214 - To Be Or Not To Be...
Jack is showing Pacey and Dawson a miniature model of Capeside he made. Dawson needs it to film some shots. No asteroid to blow it up. Pacey has to go. He hasn’t started Peterson’s assignment. Jack hasn’t either. Dawson can’t believe Pacey Witter is leaving early to do homework. Jack wants to stay. Jack asks Dawson how he writes poetry. He tells him to open up and listen to himself. Dawson closes in on the miniature. “Perfect Creekside Village.”
Mr. Milo, the guidance councilor, approaches Pacey. He has the mid term marks. He posted 3 “B”s and 2 “A”s. Pacey skips down the hall and hugs Andie, then kisses her. “What was that for?” “Just ‘cause.” Jack hugs Joey. “Don’t even.” “We can’t have a ‘just `cause’?” “Sure. In private.” Dawson asks Jack when he can get some of the set done. Joey confronts Dawson about how he actually talked to Jack.
Ty tells Jen that he’s left 3 messages for her that she hasn’t returned. All that bible speak freaked her out. She sees it as an obstacle in their relationship. He thinks they should go out on their first date before she maps out their future.
Pacey has a hard time finding his paper, but finds it just in time. Mr. Peterson tells him he neglected penmanship, so he can hand it in today with a low mark, or tomorrow with late marks. Pacey asks Jack if it’s just him “or does that man get meaner everyday?” “It’s not just you.” Peterson hears that and tells Jack to read his poem to the class. “I thought you said these poems were just for you.” “I changed me mind.” Jack begs him not to make him read it, but he won’t give in. Jack stands up. “Today. Today was a day the world got smaller, darker... I grew more afraid. Not of what I am, but of what I...” “Continue.” “What I could be. I loosen my collar to take a breath. My eyes fade... and I see... I see him. The image of perfection. His frame strong. His lips smooth. I keep thinking, what am I so scared of? And I wish I could escape the pain, but these thoughts, they invade my head. Bound to my memory... they’re like shackles of guilt. God please set me free.” He breaks down to tears and runs out of the class. Pacey gets up to see him. Peterson yells at Pacey to sit down, and tells the class to open their books. Pacey just sits, arms crossed and stares at him.
Joey and Dawson are on the library computers. They hear a bunch of guys talking about Jack crying over his poem. They think he’s a homosexual.
Dawson wants to talk to Joey at the Icehouse. She hasn’t talked to Jack yet. She jokes around about the situation. “Your being pretty flip about this.” “Why not Dawson? It’s all a big joke.” “Is it?” She gets on him about trying to break her and Jack up.
Pacey is at Andie’s studying. Jack leaves. Pacey says goodbye. Andie doesn’t understand why he had to write the poem. Pacey thinks something deeper is going on, and she should talk to him. “He’s not gay.” “Have you ever asked him?” “No... and I don’t need to.” Pacey is upset when Andie says she’d be disappointed if Jack was gay.
Ty calls Jen repeatedly to ask her out. She keeps hanging up. She finally gives in. “Be here at 10:00.”
Joey doesn’t know how to talk to Jack. Bessie says she should start off with “Long day, huh?” Joey says to Jack “Long day, huh?” “If you wanna ask me something, I suggest you just ask it.” He says that there was nothing gay about the poem, and stress of his family made him cry.
Ty brings Jen to a jazz club. He explains to her that they aren’t in Sunday school, so it’s all right to break the rules and drink. They dance to the music.
Mr. Peterson asks Jack to finish reading his now infamous poem. “Why are you doing this to me?” Pacey interrupts, “Because he can.” He stands up and grabs the poem from Peterson. He starts to read it. Peterson tears the paper from his hands. “You will listen to me when I talk to you, young man!” “Why should I?” Pacey’s not afraid of him. “Thank you for your analysis Mr. Witter. I’ll send the check along with the ‘F’ you’ll get on your report card.” “You can’t fail me. I’v gotten a ‘B’ or better on every test in this class.” “Hell I can’t. I’v been waiting to fail you all quarter. Trying to teach people like you is like spitting in the face of the entire educational system!” Pacey spits in his face. “No sir. That is spitting in the face of the entire educational system.” Pacey leaves for the office.
Pacey tells the principal that he won’t apologize. She says they’ll meet tomorrow, and if he won’t apologize, he will be suspended. Jack is waiting to see Mr. Milo. He tells Pacey he didn’t need him to make such a spectacle.
Jen understands Ty’s religion to be a “party now, confess later thing”. She’s uncertain as to whether they’ll go out again.
Pacey tells Andie and Dawson he’s going to take the suspension. they both think he should apologize. His grade point won’t survive a suspension. “Every single one of my instincts tells me that what that man did in his classroom was wrong. It’s just wrong.”
Jack has pamphlets on sexuality. “I’m gonna really need your help with this Joey. I have a feeling it’s gonna get a lot worse before it gets better.” “I’m here.” They see “FAG” written on his locker. He walks to his locker as a crowd watches. Joey comes up to him and whispers to him to kiss her. They kiss as everyone watches.
Andie tells Jack that her initial reaction was resentment. She didn’t even feel sorry for him. She kept one of the poems the tore down. “It’s a really beautiful poem, Jack.” She doesn’t know if it means he’s gay or not, and she doesn’t really care, but she’s just as scared as he is.
Joey climbs into Dawson’s room. She needs his advice. “Maybe you were right about Jack and the poem.” She doesn’t want to ask him if he’s gay, ‘cause then he’ll know she’s considered it. “It’s the elephant-in-the-room syndrome. The obvious but unspoken topic. The thing that’s always lurking, but never brought up. Of course, in your case, it’s a gay elephant.” She has to be honest with him. “So go. Go hunt an elephant.” “Thank you”, she says as she kisses him on the cheek.
Dawson tells Pacey he wouldn’t have done what he did. Pacey enters the office. He knows what he did was wrong, and he’s sorry... for the event, but he won’t be apologetic for it’s intention. “Everyday, we, the students of Capeside, come to a place where you guys are in charge. You tell us when to arrive and when to leave and when to move rooms and when to eat. You tell us when we’re doing well, and when we need to be doing better, and we never question it, because we’re afraid to. Because to question it, is to go against the belief that the entire system is built upon: The belief that you guys know what’s right. And I am not afraid to tell you that what happened in that classroom yesterday was not right. To make a student cry, embarrass him, to strip him of his dignity in front of his classmates. And while I respect this system, I do not respect men like you, Mr. Peterson. I don’t. I can’t, and I never will after what you did. You have a good afternoon.”
Andie comes to Pacey, who’s waiting on the docks. He needed her support today. He just wanted her to be there for him. Pacey tells how this whole mess is his fault. “Peterson knew that he couldn’t get the best of me, so he went after your brother.” She just wanted him to clean up the mess, and there are some messes you just have to deal with.
Joey asks Jack if he’s gay. She rambles on waiting for his answer. “No, I’m not gay.” They kiss. He’s done with poems. They lean on each others shoulders. “I’m not gay, Joey. I’m not gay.” Jack looks like he needs to say someting else, but he doesn’t.
