All language subtitles for Millers Girl 2023_track3_[eng]

[keyboard clacking]

[Cairo Sweet] Fuck.

[lilting music playing]

[keyboard clacking]

[birds chirping]

What is an adult?

Becomin' one
didn't suddenly transform me

into anything outstanding
or significant.

I am 18 and
entirely unremarkable.

[door closes]

Languishing in the wilds

of nowhere, Tennessee.

In this tomb of a house
left to me

by my brilliant
and selfish parents.

They're not dead…

though they pretend I am.

They're permanently abroad.

Literature is my solace
in the solitude.

And writing is my only means
of escape.

Because, you see…

I've never left the edges
of this town.

It's positively gothic,
really.

Lonely girl longs to escape

the interminable boredom
of her small village.

Lonely girl longs
to be meaningful.

Lonely girl longs to be loved.

Books make longing
seem romantic, but it's awful.

It's greedy.

And I wear longing
like a fucking veil.

[captivating instrumental
music playing]

But today?

Today comes with
something new.

Something surprising.

Today I meet a writer,
like me.

A teacher.

One who somehow
found inspiration

in a place like this.

If you can believe it.

[sigh]

[Cairo] Well…

I suppose even graveyards
grow flowers.

[captivating instrumental
music continues]

[whistling]

Good morning.

[smacks lips] Morning.

You know, class doesn't start
for another hour.

I know. I don't like crowds.

Uh-uh…

-Do you live far?
-Close enough to walk.

-Oh, where's that?
-Lovell Hill?

You live in Lovell Hill?

-You know it?
-I just didn't think it was

occupied by anything
except ghosts.

-Who says it is?
-[chuckles]

[Johnathan Miller] You, you
really live in Lovell Hill?

Wow.

It's enormous.

My parents are lawyers.

-Hmm, what kind?
-The expensive kind.

And you wanna be a lawyer?

About as much as I wanna be
a high school student.

What's your name?

Cairo Sweet.

-I'm Mr. Miller.
-I know.

My friend Winnie
recommended your class.

Uh-huh. [inhales sharply]

Uh…

Now I'm assuming that you got
one of these before…

the holidays.

Got a chance to look it over?

I read it.

I, I,
I know it looks like a lot,

but I promise you
we'll get through it

as quickly as we can.

I read the whole list.

Wait, you read these?

Well, like,
there's 12 books on that list.

I party hard.

[footsteps approaching]

-Winnie.
-[Winnie Black] Mm. Hmm, hmm.

[Jonathan] One semester
wasn't enough for you?

Did you miss me?

I did not.

Well, that's too bad.

You're overdressed as usual,
I see.

Your underwear,
as usual, I see.

[Winnie] How boring.

Censorship is dead.

It can't exist
with the Internet.

[Jonathan] And yet it does.

Do you know why?

-[inhales deeply]
-[Winnie] Yeah.

-Do you?
-[Jonathan grunts]

[Cairo] Ignorance is a product
of laziness.

-Not limitation.
-[Winnie's stomach growls]

Oh. [blows raspberry]
Excuse me,

but what's that you say?

[chuckles] You want
a chicken biscuit

and a Coke?

Mm. Well, you heard the boss.

It's chickybikky Coke-y time,
let's go.

You want anything, Mr. Miller?

No, thank you, Cairo.

Sweet of you to ask.

[Winnie chuckles]

[Winnie] I see
what you did there.

"Cairo, sweet of you to ask."

Not.

Good one.

Like we've never heard
that before.

[door closes]

[gentle music playing]

[Jonathan] Jesus.

My God.

[door closes distantly]

What you reading?

-Uh, nothing.
-Doesn't look like nothin'.

It's a student's.

Oh, yeah? What's her name?

How do you know it's a girl?

Oh, boys are too lazy
to read porn.

How do you know it's porn?

[clears throat]

[reading] "Marcelle wants me
to fuck her.

"She leaps off the couch

-"and pushes herself…"
-Boris.

"…between the girl and me.

"It's all
so fantastically horrible

-"that I can't move."
-Give me that.

-"Marcelle stretches…"
-Okay.

-"…her tiny split fig."
-That's quite enough…

-All right.
-…of your elocution…

-And test tomorrow, kids.
-I think. [sigh]

Well, "Split fig"
is fucking poetry.

-This coffee for me?
-Biscuit, too.

One of yours?

[sniffs] Oh, yeah,
that's one of yours.

One of mine. Exactly.

-Christ!
-[laughs]

I don't know what
you're doing,

-but it's some…
-Oh, you know. Come on, now.

I'm trying to just entice you.
What the…

-Man, that's good.
-"Oh, I read The Paris Review.

-"I'm so smart."
-Can you not?

"Everybody,
I'm in high school.

-"But I read The Paris Review.
- Boris. Boris. Come on.

"I'm better than most people."

-Stop, please.
-Is this her diary?

Oh, what do we have here?

[chuckling] Well, well, well.

"Apostrophes
and Ampersands…"

six abysmally
romantic short stories

by Jonathan Albert Miller.

-She has my book?
-[Boris Fillmore] Mm-hmm.

It would appear so.
It would also appear

she's the only one
who checked it out.

Yeah, well, don't you have
a class to teach?

Well, you know,

I can't start my day
without seeing you.

No, you really can't.

Hey, how'd you score
the big room anyway?

[grunts] They cut
the theater program.

But they kept you?

Along with
the other props, yeah.

[Boris chuckling]

-Damn.
-Mm-hmm.

[insects trilling]

[pleasant music playing]

[keyboard clacking]

-Hello, wife.
-Hello, husband.

[Beatrice June Harker sighs]

Beatrice.

-What?
-Look at me.

[inhales sharply]

[Beatrice June Harker] Huh.

Red-Letter Day.

What, your school
finally get computers?

Better.

Indoor bathrooms?

A writer.

One who reads Finnegans Wake

of her own volition.
Can you believe that?

Well, I'm forever stunned
that the children

in that backwater shanty
can read at all.

[chuckles]
And, uh, guess what else?

-Naked Lunch.
-Mm-mm.

[smacks lips]
Apostrophes and Ampersands.

[chuckling] She…

She checked it out
of the library.

They carry your book
at the library?

-[clicks tongue] Aw. Fuck.
-[cell phone vibrating]

-A Confederacy of Dunces.
- Mm-hmm.

Well, deep breaths.

-Happy place.
-[sigh]

My happy place
has all their heads

impaled on Montblanc pens.

Share your riches.

-[Jonathan inhales sharply]
-[cell phone still vibrating]

Hello, Amy.

What? Are you fucking joking?

I've been back and forth
all day

with the Nashville office
who can't seem to articulate

what it is they want

and somehow think
they can articulate

to me,
which is pretty ambitious

considering how they think

"articulate"
is a Danish cheese.

So, I'm about to start
fucking scooping out

my teeth with a baby spoon.

-[Jonathan] Mm.
-[Beatrice] They can go

fuck themselves if they think
I'm gonna change the ending.

Okay, have a nice day,
bye-bye.

[Jonathan whistles softly]

[There's a Blessing by Johnny
Copeland plays over speakers]

[Beatrice chuckles]

-[sighs wearily]
-Here now.

Cheers.

Cheers.

[sighing] Oh, that's so good.

Hey, you ever read, uh,

Under the Roofs of Paris,
Henry Miller?

Honey,
my first copy got so sticky,

-I had to throw it away.
-[Jonathan chuckles]

That beginning bit
with the prostitute…

-Mm. Mm-hmm.
-…and the cum money?

That is choice.

[reciting] "I take the first
bill I find in my pocket

-"and wipe my cock on it."
-[chuckles]

[sigh] "And place it crumpled
on her bare belly

"weighted with a coin."

-I love when you do magic.
-Mm.

You care to reenact?

I can papier-mache you…

with cum and money.

-[glass thuds softly]
-Oh, so you're expecting

-a heavy load, then, huh?
-Mm-hmm.

A full body of work.

Come here.

[There's a Blessing continues
playing over speakers]

Dance with me.

[chuckles softly]

You're so beautiful.

Shut up.

[cell phone vibrating]

Oh, for fuck's sake.

-Okay.
-[sighs in exasperation]

Will you take care
of those dishes?

[Jonathan] Uh-huh.

I'll give you a handy later.

It's Pushkin, Amy.

Not Pollyfuckinanna.

[both laughing]

[Boris] What
a terrible weekend.

-Mm.
-Come on,

why you always gotta
hold my coffee hostage?

'Cause you're a puritan.

I feel like it's my duty

to punish the goodness
out of you.

God, you're a sadist.

I'm a public school teacher.

-Amen to that. [chuckles]
-Cheers.

Ooh, mama.

[Boris sighs]

You think there's ghosts
up in there?

-[eerie music playing]
-[crows cawing distantly]

[Jonathan]
Why don't you go see?

Mm-mm.
I don't go in the kudzu.

That feeds on
the souls of the dead.

That's why it grows so fast.

[ethereal music playing]

Good morning.

You always walk through
the woods alone?

That's a peculiar question

to ask a young lady,
Coach Fillmore.

What, what are you,
uh, listening to?

-Celine Dion.
-Really?

-[Boris laughing]
-Really.

But why?

-I'm sorry. [laughing]
-Because she's great.

-[Boris] Oh. Hmm.
-Ignore him. Ignore him.

-He wept aloud openly…
-Hmm.

…at the Titanic
theme song…

-[Boris] Hmm.
-…at my bachelor party.

-Remember that?
-I was drunk.

You were disconsolate.

[Boris]
You are a fucking traitor.

And you're a fucking
hypocrite. [chuckles]

[Boris] Mm. Mm, mm, mm.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Uh, want a biscuit?

-Yeah, sure.
-There you go.

[ethereal music playing]

[Cairo] It's good.
[Boris] Yeah?

-Do you make these?
-[Boris] Yeah.

But you know,
don't tell nobody.

-Why not? I don't.
-Oh, you know.

-You'll figure it out.
-I won't.

[Jonathan] You can't have
the baseball team knowing

that he bakes biscuits
and cries to Celine Dion.

On that… [groans]
Take my leave.

I shall bid you goodbye.

-Okay.
-Uh, you, bad bye.

-Well, goodbye.
-[Jonathan] A bad bye?

-[Boris] Mm-hmm.
-But I love you though.

[Boris] No, you don't.

Don't you get scared walking
through those woods?

I'm the scariest thing
in there.

[chuckles awkwardly]

[indistinct chatter]

[humming]

Oldest trick in the book,
Winnie.

Ain't you gonna say somethin'?

I dressed up just for you.

[chuckles, sighs]

What you want? [grunts]

I wanna get into

-your physics class.
-Why?

You'd be really behind.

[Winnie] Don't you tutor?

You don't need lessons.

Then what do I need?

[Boris] Um…

[mischievous music playing]

See what I can do.

[Winnie] 'Preciate ya!

[Boris] Hope so.

[Cairo] You are insane.

[Winnie inhales sharply]

Here.

I think
I'm seducing Coach Fillmore.

But you're a lesbian.

I'm an equal opportunist.

[Cairo] Mm.

Are you jealous?

Well, if I say, "yes,"
will you lay off him?

If I say, "yes,"
will you lay on me?

Okay, chickybikky?

Okay.

[Strange Desire
by Isla June playing]

So, you're a smoker now?

I'm smoking now.

No plans for it
to define me yet.

Where are your parents
this time?

Mumbai.

[Winnie] For how long?

Who knows?

Let me dress you up.

Winnie, you know I don't give
a fuck about being hot.

I give a fuck
about being smart.

You can be both.

What are you doin'?

I'm willing my cursor
to blink itself

into my Yale essay.

You dry?

Unqualified.

What's the subject?

"What has been your greatest
achievement to date?"

All right, what the fuck
am I supposed to say?

Surviving the crippling ennui

of growing up
in bumfuck nowhere?

I'm sorry.

I just…
I couldn't hear you over

the high whine
of your shining trust fund.

My greatest achievement
cannot be that

I've had no achievement.

Well, you are gonna
be valedictorian.

[Cairo] Boring.

-You have a 4.6 GPA.
-Boring.

And you've successfully…

-What?
-Well…

You've successfully, um…

Well…

Shit.

I guess you're just another
run-of-the-mill,

generationally wealthy gal

livin' in
a haunted ancestral mansion.

Fuck.

[Winnie] So…

-[Cairo sighs]
-experience something.

Like what?

Something worth writing about.

You could write a treatise
on teacher-student affairs.

[chuckles]

How exactly would that
be an achievement, Winnie?

Easy.

It becomes a conversation

about achieving emancipation

from your inherited beliefs
about sex and age.

You're not seriously
gonna fuck Fillmore, are you?

[smacks lips]
Haven't decided yet.

What's it to you?

Like, he's, like,

-twenty years older than you.
-So?

Older men have been
harvesting virginity

since the dawn of time.

So, it doesn't mean
anything to you?

What?

Your virginity.

Does it mean something to you?

I haven't decided yet.

Come to Winnie.

We're, like,

the fucking
American wet dream.

Young girls with
ambivalent sexuality.

Pheromones steaming off
our bodies.

I don't wanna drop it
for some rando jock-twat

whose sexual standards
are mandated

by the shit porn he downloads.

That's deli meat.

I want a dry-aged

slab of perfectly marbled
hot man meat

to take me to pleasure town.

[inhales deeply]

Like…

Wagyu beef.

[sigh]

Hungee.

You think
that's Boris Fillmore?

Why not?

He's fine.

He's like,
really fucking smart.

And he's kind.

Which means, as my first time,

he'd take his time

to get me all good and juiced.

And then
he'd give me aftercare.

You know,
the first time you have sex,

it's not supposed to hurt.

Right?

Like,
if you're properly aroused.

You likely won't even bleed.

Didn't know that.

That's because a woman's pain

is valued more
than her pleasure.

But that's a conversation
for another day.

My point…

is that Boris has just got it
going on.

I know what I'm looking for.

And I think Mr. Miller knows
what he's looking for.

What do you mean?

I've never seen him look
at a student

the way he looks at you.

He sees you

even though
you hide in plain sight.

-Shut up. [giggling]
-What?

-Stop!
-No.

Come on.
Like you don't notice, Cairo.

It's like he's been living
in gray scale

and you're the first thing
he's ever seen in color.

No, you're being… Shut up.

I'd fuck you.

I know.

[amusing music playing]

[Cairo giggles]

[What Fiction is For
by Dyan playing]

[Cairo reading]
"I was nothing

"but a bleached bone monument
beneath her.

"Human ruins
of a madman's love."

"A madman's love."

God, I'd give anything
to feel that.

What muse could inspire
this deranged yearning?

[What Fiction is For
continues]

To inspire.

To be so inspired.

Could we be that
to each other?

What was I saying?

Feels like I'm not right.

Feels good.

It feels pink.

[Jonathan] Never forget.

There's a reason this guy
was called romantic.

It's very big, it's very bold.

To us,
it might seem a little…

much.

If we don't stick
to the brief,

it gets a little bit woolly.

Uh, can you see me
after school, please?

Some of you, as you can see
could have done…

[Cairo] It's like a sugar cube
under the tongue.

…a little better.

But worth persevering.

Colby, what?

[Cairo] I want your attention.

[Something's Wrong Baby by
Little Melvin Underwood plays]

Uh, how's Bea?

She's, uh, she's Bea.

[Boris] Yeah.
How's the book coming?

It's not.

You mean you're not.

No, she's, uh, she's occupied.

All right,
what time is dinner?

[Jonathan] Seven o'clock.

And please take a shower.

Are you worried?

Your old lady's gonna get hot
for all this?

Top three worst nightmares.

Yeah. Because you know
how nasty she is.

No, because I wanna keep you
for myself.

Aw, cutie.

-Hey.
-What?

You remember the Roger Rabbit?

Check it out now.

-It's close, right?
-To?

Kids ain't got nothing on me.

-[Jonathan] All right, man.
-Bye, Professor.

-Love you.
-[door closes]

[Something's Wrong Baby
continues playing]

[claps]

Ooh!

F… Hi. Uh…

[giggling]

[Jonathan] Hello… Well,
that was embarrassing.

-I won't tell.
-That's generous, thank you.

Uh, hope I'm not keeping you
from anything.

I'm waiting for Winnie.

It's like you're always
waiting for Winnie.

That sounds like
a Gin Blossoms album.

Waiting for Winnie.

Gin Blossoms? How old are you?

Well, if you can't tell,
then I won't.

What's Winnie doing?

She's applying to Vandy.

You would be pleased to know.

And are you?

Tennessee is a fucking
tar pit. No offense.

I think you'll appreciate it
when you're older.

Maybe.

From afar.

As it burns.

-Like Nero.
-[Jonathan chuckles]

Well, that's…

So, uh,
how far are we talkin'?

Yale far.

Yale far? My God!

What, so you can eat
pot brownies

and read Joan Didion or what?

Because I hear
the literacy rate is high.

You ever been to

the Scroll Sessions
at Sally Bunny's?

No. What's that?

Poetry salon
every third Saturday.

Victorian Village.

-What is that?
-What's…

What's that? It's blank.

Ca… How can you disdain

of what Tennessee has to offer

without conducting a thorough,
uh, cultural investigation?

Educated judgment.

[chuckles] Well, I've heard
things there that haunt me.

Because they're bad?

[laughs]

Sometimes, yeah.
Sometimes they're bad.

Most of the time, it's,
it's kind of beautiful.

Yeah.

Maybe you should go
this weekend.

I think you might
be surprised.

[chuckles]

You wanted to see me?

[Jonathan] This week's story,

uh, you wrote about
a reluctant spider.

I enjoyed this one.

[reciting] "Survival
and desire amalgamated

"and turned
an aphotic eye inward.

"I saw my expectations
dismantled and dismembered

"by the harsh and starving
dogs of reality."

"Truths that sit in
the vacuity of space

"like a hypergiant star

"burning to ash."

"All elements too weak
to withstand the awesome heat.

"We are what we are."

[chuckles]
"And all creatures must eat."

[chuckles]

-Um…
-Damn. That, I mean…

I was not expecting that.

Um…

She's not reluctant.

She's resigned.

-To her death?
-No.

To the order of things.

She eats and waits
to be eaten.

-Phew. It's dark.
-It's nature.

That's true.

You memorized it.

Uh…

Well, I'm eidetic.

It's a,
it's a cool party trick.

You are…

You're exceptionally talented.

-Do I get an A?
-Well, how about a jumpstart

on the midterm?

Are you offering me
special treatment, Mr. Miller?

I want you to write
a short story

in the style
of your favorite author.

I think it could be
the highlight

of your portfolio submission

-to Vanderbilt.
-Yale.

-[whispering] Vanderbilt.
-Yale.

[in normal voice] Come on.
I've got to have some hope.

I think
that's a terrific assignment.

Thought you would.

Good.

I read your book.

-Oh, God. Well, uh…
-[chuckles]

[exhales]

Reviewers,
of which there were three,

found it, uh,

"overreaching
without ambition," to quote.

I would call it…

grand and tragic.

Okay. [chuckles softly]

Romantic horror.

That's, uh…

[Cairo reciting]
"She was an electric white

"noon-shadow moon

"casting cold light like water

"over the flat earth
of my face.

"'Don't look into the sun,'
they said.

"But the moon,

"the moon…

"I stared until I was nothing

"but a bleached bone monument
beneath her.

"Human ruins
of a madman's love."

[gentle music playing]

Well, you memorized that,
right?

[both chuckling]

[sucks teeth]

That was too much.
That was weird. [chuckles]

No, it wasn't.
It's not. It's not.

That was really weird.
I'm sorry.

That was the first thing
I'd ever written…

which felt tangible.

Like I'd touched somethin'.

You know,
I haven't written anything

-in a very long time.
-Why not?

I don't know.

Do I know?

Mm?

[muttering] Uh…

I guess I got married.

Started teaching.

I don't have anything else
to say.

You're uninspired.

-You judging me?
-I am challenging you.

That's my job.
[chuckles softly]

[objects clattering]

[door closes]

-[Jonathan] Hi, Winnie.
-Oh, no.

[sigh]

-Hungee.
-[Cairo] I think she's hungry.

She just doesn't use
real words

because she's a child.

[to love a man by
Kellyeann Keough playing]

[boris chuckles]

No, it's fine.
Your hair looks great.

-I knew it.
-Please don't start.

-[Beatrice] Don't.
-Your hair looks good.

-[Beatrice] I will not go…
-I'm more concerned…

…gently into the good night.

-No, I know. You look fine.
-[Beatrice] Like you have.

I'm just more concerned
about the fact

that you got two damn phones
on the table

like you're a rapper.

This one
is my professional phone.

-[Boris] And the other one…
-[Jonathan chuckling]

-[Jonathan] The other one…
-…is for selling drugs.

-The other one is personal.
-[Boris] Oh, yeah?

That's why you're not gonna
get that number.

[all laughing]

How y'all doin'?
That burger treatin' you well?

Sorry,
it's a two-man show tonight.

-[Winnie sighs]
-I'm getting angry now.

[Boris] Well…
[Winnie] [sigh] Well, hi.

I don't see any Michelin stars
here, honey.

So, what is the holdup?

-[Winnie] A fuck-up…
-Bea. Come on.

…in the kitchen
that was entirely preventable.

Can I get you anything
while you wait?

-On me.
-Another Maker's.

Okay, you got it.

-Coach?
-[Boris] Blue Moon.

Workin' late on
a school night, ain't you?

Drinkin' late on
a school night, ain't you?

Oh, you think sassing me
is gonna get you a better tip?

[Winnie] Gets me
a better grade.

Doesn't it?

-That might be true, yeah.
-Anything for you, Mr. Miller?

[laughs] I'm good, Winnie.

Designated driver.

-Oh.
-[Boris] Oh, really?

-Unless you wanna do it.
-First I'm hearing of this.

You know, why can't you just
be a nice,

boring teacher
like Mr. Miller?

-[all laughing]
-Boring?

[Boris] What? And let
my students make their grades

with scholastic merit?

Do you really think
I'm boring?

In a good way.

Like a nice pastoral.

I'll get those drinks for you.

Yeah. "Pastoral."

She just called you a field.

[Jonathan] At best.

-She's cute.
-Yeah, and a 4.4 student.

And she can paint.

She's in my morning class.

Oh, is this the last scion
of James Joyce?

[chuckling] That's Cairo.

-Cairo?
-[Boris] Yeah.

Did he tell you that
Cairo read his book?

He sure did.

-Is she pretty?
-[Jonathan] Is she pretty?

Um, I don't know.
She's talented.

Damn. Even worse.

Our friend Jon here
is prepping her to be

his transcendence into
the annals of academic glory.

And so what if I am?
It's exhilarating.

And it's rare as well

-to be so engaged and so…
-Hmm. I bet is is. Yes.

-So worshipped.
-So worthy.

-Wanna be like me.
-She, in earnest

uses words
like "vituperation."

Please.

Vocabulary doesn't make
you a writer

any more than math
makes you a rocket scientist.

Bea, she's extraordinary.

-Okay?
-But enjoy it while you can.

You know, pickings are slim
in the boonies.

Rural education
not as romantic

as you thought it'd be, huh?

No, I thought it was going
to be fucking

-Friday Night Lights, okay?
-[both laughing]

-That's on you, man.
-Just cool stories

and, like, sexy guitar riffs.

Meanwhile, the professor
disapproves of my cynicism.

-Oh, he's judging you.
-Yes, he is. I feel it.

-No, I'm not.
-[Boris] Yes, you are.

[Beatrice] Are too.

[reciting] "The teacher
who attempts to teach

"without inspiring the pupil

"with a desire to learn
is hammering on cold iron."

-Horace Mann.
-Ten points to Slytherin.

That's so rich.

I wanted to be a teacher.

You fell back on it.

And by the way,
I love teaching.

You're better suited for it,
I think, anyway.

-Hey, than what?
-Writing.

-[Boris] Goddamn, Beatrice.
-What does that mean?

[Beatrice] You don't have kids.

[Boris] You don't have kids.
[Beatrice] You don't have

brain damage, right?

So, um, you stopped writing

I imagine,
because it wasn't for you.

Otherwise,
you'd still be doing it.

I'm a writer.

You haven't put pen to page

since your stories got panned.

You're not a writer.

[Jonathan] Hmm.

Well, okay.

Didn't realize you
saw me this way, but okay.

[Beatrice] It's not that
you can't write, Jon.

It's that you don't.

You chose to be a teacher.

Why would I see you
as anything else?

'Cause you married a writer.

[Beatrice] I did.

Didn't I?

[indistinct chatter]

[mysterious music playing]

[thunder rumbling]

[Cairo] Why am I here?

It's not for the poetry,
I'll tell you that.

[door opens]

[people talking indistinctly]

It's for the thrill
of something

that I've managed to go
my whole life without knowing.

An ache of anticipation
that you'll be here.

And it will mean something
that you are.

Be here.

Be here. Be here.

[reciting] "Stay, illusion.

"If thou hast any sound,
speak to me."

[soft piano music playing]

-Hi.
-Hi.

[Jonathan] Can I sit?
[Cairo] Of course.

[playing piano]

What's that you got there?

It's, um,
sacramental grape juice.

Said the barrister's daughter.

[Cairo] Do you know
all these people?

[Jonathan] Uh, most of them.

We've been doing this
for a couple years now.

-Like group therapy?
-[chuckles]

Yeah, exactly that. [chuckles]

[Cairo] Who's that fellow?
[Jonathan] That's Elliot.

Three-time Ostrander winner.

He just finished
playing Edmund in Lear.

It's sure to get him
his fourth.

[Cairo] Hmm.

[reciting] "It is my intention
to escape you

"and leave you far behind…

[thunder rumbling]

"…bereft of me and aching.

"Puzzled by the pain
in your rib.

"Not quite heartache.

"Not quite homesick.

"Me-shaped and filled

"with the remnants of stars.

"You choke up the void
with verdurous blooms,

"and the wrap of my veins
around you.

[soft piano music continues]

"The hideous pulse,

"the shouting blood,

"the ventricle kudzu
smothering you

"with wanting

"is turned hideously soft
in reminiscence.

"And yet
some part of me stays.

"Some bit,

"some parcel,

"some ash left behind.

"And with it,
you will recreate me.

"A moving effigy,
a patch-work person."

"But they are not me.

"And the space I left
grows misshapen."

"I will never fit there
again."

[all applauding]

[thunder rumbling]

[Cairo giggles]

What?

I can see.

It was really something.

Hot dog.

You thought it was gonna
be trash, didn't you?

Yes, I did.

Have more faith.

[Cairo] What is the word?

It's not falling.
That's too stale.

[ethereal music playing]

It's more deliberate
than that.

It's recognition
of what we really are.

Ghosts.

You do see me.

And I see you.

Goddamn, Tennessee,
why are you so fuckin' hot?

-Go inside.
-And miss Godot?

Gifts for the wallflowers.

[Jonathan] Oh. Okay.
[Boris] Mm. Hmm.

[Cairo] Thank you.
[Boris] What's this?

-[Cairo] Coffee.
-No, no.

What's this? What is…
What's with the, uh, new look?

Thank you for this. It's,
uh… It's very generous.

No one should have to suffer
cafeteria coffee.

[Boris in southern accent]
You want a biscuit, biscuit?

-What flavor?
-Split fig.

Mm. [coughs]

[chokes] Excuse me.

-[Boris] It's good.
-Come on, man.

[Boris] You got
a little split fig in you?

-Not right now. Really?
-Caught in your throat?

-You know what you should do?
-[Boris] What should I do?

You should make a logo
and sell these

-to raise money for the team.
-[Boris laughs]

Don't laugh.

You'd buy some, wouldn't you,
Mr. Miller?

-Oh, yeah.
-He doesn't count.

I can't resist a cute boy
with a biscuit.

Right?
Winnie could design the logo.

-[Boris] Yeah?
-Yeah.

She's really good
at that stuff.

-[Boris] Really?
-Coach.

Call yourself
the Biscuit Batters.

Winnie and I could help you
get it off the ground.

What's in it for you?

-What's in it for me?
-[Boris] Mm-hmm.

Oh, well, I mean,
it's pleasure, you know?

Connection. 5%.

-I'm the Biscuit Batter.
-No. Once more with pride.

-I'm the Biscuit Batter!
-Oh. Oh, okay. Okay.

[shouting] I'm the…

[in normal voice]
I'm gonna work on that.

Um, but I'm leaving
before I fucking burn up.

-Y'all coming inside?
-You go ahead.

All right, suit yourself.

I'll suit myself. See you now.

[Boris] Mm.

Hi.

[ethereal music playing]

Hi.

You're sweet.

When it suits.

[Jonathan] Please.

[Cairo] Thank you.
[Jonathan] Mm.

[keypad clacking]

[cell phone vibrates]

[cell phone chimes]

[cell phone vibrates]

[cell phone vibrates]

What did he say
about the outfit?

He didn't have
to say anything.

Oh. [giggles]

You ready? Can we go?

No. I need to stop
by his class.

Can I watch?

-[door opens]
-Oh, hi.

[Cairo] Hey.

How are you, kid?

Are you in a hurry?

Well, I'm just goin' on
a little, uh,

weekend vacation with my wife.

What do writers
do on vacation?

Uh, excuse me.

Um, well,
they pretend to write

someplace else, I guess.
[chuckles]

[Cairo] Uh, can we talk about
the midterm?

Uh, sure, what's on your mind?

I want your approval
on my author before I start.

Okay. Who is it?

Henry Miller.

Provocative and,
uh… [chuckles]

…his structure is very
challenging to emulate.

It's not just structural,
though, it's everythin'.

You know, his decadence,

his total disregard
for literary etiquette,

his, um,
destruction of convention.

It's…
It's all the good stuff.

[both chuckle]

-Do you not think I can do it?
-Look,

Miller is public enemy
number one

with the censors.

I'm not even approved
to teach him.

So?

So, it would be like
a controversial choice.

If it's not controversial,
it's not interestin'.

Okay. [chuckles]

Okay, yes?

Okay, I trust you.

Write what you know,
little ghost.

[ethereal music playing]

Damn, I gotta go. Uh…

Do me a favor.

Have some fun this weekend,
will you?

Take a recess.

Yeah, I'll rest if you write.

Uh, listen,
I'll see you Monday, okay?

Bye, Winnie.

[door opens]

-Don't do that.
-[door closes]

Don't look at me like that.

Hmm… [chuckling knowingly]

[seductive] "Oh…"

[Cairo] No, I never did that.

-[moaning]
-Stop.

[Winnie continues moaning]

Wait, Winnie, don't…

[imitating Cairo seductively]
"Oh, Mr. Miller,

"I just love the decadence,
and the words

"and breakin' all the rules!"

Okay, enough, enough.

-You need to get off his desk.
-[Winnie moans]

I did not say it like that.

Oh, but you meant it
like that.

-No, I didn't.
-You're seducin' him,

you floozy. [giggling]

-We make a good double team.
-[Boris blows whistle]

Hi. [chuckling]

Am I interruptin'?

-We were just leavin'.
-[Boris] Where's Jon?

Uh, where's Mr. Miller?

He left.

Shoot.
Oh, while I have you. Cairo.

I think your idea
is fresh to death.

And, uh, Winnie…

-I'd like your help too.
-With what?

Well, can you keep the secret?

Sure can.

I bake biscuits.

He's gonna have
the baseball team

sell them to raise money.

But Fillmore wants you
to design the logo.

I think that's really cool.

-Really?
-I'd love to help.

[Boris] Cool. All right.
[taps table]

I'll call you guys out
on your lunch period.

We can go over the specs.

Hey, um…

I think it'd be easier

if you just gave me
your phone.

I could text you the specs.

It'd be faster that way.

Okay.

Great.

Hey, can you call me?

[Winnie] Mm. Mm-hmm.

And now
you'll have Cairo's number.

Oh, good.

[Winnie] There is no reception
in here.

[Cairo] Shit.
[Winnie] Cairo, it's probably

just at the bottom
of your bag.

No, I just had it
a minute ago.

Well, it's Friday,

and we're still here.

So let's a-fucking go.

Oh, uh, Winnie?

Uh, Boris?

-[chuckles] My phone.
-My phone.

-Your phone.
-Your phone?

[chuckling] Your phone!

-Right. [snorts] Sorry. Okay.
-Oh, okay. Okay.

-Well, that was my…
-Ah.

♪ Danger, danger ♪

♪ High voltage ♪

Baby, I'm gonna need
a few more minutes, all right?

Okay. Well, we were supposed
to leave 40 minutes ago.

I know.

-If Amy did her fucking job…
-[cell phone ringing]

…we could've left yesterday.

It's just not enough, Amy.

What the f…?

Yes, I'll hold.

-Hello?
-[Cairo] Hi.

You have my phone.

[Jonathan] And whose phone
do I have?

Cairo Sweet's.

Cairo. It's, uh…

It's Jon… It's Mr. Miller.

-Sticky fingers, Miller.
-Uh…

Uh, how are you?

I'm tethered to a landline.

-Are you already gone?
-Uh, well, should be.

[Beatrice] I don't give
a flying backwards fuck, Amy.

Just give 'em the first draft.

-Hang on.
-They'll think it's new.

Honey. Honey,
I've, I've gotta drop

somethin' off
at a student's house.

[Beatrice]
All right, take care of it.

Oh, get me some tampons
while you're out, all right?

-Yeah.
-Organic ones,

-if you can find 'em.
-Mm-hmm.

Not you obviously, Amy. Fuck.

Get me a better deal,

and then
you can plug my pussy.

[Jonathan] You big time,
"road head" owe me.

Are you still there?

I'm still here.

You at Lovell Hill right now?

-[Cairo] Yes.
-Okay.

Well, I'll drop it off
before we leave,

if that's okay.

[Cairo] Do you need
the address?

I know exactly where you are.

Good. All right,
well, drive safe.

It's gonna rain.

[Cairo] How does love come?

In the movies, it's,

it's like a curtain crashing
to the stage.

But in life,
whatever of it is real,

it is a quiet thing.

Unrelenting.

Inevitable.

[thunder rumbling]

It is a summoning.

[Lover You Should've Come Over
by Jeffrey Buckley playing]

[thunder rumbling]

♪ Looking out the door
I see the rain ♪

♪ Fall upon
the funeral mourners ♪

♪ Too young to hold on ♪

♪ And too old
to just break free and run ♪

♪ Sometimes a man
gets carried away ♪

♪ When he feels like
should be having his fun ♪

♪ Much too blind to see
the damage he's done ♪

♪ Sometimes a man must awake
to find that ♪

♪ Really he has no one ♪

Come here.

No.

You come here.

♪ Will I ever see
your sweet return? ♪

♪ Oh, will I ever learn? ♪

♪ Oh-oh, lover ♪

♪ You should've come over ♪

♪ 'Cause it's not too late ♪

[keyboard clacking]

[somber music playing on tv]

[indistinct chatter on tv]

[Cairo] How can a kiss make
every cliche

suddenly consequential?

Quite unlike any person
I've tutored before. I wonder.

[woman on TV] Here we are.
Oh, excellent.

[keyboard clacking]

[Cairo] I didn't know
it was possible

to feel this brave.

[water flowing]

-[laptop chimes]
-Or that I'd ever want to.

[Beatrice] What are you doin'?

[pensive music playing]

I'm working. [chuckles]

-Baby?
-Uh-huh?

I know this was supposed
to be our weekend together

and I'm sorry that my team

is the fucking
tasteless worst.

But I can't work like this.

[inhales sharply] Seriously?

[Cairo] A kiss.

I'll be outside.

[Cairo] A muse.

It is a question.

It is an unlocked door.

It is elation.

An anguish.

[keyboard clacking]

It is the inch and the mile.

[printer whirring]

[ethereal music playing]

"Don't look into the sun,"
they say.

The fuck do they know?

"Mr. Murphy drove with
the resignation

"of the already dead.

"He imagined he felt the way
Dylan Thomas

"did headin' into
the White Horse

"to take the drink
that would kill him.

"He knew what they were

"and what they were not."

[thunder rumbling]

[ethereal music continues]

[telephone ringing]

[ominous music playing]

"Hello," she said.

[Jonathan] I'm here.

[Cairo] "Alice thought
immediately

"of a slaughtering lamb
as she couldn't be certain

"which of them was meant
for sacrifice.

"He was outside.

"He was inside."

[Jonathan] It excites you,
doesn't it?

The surreptitiousness
of it all.

[ominous music continues]

[pleasant music playing]

[Cairo] "Mr. Murphy
smiled wide.

"The lines around his mouth
deepening into parentheses

"that framed his perfect lips
into a punchline.

"Smoke drifted from her mouth

"with practiced,
cinematic effort."

Is it more romantic for you
that way?

This is no romance.

I'm sorry to disappoint you.

[ominous music playing]

[dramatic music playing]

[Cairo] "Alice opened her mouth
to say something,

"but the words fell away.

"Mr. Murphy loomed over her,

"his Cadillac eyes hungry
and bored."

I want you to read to me.

[Cairo] "Alice watched
in slow motion

"as Mr. Murphy's tongue
undulated when he spoke."

Read it to me the way
you read it to yourself.

[Cairo] "Pink tide against
the bone shore of his teeth."

Yeah.

[Cairo]
"Alice took the tattered

"Henry Miller paperback
off the bedside table,

"and spread it open
on the comforter of her bed.

""Page 13,"
he said, behind her,

"one hand slid up the front
of her cotton dress.

"The other pointed to
a sentence on the page."

[Jonathan] Begin… [exhales]

here.

[dramatic music continues]

[pant unzips]

[Jonathan] "He was
against her then,

"and Alice felt a push
of muscular wetness

-"between her legs."
-[Cairo] "Mr. Murphy placed

"his slender hand over hers

"and guided her to the mound
at her center

"pressin' her fingers
into the dark fold there."

[Jonathan] "Just behind the
damp fabric of her panties…"

[Cairo] "Feelin' her feel
herself."

"… he found his way
around the elastic at her leg,

"and slid two deft fingers

"into the warm darkness
of her virgin cunt."

[Cairo] "She felt him shift."

[Jonathan] "He peeled the wet
cotton down her legs

"and pressed into her
from behind."

[Cairo]
"The width of his face…"

[Jonathan] "The thousand years
of violence and conquering

"boiled within him as he held
the mouth of her pubis

-"like a hooked fish."
-[Cairo] "Searching for

"the answer to a question
he'd doubted."

[Jonathan] "But there it was."
[Cairo] "The answer

-"and the question."
-[Jonathan] "The cicatrix

-"that will never heal."
-[Cairo] "The serpent's apple."

[Jonathan] "Her cul was slick
against his fingers."

[Cairo] "Just as he imagined
it was when she was alone."

[Jonathan] "Maybe in
her bedroom…"

[Cairo] "Her own fingers
knuckle deep."

[Jonathan] "Trying to rub out
that itch."

[both] "The ache inside.

"He saw himself
burying his cock in her

"brutally fucking away
the exigency

"that swirled her clit

"and choked her
better judgments."

[Cairo] "He would fill her up
with cum."

[grunts]

[panting]

[insects trilling]

[solemn music playing]

[footsteps approaching]

Good morning.

Are you okay?

What's wrong?

Your story.

Oh. [chuckles]

You didn't like it?

You have to choose
another author.

Why?

This is inappropriate.

[Cairo] "Inappropriate."

What does that mean?

Why did you write this?

-You asked me to.
-Uh-huh.

Okay.

Why did you choose
that material?

You said,
"Write what you know."

And this is what you know?

This is…

us.

No.

This is… This is you.

I don't…

I don't understand this.

-Are you being serious?
-[scoffs]

Okay. It's…

It's about two like people
abnegating social convention.

You know, it's commentary

on the sexual anesthetization
of a culture

that's super saturated
with pornography.

It's about the inefficacy
of romantic dogmas

on young people's
expectations.

It's about
inexorable attraction.

It's layered.

-This is pornography.
-Yes.

So put it in your diary,
not on my fuckin' desk.

Write a new story
with a new author.

I'm not gonna indulge this.

Are you talking about
the story or us?

Both.

You already have.
You inspired it.

I can't accept it.

But you can't or you won't?

[pensive music playing]

Because it sounds like
you're scared…

-Hey. Hey.
-…and it looks like

you're measurin'.

Stop talking to me
like a stranger,

-and say what you mean.
-Rewrite it.

Why?

-You know why.
-Tell me.

-Say it.
-If you don't rewrite this,

I'll have to fail you
for the midterm.

-Tell me why.
-I don't have to tell you

a goddamn thing.

It made you feel something
that scared you.

-Don't put words in my mouth.
-Then say them yourself.

Tell me what it made you feel.

Incredibly foolish

for havin' trusted
this material to a child.

What was I before you read it?

[Jonathan sighs]

A student.

[Cairo sniffles]

You built the world.

You built the fantasy,
not on the page,

but in real life.

You can't blur the lines

and then expect me to see
a boundary

when I suddenly cross it.

[pensive music continues]

Let me be very, very clear…

[door opens]

…with you.

[indistinct chatter]

You're my student.

And I'm your teacher.

That's all.

Any misconception of that
is something,

regrettably, that you have
to shoulder…

alone.

[pensive music continues]

"Write what you know"
is what you said.

Yeah, I know what I said.

You don't know anything
you say.

-This is good.
-Mm-hmm.

And you know it is.

So, let's examine
the real issue.

It's not my writing.

-It's yours.
-[chuckles softly]

Good try.

You thought you were
gonna be hot shit, didn't you?

What?

You thought that
you were gonna be somebody.

Right?

"Overreaching
without ambition."

Do you know what that means?

It means you weren't brave
enough to be better.

Means
you're deliberately impotent.

It means that you,
Jonathan Miller…

are mediocre.

You wanna fail me?

I fucking dare you.

But you better make it mean
somethin' to you.

And you better know
what it means.

Because the cost is very high,
Mr. Miller.

And if you're not very,
very careful

this banality, this falsity
that you wallow in,

it will devour you
until you are as small

as you pretend to be.

And you will disappear.

And no one will pay
any more thought to you

than they do an unread
cookie fortune.

How disappointin' you must be

to those who had believed
you'd be more.

No wonder you're here.

[door opens]

[somber music playing]

[Cairo] Heartbreak is
a slow-motion car crash

set to Mozart.

You know the one. The Requiem.

[door slams]

It tastes like graveyard dirt.

It smells
like burnin' flowers.

It feels like violence.

[ominous music playing]

[Beatrice]
How you doin', Professor?

[sigh] Had a bad day.

[crying]

[sniffles]

-Oh, you want a drink?
-Thank you.

[sniffles]

[Winnie] What?
So, he was offended?

He was affected.

[sniffles]

Are you still into him?

He's a pretender.

You know, at least what

you see with Boris
is what you get.

You know,
Jonathan Miller is like…

He's like
fuckin' imitation crab

and gas station sushi.

Aren't you in love with him?

[Jonathan] Mm.

[Beatrice chuckles]

[Beatrice] What happened?

[Jonathan sniffles]

[exhales]

I had
a very unpleasant conversation

with a student about
the midterm assignment.

Was it with her?

Your acolyte?

She drafted something

to make Henry Miller
look like Dr. Seuss.

Well, you let a teenager
run with Miller,

and you're surprised
it's vulgar?

She was supposed to use
his literary structure,

not his subject matter.

Oh.

What's the subject matter?

An English teacher
and a student

who have an illicit affair
complete with "pre-cum"

-and "cherry popping."
-Oh.

-Those words exactly.
-[Beatrice gasps]

Show me right now.

Don't…

Come on.
Tell me what shocked you.

You fuck Fillmore yet?

[chuckles]

You know when
I'm in my luteal phase,

I tell you everything.

[Beatrice] "For Jonathan.

"Love, Cairo."

Baby, it's a love letter.

She's got it bad.

Tell me how she describes you.

-You can read it right there.
-No.

You tell me.

Because I know that
you remember it word for word.

And I want you
to do the thing.

No. No.

[whispering] Tell me.

[exhales] Uh…

-"Mr. Murphy…
-Oh.

"…clever
and carelessly attractive…

"kept his thoughts to himself,
and his eyes at half-mast."

Distract me.

What would the lady have?

[Jonathan] "One might assume
his drowsy appearance

"to be symptom of some

"vague institutional ennui."

Text Boris.

[Jonathan]
"But Alice saw it mostly

"to hide the shock
of indecency he felt

"when he lay his eyes
on the young,

"unripened bodies
of his female pupils.

"And none were exempt from his

"salacious reveries.

"All cunts were created equal

"and magnificent in his mind."

Are they?

-Are all cunts equal?
-[grunts softly]

-Or are some cunts…
-[grunts]

remarkable?

Come on, you're, you're,
you're drunk.

-I'm indecent.
-[moaning]

[Jonathan breathing heavily]

-[cell phone beeps]
-Yeah, tell him

you're drunk textin' him.

That way,
he'll imagine you drunk,

and what
you might be doin' drunkenly.

Serious?

Ask him what he's up to.

[cell phone beeps]

-Oh, we've got company.
-[knock on door]

-They what?
-Hey, seriously.

Stop leaving
this door unlocked.

For your own safety, okay?

-Mm-hmm.
-Hello.

[Jonathan groans softly]

[Boris] Get a room!

[Beatrice] What up, player?

-[Boris] Slang? Get out.
-Fuck.

Do you think he likes me?

Well, do you wanna be liked,
or do you wanna be fucked?

'Cause those are very
different things

for girls who look like you.

I want both.

[keypad clacking]

[cell phone beeps]

You should tell him
you're with me.

And that we're doing
what all girls do

when they're alone at night.

[keypad clacking]

-[cell phone vibrating]
-Who is she?

Not telling.

[both laughing]

[cell phone beeps]

"We are measuring
the depths of our sexuality

"within the safe confines
of our friendship."

[laughing]
Why are you so mean?

-Goddamn.
-Can I help it

if every girl
you've ever dated

owned a pair
of five-inch Lucite heels

and was named after
a character

in The Baby-Sitters Club?

-No, I can't.
-No. You can't.

But you know what?
Your life, your choice.

-Yeah, you bein' a snob.
-[chuckling]

You and I know
Kristy was great.

He hasn't said anything?

[cell phone beeps]

Oh, well, he said,
"Go to bed."

So…[chuckles softly]

[exhilarating music playing]

Take off your shirt.

What?

-Why?
-We are gonna make out.

For him, not for you.

Well, it can be
a little for me.

How is this?

Yeah, good.

Your turn.

[exhilarating music continues]

Here ya go.

Be a little closer
when I take this photo.

Not like that. What, are you
a fucking Dutch clock?

I meant like this.

Close.

Ready?

[music fades out]

[Mariana Trench by Dwara
and Khotton Palm playing]

[camera shutter clicks]

[both panting]

[Winnie winces]

♪ Whisper sweet nothings ♪

♪ Tell me everything
that's wrong ♪

Send it.

♪ While I lead you to your end
Listen to the sweetest song ♪

♪ Listen to the sweetest song
To the sweetest song, hey ♪

[Mariana Trench
continues playing]

[cell phone beeps]

Are you gonna text Mr. Miller?

[cell phone vibrating]

[Cairo] "All warfare is based
on deception."

Hello?

"Move your enemy,
but don't be moved by him."

[Mariana Trench
continues playing]

♪ Lead you in
Pull you down ♪

♪ All your weight
Lifted off ♪

♪ Lead you in
Pull you down ♪

♪ All your weight
Lifted off ♪

[music stops]

[Beatrice] You've been summoned
to the principal's office.

Mm-mm.

[clicks tongue]

[Boris] You got a title yet?

[Beatrice] Lesser Expectations
of a Greater Love.

[door closes]

-[Boris] I mean, I don't know.
-[Beatrice laughs]

-[Boris speaks indistinctly]
-Hi, Joyce.

-[laughing] Another beer?
-Mm.

No, I should go.

-I should get outta here.
-Oh, come on.

-Don't be boring.
-No. No.

I got 45 pop quizzes
on thermodynamics

to fail.

And we haven't even gotten
to fractals yet.

Goddamn hopeless youth
of America.

Well, you're the one
who wanted

to make a difference,
remember?

[chuckles] Hey, fools rush in.

-Where's Jonathan?
-Tithing.

All right, well, look,
tell him I had to run.

Bye, kiddo.

[Beatrice] Bye.

[door closes]

Joyce got the story.

What?

Well, it had a "For Jonathan.
Love, Cairo…"

[grunts] …written at
the top, so, you know…

there's no mistakin'.

And she'd like to speak
to me formally

about the necessary paperwork.

[chuckles] Paperwork for what?

An incident report.

Uh…

I think she did it.

Who did what, huh?

Cairo. Cairo turned it in.

It's a short story, Jonathan.

It's not
The Communist Manifesto.

Mm-hmm. I know.

But, yeah, but,
it's the, uh…

it's the implication.

Why if she can convince them

that somethin' happened
between us, then, uh…

[chuckles nervously]

Well, I could lose my job.

That's not all you could lose.

Did somethin' happen
between you?

Nothin' I invited.

[Beatrice sighs]

Teenage girls are dangerous,
Jonathan.

They're full
of emotional violence

-and vituperation.
-Mm-hmm.

I hope you know
what you're doin'.

[solemn music playing]

[bell rings]

[indistinct chatter]

[breathing heavily]

Have you seen Cairo?

-I haven't.
-I haven't seen her.

And I just thought…

-maybe you had.
-I haven't. No.

-You don't text?
-She tell you we do?

Well, you know…

Cairo says everything…

And nothing.

I don't understand
what's happening.

Don't you, Winnie?

[gentle piano music playing]

How did it start?
In your own words.

We recognized each other.

She's exceptionally talented.

Uh, she's singular in that
at this school.

Did you exhibit favoritism?

-Give special mentorship?
-Of course.

He was excited to give me

the midterm assignment
in advance.

[Joyce] And the midterm is what
percentage of the final grade?

It's 25%.

Enough to destroy my GPA.

[Joyce] You do know
that Henry Miller

is not an approved author

for public school study,
right?

She's better than
the curriculum, Joyce.

You know that.

I wanted to help her
stand out.

I think he was impressed
I knew who he was.

Have you read his work?

How often have you
been together

beyond the classroom?

We would see each other
before school,

uh, in class, of course,
and sometimes after.

And what would you do?

We would talk about literature

and things that
we cared about.

Sometimes we'd share
a cigarette.

We happened to be smoking
in the same place one time.

And that, well, that…

That's how it started,
I guess.

Not…

I mean, that is how
we started smokin' together.

[chuckles nervously]

Do you see each other
socially?

Absolutely not.

We went to
a poetry reading together.

[Joyce] Would you consider
yourself friends?

Without question.

We are as close,

uh, as is appropriate
for a student and a teacher.

Have you ever been
alone together

outside of school?

Only a couple of times.

Y… Yes, sort of.

Uh, I mistakenly left
with her phone

from the classroom,
and I returned it to her, uh,

before my wife and I
went on a business trip

to Nashville.

We didn't actually go,

but, you know,
we were going to go.

He came to my house.

Were you alone?

Yes.

My parents were out of town.

What happened?

Why?
She say somethin' happened?

Nothin' that didn't seem okay
at the time.

I returned her phone.

[Joyce]
Did you go inside the house?

I didn't touch her, okay?
Um…

When she sent the story,

I told her it was not
appropriate for school.

[sigh]

[gulps]

I'm gettin' the impression
there's nothin' I can say,

uh,

to defend my position here.

[Joyce] 'Cause there isn't.

[pensive music playing]

[Boris] Jonathan…

are you in love with her?

Fuck Almighty. Are you?

It's not about my feelings.

It's what she implies.

And you know I could get
crucified for this…

-[Boris] Oh, fuck me.
-…while you're sittin' there

swiping through pictures

-of naked students.
-Oh, he's so smart, everybody.

That's why I deleted it.

You deleted it.

-Oh, good.
-No. No.

[sarcastically] Well, as soon
as you delete somethin',

of course, it means
it's really deleted, right?

-Come on. Jesus.
-Oh, I'm shakin'

in my fuckin' boots.

You know the difference
between you and me?

You cannot identify the line.

So, you cross it.

Right.

That's why
you're sittin' here scared,

defensive.

You are the adult.
Show some responsibility.

You can't be serious.

-Like you?
-Yes.

I know where the line is,
Jonathan.

-Mm.
-I don't cross it.

You see, knowin' the line
is knowin' the risk.

You tryin' to make me
your collateral damage.

You don't know… Oh, man,

you think
you're my collateral damage?

[scoffs]

-All right, man. Just go, man.
-All right. No, no.

-Yeah, all right. I will.
-All right, yeah.

-Cool, bro. Mm-hmm.
-Thanks for your help.

Appreciate that.

[pensive music playing]

[Jonathan] I've been suspended.

Did you fuck her?

No.

-[snorts]
-Then what happened?

She impressed me.
I gave her preference.

She handed in the story,

which I obviously
could not accept.

Her feelings got hurt,
and she lashed out.

-That's how I understand it.
-Hm.

So you flirted with her,

-and then, you rejected her.
-[Jonathan] No,

-it wasn't flirting.
-What was it then?

-It was affection!
-[chuckles]

Well, are you
attracted to her?

[Jonathan exhales sharply]

I'll tell you.

This is about a girl
who flattered you,

who read your little book,

and your inevitable surrender
to adulation.

You fucking fell for it.

Finally. Finally!

Someone gave your reductive
short stories a second glance.

And you can't help
but get hard for it

because, what, now suddenly

you feel worth somethin',
is that it?

Yes!

She made me feel
worth something.

What does that tell you?

Was it her sycophancy
that got you hard?

Or was it the smell
of teen spirit?

-Fuck you.
-Oh, be my guest.

Stop. [pants]

-Did you?
-No, I didn't fuck her.

Why do you look so guilty?

I haven't done anything wrong.

-Oh, didn't you?
-[breathing heavily]

God, I'm in hell. [chuckles]

Well, make yourself at home.

Why are you so punishing?

You wanted her.

I can read it all
in your face.

How can you see anything
in this state,

you fuckin' alcoholic?

It's the only thing
that makes you bearable, baby.

You are a cunt.

And you're a liar.

Liar!

You're the banner boy
for mediocrity,

waving your flag
of spotless virtue

like some middling
American hero.

But, Jon, baby…

you're the villain.

But you can't even see that,
can you?

Don't you worry for me at all?

What would I possibly
worry about

other than dying of boredom

having to listen to
your inventions of conflict?

You…

are…

vile.

[somber music playing]

Why don't you write about it?

Spit it out, Winnie.

What are you doing?

I'm completing
my admissions essay.

Is that all?

Well, I'm smokin' a cigarette,

if you wish to be
very literal.

What are you doin'
to Mr. Miller?

I'm testifyin' against him
in front of the school board.

-Why?
-He underestimated me.

I overestimated him.

Are you okay?

I'm inspired.

-That's not funny.
-It is.

A little.

-Please don't do this.
-Why?

You're gonna ruin his life.

And for what?

To avenge your rejection?

To punish him?

Because
he didn't wanna fuck you?

He wanted to fuck me, Winnie.

[scoffs] Yes.

But he didn't leave his wife
for you.

I'll testify against you.

No, you won't.

Excuse me?

I'll show them the evidence
I have against you and Boris.

And not only will your
credibility be shot to shit,

but you'll incriminate him
as well.

Two teachers
can lose their jobs.

[breath trembling]

Oh, hey,
maybe we can double team.

You played me.

You knew what we were doing.

This is not what I meant.

Isn't it, though?

Didn't I play it out
exactly like you imagined?

This isn't a fucking game,
Cairo.

You're right.

This is, to date,

my greatest achievement.

[solemn music playing]

[reading] "In the end,

"ultimately, I understood

"our mutual naivete,
my trust, his arrogance…

"Exposed us to
the caprices of society

"and rendered us defeated,

"suddenly alone
in separate camps.

"What will become of us?

"Will he measure himself
an unwitting participant?

"Falsely banished
and beggared?

"No job,

"no wife,

"no forgiveness,

"or will he be brave enough
to accept his complicity

"in a way that is meaningful?

"In a way that changes him,

"as it has changed me?

[solemn music continues]

"The answer evades me.

"I wanted to experience
somethin' I didn't understand.

"I reached for it

"and was made a fool

"by my own childish notions
of love.

"But where was my error?

"Was it in the reaching
or the wanting?

"Is this what it is to be
an adult?

"The same exquisite longing
of adolescence,

"but with a burden
of constant accountability?

"No excuse is to be made
for your choices

"for they are yours alone.

"I cannot say whether or not

"I'm grateful
for the experience,

"for the knowledge.

[sniffles]
"The felicity of youth

"has been ripped from me
like skin.

[tearfully]
"And exposed as I am,

"sore and open as I am.

[sobbing softly]

"I can feel it shape me
into somethin' new.

"Hero.

"Villain.

-[mouthing] Hi.
-"Writer.

"Grown… from the human ruins

"of a madman's love."

[At Seventeen
by Janis Ian playing]

♪ I learned the truth
at seventeen ♪

♪ That love was meant
for beauty queens ♪

♪ And high school girls
with clear-skinned smiles ♪

♪ Who married young
and then retired ♪

♪ The valentines
I never knew ♪

♪ The Friday night charades
of youth ♪

♪ Were spent on one
more beautiful ♪

♪ At seventeen
I learned the truth ♪

♪ And those of us
with ravaged faces ♪

♪ Lacking in
the social graces ♪

♪ Desperately remained
at home ♪

♪ Inventing lovers
on the phone ♪

♪ Who called to say,
"Come dance with me" ♪

♪ And murmured
vague obscenities ♪

♪ It isn't all it seems
At seventeen ♪

♪ A brown eyed girl
in hand-me-downs ♪

♪ Whose name
I never could pronounce ♪

♪ Said, "Pity, please,
the ones who serve ♪

♪ "They only get
what they deserve" ♪

♪ And the rich-relationed
hometown queen ♪

♪ Marries into
what she needs ♪

♪ With a guarantee
of company ♪

♪ And haven for the elderly ♪

♪ Remember those
who win the game ♪

♪ Lose the love
they sought to gain ♪

♪ In debentures of quality ♪

♪ And dubious integrity ♪

♪ Their small-town eyes
will gape at you ♪

♪ In dull surprise
when payment due ♪

♪ Exceeds accounts received
At seventeen ♪

♪ To those of us
who knew the pain ♪

♪ Of valentines
that never came ♪

♪ And those whose names
were never called ♪

♪ When choosing sides
for basketball ♪

♪ It was long ago
and far away ♪

♪ The world was younger
than today ♪

♪ When dreams
were all they gave for free ♪

♪ To ugly duckling girls
like me ♪

♪ We all play the game,
and when we dare ♪

♪ To cheat ourselves
at solitaire ♪

♪ Inventing lovers
on the phone ♪

♪ Repenting other lives
unknown ♪

♪ They call and say,
"Come dance with me" ♪

♪ And murmur
vague obscenities ♪

♪ At ugly girls like me
At seventeen ♪