Original subtitles

I know what you're doing.

Oh, this?

It's just deodorant, you know? Headed into a windowless cramped studio. I

want to be stinky.

No, I know what you've been up to.

What? Snacks?

Office supplies?

The Grammy?

Look, you can't prove I took it.

Lynn, I heard you turned in 15 checks in two days.

So? So, I'm on to your scam.

Since I won't let you out of your contract, you're putting in no effort in

turning in crap.

Look, I would never sacrifice my artistic integrity like that.

Unless, of course, it's working.

It's not.

Everything you turn in, I have the right to release, and I will.

And if it's bad and it tanks, it's your career.

And my write -off.

Damn. Now I know why they call it Dirty Girl Records.

You play dirty, girl.

Who'll take it then?

My girlfriend.

My girlfriend.

Yeah, for anything.

My girlfriend.

Hey, where have you guys been?

I thought we agreed we were going to meet here at 9 to go to the tile store.

and I thought the fact that we strolled up in here at 1130 shows you we didn't

want to go to the tile store.

Here, mailed outside.

Not that I looked, but I'm taking this window replacement coupon.

Why? What'd you get in my window? Oh, look, a letter from Aaron.

Oh, my God. Yay, I've been waiting for this letter from Aaron.

I've been having so much trouble IMing. Oh, is this big old shiny head causing

satellite interference?

No. He got a promotion. Thank you very much, okay? At his base, he is the new

head sergeant.

Shut up! Shut up!

Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up.

So, what does Aaron say?

Let's see.

Oh, well, he says he misses me and he loves me.

Uh -huh.

And this other letter is for me to read to his students.

But he says not to open it until I read it to them.

Okay, I won't read it. Not.

Joan, I said don't open it until you read it to my students.

Comma, comma.

Unless you follow up those commas with a chameleon, you need to shut up and quit

breathing down my neck while I'm trying to work on my column.

Sorry.

I just need something to do until Darnell gets here.

There's something you can do. Go wait on the step.

And miss this opportunity to correct and criticize you?

Oh, hell, comma, no.

Jabari!

Hey!

How'd your drama lesson go?

Don't ask.

Where's your daddy?

He shoved me out the car and said he needed a drink and I need a bus pass.

Oh, no, don't give me those puppy dog eyes. No, Jabari, I am not teaching you

drive. We already fell out about it last time.

And I promise the Lord if he got me out of that car alive, I would never drive

with you again.

And I cannot break my covenant with you, that is all.

But, Mom, that's not fair. You promised I could get my learner's permit.

He's right.

You know, with the baby coming, I'm reading a lot of parenting books, and

say if a parent makes a promise, said parent should follow through.

You know, William, you're right.

I am going to follow through.

Jabari, Uncle William here is going to teach you how to drive.

I was thinking that after I read the letter, I would have the students write

short essay on the war.

If it takes an hour, I'm all for it.

You are such a lovely young lady.

You shouldn't be using language like that.

What do you think your father would think, sweetheart?

Why don't you ask? I'll be right back there.

Hello. Hi.

Young lady, excuse me.

I don't think you can just walk out of here like that.

Bitch, be glad I walked in.

Oh, my.

Oh, my, my, my. Excuse me.

Excuse me. Excuse me. I'm sorry. Aren't you supposed to be...

Making the students act right?

I'm a substitute teacher who doesn't get health care. I think I'm going to sit

this one out.

Okay.

Okay, well, um, excuse me.

Excuse me.

One,

two, three, eyes on me.

She is straight up trippy.

I'm Mr. Waters' fiance, and he asked me to come down here and read this letter.

You let Mr. Waters hit that?

I ain't mad at him.

I hit it, too.

Please, you know you're still a virgin.

What are you calling a virgin, kid?

Okay, I think you're going to fight. What are we supposed to do? I'm going to

stay low, keep moving, and try not to get stabbed.

I'd say you look a hot mess, but that'd be giving hot mess a bad name.

Aaron's school is a madhouse.

So glad he's not teaching there.

Don't if he was, he wouldn't be in Iraq.

After what I saw today, he is better off.

Kids running wild, substitute teacher doing crossword puzzle, lunch lady

dope on the side.

I would never put my child in the public school system.

Well, you know what? Some people don't have a choice, Miss Bougie.

But, Bougie, those kids are straight up hood.

They had the whole school on lockdown. I had to pull the fire alarm just to

create a diversion to get the hell out.

Look, don't blame those kids.

I mean, poorer schools are overcrowded. And the resources are stretched because

they have greater needs. It's just a bad cycle. Yeah.

I just can't believe I was so naive.

I was going to go down there.

Read Aaron's letter and inspire those kids.

Just like Mr.

Holland's opus.

Said it was Black Hawk Down.

Now I gotta tell Aaron I couldn't read his letter.

No, no, no, Joan. You have to go down there and read it.

I mean, he'd probably crawl through some minefield to mail you that letter. The

least you could do is drive down to Long Beach and read it.

You weren't there.

You didn't see what I saw.

You know what? But Joan, I am so sick of your wimpy, sadiddy ass. Okay, I'll go

down to that school with you.

Well, I may have catapulted myself to the middle class.

I know how to talk to kids from the hood.

I used to walk those mean streets.

Maya, you still do walk those mean streets. Girl, you live one block west

read myself and that one block plus me means streets adjacent.

Well, I don't know why your mom is trying to trip on the flim flam dog.

Your driving is off the heezy for sheezy.

What are you saying?

I'm practicing my slang.

Getting ready for parenthood.

They say you should talk to your children in a language they can respond

Well, I respond to English.

Then Englishle it isle.

Starting now.

Here, sir.

So at the light, you want me to make a left or a right?

The decision is yours, Jabari.

A good parent lets his child make his own choices.

It's all a part of their journey.

So I can do me?

You do you.

Cool.

This is what I'm talking about.

Yeah. This is what I'm talking about.

Just remember on your journey to keep your eyes on the road, buddy.

Yeah, I got this. I got this. I got it. You know, you can get it a little better

with your hands at 10 and 2.

I got it. I got it. I'm going to turn right here so I can roll by my friends

the bus stop because you know they got this in the beam.

Look here, a little showboat is good for the male ego.

Just remember to showboat a little slower. A little slower.

Hey, hey, Keisha.

Hey, hey, hey, hey.

Hey, boss boy!

You wrecked a Beamer?

You couldn't wreck a cheap American subcompact. Well, my... The important

is that we're all okay.

I know, I know.

Jabari, is anything hurt?

No. All right, follow my finger, okay?

To the right, to the left, here, here, and I'll follow it to your room because

your ass is grounded. Now, don't you butt -mock me. Go.

Aren't you even interested in hearing the particulars? What?

He's 16. He showed his ass. He wrecked a car. His daddy can't fix it, pay for

it. That's all I need to know.

Now, march.

She can't hit nobody but herself. Oh, excuse me.

You wrecked a beamer and a UPS quick drop.

Okay, so I messed up.

But it's the first time somebody actually trusted me. They didn't treat

a little kid.

Oh, you're a little butt -dumb girl, Bo, now that it's touched some heated

leather seat.

I'm saying all you and Daddy ever do is boss me around and keep me all up under

your thumb.

At least Uncle William gave me a chance.

Oh, and look how that turned out.

Yeah, Jabari, go to your room and wait for your Daddy.

he was a good kid.

And he was driving carefully until he took his hands off the wheel and waved

his friends.

After I told him time and again, pay attention.

You know you ought to grind that no good little miscreant for life.

That just flowed out of me, didn't it?

I'm going to be a great father.

Those are the kids you're scared of.

Okay, John. I got this.

Okay. Okay.

I know what this is. Trust.

All right. All right.

Look at here.

My name is Maya Wilt.

Okay? And I am bougie, like Miss Clayton.

I'm straight up confident. Okay. Okay?

So you need to shut your hot, chip -stained mouth. Excuse me, Ray J.

And you're going to listen to her read Mr. Waters' letter.

All right?

Miss Airbrush, fingering that with your little design on it. I see you.

All right? I'll be clear.

Fine, girl, be a hero. Be a hero.

With that big, small heifer.

With the bedazzled cell phone holder.

I think she's packing.

Jabari, what do you want for supper?

It doesn't matter. You can make me what you want anyway.

That is not true.

You say you want to be heard around here. Well, I want to hear you. What do

want?

Pizza. Too late, because I already started snapping the beans.

Ask to be asked. I don't really care what I want.

Okay, Jabari, fine.

What do you want?

I want some trust. I want some respect.

Well, you got to earn that.

What else I got to do?

You always running around bragging to your friends I'm such a good kid, but

steady treating me like I'm fresh out of juvie. You are a good kid. Hell, after

what I saw today, you're practically a thing.

And maybe that's because we are hard on you. Yeah, but you have to let up. You

got to trust me sometime.

What are you going to do, ride me until I'm 30? Maybe.

All right, you're my baby, and I don't want anything bad to happen to my baby.

And maybe your daddy and I do need to give you a bit more freedom.

And what does that mean?

It means maybe we'll put you on our insurance.

Oh, snap that. I'm getting good hands with us, baby.

Yeah, as long as you drive like you got some sense. You know, they may offer

accident forgiveness, but your mama don't.

Yeah, but how am I going to know how to drive if nobody going to teach me?

Maybe.

Your daddy and I will send you to driving school, let you run up their

pressure.

Mom, I'm not that bad.

No comment.

Just trying to preserve your self -esteem.

But before we send you off to driving school, you're going to have to sign an

all -state parent -teen driving contract.

What's that? I ain't signing away my organs or nothing anymore because I'm

undecided about that.

No, it's a contract that says we trust that you'll drive safely, and you

us that you will.

All right, I'll sign it, but when do I start driving school?

as soon as we find one that don't cost no money.

And that was a statement made this morning by Condoleezza Rice.

Meanwhile, in southern Iraq, heavy fighting continued today.

No word yet on any troop casualties.

Later in the hour, we'll see if the Lakers could pull one out against the

But coming up next, Jay Wasaki is going to get the Hollywood scoop on why Paris

Hilton is going ape over her new bonobo.

Hey, y 'all, look!

There goes Mr. Water Sushi.

Mr.

Hines, I'm here to read the letter.

Ah, you're one of those dedicated ones.

I don't know about that, but Aaron is dedicated, and I owe this to him.

Go with God.

You're going to need him.

We accept your apology.

Apology for what?

For blinding us with that bright -ass blouse.

Oh, no, she didn't. Oh, yes, I did.

Mr. Waters is over there in Iraq risking his life, and all he wants is for

you guys to hear this letter.

So? So, what the hell is wrong with you people?

Listen to me.

All Mr. Waters talks about is how special you guys are and how he misses

This is the way you guys keep acting.

You're throwing away any option that you have in life.

What option?

To go to Iraq like Mr. Waters?

Is that all you think your future is?

Look around.

What else we got?

Well, there's college.

There's one book we share.

They only have one book?

Well, I don't know where they got that one.

Look, nobody cares about us.

Except Mr.

Waters. And what they do, take him away.

Look, most teachers don't even want to teach us.

But Mr. Waters did.

Most men didn't want to marry me.

But Mr. Waters did.

Look, we just want Mr. Waters to come home.

You and me both.

They'll probably just lie and extend his tour just like they did to my cousin.

Well, Jordan, stop whining.

I talked to a recruiter, and he said we have a responsibility to the people in

Iraq to see this through.

And y 'all know me. I never walk away from a fight. Yeah, but we're not even

fighting the people who attacked us. It doesn't matter. We win it. Win it what?

We don't know what's going on over there. Mr. Waters knows what's going on

there. Gee, if only he had sent a letter to y 'all.

Sorry, I got caught up in the debate.

If you are listening to this letter, then my lovely fiancé obviously got

to you appleheads.

I'm doing well over here.

There are days that are hard, but I always think about the people that are

important to me, like the woman that I love and the students I love to teach.

There's a lot more I wanted to put in this letter, but I figure I'll just tell

you when I get home, which I just found out is going to be in a couple of weeks.

My unit's been called back to the States. He's coming home!

Okay. Joan, I love you.

I'll see you soon.

I'm going to see you soon.

And kids, read chapters three through eight because I've been a pop quiz

fool in this tank.

Oh, my God. He's coming home.

Lynn, I listened to your tracks.

I'm totally stuck, right?

And you're going to let me out of my contract.

Far from it. We love it. We're going to get you in the studio ASAP.

You're joking.

I'm the CEO.

I don't have a sense of humor.

But I do have a sense of irony.

What's ironic?

That I'm trying to take my career with bad music and you think it's great?

No. Just as your career is about to take off, you're going to be in jail for

stealing my Grammy.

I'll have them back to you first thing in the morning.

Then? Never mind.