The situation was quite amusing, a bit absurd, but interestingly, it maintained a lighthearted atmosphere throughout.
Over here, the principal was explaining the gravity of the situation to the Abanel couple.
Meanwhile, Paula Abanel couldn't believe her ears and glanced outside the office—
Little Frank was sitting on a chair, biting his nails, completely absorbed as if this was the most important thing in the world.
Unintentionally, little Frank looked up and met Paula's gaze, flashing a mischievous grin.
However, Paula remained expressionless.
Realizing the tension, little Frank quickly suppressed his smile, avoided her gaze, and nervously peeked up only to catch his mother's eyes again. He immediately dropped his gaze, sitting like a well-behaved child, focusing on an ant on the ground, his slightly turned face showing an innocent expression.
This scene elicited soft laughter from the audience in the screening room.
Melvin was a bit surprised: this wasn't supposed to be a funny scene, right?
But after a brief pause, Melvin realized that even he was smiling slightly. It might not have been a humorous scene, but who could resist Anson?
The girl hesitated briefly, discreetly looking around before turning her back to Miss Davenport. She casually folded her excuse note once and then again, pressing down hard on the crease.
The audience had never seen Anson's mischievous side before; this must be the first time.
Moments later, a girl arrived at the administration office, standing right beside little Frank, intending to request leave.
After calling her twice, he finally caught the girl's attention.
The girl, confused, asked, "What?"
"When your mom gives you a leave note, the first thing you should do is fold it and put it in your pocket."
Inside the office, the Abanel couple was getting scolded; outside, little Frank had no idea he was in big trouble.
"If this is real, then where's the crease?"
Little Frank quickly glanced at the principal's office, then back at Miss Davenport, lowering his voice to say quickly, "This leave note is a fake, right? You should fold it."
Anson, standing before him, was entirely different from his roles in "The Princess Diaries" and "Spider-Man." There was a touch of childish mischief and a hint of mature sadness and sophistication. Despite his family's sudden changes and the upheavals in school and life, he silently endured those storms without showing any vulnerability, counterattacking in his own way.
Then, little Frank looked up again.
"You should fold it," little Frank repeated.
"Hey."
Even in this brief moment, little Frank couldn't stay calm.
He raised his brow slightly, "Heh. But the paper has no crease."
The girl turned to look at little Frank, appearing a bit shy, showing a bashful smile, "This is a leave note from my mom. I have a doctor's appointment."
Little Frank glanced up at the girl, speaking with apparent nonchalance, but afterward, he seemed slightly embarrassed and quickly lowered his head, avoiding her gaze.
Just then, the phone kept ringing. Miss Davenport gestured for them to wait a moment as she needed to take the call.
In a daze, the images of little Frank and Anson overlapped—
"Miss Davenport, I have a leave note. I can't attend the fifth and sixth periods; I have a doctor's appointment."
"Hey!"
The boy and the girl exchanged a look, sharing a knowing smile.
Slam.
The principal's office door swung open, and Paula Abanel entered while adjusting her gloves. She paused briefly at the entrance, casting her son a meaningful glance, only to find him lounging lazily in the chair. She frowned and glared at him sternly.
"Frank."
Paula called out.
Little Frank lowered his head and quickly sat up straight, nervously wringing his fingers, not daring to look up, though he could feel the gaze of his father, Old Frank, following closely behind.
He timidly clutched his backpack, shoulders hunched and head drooping, like a sad Labrador, sneaking a glance at his father from the corner of his eye.
Expressionless.
Little Frank was surprised; there was no anger, no sternness, no indifference, just calmness, with no particular expression. This made him steal a second glance at his father.
Unexpectedly, their eyes met.
Little Frank froze.
Old Frank smiled, and little Frank followed suit.
Maybe things weren't so bad after all.
Unfortunately.
It was only temporary.
Just when little Frank thought his life was slowly getting back on track, the harsh reality struck like a storm, leaving no room to breathe.
Little Frank started to feel uneasy—
He noticed some men "visiting his father smoothly," all of whom were his father's friends. But his father was never home, and his mother was entertaining guests in the bedroom. He could even see their coats on the living room sofa, and they always looked at him meaningfully, giving him gifts or pocket money.
He didn't like it.
Things soon spiraled into the abyss.
Lawyers appeared, his grandmother, whom he had never met, showed up, his father sat silently in the corner, and his mother eagerly asked him to sign a document and fill in either his father's or mother's name at a crucial spot.
He didn't understand what was happening.
It wasn't until "divorce" came up in the conversation that he was stunned. He turned to his father for an explanation or a response, but his father's silence pushed him into an abyss.
At that moment, in those clear and deep blue eyes, you could clearly see a world falling apart. Though he didn't want to cry, tears blurred his vision, silently, without making a sound, unable to feel sadness or pain—just confusion and helplessness, falling from a great height.
Run.
He ran with all his might.
Running away from here, from life, from reality.
Little Frank ran away from home, no destination in mind, anywhere but here would do.
The entire screening room fell silent, not a sound, not even a breath—
Because they saw in those eyes the collapse of a child's world.
And because they didn't expect the story to take such a sharp turn, a storm tearing apart little Frank's world and pushing the story in another direction.
However.
Steven Spielberg once again demonstrated his mastery of pacing. The scene shifted.
1969, France, Paris.
Time returned to the present, with Carl escorting little Frank back to North America.
Little Frank tried to persuade Carl to get a better room, but Carl said the budget was limited, so he couldn't do anything. Little Frank lowered his gaze, feeling dejected again.
"It's fine, I've stayed in worse places."
At this point, the audience suddenly remembered, oh right, they had forgotten this was a crime movie based on a true story.
So, does this mean—
The moment little Frank ran away from home was also the turning point when he embarked on a criminal path?
Involuntarily, Melvin recalled the answer given by Contestant No. 1 in the fake TV show at the beginning of the movie:
Dollars and cents, that was the starting point for everything.