The English Teacher Page #8

so proud of yourselves.

- Hello, my children of the night.

- Mr. Kapinas!

I'm back.

Mr. Kapinas, you made it.

Wild horses couldn't

keep me away.

Ah, dear, dear Linda.

I am eternally grateful

for all your help,

and understanding.

Aw. It was no problem.

How are you?

Much better, thank you.

Fully rested,

mildly medicated and ready

to resume my duties.

Well, I think,

everything's under control.

Oh, don't worry,

I've done this a thousand times.

Why don't you relax?

Take a seat, enjoy the show.

Thespians. It's time.

Prayer circle of love

and commitment?

Prayer circle of love

and commitment.

My future Tony Award winners,

let's all take

a deep breath.

Let it go.

Focus.

And as Meryl Streep

once said,

when we were doing

Shakespeare in the Park,

"Speak up!"

- Mmm...

- Mmm...

Here we are.

Next year, we are definitely

doing Our Town.

Why are you not

at the hospital?

- Are you going in?

- I'm too nervous.

They were pink roses. That must be

a good sign, I'm sure of it!

No, Jane. She's gone.

She died this morning.

I don't understand, you said she was

getting better. You...

She took a turn.

No. No.

I'm sorry.

It happened so suddenly.

She never woke up again.

Then, she was gone.

But I never got to say goodbye.

You told me that, I would see her

one last time.

Why didn't you

come get me?

It would not have

changed anything.

I could have been there to tell her

that I love her.

I could have held her hand so she

wouldn't have felt so alone.

Jane, control yourself.

I must prepare

for the funeral.

It's time to move on.

I never knew my mother.

But she was beautiful...

She loved bright

and colorful things.

Here. I'll give you

your favorite colors.

Green for her wings.

Green with flecks of gold,

just like her eyes.

Pleasure to meet you.

I'm Margaret.

Did you hear me?

I said step away!

Damn it, Jane!

That's not me.

Mother. I'm ready.

Yes, daughter.

Come away with me.

You'll never belong

in this world.

All the pain and the fear

and the loneliness.

We'll be together, always.

Jane!

Get away.

- Please listen to me.

- Get out!

You ruined everything.

My entire life.

I know, I've made mistakes.

I'm sorry.

I wish I could go back and change

what happened, but I can't.

Please, Jane,

I'm asking for another chance.

It's not too late...

I know you want to run away,

I know you want

to punish me,

maybe I deserve it...

Hmm. It's better

than I thought...

You do deserve it!

You're the monster. Not me!

I know... I know, I am.

I'm so sorry...

What the f*** is this?

Jason.

At least in New York they didn't

give a sh*t about my play,

they didn't try

to destroy it.

It's not destroyed.

It's still your play.

You've ruined the

whole point of the story.

Jason, I was wrong. I didn't know

what to do, or how to fix it.

And I'm sorry.

I am truly, truly sorry.

Please don't let my mistakes stand

in the way of your success.

Thank you.

Oh, you were wonderful.

Whoo!

Author! Author!

He means you.

Go on.

There he is.

Ms. Sinclair.

Nice work.

Thank you.

May I apologize

for my behavior?

Oh, no. Forget about it, it wasn't my

finest moment either.

I shouldn't have believed that stuff

from the play. I was ridiculous.

I'm very sorry.

Apology accepted.

Thank you.

It's actually true.

Sort of.

About the play.

I wasn't a great dad.

Pushed him to do all the things

I wanted him to do.

I'm sure,

you did your best.

I dated some crazy women.

None of them Irish.

But, uh...

- Creative license, I guess.

- Mmm-hmm.

Anyway, we learn from

our mistakes, right?

Yes, we do.

- Good luck with everything.

- Thank you.

And so, Linda Sinclair resumed

her life as a schoolteacher.

Though she brought a new,

modern approach to her craft.

Now that you've

all finished the reading,

let's try a little

creative writing exercise.

I'd like you all to write a new

ending to A Tale of Two Cities.

Now, it could be

anything you like.

So let your

imaginations run wild.

She often saw Dr. Sherwood,

though propriety dictated that

she maintain a respectable distance

from the father of the young man

with whom she'd so disgraced herself.

That's a good biography.

I have a copy if you

want to borrow it.

- You're a fan?

- Of Conan Doyle?

- Of course.

- Me too.

Since I was a kid.

And that was the end of it.

How are you?

I'm pretty good, thanks.

Hey, would you like to grab

a cup of coffee or something?

Naturally...

Um...

She refused.

Okay. Why not.

And so they spoke in

a strictly impersonal way.

She did some crazy stuff.

She had a yard sale one time when

I was out of town,

and sold my entire collection of

Ellery Queen first editions.

- Oh, no!

- Yes!

That's when I knew the marriage

was kinda over.

They did not

discuss the boy.

- Jason's doing really well.

- Is he?

Yeah, yeah, he's actually written

another piece.

And he's work shopping it in a

children's theater in New Jersey.

I mean, you may or may not realize

some references to Orwell,

and Kafka in the first act...

Oh, that's so wonderful.

Can I be honest

with you about something?

I knew it.

The whole time we're strolling along here,

I keep thinking...

You know,

you slept with my son.

I understand that it was just one

of those things or whatever, but...

I guess, what I am

trying to say is...

I still think

you're pretty great.

What?

Yeah.

And if it's not too weird...

For you, or me...

Walter Mosley's speaking over at

Wilkes next week, and I thought maybe...

Linda Sinclair.

What are you doing?

You belong here.

At home. Alone.

You don't want

to go out there.

It's a cruel and

unforgiving world.

Linda.

- Hi, Linda.

- Hi.

Linda.

You look great.

Thank you.

Are you ready?

Yes, I am.

Linda? Are you listening to me?

Don't be a fool!

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