04x21 - What's Your Sign?

[bunniefuu]

Oh, and this one's
for survival skills.

It took me all summer
to earn it.

You spent the whole summer
in the wilderness?

Not exactly. It was more like
a weekend at my treehouse.

Well, it's about time.

You're the slowest
Mother's helper I've ever had.

Don't push it, Betty.

Remember I turned down a nap
to help you.

Well, where's the ice?

I have to go back for it.

Mother's helper
only has two hands, you know.

Oh, forget the ice.
Just start mixing the glue.

Has the word please completely
escaped your vocabulary?

You've been barking orders at me
all afternoon.

Now, now, Henry.

If you're not
a good Mother's helper,

I'll have to take away
your cooperation badge.

Hey, that's a neat badge, Maria.
What'd you get it for?

Uh, for having a tidy uniform.

Now, girls, don't be rude.

There's nothin' wrong
with takin' good care

of your uniform.

Sorry, Maria.
Nice shine on those loafers.

I, uh, haven't really tried
to earn that many badges.

Well, what's the point
of being a Firefly

if you're not gonna go
for the gold?

- Yeah.
- Why?

Well, Maria just moved here
from Detroit.

I'm sure that
once she gets settled,

she'll earn lotsa badges.

You make a very distinguished
Mother's helper, Mr. Warnimont.

Oh, well, thank you, Cherie.

I guess clothes do make the man.

Henry, these kids will be hungry
before you know it.

Cut the chitchat and hightail
it up to the kitchen.

Yes, ma'am.

Right away, Sergeant Major
Den Mother Johnson.

Okay, Fireflies.

Everyone,
gather around the table.

Today we're gonna make
yarn baskets.

Everyone, get a balloon.

Now the idea is to glue the yarn
around the balloon.

And when it dries,
we break the balloon.

Wow!

Here, Maria,
you can use my balloon.

- What?
- You can use my balloon.

For what?

To make a basket, you know,
gluing the yarn?

Right, thanks.

Are you okay, Maria?

Punky, Maria's fine.

She has a bit
of a hearing problem,

but she can read lips perfectly.

And if we just give her a little
time to get used to us,

I'm sure we'll all be
great friends.

Oh, Betty,
they just delivered this.

It says peanut brittle,
but it feels like lead.

- Oh, yes.
- It's here, girls.

The annual fundraiser
is officially on.

Ah... ah, please, ladies.

Now whoever sells the most

gets two weeks
at Camp Kookalookie.

May I be excused?

Mother's helper
is developing a hernia.

Remember, we have to work
in teams.

Margaux, would you and Maria
like to be a team?

Um, excuse me, Mrs. Johnson,

but Karen and I
live near each other

and we'd like to be a team.

Oh, okay.

Uh, Tracy, maybe you and Maria?

Uh, sorry, I've already asked
Beth to be on my team.

Okay.

- Cherie, you and Maria.
- No.

But Punky and I were gonna be...

Cherie, you and Punky
are always together.

Maybe this time Punky and Maria
could be a team.

Okay, then I'll be partners
with Holly.

Sorry, Punky, looks like
you're stuck with me.

I'm not stuck with you.
We're gonna have fun.

That's the spirit, girls.

Maria, will you help me
with this?

Sure.

Hey, what this meeting needs
is a little music.

Oh, Maria, do you like music?

Uh, I mean, um...

Cherie...

deaf people
can appreciate music.

They feel the vibrations.

What?

She said you can feel

the vibrations of the m-usic.

I'm deaf,
but I do understand English.

You can speak normally.

Yeah, Margaux,
she's from Detroit, not Mars.

Sorry.

Look, I'm only
in this stupid club

because my mother says
I have to.

I know you don't like me,

and as far as I'm concerned,
that's just fine.

Brandon, pay attention

if you wanna earn
your cooking merit badge.

Henry, have I got a problem
brewing downstairs.

What is it?

Trying to court martial

a Firefly for insubordination?

This is serious, Henry.

I think I made a mistake by not
telling the girls ahead of time

that Maria's deaf.

She is?

Maybe you should have warned
all of us ahead of time.

Well, I wanted to,
but her mother insisted

that I shouldn't say anything
to anyone.

Why not?

Well, she doesn't want Maria
to feel different.

She wants her to be accepted
like any other child.

Well, I can understand that.

But children can be
awfully insensitive

about these things.

What happened?

I'll tell you
on the way downstairs.

What this party needs
is food. Fast!

I hope you got
more than carrot sticks.

Yes, of course.

Cucumber watercress sandwiches.

I spent all morning
cutting off the crusts.

Henry, we're feeding Fireflies,

not the Ladies
Temperance League.

Give me the peanut butter
and some marshmallows.

And some banana and corn chips.

And some Hershey's
chocolate bars if you got any.

Oh, and grab a couple of onions.

Here, Brandon.

Have a watercress sandwich.

- Where is everybody?
- Gone.

I guess I sort of ruined
the meeting.

You didn't ruin anything.

Yeah, Margaux always leaves
fashionably early.

Sure, and everybody else
wanted to rush home

to clean their room.

I should be used to it by now.

Well, I say, who needs them?

Let's go inside and eat
these yummy graham cr*cker

marshmallow chocolate,
uh, whatevers.

Not whatevers, they're s'mores.

Whatever.

- Are you guys coming up?
- In a minute.

Look, Maria, I know
what the girls did today

wasn't very nice, but they're
really not like that.

Forget about it. I just make
people uncomfortable.

I try to fit in, but I never do.

- Hello.
- Hi. Your mom's here.

What took you so long?

Sorry, I didn't think

the meeting
would, uh, end so soon.

Well, it did.

All of a sudden, everybody
had something else to do.

You have to be patient, dear.

It's never easy
making new friends.

That's what you always say, mom.

Maybe the next time,
the Fireflies

could, uh, meet at our house?

Ah, gee, that'd be great,
Mrs. Aragon.

There isn't gonna be
a next time.

Can we just please go home now?

Wait a minute.

Don't you think
you should say thank you

to Punky before we leave?

Thanks for every... oh!

I mean,
thanks for everything, Punky.

Is that how you say thank you
in sign language?

Not quite, it's more like this.

Hey, that's neat!

I taught Maria
to sign over a year ago.

Uh, w... would you teach me
how to say

other things in sign language?

Sure, other things.

- Well, bye.
- No.

I... I mean, will you teach me
how to talk in sign language?

Why, Punky? You're not deaf.

Sign language
is just for freaks like me.

"And then Susanna said,

'Oh, Beauregard,
don't leave me."

"Please don't leave me.'"

"And putting spurs to his horse,

he raced away
from the plantation."

I don't know
what the horse's name was.

And what difference
does it make?

Alright, you two.
Lights out.

Oh, can we finish
this chapter, please?

"Down To The Nitty Grits?"

Yeah, it's a classic love story

set in a turbulent era
of our nation's history.

Yes, I know.

It's very educational.

I'm learning a lot
from this book.

I'll bet.

I didn't even know
what grits were.

Mm-hmm. Brandon, bedtime.

You see, it takes place
during the Civil w*r.

I think that's before
you were born.

Thank you.

Now go to sleep
and I'll let you finish it

in about nine years.

Oh, by the way, Henry...

What does that mean?

I... it's sign language
for thank you.

- Maria taught it to me.
- Oh, you're welcome.

What are you thanking me for?

For being a Mother's helper
at our Firefly meeting.

Oh, don't mention it.

Not ever, to anyone.

I hope it wasn't too awful.

Nah.

What's a little humiliation
as long as you girls had fun?

I don't think
Maria had too much fun.

Hm.

The other kids
were rough on her.

Why can't they just forget
that she's deaf

and treat her normally?
That's what I do.

I'm sure they'd like to,

but sometimes when you try
very hard to ignore a problem,

it just gets bigger.

Oh, you mean, like when someone
says don't think of elephants

and from then on, all you can
think of is elephants.

Sort of.

You see, dear, Maria is
different from the other kids.

Nothing can change that.

The trick is to get them
interested in her as a person.

And pretty soon, they'll forget
about her being different.

- Hey, that's a great idea.
- Thank you.

How'd you get to be so smart?

It's one of the few
rewards of old age.

Goodnight, sweetheart.

- Goodnight, Henry.
- Mm.

"Suddenly, Beauregard appeared
in the doorway

and pulled S... Susanna
into his arms and sai..."

Wow. I bet we've got
over coupons.

Ah!

Oh, why, thank you, Brandon.

"Two dollars off
on an inflatable poodle?"

Well, here's a good one.

Two for the price of one.

It's for birdseed.
We don't have a bird.

Yes, I know,
but it's still a great deal.

- The laundry's done.
- I'll go and get it.

You keep clipping.

Oh, hello, Maria. Come in.

Hello, Mr. Warnimont.

- Hi, Punky.
- Hi, you're early.

But it'll just take me a minute
to change into my uniform.

Why don't you have
your uniform on?

Punky, I'm not very good
at selling peanut brittle.

Oh, that's okay.
I've already sold five boxes.

And Henry says if I clean
my room, he'll buy five more.

What I'm trying to say is
I'm not going outside with you.

I came over to bring the stuff
back to Mrs. Johnson,

but she's not home.

Your Firefly uniform?

Your official handbook
and your merit badge?

Yeah, I'm quitting.

- Why?
- Those girls don't like me.

They just feel sorry for me.

And so do you.

Well, I did at first,
but not anymore.

I'm the one
I feel sorry for now.

What?

We were supposed to be partners.

How do you expect me to sell all
this peanut brittle by myself?

Guess I can kiss
Camp Kookalookie goodbye.

I'm sorry, Punky, really.

But I'm not like the other kids
and I never will be.

But you don't have to be
like them.

Just be like yourself.

It won't work.

Sure, it will
once they get to know you.

They'll never know me.
They think I'm weird and dumb.

But you're not either
of those things.

No, I'm something worse.

I'm different and I hate it.

But, Maria, it doesn't
have to be like that.

Look at me. You think I dress
this way to blend in?

No, I just thought
you were color-blind.

Maria, I'm serious.

Sometimes being different
can work for you.

Forget it, Punky.
You don't know what it's like.

That's right.

I don't know
what it's like to be deaf,

but I do know
what it's like being lonely.

And I know how awful it is
to be in a room full of people

who are always
feeling sorry for you.

Then you know why
I'm quitting the Fireflies.

Look, I have an idea that might
make you change your mind.

- Will you give it a try?
- Why should I?

Because you can't always quit
and run away

when somebody gives you
a hard time.

Because I'm asking you to.

- What do you want me to do?
- Teach me sign language.

How's that gonna help?

Trust me.

Fireflies.

Alright, Fireflies.

Fireflies!

Fireflies, it's time
for the treasurer's report.

Let's have a big hand
for Margaux.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

And now, as treasurer,
I feel the deep responsibility

to you, my fellow Fireflies,

and the money
you've entrusted to me.

I'm happy to report
we have a surplus of $ . .

Now, I propose we invest this
in a mutual fund

with dividends paid quarterly.

Hi. Sorry, I'm late.

Oh, hello, Maria dear.

Can you see my lips from there?

What did I miss?

Nothing much, Margaux
talking about

Money and herself.

What's so funny?

If I may continue?

And now a status report
on our peanut brittle sales.

I'll bet you a quarter that
Margaux's ahead by nine boxes.

You're on. Margaux never sold
anything in her whole life.

And no way could she eat more
than four boxes.

Well, well,
I seem to be in the lead.

And would you believe,
by nine boxes?

Nine really?
Pay up or else.

Or else what?

Or else I'll tell everyone,

Kenny is the one who carried
your books home yesterday.

Are you guys gonna tell me
what's going on or what?

We're using sign language.

Maria and I made a bet
and she won.

See this means I win.

- Neat.
- Oh.

And this means pay up or else.

No kidding. Cool.

Hey, that could come in
real handy at school.

How do you say what's the answer
to number five?

Ladies!

That's easy.

What's the answer
to number five?

I don't know. Ask Margaux.

Maria, teach us how to say
meet me in the study hall.

Meet me in the study hall.

How about look,
that boy's really cute?

Look, Boy's really cute.

Ooh, that's a good one.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

Ladies!

Fireflies!

People!

What about
my fascinating report?

Forget it, Margaux.

Maria's ten times more
fascinating than your report.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

You were right, Punky.

I guess it is okay
to be different.

You bet it is.

You're welcome.

How do you say
meet me at the mall?

Stop! One at a time!

She's only got two hands,
you know.

- Anyway...
- How do you say...

Oh, God!