1 SCENE 1 BRYCE: All I ever wanted was for Juli Baker to leave me alone. It all began in the summer of 1957, before the start of second grade. STEVEN: Here we are. PATSY: Ha, ha. What do you guys think? LYNETTA: I like this place. BRYCE: It's cool. LYNETTA: Uh, what color is my room? PATSY: Just you wait. BRYCE: Let's see what's inside. STEVEN: Hey, come on, buddy Bryce. Why don't, uh, you and I go help unload the van and the womenfolk here can get in the kitchen and start setting up. BRYCE: Okay, Dad. BRYCE: For me, it was the beginning of what would be more than half a decade of strategic avoidance and social discomfort. JULI: Hi, I'm Juli Baker. STEVEN: Hey, hey, what are you doing? JULI: Don't you want some help? STEVEN: No. There's some valuable things in there. JULI: - How about this one? STEVEN: No, no, no. Run home. Your mother's probably wondering where you are. JULI: Oh, no, my mom knows where I am. She said it's fine. BRYCE: It didn't take long to realize this girl could not take a hint. STEVEN: It's crowded in here with three people. JULI: I don't mind. BRYCE: Of any kind. JULI: You wanna push this one together? STEVEN: Bryce, isn't it time for you to go help your mother? BRYCE: Huh? Oh, yeah. BRYCE: I mean, nothing would stop her. I was about to tell her to get lost when the weirdest thing happened. I couldn't believe it. There I was holding hands with this strange girl. How did I get into this mess? PATSY: Well, hello. I see you've met my son. JULI: Uh-huh. BRYCE: Finally, I did the only manly thing available when you're 7 years old. [BELL RINGING] BRYCE: However, my troubles were far from over. The minute I walked into Miss Yelson's classr...
