A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.

Laura: [On the phone with Brendan] Who is this?
Brendan Frye: I won't waste your time: you don't know me.
Laura: I know everyone, and I have all the time in the world.
Brendan Frye: Ah, the folly of youth.
Brendan Frye: I've got knives in my eyes, I'm going home sick.
Brendan Frye: Throw one at me if you want, hash head. I've got all five senses and I slept last night, that puts me six up on the lot of you.
Brendan Frye: Maybe I'll just sit here and bleed at you.
Brendan Frye: Emily said four words I didn't know. Tell me if they catch. Brick?
The Brain: No.
Brendan Frye: Or Bad Brick?
The Brain: Nope.
Brendan Frye: Tug?
The Brain: Tug? Tug might be a drink, like milk and vodka, or something.
Brendan Frye: Poor Frisco?
The Brain: Frisco? Frisco Farr was a sophomore last year, real trash. Maybe had a class a week, I didn't know him then, haven't seen him around.
Brendan Frye: Pin?
The Brain: Pin. The Pin?
Brendan Frye: The Pin, yeah?
The Brain: The Pin is kinda a local spook story, you know, the King Pin.
Brendan Frye: Yeah, I've heard it.
The Brain: Same thing, he's supposed to be old, like 26. Lives in town.
Brendan Frye: Dope runner, right?
The Brain: Big time. See the Pin pipes it from the lowest scraper for Brad Bramish to sell, maybe. Ask any dope rat where their junk sprang and they'll say they scraped it from that, who scored it from this, who bought it off so, and after four or five connections the list always ends with The Pin. But I bet you, if you got every rat in town together and said "Show your hands" if any of them've actually seen The Pin, you'd get a crowd of full pockets.
Brendan Frye: You think The Pin's just a tale to take whatever heat?
The Brain: Hmm... So what's first?
Brendan Frye: Show of hands.
The Pin: You got Tug to bring you in here, which he never does. And you got me listening. So, I'm very curious what you have to say, and it better be really, really good.
Brendan Frye: I was just going to come up with some bit of information, or set up some phony deal. And I think she'd let me walk. Then I was going to go to the vice principal and spill the in the street address of the biggest dope port in the burg.
Tugger: He knows zippo.
Brendan Frye: 1250, Vista Blanca, the ink blotter, on the desk in the den, in the basement, of the house with the tacky mailbox.
Brendan Frye: Why are you telling me all this? What's your play?
Laura Dannon: You think nobody sees you. Eating lunch behind the portables. Loving some girl like she's all there is, anywhere, to you. I've always seen you. Or maybe I liked Emily. Maybe I see what you're trying to do for her, trying to help her, and I don't know anybody who would do that for me.
Brendan Frye: Now you are dangerous.
Brendan Frye: Still picking your teeth with freshmen?
Kara: Well, you were a freshman once.
Brendan Frye: Way-once, sister.
Laura Dannon: Do you trust me now?
Brendan Frye: Less than when I didn't trust you before.
Assistant VP Gary Trueman: You've helped this office out before.
Brendan Frye: No, I gave you Jerr to see him eaten, not to see you fed.
Assistant VP Gary Trueman: Fine. And very well put.
Brendan Frye: Accelerated English, Mrs. Kasprzyk.
Assistant VP Gary Trueman: Tough teacher?
Brendan Frye: Tough but fair.
Brad Bramish: Hey! What are you doing here?
Brendan Frye: Just listening.
[long pause while Brad stares at him]
Brendan Frye: All right, you got me. I'm a scout for the Gophers. Been watching your game for a month, but that story right there just clenched it. You got heart kid. How soon can you be in Minneapolis?
Brad Bramish: Yeah?
Brendan Frye: Cold winters, but they got a great transit system.
Brad Bramish: Yeah?
Brendan Frye: Yeah.
Brad Bramish: Oh, yeah?
Brendan Frye: There's a thesaurus in the library. Yeah is under "Y". Go ahead, I'll wait.
Kara: You better be sure you wanna know what you wanna know.
Brendan Frye: I don't want you to come kicking in my homeroom door because of something I didn't do.
Brendan Frye: [in flashback] You're the only thing I love! You're the only thing I love.
Laura Dannon: You're quite a pill.
Brendan Frye: Uh-huh.
Laura Dannon: Where are you going?
Brendan Frye: Home.
Laura Dannon: Why did you take a powder the other night?
Brendan Frye: Same reason I'm taking one now.
Laura Dannon: Hold it. I wanna help you.
Brendan Frye: Go away. Look, I can't trust you. You ought to be smart enough to know that. I didn't shake the party up to get your attention, and I'm not heeling you to hook you. Your connections could help me, but the bad baggage they bring would make it zero sum game or even hurt me. I'm better off coming at it clean.
Laura Dannon: I wouldn't have to lead you in by the ha...
Brendan Frye: I can't trust you! Brad was a sap. You weren't. You were with him, and so you were playing him. So you're a player. With you behind me I'd have to tie one eye up watching both your hands, and I can't spare it.
Brendan Frye: You got a cigarette?
Tugger: I don't smoke.
Brendan Frye: I've seen you smoke.
Tugger: I don't smoke cigarettes.
Dode: Shut up!
Dode: Shut up! You're always talking! Always sensing out smarts!
Dode: You're gonna shut up!
Dode: You're not gonna talk!
Dode: Shut! Up!
The Pin: [negotiating with Brendan] What are you services, exactly - so I can be specific on the invoice.
Brendan Frye: So now we've shaken the tree. Let's wait and see what falls on our heads.
Brad Bramish: What are you doing here?
Brendan Frye: Leaving.
The Brain: She nearly shook me upside down. Can't say I didn't enjoy it, but why'd she come to me?
Emily: [over the phone] I screwed up real bad, you know?
Brendan Frye: Screwed up how?
Emily: Look, I did what she said with the brick. I didn't know it was bad, but The Pin's on it now for poor Frisco, and they're playing it all on me.
Brendan Frye: Slow down, now. What?
Emily: You gotta help me Brendan, please. I think Tug...
Emily: Oh no!
[she hangs up, then car speeds past Brendan]
Kara: [smoking] Hello Brendan. Are you here for the show?
Brendan Frye: No.
Kara: Well then could you go then, honey, 'cause I've got this headache.
Brendan Frye: Try smoking like a chimney, I've heard that helps.
The Brain: So what's the word with Em?
Brendan Frye: She's gone.
The Brain: Can't raise her?
Brendan Frye: No, I can't.
Kara: Now, last time I checked, you were giving ultimatums.
Brendan Frye: It worked. You went to Laura, didn't you? Told her my tale.
Kara: Part of the plan?
Brendan Frye: Turned out to be.
Kara: I feel so cheap and used.
Brendan Frye: God, I must seem a real cad. Sometimes I just hate myself.
Brendan Frye: No more of these informal chats! If you have a disciplinary issue with me, write me up or suspend me and I'll see you at the parent conference.
The Pin: I'll call you if whatever.
Brendan Frye: Hire another hash head to blade me?
Dode: Don't need no blade, Shamus. I just gotta squawk.
Brendan Frye: What do you want?
Dode: Just to see you sweat.
The Pin: No dice, soldier.
Brendan Frye: I want to keep you safe.
Brendan Frye: Who's she been eating with?
The Brain: I don't know. That's, um, that's hard to keep track of.
Brendan Frye: Is it?
The Brain: It can be - it can be hard to keep track of those things because lunch - lunch is a lot of things, lunch is difficult.
Brad Bramish: I mean, am I crazy? Huh? I mean, this is all I am trying to say here. Okay. If you put me in the game, Brad Bramish, is going to do what needs to be done! Okay? But they don't put me in, what needs doin' ain't gonna get done! Huh? And then, don't come crying to me! "Boo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" If you don't let me play!
The Pin: You read Tolkien?
Brendan Frye: What?
The Pin: You know, the Hobbit books?
Brendan Frye: Yeah.
The Pin: His descriptions of things are really good. He makes you wanna be there.
The Brain: [Last lines] What did she whisper to you?
Brendan Frye: She called me a dirty word.
The Brain: All right, you don't have to tell me.
Tugger: She just sprung it on me, just...
[pauses, flips lighter open and closed]
Tugger: It's a hell of a thing to spring on a guy. I don't remember much, Laura talked me down after, said whatever... she knew her, said it wasn't true, but I still think sometimes... think about it being true... about it being mine. Maybe I did it 'cause I thought it was true. It's a hell of a thing.
Brendan Frye: No, bulls would gum it. They'd flash their dusty standards at the wide-eyes and probably find some yegg to pin, probably even the right one. But they'd trample the real tracks and scare the real players back into their holes, and if we're doing this I want the whole story. No cops, not for a bit.
Brendan Frye: You gotta come back to me, Em.
Emily: No!
Brendan Frye: You're in a spot, but I can get you out of it if you just come back to me.
Emily: No you're not hearing me! I don't want to be put away and protected.
Brendan Frye: Whatever befalls you I'll deal with. Just tell me about the trouble with the brick, the pin.
The Pin: [to Brendan] You're gonna make me curious being so curious.
Brendan Frye: Uh-huh. And he wants cash on the nail. He's a pot-skulled reef worm with more hop in his head than blood. Why pay for dirt you can't believe?
Dode: Heel it now, dig?
Laura Dannon: Listen, you're scratching at the wrong door. I didn't know Em well enough to know what she was in. I just got wind of the downfall.
Brendan Frye: If you haven't got a finger in Em's troubles, why did her name get me into your rather exclusive party?
Laura Dannon: Keep up with me now. I don't know, but it sounded like you did. And a body's got a right to be curious. Now I'm not so sure.
Brendan Frye: Oh, put that body to bed. I don't know a damn thing about whatever troubles and that works for me. Just in fun.
Laura Dannon: Coffee and Pie.
Brendan Frye: Coffee and Pie, Oh My?
Laura Dannon: You didn't hear it from me.
Brendan Frye: Your muscle seemed plenty cool putting his fist in my head. I want him out.
The Pin: Looky, soldier...
Brendan Frye: The ape blows or I clam.
Brendan Frye: Which wall's the door in?
Brendan Frye: You did good Brain. Go sleep.
Brendan Frye: I hope you've been on my side all along, not just trying to get me under your thumb.
The Brain: When the "Upper-Crust" does shady deeds, they do them all over town, and the pitch is, they got these little symbols so they can tell each without word getting around.
Emily: Brendan, I know you're mad at these people because you think I went away from you and went to them but, you need to start seeing it as my decision. Stop getting angry because where I want to be at, is different from where you want to be at.
Brendan Frye: Who fed you that line, Em?
Emily: Stop picking on Dode. He's a good guy.
Brendan Frye: The pie house rat?
Emily: He's a good friend.
Brendan Frye: So, what am I?
Emily: Yeah, I mean what are you? Just sitting back here, hating everyone? Who are you to judge anyone? God, I really loved you a lot. I couldn't stand it. I had to get with people. I couldn't have a life with you anymore.
[first lines]
[Brendan answers the pay phone]
Emily: Brendan.
Brendan Frye: Emily.
Emily: Yeah-h... How's things?
Brendan Frye: Status quo.
Kara: Come to see the show?
Brendan Frye: No.