"I've noticed that the pupils' language is unacceptable." "That's how kids talk. lt's just a joke!" "Bitten's had her baby." " We're coming!" " Hi, baby!" "May I sit here?" "She's my sister." "What's up with you?" "You're pregnant." "Do you know who the father is?" "Of course, someone it can't be." "You had an abortion for Ricco and Bitten's sake." "We could have solved it." " l need you to forgive me." " l don't know if I can." "I had an abortion once." "It was ages ago." "Before us." "I love you." " Hi, Jannik." "Have your parents arrived?" " What are they doing here?" "I'm sure it's nothing serious." "You're always such a good boy." "Hi!" " Hi... I'm not quite sure what it is we're meeting about." "It was something to do with a letter that Jannik's written, right?" "Yes... lt's not as if we go snooping around his things." "He's 15." "He has a right to privacy." "But when I was changing his sheets... lt was lying under the pillow." "The letter." "I still don't quite get what this is all about." "I think Jannik's parents want to talk to us about the letter because it..." " l mean, it's written..." "The letter has..." " Worrying content." "Erotic content." "OK!" "I see, OK..." " What's that got to do with me?" " Well, it's... lt's about you." "Crikey!" "first LOVE" "first LOVE" " Hi, Jannik." " Hi." "It's a trifling matter, but I've promised Jannik's parents that we'd discuss it." " And so we are." " Of course we have to discuss it." "The parents have contacted us, so we have to take it seriously." "He wrote a letter." "Which he never sent." "Maybe it's a literary experiment." " Who'd print that?" " l can name a magazine or two..." "Boys get horny when they reach puberty." "He's 15." "He can't help it." "Maybe you could see it as a chance for you to evaluate your classroom image." " Now, that I'd like to hear again." " Your clothes make you appear..." " ...provocative." " My old blouses, you mean?" "You have a tendency to go around in rather tight jeans." "Do I turn you on, Helle?" "What I mean is that Jannik's interest in Rita doesn't come from nowhere." "Let's not interfere with each other's wardrobes." "I don't go around asking you to dress less frumpily." "Now we can say that we've had a meeting about it." "And we can all keep an extra close eye on Jannik from now on, OK?" " l can talk to him." " Wow." "Discussing your sexual fantasies with your teacher." "Not at all embarrassing..." "We'll talk about this again." " Were you like that when you were 15?" " No." "Not even just a little bit?" " You've not changed into a burqa, then?" " No." "I just heard that your clothes are making some students a little jittery." "I think you have a nice dress sense." "But your jeans are very tight." "I'd never be able to stand it, though, as I have a very sensitive intimate balance." "Yes, well..." "Shall we talk about something of relevance to our year-9s?" "Erik, how's it going with 9A?" " lt's going fine." " l heard there was an episode recently." "It..." " lt's just their way of having fun." " What do they do, Erik?" "I heard them talking about a little stunt they'd pulled:" "They'd answer your questions inaudibly." "It was Andreas's idea." "He's such a prankster." "A very resourceful boy." " Let me talk to him." " No, don't blow this out of proportion." "It's just how they are. lt's not like we make a big thing of their hormones." " No, OK." " OK." "Hjørdis, you wanted to say something... I've always wanted to do an inter-disciplinary project combining geography and dance." "I thought we could dance a country during assembly." "Dance..." "We could dance an English waltz or the ongobongo from the Congo." "Hi!" "I'm sorry, but the meeting dragged on a bit." "I see..." "You're all ready?" "That's wonderful." "We were going to have a look at Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"." "Take your books out please." "Well..." "Well there's a thing." "How nice, eh?" "Can one of you take it down?" "Andreas, can you bring your chair here and take it down?" "Why?" "It's decorative." "Do you want to take it home?" " Can't you just do as I ask?" " lt's too high up." "They ask me the weirdest things, like the psalms we're to sing in church." "What did you expect?" "Hi!" "I hope it's OK for me to hang out here. lt's so peaceful." "Bitten is obsessed with the christening." "It's worse than the wedding." " lt's just nice having you here." " Why is it so peaceful?" "Where's Mum?" " Clothes shopping." " Mum?" " She doesn't care what she looks like." " lt's for the christening." " She's to outdo Jette." " Why?" " Because women are strange." " Because it's embarrassing." " When's she back?" "I have some news." " Did you bring the post in?" " Why embarrassing?" " Because Mum was together with Tom." " With your father-in-law?" " Yes." " Yes!" "It's from the Berling's Times." " A delivery-boy job?" "It's about my placement." "I want to be a journalist." " Has Rita been together with Tom?" " lt was a thousand years ago." " What?" "I've been rejected." " l wanted to tell you I've got a job." "Everyone else has a placement." "What am I going to do?" " Has Rita been together with Tom?" " Hi!" "I've bought a dress." " Hi, sweetheart." "Great to see you." "So, what's up?" "What are you talking about?" " l've got a job." " Good for you, Ricco!" "Where?" "At Solgården, an institution for socially disadvantaged youths." " That's great!" "Congratulations!" " Thank you." "Wow!" "Wow, as in "you look hot" or "the sofa wants its blanket back?"" " Wow, you look hot." " Sure, if you like that style." "I just want to do it properly." "It means so much to Ricco and Bitten." " You think I look stupid." " Stop it." "But I do look stupid." "It's worse than that." "I look like my mother." " You never told me you were with Tom." " What?" "That was ages ago." " How long ago?" " We were childhood sweethearts." " Before Niels, a hundred years ago." " lsn't it strange to be related now?" "Not for me. lt's history." "Rasmus, it was a hundred years ago." "OK." "But do you know the really practical thing about these dresses?" "It's that you can do this..." " Rasmus, can I have a word?" " Sure." "Good morning." "Hi." "They were my pigeon hole." ""Thinking of you always." "A thousand kisses."" "I'd have thought "Thanks for introducing me to anal sex." But this is sweet too." "I haven't sent you any flowers." " Jannik..." " Piss!" "Jannik?" "Can you wait behind?" "Sit down." "is there something you want to tell me?" "Other than with flowers... I thought you'd like them." "I know "older woman with young boy" is in, but I prefer men of my own age." "So thanks, but no thanks." "Even if you're flooded with hormones you have to show self-control." " lt's not just the hormones." "What?" "It's not just the hormones. I love you." " Jannik, you don't." " l can't help what my heart feels." "Jannik, you're not in love." "And if you are, you'll get over it." "You do when you're a teenager." "Now, love is a matter of life and death." "By next week, you've forgotten what was so important." " lt's not like that with you." " You have to forget it." "You can write what you like at home, but flowers and letters won't do." "It's crossing a line." "You see that, don't you?" "Good, then let's say no more about it." "Here, give these to some pretty girl..." "of your own age!" "Enjoy your jobs, now." "And behave yourselves!" " Jonas, have you got a second?" " Sure." " l haven't got a placement." " And why haven't you got a placement?" " The Berling's Times rejected me." " And the other places you applied to?" "You applied for a single job - at a national newspaper." "Wasn't that risky?" " l'm good at Danish." " You'll have to think of something else." "How?" "All the cool jobs are taken." "I couldn't stand doing something stupid." " There are no stupid jobs." " You know what I mean." "Something ordinary... I think we can look around, see if there's anything at the school for you." "Come on!" " Hi..." " Hi." " l've got a placement at the nursery." " ls that why you sound asthmatic?" "Can you have a word with Jonas." "I mean, it's not a real job." "Why isn't working at the nursery a real job?" "Anyone can teach six-year olds." "I don't intend to be a teacher anyway." " What's wrong with being a teacher?" " You know what I mean." " Anyone can do it." " Then it should be easy for you." " So you won't help me?" " Sorry, I'm a teacher. I'm too stupid to." "I've heard that you can write with both ends of this biro." "I can't do it." "Can you help me?" " Good morning." " Good morning, everyone." "If you can sit down we can get this over and done with." "Today we'll be talking about Harper Lee's symbolic language and the entire situation in the American South at the end of the 1960s." "Racial segregation..." "Please turn round." "The teaching's taking place over here." "Can you please turn round?" "They're completely impossible today." " l go out of my way to be understanding." " What are they doing?" "You can see for yourself." "You weren't sitting like this before!" " Andreas?" " Rita, can I ask you something?" "If the lesson doesn't start on time, how long do we have to sit here?" "Get down from there!" "Stop that!" "You mustn't do that!" "Can we pack away the toys now...?" "Not on the table!" "Get down from the table." "No, not up there!" "Are you OK?" " Hi!" " Hi..." " Did it fall off?" " Yes. lt happens. lt's an old car." "is it vandalism?" "Jesus, Erik, why haven't you said anything?" "It was an accident." " You don't need to tell Rasmus." " An accident?" "And I don't need to tell Rasmus?" "He's the head, he'll get this sorted out." "Can't you please just...?" "I'm not surprised." "And the pupils don't muck about in your classes?" "Erik is sweet and nice in every way, but he's completely lost control of them." "And so it'll carry on if no-one deals with it." "There's nothing for it but to call a parent-teacher meeting." " That won't be much fun." " No." "Welcome and thanks for coming at such short notice." "We'll be talking at this meeting about disciplinary problems." "Especially during Erik's lessons." " Erik, if you'd like to...?" "I think that they're all really pleasant kids." "But you could say that their creativity has gone a bit too far." "They've started vandalising things." "What do you mean?" " Someone has damaged Erik's car." " Did the class do it?" "We can't say for sure, of course, but we can see a pattern." "Tove?" "As we understand it, there's a general problem with Erik's teaching." "As Andreas's parents you should know that Andreas leads these events which the class come up with and which disrupt the lessons." " Does he cause trouble in your classes?" " No." " Or in anyone else's classes?" " Not that I'm aware... lt's interesting to wonder if these "events", as you call them come from the pupils' very real frustration with Erik." "And it's the only way they can draw attention to it." "What is this frustration you say the pupils feel?" "We hear that Erik insists they write their assignments by hand." "I've also wondered about that!" "It's not a problem for the pupils to learn handwriting skills." " Everything's so digital nowadays." " Jesus, Erik, that's so Stone Age!" " lt's totally incompetent!" " And he can't get onto the intranet." "Quality education has nothing to do with being able to access the intranet." "This meeting should really be about what Erik has to offer our children." "If they fool about or cause trouble, you can tell them off." " lt's gone from fooling about to bullying." " What kind of teacher is it who lets himself be bullied by children?" "It's obvious where the problem lies." "It's not Erik's job to raise your children." "That's your job." "And how should..." "What I'd really like to discuss is if Erik can ignore the technology that gives them competitive skills." " We can vote to have him fired." " Enough!" " So, we're done." " Good, I'm also off home." "Thanks for telling." " We have to sort this out." " Why did you tell Rasmus?" "Vandalism is a crime." "As head, it's his job to deal with it." "Do you remember when we were bullied as children and our parents told other parents?" "It just made everything worse." "You probably don't remember." "You were probably one of the bullies." "I have an announcement to make." "Erik is sick today." "So we're bringing in a supply teacher for you." "And I'd like to say hello from our sister school in Latvia!" "I've been asked to say: "lr laba nedelja", which means "Have a good week"." "Does anyone have anything to say before we go?" " Jannik?" "Come on up." "This is for someone I'm in love with." ""Two men cross your way - the man you love and I."" " We can't hear!" " Louder!" ""The one gives you joy yet soon makes haste."" ""l give you my life, yet no more will be graced."" ""Every women stands 'twixt these two, in love, loved and chaste..."" "Let's give a big hand for Jannik..." "and Tove Ditlevsen!" "My God." "What did I just tell you?" "I told you to stop all this love nonsense." "Then you go and pull a stunt like that." "You'll be a laughing stock." "I don't care. I'm not going to lie about who I'm in love with." "That's lovely, Romeo, but it's a lesson you'll learn when you're older." "You can't go around wearing your heart on your sleeve like that." "You just can't." " Hello, Jannik?" " Yes?" "It's not love." "You're just horny and need a girl of your own age." "It ends now." "OK?" "Good." "Can you all stop what you're doing and sit down on your backsides..." "They're not listening." "What shall I do?" "What would your mother have done?" "Shut up and sit down this instant!" "Good... lt's time to look at some letters." "This is A as in "Ape"." "Do you know any other animals beginning with A?" " Ant!" " "Ant" is right." "We'll hang this here." "Poor Ricco." "Jette and Bitten are obsessed with the christening." " Aren't you looking forward to it?" " Sure, it'll be nice." "Hi, sweetheart." "Well...?" " Did you get them under control?" " Yes." "They're scared of me now." " See?" "What did you do?" " l pretended to be you." "Sometimes that's what it takes." " Have you found a stand-in for Erik?" " Yes..." "Simon's doing it." "Give Simon time off. I'll do it." " Hi!" " What's this?" "is it a free lesson?" " Of course not." " But Erik's not here." "No, but I am." "You're reading "To Kill a Mockingbird", right?" "Good." "Then we'll start off with an essay." "Ten pages on respect for the individual in a modern democracy." " You can't be serious." " ln English." "And if you don't finish today, you can hand it in first thing tomorrow." " But ten pages is..." " Andreas, I'd get going if I were you." "You can submit them on the intranet." "If it sounds too much for you you can look forward to having Erik back." "He's more understanding than me." "It's nice to have a kind teacher, if you make sure to behave yourselves." " Rasmus?" "Can you give me a hand?" " Sure." " There you go." " Thanks." " What's he getting from us?" " A puppy." "I picked it up last week. I guess I should have made some holes in the box." "You're gorgeous." "You're gorgeous." "More so than a rainbow made of velour and icing sugar." "Not even sarcasm can take away how gorgeous you are." "No matter how hard you try." "Isn't that so, Jeppe?" "Thanks." " Well, shall we?" " Yes." "Hi!" "I didn't get to say hello to you in church, there was so much going on." " Hi, Rita." " You look great." " Are you in your copper period?" " lt's brushed brass." "Brass." " Hi." " Rasmus." "Rasmus is my boyfriend." " This is Jette and Tom." " Hi." "Tom." " Rasmus." " Nice presents." " Lovely." "Right." "Well, I'm ready for a drink." "What do you say, Tom?" " Now you can't avoid him any more." " l'm not avoiding him." "You were playing hide-and-seek in church." " You noticed it too." " l wasn't watching." " No." " Here, take a little truth serum." " Thanks." " Have you seen all your presents?" " Hello there!" " ls he tired?" " Maybe you could take him?" " We want to pack away the presents." " l'd love to." " Hi, Gustav!" " Are you going to Grandma?" " Say something boring to him." " Right you are." " impressive." " What shall we take?" "He's sleeping." " They say we're avoiding each other." " And they're right." "I suppose they are." "Are we OK?" " Are you angry with me?" " l'm not angry with you." "Not any more." "We'll be running into each other all the time now because of this little one here." "We could also try drumming it into him that we don't do birthdays in our family." " Or confirmations." " Or weddings." " So we're OK?" " l've put it behind me." ""lt"?" " Us?" "The Great Romance?" " Yes." "It's great to see that Rita has settled down." "You seem to be a solid, stable man." "That's wonderful." " Shall we sit down?" " Why not?" "Oh, Gustav!" "We've just got to keep an eye on this." "Don't you find it strange that Rita and Tom have..." " l've got Rasmus too." " Do you love him?" "Yes." "Not a heart-breaking, passionate kind of love..." "But it feels secure." "I've never known you to opt for security." "No, but you and I can't carry on fucking in hotel rooms, can we?" "And you love him?" "Yes." "Every other day. lsn't that what you do when you're an adult?" "You take the decision to make everything work." "Everything that you and I couldn't sort out..." " Are you having an affair with her?" " Not any more. lt's over, Jette." "It happened a few times." "We stopped for the sake of the family." " Tom, shut up!" " lt's a hundred per cent..." "You keep quiet!" "OK..." "This is all my fault." "Jette, you can hate me." "Hate me for ever more." "Just not today." "Just please don't tell Ricco and Bitten, OK?" "Hi!" "What are you doing?" "Why are you standing out here?" " Mum?" " Yes, what are we standing here for?" "Dad?" "My dear Bitten..." "We're standing here fighting about who's going to take Gustav." "I suppose it's Grandpa's turn." "He's still sleeping." "It takes a lot to wake him up." "I owe you..." "This means... I think you should save your explanation for someone else." "Fortunately, I'm together with a man I love more than anyone else." "And not just every other day." "I'll drive." "Rasmus?" "Fuck..." "Jannik!" "For the last time:" "You can fantasise about me, but no more flowers!" "You will not read out any poems!" "And you will not come to my house!" "is that understood?" "I just came to say that I'm in love with Julie in year 8." "So you were right." "I found someone else." "Sorry...sorry..." "You'll get over it."