- Hi, Dad. - Whoa, ho, ho.
What, baseball? In this storm? I don't think so.
Dad, that's a drizzle.
[THUNDER]
A thundery, stormy kind of drizzle.
Mm-hmm. Forget it, wise guy.
Find something to do around here.
I've been sitting inside all day.
What am I supposed to do for fun?
Have tea with your sister.
- I made red zinger. - Yeah, zing this.
Somebody needs a nap.
My life bites...
boring, predictable...
never a surprise.
Don't turn on the lights.
Shawn?
The cops are after me, maybe even the FBI.
You're not involved, unless you want to be.
[THUNDER]
I'm in!
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
You can't tell anybody I'm here.
Right, right.
How'd you get in here, anyway?
I climbed up the tree into your window.
I didn't want anyone to see me.
Cory, I'm a fugitive.
Fugitive? Cool! Give me details.
OK. You remember that cherry bomb?
Oh, no. Feeny found it. You're suspended!
Nothing good ever happens to me.
All day I kept feeling it in my pocket...
all round and waxy, just begging me to light it.
I mean, I could actually hear it saying...
"Light me. Light me, Shawn. Blow something up."
Well, what did you blow up?
Well, I was riding my bike down "K" Street...
You blew up "K" Street?
- I park at the Market Giant... - You blew up the Market Giant?
That's my dad's store. I have mixed feelings.
But there on the ground by the shopping carts...
a matchbook.
It was like a sign, you know, saying, "Now, Shawn.
Now. Let the sucker blow."
So you're holding the lit cherry bomb...
I don't remember lighting it.
But suddenly there it was in my hand...
sparks flying off the fuse...
and suddenly, I realized, this thing's going to go off.
I mean, I could lose an eye, lose an arm...
wind up looking like our shop teacher.
So why didn't you just throw it?
There were people all around. I could've hurt somebody.
I just knew I had to get it far, far away, so I mailed it.
You blew up a United States mailbox?
Well, it's still standing...
although the sides did puff out like a fat guy burping.
All the stuff inside got torched though.
You should have seen the flames...
and the freaked-out look on people's faces.
Why am I never around when the great stuff happens?
I think I shook the cops.
What do I do now? I can't go home.
Why not? It wasn't like you did it on purpose.
Look, I did it.
That's the only part my old man's going to hear.
I stepped over the line this time, Cory.
I'm going to get killed for this.
What are you going to do?
You think I could stay here for a couple days...
just until I figure things out?
Fine with me. I'll go ask my mom.
You're really new at this, aren't you?
What?
No one can know I'm here, especially not your folks.
They'll tell my mom and dad.
Oh, right, right, right. What about Eric?
He's dumb, but I think he'll notice a third guy in the room.
I'll hide in the closet.
Have you seen my closet?
OK, under the bed.
OK, but you may not be the only living thing under there.
Hi. How are you doing?
Jeez, how do you live like this?
MOTHER: Cory. dinner!
So what do you say? Can I stay?
Of course you can.
Now get out of that wet stuff and put on some of my clothes.
I'll sneak up some food.
Remember, I'm your accomplice. I'm Accomplice Boy.
- Thanks a lot, man. - No, thank you.
It's about time there's a little excitement around here.
Listen. Listen, Cor. You're going downstairs...
to keep something from your parents...
and if it was me, I wouldn't worry...
but I know you. You're going to act weird.
Attempt to stay cool, huh?
Cool? Me? Ha! They won't notice a thing.
Dad and Mom, I have so much homework.
I'm going to eat in my room, and I need fuel.
I need lots of fuel. I need enough fuel for two...
although there's only one of me...
which is so interesting, don't you think?
Cory, you're grounded for two weeks.
What did I do?
I don't know, but the way you're behaving...
it's got to be at least two weeks.
Dad, I can honestly tell you I haven't done a thing.
[THUMP] What was that?
My homework fell off my desk.
There's so darn much of it. Ha ha ha.
OK.
What are you, bowling up here?
Shawn?
I guess my pants are a little short on you.
No, no, no, they fit great.
Anyone ever tell you you're built like a chimp?
Did anybody ever tell you...
don't insult the boy with the food?
No ketchup? I always have ketchup on my meat loaf.
Oh, you're absolutely right.
I'm going to go downstairs right now...
and tell my mom that Shawn...
the cherry bomb mailbox killer...
would like a little ketchup on his meat loaf.
Fine, fine. I'll eat this dry meat brick.
- Oh, Cory! - Hide!
Think you're pretty smooth, don't you?
- I know what's going on. - You do?
Uh-huh. Smuggling food, strange noises, the smell in here.
Smell?
Yeah, I tried the same thing once.
You're hiding a puppy, huh? Where is he?
Come here, puppy. Where's the cute little boy?
Oh, it's a big puppy.
OK, Eric, you're right.
I'm hiding a puppy, but I let it go.
- When? - Uh, just a minute ago.
- You let the puppy go? - Uh-huh.
Out a second story window?
What was I thinking?
Hey, guys.
Mom, where are you going?
It's time for Morgan's bath...
and her door to the bathroom is locked.
Wait a minute. Let me get this straight.
[SHOUTING] You're going into the bathroom...
to give Morgan a bath?
Nothing gets past you.
Hey, Cor?
Lassie came home.
I can explain What he's doing.
No, no, no. Look, I don't even want to know.
I mean, if I know the truth...
I only have to lie when questioned.
I don't want to know anything about you two.
Let's just cut to my bribe, shall we?
Dry brick of meat?
Yeah, that's tempting...
but I was thinking, oh, I don't know...
you two take over all my household chores?
In the bizarro World.
Eric, I don't even do my own chores.
FATHER: Cory! Eric!
Trash night. Whose turn is it to take out the cans?
You know, Dad, an interesting thing. See, we were just...
oh, no! My turn, right?
Oh. Hey, thanks.
I think Shawn was making a daring political statement.
And what statement was that, build more prisons?
You guys don't know anything about it.
Sorry I'm late.
I see you've all heard...
about Mr. Hunter's little stunt yesterday.
I just spoke with his parents.
Evidently, Shawn didn't come home last night.
I imagine no one here has heard from him.
Me?
What makes you think I heard from Shawn?
I was addressing the entire class.
Yeah, but you make it sound like...
I lit the cherry bomb and stuck it in the mailbox...
on "K" Street near the Market Giant.
I'm guessing.
He claims he hasn't spoken with Shawn since the incident...
yet he knows the precise location...
knows Hunter's plot involved a cherry bomb.
I smell conspiracy. I smell cover-up.
I smell a nerd with nine fingers.
Mr. Matthews, unhand that Minkus.
Mr. Minkus, return to your seat.
Now, then, we shall continue reading aloud from page 157.
Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-tale Heart.
"They heard.
They suspected."
"They knew."
[HEARTBEAT, THUNDER]
"I couLd bear those hypocritical smiles no Longer.
"I feLt that I must scream or die...
"and now. hark. again.
"Louder. Louder.
Louder. "
Mr. Matthews? Anything wrong?
& You made me Love you &
& I didn't wanna do it &
SHAWN: Ow.
& I didn't wanna do it &
SHAWN: Ow.
& You made me want you &
I checked outside the store. I didn't see it anywhere.
- See what? - Uh, it.
It?
It... ltaly.
I didn't see ltaly. I didn't see France.
I didn't see anybody's underpants.
Well, consider yourself lucky. I just did the laundry.
And while I was putting it away...
I discovered a little something you've been hiding.
[HEARTBEAT] What?
You organized your closet.
Oh, yeah, yeah. Practically cleaned itself.
So why don't you just give me a hug and move along?
OK. I'll just leave you here all by yourself.
Bye.
In the last twenty-four hours...
I almost blow off my hand and get sucked into a Hoover.
You organized my closet?
Yeah, well, I didn't mean to.
Just what was I supposed to do in this room all day?
Let me tell you, you have...
a very up-to-date collection of video games.
I especially enjoyed Pong.
Feeny said your parents came by school.
You didn't say anything, did you?
Well, he was working me, all right, but I was a stone.
- Cory! - Yeah! I'm alone! Hide.
I fear for my life.
Hey. How was your day?
Quit pumping me! I know nothing!
Well, me... I had a lousy day.
You see, yesterday I put about, oh...
twenty-six bills in the mailbox outside my store, and...
today I found out that, uh...
Well, you know the rest.
Yeah, I heard something along the lines...
of a mailbox natural disaster.
You know, the glue on those stamps is highly flammable.
I heard that Shawn may be involved...
to the extent that, um, he did it.
Huh. Nowthat I did not hear.
SHAWN: Ah-choo!
- Bless you. - Thank you.
You know, when I was growing up...
there was a kid in my neighborhood...
who was a lot like Shawn... always getting into trouble.
You know, small things at first...
shoplifting candy, letting air out of tires...
but pretty soon, he got kind of bored...
moved on to more serious stuff, more dangerous.
Dad, Shawn's not like that.
I don't know. I think he is.
And if he were here right now, I'd come down on him very hard.
SHAWN: Uh!
Uh, that meat loaf.
Because what Shawn did was irresponsible and dumb.
How come you're telling me this?
Because you need to know that if you ever do anything wrong...
you can always come home.
I don't care how bad it is...
it can never be as bad as not coming home.
You don't have to worry about me, Dad. I'm a come-homer.
Fine, because I don't care how tight a spot you're in...
SHAWN: Ooh!
We're here for you.
- Deal? - Deal.
Oh, man.
Your dad really hurt me.
That stuff he said?
No. He sat on my head.
You know, Shawn...
I bet ifWe explained to my dad how this happened...
he could talk to your dad, and then...
No way. I can't ever go home, Cory.
Didn't you hear what my dad was saying?
Not all of it. I blacked out a couple times.
All I'm saying is...
I think that if both our dads worked together...
and talked it over, and my dad explained to your dad...
- that you're still an oK kid... - it won't work, Cor.
Why not?
Because my dad will kill your dad just to get to me.
Shawn, you're overreacting.
Cory, all our lives we've done these little things...
but we've always stayed on this side of the line.
What line?
The line that separates the little bad...
from the big bad...
the line I blow up with my cherry bomb.
Shawn, you're wrong. Watch. I'll prove it to you.
Dad?
Dad, can you come here a second?
- No! Cory! - Dad?
All right, my dad's coming. He'll fix everything.
Shawn?
Shawn!
Hey, Hunter!
Shawn!
OK, he's gone. You think he's going home?
I think everything's going to be oK.
- Know why? - Why?
Well, because that talk you gave me up in my room...
well, you didn't know it, but Shawn heard the whole thing.
Really?
Yeah, he was under my bed.
- Under your bed? - Not the one I sat on?
Actually, I've been hiding Shawn up there...
since yesterday afternoon.
- How long have you known? - Since yesterday afternoon.
The noises coming from your room.
The food you snuck upstairs.
It could've been a puppy.
Cory, no one is that naive.
Uh, I happen to like the puppy theory.
Mr. Feeny saw Shawn sneak in yesterday...
and he phoned us to let us know.
It's a conspiracy...
an international adults' hot line.
Any kid anywhere makes a move... the phones are ringing.
Wait. You guys didn't tell Shawn's parents, did you?
Of course we did. Cory, didn't you think...
how scared Shawn's parents would be...
not knowing where their son was?
Wait, I don't get it.
If you guys knew all along, why didn't you bust us?
Sure would've been easier on me.
It was killing me trying to hide this from you.
Well, we knew he was safe here with his best friend...
who we hoped would help him make the right decision...
and go home.
Cor, I know you really like Shawn.
I mean, he's been your best bud...
since he taught you how to pick the lock on your playpen...
but there's something I think you should know about him.
You think he's a criminal.
I think he has rough edges.
I think he's at a point in his life...
where he can go one of two ways.
Back on my side of the line...
or gone forever into cherry bomb land.
Cory, Shawn has always reminded your dad...
of someone he knew when he was a kid.
You had a best friend like Shawn?
Uh-uh. I was like Shawn. I had a best friend like you.
- You did? - Mm-hmm.
And when I was about twelve years old...
I got into trouble once, and I considered my options...
I could hop a train to California.
I could start my life at thirteen...
get a job at fourteen, be married at fifteen...
have kids at sixteen.
I thought it was a great idea.
Sounds like a dumb idea to me.
Oh, you think so, huh?
Yeah. Just because you make one little mistake...
you don't want to throw your whole life away.
You see, guys like you and my best friend Richie...
that's the way you think.
Guys like me and Shawn... we don't think like that.
- Did you ever go to California? - No.
- Well, what happened? - I don't know.
Somehow I ended up here in a room with you.
Listen, Shawn's going to get in touch with you.
What should I do when he does?
A kid like you... you'll know.
Well, I guess the room is empty.
What a perfect time to set fire to my desk.
What, Cory told you I was here? Did he rat on me?
On the contrary, Mr. Matthews has been a true and loyal ally.
If anybody has betrayed this friendship...
it was you the moment you asked him to lie.
I would have done the same for him.
Mr. Feeny, about the only thing I'm not worried about...
in my life right now is Cory and my friendship.
Oh, here we go. I knew it was here somewhere.
In my eagerness to depart for the weekend...
I forgot to take it home.
What is it?
Canvas. I often paint on the weekends.
Very strong material.
Difficult to rip.
Give it a try.
Go on.
Uh-huh. of course, rugged as it is...
even the smallest snip...
and...
You see, Mr. Hunter...
once the integrity has been breached...
even the strongest fabric can unravel.
Even the strongest friendship.
Yeah, well, here. Have a bandanna.
Aren't you going to turn me in?
Uh, no, I don't think I have to.
Oh. It's not Monday?
All week long, you two ache to get out of this classroom...
and here you are in the middle of the night...
sneaking into it.
Did you bring the stuff I asked for?
It's empty.
How about some money?
Can I borrow your bike?
Actually, I got a ride here.
- Who from? - Your mom and dad.
- They're here? - They're parked outside.
Forget it. I'm not going home.
You don't want to help me, that's fine.
I'll sneak out the back.
Get out of my way, Cory, or...
or else what, you'll hit me?
Fine. Go ahead. Wipe the floor with me.
- Cory, just get out of my way. - No.
You have to go home, Shawn. You can't run away.
Yes, I can! Just get away from the door.
Shawn.
I'm not moving.
Cory, what do you want from me?
I want you to come back on my side of the line.
How am I supposed to do that?
Just go home.
My parents are going to ground me for, like, a year.
Well, then, I'll see you in a year.
Man, I'm going to get so killed.
Yeah, well, we're only twelve. We live again.
[KNOCK ON DOOR]
- What day is it? - The 19th.
It's Shawn!
- Aah! - Aah!
I'm free!
- Ha! - Ha!
& Doo doo doo doo do &
A whole month! How are you?
Oh, not too bad.
My eyes are still trying to adjust to the light though.
Are you hungry?
Nah, they gave me bugs with my potato today.
Whoa! I hate to interrupt your touching reunion...
but there's one minute left in triple overtime.
Come on, Mom, you got to see this.
OK, I've got five more numbers to enter...
on this spreadsheet, and then I am done.
Oh, TV. Hi.
Dawn, I know I've asked you out, like, fifty times...
and I know you said no, like, fifty times...
but you got to respect my willingness to get shot down.
You will? Right now? oK, where should I meet you?
- What happened? - I had her!
- The game! - Barbie's hair!
- I didn't save! - Dad, what happened?
MOTHER: ALan. didn't you pay the electric biLL?
ALAN: Of course I paid it. A month ago.
I put it in the mailbox right outside my store.
MOTHER: On cherry bomb day?
SHAWN: Good night, everybodyഡഊ㤊㤹ഹ《㨰〰〺㔬〰ⴠ㸭〠㨰〰㈺〬ര㰊潦瑮挠汯牯∽昣晦て∰猠穩㵥㐱眾睷琮獶扵楴汴獥渮瑥⼼潦瑮ാ