Number Two Pencil

Marshall, dark haired but baby faced, has become obsessed with achieving a perfect score on the SAT test; and with his parents on vacation, he has the entire house to manifest his growing neuroses. His sister Brie has been enjoying her college years abroad; partying hard and loving harder. All good things end however, and she makes her trek back home, only to find her brother much less enthusiastic about the unexpected sibling reunion. Meanwhile, Paige, college senior and part time blogger, is deep in conversation with Lola: a high school senior and star point guard, the two girls relating over the stress of choosing between going away for school or staying close to home. Later, it is Lola who appeals to Marshall's frenzied need for a pencil to continue his frenzied need for a pencil to continue his studying, offering him a number two pencil. Lola mentions in passing that the number two pencil she has loaned to Marshall was initially used by her older brother, who himself suffered from anxiety, to pass the BAR. This bit of information feeds into Marshall's mania, and even though he establishes a pricey bet with Lola to get the number two pencil, he immediately loses track of it. Finding himself more worked up than may seem rational, he uses some basic sleuth skills, and white lies, to track down the location of the pencil. Succeeding in securing its’ location has not proven to be enough to secure the pencil itself. Having passed through four different pairs of hands, Marshall discovers with horror that the pencil has left the building. Ever vigilante, Marshall moves from a receptionist, to a postal worker, to a trophy wife until he has identified the current possessor of his prize. However, given the breadth of the situation, Marshall realizes he requires assistance. The combination of bartering and begging gets him the help of his sister, but it is only the start of Marshall's hilarious and Kafkaesque day; and as the ties between the siblings bind them ever closer to Lola and Paige, in more ways than one, Marshall's search for perfection becomes everyone's search for meaning.