"Another scathing editorial," Clark says. He and Chloe are looking at the website for Chloe's school newspaper. "Is there any other kind?" she giggles. They're sitting together, practically butting heads and it looks like they might kiss. Just then, Lana walks in behind them. Clark looks at her in shame; Chloe looks away in disappointment. Lana asks where Clark went the night before. He says he wasn't feeling well. Getting hit by a bus will do that. Clark lames that he must not be much of a city guy. Chloe snarks that you can take the boy out of the farm, but not the farm out of the boy. Oh, how droll, Ms. Chloe. Chloe walks off and runs into Principal Smooth, who looks like he's aged about fifteen years since we last saw him. Principal Smooth is now Principal Aged. He tells Chloe that he's received complaints from parents about an article she wrote about freak occurrences in Smallville. He tells her that the EPA ruled long ago that the kryptonite rocks in town are harmless. Except for all the killing and the death, of course. He tells Chloe that this is not her personal tabloid. This is just like when I got suspended from my school paper for doing an underground newspaper. Except for the kryptonite part. Principal Withered tells Chloe he's requiring her to do her job, except now she can't because she's fired. He says he's going to suspend her until he can find a new editor. ["He canned her in front of Clark and Lana? Shit, I know it's just a school paper, but that's not very professional." -- Wing Chun] After he leaves, Chloe, stunned, asks, "Okay, what just happened?" The ever-helpful Pete tells her she just got shit-canned. Clark says he's sure there's something they can do. Lana does him one better by offering to talk to The Principal Formerly Known as Smooth.

At The Beanery (worst named coffeehouse ever), somebody's playing pinball, and judging from all the tilting, I bet it's MeanCop. Lex walks by carrying a cup of hot Joe (the drink, not the guy) and doesn't even notice him as he passes. MeanCop stops Lex and asks whether people in Smallville call him "Mr. Luthor." Lex, looking peeved, asks if the cop isn't out of his jurisdiction. MeanCop says you don't need jurisdiction to look up an old friend. Lex tries to walk off, telling MeanCop to schedule an appointment. MeanCop asks why Lex always has to turn on people who help him, the way MeanCop used to pull him back from the edge. (The edge of what? Are you as intrigued as I am?) Lex says that's only because his dad paid MeanCop well. MeanCop drops the pretense and says it would be a shame if Lex's nice life in Smallville were disrupted. Lex says, "You can't touch me and you know it." Hard to get is a game I didn't know Lex knew how to play. Lex takes a sip of coffee, not missing a beat. MeanCop pulls out a photo -- the one of Lex and Clark looking like male models -- and shows it to Lex. He asks if Lex knows that rosy-cheeked, juicy-lipped stud next to him. Lex says he doesn't know that sweet, tasty man. "Hmm. I'd have pegged you for buddies," MeanCop says. Heh. Buddies. Lex tells MeanCop he should think about retiring, which isn't much of a comeback line given that it's Lex, but it'll suffice. Lex walks off. MeanCop and his buggy eyes stare after him.