The substitute teacher, Miquel, arrives for class and offers the students toothpicks. He tells the class he is only there to get paid and doesn't have any lessons planned. He says the students can leave if they want, but he will discuss them negatively in their absence. A student asks what they are supposed to do for the next 47 minutes, and Miquel says he won't tell them what to do but advises staying away from heroin. Another student asks Miquel to review writing submissions for a literary magazine the class was working on but never finished due to their teacher quitting. Miquel reads the submissions and harshly insults the writing, throwing the papers in the air.

1. Script is based on this scene: http://youtu.be/Sl6b0T8yiaw?t=1m30s
Substitute Teacher: Miquel
Students: Nacho, Cristina, Néstor, Andrea, Carol, Gemma, Judith, Andrés, Milagros,
Juan Diaz, Pablo, Sergi
[The bell rings. The students are in their classroom waiting for class to start. There is a
boom box playing music. Cristina is sitting at her desk resting her head. Néstor is
sitting in the front row reading a book. Andrés is sleeping at his desk in the back of the
room by the window. Carol is having her hair fixed by Judith. The other students are
around the room, talking, laughing, dancing, playing cards, drawing on the
chalkboard, etc. The teacher, Miquel, enters and sits on his desk at the front of the
room. He takes out a toothpick and puts it in his mouth.]
Miquel: Oh, ah, sorry. [Offering one to the class] Toothpick? Anybody
else? Toothpick?
[The class begins to settle down. The music is turned off. People begin to
return to their seats. Juan Diaz sits behind Néstor. Carol and Sergi sit next to each
other.]
Cristina: Wait. What did he say?
Nacho: Yo. Speak up bro.
Sergi: Yeah. We can’t hear you.
Judith: He said toothpick. Right? Isn't that what you said?
Carol: Toothpick? [laughing]
Cristina: So, why are you here?
Judith: Are you the new substitute?
Miquel: [walking around the room] Why am I here? Yeah, good
question. I'm the new substitute. Yes. I'm here quite simply to get paid.
Juan Diaz: Yeah, right.
Milagros: You can’t be serious.
Miquel: Assuming all of you can read and write, I don't perceive any
emergency situation. That's all. Continue wasting your lives.
Pablo: Sounds good to me.
Nacho: I’d rather be at home in bed.
Juan Diaz: Seriously. That would be better than sleeping in class.

2. [Miquel takes a newspaper from his bag and sits on his desk.]
Andrea: So, um, are we dismissed?
Pablo: Yeah, can we leave?
Miquel: Do you want to be dismissed?
Andrea: No, you just said that—you just said that was all you had to say so...
Miquel: Ah, I will be here for the next forty-seven minutes. Whether you will
also be here for that time is, to be candid, your decision.
Andrés: What's the catch?
Miquel: No catch. You don't want to be here. Go. I'm not going to stop you.
[Andrés gets up and starts to leave.]
Miquel: Well, you know, there is just, you know, one catch. We will be
discussing you in your absence. But, you know, if you don't mind
that.
[The class laughs.]
Andrés: Yeah, right.
Miquel: Its no joke. I have no lesson planned. Trashing you in your
absence, will help, uh, pass the time.
[There is murmuring through the class.]
Miquel: Right? Yeah, ah, it could, ah, possibly be educational as well.
[Andrés sits back down. Gemma stares at Miquel's socks as he pulls them up.
One is white. The other is black. Miquel notices Gemma looking and she
backs off].
Gemma: So what are we supposed to do?
Miquel: Ah, I've known you all of five minutes and you want me to tell you
what you are supposed to do? Fine, follow your hearts and veer
away from heroin.
Gemma: No, I meant in the next forty-seven minutes.
Miquel: I know what you meant. That was sarcasm._
[Néstor raises his hand.]
Miquel: (to Néstor) What?
Néstor: Um, one of the things we were suppose to do this semester was,
uh, this issue of the literary magazine. Ah, we each wrote

3. something, and, ah, but Mayhew, that's our teacher , she, ah, never approved the
witting or whatever, cause she, just, she quit.
So, well, we just never did it.
Miquel: That's a heartbreaking tale.
[Class laughs.]
Juan Diaz (to Néstor): Forget it.
Pablo: Yeah, whatever. We don’t care about the literary magazine.
Néstor: Well, what I meant was that, I know where they are. I mean the
stuff we wrote. It’s in there. So, ah, could you, just, at least, read
it, so we could get credit for it?
Miquel: Why not...
[Néstor helps Miquel get the papers. Miquel sits at his desk and starts reading them.]
Carol (whispering to Sergi): What’s up with this guy?
Sergi (to Carol): I don’t know. Subs are so weird.
Miquel: Hmmm. Well, thanks for giving me the privilege of looking over your
writing... Let’s see, how should I describe your work? (Pause.) Boring. False. Stupid.
To put it bluntly, this stuff is terrible.
[Miquel throws all the papers into the air and they fall to the ground. The students
watch in silence.]