Front Desk

At school, Mrs. Douglas is replaced by a mousy substitute. She has trouble controlling the class, and Jason makes fun of her soft voice. During the lunch break, Mia overhears the instructor confessing on the phone to a friend that she doesn’t have what it takes to teach. Later, Mia confronts Jason and tells him he doesn’t have to be like his father. Jason stops harassing the substitute for the rest of the day. When Mia gets home, she sees Yao and Jason arrive unexpectedly. In a panic, Mia knows that an immigrant couple is staying in one of the motel rooms. Before she can warn her parents, Yao accuses them of harboring immigrants. He’s just about to inspect the room in question when the girl who left her jeans returns with her mother. She immediately notices Mia is wearing them. Mia denies that she stole the girl’s jeans, but the girl’s name is written right on the pants label. Totally humiliated, Mia is forced to return them.

During the altercation over the stolen jeans, Mia’s parents have snuck the immigrant couple out of their room. Jason observed the entire episode but never says a word to his father.