takes place in the ‘90s, many of the conversations are still pertinent to today’s climate. “The girls wanted me to go,” he told the camera. He hoped they had a good time, he said, but for him, “it was brutal, not seeing my daughter there.” Pearl and her mother Mia (Kerry Washington) arrive to Shaker Heights and end up renting a property owned by Elena. The teen is used to moving around often — her artist mother doesn’t like to plant roots anywhere, finding various gigs wherever they end up to pay for her supplies. Pearl has her own artistic tendencies, even writing poems. A fan of poetry herself, Lexi would write poems from the perspective of Pearl to get into the mind of her character. that the orientation was an important step towards returning to school: "That's definitely what's keeping me, like, OK, and not from breaking down," she said of the Sunday event. "I have all my friends here with me and it just makes me feel like I'm not alone in this situation."