Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates Being Cool (Episode 19)

Chris is 16, and tired of being a nerd. Trouble is, he can't find another persona to assume. Surfer dude? Super hero? Cowboy? None of these work, though I'm not sure if it's Chris of the choice of background music -- New Kids On The Block's "You Got It (The Right Stuff)". I mean, who can be cool when NKOTB is playing?

The path to cool starts with a pack of cigarettes, which Chris secretly buys at Doc's. Though Greg is happy to join Chris in tucking one behind his ear at school, he sells Chris out when Ms. Morello busts him. Chris gets a three-day suspension -- no trouble from the parents, as Tonya took the call from the school principal. $15 later, Chris's secret is safe with her.

But what to do? Hooking up with the neighborhood truants, the new cool Chris shoots pool in a bar and accompanies his new friends on a trip to pick up their mentor, newly sprung from prison. The plan is for Chris to act as the lookout for their next caper, a plan which Doc doesn't think too much of. He thinks Chris should just not show up but as Chris has nowhere else to go, the gang just picks up him anyway. When the heist goes down, Chris takes off, leaving the arcade gang to arrest (Johnny) or death (Vinnie the mentor). Of course, it's cool that Chris wasn't around for this. Unfortunately, the gang fingered him as the head of their crime ring.

Rochelle finds an old coat of Julius', a gift from an old girlfriend that he should have given away but didn't. To torture him, Rochelle busts out some ugly, sometimes downright crazy outfits to get Julius to throw out the coat. Which he does. Julius's lesson? Know when to give up, especially when Rochelle rocks the Labelle -esque silver lame jumpsuit.

Drew's plot-line is: someone gives him a "Rufus Cube." He does nothing but work the cube until he throws it away in frustration. Naturally, this means Drew meets a cute girl who gives him her phone number.