Slammed

Lake prepares lasagna, which the family calls “basagna.” She tells her mother that she wants Kel to live with her; she wants to be his guardian. Julia relents and agrees. Kel arrives and announces that he knows something bad is happening, as the family always makes basagna when they have bad news. Julia explains that she has lung cancer and is dying. Lake assures Kel that they will stay in the house in Michigan, rather than moving back to Texas, as this is what Kel wants. They have too much food, so Julia tells Kel to invite Caulder and Will, who join them for dinner. They make arrangements for Lake to take Julia to her treatments; Will is tasked with picking the boys up on these days. Lake feels satisfied that she is able to be friends with Will, as she wishes to prioritize her mother and Kel.

Eddie’s foster father, Joel, prepares a birthday party for Eddie at Getty’s Pizza. He writes the names of Eddie’s previous foster parents and foster siblings on pink balloons, which he releases ceremonially into the air. He gives Eddie the last balloon, which reads “Dad,” and tells her that he hopes to continue being her father, even though she is now free from the foster system. Everyone cries.

While still grieving, Lake accepts her father’s death, her mother’s impending death, and Will’s decision to prioritize his career for Caulder’s sake. She arrives at Club N9NE for another poetry slam. Will is performing when she walks in; he recites a piece about his newfound ambivalence about the ocean and his preference for the “lake.” Lake interprets this poem as being about his love for her. She goes to the bathroom to reflect and, overwhelmed, decides to leave. She bumps into her classmate Javi, who insists on walking her out. Lake realizes she left her purse in the club. She and Javi go to Javi’s car to charge his phone in order to text Eddie to bring Lake’s purse, and then Javi suddenly kisses her. Lake tries to push him off, and then Will appears and punches Javi. Will and Javi fight, and when Lake tries to intervene, she is accidentally punched in the back by Javi. Will drives Lake home and finds an ice pack for her back.

The next day at school, a substitute teaches Will’s class. Lake is called to the office. In a meeting with the principal, Will, a police officer, and Javi’s father, Lake recounts the night before. When she arrives home, she sees Will’s car in the driveway and runs across the road to find out what happened. Will says he is finishing his student teaching elsewhere, as he and the school decided his resignation would be best.

Kel and Caulder want to dress as Julia’s cancerous lungs for Halloween. Julia takes this in stride, and they all go to retrieve supplies. Will cancels the trip to see his and Caulder’s grandparents. He tells Lake that he will be finishing his internship in Detroit. As they retrieve a measuring tape from Will’s house, Lake asks if this change means they can be together. They kiss, but then Will says they cannot be together. Lake is annoyed but collects herself before returning home.

Will and Caulder go away for the weekend. On Monday morning, Lake retrieves Will before he drives to his new school in Detroit to see the boys in their lung costumes. The adults agree that they look revolting, and the boys are thrilled.

Will calls Lake at school, as there is an issue at the elementary school. Worried, Lake races there with Eddie. The principal of the elementary school explains that the boys’ costumes are offensive. Lake explains that the costumes were painstakingly made by her mother, who is dying of terminal lung cancer. The principal is cowed, and the boys win the school’s costume contest.

Will accepts a junior-high position upon the completion of his student teacher internship. Eddie helps out both families by watching the boys when Will is working and when Lake is taking Julia to treatments. Julia and Lake study the family’s finances, ensuring that enough is saved for raising Kel and funding both Lake and Kel’s college tuitions.

Lake and Julia discuss Will’s college graduation ceremony, which they’ve both been invited to. Lake is still feeling heartbroken that Will decided they can’t be together. Julia recognizes this and tells Lake that she and Will aren’t prioritizing their own happiness. She thinks they should be together and explains that Will’s distance stems from wanting her and Lake to have plenty of time together. She then encourages Lake to tell Will how she feels. Lake leaves to do so, with her purple hair clip in place.

Lake enters Club N9NE and goes up to the stage, announcing that she has an emergency poem. She admits her love for Will (her “teacher”) at the end of the poem. When she finishes, feeling a rush of adrenaline, she looks around and doesn’t see Will. As a dejected Lake turns to leave, Will speaks through a microphone—telling her that she shouldn’t leave before her score is announced. He is a judge for this poetry slam, sitting at the judging table. He then recites a poem about his love for Lake, whom he now wants to put first. They kiss.

Lake, Kel, Will, and Caulder celebrate Christmas together. It is their second Christmas together and their first without Julia, who died in September of that year, a year after the Cohens moved to Michigan. Kel and Caulder happily open presents, and Lake and Will clean up. Will kisses Lake and produces envelopes for Lake and Kel, left by Julia. In the letters, Julia gives advice to her children: She advises Lake to balance her head and her heart when making decisions, to make basagna on a day when there’s no bad news, to push boundaries, and to never live with regret.