The Chocolate War

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- Break!

- Break!

All right!

Down. Set. Hike.

Hut.

Renault! Renault!

I'm all right.

Oh, for Christ's sake.

I'm all right, coach.

What the hell you wanna play football for?

- How tall are you?

- 5'9'.

- How much you weigh?

- 145.

All right, show up tomorrow, 3:00 sharp.

And if you're late,

you're through before you start.

Two more names.

That kid they call The Goober.

Roland Goubert.

Brother Eugene's room.

Do they think it's easy?

I mean,

who the hell do they think I am?

You're not much help, Obie.

I never thought you needed much help, Archie.

All right.

All right, let's just finish this.

One more name.

The kid who just left the field.

The one they wiped out.

Kid named Renault. Freshman.

Here it is.

'Renault, Jerome E. Son of James R.

'A pharmacist at Blake's. Birth date...'

The kid just turned 15. Blah, blah, blah.

Oh, his mother just died last spring.

Cancer.

That must be hard.

Poor kid.

- With his mother dead and all.

- Yeah.

- You know what he needs?

- What?

Therapy.

Therapy?

Right.

Put him down.

Jesus, Archie, you saw him out there.

He's just a skinny kid.

I mean, his mother's barely cold.

What are you putting him on the list for?

Put him down.

Assignment?

You running out of ideas?

I'm just being artistic.

It's an art, you know.

Put him down for the chocolates.

You know what, Archie?

What?

Life is sad, sometimes.

Life is sh*t.

Strike!

All right, yeah.

There's nothing anyone could do.

It's God's will.

It's just life.

Hey, Jerr.

Have a good day?

It was all right. I had another practice.

Fine.

You know, one of these days

I might just get a pass off.

Fine.

How was your day?

Fine.

That's good.

Mrs. Hunter left a casserole.

You hungry?

I can have it ready in a few minutes.

Fine.

- Dad?

- Yeah?

Were things really fine at the store today?

What do you mean?

I mean, every day for six months

I've asked you how things are going,

and every day, you say, 'Fine.'

I mean, don't you have some great days,

or some rotten days?

A drugstore is a drugstore, Jerry.

I mean, it's pretty much the same all the time.

Listen, would you like a salad?

I got some lettuce and tomato

and fixings around.

- Dad?

- Yeah?

Nothing. Dad?

Yes?

Did you ever wanna be a doctor?

No.

Enough of this crap.

Bailey.

- Yes, Brother Leon?

- Up here.

As you know, gentlemen,

a certain discipline

must be maintained in a school.

A line must be drawn

between teachers and students.

We teachers would love

to be one of the boys, of course.

But that line of separation must remain.

Bailey, I'm sorry.

- Bailey.

- Yes, Brother Leon?

Why do you find it necessary to cheat?

Is silence an admission of guilt, Bailey?

Oh, Bailey, what are we gonna do about you?

I don't cheat, Brother Leon.

But look at the evidence, Bailey.

Your marks, all A's.

Every test, every paper.

Only a genius is capable

of that kind of performance.

Do you claim to be a genius, Bailey?

I'll admit, you look like one.

Those big ears and that little face,

all pinched up.

And that little, tiny kind of baby walk you do.

- Bailey?

- Yes?

You haven't answered my question, Bailey.

Well?

I don't cheat, Brother Leon.

Then how do you account

for all those A's, Bailey?

- I don't know.

- Are you perfect, Bailey?

All those A's, that implies perfection.

Is that it, Bailey?

Only God is perfect, Bailey.

Do you compare yourself to God?

If God is perfect,

and you are perfect, Bailey,

doesn't that suggest something to you, Bailey?

The other alternative is that,

of course, you're not perfect.

And, of course, you're not.

I know you wouldn't be so blasphemous

as to compare yourself to God.

- Would you, Bailey?

- No, Brother Leon.

Which leaves us with only one conclusion.

You cheat.

You're a cheat, Bailey, and a liar.

Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

Nobody moves.

You poor fools.

You idiots.

Do you know who is the best man here?

The bravest of them all?

It's Gregory Bailey, that's who.

He denied cheating.

He stood up to my accusations.

Stood his ground, but you, gentlemen,

you sat there and enjoyed yourselves.

And those of you who didn't enjoy

yourselves, you allowed it to happen.

You turned this classroom

into Nazi Germany for a few moments.

You did well, Bailey. I'm proud of you.

You passed the biggest test of all.

You were true to yourself.

Of course you don't cheat.

Your classmates out there,

they're the cheaters. They cheated you.

They doubted you.

I never did.

Dismissed.

Hey, kid.

How come you stare at us?

How come you stand here every day

and stare at us?

We're not in a zoo,

if that's what you think.

Look,

I don't stare.

Yes, you do.

You stand here every day and you stare at us.

We're not subhuman, you know.

- I didn't say you were.

- But you look it.

Look,

I gotta catch my bus.

What bus?

You know who's subhuman?

You are.

Going to school every day on the bus

and coming home every day

on the bus, it's sort of...

It's sort of like you're middle-aged at 15.

Oh, well, you better catch your bus.

I mean, don't miss that bus, boy,

because you're missing an awful lot.

You don't wanna miss that bus.

How many boxes?

I know, I know, I know.

That's a lot of chocolates.

But we have tradition working in our favor.

The chocolate sale is an annual event.

The boys expect it.

If they can sell 10,000 boxes other years,

why not 20 this year?

- And these are special chocolates.

- How so?

Well, these are Mother's Day chocolates.

I was able to pick them up at a bargain price.

Beautiful boxes stored under

the best of conditions since last spring.

All we have to do is remove that purple ribbon

that says 'Mother,' we're in business.

We can sell them at $4 a box

and make a profit of almost $2 on each one.

But 20,000 boxes...

- That means each kid's gotta sell 50 boxes.

- Fifty.

Usually it's 25, and the price is $2.

I know, Archie,

but Trinity is special, isn't it?

Aren't we capable of what others aren't?

Archie, Trinity is struggling these days.

Costs are going up and we have only

so many sources of income.

I mean, there are no rich men's sons here.

Take yourself.

Your father operates an insurance agency.

I mean, he makes a good

salary, but he's hardly wealthy, is he?

What I'm... No, what I'm saying is

that the parents can't afford

any more tuition increases.

We have to find revenue wherever possible.

Even a chocolate sale can be vital to us.

Another thing, you know,

we've kept this quiet, but the Head is ill.

Perhaps seriously.

He's entering the hospital tomorrow.

That's rough.

Which means the school will be in my charge.

It will be my responsibility.

I need your help, Archie.

How about a bonus?

You always give the boys a bonus.

As usual, a day off from school

when every chocolate has been sold.

What, no trip?

Last year, we got to go to New York.

I'll think of something.

Can I count on you?

But what can I do? I'm just one guy.

You have influence, Archie.

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