The Kid Who Killed

Combine an angry kid desperate for attention, the excitement of the last day of school, and a stolen pistol. The results are deadly.

A A A Comments By Bob Norman Thursday, Jun 29 2000

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While Nate pines for home, Packard says he's questioning whether he wants to continue to be a teacher, his profession for 15 years. Seeing Grunow die was the most traumatic moment of his life, and it's caused him to start questioning the worth of his own efforts. Most of his students don't seem to appreciate his work, and even the seemingly good ones, like Nate, might turn bad at any second. "Where is discipline, and where is my role?" Packard asks rather helplessly. "What am I going to do next year in a difficult situation? Where is my control? How far will I go next year?"

As Packard is tormented by these difficult questions, H Street remains pretty much the same. Kervin still spends most of his time inside, watching movies and playing video games. Tiffany, meanwhile, still hangs out by the Camaro, watching the comings and goings.

After holding the dying Grunow in his arms, geography teacher Brett Packard wonders if he'll ever again want to return to his career in the classroom

AP World Wide

Nate, shown here in court, displays his familiar deadpan. Since killing the teacher, he's shown little emotion in public, but his lawyers say he's pining for home

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A week or two after the murder, Tiffany saw Kervin outside, at about the same spot where, three days before the shooting, Nate had shown them the gun. Again she walked across the burning concrete to Kervin and asked, "Don't you miss Nate?"

At that moment Kervin finally knew exactly what he felt: pure rage.

"No," he snapped. "I don't want to see him ever again. He killed Mr. Grunow."