Episode Report Card Niki: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Experience Is The Teacher
By Niki | Season 3 | Episode 17 | Aired on 03.31.2002
Fade to the meeting in the principal's office, where Creepitri is sprawled in his chair, looking gravely inconvenienced by the whole thing. Lily, Rick, Jake, and Grace occupy chairs in the background, against the office walls. "And, how many time have you seen Miss Manning off-campus?" the principal asks. Creepitri says two. That seems kind of low to me, considering he's seen her twice in the past couple days alone. And he did give her those rides home. "And your explanation for the so-called date that occurred?" the principal asks. Jake's head is about to launch off his shoulders. Lily holds out a hand to calm him down, but he waves her away. Creepitri answers, "First of all, there was no 'date.' I accompanied her to a film for educational purposes." The principal flips through the pages on her clipboard and says she can't recall the name of the film. "Rashomon," they all answer in unison. She asks whether it had sexually explicit content. He says he guesses so. She repeats the answer derisively. He says it depends on your point of view. One of the interrogators mutters that they could screen the movie. Creepitri patronizingly says that Rashomon is an extremely important film, and it "happens to pertain directly to what [they're] studying." The principal asks why he didn't take the whole class, then. He says he knew only a few of them would be able to appreciate it. For some reason, this sends Jake over the top. He flies out of his seat and asks Creepitri to step outside. Creepitri looks up from his chair and, oozing condescension, mockingly repeats the question. Grace begs Jake to calm down, and Rick hops up to hold Jake back. He ushers Jake outside.
The principal asks if there is anything else they should be aware of, if anyone has anything else to say. "And, Grace, this includes you," she adds. Grace folds her arms and snorts, "You don't want to hear what I have to say." Oh, get over yourself. The principal asks if there were any other inappropriate actions, and specifically mentions gifts and written communications. Lily glances at Grace, who nervously returns the look. "Mrs. Manning?" the principal asks. Lily reminds her that her name is "Sammler." The principal corrects herself and asks Lily whether any other incidents come to mind. Lily thinks hard for a second, then says no. Grace breathes an obvious sigh of relief. The principal is about to move on. "No, there is one other thing," Lily says, and Grace clenches. Lily says, "This teacher changed my daughter's life by believing in her, in a way that's really hard to describe, and rare, and valuable." Not to mention disturbing. Sorry, but I just don't feel the Creepitri love so many others do. We'll just have to agree to disagree. Lily says that's all she wanted to say. The principal says that, under the circumstances, they have no choice but to suspend him with pay for the rest of the semester. She says his status will be evaluated by the board at the end of the term.