Charles is pushed for time; the strain shows on his face; he has to meet a deadline for his school paper. His scholarship depends on it, and he has been assigned to write the paper with someone -- his friend Buddy Lembeck. He needs to concentrate, but the noise around him is deafening. Lila has a loud conversation with her girlfriend on the telephone. Stan and Jill are arguing, and Jason and Douglas are trying to put it on tape. Furthermore, Buddy shows up and tells Charles that he has finished with his part of the assignment. Gwendolyn wants to buy a used car and she would like for Charles to look at the car for her as soon as possible —- like that night! Jill rushes out of the house to review a new Chinese restaurant but comes back soon, and then resumes the argument with her husband. In the meantime, Douglas made Jason disappear through what he calls a scientific experiment. Then Charles has to explain to Douglas that you can argue with someone --or disagree -- and still love each other. And that is exactly what is happening with his parents. There is no end to all the commotion, and Charles knows he is in trouble until the Pembrokes decide to go out to dinner and give Charles time to finish his school paper in peace.