Part 1

The Spoon Diner. Sunday 4pm.

Andi Mack and her friends, Buffy and Cyrus are seated at The Spoon Diner. Andi is going on about the bracelet she made Jonah Beck but now Jonah's girlfriend, Amber is wearing it. Cyrus has been struggling to open a can of soda for the last three minutes. And Buffy is doing what she does best: trying to keep them calm and rational.

"I don't think it means anything," says Buffy.

"Exactly," adds Cyrus as he unsuccessfully attempts to open a can of soda.

"And that's exactly what I'm afraid of," says Andi. "It means nothing. Maybe I mean nothing to Jonah Beck. He probably sees me as just a friend. That's all I am to him. A frisbee buddy. Why can't he just see me as a girl? Why?"

"I don't know, maybe because he has a girlfriend?" Buffy interrupts in sarcasm.

"I know. It's just that I thought that Jonah Beck really liked me. I thought we had something."

"Yes. Yes, you do," says Buffy. This gives Andi a sense of hope. But then Buffy continues. "Frisbee. You have frisbee together."

"I mean what does Jonah see in Amber?" Andi starts ranting. "They have nothing in common. She's in high school!"

"I don't get it - " says Cyrus still trying to open the soda can.

"What?" both Buffy and Andi ask.

"I don't get why girls are so obsessed with boys like Jonah Beck. I mean, he's like totally cool and all... but like... what does he have that I don't?"

"Um... he can open a soda can?" Andi asks as she grabs the can from Cyrus to open it for him.

"And he is sporty?" Buffy adds. "And has a hot high school girlfriend? She's really..." Buffy loses her train of thoughts but then gets back on track. "And Cyrus, why do you even care? Do you have a crush on Andi or something?" Buffy jokes.

"Ew! Gross!" both Andi and Cyrus reply in disgust.

Andi pops up the soda can causing it to explode all over her and Cyrus. Buffy tries not to laugh but it's just too tempting. She grabs napkins from the next table and gives them to Andi and Cyrus to dry themselves up. The napkins aren't as helpful. So the gang agrees to walk home and clean up. They leave the diner.

On their way home, Andi continues to complain about how disappointed she is that Amber has her bracelet. Buffy listens to her and advises her against snatching other girls' boyfriends.

"Forget about Jonah Beck," says Buffy. "If you love him, set him free. And maybe he will fly back to you."

"Jonah Beck can fly?" asks Cyrus in curiosity.

"It's an expression," replies Andi.

"I knew that. But Jonah Beck is so cool, you never know." replies Cyrus as he shamefully steps back a little.

"I'm actually worried about Jonah Beck," continues Buffy. "I know girls like Amber. They can't keep a boyfriend for long. Once she finds a hot high school boy, she's going to dump Jonah so hard."

Andi puts on an evil smile as she says, "And then when he's broken-hearted, he'll need a shoulder to cry on." She notices that Buffy is giving her a disappointment look. "What? OK fine, I guess Jonah getting hurt by Amber isn't a good thing."

"I just wish there was a way we could help," says Buffy.

"Maybe there is," says Cyrus. "What if we got Jonah to break up with Amber before she breaks up with him?"

"Yes!" Andi gives Cyrus a hi-five! "And if Jonah breaks up with her first, then he won't have to be broken-hearted."

"Classic!" adds Cyrus.

"That's what a bad idea sounds like," Buffy criticizes. "Such schemes never work. They've always backfire!"

"Says who?" asks Cyrus.

"Um, like every TV show ever?" Buffy replies pushing Cyrus behind.

"Buffy, I think you've been watching too much TV," says Andi as she pats Buffy on the back. "This is real life. It's going to work. It has to work."

"Just don't say I didn't warn you," says Buffy submissively. "So, what have you got? What's the plan?"

"Maybe we could get Amber to go out with another guy," suggests Cyrus.

"I don't know. I think most boys are scared of Amber," says Andi.

"I'm not scared of her," mumbles Cyrus trying to hide his face.

"Yeah right," jokes Buffy. "The other day you saw her and you almost peed yourself."

"Hey! That was in confidence!" Cyrus defends himself.

"Does it seem weird to you that Amber - being all pretty and all - somehow can't find a high school boyfriend?" asks Andi.

"I think she just likes being in control," explains Buffy. "And so, dating a middle school boy gives her some power over him."

"Exactly! She wants power. And who would make her feel like she has more power than dating Cyrus?" Andi asks looking at Cyrus.

"No... No! NO!" Cyrus refuses adamantly. "Don't look at me. She's going to kill me. She's a monster! You can't let her."

"A monster! That's it!" Buffy exclaims. "I'm sure she's got a lot of skeletons in her closet. Everybody does."

"What are you talking about?" Andi asks Buffy, then looks at Cyrus. "Do you know what she's talking about?"

Cyrus shakes his head saying, "Yeah... no... not a clue!"

Buffy laughs and says, "I'm saying we should get some dirt on her. Everybody has a secret to hide. And I'm betting Amber has a lot."

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," says Andi. "Spying on someone... invading her privacy?"

"Do you want Jonah Beck to break up with her or not?" asks Buffy.

"I guess you're right," submits Andi. "Sometimes you gotta do the wrong thing for the right reason."

"Like how Bex and your family lied to you about who you really are?" asks Cyrus.

"This is not the time for moral judgement, Cyrus," Andi attempts to avoid the subject. But feels the need to defend her stand. "It's going to take some time to adjust to the fact that my sister is my mother. And my mother is my grandmother. That's all. I'm gonna get there someday. I don't know when. But someday. I think."

"OK, can we get back to the plan?" Buffy interrupts.

"Right!" replies Andi.

"Alright," says Buffy. "Here's the plan: we're all going to need flashlights. We'll wait until dark and then break into a costume store; steal ninja costumes; put them on and break into a hardware store to steal camera equipment..."

"Buffy!" Andi shouts to get Buffy back to reality. "Or... we could just sneak into Amber's house and record her with our phones!"

"Sure," replies Buffy half-heartedly, "if you want it to be simple and boring."

Cyrus checks his phone and says, "So we'll meet meet in Amber's backyard at 7 pm tonight!"

"That's too early, don't you think?" asks Andi.

"Yeah, did I say seven? I meant seven-thirty. It's not like my bedtime is at 8pm or anything. Or take a bubble bath before I sleep or anything. Phew!" Cyrus gets nervous.

"Ok... too much information!" Buffy says and the gang settles to meet at 7:30pm.

Andi Shack. 7:15pm.

Andi is finishing her homework when she receives a text reminder from Buffy about their plan. She picks up the phone to reply but Bex barges into a room and says, "No phone during homework, remember?"

"Sorry Bex - I mean Mom," says Andi nervously. "Actually, I'm done with my homework."

"Being called mom still feels a little weird," Bex says as she gets closer to Andi. She grabs the phone and asks, "So, what's this about?"

"Nothing," replies Andi trying to avoid the conversation.

"Is this about a boy? It is about a boy, isn't it?"

"No... well, kinda," Andi replies then sighs. "Buffy and Cyrus are helping me get some dirt on Amber -"

"So Jonah can break up with her? Classic blackmail!" says Bex showing pride in her daughter.

Andi squints looking at Bex in surprise, "Wait, you are ok with this?"

"Of course I am!" Bex replies before realizing that she is probably not acting like a parent. "I mean, if that's what you want... I'm always here for you."

"Thanks Bex," says Andi standing up to hug Bex. "You're the coolest sister ever... I mean... mom!"

"We're never going to get used to this, are we?" asks Bex.

"Nope!" replies Andi as she grabs her pink jacket ready to go. She puts on her sneakers and a hat in case it's windy outside. Bex follows her outside the room. She advises Andi to sneak out through the backdoor so that Celia doesn't see her. Andi walks slowly and carefully. Unfortunately she steps on one of her sneakers' shoe laces. She trips and falls down the stairs.

"Oh my God, are you ok?" asks Bex as she rushes to help Andi up.

"Yes, I'm fine," replies Andi as she gets up and dusts herself. She then heads towards the backdoor.

"Where do you think you're going?" asks a very familiar voice. It's Celia. Busted! It turns out Andi got her attention when she fell down the staircase. Andi stands there. Motionless.

Bex thinks on her feet and replies to Celia, "Andi is... she's going to do homework with Buffy. Yeah. It's a group project thing."

"Right," says Celia unconvinced. "And where are her books?"

"Uhm..." Andi struggles to explain herself. She looks at Bex. Bex shrugs her shoulders. "They're with... Buffy. Yes, the books are with Buffy. Phew!"

"Do I look like I was born yesterday?" asks Celia motioning Andi to get back.

"Clearly not, grandma!" Andi replies before realizing that she's probably crossed a line.

"That's it! You're grounded!" Celia says showing a face of no compromise.

Bex tries to defend Andi saying, "Mom, don't you think you're being unfair?"

Celia looks at her and says, "Good point! You too! You're grounded!"

"What?" Bex asks.

"What?" asks Andi.

"You can't just ground me," Bex tries to defend herself.

"You were trying to help Andi escape," Celia insists. "So, yes, you're grounded!"

"I don't need to take this," Bex says. "I'm an adult!"

"Are you?" Celia asks. Bex shuts up and walks back in shame.

Celia asks Andi to give her her phone as part of the punishment. Andi clumsily follows Bex. Speechless. Celia goes back to her business. Well done, Celia. She thinks to herself. Well done. Meanwhile, Andi has no way of telling Buffy that she can't make it to Amber's house.

Cyrus's Bedroom. 7:15pm.

Cyrus is watching "Sofia The First" in his bedroom when he gets the text reminder from Buffy. He jumps a little then quickly tunes the TV to some random channel with a show about buying houses. Just in case. He then turns up the TV volume and locks the door from inside.

After putting on some warm clothes, Cyrus walks towards the window. He looks down the window and gets scared. What if he falls? What if he breaks a bone or something? But what if he chickens out and doesn't help his friends out? What kind of a friend would he be? He closes his eyes and jumps carefully through the window. He falls by a bush and slightly scratches his ankle. It's worth it. Totally worth it!

Cyrus reaches for his phone to tell Buffy that he's on his way but unfortunately he forgot it on the desk. But he can't go back into the house now. It's ok. He can just walk there and meet the girls. He sneaks past their driveway and walks about two blocks down.

That's when Cyrus' worst nightmare comes to life. He sees a bunch of big kids chasing another boy. Three of them are boys and one is a girl. He recognizes them. They're from Jefferson Middle School. And he knows them. He knows them so well that the thought of them makes him shiver inside. They are the school bullies who remind him every day how he's such a girl and a weakling. He tries to run back but they've already noticed him.

Before he knows it, the bullies tackle him down. One of the boys forces Cyrus to sniff his armpit. It is not pretty. The second boy tries to twist his arm. The girl spits the gum she was chewing on Cyrus' face. The third boy tickles Cyrus vigorously against his will. Just to hear him scream. Cyrus cries begging them to stop. After a long struggle, the bullies carry the defenseless Cyrus. They throw him into a dirty trash can by the roadside. They threaten that if he tries to get out, they're going to teach him a lesson. Whatever that means.

Down in the smelly trash can Cyrus can't help but feel that he is going to let the girls down. But what can he do? The bullies have spoken. Sorry Buffy. Sorry Andi. You're on your own.