1
Smile, huh?
I'm serious.
You got to make this work.
This is it. Last chance.
Lighten up, e.
I'm sure this will work out.
You're not getting it.
You burn out here
and you'll be put in the
Murray hill teen facility.
I don't want that, and I'm sure
you don't want that.
Good morning, miss trotter.
Well, I thought I heard you
all pull up.
Welcome to Thompson park,
Gilly, honey.
Well, excuse me.
You want to meet
your new sister, don't you?
Gilly, this is William Ernest t.
We called him W.E.
Seriously?
Y'all come on in.
Turn loose my leg, honey,
so I can maneuver.
Come on in, you all.
Is that a moustache
on your face, Mr. Ellis?
Yes.
I almost didn't recognize you.
You know, my Melvin had one.
I made him shave it off.
Yeah, this will all be on file.
Mr. Ellis, I've been
doing this so long
I practically got it memorized.
Do you have cats?
What, honey?
Cats?
No, sweetie.
Smells like you do.
Galadriel.
William Ernest, do you want
to go upstairs
and show Gilly her room?
Well, we'll do that later.
Well, we've been meaning
to rearrange the dust
around here,
haven't we, William Ernest?
Social services will send
Gilly's medical information
to the school.
Gilly has no allergies...
To cats or dust, thankfully.
Yes, Gilly
is very self-sufficient,
very... very independent.
William Ernest, you all right?
You know how to reach me?
Of course I do.
Yeah, this is my cell number
right there.
Everything's going to be
just fine.
Okay, yes, yes.
Gilly, uh...
I'll see you.
Be good, please.
Don't you worry none,
Mr. Ellis.
I think Gilly
and William Ernest and me
is nearly friends already.
My Melvin, god rest him,
used to say I never met a child
I couldn't make friends with.
Oh, I believe that.
Whoo.
You need anything, you just give
old trotter a holler.
The TV's downstairs.
You're welcome to come on down
to watch.
This is your home too now.
It's going to be okay, honey.
I know it must have been hard
switching all around.
I like moving.
It's boring to stay
in one place.
This way I get to see more
of the world.
Well, welcome
to our little corner of it.
Now, you make yourself
at home, you hear?
I'm making, okay?
Mom, if you only knew
where they've put me.
If you only knew.
William Ernest
is in the living room
watching telly's trolley.
You're welcome to join him
if you like.
Why in the world would I ever
watch a retard show like that?
Listen here, miss Gilly Hopkins.
One thing we better get straight
right here tonight.
I won't have you making fun
of that boy.
Just because somebody
ain't quite as smart as you
don't give you no right
to look down on him.
Who am I looking down on?
You just said. You just said
William Ernest is retarded.
I did not.
I don't even know the kid.
I've never seen him
before today.
I just don't want to watch
a stupid kid's show.
He's had a rough time
in this world,
but he's with trotter now.
And as long as
the lord keeps him
in this house and sees fit
that I take care of him,
ain't nobody on this earth
going to hurt him again.
Nobody, in any way.
God, all I was trying to...
One more thing.
In this house, we don't take
the lord's name in vain.
All right, all right, already.
Forget it.
Supper's almost ready.
Why don't you go get
Mr. Randolph.
Who?
He eats with us at night.
I was going to send
William Ernest to fetch him,
but I think you'd be
a nice surprise.
William Ernest, is that you?
No, it's me.
Oh. You must be the new girl.
Welcome.
My name's
Mr. Reginald Randolph,
and it's a pleasure
to make your acquaintance.
Yeah, well, trotter sent me
over here to take you to supper.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you kindly.
No sweat.
Oh!
Watch it, watch it.
Thank you.
Sure.
This little angel kept me
from falling flat on my face.
Well, I guess this old house
will be a little livelier now,
eh, Mrs. trotter?
I wouldn't be surprised,
Mr. Randolph.
Would you like
to say grace, Gilly?
Mrs. trotter, it would be
my pleasure
to pass a blessing
on this bountiful feast.
Well, thank you,
Mr. Randolph.
Dear lord, we thank you
for this most bountiful feast,
and for the gift and privilege
to share it with the newest
addition to our family.
Amen.
Amen.
Where are you, mom?
I imagine you're doing something
incredibly exciting right now.
I wish I knew where you were
so I could tell you
that I'm stuck in another place
where I hate everybody.
I won't be here long
and I'll do whatever I can
to find you,
and we can be a family.
What?
I thought you might like
to be tucked in.
I don't get tucked, thank you.
Well, then may I come in?
The door was closed
for a reason.
I'm trying to go to sleep.
All right, then.
Good night.
What do I always say?
Common denominators
are our friends.
Yes, common denominators
are our friends.
Oh, welcome.
I'm miss Harris.
Galadriel Hopkins.
What a beautiful name.
From Tolkien, of course.
No, Sherman school.
Galadriel is the name
of a great queen
in a book by a man
named Tolkien.
Well, I'd rather
be called Gilly.
Well, Gilly it is then.
Gilly, why don't you take
that empty seat
next to Monica Bradley.
Oh, here.
We're on page 27.
Now, who can find
the common denominator
of this equation?
Oh, oh, oh, oh, Rajeem.
I know you're probably
playing catch up.
Did you work
on divisional fractions
at your last school?
Yeah.
No.
Why don't you pull your chair up
to my desk and we'll work on it.
Push your chairs in, people.
I know who you are.
Oh, yeah? Who am I?
You're the new kid.
I saw you in the cafeteria.
I get free lunch too.
I'm very happy for you.
I'm Agnes.
I'm sorry.
You going to tell me your name?
Well, you going to get out
of my face?
Hey, don't push me.
What's your problem?
My problem?
My problem is a whiny
little busybody named Agnes
who can't take a hint.
I thought since you was new
you might want a friend
to show you around.
Well, how about no.
You're bothering me, so beat it.
Go!
A little help?
Hey!
Hey, hey!
Hey, get her!
Hey, get back here!
Ow!
I know you're new to all this,
but we have
a zero tolerance policy
at this school.
We're not going to put up
with fighting on the playground
or anywhere else around here.
I think you need
to understand that, Gilly.
You're at a new school now.
You have a chance
to make a new start.
If there's anything
you want to talk about...
I'm okay.
I'm fine.
Look, if you don't want help,
there's no way I can make you
accept it,
but you're not going to turn
this school or my class
into a zoo.
I've decided for the next
few recess periods,
you can use the time
to catch up on math.
Rajeem.
Rajeem has kindly offered
to work
with you during that time,
so starting tomorrow
you are to come back here
following lunch.
The law requires me
to have recess.
No, actually it doesn't.
What do you want?
Nothing.
Just walking home.
That was great, you beating up
those five boys.
Six. One ran away.
I thought you and me
should get together.
Since you don't know anybody
and I've been here a while,
I could...
I don't need to know anybody.
I'm not here for long.
You still haven't told me
your name.
Duh, you're real quick.
So, you're not going to tell me?
If I tell you,
will you leave me alone?
My name is Gilly.
Gilly Hopkins. You got that?
You can call me Ag if you want.
Want to come over?
My dad won't mind.
Can't. I'm almost home.
William Ernest,
honey, is that you?
No.
Oh, Gilly, honey,
how was school today?
Did you make any new friends?
No.
Gilly, wait a minute, honey.
You've got some mail.
It's a postcard.
Came this morning.
"My dearest Galadriel,
"the agency told me
you had moved.
"I wish it were to here.
I miss you.
All my love, Courtney."
Anything I can do for you, hon?
Can anyone have any privacy
in this dump?
Well, I just want to make sure
you're all right.
I will be as soon as you get
your fat self out of here.
We'll be downstairs.
Dinner will be ready
in a little while.
I don't need help from anybody!
Except from you, mom.
If I can find you, write to you,
and if I ask,
would you come and get me?
I'd be good for you.
I'd change into
a whole new person.
I'd turn from gruesome Gilly
into good, glamorous,
gorgeous Galadriel.
Let's go home, baby.
San Francisco.
Well, miss Gilly,
how's school for you today?
I've seen better.
God, you young people
have such an opportunity today.
When I was in school...
Thank you, Mrs. trotter.
Oh, and the ketchup, please.
What's new, doo-doo?
What's wrong, William Ernest?
Honey, did something go down
the wrong pipe?
Do you want me to SWAT him one
on the back to knock it loose?
Nobody's gonna hit you, honey.
Everybody's just trying to help.
Ain't that right, Gilly?
Just trying to help you,
little buddy.
He don't always know that.
Well, I got your back, W.E.
I got an idea,
Mr. Randolph.
Since Gilly's feeling
so helpful,
maybe she'd like to read for us.
What?
Would you do that, miss Gilly?
It would be
such a pleasure to me.
I don't have anything to read.
Mr. Randolph
has enough books
to keep you busy
for a thousand years.
I do have a few.
Of course there's a Bible
right here.
I'll get a book.
Freaking blind people.
What is he, a librarian?
Gilly, honey, are you in here?
Mr. Randolph was worried maybe
all the bulbs had burnt out.
He tends to forget since they
don't really help him much.
Well, there's enough light here.
If there hadn't been,
I would have gone back.
I'm not retarded.
I believe
you mentioned that before.
Did you find something to read
for Mr. Randolph?
Got one right here.
The Oxford book
of English verse.
I'll give it a whirl.
What lovely reading material
did you bring us?
It's them poems we was reading
last year, Mr. Randolph.
English poems.
Page 357, William Wordsworth.
"There was a time
when Meadow..."
found it.
"There was a time when Meadow,
grove and stream,
"the earth
and every common sight
"to me did seem,
"appareled in celestial light,
the glory and the freshness
of a dream."
Oh, yes, yes.
"It is not now
as it hath been of yore,
"turn wheresoe'er I may
by night or day.
"The things which
I have seen..."
I now can see no more."
"I now can see no more."
Go on, child.
"Our birth is but a sleep
and a forgetting
"the soul that rises with us,
our life's star.
"Hath had elsewhere its setting
"and cometh from afar.
"Not in entire forgetfulness
and not in utter nakedness,
"but trailing clouds of glory
do we come
"from god who is our home.
"Thanks to the human heart
by which we live.
"Thanks to its tenderness,
its joys and fears.
"To me the meanest flower
that blows
"can give thoughts that do often
lie too deep for tears."
Miss Gilly, that was lovely.
He sure is a handsome reader.
Miss Gilly, how to do you feel
about Mr. Wordsworth?
Weird, and it makes no sense.
"Cometh from afar"?
"Nakedness"?
That's some weird sh...
Stuff.
Yeah, and right here...
"The meanest flower."
Whoever heard of a mean flower?
The word "mean"
has other definitions,
miss Gilly.
The poet is talking
about humility, loneliness,
not bad nature.
Well, I've never seen
a flower blow either.
Dandelions.
That may be exactly
the flower that Mr. Wordsworth
was thinking about.
It surly is one
of the lowest flowers.
And they sure do blow.
Yes.
Just like William Ernest says,
they blow all over the place.
Yes.
Isn't W.E. Impressive, Gilly?
I didn't know
he could even speak.
Oh, our little W can speak,
bless him.
He just chooses his times.
Special moments.
Howdy, partner.
Funny how we keep
running into each other.
Yeah, it's freaking hilarious.
What do you think
of coach Delaney?
I don't see how she can be
our gym teacher when she smokes.
I mean, I've never seen
her smoke,
but Darlene wicker said
she saw her at the mall,
and she was...
Agnes, I've grown to hate you!
Now, I know
we've known each other
for the briefest of time,
but if you open
that freaking piehole
one more time,
I'm going to shove my fist
right down it,
tear out your tongue,
and mail it to Mars.
Now, if you speak,
it'll be your last words
on this planet.
And we have an apple.
And a "sandywhich."
And a juicy box.
Hey.
W.E., head inside.
I said...
Hang on there, dumbo.
W.E., it's fine.
Go inside.
What did you call me?
Listen, ears Magee,
it's like 8:00 A.M.
You already finish off
your own lunch?
Or did you misplace it?
Can I check behind the ears?
What?
You have big-ass ears!
Shut up, you two.
All right, sweetie... aah!
Nobody calls me "sweetie."
I get enough of that crap
at home.
I think you broke my leg.
It's called a shin kick, Spock.
Now, if I ever see you
even near that kid,
you'll wish the gods above
had never let your parents meet.
You should put some ice on that
or you'll have a wicked bruise.
Who are you?
Name's Hopkins.
Gilly Hopkins.
Now, don't get any ideas
of me liking you
or us being buddies
or anything like that.
People just got to understand
that if anyone's
going to be picking on you,
it's going to be me.
Got that?
Here.
Do you have your math book?
Why would you want to do this?
Tutor me?
I offer to help tutor anyone
in class for miss Harris
for extra credit.
Do you need extra credit?
No.
Well, it's like using
three pieces of bread
for a sandwich.
Doesn't make much sense.
I'm sorry, a sandwich?
How about I call you loaf?
That work for you?
No.
Loaf it is.
Let's just do this.
Very interesting perspective,
Gilly.
There's no marks on it.
Why don't I get an a-plus?
I said it was very interesting,
but it's not brilliant.
But give yourself some time.
You're new here.
Gilly.
Hey, Gilly.
Are you freaking stalking me?
No. I was in the neighborhood
and wanted to visit.
Yeah, well, hey, I'm great.
Nice visit.
Now just leave me alone.
Come on, Gilly, I just want
to know how you're doing.
Yeah, so you can
pretend to care.
Forget it.
Okay, this is hard having
a conversation like this.
Can you please get in the car?
Gilly, can you please
get in the car?
No.
Why?
Because of your accident.
What accident?
Oh!
I don't understand.
Listen, I'm sorry.
Your car...
Your car is fine.
Mine is...
You don't need...
"Last known address, 32
cardinal Lane, apartment 1A,
San Francisco, California."
Okay...
How's it been
making friends at school?
Fine.
How's miss Harris?
Is she...
Fine.
Gilly...
Answering "fine"
to every question I ask you
is not what I want from you.
What do you want from me?
I want to know you're okay.
Well, I'm better than your car.
Is that you,
William Ernest, honey?
No, it's me,
Maime trotter, sweetie, baby.
How about some of trotter's
famous chocolate chip cookies?
Nah. I'm dieting.
Are you sure?
I'm sure, trotter,
sugar pie, honeybunch.
I'm too smart to be bought
by chocolate chip cookies.
Nice try, Maime.
You're going to have to try
a lot harder
to slip old Gilly up.
There's got to be more.
How to get it?
I could use Agnes to help me
get Randolph's loot,
but with that mouth...
I need someone who won't talk.
Somebody who can't talk.
Dum-Dee-dum-dum-dum.
Oh, boy. Oh, boy.
Oh, boy.
Me going to have nice picnic.
Yeah, me got everything me need.
We have cookies.
And more cookies.
And me got some more cookies.
And...
Ah, me got more cookies!
Boy, I hope I can find somebody
to help me fly this sucker.
Man, I just can't get the hang
of this airplane tossing stuff.
Do you want to give it a try?
Pow! It flies really good.
No, that's you, W.E.
You throw really good.
I was just admiring your style.
You've had lessons.
No?
You just taught yourself?
No fooling?
Gee, man, you're a real natural.
Hey, trotter,
you've got to see this.
W.E. Can do this
real good.
Here.
Watch me.
We're watching,
William Ernest, honey.
W.E. Has a paper airplane.
Pow!
How was it?
Oh, Mr. Randolph,
I never thought paper airplanes
was good for anything
except maybe
driving teachers crazy.
Thank you.
Sure.
Mr. Randolph,
how about me helping you
to the dining room?
Well, thank you, miss Gilly.
I want to see it one more time,
William Ernest.
So, first...
What's the matter, W.E.?
I "broked" it.
Let me see.
It's ruined.
Oh, man, this is nothing.
We can fix this right up.
But it's not perfect anymore.
Perfect? W.E., it wasn't
perfect to begin with.
Besides, nobody likes perfect.
Really?
Yeah.
Think of this little old tear
as a battle scar.
Battle scar?
Yeah.
Like in world war ii,
there'd be these planes
that would come back
from bombing missions,
and they'd be all banged up.
Missing parts of their tails,
holes in the wings,
really beat up.
But you know what?
They were the tough suckers.
They flew better
than all the other planes
that looked perfect.
Their pilots didn't want
the planes that were all new.
They trusted
their busted up planes.
They liked their battle scars.
You'll see. We'll fly it
tomorrow before going to school.
Battle scar.
Yeah.
Now go to bed.
Battle scar.
What?
What do you want?
Can I sit with you?
These are all taken.
It was a joke, you spaz.
You can sit here if you want.
Let's start
with small sentences.
Cool.
Smaller.
The absolute value of a number
is the distance between
the number and zero
on the number line.
Now to page 34.
I think we're done here.
But we have a quiz.
I know what I'm doing.
Turning in blank papers.
Drives them crazy.
Works every time.
But that doesn't reflect well
on me.
I'm your tutor.
Your failure demonstrates
I failed in educating you.
Are you freaking kidding me?
When did this become about you?
I have a reputation.
As the king of math nerds?
Oh, nice title, raj.
Seriously, why would anybody
need to know
how to divide one-third
by two-fifteenths?
I'm not sure
if we necessarily need
to question the reason
for the equation.
Yeah, that's how the Nazis
got started.
Just do it and don't ask why.
What?
Nazis were huge mathematicians,
by the way.
A new strategy, I see.
A's to F's.
But you didn't fail completely.
See? You got your plus.
Got your name right
on all of them.
So, if you were attempting
to succeed in 100% failure,
your attempts were flawed.
In order to get a zero grade,
you should follow the efforts
of Jimmy here and cheat.
Or be like Mr. Ramirez
and simply not turn anything in.
Mm-hmm.
Hold up already!
Why are you so pissed off?
She knows I'm the smartest
in the class,
and she knows I failed
on purpose.
Why are you getting
so wound up about Harris?
Because she's trying to do
one of these
reverse "psychologic" things.
Maybe you just
don't like black people.
That's not it, you dummy.
Oh, wait.
You going to call me
something worse?
No, no.
Actually, I take that back.
You're a genius.
Really?
Agnes, could you believe
that your little bit
of misguided lunacy
may actually help me?
So, am I a genius or a loony?
I got to go.
Hey, wait.
Which am I?
For every action there is
an equal and opposite what?
Reaction.
Oh, you can do better.
For every action there
is an equal and opposite what?
Reaction.
All right.
Gilly, would you mind
waiting a moment, please?
Study those vocabulary words
in chapter three,
because there might be
a pop quiz tomorrow, forewarned.
Look it up if you don't know
what it means. Forewarned.
"To miss Harris.
"They say black is beautiful,
"but the best I can figure
is anybody saying that
looks awfully like a..."
A blank space was left.
I'm assuming for me
to finish it, hmm?
Believe it or not, Gilly,
you and I are very much alike.
Mm-hmm.
Both of us are smart
and we know it.
But the thing that brings us
closer than intelligence
is anger.
You and I are two
of the angriest people I know.
Oh, I was always taught
to deny mine,
which I did and still do.
And that makes me envy you.
Mm-hmm.
See, your anger is still
right up here on the surface,
where you can
look it in the face.
Make friends with it, honey.
Channel it for your own design.
Hmm?
But I didn't ask you
to stay after school
to tell you
how intelligent you are
or how much I envy you,
but to thank you for your card.
Oh, Gilly, I took it to the
teacher's lounge at noon...
And cursed creatively
for over 20 minutes.
Oh, I haven't felt so good
in years.
Ah.
So, I will see you tomorrow.
Thanks again.
Thanks, Gilly.
Hey, Gilly.
I need to know how much
a cross-country ticket costs
to San Francisco from Maryland.
One-way to San Francisco,
that'll run you $189.
Trotter and Mr. Randolph
leave yet for the store?
Yeah, and to welfare
to get money.
Mr. Randolph wants me
to do him
a favor while they're out.
Okay, now Randolph
doesn't want trotter
to know about this.
This is kind of a surprise,
so it'll be our little secret
for now, okay?
Okay.
See up there?
That red book on the shelf?
I can't reach it.
Then we're both going
to have to do it.
Come on.
I still can't reach it.
Okay, I'm getting scared.
Think of how proud
everybody's going to be after,
when the surprise
can be told and everything,
and they found out
who was climbing...
I still can't reach it, though.
I know. Just pull it out.
You have nothing to worry about.
Pow!
Let me see, let me see.
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Whoa! Whoa! Ow!
Stop. Calm down.
Is there any more?
No, I don't think so.
Okay, let's go back down.
Careful.
Oh, you forgot some.
Thank you.
Come on, hurry up.
I'll give the money
to Randolph later.
You can go back to playing.
I got to straighten up my room.
And remember, this is our own
secret surprise.
Our secret, okay.
Twenty-five bucks.
Get my hair torn out,
and I can only get as far
as the Mississippi river.
Brilliant, Gilly.
Just brilliant.
Dear Courtney
Rutherford Hopkins,
I received your card.
I'm sorry to bother you
with my problems,
but as my real mother,
I feel you have
the right to know
about your daughter's situation.
At the present time
I'm very desperate,
or I would not bother you.
Churchill downs event...
The foster mother
is a religious fanatic.
Her house is filthy.
She has weird friends
who show up
at weird hours of the night.
I practically live in a closet
and share
a bug infested bathroom
with another kid here
whom I'm expected
to take care of,
which is very hard
with all my schoolwork,
which is very excessive
from a very mean teacher.
I saved up $65 towards my ticket
to California.
The full cost is $189.
If you can send me the rest,
I'll get a job in California
when I get there
and pay you back.
I'm very smart and I can
take care of myself,
so I will not be a burden
to you in any way.
Yours sincerely, your loving
daughter, Galadriel Hopkins.
There's a sweet car in front
of Mr. Randolph's house.
Yeah.
Mr. Randolph won't be
joining us tonight.
His son's in town,
cleaning up his daddy's place.
Some of those rooms
haven't been touched in years.
He's going to find out
I stole the money.
He's calling the cops right now.
I, uh...
I just got to take some stuff
over to Agnes's.
Don't go.
I'm not.
Don't tell trotter.
This is part of our secret.
Thanks, Agnes.
You're, like,
really brave or crazy.
The crazy one calling me crazy.
That's crazy.
Thanks for pretending
to be my friend.
Yeah?
Ticket to San Francisco, please.
Round trip?
No, one way.
Are you here by yourself?
Me? Uh...
No.
My mother's over there.
She doesn't speak English.
Dad's second wife.
She already has her ticket.
She needs me to get mine.
I can't wait
to ride a cable car.
Computer's down.
It's going to probably take me
a couple of minutes.
Oh, okay.
You going on a long trip, honey.
You might want to take a look
at those books over there.
I don't read books.
It's a shame.
Not many people do anymore.
Crap.
Never, never, never!
I need you
to calm down, miss trotter.
No one is blaming you.
There is no indication
of failure on your part.
I mean, I never...
I never thought Gilly
would be a flight risk.
She's never done this before.
She's just a little mixed up,
that's all.
Look, miss trotter,
you've been
a terrific assistance
to the program for years now.
I think maybe it's time.
I'm not letting her go.
Then if you're not
going to think for yourself,
I think maybe we should think
of William Ernest.
He's come too far.
William Ernest
was the one who told me
that she'd left.
He wants her back.
Yes, because...
Probably because he saw
how upset you were.
Oh, come on.
Yeah, I'm sorry.
He's a very sensitive child,
and that's even more of a reason
to remove this damaging...
William Ernest has been with me
for going on nearly
a year and a half.
He's going to make it.
I know he will.
Sometimes, Mr. Ellis,
you have to walk on your heel
to favor your toe,
even though you know your heel's
going to get a little sore.
Well, somebody's
got to favor Gilly.
She's long overdue,
and I am not going to add
my name to the list of people
who failed her.
God knows I just about died
when I found out she'd gone.
Be honest, should we consider
a change, maybe for both kids?
Both?
Yes.
We were just discussing
the present situation,
which is not a good one.
And I was explaining
how sometimes children
make mistakes.
Too many, in my opinion.
And Mr. Ellis, you know,
he was... he's willing
to give you another chance.
Actually...
With Thanksgiving
coming and everything,
and the holidays.
The holidays should not...
If you'd like to stay here
with me and William Ernest,
well, that's just fine.
What about my real mother?
She wants me
to come to California.
If you're referring
to the postcard,
that's the first one
in three or four years.
If your mother really
wanted you there with her...
She's different this time.
I know it.
She's waiting for me.
She wants me to come.
She said so.
If she'd known you...
If she "knowed"
what a girl she has,
she'd be here in a minute.
The police said you had
well over a $100 with you
at the bus station.
I have trouble believing
that was your own money.
So, I call taking
someone else's money stealing.
So do we, Mr. Ellis.
Surely you don't think
this is the first time
something like this has happened
to me over 20 years?
No, not at all.
Well, then how about
trusting me to handle it?
It's not you I don't trust.
I need to hear it from Gilly.
Can I trust you?
Yes.
Miss trotter,
against my better judgment,
I will wait
till after Thanksgiving.
But after that we will
revisit this, understand?
I sure wish trotter
reacted like you did.
She's made up this huge chart
for chores
to make up for the money I spent
on food and junk I bought.
For housework, I get paid
a measly 25 cents an hour.
That's slave labor.
Oh, sorry about
that slave thing.
I believe that miss trotter
feels that the payment
should equate
with the punishment.
If she pays you a lot,
it wouldn't feel
like punishment, would it?
Yeah, I guess.
But you know what?
For 75 cents an hour,
I could help W.E.
With his schoolwork.
And naturally I'd be spending
a lot more time with W.E.
Naturally.
It's just the broom, goofy.
Listen, what are you going
to do when somebody socks you?
I'm not going to hit you, silly.
Are you going to go through life
letting people pick on you?
I'm going to teach you
how to fight.
You hear about how
I fought six boys
at school all by myself?
Well, before I get through
with you,
you're going to do
the same thing.
So, first thing,
when somebody yells at you,
you got to stand tall.
See, they might not even
want to hit you.
Stand tall,
take a deep breath and say,
"get the hell
out of my way!"
Try it.
Hell's my way.
No, just follow me.
Get the...
Get the...
hell...
Hell...
out of my way!
Out of my way.
Now yell it like you mean it,
louder than you've ever
yelled in your life.
Get the hell out my way!
Trotter, I'm not going to teach
him how to push on people,
just how to stand up
for himself.
If he knows how to read
and how to stick up for himself,
he'll be okay.
Oh.
Oh, I know you don't
allow kissing,
but sometimes I just haul off
and go crazy.
Don't worry about it.
Come on, W.E.
Next time I'm going to teach you
a shin kick.
Hey.
I'm not doing
extra credit anymore.
Yeah, I know.
I just wanted to say thank you
for helping me catch up,
not that I'm ever
going to use it, the math.
But thanks anyway.
You're welcome.
Mr. Randolph?
Hello?
I'm sorry, miss Gilly,
is it suppertime already?
Yeah.
Are you okay?
Oh, I'm all right.
Just a little under the weather,
I guess.
Who's that?
This was my wonderful wife
of 44 years.
When I first met miss Mary,
she was a dancer
in a burlesque club.
She was a stripper?
No. Exotic dancer.
It was a little different
back then.
She was pretty.
She was my world.
Today is our anniversary.
Oh.
I know what you're thinking.
What's a crazy,
old blind man doing
staring at a picture
he can't see?
But I can.
See, as my eyesight
was going out
I looked at this picture
every night
before I went to bed.
I know this picture
better than I know myself.
I'm missing her
a little bit today.
I got sick. Sorry.
You didn't do anything wrong.
I didn't get all of it
in the potty.
Looks like you got most of it.
Come on.
Watch it, watch it.
Come on, let's get you into bed.
Gilly, are you going
to run again?
No.
Good night.
I heard noise downstairs.
It was just me
doing some laundry.
Gilly, honey, sweetie, baby,
what's gotten into your sweet,
little darling head
to do the laundry
at this godforsaken hour?
I don't know trotter,
honey, sugar, baby.
Maybe I just felt like getting
some cleaning done.
Sweet dreams, honey.
Right back at you, sugarplum.
Galadriel?
Galadriel Hopkins?
Who wants to know?
I'm your grandmother.
May I come in?
Yeah. Yeah, sure.
I am right, aren't I?
You are Galadriel?
I brought you this pie.
Courtney, your mother,
left home.
Well...
She... she and I were...
It was...
It was a difficult time.
I never...
It was just...
Oh, I'm not doing very well
with this, am I?
Your grandfather died
nearly 12 years ago.
I tried to contact
your mother at the time,
but I was unable to.
And then I got a letter.
A letter that was the first
direct word from Courtney
in over 13 years.
I didn't even know
that she had a baby.
I can't imagine her not telling
her father and mother
something like that.
Gilly, I called you
and called you.
I wet.
Oh, it's okay.
I couldn't help it.
I know, buddy. When you're
sick you just can't help it.
Come on, I'll help you
change, okay?
Get the hell out my way.
Excuse us for a second.
I'm... I'm very sorry.
I'll... I'll be right back.
What? What is it?
Oh!
What was that?
Galadriel?
Galadriel!
Miss Gilly!
Galadriel!
Miss Gilly!
Mr. Randolph, it's okay.
I'm... I'm...
I'm right here.
Nothing to worry about.
Just lie back down
and get your rest, okay?
Gilly, honey, have you got
company down there?
No, no.
Go back to bed, trotter.
Bless you, child,
you poor thing.
How could they have put you
in place like this?
This? No, no, it's just
that everyone's got the flu.
Not me, but it's...
It's not always like this.
You know, the mess and all.
Trotter normally keeps it clean.
Lord, I forgot.
I forgot the Turkey.
No, it's fine.
I've got everything
under control.
You go back to bed, and the
Turkey's already in the oven.
Oh!
It's all good.
I got to... I got to...
I got to sit down.
No, trotter...
No, no, no.
My head is spinning.
Whoo! I done it now.
I "squisheded" you, see.
Roll over!
Oh, my god.
Oh, poor little Gilly.
Let me get my legs
underneath me.
Oh, lord, help me.
I thought you said
there was nobody here.
This is just a woman
who used to live here.
I was just leaving.
I... I see that
it's not a good time.
No, obviously not.
Okay, trotter,
you can go back to bed,
and I'll be up to check on you.
And dinner will be ready
in an hour.
Give her a cookie.
Sure.
Don't you worry.
I am so, so sorry
about all this.
I will get you out of here.
I promise you, I will.
Or we could go to my house
and call people on the phone
and breathe weird.
It really wigs them out.
It's dumb, Agnes.
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Oh, come on, Gilly,
let's do something.
You ain't done nothing
with me for a long time.
But I've been busy.
My family's been sick.
Oh, please.
My brother, my mother,
and my uncle were sick.
I've been taking care of them.
You got a black uncle?
Yes, I do.
And me too.
It's too dumb
to even talk about.
See you tomorrow, Gilly.
Bye.
I bet I could beat her up.
It wouldn't be fair,
you against a little puny thing.
Hi, mom.
What's the matter?
Come inside, honey.
Please, Gilly.
Come inside.
I have some very cool news
for you, Gilly.
My mother's coming?
No.
No, not exactly.
Your mother is still
in California.
But your grandmother,
your mom's mom,
called the office this morning,
and she wants you to move in
with her permanently.
I don't even know her.
Your mom wants you to go too.
I talked to her about it.
You didn't talk to my mom.
You're lying.
No, I'm not.
Then let me talk to her.
Gilly, it doesn't work that way.
They can't make me go.
Yes, Gilly, they can.
Trotter won't let them take me.
Will you, trotter?
Trotter?
You said you'd never let me go.
I heard you.
"Never, never, never."
That's what you said.
Don't cry, Gilly.
I'm not crying, I'm yelling.
It's going to be okay.
Right, trotter?
You tell the child
what's got to be done.
Come on, W.
Gilly...
You seem to have changed
your mind about a lot of things.
Why? Why did you write
that letter?
You won't understand.
I think I do,
but why you won't learn
from your mistakes is beyond me.
You couldn't have done
a more brilliant job
of screwing this up
for yourself.
I mean... jeez, Gilly!
You could have stayed here.
You could have stayed here
indefinitely.
They're both crazy about you.
I... I can't fix this.
That... that letter you wrote,
it did some serious damage.
And not just for you.
It affected all of us.
Me, trotter, and even W.E.
Yes, the agency is considering
removing William Ernest
from Mrs. trotter's care.
Why?
You made some
serious accusations of abuse
and conditions of this home.
They can't ignore it
when a foster mother...
I lied!
Is a religious fanatic...
Not true.
Strangers coming
and going at night,
forced to live in a closet...
All of it, okay!
I lied about all of it!
None of it's true!
Why would anybody believe me?
I'm nobody.
I'm bad, I know it.
But please don't hurt trotter. You
are not bad, but this is my job.
My hands are tied.
Please don't hurt W.E.!
My boss got a copy
of this letter,
and there are consequences.
Do whatever you want with me.
I'll do whatever you want.
But please,
please don't hurt my family.
All right.
All right,
I'll see what I can do.
Your grandmother is coming
to my office tomorrow.
I'll be by around 9:00
to pick you up.
Tomorrow?
Yes.
Believe me,
it's better this way.
Waiting around is no good
in these situations.
But I got school.
They will forward your records.
I understand from miss Harris
you've done quite well.
I have to admit,
last month when you ran away,
I thought,
"here we go again."
But I was wrong.
You've done well here.
If y'all don't start
eating this supper,
I'm going to jump up and down
on this table
squawking like
a 200-pound lovesick chicken.
Really?
That's a little better.
This is supposed to be a party,
not some kind of funeral.
Come on, now.
We got to get rid of this food.
Gilly's folks are from
Loudoun county, Mr. Randolph.
Loudoun county, miss Gilly?
Oh, that's a lovely country.
We come and see
your country, Gilly?
When folks leave,
William Ernest, honey,
you got to give them a chance
to settle in.
Sometimes it's best
not to go visiting right away.
Never?
Miss Gilly,
I wasn't quite sure
when to give this to you.
But I...
I want you to have it.
We all signed our names
in it for you.
Gilly, honey, can I come in?
I know I'm not supposed
to let on how I feel.
I got no blood claim on you.
And it's killing me
to let you go.
I'm not going to go.
They can't make me.
No, baby, you got to go.
And lord forgive me
for making it harder on you.
I'll come back.
I'll come back and see you
all the time.
No, baby,
that's not how it works.
It's like I was trying
to tell you at supper.
Once you get on that old tugboat
and it takes you
out to the ocean liner,
you got to get
all the way onboard.
You can't straddle both decks.
I could.
You are going to make me proud.
I know you will.
Would you like for me
to turn on the radio?
I don't mind,
as long as it's not too loud.
Mr. Ellis seems like
a nice person.
He thinks I may have gotten
the wrong impression
of the foster home
he put you in.
They were all sick last week.
Oh.
He tried to tell me that you
really like living there,
despite everything.
From your letter, i...
I lie a lot.
I'd hoped you'd be happy
to come with me.
And in here
is your mother's room.
You can rearrange it
however you want.
I also thought maybe
you would like a computer,
so you can stay in touch
with your friends.
What's this room?
This was Chadwell's room.
Your mother's brother.
He was your uncle.
We lost him in a war.
Can I have this room?
Sure, if you like.
Would you care for some salad?
No.
I hope you don't mind the music.
When you're by yourself,
sometimes the last thing you
want to listen to is silence.
Do you like your new computer?
I'm not very familiar with them,
but the man at the store
said that he thought
that was the right one for you.
I haven't turned it on.
Ah, well, there's time for that.
Monday you're supposed
to start school,
but perhaps you'd like
to stay here another day
and get used
to your new surroundings.
Might as well get it over with.
Can I be excused?
I'm not very hungry.
Yes.
Miss Hopkins,
it's been some time
since we've seen you
around here.
Yes, I just want to make sure
that my granddaughter
has a proper introduction
to her new school.
Your granddaughter?
Yes, Margaret.
This is my granddaughter
Galadriel Hopkins.
Hopkins?
Yes.
She's Courtney's child.
Hi.
I didn't even know
Courtney was married.
She wasn't.
I see.
Hopkins.
Now, how do you spell
her Christian name?
G.
A.
L.
A.
D.
Am I going too fast,
for you dear?
No. Not at all.
R, I, e, l.
Her school records
will be sent to you directly.
You will see
that she is extremely bright.
Well, we are looking forward
to having a new Hopkins
join our ranks, I'm sure.
So am I.
Gilly, you've got a package.
"Dear William Ernest,
"I told you
I wouldn't forget you.
"I'm good here at the farm,
"but miss you all.
"They train horses to race here.
"My favorite one is called
clouds of glory.
"Can you believe that?
"I know she'll win
a lot of races.
"They're not our horses.
"Nonnie rents out
the barn and the land.
"But there's a horse,
a real pretty one, and fast,
"that I call clouds of glory.
I don't actually know
her real name."
"Dear miss Harris,
"thank you for the letter and
the Tolkien books you sent me.
"They're very exciting.
I now know who Galadriel was.
"If anyone told me
that I'd miss a teacher,
"I'd never believe it.
"School here stinks.
"None of the teachers here
are as smart as you.
"Your former student,
Gilly Hopkins.
P.S., you can call me
Galadriel."
What up, player?
Hey!
Shut up.
Anyway, you know Clark Gibbons,
the kid who smells like
banana fart?
Well, he's dating...
If you can call it that...
Melanie smart.
And...
Let me, Taj.
You know it's raj.
Whatever.
Don't "whatever" my name.
"Dear Gilly.
"Guess who got in a fight.
Our quiet little pumpkin,
W.E."
Battle scar!
"He got a little busted up,
"but he's going to be all right.
"Thank you for writing, darling.
"Bless you out there.
I hope you get
everything you want."
All right.
Mm-hmm.
No, i... I...
Yes.
Yes, I will, I will.
Tomorrow.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, all right.
It's going to be mean
so much to...
All right.
What?
Yes, yes, I...
All right.
Good.
Hello, Courtney.
Hello.
This is Galadriel.
Hi.
Hi, there.
She's almost as tall as I am.
She's a lovely girl.
Well, of course she is.
She's mine, isn't she?
Well, let's get your luggage.
I got it. This is it.
I... I don't understand.
Well, I'm only coming
for two days.
Two days?
But you said...
I told you on the phone
that I would come for Christmas
and see for myself
how the kid was doing.
Yes, but when I sent you
the money, you said...
I know what I said.
Oh, wait.
It has been 13 years.
You still think that you can
tell me what to do.
I'm not.
I'm sorry.
Please, let's not have
a scene here.
Fine.
Can we get out of here?
I have to go to the bathroom.
What? You started it.
You're tired from the trip.
I'm not drunk or high,
if that's what you're saying.
It's not what I'm saying.
Please just don't search
for reasons to fight me.
Then don't shame me
in front of my own kid.
You did enough of that with me
when I was here.
I don't need any more of it.
So, you just came for the money.
Wow, you are such a...
Fool?
Yeah.
Gilly and I, we thought we were
coming to get her mother.
My daughter.
Were we wrong?
I'm here, aren't I?
Are you really here?
Who are you?
What am I going to say to her?
Hello?
I want to come back.
Oh, honey.
I want to come home.
Oh, my poor baby.
She only came
because Nonnie paid her to.
She doesn't even want me,
and she doesn't even want
to stay.
It's all wrong.
Nothing turned out
the way it was supposed to be.
Supposed to be.
Oh, life ain't supposed
to be nothing
except maybe tough.
But I thought
that when my mother came...
Listen, all that stuff
about happy endings,
it's just lies.
Sometimes things will come easy.
And you'll say, "finally,
I got a happy ending."
That's the way things
is supposed to be.
Like life, he owed you
good things.
And there is a lot
of good things, baby.
Like you,
coming to spend time
with us this fall.
Oh, that was mighty good
for me and William Ernest.
But you're just fooling yourself
if you expect good things
to come regular.
Well, if life's so bad,
how come you are so happy?
Did I say bad?
I said tough.
There ain't nothing
can make you happy
like doing good on a tough job.
Trotter, stop preaching to me.
I want to come home.
You have been home, baby.
Your grandma is your home.
No, but I want to be
with you and William Ernest
and Mr. Randolph.
And leave her all alone?
Could you do that?
But I don't want to lose you.
You're not losing a family.
You're getting another one.
Me and William Ernest
and Mr. Randolph,
we're not going anyplace.
But your grandma is your blood.
You need to take time
and get to know her.
You're a part of me.
And me a part of you now.
Nobody can ever take that
away from us.
Ever.
She called from her car.
She's lost, child.
If you could have heard
her voice.
She needs you.
Trotter, stop trying to make
a stinking Christian out of me.
I wouldn't try to make nothing
out of you.
Me and William Ernest
and Mr. Randolph,
we kind of like you
the way you are.
Now, I was thinking
about Thanksgiving.
Remember?
I owe you a Turkey dinner.
And so,
how about maybe...
Maybe Easter.
You come on back for a visit.
I'll bake you
a big old juicy ham,
and we'll bite the heads off
chocolate Easter bunnies.
And we'll put rabbit ears
on Mr. Randolph.
Oh, I think me
and William Ernest
would just love that.
Trotter...
I love you.
I know, baby.
And I love you too.
I'm ready to go home now.
Thank you.
Our girl's going to be
just fine, Maime.