It took Annie a half hour to drive to her old childhood home. Jeff followed close behind until she parked in front of a pristine, two story suburban house straight from one of Annie's favorite rom-coms. This was a clear sign that they were at the right place.
Once Jeff found a place to park, he came out and saw Annie. She was holding her overnight sleeping bag and standing in front of the house's picket fence. Of course it had a picket fence.
"I haven't seen my mom in a while," Annie filled in. "But I haven't been here since…."
"The day of your breakdown," Jeff took a shot in the dark.
"She just sent all my things to rehab afterwards. She wouldn't even let me come here to get them," Annie remembered. "Now here I am after all."
Annie let herself feel sad for a second, then built herself back up. If she stayed quiet, Jeff would probably offer to take her away, or say they didn't have to do this. But both options were out of the question.
Before herself or Jeff could talk her out of it, Annie opened the fence and marched to the front door. She waited for Jeff to catch up, then stared at the door and prepared to make a fateful knock.
Instead, her eyes briefly looked over and saw the house's zip code – and the name Dolores Edison below.
Seeing her mother's name for the first time in years jolted Annie. Yet she knew this would be nothing compared to seeing her in person. Those phone calls they had really weren't enough to prepare her. Nothing was, really.
Annie took a few deep breaths while Jeff backed up to give her room to flee. But even then, she knew running wasn't a choice. She had to do this so she could stop running from her mother's memory, her impact and the hole she left behind. Whatever the result was, it had to be done.
If she couldn't do it now, she'd never have the guts again. Then she'd be every awful thing her mother thought she was, even now. Then she might never know better – and neither would Annie.
"I can do this," Annie muttered just loud enough. Fueled by that mantra, she stood up straight and knocked on the poor in a poised, proper fashion. After that, Annie briefly heard Jeff say "Huh," before the sounds of silence consumed her.
They were shortly drowned out by the sound of the door opening. Then Annie was greeted with the sight of a properly dressed, short haired brunette in her late 40's. She hadn't seen this sight for a long time, but she had never forgotten it, no matter how hard she tried.
As this vision from the past filled her eyes, Annie literally felt like she was four years younger. Mainly by how she said, "Hello, mother," just like she used to.
And like she used to, Dolores Edison answered back with, "Hello, Anne."
Hearing her name said like that again shook Annie out of her trance. She briefly wondered if she should correct her, to establish she wasn't 'Anne' anymore. But perhaps it'd be best to ease into her new self, so her mother could get used to it.
Then again, she wasn't carrying this out by herself now. Her mother soon noticed and asked, "Is this one of your school friends?" she asked with subtle but all too obvious condescension.
Annie worried how Jeff would respond, yet he seemed fine as he put on the Winger charm. "Yes, as a matter of fact. Jeffrey Winger at your service, ma'mm. But your daughter tends to call me Jeff."
Okay, so he was being charming while mocking her at the same time. He could have used a better opening tactic. Yet he seemed to realize that himself, given the subtle but all too obvious look of guilt.
Whether Annie's mother saw it or not, she responded, "Jeffrey will do just fine," before stepping back to let the two in.
Annie went inside first, once again feeling like she went back in time – without even needing a magic time booth. Maybe it wasn't safe to think like that in here just yet. Nevertheless, she had the memories of home to distract her.
The walls and floor still looked spic and span. The couch and chairs were exactly where she remembered them. There were no holiday decorations of any kind, since Hanukah was over and Christmas was a dirty word in here. It still appeared to be the home of a large, welcoming family, despite how only one historically unwelcoming woman lived here.
This helped Annie notice the one big difference since she last came here. There wasn't a photo or any other trace of her existence to be found.
"So explain to me again why you're here. You weren't completely clear over the phone," Ms. Edison said, thankfully snapping Annie out of it.
"I just thought it was time to catch up," Annie regurgitated her pitch. "School will be over for me soon. I figured you should know what I've been up to before then."
"You could have told me all that over the phone. You didn't have to come over to do it," Ms. Edison pointed out, which Annie should have seen coming.
"That's right, mother, I didn't have to," Annie spoke properly. "But I wanted to. It made sense to get some closure on my old life before I started my new one."
"Anne, you've had your new life for over four years. Are you telling me you just started it now?" Ms. Edison nitpicked. Some things really never changed.
"No, not like that. Well, some parts of it, maybe. But the rest is new," Annie defended.
"Then that means you're not expelled anymore, correct?" Ms. Edison threw Annie off.
"You knew about that?" Annie gasped.
"Of course I did. The Greendale 7 were in the middle of every front page section that day. I can't tell you how many of my colleagues kept showing me anyway," Ms. Edison scoffed. "It made me glad I wasn't any closer to the whole thing."
Before Annie could gasp at her not-so-subtle meaning, Jeff finally chimed in with, "Then I'm sure you read about how we got back into school. And how we couldn't have done it without Annie."
"What? Jeff, that's not really true. All you needed me to do was look like a boy," Annie corrected.
"Is that the version she needed to hear?" Jeff asked quietly.
"Well, the last thing that'll help is lying to her," Annie whispered back, albeit not quietly enough.
"So it seems I taught you some things after all. Shame that I still appear to be the best teacher you've ever had," Ms. Edison stated.
"All right, there's no arguing with her on that one," Jeff admitted, drawing the first chuckle of the day from Ms. Edison. Annie tried not to let that shake her too much.
"Yes, I hear most of Anne's activities through scandalous reports about her 'school.' Or from gossip that gets back to me from his side of the family," Ms. Edison barely acknowledged her ex-husband. "But from what I heard, she didn't go to his Thanksgiving dinner this year. And her 'school' must have kept its natural disasters quiet this semester. So you can forgive me for not being up to date."
"The important thing is I'm back at school, I'm still getting straight A's, and I know what I want to do with my life. It's just where we always dreamed I'd be at by now," Annie hoped her mother would understand.
"Still, we interpreted and carried out those dreams pretty differently," Ms. Edison noted. "But dreams usually look better than reality. And things tend to look brighter in the past than the present."
Annie sighed to herself, disappointed but not too surprised at this rough start. Ms. Edison didn't notice as she continued, "Speaking of which, I'm sure Jeffrey would like a tour of your old home before we sit down. He's your guest, so I'm sure you want to show him every courtesy. Correct?"
"Yes, of course, mother," Annie conceded. "Jeff, do you want to see where I grew up?"
"I'm getting a clear picture of it already. But go ahead and fill in the rest," Jeff granted, with more sass than Annie was comfortable with.
She let him know it when her mother left the room by whispering," What the hell, Jeff?"
"Me what the hell?" he whispered back. "You're the host, Anne. Why don't you answer first?"
"Jeff, I know, okay? But I knew she wouldn't warm up right away," Annie answered. "Just let her get her little jabs out of the way, then I can impress her for real."
"Really? That's why we're here?" Jeff questioned. Before Annie could nitpick his meaning, her mother returned with drinks. She only had Annie's old favorite juice for her, since she didn't know if Annie liked alcohol now. That was her way of putting it.
Once Annie brushed it off, they took their drinks and walked through the house together. The tour consisted of Ms. Edison recapping Anne's old childhood antics to Jeff. But they were less like antics and more like study and school milestones, as Annie well remembered.
Yet Annie made herself remember the good parts of those memories too. In truth, they weren't bad ones. She learned how to become a model student and a genius in this house – and back then, these were the only things she could be proud of.
As such, she really clung to her success and pride from those magical moments. Particularly when her home was a real safe haven from the non-class parts of school. Or at least when she thought it was a safe haven.
But the happiness Annie felt back then was true. She only wished later that there were also moments of actual play time, family bonding, acts of unconditional love and parties with friends. However, remembering that now wouldn't help her bond with her mother again.
As such, Annie focused on relieving the good parts and sharing them with Jeff, despite his clear lack of enthusiasm. It got harder when they reached Annie's old room, which was now a plain guest bedroom with no trace of her anywhere.
Somehow, Annie repressed the memories of her favorite books and educational toys being sent to her in rehab. And of how her mother didn't bother to send the non educational stuff.
She just kept trudging through memory lane and enduring the odd snide comment from her mother. Yet they were coming less frequently now, so perhaps she was making progress.
When they went back downstairs and sat in the living room, Ms. Edison went off to refill their drinks. Once she left, Annie waited for Jeff to speak up. He had been nodding and pretending to pay attention, like he would if he was in class, but she figured he'd speak up when they were alone. Yet he seemed to be holding back on purpose, although he probably had a lot to say.
Perhaps Jeff didn't want to overstep his bounds, like Britta probably did with him at his dad's house. Then again, doing that appeared to work for them before too long.
Annie wondered why Britta didn't brag about her one success with more boom boxes. At least Troy and Abed's beats, and Annie and Shirley's dancing, would have drowned out the violation of doctor/patient confidentiality. Annie smiled at that, especially when she remembered their other dancing moments, and those rare times Troy and Abed let her rap.
Of course, they did much more for her by letting her into their home. The first real home she ever had, other than this place. Even while she lived in Dildopolis, she never felt at home there like she did in the study room.
That room and casa del Trobed never drowned her out with sex toy bargain announcements, loud fighting downstairs, or demands that she study more before dinner. They let her do whatever she wanted and be whatever she wanted to be. With no questions asked and no preconditions laid out.
Those places and the people in them made Annie feel free.
This made it extra jarring when her mother returned, and it didn't get easier from there.
When Ms. Edison told another story about Anne's hours of daily studying, Annie remembered her brief longing when she saw kids playing together outside. And she remembered the most fun she ever had in the study room – if she was honest with herself – was when no studying got done.
When Ms. Edison recalled Anne's spelling bee victories at age 11, Annie now remembered how she studied while hiding under her blankets, if only to hide from her parents' yelling. And she remembered the generic congratulations they gave afterwards, compared to the hugs and laughter she shared after her victories at Greendale.
Annie's mother was starting to light up as she talked about Anne. But she was talking about someone from the past. She found it easy to like and remember Anne because she didn't really care for Annie yet. In contrast, remembering Anne wasn't so much fun for Annie, because she didn't really care for her anymore.
Annie wasn't her any longer, and she didn't want to be. Yet she sure found it easy to wear her skin again until now. All to please her, just like always.
They talked about a long lost stranger long enough that Annie started to feel like her. But now Annie wanted to talk about Annie.
She thought that was too risky to do with her mother until she got comfortable. She was comfortable for the wrong reasons now, yet Annie didn't feel like nitpicking for once. She wanted to feel like herself again.
"I have to admit, I learned how to be a quick learner in here," Annie started. "It's probably why I fit right in at forensics class."
"Forensics? Why bring up one of your 'school''s silly side classes?" Ms. Edison wondered.
"Because it isn't a side class. It's my new major," Annie said as evenly as she could.
"It's a little late to break the ice with humor, isn't it?" Ms. Edison assumed.
"You know I've never been funny, mother. Not on purpose. And I'm not starting now," Annie informed. "I'm not going into health care after graduation anymore. In fact, I'll probably have to stay at Greendale longer. Because I'm a forensics major now."
"But you're supposed to graduate in May. After four years of college. And then you go right into health care administration. That was the plan," Ms. Edison remembered. "Even when you left, you stuck with that plan. It was the only thing I liked hearing about you."
"In case it matters, she's actually good at something other than health care," Jeff finally spoke up. "You know, I wanted her to expose someone as a fraud, and she wound up exposing a human trafficker instead. Go figure."
"Technically, you didn't say you wanted me to expose Chang," Annie said, feeling light for the first time since they got here. Probably because Jeff looked much more alive talking about Annie than he did while hearing about Anne.
"Technically, since he exposed himself in the end, I'm not accountable for that anymore," Jeff retorted. "But you came in handy when that happened too."
"Not just because of forensics," Annie qualified.
"Well, none of it was because of health care. It would have needed that if Chang and his bosses weren't stopped. But her and six other heroes made that unnecessary," Jeff said right to Ms. Edison's face.
"Oh. You really do think highly of yourself," Annie joked, clinging to Jeff's amused glare and his pride in her.
"You're serious," Ms. Edison spoke up. "You got hooked on pills, rehab, other homes and silly 'schools' to protect your future in health care. And you still turned your back on it. On what we talked about and planned for years."
"Technically, I never did much of the talking. Or planning," Annie said, sounding weaker than she'd have preferred. But when her mother laid out guilt trips like this, it was still hard to sound defiant. At least she wasn't caving in within seconds, so that was progress.
"I see," was all Ms. Edison had to respond with. Clearly this couldn't be good.
After a few more seconds of silence, she got up and stated, "I should start getting dinner ready. Jeffrey, you're staying too, right?"
"I don't see how I can refuse," Jeff answered before Annie decided if she still needed him. But when her mother left without a word and took out another wine bottle, the decision was made for her.
So much for easing her way into revealing the new Annie – or for her mother liking it either way. Now it was time for the real struggle.