SCENE 1, INTERIOR. NOON, CLASSROOM. The class has gone to lunch and the teacher is sitting alone in the classroom eating from a box of Sundried Tomato and Basil Wheat Thins. After a few minutes, the door opens and one of his students walks in. The boy pauses by the door and then moves over to the table where the teacher is sitting; he doesn’t say anything for a few seconds.
JOEY: Hey, Mr. Z.
TEACHER: Hi, Joey…what brings you back to my world?
JOEY: It’s cold outside so I thought I’d come back in and visit you.
[Pause].
TEACHER: You know, a better answer would have been, ‘I just missed you, Mr. Z and I wanted to see you again. Also, it’s cold outside.’
[The boy looks thoughtful for a second].
JOEY: Mr. Z, I just missed you and wanted to see you again. Also, it’s cold outside.
TEACHER: Oh, that’s nice.
[The boy is silent for a few seconds].
JOEY: I’m gonna miss you, Mr. Z.
TEACHER: Miss me?
JOEY: Yeah…I just want to stay in your class. [Pause]. Hey, maybe you could follow me to sixth grade, then seventh, then eighth, and then on to high school and college. You could be my teacher every single year.
TEACHER: I’m pretty sure you'd get sick of me, Joey. You'd also get tired of the way I teach after a while.
[The boy adamantly shakes his head].
JOEY: I'd never get sick of you, Mr. Z.
TEACHER: Sure you would, Joey, it’s all about diminishing return. Remember when we learned about that during our Market Day presentation?
JOEY: You mean when John kept eating all those pretzels and then wanted water instead of more of them?
TEACHER: Yep.
JOEY: Not me, I'd just keep wanting more.
[Silence].
TEACHER: Well, then you'll need to keep visiting me here at school then, because I can’t be visiting you…that would just be creepy.
[Pause].
JOEY: Mr. Z?
TEACHER: Yeah?
JOEY: Could I have a few of your Wheat Thins?
[The teacher offers up the box and the boy takes a few of them; he silently munches in the ensuing silence].
JOEY: Do you think that I could I just hang out with you again sometime?
TEACHER: As many times as you want to, Joey, and for as many years...
[Fade to black].
15 comments:
I'm gonna miss this Joey. He loves you and you hve obviously had an impact on him.
Well done Mr Z!
Best compliment ever!
Sniff, sniff. Farewell to Joey of the year.
It's moments like these that make me almost wish I'd gone into teaching.
I love the heart picture of this moment.
I adore those moments. I had a similar one this year.
Also, love that flavor of wheat thins. Yum!
awww, feel the love.. its hard to let go.. then again, love is letting go, right?
Every year when the 5th graders go, there are a few that I wish never had to leave. It's nice to know that some of them feel the same way about their teachers.
Love this. There have been people and teachers I've felt that way about, both in my life and in my kids'. Also, I am not good at saying goodbye.
Love this so much. You can't realize how many you influence and how long that influence lasts. Fine job for sure.
I don't know why this made me cry.
I am glad he has you.
PS Thank you for teaching me about diminishing return.
What a sweet post. :) He sounds like a great kid!
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I'd say anything to have some wheat thins too. Well, okay, maybe not anything...... I reserve that for peanut butter cups.
*laughing at Rachel* She means it too. ;)
I don't even know what to say to such a sweet story like that, so I will just say it really made me smile.
I hope Joey really does keep coming back to you. I had such a fondness for my 5th grade teacher I spent more time in that classroom after school than any where else until I graduated from highschool(it helped the school was at the bottom of the hill behind our house). Even into the first two years of college I made a point to return for special occasions (like camp to be a 'counselor'). We still exchange holiday cards 25 years later.
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