Episode #418 "The Cheat Is On"

Claudia's grades arrive, and she's shocked to have received a F in her English course, Twentieth Century Fiction. Lily's A plus paper on "Absalom, Absalom!" is posted on the Finnertys' fridge. She's pretty cocky about her high grade. Brad thinks it's a little strange that Lily and her mom were both reading this novel for English class. Jimmy starts to ask Eddie for some advice about Courtney, a girl he's seeing, but when Claudia comes in he bolts upstairs. Claudia goes to see her English professor who informs her that her paper was written ten years ago by a grad student at Berkeley. She confesses to Sean that she was so exhausted after her double shift at the restaurant that she copied Lily's paper. Now they have to deal with the fact that Lily copied her paper too. Eddie finds Jimmy in his bedroom sitting next to a large stuffed Teddy bear wearing a bra. How do you get one of these off without looking like an idiot, Jimmy asks. Eddie says that when it's meant to come off, it will. it's not about the bra, says Eddie, but Jimmy still wants to know. Sean and Claudia can't figure out what to do about Lily. To confront her would ruin Claudia's credibility. Courtney calls and invites Jimmy to a movie. Jimmy asks Eddie if he thinks he still has a shot at the bra. Eddie says Jimmy should pay attention to what the girl wants, and everything will fall into place. Sean tells Claudia that he went to see Sister Helen about Lily. Sister Helen says they have a zero tolerance policy about plagiarism. Lily is to bring her English paper in tomorrow, and Sister Helen will determine if it was plagiarized. Later, Brad asks Lily why she doesn't want to show her paper to Sister Helen. Lily admits that she bought the paper on the internet. Brad is sick. Didn't the Honor Code she signed mean anything to her? Lily confesses to her parents that she bought the paper and says she'll tell Sister Helen tomorrow. If she turns in the paper, she'll be expelled, Sean tells her. She has to write a new paper tonight. At the movies, Jimmy yanks Courtney's bra out through her sleeve causing her to scream, slap him and call him a freak. In her bedroom, Lily's typing away when Claudia comes in. Lily knows what she did was wrong. Claudia confesses that she cheated once but will never do it again.