TEACHER: The English Longbows rain arrows
on the French knights in their armor.
( snoring )
Angry...
the French charge
across the plowed field.
Then tragedy. What tragedy?
Class?
Who knows?
( Joan continues snoring )
I didn't do it.
( laughter )
Mr. Dreisbach, I-I...
can explain.
I was up late studying for AP Chem.
What was the tragedy at Agincourt?
Um...
I'm prepared to wait after the bell.
Come on.
( sighs )
Uh, let's see...
We're in France, right?
Mud!
The field was
a sea of mud.
Zakheim.
Um, yeah, of mud. I-I had that.
ZAKHEIM: The French soldiers and horses
floundered in the quagmire.
They got slaughtered by the Brits.
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Zakheim,
for that amazing display of restraint.
After the debacle of Agincourt,
the French humiliated,
divided, conquered, and then, to save the day, comes...
Jeanne D'Arc. Or as we know her, Joan of Arc,
a peasant girl who talks to God or so the legend says.
Now, talking to God was not unheard of back then,
but, uh, Sigmund Freud would've provided
Joan of Arc's parents with a different analysis:
Paranoid schizophrenic
with a messianic complex.
Wait. She was crazy?
God told her to get together an army
to save France from the British.
I think we can draw the necessary conclusions.
( laughter )
That doesn't mean she was crazy just because she talked to God.
Would you like to provide us
with another point of view?
( bell rings )
The test on Wednesday is multiple choice, true/false.
It counts for one-half of this semester's grade.
I advise you all
to get enough sleep.
♪ What if God was one of us? ♪
♪ Just a slob like one of us? ♪
♪ Just a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home? ♪
♪ Just trying to make his way home? ♪
What?
Hash browns and a bagel?
So?
You're renting out a lot of space
at the bottom of the food pyramid.
( scoffs ) Can't you just say "Carbs to the max"
or something remotely normal?
HELEN: Luke's right.
Eat a banana. WILL: Morning.
Dad, can I have 50 bucks?
Oh, I almost made it to my coffee.
What's the money for, Luke?
LUKE: 32 Cornell Dubilier inverter-grade capacitors.
I just happen to have a few of those in my pocket.
Luke, would you consider these
capacitor things a necessity?
Well, that just depends
if you define necessity as the power of natural law
that cannot be other than what it is...
Okay, knock yourself out.
Anybody else?
You know? My shoe collection
is, like, from three years ago.
You have enough shoes. Okay, bank is closed.
KEVIN: While we're talking about
all this stuff, my physio's adding up,
and I want to start kicking in for that.
No, honey.
Why not?
That's your spending money,
what you take home from your job.
I know the gimp bill's pretty high,
and Joan's shoes are ugly.
You're not paying for physio.
It's a family necessity.
And the financial discussion is now over.
I have to go meet Grace.
Does anyone wants this banana?
HELEN: Take it with you.
Can I, uh, walk with you guys?
( laughs ) That's funny.
Come on, geek, I'll give you a lift.
See you, guys.
Have a good day.
Bye.
HELEN: Drive carefully.
We're going to talk about money, aren't we?
We've added $1,200 a month for Kevin's physical therapy,
plus we still owe $6,000
for the wheelchair modifications we made to the house.
And we have two kids that expect to go to college.
Luke is smart. He'll go on scholarship.
There's no safety valve for Joan.
I know you get a salary bump
when they pick up your contract,
but until then, we have to be careful.
You don't get a salary bump?
They might not pick up your contract?
Let's not fall off that bridge yet.
I've got a good six months
to charm people.
It'll be fine.
Joan of Arc was, like, the girl warrior.
Strapped on chain mail and led men into battle.
Naturally, they burned her at the stake.
She wasn't crazy, right?
I mean, she wasn't a paranoid schizophrenic
with a miscellaneous complex?
Are you trying to say "messianic complex"?
Oh. I guess.
Why are you asking me
like I'm the poster child of sanity?
Any time you deviate from the norm,
the fascists call you crazy.
I consider it a badge of honor.
So...
so she wasn't crazy then?
The meter's just run out on my interest, Joan.
Well... Grace...
MAN: You're not crazy, Joan.
( sighs )
No offense, but the person who makes me feel crazy
is in no position to say I'm not.
You even know what a paranoid schizophrenic is?
Yes, I do.
It's a person who hears voices, like, from God,
which is what makes me,
I don't know, twitchy.
Here's what I want you to do.
Let's get back to the crazy thing,
okay?
Were you really talking
to Joan of Arc,
and am I... am I like her?
This history test that's coming up,
I want you to ace it.
That's unsettling when God uses slang.
You mean you,
you want me to get an "A"?
Correct.
But I hate history...
and this is the Hundred Years War,
which was really long.
History is important.
( groans )
But Dreisbach is so boring.
And history
is, like, so over.
Ah, last spring, they didn't cut the branches back.
This summer, they had too much shade.
Now they've got
too many leaves; the grass is dying.
They have to replant the lawn.
That's what happens when you ignore history.
( sighs )
Okay, the whole metaphor thing is a real pain.
Is there some kind of divine law against being direct?
Get an "A" on the exam.
You know,
a lot of people don't like you.
( indistinct rap music playing )
Detective Williams.
Hey, Chief.
There's a crack house operating at this address.
Check it out.
We know this house.
The DA's been undercover on it for two years.
Two years?
What are they waiting for, permission from God?
Waiting to bag the whales.
All they got now are the guppies.
Correct.
The citizens in that neighborhood
shouldn't have to put up
with a crack house one day longer.
Preaching to the choir.
Get a warrant.
I can't tell you about Joan of Arc,
because in order to do that,
I'd have to assume you have some basic grasp
of anything that happened before, say, the Reagan years.
I have a test coming up on this,
and I have to get an "A."
Just help me out, okay?
Well, here's an interesting approach.
Read the books.
Hey, I've been working my butt off here,
sacrificing valuable study time.
Four hours a week?
Your butt is barely employed.
( sighs )
The other day when your wife called
and you were playing video games,
I told her you were with a customer.
Joan of Arc met with the dauphin,
told him he should assume the crown
and take back France from the British.
Then she got an army together and made that happen.
A teenage girl who managed to drive the British out
after years of occupation,
and you have trouble working your iPod.
No, I don't.
Was she crazy?
I tend to avoid people who talk to God,
but, here again, what she did was impressive.
Do you believe in God?
Never converse with the help.
I think Karl Marx said that. Read.
Oh, man.
Joan, I have a master's degree in English literature.
I could've done a number of things with my life.
At least three things,
but I chose to open a bookstore because
I believe in the power
of knowledge which comes from books.
You want to learn something?
Read.
We had tuna casserole on Monday.
No, Monday was mac and cheese.
Tuesday was tuna casserole.
Are we poor?
Because I have a vague memory of lamb chops.
We're not poor.
Joan, no reading at the table.
Let me finish this one thing.
Butler's Lives of Saints?
Is that an assigned text?
Yeah, kind of.
It's for a history test.
You ever notice how the church
has to have a saint for everything?
Saints are important.
Really? How are they important?
They show us how to live.
Name one saint whose life you'd want to emulate.
For example, Saint Barbara,
patron saint of fireworks,
for when all your
Roman candles are duds?
What about Saint Joan? She won a whole war.
LUKE: You know, I find it unconscionable
that science martyrs never get the proper respect.
Like, Galileo
said the earth revolves around the sun
and he was put under house arrest,
but is there a Saint Galileo?
Galileo backed down.
Half-backed down.
He was brought up on charges and forced to recant.
Maybe God really does talk to people.
Has anyone considered that?
KEVIN: You know, a lot of times
when bad things happen to people,
like getting burned at the stake,
they might have brought it on themselves.
Joan of Arc wasn't crazy!
Can we talk about the weather?
I thought it was unseasonably warm today.
It's a phase.
It's not a phase.
Well, why were all the other things phases,
and this isn't?
Because this is different.
Do mothers come with some kind of a handbook?
She's been doing a lot of strange things, Will.
Destroying Adam's sculpture was a symptom of that.
Now she's obsessed with saints.
That's not like her.
Well, it could be a lot worse.
So, you want to wait for it to get a lot worse
before we do something?
Kevin's still struggling with his anger.
Luke's getting ignored.
You're under a lot of pressure at work.
I feel like I'm holding up a house of cards.
We're a family dealing with family issues.
I don't think we're dealing so well.
Okay. What do you want to do?
I think we should see a family therapist.
We said that we would take Joan after what happened
at the art show.
Nobody said we all had to go.
Dr. Slater told us right after Kevin's accident
that we should all seek counseling.
I don't like the idea of running to a stranger
to help us through the transition--
airing all our emotions.
It's an expensive form of whining.
We're doing okay.
You know, saying that out loud over and over again
doesn't necessarily make it true.
I just...
( sighing )
I want us to do the best we can.
I want us to be a strong family again.
Well, Dr. Slater never told us
where could get the money for a therapist.
I'll get a second job.
No. No.
Or we could go to a priest.
Priests are free.
Could you find us a cheap therapist?
( heavy metal rock playing )
On the ground!
I didn't do nothin'!
Get on the ground!
MAN: Premises are secure.
Copy that. Good job.
All right, clear your desks.
I hope you slept well, Ms. Girardi.
Not very well.
I was up late reading history.
Oh, I'm sure.
Number two pencils only.
I did study, and I learned stuff.
Like, Joan of Arc wasn't a schizo, for example.
And they didn't kill her
for saying that she heard voices.
They killed her for wearing pants.
Take all books off the desk.
Her trial was totally corrupt.
She was a scapegoat.
Tell me on the test, Joan.
( sighing )
You're teaching the whole thing wrong.
Well, what really happened is, like, these bossy judges
forced her to wear pants in the courtroom.
Made it look like she was a witch,
which totally gave them permission to fry her.
Is that going to be on the test?
Don't ask me.
Apparently, my authority counts for nothing.
All right.
You may open your tests and begin.
Prepare for some advice.
Are you ready?
Because it's pretty cerebral.
Nobody likes a smart-ass.
Are you talking about me and Dreisbach?
He deserves your respect.
He's your teacher.
He's a loser.
When Paul Dreisbach was young,
he played saxophone in a jazz band,
and he was really good.
Turned down a scholarship at Juilliard
because music was only his second love.
His first love was history.
In fact, it was his passion.
That's a little weird.
Paul Dreisbach became a teacher
because he wanted to share that passion with others.
Can you please stop using "Dreisbach"
and "passion" in the same sentence?
It's giving me a... bad picture.
If you make snap judgments about people
and are unwilling to look into their past,
you'll never begin to understand them.
He's a dweeb.
He's your teacher.
I don't like him.
You don't have to like him.
Let him teach you.
It's mostly crack, but we found three guns,
approximately 2,000 ecstasy tablets,
and almost a kilo of methamphetamine.
Two years! Two years!
Thousands of man-hours,
hundreds of thousands of dollars
in federal drug war funds,
and you blow it
for a dinky little public relations bust!
MAYOR: This is Steve Thompson from the Drug
Enforcement Agency, Chief.
Are you yelling for my benefit or to impress your guys?
Because if it's for me, you might as well cut it out.
We had a deal, you and me.
What kind of deal?
I agreed to lay back on the crack house
as long as the DEA kept me informed.
You're a cop, sort of.
You know the DA
doesn't have the authority to cut that deal.
Local politics don't concern me.
It's an enforcement issue.
I'm the police chief.
I'm in charge of law enforcement in this jurisdiction, not him.
THOMPSON: Well, like I said,
I don't give a damn about local politics.
You are really starting to burn my ass, Girardi.
And I feel good about it.
Feel good about this.
In an effort to cooperate with the Drug Enforcement Agency,
I am not going to lay charges
against any of the lowlifes you arrested in that crack house.
That way, the DEA can continue to monitor
their criminal activities.
It's over. Put them in jail.
Better still, it's going to look like the arrests were bad.
You're going to wear this.
Enjoy your next six months
as a lame duck incompetent chief...
Chief.
( balloon pops ) Whoa!
Okay. Adam, what's the formula
for calculating the molar volume of carbon dioxide gas?
Hello? Adam, it's Jane
speaking words of English.
Hey, yo.
Did your photographic memory run out of film?
Adam, I told you I was sorry for trashing your sculpture.
I am. I'm very, very sorry.
You don't know how sorry I am.
Oh, stop pouting.
Get back on the blowtorch and fix the dumb thing.
Ms. Girardi, would you come with me, please?
Joan, the highest score you ever got
on a history test was "C-".
Yeah. I suck at facts.
Then explain an "A+."
Wow!
Yeah, wow.
How did you do it?
( laughs softly )
I studied.
From zero to 60 in a blink.
Yeah! I studied.
Steve Zakheim, my best student, got three wrong.
Are you saying I cheated?
Because I don't cheat.
We want you to take the test again.
What?! Why should I?
Because we're asking you to.
Agreeing to retake the test,
aren't I admitting I'm a cheater?
I'm not going to admit to that because I'm not!
Joan, retake the test.
Mr. Price... no!
Mom, they want me to say I cheated when I didn't.
I'm not a cheater! Joan, calm down.
I didn't cheat!
I'll give you until Friday to decide, Joan.
Decide what?
They want me to take the test again,
which is like saying I cheated.
No one is saying that.
Are you saying that?
We just want her to take the test again.
That should restore the equilibrium.
My daughter does not cheat,
so you know what you can do with your equilibrium.
I'm making a reasonable request, Helen.
I'm not retaking the test.
Sometimes you have to take a stand,
and this is me doing that.
( sighing )
So, where do you want to start?
Well, I'm not shy, so I'll jump right in.
The family thinks I'm crazy.
Joan, no. Nobody's crazy.
Why do you think you're here, Helen?
( sighing )
I think that we're experiencing transitional pains
because of the accident and because of the move.
I think we just need to check in with each other.
That was my idea.
Will? I'm here
because my wife wants me to be.
Because she thinks it's important.
Because... it is important.
I'm good. Really?
Well, I'm as happy as a gimp can be.
Let's put it that way.
I have this problem of nobody listening to me.
It's like I'm invisible.
That's kind of a passive- aggressive statement,
isn't it, Kevin?
WILL: Ah, here we go.
You object to the terminology?
I'm a big believer in resourcefulness--
people solving their own problems--
that kind of thing.
I'm picking up
that your son is very angry.
How would you like to solve that?
He's driving. He's working. He's figuring it out.
Actually, I'm more
concerned about Joan.
I told you.
This is about me being crazy.
So, I picked up
some strange interests.
I mean, kids do that.
So, I smash a piece of art.
I mean, I had my reasons.
And the whole cheating thing is completely whack.
Cheating thing?
I did not cheat.
I am not retaking the test.
Joan cheated?
No. It's just Price on a tear.
Joan didn't cheat.
How could you not tell me that?
This just in, Will.
I try to protect you from things if I can.
LUKE: You see?
This is the problem.
I'm the good kid, so I never get any attention.
Also, we're poor. We're not poor.
We're only here because of me. Not true.
Well, I'm thinking
that what we're looking at here is a communication issue.
What?
You're not communicating.
We need to work on that,
so the assignment for the week
is to make a special effort to listen,
to ask each other questions and really absorb the answers.
Wait. We're going to have assignments?
I can't have any more assignments.
Are, are you a therapist or are you... You?
( whispering ): Blink twice if you know what I mean.
I'm not crazy.
GRACE: This affects you, people. You could be next!
Rally against injustice!
No proof, no test!
Support Joan Girardi against the neo-fascists.
Rally against injustice!
Support Joan! Take back the power!
Grace, what are you doing?
It's your revolution. Don't you recognize it?
Sort of.
It's okay. You've taken a stand.
I'll organize the effort.
Grace, my feet hurt in these shoes.
Did I ask you to dress like a Republican?
This is Terry Ann, student body president.
I'm not entirely clear on the revolution,
but Grace said I had to do it.
As student body president,
I have to stay in touch with the issues.
What's the issue?
Recalls are very popular these days.
That's all you need to know.
No proof, no test.
The slogan needs a little work.
I threw it together sort of...
Oh.
Adam!
Here, take one of these.
Does this mean you're talking to me again?
Explain the situation, Grace.
I told him I'd feed him his hat if he didn't help.
So, did you put together a list of your demands?
My what?
You have to have a list of demands.
It's, like, in the revolutionary handbook.
Oh, uh...
I'll work on that.
It's a slippery slope, people!
Accusing students of cheating without proof?
Send a message to the despots.
Grace... it was really nice of you
to throw me this... revolution,
but... if Mr. Price hears about this, he could freak.
That's the plan.
Well, hey, look at me.
Did you cheat on that test?
No.
Do you believe in the writ
of habeas corpus?
That's the... good rule, right?
They have to evidence to accuse someone of a crime.
Like when you get caught in the act,
vandalizing someone's sacred property, yo.
Adam, please.
It's the foundation of a free society.
You took the stand. That's the hard part.
But let's take this baby all the way.
Are you ready, girl warrior?
♪ Sing me a song for freedom ♪
♪ Sing me a song to you ♪
♪ Sing about the ways we're rolling on... ♪
No proof, no test.
Support Joan Girardi!
You need to work on the volume a little,
but it's a start. ♪ Freedom rings loud and true ♪
♪ In the days ahead of you. ♪ Support Joan.
Hey, Roy.
Thanks for meeting me.
No problem.
Eddie,
get this man a lemonade.
He's on duty. Yup.
Last time we had a chance to chat,
we were standing over a charred body.
This is better.
I agree.
Still, chief of police and arson investigator
have a drink in public.
Now, that's a headline in this town,
so I know this can't be a social call.
I need some advice, insight, man, maybe just an ear.
I don't know.
EDDIE: There you go. Thank you.
I started out as a cop
and ended up an arson investigator.
Now, you, being the shrewd detective,
determined that maybe some bridges got burned
in that transition.
I don't know how to deal with these people.
It's like they don't want anything to change for the good.
Depends on who it's good for.
I was brought in here to clean up crime.
You were brought in here under those pretenses.
Your real job is to... look the other way.
What did you not look the other way on?
I'm afraid I don't know you well enough to discuss that.
I don't know how much longer I can do this.
On the other hand, I... uprooted my family for the job.
Everybody's adjusted now, not to mention
financial concerns.
But what I really want to know is
when you made the transition,
how did it affect you
personally?
You mean, did I cry?
Your family. Are you married?
I was.
I mean, you know, there were problems
before the job switch.
It sure didn't help.
I mean, she kept saying she'd stick it out,
believed in me, all that...
but she never looked at me the same again.
You know, there are times
when I feel I should've taken
my case to court,
but then I'd be unemployed.
You have to make a decision
about where you're going to do the most good.
Your wife...
she likes you going in, right?
I think so.
You'll be okay.
I've got
a Tuesday night card game if you're ever interested.
I remember having friends.
It was pleasant.
Well, you know, it can be again.
CHADWICK: Ladies and gentlemen,
while Mr. Price and I are big fans
of free speech and free assembly,
theoretically speaking,
here's how we like to deal with rebellion in school.
We shut it down cold.
Typical.
Ms. Polk, I appreciate
your effort to launch your lifelong career
as a free radical, but I have a school to run,
board of directors to answer to,
not to mention all of your parents.
I promised their children an education,
and I'm going to make sure they get one.
Civil disobedience is not an education?
We have big thick textbooks that talk all about that,
if you'd bother to crack one.
Mr. Chadwick, I-I-I was wrongly accused.
I didn't cheat.
You have the option of proving that
by retaking the test.
I shouldn't have to prove anything!
( clearing throat ): Uh, uh, can I just say something?
Uh, I'm not wearing a button.
You were observed handing them out.
Technically, holding the bag.
That's why it's called "left holding the bag," Mr. Rove.
Well, um...
I'm not really a part of this whole... revolution.
I really don't care what happens here.
What about the rest of you?
Are you willing to die for your beliefs...
symbolically?
Because anyone who leaves this school
wearing one of those buttons
will be suspended until further notice.
Come on.
♪ Sing me a song for freedom ♪
♪ Sing me a song to you... ♪
Wow. ♪ Sing about the ways we're rolling on ♪
♪ To the one who lie waiting for you ♪
♪ And when love ♪
♪ We want to return... ♪ That went great.
Yeah. Water's kind of nice
swimming against the tide, isn't it?
Huh? There's hope for you yet.
♪ Freedom rings loud and true... ♪ Hey, can I talk to you?
Yeah, it looks really great.
I meant about this revolution.
What about it?
Cut it out.
What?
Cut it out.
This wasn't part of the plan.
What do you mean?
You-you-you said study history, so I did.
You said get an "A" on the test, so I did.
And along the way, I learned about Joan of Arc
and figured out the whole martyr deal.
And now my word is being challenged like hers.
I'm taking a stand. It's perfect.
You do know the end of her story?
Oh, they don't burn people anymore, do they?
Especially not kids.
I'm not really here to discuss martyrdom with you, Joan.
Like most things having to do with me, it's complicated.
Retake the test.
What?!
Retake the test.
Admit I was wrong when I wasn't?
This is what God is telling me to do?
You gave them good reasons to doubt you, Joan.
You're a "C" student. You suddenly get an "A."
They're confused.
And then you exacerbated it
by being rude to Mr. Dreisbach,
embarrassing him in front of his students.
Maybe he would've given you
the benefit of the doubt before that.
Those-those people are willing to get suspended for me.
You want me to just back down?
Yes.
I do.
Here's the thing you need to learn
from the martyrs, Joan.
They did it the hard way.
That's what I'm asking of you.
( thunder rumbles )
You've been stuck on that same page
for a half an hour.
It's a mystery.
I'm just trying to figure it out.
( sighs )
What's wrong?
I hate my job.
I don't want to do it anymore.
You're just working things out.
You hit a few rough patches.
No.
It's bad, Helen.
They didn't hire me to fix things.
They hired me to play ball... politically.
I'm just going to keep bumping up against that
until they fire me, and they will... fire me.
So what do you want to do?
I want to rewind my life about two years.
Yeah, me, too...
but what do you want to do?
I can't ask you guys to move again.
Well, there's a lot to be said for going back home.
We have family there, friends.
It could be a lot worse.
What kind of example does it set for the kids?
Retreating in failure?
Not to mention... how you see me.
I just want you to be happy.
I need a glass of something.
( low thunder rumbling )
Hey, that looks good.
Mind if I join you?
Sure. Why not?
Why can't you sleep?
I don't know.
Something about my life being a big, hairy nightmare.
Yeah. Tell me about it.
( microwave beep )
All my friends are mad at me.
I have to surrender, even though I didn't do anything wrong.
( beeping )
When is this kind of thing going to end?
I'll let you know.
I mean...
you would never let anyone push you around.
( beep )
Daddy, do you ever think about God?
No.
I did too much thinking about Him when I was young.
My parents were very religious.
They forced it on me.
But it never made sense.
Why was God mad at me?
It wasn't my idea to create people
and make them flawed.
Yeah, right.
( beeping )
It just makes no sense.
I mean, He's always bugging me to do the right thing,
and I'm, like, "If you're so big on the right thing,
then why don't you just make it clear?"
God is bugging you?
N-Not... me.
People.
What I mean is,
if there's a right thing to do,
a right way to be,
why isn't it obvious?
You know, shouldn't there be a...
a clear choice?
I guess the point is...
to figure out
how you can do the most good.
Yeah. You're the best person I know,
and you don't even believe in Him.
I'm the best person you know?
PRICE: I reached out to you in a public forum,
and you spit on the olive branch.
JOAN: I'm sorry.
Can we please just do this?
You want to admit that you cheated?
We don't have to go through with this.
I didn't.
Admit that you cheated,
and I won't suspend your friends.
( scoffs )
Just give me the test.
Amazing how your revolution just crumbled overnight.
What's that about?
A guilty conscience?
You know, I'm not into this anymore, Mr. Price.
I didn't cheat.
I really studied.
I didn't start this revolution,
and I didn't want to back down, either.
This is all just bigger than me,
so please let me do it the hard way.
It wasn't I
who brought this affair into the hallway.
You have one hour.
Good luck.
I fooled myself into thinking
you were a person of substance.
Oh, don't start.
You're nothing but a cream puff,
powder puff, nothing puff.
Oh, you-you're using some puff-related analogy
that I don't even get.
Well, you backed down, Joan.
I had to! You don't understand.
You don't know what I'm up against.
I know I'm getting suspended a day because of you.
We all are.
Even Adam.
I'm sorry!
I'm so sorry.
I didn't mean to get anyone in trouble.
Adam.
I can't...
I can't stand you being mad at me anymore.
I'm sorry for everything.
Please, you know me.
You know...
You know I have...
secrets... and things.
Like you do, you know?
I have reasons.
Whatever, Joan.
♪ Everyone hurts ♪
♪ It's taking this building down ♪
♪ We are scratching at the plaster ♪
♪ We are... ♪
Mr. Dreisbach, Mr. Price said to come see you.
♪ Everyone hurts ♪
♪ In this forgotten world... ♪
♪ Somebody small out there needs you... ♪
Congratulations.
( sighs )
Thanks.
I want to tell you something, Joan.
I was absolutely certain you had cheated.
Why?
Because I've been teaching for 30 years,
and I know perfectly well
when I'm not getting through to students, and...
I wasn't getting through to you.
To be perfectly fair, Mr. Dreisbach,
I think you're really only getting through
to Steve Zakheim.
Yeah, I know.
And that's my fault.
Somewhere along the line,
I got discouraged,
and I started...
just phoning it in.
I'm aware.
It's a... It's a teacher's greatest fear.
You know, before this event,
I was going to quit.
This was going to be my last year, and, uh...
it was causing me a lot of pain
because I wasn't going out in a blaze of glory.
I was...
I was surrendering in defeat,
like the French at, at Agincourt,
floundering in the mud of my-my students' indifference.
But I made you care about history, Ms. Girardi.
I don't know how I did it, but I did.
And that's the whole point.
You inspired me to take back my crown.
I thank you.
Mr. Dreisbach...
you have...
no idea how incredibly cool this is.
Oh, yes...
I do.
( both laugh )
I'll start.
Go ahead, Joan.
Well, I retook the test and got an "A,"
and I, well, sort of saved someone's life.
You did?
Well, sort of.
Symbolically.
And even though all my friends hate me,
I still feel pretty good.
Look, I know the only reason that we were in therapy
was because I acted kinda crazy, but, um,
as far as I'm concerned,
we can all go home now because the craziness is over.
I'm done.
Will?
Helen?
Anything you'd like to discuss?
Well, I'm starting to think maybe Will was right.
Maybe we all just need to talk to each other
and not bring all our problems in here.
Then again,
maybe it's best we get it out in the open.
Well,
this wasn't for our problems.
This was to help the kids.
Our problems affect the kids.
( Helen sighs )
He doesn't mean problem problems.
I'm just saying
we're in this forum now.
Maybe it's best to talk about
whatever it is that's really going on.
Whatever's... causing tension.
Well, actually,
I would like to hear more from Luke.
He's right. We don't check in
with him enough.
Oh.
Okay.
Um... I've-I've kind of been dying to talk to someone
about M-brane theory and how it
derails where I was philosophically headed--
For God's sake!
I can't stand it!
Can we...
can we please just talk about the gigantic stain
on the carpet?
We've been dancing around it for almost two years now
and it's making me crazy
and maybe it's why I'm so pissed off all the time!
Because no one will say it loud,
so I have to.
The accident...
it was my fault.
This... was my fault.
The guys and I were out partying after the game.
My friend Andy was wasted.
I tried to take his keys.
He got pissed off.
I was afraid of not...
being cool.
So I went for the ride.
I went for the ride.
And so here we all are.
I did this.
God didn't do it.
The universe didn't conspire. The planets didn't align
against me.
Can somebody just please say it out loud?!
I did this!
( sobbing )
( sobbing continues )