"I believe a person's responsible for her own destiny and can be anything she wants if she wants it bad enough and she never gives up." Amzie finished her small speech with a nod, making her teacher clap.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for Amzie Hunter: the next President of the United States!" John said with a clap, the students clapping along.
"Thank you."
"That makes you the First Lady." Maya said as she looked at Luke, who chuckled and nodded.
"Yeah, it does."
"Come on, Amzie. You really believe all the Little Mary Sunshine stuff?" John asked as he looked at the blonde, making her nod.
"Sometimes. Mary Sunshine herself taught me." Amzie said with a shrug as she sat down.
"That's me!"
"So do I; to a point! Farkle!" John said as he turned around to point at the genius.
"John Walker."
"Nice haircut!"
"Thanks. Maya did it." Farkle said as he nodded to the blonde.
"Looks like it. Amzie just spouted a philosophical belief. What is it?" John asked with a shrug.
"Free will."
"Hey, he's a big deal with the new hair!" John said with a playful clap.
"She's in charge of her actions and therefore creates her own destiny." Farkle said with a nod.
"Good hair and good answer. You believe her?" John asked, making Farkle nod.
"In my experience, you don't bet against Amzie or you get your ass kicked." Farkle said, making Amzie nod with a smile.
"I don't doubt it." John said with a chuckle before he looked at Luke. "How about it, Romeo? You buy what Juliet is saying?"
"Yeah, I do. I think you have to have at least some control over the things that happen to you." Luke said with a shrug.
"Really? Luke Ross wakes up one morning. He kisses his lovely wife, he leaves his nice suburban penthouse, and then he gets hit by a bus." John said, making Luke's face fall.
"I'll miss ya, buddy." Lucas called with a shake of his head.
"No, I don't get hit by a bus." Luke said defiantly as he shook his head.
"Why not?"
"Because if I got a wife like Amzie, I ain't leaving the house." Luke said with a chuckle as he leaned back.
"Bus hits you anyway. What's that called?" John asked with a shrug.
"Fate. It doesn't matter if you stay in or go out, your life is predestined and there's nothing you can do about it." Smackle said with a shrug as Luke looked at her.
"So you mean that bus is gonna drive right through my house to get to me?" Luke asked, making Smackle nod.
"Yes, it is."
"I'll miss ya, buddy." Lucas called with a shrug.
"Alright, guys. We gotta get out of here." John said, glancing at his watch before he grabbed a stack of papers off of his desk. "I read your papers and most of em were bad. You're almost college kids. Free up your minds! You're smarter than these."
"This guy is awesome. I've been waiting like a thousand years for a teacher like this." Luke said after John left.
"Yeah, he's not like Matthews at all; he treats us like equals. Matthews is like a parent; this guy's a friend." Farkle said as he grabbed his backpack.
"You're a good teacher, but a bad pool player." Maya said, looking at John after she beat him in a round of pool. "You owe me a coffee."
"Alright. Anybody else? It's on me." John offered with a shrug as he looked at the group.
"Coffee."
"Coffee."
"Coffee."
"Hey, guys. I only have two hands here!" John said with a chuckle before he looked at Amzie, nodding to the counter. "Amzie, wanna ring me up?"
"Sure."
"Actually, I wanted to thank you." John said as he and Amzie walked to the counter.
"What'd I do?"
"You took my class; you challenge things. A teacher like a student who participates and shakes things up; makes class more exciting." John said with a shrug as Amzie rang up the drinks.
"Thanks. Thanks a lot."
"Keep it up. If we don't challenge our leaders, we have no right to complain over how they lead." John recited, making Amzie look at him.
"That's a quote from my paper."
"It was a good paper. You got a little lazy on the summary, but we'll go over it, okay?" John said as he handed her a twenty, making her nod. "How's life in Greenwich?"
"Same as always." Amzie said with a shrug, taking the tray of coffees from an employee and handing it to John. "The Thompson building's a little different than the old one I used to live in, but it's alright."
"Thompson. That's the newer building with the hot tub on the roof, right?" John asked, making Amzie nod as she leaned on the counter.
"Sure is. That's the entire reason my brother bought it."
"I don't like him." Zay said, watching Amzie and John talk at the counter.
"You don't know him, Zay. He's a cool guy." Luke said, making the group nod.
"I'm telling you something, Luke. I have a gift, okay? I know people. I have a feel for these things. This guy is no Matthews. This guy couldn't even clap Matthews's erasers." Zay said before his eyes landed on Cory, who was sitting at a table with Topanga. "Hey, Matthews! Love you, man!"
"Hello, Isaiah."
"Zay, sooner or later, you're gonna have to cut this cord from Matthews and see what else is out there." Maya said, making Zay glare at her.
"I'm telling you: if there's one thing I know, it's people, okay? I lived among them. It's like a fifth sense." Zay said, making Farkle look at him.
"You mean sixth sense."
"No, dude, that's smell. You gotta be lucky to get that." Zay said, waving the genius off. "Anyway, this Jacob guy—"
"John."
"—John guy—I'm telling you: he's bad news. You trust me." Zay said as he pointed at the group.
"I got it. Hey, John." Amzie said after she answered the door.
"Hey!"
"Hey, I was in the neighborhood and we talked about going over the paper. That okay?" John asked, making Amzie shrug and nod.
"Sure. Thanks."
"Alright. Maya, I don't have your paper, but we can discuss what I remember." John said after he walked in.
"No, that's cool."
"We were actually on our way to the bakery." Amzie said before she looked at Maya. "Why don't you head over and I'll meet you there later?"
Maya gave her best friend a nod before leaving, giving Amzie and John a wave. "Okay."
"Is this you, Maya, and Riley?" John asked as he looked at the picture on the coffee table.
"Yeah, it was taken in Florida." Amzie said as she sat on the couch.
"Amzie, this paper was too good to fizzle out on the conclusion. You're too smart for that." John said before he sat next to her. "Look. It's possible to cross the line morally and yet not cross the line actually. That's vague. I don't know what you're talking about." John said with a shrug as he looked at her.
"Why? The paper was on morality and ethics. I was just saying that there are definite gray areas." Amzie said as she gestured to the paper.
"Yeah, I know what the paper's about because—you see—I assigned it. I just want you to be more specific. The devil's in the details. I'm sitting here with you for example, right?" John said, making Amzie nod.
"Yeah."
"I'm your teacher and I find you attractive, but we're talking about the assignment. Have we crossed a line?" John asked before Amzie shook her head.
"I don't think so. No."
"I'm your teacher and I think you're attractive. Now we're not talking about the paper. Have we crossed a line?" John asked as he held her hand.
"What?"
"Okay, what if I said to you that I think about you and I'd like to see you more than just on Tuesdays and Thursdays? See where it gets gray?" John asked before he stood up and picked the picture up. "When'd you go to Florida?"
A confused Amzie glanced at him before looking back at her shoes. "Few months ago."
"Beautiful, isn't it? Okay, one more." John said before he sat next to her again. "We're adults and I'm telling you that I'd like to get to know you better; and that's what I'm gonna do." John said before he put his hand on her knee and started to play with her hair.
"John, you're making me uncomfortable. I want you to leave." Amzie said as she moved back.
"That's not what you want." John said as he shook his head and leaned toward her.
"What?"
"Hey, baby." Luke called as he walked in, chuckling when he saw John, who stood up. "How come you don't make house calls to me, John?"
"Because I'm talking to the brains of the family." John said, ruffling Amzie's hair as he walked by. "Hey, I'm gonna leave you two alone. Amzie, we'll finish this later."
"Farkle's right about John. He might be better than Cory." Luke said after he walked John out.
"I didn't like him being here. I didn't like it at all." Amzie said as she shook her head before looking at him.
"You okay?"
"So you take your middle name and you put it with the street that you live on." Maya said before she took a bite of her bagel.
"—and that's your soap opera name?" Riley asked before she took a sip of her water.
"Yeah. Mine's Penelope Park." Maya said with a smile.
"Jonathan Cumberland!" Zay said, making everyone look at him.
"Zay, your middle name is Randall." Farkle said as he looked at Zay.
"Tony Randall! The Odd Couple!" Zay said, making Maya roll her eyes.
"Don't you listen to the rules?" Farkle asked with a shake of his head.
"Who is Tony Randall?"
"Right. You win!" Farkle said after he rolled his eyes.
"I always win!"
Luke rolled his eyes playfully at Zay before he looked up, seeing John walk into the bakery. "John. John!"
"Hey, Romeo."
"Listen, can I talk to you outside for a second?" Luke asked, making John nod.
"Luke, your paper was pedestrian. You gotta start to take chances." John said with a shrug after he and Luke walked outside.
"We're not talking about the paper." Luke said, making John raise his eyebrows.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Amzie's really uncomfortable about your house visit." Luke said, making John cock his head in confusion.
"Why?"
"She thought you were hitting on her." Luke said as he put his hands in his pockets.
"What if I was?" John asked, making Luke's face fall.
"What if I was? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"My soap opera name is Kai Fitzgerald." Farkle said, making the group chuckle.
"Z, what's your soap opera name?" Smackle asked as she looked at the blonde.
"I don't wanna play." Amzie said, her looking through the window at John and Luke.
"Why not?"
"I just don't. Mine's just like Maya's." Amzie said, not paying attention to the conversation.
"So?"
"Look—" Amzie started, her being cut off by Luke pushing John, who fell into the bakery.
"Congratulations. You just got yourself expelled from high school." John said, him getting up before leaving.
"How could you do this to John?" Lucas asked as the group sat around Luke's kitchen.
"Lucas, I don't know! I've never hit anybody before." Luke said as he sat down.
"Yes, you have."
"Most of the time when you spin out of control, it's funny, but this time I think you went too far. You could get in trouble for this." Lucas said, making Luke roll his eyes.
"Hey. No matter what happened, we're behind you." Morgan said after he and Christina walked in.
"The first time in my life I hit somebody and it's a teacher." Luke said, making his parents look at each other.
"You idiot! I thought you hit a student." Morgan said, hitting Luke on the back of the head.
"What on Earth could've possessed you to do this, Luke? You hit a teacher?" Christina asked as she looked at him after glaring at Morgan.
"What'd he say? Did he threaten you?" Morgan asked, making Luke shake his head.
"No."
"Did he hit you?"
"No."
"What'd he do?" Morgan asked with a small shrug.
"He made a move on Z." Luke said as he nodded to Amzie.
"—in class?"
"No, in her apartment." Luke said as he sat next to Amzie.
"Okay, I saw the whole thing. I can testify in court!" Zay said after he ran in. "That teacher hit—I repeat!—hit young Lucas Ross!"
"I hit him, Zay." Luke reminded as he looked at his best friend.
"Yeah, I know. I saw it, man. That dude sailed!" Zay said with a chuckle before he looked at Morgan and Christina. "Look, you guys know about my fifth sense, right?"
"You told us about it. Yes." Christina said with a hesitant nod.
"Well, I'm telling you something: it's working overtime right now. I can feel it in my veins, y'know? This guy's bad." Zay said as he crossed his arms.
"Amzie, honey, why don't you tell your dad?" Christina suggested as she looked at her daughter in law.
"What good is that gonna do?" Amzie asked with a shake of her head.
"He's the superintendent, goofball." Zay reminded, making Amzie glare at him.
"Zay, are you looking at me? Good. Yeah. I will crush your bones and use them as salt. Shut the hell up." Amzie said as she rolled her eyes.
"You know what? This guy knows what he did. He deserves what he got. This is all gonna go away." Luke said as he sat down.
"Hey. I got here as soon as I could. Everyone okay?" Shawn asked after he walked in.
"We're fine, Shawn."
"John's not. I think you gave him a black eye, dude!" Zay said as he looked at Luke.
"What happened?"
"I hit our writing teacher." Luke said as Shawn looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because he hit on Amzie." Luke said, making Shawn look at his sister.
"What?"
"Our teacher stopped by the apartment to talk to me about my last paper, but then he started saying how he wanted to get to know me better and then he started to play with my hair and held my hand; stuff like that." Amzie said as she looked down, playing with her bracelets.
"The principal scheduled a hearing. There's a possibility that Luke could get kicked out of school." Christina said as she looked at Shawn.
"What's this guy's name?" Shawn asked as he looked at Amzie.
"John Walker." Zay answered before Amzie could, everyone staring at him after Shawn left. "What?"
"Shawn. Shawn!" Amzie called as she, Lucas, and Luke followed after him.
"Come with me. Come with me now. Do it, do it, do it." Zay said as he sneakily walked into the bakery with Farkle and Smackle.
"Why? Why are you my friend? Why can't I have better friends?" Farkle asked with a sigh.
"Zay, what're you doing?"
"Alright, you see that guy over there? Don't look. Don't look. That's the guy that hit young Lucas Ross. I have a plan. You have to listen carefully because it's extremely complicated. I want you to go over there and flaunt yourself." Zay said, making Farkle and Smackle look at each other.
"I'm not gonna do that, Zay." Farkle said as he shook his head.
"Alright, well, Izzy, you go." Zay said as he looked at Smackle.
"What?"
"Just tease him! Trap him! Do what women do. It's engrained." Zay said as he pointed at his head.
"Isaiah, I'm not gonna go over there and flaunt myself!" Smackle said with a stomp of her foot.
"You will flaunt!" Zay said, making Smackle sigh.
"Fine!"
"Alright, now here. Practice on Farkle." Zay said as he nodded to the genius.
"Zay—!"
"No! Shut up! Sorry." Smackle apologized after knocking John's papers off the table. Farkle and Zay watched as John whispered to Smackle, making her angry. "What'd you say? Wait a second: what? Am I too short for you? Is it the glasses? Is a little boy afraid of a commitment? Well, you know what? I will not allow you to reject me! I am gonna reject you! You will not hurt me!"
Farkle watched blankly as his girlfriend stormed out of the bakery, a smile forming on Zay's face as he watched Shawn walk in. "Look! Showtime!"
"What?"
"Hey. You John Walker?" Shawn asked after he walked over to John's table, making the man look up.
"That's me. How can I help you?" John asked as he looked at Shawn, who punched him out of his chair.
"Shawn!"
"Hunter, keep your animals in check!" John said as he held his nose after Luke, Lucas, and Amzie pulled Shawn back.
"You deserved it, you little punk. You're lucky I don't strangle you right here." Shawn said, Lucas keeping him back.
"Shawn."
"I didn't do anything. You're crazy." John said as he looked at Shawn, making Amzie look at him.
"You did do something. You crossed the line. You used a position of power unethically and Luke protected me the only way he knew how. Make this go away or I'll tell the superintendent and the school board that you came onto me." Amzie said as she looked at him.
"You came onto me." John said, a confused face taking place on Amzie's face.
"What?"
"See you at the hearing. Where's the nearest hospital?" John asked after he walked to the door.
"Third and Maple." Zay said, making Amzie glare at him.
"Zay!"
"What? He's broken!" Zay said as he gestured to the door.
"You're about to be broken!" Amzie said before Luke picked her up from behind, keeping her from hurting Zay.
"Hey, hey, hey! We really don't need a third lawsuit, baby." Luke said, looking at her after he put her behind him.
"There wouldn't be a trial because I'm me; I don't get caught!"
"Alright, first of all: this isn't a trial, so let's not make a big courtroom drama out of it." Jon said after he walked into the conference room.
"Your Honor, Jonathan Cumberland for the defense." Zay said after he walked in dramatically, making everyone sigh.
"Unbelievable."
"Zay, leave." Shawn said as he looked at Zay.
"No, I wanna see this!"
"Alright, John. What happened?" Jon asked as he looked at John.
"I was in Topanga's when Luke asked me to step outside. I thought it was to talk about a bad grade I gave him on a paper, which I called pedestrian. He then accused me of making a move on Amzie Hunter and then he hit me." John said as he looked at the superintendent.
"What were you doing in Amzie Hunter's apartment?" Cory asked as he looked at John.
"I was going over her paper." John said with a nod.
"—in her apartment? That sounds weird to me." Cory said as he looked at Shawn, who nodded.
"Very weird."
"My students and I have a relationship outside of the classroom which allows us to connect better inside the classroom. Ask any of them." John said before he looked at Farkle. "Farkle, do you have any problems with my teaching methods?"
"No."
"In fact, didn't you just tell me that I was the best teacher you ever had?" John asked, making Farkle hesitantly nod.
"Yeah. Yeah, I did."
"Why do you think that?"
"I don't think it really matters what I think." Farkle said with a shrug.
"I'd really be interested to hear your answer." John said, making Farkle sigh.
"You treat us like equals; like adults. I guess a lot of teachers—you feel like they treat you like a kid." Farkle said with a shake of his head.
"Like Mr. Matthews for example." John said as he nodded to Cory.
"Mr. Matthews is a really good teacher." Farkle said with a nod.
"Yeah, but he treats you like a kid." John said with a shrug.
"Okay, you made your point, John. We've had Mr. Matthews since grade school, so maybe he feels like he has to protect us. I don't know. I'm sorry, Mr. Matthews." Farkle said as he looked down, Cory waving him off.
"Don't worry about it, Farkle. How did you know what apartment building Amzie lives in?" Cory asked as he looked at John.
"She told me. She told me she lived in the Thompson building. She offered it to me unprecedented. Isn't that right, Amzie?" John asked as he looked at the blonde.
"Yeah, that's true, but that wasn't the—" Amzie started before John cut her off.
"Thank you."
"Did you really think it was appropriate to be in a young student's bedroom?" Shawn asked as he looked at John.
"We were in the living room of her apartment." John said as he glanced at Amzie.
"John! As a high school teacher, do you think it's okay to be alone in an apartment with a young female student?" Cory reiterated.
"I asked her roommate—Maya—to stay. Amzie herself asked Maya to leave. Isn't that right, Amzie?" John asked as he looked at her.
"She was on her way to the bakery. I didn't feel that—" Amzie started with a shake of her head.
"Thank you. Any more questions, Cory?" John asked as he looked at Cory.
"I do. Is it okay if I rip off your head and roll it down the hallway?" Shawn asked with a sigh.
"Cory, you and I both know that a teacher is only as effective as the respect he's given. Luke's show of disrespect undermines me and this school." John said as he pointed at Luke.
"—and your show of disrespect undermines me!" Amzie added as she leaned forward.
"Bud." Jon called, making Amzie look at him. "Not now, baby."
"You know what you did." Amzie said, looking at John as she leaned back.
"I didn't do anything." John said with a shrug.
"Turner, he made a move on Amzie. He used his power and authority to take advantage of her and he told me that there was nothing I could do and that he was never gonna stop, so I did something." Luke said with a shrug, making Jon look down. "I understand that this wasn't the smartest thing in the world to do, but it was all I could come up with at the time."
"Luke, hitting a teacher is inexcusable; no matter how bad I wanna do it myself." Jon said as he looked at John.
"Can I say something real quick?" Lucas asked after he raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"Luke, it's okay with me that you hit him." Lucas said, making Luke nod.
"Thanks, Lucas. It's okay with Lucas." Luke said as he looked at Jon.
"Well, it's not okay with me. According to the bylaws of the state, I am bound to expel or suspend any student for hitting an educator for any reason whatsoever." Jon said as he looked at Luke.
"Dad, please reconsider this. Come on." Shawn said with a sigh as he looked at Jon.
"Cory, Shawn, sit down. You can't protect them anymore." Jon said before he looked at Luke. "Lucas Ross, I have no choice but to suspend you from this high school for: one day."
"One day?"
"You are, however, under probation for the remainder of the school year. Don't try to solve any more problems with anything but words." Jon said before Luke nodding appreciatively.
"No, you don't have to worry about it, Jon. Thank you."
"Jon, he hit a teacher." John reminded.
"—and you hit on my daughter." Jon said, glaring at the man. "A teacher must be someone a student can trust. The second the teacher uses pressure on a student for any reason whatsoever other than academic, that trust is destroyed."
"Well, there must be some sort of misunderstanding because as a teacher, I—" John started before Jon cut him off.
"John. This is a teacher, John." Jon said as he pointed to Cory. "I'm not sure what you are, but you are fired."
"I'm so sorry you had to go through all this." Christina said, hugging Amzie and kissing her on the head.
"You alright, kiddo?" Shawn asked as he looked at Amzie, who nodded.
"Yeah."
"Come here. I love you, okay?" Jon said after he walked over to Amzie and hugged her.
"Love you, too, Daddy."
"Bye, babies." Christina said, her kissing Luke and Amzie on the heads before leaving with Morgan and Jon.
"Bye."
"I don't know how I could've compared him to you." Farkle said as he looked at Cory.
"I tried to protect you for too long. This is life and these things happen. You're not children anymore." Cory said with a shrug before he and Shawn left.
"We're not children anymore." Lucas said as he looked at the group.
"When did that happen?"
"I don't know. Today I think." Riley said with a shrug.
"You guys wanna get ice cream or something?" Zay asked, making the group chuckle and nod.
"Yeah."