morning, lowell
twenty-one.  twenty-two.
not wasting any time, are you, tracy?
yes, i do.
well, good luck there, tracy
it's hard to remember how the whole thing started, the whole election mess. what i do remember is that i loved my job. i was a teacher, an educator, and i couldn't imagine doing anything else.
the students knew it wasn't just a job for me.
c'mon, wolverines! defense! let's hold 'em back!
i got involved. and i cared.
and i think i made a difference.
i knew i touched the students' lives during their difficult young adult years, and i took that responsibility seriously.
in the twelve years i taught u.s. history, civics and current events at millard, i was voted teacher of the year three times - a school record.
standing in front of a room full of young people, trying to make them think that's how i wanted to spend the rest of my life,
so would this be an ethical situation or a moral situation? what's the difference between ethics and morals, anyway?
anybody
derek
you're on the right track, who can help him out?
michelle?
or a life experience. good. and ethics?
okay. but we're still missing something key here. what are we missing?
tracy.
tracy flick. tracy flick. i've never met anyone quite like tracy flick.
she first showed up in my life as a freshman delegate in student council. i'd seen a lot of ambitious students come and go over the years, but i could tell right away tracy flick was different.
it wasn't long before everyone knew who tracy flick was. she made sure of that. her drive was astonishing. even scary.
now at the end of her junior year, tracy was poised to win the presidency of the student body. and so far she was running unopposed.
oh. there's one more thing about tracy i think you should know.
a few months before the election, she'd had an affair with my best friend dave novotny.
don't tell me that. i don't want to know that.
dave came to millard the year after i did, and we hit it off right away. we backed each other up in teachers' meetings and shared an interest in 60's music and micro-breweries.
you could tell dave was one of those guys who taught because they never wanted to leave high school in the first place, and that could get a little irritating sometimes, but basically he was a real good guy.
our wives became best friends too. and when dave and sherry's son darryl was born, they asked us to be godparents.
you did it at your house? your own house?
in love?
but you haven't written your novel.
dave, i'm just saying this as your friend. what you're doing is really, really wrong, and you've got to stop.
that was just talk! fantasy talk! what are you, nuts? we talk about girls all the time, but it doesn't mean anything. i would never. . . i mean, i take very seriously our strict moral code. the line you've crossed is.  it's illegal and it's immoral.
i'm not talking about ethics. i'm talking about morals.
i guess i don't have to tell you how all this turned out.
sits on the vinyl sofa.
after dave got fired, sherry kicked him out of the house and filed for divorce.
he ended up moving back to milwaukee to live with his parents. i haven't heard from him in a long time. poor guy. i warned him.
okay. we'll pick up here next time
hey, that's super
you can put those in my box. i'll look at them tomorrow.
right
looks good to me.
no, that's fine
okay, fine. sure
you bet.
should be easy. so far no competition.
yeah. okay. well, good luck tracy
sure
good luck, tracy.
i don't blame tracy for what happened with dave. how could i? dave was an adult more than twice her age.
sure, she got on my nerves once in a while, but i admired tracy. i really did.
thank god for diane. she was my best friend, my source of love and strength. oh sure, we'd had our share of bumpy times, but we'd always seen them through. after nine years of marriage, we were closer than ever. and the secret? good communication.
everything's fine. just, you know, school.
paul.
paul, could i talk to you for a minute?
paul, i know you've been pretty down since your accident.
i know. i understand disappointment. i really do.
but you've got a big choice right now. you can choose to be depressed about it for the rest of your life. or you can choose to see it for what it really is: an opportunity. i personally think you have a big future ahead of you, and i don't mean the fleeting glory of sports.
let me give you a clue. you're a born leader. you're one of the most popular students at millard. you're honest and straightforward. you don't choke under pressure, as we all saw in that amazing fourth quarter against westside. the other kids look up to you. what does that spell?
student.  council.  president.
yeah, no, she's a go-getter, all right.
yeah. but one person assured of victory kind of undermines the whole idea of a democracy, doesn't it? that's more like a.  well, like a dictatorship, like we studied.
paul, what's your favorite fruit?
takes a piece of chalk from the lip of the blackboard.
okay, let's say
fine. let's say all you ever knew was apples. apples, apples and more apples. you might think apples were pretty good, even if you occasionally got a rotten one. then one day there's an orange. and now you can make a decision. do you want an apple, or do you want an orange? that's democracy.
exactly. so what do you say? maybe it's time to give a little something back.
around that time diane and i were hanging out a lot at sherry novotny's house, giving her our love and support and helping her make it through a difficult time.
he likes it.
diane really wanted to have kids -- and so did i -- but it seemed like there was always a reason to wait: she had to finish nursing school, i had to get my masters, we needed a new house, we needed more money. finally we just decided to go for it.
but for over a year we hadn't had any luck. and diane was getting desperate.
yeah, uh, just a minute
yeah, just --
sure.
without dave around. sherry needed a lot of help around the house.
here?
okay. give me the drill.
i'd always liked sherry, but we'd never had a chance to spend any time alone together. how with dave out of the picture, i began to see what an incredibly sensitive and giving person she was.
plus she had finally dropped all that weight from her pregnancy, and really she looked great.
we got to be pretty good buddies. i even took her to the mall one time while her car was in the shop.
you look great
oh, come on. you've had a hard year, you're cooped up with the kid all the time. let go; live a little.
so what do you think? should we get a room?
points at the motel.
fine. you know. we just went to crossroads.
yeah. no. i mean, you know.
well, sherry's great. but she can be a little much sometimes.
so like i was saying, things were going pretty well in my life.
 that is, until things started going all haywire with that damn election.
calm down, tracy. just calm down.
as far as i know, they--
anyone who gets signatures in on time can run. and she got in just under the wire. nothing i can do.
looks like tim kobza.
look, why don't we just forget about tammy? we'll have the assembly tomorrow, everybody'll make their speeches, and i'm sure everything will be fine.
thank you, jerry, and good luck. again, jerry is running unopposed for vice president. so we'll move on now to the presidential race with three candidates running. the first in alphabetical order is tracy flick.
the next candidate for student body president is paul metzier. paul?
okay, paul. now our final candidate for president - another one of the metzier clan -- sophomore tammy metzier.
walt, we can't throw her out of the election just because we don't like her speech. that's not what student government's about.
i think that's a little strong walt. ron?
there's your culprit
shall we give it a name?
no, i.  uh, didn't know that
still clear?
we'll let it run awhile
right now?
three twenty-five.
what had blossomed between sherry and me was too real, too powerful to deny. for the first time in years, i felt free and alive!
so as you can imagine, my thoughts weren't on the election that monday morning.
my thoughts were only on sherry, on how perfect she felt inside. there was a special poem i wanted to read to her later, at the motel, as she lay next to me.
nowhere. i don't have class until second period.
what's the problem?
oh yeah, you bet.
is inside.
tracy. come on in. and shut the door behind you.
i guess you know why you're here
a travesty. huh. that's interesting, because i think you did it.
were you or were you not working in the watchdog office over the weekend?
6:30. how do you know what time the posters were torn down?
okay, tracy, so who do you think did it? whom should we "interrogate?"
you're a very intelligent girl, tracy. you have many admirable qualities. but someday maybe you'll learn that being smart and always being on top and doing whatever you need to do to get ahead, and yes, stepping on people to get there, well, there's a lot more to life than that. and in the end, you're only cheating yourself.
this isn't the time or the place to get into it, but there is, for just one example, a certain former colleague of mine, who made a very big mistake, a life mistake. i think the lesson there is that, old and young, we ail make mistakes, and we have to learn that our actions, all of them, can carry serious consequences. you're very young, tracy underage, in fact -- but maybe one day you'll understand.
i agree. but i also think certain young and naive people need to thank their lucky stars and be very, very grateful the whole school didn't find out about certain indiscretions which could have ruined their reputations, and chances to win certain elections.
okay, tracy. have it your way.
just wait outside. tammy.
possibly. please just wait outside.
tracy, don't go away. come in, tammy.
so.  what do you have to tell me?
what is it. tammy?
looks at her skeptically doesn't say a word.
and when did you do it?
exactly when?
and how did you get in the school?
which door?
i don't believe you.
final i don't know what your problem is, but if that's the way you want it, that's the way it'll be. i don't have time. you're out of the election, and i'm turning you over to dr. hendricks.
tracy?
looks like today's your lucky day
you're off the hook. tammy here has confessed.
that's enough, tracy. quit while you're ahead, okay? i'll handle this. could you ask walt to come in?
the rest of the day was unbearable. i kept smelling sherry on my clothes and on my fingers and i just couldn't wait to get out of there.
i wanted everything to be perfect that afternoon, so i decided to give myself a little time to prepare during eighth period.
pop quiz, everybody
no whining. if you've done your reading, this is an easy one.
i'd have exactly forty-eight minutes to make all the arrangements.
if you finish early, just sit quietly and check your work. i'll be right back.
okay, everybody, pass them forward. stephanie, put down your pen.
i'll see you all on wednesday. and don't forget to vote tomorrow.
sherry i
sherry i it's jim!
sherry
oww! fuck! jesus fuck!
by any chance, has a woman shown up in the last half-hour or so? maybe she was looking for me.
are you sure?
sherry, it's me. are you there? pick up. okay, it's 4:32. i came by at 3:25 like we said and waited, but you weren't there. anyway, i hope you're okay -- i'm worried about you. so now i'm just at the.  at the place we talked about. suite 219. so i'm here. everything's all set. you can just come over. can't wait. okay. bye.
okay
as i walked out of my home that evening, unsure if i'd ever return, my entire life in question, i somehow discovered within myself a place of perfect peace. oddly, in my solitude i felt more than ever a sense of communion with every human being - past, present and future. because no matter what we tell ourselves, no matter what illusions of friendship and family we create, each of us is always and forever profoundly alone.
sherry never came home that night. i know, because i spent the entire night in her driveway.
i had no choice but to go home. i needed to shower, get fresh clothes, explain what i could to diane. but what was i going to say? that our marriage had become a charade? that making love with sherry had given me a vision of a better life?
then again, maybe i could slip in and out without waking her up.
cupcakes. jesus christ. cupcakes? my life was crumbling, and i was expected to care about these ungrateful kids and their pathetic little dreams. as if my only purpose in life were to serve them.
mr. mcallister. mr. mcallister. somebody tore down my posters. it's not fair. it's not fair. can i have an a? can i have a recommendation? can i? can i?
well, fuck them. didn't i have my own life? didn't i have my own dreams?
cupcakes
oh, yeah. big day.
are you there? sherry, are you there? it's jim. why did you do that? i trusted you. completely. you've ruined my life. do you know that? do you realize that? huh? do you? you've ruined diane's life. you ruined my life. is that what you wanted? i'm sorry. it's just.  i'm going nuts here. okay, all right, so.  really, i'm sorry. i just think we should talk, okay? i love you.
if only my own life could be corrected so easily, with nice fat black lines drawn neatly through my sins.
what? right. so let's start counting.
fine. so do your count. start with president, and i'll be right back.
right. i know.
i'm fine. it's just a bee sting, a simple little everyday bee sting. some people, they get stung, it's no big deal. me, i swell up. okay?
i just want to get this over with, so we can have the assembly and go home. we don't have much time until eighth period. i have other things going on, too, you know.
all right. i'll be back
you're there.
sherry.  i love you.
it's the only true thing i know anymore.
a mistake? that was no mistake.
me? i took advantage of you? you hugged me! you kissed me! you're the one who --
what d'you got?
you're kidding, right?
larry, we're not electing the fucking pope here. just tell me who won.
huh. okay. well, i guess i'd better do my count.
i was at the end of my count when it happened. i'd come up with exactly the same numbers as larry: tracy had won the election by a single vote, 256 to 257. i was about to announce my tally when.
the sight of tracy at that moment affected me in a way i can't fully explain. part of it was that she was spying, but mostly it was her face. looking at her, you might think she was a sweet, innocent teenage girl. but she wasn't sweet. and she wasn't innocent. she was selfish and cynical and ambitious and thought nothing of destroying the lives of others to get to the top. who knew how high she would climb in life, how many people would suffer because of her? i had to stop her now.
larry?
i think we've got a problem.
mostly tammy fans
he's right. two people must have pocketed their ballots. usually it's more.
it happens, larry. people make mistakes.
larry? we've got twenty-five minutes until the assembly, and we still have to do counts for vp, treasurer and secretary. mr. hendricks and i have both verified the numbers, and unless you can come up with the ballots you claim are missing -
if we could get started. people! once the winners are announced, we can all go home, okay?
some contests are so well fought that is seems unfair for someone to win and someone to lose. i think that's the case with all the candidates you see before you today. all of them are highly qualified and embody the, uh, the integrity we expect from our school leadership.
that said, the whole point of an election is to choose winners, and that you have done. we'll begin with president.
let me add that this was an extraordinarily close race. it's my pleasure to announce the next president of millard high school.
paul metzier!
and now, for vice-president.
could i get a?
jim mcallister.
paul doesn't need any of my help. he's going places. you should be very proud.
just a bee sting.
thanks, i'll be fine.
oh, she's not a bad girl. she'll come around.
good school.
oh, no. no. i'm just finishing up here, and i've got to get home.
you bet.
paul.  paul.  we'll have plenty of time to get into all this later. a whole year, in fact. right now i just need to finish my pie and get home.
don't worry about tracy. she'll be fine.
diane, i.
i don't know how diane and i made it through that night, but we did. our marriage had gone right to the brink, but in the end i guess it was saved by one simple fact: we truly loved each other. so we made a commitment to begin the painful process of piecing our lives back together. the worst was over; the mistakes of the past were behind us.
the next day held the promise of a new beginning. after all, what harm had really been done? no one was dead.
hi, linda.
life would go on, and i would certainly be a stronger and wiser person from the experience.
hmm?
oh. okay.
you rang?
after paul got the bad news, walt asked for a few minutes alone with me. it was very simple, really. i offered my resignation, and he accepted. very quietly, it was all over for jim mcallister at millard high - twelve years of hard work down the drain.
walt will be speaking with you about this, but i need you to find someone to take over my classes. the lesson plans for the rest of the year are in my top right drawer.
thanks. well. i'm going home now.
i don't remember driving home, or much of anything that happened in the next few days.
there were news stories in the paper and on television, former students calling with their support, endless hours of doing nothing, thinking nothing.
diane stood by me through the entire humiliating ordeal, in a way, it sort of evened things out between us.
soon school was over, and summer stretched out in front of me as it always had. funny how the rhythm of the school year remains ingrained in you for life. in mid-june we found out diane was pregnant.
after two months of sitting on my ass and two months helping out at my brother-in-law's travel agency.
i landed a position at a saturn dealership.
i never thought i'd end up selling cars, but it's not so bad. i like the saturn philosophy -- it really is a different kind of company.
i'm just relieved to have a steady income now that there are three of us.
actually, it wasn't so difficult making the transition from teaching to selling. it's like i tell my customers: my role is just to educate people so they can make informed decisions.
when i send someone home with a new unit, i feel a genuine sense of pride.
so that's about it. maybe i'll get back to teaching someday, but for the time being, i guess i'm pretty happy where i'm at.
oh
hello, tracy.
so what brings you here?
oh. new cars. i see. well, you came to the right place
huh. right. college. wow. where are you going? where 'd you get into?
good for you. good for you
so, are you looking for something sporty or more practical?
anywhere you want. just so long as we're not gone more than a half-hour.
handles pretty good, don't you think?
plenty of pep, too.
and this model comes with abs and dual air bags standard.
so tracy?
why are you doing this?
coming to see me. are you trying to. . humiliate me?
well, i.  i.  that's very nice of you.
what's this?
i don't understand. what's the deal?
swallows, unsure what heaven or hell awaits him.
oh, is this? god. first one of these i haven't been in for a long time.
what a surprise.
you'll be fine.
you will.