"My name's Sebastian, and I've been following what's going on with your son." "Don't call me anymore." "What do you like?" "Give, take?" "I just want to make out." "Eric, he is gay." "He tried to kill himself." "Did you ever touch him?" "Geez." "How could you...?" "My head really hurts." "Do you have anything?" "I have some oxy." "But don't gulp them 'cause they have a kick." "Is Dr. Graham gonna be back soon?" "She's probably still speaking right about now." "Hey, what are you doing here, huh?" "You little bitch." "There was such an incongruency of being in the school and hearing gunfire, just this sound that violates that space... that it... it... it just didn't belong there and made no sense." "The birth of my children would be very significant, but that event, you know, it impacted me as a father, a husband, a parent, a teacher, um... uh, a citizen, uh, a-a-a friend." "I-It changed... it... it..." "it touched every aspect of my life." "It's very hard to get people to understand what mass trauma is like." "If you haven't been through it, there's really no way to adequately describe it." "I assumed someone had done something stupid and brought a gun and possibly even shot the gun but not shot a person." "That is just... sucking up power wherever you can get it and maybe even, preferably, from the least powerful." "And I say all that, and I still love Dylan." "Tell me about that." "Why do you love Dylan?" "'Cause I love all of my students." "All of us have been hurt." "We've..." "We've all been wounded, and all of us, we..." "we... we deal in tragedy" "I-in our own way." "Two days ago, a former student came to our school with a gun and killed Wes Baxter." "Uh, Wes was a... he was a fellow classmate." "He was a teammate." "He was a friend." "And when we lost him... we lost a part of ourselves." "And for me, it was like..." "Uh, for me, it was like I lost a child." "Uh..." "I-I wasn't 100% sure about re-opening Leyland this soon." "It's really hard to return to a place where a tragedy happened, you know, 'cause we want to... you know, we want to be home, where we're safe, with family." "And then I thought, you know, the Leyland community, we... we are family." "And assembling here this morning, it's not gonna heal all wounds, but gathering together, acknowledging to each other that... that we have each other to lean on, it... it helps." "Look, if..." "If we don't love each other... and I mean really love each other... this... this is what happens." "Uh, it's... it's..." "Talking about, you know, uh, love and responsibility and doing right, I mean, that's... that's easy." "This is, uh..." "What happened here..." "Hate and death and guns in schools..." "People say this is the new normal." "Is this the normal we want?" "It's up to us." "My name is Sheryl Moore, and I'm the mother of A.J. Betts." "A.J. made a statement that was very poignant." "He said, "Mom, I just can't go to this school anymore where people are hurting my feelings and making me cry every day because I'm gay."" "And I said, "A.J., do you want me to pull you out of that school?" "Because I'll do it in a heartbeat." "I'll send you to another school where you feel more comfortable."" "And he said..." ""No, Mom." "I'm pretty sure it's not okay to be gay anywhere."" "And I said, "You know what, buddy?" "I don't disagree with you."" "And he said, "I'm just gonna do my time and be done with my senior year and graduate and go on to college where people are more accepting."" "And I said, "I think that's a great idea, A.J."" "And those were the last words my son said to me before he took his life." "At the age of 17, I was already independent because of the impacts of bullying on me at like 8 and 9." "And my parents all this time's wondering, like," ""What's happening in school?" "What's happening in school?"" "These kids are really this vicious." "You hear these stories on the news." "These kids really are this vicious." "And I thought, "Okay, if they're gonna be vicious, then I'm gonna be vicious back."" "How are you?" "Are you..." "Are things okay in here?" "Taylor, I need to know that you're okay." "They keep me separated." "I'm okay." "Can you tell me what happened?" "I was told I should confront things." "But, um... that wasn't really working out." "I was..." "I got in this space where I wanted to hurt myself, and then I went to this other space." "Why should I be hurting me?" "They did this to me." "They did it to you." "That woman did this to you, so..." "I..." "Um, did you make a list of people that you wanted to hurt?" "Yeah." "And..." "And..." "And..." "And you waited... for the head of that school to come back." "I'm meeting with the lawyer, and we're gonna figure out what to do." "What's there to do?" "We'll figure it out." "Taylor, listen." "We'll figure out something." "Okay?" "Hey." "Curt at work?" "Yeah." "Brother here?" "He took off." "Want to show you something." "Where'd you get all this money?" "I got rid of some things." "I got rid of everything except the car." "What's it for?" "It's for us." "I need to get us out of here." "Peter, this family is sick." "Your brother is not well." "Your father is not well." "What's the matter with..." "I don't want anything to happen to you." "What's wrong with Dad?" "He has got problems." "He..." "He did things to your brother." "He is the reason that Eric is the way he is." "Dad wouldn't do something like that." "He's not going to admit it." "He is never going to say anything, but he is the reason." "Your brother was normal, and then something happened to him." "Your father happened to him." "I-I can't stay here, I can't be around all of this, and I can't leave you with him." "Peter, uh..." "You know you don't belong here." "You know you don't belong with them." "And you know if you stay here, nothing's gonna get better." "Peter, you know it." "That is everything I have left." "I can't do anything for your brother, so, please, let me get us out of here." "And go where?" "Wherever you want." "I heard, like, a loud bang coming from the parking lot." "It sounded like a fight breaking out or something." "Then kids were, like, running, like, sprinting past the window, screaming after the gunshot." "Then I saw people running, and I said to the teacher," ""We need to get out of here right now."" "This has been a complicated case for some time now, with reports that the shooter was bullied at school." "Daddy, the bus." "Or will the judge just see this as another case" " of an unstable gunman?" " You know what?" " We're gonna take a little trip." " The answers to those questions remain unclear." "Hello." "Hey." "You all right?" "Yeah, I'm good." "I'm okay." "Well, I-I-I've been calling." "Y-You didn't pick up." "I..." "I, uh..." "I didn't feel like talking." "You still want me to come out there, right?" "I very... very much want you to come out here." "Good, good." "Look, I'm boarding from New York right now." "I'll take a direct flight to Indy." "Just... breathe." "I'm going into work." "No, n-no." " Mm, yeah." " Don't..." "Don't do that." "Sitting here, it's not doing anything." "I'm on my way." " I'm on my way." " I know, but I need to work." "I really do." "I know I sound upset, but I'm really not." "I'm..." "I'm..." "I need to..." "I'll see you when you get here, okay?" "No, no, Leslie..." "I promise, promise." "I didn't know if I could ever love a student again." "I didn't know if I could ever bond that way again, and... and it's always been a strength of mine as a teacher, the fact that I do bond tightly to kids and that I do genuinely love them." "Um, I was rather shocked when I went back that I could..." "I could still do it." "But I can never again guarantee that one of those kids that I love won't ever shoot me." "Grace." "I think, first thing, has anyone made any decisions with regard to final exams?" "I don't think so." "Let's get the deans together." "Let's cancel finals... one less thing for the students to worry about... and, uh... seniors who have been accepted to colleges... find out where, get in touch, let those schools know they'll have incoming students" "who may have varying degrees of trauma." "What?" "It's..." "W-We didn't expect you back so soon." "Everyone else is." "How long was he out there?" "How long did he sit there, waiting for me?" "A little over an hour." "Thank you, Grace." "Get back to me on the finals." "Okay." "It was odd not to see Leslie there." "How do you think she's handled..." "I'm sorry." "You know, Wes hasn't even been buried yet." "I'm not..." "I'm not in the headspace to be talking about that." "I would really like to know your opinion." "Look, you want to know what I think?" "I think she's... it up." "From the start, all she's done is make choices that have hurt my players, hurt this school." "Oh, and then... and then she did everything she can to protect herself and make sure her ass was covered, and the one time... the one time that the school really needs her..." "needs her... needs her to stand front and center and be a leader... nothing." "You know, if there's a donor who's got money, she's right there." "She can't even cry in public." "Eric... my player..." "He never touched that kid." "He never forced himself on him, and then that kid comes back and kills Wes?" "Yeah." "Leslie should've settled this thing a long time ago." "There are a lot of us who think there need to be changes." "But the school board is split on Leslie, and she's got a lot of donors who like her." "A lot of people don't." "The county prosecutor wants to try Taylor as an adult, not as a juvenile offender." "He's a child!" "He made a mistake!" "He had a gun, he lay in wait, he was under the influence of drugs, and he shot another student." "Well, what happened before that?" "I mean, if somebody... if... if they attacked him, doesn't he have a right to stand his ground?" "I mean, it's a self-defense!" "With a stolen gun on school property?" "Tell me what I'm supposed to do." "Tell me how I'm supposed to fight this, please." "My advice... reach a plea deal with the county prosecutor." "Oh, no, I'm not letting Taylor plead to anything." "Anne..." "No." "T-T-T-T-That... kid who raped my son..." "he didn't plead to anything!" "That kid... he didn't..." "they didn't even arrest him!" "The police have Taylor's e-mails." "They know he was attracted to violent behavior." "This state has sentenced a 12-year-old to a 25-year term on a lesser offense." "And there are a lot of people in this state that have some backward views on gays." "You don't want them deciding how many years your son is going to spend in prison." "If Taylor pleads, he'll avoid a trial, and he'll likely get a lesser sentence." "I can't do that." "I can't" "Can't do that to him." "If you want to help your son, you're gonna have to find a way to change the narrative, or let me work on a plea deal." "Parental kidnapping is a reportable crime only if there is a valid custody order in place." "My wife and I have shared custody." "So there is a custodial order in place?" "Alternating weeks." "This isn't her week." "It's custodial interference." "You can't..." "I don't care what you want to call it." "I want to file a missing-persons report" " on my son." " You can't file a missing-persons report for custodial interference." "Look, I don't know where he is!" "That makes him missing, right?" "!" "I don't even know if he's with his mother." "Uh, so, to the best of your knowledge, it's not parental kidnapping or custodial interference?" "I was accused of sexual assault when I was 15." "It happened after I came out to my Catholic high school." "The next day, my... my mom, my grandmother, and my aunt came up to the school to have a meeting about why they were... why they were trying to charge me with this, and there was," "you know, three black women in the room, um, not including myself, and these all-white administrators." "You know, I just came out, but I still was the same scholar/athlete that they named me the year prior." "I felt betrayed." "Um, I felt that the original sin that they were teaching ab... teaching me about in religion class that day, the... the administrators looked at me as that original sin." "Just days after the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Wes Baxter, private security officers were on hand as students arrived to attend an early-morning prayer service to remember their classmate." "Your mother say anything to you about taking Peter?" " The Leyland school's administrators say counselors" " She's not gonna talk to me." " Will be available as long as they're needed..." " She's not gonna tell me anything." "And they promise to keep the school the safest it's ever been." " Not a lot is known yet about the gunman." " What happened to your face?" " Indianapolis police have, however..." " I'm not stupid." "Confirmed that the former Leyland student is cooperating fully with the the ongoing investigation." "I've seen those... those sites or wherever it is you go on." "How come you never said anything?" "I didn't know what to say." "Why do you do it?" "Why?" "And a pivotal member of the championship-winning" "Leyland Knights basketball team..." "I don't have to be who other people think." "You got to stop." "I don't owe anybody." "I don't have to please anybody." "People you meet on a phone?" "!" "You act like that thing is a toy!" "It's a weapon!" "You got to stop doing this to yourself!" "You feel sorry for yourself, but you don't take responsibility!" "So..." "I've got one son who's missing, and the police don't care." "Uh, and you..." "You're trying to kill yourself every way you know how." "And I can't do anything." "I can't do a thing if you won't let me." "But if you want something else," "I'm here." "Same as always." "I'm here." "My experiences of homophobia, racism, sexism, they all subconsciously met up with me at 20 in the bathroom, right before I was about to... hang myself." "It was..." "It was a cry for help." "And I-I realized that I didn't want to be reduced to that moment, be reduced to the girl who committed suicide." "Um, I'm gonna go out for a minute." "Okay." "Has, um, Kevin said anything to you... anything about how he's feeling?" "No, but he gave me a hug." "Maybe the first one he's given me since he was 13." "How you doing?" "You know something?" "I feel vindicated." "Yeah." "Michael, don't say that." "I do." "I mean, this woman that's been going after our boy, she turns out to be crazy." "The kid is crazy." "Now he's a murderer." "Yeah, I'm being honest with you." "I feel vindicated." "I'll be back." "All right." "All right, come on." "Come on." "Come on." "Get your stuff." "Let's go." "Where are we going?" "Indianapolis." "Is it nice?" "Not as nice as Milwaukee." "But it's nice." "What are we gonna do there?" "Your daddy's gonna help somebody." "They want my resignation?" "There's a movement, yes." "Why?" "It's not a done deal." "The board hasn't brought it to a vote, but... there's..." "I'm just here to tell you which way the..." "Why are they doing this to me?" "I've done everything to protect this school, to... to manage this crisis." "When a tragedy like this happens, of course there's gonna be a transition." "Yeah, it's not a transition." "They're looking to shift blame, to... to take attention away from the fact..." "They want to lay their... on me, and I'm supposed to carry it out of here when I go." "There's a lot of money at stake... tens of millions locked in our C.E.P." "Money I brought in." "I need to speak to Rhys Bashir." "He won't put up with this." "If th..." "If they want to make a statement, the board should dissolve itself." "That's how you make a clean start." "You know that's not going to happen." "There's a lot of emotion around, and people are making Dan the face of all this." "Dan Sullivan?" "Dan?" "Please?" "I've been told people have been talking to you about... about... possibly taking a position that isn't..." "About telling the truth?" "What do you think the truth is?" "What do you think I've been doing?" "Manipulating people." "No." "Protecting yourself." "I've been protecting this school." "This school, what I do, how I do it... they matter to me." "These kids... they're just names on a ledger to you." "Just a way to raise money." "You sit in your office talking about how you'd drown one to save the other." "I said nothing like that." "I-If..." "If I used metaphor t-to make a point..." "You..." "You talk about my team with no emotion... none." "I'm down here with these kids every day." " And you don't think..." " I see them in a way that you can't." "That doesn't give you an agenda?" "Can you even consider that I am objective in ways you aren't?" "My boys were accused, tried to kill themselves, got murdered." "I'm not trying to be objective." "And you tried to handle this like it was a-a math problem." "I did as necessary" " to preserve this institution." " No, you did it..." " And you act like that's wrong." " No, you did it no matter who got hurt." "What would you have done?" "Y-You see all this?" "Huh?" "I mean, I know it's just bull..." "basketball to you." "But you... you earn all of this with values..." " values that we put into play every single day." " That is so..." "And if we had stuck to them, if we had stuck with each other, we could've gotten through this." "Principles don't cut it, not when no one else has them." "A boy accused a boy of rape." "You think anyone really wanted to deal with that?" "Did you?" "They wanted to bury and hide and deny, and I was left to deal with it, and I did what I thought was... was judicious and sensible under the circumstances because that's what a politician does." "That's what I was brought here to do, and now people are trying to blame me for it?" "I'm scared." "I'm..." "I'm really scared." "I have spent my whole life trying to put things in order, but I can't..." "I can't manage this situation." "I don't even understand it." "People are asking you for one time to take responsibility." "Yeah, I mean, everybody else got hurt by this." "Everybody but you." "And you wonder why Taylor stole a gun and came here looking for you?" "The healing is very individual, and for... for many, I think it's... for some, it... it has to even be a decision." "And that it doesn't..." "I-It could take years before there is something that feels like it might be healing." "Thanks for coming." "How are you?" "All right." "Yeah, you're okay?" "Since you fired me?" "Not really." "I haven't been able to find another position, and I'm starting to tap into my savings." "The reason I wanted to sit down with you is because I think there are things that need to be said, things that... should be said... things I need you to understand." "I didn't handle your situation well." "You didn't handle it at all." "You let me go for no reason." "You weren't a strong employee." "You had problems, and you couldn't execute." "Is that your version of "I'm sorry"?" "Debra, you weren't strong, but..." "I didn't do anything to help you understand how you could be better or how you were failing." "I couldn't accept that anybody, especially a woman of color..." "What difference does that make?" "I couldn't accept the failure in you because I... couldn't... see the failure in myself." "And I've been shown a lot of things lately that..." "I'm no better." "So, we're here why?" "I saw the news." "Your school, the shooting." "You found Jesus, and now you got to start your good works with me?" "My son's name was on a list." "A week ago, someone wanted him dead." "I went to a wake with people I know standing over their son in a casket." "And my son was supposed to be next to him." "My child." "My life." "That reality gets put in front of you, and you find something." "It's a formality." "That's all." "Don't bull... me." "The school board is getting jawed to death on the student protests." "They're politicians." "They have to look like they're doing something." "They'll sit you down and give you a review." "You know it's not gonna end there." "Three boys beat one boy, and they beat him because he's black." "People can stand outside the school and chant, but when it comes time to talk about this, they're not gonna have a thing to say." "They're gonna try, but they're gonna make themselves look ugly in the process." " When we get through all this..." " We will." "I expect to get some help on our budget." "I can't give preferential treatment." "Oh, no?" "To hell with that!" "I stood with you, okay?" "I backed you on HHFK." "Marshall goes to the top of your pile." "I'm not asking for cash in a bag for me." "You're going to do things for this school." "I promise we'd talk about this, we will... aboveboard and by the book." "Get back in the car." "Did you mean what you said?" "This morning." "Did you mean it?" "At the assembly?" "No, this doesn't have to be normal." "This doesn't have to be the way it's..." "About someone being responsible." "Well, somebody is responsible." "That kid who murdered Wes is going to..." "I sold him drugs." "I sold Taylor drugs before he shot Wes." "He texted me." "And he was messed up, and he wanted drugs." "What drugs?" "Where did you get drugs?" "Mom's." "Mom's, and I got some from some other kids." "You deal drugs?" "You told me that if I ever had a problem that I could come to you and you would fix it." "Who knows about this?" " Nobody." " Well, Taylor knows!" "Nobody else." "Those..." "T-T-These kids..." "T-T-These kids, the ones that you were getting drugs from, the ones that you were selling to?" "!" "It's just a few people." "Who?" "!" "Sophie..." "Oh..." "Tommy..." "Give me your phone." "Give it to me!" "You need to think." "You need to think." "Nobody but you and Taylor know what happened that day?" "Nobody?" "Say something!" "Nobody knows." "All right." "You don't say anything to anybody." "You understand?" "Mm-hmm." "Hey." "Are you... you good?" "Becca was selling drugs." "And she sold them to the... the kid who shot Wes." "W-What..." "What are you talking about?" "Becca sold drugs to the shooter." "Where did she get drugs?" "Where do you think?" "I already got rid of them." "I got rid of them, and I got rid of the card that's... that's in her phone." "Why?" "Why?" "Why would you get rid of the..." "Well, she was... she was texting." "The card... the p-p-phone company has everybody texts." "Y-You..." "You just made her look guilty." "She is guilty." "She was selling drugs!" "Okay." "All right, it was..." "it was... it was pot." "Look, do you think the police care?" "It's not legal." "Okay, all right, um..." "Okay, what do we do?" "Who..." "Who do we call?" "We're... no, we're not calling anybody." "Now, look, look, we..." "I-I talked to Becca." "She said that Taylor is the only one who knows." "We can't hide this." "We cannot hide this." "If Taylor was gonna say something..." "No, he still could." "And t..." "And then what?" "We throw Becca into this, what do you think they're gonna do to her?" "What do you think they'll do to us, huh?" "I mean, we are in a bad place." "H-How are we in a bad place?" "Look, I-I have been out there, talking down this kid, Taylor." "I have taken positions at the school..." "Y-You are talking about you." "Your drugs, our daughter... this is us." "It's about us." "Now, everyone else, they've done whatever to protect their kids, their families." "You think I'm gonna do anything better?" "I've thought about this." "For how long?" " I sat up there..." " Oh, my God." "Listening to our daughter sobbing." "I stood over a toilet, Steph, making sure that your drugs, your crap was gone." "And if it turns out that... that... that we didn't say anything, that's on us." "It's on us." "It's not on her." "Our job is not to tell the police things." "It's to protect our girl!" "Now, look, you... you were right about the school." "You were right about Leslie." "D..." "D-Don't make this about her." "No, I-I-I've got a chance to make things better!" "Okay, you keep saying "I"!" "We're not turning Becca in." "Yo, you text me for this?" "I'm not in the mood to shoot around, so what's up?" "Hey?" "I know what you did." "What'd I do?" "Sent Wes, LeSean, and them to give Taylor a beat down." "Wait, what?" "Wes, LeSean... some of the other guys from the team, they show up at my place after the last game, told me how you were going off on Taylor, how you were saying he needed a beat down." "No, I never said that." "They made me call him, tell him to meet me at the rec center." "They beat him." "That's why he came back with the gun." "Look, I never told them to do anything." "Those are your boys." "They do as you say." "Now Wes is dead." "Look, if they're acting out, that has nothing to do with me." "All right?" "Nothing." "Something happens, and you never got anything to do with it!" "First time the police came... after the Captains' party, I could've told them about all the liquor you bought, all the drugs, all the girls you got to come around and get screwed." "I didn't." "Nobody did." "Nobody ever says anything bad about Kevin." "You go in there." "You got your lawyer." "You read your statement." "You left all this on me!" "You and me, we were supposed to be tight!" ""Tight"?" "!" "We were supposed to be tight?" "!" "You couldn't even tell me you were gay, man." "What are you talking about?" "!" "My dad begs you for help, and you just send him walking!" "That was my parents." "You're the Captain!" "You lead!" "But you always work it so you never have to take the blame." "Now Wes is dead." "Hey." "Hey!" "Hey!" "Who are you telling about this, man?" "I'm telling you." "I'm upset with the teachers and the administration, and I'm upset with the politicians that are defending this school." "But I'm doing everything I can to try and expose it because I feel like A.J. needs a voice, and I'm all he has left." "Hello?" "Ms. Blaine, this is Sebastian." "I'm in Indiana." "I would really like for us to talk." "See, it started with pictures getting posted online." "Then it was texts and e-mails he sent, then somebody putting your medical records up." "That wasn't for nothing." "Whoever put your records up, they were trying to attack you." "You see, the social space, it's... it's not physical." "So people think they can do whatever they want, but that's not how it is." "It's just like the physical world, and if you do something online, there's got to be consequences." "See, people like me..." "See, the system can't do anything." "The police, prosecutors, they can't do nothing about crack dealers up the street." "How are they gonna do anything about what they can't even touch?" "I'm just an activist, Ms. Blaine." "20 years ago, I would've been standing on a street corner, holding up a sign to support you." "Same thing, just different kind of corner." "My son..." "My son's not crazy." "He's not a killer." "H-He was..." "He was pushed to do something." "I need people to understand that." "If you tell me to... there are things that I could find out about that school and how they treated your son." "You can do that?" "There's always something... always." "And then you... you..." "you'll take that to the police?" "The police... they... they don't care." "There's no one else, Mrs. Blaine." "No one." "I know you got to think, why is this idiot talking to me?" "He's just some guy out here by himself." "Yeah." "I'm alone." "But if you're gonna stand up for what's right, sometimes you got to stand apart." "Yeah." "Okay." "There are so many different aspects to bullying." "It's not just a gay thing." "It is definitely, um, a class thing." "It's a "you don't do sports" thing." "People, when A.J. killed himself, said that he took the easy way out, and that made me so mad because A.J. fought every day of his life." "He was constantly battling ignorance." "I feel so comfortable saying that I'm a gender-nonconforming black person, and living..." "living in that truth has saved my life." "The things that brought me back to a place of center were my... my children, relationships with, you know, with... with my wife and friends and the, uh, the strength and enduring qualities of all of us that came back together." "Those things all were pieces that, you know, kind of put me back together." "I mean, you know, my son was 8 years old when the shootings happened." "And I just kept looking at him, going," ""Are you Dylan and I don't know it?""