You Go First

Charlotte asks Sophie if she can join the art club on a trial basis, even though she’s not super “artsy.” Sophie says she’s not in charge of who’s in the club and she’s also not the president because they haven’t elected officers yet. However, Sophie will ask what Bridget and Dee Dee think; she hasn’t thought about membership yet and doesn’t know if there will be rules or not. Sophie also implies that the club was Bridget’s idea, even though Bridget told Charlotte the club was Sophie’s idea. Charlotte wonders if Bridget has been lying to her.

Theo and a group of boys approach Ben at his locker, call him a shrimp, and shove his head into the locker. They walk away, and nobody else seems to notice.

During lunch, Charlotte goes to the library and hides in the stacks near the table where she knows Bridget and the other art club girls will meet. Sophie tells the others that Charlotte asked whether she could be in the club. Dee Dee thinks Charlotte would be a good member; she’s in Talented and Gifted, so she’d probably have smart ideas. Bridget is annoyed that Charlotte talked to Sophie instead of her, argues that Charlotte is making things awkward, and calls her a desperate “parasite.” Bridget feels like she has nothing in common with Charlotte anymore and has to babysit her. She also exaggerates the story about Charlotte’s dad’s heart attack, telling the other girls that he nearly killed several people by crashing his car (he did crash his car but didn’t hit or endanger anyone).

Bridget asks the other girls for advice on how to end her friendship with Charlotte. They say she shouldn’t do it now because of Charlotte’s dad; she should wait until he gets better, then gradually drift apart from her. Bridget complains about Charlotte’s “lucky charm” rock, even though Bridget has made just as many wishes on it as Charlotte. The girls start talking about boys they think are cute, and Charlotte wonders when Bridget changed so much.

At lunch, Ben stands near the trash and recycling bins and corrects students when they try to throw recyclable items in the trash. He thinks this is a brilliant plan because he can “woo” voters and combat environmental damage simultaneously. Most kids seem to think Ben is being weird, but they follow his instructions and use the correct bin before walking away. Theo and a group of boys approach and call Ben a “prawn.” Theo smears ketchup on Ben’s shirt and walks away.

Ben goes to the attendance office, where they keep extra shirts for occasions like this. A boy named Wyatt is working with Mrs. Carlile because he has a lot of food allergies that could be triggered in the cafeteria. Wyatt gives Ben a shirt with the school logo on it. Ben asks for a medium even though he wears a small because he wants to be bigger than he is.

After Charlotte overhears Bridget calling her a parasite and complaining about her to the other girls, she cries in the bathroom and calls her mom. She claims to be sick so she can leave school early. Her mom asks if she wants to come with her to the hospital to visit her dad, but she wants to lie in bed instead. She wants to confide in her mom about her feelings, but she doesn’t because she’s not sure how to do this. She plays online Scrabble with Ben and is happy she can count on him.

Ben works on his speech, thinking that even if he doesn’t win the election, he can still make an impression and influence positive change through the speech. He wants to open with a joke because he read that this strategy puts both the audience and the speaker at ease. Ben writes out his ideas to improve the school and silences Theo and Sherry’s voices inside his head, determined to stay committed to his evolution despite the naysayers.

Ben calls Lottie, who pretends to be the one considering breaking up with her best friend, claiming she doesn’t fit in with her other new friends. Ben suggests inviting her old friend to hang out with her new friends as a group, but he secretly worries about whether this is good advice because he’s not good with social situations. Ben says he has got news but doesn’t know what he’s about to say. Instead of talking about his parents’ divorce or being bullied, he claims he might move to Michigan soon. The kids wish each other luck.