Original subtitles

What are you going to do now, Charlie?

No, that's not it.

She had severe obsessive -compulsive disorder, deep -seated anxieties, and

the compulsive behavior or ritual, like ordering and reordering the chess

pieces,

Helps to ease that anxiety.

That's an awful lot to handle at 17.

It's going to complicate this assignment, you know.

Mm -hmm.

Hey, Mr.

Clark, are you leaving?

Yes. Don't worry about it. They all quit.

It's a grab bag, isn't it? Learning disabilities, ADD.

Autism. And some of them are just plain mean.

But they're all God's children. And they all need to be reached.

I think Gloria would be very helpful in this assignment.

All right.

I'm ready.

Good. But we're going to need help from somebody else.

Down the road.

Heavy burden.

Heavy load.

I will rise.

And I will walk with you.

I'll walk with you.

Till the sun don't even shine.

Walk with you.

Every time I tell you I'll walk with you.

Believe me, I'll walk with you

Good

morning

I'm your new teacher I hear you have an interesting new

assignment

Stop it!

Kobe, can you tell me what the assignment is, please?

Yeah, yeah. Our assignment is to sit in this messed up room and don't

contaminate the normal.

Would you stop blowing chalk dust and just answer my question, please?

We're supposed to write a fairy tale or a fable, something, with the moral at

the end, like slow and steady wins the race.

We got the slow down.

Now we're working on the steady.

Thank you, Cobra.

Steven, would you put those away? You can play with them after.

Charlie, you can play with this later, okay?

And the correct move is night.

So I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you and the time that we

together. Which would be for like three days.

That's about how long the others ever last.

Well, do the best we can and see what we can accomplish.

All right. So I see that you've already written an outline and those have been

approved and given back to you. So now it's time to start writing your story.

But, Charlie,

it looks like you never turned your outline in.

Yeah, I'm still working on it.

Yeah, but the paper is due on Friday, so you're a bit behind.

I have to clean my hands.

She doesn't even have an idea yet.

Yes, I do.

Okay, I do.

I keep telling the teachers that I don't write at school. I can't. I write at

home.

Home, I got a big, long story for you, Cove.

Well, that's wonderful.

Maybe you could bring it in.

No, I can't bring it here.

It'll get dirty.

Well, perhaps I could come to your house and take a look at it.

No, no, you can't do that.

Look at me.

You need to finish this assignment to finish this class, and you need to

this class to graduate.

Now, I really want to help you do that.

Have you written anything?

Yes, I've written, okay? I don't know why nobody believes me. Just call my

He'll tell you.

I would like to speak with your father. Can you tell me how to get a hold of

him?

The panelists is inside the top drawer.

Yo!

Hello. Well... My name is Monica. I'm Charlie's new English teacher.

You have a job here.

I'm sorry. It's just that I'm very concerned about Charlie and I want to

her graduate.

Me too.

So what do you got?

Well, she says that she's been working on a story at home.

Yeah, so?

So she doesn't seem comfortable about bringing that story into school, and I

wondering if you might be able to... Monica, if you'd been around her, you'd

know she's been doing her work.

All right?

So, you'll have to... The story's...

Well,

your father's very confident that you'll bring the story in, and so am I.

Spanish? Armenian.

I feel sick.

Feel sick over there.

Her son, Yuri Ivanov, he forgot his lunch. She's in

the ninth grade.

Thank you.

Now, how can I help you? I am here for the Charlie Wells evaluation.

She's right over there.

That's all that?

Well, that's 12 years of bureaucracy.

Every year they add 50 more pages and a new plan for therapy.

we got, Charlie?

Um, nothing really, just a electric bill, um,

something for refinancing the house. Nothing much, really.

I heard from your teacher today.

You writing that story?

Hmm?

I'm working on it, Dad. Good. Get it in, because you've got to graduate.

Charlie, did you bring your story today?

Charlie, are you okay?

I can't breathe.

Go see the nurse.

Go on, she'll help you.

I can't breathe.

It must be an awful way to feel.

Let me turn on this clean air machine and get these particles out.

No, that's not going to work.

It's just an air purifier.

It says it clears 99 % of the impurities.

It's the 1%. That's the problem, okay? Please just call my dad, okay? I have to

go home.

Just relax, baby. I can't. Please just call my dad, okay? I'm going to die.

You're not going to die.

I will call him if it'll make you feel any better.

Kobe, you've done a great job with the opening.

Now I think you just need to start working on it.

You Monica?

Yes, I am.

I'm Rolando Wells. I'm picking up Charlie at the nurse's office.

But I want to work with you first.

Of course.

All right, everyone.

Use your story outline and add two new details to your hero.

And I'll be back shortly.

The nurse is this way.

I know where the nurse is.

Charlie was complaining that she couldn't breathe.

But you don't believe her.

I think she was very upset.

If she says she couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe. What she feels is

She's not one of those kids that fakes things just to get out of her work. I

believe that Charlie very much wants to succeed, but I believe that she needs to

be challenged in order to do that. She succeeds every day. And considering the

fact that this school changes teachers every few weeks, it's amazing that she

succeeds at all.

Maybe it's the school that needs to work harder.

I want to help, Mr. Wells.

You're just like the last one and the one before that and the one before that

one. Here today, gone tomorrow.

I know how frustrating this must be for you. She always turns her work in,

Monica. You should check your records.

Then why won't she turn it in now?

Daddy,

let me get out of here.

What's the matter?

Dad, there's all this. They never clean this place, do they? No.

Come on, baby, let's go.

I'll need you to sign this relief, Mr. Wells.

Okay.

I forgot my glasses.

It acknowledges that you're taking Charlie home.

Okay. Where do you want me to sign? Right here?

No, that's the date.

Sign where it says parent.

Parent?

Right here.

No, I'm always forgetting those glasses.

Okay.

Did you get that, Angel Girl?

Yes.

Charlie's father can't read.

If Rolando can't read, how could he have possibly sorted through all this and

advocated for her?

He's a very clever man, and he's learned how to compensate.

Also, he knows his daughter really well.

But I don't think he knows about the letter.

Two of you, huh?

Last year they sent one part -timer.

Well, we want to support Charlie as best we can.

Maybe come in.

Yeah. Thanks.

Thank you.

Oh, I see where Charlie gets her love of chess. I'll tell you what, I'll play

you right now for five dollars, and I bet you I'll take your link in about ten

minutes. Well, I'm not one for wagering.

That's how I used to make my living. Carry the set to the park, take on all

kinds of comments.

I can see where Charlie gets her visual strength.

You know, there are some other areas, though. I'm sick of these things.

People always poking at my daughter, trying to tell me what's wrong with her.

Mr. Wilde.

Charlie has a good chance of graduating from high school. That would be a

tremendous achievement for her.

It's a lot harder for her than it is for the other kids. But she can do it.

She needs to know that she can do it. She will. Not if she refuses to do the

work. We've covered this ground before.

She said that she's been writing at home.

Have you seen any of it? She works all the time. I don't stand over her

watching. Well, it would help her a great deal if you could work with her on

writing. But in order to do that...

You have to learn to read.

I could help you.

What are you talking about?

You never learned to read, did you? You got a lot of nerve, lady. Mr. Wells,

you're not alone.

Millions of people, adults, have faced illiteracy and they conquer it.

It's not easy to hear the truth.

The truth is I do just fine. Yes, but wouldn't it be better if you could read

her report card or later on that you could read her diploma?

I've accomplished a lot in my life.

Yes, sir, you have, but what if you could read a newspaper?

I got a TV. Okay, then you open a book and you discover Treasure Island or

Copperfield. I could see the movie.

Then how do you pay your taxes? How do you pay a parking ticket?

I know numbers. I use them all the time at work.

Okay, Mr. Ross.

I'll see you when you're ready.

I can see you thinking about me all the time.

Just great.

We'll see you folks later.

Charlie, can you come here?

Try this new view.

Sometimes the change of scenery can be a great inspiration to us.

Nice, isn't it?

Yeah. Nice for me.

Get her out of my kitchen.

I'm cooking.

Colby, close your mouth, open your mind, keep writing your story.

Don't let him get to you. He just acts tough because he knows he's not.

I know.

That's the sort of careful observation that makes a very good writer.

Can you tell me something of the characters in your fable?

How would you describe them?

I don't know.

Who's the hero of your story?

Okay. I guess the king, right?

And is there a queen?

No. No, no. She left a long time ago.

She was... Off on her own adventure.

No. No, she just left.

She left a baby.

Oh, they had a baby.

Yeah, a girl.

And, well, she wakes up one morning and Queen's gone.

She doesn't really know why.

But one day a letter comes in the mail.

A letter? What did it say?

Well, it's not really addressed to the girl. It's for the king.

Um. You see, the girl, she's at the pond.

And, um, the pond's pinned.

You know what that is?

You tell me.

Okay, um, the pond is threatened.

Okay, she's threatened like, like, let's say a bishop.

Okay? And she can't really move.

Because if she does, then... King's in check, right?

She can't move.

Can't leave, can't do anything.

She's just stuck.

You know, stuck, right? Where she is, and... Well, that's called being pinned.

That's called a metaphor.

Or... You know, if it's... If it's F5... then the bishop

can trap, you know, by moving, moving to be... I

can't breathe.

I can't breathe right now. I can't.

I'm not getting any air. I can't breathe.

Please, I'm not. I can't. I'm not getting any air. I can't. I can't

I can't breathe right now.

One step at a time, baby.

The air is good here, isn't it?

I don't know. I can't tell.

I can't breathe. I can't sleep. I can never sleep.

I can't do anything.

And you keep wondering, why is this happening to me, don't you, baby?

You see the other children in the hall, and they're smiling and laughing.

But in your mind, it's like a train full of worries running through.

You know, when I walk out of that class, every time I can hear those kids.

Oh, special needs. She must be stupid.

I'm not stupid.

I'm not.

I know you're not stupid.

But I think I need better medication.

But a psychiatrist has already prescribed medication. Some guy from

services. But if my dad calls him, then I can get better medication. And if I

have better medicine, then I'll feel better.

And that's it. That's it. I'll just have my dad call him.

Well, now, right medication can make a world of difference.

But medication alone is not the answer.

There is no magic pill to solve all your problems.

I don't know how much I wish there was.

I'm picking up a prescription for Charlie Wells.

Trying out a new medication here.

Charlie's Pharmacy, this is Chris.

Just find right there.

Over here? Yeah.

I'm going to leave it here.

I can't do this.

Daddy, I can't breathe.

Okay, baby, this new medicine is going to help. It's so dirty.

Daddy, everything's dirty. It's coming right down.

Let's see.

I can't breathe.

Baby, can you eat these?

How many are you supposed to take?

Daddy, everything's dirty. Why is it nothing's clean?

Four. Take four of these.

There you go. Come on. Come on.

Calm down.

Take four.

Two.

All right, calm down.

Baby, better get to bed.

Charlie?

Charlie?

Charlie?

Charlie? Oh.

Charlie! Hello,

Charlie. Mr. Wells.

What are you doing here?

We miss Charlie at school.

We like to keep track of our children. How are you doing, baby?

Better. Good. You're going to be up and around in no time.

We brought you some flowers and some magazines.

And a composition book, just in case you felt like writing down some of those

ideas you had for your story. I thought they were so wonderful.

She had the problem right there. All the pressure you people put on her. That's

what triggers these things.

Mr. Wells, you don't seem to... Excuse me?

Charlie Wells?

That's her.

I'm her father. Who are you?

I'm Gloria, from L .A. County Social Services.

Social Services?

Did you call them?

Hospitals are required to report all overdoses involving minors.

Overdoses? She doesn't do drugs.

The diagnosis is an overdose. I spoke with the prescribing psychiatrist this

morning. Charlie started a new medication, correct?

Yeah, it just didn't agree with her.

And she began the course of Xanamine last night?

I guess that's what they call it.

And how many pills did she take?

The box, the label, it said four pills.

I think it reads one tablet every four hours.

Morning, everyone.

Can you take your seats quickly, please? We have a lot to get through today.

Hey, teach, where's the obsessive Charlie disorder?

Charlie's sick, Colby.

Like always.

She's in the county hospital.

The hospital?

What happened?

Everybody, take your seats quickly.

You're going to be fine.

Copey? Copey!

Everyone, stay back.

Another one.

Copey?

There's no class in here for a while, so you can stay and rest if you need to.

I don't need no rest.

I'm fine.

It happens all the time.

Doesn't make it any easier.

Hey, everybody in here's got something.

I'm epileptic.

Charlie's got OCD.

Gordo's just playing stupid.

Stuff happens in life. You just got to learn to live with it.

You get up off the floor and you keep on cruising.

You do that very well.

I wish you could teach that to Charlie.

Do I get extra credit for it?

I'm okay, you know, Dad.

God help me.

I nearly killed you.

Not on purpose.

You misread the directions, Dad. It happened. I didn't read them at all.

I think you know that.

Yeah.

Thought I could take care of things without that.

You did.

Daddy, you do.

No, I don't.

I blew it big time.

I don't deserve to be your father.

Don't say that.

Please, Daddy, I'd be lost without you.

That makes two of us.

Get so worried when you get upset.

Your mama, she always knew what to say.

But I just freeze.

I remember her always yelling about how dirty I was and cleaning me all the time

and checking the oven over and over and over again.

She was always so afraid of leaving that thing on.

She was terrified of leaving the gas on and hurting you.

She checked those dials every five minutes.

She had it too, didn't she?

OCD.

She had problems.

She was young.

Young when she had you. Young when she left.

Lots of things she lacked.

But she understood you.

She always knew what to say when you were worried.

Then why'd she leave?

I guess she had enough of me.

You mean she had enough of me?

No. Not you.

Not you.

Daddy.

A letter came for us in the mail.

And I put it in my top drawer at home.

And it's from her.

And I can read it to you if you want me to.

I'm going to go get a cup of coffee.

Okay?

That's what I love about hospitals.

The free show.

Kobe.

What are you doing here?

I brought you something.

Yeah?

I drew it myself.

Thank you.

So what's going on at school?

Everything's cool.

I had one of my patented Kobe shakes today, and Monica got all freaked out.

I thought it was no big thing, you know, that you were the one that needs some

serious help.

Yeah, right.

Kobe, what do you think about, you know, when you're having one of those things?

Nothing. I don't even know what's happening until it's over.

It's like traveling at the speed of light.

You get back before you hardly even left.

So, does it hurt?

It's just my pride.

And that only hurts.

Here, you stay on the floor.

I gotta get back to school.

They lost without me. Yeah.

Yeah, you should go.

Bye. Bye.

When I started out as an angel, I saw everything in black and white, and it

a lot harder when you start to see the gray.

Well, well.

Our little angel is learning something.

But the protocol for intervening on a client's behalf in a custodial way is...

is very clear. It is in black and white.

In terms of Charlie?

Yes.

And the regulations say...

That Charlie must be placed in foster care pending further investigation.

Oh, no.

I know. I feel awful. But the rule is clear. Her current situation places her

a dangerous environment.

She's not always responsible for her own actions. And she's clearly under the

care of someone incapable of handling her medication properly.

Well, you saw what happened.

Yeah. But how can we make progress with a father and a daughter if they're

separated? There'll be a hearing.

And they'll listen to both sides.

But I had no choice.

It's in the book. I had to send in a recommendation.

You've already sent it in?

She told you there was no choice.

Then I need to go and see Rolando right away and explain to him that it's

temporary and that there will be a hearing.

Is it possible that he got the report that fast? Oh, in cases like this, they

hand deliver.

You did what you had to do, baby, even though it was hard.

And what we have to do now is trust the Father and pray that it was the right

thing to do.

Daddy, they said I could go home later today.

Great. Oh, I finished my story. You want to hear it? Sure, baby. But first, the

messenger came to the house with some social services. Said it was important.

Guess I don't have to say I lost my glasses.

Why? Incapable of administering medication.

Dad just says they're going to take me away from you. What are we going to do?

I don't know.

I'll offer to speak to the board on their behalf. I'll explain that it's not

cut and dried as it may appear on the surface.

Do you think that'll help? I think it's a great idea.

And I'm sure that Rolando and Charlie will appreciate all the assistance you

give them.

Where'd they go?

Dad, where are we going?

To try my sister's house in Detroit.

We can stay there until we can figure out what we're going to do next.

What does that sign say?

National Forest.

Good. Then we'll take the back roads.

Dad, there's no water here. What if my hands get dirty? How am I going to clean

them? Don't worry about it. It's impossible for me not to worry about it.

Okay, okay.

Then worry about it.

We better stop for some gas.

I'll buy some water.

Then what?

We'll keep driving.

Look, what if Aunt Rita won't help us? She will. What if she won't? Charlie! If

she won't, then we'll keep driving until I find some place safe for us.

Home is safe.

We can't go home. If we go home, the social services is going to pick you up,

right? Isn't that what the letter said, didn't it?

Yeah.

I guess.

Oh, my God.

I didn't see it.

Monica, what are you doing? Are you crazy?

I'm here to stop you from running away.

Like hell you will.

Nobody's going to take my daughter away from me. I don't care what the law says.

I don't care what any rule says.

Do you care what God says?

God? You mean like God up in heaven? God?

I mean God right here, right now.

Who has been waiting for you and who sent me here to tell you so.

You're crazy.

I'm an angel, Rolando.

Dad, what's going on? Charlie, get back in the car. No.

I am an angel.

Believe it.

Don't be afraid, Charlie.

How did

you do that?

You're in God's care.

There's no safer place to be.

Having sense here?

To deliver a message to you, Rolando.

It's a very special message.

It can only be read and God wants you to read it.

You're playing with me.

This is a joke.

No.

It's a miracle.

Is this what God wants?

To humiliate me in front of my daughter?

Oh, no.

God wants to share a miracle with you in front of your daughter.

These are her words.

This is her story.

Look.

Oh, my God.

My God.

What did you say?

Please.

Once upon a time,

There was a king who lived in a chessboard kingdom.

He was big and strong and proud and loved by everyone,

but especially by a little one named Charles.

Charlie moved forward one step at a time.

She didn't jump like a knight or swoop like a bishop.

She was slow, but she knew that if she stayed right next to the king, they

make it together.

Thank you for this miracle.

Thank you for the miracle named Charlie.

God loves you both so much.

But he's given you this chance to see what you're missing.

You can learn to read, Rolando, if you want to.

You just have to set your pride aside and sit down, start one letter at a

I'll try.

Will you teach me?

Charlie could do that.

She may feel like a very small pawn, but she has the heart of a queen.

And you're so smart, Johnny, you are.

You're smart enough to graduate from high school and you're smart enough to

to college.

Wouldn't that be something?

It won't always be easy.

But you could do just about anything if you set your mind to it.

Something like a wonderful teacher.

I'd be your first student.

What if they take me away?

They're not going to take you away.

There will be a hearing.

Questions will be asked and statements will be made. But God will

speak to the hearts of those who will judge you.

And they will see in you what God already sees in you.

A man...

Who has learned how to read because he loved his daughter more than his own

pride.

A man who would do anything for his little girl.

Anything?

In the beginning was the word, Rolando.

Now it's time for you to begin.

So the right thing to do was the hardest thing to do.

It usually is.

And it gets easier with practice, like riding a bike.

Or learning to read.

Dad, are you ready?

As I'd love to be.

Okay.

Okay, so I thought that we would start with something that I really want to

read. Okay.

Is this okay?

Okay.

Okay.

You see that letter?

That's a D.

D. It says, Dear Rolando and Charlie.

D for dear.

Yes. I got that guy. Good. Go on. Okay.

Hello, it's me, Roxanne.

I don't know how to start.

Rolando, how are you?

Charlie, how's my little baby?

Not so little anymore, I guess.

Rolando, I've been taking a new medicine and I'm feeling so much better.

I'm writing you now because I'm hoping you can forgive me.

I'm hoping that we can talk.

Don't be afraid.

It's your time.