03x08 - Age Ain't Nothing But a Number

[bunniefuu]

♪ Let me know ♪

♪ Let me know ♪

♪ Aah-aah ♪

♪ When I feel what I feel ♪

ZOEY: Birthdays.

Traditionally,
they're a time of celebration,

a moment to reflect on who you are,

who you were,

and where you're going.

And when it's your 21st birthday,

the moment takes on a whole new meaning.

It's the official milestone
that ushers you into adulthood.

But in that moment,

all I really wanted to do

was make that one big wish
for my future.

So I closed my eyes
and took a deep breath...

and another...

and then another.

And suddenly, it dawned on me.

What does someone wish for
when they already have it all?

[Music slows, distorts]

[Crowd gasps]

[Crowd murmuring]

♪ Watch out, world, I'm grown now ♪

♪ I'm grown ♪

♪ Learn something new every day ♪

♪ I don't know, so I'm-a feel my way ♪

♪ Got the weight of the world on me ♪

♪ But no regrets, this is what I say ♪

♪ Watch out, world, I'm grown now ♪

- ♪ I'm grown ♪
- ♪ You can tell me ♪

♪ My heart b*ating so loud ♪

♪ Mama, look, I'm grown now ♪

♪ I'm grown ♪

Deep breaths, Zoey.

In... [Inhales deeply] and out.

- Ooh.
- Mm, girl, you got it.

Zoey, I really think you need
to go to the Health Center.

No! I don't!

I promise you, it was...

it was just a little panic att*ck.

But what if it wasn't?

My Great-Aunt Debra would have
fainting spells all the time.

Just blacked out
at Chuck E. Cheese one day.

Turns out she had fibromyalgia.

Girl, goodbye.
Zoey does not have fibromyalgia.

Zoey has Lyme disease.

First of all, I had Lyme disease.

Thank you for finding that tick, Ana.

And second of all,

you know, I'm already
feeling much better.

Zoey, you need to rest.

You're obviously exhausted.

Between prepping for Joey's tour
and studying for finals...

Planning your own birthday party...

Someone had to do it.

And not to mention
Aaron not speaking to you.

Look, if you won't go
to the Health Center,

will you at least please go lie down?

Please?

Fine.

But only because
the soundtrack to my childhood

was "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom."

My greatest hit.

♪♪

♪ Here we go, here we go ♪

♪♪

Oh, sh*t.

It's my new favorite black couple

dressed as my old favorite white couple.

Y'all look amazing!

Thank you.

But just so you know, technically,

this Britney/Justin look is early 2000s,

and this is a '90s party.

Wait, what are you talking about?

This isn't a costume.

This is from my line... Anti-Muse.

It is?

Hey, it's all good.

Y'all are still #YeehawGoals.

Have fun.

Yee-haw!

Javi, no! What if
someone sees us making out?

You mean if they see Vanilla Ice
making out with Selena?

Who's gonna believe that?

[Chuckles]

Hey, guys.

Hi.

Everything okay?

Oh, no. Did Zoey take a turn
for the worse?

No, no, no. She's fine.

It's... I'm just upset
because Aaron and I

were supposed to coordinate
our "Pulp Fiction" costumes,

but he's obviously not showing up,

so now I'm just
a well-dressed man in a wig.

I have no context.

A girl asked me if I was Tina Fey.

Ohh. I'm sorry.

♪ What, what, w-w-what, what ♪

Why is your sister staring at us?

Hold up. You been keeping track
of your drinks?

We have practice tomorrow.

Yeah. This is my third one,
and after this, I'm done.

'Cause after three drinks,
I turn into a freak,

and me and Rodney are trying
to take things slow.

We've only done mouth stuff.

Why are you lying?

[Chuckles] I just do that sometimes.

[Chuckles]

I'm-a holla at Jazzy Jeff.

Okay.

[Chuckles]

What's up, love? How you doing?

Doug!

You look great!

Thank you.

Where you been, stranger?

I been trying to give you a little
bit of this Doug passion all night.

Oh!

You know, I've been, um...

I've just been chillin'.

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Y'all look nice.

You should've told me you was
doing "Poetic Justice" Janet.

I would've... came through
with "Poetic Justice" Tupac.

I mean, you're still 'Pac. It works.

Yeah. All right.

Ooh! I really feel those drinks
catching up to me.

I should hit the ladies' room.

See you in a minute?

- Yo, is something wrong?
- Not at all.

Anyone who's never seen your belly
button is in for a real treat.

I-I'm talking about with Jazz.

Yo, everything's been off.

Our communication, our interaction.

Has she told you anything?

I really think
you need to talk to my sister.

I've tried, but for the past two weeks,

she's been super-distant.

Like, I know she's stressed out
about track,

but if I could just help her,

maybe she can open up to me
about what's going on.

Look, could you please be honest?

- Please?
- [Sighs] All right.

Okay?

Yes, the reason why
she's been acting a little weird

is, uh...

it's you.

Me? What the hell did I do?

It's just you and her,
your relationship,

it... it really just steals
her focus away from track,

and right now, she's just been
trying to figure it all out.

God, you should really be
having this conversation

- with my sister.
- No, man, forget that.

I already feel like a clown
for being at this party

when she's barely even been
speaking to me.

I mean, look at me.

I got on a [bleep] bald cap, man.

♪♪

So, even after a little rest,

I still couldn't stop my head
from spinning.

Trying to make that one wish
got me thinking about

who I was and where I was going.

♪♪

Samuel L. Jackson?

Are you okay, Freshman?

I am now.

[Sighs] I gotta admit,

you had me pretty worried there
for a second.

Well... I had to find some way
to get you to my party, yeah?

I did hear

that you basically nosedived
into your birthday cake,

and that just doesn't sound like

the right way to blow out candles.

Yeah, well, you're a really good friend,

and certainly a much better one
than I've been to you.

Aaron, I am so sorry.

I really should have come through
for you for that interview,

- and the fact that I...
- Zoey, stop, stop, okay?

I know.

That's one thing about you.

Y-You're self-absorbed, clueless,

you don't see yourself, like, at all,

but you're never malicious.

Even though you mess up, like, 99.99...

- .999...
- [Laughs]

...9 percent of the time, okay,

you go above and beyond to fix it,

and that means a lot.

Wait, so, does that mean
that you forgive me?

For now, yeah. Sure.

So, how's it going? How you feeling?

Um, good.

I'm just a little tired,
probably a little overwhelmed.

Overwhelmed with what?

Everything.

I mean, finals, school, work,

you... until you showed up.

Well, you can take me
off your plate now.

Oh, that's good,
'cause it'll free up some space

for this huge tour
Joey just dropped in my lap.

I honestly don't know
how I'm gonna balance it all.

So don't balance it.
W-Who's forcing you to do that?

No one, but what's my alternative?

To just quit?

Sure. You know?

I-I mean, you're being unrealistic.

You're doing too much.

Isn't that just what it means
to be an adult, though?

Zoey, you just became an adult literally

less than 24 hours ago, okay?

[Chuckles] Right.

You have your... your whole entire life

to do all the things
that you want to do.

You can't att*ck everything at once.

You know?

Royale with cheese?

♪♪

- Hey.
- Hey.

Have you seen Doug around?
I can't find him anywhere.

Do you think I drove him away?

Uh...

I think I might've.

What are you talking about?

He pulled me aside earlier to
ask, uh, what was up with you.

Okay.

And what did you say?

Nothing. Nothing.

I ju... I just told him
that part of the reason

you might have been stressed
lately is because of track.

And?

And... also, that he's the main reason

you've lost sight of your life's passion

because you're so consumed by his penis.

I'm so, so sorry.
I know I probably overstepped.

I've just... I've had
one too many drinks.

- This is so messed up.
- I know!

But you're the one who hasn't
been straight up with him,

which is why he came to me...

not wearing a shirt,

looking so vulnerable, yet thuggish.

I'm... I'm sorry, okay?

- I just...
- Sky, please, stop!

Just do me a favor and back up!

You have been all in my sh*t lately,

from my relationship to my times.

From now on,
please just stay in your lane

and I'll stay in mine.

♪ Don't give me no bammer weed ♪

♪ We don't smoke that shh in the SFC ♪

♪ Three, two, one,
comin' in with a bang ♪

♪ 2 Paso Robles, not a Frisco thang ♪

♪ Pimps with limps,
never known as simps ♪

♪ We smoke dank
'cause bammer ain't legit ♪

- ♪ Damn, that bamm... ♪
- [Record scratches]

[Chuck Berry's
"You Never Can Tell" plays]

♪ It was a teenage wedding, and
the old folks wished them well ♪

♪ You could see that Pierre did
truly love the mademoiselle ♪

♪ And now the young monsieur... ♪

Dude, what is all this?

You needed a costume partner.

I can't believe you did this for me.

All I did was put on a white shirt

and cut my Selena wig.

Yeah, but now I'm not
just a man in a wig.

Like, I have context!

Thank you so much.

Of course! You're my roommate.

You're always so generous
with your drug money.

It's the least I could do.

[Chuckles]

Oh, my gosh. He came.

- What?
- My Jules is here.

And he brought me a Royale with cheese!

What?!

♪ "C'est la vie," say the old folks ♪

♪ It goes to show you never can tell ♪

♪ Monica, Monica, Monica, oh, Monica ♪

♪ Stalkin' and hawkin'
and jockin', and she follow ya ♪

♪ What she don't know is
that I went and followed ya ♪

[Sighs]

Hey, sunshine!

- Mm.
- How you feeling?

[Laughing] So much better.

My head finally feels clear
of all the noise,

and I actually owe the clarity

to Mr. Samuel L. Aaron Jackson
over here.

- Really?
- Yeah.

No, you helped me realize
that I need to stop

with all the back-and-forth
and trying to juggle everything.

And as difficult as it is, I am an adult

and I need to start making
some adult decisions.

So, um... guys, uh...

...I think I'm quitting.

Wow. This is... This is good.
Good for you.

I mean, I know right now,
it may seem a little difficult,

but you have your whole life
to become a stylist,

and I'm sure Joey will understand.

No, Aaron, I'm not quitting
my dream job of being a stylist.

I'm quitting Cal U.

♪♪

Hmm?

♪♪

Zoey, when... when you fell...

did you hit your head?

- Are you concussed?
- No.

I just feel like right now,
I may have outgrown Cal U.

Hold up, Zoey. I never,
ever said "Drop out of college."

Sure, you didn't, but you
pointed to all the reasons

why I should,

and the most natural thing to eliminate

feels like college.

Really? That feels more natural

than quitting a job
as a stylist for a rapper

that spells his name
with two dollar signs?

Think about it.
I have my dream job right now.

What's another year at Cal U
really gonna get me,

except wasting more of my parents' money

and losing momentum on a career
I've already started?

I just think you're setting
yourself up for failure.

But why? Plenty of creative people

can be successful without degrees.

Big facts.
Mark Zuckerberg, Diddy, Kanye...

Dude, stop.
Those are all outliers, okay?

I don't know anybody personally
without a degree

who's ballin' on that level.

Unless we're talking about drug dealers.

Then I know like three.

Uh, Slippery Jeff... um...

oh, Fat Hakim... and Dave.

- You know Dave.
- I love Dave.

O... kay, come on. Jillian, back me up.

Remember when I missed
my cover sh**t, and you said

that you would drop
out of school in a heartbeat

if that meant
that you could direct a film?

Nah, see, I actually said
that I would miss the final,

not drop out of college altogether.

I'm sorry. There's just no way
I wouldn't get my degree.

[Smacks lips]

But that's just me, though, you know?

I don't know what it's like
to be a black woman in styling.

I just know how hard it is
in my industry,

and I don't want to give people
any reason to keep me out.

Bigger facts, okay?

Aside from education, college is
about proving to ourselves

that we can see something
through, you know?

Zoey has seen something through, though.

I mean, she got a magazine cover
in six months.

Imagine what she could pull off
if she wasn't here.

- Yeah.
- Yes, but also think

about how disappointed
her parents will be

to have two college dropouts
in the family.

That's the beauty of being 21.

For once in my life,

I don't have to answer
to anyone except myself.

So... how about
we go enjoy the final hours

of my 21st birthday party?

Yeah?

- AARON: Okay.
- [Laughing] Come on.

Yeah. Come on.

Whoo-hoo!

Whoo!

[Knock on door]

Doug, I am so, so sorry
about what Sky said.

Why are you so, so sorry?

Apparently, I-I'm the one
that should be so, so sorry,

being that I'm the problem.

You're not the problem.

So, what the hell was Sky talking about?

[Exhales sharply]

I guess I've just been feeling
like these past few months,

I have been so consumed
in this relationship

that it's been affecting my focus.

W-What, and you didn't think
I was mature enough

to understand that?

You just wanted to push me away?

I was pushing you away for me.

When I saw you at that party earlier,

you don't think I just wanted to
grab you and ignore everyone else?

- Then you should've.
- No, I couldn't!

Because we would've had
an amazing night,

and in the morning, I would've
had to distance myself

all over again,

and I don't want to keep
putting us through that.

Then I am the problem.

No!

No.

[Exhales sharply]

This relationship is the problem.

As difficult as these past two weeks

have been without you...

my times have improved.

The reality is,

I can't balance track
and this relationship.

I get it.

So, we're breaking up.

No! No, no, no, no.

[Laughing] We're not breaking up.

Um...

But...

I've given it some thought,

and...

the only way I'm gonna make it

through Olympic trials successfully

is to take a break.

But just a temporary one while I train.

I'm... I'm so confused right now.

What are you saying?

I guess what I'm saying is,

while I train for the next six months...

will you wait for me?

♪♪

[Digable Planets'
"Rebirth of Slick" plays]

[Indistinct conversations]

♪ Cool like dat, I'm cool like dat ♪

♪ I'm cool like dat, I'm cool like dat ♪

♪ I'm cool like dat, I'm cool like dat ♪

♪ I'm cool like dat,
I'm cool, cool, cool ♪

You know, I saw what you did
back there for your friend

when you changed costume.

Oh, you mean when I played myself?

I don't think you played yourself.

I actually think that was amazing.

Oh, wait! What if someone sees?!

Who cares?

Let 'em see.

♪♪

♪♪

What up, Chief?

- Hey.
- Where you headed?

Oh, I'm just headed to the Dean's office

to discuss some options.

So, you're still thinking
about leaving, huh?

Mm-hmm. Just trying to figure it out.

Well, let me just put it out there.

If I got one argument
for you to stay, it's that...

Cal U won't be the same
without its Zoey Johnson.

Mm.

That's sweet.

Jillian's a very lucky girl.

Really happy for y'all. I am.

Well, thanks.

I'm happy, too.

Mm.

Good luck with your decision, kid.

Thanks.

[Smooches]

♪♪

[Treadmill whirring]

Dropping out of college...

is an extremely big decision,

and it shouldn't be taken lightly, Zoey.

Do you know...

how... disappointed...

your father...

would be?

Ah!

[Treadmill beeps, whirring stops]

[Breathing heavily]

Whew!

Look, I get that there's gonna
be a lot of people that are...

not in agreeance with me,
including my father,

but technically,
I don't need his consent.

Well, since we're speaking
in technicalities,

technically, you have one more week

to make a final decision.

Now, why don't you take
some time to think about it...

you know, meditate, pray,

even run. [Chuckles]

But just make sure you don't run
in your church shoes.

I'm pretty sure my feet are bleeding.

Look, it's just that... right now,

I feel like dropping out might
be the best decision for me.

[Exhales sharply]

Look, I get it.

I do.

I just don't want you to make a decision

that you're gonna regret
the rest of your life.

Would you at least give it one week

before you pull the trigger?

♪♪

[Door closes]

Hey.

Hey.

- How'd it go?
- Good!

- Uh, really, really good.
- Good.

- Yeah.
- Great.

Um...

so, what'd you decide?

I decided...

I'm officially
no longer a Cal U student.

Wow.

Damn. Um...

Congratulations, I guess...

is what I should say.

I don't know. Somehow,
I feel like this is my fault

that you're making this decision.

But it's totally not.

If anything, it's...

your advice gave me
the clarity I needed,

like it always does.

So, I guess this means I can't
call you "Freshman" anymore.

Okay, I'm always going to be Freshman.

You gonna miss me at all?

Yes. I'm gonna miss you.

[Chuckles]

I'm gonna miss you, too.

♪ Can't hit me when you rain so low ♪

Well, I'll catch you.

Zoey, wait.

Hmm?

♪ You make seasons change
with no fair warning ♪

♪ How you make seasons change
without saying something ♪

♪ Oh ♪

♪ All these reasons... ♪

Now we're even.

♪ ...lead you to running ♪

The night of my 21st birthday party,

I never did get to make
my official birthday wish.

But the truth was, deep down,

I knew exactly what I wanted.

And now all that was left
was for me to go out there

and make those dreams come true
for myself.

NOMI: I'm really bummed
I missed your actual birthday.

Mm-hmm. I know.

I just can't wait to download
you on everything, though.

Okay, but first, I really want
party details, okay?

- Okay.
- Did Ana get too drunk

and vomit everywhere? But also...

did Aaron get butt naked again?

No.

But he and I, like,
kinda, sorta kissed again.

- [Chuckles]
- Oh, my God.

I know! And this time, he initiated it.

- I mean, it was crazy...
- No, no, no, Zoey.

I think my water just broke.

I mean, I was talking.