Connect with English - Episode16

187 NANCY’S HOUSE—NIGHT
Episode
							 16 
First Day of Class
PART 1
1 SAN FRANCISCO COLLEGE OF MUSIC—DAY
2 A music teacher is explaining how to write music. Rebecca is surrounded by younger students. The look 
3 on Rebecca’s face shows that this information is difficult to understand.
4 PROFESSOR THOMAS I’d like to ask you to take a look at the board right now. I’ve written
5	down one complete chorus in the blues. You can all play these by now, but you’re
6	probably asking yourself, ‘What is it that we’re playing?’ Well, let’s go through
7	that. Instead of closed voicings, what we’re using here is a principle called ‘drop
8	two,’ which means basically, take the second voice and drop it down one octave.
9	Now if you look here at the first chord for example, I have the tonic and the
10	melody. Now in a closed voicing after the tonic going down would be the
11	seventh. But because the seventh is the second voice, we’ve dropped it down one
12	octave. Then after the seventh, comes the fifth…And here we’ve substituted
13	the thirteen for the five… and finally, in the alto, we have the third. Now, all
14	of the chords in this progression follow this scheme. And so, that’s it for today.
15	Please have your assignments ready for the next class.
16 The students get up and Rebecca gathers her books. A young man talks to Rebecca as they leave class.
17 BILL	Man, oh man! This is the hardest course I’ve ever taken.
18 REBECCA You can say that again. I’m going to have to do a lot of reading before I start the
19	assignment.
20 BILL	By the way, I’m Bill Ellis.
21 REBECCA Hi, Rebecca Casey. Nice to meet you.
22 BILL	How about if we work on the assignment together? Maybe we can help each
23	other.
24 REBECCA Yeah, I could use a support group.
25 BILL	Do you want to meet in the student lounge in, say, an hour?
26 REBECCA Oh, I can’t today. I have a job interview. But I’d love to. Maybe tomorrow?
(pause) Boy, this course is really hard.
28 BILL It’s a killer. See you tomorrow. Good luck. Here’s my phone number, if you want
29	to go over the assignment. (He hands Rebecca his telephone number.)
30 REBECCA Thanks.
31 He walks off. Rebecca leaves as well.
32 FINANCIAL AID OFFICE
33 Rebecca sits across from Maria Gómez, the financial aid officer, who is reviewing her application.
34 MARIA	Did you have any success in your job search?
35 REBECCA No, not really. But I have one possibility. I’m going for a job interview.
36 MARIA Good, very good. Let’s see…your scholarship covers only part of your tuition.
37	We’ll need a check for the rest by Friday.
38 REBECCA Oh...
39 Rebecca is about to say something, but MarIa Gómez goes on.
40 MARIA Is that a problem?
	41 REBECCA It’s gonna be tough.
	42	MARIA Maybe we should start you on a payment plan. We could spread the payments
	43		over the semester.
	44	REBECCA That sounds good!
	45	MARIA (hands Rebecca some forms) Good. Here, fill these out, and get them back to me as
	46		soon as possible. And good luck with your job interview.
	47	REBECCA	Thank you.
	48	MARIA	You’re welcome.
	
PART 2
49 AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM, PLAYGROUND—AFTERNOON
50 Through a chain-link fence, we see Rebecca walking toward the after-school program. Children are 
51 playing in groups. Rebecca walks through the groups of children. She kicks a soccer ball to a young Asian-American boy.
52 VINCENT Thanks. Hey, you kick pretty well.
53 REBECCA Thanks.
54 AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM, MAIN BUILDING
55 Rebecca goes into the main building and walks down the hallway. A teacher’s aide is talking to a small 
56 child who is crying.
57 REBECCA Excuse me, can you tell me where the office is?
58 AIDE Oh yeah, it’s right through that door.
59 REBECCA Thanks.
60 OFFICE
61 An African-American woman, Emma Washington, is busy looking for something. Rebecca knocks on 
62	 the door.
63 EMMA Yes?…Yes?
64 She takes a quick look at Rebecca and thinks that she is a parent.
65 EMMA Oh, I’m sorry. The program is full. We’re not taking any more children. Maybe
66	next year.
67 REBECCA No. I’m here about the job. I spoke with you yesterday. Mr. Mendoza, Alex’s
68	father, recommended I come and see you...
69 This information stops Emma Washington, the director of the after-school program. She looks at Rebecca.
70 EMMA Come in, please. I’m sorry. It’s one of those days. Two aides are out sick. You’ll
71	have to excuse me. Do you have a résumé, Miss…?
72 Rebecca pulls a one-page résumé out of a file folder. Emma looks at the résumé.
73 REBECCA Casey… Rebecca Casey.
74 EMMA Thank you. Boston’s your hometown? What brings you here?
75 REBECCA College.
76 EMMA Which one?
77 REBECCA The San Francisco College of Music.
78 EMMA Good school. What are you studying?
79 REBECCA Voice, guitar, songwriting...
80 EMMA (looking at the résumé) You’ve worked with children, I see.
81 REBECCA Yes. I gave guitar lessons to several children in Boston. I love to work with kids.
82 A teacher’s aide sticks her head in the door.
83 AIDE Tanya’s mother is here. Do you want to talk to her?
84 EMMA I’ll he right there.
85 Rebecca watches as Emma, the teacher’s aide, the little girl who was crying, and her mom discuss something.
86 Then the little girl and her mom leave. The aide goes outside. Emma turns to talk with Rebecca.
87 EMMA All right, Rebecca Casey, why should I hire you?
88 REBECCA I love working with children and I have a lot of experience.
89 EMMA Go on...
90 REBECCA I’m a hard worker. I’m reliable . . . I take work seriously.
91 EMMA What else?
92 REBECCA What else, um…I can sing…I can play the guitar and play the piano…and
93	I need a job
94 EMMA Oh, this job doesn’t pay a lot.
95 REBECCA What is the salary?
96 EMMA Seven dollars and fifty cents an hour. I need you from three o’clock to six o’clock,
97	Monday through Friday.
98 REBECCA Are there any benefits, like medical coverage or sick days?
99 EMMA Part-timers don’t get any benefits, not even paid holidays. Still interested?
EPISODE 16 PAGE 18
100 Rebecca nods “yes.” A woman walks by with an armful of baseball bats.
101 REBECCA Oh, I forgot to mention, I played on a softball team in Boston. I played second
102	base.
103 EMMA Great, I need to see what you can do. Ah, you can take over softball practice
104	today, right now in fact.
105 AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM, FIELD
106 Emma and Rebecca step outside. Emma points to a group of kids.
107 EMMA There they are. Can you handle it?
108 REBECCA I think so.
109 EMMA OK. Let me introduce you to the children.
110 They walk through a group of children and head toward the softball team. As they walk, Emma continues talking.
112 EMMA You know, Mr. Mendoza helps out with our sports program.
113 REBECCA I didn’t know that. He sounds like a good father.
114 EMMA Yes. . . he’s very devoted to his son.
115 REBECCA Which one is his son?
116 EMMA Over there. See the two boys throwing the ball?
117 Two ten-year-old boys are laughing and having a good time. One is Vincent and the other is Alex, Ramon’s son.
118 REBECCA Oh, he looks like his father.
119 EMMA You think so? I think he looks more like his mother.
PART 3
120 MENDOZA RESTAURANT—AFTERNOON
121 Mrs. Mendoza is eating. Ramón joins his mother.
122 RAMON How’s today’s special, Mama?
123 MOTHER (sampling the food) So-so.
124 RAMON Only so-so?
125 MOTHER If you like, I can pick up Alex.
126 RAMON No, I’ll pick him up.
127 MOTHER You can’t do both, you know.
128 RAMON What are you talking about?
129 MOTHER You can’t take care of Alex and run the restaurant.. . now that your father and I
130	are retiring.
131 RAMON (getting up from table) I’ll manage.
132 MOTHER No, you won’t. Both will suffer. Your son and