"In my line of work there are two cardinal rules." "Tell the truth, and never, ever become emotionally involved with your subject." "The trouble is, you see, all truths are in fact half true, like when you read the newspaper." "It's never just the facts." "There's always judgment." "It goes all the way back to when Jesus died." "No one really knew what to think of him, not until someone put it on paper and said," ""Here, here's the gospel truth."" "Legends aren't born, they're written." "And really, that's what we all do one way or another, when someone we love dies," "and not just anyone, when it's someone extraordinary, your own personal Jesus." "Why not?" "A hero." "When they up and die, we're left with nothing." "Nothing but the task." "Make them immortal." "Only a magnificent epitaph will grant eternal life, and it's up to us, the ones left behind, to write it however we see fit." "Rockets away, my boys." "Rockets away" "Into the air we soar and in a blaze of glory ever" "This is 1986, a few days before the whole Challenger Space Shuttle mishap." "...for soon-to-be teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe." "This is her hometown." "Proud, overjoyed." "For a few more days, at any rate." "And in the same town, this very same week, another teacher died." "Their teacher." "They were the unteachable," "the outcasts, the freaks, the future fuckups of America, but their teacher loved them and they loved him back." "Well, most of them did." "Before their story collided with mine, there was another hero who left this world, my world, New York City, three weeks earlier." "I was a newspaper reporter, and like most, I was a cynic, but I secretly yearned to be proved wrong." " Hey, Babbitt, nice article." " Thank you." "To believe in something, someone." "And once you're a believer, well, what's to say?" "It's very potent stuff." "Perfect." "She was witness to a murder, so I couldn't use her real name." "I called her Angela, because Angela saw the face of the boy who killed her son." "She saw his shock and pain." ""The fullness of his action coming down on his adolescent face," ""still just a child himself."" "I painted her as a hero, and she was." "I just don't know what she thought about me saying so." "My baby." "I never got the chance to ask." "No, no, no!" "I didn't really lie." "All right, fuck it." "I lied." "I kept her alive doing the things I thought she should have done." "I went a bit overboard, perhaps, but this is what we do." "You want them to live on, turn the life into a legend." "Your latest, it's a little baroque." "I'm going to tone it down." "Don't fucking touch it." "It's gotta stop, and that's that." "You're obsessing, and frankly, you smell." "But in the workplace, personal crusades tend to make others..." "Stop that." "... uncomfortable." "I'm sending you to New Hampshire." "Local hero, your favorite." "Teacher in space, hometown hoopla, blah, blah, blah." "You're going to break that." "I hope you fucking die up there." "Shit." "Shit!" "Don't get on this bus." "Hi, it's Sam." "Leave a message." "Hello, Sam Callalucci." "If you recognize my voice, you're a greater friend to me than I ever was to you." "It's Campbell Babbitt." "It must be 15 years at least since we..." "Well, since you graduated." "I heard you were going to become a priest." "That's..." "I mean, no, I'm sure you had your reasons." "The reason I'm calling..." "Well, I think I'm standing outside your apartment building." "I was wondering if you could do me a favor." "I need to borrow a car." "I don't seem to be able to find a rental, and it would be really helpful if you could" "find some way of furnishing me with a set of wheels." "It'll be good to see you and catch up, find out what went wrong." "So call me." "Okay." "Hold that bus." "Jerk." "And after being chosen from over 11,000 teachers," "Christa McAuliffe and her students here were deeply honored." "She will teach her lesson from spaces..." "Space, using two of the actual mice sent up in the last Challenger mission." " And finally..." " Fuck this." "A sad bit of local news." "Last night, one of our teachers, Sam Callalucci, died under what can only be described as unfortunate circumstances." "Yes, it's the Red Gremlin." "Yeah." "Well, how bad is it?" "Could I make it to New York?" "Well, right, what, 50-50?" "40-70?" "That doesn't add up." "Okay." "It doesn't matter." "Right, 40-70." "I'll come and pick it up." "I'll catch the bus." "Bye." " Fuck." " Fuck." "Fuck!" "Fuck!" "Fuck!" " Hey!" " Hey, Lute, I want to talk to you." "You found him?" "What were you doing there?" "Was he alive?" "Hey." "Did he say anything about me?" "What do you want from me?" "I didn't kill him." "I'm sorry." "I know." "I'm so sorry." "I'll get the next one." "Fuck!" "What are you doing?" "Oh, hello." "I'm a reporter." "What building is this?" "It's the Shed." "It's our classroom." "Right." "Is that like a special ed or something?" "Who's Special Ed?" "So, you know him?" " Who?" " Mr. C." " No, I was just..." " Mr. Callalucci." "Sam Callalucci?" "Yes." "We went to university together." " I knew it." "You could be his brother." " You sound like James Bond." "I'm British, so..." " I was thinking of popping in." " To the funeral." "It's called a wake." "A funeral is when you bury him." "Are we going to bury him?" "No, we're just going to go sit next to his body for a while." " Wait, wait." " It's called a wake, because he was Catholic." "He was almost a priest." " Almost." " Almost." "I just loved him." "Some of us wanted to say a few words about Mr. Callalucci." "Before he was our teacher, Mr. C was almost a priest." " Almost." " Almost." "That's how come he knew all about what it is to have faith." "Now it's up to us to have a little faith in him." "It's so hard to believe that he's no longer here." "He is, you know." "This sort of thing happens all the time." "People feel that dead person all around them." "But everybody's like, "No, you gotta fucking accept it." ""Gotta learn to move on without him."" "And if you listen to them, well, then, pretty soon that person really is dead." "He did things." "Good things, mostly." "And actions cause reactions." "So what we do right now is different because of what he did then." "Because whatever he did, we're not the same because of it, and that's never gonna change thanks to him." " Excuse me." "Aren't you a reporter?" " Yes." "You aren't reporting about this, are you?" "No." "Sam and I were at college together." "No." "Sam wasn't English." "Yes, I know." "Thank you." "No, I was at college in the US with Sam." "I was kicked out of Cambridge." "It's a long story." "I was covering the Christa McAuliffe shuttle thing, and I thought I'd stop by." "I'm sorry." "Penelope Little." "Please forgive me." "You understand I didn't want the press getting involved in all of this." "I'm assuming you knew the circumstances." "Did Sam..." "I mean, I notice that it's not exactly overflowing with well-wishers." "Kill the lights." "He hated bad lighting." " Hey, Peg." " What..." "Oh, my God, you guys." "I live in the rooming house where you're staying." "If you see me there, please don't ask me to say anything." "I'm sure others will be more than eager to talk and talk, but if you're really his friend, please don't ask them." "It was nice to meet you." "I like your shoes." " Hey, Donna, it's me." " You guys are fucking nuts." "What..." "Fuck!" "I think I might actually have something here." "I can't." "Everyone put something in?" "Tess?" "Can we help you?" "Sorry." "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." "It's Mr. C's best friend." " Sorry, I didn't mean to barge in." " What's your name?" " Campbell Babbitt." " What's your last name?" " Babbitt." " Where are you from?" " He's from Ireland." " England." "I'm English." "You must miss him so much." "Of course he does, you dink." "Do you want to talk about it?" "I mean, like, you know, your feelings, the hurt, the loss..." "Well..." "I mean, we knew him well, but not, you know, best friends." "Well, I don't know." "I mean, you know, maybe you guys were his best friends." "Did he say that to you?" "Did he?" " Mr. B?" "Are you a teacher, like Mr. C?" " Yeah?" "No." "Why?" "You think you're gonna get him to take his place?" "Forget it." "The Shed is dead." "We all get new homerooms tomorrow." "They're reassigning us." "What?" "Someone ought to say it." "Excuse me, Tess." "You don't know." "She doesn't know." "And when you don't know, don't open your mouth, because the rest of us have ears" " that get filled with your bullshit." " Okay, come on." "Come, come." " Freak." " So you came to visit him?" "Well, I was assigned to cover the teacher in space." " Wait." "So you're a reporter?" " But I thought he was a teacher." "No, I'm with..." "I say, I am a reporter." "That's why I'm here." " I want to talk to you guys." " I thought he was a teacher." " Guys, come here." " No, I won't." "What do you want?" "I thought perhaps I could help out some way." "Help how?" "You know, tell his story, tell the world about him and you all." "What are you talking about?" "I spoke to my editor, and she thinks it could be a very big story, so..." "You don't know us and we don't know you." "And you think you're just going to waltz in here and do some big spread?" " It could be his legacy." " We are his legacy." " Mr. Babbitt." " Yes." "You have to understand that none of us trusted anything." "Mr. C, he made us give a piece of ourselves," "I mean, something that touches your soul so, so deep that you're never, ever the same." "And after that, we trusted each other." "Yeah." "We trusted." "Right." "Couldn't we just cut our thumbs and rub them together?" "This is weird." "It's very..." "It's very..." "This is very difficult for me." "Obviously, I want you to trust me." " Then tell us." " Please." "He's got nothing to say." "I knew a single mother who lost her only child." "He was shot, a random killing." "He was holding her hand at the time." "And the thing about Angela was, even in mourning, people felt better being near her, stronger." "I thought if I wrote about her, I could recognize that strength." "She didn't know what she was." "A lot of people don't know what they are." "Good people." "The point of the story is that people were moved by the words I wrote and they were inspired by her." "And what, she lived happily ever after?" "No." "She died." "She died, right?" "And you loved her." "Well, no." "A journalist isn't supposed to fall in love with his subject, so..." "But you did." "What did he say?" " Who?" "What?" " Mr. C, when you told him about it." "He said, "Keep telling stories" ""and through the stories we will find redemption."" " Thanks for giving me a ride." " That's why I have a passenger seat." "So, what's your thing, Tess?" "What's your field?" " Art." " Art." "Cool." "So you knew him really well?" "Sam?" "Yeah." "Did he ever mention me?" "Yeah." "He spoke very highly of you." " He said your work was very strong." " Strong?" "He said that?" "I guess he probably mentioned that big arts-and-crafts fair we had last year, right?" "Are you kidding?" "He was so proud of the way you guys put the whole thing together." "He talked about the crafts and the arts..." "God, fuck." " Did you even know him?" " What?" "There is no arts-and-crafts fair." " Okay." " I think I'm gonna be sick." " Okay." " What else did you lie about?" "Hey." "Hey." "It was a long time ago, okay?" "I did go to college with him." " You said best friends." " I know." "That was those twins." "They said it." " They're not twins." " Well, whatever they are." "The girls with the..." "The twinsey-type girls said that and I didn't feel it was my place to correct..." "Oh, so you just lied." "Look, it seemed like they needed to hear that, you know, that he really loved you guys." "And I may not have been around to hear it firsthand, but I knew Sam and, you know, I..." "He was a dedicated man, and I'm sure whatever I said was entirely true." "I'm going to tell you something, all right?" "He didn't fall off that roof." "He jumped." "He wasn't a hero or a martyr." "He just..." "He gave a little too much love, and he couldn't take it back." "To whom?" "To you?" "Why don't you ask Lucy?" "Lucy knows why he's dead." "Second house on the right." " Is that your..." "Your dad's waiting for you..." " That's not my dad." "Tess?" "It's Uncle Rick." "It's okay." "Your dad's asleep." "Come on, honey." "Open up." "18, 17, 16..." "You remember?" "I remember." "So take teenagers as this subpopulation, these desperate thrill-seeking beasts." "Sexuality practically oozes out of them." "They're potent." "Then take the rejects, the disturbed, the misunderstood, the unteachable, and you set them apart, isolate them from their peer group." " Are you with me?" " Isolated, potent rejects." "Gotcha." "Okay." "Then along comes a teacher, an almost-priest, who says," ""In my classroom you are free from those repressive societal constraints."" "He says, " You can do whatever you like without fear of being judged, "" "and they accept." "And maybe the teacher feels like a god for doing this, or maybe he feels like he's gone too far and he can't find his way back." "Maybe this almost-priest thinks he's Jesus, and who can blame him with such loyal and lusty disciples?" " Where's the Christa connection?" " Well, that's it, isn't it?" "It's the murky side of heroism." "It's the anti-Christa." "These kids have been touched, they're unshackled." "It's not really a newspaper article." "It's more like a novel." "And that doesn't help you, but you're getting the condensed version." "And what about Angela, the articles?" "Are we done with that now?" "Now that's done?" " lf that's your decision." " She's just one woman, you know." "I mean, it must've been pretty exhausting reading about herself every night." " I'm not fighting you." " Fine." "But I want to see a draft on the Christa article by tomorrow." "Okay, but that is the Christa article." "No, it's not." "Tomorrow." "And then you can dance with the devil all you want." "Mr. Babbitt?" " Mr. Babbitt, I hope I'm not disturbing you." " No, no." "Because I was feeling very guilty about how rude I was to you this afternoon." " Don't mention it." " Oh, you're very kind." "I have something for you." "His family, they're in California." "They asked me to give away his clothing." " Oh, no, no." "I couldn't possibly." " Don't be silly." "That jacket you were wearing sure won't be able to tackle a New Hampshire winter." "Why don't you try it on?" "Try it on." "If it doesn't fit, I will have to give it to someone else." " Okay." "Sure." " Put it on." "Let's see." "Turn around." "You're just his size." "Warm." "Those kids, they just..." "I lose my dignity when I'm around them." "They know all my secrets." "Well, you know that Sam demanded his students be completely honest with him." "It went both ways." " I don't think Sam would..." " I know he did." "He told me he did." "To earn their trust, he had to be completely honest with them." "You knew that Sam and I were engaged, didn't you?" " No." "I mean, no..." "I don't think he..." " Really?" "He never told you?" "Yes, he mentioned it." "I remember." "Well, a mention." "This is a nice room." "I used to have this room." "Sam used to visit me here." "I'm sorry." "It's just so hard to take in sometimes." " It's all right." " Thank you." "It's okay." "Thank you." "I need a hug." "Okay." "Oh, dear." "Yeah." "No." "Oh, God." "You've been very kind." "Okay." "That's, you know..." "Mr. B!" "Hey, Campbell Babbitt!" "Hey." "What's happening?" " Jim stole the coffin." " Mr. C's coffin, with Mr. C in it." "We left one in there." "It was from the showroom." "We even put a stop sign in it." " For weight." " Yeah." "So, where's the coffin?" " Did Jim do this by himself?" " No." "We helped." "So you all stole the coffin?" "Must've been tricky." "It's got handles." " Nice coat." " Thank you." "Well?" " Well done." " Yeah?" "Yeah, sure." " Isn't he going to rot or something?" " It's on ice." " Oh, my gosh." "That's right." " Well, that's a fucking load off." " Do you have a..." " No, I'm good." "Did you ever used to smoke grass with Sam?" "Well, I think Lucy did one time, right, Jim?" "Yo, man, you got a light?" "He was irreplaceable, you know?" "There's no one like him anywhere." "No one could take his place." "No one's trying to, Jim." "As much as we might want it." "Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-brow'd night" "Bring me my Romeo: and, when he shall die" "Cut him out in little stars" "And he will make the face of heaven so fine" "That all the world will be in love with night." "Juliet." "Mr. C was her director." "Satellite." "Hey, man." "Want some?" "The sensei?" "Well, if you insist." "I would love to." " Great." " Great." " What are you looking for, Ezra?" " I don't know." "I can't believe that McAuliffe chick gets to go up into all that." " Maybe she'll bump into Sam." " Maybe." "I once said his name three times and it started to rain." "I swear to God." "Oh, can you put that in your story?" "Of course, I can." " We saw his face." " In a cloud." " He was smiling." " Perfect." " Do you think he might do it?" " Take over for Mr. C?" "Do, do, do, do, do, do, nine" "Do, do, do, do, do, do, eight" "Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, seven" "Do, do, do, do, do, doobie, doobie doobie, six" "Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, five" "You look ridiculous." "Hey, Lucy!" "Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, two" "Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, one" "Attention all students." "Due to cold water..." "Weather in Florida, the Challenger shuttle launch has been postponed, so consequently we won't be having a celebration assembly." "However, I have it from very good sources that tomorrow will be the day." "Please all stand." "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands." "One Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." "Can you feel the heat from the boosters?" "Can you feel the boost from the heat?" "On the Challenger..." " I can't hear you!" "Very nice, Lute." " I fixed the spelling." "I see." "I see." "Hey, Lute, can you come and sit down?" "I have to ask you a very, very serious question." "This Mr. Babbitt, the reporter, I can't tell what he's up to." "Turn." "Has he been talking to any of the students, asking them questions?" "No." "Lute, if you were to be my assistant choir mistress..." "Miss Little, I really don't know anything about it." "Lute, when do you go in front of the judge?" "Is that tomorrow?" "This afternoon." "Well, I wrote you a very glowing affidavit." "Turn." "Very glowing, despite what I told you I think of shoplifters." "It was only a pair of jeans, and just that one time." "I know." "That's why I wrote it." "But it's a..." "Turn..." "legal document that I signed, swearing to God that you're..." "Oh, that's your cue." "Go." "Go, go, go, go, go." "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3" "Ready, go!" "2, 1!" " Countdown!" " To a higher place" " Countdown!" " Yeah, we're talking about space" ""Sam Callalucci, Ethics Committee." ""On receipt of this letter, you are informed of immediate suspension." ""...inappropriate relationship with a student."" "Lucy and Mr. C were in love." "How could that be inappropriate?" "Who would tell on them?" "Who would do something like that?" " Some jealous dimwit." " Yes, yes, jealous, definitely." "...on the beat!" " Oh, my God." " Oh, my God." "Listen to the beat." "May I help you?" "Yeah, if I wanted to find a newspaper article, how would I do that?" "Do you know the periodical?" "Do you know the author?" "Yeah, I know the author." "Doesn't say she died." "Hi, Gina." "I need to speak to Donna." "It's Campbell Babbitt." "Hold on, Babbitt." "Donna will talk to you." " Hi." " Hi." "A bunch of us are getting together tonight at Peggy's, you know, the girl in the wheelchair." "Her parents are out of town." "She's got a heated pool and a hot tub." "Get out of the cold and wet." "You should come, you know, for the article." " Of course." " 842 Hemlock Drive." " Okay." " You going to remember that?" "Yeah." "How are you going to do that if you don't write it down?" "Half of eight is four, half of four is two and Socrates killed himself by drinking hemlock, so..." " The Greek guy?" " Indeed." " "Indeed."" " No, I'm still here." "I'm waiting." "Why did he kill himself?" "Well, he was arrested and he thought the charges against him were a joke, so he did it as a kind of protest." " I bet you know why he was arrested, too." " Maybe." "Two charges." "Disrespecting the gods." "They didn't like independent thinkers then anymore than they do now." "The second reason?" " Corrupting the young." " Indeed." "Are you trying to educate me, Mr. Babbitt?" "Just in case your memory isn't what it used to be." "Come on." "842 Hemlock." " See you tonight." " Okay." "Campbell?" "Campbell, are you there?" "Gina, I don't hear him." "Campbell?" " Oh, hi, Donna." "Yes, listen..." " Shut up and sit down." "Are you sitting?" " Yeah, sure." " We just got advance word." "You, my dear, are on the shortlist for..." "Are you ready?" " What?" " The Pulitzer Prize." " The goddamn fucking Pulitzer Prize." " What for?" "What for?" "Angela." "What else, you nitwit?" " Um." " He said "um."" "Listen." "Call me tonight, all right?" "You still have my home phone?" "No." "Give it to me again." "World newsroom." "I need you down here first thing in the morning." "We're going to hook you and Angela up to an interview with one of the affiliates." " No." "We can't do that." " We can't?" "Angela wouldn't go for it." "What happened?" "Did the two of you have a spat or something?" " No." "Fuck off." " I was bad." "Yeah." "Damn right." "Listen, why don't you give me her number and I'll call her?" "Campbell, do you want to win this thing or not?" " No." " No." "God, no." "Angela's not dead." "I'm sorry." "I don't know where you would have heard that." "I see." "Okay." "Thank you." "Oh, my God." " Hi." "You must be Peggy." " Oh, lucky guess." "You must be the reporter everyone wants to fuck." "Hey." " Hello." " Hey, watch the trousers." " I didn't notice that." "Sorry." "Hi." " Okay." " You found it." " Yeah." "This was his copy." "I think he would have wanted you to have it." " Where did you find this?" " It was in his desk." " Those drawers were locked." " I happened upon some keys." " I like your style." " I can't stay." " Why not?" " I've gotta go back to New York." "But what about the article?" "They don't guarantee they're going to print everything, so I don't have any control over that." "Won't you just sit down for a minute?" " Are you nervous about something?" " I'm just antsy." "You know, I want to get going." "The weather's terrible, so..." "Look at Peggy." "You know what happened?" "She got hit by a Yum-Yum Chicken truck." "Made a bundle off the lawsuit." "They put her in the Shed because it's handicapped-accessible." "That really pissed her off, so she snapped or something and I guess they decided she really did belong there." "What made you belong there?" "Too many mistakes, I guess." " Don't worry about it, Fenster." " Okay." "Hey, you know you've got a real sleek wheelchair, Peg." "Some of them have got no style and stuff, but yours has got real lines, you know?" "My grandpa, he actually, like, invented stuff for handicapped people, like crutches and walkers, and..." "You told me he was a movie director." "Yeah, he did that first." "Hey, that must be you from..." " Fenster, come on." " Yeah." "Coming." "They've all just forgotten him already." "Of course, we have you now." "The question is, what are you going to do with us?" "I really have to go." "No, you can't." "You haven't interviewed me." "Do you need a hand with that at all?" "Keep talking, Fenster." "Tell me about your grandmother or something." "Okay, yeah." "She was friends with everybody, you know, like, everybody in the neighborhood, like, presidents and famous guitar players and..." "She spoke Latin and she liked horses a lot." "She actually had a couple of horses, and she could drive a blimp." "Yeah, she was actually one of the first to ever do that." "Fenster," "I need you to do me a favor." " Like?" " Like..." " Why me?" " Because no one will ever believe you." " I need you to..." " Okay." "Yeah." "Sure, Peg." "Okay." " You run like a girl." " I am a girl, you dink." "Where's the reporter?" "He'll be back." "What does it feel like, Fenster?" "I need to know what it feels like." " I don't know." " You don't know?" " Good." " What do..." "What do you mean, good?" " You're pulling my..." " Good?" "lbuprofen." "You-buprofen." "We-all-buprofen." "Mother's little helper." "Hi, Tess." "I know you lied about that woman, Angela." "Remember?" "She's dead." "You really fucked me up with that story." "You really got us all feeling so bad for you." "But she's not dead, is she?" " So what, you read my articles?" " Yeah." "I went to the library." "I was reading about this woman and her poor son." "It doesn't say she died." "You just killed her off, I mean, to buy our sympathy." "I mean, what kind of asshole lies?" " I didn't kill her off." " Yeah, you did." " You lied about Angela." " I didn't..." "You lied about knowing Mr. C. I mean, what..." "I didn't lie." "What's wrong?" "Nothing, I'm fine." "Are you okay?" "You have some..." "You've still got some stuff." "It's this stomach virus that I have." "Maybe you should go home, unless that's where you caught the virus." "What's that supposed to mean?" "Just, you know..." "Just what I said." "Fuck you." "Seriously, fuck you." "Don't think you know me." "You don't fucking know me." " Hey, hey." "Just..." " You don't know anything about me!" "Hey, listen, just because you have problems at home..." "Fuck you!" " Don't take it out on me." " Why not you?" "Well, okay." "You know what?" "You know what?" "You're right." "You're right..." "You're right about everything." "Angela's alive and well." "I used her, I lied, and you win." "I'm out of here." "Have a nice life." "Just stay away from Lucy." "No, don't..." "You don't know anything about me, either, sweetheart." "There's nothing wrong with..." " It's none of your business." " Yeah, well, I'll make it my business." "I swear I will." "That's interesting, because someone made it their business to notify the school there was an inappropriate relationship between a student and Sam." "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" "It's all right." "I won't tell your friends, even though they'd be very unhappy." "Yeah, well..." "Well, I saw them together, Mr. C and Lucy, having sex in the Shed." "What was I supposed to do?" "Look, you may have done the right thing, but just be careful where you point that finger." " I'm not Sam." " Yeah, well, you sure fooled Lucy." " Lucy is a very confused girl." "I'm just..." " What, a nice guy?" " Yes." " Yeah, and I've got a stomach virus." "Well, Reverend Father, we hear you, but we Americans believe with you that even the humblest..." "He's got really great hair." "... to be free." "My fellow citizens, Members of the House, let us not take the path of least resistance in Central America again." " Hey, Campbell." " Hi." "Get us some beer?" "I..." "I..." "I have to go back to New York, yeah, so..." "It's been great meeting you guys, and I'll see you." "Come on." "We can take my car." "No, what I really need now is a push." "I don't push." "Jim and Ezra are inside, but after that rude exit of yours..." " You know, you made Sue cry." " Jesus." "I'm just saying it'd be a lot better if you came back with some beer." "It'll take five minutes." "Jim!" "Jim, wait up." "We figured it out." "We just wanted to let you know." " It had to be Miss Little who told on them." " We know who it was." " Who else?" " Who else?" " She was jealous." " Lucy and Mr. C were in love." "But she's not going to get away with it." "Do you want to hear our plan?" " We have a plan." " It's really good." " Not really, no." " No?" "Maybe later." "She's not coming back, James." "Don't call me James." "What?" "Do you think those keys you found would open Mr. C's apartment?" " Don't you want to?" " No." "Maybe he meant for us to come here." "You go first." "No, no." "No, I'll go first." "Oh, my God." "Did you find anything?" "No, no." "I thought I might find this gold necklace that I gave him." "It was a cross, but..." "I'm..." "I'm going to go on the roof and take a look." "You want to come?" "No, you stay here." "I'll be back later." "Stupid." "Hello?" "Yes?" "Oh, my God." "You're never going to believe what just happened." "This neighbor woman came in and thought that I was his niece, so I said, "Thanks for the coffee cake." "Really sweet of you."" "Just like I thought maybe his niece might say." "Lucy." "Lucy." "Lucy." " I want to see." " No, no, no." "No." "Come..." "Come here." "Let your passions overwhelm your fears." "Is that what he said?" "He said it to me." "Look, Lucy, you are a very, very, very beautiful young woman." "But this would be..." " A mistake?" " Yes." "Is it Angela?" " No." " I understand." "You're afraid to love again." "Me, too." "It hurts so much." "Even when it's right, it hurts." "But if we were afraid of it, it would be so sad." "We would be just like everyone else." "Sad." "I can't..." "I..." "No, no, no." "Let's not..." "Stop." "Look..." "Look." "You're very young." "I'm 17." "It's not like it doesn't happen all the time." "Yeah, well, you know, be that as it may, there are boundaries." "We..." "Actions have consequences." "We can't just flit around saying we're gonna keep the dead from dying." "We can't, okay?" "I'm sorry if I led you on, but let's just come out and say it, right?" "Sam's dead." "Angela's dead." "I'm not Sam and you're not Angela." "Okay, answer me this." "Why did Sam jump?" "Perhaps he crossed a line with you that he couldn't come back from." "That's not what happened." "You can't..." "No, you don't know that." "You know, it's not really love when..." "It's never a mistake." "Lucy, let's not..." "Let's not do this." "You don't think that he loved me." " I think he was confused..." " Shut up." "Just..." "Please." "I went swimming once at this quarry," "and everyone was jumping off this kind of cliff thing, and I got in line and jumped." "It was high enough that I had time to think, to think, like, "I'm still falling, I haven't landed yet."" "Do you think that he had time to think?" "I guess he did." "You think he was thinking about me?" "No." "No?" "I thought you understood." "My God." "God!" "Someone help!" "What do you want?" " Oh, my God!" "Where did you find that?" " It was on the roof." "Throw it." "I was wrong." "He was thinking about you." "I thought he was jumping, but he must've been going for the necklace." "Campbell, maybe you were right." " Maybe we shouldn't..." " Don't..." "Don't say that." "You know, he was torn from your life." "The ground opened up beneath you." "What are you supposed to do, float?" "That's bollocks." "You reach out and you flail, try and grab hold of something or someone." "You know, you reached out for me, and I didn't take your hand, and I..." "You know, it's..." "You need it and I need it." "And it doesn't matter how crazy that looks on the outside." "I'm not outside, I'm..." "You know, metaphorically speaking." "Obviously, you know, I'm..." "Actually..." "Where are you going?" "Campbell." "Campbell, what the fuck are you doing?" "Hey." " My parents." " Just..." "Just to talk." "We've said so much already." "We don't have to talk." "I just..." "Look, I just know that I needed to see you." "That's all I knew." "Campbell, no." "Please." " Look, I'm sorry." " No, I know." " Look, I know that you would never..." " I didn't mean to..." "I would never, you know..." "I'm not..." "I just thought that if..." "That maybe I could..." "If I could be whatever you wanted me to be..." "Oh, my God." "Are you okay?" " Yeah, I'm fine." " Be careful." "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" "This is..." "I'm going to go." "Yeah." "Are you still going to New York?" "There's nothing there for me." "I can't stay here." "Can I?" "Hey, what about tomorrow?" "Tomorrow?" "Yeah, tomorrow, after school." "Maybe we should talk." "And we can meet at the lake." "Well, I don't want you to feel..." "I want to." " You sure?" " Aren't you?" "You do my thinking for me, okay?" "Okay." " Okay." " Okay." "Okay." " Mr. Campbell, what are you doing?" " I'm just going to my room." "I rented your room this morning." "You told me you were checking out." "Fine." "It's very late." "I do have..." "And that woman, Donna, she keeps calling for you." "Don't worry about her." "Not for a grown man, but..." "No, no, it's great, really." "It's..." "He's in military school now." "Well, they can be so..." "So restless at that age." "Well, at any age." ""You shall go to the ball."" "We have to seek before we can find, find out what God meant for us to be." "Don't let them beat that out of your son." "No, I won't, Mr. Campbell." "Campbell is my first name." "What's yours?" " Barbara." " Barbara." "Lovely." "Thank you, Barbara." "No, no, thank you, Mr..." "Campbell." " Night-night." " Good night." "Fuck." "Fuck." "It's okay." "It's okay." "Okay." "It's all right." "Okay." "Okay." "Okay." "Okay." "He..." "He was choking." "He was choking on Mars." "Remote." "Little." "Remote." " Hello?" " Fenster." " Hey." " You going to school today?" " No." "I don't like it there." " Right." "Can I come over?" "Yeah." "Yeah, definitely." " Okay." " Okay." " Bye." " Bye." "I'm sure I'm speaking for all of us when I say that we were really looking forward to this morning's excitement." "I spoke with my man at NASA, and she assures me and urges us all to keep our chins up." "So, the celebration assembly will have to wait for another day." "However, tonight's musical salute to Miss McAuliffe," "Blast Off, produced by Miss Penelope Little, is good to go." "Lucy, can I ask you a favor?" "Are you sure?" "Because I..." "I bought condoms." "Yes." "I can't get pregnant, okay?" "Ever." "Wow." " That must make you kind of sad, huh?" " Yeah, kind of." " Let's just do this." " Okay." "The one that smells good." " Fenster, honey!" " Fenster, honey!" "Fenster up there." "Well, you know, it's kind of complicated with you." "And what would you have me do?" "I don't know." "Like, moan or..." "Or something?" "Get off." "Get off." "I want to get up." "Fenster!" "God." "No, no, no." "Just a second!" "Fenster!" "Fenster, help me up." "Just a second, Mom!" "Fenster." "I'm stuck." "Hi, Mrs. Itsky." "You've been shopping?" "Mr. Campbell..." "Mr. Babbitt..." "You have a phone call." " Take a message." " She said it was urgent." "Tell her I'm dead." "Tell her I quit and I'm dead." "Mr. Babbitt, I don't think that I would feel very comfortable telling..." "Fuck." " Do you think you could take the phone?" " Lucy." "Gina, get me the thing." "No, the other thing." "Babbitt." "Hey, Fenster, have you seen Lucy?" "What are you doing now?" "Well, the whole sex thing is kind of weird, but I'm not really sure because I don't really have much to compare it to." "Know what I mean?" "Wait a minute, that was your first time?" "Don't tell Peggy." "Well, I doubt any experience is going to prepare you for sex with Peggy." "Yeah." "It's a whole different ball of wax." "But, you know, if you stick enough lubricant in just about anything, you're good to go." "Second entrance on the right." " Sure." " I used to use mayonnaise a lot." "Mayonnaise is good, except it makes your thing smell like a sandwich." "The thing is, with Peggy..." "The thing is, I think I love her." " What's her name?" " That's Lute." "What's she doing?" "Shit." "Hey!" "Lute?" "Hey!" "Have you seen Lucy?" " Lucy?" " Yeah." "No." "What is that?" "What are you doing?" "My punishment." "The judge said I do this, and it won't go on my record." "What did you steal?" "Do you know Antonio Calvache?" " What, jeans?" " Everyone is wearing Calvache." "Calvache, Calvache, Calvache." "And I swore I'd never..." "Hi, Fenster." "I'd never do it again." "Well, you're done." " What?" "But..." " You're done." " Okay." " Come on." "Get in." "My mom's picking me up." "You'll probably find Lucy at the musical." "Musical?" "When is that?" " 7:00." " Okay, fantastic." "I have to be there at 6:00." "I'm the assistant choral mistress." "Got somewhere to be?" "No." "I'll catch him later." "Is it going to hurt?" "Tess Sullivan?" "Sit with me?" "Great." "Ten minutes till curtain." "Articulate and project." "And remember, it's all right if they don't understand the show as long as they..." " Understand the words." " Understand the words." "Where have you been?" "I've been looking all over for you, Lute." "I drove by Good Shopping earlier and I didn't see you." "What is going on?" "I'm not doing it anymore." "I said I was sorry and I gave the stuff back, and besides, Mr. Babbitt says I've suffered enough." "If I were you, Lute, I would steer very clear of Mr. Babbitt." "He is part of the problem." "He is not part of the..." "You know what?" "I don't even know why I'm wasting time with this nonsense!" "I have a show to do." "Places, everybody!" "Places, everybody!" "No." "Miss Little, I think you're wrong." "And if that makes me part of the problem, too, then I guess that's just fine with me." "We are here tonight to celebrate heroism." "And now, I'd like to introduce the real creative juice behind tonight's festivities, our choir mistress and volleyball coach, Miss Penelope Little." "We would like to dedicate tonight's performance not only to our beloved teacher in space, but also to the next generation of heroes." "They could be our neighbors, or one of our fellow students." "The young man I wish to honor tonight is both." "He's one of our students, and he's my neighbor." "He came upon our little Gustav choking in his cradle and he screwed his courage to the sticking place and came to the rescue." "And so, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present tonight's Exemplary Citizenry Medal to James Arneson Lement." "Jim, you're a hero!" "And now, let's blast off!" "And when you find what you're looking for" "Up there in the stars" "Don't forget why you went so far" "So far from our hearts" "You are going to tell us what you see" "You will enlighten us" "Better we will be" "Take me ashore." "Are you sure?" "We don't have to." "I'm feeling optimistic." "Fenster!" "It's a miracle." "Hey." "You can breathe." "I'm okay." "You know, I just want you to know I don't have any expectations." "I don't really expect..." "Why didn't you come to the lake today?" "I don't know." " You have a change of heart?" " No." "I was..." "I was with Tess." " What were you doing?" " Helping her out with something." "What is it?" "What's wrong?" " I'm fine." " No, you're not." "What did she say?" "Did she talk about me?" "No." "Why would she?" "This wasn't about you." "Well, I'm sorry." "But, you know, Tess is very angry." "She has her reasons." "I know she does." " What do you know?" " She's pregnant." "Not anymore." "Why did you go with her?" "Because she asked me to." "Jesus." "Yeah, but why you?" "She needed a friend and she asked me to sit with her." "What, through the whole procedure?" "Yeah." "I didn't know you two were so close." "Well, we're a lot closer now." "I'm a bit surprised." "It must have been disturbing." "No wonder you're so distant." " What is your problem?" " I don't trust her." "You don't need to protect me." "You know, actually, I think I do." "It was Tess that turned Sam in." " What are you talking about?" " You." "You and Sam." "She saw you together in the Shed being intimate." "That's not possible." "Well, maybe it wasn't the Shed, then." "Well, whatever." "She saw you." "Look, it's not possible that she saw anything between us." "Not possible?" " We never..." " Never what?" "Tess lied." " You never what?" " What do you want?" "You know, right now, the truth would be really fucking great." "We never did it, okay?" "We never had sex." "Well, okay, fine." "Maybe she saw you doing something else." "He was my teacher." "That's all." "So what are you telling me?" "I'm sorry." "I'm trying to understand." " What about the necklace?" " What about it?" "You gave it to him." "He reached out for it." "It was..." "We all gave it to him." "It was from all of us, okay?" "I picked it out." " You lied." "You said you were in love." " I was." " And that he loved you." " He did." "Come on!" "You know what..." "You know what everyone was thinking, what everyone believed, what I believed, and what Tess clearly believed." "Tess was lying." "It seems like everyone was." "Didn't anybody ever assume anything about you before, and you just let it stand?" "And when he was gone, even if it was a lie, that's all I had left of him." "Can you understand that?" "Is it a crime?" "It can be." "What do I do?" "You correct it." "You tell the truth." "I'm sorry." "I have no right." "I have no right whatsoever." "I..." " I lied, too." " I don't want to hear it." "Sam and I..." "Angela." "I don't want to hear it!" "Hey." " Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..." " Ten, nine, eight, seven, six five, four, three, two, one!" "...five, four, three, two, one!" " Countdown!" " To a higher place" " Countdown!" " Countdown!" "Yeah, we're talking about space" " Countdown!" " Countdown!" " To the Blast Off Challenger Show" " To the Blast Off Challenger Show" " Countdown!" " Countdown!" " To a higher place" " To a higher place" " Countdown!" " Countdown!" " Yeah, we're talking about space" " Yeah, we're talking about space" "Countdown..." " It was you, wasn't it?" " Miss Little?" "Don't you fucking deny it!" "How could you?" "After all I've..." "No, no, no." "Hi." "Is there a Campbell Babbitt staying here?" "How the hell did you ever find this place?" " Donna." " Campbell." "You never called me." "Yes." "No, I'm sorry." "Well, if the mountain doesn't come to Mohammed," "Mohammed comes to the mountain." "What?" "You won the Pulitzer, the goddamn Pulitzer." "Congratulations." "And there's no time for navel-gazing." "You have an interview with NBC in the morning, pre-launch coverage." "They needed filler, so they're gonna squeeze you in between NASA geeks and Christa's Aunt Bitsy." " What do they want me to say?" " They want you to talk about heroes." "You're an expert now." "Here, I bought you a suit." "Well, I guess I'm gonna have to do it then." "Good." "Maybe I'll finally get an update on Angela." "Angela." "An update from you." " Yes, no, you will." "Everybody will." " Good." "Then I'll take you back." "You don't have to do the Christa thing." "Fuck it." " I was just trying to shake you up a little." " Yeah." "Okay, well, I have a few details I have to wrap up for the morning." " So, I'll see you at 8:30?" " Okay." "Cam, you could at least..." "All right. 8:30." "Don't be late." " I'll be early." " Right." "Well, congratulations." "Donna, could you have someone deliver this for me, please?" "Kerry, is the water coming like I asked?" "Jesus, I hope that doesn't keep up." "So it's going to be to camera." "Tom's in New York on a live feed through your earpiece." "Kerry, where's his earpiece?" "You okay?" "Yeah, you're okay." " I thought you were leaving." " Not yet." "You got your souvenir." "Now get the fuck out of here." " I mean it." " Don't..." "Don't do that." "What, am I ruining that king-of-the-mountain feeling you must be having right now?" " Tess." " I just hope you wore a rubber." "And listen, nothing happened." " Fuck you." " All right, then." "A lot happened, more than it should have." "But not what you think." "Is that makeup?" "What are you doing?" " I'm doing a TV interview." " Great." "Look, before I..." "Before I tell the world..." "What..." "What are you talking about?" "Can I..." "Look." "Come here, come here, please." "TVs are set up, we're gonna watch Christa go, go, go!" "Tess." "I want to talk to you about Angela." "You know..." "I know." "No." "No, no, no." "She..." "She killed herself." "This is the truth." "When I told you all she died," "I didn't mean to be honest." "The first article was the truth." "She lost someone so dear to her, more precious than her own life, and I loved her." "That's the truth." "At least that's..." "That's how I felt." "And the second article and the ones that followed, she was already dead." "And now I'm being given an award for illuminating a life which she chose to end." "I don't know if it's my fault, maybe, or..." "Come on, people, settle down." "Take your seats." "She was in pain." "It was her choice." "But I rejected her choice, and she deserves better." "And I don't know what I deserve, but it's not a fucking award." "What do you want from me?" " Sam's dead." " I know." "Thanks." "I'm really not confused on that." "And you didn't see him with Lucy, except perhaps in the way you wanted to see him." " You weren't there." " I know." " You don't know." " Lucy knows." " She doesn't know." " Come on." "What?" "You didn't see the way they were together." "After-school Romeo and Juliet." "It was the way that he looked at her." "It's the same way that you look at her." "You have that same look." "And how close did you come, huh?" "I was protecting her." "You lied, and that's okay." "I understand you were hurting." "You know, I don't need your forgiveness." "Okay?" "You have no idea what I was feeling." "Don't I?" "We both believed what we need to believe." "I'm sorry that Mr. C is dead, okay?" "You have no idea how sorry I am." "But what am I supposed to do, go on TV and apologize?" "To who?" "He's the one that I need to apologize to, but he's not here to forgive me, is he?" "No, he's not!" "And it just makes me so mad." "Not at him." "Not at him, just at the way things are." "At the way that things just disappear." "Did you love her?" "Yes, I loved her." "So, then why are you going to kill her again?" "So you can get something off of your chest?" "Well, what about the rest of us?" "The TVs aren't working." "We're well aware of the problem." "And please, please, settle down, everybody." "She's so fair and beautiful, a true Juliet." "I especially love when she turns a pirouette." "In ten, nine, eight, seven..." " Are you ready?" " Yes, I'm ready." "...four..." "Yes, Tom, I am." "Of course, no story is without its omissions." "No journalist is completely objective." "Because, Tom, the truth is..." "The truth is..." "What did you tell them?" "I told them." "I told them she died." "I told them she died a hero." "We need as many as we can get, wouldn't you say?" "Hey, what about your award?" " Award?" " Yeah." "Did you give it back?" "Well, you see, we can't all be heroes, you know?" "Some of us have to just sit on the curb and clap while they go by." "Did you just make that up?" "Think so." "See you." "Okay." "Good." "Nine, eight, seven, six..." "We have main engine start." "Four, three, two..." "When Jesus died," "God guided the Apostles' pens and gave us the gospel truth..." "Subtitles by LeapinLar"