Columbia. While I don't know it for a fact, I'm betting that actually was the campus, too. ["I believe they shoot Meadow's scenes at Baruch, which is in Manhattan but a hundred blocks south of Columbia." -- Sars] Up in her dorm room, Meadow and Noah are snuggling on the bed. "So when did you first notice me?" asks Noah, and while I don't know it for a fact, I'm betting it was right after a fight with Daddy. There's some tickling, which is rapidly followed by some macking, but then Caitlin comes home and brings the festivities to a premature halt. Eww. Not like that. Meadow glares pointedly at Roommate Cait while she re-buttons her shirt, but Caitlin says she "didn't know where else to go." She plops down on the bed and starts ranting about just having seen Freaks, getting more and more upset in the process. Noah tries to calm her, but Caitlin asks, "Why is other people's pain a source of amusement?" Then she rips out a chunk of her own hair. I'll admit I did laugh at that, so I guess other people's pain is funny. After all, who's funnier than John Wayne Bobbit? Caitlin calls the hair-pulling "just a habit," but Meadow flips out. Noah wisely decides to get out. Now. After he leaves, Caitlin begs Meadow not to be mad. "You're just really moody," replies Meadow. Oh, hello, pot. Have you met the kettle? You'd like him. He's black too, you know. "Maybe I just miss my ferrets," sobs Caitlin, and "ferrets," much like "fuck," is another word that's just inherently funny. Maybe it's the "f." Meadow also bails on Caitlin, saying she's headed for the library. On the way out, she thoughtfully stops to grab all the sharp objects off the table by the door.

Either the library at Columbia is both extremely small, and also partially converted for residential usage, or I'm thinking Meadow might have lied back there. Actually, they're in Noah's room, and he's trying to justify Caitlin's behavior as "culture shock. We're used to the mean streets." Which is actually funny twice, because that's a movie and he's from Hollywood, and it's also about mobsters for Meadow. "You're sweet," she tells him. "Most guys wouldn't even give a shit." "I'm not most guys," he replies, and moves in for the kill. There's some macking, which is rapidly followed by some stripping, and in the first of what will be many compare-and-contrast moments, we're merely teased with the possibility of a topless Meadow, rather than actually seeing it. "Do you have a condom?" she asks, and he reaches out and grabs one from off-screen. Except they forgot to Foley in the sound of a drawer opening, so it seems like he's just got them lying around on his nightstand, which wouldn't be very romantic. Meanwhile, Meadow looks nervous, and while I find it hard to believe she's never done this before, the scene definitely has a virgin vibe to it. They're silent the whole time, with the sounds of sirens and traffic coming in through the window. For the record, Noah isn't real big on foreplay. Meadow closes her eyes, and we fade out.