Orphan Train

Jack drives Molly to meet Vivian Daly. Molly is surprised to see that Vivian lives in a well-tended mansion overlooking the ocean. Jack tells Molly that Vivian is very serious, and instructs her just to “nod and smile”. Molly is wearing a pink blouse borrowed from Dina, and has toned down her makeup and removed her piercings. When Dina saw Molly before leaving the house, she told her she “looked more like a normal person.” Dina is skeptical that Molly will “last” at Vivian’s, and so is Molly, who anticipates the project of working with a rich elderly woman in her attic to be incredibly dull. Molly wonders whether juvenile detention would have been better. Jack tells her to take the project more seriously because her “ass is on the line”. He informs her that Vivian has no idea of Molly’s probation and thinks the project is just for school.

Jack’s mother, Terry, greets Molly. Molly knows that Terry only agreed to arrange the service project for Jack’s sake. In the library, Molly meets Vivian, an elegant 91-year-old woman. Vivian asks about the “skunk effect” of Molly’s dyed hair. She deduces that Molly borrowed the blouse and says it wasn’t necessary. Vivian then asks about Molly’s life, and Molly tells Vivian the “abridged” version – that her father was Penobscot Indian, that she lived on a reservation until he died, and that she landed in foster care because her mother “couldn’t take care of her”. Vivian suggests that Molly’s “tribal makeup” is connected to her Penobscot roots, which appeals to Molly. Molly remembers when she first dyed her hair and got her piercings as a way of forcing a harsh foster family to kick her out. Vivian reveals that she, too, was orphaned as a child, but doesn’t elaborate. She agrees to Molly’s “school project.”