Astrid Warner

Donald Hardy, Gidget's English teacher, was a pupil of her father. Gidget complains that Hardy marks her papers according to the way he thinks Russ' daughter should have written them. Gidget is assigned to write a theme on outdoor observation. Finishing her own composition, Gidget decides to trap Hardy by handing her father's paper in. She tries to retrieve it, but both papers wind up on Hardy's desk. Melodramatically, Gidget announces to Russ and Anne that she has cheated. Russ tells her he knows she didn't cheat but chides her for trying to prove Hardy is prejudiced. Hardy surprises Gidget by asking her to read aloud the composition she wrote, which he feels captures the loneliness of the surfer. He gives her an A for her own work, but an F for the one he knows she copied. Gidget admits she wanted to see how Hardy would grade her father's work. Hardy tells her he tries to inspire her, because he owes so much to her father. Gidget tells Russ that Hardy is the English teacher she digs the most.