A month after graduating from Beverly High, Simone Hicks moves from Los Angeles to Atlanta to attend Bringston University, bidding goodbye to Jordan Baker, her boyfriend, and Shay Douglas, her son. With the help of her aunt, Professor Amara Patterson, and seniors Keisha McCalla and Nate Hardin, Simone adjusts to her new life in college as she gears up for the trial to join the baseball team, having to face off against antagonistic team leader Thea Mays. She also learns that Cameron Watkins, a friend of her ex Dane and Spencer James' football rival, also attends Bringston. Cam is sharing dorm with baseball prodigy Damon Sims and his friend Jessie Raymond. Damon and J.R. play football under the watch of stern Coach Marcus Turner, who attempts to turn the fortunes of the team around following a scandal that led to the resignation of the previous baseball coach Leonard Shaw.
Tropes featured in this episode:
- Birds of a Feather: Simone and Damon bond over their overbearing mothers.
- Dramatic Pause: Parodied. After giving his team a Rousing Speech, an awkward silence ensues, until Turner questions why they are not moving.Yee: "Our bad, we didn't know if you were finished or if that was just another pause for effect."
- Fish out of Water: It doesn't take long for Simone to start feeling homesick over having to move so far away from home. Damon, too, has difficulty adjusting to a less hectic world following his stint in the MLB.
- Held Gaze: Simone and Damon's reunion involves this.
- It's a Small World, After All: Simone is surprised (and somewhat annoyed) that Cam, of all people, is coming to the same college as her.
- My Beloved Smother:
- Tina Hicks is at this again. As she doesn't approve Simone heading off to a college other than the Ivy League and Stanford, she refuses to see off her daughter before she moves to Atlanta, then is revealed to have not paid her dorm fee, leaving her homeless if not for Amara's intervention. She would have refused to pay her tuition fee, as well, but Robert thought it was taking too far and put his foot down on that issue.
- Keena Sims insists on a press conference to welcome Damon to Bringston, despite his opposition to it.
- Not What It Looks Like: Keisha catches Simone, dressed in nothing but a towel, holding hands with Damon.
- "Rediscovering Roots" Trip: Cam says that he chooses to attend an HBCU because he wants to feel closer to his own people, especially during these troubling times.
- The Scapegoat: President Allen forces Amara to keep a low profile because many parents of expelled students threaten to sue her for exposing the scandal involving the baseball team.
- Ship Tease: Keisha takes an immediate interest in tracking Cam down, having seen him around campus. They dance together at the bonfire.
- Smash Cut: Done to transition between Simone enjoying her campus welcoming party and her first tennis trial.
- Starving Student: Simone is booted off her dorm mere days after moving in, because her mother didn't pay its fee. She ends up moving off campus to live with her aunt.
