Yeah, but we didn't. And now we can't.

The statute of limitations has run out.

We're having the Bakers over for dinner.

If this is about what I said last night,

I'm sorry, okay?

But, you know, having them over for dinner

is not gonna fix his brother.

It's going to be a sit-down dinner.

And I expect everyone

to dress accordingly.

Oh, God. Can't we just have a barbecue?

It's going to be a sit-down dinner.

Just shoot me now.

Careful what you wish for.

BRYCE:

So that was it.

A dress-up, sit-down dinner with Juli Baker

was in my immediate future.

And that made seeing Juli at school

more uncomfortable.

I found myself staring at her in class.

And the way her hair fell back

over her shoulders...

...she looked just like the picture

in the newspaper.

Dana Tressler caught me watching.

If I didn't do something fast,

this could spread like wildfire.

There was a bee in her hair.

See, there it goes.

There's no bee.

It flew out the window.

BRYCE:

I convinced myself I'd dodged a bullet.

I had to put Juli out of my mind.

Keep the focus on the important stuff

like schoolwork.

My weakness was unnerving.

I need your sharpener.

- You ever heard of knocking?

- Hey, what you got there? Dad's Playboy?

None of your business.

- Give my best to Miss October.

- Get out.

- Or should I say your best? Ha, ha.

- You're disgusting.

BRYCE:

Another disaster avoided.

My life had become a minefield.

GARRETT:
Hey, man.

- Hey.

GARRETT:
Hey, man.

- Hey.

What's this?

Whoa.

It's not what you think.

Okay, it is what you think,

but I can explain.

Okay, I can't explain.

Can we just talk about it later?

Whatever you say.

BRYCE:

I had to talk to someone.

Why not Garrett?

Maybe he could help me get back on track.

Garrett was surprisingly sensitive

in matters of the heart.

Are you freaking mental? Juli Baker.

You hate her.

That's what's weird. I don't think I do.

I can't stop thinking about her.

- You got it bad, man.

- Well, what do I do?

Well, you gotta nip this in the bud.

These aren't real emotions.

- They're not?

- You feel guilty because of the egg thing.

Yeah, and I insulted her yard.

Exactly. Of course,

the place is a dump anyways.

Her dad's got a retarded brother

and all their money goes to helping him.

A retard? Well, shoot,

that ought to tell you something.

- About what?

- About Juli.

What are you saying?

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

BRYCE:
I couldn't believe it.

I wanted to yell at him.

Tell him that he didn't know Juli

like I did.

But all that came out was:

Heh, oh.

- Right.

- Yeah.

Right. Um, I'll talk to you later.

BRYCE:
I was supposed to go

to Garrett's after school...

...but I couldn't be around him.

He'd crossed the line.

And standing right next to him

across that line was my father.

I didn't care what they thought.

I liked Juli Baker.

JULl:
Sunday mornings

are peaceful in our house.

My dad lets himself sleep in.

My mother lets herself not fix breakfast.

If my brothers have been out late

playing with their band...

...you won't even know they're around

till noon.

But this Sunday, I woke up feeling weird.

I had to do something to shake off

the confused feelings about Bryce...

...that were starting to creep back in.

You really did it, didn't you? Heh.

- Proud of you.

- Thanks, Dad.

- Where you going?

- To see Daniel. It's his birthday.

I wanna come with you.

Oh, honey, just enjoy the morning,

stay with your mom.

No, Dad. I wanna come.

Sweetheart, listen.

Sometimes, with Daniel...

I'm coming, Dad.

Okay.

We'd better leave a note for your mother.

JULl:
In all the years,

I'd never visited my Uncle Daniel.

I don't know why.

It was always something my dad did alone.

We didn't say much to each other on

the drive to Devonhurst, but I didn't care.

I just liked being with my dad.

Somehow the silence seemed to connect us

in a way that words never could.

The residents tend to the grounds

as part of their therapy.

It takes some getting used to.

They're good people, though.

Daniel?

Daniel.

Richard! You're here!

Richard for my birthday.

Who? Richard, who? Who?

Who? Who? Richard, who? Who?

Daniel, Daniel, it's Julianna.

It's my daughter.

Your niece.

Julianna.

- Ha, Julianna.

- Happy birthday, Uncle Daniel.

Ha-ha-ha. Richard. It's my birthday.

I have your pictures, Julianna.

I have your pictures.

We have a present for you.

A puzzle? A puzzle, Richard?

Not just a puzzle.

A puzzle and a...

...pinwheel.

A pinwheel! Thank you, Richard.

Yes.

Orange. Outside? Outside, Richard?

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