03x07 - No Loss

[bunniefuu]

Okay, I'm sorry, Ally.

I'm genuinely sorry.

I'm sorry, too.

I said some things I didn't
mean that were very harsh,
and I apologize.

Right, okay.

Now we need Mrs.
Shirani, please.

The dentist is ready for you.

You know, my grandad had all his
teeth taken out when he was 22.

- What?
- Yep.

That's insane.

They all did it back then.

It was, and I quote, "to
save any mucking about.
"
- Wow.
Wow, imagine that.

- Hmm.

- Imagine going clubbing in dentures.

- Yeah.

"All right, darlin', you dancin' here?"
She'd have all of hers out as well.

- My God.

- Just like, you know,
gumming each other up out by the bins.

"The bins"! Shh.

Shh, shh.

Ah, it feels funny laughing
together, doesn't it?
Yeah.
Yeah, it has been a bit grim.

- Pretty grim.

- Mm.

Well, at least my hormones
were perfectly balanced
to cope with it all.

Thank God.

Imagine how terrible it would
have been if they weren't.

Oh, my God.

If I set any of this stuff
off between you and Ava
- If?
- Fair point.

I'm sorry I made things worse.

Oh oh, I don't know anymore, Paul.

I mean, the more I try
to make make it better,
the more I seem to screw up.

- I wouldn't like me, either.

- Come on, that's bullshit.

You are always around for Ava.

Yeah, but that just means
that I'm invisible when I'm doing okay,
and it's only when I
f*ck up that she notices.

I can't believe it's her
the mocks tomorrow.

Mm-hmm.
She'll ace them, though.

I mean, she's got all that nailed down.

You're very positive today.

- I am, aren't I?
- Yeah.

I'm surprising myself.

Okay.
You lot, action stations.

We're gonna go to bed early tonight.

We're gonna shut our
cake holes to let this one
have a good night's
sleep before her mocks.

Me and Luke are gonna clear away
and let the ladies relax.

Hey, shall we have some port and cigars
in the living room?
Are you how you feeling?
Fine.

You'll smash it.

- Jacob still not talking to you?
- Oh, he just won't listen.

He just keeps putting sad
songs on his Instagram story.

I tried swearing on Harrison's grave
that I didn't tell Ruby to dump him.

- I even swore on Lennon's.

- Well, don't swear on McCartney's.

That was a hoax.
Look,
Jacob will come round.

He's just nursing a broken heart.

Yeah, maybe he just
needs time to cool off.

Also, with the best will in the world
Jacob is a f*cking weirdo, okay?
So he's not gonna want to lose friends.

Yeah
- You ready?
- No.

- You'll smash it.

- Absolutely.

I don't know.

I'm freaking out a bit.

We can do this.
Come on.

Bye, girls.
Good luck.

- Hi.

- You all right?
- Yeah.
You?
- Yeah, not too bad.

- Well, I mean, sort of bad.

- Same.

I'm sorry again about you and Ruby.

"The drought was the very worst
when the flowers that we'd
grown together d*ed of thirst.
"
- Dylan?
- Swift.

- Jonathan?
- Taylor.

- Ruby loved her.

- Oh.

So, uh, do you want
to hang out sometime?
I've got some gaps in my schedule now.

Yeah, definitely.

- Cool.

- What are you drawing?
On the count of three?
- Okay.

- Right.

One
- Two three.

- Two three.

63.
What's the pass mark?
What'd you get?
I won't get in, will I?
Yes, you will.
Of course you will.

I need to work so hard.

It's fine, Grace.
It's
only the marks, it
It just wasn't your day.

I heard they're putting in
a new gym at Corfield School.

Might not be so bad there anyway.

Hey.
Sorry, I couldn't get
off my call when you came in.

Did you get your results today?
Ava! That is incredible!
Oh, my God.
Well done, you!
What's wrong? Were you
holding out for 100?
Grace botched it.

Really, really badly.

Oh, no.
Poor thing.

Which means we won't get
to go to the same school
if she fails the real exam.

Ah, I see.
Um right.

Well, I am I'm so sorry.

- But it does
- Please don't say it doesn't matter.

- It does matter to me, Mum.

- No, no, no, no.

I wasn't gonna say that.

I wasn't, I wasn't.
I get
that it's important to you.

But your friendship, it will survive,
even if you're at different schools.

In fact, it will probably
get even stronger
I promise.

And I'm so proud of you.

I mean, I'm not surprised.

But I am so proud!
Um, hey, let's text your dad.

He's working late.
It will make his day.

- Yeah.
Sure.

- And maybe we can
get him to pick up some
ice cream on the way home.

Because it's a well-known fact
that sugar cures everything.

Apart from diabetes.

Yeah, I'm full of sh*t.

You okay?
Ava, though, eh?
Mm.

Ridiculously clever.

- Hilariously clever.

- Mm.

I mean, that's what
it's all about, isn't it?
Watching your child outgrow you.

Out-think you.
I mean, she
She could do anything now.

- Mm.

- Medicine, law.
Data science.

- Do you even know what that is?
- No one does.

Yeah
There's real hope for that one.

What, does that make
Luke the throwaway kid?
f*ck me ragged No, of
cour I didn't mean that.

Why Look, you You
realize you do this thing
where you take something I say and
warp it into something quite sinister.

Okay, well maybe that is because
I am so hyper-aware of
how you can overreact.

You know, sometimes it feels
like I'm constantly treading on
- You're on eggshells, I know, yeah.

- No, no, no.

Not on eggshells.
On landmines.

- They're worse?
- They're a lot worse.

Gotcha.

Oi.
Come on, missus.
Finish up.

You need brain fuel today.

I'm not sure chocolate
spread counts as brain fuel.

- Well
- Hey, it's at least 13% hazelnuts.

You've got this, Ava.

You know more stuff
than anyone I've ever
met, and I've met Einstein.

Einstein d*ed in the 1950s.

You see? You see what you know?
You'll be great, love.

I just I don't know.

- I have a bad feeling about today.

- Mm?
But I need to go get ready, so
You all right there?
Yes stretching out
my neck and back.

- This is nice.

- What, me stretching?
That's nothing, you should hear
my knees click when I stand up.

No, this, just you and me
getting on.
I've missed that.

That's why they make you
come every six months.

Keep your relationship intact.

I don't want you to be
walking on landmines anymore.

- I don't either.

- You're not scared of me, are you?
You you see now, this is
a potential landmine moment.

- Oh, right.
Okay.

- It is.

Well, things need to change, don't they?
So f*cking Hurt Lockertime.

I'm gonna clear the mines.

Like Princess Di.

I don't think she
personally cleared the mines.

No, she would have used that big-faced
butler to do it, wouldn't she?
Yeah.

Difficult, innit, all this?
Yeah.

I mean, you jump into being a parent,
and you're convinced that you're
gonna be the hero in your own film,
and then, bang, you're the bad guy.

How much tartar has that woman got?
It's like sanding f*cking floor boards.

Heroes can be boring, though, Paul.

You know, sometimes
the bad guy is sexier.

- That's very true.

- Mm.

I need a piss.

So it would be making, like,
model aeroplanes and stuff.

Yeah.
Or anything you fancy, really.

Model Building Club
is gonna be ultra cool.

- Great!
- Accurate transport miniatures,
painstakingly assembled
in a quiet, well-ventilated room.

- Everyone will want to join.

- Will they?
"Will they" balls.
I'm using sarcasm.

But the fewer members, the cooler it is.

Model making is like the vinyl
collecting of the craft world.

- Oh, count me in.

- Excellent.

Thanks for believing
me about the Ruby thing.

Maybe she just needs to
do her own thing, you know.

Sort of explore who she
really is and what she wants.

Yeah, maybe.

- Hey.
Here.

- Thanks, babe.

You're welcome.

Her results should be up by now, surely.

No, she was still refreshing
the page when I last checked.

It's like trying to get
tickets for Glastonbury.

- Can't we just have a look?
- No!
We said she was gonna do it.

So what did she get in the mocks? 90
- 94.

- She'll be home and dry, won't she?
Oh don't jinx it.

You sound like my mum.

"Don't put the mockers on it, Paul.
"
- No, just
- "No.
"
I've got an odd feeling about it.

She didn't seem very confident going in.

- Hmm.

- Anyway we'll find out soon,
and then we can stuff
our faces with curry.

- Yes, yes, yes.

- Hey.

Can you see where the delivery guy is?
Mm, let's have a look.
Uh
- Yeah, he's nearby.

- Mm.

He's f*ck is he doing?
Don't go that way, you
That's gonna take ages, isn't it?
Oh, 'cause well, now apparently
he's driving over some buildings
like he's in some f*ckin'
monster truck rally.

So
It's good to see them back
together again.
The odd couple.

I know.
Plus, Jacob gives me the
skinny on all the best artisan cheeses
in the whole of the south-east, so
How did such an old man
wind up in that tiny body?
- He's Jacob Button.

- Hmm.

- Oh.

- Mm.

Hey.

So
- 56.

- Ahh.

What?
Uh, that that can't be right.

Did Have you
Did you make a mistake
with the login details somehow or
That's my score, Dad.

I knew it that morning.

I just felt off.

- Oh, Ava.

- No, but how can anyone
go from 94 to whatever
it was you just said?
It was a lot different from the
mocks.
I'm I'm really sorry.

- There's nothing to be sorry about.

- No, no yeah.

No need to apologize, we're
just trying to understand
how this could have
gone so very, very wrong.

I told you I just felt off.

And it was way more difficult this time.

What else do you want me to say?
There's nothing else to say.
You
don't need to say anything else.

- Mm.

- It's fine.
Hey.
Come here.

It's gonna be okay.

Yeah, yeah.
You're all right, mate.

Yeah, we'll Yeah,
we'll work something out.

Yeah, occupied!
- Hello.

- Hi, I was just thinking.

Do you remember that
weekend we spent in Venice?
Yeah.
Yeah.
You had your purse stolen.

No, I mean, do you remember
that masquerade shop bathroom
- and what we got up to there.

- Ooh
Yes.
Yeah.

Well, this isn't quite Venice, but
Ally Grant?
Hey!
- This way.

- Hi.
Yeah.

Hey w-were we about to
It's okay.
We'll sort something out.

I promise.
You don't have to What?
Oh, my God.

What is it?
- Grace passed.

- Grace
But in the mocks right.

Is it possible that they
mixed up your results?
- Is that a thing?
- I'm so sorry, Ava.

I mean, for you, I'm just I'm sorry.

Can I go up? I don't
feel like eating anyway.

Let Let me just ask
you one thing.
Um
Did you maybe
I mean, is it possible, that because
you did so well first time round
did you maybe, uh
not try as hard as you might have done?
Paul, that's ridiculous.

- Well
- Of course I tried hard.

- All I ever do is try hard.

- Mm-hmm.

Maybe you can't handle the fact
that your perfect little daughter
isn't so perfect after all.

Maybe he found a f*ckin' map!
Sorry, but I had to ask.

- You okay?
- No, not really.

Grace is gonna go to
St.
Margaret's without me.

Nothing is beyond repair, sweetheart.

And it's just a tiny little blip
that you will barely
remember decades from now.

- I promise.

- Can I go to my room?
I really need to talk to Grace.

Yeah.

Right.
What do we do?
'Cause this isn't good.

Yeah, I know, but it doesn't have
to be the worst thing, either.

Well, that's easy for you to
say.
You went to decent schools.

Yeah, look at me now:
CEO of f*cking Apple.

No, I'm I'm just saying
that you actually don't know
what it's like to try and
swim ahead of the mainstream.

- She's gonna struggle.

- Why?
Wh Because she's not supposed to be
stomping about with
the regular dickheads.

Oh, why are you being like this?
I mean, you do work in the community.

That's why I'm being like that!
I don't want her in the community.

Teenagers can be real little c**ts.

What if they bully her for being smart?
What if they exclude
her from everything?
Well, then, I guess she'll have to be
a f*cking data scientist, won't she?
Hi, boys.

- Hi, Paul.

- Hiya, Dad.
Check this out.

I put it together.

You did? Wow.

Yeah.
Jacob and me have
started a Model Building Club.

Oh, brilliant! How
many are in it so far?
Oh, just us two.

That's why it's so cool.

- Jesus only had 12 disciples.

- Very true.

And he probably only
rated about four of them.

Exactly.

Uh, there's a curry
getting cold upstairs, so
- Great.
Coming.

- Uh, if you don't think
it's too rude of me, Paul,
can I just finish this off first?
- It won't take a second.

- Sure, yeah.

Come up when Jacob's finished his
She's a beauty.

Is that a message from Ruby?
No.

Yeah, it is.
How did you know?
I'm a genius.

Right, well, I'll just delete it.

I won't even look at it.

Don't want you to be upset.

Thanks.

That's really brilliant.

And it's yours to keep, Luke.

Consider it a little
token of my gratitude.

Oh, really? Thank you, Jacob.

Hmm.

Right, time for curry.

I should go and check on Ava.

Now that she's finally
lowered herself to talk to me.

Time for a pee.

Okay.

- Mum
- You failed on purpose.

So you could be with Grace.

Ohh, Ava
How did you know?
Oof, well
Sorry, did I just hear you say
- that you failed the exam on purpose?
- Paul
I didn't know how else Grace and
I could go to the same school.

Jesus Christ, Ava!
So you threw the fight.

You failed deliberately.

How could you do anything
so f*cking stupid?
There's something else.

There's something worse.

Something worse? Oh, good.

Than pretending to be thick
and throwing your f*cking
life away let's hear it.

I told Grace what I did.

Or what I tried to do.

- And now she won't even talk to me.

- Oh, God, Ava.

Well, I'm I'm sure she'll get
over it when the dust settles.

Oh, oh, yeah, she'll really
perk up at St.
Margaret's.

She said it was a really
messed-up thing to do.

- Oh, maybe she is smart after all.

- Paul, enough.

She was really angry
'cause I thought she'd fail.

Like I was thinking
she was stupid or something.

But you didn't mean to insult
her.
It's gonna be okay.

No she said I was
really weird for doing it,
and she doesn't even
want to be my friend.

Well, you were just trying to
fix it.
Look, we're on your side.

Sorry, Ally are you high?
How can you even be entertaining
the idea that this is okay?
She has thrown herself under the bus!
So the cleverest person in the house
has made the stupidest
f*cking decision in history.

Just try and see it
from her perspective.

We need to do one thing now,
and that is sort this sh*t out.

We can beg the school
for her to re-sit or
Or claim temporary
insanity, I don't know.

No, think about why she did it!
And think about how difficult
it would have been for Ava to deny
her intelligence, her
skills, her brilliance,
because her friend means so much to her.

Just think about why she did it.

I-I've thought about it, Ally,
and it's a f*cking disastrous decision.

To throw her future in the bin
over a friend that she's not even
gonna remember in five years' time.

- You better come back here
- No.

- You better come back here!
- No!
That's a landmine.