Malcolm is assigned a partner project with the school’s most popular girl, Sarah. The task: a "Social Silence" experiment where they must remain completely mute for 48 hours while documenting people's reactions.
Malcolm sees the grass about to bury a deliriously happy Hal. He has to choose: the "A" grade and the girl’s respect, or his father’s life.
Lois returns home to find a yard full of grass, a hole in the earth, and a "fired" toddler crying on her porch. She screams so loud that the neighborhood goes silent—completing Malcolm's experiment for him.
Malcolm quickly realizes that by not speaking, he is finally "cool." People project whatever they want onto him. However, the torture begins when he witnesses Reese and Dewey planning a prank that will definitely get him blamed, but he can't speak to stop them or defend himself without failing the grade. The B-Plot: Reese’s "Invisible" Empire