My name is Claireece "Precious" Jones.
I wish l had a Iight-skinned boyfrIend with real nice hair.
And l wanna be on the cover of a magazine.
But first, l wanna be in one of them BET videos.
Momma said l can 't dance.
Plus, she said, who wants to see my big ass dancing, anyhow?
Well , if there's no volunteers, then l'm going to have to call people.
Okay, Leticia, you got number one. Leticia!
Jess Wesley, n umber two.
l like math. l don 't say nothing.
l don 't open my book, even. I just sit there.
-You down? -N u mber six.
Every day I tell myself something's gonna happen.
l'm. . . l'm dead serious.
Like, l'm gonna break through.
Or somebody's gonna break through to me.
l'm gonna be normal
and pay attention, and sit ln the front of the cIass.
Distributive principles. . .
Someday.
. . .are principles that you can do in your head.
I like Mr. Wicher.
l pretend he my husband and we live someplace IIke Westchester.
Look at him. He like me, too, l know it.
l can teIl by his eyes. He aIways looking at me and smiIing at me.
Boys! Boys ! Boys!
l'm not you r fucking boy!
You're disrupting the class.
Yeah, well, l'm talking now, so you listen.
Shut the fuck up ! l'm trying to listen !
Mr. WIcher know l got his back.
One twenty-two.
Why are we barking , Jess?
Monday's assignment. l'm assumi ng everybody did it.
-No. -No.
Please. . . Quiet. Precious, get your things.
l have. . . Come here for a second.
Now this shit.
ls there anybody who didn't do their homework?
Why? These aren't requests. These are requirements. Okay?
You have to go to the principal's office.
Go to the principal's office!
All right, that's enoug h . That's enough.
No, he's not allowed on campus. Where was he seen?
Could you get Mr. Tork from Room 25,
tell him to go to Room 1 6 right away? Thank you .
No. He was seen on the second floor.
Yes. Thank you.
Send Claireece in here!
She's ready for you now.
Mr. Taylor? Ms. Lichenstein.
Come in.
Matthew Will iams, second floor.
ln front of his locker. Yes. Suspended last week.
Yeah.
Yes, absolutely. Thank you.
Hello, Claireece.
Are you pregnant?
You're 1 6. You're still in junior h igh school,
and you're pregnant with you r second child.
ls that correct, Claireece?
Are you pregnant again?
What happened, Claireece?
l had sex, Ms. Lichenstein.
Do you have any other thoughts about your situation , Claireece?
Claireece?
Am I in trouble?
Thank you. I gotta get back to math.
Sit down , Claireece. Sit down right now.
We should have a parent-teacher's conference with you, me and your mother.
My mother's busy.
All right. Well then, how about if l come to your house?
lf l were you , l wouldn't.
l . . . l'm going to have to suspend you.
That ai n't fai r! l didn't do nothing ! l do my work!
My grades is good !
ls something going on at home?
lf something's going on at home, l want you to tell me right now.
You get my cigarettes?
No, they didn't have it.
l played the number, though. l cou ldn't box it.
Yes. Yeah.
Right there. Yeah . Daddy loves you.
Precious, what did you think of the fil m?
l thought it was fabulous.
-What's next for you? -What?
-How are you feeling? -l feel great!
J ust one more, just one more, quick!
l love you , too!
You know I love you !
Hey, boo!
l ain't gonna say it no more.
The door was open, so l let myself in.
Well, there goes my chance to teII you l'm not home.
Now, Mary, this is important.
Now, come on, Mary, she'll have a great time.
I'd enroll myself, but l became ineligibIe for teen pageants a few days ago.
Yeah, l see your acne's cleared up.
You know, this pageant can do Brenda a world of good, Mary.
And the man In charge, he's tops in his fieId. A brilliant promoter.
How long have you two been dating?
A dance teacher.
Tel l them assholes to stop ringing my bell.
I hate crackheads.
No one ever ring this bell ex cept for crackheads.
Why they fucking wIth us?
Stop ringing the goddamn buzzers, motherfuckers!
Give the ghetto a bad name.
Stop ringing the goddamn buzzer!
Stop it!
press ''listen ,'' stupid.
lt's Sandra Lichenstein for Claireece and Ms. Mary Johnston.
Who is that, Precious?
White bitch from school.
What do you want?
Claireece, l want to talk to you about your education .
Eighty-six that bitch.
My mother don 't wanna get cut off weIfare.
And that's just what this visit gonna result in.
Ms. Lichenstein , get out of here before l kick your ass.
All right, Claireece, l spoke to Mr. Wicher,
and he toId me that you're one of his best math students.
lf your fat ass don't get that bitch away from here. . .
...like a, like a potential for math.
So l called Mrs. McKnight
from Higher EducatIon Alternative Each One Teach One.
It's an alternative school.
Claireece, are you listeni ng to me?
Yeah.
Okay. Mrs. McKnight. Each One Teach One.
lt's located at the 1 1 th floor, Hotel Theresa, 1 25th Street.
-Get rid of that bitch . -The semester started a few days ago,
so you're not too late.
Eleventh floor.
l heard you the first time.
Okay.
I don 't know what an alternative school is, but l feel l wanna know.
My heart is aII warm inside.
Mr. WIcher think I'm a good student.
I knew that he liked me.
School ai n't gon na help none!
Take your ass down to the welfare.
Who the fuck she think she is?
So I guess you th ink you cute now, right? Uppity bitch.
You should have kept your fucking mouth shut.
Just 'cause he gon na give you more children than he give me,
you think you something fucki ng special?
Fuck you and fuck him !
Precious!
Precious! Precious!
Get down here, bitch !
You brought that white bitch u p in my house !
You . . . Why would you bring that bitch up in here?
l didn't bring her here.
Well, why the fuck did she ri ng my buzzer?
l can't hear you, Precious.
Since you got so much motherfucking mouth,
and you gonna bring a bitch u p in my house,
why would that bitch ring my goddamn buzzer?
l didn't tell her to come here.
See, l think right now, you feeling like you're becoming a grown woman.
'Cause of that shit you pu lled in the kitchen .
l should've fucked you up, but l let you walk away,
and l let you come get yourself together.
But, bitch, l'm gonna let you know if you ever pull that shit on me again,
that will be your last motherfucking day standing,
l promise you that.
You gonna send a white bitch to my motherfucking buzzer?
Tal king about some higher education?
You're a dummy, bitch, you will never know shit.
Don't nobody want you. Don't nobody need you.
You done fucked around and fucked my motherfucking man
and had two motherfucking children,
and one of them is a goddamn animal,
running around, looking crazy as a motherfucker.
Bitch, you know what? See, I think you. . . l think you're trying me.
l think you're real ly tryi ng to fuck with me. You're fucki ng with my money.
And you're gonna stand u p there and look down at me
like you're a motherfucking woman.
l'm gonna show you what real women do, bitch.
See, you don't know what real motherfucking women do.
Real motherfucking women sacrifice.
l should've aborted your motherfucking ass. 'Cause you ai n't shit.
l knew it the day the doctors put you in my goddamn hand
you wasn't a goddamn thing,
and you have that smirk on you r face, bitch?
Get it off your fucking face!
Now smi le about that! Smile about that, you fat bitch.
l'm gonna kill you , bitch !
Get off me, bitch !
And ''blank'' and eggs?
-Bacon? -Right.
-And ''What's up, Doc?'' He eats these. -Carrots.
-Right. And ice, it comes in a tray. -Ice cubes.
Right. And the best part of the steak. The. . .
-The T-bone. The. . . -No.
-Filet mignon. -Right!
-And an English. . . Thomas' English. . . -Muffin!
-Right. -That's it!
You really need to get some rest.
You have such a big day ahead of you tomorrow.
And remember, Mommy loves you.
Describe these things that are planned. Things that are planned. Ready? Go!
Precious, you know l love you.
l'm gonna kick that white lady out of my house,
move you in with me.
Wanna live in Westchester?
-Commit a. . . -Crime.
And this is you get back together again.
-A cIass. . . -Reunion.
And this Is when you're Iike this,
-you're expecting. . . -Pregnant.
-Yeah. And this is you make a fast. . . -Escape.
-Right. -That's it!
Where you going?
Make sure you play my 852 and tell them to box it.
And get some kitty litter.
Ethel, where you at?
Precious, what are we gonna play?
Girl , get the fuck out of here.
Ain't you supposed to be at school or somethi ng?
You said we was gonna play.
That's exactly why we ain't gonna be playing.
l never said noth ing like that.
You would say some shit li ke that to me, and you don't even mean it?
No, l'm not playing with you. No, and she call . . . Hold on.
Eaoh One Teach One, hold , please.
Yes. She cal led my house. l know it wasn't your sister, Trey.
Because it wasn't her.
What this is here?
Each One Teach One.
l'm looking for an alternative school.
This is an alternative.
What alternative is?
What exactly are you aski ng me?
Lady at my other school told me to come here.
Hotel Theresa. Said it's an alternative school.
An alternative sohool, it's l ike a choice. lt's a different way of doing th ings.
So, I need your discharge papers saying that they discharged you.
l got kicked out of school 'cause l was pregnant.
Well, l still need you r discharge papers, otherwise we can't let you in.
Ms. Lichenstein didn't say all that.
You the one she called about.
Claireece P. Jones?
They al ready sent over your discharge papers and stuff.
l could start today?
Yeah. Are you currently receiving AFDC?
My mother get AFDC for me and my daughter.
So your mother has custody of you and your daughter, and you're on her budget?
Okay, well, l'm gonna need a copy of your mother's budget,
and a copy of your phone bi ll and your utility bill .
We gotta give you a few tests, test your reading and your math level,
see where to place you.
Hold on , baby. Each One Teach One, hold.
To enter into the GED classes, you gotta get an 8.0 or better on the TABE.
There's always somethIng wrong with these tests.
These tests paint a picture of me with no brain.
These tests paint a picture of me and my mother,
my whole famiIy, as Iess than dumb.
Just ugly, bIack grease to be wiped away, find another job for.
Sometimes l wish l was dead.
l'll be okay, I guess, 'cause l'm looking up.
l'm Iooking up for a piano to fall.
Or a desk, couch, TV. . . Momma, maybe.
Always something in my way.
Yeah, man.
Yo, make sure you get that for me, too, man.
Alternative.
Man, you gotta stop smoking them shits, man.
That ain't the only thing that's gonna fucking kill you.
Hustling in these streets gonna kill you.
lt is what it is.
Then my mInd come back down to Earth.
Let me get some of that sweet ass, orca!
What up, mama?
Why boys aIways grabbIng on themseIves?
You heard what the fuck I said? l said give me some fucking ass.
l'm serious! When you gonna let me hit that?
That bitch is laughing. . .
l wish they'd Ieave me alone.
-She's stupid. -Yeah .
Yo, that's not even funny.
That's what she'd get anyway, no.
Precious!
Ma, I need some money!
Ma, I'm hungry!
Come take care of Mommy, Precious.
l wish she'd stop this shit.
The other day l cried.
l felt stupid. But you know what?
Fuck that day.
That's why God, or whoever, makes new days.
Still hungry, though.
Nigger wants me to leave my kids.
They're my kids.
-What d'you want, baby? -Give me a basket, please.
-Sides? -l don't know yet.
Still thinking about it. Trying to watch my figure.
Butchie, you got a 1 0-piece ready?
potato salad.
Thank you.
Hell, no, she didn't!
Get her ass! Get that big bitch !
No, l am not the one.
You in ABE?
Yeah.
Ti me's a-wasting.
What's your name?
Claireece.
Are you coming in?
That door closes in 20 seconds.
How are you guys doing today?
Would you like to joi n us, Consuelo?
Consuelo, class is beginning.
You guys know that you are in the ABE class.
Th is is not GED . This is to get you ready for your GED.
These journals are very important to this class, so do not forget them.
You will need to use them every day that you are here.
They are the key to this class.
lt's 9: 07 , Joann. You're late.
You're the one who said breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Tomorrow, that door wil l be looked at 9: 00.
l want you to state you r name, where you were born ,
your favorite color, something you do well and why you're here.
l'll go first.
When you due?
-My name. . . -What you mean, you don't know?
. . . is Blu Rain.
-That's your real name? -Yes, it is.
Your first name's Blu?
My favorite color is pu rple. l sing well.
And l'm here
because l love to teach.
She like to sing.
Rhonda?
l wish l could sIng. Go to church and sing in the choir.
Show them how it's done.
All right. My name is Rhonda patrice Johnson.
Problem?
-l should smack her. -What?
l was born in Kingston , Jamaica, and my favorite color is blue.
And l cook good.
My mother, she used to have a restaurant over on 7 th Avenue.
Before she get sick, she teach me everything.
So I'm here to get my reading up, so l can get my G ED.
My name is Rita Romero. l was born here in Harlem.
l'm here 'cause l was an addict and I dropped out of school.
So l never got my reading and writing together.
My favorite color's black.
What do you do good?
''Well,'' Joann. ''What do you do well?''
-What do l do well? -No. Rita?
l'm a good mother. Very good mother.
My name's Jermaine. My favorite color is red.
Tel l us where you were born first.
l was born in the Bronx. Still live there.
My favorite color is red. Used to be blue.
l can dance real good.
Homie of mine told me about Each One Teach One,
so l came here to stay out of trouble.
So you came here to Harlem to stay out of trouble? ls that right?
Yeah.
-Consuelo? -This is bul lshit.
You think so?
Claireece?
Can l skip, too?
Joann?
Okay. l'm Joann . Hey.
My favorite color is fluorescent beige
and my ambition is to have my own record layer.
What's a record layer?
Tell us where you come from and why you come to this school.
l was born i n Kings Cou nty Hospital,
but my mother moved us to Harlem when l was nine.
l'm here to get my G ED, and then . . . Well, l'm already into the music industry.
l'm just trying to take oare of this little education thing so l can move up.
Let's beg in . This is ABE.
Can l go?
l wish I could sit in the back of the class again.
My name Claireece ''Precious'' Jones.
l go by Precious.
l live in Harlem . l like yellow.
And l had problems at my other school, so l come here.
Something you do well?
Nothing.
Everybody's good at something.
Come on.
Well , l oan cook. And. . .
l never really talked in class before.
How does that make you feel?
Here.
lt makes me feel here.
Everybody open their journal.
Write the date at the top of the page, and write.
l don't care if you spell everything wrong.
l don't care if it's grammatically incorrect. But just write.
Write anything that you're feeling.
This class will be a revolving door.
Some of you will make it and some of you won't.
Fifteen min utes. Go.
Before, l got a A-minus at English, and l didn 't have to say nothing.
Ms. Rain saId we gonna read and write in our notebooks every day.
How we supposed to do that?
But then she see the worry on my face and she say,
''The longest journey begin with a singIe step. ''
Whatever the fuck that's supposed to mean.
Come on , come on , do the work.
You love it, love it, learn it.
Consuelo?
''C'' for Consuelo.
''C'' for kiok your ass.
lt's ''K'' for kick your ass, stupid.
l got the ''D,'' Ms. Rain.
''D'' for dick.
Ms. Rai n , tell this little-ass bitch that she don't know me.
Which you wish you had.
-Help her. -''E.''
''E.''
''F'' for fat.
What?
Good.
Hey! Hey! Hey! Q u it it! Hey!
-What? -Hey, you stop it right now!
-You fucking. . . -Q uit it!
-She just hit me! -Drop it!
Shut the fuck up!
She just slapped me!
Get out.
We don't fight i n my class. Sit down.
''C'' for cold.
Do you live with anybody?
My mother.
What does she do?
She don't do nothing.
l want you to read a page from this book.
Try.
All l need you to do is sound out these words for me.
You don't have to know every word.
You just have to. . . lt doesn't matter if you stumble or. . . Try for me. . .
. . .or trip up on it. You just need to say what you know.
Come on . You can do this. Try. Take it word by word .
-Are you listening to me? -Precious!
l just wanna know where you are in your readi ng skills.
'Cause l'm looking at your test scores. . .
Some higher fucking learning. You're a dumb bitch!
Try to read, okay?
Just help me and then I can help you.
We'll start from scratch. Word for word.
l want you better than you r mother.
-l'm gonna call the nurse. -No.
lt all look the same to me.
What's this?
l can't do that, Ms. Rain.
push yourself.
A.
What's this word?
Do you know the letters? Come on.
''D .''
''A.''
''Y.''
Do you know that word?
''Day.''
What word is that?
Ate. Ate.
Good . Almost. The word is ''At.''
''At.''
''The.''
Sound it out.
''Beach.''
The word is ''Shore.'' lt's almost like ''Beaoh.''
Very good.
Now, read the whole thing for me.
''A
''Day
''At The
''Shore.''
Get your big ass in here.
Where was you at this morning?
You hear me talking to you? Where was you at this morning?
School. l was at school.
You a lying whore.
-l'm not lying. -You is.
The welfare done called here saying they gonna remove you from my budget
'cause you ain't been attending school regularly.
l told you l got kicked out.
l been home nearly every day for two weeks now.
You ai n't told me nothing about no damn school today.
l told you l was going to school this morning.
You plan on putting some food in that frying pan?
Precious, you got something you wanna say?
-No. -Then don't be slamming shit down in here.
You u nderstand?
Yes, ma'am.
You need to forget about that school shit and take your ass down to the welfare.
l'm getti ng a stipend from school.
Fool, what the fuck is a stipend? What is that?
Fuck a sti pend . l said take your ass down to the welfare.
Right now?
Why in the fuck would you go right now? It's at n ighttime. Shit is closed.
You gotta be there by 7:00 a. m.
in the morning if you wanna talk to somebody.
Fucking stupid.
You thi n k you're too good now? ls that what it is?
You think you is too good for the welfare?
There's more wh ite folk getting assistance than it is niggers, Ms. Onassis.
l think l said therapy. . .
Hurry your ass up. l am i n here fucking starving.
Now what you gonna do if l die of starvation?
Where you gonna go after that?
l forgot. School.
Eaoh. . . What that bitch say? Each one do what?
Each one teach one?
Well, they don't know who the fuck they teaching,
'cause you can't learn shit.
Keep on listening to them white people.
That's what's gonna get you fucked up.
Precious, l'm hungry.
You ain't cooked no col lard g reens with the fucking pigs' feet?
Like, how am l supposed to eat pigs' feet with no collard greens?
And why in the fuck does that pigs' feet have so much hair in it?
You eat it. You come eat this shit.
-l'm not hungry, though. -Yes, you is.
Precious, if you don't get this goddamn plate. . .
You just fix mine when you get done. Since you fucked it u p, you gonna eat it up.
Hurry up and eat, Precious. l'm fucking hu ng ry, too.
And don't let it get cold , 'cause cold-ass pigs' feet is nasty as shit.
So, tell me about. . . Tel l me about your home life.
Ain't nothi ng to really talk about.
You're in a safe place. Just talk.
What's going on?
What's the first thing that comes to your mind
when you think about home?
l just wish l had my own TV, so l could watch it in my room.
lf l had my own TV, l wouldn't have to watch it with my mother.
And what's it like, watching TV with your mother?
You enjoy watching TV with your mother?
l need to know about your home life. l need to know what it's like where you live.
My mother's like a whale on the couch.
She say I eat al l the time, but she always making me eat.
Then she call me a fat mess.
She say the apartment is little 'cause of me.
Only time she ever leaves is to play her numbers.
l feel like l cou ld just sit in the house with her every day,
the shades drawn,
watch TV, eat, watch TV, eat again.
Can you help out with that?
Can we talk about something else now?
How about your firstborn?
Mongo?
Mongo is her. . . ls that. . .
Mongo. That's short for ''mongoloid.''
ls that what you call her? Or that's. . . What is that? A nickname?
She got Down's syndr ome.
How you doing, Precious?
My grandmother Toosie bring little Mongo over to our house
on days when the social worker come, so it look like she live with us.
Answer the fucking door.
Do you see what you did? God damn it.
Then my mother gets money and the food stamps for me and Mongo.
Who is it?
It's Ms. Turner.
Social worker's here.
Why didn't you tell me that bitch was comi ng so fucking early?
My fucking wig . Come get my wig !
Come up!
Where's my lipstick?
Thank you, thank you.
-Get off of me. -Leave that chi ld alone, please.
Mind your goddam n business.
-H i , Precious. -Hey.
-Hello, Ms. Turner. How you doing? -H i , Mary. How are you?
Please excuse that. My sweet grandbaby just knocked it over.
please, have a seat. Excuse the mess.
-Thank you. -Than ks.
How are you, Mary?
l'm doi ng really good, Ms. Turner. Thank you .
When was the last time you've taken her to the doctor?
Precious, when. . . When did we take her? The baby?
Last month.
Yeah. . . On the 1 6th. On the 1 6th . Yes, yes, ma'am.
Okay, and what did the doctor say?
They said that she's progressing really good.
She's doing really good.
-That's good . -Yes, ma'am.
And have you been looking for a job?
I have, Ms. Turner. l am. But they've all been saying the same thing.
You know, they'll call me back. They'll get back to me.
When did you go looking for the job?
l went last week and l filled out several appl ications.
And they all said the same thing, that they would call me.
Mommy!
No ! No!
ls that a new microwave oven?
A. . . A microwave?
No, ma'am. We warm our things up in the oven.
-l see. lt's a toaster oven. -Yes. Yes, ma'am.
Okay. l wi ll be seeing and speaking with you
in a week or so.
-l n a week or so? -Yes.
Okay, do you know what time you'll be. . . You'l l be comi ng?
-I'l l let you know. -Okay.
-l'l l let you know. -Thank you so much.
Precious, any questions for me?
How are you, Precious?
l'm doi ng good . How you doing?
l'm good, thank you.
Ladies, thank you for your time.
Thank you so much, Ms. Turner. Have a great day.
-And you . Bye, Sheila. -Bye.
Come get this motherfucking . . . Get her.
Moving all around and shit while l'm trying to talk to this bitch.
Makes me fucking itch.
She done threw her fucking candy on the floor.
Goddamn animal.
And now you gonna give it to her? put the fucking candy back on the floor!
Then you go and pick it u p and let her have it.
You're so fucki ng stupid. Just like her dumb ass.
That bitch gon na come up i n here and l gotta fucking make pretend?
l'm so sick of it.
l don't know what the fuck you shaking your head for.
You didn't do no goddamn better.
You know what? Let's tal k about your father.
Tel l me about your relationshi p with him.
I don't know much more than you do, Ms. White.
lt's Ms. Weiss.
Talk to me about the little you do know about your father,
'cause it is im portant, whether you know it or not.
He give me this baby and my one before it, but l. . .
What did you say he gave you?
-Noth ing . -No, Claireece, you just said
your father gave you something.
-l heard you just say. . . -You didn't hear shit.
-l heard you say your father. . . -l ain't say nothing . I ai n't say shit like it.
-l don't care, honey. -l d idn't say nothing like that.
-l need to know this. -Let's move on .
l need to know th is to help you.
-Bitch , can we change the subject? -Okay.
Well , l'll see you next time, then. Or maybe you'll see someone else.
But you're gonna have to talk to somebody if you want you r check, sweetie.
l see vampires, too.
They come at night. They tel l me l'm one of them.
They say, ''Precious, you belong with us.''
And then they go downstai rs th roug h the floor.
The people that live under us, they is vampi res,
so that's where they should go.
They be so nasty, though,
leaving thei r di rty tampons and shit in the garbage.
Don't even offer to take it out.
They got no fucking home training.
l been going to the doctor, too. lt's nice.
Ms. Rain fall out when she fou nd out l ain't never been to no doctor before.
Don't know how l had my first baby on the kitchen floor
with my momma kicking me u pside my head .
Them the kind of things you're talking about
when you say, say whatever come to my mind?
That's the end of them welfare checks.
l just couIdn 't lie no more. I shouIdn't have said none of that.
Momma gonna kIll me.
Motherfuckers!
Are we done?
l'm not doing this with you today.
At night, we went out on a field trip.
These girls is crazy.
Ain 't nobody ever grabbed my hand like that before.
...as a candidate for the Democratic nomination
for the presIdency of the United States of America.
...and by havIng destroyed it, now we don 't know. . .
...and the testimony you're about to give wilI be the truth, the whole truth. . .
I stiIl have a dream.
It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
l have a dream that one day
this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of. . .
l'm gonna teach my baby all of this.
''We hold these truths to be seIf-evident,
''that all men are created equal. ''
No fear. That's bullshit. That's bu llshit.
You mean , write a whole new one?
No, girl , if I need to explain myself to you. . .
-You'll figure it out. -You think that l'm stupid?
Oh , my God . That l believe in you?
That l think you're incredible?
Yes, but l don't know what to do.
All rig ht, pull it together. Okay. Who's next?
l'm happy to be writing.
-Go ahead , Rhonda. -I'm happy to be In school, too.
Ms. Rain say we gonna write every day in our notebook.
She gonna wrlte back to us every day, too.
''Yesterday l went to church for the first time since l come to this country.
''l got all the way to Brooklyn.
''The church was up the block and around the corner upon the 3 trai n .
''The preacher preached two and a half hours
-''about Jehovah . -Rhonda ! Rhonda!
''And how Lord Jesus, Son of God, Messiah, Jehovah delivers.''
ls that a fairytale?
Sit down.
Did anybody do this assign ment?
Momma say this school ain 't shit.
She say you can 't Iearn nothing writing in no book.
-This is a fai rytale called ''Enchanted.'' -She wrong about that. l is learning.
''Once upon a time, i n a faraway land,
''there lived a beautiful princess named Joan n-a.
''She was very, very fly and extra, extra tall,
''and every single boy loved her, big and small .
''Except for one idiot boy who was so stupid and dumb.
''And out of all the cute boys who loved her, he was the cutest one.''
-That's all l got so far. -That's a good beginning.
Thinking about littIe Mongo, too. l miss her.
That's how you start a fairytale.
l'm happy my baby coming up.
I'm gonna read to this baby, too, and hang coIors on its wall.
Listen, baby. Mother not dumb.
Mother Iove you. Listen.
''Once upon a time, there was a mag ical princess
''who lived in a magical bubble under the sea.
''And she was from land.''
Stop screaming.
His name's AbduI Jamal Lewis Jones.
He heaIthy. His mother Iove him.
The food in this hospital's nasty.
lt's not from here.
Where it from?
A little shop by my house where
I get my organic food , so l don't have to eat that
nasty mystery-meat stuff they got downstairs.
Can you bring me something? l don't like fru it. l like McDonald's.
First of al l , l don't eat McDonald's.
Second of all, you don't need to be eating McDonald's, either.
lt's not healthy.
But l li ke McDonald's. We all like McDonald's, right?
We like McDonald's, too, over here.
l don't like no damn McDonald's.
l want some of that organio shit like you got.
Well , l tell you what,
when you get up out of here, you go with all you r l ittle friends,
and you go to McDonald's,
and you get as much McDonald's as you want.
But right now, you're gonna take care of your health.
Are you a doctor?
-Are you her doctor? -Am l a doctor?
-Yeah . -l am a nu rse's aide.
Nurse John-John.
Oh , that's funny?
Well, you're a man.
-You've never seen a male nurse? -No.
Not looking like you do.
I am a male nurse. l am Nurse John McFadden.
So was you up in the room when she popped the baby out?
You was like, all up i n between her. . .
Joan n , don't be nasty!
How was it? Was he screaming?
lt hurt.
Tough gal like you had to scream?
Not so tough with a baby coming out of me. lt hurt. And it burned.
-Are you married? -Shut up!
You got a girlfriend?
-Why you asking? He don't want you. -How would you know?
Why don't you stop being a ho for 1 0 minutes?
What's wrong with these people?
You don't want her, right?
l wish l was a cantalou pe in that cup.
So he could eat you?
Okay, no. l gotta go. l gotta go.
No, that's all right. That's all right.
Can l get a kiss, too, Nurse John?
-Good afternoon , ladies. -Bye, N urse John .
-Bye ! -Good night, Nurse John-John !
Precious and John-John
Sitting in a tree
-F-U-C-K-I-N-G -Shut up! Y'all are nasty.
You thi n k he's spending the night up in here?
Now she gonna write about Nurse John in her book!
''Dear Ms. Rain,
''AlI the years I sit in cIass, l never learned.
''Now I got a baby again by my father.
''I wIsh I had a boyfriend Iike other girls.
''Then I'll feel right that l have to quit school.
''I love my baby, but l want school, too.
" Social worker ask me if l wanna give littIe Mongo
''and Abdul up for adoption. l could kilI her.
'"She never helped before. Now she wanna take my kids away?
''lf she takes AbduI, l won 't have nothing no more. ''