Original subtitles

(indistinct chatter)

(microphone feedback)

Bob Spicer: Well, thank you, thank you all,

parents and town advocates alike,

for joining us on this very special evening.

We're here tonight to kick off

our most ambitious school year yet.

We've run the numbers, and folks,

there's no simpler way for me to put it.

Our children are getting smarter.

(laughter)

Harvard, two. Dartmouth, two.

Yale, three.

U Penn, seven.

Thank you.

(man continues indistinct)

(mutters)

(mutters)

(sniffs)

(classical music playing)

(man continues indistinct)

...and my fellow trustees

who wait all year long

ranking the top public schools in America

based on SATs and college acceptance rates.

And Roslyn is four...

(cheers and applause)

And now, I'd like to bring out the man responsible.

-Congratulations. -Thank you.

In his ten years here,

he's revamped our education system.

From pre-K all the way to high school.

Please join me in welcoming to the stage

our district superintendent and my friend,

Frank Tassone.

(cheers and applause)

(stirring music)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(brakes hiss)

Good morning.

Hey there, good morning.

Go Bulldogs.

Frank: Have we heard about Mr. Kopple?

-Wife had twins. -Twins!

-Late last night. -Nice. Send over flowers

and maybe an edible arrangement.

Can we, can we get these things out of here?

-Oh, they're nice for morale. -Yeah, it'd be even nicer

if they were shaped like ones.

-Pam: You know, Dr. Tassone-- -Hey.

A wise woman once said it's not having what you want.

-It's wanting what you got. -Mrs. Gluckin.

I barely recognize you anymore what with the new name,

new office, new job title.

The same pay, same paperwork.

July and August are all settled up.

-Expenses booked and archived. -Perfect.

And something else I wanted to talk to you about...

Safety gates are all taken care of.

I'm meeting with City Hall later today to go over strategy.

Jeez, someone's had their coffee.

-Yeah. -Jenny: Uh, Dr. Tassone?

-Yeah. -Uh, did you want your flight

to the Vegas conference Friday out of JFK or Newark?

Thanks, J. Whatever's cheaper works fine.

And, uh, Mary Ann, is there any way

you'd be able to grab my diet smoothie?

-I was running late. -Mary Ann: Oh, sure.

-Uh, but there's one more thing. -Frank: Uh-huh.

Carol Schweitzer's been camped up

in the conference room since 6:30.

Says it's urgent she speaks with you.

Okay, okay. Um...

-Chad. -Chad, Chad Schweitzer's...

okay, I'll take care of it.

-Thanks. -Good luck.

Stop it.

Do us all a favor.

If he's not out of there in an hour, call 911.

(chuckles)

Carol: And I am banging down doors

until somebody here

takes me seriously. All right?

That Militzok, she plays favorites, okay?

She wouldn't even let him take a bathroom break

during the test, and he has a hyperactive bladder.

Chad, honey, tell him how you...

you know what, I have a note here from his doctor, okay?

Ms. Schweitzer, just, just calm down.

-Let's, let's just-- -No one will listen to me.

All right, I don't know what else I'm supposed to do.

Chad, he is just as gifted as everyone else in his year.

-Absolutely. -And...

I'm scared, Dr. Tassone,

because if he doesn't get into OMNI...

and he starts to think of himself as less than...

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

No, I will talk to Ms. Militzok.

I will straighten this whole thing out.

-You will? -Yes.

And, and we'll just set a make-up test for Chad.

All right, with ample bathroom time.

Thank you, Dr. Tassone.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate that.

There's no need to thank me, all right?

Chad's a smart kid with the world ahead of him,

and it's our job to give him the runway.

Thank you.

It's funny.

You know, Chad, when I was your age,

I didn't even place into fast track math.

-Really? -No.

I couldn't nail my times tables.

And at the time, I thought my world was ending.

But I caught up. You know what?

Now I set the math curriculum.

(light orchestral music)

♪ ♪

(exhales)

(knocking)

Can I help you with something?

Oh, no, it's okay.

I'm just here for Mrs. Cremona.

-Or Gluckin. -Ooh, she's not here,

but I'm more than happy to answer any questions if...

-Really? That would... -Mm-hmm, yeah.

I don't wanna bother you if you're busy, but--

No, come on in, bother me.

I'm doing spreadsheets. Come, come in.

Take a seat. Uh...

I don't think we've had a chance to meet.

-It's Rachel. -Rachel, right.

Neil's little sister.

Yeah. Wow, good memory.

I hope he's keeping out of trouble over at Northwestern.

Yeah, he loves it. He's doing bio-chem.

Ah, well, they have great journalism there, too.

Yes, they do.

-(chuckles) -Um...

okay, so they just, they want me to write an article

about the SkyWalk proposal in the new budget.

And I just need a pull quote from administration.

Yeah, oh, okay. A sound bite, nice.

Um... (clears throat)

We've been asking high schoolers

how we can make their day easier,

so we came up with this idea, the SkyWalk.

Um, a bridge, to link the school from end to end.

And um, it's a huge undertaking for us.

And we can't wait to break ground

once the plans are approved next May.

Great, that's all I need. Thank you so much.

That's it? No, no follow-ups?

No, it's just a puff piece.

They save the real stories for seniors.

Rachel.

It's only a puff piece if you let it be a puff piece.

Oh, uh...

That's what they'll tell you over at Northwestern.

All right? A real journalist

can turn any assignment into a story.

Are you busy? Just a couple of colleagues want to convey thanks.

Rachel Bhargava, staff writer for the "Hilltop Beacon."

Uh, this is Bob Spicer, school board president.

-Hi. Oh, you're, uh... -Hey.

you're in my daughter, Becca's year, right?

-Mm-hmm. -Say hi to your dad for me.

Nice to meet you, Rachel. And if you want to

follow up, just set a time with Mary Ann, okay?

And, uh, I'll be keeping an eye out for your byline.

The demand is insane. It's skyrocketing.

We're seeing three bedrooms go for over a million in Roslyn Heights.

Yeah, you just don't see those kinds of numbers

in Syosset or Jericho.

Right, but those towns are a further commute from the city.

Not Manhasset, not Great Neck.

It's the public schools. The better the school system,

the higher the price tag on the homes, period.

Bob: Our firm has sold nine separate lots in that area

since the report in that journal came out.

And, uh, here's a little something

-you know, from all of us. -Frank: Okay.

Oh, wow. Really, that's, oh, wow.

-Keep up the good work. -Well, thanks, everyone.

-Dr. Tassone? -Oh, yeah.

-Do you mind if we get a little-- -Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Something for my office. -Great.

-I really appreciate you... -Scoot in, scoot in, Will.

-...coming in today. -Mm-hmm.

Thank you, okay.

(shutter snaps)

-Okay, thank you. -Okay.

-All right? -Yeah, let's let him--

-Let him get back to work. -Thank you.

-No, I really appreciate it. -Yeah.

-Thank you so much. -Thank you.

Okay.

I can't eat these. Just, if you put them out

for everybody to pick at, that'd be great.

They were out of the flax seed.

That's okay, that's okay. Thanks.

(slurps)

How much do you figure a guy like Bob

makes at his regular job?

-Pam: Bob Spicer, you mean? -Mm-hmm.

Oh...

high sixes a year, minimum.

Maybe seven figures in this market.

-Why? -Oh, forget it.

You look tired.

(sighs)

You might wanna go home early, get some rest.

I gotta run Dickens.

Maybe I'll try and bow out and

get a headstart and early prep for Vegas this weekend.

-I wouldn't bail on book club. -Why?

Those women adore you,

and each one talks to two dozen more.

The next budget vote's only nine months away.

-Right, our SkyWalk. -Yeah, the SkyWalk is big.

Gets us to first. That's all that matters.

(slurps)

This new diet is kicking my ass.

What is that, even?

It's got charcoal in it or something like that.

Yeah, coal.

I would kill somebody for a carb right now.

I don't know where you could find one.

You are such a bitch.

Oh, would you like a bite?

-I hate pastrami on rye. -You want a bite.

-I hate pastrami on rye. -Yeah, I know you hate it.

-Open up. -(moans)

-Fucking so good. -Right?

Come on, you can eat more.

You got-- come on, one more bite.

-I will kill you. -I won't tell anyone.

I'm not gonna tell anyone.

(bright orchestral music)

-(laughs) -You're a growing boy.

Come on. Eat the fuckin' sandwich.

♪ ♪

(indistinct chatter)

Frank: Let's get started.

Should we get started, everyone?

Uh, what do we all think of "Martin Chuzzlewit"?

Okay. Um...

You know, Frank, the culture is not for everyone.

Eh, I thought we wound up having a

really good discussion, ultimately.

Um...

Frank, can I ask you a personal question?

Sure.

It's just that...

Jonah's...

you know, having a really hard time with the separation.

Yeah. You know, Ms. Schlacter,

uh, told me that he's opened up a little bit in Banana Splits?

-Right, yeah, oh, my God. -Yeah.

-Thank you for getting him in. -No, of course.

It has been so hard on us, and...

-Yeah. -You have been...

such a tremendous help.

Oh, Sharon, of course. Anytime, anytime.

Yeah, and...

Um...

-Frank, I'm sorry. -No, no, no, no, no.

You want what's best for your son.

That's nothing to be ashamed of.

Uh, no, it makes you strong. It's, um...

(exhales) I...

you know, I think at the end of the day,

her memory is still very fresh.

(Pam sighs)

Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi.

Somehow, I'm not surprised.

Jenny screwed up some paperwork earlier.

I'm saving her ass.

Jenny's got a good aunt.

How did Dickens go?

(chuckles)

Well, it was Sharon Katz's place this week.

And... (laughs)

-I knew it. -I, I think maybe

I shouldn't have offered to wash up.

(chuckles) That poor woman.

She's nowhere near your type.

She's not, she's not.

(laughter)

-Jamieson. -Uh, Honors English.

-Loves Nietzsche. -Very good.

-Yep. -Uh, DiGennaro?

Oh, DiGennaro. Uh...

(clears throat) Social studies,

-ninth grade global hist-- -Ah!

-Oh, American history. -Uh-huh.

Uh, coaches Little League, too.

-Mm-hmm. -Yes.

Well, these are too easy. Oh, here's a toughie.

Uh-huh.

Todhunter.

Oh, shit.

Todhunter, Todhunter...

Mr. Todhunter.

How's that bowling league shaping up this season?

Oh, uh, we're ahead.

But we've got our big match against Jericho on Sunday.

Jericho, mm. I think you'll crush them.

Thank you for putting this on.

-This is so nice. -Oh, of course. My pleasure.

-Man: Oh, Frank! -The least I could do.

-Yeah, excuse me. -Man: Hey, Frank.

-Hey. -So, um...

hey, are you getting pumped for Vegas?

'Cause, uh, I got my bags packed.

-I'm ready to go. -Yeah.

It'll be good to get away from the wife

for a few days too, huh?

-Right? -Right.

(chuckling)

-A few days, yeah. -(clears throat)

You want to know how many bids we got from contractors?

Mm-hmm, for the SkyWalk construction.

You explored several options, right?

-I think we had four or five. -Okay.

Rachel: From which firms, exactly?

Hang-hang on a sec. What's this article

you're supposed to be writing?

Oh, it's a piece on the SkyWalk.

And the student paper wanted a deep dive

into construction specs?

They're giving me free reign, more or less.

I guess I'm just looking for an interesting way in.

-Oh, okay, Ruth. -Rachel.

Rachel, so let me give you a great angle for your story.

-Okay. -You wanna write this down

-or are you-- -I'm taping.

Oh.

Okay.

The SkyWalk is a great project.

It'll be the first SkyWalk on all of Long Island,

and yet one more reason Roslyn schools

put Jericho and Syosset to shame.

And it'll look great and make all our lives easier.

Thank you, the end. Good night and good luck.

What else can I help you with?

Do you have the bids handy?

Or are they not on you?

No, they're not on me. They're locked in the basement,

lost in the annals of history.

Well, I have next period free.

(tense music begins)

-Do you? -Mm-hmm.

All right.

(drawer opens)

Good luck finding 'em.

(tense music continues)

♪ ♪

Jenny: Do you need somethin'?

Just a couple of photocopies.

Okay.

-So you're a sophomore? -Junior.

My son Jake is actually in the second grade over at Bellmore.

You know, not too far from here.

-South Shore, you know. -Mm.

Oh, it's an old building. We get leaks every so often.

(water dripping)

It usually stops after, like, a minute.

(upbeat music)

♪ ♪

(indistinct chatter)

We need a hard eight here. We need boxcars.

We need boxcars, Lenny, we need boxcars.

(screaming and cheering)

Speaker: I know what you're all thinking.

At first glance, these numbers might seem prohibitive

but I'm here to tell you that with some vision,

they can dovetail quite amicably.

As we can see, the added benefits

to such a program are remunerative.

I'd love for you to see what we're doing out there

-if you're ever on Long Island. -Yeah, I think,

I think we're on the East Coast in November, December.

-So I'll-- -Well, we're there.

-Good, good, good, good. -Okay.

And listen, stop by and have a drink before you leave.

-All right? -That was terrific.

-Thank you. -Take care.

(smacks lips)

Bartender: Great.

All right.

What can I get ya?

Uh, just a club soda with lime.

And can I see your food menu, please?

(liquid pouring)

And...

Frank: Kyle.

Kyle Contreras.

Plandome High maybe 15 years ago, right?

Yeah, I used to teach English there.

Dr. Tassone.

Frank.

-Frank. -(scoffs)

Kyle: I would think that you would forget

about us the minute we got out of there.

Frank: Oh, no, you'd be surprised.

I mean, some things I wish I could forget.

Kyle: Yeah. You know somethin'

I wish I could forget? Would be Lippman's hair piece.

Do you remember that thing that--

-(laughs) -With the, with the double swoop?

Oh, my God, Lippman's hair piece, Christ.

So, what do you, what do you--

are you teaching English at the new place?

No, I'm, I'm administrative now.

Like a principal?

No, like superintendent of schools.

Look at that. You love saying that.

You love that. Superintendent of schools.

-With the head, too. -I've done it for 12 years.

I mean, look, it's great.

It does have its trade-offs, like anything.

I really miss being back in the classroom

sometimes with my students, you know.

How about you? You, um, you still writing?

Short stories, science fiction, right?

I remember you used to carry around

that beat-up copy of "Dune" everywhere.

Yeah, I mostly just wrote that stuff

to get out of your book reports.

No, come on, come on. There was that really good one

about the, um, about the alien colony.

I talked about it in your rec for Stony Brook, right?

Yeah, yeah, for Stony Brook.

(clears throat)

Sorry, I, um...

I burnt out at Stony Brook.

After a few years, I...

moved out here.

Um...

I was dancing up until very recently.

Dancing?

Thank you.

(sniffs)

So does your wife come with you on these things, or...

-Oh, um-- -Is she back in New York?

No, no, no, my wife passed away.

Oh.

-I'm sorry. -No, no, it's...

it's fine. It was a long time ago.

Um, it was before I had you, even.

Hm.

How's the food?

Shit.

(laughs)

You wanna try somewhere else?

I thought you were here for two days.

Uh, just for the weekend, yeah.

A lot of suits for a weekend.

Well, you never know what might come up these...

Right.

That was always your thing, wasn't it?

Even when you were an English teacher,

you were always the guy in the suits.

What's wrong with a suit?

I don't know, it's just...

it's a little sad.

(laughs)

Just a little sad.

I think they put some bottles in the, uh...

in the bar fridge, I'm not sure why.

You're allowed to make eye contact, Frank.

Hey.

No, I'm not.

Right.

(classic strings playing)

♪ ♪

Rachel: Dad!

I got dinner.

Anything happen today?

I spoke to the assistant superintendent.

For an article.

The woman who runs all the business.

Hm.

Wonder if they're looking to hire anybody in development.

You're overqualified.

(soft music playing)

♪ ♪

-Late night, Ms. Gluckin? -(gasps)

Jesus, Eddie, you scared the shit out of me.

Got any fun plans for the weekend?

Yeah, no, all I want is to spend some quiet time

at home with my kids.

-You know. -All right.

Have a good time.

-See you next week. -Yeah, good night, Eddie.

-Sorry about scare-- -That's all right.

(exhales)

(laughter)

He's...

Okay, first of all, they're too small.

Oh, girls, have you met my niece, Jenny Aquila?

She's working with me over at Roslyn, district clerk.

-Oh. -Isn't this place beautiful?

-I mean... -So gorgeous.

Howard must be making out like a bandit with those Chevys.

He's been consulting a little on the side.

I'm proud of him.

We're planning a big remodel once the season's through, actually.

Oh, wow. Who's your contractor?

-Jim: Ma, help! -Pam: Jim Boy's gonna do it.

Big goose down. I can't-- Ah!

Are you sure Jimmy's ready to take on a project this size?

Yeah, it'll be good for him.

Get his mind going on somethin' new.

-Aunt Pam. -Pam: Yeah?

Uh, can I talk to you inside just for a sec?

Pam: Sure.

All right, Jen. What's going on?

Uh, honestly...

(scoffs)

I feel bad even bringing it up, but, um...

-Jake's birthday is comin' up. -Oh!

And he's been asking for the Sony PlayStation.

-Video game system. -Yeah.

And how all his friends have it and how he feels left out.

-Aw. -You know, um,

money's been tight, and I was just thinking since

Howard's been doin' so well and all--

(blender whirring)

I'd pay you back as soon as I'm able.

Just put it on the card.

Pam: Amber, sweetie, do you mind

giving your cousin Jenny and me a minute?

Thank you.

But I was wondering if maybe you could just lend me

the money from your personal...

Don't worry about it. It'll all be reconciled

at the end of the month.

I've been doing this a long time.

It's, it's just,

he wants that PlayStation so much, you know?

Just put the receipt on my desk first thing Monday morning

and don't give it another thought.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to play host.

I don't get this. What is this?

It's the SkyWalk piece you wanted.

No, this is two pages of contractor bids,

building materials, and zoning ordinances

in brutal detail.

Yeah, it's journalism.

Our readers are 15.

You realize we have to submit every issue to Bressler

before we go to print.

And Dr. Tassone, and Pam Cremona.

Pam Gluckin. It's Gluckin now.

Look, we're not the "New York Times," right?

We're an extracurricular. We are a club

designed to get us all into good colleges.

We have a certain finesse to the way we approach stories here.

A je ne sais quoi, if you will.

But don't worry, though. You're gonna get the hang of it.

(soft music playing)

♪ ♪

(music brightens)

♪ ♪

(beep)

(beeping)

♪ ♪

(beeping)

Clerk: Sir.

Could I ask, uh,

how many of our stores have you visited today?

Uh...

a couple.

The ones in Farmingdale and Islip

didn't have what I was looking for.

I mean, you know, we actually offer

free ship-to service for our high-value customers.

You think I'm high-value?

I mean, reasonably, yeah.

So where's this stuff going?

-Bob: Oh, shit. -Lorraine: Yeah, no, no.

-I'll get him. No, he's right here. -Bob: Motherfucking shit.

No, he's-- no worries.

Honey, come on, you know how they feel

-about the phones on the course. -It's Larry, for you.

-My cousin. -Larry, for me?

-Mm. -What?

Okay, just tell him I'll call him after 18.

He says it's about the school.

Larry from... the mattress firm?

No, he's over at Ace Hardware now.

So this kid, he gives my guy a home address.

In Westhampton.

Full 50 miles outside of Roslyn.

And it's a home address.

You know? So I say to myself, I say,

"What's a Roslyn school's contractor

"doing buying supplies

all the way out in Selden for, anyway?"

No, we wouldn't, we wouldn't.

We get our materials wholesale, anyway.

We, we put out bids.

Tool chest, shower heads. That's home improvement.

-That's not school stuff. -That's right, right.

-It doesn't add up, Bob. -Who is this James McCarden

and why does he have a Roslyn expense card?

I don't know. I don't even know a McCarden.

There is no McCarden at Roslyn.

Oh, hang on, honey, wasn't Pam Cremona

or Gluckin or whatever she is,

wasn't her first husband a McCarden?

Come on.

No way. Pam Gluckin, of all people?

She's gonna have a house on Dune Road?

(engine stops)

-Bob: What should we say? -Woman: No, there's nothing to say.

-Woman: The receipts say everything. -Bob: Yeah, okay.

-Bob: But we need to... -Okay, she's right behind you.

Hi, Pam.

Frank: And, uh, I want to thank you all

for volunteering time out of your day

to speak with me. I would just

love to hear from each of you what you hope

to achieve in the sixth grade.

Yeah, let's start with you, Heather.

I wanna get all A's and become

a cardiothoracic surgeon like my mom.

(chuckles)

Great, uh,

but just for the purposes of today...

-(door opens) -if you could just--

-Come. -What?

-Quick. -Uh...

One second. Okay, I'll be back.

(whispered chatter)

(tense music playing)

♪ ♪

Bob: We're vulnerable here.

Judy: She stole $30,000 in taxpayer money

and that's just between the Ace Hardware.

Who knows who else got an expense card?

Stan: I'm telling you, it's our moral responsibility

to report this to the town. We have to.

Judy: No, this is a criminal matter.

We've got to call the police, the FBI.

Wendy: Okay, that was our legal counsel.

They do recommend we report.

Bob: Great, okay, well then, that settles it.

I'm gonna call the mayor.

Frank, you wanna be on that call?

Um...

I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Go get him, get him a glass of water.

I should have caught this. I should have checked.

Pam's been here longer than I have.

I didn't even think.

No, no, no, no, Frank. It's-- it's not your fault.

She built up a decade's worth of trust with all of us.

We were asleep at the wheel.

Thank you. (coughs)

But before we go any further, we need to,

we need to know what we're dealing with.

I have Phil in my office getting a firm number.

Phil, our auditor?

The man should be fired.

He's the one person who should have caught wind of this.

-Prick. -Frank: Okay.

We can't jump the gun here.

Not when there's this much at stake, all right?

-Can we... -Okay.

We'll give him an hour.

-That's-- But then, after that... -Right.

-...we start making calls. -Right.

How could Jim Boy be so careless,

going around like that?

I'm pulling him off the remodel, that's for sure.

Just gonna have to hire on a real contractor.

-A professional. -Yeah, Pam?

No, no, no. Frank's gonna fix this.

He knows how important I am to this school.

I'm the one who keeps the lights on here, you know?

-He'll tell 'em. -Do you think anybody

could ever find out about the PlayStation?

No, I told you I took care of that.

You have nothing to worry about there.

That's good.

It's just, um...

I, uh...

I might have also done a little early Christmas shopping

over the weekend, too.

See, I wasn't gonna mention until after the holiday

because I bought you something,

and I didn't, I didn't wanna spoil it.

I swear, I swear, I was gonna reimburse it all.

How much?

Not much, you know. Just like, um...

maybe...

$1,600 at Lord & Taylor and...

another 12 at Macy's.

Frank's gonna fix this.

Give me good news, Phil.

There's no way. There's, there's no way.

There's check warrants that are missing.

Purchase orders. I took her word for it.

She would tell me one thing, she'd say don't worry about it,

and I believed her like the fucking idiot schmuck I am.

Oh, I never even think to check up, to validate.

I'm gonna lose my job. I'm gonna lose our firm.

-We're dead, they'll kill us. -Hey, hey, no, no, no--

Nobody's killing anybody. Phil, look me in the eye.

Look me in the eye.

You're running the show here. Say it after me.

"I am running the show."

-I am running the show. -Good.

Pull it together.

How much did you find concretely?

Uh...

Two hundred twenty-three.

Concretely, but that's just the obvious stuff.

-Who knows what else is buried-- -$223,000.

Okay, okay.

(exhales)

That's our number.

-What are you talking about? -That's the number

we go back to the board with, 223.

No, you're not hearing me.

That might just be the tip of the iceberg.

-Well, you don't know that. -Frank.

The receipts are gone.

They're in the bin of a shredder, probably.

She could have misplaced them.

I mean, there's a very real scenario here

where all the other expenses are legit, right?

-Maybe, I don't know. -Okay, Phil, Phil.

She's not some criminal mastermind.

All right, Pam is our friend,

and she has made a stupid mistake.

But what...

but what about the state comptroller?

Hevesi could barge into this office

at any given moment, conduct an outside audit.

Has he ever done that once in your 30 years of experience?

Exactly.

Just...

give me a number, and...

I'll take care of the board.

(tense percussive music playing)

♪ ♪

Frank: Okay, okay, everyone.

So, the, uh...

the sum total is $250,000.

-What? -Jesus, are you kidding me?

(all clamoring)

-That woman has a set of balls on her. -We can just--

-When I get my chance. -Bob: You never will.

She's gonna be Nassau PD's for the taking.

-And that shitbird son of hers. -No, no, no, no, no.

-No, no, no, Bob. -Okay, all right, let's do this right.

-Put the phone away, Bob. -And why should he?

Because we will lose everything.

What do you mean, Frank?

Once word gets out about Pam,

we're inviting "The Times," "Newsday,"

and every other paper in the tri-state area

-to our front door. -With all due respect,

screw the papers. This is a very real crime here.

A theft of taxpayer money.

Judy, you've served on the school board

for how long, seven years?

-Eight, proudly, -Okay, and in eight years,

how many times has our budget been passed

by taxpayers without incident?

-Eight. -Right.

So what happens when our next budget goes up

for approval in May?

The budget that we've worked all year on.

The stimulus that gets us the SkyWalk.

That gets us to first. What happens?

Wendy: I get what he's saying.

I mean, how's it going to look?

A school employee is able to take

hundreds of thousands of dollars from the coffer

without anyone noticing.

Why would we pump more money into the school system?

Right, if a scandal this seismic breaks,

I mean, our budget is torpedoed, done.

We are right back to square one.

I don't know, you can't pay the teachers.

Maybe they start migrating out.

Whoa, this can't affect the colleges, huh?

I think we'd have to expect that admissions

at top-tier schools would view us

under a radically different lens, yeah.

No, wait, what, what, why would they ever?

If they smell trouble, then they...

I don't know, they might decide to lay off Roslyn kids for a while.

"Yeses" can become "nos" overnight.

I've-I've heard of that happening before.

I have. So anyway, let's just...

let's tease this out, okay?

We don't perform, we go down in the rankings.

And then our sister schools nose us out of the top ten, top hundred.

Syosset and Jericho, those sons of bitches.

Frank: And that's when we start seeing

property values adversely affected.

(scoffs)

He's right. Of course he is.

As far as real estate,

especially Long Island,

a town is only as good as its...

Public school system.

After everything we've worked for, huh?

Years that it's taken to, to, to get this far.

These are our kids we're talking about.

I can think of one other option.

(door opens)

Frank.

(clears throat) Everything's gonna be okay, Pam.

We're, we're gonna get you home to your family real soon.

We're good, close the door.

The board is very aware of how hard you worked

for the schools, for Roslyn, for their kids.

They know what an asset you've been, and, um...

that is why they see this for-for what it is.

A lapse in judgment.

And in light of that, they're opting

not to press charges or involve the police.

Thank you, thank you. All of you.

So you'll make full restitution to the school

at the sum of $250,000.

250, full-- full restitution, of course.

I'll, I'll make it happen.

And then you'll finish out the work week

and resign quietly.

Wait.

(chuckles)

-What? -Frank: Okay.

Tomorrow morning, you'll surrender

your administrators license to the board

and you'll sign an NDA committing--

Frank, Frank, I don't-- I don't understand what's happening.

I don't understand this. Why are you--

You stole from the schools, Pam.

From, from the taxpayers.

From, from the kids we're supposed to serve.

I mean, this...

kind of behavior goes beyond the bounds of immoral.

It, it's, it's cruel, it's--

It's heinous. It's, it's sociopathic, even.

Sociopathic, what?

The shameless self-interest.

The, the, the unstable personality.

The parade of rotten marriages, it--

Frank.

Look, you need help, Pam.

Real medical help.

You're a sick woman.

We're concerned about you, Pam.

(scoffs)

Um...

I am...

I'm a sick woman.

I'm...

I'm ashamed of my actions. I'm ashamed of myself. I'm--

There's no excuse for it.

Well, the sociopathy.

-Yeah, Bob, the... -Yeah.

Okay.

We'll make all the arrangements first thing tomorrow morning.

Yeah, of course.

Good night, all.

Judy: Well, that went better than I thought.

Bob: You saved our ass, Frank.

-Woman: Oh, God, yeah. -Thank you.

Woman: Yeah.

(phone ringing)

PAM (on phone): What the hell was that?

I... can you hear me?

Frank?

(Pam stammers)

Okay.

I'm just, I'm just trying to...

I'm trying to wrap my head around this.

(stammers)

(phone ringing)

Kyle (on phone): Hey.

I wasn't sure you were gonna call.

(chuckles)

Kyle: Is everything okay?

Yeah, sorry, I, um...

just wanted to hear your voice.

-Pam: Where is he? -Howard: Pam.

-Where is he? -Howard: Pam, just...

-Just sit down for a second. -Pam: No, I wanna talk to Jimmy.

-Where is he? -Just sit down for a little bit.

Is he in this room? No, he's in his bedroom, isn't he?

-Just-- -Don't touch me.

-Don't touch me! -All right!

Hey, Ma.

Hi, Ma?

Hi, Ma?

-Hey, Aunt Pam! -Get outta my house, Jimmy!

-Pam! -I don't want you here anymore.

-Get the hell out! -Pam.

-I don't wanna see your face anymore. -Pam, stop it.

-Stop it, you don't mean it. -Hey, what's going on?

You don't mean it. She doesn't mean it, Jim.

-She doesn't mean one word of it. -Amber: What's going on?

Howard: Your mother lost her job today.

Yeah, not my job, Howard. My career.

Amber: I don't get it, can't you just get a different job

at another school?

They're taking my license.

Mom, what did you do?

(sighs)

I took money from them.

Yeah, I stole. We all did.

Howard: Okay, look, just go back to your rooms, please.

-Yeah. -Please let me talk to your mother.

Your car, your clothes.

This house, the other houses.

-What are you talking about? -You didn't want state school.

You wanted private college.

I wanted you to be happy with me.

Pam, Pam, listen. It's okay.

We'll get you a job down at the dealership, okay?

Yeah, yeah, they're looking for a new girl at the front desk.

-Like a secretary? -No, no.

Not, not as-- not like a secretary.

You'll find something. I'm just saying--

-I have degrees. -I know.

I went to school for years to get degrees.

I drove the bus. I did the steno pool.

-I did everything I had to. -Listen to me, Pam.

-Listen to me. -I'm gonna be sick.

You are the smartest woman I have ever known.

We're gonna get through this and you're gonna

land on your feet, you will.

Come here.

-Howard. -I know.

-Howard. -I know.

I know.

(bell rings)

Rachel: Hi, Mrs. Gluckin.

Uh, I was just wondering.

Could I get the key to the basement again?

I just want to look up a few more things.

What's this for, Rachel?

Rachel: Just for some stuff I wanted to verify.

I can answer your questions.

Uh, okay, well...

I did the math, and it looks like the SkyWalk

is gonna end up costing around eight million dollars.

-Seven-five, sure. -Right.

It just seems like a lot of our resources

to be spending on cosmetics.

Cosmetics? People love the SkyWalk.

"The Beacon" loves the SkyWalk.

There was that nice poll you guys did.

Right.

But the ceilings at the high school are still leaking.

I mean, some of the classrooms had to get shut down.

Sounds like you should bring that up

with your student government.

There was also the pizza oven.

-What? -I saw a line item

in the expense reports for a pizza oven.

But then I asked Paula in the cafeteria

and she said she knew nothing about it.

Just stop it.

I am sorry to be the one to tell you this,

but no one is keeping anything from you, okay?

On the contrary, we come in here every day

at the crack of dawn because we care.

We care about providing you

with a proper quality education because we're good people.

Because we want you to have a good life.

Okay?

Okay.

Pam: Okay.

The individual purchase orders are still public record, though.

(chuckles)

(opens drawer)

Pam: Here you go.

-Thank you. -Mm-hmm.

Oh, and Rachel.

You were right about that pizza oven.

It didn't go to the high school

because we bought it for the middle school.

Yeah, they have pizza for days down there.

Go get yourself a slice.

Frank: Morning.

-Hi. -Oh, hey, Rachel.

Dr. Tassone, Pam Gluckin's in a bit of a state.

Yeah, I have a very busy morning.

Just tell her I can't. Good morning.

Pam: Frank, Frank, Frank!

Fra--

(door closes)

I'm sorry, Dr. Tassone's very busy this morning.

Get out of my way, Mary Ann.

-Pam, Pam. -Please.

You know what? It's fine.

Everything's fine.

My exit interview for him.

(knock on door)

-Hey. -Jenny: Hey, Dr. Tassone.

Uh, Mary Ann said you wanted to see me?

Frank: Yes, yes. Uh, take a seat.

Just close the door behind you there.

So, I think maybe

it is time that we talked about your value

in this workplace.

I, uh...

-This isn't... -No, rest assured,

we all want you to succeed here.

Which is-- (clears throat)

Which is why we would like to transition you

to our special utilities department.

Oh.

Sir, um...

you know, I just thought I was a really good fit up here.

Oh, yeah, no, no, no. We're just doing some shuffling

and we could really use an extra hand down there.

Okay?

What about Pam's old job? You know, I thought maybe, uh,

you know, like a manager, maybe I could be--

Maybe I could be right for that.

Yeah, well, actually, Philip Metzger's

gonna be stepping in as the interim business manager.

-Phil the auditor? -Yeah, yeah.

I mean, until we can find a more permanent replacement for Pam.

But...

we're pretty excited about him.

I think that I should, uh...

think, um...

I know what you all did to Pam.

And I could, you know, I could...

maybe tell people.

Frank: Sorry, hold on a second. I'm so sorry to interrupt.

I just noticed that necklace you have on.

How it really complements your eyes.

-Thank you. -It's, uh,

yeah, that's, that's new, isn't it?

I don't think I've seen you wearing it around before.

Yeah, I thought so. Yeah. I've got...

I got sort of an eye for these things, I don't know.

So, um, what do you think?

Is that-- is that a Macy's purchase or are we talking

Lord & Taylor collection?

Special utilities, you said?

Yeah, I think so.

Okay, thanks, Jen.

(door opens)

(chuckles)

(paper crumples)

Mary Ann, can I get a cup of that new coffee in here?

(doorbell rings)

Amber: Oh, Rocco, you're so annoying.

Get out of the way.

Go.

-Mom! -Pam: This is she.

(woman on phone, indistinct)

No.

Wait, what?

Yeah, thank you. Please don't call here again.

-Who was that? -That was a student.

They want to donate the fashion show proceeds

to help pay for my medical expenses.

-But you're not sick. -Don't eat that.

We're returning them.

Pam, what the hell is going on?

Bob: Okay, uh...

first off, we want to take a moment

to acknowledge Pamela Gluckin.

Uh, our hearts go out to her and her entire family

and we wish her a safe and speedy recovery, yeah.

Okay, all right, now.

Onto the fun stuff.

Look at these numbers, folks.

These are the best early decision numbers

that we've ever seen.

Yeah.

Give yourselves a round of applause.

♪ I'll have a blue ♪

♪ Christmas ♪

♪ Without you ♪

♪ I'll be so blue ♪

♪ Just thinking about you ♪

♪ Decorations of red ♪

♪ On a green Christmas tree ♪

♪ Won't be the same, dear ♪

♪ If you're not here with me ♪

♪ And when those blue ♪

♪ Snowflakes start falling ♪

♪ That's when those blue ♪

♪ Memories start falling ♪

♪ You'll be doing all right ♪

♪ With your Christmas of white ♪

♪ But I'll ♪

♪ Have a blue ♪

Seven.

♪ Blue, blue, blue Christmas ♪

Six.

Five.

Hey, Rachel, um, where's the article

on the Cancer Benefit Fashion Show?

I'll get that to you tomorrow.

But we go to print tomorrow.

Okay, I'll have it tonight.

Look, if you wanna be a part of the paper,

you gotta be a part of the paper.

Look, I'm gonna be late.

Rachel. Rachel!

(binder clatters)

-Shit. -Oh, my God.

-Sorry, shit. -Seriously?

What is this?

It's just a personal project. None of your business.

Look, I'm sorry for being a hard-ass.

I know you're going through a lot at home.

What's that supposed to mean?

You know, just everything with your dad.

Yeah, what about him?

I mean, the parents talk to each other.

I know that some shit happened at work.

You don't know anything.

Ow. Fuck, Rachel.

(pop music playing on radio)

(paper rustling)

-(knocking) -David: Rach?

-Dinner. -Okay.

What's all this?

Uh, research.

These are invoices from the school district.

(chuckles)

The school district invoiced over a million dollars

in lab equipment?

And that's just one supplier.

(chuckles)

You thought about calling this company?

(television playing, indistinct)

Oh, God, I'm gonna miss my flight.

Not if you stay another day.

You know I can't do that.

(groans)

You could get a job here.

There are schools in Clark County.

Sure, but good ones?

Was Roslyn any good before you?

Hi, is this Champion Products in Uniondale?

-Man (on phone): Yes, it is. -Hi, my name is Rachel.

I was just hoping to ask you about a series of charges.

Okay, yes, yes. Thank you for verifying, Felice.

You've been a huge help.

-Yeah. -Thank you, bye-bye.

That's right.

Yeah, I can hold.

(phone rings)

Howard: Bellmore Fine Auto, this is Howard.

Uh, I'm sorry. Bellmore Fine Auto?

I had this number listed as an H.G. Consulting.

Pam: Hi.

What's the matter?

Oh, nothing, I'm just, just tired.

I'll take those invoices.

David: Next up is WordPower Tech.

Now, they billed the school district $800,000

but no one has any idea who they are.

And they're consistent.

They've billed every year for the past ten.

Yeah, the company's registered to Thomas Tuggiero

with an address in Manhattan.

I tried calling but the number is disconnected.

We're gonna leave that one a question mark for right now

because the next one I've got is Porto Office Supplies.

Now, I can't find any...

(train rumbling)

(whistle tweets)

Man: What, did you forget your key?

Oh.

Hello.

Can I help you with something?

Is this...

Uh, I'm...

I'm canvassing.

For who?

Oh, um, it's...

I'm, I have the wrong apartment.

(scoffs)

(elevator bell dings)

(door closes)

You're back.

I'm back. Hey, thanks.

Hey, what's for dinner?

Salmon.

What's the matter?

Oh, it's just work. Sorry.

The salmon's a little dry.

It's great.

I can tell when you're lying.

A little dry, maybe.

The couscous, though, is a small masterpiece.

Oh, well, thank you very much.

(chuckles)

How was Omaha?

Mm, dull. Dull as all hell.

So...

So I'm sitting there sandwiched between Doug and Joe

and there's no A/C in the conference center

so you can imagine the smell while they...

-Oh, God. -...talked for hours

about STEM programs and state aid.

It was, oh, yeah.

-It was, it was a riot. -Oh, sounds like a nightmare.

Maybe I'll come along next time.

(chuckles)

As a buffer.

I would never subject you to that.

(Tom humming)

(quiet chatter)

Okay, you have documents to back this up?

Years' worth of supposed payments to vendors

and confirmation they were never received.

Some of these companies, they don't even exist.

Well, no, you don't know that.

I mean, you know that for sure, right?

WordPower Tech.

They've billed the district almost a million dollars

and no one knows anything.

-Because it isn't anything. -Okay.

It is a private apartment on the upper East Side.

-Yes, but that doesn't... -And our superintendent

-has the key. -...necessarily mean that it's fake.

Come on, Nick, you know what this is.

If he hasn't reported this, it's fraud.

He's writing my college recommendation letter.

Fuck, fuck, god damn it.

What are we even talking about right now?

Are you sure? Are you sure, sure, sure

you actually wanna do this?

(quietly reading)

Frank: Mind if I join you?

(exhales)

Don't ever let a doctor find out

you have high cholesterol, Rachel.

They'll make you do the most horrible things.

So.

About yesterday.

Yeah, uh...

-That was-- -What were you doing there?

I'm not upset.

But it is very important that you be honest.

I was following up on the listed address

for a school contractor.

Why were you doing that?

It's public record. Anyone could take the time--

I didn't ask you if it was public record.

I-- I just asked you why.

It's for something I'm writing.

(exhales)

I think you have real potential.

-Dr. Tassone-- -No, I'm serious.

I, I read all your bylines.

You've come such a long way since past September.

Your confidence, strength of ability.

-Thank you. -No, you have a tremendous

future ahead of you, Rachel, you do.

But...

You're still young, too. Which is why

you need to know, and I mean this,

if you go public...

with something you don't fully understand,

it'll, it'll come back on you hard.

I don't know, I...

I guess it's our fault, mainly.

We try to create a safe environment

for students to...

challenge, take risks, make mistakes, grow.

But this mistake, if you make it,

we will not be able to protect you.

Not me, not your teachers. Because it'll change everything.

And a lot of innocent people will get hurt.

Right?

I mean, these kinds of inquiries

are, are-- are like setting off a grenade.

There's fallout in the pursuit.

In the frenzy.

There's collateral damage.

Right-- (stammers)

You must know all about that.

It's not perfect, but it works.

What we have here works.

I hope we can keep it that way.

(soft music playing)

♪ ♪

Teacher: All right, let's get into it. Uh, Rachel.

Hey, Rachel.

Rachel, are you still with us?

Yeah, yeah, I'm here.

-Sorry. -Teacher: All right.

Question number four,

what is the symbol for potassium?

Anybody?

(music intensifies)

(knocking)

Yeah.

Hey, Frank.

I've been doing some more digging over the past week.

I'm... concerned...

with what I found.

Okay, come in.

Look, now we don't have receipts,

but some of these vendors, they're...

this Pam thing isn't a question of $250,000

like we'd initially thought.

Well, okay, uh,

do you have any sense of what the number might be?

I mean, are we talking 500?

Are we talking a million?

I mean, Phil, work with me. I can't do anything but just--

I don't know, I don't know.

You don't-- okay, fine. So...

figure it out, all right?

Work your numbers magic and then,

let's the two of us deal with it from there, okay?

Thanks, Phil.

Well, there's something else.

Yeah, yeah.

A flight to London, Heathrow, over winter break...

-...billed to-- -Yeah, that's me.

That flight was for me, for the Pell Conference.

You knew about the Pell.

First class, Concorde jet.

We, well, yeah. I mean, look.

I don't book the flights. That's always been Jenny's job.

-But look, even if I had-- -The charge is for two seats.

Two seats side by side in first.

It's $5,000 each way per ticket.

It's $20,000.

Yeah, well, that sounds like a mistake.

You know, I called the airline.

Who's Kyle Contreras?

(exhales)

Wow.

(exhales)

Wow. Okay, okay.

So that's how you wanna play it.

What, no. I'm not playing--

Frank: I mean, the audacity.

Coming from the man who spent six months

falsifying our records to mask his own negligence

of fiduciary duty to the school.

Wait a second, that's not what, that's not what's going on.

No, no?

Pam didn't have to happen, right?

You could have prevented that. You're the auditor.

The people here pay you for what?

So you can go off and do your community theater

instead of taking care of our school's books?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh, I can point fingers too, Phil.

Right, but I think we both agree

that that wouldn't be a very productive use of our time.

-But-- -Phil.

Are you gonna do your job,

or do I have to call Hevesi in here himself

to come and do it for you?

Because I will call him right now.

I will deal with it.

I'm sorry that I brought it up. I shouldn't have.

Yeah, damn right you shouldn't have.

Phil: You won't hear about it again.

Good.

Get out of here.

(door opens)

(door closes)

(television playing, indistinct)

Hey, Dad, can I ask you something?

And you don't have to answer if you don't want to.

Yeah, you can ask me anything.

Um...

I mean, I know what you had said at, at the time,

when, um,

all that stuff was happening.

The insider trading.

Did you really not know?

Are you asking me if I was a part of it?

No, I wasn't.

Not at any point in time, I promise you.

But, uh...

You gotta understand, those were guys

that I had come up with my entire career.

Guys whose kids you and Neil played with on the weekends.

Guys with families. They were good people.

And it was all gonna even out in the long run.

So who cares?

I didn't say anything.

I could have.

But I didn't.

And that's something I live with.

(choral music playing)

♪ ♪

Morning.

Morning.

♪ ♪

(indistinct chatter)

(music crescendos)

Bob...

you had me serve as the public face

of this district, an image that reflects prosperity.

Okay, I know it might look bad all laid out like that

but try and see this from my point of view.

This is me doing the job I was hired for.

A wrinkled suit. Yeah, okay, that's one thing.

This is something else entirely.

No, no, no, my employment contract

has a clause that allows me full discretion

on all charges necessary and proper

-to the discharge of my duties. -I know that.

I wrote your employment contract.

The key word there was "discretion."

-Bob, you're not hearing me. -I'm hearing fine.

You spent $30,000 on dry cleaning.

Over a number of years, yes, I did,

and I will pay it all back.

Right, but I did it for the good of the school.

No, you just-- you wanted to look pretty.

Come on, Frank.

It's practically, it's an open secret

nowadays with the way you're carrying on.

The flashy suits, the cologne.

The shit that you're doing to your face.

They laugh at you.

You were my guy. (stammers)

I brought you in. I defended you.

Now, I'm compromised now. We all are.

Because of, of...

(scoffs)

What did you people do to us?

Okay, okay.

(exhales)

So we were at dinner

however many years ago.

Uh, it was nowhere fancy. It was...

a pizza place on Bell Boulevard.

Two Greek salads and a fountain drink.

And I fucked up, I used the wrong card by accident.

It's for $20.

And I said, I'd even it all out on Monday.

I'd reimburse the school out of pocket.

Whatever we had to do, you know.

Monday came and went.

Nobody said anything. Nobody, nobody cared.

On Tuesday, it was a 60 cent bagel.

Bob, if...

if I wanted the money...

I would have gone to Wall Street.

I'd be living in a big house

in the country estates like you, but...

I wanted to make a difference.

Right?

I did, we did, look.

We're number four.

I got us all the way to number four.

Right, and I did it on a glorified teacher's salary

while you and everyone else made millions

off the district.

I got us to number four,

and I will get us to number one.

The board, we convened an emergency session.

We're gonna make a public statement

to the town about the way we handled Pam in November.

(laughs)

What? Come on, no.

-No, yes, that's how it has to be. -No, no.

Not now, no.

Not until the budget vote goes through.

It's a few days away. Bob, it's...

Bob.

(scoffs)

I can still get Becca into Harvard.

I hope you find peace, Frank.

(soft music playing)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

-Woman: Why are we hearing about this... -Frank: Please--

...from our children and not from you?

-Frank: We know you're-- -Man: Where the hell's our money?

We know you're upset. We know you're angry.

But we cannot-- we simply cannot afford

to hold our school's budget hostage

to place a filibuster on your children's education.

(clamoring)

This is collusion at the highest level.

We demand resignations.

(cheers and applause)

This is not productive.

No, no, no, no, I understand where this is coming from.

But I will answer each of your questions.

First, please just let me read this statement

that I prepared.

You all should be in prison!

(cheers and applause)

Enough!

♪ ♪

Mary Ann, what the hell's going on?

Mary Ann?

Hevesi called this morning.

Frank, you said he would never call.

Frank.

Hi, Dr. Tassone.

Oh, we're so glad we could catch you.

Uh, Ms. Schweitzer, uh, Carol, now's really not the best time.

Please, please, we just need one minute of your attention.

Chad has something that he would really like to share with you.

All right, please, why don't you just take a moment,

all right, and hear him out.

Of course.

Of course I will.

-Yeah? -Okay.

Good afternoon, Dr. Tassone. How was your weekend?

Good, I hope. I'd like to talk to you today

about the OMNI program that you are running.

Wait, I thought we already discussed the subject of OMNI last fall.

Oh, yeah, no, Militzok gave him the make-up test

but she made it harder to spite him.

And no third grader could pass that test.

All right, well, I guess I'll just have to look into it.

Chad, why don't you just finish reading for Dr. Tassone?

-Okay. -Uh-huh.

I very much hope that you will still consider me

for this amazing program.

I believe I am very bright and could benefit

from learning thusly at an ack...

-Ack... -Okay, sound that out.

-Carol: Acc-- -Chad: Acc...

-Accelerated? -Mm-hmm, that's right.

Dr. Tassone. You hear what Dr. Tassone said?

Okay, all right, start again from the beginning of the paragraph.

Good afternoon, Dr. Tassone. How was your weekend?

-Good, I hope. -Oh, no, no, let's, let's skip

to that trouble sentence there, Chad.

That's okay. All right, yeah, take your time.

From...

Chad: I believe I am very bright and could benefit

from learning thusly at an ack...

-Accelerated. -Chad: "Ackselated"?

Accelerated.

-Chad: "Arrelicated"? -Ac-celerated.

Okay.

Do you like race cars, Chad?

Yeah? Okay.

(exhales)

Let's say you're in a racecar.

All right, here, you don't need that.

You're in a racecar.

First place at the Indy 500

with, with all the sponsorships in the world.

The wind is in your hair and you're feeling just great,

and all of a sudden, you feel this thing behind you

digging into your fender,

and you look into the mirror, right.

And there's this hook. There's a hook in your fender

dug in real good, and it's connected to a--

a long metal rope and at the end of that rope

is, well, it's a massive five-ton cinder block.

Okay, Chad? All right?

So your job is driving. You're Dale Earnhardt

and here's this cinder block, and all the other cars

are soaring past you and

you've gone from first to last place

and you keep thinking to yourself, "What the hell

do I have to do to get this thing off my back?"

Well, I'll tell you, Chad. It's real simple.

You just put your foot on the gas real hard

and you accelerate, you accelerate so fast

that rope snaps in two, the cinder block explodes,

and just say it with me, Chad.

Accelerate. Accelerate. Accelerate.

-Chad: Accelerate? -Yes.

-Carol: Okay. -Yes.

Carol: What, what is your problem, huh?

My problem?

My problem is you.

Carol, it's, it's, it's the people who

who trot their poor children out like racehorses at Belmont.

-Excuse me? -Who derive some perverse joy

out of treating us like low-level service reps.

-Carol: Okay-- -I mean, do you remember

the teachers who sat with you, who held you by the hand,

-who taught you to add. -Carol: No.

And subtract, or showed you Gatsby,

Salinger for the first time. "Mockingbird," even.

Do, do their names escape you?

-Are their faces a blur? -Okay.

No, you listen to me!

You don't wanna see us as people

because that is not convenient for you.

You just leave us behind at will.

Never think about us again.

All right, you might forget, but we don't.

We never forget, ever.

Chad: What's wrong with him?

Carol: You know what, I don't know.

I don't think anything's wrong. We're gonna get some food

and we're gonna go home, okay?

-Chad: Mm-hmm. -Carol: All right.

You should be ashamed of yourself.

(waves breaking)

(distant police siren)

Man: Two beach front homes in Florida and the Hamptons.

Five Yamaha Jet-Skis. Luxury cars.

Vacations to Brazil, Puerto Rico, Hawaii.

Electronics, jewelry and artwork.

-Dog food. -Is my lawyer here yet?

You're going away for a long time, Pam.

And not just you. We've got enough here to indict the whole family.

-Don't you talk about them. -And poor Jim especially.

Just gettin' back on his feet and all.

You have any idea what the job market looks like

these days for ex-cons?

You know...

it may not be too late for you to save them.

Save your son.

(doorbell rings)

(laughs)

What are you doing here?

I wanted to see you.

You don't have work?

I quit.

(scoffs)

-When? -Today.

I just...

just got on a plane and now I'm here.

And I-- I'm not leaving again.

(laughs)

(dance music playing)

♪ ♪

♪ We are one ♪

♪ We are one ♪

♪ We are one ♪

(music changes)

♪ Lordy don't leave me ♪

♪ All by myself ♪

♪ Lordy don't leave me ♪

♪ All by myself ♪

♪ Lordy don't leave me ♪

♪ All by myself ♪

Dance.

-Dance with me, Frank. -No, no.

A little move.

A little move, come on.

Come on.

Please.

There we go.

Drink down, drink down.

♪ I'm a force of heaven ♪

Okay.

What?

♪ I'm a force of heaven ♪

♪ Lordy don't leave me ♪

(indistinct)

♪ All by myself ♪

-Shake it up, shake it. -No.

♪ Lordy don't leave me ♪

♪ All by myself ♪

Come on!

♪ Lordy don't leave me ♪

♪ All by myself ♪

Just a little.

What about this?

♪ Down, down ♪

♪ With the ground ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Lordy don't leave me ♪

♪ All by myself ♪

♪ Lordy don't leave me ♪

♪ All by myself ♪

They don't need to watch.

♪ Lordy don't leave me ♪

♪ All by myself ♪

♪ Whoa, in this world ♪

♪ Whoa, in this world ♪

(music ends)

(engine stops)

(distant sirens wail)

Hey.

Hey. (sniffs)

There's $30,000 in the top drawer of the dresser.

-What? -Okay, if you're careful,

you can make it last a year.

-What are you talking about? -What you've got in you

is so special that you can't ever, ever let anyone

take it away from you or exploit it.

What the hell...

You really, you really--

-...is happening right now? -You don't want me here.

Officer: You're under arrest for a warrant

out of the state of New York.

Please step out of the car.

Frank, what the hell is happening right now?

Sir, I need your hands on the dash.

Frank, what the hell is happening right now?

Frank: You don't know me.

-Kyle: Frank! -Okay, I'm no good.

-Officer: Hands on the dash now! -All this time I've been lying to you

and everyone else. I'm a liar.

-Officer: Now! -Put your hands on the dash now.

Do what-- Frank, do what they say, now.

-Officer: Get out of the car. -I'm sorry.

-Kyle: No, no, no. -Officer: Out of the car.

(clamoring)

Kyle: Frank!

-No, sir, stand back, sir, stop. -Frank!

He's not doing anything. Leave him alone.

Frank, Frank!

Frank, Frank, Frank!

We printed,

uh, pamphlets for the school district.

Handbooks and such.

-D.A.: We? -Uh, me.

WordPower was just me.

No partners.

I only ask because it looks like

half your corporation's earnings

were transferred over to one Francis A. Tassone.

You can't make me.

No, you, you can't...

make me testify against my spouse.

Spouse?

We're domestic partners.

We've been together 33 years.

We're entitled to federal protections.

D.A.: Are you legally wed?

You know something?

Everybody we spoke to said Tassone

did talk about a spouse, a wife.

But that she'd been dead for some time.

Thirty-odd years or something. You remember that, uh,

bridal photo he had on his desk.

-We ever get a name on her? -Stop it.

Stop what?

I mean, you must have seen it, too.

I'm sure you were over by his office all the time

what with that $800,000 job you were doing for the school.

Okay.

Um...

let's try another avenue.

Were you aware...

that your partner...

closed on a property in Nevada

earlier this year with another man?

He's a dancer.

(dramatic music playing)

♪ ♪

(quiet chatter)

Woman: A terrible thing happened here.

And it's not just the money.

It's about trust in our schools.

The integrity of our institutions.

I don't know how we ever recover from this.

It was never the same between the parents and teachers.

They treated us differently after that.

Like we knew.

Like we had any idea at all.

Of course we wish we would have found out about this earlier.

You know, when things are going well,

who wants to go huntin' for problems?

Man: He went out of his way.

If we ever needed anything from him

he was there with a smile.

So we were all happy.

So we didn't ask questions.

So you have this, this liar and his boyfriend

trotting around in the city in God knows what.

He just pulled the wool over our eyes.

You know, what can I say? It's sick, it is.

You think back over the smaller moments,

over the years where he just seemed...

I don't know, he just seemed so real.

So real.

Oh, thanks.

(indistinct chatter)

-No, I know. -I know you do.

(dramatic music playing)

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(alarm buzzes)

(indistinct PA announcement)

Bob: The outgoing seniors.

They're going to the Ivy League in unprecedented numbers.

It was the first year on record

that we had admission offers from each school

going up!

And what changed?

What makes our little public school

so different from all the others like ours on Long Island?

Let alone in the country at large.

At the end of the day,

I think it boils down to integrity.

Integrity in our faculty,

in our classrooms and curriculum,

and our approach to a broad-minded,

hands-on education.

That's all the stuff that gets thrown around

all the time, sure.

But never in my career

have I seen such passion for all these factors.

And then, paired with the willingness to think big.

You know why you're here.

You know what this means for our town.

But I'm gonna tell you about one man who's a hero

without whom none of this would be possible.

You don't get to number one overnight.

It takes years of hard work.

And this is really a man

who knows what it means to work together.

(continues, indistinct)

Before Frank Tassone...

(muffled dialogue)

There was no community service.

There was no public outreach.

There was no SkyWalk.

This is a man who has given the school so much.

Woman: Magnificent.

-Congratulations. -Bob: Ladies and gentlemen,

please join me in welcoming the man

who whipped our kids' schools into shape

and got us all the way to number one!

(cheers and applause)

(somber music playing)

♪ ♪

You did it, Frank.

(cheering continues)

All (chanting): Number one, number one, number one!

(chanting continues)

(cheers and applause)

(soft music playing)

♪ ♪

♪ I know you think that ♪

♪ I shouldn't still love you ♪

♪ Or tell you that ♪

♪ But if I didn't say it ♪

♪ Well I'd still have felt it ♪

♪ Where's the sense in that? ♪

♪ I promise I'm not trying ♪

♪ To make your life harder ♪

♪ Or return to where we were ♪

♪ But I will go down with this ship ♪

♪ And I won't put my hands up ♪

♪ And surrender ♪

♪ There will be no white flag ♪

♪ Above my door ♪

♪ I'm in love ♪

♪ And always will be ♪

♪ I know I left too much mess and ♪

♪ Destruction to come back again ♪

♪ And I caused nothing but trouble ♪

♪ I understand if you ♪

♪ Can't talk to me again ♪

♪ And if you live by the rules ♪

♪ Of it's over ♪

♪ Then I'm sure that that makes sense ♪

♪ But I will go down with this ship ♪

♪ And I won't put my hands up ♪

♪ And surrender ♪

♪ There will be no white flag ♪

♪ Above my door ♪

♪ I'm in love ♪

♪ And always will be ♪

♪ And when we meet ♪

♪ Which I'm sure we will ♪

♪ All that was there ♪

♪ Will be there still ♪

♪ I'll let it pass ♪

♪ And hold my tongue ♪

♪ And you will think ♪

♪ That I've moved on ♪

♪ I will go down with this ship ♪

♪ And I won't put my hands up ♪

♪ And surrender ♪

♪ There will be no white flag ♪

♪ Above my door ♪

♪ I'm in love ♪

♪ And always will be ♪

♪ I will go down with this ship ♪

♪ And I won't put my hands up ♪

♪ And surrender ♪

♪ There will be no white flag ♪

♪ Above my door ♪

♪ I'm in love ♪

♪ And always will be ♪

♪ I will go down with this ship ♪

♪ And I won't put my hands up ♪

♪ And surrender ♪

♪ There will be no white flag ♪

♪ Above my door ♪

♪ I'm in love ♪

♪ And always will be ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪