A high school senior boy is given the role of “nodder” in an experiment that his classmate Derrick is performing. Their AP American History teacher, Merrick, has recently lost his wife and daughter in a carbon monoxide accident, and Derrick believes that he is deep within denial. The purpose of the experiment is to get Merrick to think about his wife and daughter by getting him closer and closer to a picture he has of them in his classroom. As Merrick lectures, the kids smile, nod, and ask questions only if he approaches the picture. If he doesn’t they act completely disinterested in his lectures. As the experiment goes on the students begin to see it working. However, one day as someone interrupts the class by dropping a book, a loud plink _is heard throughout the room. The kids do not question it out-loud, but as the days go on it becomes apparent that a _plink _resounds every time there is a distraction in the room. It becomes apparent that Merrick is dropping a pebble into a glass jar every time he is interrupted — possibly as a coping mechanism. The senior boy debates ending the experiment by telling their principal, but Derrick convinces him to stay on. The experiment stalls about six weeks in as they realize that they cannot get Merrick to reach for the picture of his family. Derrick converses with the senior boy about his confusion, but suddenly has an idea. The next day in class, Derrick walks in late dressed exactly as Merrick is, with a briefcase and a glass jar and pebbles. He begins to drop peebles into the jar, which Merrick responds to by doing the same. They go back and forth causing incessant _plinks. _Then, two girls walk in who are dressed like Merrick’s deceased wife and daughter and embrace in the classroom causing Merrick to quietly break down and exit the room. The class celebrates, having completed their goal, and the senior boy watches as Derrick notes that the “subjects” of his experiment were the students rather than Merrick all along. The senior boy, later in life, recollects the experiment as he imagines Merrick and brings out his own glass jar and bag of stones. He drops one in and causes a _plink.