Prior to Mr. Collins' death, Kevin, in his anger towards Mr. Collins, did not take his midterm seriously. Instead, drawing funny faces on it as a form of protest
Kevin, may I speak to you?
Kevin glances nervously at the stack of midterns
These are all the midterns. All except yours, that is. It seems yours was missplaced. Your midterm is missing and you need a grade. Any suggestions?
No sir.
Well, Collins did.
Mr. DiPerna presents a blank test with Kevin's name at the top. Kevin Arnold is written in Mr. Collins' handwriting
50 minutes, Arnold. You may begin; good luck.
As I took that test, I thought about a lot of things: about how I knew him, and yet I didn’t. About how he treated me like a man, and how I’d acted like a child. About how I let him down, and now I wouldn’t. The thing is, even though I could almost feel him in the room, I knew I didn’t need him for the answers, or the praise. I was on my own now.
Kevin writes serious answers. As time passes, Mr. Diperna approaches and Kevin hands the test to him
You don't have to grade it...It's an A.
Kevin gets up and walks towards the classroom door. He hears a familiar voice.
Mr. Arnold.
Kevin Turns back towards Mr. Collin's desk and sees him sitting there. Looking proudly back at Kevin.
Good job Mr. Collins.
They share a moment and then, without saying a word, Mr. Collins looks down at his papers and continues to grade them.
Kevin watches the desk for a moment. Long enough to see it return to being empty. He pauses and walks out the room and down the hall towards the exit.
[Cut to Kevin's yearbook]
Teachers never die. They live in your memory forever. They were there when you arrived, they were there when you left. Like fixtures. Once in a while they taught you something. But not that often. And, you never really knew them, any more than they knew you. Still, for a while, you believed in them. And, if you were lucky, maybe there was one who believed in you.
In Memoriam, Stephen Collins 1919-1970
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