Crime and Punishment Page #3

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-What?

l think you're relieved.

l think you're relieved somebody

painted over that mural.

You never had to go through

the hard part.

Never had to show it, never had to hear

what anyone else thought about it.

You never had to decide for yourself

how good or talented you really are.

Look.

Why l came over tonight....

These are the keys to the school.

Principal Green gave them to me.

Do what you want.

-Oh, if it's brown, it must be Tuesday.

-What do you call these things again?

Elephant scabs. Packed with

whole-grain goodness.

Did you guys see the look on

Principal Green's face?

l thought the guy was gonna

have a breakdown.

That girl Joey,

she totally lost it. Classic.

Yeah. Look...

...l'm running myself a little pool here.

Guess the culprit. Winner takes all.

-You guys in?

-How much?

lt's only a buck a pop.

-Had to be Caufield.

-Yeah, definitely.

What makes you guys so sure?

Because there's no other possibility.

Okay. Caufield it is.

Hey, Caufield.

Do l know you?

No, not really, thankfully for me.

Look, rumour has it that you have

this irrepressible urge...

...to express yourself artistically.

What, that thing yesterday

at the mural?

That was pretty classic, huh?

Too bad l can't take credit for it.

So you didn't do it?

l don't know.

l mean, everyone seems to think l did.

Maybe l should do the polite thing.

Accept the credit, say ''thank you.''

Maybe.

But, look, l'm here to tell you...

...that not everybody thinks

what you did was funny.

Well, some people don't have

a sense of humour.

ls that your problem?

Yeah, that's me.

l'm humourless.

What do you want?

l want you to apologize...

...and then l want you

to turn yourself in.

-Do it before the day is done.

-And why would l do that?

Because this time, you just happened

to mess with somebody l care about.

-Hey, have you seen Joey?

-No. She wasn't in homeroom.

-That's a nice rig.

-lt's a Christmas present.

-That sucks, huh?

-What's that?

Your parents shorted you

on the off-road package.

-Get your hands off me.

-Oh, come on, tough guy.

-What the hell do you want?

-You know exactly what l want.

So, what's next, Witter?

You gonna sic your

civil-servant dad on me?

Can't you see? l'm barely

shaking in my boots.

Well, you know my name.

That's a good starting place.

What l know is l'm gonna count to

three, and you're gonna step aside.

Dream another dream, cowboy.

That's not how this is gonna shake out.

One.

Two.

Three.

-Are you whacked or something?

-Oh, no. Not yet. Not by a long shot.

What? You want me to say l did it?

Okay, l did it. There. Satisfied?

Okay, good. Now, what are you

gonna do about it?

l said, what are you gonna do about it?

l'm gonna go and apologize.

Okay?

Check it out!

Hey!

On your feet! Both of you!

lnside! Now!

Get me Dawson Leery

and David Curren, please.

-Can l talk to you for a minute?

-l'm in the middle of something.

Please, it'll only take a second,

and it's really important.

What is it?

l'd like to tender my resignation

from the disciplinary committee.

What?

l think that you have

this idea about me...

...that l'm somebody l'm not, that l'm

somebody with unwavering integrity...

-...and l can't live up to that.

-Can we discuss this later?

l don't know that there's anything more

to discuss, Principal Green.

Thank you.

Now, since neither

Mr. Witter nor Mr. Caufield...

...choose to clarify the meaning of

their little fight in the parking lot...

...l'm counting on their friends to look

out for their best interest. Mr. Leery?

Don't say anything, Dawson.

-Mr. Curren?

-Not a word, Dave.

Somebody better speak up,

and you better speak up fast...

...because a call to the dean

over at Dartmouth...

...will trigger an immediate review

on your admission status.

Mr. Witter, one more suspension...

...and you can bend down and kiss this

whole higher-education deal goodbye.

-Okay. l have no other alternative.

-lt's because of the mural.

-Hey, shut up! This is not your fight!

-lt's not yours either.

You're saying Mr. Witter picked a fight

because he believes...

...Mr. Caufield had something to do

with the vandalization of the mural.

l went nowhere near that thing.

As if l could give a rat's ass about

some stupid Chinese drawing.

lf you didn't go anywhere near it,

how'd you know what it was?

That's a very good question.

Anyone could've taken a look.

She's been working on it for weeks.

At night and before school. Other than

that, it's been sealed tight as a drum.

l didn't even know what it was.

This is ridiculous.

Not to mention, if you didn't

''give a rat's ass'' ...

...why go through the trouble

of finding out what it was?

Check the floor, Caufield.

l think you just painted

yourself into a corner.

Okay, you got me.

Busted.

l Jackson Pollock-ed

some meaningless mural.

You know what?

For one thing, it was ugly.

lt was an eyesore. Not to mention, why

do l have to look at some trivial girl's...

...little message to the masses

every morning?

Frankly, it offends me.

Possibility is offensive to you?

l'm white. l'm rich.

That's all the possibility l need.

Say again?

You heard me.

The advance copy of the PSA that Dawson had...

...l'm the one who stole it.

That's how l did so well

on the test, Jack.

That's how l scored

in the 99th percentile.

That was you?

Oh, Andie....

l know. Surprise, surprise.

But why? You knew that stuff cold...

...inside and out,

backwards and forwards.

lf anybody was gonna ace

that test, it was you.

lt was just sitting there on the table

like this piece of forbidden fruit...

...and not a chance of getting caught.

l don't know. lt just seemed like

the answer to all my problems.

What do you mean?

l thought that...

...you know, if l aced the test...

...then everybody would think

l was okay again.

You know, that that would

somehow convince them.

But now that l really am okay...

...l'm having a hard time

living with myself.

Hence your resignation

from the disciplinary committee.

Jack...

...for the past six months,

l have been...

...feeling like the biggest hypocrite.

l've been so hard on

all these other people...

...just as a way of punishing myself.

But now it's time

to make amends for that.

Wait a minute. What are you

planning on doing?

-l'm gonna tell Principal Green.

-No, you're not.

-Yeah, l am.

-No, no.

Andie, think about this, okay?

You screwed up. Fine. Okay?

lt was a moment of weakness.

You want to get kicked out for cheating

on something that has '' practice'' in it?

Jack, you know what l want?

l want to be free of this thing,

once and for all.

You know?

Free of what l did...

...and l want to be able to go to the

mirror and recognize who l am again.

Andie, there's got to be a better way.

Jack, l've thought long

and hard about this. Okay?

There is no better way.

Not for me.

Do you mind? l'm having this steak

for dinner with a nice barnaise sauce.

-Well, what am l having?

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