DOT: All I wanted was to be invisible.
It was a simple request.
It didn't involve anyone else.
When I was in a room with another person,
I felt like I was only half there.
When I was in a room with two other people,
I felt like a third of myself.
When I was in a room with three other people,
I felt like a quarter of myself.
And when I was in a whole crowd of people,
I felt like nobody.
(BELL RINGING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
NINA: I hate you.
MICHELLE: Please.
...all of those things.
Oh, I think he's hot.
Oh, Tiff Peedle told me he only has one nut. That's disgusting.
Tiff Peedle's a pathological liar.
You never know.
There's only one way to find out, really.
You're not doing that. Stop.
No. No.
Hey, Connor.
Hey, what's going on?
Nothing.
He blatantly likes you. Do you think?
Blatantly wants to fuck you. Oh, my God.
Frederica Diaz told me he was a massive fuck.
Frederica Diaz? Yes. Spanish exchange student?
Sophomore, fall, big butt, small skirts, homeroom 42, remember?
Yes. Right. Yes.
What?
(GIGGLING) God.
The freaks don't even want her.
Your new sister is Z-list.
She's not my sister.
It's karmic law, Nina. Your house is perfect,
your mom's a babe, your dad's hot.
Don't be gross.
And you're the prettiest girl in school.
Yeah, well, I'm fat.
Well, you were bound to inherit a retard sooner or later.
Dot.
Do you mind if I sit down with you?
I could sure use some company.
(WATER DRIPPING)
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
Come on, we've been waiting for you. Let's go.
Fuck! It's ridiculous!
Hurry up.
Where was she hiding?
She was in the bathroom.
Ugh! What a freak.
NINA: Can't believe my parents took her in.
When she arrived last week,
she was holding a cardboard box with her dad's ashes in it.
(BIRDS TWITTERING)
(WOMAN CHATTERING ON TV)
I really wish you would accept Dot, Nina.
We're all in this together.
Whatever. It wasn't my decision.
She's sitting right there.
So what? She can't even hear.
She can't even speak.
It's like she's a cat, or a dog or something.
(GIGGLES)
My mom says hi.
She wanted me to tell you that her sister
is looking for an interior decorator, if you're interested.
She lives in Wallingford.
Well, I will give her a call.
I'm still very busy here, though.
I haven't even finished the kitchen.
Or the living room, or the dining room.
Will you help me with dinner, Dot?
Don't touch that, please.
I'm sorry. My mom's a total control freak.
This could be the fabric for our new couch.
Jesus Christ, Mom, she was just touching it.
It's not like she has cooties or something.
Besides, you're letting the retarded girl touch our food.
Be careful, Nina, she can read lips.
Your bedroom looks great, Mrs. Deer.
I love the new curtains. They're very dramatic.
When were you in my bedroom?
We were just getting some lipstick, Mom.
Mr. Deer did such a nice job with this house.
It's the nicest house in Meriden, everyone says so.
Thank you, Michelle.
(WOMAN CHATTERING ON TV)
Not like that, Dot.
You're wasting too much of the bean.
(MUSIC PLAYING ON TV)
I was watching the news.
Why can't we watch something that actually affects us?
Michelle's staying for dinner. Not tonight, Nina.
Why, there's not enough food with the deaf girl?
Your father's had a long day. I'm sure he would like a quiet night.
Well, then, why doesn't he dine alone with Dot?
Paul Deer, how nice to see you again.
Janice Feltswater.
I'm Nina's college advisor.
Parent-teacher conference.
Oh, yes. Yes.
I've been meaning to touch base with you.
Or your wife.
I, uh, I'm concerned.
About Nina?
About Dot.
The disabled girl you've taken in? She's deaf.
She seems very unhappy.
She just lost her father.
They were very close.
What about her mother?
Cancer, when Dot was seven.
Oh, tragic. Yes.
You are so good to have taken her in.
You're not only a brilliant architect, you're a good man.
Thank you. Olivia Deer?
Yes. Something wrong?
Oh, uh, my wife had a root canal.
Ouch. Antibiotics.
Well, it was nice to see you. Good to see you.
Good night. Tell your wife hello.
I will. Good night. Good night.
(DOOR CLOSES)
PAUL: Hello, Dot.
Did you have a good day at school?
She spent most of the day in the bathroom.
She's a total freak.
Can't you just be, like, her un-godparents?
PAUL: You look nice today.
I just said that you look nice today.
Well, I look like shit and I need to wash my hair.
Mom's passed out in the living room.
Hey, come here. Take it.
It's great.
It's, like, socially acceptable. It's legalized heroin.
My mom won't notice.
Pussy.
Hey.
Paisley.
It's hard work decorating, Paul.
I have to rely on the French and Italians to send me fabrics.
Come on. Let's get you to bed. Come on.
Up you go.
Up.
You all right?
(MOANS)
Thanks, hon.
Stop it.
What? Looking at me like that.
Like what?
My hip still hurts at night.
This arrived today.
Now the room is finally finished.
It's perfect.
Good.
I'm sorry.
About Dot.
(SIGHS)
I want her here, Olivia.
It was the right thing to do.
I should get the girls dinner.
Don't say it like that.
Don't imply, every time you say
that you are going to do something,
you are implying I am not the one doing it.
You're tired, Olivia. Get some sleep.
No, I'm self-aware!
I'm incredibly fucking self-aware.
So, you think Dot's going to be able
to keep up with your classes at school?
I don't know, why don't you ask her?
You seem to be an expert in deaf-speak.
You know, there's an American Sign Language course at the evening extension.
I thought it would be fun if we all learned a little sign language.
You mean she's actually staying?
Of course she's staying, Nina.
She doesn't have anybody else.
She doesn't have any family.
She's not as fortunate as you.
It wouldn't hurt for you to, you know,
take some sign language courses.
It couldn't help but look good on your college applications.
People like to see a little initiative.
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
NINA: Hello? Yeah. I know.
Yeah, well, let me call you back. Okay.
You make yourself at home, okay, Dot?
I'm spending the night at Michelle's.
We have to practice our new routines.
Tonight?
Yeah, I wanted to give you and your new daughter some time to bond.
TEACHER: Michelle Fell with Norman Griss,
Nina Deer with Nelim Sathime.
Oh, and, Dot,
for this dissection you'll be partnered with Connor Kennedy.
Okay?
All right, everybody.
Hi.
PILN: Peel back that outer layer of skin
and get yourself acquainted with the general anatomical structure.
I'm calling PETA.
This is major animal cruelty right now.
PILN: Save it, Miss Fell.
Oh...
Gentle, Dot, slow.
The pig is already dead.
MICHELLE: I can't believe that auditory waste product gets to lab with Connor.
It's like Piln trying to hold fate.
And I want to fuck him.
Fuck him.
He's obviously afraid of commitment.
So, who do you want to bang-chung these days, Nina?
No one. Nina, you got to get it going.
You are 17 and you're still a virgin.
Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anybody.
It's just if you don't pop this thing before the end of the year,
you're going to end up being a high-school spinster.
Blatantly.
Now, I really just don't get it.
You could have anybody you wanted.
Except Connor. Dibs on him this semester.
Oh, look.
Dot's found a companion she can speak with.
Maybe Myrna will adopt her, and that way
she can have two deaf daughters.
DOT: When Beethoven was 17 years old, his mother died.
In 1801, when Beethoven first discovered he was losing his hearing,
he got severely depressed.
(CHATTERING)
...he actually knows who I am. I gave him two weeks' notice.
Watch, I'm telling you right now...
What? Oh, nothing, man.
I want to see. Don't worry about it.
Hey, what the fuck? You don't want to fuck with the master, baby.
Come on. Hey, you guys, come on. Let's go.
DOT: But he emerged from this moment of crisis triumphant.
His middle period is characterized by a heroic tone,
as in his opera, Fidelio,
where a wife saves her imprisoned husband from murder
at the hands of his enemy.
Come here, Dot.
Don't be scared, you need some color.
It's too bad I stopped seeing you after your mom died.
I always wanted a sister.
You know, maybe if you would have had a female influence in your life,
you wouldn't look like a janitor.
There, looks perfect.
Now you actually look like a woman.
Later.
I had a pop quiz in history today. I got a B-.
Oh, that's too bad.
Michelle got a C.
I thought it was a good thing.
The least you could do is say something supportive.
Your hair is getting so long.
It's so soft.
Thanks, Daddy.
DOT: I was seven when my mom died.
After that, my father became my world.
When I was little, even if I was just practicing scales,
my father would press his back
against the base of our upright piano with his eyes closed
so that he could feel the vibrations of the piano strings.
It was his way of listening.
One day
we were eating French fries.
I was playing with the ketchup on my plate.
My father told me he had to run across the street to the bank.
I said I had to go to the bathroom.
He told me to meet him in front of the restaurant.
By the time I got there, there were people everywhere.
My father had run in front of a truck and was killed.
The police officer told me that he probably died on impact.
It was fast, there was no pain.
I'm supposed to find comfort in that.
For the record, he had looked both ways,
but he couldn't hear the truck's horn honking at him.
No one ran to save him.
No one bothered to run out and grab him.
If I had been there with him, it would have been different.
If I hadn't left him alone.
NINA: Daddy.
(PAUL MUMBLING)
PAUL: You have such a beautiful back.
If only you weren't so beautiful.
NINA: I gained three pounds. I weighed myself in gym.
(CREAKING) NINA: What was that?
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
OLIVIA: How is the Alderside house coming?
Fine, fine.
NINA: I'm spending the night at Michelle's.
It's a school night.
And your point is?
You're not going. Mom.
Why can't she go?
Don't contradict me just to contradict me.
We're just going to the movies with a bunch of friends.
OLIVIA: Boys?
It's none of your business. I'm just curious.
Yeah, Michelle and I were gonna gang-bang the entire varsity squad
in the back row of the Cineplex.
You're not going.
Why not?
I finished all my homework.
OLIVIA: She finished all her homework.
So can I go?
Well, it's up to your father.
Thanks, Dad.
(CELL PHONE RINGING) Oh.
Hello? Yeah. I'll be out in a sec.
Michelle's waiting outside. Bye.
(DOOR CLOSING)
What's wrong?
PAUL: She thinks she can do whatever she wants.
She just wants to go to a movie.
You're not helping me, Olivia.
You're not helping me.
I'm trying to raise her.
I am trying to do things right, and you are not helping me.
You constantly contradict me.
Calm down. I hate it when you snap at me.
You undermine my authority.
Don't be ridiculous, they're just girls. Jesus.
Oh, I'm sorry you had to see that, Dot.
Well, he loses his temper once in a while for no good reason.
People can be very complicated, Dot.
You know, your mother was complicated.
Your mother was a slut.
I married the first man I was with, but not your mother.
Your mother was a big, old, lucky slut.
You look like your mother, you know that?
You are the same age now as your mother was when we met.
Hold on.
Here was our apartment after graduation.
We shared a bedroom.
I put that wallpaper up with my own two hands.
God, look at my hair.
Umm-Hmm.
You know, you should make more of an effort to keep up appearances.
There you go, you look much better.
I envy your mother sometimes.
Never having to grow old.
What, you want to go to a movie?
Of course. Sure, I can take you.
PAUL: You're in no condition to drive.
She's all alone, Paul. She wants to go to a movie. It's the least I can do.
The poor girl.
PAUL: I'll drive her.
Paul is going to drive you.
Move over so I can sit next to Connor.
I want to see if he gets a hard-on
when I put my hand in his lap.
Should we ask Dot to sit with us?
Some people prefer to sit alone.
Yeah, dude. She's a buzzkill, man.
No, I... Seriously, guys, think about it.
I mean, imagine what that's got to be like,
you know? Not being able to hear?
It's fucking depressing.
She knows what it's like to hear.
She lost her hearing when she was seven, after her mom died.
She was totally normal before that.
That's cool.
I don't know, I bet it'd be harder losing something
than never having had it at all.
Okay, Deepak Chopra Winfrey.
Thanks for the life lesson.
(ALL CHUCKLING)
DOT: One day we wake up and we realize the world sucks.
And we suck for being in it.
And we run away.
MICHELLE: I'm telling you, she's a hermaphrodite.
What? You don't believe me?
DOT: Anything but to face ourselves as we are.
Anything to avoid asking
why we hate ourselves so much.
(WOMAN MOANING ON TV)
MICHELLE: How do you know if you're a good kisser?
NINA: What do you mean?
I mean, if you were a bad kisser,
do you think people would tell you?
Or do you think you'd, like, actually live your whole life
thinking you were a good kisser?
I don't know.
MICHELLE: You'd have to ask, I guess.
Find someone you really trust and kiss them.
And then ask them how it was.
I guess.
(CREAKING)
(DOOR OPENING)
I'm...
I'm sick, Dot.
I'm sick and I hate it.
I thought
when you came here, maybe things would change.
I thought maybe having somebody else here would...
I don't know.
I don't know what I thought.
I hate it.
MICHELLE: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I don't know.
Did you ever think about that before?
Of course. I think about it all the time.
Well, where then?
How about you?
Florida, maybe.
Super sunny.
Yeah.
Maybe Australia.
Random. Why?
It's really far away.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
MICHELLE: Whatever, Nina. Just wait until your mom and dad are asleep
and sneak out. It's not that hard.
My mom's a chronic insomniac, I do it all the time.
I mean, with your mom it should be easy. Michelle.
Def Jam Records over there won't tattle.
She won't hear you.
Look, I said I'd try.
Come on, it'll be fun. It's just the four of us.
We've got the place to ourselves, my parents' liquor cabinet.
Maybe you can snag some pills from your mom.
Her mom's a major prescriptaholic.
Michelle. What?
Shut up. She is.
We're gonna be late for practice.
Why the dramarama? Nothing.
Look at me right now.
Brian's parents are going to be gone for one night.
Connor and Brian want us to get drunk with them,
and you're not gonna fuck this up for me.
Why do I have to be there? Why can't you invite Fiona?
Because he doesn't want to fuck Fiona. He wants to fuck you.
Look, I said I'd try, Michelle. Drop it.
You know, your mom passes out by 9:00 every night
and your dad must go to sleep sometime.
I gotta go to class.
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
NINA: Hello?
PAUL: How's my baby girl?
What do you want?
I just had a quiet moment at the office.
I thought I'd see how you're doing.
Fine.
Are you in your cheerleading uniform?
I gotta get to class. I'm turning my phone off.
Who was that?
My mom. She's so needy.
(CRASHING)
Shit!
(DOT HUMMING)
Hey, Dot.
Life sucks, Dot. I feel like I can tell you this.
I feel like I can be honest because you can't hear, or can you?
Look at you.
Eating your sandwich like a piglet while I talk.
It's strangely comforting.
When I first met you, and when you first moved in, I hated you.
I hated your face,
and your dumb blank stare.
But now that I feel like I know you again, all that's changed.
It's so nice to know that there's someone
whose life sucks more than mine.
I'm gonna kill my dad, Dot.
Tonight.
I hate him, you know.
I hate him but I love him.
I hate it when he won't let me go out with my friends,
but I love it when he fucks me.
I hate when he fucks me, too, though.
You see how that works?
It doesn't make any sense.
He likes it when I bite on his nipples, though.
I stick the tip of his nipple between my teeth
and I rub my tongue back and forth on it, like a windshield wiper.
It drives him wild.
I made him come once just by sucking on his nipples.
I didn't even have to touch his dick once.
I love that I can tell you this shit.
Because it's like it's off my chest,
but it's still a secret, you know?
Michelle's dad's got a gun.
I know where it is.
But I figure it'd be too gross.
You know, with Mom's decorating and all.
Although she's probably already joined
Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe in pill popper's paradise.
She's like an E! True Meriden Story.
I'm gonna do it late.
Mom won't wake up. Nah.
You can't hear.
It'll just be me,
my daddy,
and a bullet.
Michelle's gonna steal it for me this afternoon.
Pow.
(DOT PLAYING PIANO)
Hey, hey, sorry. Did I scare you?
I--I didn't mean to.
I was just looking for you.
I heard the music. That's, like, amazing.
I--I've never been good at anything other than basketball.
Look,
I was just wondering when you wanted to get together
to write up the lab.
Dot.
Dot!
NINA: The wallpaper in the dining room is revolting.
They ordered the wrong paper.
Yeah, well, it makes me nauseous.
They made a mistake. They'll replace it.
If I had to eat dinner and look at that every day,
I would seriously hurl.
That's enough.
What? I'm just saying.
What, is it illegal now to have an opinion in this house?
(DOORBELL RINGS)
That's Michelle.
You two are joined at the hip.
Yeah, we're friends, Mom, that's what best friends do.
If you had any, you'd know.
Connor. I should have called.
What are you doing here? Is she here?
She should be here by now.
You know Michelle, she'd be late to her own funeral.
You can come in, though.
Um, I came to see Dot.
Dot?
Yeah. I mean, she lives here, right? She lives with you?
Yeah, totally.
Yeah, Dot totally lives here, yeah.
I figured it wouldn't make much sense to call. Can I come in?
Yeah. Sorry. I'm totally rude.
Um, my mom is decorating so we're eating in the kitchen. Come on in.
Okay.
(CLEARS THROAT)
PAUL: You're not Michelle.
(CHUCKLES) No, I'm not.
Who are you?
I'm Connor.
You never told us about Connor, Nina.
Why the big secret?
NINA: He came for Dot.
What are you going to do with her?
Oh, uh, we're lab partners in biology.
(DOORBELL RINGS)
Oh, that must be Michelle.
Put this somewhere.
MICHELLE: I waited until my dad was asleep.
PAUL: So, you go to school with Nina and Dot?
CONNOR: That's right, sir.
PAUL: Nina never mentioned you.
Don't give him the third degree, Paul.
What third degree?
Connor's here.
What?
He wants to see Dot.
(CHUCKLES)
Clearly an excuse. He knows we're like BFF.
Fucking A. How do I look?
Hot.
Does he want to fuck me? Yes.
Say it. Say what?
Say he wants to fuck me.
He wants to fuck you.
Connor Kennedy wants to fuck me.
Connor Kennedy wants to fuck you.
(EXHALES)
Let's rock.
NINA: Wait! Let me stash this.
The last thing I need is my dad finding it.
CONNOR: Uh, Dot and I actually have to go over our biology lab.
I thought maybe we could go to the library.
Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Deer.
Hi, Connor. Hey.
Dinner looks great, Mrs. Deer.
OLIVIA: It's from Bene, Bene. On York. MICHELLE: Hmm.
What are you looking at?
You think you two are the only ones that do homework?
Okay, um, see you later.
Where are they going?
PAUL: To the library.
And you're letting her go? Why not?
You never let me do anything.
That is not true.
He could be some sick fuck, you don't know.
He said he was a friend of yours from school.
And you believed him?
You introduced us to him, you let him in the house.
I just... I have a few questions about the...
About the lab.
See, I gotta get a--a good mark in bio
'cause I need to pull a B
to get this basketball scholarship at UConn
and I know that I'm not going to get
anything better than a C- in English,
so I kind of need this.
Can I help you?
I think we need another minute.
What flavor?
She's deaf.
Um, but if you speak slowly, she can read your lips.
Vanilla?
Strawberry?
Chocolate?
Um, nothing for me. I'm fine, thanks.
Chocolate?
Do you think my nipples are abnormally big?
Michelle, put your tit away.
Well, Steph Simon was talking about it in the locker room.
Your nipples? Nope.
Nipples in general.
(KNOCK ON DOOR)
Dad! Jesus Christ, can't you knock?
PAUL: I did knock.
Yeah, but can you wait until I say "Come in," or something?
I just wanted to see if you'd finished your homework.
I told you I did it this afternoon. Fuck.
PAUL: Nina, can I talk to you for a second?
Nina?
NINA: What? PAUL: It's a school night.
So what? And it's late.
You should be focusing on your homework. Send her home.
We are doing homework.
You're not finished, you're in there doing your nails.
Just send her home, okay? It's a school night.
You gotta go. Go?
Go where? I don't know. Home, I guess.
Why? Just because.
What if Connor comes back?
I'll call you.
Okay, well, I'm picking you up at midnight and we're going to Brian's.
I can't!
Michelle...
CONNOR: I'm not stupid, Dot. I'm not. People think I am,
but I'm not. I mean, I...
I have this learning disorder. I have ADD.
People think a lot of stupid things.
I mean, people think I fucked Frederica Diaz, it's...
I think about you sometimes.
I think about how you look naked,
and how quiet you are.
Like a doll.
You're a virgin, too, aren't you, Dot?
(SIREN WAILING)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
NINA: Stop. Stop it.
I'm fat.
PAUL: You always say that. Where are you fat?
I don't see any fat. Where is the fat, here?
NINA: Stop. PAUL: Any there?
Here? Stop it.
I have something for you.
What?
PAUL: A present.
NINA: No, you're just saying that.
No, it's true. I'm gonna give it to you.
PAUL: But first...
(CRASHING)
What was that?
Dot broke the statue.
I'm gonna get the dustpan.
You're gonna have to be a little more careful around here, young lady.
Don't touch it, you'll cut yourself.
Olivia.
(CRYING)
(DOOR OPENING)
Dad, I, uh, said I was tired.
Be honest. Do you think I'm fat?
Be honest.
I guess I can trust you, right, Dot? I mean,
why would you lie to me? You don't care about me.
Tonight's the night, Dot.
I can feel it.
Tonight I'm gonna kill him.
And I'm gonna do it at midnight. It'll be the perfect time.
You know, it's so good that you can't hear, Dot.
Otherwise, you'd be, like, an accomplice.
(SIZZLING)
REGINA: Department of Child Welfare.
Gina McQueen speaking.
Hello?
(CROWD CHEERING)
(WHISTLE BLOWS)
CHEERLEADERS: H-O-T, hot!
The Cougar team is hot.
H-O-T, hot!
When we say roar, you say net.
Go for the net. Meriden.
Meriden.
They got boys but we got men.
The Cougars stand up proud and tall.
The Cougars rock at basketball!
Hey.
I didn't see you there.
I suck at basketball and...
CONNOR: You know, usually when we win,
there's a whole bunch of people
waiting outside of our locker room,
cheering us on.
Got out fast today.
Nobody likes a loser.
You know, I was thinking about you last night.
I was thinking that
if we went on a road trip, how quiet it would be.
You know, we could go all the way
through Long Island, to, uh, to Pennsylvania.
You know, that's where they make Hershey's chocolate.
Pennsylvania.
And, uh, all the lamp posts look like Hershey's Kisses.
They give you free M&M's at the factory.
I can smell your hair.
It smells like cucumbers.
I--I got really, really hard last night.
I had to beat off.
And my mom was just outside of my room, putting the towels away.
You know, I could hear her,
but I couldn't help myself.
I mean, I came four times.
I mean, four times, that--that isn't normal, is it?
What am I gonna do?
I'm this sex addict with a learning disorder
who forgot how to play basketball.
OLIVIA: The landscaper's coming at noon tomorrow.
You told me already.
Is Nina at the basketball game?
She's your daughter. You don't know where she is?
Well, of course I know where she is, she's at the basketball game.
That boy that came over the other night was on the basketball team.
I thought he was very cute.
Cute?
OLIVIA: For Nina.
PAUL: Careful, Olivia.
What with all these music videos and magazines,
do you really think she needs you
to push her into dating and dressing like a slut?
Paul?
Have I gotten fat?
She's only 17.
When you were 17, you were still a virgin.
Come on, just look. You didn't even look.
Come here, see if you can pinch an inch.
See if you can pinch an inch.
Good night.
OLIVIA: You're mean. I'm sleeping on the floor.
PAUL: Get into bed, Olivia.
I don't want to, I'm comfortable here.
Get into bed.
Leave me alone!
Olivia, get into bed. You're gonna catch a cold.
Yeah, it'll be all your fault.
(CHUCKLES) See, I'm still as light as a feather.
You know, I've kissed a bunch of girls before.
It's all right.
But I've never done it, you know, the it.
Stuck it inside.
What?
What is it?
That's all right.
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
Nina?
What? Where's Dot?
How am I supposed to know?
How was the game?
It sucked.
We lost.
Don't get it on my uniform.
I've got something that might make you feel better.
What?
Daddy! Open it.
What? Oh, my God!
I told you I got you a present. I love it!
You really like it? Yes, I love it.
I love it, Dad. It's so great.
(GIGGLING) Wait a minute, Dad, wait a minute.
What's the matter?
Stop.
Gosh. I gotta iron my uniform before I go to bed.
So...
I'll be in my room.
(MOANING)
You okay?
Oh, shit.
Do you think I have a big dick, Dot?
I mean, I've measured it.
It's pretty small when it's soft,
but when it gets hard, it's--it's pretty big.
Wait.
Dot! Wait!
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
Come in.
I knocked and waited this time.
Don't do that, I can't see what I'm doing.
I'll burn myself and be disfigured.
Dad, I gotta do this.
Iron it before the next game.
I don't like my uniform hot.
Stop it!
I like to iron it and let it cool off.
Dad, I have a secret for you.
You do? Yeah.
A surprise. Really?
Sit down.
NINA: Close your eyes.
Close your eyes.
Okay.
I want you to be ready for this.
Hmm.
Keep them closed.
That feels nice.
I love you so much, Nina.
(DOOR CLOSING)
What was that?
Probably Dot. Honey, who cares?
NINA: Were you not gonna yell at her for coming home so late?
No, no, no, no, no. Not right now. I'm still waiting for my surprise.
Daddy? Yeah.
I have to tell you something, but you have to promise not to get angry.
Of course, of course, honey, anything. Anything.
You have to promise first.
Just tell me.
Do you promise? I promise.
Swear! What is it?
I'm pregnant. You can open your eyes now.
PAUL: What do you mean, Nina?
I'm pregnant, Daddy. I'm pregnant.
Well, that's impossible!
You don't believe me?
How do you know? I took a test!
Those tests aren't accurate.
They're 97% accurate, Daddy,
and I haven't had a period in six weeks.
Fuck!
That's it?
That's all you're gonna say?
What are you gonna do about it?
What am I gonna do about it?
What do you think I'm gonna do about it?
I don't want a baby with webbed feet
running around the house, Daddy!
I just wanted to make sure. Do you think I'm crazy?
I just wanted to make sure!
I need $1,000.
$1,000?
There's an anonymous clinic in Fairfield.
You haven't told anyone?
Of course not.
All right. I'll...
I'll write you a check.
You can't write me a check, Daddy.
It's not anonymous. I need cash.
I'll get it tomorrow.
Where are you going?
I'm tired.
You're probably tired, too.
It's a school night.
DOT: I used to hold my breath underwater for long periods at a time.
My father took me to the YMCA Saturday mornings.
Submerged in the pool, I heard nothing but my own heartbeat
echoing against the water.
I would've stayed underwater forever
if my father hadn't been waiting for me
in the bleachers by the diving pool.
I killed my goldfish when I was little, Dot.
I had six of them.
And I cut them in half with scissors.
DOT: When someone is waiting for you, you have to come up for air.
I was braver when I was a kid.
(STUDENTS CHATTERING)
Hey.
I was just wondering if you'd want...
Myrna, can you do me a favor and ask Dot in sign language
if she'd go to the Spring Fling with me tonight?
Sure.
She says no.
What do you mean, no? MYRNA: That's what she said.
No, I mean, sign that back to her.
Sign back, "What do you mean, no?"
MYRNA: She says she can't go, she says she's sorry.
I don't understand.
She says to let it go now.
She says she's not right for you.
How does she know what's right for me?
Just ask her.
She says she belongs by herself.
It's just a dance.
Hey.
I'm taking you to the dance, Dot.
Carrots. Me, too.
I'm gonna make that fucking whore...
Michelle, take it down a notch.
The whole world already knows you're a cunt.
There's nothing left to prove.
I thought you could wear this to the dance.
I think it'll look pretty on you.
Suit yourself. Fine.
I'll just put it in the dumpster
or give it to the Salvation Army.
Dot, I have some good news for you.
After tomorrow night, you are going to be an only child.
That's right, I'm taking off.
I mean, who wants to stick around for murder charges? Not me.
I'm getting out of here.
I think maybe I could start over in New Haven, you know?
I could work at a bar
or be a stripper.
I saw this show on MTV about strippers.
They make a lot of money and it's easy, I guess.
Some of them even become famous, like Courtney Love.
She--She was a stripper.
I could be like her, maybe.
I mean, I wouldn't really care,
bunch of old guys looking at my tits.
Wouldn't matter, at least I'd be getting paid.
It was so hard
to lie to my dad about being pregnant
that I think a part of me thinks it's true.
Is that crazy?
I'll have $1,000, though.
That'll be enough to get me started in New Haven before I have to get a job.
It'll be perfect.
You know, I am not letting you go to the dance without lipstick,
I just can't do it.
This one smells like strawberries.
Connor will go crazy when you go to kiss him.
Perfect.
Now you almost look human.
DOT: Beethoven's best work comes in his late period,
a period of complete deafness.
I imagine his mind
must have been the loudest silence in history.
You don't like it?
Dot, you can't go to the dance like this.
You look like you should be pumping gas.
What about Connor? He's totally hot for you!
You are a major enigma, Dot.
I don't know how you do it.
Do you want to let me in on your secret?
DOT: They say that the truth can set you free.
That's a lie.
The truth is, lies can protect us.
Lies keep us safe
from the truth.
PAUL: Nina?
Nina? Jesus Christ, Dad, you scared me.
How do I look?
I brought you the money.
NINA: I look like shit.
PAUL: $1,000, isn't that what you said?
$1,000, right.
So you can fix the problem.
Right. Fix.
Because you're pregnant, I went to the bank and got cash.
Great. Because you're pregnant.
Dad, I really wish that you would stop saying it.
That you're pregnant? Stop it!
What? You're pregnant, aren't you? Dad.
I can keep saying it. Well, I really wish you wouldn't!
You're pregnant, Nina, say it! No!
I'm gonna go and get ready. I can say it over and over again.
No! You're scaring me.
But no matter how many times I repeat it,
no matter how many times I repeat it,
it still doesn't make it true, isn't that right, Nina?
Huh?
My daughter is a whore.
What is that?
WOMAN ON TV: It is a neighborhood
where 12 families have lost their homes.
The fire broke Friday...
What is that?
Listen to me, Nina! Listen to me.
I'm sick of your bullshit.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Tampons?
I can explain.
I bought you that purse. Dad.
As a present. And this is how you repay me?
By using it to hide your lies?
They're Michelle's. Don't, Nina. Don't.
Are you trying to make me into some kind of an asshole?
Are you? Dad, I swear they're Michelle's.
She's not bringing her purse and I'm carrying them for her.
No, Nina. No.
You lied to me.
Do you know how scared I was?
(NINA SOBBING)
I'm sorry.
Do you know how frightened I was?
I love you, Daddy.
What happened to my baby girl?
I'm still your baby girl!
My baby girl who would-- who would listen to me and tell me the truth.
I'll tell you what's happened to her.
She's turned into a little bitch!
That's not true.
You're hurting me!
Why did you lie to me?
PAUL: Why?
NINA: Listen to me, Daddy, I'm sorry.
Daddy, stop it. Please.
I was scared, you know.
I was scared.
(SCREAMS)
No, please. I have to get ready to go out.
Please don't do this. Don't, please.
Stop!
No! You trying to make an asshole out of me?
Daddy, please, don't hit me. I have to go, please.
No. No. We can do this when I get back.
I have to get ready! No!
Please, I have to get ready to go out.
Please, don't do this, don't.
Please! Don't make me do this! I loved you.
Please! I fucking love you!
You're hurting me! Stop it, please!
Please stop.
Stop it! No!
Please don't, please! Please, no!
WOMAN ON TV: Neighbors say the first sparks were seen just past 9:00,
and it wasn't until 10:00
that the fire began to take hold of the cul-de-sac.
Authorities...
Stop it!
No! No!
Shut up!
(SCREAMING)
Shut up!
Leave her alone!
Shut up!
Stop!
Shut up!
NINA: (CRYING) No. No.
No! You killed my daddy!
You killed my daddy!
You fucking bitch!
You lying fucking bitch!
If you wouldn't have been such a fucking lying bitch,
this would've never happened.
No one would've known.
No one would have ever known.
And this would have never happened.
(DOORBELL RINGS)
It's a miracle.
You can hear.
(BANGING ON DOOR) MICHELLE: Move it or lose it, Nina!
Get it together.
Come on, Nina.
Go around the front, we'll meet you in a second!
Go.
Nina, we have to bury the backpack.
We have to follow the plan.
Jesus, it took you guys long enough.
I didn't realize she was coming.
What's with the backpack? Let me see.
Stop it!
So secretive.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
Your eyes are red. Red, right?
Yeah. Yeah.
What'd you take? I don't remember what they were.
I think one was vicodin and maybe codeine.
Well, did you bring me some?
No.
Do you have any cigarettes?
Yeah.
MICHELLE: Hold these for me because I've gotta go find Brian.
There you are. Do you want to go dance?
(MAYBE NOT PLAYING)
Let's take that bag off.
Come on, you can't dance with it on.
Come on, let's go.
* At the turn of the tide is withering thee
* Remember one thing the dream you can see
* Pray to be shake this land
* We all do what we can
* So we can do just one more thing
You're shaking. Are you nervous?
* We won't have a thing
* So we've got nothing to lose
* We can all be free
* Maybe not with words
* Maybe not with a look
I like dancing with you, Dot.
Dot, wait.
Dot?
Turn around, Dot.
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
Can you hear me?
I'm sorry.
You can talk?
You can hear?
You're a psycho, you know that?
All those things I said to you were private.
I know that.
You sat there and you listened to me talk about my dick.
You sat there and you listened to me talk
about how many times I beat off.
Connor, please. What?
You don't like to hear it anymore, Dot?
It's not as much fun
when you have to come up with an answer, is it, Dot?
Please. No.
Fuck you.
Nina. Come on, we gotta go.
NINA: Where are we going? DOT: Follow me.
DOT: Here.
I think that's deep enough.
I never got to bury my father.
Your father must have known
that you could hear.
It was our secret.
Why did you do it?
Because you wouldn't.
No, I mean,
why did you pretend you were deaf in the first place?
I just...
I wanted to be closer to him.
And invisible to everyone else.
Well, you can't now.
Why?
Because then we'll both be alone.
Let's go home.
(SIREN WAILING)
(WOMAN CHATTERING ON RADIO)
Mom! Where are they taking you?
Nina, hold on, I'm going to go away for a little while, okay?
I'm not--I'm not well.
I did a terrible, terrible thing.
I killed your father.
He went crazy. He was throwing things,
and breaking things, and he told me he hated me.
And I--I took a piano wire
and-- and I strangled him with it.
POLICE OFFICER: Okay, time's up.
Hold on one second! Just let me finish.
I didn't want him to hurt you.
Nina, I never wanted him to hurt you.
I'm sorry, Nina. Can you ever forgive me?
I am so sorry.
(CAR ENGINE STARTING)
DOT: People always talk about the quiet before the storm
but no one talks about the quiet after.
(PIANO PLAYING)
At least after the storm
you know it's really over.
When Beethoven died in 1827,
over 10,000 people came to mourn.
DOT: From the beginning.
DOT: I used to fantasize that when I died there wouldn't be a funeral.
Having led my life invisibly, no one would come to mourn.
But being invisible isn't worth it in the end.
Because when you're invisible, other people may not see you
but you can't help seeing other people.
(CAN I BE YOUR SECRET PLAYING)