- At his mom's pad, John sits in his room reading Marisol's recommendation (John Berryman, if you must know), when his mom calls out to him to come downstairs.
- She saw Brian walking home and gave him a ride; he's waiting anxiously when John comes downstairs.
- Where'd he go after school? They were supposed to meet up to see the Drama Club's list of who'll be in the play.
- Oops… John forgot. (And, you know, he doesn't care anyway.)
- Just then, John's mom interjects that they can have some cheese and crackers, and Brian feels a little uncomfortable about what to call her. Does he say Galardi or Van Esterhausen or what?
- She tells him to just call her Anne, noting that they aren't kids anymore. For some reason, this bugs John, though he's not sure why.
- Anne goes upstairs to get changed, which gives Brian the chance to dish: He got a part in the play—he'll be the butler and he even has four lines. For some reason, he's ecstatic.
- John doesn't share his enthusiasm, but he tries to feign interest and asks about Violet.
- This only annoys Brian, though, perhaps because it's a sore point. Violet's in the musical and landed the main part (Maria), but a tall singing macho dude named Vincent got the male lead (Captain Von Trapp). So now Brian's doomed.
- Brian tries to rally by inviting himself to Boston this weekend with John to cruise some new chicks. The only problem is that John's planning on meeting up with Marisol this weekend, and he'd rather not have Brian crash.
- John lies and says he has plans with his dad, but, you know, maybe next time.
- On Friday at their usual pizza joint, John's dad plays around with his food before asking John about his mom—he heard through the grapevine that Anne is getting remarried, and he wants to know if it's true.
- Sure is, John responds, although he's not sure why his dad would even care since dude left them. John asks, getting more annoyed by the second.
- His dad motions to the waiter and gets their food to go, not wanting to risk the public humiliation.
- They don't talk all the way home, until John's dad announces he's going out… again.