There was a time when the world was enormous...
Spanning the vast, almost infinite boundaries of...
Your neighborhood.
The place where you grew up.
Where you didn't think twice about playing on someone else's lawn.
And the street was your territory...
That occasionally got invaded by a passing car.
It was where you didn't get called home until after it was dark.
And all the people, and all the houses that surrounded you were as familiar as the things in your own room.
And you knew they would never change.
I oughta sell this dump.
Which is not to say that they couldn't transfer ownership.
What, honey?
There's dry-rot.
In the basement. The whole foundation could be going.
After seventeen years of cleaning out gutters, plugging leaks, and patching roofs...
my father had developed a philosophical view about residential living.
I oughta sell this dump.
Not that we didn't take him seriously.
Have some coffee, Jack.
Nope, the best thing to do when Dad was talking real estate...
Was...change the subject.
Dad? Can I have a raise in my allowance?
That was one way.
Hey, you know how the babes are when it's summer.
"Take me here, give me this, give me that..."
Get a job.
What?
You heard me. You want money? Make it.
Well how come she's not getting a job?
She's got other things to do.
She's busy with her graduation.
Hhhhhh...
Nice play, Shakespeare.
Eat it, dork.
I oughta sell this dump.
Around our house it was an old refrain.
We'd heard it a thousand times before.
And it was nothing to worry about.
Maybe there was sawdust in the cellar.But all in all...
My foundations were sound.
She was...
Cheap, fake, and dependable.
What?!
This.
I'm givin' it to Becky.
Why?
It's a tradition. Everybody's gettin' one.
How much did you pay for that?
Nine bucks.
Whoa! That's a lot of money.
Maybe. But you know what you get for nine bucks?
A ring worth two bucks?
Insurance. Summer's comin'. This'll keep 'em faithful.
Hey! It's a small price to pay, 'specially when you're dating Super Cooper.
That's ridiculous.
Of course it was.
Winnie and I didn't need a ring.
We had something...special.
I was hers...and she was...
Mine.
All mine.
Not to brag or anything.
Hi.
I brought you some ice cream.
Neapolitan?! I hated Neapolitan.
But Neapolitan ice cream in a paper cup from the gentle hands of the woman I adored?
Well...
I love this!
And I did.
The fact is, with summer on the way, things had never been better.
It's worse than I thought.
Are you sure, honey?
The whole beam's turning to sawdust.
Maybe we should call someone in to look at it.
Are you kiddin'?
You know how much those guys charge?
Uh-oh! Dry-rot in the cellar was one thing...
Dry-rot in Dad's wallet was quite another.
I'm tellin' you, Norma, we oughta get rid of this place.
And suddenly, this was sounding serious.
Cooper says the houses around here are goin' for three times what they used to.
Dad?
Seemed like it was time for a second opinion.
Maybe we should...get it fixed!
It's a good house. It's our house.
I like it.
There!
Simple, eloquent, and...effective.
Cooper give you the name of the realtor?
Yeah, I think I have it somewhere.
Good.
Mom?
Your father just wants to see what his options are, honey.
It's nothing to worry about.
Sure! Obviously there was no need to panic.
Now all I needed was someone to convince me of that.
Trouble was, that someone was Winnie.
And I couldn't tell her. It wouldn't be fair.
Why should she be forced to deal with that pain, that agony?
Nope. The best thing to do was keep it to myself.
Winnie, we're moving.
What?!
She, of course, took it pretty hard.
I think we could work it out.
What?
Well...it might not be so bad.
Seemed to me she was failing to consider the ramifications of all this.
Winnie, don't you know that it's impossible to survive a long-distance relationship?
Well -
I mean, Susan Boluty and Jeff broke up just because they were put in different homerooms.
I would feel the same no matter where you lived.
Wouldn't you?
I mean, it's not like it's your fault if your parents make you move, is it?
The thing is, she was obviously trying to be supportive and understanding.
But what I really needed was a heart-felt...
Please don't go, Kevin!
Right words, wrong neighbor.
Man, it just wouldn't be the same without you.
I don't know what we'd do!
Well...
Still, this wasn't so bad.
I mean, if you have to go, it's nice to know you'll be missed.
I'm sure you'd survive.
You're right.
What?
Kev, no matter what, I promise you, after you're gone,
I'll do everything I can to take care of Winnie.
Great.
A waiter?
Well, at least I wasn't the only one who was suffering.
Wayne, your father went through a lot of trouble to find you this job.
I don't get it. I mean, what did I ever do to him?
What's your job - to scare away the customers?
Kevin...
One more word and you die, butthead.
In fact, baiting my brother was about the only way that I could think of...
To turn back the rising fear that -
OK, I just talked to a guy who's comin' over to look at the house tomorrow.
Probably take us for every penny we got.
Dad, are you serious?
You bet I am.
And there you had it. The death sentence.
And worst of all, no one else... Was even batting an eyelash.
Dad, you can't do this!
Huh?
I mean, you haven't even asked us what we think about it!
I gotta ask permission to get the dry-rot fixed?
Then you're not selling the house?
Of course not!
There. I told you!
And suddenly the skies began to clear.
Who is this, anyway, Jack?
Guy I met across the street.
Suddenly my fears had disappeared. The world was great. We were staying!
He's gonna be working on Cooper's house after they move out.
Huh?
Jack...
Uh...Sorry...
The Cooper's thought it was best if Winnie told you.
They're not moving far, honey. Just a few miles.
Oh.
You know what the best part is?
The Coopster's going to a different school next year......across town.
Looks like bye-bye, butthead.
Wayne!
The death of galaxies. The collapse of stars.
The destruction of the universe as we know it.
Somehow I understood just where this guy was coming from.
Here today, gone tomorrow.
My world was ending. The girl next door was moving away.
Poof!
Not that I wasn't handling it like an adult.
I don't believe this.
I just don't believe this! How come you didn't tell me?!
I didn't know!
Not for sure.
Maybe it won't be so bad. We're only moving four miles.
Four miles?!
In 13-year-old terms, approximately the distance from New York to Paris.
Winnie, you're gonna be going to to a different school next year!
Don't you understand what that means?
We gotta do something.
Like what?
Maybe we could...talk to your dad.
Sure! Sit down with the old man...
State our case, lay out options, and -
Who was I kidding?
Kevin? We'll...be alright, won't we?
I wanted to believe that. More than anything.
At least we'll have part of the summer together.
Sure...
Winnie?
We're moving in three weeks.
Three weeks?! This is horrible!
Fortunately, my friends were there to help soften the blow.
Hey, Arnold!
Heard the Coopster's takin' a powder.
Come on, Hobson. Show a little sensitivity here, huh?
Yeah.
Just lay off, will ya?
Yeah. Kevin and Winnie are gonna be just fine.
Thanks.
Besides, just because she's going to a different school...doesn't mean she's not -
She's going to Lincoln?
Yeah. Why?
Nothin'. Except, ever see the guys that go there?
They average six feet tall. They all play football...
Some of them professionally.
And they surf.
They surf?
And that's just the seventh graders.
Get outta here.
You've got one option, Arnold.
Protect your territory. Think about it.
But I didn't have to think about it.
Did I look like the kind of kid who'd let himself be stampeded...
By a dumb, mean-spirited little twit like that? Hah!
I'll take that one.
How much is it?
Forty-eight dollars.
Oh...Got anything for nine-fifty?
Thirteen is a crazy age.
You're too young to vote, and too old not to be in love.
You live in a house someone else owns...
But your dreams are already somewhere else.
You face the future armed with nothing but the money you've earned from mowing lawns,
and a nine-dollar ring with a purple stone.
And you hope against hope...that'll be enough.
By the last day of school I'd pretty much made up my mind things were gonna be OK.
I'm gonna miss this place.
Yeah, well, it's not all that great, you know.
I mean, I hear they got really great lockers over at Lincoln.
Uh-huh. And seventh graders the size of trees.
I hate this.
Ok, so she was feeling down.
Fortunately, I was in the possession...of a cure.
I got this for you.
It's not much, but...
I mean, they had this great one for 48 bucks...
But, uh...anyway...it's stainless...
And rustproof, and...
I'd like you to wear it.
It was kind of a big moment.
Here we were - two ships, tossed in the storm.
But suddenly through the clouds a light was breaking.
The light of hope.
The light of love.
I can't take it.
And then the lights went out.
Beg your pardon?
I can't wear it.
Some thoughts that sprang to mind.
Maybe she was allergic to semi-quasi-precious metals. Or...
Well...you know, it doesn't have to be purple.
I mean, they come in all sorts of colors, uh...blue, uh, pink, ye -
It's not the color.
Oh. Well, then...
Kevin, we have to be sensible.
What are you talking about?
Kevin, I've done a lot of thinking.
About...us. About what you said.
About long distance relationships.
Well yeah, but...that was just mostly...hypothetical.
We...
And suddenly it was clear.
She wasn't just cleaning out her locker.
She was cleaning out her life.
Winnie, are you breaking up with me?
But she didn't have to answer. Her silence said it all.
It had the sound of moving on.
The sound of "goodbye".
I understand.
I have to go.
I know.
And then she was gone.
June in the suburbs. Nothin' like it.
Lawn mowers mowing, kids being kids...
Moving vans moving...
I was starting to develop a complex about summer vacations.
You gotta be kiddin' me.
Kidding you? This is what I'm wearing.
That?!
Well, give me a break! I'm wearing a dress.
It's a statement.
I'm gonna check the cellar.
Well, at least everything was normal around my house.
As for the rest of the neighborhood...
It was definitely going downhill.
Don't worry, scrote.
I'm sure she'll send you a postcard. Hnhhhhh.
I'm goin' for a walk.
Winnie? Win-nie!
Hi.
She looked...small. And lost.
Like a little girl, sitting in a moving van.
Which...I guess she was.
Can I come in?
I guess so.
Have a seat.
Oh...I can't stay. I've got Karen's graduation.
I'd been planning what to say for about two weeks.
About life. About love.
So what did you get in English?
Just asking.
Win-nie!
They're packing up my stuff.
My brother's stuff, too.
They're putting his in storage.
I think this is gonna be good for my mom and dad.
Yeah. I think so, too.
Winnie? Where are you?
So, I'll probably see you around.
But somehow, I knew I wouldn't.
And not just because of a few miles or a new school.
It was because...things could never be the same.
These lawns, these streets, this place...
Winnie Cooper was leaving. Leaving her home. Leaving her past.
Leaving...
You.
Karen Arnold.
I wasn't there when Winnie's moving van pulled away. I didn't want to be.
I was with my family.
Which was changing, too.
Things were gonna be different now.
My sister would be off to college, my brother was...
My brother...
My mom and dad would stay behind to fight the battle of dry-rot and crab grass,
and growing older together.
As for me? Well, I had my own distances to cover.
Four miles - New York to Paris.
The thing is, until Winnie left, everything in the world was outside my front door.
But now, maybe the world would have to get a little bigger.
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