The Grade

The scene opens on Veronica, an 18-year-old high school student, slumped in her darkened room. Her bed is buried under textbooks, notepads, tissues and crumpled papers — including the term paper her teacher just handed back. Despite all her hard work, Mr. Pullman gave her a failing grade, and the teen is crushed. She sits hunched in the middle of the bed, a boxcutter in hand, dragging the blade lightly across her skin. A knock at the door makes her jump. Her mother softly asks if she'll come out now. Veronica screams no. Her mom pleads, begging her to unlock the door and come downstairs — it's only one semester to repeat, she can even do it over summer. Veronica tells her to leave her alone and wipes her eyes. She grabs the term paper, glares at it, then rips it to shreds. 'There is no way I'm failing this year because of you,' she mutters. A kettle whistles. Mr. Pullman, comfy at home, strolls into the kitchen and pulls it off the stove. He pours a cup of tea and calls up to his wife that he'll spend some quiet time in his study — he still has piles to grade. He settles on the couch, papers neatly stacked beside his grading pen and laptop. The man clearly likes order. He picks up a paper and gets started when someone knocks. Surprised, he opens the door to find Veronica standing there, cleaned up and neatly dressed, a sharp contrast to how she looked before. When he asks why she's at his house, she invites herself in and tells Mr. Pullman she needs to talk. It's urgent. He shuts the door and follows her inside, glancing warily over his shoulder — this student clearly came to renegotiate her grade, and Danny Mountain and Kristen Scott turn one bad report card into a very heated after-school lesson.