"There are problems we need to address." "As we understand it, Erik's teaching methods are the problem." " What are you talking about?" " l got a job at a youth home." " All right if I sit here?" " My sister..." "He has no idea what he's getting into." "The authorities went to see Mads' mum." "She is mentally ill." " That's news to me." " l'll have to report it." " You weren't my second choice." " l'm unconvinced." " We can find our way back." " We can't be together." "Bye, Rita." "Well then... ln spite of various interpersonal issues, for the sake of our students, we need to avoid any friction." "How about a pastry?" "Will my munching a pastry make you feel better about fucking each other?" "Unfortunately, Mads Klitgaard has not been attending classes lately." " The final exams are coming up..." " What's the situation there?" "The mother is hospitalized and the boy is now staying in an excellent institution." " But he's unhappy anyway." "Strange..." " We follow the rules." "Isn't there anything in the rules about screwing your employees?" "You moral compass is spinning..." "We need to cooperate, for the sake of our students." " For our students?" " Yes." "Considering what you got Mads into, I'd like you to leave him alone for a while." "And if I have to hear any more hypocrisy oozing from you, I'll explode!" "So eat some pastry and don't talk to me." "For the sake of our students." "Weeds" "EXAM in PROGRESS" " silence!" "Hello, Svend." "Look..." "I bet Rita needs cheering up after what happened with Rasmus." "Rita wouldn't want anyone to comment on her personal matters." "Hi." " Cupcake?" " No, thanks." "It's not because you're sad about Rasmus." "Because we don't think you are." "Good..." "The last teachers' meeting for this term." "We need to talk about Mads." "Mads isn't keen on school right now, but I'll talk to him." "The superintendent of the home asked if Mads could do his exams for me." "But that's not possible, so I guess he won't graduate." "I'll talk to him." " Well, it's like this..." " Like what?" "He doesn't want to see you." "And the superintendent thinks you shouldn't go to see him." "I'll have to inform Helle about this." "Here she comes." "Hello." "We're going to..." "Anyone want to..." " Yes, Julie?" "We brought you cookies." " Why all these baked goods?" " Because of Rasmus." "Why does everyone assume I'm upset?" "I feel just fine!" "All right, give me an effing cookie!" "Sorry..." "That was just from the girls." "Hello, Lisbeth. I'm taking off." "And I'll be sick tomorrow too." "You're never sick." "I am now." ""Sunnyvale" Youth Home" "Mads..." "Could you come with me?" " What for?" " To discuss how you're doing." " l'm fine." " Come on, Mads." " l've already told you how I'm doing." " We need to talk about school." "I'm not going, my teacher's a bitch." " Good, tell us about it." " "Us"?" " Me and a part-time colleague." " Hello, Mads. I'm Ricco." "Mum?" "Mum?" "So you were here after all." "Hi, honey." " What's up?" " Not much." "One of the boys at the home is a student of yours, it's Mads." "You let a minor be in charge of his mentally ill mother." "Why didn't you let the system take care of it?" " Mads wanted to be with his mother." " He's a child." "Like you, when I got you out of the lock-up." "You didn't want to be processed by "the system"." " lt might have saved me a few years if..." " lf what?" "If you hadn't listened to me." "So what do we do?" "Mads refuses to see me, so there's nothing I can do." "He's better off without me." "I want to know what to do." "With a teen who thinks I'm irresponsible?" "You know that better than anyone else." " What took you so long?" " The door's not locked." "What, you want to be robbed?" "There are gangs everywhere." "I just saw one." "They're called "kids", Gitte." " Why are you here?" " Carsten is refinishing the floors." "And he's a pain anyway, so I figured I'd stay with you for a while." "Hello." "Oh no, not you..." "Calm down, young man, you'll graduate soon and then you'll be rid of me." "Take out your books, please." " That's not a book." " l don't feel like getting my book." " Just do it anyway." " l don't feel like it." "The rest of you, then." " Like some candy?" " Thanks but..." " You said thanks." " Stop it!" "Take your books out." "We, we..." "Want to know what we think?" "All right..." "Didn't you want some?" "You can't lay a finger on me." "You can't lay a finger on me." "You can't lay a finger on me." "Those are serious charges." "I will get to the bottom of this." "We will look into it, but until then, nothing has been proven." "I will start out by talking to Erik." "That man struck our child, Rasmus." "That's about the only grounds to dismiss a teacher, right?" "Yes, that would motivate dismissal." "And it's against the law as well." "Which is why I can't be rushed, I have to talk to all parties involved." "Your duty is to get rid of him, Rasmus!" "I will be glad to talk to you again once I've spoken to Erik." "We'll be taking this up with the Board..." "Talk won't be enough this time." "That's how we work around here." "Goodbye." "Right..." "I've spoken to Andreas' parents." "I realise this is uncomfortable, but we do have to discuss it." "Sure, I understand." "Andreas says you went out in the hallway and he was right behind you." "Then he asked you a question about the upcoming exams and you slapped him." "Why would I slap him for asking questions about the exams?" "No, it..." "Maybe Andreas overreacted when you took hold of him or something like that?" "I didn't "take hold" of Andreas." "Give me a break!" "His parents plan to take this up with the Board." "Really?" " We'll discuss it then." " Sure." "Until then, maybe someone else should take over your class." "Rita... or a substitute." "Great." "Thank you." "What's all this?" "Flax seeds, spelt..." " Blueberry extract." "You eat this crap?" " No, Rasmus does." " Why haven't you thrown it out?" " l don't know." "Bran biscuits, ramsons, tarragon..." "Why are the contents of my pantry so bloody important?" "Dumbass... I've never lived like this." "I really like Rasmus." "I was used to having him around." "It felt comfortable." "That's what happens when you lower your guard." "I don't know who I am any more." "You're not someone who has designer lamps and rose bushes." "What did you think would happen?" "I don't know." "I thought I might be able to change." "Do you remember how Mum described us?" " That we were like weeds?" " That's right." "Weeds always survive." "What...?" "Your turn." " Hello." " Okay..." "Okay, what?" "We need to be able to be in the same room." "That will be my biggest educational challenge ever." " But I'll give it my all." " Okay..." "But you won't have to bother." "I've been doing some thinking and I've decided to hand in my resignation." "Are you being a passive-aggressive martyr?" "Neither passive nor aggressive." "Just trying to solve the problem, and the problem is me." "Okay..." "When will you be quitting?" "After the final exams." "By the way, Andreas claims that Erik slapped him." "I've sent Erik home." "Could you take his classes?" " Sure." "Did he do it?" " He won't say." "And there are no witnesses." " How's the situation with Mads going?" " l've got my best man on the job..." " Rita?" "I'm glad you're back." " So am I." " Hello, Rita!" " Hi!" "How are you?" "What the hell is going on?" "!" "Have you lost your minds?" "Right..." "You didn't realise that Erik wouldn't be here today." " Claes and Nisha, clean up this mess." " We don't have a broom." "Jesus!" "Go to the janitor and get one!" "Was that you again, Andreas?" "Come on." "Now." "Out." "Clean it all up." " Where are we going?" " To talk about harassment." "He slapped me." "My parents say he's unstable, that he should be fired." "Your parents think he's unstable?" "We have to do something about it, and Rasmus isn't doing anything." "Yes, that's not good." " l was watching that." " l want to talk about school." " Well I don't." " l'll play you fussball about it." "If I win, we talk." "If you win, I'll leave you alone." " First to ten." " To five." " 1-0." " Not bad." "Do you like winning?" "Then you'd better concentrate. 1-1 ." "Or are you a loser?" "2- 1 ." "Sorry... 3-2." " 4-2. I think you want to lose." " What the hell would you know?" "4-3." "You feel sorry for yourself because your teacher didn't do what you wanted her to." " She lied to me." " Do you pout every time someone lies?" " She had my mother committed." " That was necessary." "4-4." "What do you know about that?" "My mother's fucked up too." "You've met her. lt's Rita." "4-4..." " 5-4." " You won. lt's your call." "Want to watch TV or turn your life around?" "Hello." "Rita..." ""child ABUSER"" "I don't know what to do, he pulls new stunts every day." " Why does he hate me so much?" " lt's not you, it's his parents." "Kids go as far as their parents let them." "They don't respect teachers, so why should he?" " lt's been put before the Board." " l'll tell them about the harassment." "I'll have your back!" "Thank you." "More coffee?" "Almost time..." "I just saw Andreas' parents." "We're all on your side." "Are you coming?" "It's in my office." "Give me a couple of minutes." "Welcome." " l didn't expect you." " l'm Andreas' class teacher." "I'm here to talk about how Andreas affects the class." "And where that comes from." "Why don't you go on inside..." " Are you ready?" " l'm not going in there." "You have to, or we can't defend you." "I slapped him." "All right, but Andreas has harassed you for months." "You did a bad thing, but considering his his behaviour and those parents of his..." "That makes no difference, I slapped a student." " You do know that means dismissal?" " That won't be necessary." "I quit. I no longer wish to be a teacher." " Erik, listen..." " There's more to life." "I'm going to do some of the things I've always dreamed of doing." "I'll go see my son, who works for the UN." " Rasmus...?" " Yes." "Erik has handed in his resignation, so there is no call for a meeting." "Thank you for a lovely school year." "You're great kids, you really are." "I wish you all a bright future." "I hope you will be able to make your dreams come true." "That was short and sweet." "Time to go home and celebrate." " ls this something to celebrate?" " Yes." "When your son is accused of lying about abuse since there were no witnesses, and the case falls apart, that's cause for celebration." "That's funny, you don't want to talk about it... I guess it's easier to just stick together." "But if Erik has seen the light, maybe there's hope for the rest of you." "But I must say it doesn't look good..." "My bad!" "Good thing there weren't any witnesses." "She slapped me!" "Hello, son." " You look happy." " Happier, at least." " Are you ready for your finals?" " Sure." "EXAMS" " silence!" "Good morning." "Any news about Mads?" "Do you know if he's coming?" " What time is he supposed to be here?" " At 1 .30." "He's the last one." "I'm sure he'll be here." " All right, Kim..." "Good morning, Hassan." "Let's go." "Hassan?" "You get a D." "Yes!" "I got a D!" "Hello, Jannik." "Are you ready?" "Come with me." "Jannik?" "You get a C." "Well done!" "Time's up, Claes." "Over here, Claes." "You get an A. impressive!" "Jacob?" "What?" "You're not going?" "I don't want to." "If you only knew how often I was angry with her..." " She had my mother committed." " Yeah." "And your mother is doing better now too, thanks to her." "She might have done something wrong, but at least she made an effort." "Would not trying be better?" "We'll have to enter "absent"." " Two more minutes?" " We already gave him five." "All right..." "You look like you're itching to do your exams." " Hello, Mads." " ls this where it goes down?" "Thank you..." " l know you tried to help me." " "Tried" is the right word." "I'm glad you tried." "No one else ever did." "I'll be back in 30 minutes." "Hello, son." "It was pretty obvious that you hadn't prepared." "But it was good that you showed up." "You got a D." " That's a passing grade, Mads." " Congratulations." "Congratulations, my darling boy!" "I'm so proud of you." "Shall we go?" " What do you want to do?" " Go home." " Nice work." " Thank you." " Thank you." " You're cooking dinner tonight." "Dear friends, the time has come to say goodbye." "And not only to the 9th-graders who will be moving on." "We will also be saying goodbye to a man who's been with us for 30 years." "Let's hear it for Erik and his impressive achievement." "I will also be moving on." "Rasmus, Rasmus, Rasmus!" "My final official act will be to announce the new headmaster of our school." "Will it be you?" "Or me?" "Congratulations..." "Helle." "Thank you..." "Oh, this was too high." "Could you help me, Rasmus?" "Thanks. I won't steal the show, but I'd like to say that this is a challenge I'm really looking forward to." "Next year we will focus on "Cooperative Learning"..." " Do you know what that is?" " No." " Have a great summer, Rita." " You too, Trine." "Rita?" " About the job, it wasn't revenge." " l know." " Helle's good." " l know." "Rasmus?" "I thought I could change." "I'm really sorry it ended like this." "Who knows, maybe our paths will cross again." "See you on August 1 7." "Are you ready for summer vacation?"