A Study in Time Secrets and Words

PHONE RINGS

Ah, Dad.

All right.

'We're just calling to wish you good luck, son.'

-Thanks.

-'Remember what we said.

'Keep your answers to the point.'

'Don't digress, but if you do,

'don't be afraid to ask them to repeat the question.'

OK, thanks, Dad. I'll call you later, OK?

Oh, babe. Listen,

printed it off and put it right here. Here.

What was the point in me buying you that sat nav?

-It takes me all round the houses.

-You hate being told what to do.

-It's got an American accent. It vexes me.

-For goodness' sake...

I like maps. I'm weird.

You're impossible when you're like this.

Oh, great, cheers.

It's my pleasure. Now hurry up.

Your deputy head has a new set of wheels?

-He's not MY deputy head.

-He wants to be.

-He does not.

-Yes, he does.

Bet he wears sunglasses indoors.

I hope it goes well today.

Remember, be yourself.

Your application was fantastic.

A "good luck" will suffice.

Good luck.

Thanks.

Try to relax, Sam. You'll come across as a mentalist.

Say hello to your parents for me.

Yeah.

See you Sunday.

Bye.

-Let's go!

-Yeah.

It was nice to meet you, Mr Russell.

So, unless there's anything else...

-There is.

-I'm sorry?

There is something else.

I know I'm crap...

..not very good in these situations,

I get nervous,

but if I leave now without saying what I should say...

I'll be gutted.

Go for it.

Uh...

My dad, right,

is one of the brightest men I know.

But...he was programmed

for manual work

so he's a...

..well, manual worker.

He encouraged me and my sister to study, work hard

and do something important.

So why did I waste my time at school

and end up on the building sites?

Well, the truth is...

I didn't find any of the lessons that inspiring, you know?

My girlfriend is a teacher, primary school, and she's good at it.

She encouraged me to study. She thinks I could be good at it too.

So do I.

I know this school has a bit of a reputation

but that's what excites me.

If someone is into hip-hop,

let's re-imagine a Shakespeare play as a rap.

Show them that Shakespeare felt exactly the same then as we do now

but he used language and poetry

to express how he felt about the struggles of being alive

and let them know he was speaking to us all, not just a select few

like a lot of people would think. That's important.

Er...

Well...

Sorry, I kind of went off on one then, didn't I?

Not at all.

We'll be in touch.

OK.

Uh, thank you.

Pleasure. Thank you.

ENGINE SPLUTTERS

PHONE RINGS

-'Samuel?'

-Didn't feel like it had my name on it, Dad.

'What do you mean?

'You didn't go off on one, did you?'

PHONE RINGS

Eddie!

So, how'd it go?

Not good.

Ah. Oh, well. Don't worry about it.

'The van wouldn't start

-'so all in all, not a good day.

-What are you on later?

I'm getting wasted with you and the boys.

You off the leash, then?

-She's at her mum's for the weekend.

-Oh, nice.

Things ain't too good there either, though, bro.

She giving you grief?

It's me, not her.

I've had my head in all this, not been giving her enough attention.

You've always been a bit of a self-centred git.

PHONE BEEPS

Hang about, someone's trying to get through. One sec.

Hello?

Mr Russell?

Yes?

'It's the head teacher from St Frederick's...'

HE CONTINUES INAUDIBLY

SAM LAUGHS

Yes.

Yes, thank you. That is great news.

That is great news, thank you.

Connie! You see what happens when you put your mind to it, boy?

Let me talk to him.

SHE LAUGHS

Congratulations, son.

'Mum, thanks.'

Let me call Sophie and tell her that her brother is an English teacher.

LOUD MUSIC PLAYS

-Stop talking about it! Come on.

-No!

He's on probation the first year, anyway.

He'll rock back up at the site, begging for his old job.

He'll be back.

Listen, no chance, bro. I ain't messing this up no way, no how.

Listen, listen, seriously.

They're pretty eyes, anyone ever tell you that? I'm joking. Listen!

-This is serious business, my friend!

-Yes, yes.

What are you going to do about all them fit sixth formers there?

-No, I'm serious!

-Don't talk nasty to me, yeah?

I am buzzing right now. I am buzzing. Let's celebrate!

-He's going to do it!

-Celebrate!

My boy! 'Scuse me? What you laughing at? This is my brother.

Pretty girl, nice to meet you. How's it going? Hey!

My boy over here, he's about to...

Come in, both of you, both of you.

This is a bar... There's two types of bar.

One more! Come on!

MUSIC THROBS

Oh, Sophie!

How is he?

He's unconscious. They're doing tests. Mum...

What the hell happened? Were you fighting?

-Dad, no.

-Every time, it's the same damn thing.

No, he fell.

-Eugene, don't.

-Remember when they were chased by bouncers?

-Dad, listen.

-I thanked God when Naomi came on the scene.

-You guys are nothing but trouble!

-Sam fell and banged his head.

Eddie saved his life by getting him here so quickly.

I'm sorry.

It's OK, Mr Russell.

Sorry.

Has anyone called Naomi?

'Sam has a fractured skull.'

There's some bleeding in the left temporal lobe

but it's difficult to assess the severity of the injury

due to the swelling in the brain.

We need to bring the swelling down and make a proper assessment.

Are we talking a life-threatening situation here?

The next 24 hours will be crucial.

Essentially, we've put Sam into a temporary induced coma.

Would you please answer my question?

Any traumatic injury can send the body into shock.

It could be life threatening.

Oh, my God.

But he's an otherwise healthy young man

so, let's wait and see, yes?

My baby.

Not a mark on him.

When are they going to try and bring him round again? It's been hours.

Earlier,

I thought,

if he dies...

..I'll kill myself and the pain will stop.

But there's Sophie...

..and little Adam.

SHE SOBS

Everything was going so well for him.

And now this.

Why?

What?

Why get so drunk?

You need to eat.

It's always the same.

Your blood sugar is low.

Ever since he was a child, he always did as he wanted to,

never thinking of the consequences.

Now listen to me, Eugene Russell.

I will not allow you to bring all this negativity

into the room where my boy

is fighting his way home to us.

So take a moment to eat, and breathe.

Then come back.

You see, it have mayonnaise.

Connie, you know I don't like mayonnaise!

He that dwelleth...

..in the secret place of the Most High

shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Still here after all these years.

I know I don't have any patience

and I know I can be harsh sometimes.

And I'm...

not too keen on mayonnaise.

I'm sorry about that.

But if there's anyone out there...

God...

Allah...

Buddha...

..take me instead of my boy.

Please?

Eugene?

Quickly!

So, yeah. Eddie's our hero now.

Never thought we'd say that, eh?

All right, Dad?

How you feeling, boy? How you feeling?

Easy. Easy, boy.

You scared us, though, hey?

You'll be OK. You'll be all right.

I can't wait to get out of here.

So depressing.

That Mr Reece is a good man.

He said you'll be fine.

Yeah...yeah, he's all right.

Apart from him being a Tottenham supporter...

THEY CHUCKLE

Glass me that... Sapp...

-The glass?

-Hmm.

There you are.

Mum, will you stop?!

Hey, Connie,

why don't we go home? They say he'll be getting tired very easily.

He wants us gone. We'll be gone.

I didn't say you should go.

If I'm starting to annoy you,

you're getting back to your old self again. That suits me fine.

All right, boy? Easy now.

THEY LAUGH

Was I rude?

Yes.

SAM WINCES

You OK?

I just hope they're telling me everything.

Why wouldn't they?

Suppose there are long-term effects,

suppose I have more fits,

-suppose my personality changes? They may not know everything.

-Hey!

You're here. You're fine,

and you are you.

I hope so, baby.

Yeah, everything is good.

I promise.

You sure you don't want to stay with us for a few days?

-I'll make sure he doesn't move from the sofa.

-Here.

-Get under the duvet and watch TV all day.

-Bye!

Bye.

You all right, hun?

Um...

Yeah, yeah, fine.

-Bye, sweets.

-Bye. Dad.

Call if you need anything, eh?

How about this one?

It's been ages since we watched it.

Hey, come here for a sec, please, babe.

What is it?

Can you read what it says on the side of that van?

Yeah, why?

I can't. Not properly.

What do you mean?

I couldn't read the newspaper...

I don't understand.

The words, the words,

they're not making any sense. Look.

What's this called? What's it called?

Journals From The Past.

Nur...nur...nurj...

I can't make out the words!

Can you see all right?

Yeah, it's just, the words don't seem to be computing. I knew it.

You're exhausted.

Mr Reece said not to over-tire yourself.

-What does this say?

-Planning Lessons.

It might as well be written in Chinese.

Are you in pain?

I've got floaters in my eyes and I still feel a bit hazy.

-Should I call the hospital?

-No.

No.

You've had a huge trauma.

Your body's under all kinds of stress.

Sleep.

See how you feel later.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Don't worry about that now.

It might well be a psychological reaction.

Your fear that the injury has, in some way, changed things...

It's possible it could have caused a sort of mental block.

But you don't know for sure, do you?

No, I'm afraid not.

OK. Well,

how do we sort it, make it right, then?

People react differently. It may rectify itself in days

or it may take months.

I'm starting a teaching job soon.

I'll arrange for you to see a speech and language therapist.

How long will that take?

About two weeks.

They'll assess you and we'll take it from there.

In these situations, it's not uncommon

for the brain to forget things it once knew.

I won't be able to start the job...

What am I going to do?

Let's just wait and see, yeah?

Billy...ran...

up... s...

What's there?

-Stairs!

-Yeah, so...

Billy ran upstairs!

Yes!

Have a look at this one here.

Nine letters. "Make peace with"?

I...I dunno.

He's really come on.

They've noticed at school. She's great, isn't she?

Yeah.

She must be, to put up with you.

-You OK, bro?

-Why, what's wrong with you?

I'm just tired, Mum.

Naomi, is he telling me the truth?

You're always sleeping.

Well, he still gets tired easily.

When do you go back for a checkup?

Erm... Couple of weeks.

Very good! Very good.

Mum? I knew every single one of them, didn't I?

Man is a genius. It runs in the family.

Right, my darling. Hey, say thank you to Naomi.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome, sweetheart.

You must come round to ours for dinner.

And no snide remarks, you.

Come on, let's go.

NAOMI: See you soon!

-Bye, everyone!

-Bye!

See you later, man.

Mm.

I can do it, babes.

What?

I'll re-learn all the words I've lost before the new term starts.

How?

The flash cards. Look how Adam's come on.

Adam's a child learning for the first time. You have a specific neurological problem...

They think it might be psychological.

Yeah, "think", being the operative word!

I don't have any other symptoms.

-You get words wrong.

-Occasionally.

-You have to see the therapist.

-And I will.

But, in the meantime, I'm going to be ready for the first day of term.

You're not serious! Are you serious?

You are?

Look, I'm not starting from scratch. It's all in here somewhere -

just a bit mixed up.

You can't possibly take that job, Sam. You have to tell them.

See, you don't understand,

because you've already fulfilled your potential.

Oh, not the "I want to make my dad proud" thing.

If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to do my degree.

He lent me every single penny he had.

-It's only money.

-It's only money when you have it.

I've failed at everything I've ever tried.

What?

But with this...

I can be good at it, I know I can.

I can do something important.

And I want it, like...

..I want nothing else.

It's my last shot, Naomi. If I don't take it then...

There'll be other jobs.

In this climate?

I want people to be proud of who I am.

We are!

I have to try, Naomi.

And I don't want anyone else to know. So, help me.

Or don't, but I have to try.

His...

..g-g-jeans.

-His, oh...

-G... G... G... G...

-G... G...

Sat.

S-s-s-sat.

-Swim...

-Swim, swim...

..ing. His swimming...trunks.

E... Eve? Eve?

This is impossible, Sam. It's too much.

No, no, listen. Let's just have a break, OK?

Erm... Cup of tea, yeah?

Babe, could you come here for a sec, please?

It's an e-mail about the induction period at St Frederick's.

This bit here. What's it say?

Our faculty administration supervisor, Sharon Kelly,

will go through procedures with you. Um...

Curriculum, timetables, passwords.

That's the reading list.

Roo...

fing. Roofing.

PHONE RINGS

Hello?

Sammy-boy! Fancy a game of pool?

What, now? Sorry, mate.

Aw, you never come out any more, man. Go on.

No, I can't.

Look, I'm just round the corner. I'll pick you up.

You know, actually, I'm at my mum's, though.

All right, yeah. Suit yourself.

Naomi?

-Naomi?

-Aw, great!

Play nice now.

-Hello.

-How's it going?

-OK.

-All right?

Sorry to hear about your...

-How are you doing?

-Good, thanks.

-You were lucky, by the sound of it.

-So people keep telling me.

Sorry. He's not very good around people at the moment.

No worries.

-My brother had a stroke when he was 27, so...

-Ah!

SAM BLASTS THE HORN

I'd better go.

A few of us meet up for a drink on Fridays at the Vaults.

-Come if you like?

-Yeah.

Bye!

That was rude. Plain rude.

"You were lucky." "You!"

I don't want you discussing me with him.

People ask about you.

You just have an irrational problem with him.

He's after you, Naomi! I'm not stupid.

You are. He's gay.

I hate him even more now,

not for being gay, just for trying to hide it.

PHONE RINGS

Ah, don't tell me - Mum!

-PHONE RINGS

-Hi.

-How are you feeling?

-Absolutely fine, Mum.

If there's a change, I'LL call YOU.

Stop fussing! Bye.

You know what I miss?

Getting really lost in it.

So lost it's like everything else just disappears.

I miss it.

Oh! I had this word, this morning.

-Sam...

-Don't tell me.

I spoke to your mum earlier. She knows something is wrong.

-I'm so close. It's all in here.

-You're pushing too hard.

Ah, no, the therapist said I should practise every day...

That's all you do. It's not healthy.

And I'm improving, aren't I?

Enough to teach English to Year Nines, in a few weeks' time?

Those CDs came. Look!

Everything I need to learn about the texts.

You'll learn Frankenstein, A View From A Bridge

and Of Mice And Men in a couple of weeks?

Most of it's discussion-based learning in the first term,

-so they'll have to do the reading.

-What about essays?

You read them, I'll mark them.

And specific questions someone might ask?

-I'll deal with it.

-OK. The induction day,

-how will you deal with that?

-I'll cry off and get them to e-mail stuff.

The register? You still have difficulty of words of more than two syllables.

Why put a downer on everything? I'm trying to find solutions.

-PHONE RINGS

-Hello?

-'Sam?'

Ed, yes.

I never see you any more.

Watching the money, you know.

Come on, man. Look, if things are that bad

I'll get you a couple of weeks on this job I've got coming up. Yeah?

You're still a hell of a plasterer!

I could do with the money, but it's just...

I've got a lot of stuff to prepare before I start. You know...

Mm-hm.

Well, the offer's there.

Look at this! Wenger's about to splash the cash, yeah, right.

That'll be a first. You seen this?

Another pint?

Hey, hey! Come on, come on, come on, come on, sit down.

Your money's no good here. Yeah?

-You having the same again, yeah?

-Same again.

Two more, please.

-MOBILE RINGS

-Only answer if it's Laurence.

You know them girls are chasing me, right?

Yo, Sam, who is it?

Sam, who is it?

Who is it?

Hey, Sam, who is it?

Sam!

Sam!

I've got to go, yeah?

Sam!

-You look gorgeous!

-Thank you!

Good boy, have a good time!

-Bye!

-See you!

Be still or I shall eat you. Eyes. I like eyes best.

-Stop it, Uncle Sam.

-Yes, stop it, Uncle Sam!

So, I'm going to get you some warm milk,

and then we're going to read a bedtime story, yeah?

You choose a book.

Look! This is a funny one.

Zombies do not like tasty kid's stupid books.

Look! Billy...Loses...His...

Underpants! It's dead funny. Read what it's about.

Billy...

We're...

going...

..on...

..hod...hod...

hodli...

hodli... hodli?

Holiday. That says "holiday."

Sam!

Sam?

What's wrong?

Uncle Sam can't read my book.

Just a couple, remember?

Yeah.

-Jack! Hello.

-Hi!

-You know Sam?

-Hello.

-All right?

Sam, this is Ruby and Callum.

So, what have you been up to?

-Remember that show I was telling you about, the Tim Minchin one?

-Yeah?

I spoke to my friend, Annette, and she reckons

she can get tickets to see it, she knows someone in the cast.

Yeah, he's a genius.

Yeah, the reviews have been amazing.

Sam, did you hear that?

Jack knows someone who can get tickets for Matilda.

Great!

You're not into Tim Minchin?

He's a bit smug for me.

But I like Dennis Kelly.

-What you do, Sam?

-I'm a plasterer.

-It's Quiz Night, babes, did you know that?

-No.

-Cheers?

-Cheers! Cheers!

In which Shakespearean work does Duke Orsino say

-"If music be the food of love, play on..."?

-Twelfth Night.

Don't be giving the game away.

In case we start a riot?

-Sh!

-No-one's bothered!

From which US city can one travel south to Canada?

-It's Detroit, isn't it?

-I thought you said he was well travelled!

I'll put Detroit.

Yeah, you put Detroit.

Based on the number of passengers,

which five cities have the busiest airports in Europe?

-Heathrow's got to be one of them.

-Obviously.

-Why, obviously?

-It's THE busiest.

-I'm ready to go.

-Which is what I said!

-You didn't, you said, "one."

-That's a bit depantic...petandic...

You trying to be funny?

You're tired, let's go, Sam.

-I'm fine.

-Good idea.

What did you say?

-I said, "Good idea." You should go!

-I'm sorry.

-Hey, listen, don't be apologising for me!

-I'll ring you.

-Yeah.

Whoa, what's going on? He's having a pop, so you're siding with him?

-Please...

-You're trying to make me look a fool in front of your mates?

-All this pretence is making you paranoid.

-Shut up!

-Don't speak to her like that.

-What?

-It's OK, really.

-Take her advice and go home.

-Make me.

-Don't!

-We've all been drinking.

Why don't you and your boyfriend here make me?

Sam!

Stop it! Stop it!

-No, no!

-Go on, then! Don't do me any favours.

I'm not. You're recovering from a brain injury, aren't you?

I don't want to risk going down for murder.

And I don't know where you get the idea that I'm gay from

but you're well off the mark.

Urgh! Shoosh!

You're making this so hard on yourself.

I was an idiot. I'm sorry.

I'm talking about the job.

-You're not ready yet.

-I've just woken up.

Getting back to normal will take time,

pushing it is driving you insane.

I was drunk, OK?

Your sister is worried about her son telling silly lies,

like Uncle Sam can't read his book.

I'll talk to her.

I'm not covering for you any more.

Do you realise how hard this is?

Self pity is really unattractive.

Yeah? And so is a superiority complex!

No. Naomi, please. Don't do this.

You have an e-mail.

There's a welcome party on at the school next Thursday, five o'clock.

Why did you lie about Jack being gay?

To avoid having to answer ridiculous questions about him.

-So, there is something going on between you then...

-Oh, listen to yourself!

I'm sick of being your teacher. I'm sick of you burying your head

and pretending everything is all right.

It's not.

It's so not.

I love you, Sam,

but you need to face up.

Listen, Naomi. Please, listen.

Don't go!

OK? Not now.

What am I going to do without you?

Thrive, hopefully.

I'll be at Jenny's.

OK, well, if you leave,

then, there's no way back, OK? It's over.

You want to be honest, come and find me.

If not, then, yeah, it's over.

Isn't it illegal or something?

I'm asking you to read a few things when I get stuck,

not drive a getaway car.

I accused Adam of lying.

Yeah, I'll make it right. I promise.

Hm. E-mails and letters, that's all.

-See you tomorrow.

-Tomorrow?

Sunday lunch at mum's. Naomi didn't tell you?

-Knew there was something wrong. Didn't I say?

-Don't make a fuss.

-She's found someone else, hasn't she?

-No!

They're having problems so she's staying with a friend.

And it doesn't concern us, so don't say anything.

About what?

It's odd around the table without her.

When was the last time we had Sunday lunch?

-I know what he means.

-Eat up.

-Don't like green beans.

-Yeah, so do I.

-You liked them last week.

Maybe a bit of time.

Can you pass the gravy, please, Sophie?

-Not eating them.

-A bit of breathing space.

Dad, can we change the subject, please?

I'm not having them on my plate.

-Stop it, Adam!

-Greens give you brain power.

You want to be clever like your Uncle Sam, don't you?

-He's not clever, he can't read my book.

-That's enough!

Stop forcing the boy!

-Can we finish our lunch in peace?

-Naomi always has a calming effect.

-How many times?

-Hey! Your mother was only worried about you.

It's my relationship, OK? So butt out.

Yes, and this is my house. You better watch your mouth!

-She put you back on track.

-Back on track?

-Yes!

Did she take my exams for me?

I am capable of doing things by myself.

-I thought we were finishing lunch in peace!

-You give up too easy.

-You're unbelievable.

-Sam?

-Unbelievable!

Now look what you've done!

You all right, mate?

You're, er,

angry with me, aren't you?

You know how I can tell?

Well, you're not looking at me,

and your shoulders, they're all hunched up.

That's how you knew I was struggling with your book, isn't it?

You just said it like it is.

Listen, your mum shouting at you...

..it wasn't her fault, she didn't know.

It was me not being honest.

I should have put her right, and I'm sorry.

You know people say a lot of things without words.

Words are amazing, but...

they don't always tell you the whole story, do they?

You're a smart one for working that one out.

You knew you were right, cos you'd read it right.

You're a clever little lad.

# Just like a star across my sky

# Just like an angel off a page

# You have appeared to my life

# Feel like I'll never be the same

# Just like a song in my heart

# Just like oil on my hands

# All of the love...#

Here he is. The latest addition to our English Department.

Hello.

Hello.

Um, I went to the welcome party at St Frederick's today.

Yeah?

Yeah, I told them I wasn't up to the job.

Not yet anyway.

You will be. Eventually.

Yeah.

I wanted to tell you face-to-face.

Seemed important.

It is.

See what a good catch I am?

I've not got my specs on.

Are you cold?

Freezing.

Do you want to come in?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd