A teacher educator and a former student, now a classroom teacher, have a 14-year conversation about the deep dynamics of classroom management, which is more complicated than it first appears. The teacher educator introduces the classroom teacher to The Deal, an idea that can guide early-career teachers as well as veteran teachers. The Deal is, in part, about projecting confidence when confidence is thin but also about believing resolutely in the possibility of development for both students and teachers even when that possibility seems most dubious.