Original subtitles

[upbeat music]

-Hey. -Hey.

Seems like every time I see you, you working.

You becoming a regular bookworm these days, huh?

Well, this journalism class ain't no joke.

Well, if anybody can handle it, my baby can.

Thank you for your vote of confidence, Dad.

Yeah.

How's things with Jaxon?

I guess I'm about to find out.

How's that?

Well, he volunteered to do

the on-camera research for our first project.

And you guys trust him with that?

Well, I guess.

He can't cheat off anybody with this assignment.

So, he just has to talk

to the residents of an apartment community.

So, no room for error?

Either he has the videos of his interviews or he won't.

Okay.

Well, I can't wait to see how this turns out.

Me too, Dad.

[knocking on door] [sighs]

-Hey, what's up, Nigel? -Hey, Jazmine.

-Hey, Megan. Come here. -Hey, Jazz.

Where's Jaxon?

He said he was running a little behind,

but was on his way.

Don't tell me he's late.

I think he said one

of his interviewees was going to be late, so...

-So, it's not his fault? -I don't think so.

All right, we'll see.

You really don't like Jaxon, huh?

-Girl, it's a long story. -I see.

Well, in the meantime, we can pull together

what we were able to compile.

-Yeah, sounds good. -Yeah, cool.

So, I spent the week down at the Board of Supervisors.

What you got?

So, the apartment complex first opened in 1982.

It was owned by a company called TQZ and Associates.

They owned several apartment communities in the '80s.

It was then sold in 1996

to a local developer who was supposed to renovate.

The apartment had a pretty steady decline

in those 14 years.

Yeah, I spent the last week researching court records.

Mm-hmm.

341 court cases involving Eggbert Apartments.

-All residents suing? -Not as many as you'd think.

Mainly evictions and litigations with the county over failures

to get proper permits and code violations.

Okay.

Well, my work was on the present case

where the county condemned it.

And the state issued this 341-page report

about the living conditions at the building.

-Was it bad? -Oh, yeah, it was bad.

The state investigation uncovered 215 violations.

-That's crazy. -[Jazmine] Mm-hmm.

Unapproved vendors, exposed electrical wiring,

roach and vermin infestations, bed bugs.

It was just ridiculous.

-Hey, Dad. -Hey, there.

Guys, this is my father, Chief Payne.

-This is Megan, Nigel. -Hello.

-[Nigel] Hi. -How you doing?

-Where's Jaxon? -Great question.

I just got a text. [message tone ringing]

He's not gonna make it.

Are you serious?

Oh, no.

We need those interviews.

There goes our grade.

I said I didn't want to work with him.

[birds chirping]

[airplane flying overhead]

[siren wailing, horn honking]

[sirens wailing]

[horn honking]

I told Professor Davidson, good,

that I did not want to work with this dude.

Calm down, Jazmine.

He almost got me kicked out of Dr. Hutton's class,

and now this?

Okay.

Well, Megan, did he say why he couldn't make it?

-He said his car broke down. -Yeah, right.

Well, he does have a very old car.

Well, that's not our problem.

Everybody's got issues.

It's fine, I'll do it myself.

Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out, baby.

Thanks, Dad.

I'm texting with him now.

-What's he saying? -It doesn't matter.

Don't waste your time on him.

He said he can send over files with all the interviews.

You think he actually did them?

I guess we'll see when he sends the links.

All right.

But I know this dude.

I'm telling y'all, don't hold your breath.

[music]

[sighs]

-Okay, Floyd. -Yeah.

Can you sit the hell down?

Okay, you're making me nervous.

I'm sorry, bro-bro.

I just...I'm just anxious, man.

I just don't trust this Q-Anthony dude.

Well, I don't know why. He ain't done nothing to you.

Not yet, Curtis.

There's something about when my Holy Ghost gets riled up.

-Holy Ghost? -Yes, sir.

Since when have you had the Holy Ghost?

I've always had the Holy Ghost.

Thank you.

I don't want to be running up and down the aisles

and hollering like they do at Ella's Church,

but I have more of a quiet, private praise.

-Well, is that right? -Yes, that's right.

[knocking on door] Oh, it's probably Q-Anthony.

-I'll get it. -Go on, get that.

-Yeah. -All right.

-Finish your little book. -Yeah.

-Floyd. -What?

-Go get the door. -I'm gonna get the door.

You gotta open it to get it.

[laughing] Curtis, my man.

-Hey, there he is. -How you doing, man?

Q-Anthony, I'm doing good, I'm doing good.

-Floyd. -What's up?

Look at you, bruh-bruh.

-You done lost some weight? -You notice?

You know, just trying to work out this one ab,

you know, kind of on the track.

-I see it, I see it. -Thank you.

You're an inspiration, huh?

Well, you know, I'm trying to inspire my business partner

to get out there with me, you know?

Hold on now.

I can't have both of y'all being skinny.

Nothing says good barbecue

like having a little meat on your bones.

Thank you, thank you.

That's what I'm saying.

That's what I've been telling him, please.

That's why I don't even mess around with Floyd

and his little workouts.

It's part of the business plan.

-So, it's gonna be a great day? -Yes, it is.

-Yeah? -Yes, it is.

-What's happening today? -What's happening today?

Floyd, today is a day a partnership is born, huh?

-Yeah. -Are you two excited?

-Uh-uh. -I'm excited.

-Yeah? -Yeah, um...

Well, I'll tell you what, let's just get down to it.

Let's get down to business.

-So, where's the contract? -Oh, wow.

You just get right to it, huh?

Well, you said let's get down to business.

You know what? I did.

-[Floyd] Yes. -Okay.

So, I had my attorney draw up a little partnership deal here.

Okay, awesome.

Yeah, there you go.

There it is.

-Standard partnership deal. -All right.

Damn, this is thick?

That is, it's standard.

Yeah, uh, Curtis,

we're gonna need an attorney for this.

Wait a minute.

You don't already have an attorney for Curtis?

Yes, yes, yes, we have an attorney.

I mean, we have a plethora of attorneys.

-We do? -Yes, we do.

Yes.

We have to decide which one of the attorneys

is suitable for this contract.

Oh, I tell you what.

Just give it to your contract attorney.

He'll go through it in no time.

Contract attorney.

-Yes, I was just thinking that. -All right.

-We on the same page. -All right, great.

So, Curtis, you have your people call my people.

And once we strike up a deal,

we can go conquer the world, baby.

-I like it, sounds good. -Let's do it.

-Let's do it. -Let's do it, all right.

-[Curtis] All right. -Curtis, have a good one.

-Floyd, I'll see you, man. -All right.

Curtis, you are a barbecue giant.

-Remember that, huh? -Yeah.

I'm gonna make sure everybody knows your name, baby.

-I like that. -All right.

-I like that. -Let's go do it.

-Let's go make some business. -Let's go do it.

Let's go do that!

All right.

[funky music]

-Oh. -CJ.

-Floyd. -What's up?

Man, sounded pretty urgent. What's up?

Yeah, we need an attorney, you know anyone?

I might know a couple people, yeah.

What's happening?

We got a contract we need help with.

Contract? What kind of contract?

We got a chance to go into business with Q-Anthony Fields.

Oh, that's the guy you told me about.

-Yes. -Yeah.

Yeah, so he gave us this contract, right?

-Okay. -Yeah, and it reads like a book.

I mean, it's thick.

Now, don't go signing no long contracts, man.

CJ, I ain't no fool.

And that's why we here, I need a lawyer to look over.

Okay, well, you know, I know a few people.

-Let me see what I can do. -Okay.

Thank you, CJ.

You the man, CJ, now.

Don't go thanking me yet.

Well, I mean, do you know an attorney or what?

I know a few people, but...

-But what? -But what?

Lawyers are expensive.

Okay. How expensive, CJ?

Very expensive.

Like $1,500 just to get started.

[gasps] $1,500?

-The devil is a liar. -A big-ass liar.

You guys killed me, man. What did you think?

What? I didn't think of no $1,500.

Mm, and that's just to get started.

[stuttering]

[laughing]

[sighs heavily]

-Hey, Dad. -Hey, baby.

-What's wrong? -Nothing.

Just trying to figure out

how to salvage my grade without Jaxon.

You really think he's flaking on you?

Oh, I know he is.

Not only did he not show up,

but he didn't send the link to the interviews

like he said he would.

[doorbell rings]

Who's that?

[sighs]

-Hi, Mr. Payne. -Yes.

I'm Caroline Brooks, Jaxon's grandmother.

Hello, Mr. Payne.

[mellow music]

Oh, come on in.

Thank you.

-Hi, Jazmine. -Hello.

So how can we help you?

Uh, Jaxon was supposed

to come over earlier today for a group project.

Yeah, uh, Jazmine's group met earlier today.

Yes, his car broke down.

And Jaxon was so upset, he begged me to bring him over.

He wanted to drop off the work he did.

Um, have a seat.

Can I offer you something to drink?

-Uh, I'm fine. -No, thank you, Mr. Payne.

Jazmine, I'm sorry I didn't make it earlier.

I can't lie, I was disappointed.

I know.

My last interview was late, and then when I was leaving,

my car wouldn't start.

But you said you were gonna send the interviews,

and you didn't, so...

The files were too big.

I put them on an external hard drive.

Here.

Jaxon worried me so much to take him

to the office supply store and then get him over here.

I've never seen him so worried about anything in his life.

I appreciate you, Grandma.

I'm so happy to meet you, Chief Payne and Jazmine.

And I thank you, too, for not giving up on my grandson.

I know he made a big mistake copying your paper, Jazmine.

Yes, ma'am.

I almost got in a lot of trouble for that.

It's unacceptable.

I was so mad at Jaxon.

But please, let me tell you, he made a mistake.

He's not a bad boy.

And he really wants to make it up to you.

[sighs]

Well, we thank you for coming by, Mrs. Brooks.

Thank you for allowing Jaxon

to bring over his part of the assignment.

He was so upset.

He has this old car that breaks down every other day.

I can't afford to get him anything else.

I can barely keep him in school.

If it wasn't for his baseball scholarship,

he wouldn't even be at that school.

Believe me, I understand.

It's a struggle for my wife and I, too.

And this one here changing majors every year.

Thanks, Dad.

Sure, no problem.

Well, you'll be in my prayers.

Oh, and you are in ours, too.

-Oh, thank you. -[CJ] Yeah.

Tell me what you think of my research, Jazmine.

Your opinion means a lot to me.

Okay.

Thank you for bringing it by.

-It was nice to meet you. -Nice to meet you, too.

-Sure. -Thank you.

-Thank you. -Have a good night.

[sighs]

-[Mrs. Brooks] Thank you. -Thank you.

Jaxon, good to see you again.

You feel better?

I'll let you know after I see his work.

Oh, tough crowd.

[upbeat music]

-Oh, all right. -I can't.

Oh, Curtis, what are you guys working on?

Oh, baby, we got this big contract we're reading.

A big contract for what, Curtis?

Q-Anthony Fields. Who else?

Curtis, don't you go signing no contract,

baby, without reading it.

Ella, didn't we just tell you we read the contract?

Okay, Curtis. All right.

What do you know about a contract?

Well, first of all, it's a bogus contract.

Because, I mean, the whole thing is written

in a whole 'nother language.

Of course it's written in a whole 'nother language.

It's called legalese.

-Legal what? -Legal what?

Legalese, that's lawyer talk.

Meaning you two need to hire a lawyer.

Baby, do you know how much a lawyer costs?

Curtis, I'm sure it's a lot.

Yeah, then there you go.

You're looking at the lawyers, me and Floyd.

Curtis, baby, don't be ridiculous now.

What, Ella?

Curtis, you and Floyd running around talking

about you building a business.

[grunting]

I'm a businessman, Ella.

You don't understand business.

Oh, stop, Floyd don't even sound like that.

Curtis, paying a lawyer is part of doing business.

You know, CJ said

that it's going to cost at least $1,500 for us

just to even get started.

I can believe that.

Then you can believe how crazy you sound.

Curtis, you sound crazy.

Now, you and Floyd need to get

the sense God gave you and hire a lawyer.

-Ella... -Period!

I mean it, Curtis.

Baby, Q-Anthony said this is just a standard contract.

Q-Anthony, Q-Anthony!

Q-Anthony!

For the record, Curtis, I don't like Q-Anthony.

-Ella... -Hmm.

Curtis, really.

You and Floyd were doing just fine without Q-Anthony.

Hmm.

[sighs]

You know what? Your wife has the anointing.

You should listen to your wife more often.

Shut the Holy Ghost up.

[upbeat music]

-Hey, Jazzie. -Hey, Mom.

Hey, what's going on, bookworm?

-Bookworm? -Yeah.

Every time I see her these days, she working.

I like it, it's the life of a college student.

Yeah. Hey, I love it.

So, your father told me Jaxon came by with his grandmother.

Yes, he did.

And how did he do on his part of the project?

-Oh. -Uh-oh.

Now, I can't wait to hear this.

His interviews are actually amazing.

-Really? -I know.

-I can't believe it either. -That good?

Dad, interviewing people is a lot harder than it looks.

-I've always struggled with it. -[chuckles]

Yeah, we know, we remember.

You know, you were going to quit journalism

when you tried to do your first interviews.

Because I can't get people to talk.

But Jaxon naturally has people opening up

and they believe him and trust him just right off the bat.

So, you think they honestly talked to him?

Dad, these people were complete strangers.

And they confided in him.

Professor Davidson always talks about amazing journalists

like Barbara Walters and how she was able

to really get people to open up to her.

Yeah.

Surprisingly, it seems like Jaxon has that same gift.

Maybe your father was right.

I was right there with you,

I didn't really feel like Jaxon deserved a second chance.

Hey, we all deserve a second chance.

And we all have days when we are not at our best.

Maybe.

-You know what I see, Jazz? -What?

I see a young man with a lot of issues.

And all he has is his grandmother.

Yeah, I mean, he does have to work

and play baseball to get through school.

Yeah, and that's a lot, you know?

So, he cheated off of you

in order to get to a baseball game,

in order to pay the tuition,

which is what he should not have done.

Right, but now it seems

like he's trying to make it up to you.

Well, he did the work.

So, I guess I'm good.

Well, we're going to let you get back to your work.

Thank you.

But, Jazz... I'm proud of you.

Because it's not easy

to forgive people when they let you down.

Thanks.

-She did it all by herself. -That's my girl.

I didn't even have to tell her to walk

in there like the gangster that she could be.

-That's my child. -I love you, baby.

I love y'all, too.

-And be gangster. -[chuckles]

I can get crunk up in here.

[easygoing music]

-Hmm. -[sighs]

-I got a headache. -Right.

Probably need to put these back on.

I'm done with these.

Okay, Floyd, what we gonna do?

Bruh, I'm gonna pay for the lawyer.

The whole thing?

Yeah, I mean, look.

You're the creative genius behind this.

And I'm the businessman of this whole operation.

Yeah, I'm the creative genius.

-I'm gonna chip in, Floyd. -Okay, cool.

I'm gonna chip in, too. Yeah.

I gotta tell you, Floyd.

-Now I feel good about this. -Okay.

-I mean, we're businessmen. -Yeah.

Me, too, Curtis. Me, too. Yeah, we are.

And hopefully this Q-Anthony guy can take

our operation to a whole new level, bruh.

-Yeah, that's right. -Mm-hmm.

-Yeah, I guess time will tell. -Right.

Look here.

Let's go ahead and call the lawyer that C.J. got us.

-Okay? -Let's do it.

-Businessmen. -Forever.

-I feel good about this, man. -I do, too.

Let's do it.

[bass-heavy music]

[knocking on door]

-Jaxon. -Hey, Jazmine.

Hey, I got your text.

It sounded urgent. Come in.

I was at school early today, and the grades were posted.

-For the media group? -Yep.

-What was our grade? -Um...

A-plus?

We got a A-plus?!

[laughing]

Oh, my God!

[laughing]

Yes!

[music]

[music]

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