 At Madison High School, where she teaches English, the popularity of armist brooks is second to none. But when you get right down to it, she can count her close friends on the fingers of one hand. Or if you want to get down even lower, on the toes of one foot. Of course my dearest friend is my landlady Mrs. Davis. And most of the time I have no hesitancy in discussing my problems with her. Particularly when she gives me the opening as she did last Friday morning at breakfast. Here dear, have a little more tea. Connie, I hate to bring this up, but well, you don't look rested at all. It's merely because I haven't been getting any sleep. For the past three nights I've been having bad dreams, Mrs. Davis. Bad dreams? You've got to tell me about them, Connie. You must. Well my dream is a recurrent one. Every night I dream that someone's chasing me with a knife. Connie! Perhaps it's something in your subconscious. Something in your past that will explain your psychopathic fear of knives. Well what's psychopathic about it? Look Mrs. Davis, just because you're superstitious about... I'm not at all superstitious. I'm a completely practical woman who believes in being prepared for the future. Now, where did I leave my fortune telling cards? In the silverware drawer on top of your Ouija board. Here they are. I'll mix them up just a bit. First card, Jack of Diamonds. That's good. He's the symbol of good will and friendship. Now then, the next card is the Queen of Spades. Connie. The Queen of Spades is a symbol of ill will and enmity. Enmity is overpowering friendship. The cards have spoken. They say that by nightfall, Connie Brooks, you will have lost all your friends. Of all the ridiculous conclusions. Now really, Mrs. Davis, there's no reason. I'll be right with you. That's Walter Denton to drive me to school. Now try to pull yourself together, Mrs. Davis. Now just forget the card. No one in his right mind would believe in cards. Now just a minute. I'm not in my right mind. Isn't that what you mean? I didn't say that. I simply... Oh yes, you did. I did not. Now go ahead, go ahead, bully me. Tell me I'm mentally unbalanced. Oh, believe me, dear. I wouldn't do anything in the world to hurt you. That's the last insult I'll ever take from you. I'm going to my room. Mrs. Davis! I'm one friend you can cross off your list. Goodbye, Miss Brooks. Just a perfect plan, Chip. One other participant forgot. Ours will still be hot. Long birds and serenade, the sallow sun. So bite me here, Miss Brooks. Or close the window. I've already been bitten. Shoveling mood this morning. Shoveling? You know, grave diggerish. It's an expression used by the younger malt shop set. It's synonymous with party pooperish. Out of the pea soup, Miss Brooks. Don't be an oddball. I wonder you flunked your last English test. I've had it for today, thanks. You know how close Mrs. Davis and I have always been. Do you think anything could happen between us that could result in our becoming, well, enemies? Oh, of course not. Oh, little differences might arise occasionally, but those could be of no more than fleeting duration. You're right. When I get home from school, she'll be the same friendly, lovable Mrs. Davis that she's always been. Of course. Oh, gosh, it's good to see you smile, Miss Brooks. How many of you looked as if you'd been stabbed with a knife? Hard knife. I guess I'm allergic to it, Walter. I've been having a recurrent dream lately in which someone is chasing me with a knife. Someone? A man or a woman? I never stopped to ask it. Walter Boynton. He showed you his new scout knife last week. You remember? Maybe that's sticking in your subconscious. No, he put it back in his pocket. I suppose I could be wrong, but you... Oh, here's the school, Miss Brooks. I'll pull up and let you off in front. Well, thanks for the lift, Walter. You're a true friend. Day after day, month after month, picking me up to drive me to school. Oh, just a minute, Miss Brooks. I thought we might discuss this matter at lunch, but since you've brought it up, I may as well break it to you now. This is the last time I'll be able to drive you to school. The last time? I don't understand. Well, I'm a growing boy, Miss Brooks, and I need my sleep. So I figured out that if I don't have to pick you up in the morning, I can grab off an extra ten minutes to shut eye. So, at last, you've revealed yourself in your true colors. Huh? If you think more of a little sleep than you do of me, then you're no friend of mine. Goodbye, Mr. Denton. Mr. Denton? Mrs. Davis' prediction that I would be friendless before nightfall was turning out to be awesomely accurate. The score was two down, Mrs. Davis and Walter Denton, and one to go, the one being Mr. Boyden. However, shortly before noon, I was summoned to my principal's office. Good morning, Mr. Compton. Never mind that. I summoned you here to discuss the chair you rammed against the wall yesterday. I hold you personally responsible for the damage. Twenty dollars, please. Hand it over. Twenty? Mr. Compton, I'm going to be perfectly frank with you. I'm going to open my bag, empty it on your desk, and show you all the money I have in the world. Empty your bag on my desk? Besides the bric-a-brac, my bag contains only fifteen dollars, and I need every penny of it for the down payment on the gown I'm to wear at the biologist's ball. Five, ten, fifteen dollars, thank you very much, and good day. You can owe me the other five. Now shovel this female folly back into your bag and run along with her. Just a minute, sir. You've got to give that money back to me. If I don't get that gown, I won't be able to go to the ball. Mr. Boyden's going as Romeo, and I'm going as Juliet. Well, get off your balcony, Julie. You've been grounded. This discussion is closed. Is that clear? Yes, sir. Quite clear, sir. I am sorry about the ball, Miss Brooks. Too bad. You've made a wonderful Juliet. Ah, Juliet. The loveliest flower in all Verona. Fair Juliet. Who found love sublime only to die by her own hand. Stabbed with a knife. It's made. That's a job for... I got one meatball myself. Imagine, they charge 40 cents for meatballs in this place now. 40 cents is small change, Mr. Boyden. I know a girl who has a bigger financial problem. What's your girlfriend's problem? Well, she can't afford to buy a new gown she was planning to wear on the date tomorrow night. A rather heavy date. Does she have another gown? Yes and no. That is, she has a gown, but it's rather old. Oh, I don't care how old it is. Is that old blue Taffeta thing you wore last New Year's? Did I say anything? Not a word. It's a Taffeta. I have it, Mr. Boyden. I know just what to do with it. What? I'll crimp the bodice Juliet style and wear it to the biologist ball. Just for kicks. Would you mind? Why should I mind? What you wear is entirely up to you. I hope you have a lot of fun at the ball, Miss Brooks. Oh, I'm sure I will, Mr. Boyden. Oh, by the way, who are you going with? With whom am I going? Whom? Direct objects of verbs, indirect objects and objects of prepositions are in the objective case, Mr. Boyden. Therefore, the preposition with must take the relative pronoun whom in those sentences in which the objective... Who am I going with? As I stated in the note I sent to your classroom an hour ago. I wasn't in my classroom an hour ago. I took my class to the library. What note? I didn't get any note. Well, I'll explain. As you know, Miss Brooks, the tickets for last year's ball were priced at $1. When I called this morning to reserve our tickets, however, I was chagrin to learn that this year they have, without justifiable cause, up the price to $2.50. Well, I certainly wouldn't want to shell out $2.50 for a ticket, Miss Brooks. So I decided that I'm not going to the ball. You dropped your silverware, Miss Brooks. Here, I'll pick it up for you. Mr. Boyden, we had a definite date. I think you're being very unfair. Unfair? If you had my interest at heart... I did have your interest at heart. I didn't want you to pay $2.50 for your ticket, either. The last you've shown yourself in your true colors. What are you talking about? I was just... Oh, here. What was that for? I simply offered you the knife you dropped. You tried to stab me with it. Stab you? First you tried to stab me in my dreams and now you break a date while I'm wide awake. You and I are through, Mr. Boyden, washed up. That's the last insult I'll ever take from you. I'm going back to my classroom. Well, just a minute, Miss Brooks. Goodbye, party pooper. Be hot. To a definite decision. Short day after making it, I ran into Harriet Conklin in the hall. Going home for the day, Miss Brooks? Not for the day. I'm going for keeps, Harriet. For keeps? I'm tired of this school and certain people in it. Oh, not you, Harriet. You've been very sweet. I'm going to miss you. But, Miss Brooks... Don't think of me once in a while. Bye now. Miss Brooks... Wait for us. I have nothing to discuss with you, Walter. When certain people do things to hurt me, I want no part of them. If you'll excuse me now. They move along. They move along. No loitering in the halls. You know my rules concerning loitering. How would you like to go take a flying leap at the moon? You hurt me. I don't have to kowtow to you anymore, Mr. Conklin. You'll find my resignation on your desk. Resignation? Unlike a shot. Your teachers aren't easy to dig up. I wish I could think of something to change your mind. Well, she intimated that certain people did things to hurt her. Maybe one of us is the certain people she meant. You're right. And you're the one she was looking at when she said it. You do to Miss Brooks, Danden. Was looking at? Go take a flying leap at the moon. You have no concern of yours, Mrs. Davis. You told me to cross you off my list of friends, remember? Oh, that was this morning. Now that you've lost your other friends, I wouldn't dream of deserting you. Welcome home. But please don't mention that word dream. It's incredible the way things worked out, Mrs. Davis. The knife bit in my dreams and then losing my friends as you predicted. I'm sure that part was coincidence and yet I won't rest until I find out what's causing those dreams. Someone's at the door. I'm going to my room. Whoever it is, I'm not in, Mrs. Davis. I don't want to see anyone. All right, dear. Right, Mr. Boynton. Good evening, Mrs. Davis. I'd like to see Miss Brooks if she'll let me. She'd love to see you. You just make yourself comfortable, Mr. Boynton. Now go fetch her. Honey, Mr. Boynton's in the living room and he'd like to see you if you let him. I'd love to see you. What's the matter with you? You're smiling. Oh, it's wonderful, Mrs. Davis. I don't want to sound like a Pollyanna, but I've just eliminated one of the major barriers on my road to happiness. What? I'll explain later. Now if I can just make up with Mr. Boynton. That won't be difficult. He's the picture of remorse. Oh, well then I'll let him make up with me. Off goes the smile, Mrs. Davis. Oh, hello there, Miss Brooks. Oh, Mr. Boynton. What do you hear from the guinea pigs, Doc? Miss Brooks, I've been thinking this. There's something I'd like to say to you. There is absolutely nothing you can say, Mr. Boynton, that could possibly be of any interest to me. Miss Brooks. Yeah, yeah, yeah. $2.50 or no $2.50. I just purchased two tickets for the biologist's ball tomorrow night. I was wondering if you'd wear that beautiful, old blue tappet of thing of yours and be my dad. Mr. Boynton, how are you? I don't know yet, Walter. Yeah, Miss Brooks, I've been thinking. If you have, you must have stolen the mechanical brain somewhere. If you lose any shut eye when I pick you up and drive you to school every morning, so I'd like to continue doing so. If you don't mind, please. What do you say, Miss Brooks? Her, please? Well... One left the door open, didn't one. Mr. Conklin, at ease, at ease. He knows I did, you naughty little girl. Pick up your letter of resignation. Yes, I did. I did. I did. I did, too. I called the Board of Education an appropriated ample money to repair the damage to the wall in your classroom. Therefore, I should like to return the $15 I've played when he took from you this morning. Will accept the money and let bygones be bygones, Miss Brooks? I believe I can answer all three of you boys in one crisp sentence. Mr. Boynton, you may take me to the ball. You may continue picking me up for school, Walter. And, Mr. Conklin, hand over the $15 fish. A dollar. I heard everything, Connie. Now you can buy the new gown for the ball. Of course, you don't have to wait until then to date her, Mr. Boynton. While I'm fixing a snack for Walter and Mr. Conklin, why not take her out to a movie? Well, that's a splendid idea. Yes, isn't it? Uh, they can wait for a minute for the snacks, Mrs. Davis. Come and help me get my thing. Excuse us, folks. I'll get your coat, dear. Meanwhile, you can explain what you meant when you said you'd discovered what's been blocking your path to happiness. I was referring to those dreams in which someone's been chasing me with a knife. Those nightmares are gone, Mrs. Davis, gone for good. Then it was something in your subconscious, wasn't it? Oh, definitely. You see where the covers are off my bed? Yes. Well, take a good look at that bed spring sticking through my mattress. That's what was stabbing my subconscious. Good. Charlie E. Harden's grand prize is produced and directed by Larry Burns, listened by Bill Cullen and Al Lewis for the music of Wilbur House. It's a conch from a play by Gail Gordon. Others in tonight's cast were Dick Crenna, Jane Morgan, Bob Rockwell, Gloria McMillan, and Judd Conlins, rhythm errors.