Hal: [on the phone] Francis, where have you been? I've been looking for you for days.
Francis: I'm sorry, Dad. I've just been buried here.
Hal: Okay, listen, I've got kind of a bad news/good news thing here. [sighs] Your mom lost her job, and we're pretty broke. The good news is, that makes your tuition an issue. Now, I think I can talk her into letting you come home.
Francis: Dad, no, I can't come home! Marlin Academy is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I am at a crucial point in my rehabilitation.
Hal: Uh-huh. What's her name?
Francis: That's the thing. There's, like, ten of them!