It sounds like you might be out of luck for this one. The policy for most universities is failing to show up for the final means you fail the final, which (depending on the requirements laid out in the syllabus) usually means you fail the class.

That being said, your only hope is to convince the teacher/department head during your meeting to have some sort of mercy on you.

Here is what I would recommend.

1. Don't argue you deserve to pass the class. You messed up big here by forefiting your 'right' to pass

It sounds like you might be out of luck for this one. The policy for most universities is failing to show up for the final means you fail the final, which (depending on the requirements laid out in the syllabus) usually means you fail the class.

That being said, your only hope is to convince the teacher/department head during your meeting to have some sort of mercy on you.

Here is what I would recommend.

1. Don't argue you deserve to pass the class. You messed up big here by forfeiting your 'right' to pass
2. Do argue that you put a lot of hard work into the class (mention your pre-final grade if it was good) and that you really don't want to see that go to waste. (again, this doesn't mean they should give you a second chance, but it is something that weights the scales in your favor)
3. Offer to bend over backwards to make things work. (Take a new final any time, do a very large remedial project in addition to taking the final, ect.)

Your biggest problem is that the rest of the class has already taken the final, and that gives you a big opportunity to cheat by talking to them in order to learn what was asked on the exam. Even though most students wouldn't cheat in this way, every teacher I have had assumes that students will if given the opportunity.

This creates a dilemma where the teacher feels like they need to write an entirely new final in order to prevent you from cheating, but the teacher also doesn't want to go through all that trouble just because one student was irresponsible.

In light of all this, I would say your best bet is to offer to do anything in order to be given an opportunity to pass the class. You could suggest offering to do a large remedial project of the teacher's choosing in addition to taking the final late, with the stipulation that the teacher can still fail you if they detect any sign of perceived or actuall cheating. This still has the drawback that the teacher will need to grade/review your remedial project, but it might be your best bet.

Good luck and do let us know how things turn out.