Miss Rita L. Desjardin is a fictional character created by American author Stephen King in his first published 1974 horror novel Carrie.

She was renamed Miss Lynn Gardner in the 1988 musical, portrayed by Darlene Love (1988, Broadway) and Carmen Cusack (2012, Off-Broadway), amongst other productions.

In Desjardin's view, the only reason the administrators did not go along with her proposed punishment is that they are all men (unaware that they are all intimidated by lead bully Christine "Chris" Hargensen's father, a prominent lawyer), and thus did not really understand how nasty the girls' behavior had been.

Meanwhile, Sue Snell, another girl who participated in the locker room incident, feels remorse for her actions and asks her boyfriend Tommy Ross to take Carrie to the prom to make amends.

As revenge for being banned from prom, Chris secretly has rigged a cord connected to two buckets hidden above the stage where Carrie and Tommy will sit on the thrones.

Once outside, although Carrie uses her telekinetic abilities to wreak havoc on the school and destroys the entire town on the way home, Desjardin is one of the few survivors of the "Black Prom".

After Carrie uses her powers to wreak havoc on the school, Miss Collins is seen trying to move the unconscious Tommy, along with another teacher and three students.

She also tells Carrie that things change, and not always for the best: The pretty, popular girls will be fat, cute boys will be bald, and the miserable ones might have a happy life.

She is the last one to leave the gym and is nearly electrocuted, but survives and reports the events to Detective John Mulcahey (David Keith), revealing her conclusion by denouncing Carrie as the perpetrator behind the destruction and act of mass terrorism.

After the "Shower Scene" Miss Gardner becomes much more sympathetic toward Carrie and even sings "Unsuspecting Hearts" with her to get her to accept Tommy's prom invitation.