CLASSROOM- DAY ELIZABETH DILLARD, a fifty year old school teacher, is working with her students. She is dressed in navy capri pants and a white sweater. She is a very well put together women who has a calming personality to everyone around her. Outside the classroom you can hear other students SCREAMING and LAUGHING. Elizabeth is seated at a round table helping two kids, HENRY and GABE, who are both in the third grade. HENRY I can't focusssssssss. All I can hear are the other kids screaming on the playground. MRS. DILLARD I know it's hard, but it's important that you understand this lesson. GABE I just wanna go play. Please, please, please? MRS. DILLARD The other kids are playing right now, but you two need a little extra help. Mrs. Dillard takes their notebooks and writes more math problems. The other students flood in from recess and all grab their lunches from their backpacks. Mrs. Dillard looks up from the notebook and puts her pen down. MRS. DILLARD (CONT’D) You two can go to lunch. INT. BREAK ROOM- DAY Elizabeth walks into the break room to find REBECCA TUCKER, the forty year old principal on the phone. She is a tall women who is wearing a pencil skirt and a button up. Her nails are painted light pink and he wears a pearl necklace with matching ear rings. Elizabeth sits on the opposite side of the room from Mrs. Tucker. Other teachers enter the room. MRS. DIXON, MRS. KELLY and MRS. GREENLEE who are all in their twenties, and all have bleach blonde hair.If you didn't know they were teachers you have thought they belonged in a sorority house. 2. MRS. TUCKER Good afternoon ladies, how were your morning classes today? MRS.DIXON Fucking awful, none of them listen to me. Honestly I have just given up. MRS. KELLY I hear ya. I ended up sending four of my students into the hallway just because I couldn't deal with them. MRS. GREENLEE I just really hate kids. MRS. TUCKER Why do you think I became principal? I couldn't stay in the classroom with those little monsters anymore. How is your day going Mrs. Dillard? MRS. DILLARD Good, I really think I am making progress with some of my students. All the other teachers roll their eyes in response. Mrs. Tucker gets another PHONE CALL and gathers her things. INT. HALLWAY- DAY Mrs. Tucker is in the hallway answering her phone. She is trying to balance her lunch, with her purse in one hand. On the phone is her daughter, GRACE, who is in high school. Grace is 17 years old and has the attitude that she believes she should be able to have whatever she wants. She is the popular girl in high school, but has reached her peak in life a little early. GRACE Mom, I forgot my wallet and I don't know what to do. MRS. TUCKER Why do you need it? Aren't you suppose to be at school? 3. GRACE I left because my hair was getting gross and I called the hair salon and they had an open appointment. I mean to do your best you have to look your best right? MRS. TUCKER Don't worry honey I am on my way. Mrs. Tucker rushes out of the hallway. CUT TO: INT. CLASSROOM- AFTERNOON Mrs. Dillard is working at her desk. The students have left for the day. HENRY'S MOM walks in. She is in her late thirties and has brunette beachy waves. She is naturally pretty, but has dark rings around her eyes from lack of sleep and is carrying a cup of coffee. HENRY'S MOM Hi, Mrs. Dillard, I am so sorry to bother you after school hours. MRS. DILLARD Oh it's not a problem at all. How may I help you? HENRY'S MOM Well I came in today to talk to Mrs. Tucker because we have a meeting scheduled, but when I arrived she wasn't here. MRS. DILLARD I'll call her right now, I'm sure she is around here somewhere. Mrs. Dillard pulls out her phone and calls Mrs. Tucker. She steps into the hallway. Her attitude changes from content to anger. She raises her other hand of to look at her watch and begins to tap her foot. MRS. DILLARD (CONT’D) You have Henry's mom here and she says that you were suppose to have a meeting with her today. Where are you? 4. MRS. TUCKER Shit, shit, shit, I left early today. MRS. DILLARD Why? MRS. TUCKER Well for your information I had a very important family matter I had to attend to. Afterwards I felt queasy so I decided to take the rest of the day off. MRS. DILLARD What am I supposed to do about the parent? MRS. TUCKER Tell her I had an emergency and left early. And can you have the meeting with her? You're his teacher. Just tell the parent that we don't think this school is the right fit for her son. MRS. DILLARD I told you I can teach Henry next year. I am trained to teach students with autism. MRS. TUCKER No he distracts you from other students. He needs to go somewhere else. MRS. DILLARD No I am not telling her. Mrs. Dillard walks back into the classroom Henry's Mom is flipping through her son's notebook. Mrs. Dillard walks to a desk and picks up more of Henry's work and hands it to the mom. MRS. DILLARD (CONT’D) He really is making a lot of progress. HENRY'S MOM I know, when he does his homework I can really see the improvement. 5. MRS. DILLARD I'm sorry but Mrs. Tucker is not in currently. She will be here tomorrow, but I'm afraid she had a family emergency. HENRY'S MOM Oh, well okay, a phone call would have been nice. Thank you for checking and thank you for everything you are doing with Henry. INT. MRS. DIXON'S CLASSROOM- MORNING Mrs. Dillard comes into Mrs. Dixon's classroom to no teacher. She walks over to a girl named APRIL and a boy named ELIOT. April is petite for her age, but has exudes confidence which the other students don't find so charming. Eliot is a troublemaker and is not afraid of speaking his mind or of punishment. MRS. DILLARD April honey where is Mrs. Dixon? APRIL I don't think she is here yet. The janitor opened the room up for us this morning. Sometimes she is just late. Mrs. Dillard walks to the front of the classroom and CLAPS her hands. MRS. DILLARD I will be back soon to check on you, but in the meantime please pull out your math notebooks to prepare to turn in your homework. ELIOT We don't have homework. It's the best! Mrs. Dixon says she doesn't like to have to grade because it makes more work for her. MRS. DILLARD Okay, well then please just sit quietly at your desk. Maybe read a book. Mrs. Dillard walks out of the classroom. 6. INT. PRINCIPLE'S OFFICE- DAY Mrs. Dillard storms into the principles office to find Mrs. Tucker on Facebook on her computer. Mrs. Tucker ignores Mrs. Dillard and both sit in silence for a moment. Eventually Mrs. Dillard KNOCKS on the door. MRS. DILLARD Hello? MRS. TUCKER What is it? MRS. DILLARD You need to go to Mrs. Dixon's classroom she isn't here yet. Someone needs to watch her students and all the other teachers are with their students. MRS. TUCKER I'm sure they are fine. She comes in a few minutes late most day's and nothing that bad has ever happened. What is a few minutes? MRS. DILLARD You have twenty third graders alone in the classroom, someone needs to be watching them. Mrs. Tucker pulls herself away from the computer to look at Mrs. Dillard. Both of them look very annoyed. MRS. TUCKER Did you handle Henry's Mom yesterday? MRS. DILLARD I told her that you had an emergency, but that you would be in today if she wanted to come and talk to you. MRS. TUCKER I told you to tell her we won't be able to have Henry back at the school next year. Also, I'm leaving early today because I'm starting to get a migraine being at work. 7. MRS. DILLARD I didn't tell the mother about Henry because I already told you that I want to teach Henry next year. MRS. TUCKER I'm the principle here. I'm telling you that he is not a good fit. I know what is best for the school. Now please leave. INT. MRS. DIXON'S CLASSROOM- MORNING Mrs. Dillard walks back into Mrs. Dixon's classroom and there is still no teacher in the classroom. School has already been in session for ten minutes. MRS. DILLARD Come on guy's, you're going to be joining my class this morning. We're going to have an outdoor science class this morning. All the students get up out of their seats and bring their notebooks. Mrs. Dillard gets her class and brings them all outside to do a science lesson over flower pollination. In the middle of the lesson Mrs. Dixon shows up to school. Her hair is a birds nest and her shoes are unmatched. MRS. DIXON Sorry I'm late, but you didn't need to take care of my students they would have been fine on their own. I was just in a little bit of a rush this morning. MRS. DILLARD They really needed a teacher to be here to take care of them. Mrs Dillard looks at her watch. MRS. DILLARD (CONT’D) I mean you are twenty minutes late, I thought someone needed to take care of them. A group of little girls, including April run up to Mrs. Dillard. 8. APRIL Here you go Mrs. Dillard we made a flower crown just for you. MRS. DILLARD Oh thank you girls, but you guys didn't have to do that. APRIL We wanted to thank you for taking us outside. Eliot is standing a few feet away from the group of girls and is listening to the conversation. ELIOT (In a girly voice.) Ooooo look at me making flower crowns for teachers. (Back to normal voice.) What a teachers pet. Eliot reaches down and collects a handful of dirt and throws it at April and runs away. Mrs. Dixon doesn't care and motions for all of her students to gather around to go back inside school. MRS. DILLARD Are you not going to do anything about that kind of behavior. MRS. DIXON Kids will be kids. He will grow out of the phase eventually and she needs to learn to deal with this type of stuff anyway. MRS. DILLARD Or you could punish him and teach him it's not right instead of hoping he will just catch on. MRS. DIXON Eh just different teaching styles. (Screaming) Time to go back inside kids. INT. GIRLS BEDROOM- NIGHT Mrs. Dillard is taking the temperature of her ten year old daughter, Julia. She is very shy, but is very close with her mother. 9. When the thermometer BEEPS it reads that she has a 101 degree fever. Mrs. Dillard goes to pick up her phone and calls Mrs. Tucker. MRS. DILLARD I'm sorry to be calling so late, but my daughter is sick and I won't be able to make it in tomorrow. Do you think you will be able to find a sub? MRS. TUCKER I will be able to find someone. Remember if you miss more than 3 days of school on personal days your bonus will be cut in half. MRS. DILLARD I realize, but I can't help that my daughter is sick. I will beMrs. Tucker hangs up on Mrs. Dillard. CUT TO: INT. PRINCIPLE'S OFFICE- MORNING Henry's mom sits across from Mrs. Tucker. The mom is clearly upset. Mrs. Tucker has Facebook pulled up and is looking at it as she is talking to the mother. HENRY'S MOM You are saying my child isn't allowed back at your school next year? MRS. TUCKER We are just saying that as of right now this school is not the best fit for your child. HENRY'S MOM I talked to Mrs. Dillard yesterday, Henry is doing great here. I don't understand what the issue is. MRS. TUCKER Well we are a private school, and we don't have any teachers for student aid here. 10. HENRY'S MOM But Mrs. Dillard is certified in teaching students with autism. I know Henry is quite a hard student to teach, but I just don't understand. Mrs. Dillard has never seemed like it was an issue before. MRS. TUCKER She can't be spending all of her time with one student I am afraid. I am doing this for the other students. I'm sorry but Henry is too difficult of a student to teach. HENRY'S MOM How am I supposed to find another school? It is April and the school we are districted for will already be filled up. He will have to go to a school outside of our district. MRS. TUCKER I'm sorry, but there is nothing left we can do for you. Henry's mom grabs her purse and leaves the room. Mrs. Tucker grabs her phone and starts to have a text message. CUT TO: INT. GIRLS BEDROOM- NIGHT Mrs. Dillard is in her daughters bed with her daughter watching The Office as she receives the text about the staff meeting. JULIA What is it mom? MRS. DILLARD Oh it's nothing, I just have a staff meeting tomorrow morning. JULIA Why do you stay at that school? You have other options. MRS. DILLARD I know, but the reason I stay is because of the students. (MORE) 11. MRS. DILLARD (CONT’D) I have taught my group of kids since the first grade and I can't stand the thought of leaving them now. JULIA I know you care for your kids, but what about the other teachers. MRS. DILLARD I know, I know. CUT TO: INT. CONFERENCE ROOM- MORNING All the teachers are seated around a conference table. Mrs. Tucker is standing up and is facing a white board writing "Absences." MRS. TUCKER Today we are talking about your bonus checks. As you all know that to receive your full bonus you can only have missed three days of school for personal reasons. Most of you have not exceeded that limit, but I am keeping track. Mrs. Tucker turns to look at Mrs. Dillard MRS. TUCKER (CONT’D) Mrs. Dillard you cannot miss any more school, and the same goes to you Mrs. Dixon. Mrs. Dixon nods her head in agreement. MRS. DILLARD Wait, not to be mean here, but Mrs. Dixon is late everyday, and everyday another teacher has to cover for her. Do those hours not add up? And do you plan on giving yourself a full bonus? MRS. DIXON I'm sorry that I am late sometimes, but it's not like I am gone the entire day. 12. MRS. DILLARD And what about you Rebecca? You leave half days all the time because of a migraine. Are you going to give yourself a bonus still because you are in charge of them? MRS. TUCKER I am not going to discuss whether or not I am going to give myself a bonus. I known I am in charge of giving them out but I am not going to discuss what I plan on giving myself. MRS. DILLARD Are you not holding yourself to the same standard you are all of us? Mrs. Tucker turns around to erase what she had written on the white board. MRS. TUCKER I think we should change the topic it to our spring play. MRS. DILLARD No, I think we should talk about our bonus checks. MRS. TUCKER No, it is time to move on. All the other teachers look at the table to not make eye contact with anyone.