01x04 - Cory's Alternative Friends

[bunniefuu]

Cold Open

[SCENE – Feeny’s classroom. Two girls, Barbara and Paige, stand in front of the classroom, giving a lecture of some sort. There is a large pitcher of water in front of them, and Paige holds a small beaker]

Paige: In conclusion, some products we use every day cause algae to grow in lakes… (Pours the contents of the beaker, which I cannot identify, into the pitcher, making the water a murky white color)

Barbara: (Continuing Paige’s thought) …cutting off oxygen and disrupting the ecosystem. (Drops a fake fish into the water with tongs)

Paige: So, what we’ve learned is that we must choose biodegradable products to help protect out environment. (Barbara pulls a fake fish skeleton from the murky water with the tongs)

Feeny: (Sitting at his desk) Excellent report! Inspired visuals. (To rest of class) Next team! (Cory and Shawn stand, give high fives, go around the back of Feeny’s desk and Shawn pulls down the map)

Cory: How air pollution effects our everyday life.

Feeny: Excellent topic.

Shawn: (He and Cory simultaneously take out pointers. He hits the map in the Gulf of Mexico) Denver. (Feeny moves his pointer to the correct location) High atop the majestic Rocky Mountains. Elevation: five thousand feet.

Cory: (Slaps Iowa with his pointer) Philadelphia. (Like Shawn, Feeny corrects him) Lying low in the Delaware basin, 250 feet above sea level.

Feeny: Well researched.

Shawn: (Moves his pointer sharply to Yucatan) Denver. Clean crisp mountain air.

Cory: (Moves his pointer sharply to the middle of Mexico) Philadelphia. Polluted Industrial smog.

Shawn: (Moves his pointer stridently to the Texan coast) Mile High Stadium: home of the Colorado Rockies.

Cory: (Moves his pointer stridently to the Arkansas/Oklahoma border) Veterans Stadium: home of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Feeny: Oh, here we go…

Shawn: (He and Cory lean towards the class on Feeny’s desk) The Rockies, a bogus expansion team, mind you, are averaging four more runs per game than anyone in the league… because of their clean air.

Cory: Our theory is, if Philadelphia would clean up its smoggy air, the ball would slice though the atmosphere with a greater velocity.

Shawn: Therefore the Phillies would score more runs.

Cory: And win every home game. The end. (He and Shawn simultaneous contract their pointers) (To Feeny) So, how’d you like our report?

Feeny: Stinks.

Cory: (To Shawn) Stinks! (Taps Feeny’s shoulder like a buddy) How’d you like my half?

Feeny: (Stands) Relax, Mr. Matthews, I blame myself.

Cory: You do? Cool! (He and Shawn high five and return to their seats)

Feeny: I let you choose your own partner. An astounding lapse of judgment for someone of my experience. I am going to let you try again, but this time I’ll choose the teams. Mr. Hunter, you’ll work with Mr. Minkus.

Shawn & Minkus: (Simultaneously slap their foreheads) Oh, no.

Feeny: (Marks his change) And Mr. Matthews…

Cory: Yeah, I’ll hook up with Mr. Sullivan. (Nods to his friend)

Feeny: No, no. That’s worse. (Peers into his grade book on his desk) You’ll work with Miss Lawrence.

Cory: Topanga?

Topanga: (Sitting in front of Cory, turns to face him) Give me your hand.

Cory: (Looking shocked) Why?

Topanga: (Holds out her hand) I want to see if our energies converge. (Cory holds out his hand, Topanga rubs his palm)

Shawn: (Like a ghost) Ooooooooh!

Topanga: (Closes Cory’s hand, then turns around) He’s vibrationally acceptable.

Cory: (Stands, to Topanga, insincerely) Thanks. (Walks up to Feeny’s desk) Uh, Mr. Feeny? May I approach the bench?

Feeny: (Sitting) Objection, Mr. Matthews?

Cory: Can you be swayed on this?

Feeny: (Sternly) I’m Gibraltar.

Cory: (Pleadingly) Come on, Mr. Feeny. Topanga’s, like, totally strange.

Feeny: Strange is in the eye of the beholder, Mr. Matthews. I, for example, have a young neighbor who sings along with his little sister’s Barney records.

Cory: (After a long, stunned silence) You hear that?

Opening Credits

[SCENE – The lunchroom. Cory goes to get food from the vending machine when he overhears a conversation between Barbara and Paige]

Paige: (To Barbara) Why would I want to invite him to my party?

Barbara: (Shrugs) What’s wrong with him?

Paige: He’s gross. He’s a total Brillo head. (Notices Cory, then she and Barbara walk away exchanging wide-eyed looks)

Cory: (Starts walking towards his and Shawn’s table, feeling his hair. He sits, looking at his reflection in a spoon, still feeling his hair) (To Shawn) What do you think of my hair?

Shawn: Guys don’t ask guys that question.

Cory: Well… (Gestures to hair) Would this qualify as a Brillo head?

Shawn: Nah… (Feels Cory’s hair) You’re more like a Nerf head. (Goes back to his lunch)

Cory: You knew this and you didn’t tell me?!

Shawn: You got curly hair. Big deal. Can we move on now?

Cory: Sure, it’s easy for you to talk. You got hair. I’m a Chia pet. (Resumes feeling his hair)

(Topanga approaches carrying a clipboard)

Topanga: Cory. I got Jedidiah to drive me to your house after school.

Cory: Who’s Jedidiah?

Topanga: My father.

Cory: Wait, you call your father “Jedidiah”?

Topanga: That’s his name. What do you call your father?

Cory: Well, like a lot of normal people, I refer to him as “Dad”.

Topanga: Then how do you tell him apart from all the other dads?

Cory: Look, Topanga, is there anyway we can do this assignment on the phone? Or by telepathy?

Topanga: It concerns our environment. I think it deserves more direct attention.

Cory: Okay, okay. I’ll see you at my house after school.

Topanga: (Holds forth her clipboard) Before I leave, I’d like you to sign a petition to save Mrs. Rosemead’s job.

Shawn: Who’s Mrs. Rosemead?

Topanga: Our librarian. They’re forcing her to retire. It’s blatant ageism.

Shawn: (Mockingly) Maybe because she’s blatantly old.

Cory: (To Topanga) Look, can we talk about this later? We’re real, real busy, here.

Topanga: Fine. I’ll respect your space. (Walks away)

Shawn: (Laughing) Wow. Feeny must really hate your guts. (Laughs)

Cory: Could be worse. At least he didn’t give me Minkus.

Shawn: Hey. Minkus doesn’t like me, he doesn’t trust me, and he doesn’t respect me. So he’s doing the whole assignment by himself. In my book, Stuart Minkus is a god.

Cory: Then why is he sitting at the weirdo table? (Cory gestures to a nearby table, which is called the weirdo table for good reason. It has Topanga, Minkus, a kid playing a keyboard with headphones on, a kid wearing a cape, and a girl playing chess by herself)

Shawn: it’s like the cast of “The Addams Family.” Don’t they care what they look like?

Cory: Who cares what they look like? What am I gonna do about my hair? (Touches it)

Shawn: Hey, if you’re that stressed out, I’ll ask my sister what she uses to straighten her hair.

Cory: Your sister straightens her hair?

Shawn: Yeah. If she didn’t, it’s look as bad as… oh, I don’t know… you? (Smiles smugly)

[SCENE – Matthews’ living room. Amy sits at the desk when Morgan enters and approaches]

Morgan: Mommy? If my dolly is cold, can I put her in the toaster oven?

Amy: No, honey, that would be a mistake.

Morgan: Mommy?

Amy: What?

Morgan: I made a mistake. (Amy rushes into the kitchen, Morgan follows)

[Cut to the kitchen. Cory and Topanga are studying at the kitchen table when Amy enters with Morgan behind her]

Amy: Cory, didn’t you smell that? (Rushes to remove the doll from the toaster oven)

Cory: I just thought we were having plastic for dinner.

Morgan: (Amy hangs the vaguely doll-shaped, pancake-flat hunk of plastic that used to be Morgan’s doll in front of Morgan) I don’t care what she looks like, Debbie’s my doll and I love her.

Amy: (Stroking Morgan’s hair) Well, sweetheart, we’ll get you another doll.

Morgan: Okay. (Tosses the ex-doll away and runs out of the room) (Amy begins walking away)

Cory: Okay, see you later, Amy.

Amy: (Stops, turns to Cory) Amy?

Cory: Or if you prefer Mom. (Amy exits) (To Topanga) I told you!

Topanga: I have some ideas on our presentation.

Cory: So do I! Here’s what we do. We hit Feeny hard, we hit him fast. The ozone layer, it’s got a hole. Wear a hat! (Puts on a Phillies cap) We’re in, we’re out. (Smiles)

Topanga: I kind of had a whole different approach to the report. (Stands, taking a boom box. Cory removes his hat) Less conventional, more performance art. (Sets down the boom box)

Cory: No, please, let’s stick to conventional. Conventional’s good because no one laughs at conventional.

Topanga: (Opens a piece of paper, hands it to Cory) Read this poem out loud.

Cory: (Takes the paper) A poem? Please, not a poem. (New age music plays, Topanga crosses her arms over her chest) (Reading) “Sun… (Topanga waves her arms down her side, then up) The only. (Topanga holds her arms under her chin) The one.” (Topanga steps forward, and points up) (Cory pauses and gawks at Topanga, then continues) “Doughnut in the sky. (Topanga makes and O over her head with her arms) Space. Big gaping place. (Topanga steps out, opening her arms, then in, wrapping them around herself, then out again, opening them once more) Without. (Topanga opens her arms forward) Within. (Topanga retracts her arms) Our skin. (Topanga grabs her forearms) Doughnut in the sky. (Topanga takes out & opens a lipstick tube) Freon. (Topanga begins drawing a circle and two perpendicular diameters on it on her face) Fluorocarbon. Humpback whale. (Topanga pumps her arms and leans forward) So pale. (She throws her head & arms back) Exhaust. (Topanga puts her hand to her forehead) Is all lost? (Topanga kneels pensively) Doughnut in the sky.” (Topanga stands, making the O once more) (Cory, disgustedly, drops the paper on the table. Topanga bows to him) Yeah, we could do that in front of the class… but before we could, will you just please take a huge baseball bat and hit me over the head?

Topanga: You didn’t think it had meaning?

Cory: Yeah, it means we’ll be laughed out of school.

Topanga: Why do you care so much what other people think? When people laugh at you, they’re depleting their own karmic reservoir.

Cory: You’re gonna be one of those girls who doesn’t shave her legs, aren’t you?

Topanga: (Pause, considering) I haven’t decided yet.

Cory: Do you actually try to be weird?

Topanga: I don’t think I’m weird. I think I’m unique. Jedidiah and Chloe say that every time you’re not true to yourself, the earth weeps. (Hangs her head)

Cory: Do they say that in their native Martian?

Topanga: (Pleadingly) The earth is crying for you, Cory!

Cory: I’d rather have the earth crying than my friends laughing. People make fun of you, Topanga.

Topanga: So?

Cory: I couldn’t take it. I just want to blend in.

Topanga: Well, you’re sure good at it. You look like all the other plain-wrapped kids at school, except for your red hat. (Takes the cap off the table)

Cory: (Snatched the hat from Topanga) Hey! I got that on cap night. I had to wait an hour in line.

Topanga: (Takes the hat back) Well, If it’s important to you… then it’s beautiful. (Hands Cory the hat back, Cory puts it on the table)

(Enter Shawn from the backyard with a brown paper bag)

Shawn: Got the stuff. (Sees Topanga, freezes in his tracks, noticing her lipstick) Use a mirror, babe. (Cory stands)

Topanga: (To Cory) What stuff?

Cory: (To Topanga) Let me ask you something. What do you think of my hair? You think it looks good?

Topanga: It’s beautiful. Like a desert tumbleweed.

Cory: (Frustrated) Okay, thank you for those thoughts. (Takes Topanga’s notebook from the table) Look, Topanga, you wanna do this performance thing, you do for it. (Shoves the notebook into her arms) I’ll see you tomorrow. (Hands her her boom box, tries to rush her out the door)

Topanga: Are we all done for today?

Cory: Yeah, Shawn and I have another project we’re working on now.

Topanga: (Excitedly) Really? What is it?

Shawn: Well, you know how those dolphins get caught in the tuna nets?

Topanga: (Interested) Yeah.

Shawn: It’s got nothing to do with that. (Shoves the door closed, with Topanga outside. He and Cory exchange high fives, then run upstairs)

[SCENE – Cory and Eric’s bedroom, with the bathroom door open. Cory and Shawn are standing together in the bathroom. Cory has white foam all over his hair and a towel draped over his shoulders]

Cory: (Panicked, steps manically into the bedroom) Should this stuff be burning?!

Shawn: (Following Cory) Why, is it burning?

Cory: (Sarcastically) No, I’m just trying to make conversation because we never really get to talk.

Shawn: How bad’s it burning?

Cory: Call your sister. (Shawn rushes to the phone) Ask her if my ears should feel like throbbing jalapeños.

Shawn: (On the phone) Hi, Stacy? It’s me. Listen, Cory wants to know if that stuff you sent over should be burning. (Pause, while Cory dances with pain) Uh-huh… Really?

Cory: (Dances towards Shawn, yelling towards the mouthpiece) Hurting! Hurting now!

Shawn: (To Cory) Stacey wants to know how long it’s been burning.

Cory: Forty, forty-five minutes.

Shawn: (Into phone) Forty-five minutes.

Cory: Shawn, I’m gonna rip my head off!

Shawn: (To Cory) Stacey says you should’ve washed it out forty-five minutes ago.

Cory: AAHHH! (Begins running towards the bathroom)

Shawn: Stacey says you shouldn’t have left it in so long. Stacey says why didn’t you two idiots read the label? (Into phone) Oh, thanks, Stace.

Cory: (From bathroom) AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! (As Cory screams, the sh*t changes from the bedroom, to the Matthews’ house, to a sh*t of Philadelphia, to a sh*t of the entire Earth, to a sh*t of the galaxy, where it’s accompanied by an electronic beeping)

[Cut back to Cory and Eric’s bedroom. Cory enters from the bathroom with long, straight, disgusting-looking hair and a depressed expression. Alan and Eric enter from the hallway and see Cory’s hair]

Eric & Amy: AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

Shawn: I had nothing to do with this. (Runs out)

Amy: Cory, what did you do to your beautiful hair?

Cory: It wasn’t beautiful, it looked like Velcro.

Eric: (Rubs Cory’s hair) Nothing’s gonna stick to that now, man.

Cory: (To Eric) This is your fault, you got the good hair.

Eric: (Smugly) Yeah, I did, didn’t I?

Amy: (Attempting to comb Cory’s hair) Okay, we can fix this. (Cory’s hair won’t budge) Just… not with a comb.

Eric: (Sitting at the desk) It doesn’t really matter, Mom. His hair’s gonna fall out.

Amy: (A comb is now lodged in Cory’s hair) Eric, stop it.

Eric: (Stands) What? I’m just saying kid at school tried the came thing… (claps hangs) bald as a cue ball! She looks terrible.

(Morgan enters carrying her new doll)

Morgan: I don’t like my new dolly. She’s not wearing a pretty dress.

Amy: (Kneels to Morgan’s height) Well, honey, she’s a businesswoman. I mean (takes the doll) this dolly has gone to college, has a good job, and doesn’t need Ken to support her.

Cory: (Comb still lodged) Who cares? I got a head problem, here! (Sits on the bed)

Morgan: (Noticing Cory) Hey, it’s Punky Brewster!

(Morgan exits, Alan enters)

Alan: (Sees Cory) (Hopefully) That’s a hat, right?

Eric: (Sitting on the desk) Yeah, try and take it off.

Alan: (Steps closer to Cory and tries to shake the comb loose to no avail) (Chuckling) Cory, what did you do?

Cory: I tried to straighten my hair, okay?

Alan: With what, shellac?

Cory: Dad, you think a little shampoo might…

Eric: (Stands, interrupting) No. You see, the whole principle behind shampoo is that is actually has to touch your hair. It’s completely ineffective if there’s a polyurethane force field surrounding your head. (Waves his hands around Cory’s head)

Alan: I just hope your hair doesn’t fall out. (Eric points to Alan in agreement)

Amy: (Stands) Alan!

Alan: Okay, a guy at work, Mike, put this kind of stuff in his hair… (Claps his hands) Bald as a cue ball!

Cory: (Stands) Okay, listen up, family. Because, I admit, I didn’t know what I was doing when I put this stuff on my head. And I admit I didn’t know what it was going to do to me. But here’s the thing I do know: I am, under no circumstances, going to school tomorrow. Is that clear? No school for Cory. School, Cory? No!

[Cut to Feeny’s class the next day. Class is in session, with everyone in their seats. Cory sits, slumped and pouting, wearing his Phillies hat over his new “hairstyle”]

Feeny: (To class) Alright, next up for oral reports, Miss Lawrence and Mr. Matthews. Let’s go, Mr. Matthews. (Taps his shoulder) Remove your cap and deliver your report.

Cory: Uh, I can’t remove my cap because our report is on the ozone layer and the cap, uh, is part of our UV-protection angle. (Grins)

Feeny: (Waving a finger) No caps in my class.

Cory: (Stands, approaches Feeny in the front of the class, who stands next to Topanga) Mr. Feeny, if there was one shred of humanity in you, you’ll let me keep this on.

Feeny: (Sternly) Too many years of sixth graders have bled me of my humanity. Take off your cap. (Cory does so, making a sad lip. His hair looks the same, except for the huge amount of hair at his bangs bent upward from being hidden under the cap. The whole class, sans Topanga, laughs hysterically)

Cory: (To Topanga) Go ahead, laugh.

Topanga: Your hair looks different. Why would I laugh? (Cory looks at Topanga, perplexed)

[SCENE – Lunchroom. Shawn and Larry (another friend) sit at their customary table next to the weirdo table, which sports the same crowd. Cory, no longer wearing a cap (which is okay, because the fold in his bangs would serves as a visor), steps nearby with a tray in hand]

Shawn: (Calling to Cory) Over here… duck head. (He and Larry cr*ck up, pounding on the table)

Topanga: (Calling Cory from the weirdo table) Cory! There’s a seat for you here. (Cory takes one last longing gaze at Shawn’s table, then joins Topanga)

Minkus: (Holding tofu to Cory with chopsticks) Tofu?

[SCENE – Lunchroom. Continued from earlier. The chess girl from the first lunchroom scene, Hillary, walks over with a clipboard]

Hillary: I only got one signature on our petition.

Topanga: It’s so sad. How come no one cares about Mrs. Rosemead?

Cory: (Blatantly) Because she’s, like, old.

Darren: (the cape guy) In eastern culture, old people are valued for their knowledge. (Stands)

Cory: Darren, I’ve been meaning to ask you something since the fourth grade. Every day you come to school with a cape. What’s the deal with the cape?

Darren: What cape? (Walks away)

Hillary: Look, could someone else take this for a while? I’m getting tired of having lima beans and spit wads sh*t at me all day.

Minkus: I’ll take it. (Stands) I’m used to having objects hurled at my head. (Hillary hands him the clipboard, he sits)

Cory: No one’s gonna sign your petition.

Topanga: Why not?

Cory: Because you’re weird. (Realizes his crowd) However, I say that respectfully since I am now one of you. But I know how to get them to sign.

Hillary: Why should we listen to you? (Sits) You didn’t even know who Mrs. Rosemead was.

Cory: I don’t have to know Mrs. Rosemead. All I have to know is the people who you want to sign the petition.

Topanga: We know who they are. They’re people like that, right over there. (Points to Shawn table)

[Camera cuts to Shawn’s table, where Shawn and Larry have been joined by another. The angle shows the weirdo table in the background]

Cory: They might as well be a million miles away. (To Topanga) You don’t know a thing about them. What to they like to do after school? What do they like to watch on TV?

Darren: “Crossfire”?

Hillary: “MacNeil-Lehrer Report”.

Minkus: I enjoy anything with Angela Lansbury.

Cory: Alright… I’ll assume those are all actual shows. They’re not watching those. They’re out there watching “Beavis and Butthead”.

Topanga, Minkus, Girl, and Darren: Who?

Cory: Exactly my point. You want to sell your idea, you need to know you buyer. You gotta organize, you gotta strategize. And most of all, you need people who aren’t… you.

Minkus: Are you proposing to help us?

Cory: Yeah, I guess I am.

Topanga: Why?

Cory: Because life is strange, and now so am I.

[SCENE – Cory and Eric’s bedroom. Cory is alone, sitting on a bed forcing curlers into his hair. He takes a mirror and looks at himself when Eric enters. Eric sees Cory, then freezes]

Cory: Okay. What I’m doing is… I’m just trying to get my hair back to normal.

Eric: (Meagerly) Sure… (Nods slightly)

Cory: If you say anything I’ll find some way to hurt you when I’m older.

Eric: Not a word, man. I mean, it’s cool, y’know. Don’t worry about it. (Stealthily makes his way behind the desk, then snaps a Polaroid of Cory)

Cory: Hey!

Eric: (Proudly holding up the photo) (Smiling broadly) I own you now.

[SCENE – School hallway. Topanga, Darren, Hillary, Ned (the keyboard guy) and Minkus all stand in a line across the hallway, handcuffed together, looking impacient.]

Hillary: How much longer are we gonna wait for him?

Topanga: Just a couple more minutes.

Darren: He’s not gonna show.

Hillary: (Sighs) We were stupid to believe him.

Minkus: I feel cheap.

(Enter Cory, depressed as ever, with a Don King-esque hairstyle]

Cory: I know you people are way too smart and mature to find something as degrading as this (points to hair) funny. (All of them laugh) Look, the bell’s gonna rings any second. Are we gonna help out Mrs. Rosemead or not? (The group pauses)

Minkus: (Elatedly) Let’s rock ’n’ roll!

Cory: (Handcuffs Minkus to a locker) Remember, hold your ground. It’s Friday afternoon, and we are the only roadblock to freedom. (Handcuffs himself to Topanga, then his other hand to a locker across the hall from Minkus, forming a human chain) Things could get ugly. (Bell rings, the human chain hold up their arms strongly. A crowd of kids, Larry among them, comes to a halt at the chain)

Student: (Hostilely) What are you geeks doing? We’re gonna miss the bus!

Larry: (About Cory) Hey, look! It’s Don King! (All the students laugh)

Cory: Okay, look. Here’s the deal. The school board is forcing Mrs. Rosemead to retire.

Student: Who cares? It’s the weekend!

Cory: Come on, you guys! The woman’s been here for forty years and they’re just putting her out to pasture. Just sign our petition and we’ll move.

Student: (Threateningly) Move… or die. (The crowd steps forth imposingly)

Cory: (Cautiously) Okay, you can k*ll us. But think about this: Mrs. Rosemead’s been here for, like, a billion years. She couldn’t care less what we do. (To Larry) Hey, Larry, tell them how you got out of study hall last week.

Larry: (To crowd) I told her I was training for the Olympic decathlon.

Cory: And she believed you, right?

Larry: (To crowd) She bought me a discus. (Nods)

Cory: (To crowd) See? She’ll go for anything! Now you know what’s gonna happen? They’re gonna hire someone young to replace her. And this one’s gonna have something to prove. And, my good friends, study hall as we know it’s gonna be over… forever.

Larry: (The crowd thinks silently) Where’s the stupid petition?

Cory: Cafeteria.

Larry: I’m signing. (Walks away, the crowd follows, leaving the weirdoes alone)

Minkus: Wow.

Topanga: You did great, Cory. (Minkus, Hillary, Darren and Ned all undo their handcuffs and exit)

Cory: (Almost daydreaming) It was kinda cool staring down an angry mob. I never knew I had it in me.

Topanga: Sometimes the reluctant warrior is the bravest warrior.

Cory: (His smile turns into a fearful gaze) You’re not gonna, like, kiss me now, are you?

Topanga: Would it be your first kiss?

Cory: Hey, don’t come near me! (Tries to shake his handcuffed hand loose from the locker. When he can’t, he peers, terrified, at Topanga)

Topanga: Because it would be interesting if all your life you remembered that your first kiss happened when you thought you looked weird, wouldn’t it?

Cory: (Panicking) No! It wouldn’t be interesting! Get away!

Topanga: (Ignoring Cory) Because then you’d know. It’s not what you look like on the outside that matters. It’s what kind of person you are.

Cory: You shouldn’t kiss somebody you’re not married to. (Nods, feigns a smile)

Topanga: Hmm… Yeah… I would have to feel I really knew the person. And that I liked him.

Cory: (Nods, relieved) Good.

Topanga: (Long pause) Good. (Looks to Cory, then pins him against the locker. Cory curls his lips into his mouth, but Topanga kisses him anyway. When she pulls away, Cory’s expression is one of utter shock) It was my first one, too. (Cory’s expression remains)

[TAG – Lunchroom. Cory, hairstyle now back to normal, walks towards Shawn’s table with a tray. He stops as he passes Paige and Barbara as they stand]

Cory: Y’know, I want to tell you something. Brillo Head wouldn’t have come to your party, anyway.

Paige: What are you talking about?

Cory: I’m talking about the hair does not make the man. And I speak from personal experience. You shouldn’t talk about people like that.

Barbara: Don’t flatter yourself, Cory. We weren’t even talking about you.

Cory: You called me Brillo head.

Paige: We were talking about my sister’s friend Dwayne

Barbara: We never talk about you, Cory. We’re not that bored. (Scoffs, exits with Paige) (Cory steps forward so he stands in between his original table and the weirdo table)

Topanga: (Sitting at the weirdo table, turns to Cory) I see you got your old hair back.

Cory: Yeah.

Topanga: You like it better that way?

Cory: (Shrugs) It’s just hair.

Minkus: There’s still a seat for you if you want to sit down with us.

Cory: I kinda promised the guys I’d have lunch with them today.

Minkus: Yeah, I understand.

Topanga: Well, there’s always a seat here for you.

Cory: Thanks. (Turns and places his tray at Shawn’s table)

Shawn: (To Cory) Hey, touch football in my backyard after school.

Cory: (Sits) Yeah, I’ll be there. (Turns to look at Topanga who, smiling, take Cory’s red Phillies cap from her bag and puts it on. The two turn back to their tables)