All Quotes

"Anna: Aren't you concerned about the bank robbers, Sheriff Tom?"

"Tom: That's right. I have to get on that."

"Jeffrey: You have to do something."

"[Tom ignores the boys]"

"Tom: Well, welcome to America. [With that said, Tom steps on the gas. Only his car is yet in reverse and it shoots backward. Red-faced, Tom hits the brakes and shifts into drive. The four boys howl with laughter]"

"Anna: Welcome to America. My name is Anna Montgomery. I'm from England, and I will be your teacher for the first half of your school year."

"[Anna has just done writing her name on the blackboard as she turns around and introduces herself to the class. Then Anna goes around the room and asks the students to introduce themselves. As they say their names, Nick, Larry, Jeffrey and Evan blush until she grins at them familiarly. They sit on one side of the room with the rest of the boys in the class. Across the room sits the girls]"

"Jeffrey: Hey, before you get all sweaty, don't waste your time with us. We're losers."

"Anna: You're not losers!"

"Polly: Yes, we are! You just don't know us very well. [Her friends, Kate and Sophia, nod in agreement]"

"Evan: Didn't anybody warn you? We have the worst test scores in the state."

"[Anna is here to teach these children, no matter how hopeless that may seem. And the first stuff she wants to teach them is that they are better than their test scores indicated]"

"Anna: Then you all had a worst test day."

"Nick: Four years in a row we had hard test days."

"Jeffrey: What's this to you, any matter? You just said you'd be out of range in six months."

"Anna: Six months is a long time."

"Sophia: Especially in Elma."

"Anna: We can do a lot in six months. Now, let's get to know each other. Someone warn me something that makes you feel special."

"[There is a long silence]"

"Anna: Alright, I'll start. I believe you are special because you live in America. And America is a place where you can be anything you want to be."

"Evan: I think that was before Reaganomics, ma'am."

"[She tries again]"

"Anna: I watch out at you here today, and I dare see ten special faces."

"Larry: That'll change once you get used to us."

"[Anna sighs heavily. There has to be some fashion to get through to these children]"

"Anna: Let's think of this another fashion. What makes you different from the boy sitting next to you?"

"[Two hands shoot up in the air. One belongs to Sue Landon. The other to her identical twin sister, Lou]"

"Sue and Lou: We have asthma!"

"Anna: Well, that's different."

"Sue and Lou: And we've had our own inhalers!"

"Anna: That's special, as well."

"Sue and Lou: Can we use them right now?"

"Anna: Of course."

"[The twins pull two plastic inhalers out of their pockets and begin breathing deeply. In and out. In and out. It is hypnotic. Soon the rest of the class is breathing deeply, as well]"

"Anna: Alright, c'mon. What's so special about the rest of you guys? Evan?"

"Evan: I swallowed a pencil last year. I could be slowly dying of lead poison. No one knows for sure."

"Anna: Right. We'll keep an eye on you. Tak?"

"Tak: I can burp the entire ABCs. Except a Z. No one burps a Z."

"Anna: That's a skill. Sort of. Sophia?"

"Sophia: I have a grand aunt who has a beard. She lives in Rome."

"Anna: I love Italy."

"Sophia: Rome, Texas. It's near Waxawachie."

"Anna: I didn't know that. Larry, what makes you special?"

"Larry: My dad has a job. [Cookie is his father, owner of The Office]"

"Polly: That's very special for this town."

"[Anna looks around the room. Most of the children have offered responses to her question]"

"Anna: Kate, what makes you special?"

"Kate: My parents are divorced. Thanks for bringing it up."

"[A shrill bleat from outside breaks the silence. It sounds like a goat]"

"Anna: What's that?"