"Are you ready?" " Yeah." " You look scared." " I am." " Why are you scared?" "The football might hit me in the face." "We don't have to play catch." "We could play somethin'else." "I want to play this, Grandpa." "I'm gonna throw it real light." " Okay." " Keep your hands out." " Okay." " Joshua?" " Yeah, Grandpa?" " Open your eyes." " Okay." " Here it comes!" "Get set!" "Here it comes!" " You did it!" " I did it!" "I did it!" " That was a good throw." " That was a good catch." " We're a great team, aren't we?" " Yes, we are." "We're a great team." "That we are." "Joshua?" "Time to wake up." "Joshua?" "Please?" "You're a fiifth grader today." "You're almost a man." "Wow." "How much longer are we gonna do this, huh?" "This isn't gonna work anymore." "Here we go." "Josh?" "I need you in the car, pal." "15 minutes." "Let's go." "Joshua?" " Did you fiind it?" " Yeah, I got it." "Thanks." "Breakfast." "Is the smurf ready yet?" "He better not make me late." "My grandpa and me... we always watched out for each other." "I slept in his room when I was sick... or when I had a bad dream." "Last time, I had both." "Your fever's down." "I dreamt you were gone." "Couldn't fiind you." "I'm not goin' anywhere." "Promise?" "Promise." "He lied." " Dad!" " Josh, time to go." "come on!" "My name is Joshua A. Beal." "I live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania." "I go to WaldronAcademy catholic School for Boys." "Don't laugh." "My dad's a great dad, but he always ends with the same thing." "Do me a favor." "Just... try to agree with the nuns... and not give them any trouble in class, okay?" "People think I ask too many questions." "Okay." "See ya later." "Wave to your brother." "Those are the guys in my school." "Kids in uniforms don't smile very much." "All right, gentlemen, religion class assignments will be divided between... readings from your text, Next Stop;'Salvation... and exercises in your workbook, Jesus Is My Buddy." "Quizzes will be held every two weeks... not during holy days and not during the play-offs." "Yes,Joshua?" "In our workbook... it says that you have to be baptized... to save your soul from eternal damnation." "That's correct." "Is that your question?" "No, no." "My question's about my Aunt Denise." "She's not baptized, so that means she's going to hell, right?" " Uh, no." "Actually, she's not,Joshua." " And my dad's best friend..." "He's not baptized, either." "And that means he's going to hell." " Joshua, I think you misunderstood." "Wh..." " Oh, man!" "Seth Greenberg rides my bus." "He's not baptized." " Okay, wait a second." " Hey." "My cousin's going to hell?" " No, I don't think..." " We have an Indian family living next door." "And the whole house is going to hell." " No, that's not what it says in the book." "If you'll notice on page f... okay." "All right." "Qiet." "No one is going to hell." "Do you mean the Bible's wrong?" "No, the Bible's not wrong." " I don't get it." " Me neither." "No." "Okay." "Well..." "Tomorrow, we'll begin with an in-depth discussion on baptism." "Until then, please do not inform any of your friends... neighbors or relatives of their impending doom." "Thank you very much, gentlemen." "Go in peace, and don't run in the hallways." ""Is it vain, sir, to extenuate the matter?" "Peace, peace. "" "Don't just say the words." "Read them fiirst, understand them... and then make us understand them." "" But there is no peace." "The war is actually begun." "The next gale that sweeps from the north... will bring to our ears... "" "Aw!" "Ick!" "That's heinous, man!" "Sister?" "May I go to the bathroom?" "You should really carry tissues, David." "Go ahead." ""The next gale that sweeps from the north... will bring to our ears the clash... "" "Good mucous attack." "I've had better." "Nine months." "I can't do it." "Know what?" "The fiirst week's always bad." "And besides, if there was no school... there'd be no rules to break." "My best friend Dave is the adventurous type... a daredevil." "Boring things like school give him headaches." "Today he's having one of his "I hate these wussy uniform"headaches." "Shit." "Brickman." "I can't deal with Mr. Bizarre-o on the fiirst day." " To the back stairs, Robin." " Right, Batman." " Morning." " Hi." "Brickman is such a weirdo." "He's weirder..." "than a regular weirdo." "He's lord of all weirdos." "I'm sorry." "Robert's having a bad day, it seems." "It's funny;' When you fiirst get an idea... sometimes it comes when you look at something... you've looked at a hundred million times." "You ever think about God?" "We go to Catholic school." "God's, like, our homework." " No, really." " No." "I don't think about God." " Do you think He's real?" " Nope." " Why not?" " Too many bad things happen to people for no reason." "If you believe in him, it's cool." "I drink chocolate milk through my nose." "What do I know?" "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea." "We have recess!" "Oh, come on." "I'll get it." "Meet Freddie Waltman." "Oh, I'm sorry, ball boy." "Did you want that?" "Every kid my size has to deal with a Freddie Waltman." "See that new kid?" "He's even smaller than me." "He hasn't got a prayer." "I don't know why they put this fence up." "Why would anyone want to go over there anyway?" "Hey,Josh." "Do you want to play ninjas with me?" "Tomorrow, Frank." "Really?" "Tomorrow?" "Yeah." "Tomorrow." "I gotta go." "They need me." "That's Frank Bennett." "He sweats a lot." "My parents are really busy people." "You have to know when to ask them something." "What?" " Hmm?" " Do you hear something?" " No." " Oh." "Can I ask you guys something?" " Joshua?" " Not the lights." "What's wrong?" "I'm just wondering if..." "I could join the football team?" "Mom, please?" "Josh, we're physicians, okay?" "Trust us on this." "You haven't been in an emergency room." "You haven't seen a compound fracture or a ruptured spleen..." " or severe facial lacerations, okay?" " Dad, I'm not going to war." " The answer is no." " Don't worry,Josh." "You won't be a nerd all your life." " Not the lights." " Neena?" " I heard voices." " come on, Mom." "We wear pads and all." " You can't get hurt." " Listen to your mother,Josh." "Please?" "You can always become a midget wrestler and wrestle on TV." " They can call you "The Pygmy... " - " From Pennsylvania. "" "Get some new material." "Play football all of a sudden." "What's the big deal?" "Just give me one good reason." "One." "Grandpa played football." "Okay, okay." "Let's go, girls." "Rows of fiive." "Shoulder length apart." "Legs together." "Touch your toes and don't bounce." "Ready?" "One, two, three, four." "Two, two, three, four." "Get down there!" "Get down there!" "Grab some dirt." "Let's go." "Three." "I can't hear you!" " Four." " Is that the way we do this drill?" " Five." " You our mascot or somethin'?" " Six." " No." " Seven." "Eight." " I tried out, but your mom got the job fiirst." "Hey, break it up over there!" "Hey!" "What the hell's this?" "Smurf was bustin' on my moms." "You must be in advanced English." "My grandpa was a really great football player." "He ran for 200 yards in one game." "He believed in two things;'" "Always keep both hands on the ball... and always hold on to your faith." " Thou art with me." " Faith will get you through." "Thy rod and Thy staff... they comfort me." "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." "Thou anointest my head with oil." "My cup runneth over." "Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life... and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." "Today, we would like to begin communion... with those members of the congregation... suffering illness and physical ailments." "I didn't know Mrs. Pittman was sick." "The Body of christ." "The Body of christ." "Our Father, who art in heaven... hallowed be Thy name." "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done... on Earth, as it is in heaven." "Give us this day our daily bread... and forgive us our trespasses... as we forgive those who trespass against us." "Grandpa was my mom's dad." "He was the one who told her to go to medical school when she was a girl." "I miss him too." "Football isn't the answer." "It's time I told Dave about my idea." "Dave O'Hara lives in a really big house." "But he spends most of his time in a closet... three feet by fiive feet, under the stairs." "We've been hit!" "Abort mission!" "Negative, Lieutenant." "We have orders." "We have to go faster." "We're already at light speed!" "They're gaining!" " We're gonna be barbecued!" " Lieutenant, sound alarm:" "DEFCON 1." "Fighter craft, four o'clock." "How come you never talk about girls?" "Don't know." "What do you think about her?" "Oh, she's okay." "For someone who's so smart, you're pretty stupid." "Likin' girls, it's just a biological reaction." "" Biological reaction"?" "What kind?" "Well, I don't know." "I haven't had one yet." " You know what, Dave?" " What?" "I'm goin' on a mission." "A real mission." "What kind of mission?" "The kind where you're looking for something important." "What are you gonna look for?" "God." "God?" "What for?" "I just want to talk to Him." " Why?" " To make sure my grandpa's okay." "Remember when you told me I was stupid for staring at... that bug lamp on my porch for six hours... hoping that purple light would have gamma rays... and turn me into the Incredible Hulk so I could flight crime?" " Yeah?" " You're mission is more stupid than that." " Why?" " 'cause you can't look for God." " Why not?" " Where in the world are you gonna look?" "Action News." "What you want to know when you want to know it." "Thirty-six hours of steady rainfall have left..." " many members of the metro area in flood waters." "Power was out for three hours because of downed still burning out of control." "Firefiighters from as far away as..." " You know, Mom,you won't believe it." " What?" "What won't I believe?" " Cardinal Geary is coming to our school." " Oh, a cardinal." "Well." "Grab your books." "...trying feverishly to extricate survivors from the wreckage." "According to police, the death toll currently stands at seven." "Okay, come on." "Let's go." "Cardinal Geary is famous." " I mean, people say he can do miracles and things." " Yeah?" " I'm getting out of English..." "I usually don't listen... to my sister very much, but you know what she said?" "Cardinal Geary?" "Some people even think he can talk to God." "This guy's bugging the phones, huh?" "If she wasn't my sister, I would've hugged her." "So basically what we had is bottom of the eighth of the World Series." "It was bases loaded, tie score, Jesus up at bat." "Strike one, strike two." "He never strikes out." "He's kind of shocked." "He looks up, and who does He see playing on the other team?" "Judas." "That's right,Judas." "A pitcher, a traitor about to strike out Jesus Christ, the big man." " That's all for today." "Your assignment for this evening." "Homework;'If you were captain of the apostles team, who would you pick to bat cleanup?" "Remember, don't leave the line too soon." "You know what?" "Maybe I shouldn't go." "Dude, nothing is gonna go wrong." "When I distract the sister, just do your thing and step." " What are you gonna do?" " What would James Bond do?" "You're going to hit on Sister Beatrice?" "I'll do something." "Don't worry." "Hey,Josh, if you can talk to God... ask Him if we could get a couple more days off for Christmas." "catholic school's a lot like being in prison." "They're both very, very hard to escape from." " Hands at your side." "Attention, students." "Will the fiifth, sixth and seventh graders please line up in the main hallway... for afternoon mass in a calm and orderly fashion." "Beal!" "Wa-hoo!" "Woo-hoo!" "Woo!" "I just gotta do something." "Please don't tell anyone." "Oh." "Oh, yeah." "It'll sound the alarm otherwise." "Good thinkin'." "Are you lost?" "What are you doing here?" "What's the matter?" "I think I'm having a biological reaction." "What?" "Um, m-my sister Neena goes here." "I'm looking for Cardinal Geary." "Oh." "He's visiting." "We can look for him if you want." "If anybody asks, you're my cousin." " What's your name?" " Hope." "What's yours?" "Joshua A. Beal." "Do girls always freak out when someone comes to lecture?" "They're just trying to get out of class." "They don't know how important this is." "I wanted to ask you about my..." "The cardinal gets..." "very drained after a lecture." "The cardinal looks diff,erent up close." "He looks like somebody's grandpa." "Josh, what happened?" "What are you doing here?" "I don't think God talks to him." "Know what?" "This mission could take days." "Still got it." "catholic school is based on rules." "The nuns have their rules;' no food on the trays, no crumbs left on the table." "Let's bolt." "You children had enough to eat?" "And we have our rules;' never eat the tuna casserole... and when it's your turn, pass the trays." "The kitchen workers are the only adults who know about our rules." "They empty the trash cans." "They don't say anything." " I think a couple of them went to catholic school too." " That apple has to be eaten." "The fiifth grade is confession with Father Peters... the fiirst Thursday of every month." "No one ever really confesses." "We make up stuff, as we wait on line." "I think Father Peters knows we're lying, though." "It's just the way he looks at us... kinda sad,you know?" "How long has it been since your last confession?" "Can we just talk?" "Of course." "Know what?" "You and me are, like, the same." " We are?" " Yeah." "You're looking for God, right?" "As often as I can, yes." "Well, so am I." "Is that right?" "Father Peters?" " you're not allowed to lie to me, right?" " What do you mean?" "Well, I want to ask you something." "And I don't want you to, like, make up stuff'cause I'm ten or anything." "I'll give it to you straight,Joshua." "I promise." "Well, do you ever feel like givin' up?" "I mean, since it's been so long, and all." "You haven't met Him." "How do you even know if He's made up or not?" "Sometimes, I do feel like giving up." "But one thing I've learned is that... doubt's a part of everyone's journey... no matter what they're looking for." "It ain't easy." "I know." "Thanks, Father." "If you fiind anything out about where He might be... you'll let me know, right?" "You'll be the fiirst I'll tell." "Is it me... or is it weird that the nuns are always in here while we change?" "I mean, we are men." "Ah,you're wiggin'." "Nuns and moms..." "I mean, they don't count." "They're not like women." "Stop him!" "Sister Sabrina!" " What's going on?" " Brickman's at it again... running around naked with his underwear on his head." " Oh!" "Robert Brickman!" " Lord of the weirdos." "Roll 'em, roll 'em, roll 'em." "Seven, eight." "Keep your arms up!" "I saw that, Kozak!" "Thanks to Kozak, we are starting over!" "One, two, three." "Keep your arms up." "I heard it's gonna snow tonight." "You say that every day." "Every day, I wake up and I see the grass." "This is straight from CNN." "CNN don't lie." " Really?" " I guarantee we won't have school tomorrow." "Hey,Josh." "Is today tomorrow?" " Do you wanna play now?" " No." "Today's today." "Tomorrow's tomorrow." "Beal!" "Keep it quiet!" "Thanks to Beal, we're starting over." "One, two... three, four, fiive..." "Here!" "Pass it, pass it!" "All right." "Bring it in." "Bring it in to me." "Wait." "Look out, Freddie!" "Oh, man." "Get back." "Who did it?" "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit." "Sorry." "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit." "Who did it?" "Mission journal entry one." "Parents have been real easy on me." "They hope I go back to playing computer games like other kids." " Mom, could I have the bread?" " Mm-hmm." " You think it's true?" " Can't be." "You know what?" "Maybe we should go on a vacation." "You know, as a family?" "Spend some quality time together?" "I have plans with my friends this break." "Where do you want to spend this quality time, pal?" "I don't know." "Anywhere." "How about Rome, Italy?" "Here." "Super saver flights to Rome require three weeks in advance booking..." " and a second Saturday stay." " Where'd you get this?" "Internet." "Shouldn't he be on medication or something?" "Josh, why Rome?" "No reason." "I just hear it's a nice city to visit." "Mm-hmm." "And it has nothing to do with the fact that... that's where the Vatican is and that's where the pope lives?" "Whoa." "The pope lives there?" "How nice." "Maybe I can get to talk with him... or maybe we can go see him." "Joshua, the pope is not God." "I know that... but he's His best friend." "We're not going to Rome." "Dad, come on!" "Yeah, I got it." "Thanks." "Mom, I can't fiind my shirt." "What?" "Neena, I can't hear you." "Look on the back of the laundry room door." "I ironed it yesterday." "Mornin'." " Did it snow?" " Yeah." "But I think the rain washed it away." "Breakfast,Josh." "Dave stinks." "cnn stinks too." "Let's do the "Gloria" next." "This time, I want us all to sing... because maybe, if we all sing together with all our hearts... our voices will rise up out of this chapel... out of this building... up into the heavens." "Maybe if we really sing together..." "God will hear us." "Everything's gone!" "I know, sweetie, I know." "We had to put things away sometime." "It doesn't mean that we're forgetting about him." "No, no." "Put everything back." "I want everything back." "Joshua, listen." "We have to move on." "It's not good to pretend..." " No, stop it!" "Stop it!" " Shh." "I want to show you something." "Okay?" "You can move on slowly." "There's no rush." "Journal entry three." "I gotta lighten up." "Like Dave." "Lately, when school gives him a headache..." " O'Hara." "O'Hara?" " he just stays home." "He's probably drinkin' Hawaiian Punch... and watching reruns of Gilligan's Island right now." "Your parents told me you've been a busy guy lately." "They said that you started to follow the Muslim tradition for a while." "Every day at sunset... you'd bow your head to the ground and pray to the east, is that right?" "I stopped that." "Okay, well, what did you think about when you prayed?" "Nothing, mostly." "But sometimes, I'd wonder..." ""What made that smell in the carpet?"" "And what was this with Thanksgiving?" "You missed a good turkey dinner because you were fasting?" "I heard about a holy guy in India who did that." "And, well, I don't know if it counts or what... but I got hungry during the night." "Do you think six hours counts as a fast?" "I think six hours counts." "Joshua, why do you feel the need to do these things?" "What is it you're trying to fiind?" "God." "Why?" "Am-Am I doing something wrong, or..." "Oh, no." "No." "In fact, a lot of people spend their lives in search of what you're looking for." "Only those people usually fiinish grammar school fiirst." "Can I ask you about your grandfather?" "Your mom tells me the two of you were really close." "In fact, this summer,you didn't go away to camp with your friends." "You stayed home so you could be with him." "Do you know what happened to him?" "He died of bone marrow cancer." "That's right." "Did you get to go to the funeral?" "Well, that's okay." "That's all right." "You know, it's just that sometimes, people... need a chance to cry... to let go, to get things out." "Maybe you never got that chance." "Know what?" "I don't want to talk about this anymore." "Can I go?" "Sure." "That's all right." "You can go." "But, hey." "This wasn't so bad, was it?" "What do you say we get together again, and we can talk?" "How 'bout..." " How 'bout Tuesday after school?" " Oh, sorry." "I can't." "Oh, no?" "Why is that?" "It's Hanukkah." "Well, I bought candles." "Oh." "I think my parents want to have a talk with me." "They look stressed." "They keep taking me places." "Dad, how come you've been spending so much time with me these days?" "What, I can't spend time with my own son?" "I mean..." "You're not doing this 'cause you're worried about me, are you?" "No." "Of course not." "And every time it seems like they're gonna say something... they don't." "I feel bad." "I'm wigging my parents out." "But I can't help it." "I can't stop thinking." "Joshua?" "What's the matter?" "You know what?" "Think I just had a "revelization. "" "Really?" "Yeah." "I used to think this place was magic." "I'd see the toys..." "I'd see all kinds of magical worlds." "What do you see now?" "Plastic." "Plastic and paint." "Well, there's still some magic, but it gets less and less every year." "Maybe by the time I have a son..." "I won't even remember the magic anymore." "My mom said something weird when she dropped me at Billy's party." "She said, "Honey, please try to have fun. "" "Why'd she say that?" "I know howto have fun." "Ohm" "Nothing's happening." "Then you ain't doin' it right." " I think I'm getting an itch." " Don't think about it." "It's itching in two places." "You're not concentrating." "I think I'm getting an itch too." "You guys suck." "It's bad,Josh." "How long are we supposed to do this?" "A long time." "Okay, you're supposed to breathe in a certain way." "But I haven't fiigured that part out yet." "What's supposed to happen?" "Are you having a biolog..." "What's it like?" "Like choking on a lifesaver, but worse." "You can't say anything." " Just say what you're thinking." " I can't." " Yes, you can." " No, I can't." "Just say it." "I think you're prettier than any of the swimsuit models in the swimsuit edition." "Oh." "What's goin' on?" "Someone dared Dave to jump in the pool." " It's freezin'out there." " He won't do it." "Who's that?" "That's Dave." "Dave's my best friend." "You know what?" "Dave's a daredevil." "He's not afraid of anything." "Not anything." "When he grows up, bet he's gonna be one of those guys... who gets shot out of a cannon at the circus." "Let's go." "Whoo!" "God?" "Yeah." "You think that's crazy, don't you?" "It's different." " No, you think it's crazy." " It's different, okay?" "That's all I said." "Journal entry seven." "Dave O'Hara can do anything." "If he says it can't be done, it can't be done." "What can I tell ya, G-man?" "consider that chapter closed." " What d'you mean?" " I mean she probably thinks you're a mental patient." "All right, your parents are waiting, gentlemen." "No running in the parking lot." "Okay, Crimmins, Hall, Nordon, Ellard." "This whole mission business is getting out of hand." "You're wiggin', man." "Let it slide as long as possible." " People are talkin'." " You don't know." "I don't?" "Answer me one thing:" "In all this time and all the stuff you've been doing... have you gotten one sign..." "any sign... to let you know there is a God?" "No." "So what does that say?" "I'll tell you what it says." "Either there ain't no God... or there is a God and He don't care that you're lookin' for Him." "Either way, it's time to stop." "O'Hara,you're up." "See you tomorrow,Josh." "Simms, Smith,Jones, Barker." "Journal entry nine." "Starting to doubt my mission." "I really need a sign to know whether to keep going or not." "Please." "I need one bad." "Anything happen in here?" "Hap..." "What d'ya mean, happen?" "Well, like..." "lights flickering, or a strong wind... or a holy vision, anything like that." "I" " I didn't see anything, honey." "Did friend who really liked the outfiit." "I'm telling you..." "Hold on." "What do you want, pygmy?" "Anything godly in nature reveal itself to you just now?" "He really liked the outfiit." "Yeah, he told me about it twice." "I'm serious." "My grandpa believed in two things." "I don't think I believe in anything at all." "Don't start cryin',Josh." "I don't think I could take it." "Okay, I won't." " Does it hurt?" " Not this second, no." " Are you scared?" " No." " Not even a little scared?" " Uh-uh." "Why not?" "'Cause, uh..." "I know God will take care of me when I get to Him." "How do you know?" "A man knows." "What if you get there and you fiind out there is no God?" "Who's gonna take care of you?" "Don't talk nonsense,Josh." "How do you know for sure?" "I mean... lots of things are made up." "S" " S-Superman ain't real." "Neither is Indiana Jones." "Someone just made 'em up." "'Cause I got proof." " What proof?" " The snow." "That's proof." "How do you think the snow appears?" "Isn't snow frozen water vapor... that falls to the earth in soft, white crystalline flakes?" "Where'd you learn that?" "Earth Science class." "Well, you're right... but there's more, much more." "Maybe you're gonna have to fiind your own proof." " You know what, Grandpa?" " What,Josh?" "I don't wanna talk anymore." " Josh." " Yeah?" "I am a little scared." "I'm a little scared too." "Grandpa?" "Is it okay if I cry now?" "Yeah." "Oh, man." "" Fourscore and seven years ago... our forefathers brought forth on this continent a new nation. "" "Be aware of where your hands are." ""conceived in liberty... "" "By spring, most everybody knew about my mission... even Robert Brickman." "Punch the end of each sentence,John." ""Now we are engaged in a great civil war. "" "Watch out, Brickman." "Okay, everybody face forward." "And you can continue,John." ""Testing whether that nation... "" "Everyone, look forward." "He's touching the pope." "Mission journal entry." "Robert Brickman took the pope hostage today." "Look, there's Robert!" " What's he doing?" " Why is he holding the picture up like that?" "Somebody please go tell Sister Josephine that Robert's out in the rain with the pope." "The whole class thought he was wigging'out again." "But not me." "I think he was trying to tell me something about my mission." "Somethin' was gonna happen." "Somethin'strange." " Please sit down." " No, I'm not gonna go." " Listen, baby, you gotta understand..." " No!" "I'm not gonna go." "I can't leave." "I need you to listen to me, okay?" "No one wants to take you out of school in the middle of the semester." "No one." "I don't,'your parents don't." "They want to keep you in school, but they just can't aff,ord it." "Now I know you're gonna be a big man and do what's best for your parents." "Please, come sit down." "It's gonna be okay." "It's gonna be all right." "Next." "Hey,Josh." " Is today tomorrow?" " Next." "Just leave me alone, Frank." "Next." "Did you ever notice that Freddie wears the same pants he wore last year... just let out a little?" "I can't say I know much about Freddie's pants." "And whenever we get new textbooks, Freddie gets the used ones..." " from the class before." " Shh, shh, shh!" "This ceremony is very special to the girls." "It's important to them, and it should be important to you." "Now you stand like prefect gentlemen." "Fold your hands." "Eyes forward." "Backs straight." "And enjoy yourselves." "Isn't that your woman?" "That's her." "She's hot." "She's beautiful." "Have you found what you're looking for?" "You will." "Something is defiinitely happening." "Murphy,your dad's here." " Bye." "Waltman." "Freddie Waltman?" "You okay?" "Are you ready?" "Freddie Waltman has picked on me since I was in third grade." "He pushed me in a locker... put cherry Jell-O in my sneakers... and told everyone when I split my pants in Social Studies." "What is wrong with me?" "Today should be the happiest day of my life." "I think he's leaving." " Hey, wait, wait!" "Stop, please!" " Joshua!" "Wait!" "Bye, Freddie." "Bye,Josh." "Stay together, gentlemen!" "Don't touch anything!" "If you break it, you bought it!" "Stay in line." "Stand up straight." "There is a buddy system." "If you're lost, please fiind your buddy." "No fiighting, no kicking, no pulling and no getting lost." " What are you doing?" " Let's go through together." " I can't even breathe." "Get out!" " Come on." "Everyone's waiting." "Oh." " Something caught?" " Don't push anymore." "We can't fiit." "Turn it back." "Aw, you dweeb!" "The turnstile doesn't go back." "Now I'm pushing forward." " No!" " Okay, excuse me!" "Gentlemen, calm down!" "Please let me through." "Calm down!" "Get in line, please!" "Single fille was what I said, right?" "What's happening, boys?" " Sister, we're stuck." " You're stuck?" " Yes." " Really?" "And how did you get stuck?" "Billy and Newman went through together." "I thought, maybe,Josh and I..." " Do you do everything that Billy and Newman do?" " No, Sister, I don't." "I certainly should hope not." "Are you all right,Joshua?" "Stay right here." "I'll get some help." "Be quiet!" "Try to be calm." "Single fille!" "Sir." "I think they're stuck." " Joshua." " What do you want?" "I think I'm gonna blow chunks." " Um, no chunk-blowing, Frank, okay?" " Yes, Sister." "If you could, I would appreciate..." "That's not funny!" "Is that funny?" "It took two workmen 20 minutes to pry us out." "A crowd of over 300 people stopped by to watch." "I hate field trips." "What a fat turd." "He's gonna weigh like 5,000 pounds when he grows up." "I better complete my mission soon." "I think I'm really losing it." "You know what, Frank?" "What?" "Today is tomorrow." "Yesterday was yesterday and today is tomorrow." "Right?" "Right." "So you wanna go make fun of those ugly statues over there?" "Hey, Frank, you're not gonna blow chunks on me, are you?" "Come on." "Hey,Josh." "Josh..." "Dave said he got one of his..." ""I didn't study for my test"headaches." "Said he couldn't see the questions." "Everything got blurry." "He told me we had to go on a secret agent assignment." "That's code for something no one could ever know about." "Something really, really dangerous." "Something..." "that could get you detention." "Okay, just eye that hallway, all right?" "Here it is." " Huh?" "Did you fiind it?" " Just keep looking." " Want me to flix yours?" " No, no." "I did all right." "And remember I'm not involved with this at all." " Secret agent red light." "Secret agent red light." " Wait." " I'm not fiinished yet." " Oh, it's all over." "We're gonna be arrested and "incarcemated. "" "Qick, over here." " Here she comes." " Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee." "Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fru..." "She took the tests." " Flynn." " Here." " Newman." " Here." "O'Hara." "O'Hara?" " Pasquale." " Here." " Rafalski." " Here." "Hey." " You know what?" " Hmm?" "Dave was out sick today." "Maybe we could stop by on the way home." "Sure." "Okay." "Make it quick." "I can tell you everything that happened that afternoon." " Hello?" " Mrs. O'Hara was upstairs taking a nap." "Dave?" "Mr. O'Hara was still working downtown." "Dave?" "And Dave was in the galactic battleship." "You're supposed to be sick, not having galactic battles." "I just found out my best friend, Dave, has epilepsy." "Epilepsy is a sickness you're born with." "It can strike at any age." "When it hits, you lose control of your body... you shake real hard... and then you black out." "The warning signs of epilepsy... are blurry vision..." "and headaches." "Mom!" "I talked to Dave's dad at the hospital." "Dave's stable." "He's bruised up a little." "I mean, that closet you guys play in is very small." "And when someone has a seizure... their arms and their legs move so fast... they need a lot of room." "Is he hurt bad?" "Dave fractured his arm against one of the walls." "He's gonna be okay." "His condition can be treated with medicine." "Hopefully, he'll be back playing with you in a couple of weeks." "Final journal entry." "Know what?" "My grandpa was wrong." "Someone just made God up." "On your marks, get set..." " Is that it?" " Uh-huh." "Come on." "The winners of our sixth grade 100-yard dash are... in third place, Wayne Hiller... second place, Mike McFarland:" "fiirst place, Andrew Dow." "Let's have a round of applause for our Waldron athletes." "I'm gonna win this for my grandpa." "On your marks, get set..." "Go,Joshua!" "Go!" "Go!" "I don't remember much about that day." "I don't remember who won or how long I was on the ground." " The winner of our fourth grade..." " Sister." "My grandson hasn't fiinished the race." "I do remember thinking this was the end." "My grandpa would never see me run again." "One of the last things I remember about my grandpa... was the way he stood at the fiinish line... waiting to say good-bye." " He takes the lead!" " Oh, no!" "My engine's overheated." " All right." "How many laps left?" " Ten." " It hurt?" " A little." "You scared?" "You don't gotta be scared no more." " Hey,Josh?" " Yeah?" " I don't think you should give up your mission." " I think you were right." "Bad things just happen, and people die." "And there's no one there to take care of them." "It's just the way things are." "I believe now." "When I was in the galactic battleship... you walked in." "It was like a miracle." "It was no miracle." "Why do you think you just popped by my house that day?" "Why do you think you just walked in then?" "Lucky." "No." "It was more." "Just don't give it up, dork." "Joshua?" "It's 7:00." "Honey." "Josh?" "Last day." "Let's not be late." "Come on." ""I like when Sister Beatrice lost her whistle for a week." "I like when Offiicer Price came in on Career Day and showed us his gun." "I like when school was cancelled 'cause the pipes in the basement busted. "" "Knees." ""I like the new lemonade they served in the cafeteria this year: the old one sucked." "I like that I turned 11 this year." "The end. "" "Very repetitive, Dan." "Fifteen sentences beginning with "I like. "" "My dad didn't help me, neither." "Okay,Joshua A. Beal." "" Fifth grade was the most rigorous year yet. "" "Rigorous or toughest?" "Eye contact,Joshua." "" Rigorous and toughest year yet." "Before this year, everything was Batman action fiigures... and Ninja Turtle cartoons. "" "Relax your shoulders." "" Now there's family, friends and... girls. "" "Shh!" "Quiet!" "" Before this year... bullies..." "were just bullies for no reason." "Weirdos... were just weird." "And daredevils... weren't afraid of anything." "Before this year... people I loved lived forever." "I spent this year looking for something... and wound up seeing everything around me." "It's like I was asleep before and fiinally woke up." "You know what?" "I'm wide awake now. "" "Well, gentlemen... on behalf of the WaldronAcademy faculty and staff,... thank you for another successful year." "We hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have." "We all wish Sister Sophia good luck... as she spends the summer fiinishing up her poetry book... now entitled, The Pope Sat On The Jungle Gym." "Good luck, Sister." "Sister Beatrice hopes that you will all do your summer reading." "If you need to contact her, she will be conducting summer school here... with some of our more free-spirited students." "You know who you are." "And for those of you students involved in the bucket incident earlier this year... you may still come forward and apologize... to our distinguished janitor, Mr. Kent." "You will not be punished." "I just need to know who it is." "Father Peters would like everyone to know... that he will be available for confessions throughout the summer... for anyone who feels the need." "And I know many of you will." "And fiinally, Mr. Lucas has generously volunteered... to devote his entire vacation to nurse... 89-year-old Sister constance back to health." "We're all expecting a full recovery." " Yes, Frank?" " May I please go to the bathroom, Sister Terry?" "Uh, no, Frank, you may not." "Okay, gentlemen, in 20 more minutes, you are free men." "Stand up straight and smile, please." "We're missing someone." "I'll get him." "Oh, no, we're okay." "We're okay,Joshua!" "Come on back in!" "They need you for the class picture." "I'm not in your class." "You're not?" "Hey, what's your name?" "You don't know my name?" "This is the fiirst time you're seeing me, isn't it?" "I see you all the time." "You're always around, always smiling." "And always watching me." "This is the fiirst time you're really seeing me." "I guess so." "You don't have to worry." "He's happy now." "Who?" "Dave?" "Yeah, he'll be all right." "Not David." "I better get back." "They're taking a picture." "You mean Grandpa?" "Oh." "My name is Joshua A. Beal." "I live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania." "I believe two things;'" "Not all angels have wings." "And... sixth grade's gotta be easier than this."