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Hey.

Hola

Whoa!

I'm the new English teacher.

Gracias

Mr Michell.

Leave your bags. We'll take them to your accommodation.

Ah, Mitchell.

Mr Buckle.

Welcome to St George's.

Timothy Buckle, Headmaster, known as Timbuk.

- It's, er, Michell. - Yes.

How was your flight?

Good. Uneventful. Explosion-free.

Ah, yes, I heard that from my office.

Another bomb, I expect.

- Another? - Oh, yes. Argentina's in chaos.

A military coup is imminent.

Now, we're thinking of putting you up in Chaucer Wing. Follow me.

A crackdown by the military has not gone down too well

with the countless revolutionary factions.

Trouble on the streets, economy in free fall,

the government are losing control.

It's a ghastly business.

"Don't let the bastardos grind you down".

Come again?

I saw some graffiti on the wall outside. It doesn't matter.

Well, we try to keep out of it all, you know?

Very much a small "P" when it comes to politics here at St George's.

Lots of rich families send their sons here.

- Understand? - Yes.

Excellent.

Thank you for coming on board at such late notice.

English teachers like you are in short supply over here these days.

Anyway, I haven't had a chance to read your CV.

Where have you been lately?

Erm, I was teaching in Ecuador, and before that Venezuela and Brazil,

and before that Chicago,

so I've been steadily working my way down.

Hmm?

Geographically speaking.

Yes, yes.

Well, you're up here. Room 23.

No loud music, no smoking, no pets.

End of lecture. Hear, hear.

Now, we have a meeting in the common room at 1630 hours.

Don't be late. Pet peeve.

Welcome.

Hola?

Hola?

- Hola? - Ah!

Oh!

- It was definitely my fault. - Yes, it's your fault.

Oh, well, you heard that all right.

I bet your husband does as he's told.

No, he's gone.

You didn't kill him, did you?

No, cancer.

Oh, right. Well, sorry to hear that.

Welcome, welcome to St George's.

Hey. You're Michell, right? I'm Tapio. I'm a physics master from Finland.

This means "good day" in Finnish. Lot of umlauts in that.

- Sorry, are we roommates? - No.

It's just that you walked right in.

- I was just being friendly. - Oh.

Okay.

- You have the terrace. - Yeah.

Maybe we can have parties out here.

You have any vodka?

There's a bottle of gin in the kitchen on the side. Help yourself.

Gin.

Well, yes.

So the boys here, they're very privileged and spoiled.

And Mr Timbuk, the headmaster, believes he's Napoleon.

He was very nice to me.

Some people have two sides to them.

Hmm. Even Josef Mengele was a nice doctor to some people.

In fact, doesn't he live around here?

Yeah, there were a lot of Nazis emigrating to this part of the world

after the Second World War.

Not very funny.

But also funny.

Icelandic fishermen, commercial whaling, the hydrogen bomb,

the political situation here in Argentina.

Whatever strong opinions you may have,

I strongly urge you to keep them to yourselves

and don't bore the rest of us with them. Hmm?

- Hear, hear. - Hear, hear.

Now, we are joined this term by Mr Tom Michell.

Hello.

- Michell will be teaching English. - Hola.

Now, I've assigned you to Woolsey House,

where you'll be in charge of the Lower Fourth Remove.

Oh, and I've also got you down

as assistant rugby coach to the under-14s second team.

That may be a problem, Headmaster.

- Because? - I don't know anything about rugby.

In fact, I... I actively dislike it.

Why's that?

I like my balls round.

Excellent. Yes.

Sit down, please.

So, English from now on.

Let's begin by you telling me your names.

Er, you.

What's your name?

Ernesto Castillo.

Ernesto.

The Importance of Being Ernesto.

Oscar Wilde.

Ah!

So, er... you.

What's your name?

Quiet, please.

- Diego. - Diego.

And what did you do at the weekend, Diego?

Did you go to the park?

Did you go to the shops?

Did you dress up as an astronaut and go to the moon?

No.

No what?

I did not go to the moon.

That was me being sarcastic.

That was...

There are different forms of sarcasm.

Er, to be sarcastic, you can employ one of the following.

Metaphor, bathos, puns, parody, hyperbole, litotes and satire.

So I'd like you to write down a sarcastic sentence in English,

employing any one of those forms of humour.

And I will look in this English newspaper for some sarcasm

for us all to discuss.

All right. Scrum down.

- No! - What, sir? Why?

Scrum? What for?

Forward pass.

From who?

- Ernesto. - What?

- He didn't. - I didn't.

- He didn't. - Didn't he?

No!

Okay, I thought he did. Erm...

Look, why don't you keep playing by yourselves for another 15 minutes,

then get into groups of three or four

and discuss why it's important in rugby

to use oval-shaped balls and not spherical.

Okay?

I'm going to check on the rules about forward passes.

Gracias.

Hey.

- Michell? Are you in there? - Yeah.

Come in.

What are you feeling about this crazy but serious day?

Oh, yeah.

I woke up this morning to the theme from Monty Python's Flying Circus

and now there's all this marching band music.

It's martial music,

just like all the music on every channel today.

There's been a coup.

The boys are being sent home.

The college is shut for a week.

Well, that's good news.

The situation is very serious. There have been reports of shootings.

The generals have taken control.

The army are fighting the Montoneros guerrillas.

Next, they will round up all of the left-wingers,

unionists, activists, intellectuals.

We get a week off?

Until this situation becomes clearer.

- Say goodbye to freedom and democracy. - Week.

Say hello to fear, intimidation.

- I might go to Uruguay. - And brutality.

- To Uruguay? - Yeah, for a couple of days.

Why do you want to go to Uruguay?

Er, you know, architecture, history.

- Really? - Yes.

Actually, this is a good idea.

Because there's very little practically that we can do here,

and Uruguay fascinates me very much.

It became independent of Spain in 1811,

but it's a common misconception.

It became an independent nation at this moment...

Er.

Because it was immediately annexed by Brazil until 1825.

I'm only partially interested

in the history and architecture of Uruguay.

I mainly want to get away from this place,

go dancing, drinking, maybe meet a couple of ladies.

That's probably not your sort of thing.

Er, I would still like to go with you.

Isn't it interesting?

All these people on their journeys.

All with their stories to tell.

I just find people's personal circumstances so interesting.

Don't you?

Er... no.

I do.

Even for example, e.g.,

at some point I would like to know your story.

Interesting.

People's lives.

Why we end up where we do.

One door closes and another door closes.

Okay, what's her name?

Who?

The woman that you're desperate to tell me about.

Annie.

- Girlfriend? - Wife.

She left me. For Alexei.

Is he better looking?

Slightly, I suppose.

Richer?

Yeah.

More fun?

I don't know, maybe.

Bigger cock?

This is now not funny.

I lost my wife and I lost my best friend.

Look, they'll probably split up.

You really think so?

Yeah, but then what?

People break up for whatever reason, and then they want to get back with you,

but you say no because of everything that happened.

And then one day you think, well, maybe I will try again,

but it's too late 'cause she's moved on.

Anyway...

None of it matters any more, does it?

Or something like that.

I like you, Michell.

Do you?

I don't.

I think this place has a bad reputation.

Sordid and pleasure-seeking.

Yeah, I know.

You still want to go in, though, right?

- Yes, very much. - Good, good.

Annie was a really good dancer.

One week ago from today,

it'll be eight years since we had our first dance.

There are two ladies over my right.

We were so happy together.

We loved to hike.

Then one day, she said she was going to buy some bread.

She never came home and I never saw her again.

Suddenly I was alone.

- And with no bread. - Yeah.

I was sad and hungry. I remember.

Well, it's good you've been able to let it go.

Now, over my right shoulder there are two ladies.

- Those two over there? - I could have pointed.

I was trying to be subtle.

They are walking towards us.

Compliment my dancing.

Pretty good dancing.

Yeah, yeah, he moves well.

Please. But, er, thank you.

He is quite subtle.

I only saw three mistakes.

I'm Carina.

I'm Tom.

Stamina, discipline, pelvic thrust.

And this is Tapio.

Yeah, we're teachers here on a break, and to avoid getting blown up.

Okay, welcome to Uruguay.

I think this place is full of lost souls.

- Does that include all of us? - Maybe.

I think everyone who comes here is looking for something.

What are you looking for?

Well, I'm like Ernest Hemingway,

but with no money and haven't written any books.

So people say elements in a periodic table cannot be changed.

That's a common misconception.

They actually can, during fission or fusion.

Anyway, who cares, right?

No, I think it's interesting.

Yeah. Yeah?

Yeah.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Why did your friend leave so suddenly?

He got the early ferry because he's got a broken heart.

- My friend really liked him. - Oh, then he's boring.

It's so beautiful at this time in the morning.

I come to the beach when I want to think about nothing.

Yeah, I'd... I'd love to think about nothing.

- Hey, Ernest Hemingway. - Hmm?

The Old Man and the Sea.

Well, I'm not that old.

All right, middle-aged?

Yeah, middle-aged man and the sea. Yeah.

You know what? I have a feeling about you.

Everything you deflect away.

But I think you have hidden depths.

Oh, no, I'm... I'm pretty shallow, really.

Oh, shit.

- What's this? - This is oil, I think.

From a spill.

Poor pingüinos.

Oh, boy.

Oh, my God, this little one is still alive.

Poor thing.

Oh, that's...

Oh, that's terribly sad.

But, you know, there's nothing we can do.

It's frustrating, but

you can't really interfere with nature.

I'll never get this crap off my shoe. I've such bad luck with shoes.

- An oil slick is not nature. - Sorry?

All these pingüinos are killed by us, the human beings.

We have to at least do something for this little guy.

I hate to say it, but I think he's as good as dead already.

It's not like we can take him back to the hotel room.

- Okay. Let's get you cleaned up. - Right.

- You grab the shower. - You get the soap.

- Wash him up. - Make a lather.

This should do the job. I'll get the water.

Good boy.

How do you know it's a boy? Don't answer that.

- There you go. - Should I make it warm?

No, cold.

- You sure it's not hot? - It's tepid.

Work it into his feathers.

They're horrible. Oil...

- Ah! - Ugh!

Well, that's nice, isn't it, Mr Penguin?

- He seems a bit happier now. - Yes.

Ah! Christ!

- Ooh... - Jesus!

Bastard!

I honestly think it would be kinder to drown him.

Maybe he's just trying to show affection.

That's what I do.

Okay.

There you go. Yeah.

Now, that's resourceful.

All nice and clean.

There you go.

This is good.

Ah, okay.

Oops!

You're a happy penguin now.

Look at those lovely white feathers.

Beautiful.

You like that, don't you?

I think we can untie his beak now.

Yeah? Has he said the safe word?

It's okay, he trusts me.

Aw...

See? You just need to show him some affection.

- Yeah? - Yeah.

I'm sorry.

I have to go now.

You're kidding. Why?

Because I'm married.

You're married. Okay.

I mean.

I'm quite pragmatic about these things.

I came out tonight for some fun

and I thought I could go through with this.

But I can't.

I hope you can understand.

I'm sorry.

Don't be sorry.

Goodbye.

Adiós

Hey, what about the penguin?

Okay. Off you go.

Thanks for the souvenir.

Go and join your penguin friends.

Go.

Go and be free in the sea.

Go away.

Go ahead, adiós

Adiós!

Sorry.

Where is he from? Is he yours?

Sorry, who?

That pingüino.

Sorry, a penguin?

That one. Is he your pet?

Oh!

No, I... I don't know where he's from.

Yeah, yeah, you were with him next to the sea.

Really?

Okay, I've known him for less than a day. I rescued him from an oil slick.

- You rescued him from an oil slick? - Yeah.

- Aw... - He rescued him.

Yeah, and now he thinks he's my friend, but he's not.

Well, you can't leave your penguin here.

He's not my penguin. I don't like penguins.

Then why did you save his life?

Because I was trying to impress a woman I wanted to have sex with.

Now I've ended up with no sex and a penguin.

I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm in a bit of a hurry.

I want to check out.

I called down earlier for the bill.

Glacial.

Er, yes, that's fine. Thank you. I'd like to pay.

I've left my wallet in my room.

I don't need that.

Perdón.

There he is.

And I thought it was probably illegal to own a penguin,

which is why I left him in the room.

Sir, you have to take the penguin with you.

I don't have to take the penguin with me.

If you don't take the penguin with you, I will arrest you.

Oh, yeah? On what charge?

I will just arrest you.

Well, I'll take... Obviously, I will take it.

Buen día

Er... no.

Gracias

Stop! Stop, sir!

What was that? What is in your bag? Show me now.

Okay, I was going to speak with someone about this.

To cut a long story short, I... I want to claim asylum for him.

Asylum?

Yes, er, in a zoo.

Okay. You can take him.

But you must pay import fee. Dollars only.

- Dollars? - Fifty dollars.

Oh... I... I don't have fifty dollars.

How much do you have?

Erm...

Oh, yeah. Er, none.

So you cannot take him.

Really?

Oh, that's...

Well, I tried my best. Erm...

That's... I suppose if I can't take him, then...

Damn, that's so sad.

Oh, well, erm...

Sorry, little fella. Erm

I'm afraid it's adiós.

Hey. What is his name?

Peter.

- Peter Penguin? - Yeah.

Okay, you can take him.

It's okay, I know you have your job to do.

Please, you take Peter.

I don't want to get you into trouble.

- Honestly, it's fine. - You take Peter.

It's okay.

Take the fucking penguin.

I don't want him.

I will arrest you.

On what charge... Oh, for Christ's sakes.

Come on, Peter.

Buenas tardes.

Ah, Michell!

Just the chap I wanted.

Headmaster, I was hoping to...

Now, I'm painfully aware

that we've yet to have that chat about targets.

You know, where we want the boys to be in terms of performance.

- Yeah. - Are you all right?

Yeah, sorry, I just saw a bird of prey.

I can't tell if it's, er, a kite or an eagle.

Can't see a thing.

Well, it's quite simple.

Your job is to get the boys up to O-level standard.

And as far as I can see, they are some way off.

Mmm-hmm.

You have a passion for our feathered friends, have you?

Ah... I dabble.

Ah.

Right. Well, your boys, they have to pull their socks up.

And quite frankly, Michell, so do you. Hmm?

Loud and clear.

- Good. Well, off you go. - Cheers.

Here you go. Smell this.

Smell this.

Oh, I'll take that as a no.

What?

It's because you smell.

Good night.

Here we go.

Well, here you are.

This is your area for now.

Bathroom at night, terrace in the day.

Here.

Erm.

No?

You know, er, fussy eaters

eventually become food for less fussy eaters.

So, eat here

and shit here.

Comprende?

"To be or not to be, that is the question".

In other words, should I be here or not be here?

"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows"

"of outrageous fortune..."

"Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

"by opposing end them?"

A sea of troubles.

An example of a sea of troubles?

Okay, López, Domínguez, what's going on?

Nothing, sir.

What are you doing to Diego?

It's just a game.

We're soldiers and he's Montoneros.

My father says we fight a war with the socialist pigs.

So we just play.

We're the soldiers and he's Montoneros.

Right? Eh?

Untie him now.

We need to stop relying on the present tense.

It's lazy.

So, Ramiro, "I am a socialist pig".

Can you give me a couple of first-person past tenses, please?

I was,

I have been, and I used to be a socialist pig.

Good.

Now, from a,

for the purposes of this exercise,

a socialist pig's point of view, of course,

Ramiro's father would be,

er, let's say, no offence,

er, a fascist brute.

Yes, let's use that.

Er, Diego, as the nominated socialist pig, can you throw in a future perfect, please?

Ramiro's father was, has been,

and... and will have been a fascist brute.

Excellent. Yeah.

See what you can achieve when you apply yourselves?

Four hundred and fifty... 500,000.

So your first month wages,

2.5 million pesos.

Argentina, where everyone's a millionaire.

So, you must spend all of it straightaway, yes?

It is important you buy lots of things,

then you bring them back to me to show me.

Oh, I'll be sure to have a good look round.

You can count on it.

Muchas gracias - De nada.

Oh. Hola

You have been shopping, señor?

Yes, a few bits and bobs.

Make sure you drive a hard bargain.

In this life, nobody gets what they deserve.

They only get what they negotiate.

So, er, how much?

No, please. On the house.

Gracias - De nada.

Buen día - Buen día

Pack of playing cards, dart board, three darts,

which was all they had, but all you need,

and a long shoehorn, which I can highly recommend.

A shoehorn?

Yeah. If you're over 50 and you wear slip-ons,

it'll change your life.

Yeah? You never have to bend over again.

Shoe-wise.

- Is that it? - Yeah.

What is that?

Ah, that's just a pair of shoes and, erm, some sprats.

Sprats?

Yeah, I, erm... I like sprats.

You have to spend all of it, don't you understand?

I thought I'd spend some and save the rest till next month

when I find something I really want.

You don't listen to what I say.

By Monday, that money I gave you will be worth half of what it is now.

- Really? - You will have to go shopping again.

Fine.

Okay.

I can give you a pair of socks for it.

For what?

The shoehorn.

- No. - Okay.

Two pair of socks, orange colour.

Final offer.

Look.

Hola!

Ah, okay. Okay. Er...

Keep that out and that shut.

Although I suppose it's all the same thing to you, isn't it?

Just a minute!

Ah, hello.

Hello, this is my granddaughter Sofía.

Oh, granddaughter, wow.

Yeah. I think we met before briefly when I didn't hear what she was saying.

But I don't really need any cleaning today, thank you.

Do you want us to lose our jobs?

Okay, well maybe just a quick swish around the kitchen.

You must open the curtain. It's very dark and sunny here.

No, no, I don't like the sunshine.

- These are yours? - Yes, why?

I don't know, they look very old-fashioned.

Yeah, no, some people confuse fashion with style,

which is timeless.

- What is that? - Just some boys throwing stuff.

- What is this? - That's a lot of questions.

That's, er, some

- shit. - Whose is it?

Er, well, it's not mine.

I'd definitely be seeing a doctor if that was...

Er, well, it's bird shit.

- Bird shit? - Hmm.

It's a big bird.

Yes, it is a big bird.

Erm...

Because it's a penguin.

It's penguin shit.

What is he doing here?

I found him in Punta del Este covered in oil.

I cleaned him up and brought him back here.

- Why? - To take him to the zoo.

I tried to release the bloody thing into the sea but it wouldn't go.

Does he have a name?

Well, I flirted with Peter, but, er, I prefer just The Penguin.

No, he must have a name.

I know.

We should call him Juan Salvador Gaviota.

He reminds me to the main character of that book,

a seagull who must learn to fly.

Salvador. It mean "saviour". It's a good name.

Ah. Well, Juan Salvador Gaviota it is.

Just Juan Salvador is okay.

If I can keep him alive long enough to get him to a zoo,

I'll consider it a job done.

- Keep alive? - Yeah, I've been trying to feed him.

He hasn't eaten a thing since I found him.

Yeah, I did try that.

Let me try.

And why do you want to lock him up in the zoo?

It's not a case of wanting to lock him up, is it? It's just

I want to put him somewhere he can be taken care of,

and now that's generally regarded as a zoo, so...

- Just obeying the rules. - And you always obey the rules.

Hang on a second. I'm the one that rescued him.

So now you have a responsibility towards him.

She really is your granddaughter, isn't she?

Sometimes in life, Sofía,

things don't work out quite the way you want them to,

and, er, you have to take measures which aren't ideal.

You should be a spokesman for the military.

Right. Just for the record,

fascism is one of my least favourite things.

Really? I haven't seen you in any march recently.

Because I'm a teacher, and this is not my country.

And you are happy to take work and money from this country.

I've learnt to keep that out, and that shut

and that's served me quite well so far.

Well, I'm a cleaner

and I speak out with this about the bullshit I smell with this.

When bad people do bad things, I expect it.

When good people do nothing,

I just want to fucking punch them in the face.

No, wait, please. Both of you. Stay.

Stay and have some lunch.

Why?

Because

I haven't had a good argument in a very long time, and, er...

Well, I miss it.

So stay. I'll make you sausage mash and onion gravy.

Good imperialist British food, foisted mercilessly upon the colonies.

Wait, he... he's eating.

How did you do that?

Now he won't die.

Good.

You just need to be his friend.

Ah! Yes, of course.

- Okay. - Here.

Let's have a go.

Oh, Juan Salvador!

You know, I used to be young and idealistic like you, Sofía.

But, er... life changes you.

Then I look forward to being old and cynical.

Fusion is when two atoms collide

to create an even heavier atom.

Hola

Qué?

Now, "I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and sky",

"And all I ask is a tall ship, a star to steer her by."

What does John Masefield mean by that?

Igor.

Sir, you have a pingüino on your desk.

English, please. It's a penguin, and his name is Juan Salvador.

Why do you have a penguin on your desk?

To get you all to pay attention. And I think it's worked.

Yes, Walter.

But where did you get the penguin from, sir?

I found him.

And let's just keep this between ourselves for the time being.

If anyone finds out, he'll be confiscated.

Look, I'll make you a deal.

If you spend the rest of this lesson

helping me figure out what this poem actually means,

then I'll let you all feed him some fish at lunchtime.

Deal?

Well, go on, nod your heads.

Juan Salvador, deal?

Yes, yes, he's okay with that.

All right, so, concentration from now on, please.

Right.

"And the wheel's kick and the wind's song"

"and the white sail's shaking."

"And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking."

Sea-Fever, by John Masefield.

One of my favourites.

But what's it about?

I'll give you a clue. Yes, Igor.

- Can we put the penguin in a box? - No.

- Can we take it for a bike ride? - No.

Can we put him in the pool?

Yes, please, sir!

Sir, the penguin came from the sea. Just like the poem.

- Maybe he would like to swim in the pool. - Yeah, please.

We're not going to put the penguin in the pool.

- Why not? - Because it's against the rules.

Yes, erm...

Ramiro's correct.

So, er, the poem. A clue.

It's not just about ships, and it's not just about the sea.

Any ideas?

Come on, concentrate.

Think of Juan Salvador, the wide ocean before him,

just going wherever the wind takes him.

Diego.

Is it a metaphor, sir?

Very good. A metaphor. For what?

To be free.

Yes. Very good. Freedom.

Freedom!

Freedom from what?

What do we mean by freedom?

Freedom from... idiots?

From school?

Freedom from tyranny?

From yourself?

Okay, get the sprats.

One at a time.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no, hey.

Diego is in charge of feeding Juan Salvador.

- Diego? - Por qué?

Sí Yeah.

But why do you choose him?

Because I'm a dictator.

Give him the bucket.

Juan Salvador... He looks hungry.

- Flashlights. - Oh, hello.

The bursar has a thing about flashlights.

Yes, yes, he does.

He also has a thing about shoehorns now, if we're swapping bursar gossip.

- He's weird. - I know.

He prefers it that we are in the Middle Ages

and we barter everything.

Is that something I should be looking out for?

Mmm, some fresh figs, my grandmother's favourite.

Would you like?

Thank you.

And how is Juan Salvador?

He's, er, very well.

Yes. Now he's started eating, he won't stop.

I was thinking maybe I could look after him.

- Ah. - And he don't have to go to the zoo.

I will be his mother.

That's... that's very kind,

but I do think the zoo is the best place for him.

- Would you think about it? - Sure.

Er, by the way,

I wanted to say I admired you, er, the other day for fighting your corner.

You showed great spirit.

My grandmother says this will get me into trouble.

Well, you should listen to her, she's a wise woman.

And she's been through a lot, losing a daughter as well as a husband.

My grandfather? He lives in Córdoba.

She told me he was dead.

Mmm, yeah, she says that because he left her for a fat woman.

Anyway, I must go back to work. You come?

No, I've got to get some more sprats from the fishmonger's.

Sorry.

Tom! Tom!

Help me! Tom!

They grabbed her off the street?

Yes.

Did she call out?

Erm... yes.

I was not there to help her.

But, sir, what did my sister say?

She cried out for help, I think.

I wanted to push through the crowd to help her, but, er,

but there were too many people.

And, as I say, it was all over very quickly.

I'm sorry.

So, er, what happens now, Mr Timbuk?

Are you going to write to the authorities?

She's an employee of the college, after all.

Yes, she works for the college, sir.

Subcontractor, actually.

But the boys here have fathers

who can talk to the right person in the government to help us.

Yes, yes, of course.

But the whole thing's become, well,

rather complicated by some news I received this morning.

It's bad news, actually.

The Montoneros have kidnapped the father of Mateo Simeone,

one of our sixth formers.

I think it's some kind of tit-for-tat for all the government arrests lately.

Like Sofía?

No, no. The two sides are not equal.

The Montoneros target a few.

But the government, they take thousands from the street.

But the thing is,

Señor Simeone is a parent representative on the school's board of governors,

so we have to tread rather lightly.

Because he's more important than Sofía?

No, María, not at all.

Because the Montoneros are demanding a ransom for his safe return

and the negotiations are ongoing.

It's a filthy business,

as I'm sure you can appreciate.

No, I do not appreciate it, sir.

Come on, come on. We go now. Come on, let's go.

I don't get involved.

I didn't do anything because I don't do anything.

It wouldn't have any effect.

I can't prevent these things from happening.

If I'd been arrested as well, would that have helped?

And I was scared, okay?

I was scared.

Michell?

Are you in there?

- Hey. - Hey. Do you have a penguin in there?

What are you talking about?

A penguin.

A penguin?

A penguin.

Yes.

How did you know?

I've been to Patagonia.

I could smell you, Mr Penguin.

You know that if Mr Timbuk finds out about him,

he's going to bring all hell over your head.

It had occurred to me.

You think he's listening to us?

No, he's an animal.

He just wants food and somewhere to sleep.

No, no, no, no.

You know, the penguins, they're very sensitive.

It's a common misconception that penguins have no empathy.

But I believe, at a certain strata,

he is aware he owes his life to you.

It's not an egg, you dozy berk.

It's a bar of soap.

Juan Salvador?

All these negative thoughts from my head.

It's not that I wish them any ill.

Annie and Alexei are both nice people.

But... actually.

I do wish them ill.

I sometimes wish Alexei would meet with a fatal accident

and Annie would be sad and come back to me.

Does that make me a bad person?

I don't think...

Er.

I couldn't sleep.

I just needed to get this monkey off my chest.

You shouldn't have told him all that.

You know he can't keep a secret.

Another joke?

No, he doesn't talk.

Hola.

María. Why are you working today?

Er, I prefer to be busy.

Hello.

Hola Hola.

- Do you want a coffee? - Yes, thank you.

Come on.

Sofía, she lived with me since she was five years old.

Her mother gets sick, her breast.

They cannot cure, and she die.

People do not understand the pain of this.

No.

No, they don't.

- Please. - Thank you.

To my friends, to my neighbours,

she has already gone.

They don't talk to me because they are scared

to be connected with her in any way.

The military, they take you just for thinking another way.

They don't need a reason.

I cannot stop thinking.

Is she frightened? Is she cold?

Is she hungry?

Today is Sofía's favourite day.

She go to the football, she go dancing.

Now she only see iron bars.

- Wait, it's Saturday. - Saturday.

Saturday. Okay. I have to take Juan Salvador to the zoo.

They've agreed to meet, so I better get a move on.

You take Juan Salvador to the zoo?

Yeah, it's the best place for him, trust me.

I mean, you've smelt the apartment.

And look at the carpet, that's not the pattern.

That's his shit. He's got to go.

I go with you. To say goodbye.

Really? I don't think that's a good idea.

I lie about my husband. He didn't die of cancer.

I know.

Sofía told me. He left you for a fat woman.

She was fat.

I think I will write a letter to ask about Sofía,

so they know I will never go away.

Yes, it's a good idea. You should do that.

You can write it for me.

- Oh, I'm not sure. - Oh, you are very good with words.

- I don't think so. - You can write it like a poem.

I don't think the military dictatorship is going to be persuaded by a poem.

They probably think poetry is boring.

Okay, I will write it.

Well, I don't mind helping out.

So you are the Penguin Man?

Yes, yes. Er, and you can call me Tom.

And here's the penguin.

You decided not to murder him.

Ah. That was just a jokey threat.

- This way. - Okay.

No, no, no. I don't want him to go down there.

Look, you can have like a few minutes to say your goodbye,

but I'm coming back for him. He will have to go.

This is where your penguin will be quarantined

before being introduced to the other penguins.

Gosh, they're, er, quite small, aren't they, the cells?

How long will he be here for?

The period is for six weeks.

And good news, we have a cell for him.

Right. Erm, six weeks.

I'm sure he'll get used to it.

You can get used to anything in the end.

So, you come with me to sign the release form, please.

Yes.

So, the thing is, erm,

they don't have any spaces at the moment, so they can't take him.

Until something can be sorted, they said.

Let's just take him home.

Take him home?

Oh, oh! Wait, erm...

- You all right? - No, un poquito de water.

Okay, er

I think we should get you home.

Oh, she had a funny turn. She's over the worst of it.

- Okay. - I think it got a bit too much for her.

Oh, this is my grandson's wife, Teresa.

And my little ones, Jorgito and Claudia.

Hola, Jorgito. Hola, Claudia.

This is Señor Tom, a teacher from the college.

Please, you stay for some food?

- Er, thank you, but I... - You stay. You don't shame us.

Oh, well, there you go. I suppose I'm staying.

Oh, erm...

Come on.

Un pingüino

Come say hello. Say hello. Hello.

Come on. This is Juan Salvador.

He's hungry.

He wants some food.

Hmm!

And, erm, what kind of meat is this?

Tongue.

- Right. - Here where we live

- is called El Bajo - The Low, that means The Low.

Yes, low down, by the water.

It also means we are the low people who have not anything.

Yeah, my great-grandfather built this house,

but everything he used he had to steal. The brick, the wood...

But not because he's a thief, because he's el bajo.

He built this house or his family sleep on the street.

- And this was your great-grandfather? - Yeah.

- And you all live here together? - Yeah.

And I already know that my children will have to live here too.

So we are the same as the rich.

We pass our house down through our family.

Do you have any children, Señor Tom?

Erm... yes.

A daughter.

But, er, we lost her.

It's interesting how

how, er, people won't eat tongue

because it's been inside an animal's mouth,

but they're quite happy to eat an egg, which, er, you know, has been...

Oh!

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Funny, eh?

"To whom it may concern",

"regarding the recent unpleasantness in the country."

"I respectfully request that you find an alternative approach"

"to achieving a satisfactory outcome for all concerned,"

"ideally avoiding, if at all possible,"

"the torture and murder of an innocent 19-year-old girl."

"Apologies for the inconvenience."

"Best wishes to you and yours."

"PS. Why do you all have moustaches?"

What do you think?

Catherine.

My daughter.

Knocked down and killed by a drunk driver when she was 13.

And that's not even a joke.

I want Juan Salvador

to be the tallest person in the room for a change.

You see, penguins only ever see people's legs,

which means they have to listen, so... so let's try that.

"Seventeen years ago you said."

"Something that sounded like Good-bye."

"And everybody thinks that you are dead."

"But I."

"So I, as I grow stiff and cold."

"To this and that say Good-bye too."

"And everybody can see that I am old."

"But you."

"And one fine day down a sunny lane."

"A boy and a girl will meet and kiss and swear."

"That nobody could love their way again."

"While over there."

"You will have smiled."

"And I will have tossed your hair"

Good lesson, sir.

- Bye. - Bye, sir.

Bye.

"And these words shall then become."

"Like Oppression's thundered doom."

"Ringing through each heart and brain."

"Heard again, again, again."

"Rise like Lions after slumber."

"In unvanquishable number."

"Shake your chains to earth like dew."

"Which in sleep had fallen on you."

"Ye are many, they are few."

These aren't just lofty words.

Shelley was actually trying to say something.

Here, Shelley is saying that there are so many of them,

he says they can't possibly be beaten.

He uses the adjective "unvanquishable".

He's emphatic that they cannot be overcome or subdued.

"Ye are many", so...

You know there are many of them.

Walter, who are "ye"?

What "ye" is Shelley asking to rise like lions after slumber?

Everybody?

Yes, everybody. All of us.

Shelley means, what, most people.

When he wrote this,

people in England were rioting because they were starving.

The money was being spent on wars, not feeding their children.

So who then, Ramiro, are they, the few?

Erm... the leaders.

Yes.

Shelley is saying if we rise like lions against them and all stand together,

we are

unvanquishable.

So Shelley's warriors are like lions.

They stand up and they shake off their chains,

which he says have fallen on them.

- Anna. - Sorry to disturb you.

Mr Buckle would like to see you. Now.

Okay. Right now?

Please.

Okay.

Ah.

Now, it's not just that the last set of grades were low,

but that the content of your lessons is becoming,

how shall I put it,

increasingly questionable.

I mean, "Hamlet is an idiot."

"Dickens is overrated."

"Byron is a tart"?

I'm allowed an opinion. It's a free country.

Oh, no, it's not. I forgot.

Urging the boys to rise like lions.

I see from your notes

that you intend to teach Wilfred Owen later on in the term.

Yes, the ironically titled Dulce et Decorum Est.

Yes, well, you seem to be deliberately focusing

on this antagonistic sort of poetry.

Look, Michell,

I had you as a head-down sort of fella, you know, anything for a quiet life.

And what happened to you?

Hmm?

I met a penguin.

What?

Sorry, I should have told you earlier.

Good God.

And, erm...

He's living with me.

What?

Look, you can't keep a penguin in the college.

I've never actually seen that written down.

Michell, are... are you having some sort of breakdown?

I don't think so.

Well, it's insanity.

Not to mention insanitary.

I bought him a bath and I've had him in class.

- The boys respond well to him. - No, no, no.

A line has been crossed.

Either you go or the penguin goes.

You mean if I go, the penguin can stay?

I said either the penguin... Either you or the...

Look, you and the penguin both need to go.

"Please hear my voice

"I'm an old lady and I don't have many years left."

"I have lived my life"

"I have loved my family I have loved my country."

"You have taken my granddaughter, Sofía Á Ivarez.

"My beautiful granddaughter."

"You don't let me see her I don't know where she is."

"Please, I beg you, take me in her place."

"Please, let her live her life, and I can go into prison where she is,

"and my life can end there".

Hola

Hola.

Why are you come here, Señor Tom?

We came to wish you luck.

Ah.

My letter?

You change it all for me? You make it better?

I haven't changed a word.

Your letter is better than anything I could have written.

It will not make any difference.

Perhaps not, but at least your words will be out there somewhere.

Did you hear?

Mateo's father has been released.

The company he worked for paid the ransom.

Even if they ask for Sofía,

we don't have any money.

Erm, María.

She called out my name the day she was arrested.

And, er, I didn't go to her.

Maybe you could not get to her?

No, I could have.

They would have arrested you, too.

Maybe, but I didn't try.

I just did nothing, and I'm sorry.

You'd better go.

Ah.

Because we don't know where she is.

Ah.

You're English?

Yes, I teach English at St George's.

Have we met before?

This woman, er, by the way,

she... she's a lovely girl from a good Argentinian family.

They pay their taxes, they raise their children,

raise their family.

Well, in fact, this market was the last place I saw her.

She was buying some figs for her grandmother, and then, erm...

Well, I think... I think you know her.

Hmm.

Sofía Álvarez is her name.

Mmm.

Of course you know her.

You and your men kidnapped her

and bundled her into the back of a car in broad daylight, didn't you?

And I am asking you,

please,

to let her go.

Interesting.

Why would you speak to me of this girl? Hmm?

Well, because the truth is, and this is the truth,

I lost my daughter some years ago.

Well, 17, to be precise.

Erm... drunk driver.

It doesn't matter.

It was a pointless death.

It ruined my life and her mother's,

and Sofía reminded me of her.

And for that reason, I.

I wanted to try and help her.

Hmm.

And the penguin?

He's just a... a weird pet.

Hmm.

So you thought

you'd come here with your sad story and your penguin,

and I will make everything nice?

You should walk away from me.

Right now.

It's a waste of a life.

You should go.

- Okay. - Now.

I've forgotten my penguin.

Chau

To hell and back.

What did they do to you?

You should see the other the guy.

Did you fight him?

No. It's just a thing people say.

No, he's fine.

I mean, I think he hurt his fist when he was punching me,

which I was pleased about.

So, er, is Juan Salvador okay?

He's back at the school.

By the way, Mr Timbuk knows you've been arrested.

Ah. Is he gonna beat me up as well?

Sit.

You have ice?

It's...

You know, you are very lucky to be released after just one night.

This country is at war with itself,

and everyone here expects me to sort it out.

You know, I make hard decisions, tough decisions.

It comes with the territory.

But I mean,

Michell has been here five minutes and everybody loves him.

Well, it's partly because of you, of course.

But, you see, I don't have the camaraderie of the common room.

And whenever I go in there... pshh... all goes quiet.

I mean, I try to put on a happy face.

"Hey, old fellow, well met" and all.

I even try to make them laugh.

Have you met my wife, "Timbuk two"?

Nothing.

Oh, I don't suppose I should complain, really.

It's not too bad.

Hello.

Michell!

What in God's name do you think you were doing?

What's happened to you?

Are you all right?

To be honest, I... I haven't felt this good in quite some time.

So I've asked the board of governors to raise with the authorities

the question of Sofía Álvarez's case.

Not strictly an employee, as I've said before,

but I argued that she does come under the general aegis of the college

and as such we might bend the rules a little.

I personally don't hold out a great deal of hope,

but they're prepared to do what they can.

Oh. Well, good.

Now, on the question of letting people go,

you or anyone else, that is, erm,

on reflection,

I think a change now might be

too disruptive for the boys.

And on balance, it, erm

well, it... might be better if you would stay.

Hmm.

And that extends to the penguin, too.

Juan Salvador?

Well, with his assistance, you've made inroads.

And the boy's results have improved.

Well, they've gone from disastrous to slightly below average.

Yes, but the curve is upwards.

My eyes are moist with emotion.

Please, stay with us, Michell.

Hear, hear.

I never felt magic crazy as this.

I never saw moons Knew the meaning of the sea.

I never held emotion in the palm of my hand.

Or felt sweet breezes in the top of a tree.

But now you're here.

Brighten my northern sky.

I've been a long time that I'm waiting.

Penguin!

Been a long time that I'm blown.

I've been a long time that I've wandered.

Through the people I have known.

Oh, if you would and you could.

Straighten my new mind's eye.

As we approach the end of another year,

we salute those who made their mark in 1976.

And we begin with the prize for physics.

In first place, Jorge Calando.

In second place, Álvaro Díaz.

And in third place,

Walter Jiménez from Lower Fourth Remove.

Igor González.

Ramiro López of Lower Fourth Remove gets the third place prize.

The annual William Wordsworth Award

for Excellence in English goes this year to

Diego Camelia!

Through the people I have known.

Oh, if you would and you could.

Straighten my new mind's eye.

Well, that went rather well.

People asked after you, you were missed.

We didn't come bottom.

First time in a long time, Lower Fourth Remove haven't come last.

So I got a few pats on the back, too.

And that's due in no small part to you.

So, er.

I think you deserve some sprats.

See if you regained your appetite.

No.

No.

What did you go and do that for?

Do you want me to help you?

No.

I, er, want to do this myself.

Penguins only have one partner.

When they lose their mate, they never take another one.

They separate from the other penguins, and they die.

So if you had not brought Juan Salvador home with you, sir,

he would have died anyway.

And the time he spent with us,

this is time he will not have had.

Thank you.

What can we say about Juan Salvador?

Well, he was quite short,

about two foot tall.

He, er, couldn't speak.

He smelt quite bad.

And he shat everywhere.

But then real friendship

is about being able to see beyond all that superficial stuff.

Because he... he was my friend.

It must have been difficult when Juan Salvador first arrived here.

He must have been thinking, "Who are these people?"

"They're nothing like me. What am I doing here?

"I just want to be left alone. I don't care about this

"this college with its overinflated opinion of itself".

But then he probably started to think,

"These people are all right, actually."

"They're being quite kind."

"Perhaps I'll hang around and make myself useful."

"Maybe I can make a difference."

"Especially if they let me swim in their pool".

And, er... that's the thing, you see.

In life, sometimes

you have to put the penguin in the pool.

And I don't just mean literally, of course, because it's a...

Anyone?

- It's a metaphor, sir. - Correct.

Not a very good one.

I mean, he might not have been thinking any of that.

The only thing I'm certain of is.

Juan Salvador is gone

and I'm sad.

But I'm happy that I'm sad.