One Eight Seven Page #2

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...that gangbanger stabbed

about a dozen times in the hallway.

Jesus Christ!

You're him!

It was you!

Holy sh*t, Garfield!

When was that, last fall? When?

October 27.

What a schmuck!

I'm giving advice to a guy

with a Purple Heart!

Excuse me.

Listen to me.

In my book, you're a hero, man.

Damn straight!

- Getting stabbed doesn't make me a hero.

- What'd they do to the kid?

Put him in a facility upstate

till he's 21.

That's it?

They should've caned him.

They should've caned the bastard

like they did that kid in Singapore.

President of Singapore

had a few choice words.

"When a continuing state

of defiance and disorder...

...cannot be checked by the rules...

...then new and sometimes

drastic rules...

...must be forged to maintain order.

The alternative is anarchy. "

Why do you still teach?

The same reason that you do, Garfield.

For the paycheck.

Hold on, everyone.

I still have a few minutes.

Tell me the difference between the

central nervous system and the lymphatic.

You got a nice butt.

Since you seem to know

so much about anatomy, Ms...

...Nartinez...

Central nervous system

and the lymphatic.

Tell me the difference.

It's like the...

The central nervous system is...

...your brain and your spinal cord.

And the lymphatic system is the stuff

in your blood that fights diseases.

That's right!

Schoolgirl!

That b*tch was cheating.

Are you writing on your desk, Mr...

...Sanchez?

I don't see nothing in my hands,

do you?

"K.O.S."

What's that? A tagging crew?

- "Cartoon. " That you?

- It might be.

Does K.O.S. Have

something to do with Benny?

Don't go there.

"K.O.S." stands for

"Kapping Off Suckers. "

We give out referrals.

Don't disrespect my homeboy.

I don't like it.

And he don't like you.

Do me a favor.

Go to the counter, get a paper towel

and wipe your desk off.

And what's your name?

Who, me?

Stevie Littleton.

You do me a favor, Mr. Littleton.

Turn that tagger shirt...

...inside out.

What, this?

Hyland said it was okay.

Later, lover!

It was a pleasure meeting you.

They're just trying to f*** with you.

I mean, play with you.

- Sorry I said you had a nice ass.

- Apology accepted.

But I ain't no schoolgirl.

Heaven forbid I'd think that.

May I come in?

Sure.

Making time a reward

instead of a distraction.

I don't know why I jumped up

the way I did at lunch.

It's just weird.

It's all right.

For what it's worth,

Childress thinks you walk on water.

Is that a good thing?

It takes a lot of courage to go

back into a classroom after that.

Not if the only thing

you ever wanted was to teach.

You see, there's our predicament.

I assume you've met Benny Chacon.

Yes, I have.

Last week...

...Benny and his tagging crew...

...had Ms. Eskander

pinned in the corner over there.

She's seven months pregnant.

So she kicks him.

If the district rules it an assault

on a student, she's gone.

They'd do that?

She's non-tenured.

Wouldn't be surprised

if she files for stress leave.

It's too bad.

She was a good teacher.

Can I ask a personal question?

When you were attacked,

was it random or did you know him?

No, I knew him. I flunked him.

Can you see something like that coming?

Kid tells you he wants to kill you,

believe him.

He was an O.T.,

an opportunity transfer.

But nobody told me that

till it was too late.

Do you know Benny's an O.T.?

Last year he was convicted of a felony

assault and suspended twice.

I even testified against him

as a character witness.

And now I get to see him

every morning in my homeroom.

In your homeroom?

Condition of his probation

is that he stay in school.

- Did you talk to the principal?

- Many times.

This kid's threatening me, and

all Garcia cares about is a lawsuit.

What did Benny say to you?

That he'd hurt me.

Real bad.

Someone calls my house every night...

...and hangs up.

A couple of weeks ago,

they broke into my car.

And on Friday, someone was in my house,

but I can't prove it.

I don't know what to do.

You can quit.

You didn't.

Hey, Picasso!

What's up?

You guys writers, or what?

- You don't know me, fool?

- No, man.

You should.

You just f***ed up my piece.

You guys from K.O.S.?

"K.O.S." Come on, nigga!

- Yeah, we K.O.S., fool.

- Shut up!

I got some silver in my sack.

I could just clean it up for you.

I'll take care of it.

Don't f*** with me.

I might just have to bust

a cap in your ass.

Come on, it's all about bombing,

getting citywide.

Don't get all violent.

Benny, don't be getting violent now.

I said shut the f*** up!

Yo, nigga, get away, man!

Damn!

I ain't got time for this sh*t.

You think this is funny?

If I don't call my P.O. In 15 minutes,

I'm f***ed!

Come on, let's get out of here.

Benny, come on, man! Let's go!

Come on, Paco, let's step.

Benny Chacon?

Benny's not here.

I think he went AWOL.

- Leonard Thomas?

- Here.

Hi. How are you?

Eskander did file for stress leave.

They asked me

to finish out the semester.

That's great.

Just till the end of the year.

I wanted to thank you for letting me

cry on your shoulder the other day.

It's all right.

Have you seen Benny lately?

His P.O. Says he hasn't

heard from him in 4 days.

Really?

They say, "Be careful

what you pray for. "

Don't get me wrong.

Benny's made my life a living hell.

I've moved in with my mother

because of him.

I love her, but if I eat

one more dinner off the TV tray...

...or watch one more rerun of

Wheel of Fortune, I'll lose my mind.

Time's up!

When did a student

last surprise you?

When the light came on?

That's been a while.

Don't you ever get lonely?

Yeah, sometimes.

There's this passage

in God's Lonely Man...

...by Thomas Wolfe where he says:

"The whole conviction of my life

rests upon the belief...

...that loneliness is the central...

...and inevitable fact

of human existence. "

That's really depressing, Trevor.

It's just my New York upbringing.

It's not easy looking...

...on the bright side these days.

You'd feel that way after spending

a year going in and out of hospitals.

No, that wasn't that tough.

The robbery.

That was the hardest for me to get over.

What'd they steal?

My passion. The spark.

My unguarded self. I miss them.

I want them back.

If you ask me, they're still there.

I think everyone else has given up.

They're so beaten down.

But you're different.

You refuse to be beaten.

Well, thank you.

Where are you going?

Got something for you.

Did you know that

Cesar Sanchez is Special Ed?

No.

Yeah, he's S.E.D.

Severely emotionally disturbed?

That's great.

I wanted you to have this.

I can't believe...! You are so...

When I go back on my right foot,

you come forward on your left.

When I go forward on my left,

you're back on your right.

He taught you that?

- Fresh little kid.

- All part of the dance.

Was he this fresh?

I'm sorry!

It's all right.

Can I get something?

Get the baking soda out of the kitchen.

Sure.

Where in the kitchen?

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