Hope Lives (2022) Movie Script

Daddy, the sun is setting.

Aww, it's so pretty.

You're horrible.

Who did your hair?

Who did your coat today?

And look at your dirty shoes.

Like, you could have

did better than that.

Man, you stink, like, come on.

Go take a shower.

You're so ugly,

Please don't touch me.

Hey, where you going?

If you ain't wanna be picked on,

you shoulda never

been born ugly.

Gimme that back, my

daddy gave that to me.

No.

Give it!

This is mine now.

Stop, give it!

No!

Give it.

No, this is mine now.

Please, stop acting

like you really hurt.

Get up.

Come on, stop playing, get up.

Come on, get up.

Bruh,

I don't think she's moving.

Peter?

Honey, how you hanging in there?

Yeah, that was his only child.

His wife died while giving

birth to his daughter.

That's so sad.

I heard he's not

even planning to press charges

against the kid who

killed his daughter.

What?

No way in the world I

could have done that.

He would be a jail,

and his parents should have

some kind of responsibility.

Well, apparently,

his parents weren't

in his life, so.

I think I heard that his

dad passed away years ago.

Baby.

Oh, sweetie.

You know, you should really

consider getting away from here.

You need a fresh,

new environment,

and Virginia has

nothing left for you.

And it doesn't have

to be right away.

But you really should go.

Oh, baby.

♪ My mind is going a

million miles a second ♪

♪ If it don't stop

♪ I'm afraid that

I'm gonna wreck it ♪

♪ I'm the type yeah it's

hard to learn the lesson ♪

♪ No GPS I follow

my direction yeah ♪

♪ You suggest a fraction

♪ The light of my reflection

♪ Standing in the mirror

♪ Looking good man I'm

smiling for my selfie ♪

♪ Trying to capture

my best moments ♪

♪ Searching for the

best I ever had ♪

So I just wanted

to speak to you.

My chemistry professor,

he told me I needed to

speak to you directly

about getting an

extension on a project.

Really, I'm just a

little overloaded

with some work right now,

and I wanted to speak to you

about getting an extension.

Come in.

Hey, I'm sorry to

interrupt you guys.

Are you principal Hanway?

Yes.

I'm Peter.

I was supposed to

meet you earlier.

Oh, I have to take this, okay?

We'll talk about

this later, okay?

I'm so sorry to

interrupt you guys.

Sorry, brother.

Peter!

Pleasure to meet you.

So, tell me, how long have

you been working with Evolve?

It seems to be a

fantastic organization.

It is, I love it.

I've actually been there,

what, three months now

and they got me focused on

the bullying portion of like

the school programs and things.

So, I'm enjoying

it, can't complain.

Excellent.

So, what made you

want to get involved

in the after-school program

to help victims of bullying?

Ooh.

Wow.

Wow, that's kind

of a big question.

It started with,

actually, my church.

I was youth director there

for, what, a few years,

and I loved it so much

that I went back to school,

got my degree in social work,

and I was a social worker

for about 10 years.

And the rest is history.

Plus I'm passionate about

the topic of bullying,

so it worked out.

Well, we're very

grateful for your service.

Thank you.

You mentioned youth pastor.

I just want to remind you

that this is a public school

and we have to keep our

religious and political

beliefs personal.

Absolutely, 100%,

I agree with that.

And you know, plus,

there's ways to share God

without even actually

saying His name.

I know what you mean.

Oh, do you?

I'm a Christian, too.

Really?

Okay, cool.

Cool.

Well, let's get

back on track here.

Yeah.

So, this is a volunteer

opportunity for the students.

So there's no guarantee that

anyone will even show up.

I understand.

I mean, come on, they're teens.

I get it, that's fine.

Yeah, but that being

said, our counselor, Jane,

has been talking to

some of the students

since the beginning of the year

and it looks like we

have about six signed up,

so we'll see if they show up.

Cool.

Sounds good.

All right.

So, we'll have

you start tomorrow

and you'll actually be in

this classroom right here.

Really?

Nice, perfect, I like it.

All right, so we'll

see you tomorrow.

Of course, yeah.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for your

time, I appreciate it.

I appreciate it.

All right.

Hey, actually, Principal Hanway,

nevermind.

I'm sorry, I kind of answered

it in my head already.

Sorry about that.

Okay.

All right, you

have a good day.

You too.

All right.

See you tomorrow.

Alrighty.

Peter, you still there?

Yeah.

Yeah, ma, I'm here.

Well, I'm just glad that

you got up out of Virginia

and went out there

for a fresh start.

Yeah, me too.

You know, I think it was needed.

How do you think

working at that new school

is gonna go?

I think it's going to

be all right, you know?

The principal seems pretty nice.

Well, I just hope he's not

one of those pushover types.

So, he is a she, Ma.

Oh, okay.

Well, I hope that she's not

one of those pushover types.

Nah, nah, she's pretty cool.

She's real nice.

She's actually good

with the students, too.

Oh.

Pretty nice, huh?

Mm-hmm.

She cute, too?

Come on, Ma.

What?

I'm just curious.

Yeah, she's

beautiful, actually.

Oh.

She got rings on?

Nope.

She sure don't.

I was looking hard, too.

I ain't see nothing.

But look, you gotta

stop that, Ma.

You gotta stop it, all right?

You know, I'm not

in any way ready

for any kind of

relationship right now.

Well, it's been eight years

since your wife passed, Peter.

Ma, this has nothing

to do with Tameka.

Oh.

Well,

you just take your time, baby.

You know that Brianna

was very special to me.

Don't do that.

Don't do what?

Don't bring up

Brianna, okay, Ma?

Like, look, I'm trying my best

to just get this out of my mind.

I can't, I don't even

want to think about it.

It helps to talk about.

It doesn't help me, Ma.

Okay?

Look, what helps me is just

not thinking about it at all.

Okay?

That's what helps me.

No, you just can't go running

away from dealing with this.

Well, you the one

who told me to run, Ma.

You the one who told me to

pack up, come to Maryland,

get away from all this.

You told me that.

Oh, oh, no.

No, I told you to leave

so that you could heal,

so that you could

deal with everything.

I didn't say run away.

And don't you dare take

out your anger on me.

You didn't just lose a daughter.

I lost my grand baby.

I'm sorry, Ma.

I'm sorry.

You know, this stuff

just ain't easy.

Yeah, well, it's

not supposed to be.

Oh, hey.

How are you?

I'm Mr. Ryans.

What's your name?

Hello, I'm Wanda.

Wanda.

Nice to meet you, Wanda.

Wow.

So I'm the counselor

that's gonna be

talking with you guys today.

By any chance, did you

notice anybody else coming in

when you were here?

No, I'm the only one.

All right, no problem.

So we'll just go

ahead and get started

just as soon as a few more

people get in here, all right?

Cool, awesome.

All right, guys,

just take a seat.

Oh, hey.

Hello.

I'm Jane, school counselor.

And you must be Peter?

Mr. Ryans, that's me.

So nice to meet you.

Thank you.

Okay, well, I rounded

up three more for you.

They had all expressed

interest in this group,

but apparently they had

gotten a little distracted

in the hallway on the way over.

That's all right,

they're teens, you know?

Let 'em live.

That's true, that's true.

If you need anything, I'll be

in my office till about 5:30.

And if you don't, just make

sure you turn off the lights

and lock up on your way out.

- Will do.

- All right?

Thank you, uh, Jane, right?

You bet.

All right, thank you.

All right, well, hey,

good to see you guys.

I'm Mr. Ryans.

I'm from Evolve.

As you guys can see here,

we're a nonprofit organization

and they sent me

here as a counselor,

partnering with your school

to talk with you guys a

little bit about bullying.

So I'm glad to be here,

glad to see your faces.

Excuse me, ma'am?

Are you supposed to be in here?

Yeah, but I can go?

No, no, no, come

on in, come on in.

Please, have a seat.

Empty chair right there.

Come on, come on.

Yeah, we're just talking a

little bit about the program

and everything else,

kind of the intro to the class.

But I'm curious, do any of

you guys know each other?

I don't know anyone here.

I mean, I've seen

them around school,

but we don't talk or anything.

Okay, well, hey,

nothing wrong with that.

That's the best place

to start, you know?

When you don't know somebody,

we get to know each other.

And, hey, why don't

you kick us off

since you started talking?

My name's Carson Palmer.

I'm here 'cause the

school counselor

suggested me to come here

so I can be around people

I can better relate to.

Hey.

Yeah, yeah, this the after

school bullying program?

It is, yeah.

James.

Okay, cool.

How y'all doing,

how y'all doing?

- How you doing, brother?

- All right.

All right, I'm Mr. Ryans.

Sure, sure.

We're just kind of

getting to know each other

a little bit.

I mean, since you so

graciously decided

to show up late and everything,

why don't you kick us off next?

Tell us a little about yourself.

All right, well, obviously

I ain't no weird nerd,

nothing like that.

But

basically, I sent a provocative

picture to my girl, right?

We broke up later on.

She ended up sending

it to the whole school,

and, yeah, so.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Listen, James,

that is tough,

but let me give you a little

bit of encouragement, okay?

There's actually

people in our world

who really have a large platform

and they've made mistakes,

just like you did.

And, unfortunately,

their mistakes have

cost them a lot more.

So they've came out on top.

I believe you'll be

able to come out on top.

All right, we'll talk

more about this later,

but just be encouraged, man.

This is not a forever thing.

You're gonna be all right.

Let's keep it

going, this is fun.

How about you, Sir,

in the blue shirt?

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Darren.

Okay.

Do you want to share

anything else, a little more?

I'm pretty quiet.

Really?

James, no, stop.

Okay?

There's absolutely nothing wrong

with being a little

bit introverted, okay?

So tell us a little bit more.

I'm,

I'm used a lot at the school.

People, they'll

pretend to befriend me

just so that I can help

them with their school work.

Why would they

want to befriend you

just so you can do

their schoolwork?

Uh, Mr. Ryans?

This guy is like the smartest

in our entire school,

like top notch smartest.

Really?

Okay.

Well, I mean, that's

a good thing, right?

I mean, there's nothing

wrong with being

obviously one of the

smartest kids in class.

That should make you very

desirable as a friend.

I have a question, though.

I would want to know

why in the world

would you just allow yourself

to be used like that?

I mean, what would happen

if you just stopped all

together doing their work?

Poof.

Poof?

Okay, what do you mean by poof?

Then I'd have no friends.

All right, wouldn't

that be a good thing?

I mean, who would want to

be friends with someone

who's pretty much fake anyway?

A fake friend is

better than no friend.

I'm sorry, I've been

talking a lot, Mr. Ryans,

but I'd rather be alone.

I don't want no fake

people around me

ever.

Well, I'm Maria.

Hi, Maria.

We're glad you joined us.

Why don't you tell us a

little bit why you're here?

Yeah, why did you

decide to join us, Maria?

I'm sorry, do you

guys know each other?

Everybody in here knows her.

She's the pretty,

popular,

light-skin Instagram model

with like 500,000 followers.

What, you jealous?

You sound jealous.

What that got to

do with anything?

Shut up, boy.

Stop, stop, stop.

You guys, relax, okay?

It's all right.

You said Instagram.

I mean, what do

you mean Instagram?

Well, Mr. Ryans,

it means she gets half naked

in front of hundreds and

thousands of people for some likes

and maybe a free

makeup sponsorship.

Hmm?

Anyways, I'm just here to see

if speaking in a group setting

with other people who've

also experienced bullying

would be helpful.

Girl, what kind of bullying

have you ever experienced?

Your kind.

When jealous, unkempt females

always got something to say.

Girl, unkempt?

Who are you calling unkempt?

I'm calling you unkempt.

What you gonna do?

Huh, huh?

Stop, stop, stop,

hey, sit down.

Looking all stupid.

First of all.

First of all, nothing.

You need to get out my face.

Hey, stop.

You don't know me?

No, she don't know me.

I don't wanna know you.

I'm frickin' outta here.

I don't got time for this.

Ha ha.

No!

Have a seat, don't leave.

Nobody wants you here.

Nobody want you here.

Look at me, okay?

Please, do not leave this

class right now because of her

or anybody else in here, okay?

If you're gonna leave here,

let it be because of me,

because I failed you.

Give me a chance,

come on, have a seat.

Give me a chance,

give me a chance.

We're not gonna do this, okay?

That's not what this

program is about.

Okay?

This is really an opportunity

for us to actually connect,

come together, okay?

I understand, you know,

we can have hostility,

you know, you may

not like each other.

You may even be

enemies, but here today,

I need you to understand that

by the end of this class,

you're gonna be friends.

Listen, whatever

your issue is today,

just understand

that there's hope,

there's an opportunity for you

guys to have a better life.

All right?

And I'm gonna teach

you that, okay?

Yeah, yeah, James?

Mr. Ryans, yeah,

Stephanie smell good.

I'm not trying to be funny.

She just smelled good to me.

Y'all know, like the Jergens,

cherry almond Jergens?

Oh, so y'all don't

moisturize y'alls skin?

Okay, whatever.

I'm sorry, everybody.

Stephanie, you smell good.

That's all I was trying to say.

All right, all right, cool.

Listen, I appreciate that.

You guys, I'm excited

to be here, man.

Come on, put on

those smiling faces.

Let's kick things off

with a little activity.

All right, come on,

let's get loose.

Stand up outta your desk.

Stand up, stand up.

Come on, stand up, stand

up, stand up, stand up.

All right, just move your

desks out of the way.

We're gonna get in a circle

and we are going to have

a nice time, all right?

Hey, you still here?

It's almost five o'clock.

I am.

You could have warned me

about these kids, you know.

I wanted to surprise you.

How'd it go today?

It actually went pretty good.

I can't complain.

Good.

A lot went on, you

know, some rough patches,

you know, fun moments,

but at the end of the

day, it, oh, actually,

there's a student named James.

You heard of him?

James?

Yes, of course.

Hmm.

By the look of your face,

lets me know it's true.

Unfortunately, yes.

It got out to the entire staff.

Wait, you saw it, too?

Yeah.

Oh my.

Poor kid.

Dang.

Well, I mean, hey, look,

out of all the kids

that were here today,

he seems like the one

that's probably gonna

be just fine very soon.

Yeah, he'll be all right.

Absolutely.

Well, look, I gotta hit the gym.

I'll finish cleaning

up right here

and lock the door on the

way out and be good to go.

Okay, well, I'll

let you do your thing.

Okay.

Look, I really appreciate you.

Thank you.

I'll see you tomorrow.

All right.

Hey,

sorry, nevermind.

I'm good.

I'm sorry about that.

You know, this is the

second time you did this to me

in two days.

What's going on?

I know, I'm sorry.

My fault, I got a lot going on.

These kids was crazy.

I'm just, I'm good, though.

Everything's fine.

Okay.

Have a good night.

All right, you too.

Yeah, I gotta go work out.

♪ Rockefeller over

♪ Now I'm going to

war like a soldier ♪

♪ Plus they tried

to count me out ♪

♪ Thinking that it's over

Push, push, push, push, push.

Here we go.

Good work, good work.

Yo, you killing me, Marshall.

Hey, well, that's

music to my ears.

Oh my gosh, that's not, man.

This was supposed to

be a light workout.

- Light?

- Yes.

Man, come on, man.

We ain't put no toe in

the water around here.

No, but so,

how's the bullying program with

the new school treating you?

Great.

Yo, them kids is a trip, man.

Mm-hmm.

I like the sign of what

you're doing overall.

You, hey, how's wifey doing?

She's good, she's good.

She's great.

Don't be mad.

We have, you know,

we've been keeping it under

wraps for the most part,

but she's,

we're pregnant.

- Shut up.

- Yes sir.

Oh my.

Come here, boy!

Thank you, thank

you, thank you.

Congrats, man.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

How far along is she?

So she's in her

third trimester.

Actually coming down

the home stretch.

So, with that being said,

I'm gonna need a little

administrative help

for the personal

training business,

mainly scheduling,

payments, cold calls.

Like back office stuff.

So if you know any

high school kids

looking for something part-time,

something on the weekends.

Got you.

I'll actually put out a word

at the school I'm at now.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

I appreciate that.

Yup, yup.

All right, that's enough

intimacy between us for one day.

All right, come on, let's

crush this last set.

Come on, bro.

Nah, nah, nah, let's

go, let's go, let's go.

You said that three sets ago.

I saw that, I saw that.

Not gonna work, not around here.

Yo, next time when you say

light, make it light, man.

Light?

This is light.

♪ I'm in the biz

♪ Tell her don't miss me

Wobbly Wanda in the building.

Wobbledy, wobble, wobble.

Drop it like it's hot.

Hold up, hold up, hold up.

Don't tell her drop nothing.

Mess around and

trigger an earthquake.

Hey, Slim.

Hey.

Hey, Slim

Hey.

Leave her alone, stupid.

Mind your business.

Hey, Slim.

What, you been

working out, sexy?

Hey.

What, you been working out?

There she blows.

What happened?

I saw that.

Oh my.

I don't want to

do this geometry.

Wait, is that him?

I mean, he looks kinda nerdy.

Like, look at his bag.

It's like a binder

with straps on.

He's not ugly,

he's just mad weird.

I swear. I need someone

like him to do my work for me.

Girl, you can

have him after me.

Ew.

Are you guys?

No, no.

You sure?

No.

Please, stop.

I mean you can have him

after he helps me

pass my English class.

Okay, well, you

better handle that

because I need him,

like, tomorrow.

Okay.

Hey, Darien.

Hey, it's Darren,

but you are AP English with

the paperclips and staples?

Yeah.

Here

you

go.

Oh, thank you.

I was able to finish

both papers for you.

Aww, you're so sweet.

No problem.

Actually, I have this

for the same class

and it's due on Monday.

Monday?

Yeah.

Oh, um,

I'm sorry, I won't have time

to do that this weekend.

Excuse me?

I'm sorry, I won't have time.

Find the time.

I'll probably be able

to work on it during my

first period class

Monday morning.

Great.

Thank you.

♪ Calm down before you

stress up the groove ♪

♪ The energy a little different

when the blessings improve ♪

♪ Hey who you talking to

♪ Just know I aint no

♪ Could be anything

in the world ♪

Hey, Principal Hanway.

Hey, guys.

Have a good weekend.

Hey, Peter.

Hey, what's up?

You headed to your

session with the kids?

Yeah, yeah.

Actually, going there right now.

Well, great.

Well, have a good weekend.

Cool, cool.

Hold on real quick.

So,

are you free this weekend?

Free?

Yeah, you know what I mean?

You know, you busy with

these kids all week.

I figured maybe we can go out

and have some adult

time or something.

Well, I don't think my

husband would like that.

Oh, my bad, I'm so sorry.

I'm just kidding,

I'm just kidding.

Really?

Well, what'd you have in mind?

I don't know.

You know, something fun.

Like I'm cool with anything.

What about bowling?

I like bowling, yeah.

I'm a beast, you know?

Well, let's do that.

I'm cool with that.

Yeah, yeah.

Well, I know you got my number,

so why don't you

just shoot me a text?

Text me your address.

I'll come through maybe

Saturday night around seven.

My address?

Yeah.

No, I don't know you

that well, Mr. Ryans.

Oh, it's Mr. Ryans now?

I respect that, I respect.

All right, well, cool.

How about instead if

you text me a number

and I'll text you the

address to the bowling alley

and we can meet

there around seven?

Sounds good.

All right.

I'll see you then.

Cool, cool, cool.

Hey.

Yeah?

I was wondering when you

were going to come around

and ask me.

Okay.

See you.

All right.

♪ As long as you're with me

♪ I feel at home

It is so good to see that

you actually all came back.

All of you.

This is great, this is great.

I figured, you know,

this time around,

we could dive a little

deeper and talk about hate.

You know, in high school,

not everybody loves

everything, right?

So I figured we could

just take a second

and talk about some of the

things we hate about school.

Wanda, why don't

we start with you?

Do I have to go first?

You don't have to,

but we'd love to hear a

little bit of your story.

If you wouldn't mind

sharing, please.

What's something you

hate about high school?

Going to class late.

Late?

Who cares about

going to class late?

I do.

And clearly you have

no idea what it's like

dreading to go to class

and fear that half of the

class is waiting for you

just to try out their

new fat people jokes.

Look, Wanda, you ain't

that big, all right?

I know people fatter than you.

Shut up, James.

You shut up.

Look, you got some size and all,

but don't worry about that.

And I ain't trying to be rude,

so don't tell me shut up.

You shut up.

Whatever.

James, no, we're

not doing that, okay?

I know you're trying to help,

but we're not doing that.

All right, we want to hear

you, Wanda, sorry about that.

Please, please continue.

Tell us what's going on.

Mr. Ryans,

I hate going to

class late because,

because when I'm

late, I'm noticeable.

Mm-hmm.

It's like everyone is

watching me as I walk to my seat

and all I feel are eyes as

I walk past their desks.

But when I'm early, Mr. Ryans,

when I'm early and

seated at my desk,

no one pays attention.

It's like,

I'm either a walking billboard

that everyone can just

laugh and point at, or,

or I just don't exist at all.

I know what you mean.

I guess I have a certain look

that makes people

think it's their job

to make me feel

terrible about who I am.

About time white people

know how it feel to be treated

just because of how you look.

Stephanie, no.

Mr. Ryans, can

I say something?

Absolutely, Carson, you may.

To be honest, I have no

reason to like black people.

Say what?

My whole life, it's been

black kids who picked on me.

It was a black man who

broke into my house

and took everything

of value from us.

It's a black guy at

my afterschool job

who makes every day I go

in there a living

and to be quite honest,

I grew up in a house where

neither of my parents

have anything positive to

say about black people.

Now, and that all being said,

I don't let my

parents influence me.

I don't let any single

experience I've had

with any black person

paint a picture in my mind

that all black

people are the same.

I just choose to go through life

treating everyone the right way,

even if I get

slammed in the way.

I heard that.

I respect it.

Do me a favor, though, yo.

Don't ever invite

me to your house,

'cause I ain't coming.

I don't care if you

got Hamburger Helper,

baked apple pie, I ain't coming.

But, nah, for reals, yo,

I respect that.

Look, look, I

appreciate you sharing.

Carson, thank you.

Thank you for sharing

your little story.

Wanda, thank you for sharing.

See, the truth is, you know,

we all experience something

about school that we hate,

all of us.

All of us have pains

and issues we deal with,

but there's ways to cope,

so let's take a minute

and talk about some

of those things, okay?

♪ Yeah I got bad thoughts

that make my mind scared ♪

♪ Hold me hostage and

they don't fight fair ♪

♪ Who gonna pray for me

and wipe all my tears ♪

♪ Who gonna save me if

you not right here ♪

♪ Ooh this darkness it

make my sight clear ♪

♪ Take me away 'cause

I don't like here ♪

♪ Ghosts of my past

♪ They filling the night air

♪ Wake me up

♪ I'm trapped in my nightmares

♪ Wake me up

♪ I'm trapped in my nightmares

♪ Wake me up

♪ Back to life back to life

What you looking at?

Nothing.

Man, you not doing

them dishes right.

Don't ignore me.

I said, you're not doing

those dishes right.

What am I doing wrong?

You're supposed

to use the sponge,

not the rag.

Sorry.

I don't know why

they hired you anyway.

Why do you have such

a problem with me, bro?

'Cause you're

a punk white boy.

And I'm not your bro.

Man, there's brothers out

here who really need a job

so they could feed their family.

And here you come,

just taking up space.

I need a job too, man.

No you don't.

Your parents will buy

you whatever you need.

You don't know anything

about me or my family.

Who you talking to you like

you about to do something?

Wash that.

Where are my fries?

All right, lemme

see what you got.

Let's go.

Oh, what up, twinkle toes?

Twinkle toes.

Oh my gosh.

What was that?

You didn't see that.

You didn't see it.

Everybody saw that.

No, no.

I'm just warming up.

That's the warmup?

That's the warmup.

That's the cold up, my gosh.

Like, you know a gutter ball

still counts as zero, right?

Watch it.

Watch it, okay?

Not everybody can, you know,

get strikes every single

time, like your boy, right?

Okay, see, now you about

to strike out on this date

if you keep messing with me.

Oh, all right.

My fault, my fault, my fault.

I did want to say

something, though.

Something kind of been

on my mind a little bit.

I find it hard to believe that

you've never been married.

Well, believe it.

I'm just so focused on work

and raising my kids right now.

Mm-hmm.

Wait, kids?

Hold up, hold up.

All this time, you've

never told me you had kids.

Yeah, I have two.

Two?

Nice, nice.

And, forgive me for asking,

but is their dad like

in their life or?

They're both adopted.

Oh.

Something I always wanted

to do, since I'm adopted.

I didn't know that.

Wow.

Yeah.

Wow.

Well, congrats on the children.

Thank you.

What what about you?

Do you have any kids?

I did, yeah.

I had a daughter, but she

passed away last year.

Yeah.

I'm so sorry to hear that.

Wow.

It's okay.

You know, for obvious reasons,

it's not something

I like to talk about

or bring up that much,

but I'm doing better, I'm okay.

I won't bring it up again.

I'm sorry.

But if you ever do

want to talk, I'm here.

I appreciate that, thank you.

There is actually something

I want to talk to you about.

I was curious if you're

really that bad at bowling?

Oh, you know what?

You know what, you know what?

Let me say something.

You talking about

me, you better.

One pin down?

You better roll a strike.

You sitting there

talking about me,

you better roll a strike.

You ain't said nothing.

You ain't said nothing,

but dang, girl, I got this.

Talking about me,

I need to see you.

Let's go, let's go.

Here we go.

Show this bad boy right here.

Put a little bit of the

booty out, like that.

Oh my.

Stick it out.

By God, yeah, yeah.

All right, now see that,

that one don't count.

- I mean?

- That one didn't count.

That one didn't count, okay?

I just had to reset, you know,

do a little bit different flow.

Wow.

- I got this one, though.

- Four pins?

I'm gonna pick it up.

If I just stay focused, I

might get out of this school.

Trust me, you'll get out.

I don't know, man.

I got you, man.

Stephanie!

All right.

Take it easy, kid.

I got it.

What's up, girl?

Hey.

So, you going to Mr.

Ryans' after school program?

Yeah.

Girl, why you so mean?

I ain't mean.

You is mean.

I ain't mean.

All right, meanie.

I'm sorry, you almost

ripped your book.

Yeah, see, I need that smile.

You're stupid.

No, you're definitely stupid.

Who is that girl

he talking to?

What you even doing out here?

- Um, I forgot.

- Get it together.

Hey, James.

Good morning, Cherie.

I see you decided

not to upgrade.

And who are you?

Who are you?

What's wrong with you?

What's wrong with us?

What's wrong with her hair?

Like, may I suggest a brush?

Stephanie.

Does she even own

a comb or brush?

A simple wash and brush.

I don't even know you.

Something wrong with y'all.

You're both ignorant,

and that's why you

my ex-girlfriend.

What's up, ladies?

Hey, Jay.

Hey, Mr. Ryans.

Carson, hey man, you're early.

You know we don't get

started for another, what,

30 minutes or so?

Yeah, can I just talk to you

about something real quick?

Of course, man, please,

come on over here.

What's going on?

Okay, so I have this job

that I work sometimes after

school and on the weekends.

And there's this guy there who

just hates me for no reason.

I haven't really

done anything to him,

he just seems to make every

day I come in a nightmare.

Hmm.

I'm sorry to hear

about that, man.

Well, have you told

your boss about it?

No.

Why not?

I mean, I don't

want to snitch on him.

And I feel like telling my boss

isn't going to do

anything, either,

because you know, their

families are friends,

so he's not going to fire

them, so I'm just an outcast.

Got you.

Wow, yeah.

Yeah, that sounds like

a tough situation, man.

To be honest with you,

it sounds like one that's

not gonna get much better.

I just remembered something.

Wow, so I was just at

the gym the other day

with my personal trainer and

he actually owns the gym.

He was telling me that

he's looking for somebody

working there part-time and

you might be a good fit.

You know, if it's something

you're interested in,

I could maybe set up

an interview for you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Totally, totally, that

sounds great, yeah, yeah.

Awesome, man.

Look, so let's do this.

Let's start with you talking

to your parents first.

Mm-hmm.

Okay?

Tell them about

everything that's going on

and based on what you

guys come to, let me know

and I can set up an interview

for you guys, all right?

Okay, that sounds

great, Mr. Ryans.

Thank you so much.

My man.

Thank you so much.

Appreciate you, bro.

All right, I'll be back

here in like half an hour.

- Sounds good.

- All right.

We gonna have fun today, man.

Yes, Sir.

Yeah.

All right.

Hey, I'm running

late for a meeting,

but I just wanted

to let you know

I really enjoyed

myself last night.

I enjoyed myself, too.

And maybe we can

do it again soon?

Of course.

I call you later?

Sounds good.

All right.

- See you.

Look, look, look, look,

look, all I'm saying is

you guys, your generation

is just completely spoiled.

I'm sorry, it's true.

You guys are spoiled.

No, just because you

grew up in the stone age.

What?

The stone age?

Mr. Ryans, Mr. Ryans?

So my mom, she told

me that you guys had

like some kind of machine

separate from your phone

that leaves messages or?

I don't know.

An answering machine,

are you kidding me?

Y'all don't know what a

box answering machine is?

Yeah.

I know what you talking about.

Do you know what

I'm talking about?

Y'all used to get together

as a family and like

sing songs and

record y'all's selves

and then sit back and

let somebody call y'all

and then y'all ain't even

be there for them to sing,

or them to hear y'all singing.

Yes.

Yeah, we didn't have your

little high tech cell phones

you guys got now with

ring tones and stuff,

and app stores.

No, we had to actually

press a button,

get around as a family

and do something.

And that's the

difference between us

and this generation now.

We came together as a family.

Mr. Ryans?

That's how it be in class, too.

We be keeping it real, though,

with all that electronic stuff.

Mrs. Preston took

my phone, too, today.

And I didn't even have it out.

Cougar.

She tried to take my phone, too.

I said, nah, lady, uh uh.

I ain't trying to

slide like that.

James, James, don't do that.

Don't do that.

That's exactly how

rumors start, man.

I'm playing, though.

I get it, I get

it, you're playing.

But rumors like that

actually can get people

in a lot of trouble.

Yeah, I know about that.

So do I.

Girl, what you mean

you know about that?

You the type that

start them rumors.

Meda, I don't know

what your problem is,

but I don't start

rumors about no one.

You need to stop coming for me.

I just think it's kinda

annoying you keep coming here

day after day and

you don't belong.

You still don't.

Wait, ladies,

hold on one second.

This is,

I want to create a family

atmosphere here, okay?

All right, it seems like you

to just have some hostility

and we want to get this

right, respectfully, okay?

So, Stephanie, why don't

you just share with us,

why are you so adamant that

she doesn't belong here?

Well, because this

group was supposed to be

for those of us

dealing with bullying,

self-esteem issues

and all of that stuff.

She clearly don't got

none of those issues.

I mean, she's pretty,

she's popular.

Everything is perfect.

You got everything

going on great for you.

I don't get it.

'Cause you jealous.

Shut up.

I don't have everything.

My life ain't perfect.

My mom's an alcoholic.

And my dad,

he's in prison.

And if you think that having

all these followers are great,

man, you got it wrong.

Because with all that

comes haters, racists,

comments, everything

you could think of.

And then on top of that,

I got to come to school

and sit with girls

just like you.

What a sad life you have, awe.

Whatever.

No, what a sad life you have.

I don't know why you got so

much hate towards this girl,

but she has never

done anything to you

or anyone else in this group.

There has gotta be

some other reason

why you got so much

hate inside of you,

but Stephanie,

you got to find another

way to let that mess out,

'cause I think everyone in here

has had about enough of it.

So, yeah.

Sure told you, huh?

My whole life,

I've been picked

on and laughed at

because I don't look

like all the other girls.

I don't wear the latest fashion.

I don't have the stylish things.

And most of the time,

it's either boys or

super pretty girls

who always have

something bad to say.

It hurts,

and I build up a genuine

hate for most people,

especially girls

that look like you.

♪ Dirty water

♪ Wash me clean

♪ You'll always

be a part of me ♪

You don't deserve to be

treated the way I treated you.

None of y'all do,

and I'm sorry.

Well, look at that.

Y'all finally got along, huh?

I'm happy for y'all.

That was beautiful,

I ain't gonna lie.

I was hoping y'all

was gonna fight today,

but it is what it is.

Mr. Ryans, you the truth, man.

You the truth.

♪ And I believe in what

my eyes can not see ♪

I got one more.

You're on top.

Almost there.

Good work, good work.

Oh, gosh, you're

killing me, dog.

I thought coming here was

gonna give me a chance

to get away from

that mental list

of the school I got going on.

What's going on?

Nothing.

Actually, it's all good, man.

I was just, you

know, got these kids

that's on my mind

constantly, man.

I think, finally,

for the first time,

I'm finally getting

through to some of them.

That's awesome, man.

And I think sometime, bro,

at the end of the day,

kids just need to feel

that it's someone out there

that has they back, you know?

Yeah, absolutely.

Except there's one

thing I'm not feeling.

The fact they be clowning me.

They be catching me.

One of them call me ancient.

I mean, you got no

spring chicken, bro.

What is that supposed to mean?

You're like two years

younger than me, yo.

Hey, but don't you forget it.

No, they call me ancient

'cause they was talking about

answering machines

back in the day.

You remember answering machines?

Mr. Ryans?

Carson, what's up, man?

How you doing, Sir?

I'm glad you

could come through.

Yo, look, I forgot to tell you.

So sorry.

So, this is Carson.

Carson, this is Marshall.

Marshall, Carson.

Yeah.

Nice to meet you, Sir.

So I remember you telling

me this a little while ago

you were looking

for some extra help

to help around here with

administration type stuff.

So, Carson, he's

actually looking for

a little part-time gig,

so I thought I'd

connect you guys

and see if there's something

that might be there for him.

Actually, I brought

my resume for you, Sir.

Okay.

You'd be surprised how many

people come looking for a job,

but not actually

prepared with a resume.

How many days a

week can your work?

Right now, just one, 'cause

I still have the other job

and I want to give them

at least two weeks notice.

But once I'm done with that,

I can do two days a week

from five to 8:00 PM,

anytime on Sundays.

Okay, step into my office.

Thank you.

I appreciate you.

Yes, Sir, man,

I'll holla at you.

Mr. Ryans,

thank you.

No problem.

Hey, don't tease me.

Bro, leave me alone.

Gosh.

All right, I got

you Marshall, man.

10 sets, here we go.

One.

Two.

This tutoring is so boring.

Yeah.

When am I gonna use this?

I know I'm not.

Same.

I'm done with this.

What?

Girl, look.

He's looking at you.

So pathetic.

You better go over there

and get yourself

an A in history.

I'm not going over there.

Watch, he'll come to me.

Okay.

What?

You have a question?

You're kidding me, right?

When were they friends?

I don't know.

She's better stay away.

Well, I know, he's yours.

It says find the lateral.

Just look at her.

She's not even that pretty.

Anybody else have a question?

I just wanna say

thank you so much for

sticking up for me yesterday

in Mr. Ryan's program.

It's no problem at all.

I didn't know you

had that in you.

I didn't, either.

I was thinking,

if you're free later, do

you want to study later?

Yeah, definitely.

Cool.

Maybe I can help you

with your homework?

Oh, you help me

with my homework?

Yeah, what do you mean?

Nothing.

I just don't hear that often.

Yeah, well,

I told you, I'm not like

most girls out here.

You did.

I did.

But can you walk me to class?

Of course.

Yeah?

Yeah.

Cool, let's go.

Everybody,

please, turn your pages to 17.

This is where we go back over

and relearn everything.

It was terrible.

I don't know, he just

isn't who I thought he was.

Ew.

So disgusting.

I can smell your B.O. from here.

No.

What's up, bro, how you doing?

♪ You protect my house

Yo, hop up, hop up, hop up.

You know the drill, hop up.

♪ I don't know

♪ I don't know how

much longer I can go ♪

So you're trying to solve

for the disparity of power.

Yeah, 'cause it's

like I can't get it.

What's up, Maria?

Hey.

I'll talk to you later.

Yeah, see you later.

Okay, so,

what's it like to be so popular?

What are you talking about?

Everybody knows you.

Everyone thinks they know me,

but you can't talk.

Everyone knows you, too.

It's not really in

the same way, though.

Everyone knows me for just

being that weird, smart kid.

But there's a difference

between being popular,

which is you,

and, well, people just

knowing who you are.

Yeah, well,

being popular's not what

it's always cracked up to be.

Yeah, okay.

For someone who is so smart,

you just don't get it, do you?

We're not that different.

You say everybody wants

to get close to you,

be your friend and

use you, right?

Well, the same

thing happens to me.

The only difference is they

think just because I'm pretty

or I have this large

social media following,

that they can be my friend.

But to be honest, I don't

know who my real friends are.

But I can relate to you, Darren,

more than you think.

And I like that.

You know, you remind

me of a Bible verse.

What?

A Bible verse?

Well, yeah.

Random, I know.

And I'm not quite sure how

spiritual of a person you are,

but I think only

words from the Bible

could accurately describe what,

well,

what I think about you.

Well,

you have my attention.

Well, the verse is

Song of Solomon 4:7,

and it says, "Thous art

are all fair, my love."

"There is no spot in thee."

And in not so old English,

you are beautiful, Maria.

Hmm.

What's wrong?

Nothing.

It's just that

I've heard so many guys

tell me I'm beautiful.

But when you said it,

it's different.

I really believe you.

Well, Maria,

you'll always be

able to believe me.

Thanks.

Well, we should probably

get back to the studying.

Yeah, right.

So, you're trying to figure

out the disparity of power.

Yeah, that thing.

So essentially you

just gotta take X

and then divide it

by the variable and.

♪ Love stop

♪ Wobbly wobbly

♪ Fight me if you want to

♪ No

♪ Here comes wobbly Wanda

♪ Wa wa wa Wanda

♪ No no no stop no

leave me alone ♪

♪ Leave me alone

Wobbly Wanda in the building.

♪ Why do you bully me

♪ I don't know I don't know

♪ Why do you bully me

♪ I am love

♪ I am love love

♪ So why do you why

do you pick on me ♪

♪ Pick pick on you

♪ No pick on me

♪ My name is Wanda

♪ And I get get get bullied

♪ Stop it

♪ Ooh

♪ It's gonna be all right

♪ Yeah yeah

♪ How can you tell

♪ Yeah yeah

♪ I feel it in my heart

♪ Yeah yeah

♪ It's gonna be okay

♪ The sun is shining

Hi, papi.

What's up, mami?

How you been?

Good.

How's school?

Good.

Well, you gonna

graduate this year, right?

Yeah.

That's good.

Yo, that's your daughter?

I follow her on Instagram.

Man, watch out.

I'll DM you later, girl.

I don't know why you

think it's okay for you

to put pictures all

up on social media

so everybody can see.

What?

I saw your page.

And how did you see that?

Don't matter how

I saw it, I saw it.

Oh, now you ain't

gonna talk to me?

I don't have to answer to you.

I don't know where you got

this new, little attitude from,

but I ain't teach you

to be disrespectful.

You ain't teach me nothing.

Are you serious?

Ma, look Ma,

I know you ain't a

little girl no more,

but you gonna have to

learn something for me.

With every decision

that you make now,

you're gonna have to deal with

everything that comes with it.

For example, put yourself

on blast on social media,

it's gonna come

back to haunt you.

It's gonna bite you in

the butt sooner or later.

You heard me?

Ma, you feel me?

Yeah.

I'm sorry, Ma.

I'm sorry that I

just yelled at you.

I love you, nina.

I do.

I just don't want you to end up

on the same bad path that I did.

I miss you, nina.

I miss you, too, papi.

Hey.

I was thinking,

if you're free Saturday,

you want to come over?

Uh,

I mean, I know we

ain't beefing no more,

but I didn't know we

was cool like that.

Girl, do you want

to come over or not?

What are we doing?

Well, since you asked,

I was thinking we could

do what I normally do.

So I do manis and pedis

and do a full face of makeup,

do my hair, take cute selfies.

What you think?

That's not really

my idea of fun.

Okay, well, I'm not going

to force you or anything,

but let me just say this.

You gotta make

time for yourself.

We all need that.

Kind of reminds me of

being a little girl

and going into your mom's

closet, putting on her clothes,

going in her makeup bag,

putting on her lipstick

and just feeling beautiful.

Uh, yeah, I never

really did that

'cause I never was considered

the pretty girl to anybody

or like myself,

nothing like that, so.

Stephanie,

you've always been

the pretty girl

and you still are.

Society makes us believe

that we have to fit into

what they call beautiful.

But what really matters

is what's inside

and your confidence.

Don't let anyone take

that away from you, okay?

Thanks.

No problem.

So,

Saturday, girls night, you in?

I'll come.

I'll come, I'll come.

That's disgusting.

Y'all friends now?

Shut up, James.

Nah, nah, nah,

y'all friends now.

I watched that whole

thing right there.

Beautiful.

About time.

It's about positivity.

That's what we're here for.

That's what we

supposed to be doing.

That's what we does.

But where everybody else at?

All right, guys, see, standing

up, I mean, it's important.

That's why we're here, you know?

I mean, if you're

standing up for yourself.

Mr. Ryans, see,

that's the problem.

People always say

stand up for yourself,

but it's like some people

just can't do that.

Yeah, I mean, I tend to

stay away from conflict.

I hear you, Carson,

but standing up isn't always

about initiating conflict,

you know?

Standing up can start

with simply just

not letting someone see you cry

or really just ignoring

them, you know?

Like, have you ever

noticed that bullies,

they just really want attention?

You know, they want an

audience, they want a reaction.

That's what they really want.

But that doesn't

always work, 'cause like

just not letting

them see you cry

or walking away from

those situations,

that don't always be cutting it,

'cause like some people will

still continuously attack you.

True, true, I get that.

But, reality,

at some point,

that's the moment where you

have to do a little bit more,

right?

You actually have

to say something.

You gotta do something.

You can't just let

people walk over you

and have control over you

because that's exactly

what they want.

They want control.

There's a famous writer.

He wrote something,

I just love it.

I wanna share it with you guys.

He says, "Anyone who is

among the living has hope",

"for even a live dog is

better off than in dead lion."

Any thoughts on what that means?

Because the dog

still has hope,

but the lion's dead.

He can't do anything,

but as long as

that dog is alive,

he still has a chance to

do something with his life.

That's it.

You guys have hope,

every last one of you.

Because as long as

you're breathing,

you have hope.

♪ It was cold on the night

♪ You were born

♪ But I kept you

away from the storm ♪

♪ Wind like a side walk

♪ After the night

of nonstop rain ♪

♪ But we slept through

the whole thing ♪

♪ It was cold on the

night you were born ♪

Yeah, babe, I'm on my way.

I just have to stop at my mom's

job and drop off something.

Okay, cool.

Yeah, we actually

haven't started yet.

We're waiting on Mr.

Ryans to get here.

Oh, okay, cool.

I'll see you soon.

Okay.

Excuse me?

Are you not gonna say it?

No, not right now.

Babe, you better say it.

Te amo.

Te amo tambien, mi amor.

Bye, baby.

I knew it.

You a lover, boy.

He a lover.

Lover boy, lover boy.

She look good.

Mm-hmm.

Man got himself a girlfriend.

Got him a boo boo.

A little boo thang.

Y'all gonna get married?

Don't wait too long,

she might leave.

Don't let me catch her.

Listen, you feel me?

♪ Is it gravity

♪ The grace I can't escape

♪ And the trouble with grace

♪ It keeps

Call 9-1-1!

You, call 9-1-1!

Hello?

Hey, can you hear me?

Where's 9-1-1?

That's really

what y'all just do?

That's what school today is?

You just download apps in class?

Come on, man.

Hey.

Okay.

I'll be right back.

You guys just hang tight, okay?

Did you guys see

Principal Hanway face?

Must be serious.

I wonder what it is.

So, Maria was

in a car accident.

Is she okay?

She died on the

way to the hospital.

I know you guys are,

I know this is a little hard

for you guys right now and

I know that,

I know that this is a moment

that we can all just come

together as a family.

This is why we're here, okay?

We're here together.

You know?

If you guys just stay after

a little longer, you know,

Principal Hanway's here for us.

We can talk further

about this, okay?

Darren, wait.

Darren.

Darren!

Darren, come here, bro, come

here, come here, come here.

Darren!

Here you go.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Ooh.

So, yesterday.

That for me has got to be

probably one of the hardest

things I've ever had to do

by telling those

kids about Maria.

Yeah.

I can't imagine what they're

going through right now.

We're gonna have an extra

couple of counselors come in

and just really be

there for the kids.

She was so popular.

This is gonna hit hard

for a lot of people.

Yeah.

Oh, you're expecting somebody?

Oh, yeah, that's my mom.

The kids were with her today

and she's dropping them off.

Oh, snap, so I get to

meet the mom and kids today?

I guess so.

All right, about time.

Don't do that.

I've been wanting

you to meet them.

Hi, baby.

Hi, mommy.

Who's this?

This is mommy's

friend, Mr. Ryans.

Hi, Mr. Ryans.

Hi, cutie.

I like your dress,

it's so pretty.

Thank you.

Go get ready for bed.

Okay.

Bye, Michelle.

Bye.

Oh my goodness.

She is too cute.

Thank you.

Donna, you here, baby?

Yeah, Mom, in the dining room.

Oh, I didn't know

you had company.

Yeah, Mom, this is Peter, the

guy I was telling you about.

Oh, hello, Peter.

Hello, how are you?

Fine, thank you.

Yes, Ma'am, nice to meet you.

Pleasure's all mine.

So Peter, would you

like to stay for dinner?

Sure, yeah, I'd love to.

Oh, that's wonderful.

Donna, sweetie, Leshon and I

are gonna bring in the

rest of the groceries.

We'll be right back.

Okay.

All right, honey.

Hey, where'd I put the?

Hey, Leshon.

What is going on?

Leshon!

Peter, what is going on?

Peter!

Peter, please tell

me what is going on?

Peter!

That little boy

killed my daughter.

What do you mean

that's the little boy

who killed your daughter?

Please tell me, what

are you talking about?

That little boy

killed my daughter!

A little over a year ago,

my daughter was outside playing.

There was a bunch of

kids circling around her,

and they were laughing at her,

pointing fingers at

her, clowning her.

And one of them put his

hands on my daughter,

threw her to the ground and

her head hit some metal object

and killed my daughter.

And the same little boy

that threw my daughter down

just ran out your room just now.

I don't get it.

It doesn't make any sense.

All this happened in Virginia.

How did he get here in Maryland?

Well, the adoption agency

gives you a full report

of the child's history

and background.

His dad died when he was a baby

and his mom got sentenced to

prison for 12 years last year.

He moved to Maryland

with his grandfather,

but his grandfather passed

about nine months ago.

The state took him and I adopted

him about three months ago.

And everything you said

about your daughter

was in his history report.

Wait, so you knew about this?

I knew what he did,

but I didn't know that

was your daughter.

I had no idea about

the victim's family.

What are you talking about?

What are you, stupid?

It's easy to figure out

that, you just look online.

You can easily find out who

the victim's family was.

I didn't care to

find that out, Peter.

It wasn't my job

to play detective,

it was my job to give

him a loving home.

I'm so sorry, I had no idea.

Okay.

Well, now you do.

Peter, Peter!

No!

Peter, nothing.

Do you know what he did?

He killed my daughter, Donna.

Do you understand

that the last thing

that my daughter

saw on this earth

was the face of that little

boy spewing hate in her face?

She ain't seen the

face of her father.

She ain't get a hug from me.

I ain't get the chance to

protect her or nothing.

That little boy doesn't

deserve a family.

He deserves to burn.

Oh my.

It just don't make no sense.

How you gonna end

our sessions now?

Listen, guys,

there's just a lot of

things going on right now

that you just don't know about.

All that you was saying,

don't give up and I

won't give up on you,

whatever you were saying,

man, you a hypocrite.

Listen, James, you know,

there's just a lot more going

on than you know right now.

And I'm sorry, but it's just

a little bit too much for me

to be able to be at this school.

But I thought you said

this wasn't about you.

It's about us.

Yeah, Mr. Ryans.

We're all dealing

with Maria's death.

This has nothing to

do with Maria, okay?

Look, you guys, listen.

I know I may be gone,

but just look around.

You guys still have each other.

And not only that,

but you guys came here

every single day together.

You learn together.

We laugh together.

We cry together.

So you guys are no longer alone.

Now, what I think,

I think it's time for you guys

to put everything that

we've learned into practice.

Okay?

It's time to stand

up for yourselves.

It's time to stand

up for each other.

Those days of bullying,

being harassed and mistreated,

they're long gone.

Remember what I said?

Bullies,

they only can bully people

who they have control over.

No one has control

over you anymore.

You're free.

♪ They trying to

hand me the money ♪

♪ I gotta pick up the pace

♪ They throwing

shade but I'm gone ♪

♪ I gotta keep it

up in my face ♪

♪ Taking the gang out of space

♪ Best just stay in your place

♪ They ain't hear none

of my of my songs ♪

♪ I don't know what can I say

Ma?

Oh!

Don't you come up here and

sneak and scare me like that!

You in my house.

Oh, baby.

Oh, sweetheart.

What are you doing here?

I told you I'd come up here

in a few weeks to visit you.

Oh, I forgot about that.

So I wanted to surprise you.

Surprise!

I should've known it was you,

watching hip hop and reading

the Bible at the same time.

Baby, you know that the

Lord is working on me.

Oh, I'm so glad to see you.

But wait, hold on, wait,

wait, wait, hold on.

I locked both doors,

windows was closed.

Alarm was set.

How did you get in the house?

I am from Baltimore, honey,

and I've learned a few

things over the years.

Ah ha!

Gotcha.

So, what's going on?

Hmm.

Yeah, that's a

big question, Mom.

I got a lot to catch you up on.

And,

yeah.

Peter, so that young child

is living here in Maryland

and he is the adopted child

of the woman you like?

So, what are you going to do?

I got to leave her

alone, that's for sure.

And I got to leave that school.

I just got to get up

outta here altogether.

This whole city is just.

Let me ask you something.

Why did you decide

not to press charges

against that child

and his family?

I don't know.

I mean, I figured

I'd be able to show myself

that I actually forgave him.

So you haven't forgiven him.

I tried, Ma.

I tried, I tried.

I tried to drown

him out of my mind,

but I can't.

What you're experiencing,

baby, it doesn't just happen.

Now this is too specific

to be just some

crazy coincidence.

See, you haven't forgiven

that child, yet here,

here is your chance.

Chance for what, Ma?

Forgive him?

At this point, I have no

desire to forgive that boy.

Oh, but you have to.

I don't have to

do anything, Ma.

You don't get it.

And I don't even see how

this is coming out of

your mouth right now.

Brianna was your granddaughter.

And you are my son.

And you know that

I loved Brianna,

but she isn't here anymore,

and I have to focus all of

my love and my attention

on who's sitting right

here in front of me.

Peter,

Peter, baby, you are never

gonna have any peace ever

as long as you hold onto

your hate for that child.

And that poor woman,

Lord have mercy.

Donna.

Yes, Donna.

And it appears that

she really likes you.

And I can see,

I can see that you've

really fallen for her, too.

Yeah.

She didn't sign up

for all of this crazy.

I know right now she's

probably hurt, confused.

Mm-hmm.

And she's not the only one.

I bet that young boy is feeling

the same exact way, too.

And he needs someone,

someone just like

you in his life.

What you talking about, Ma?

This little boy

killed my only child

and you're sitting up here

acting like I need to

not only forgive him,

but somehow accept

him as my own son.

Well, it won't be the

first time in history

that something like

that has ever happened.

Yo, you saw that

game last night?

Yes, man.

Over time?

Crazy.

Man, what?

I thought it was gonna

be like a double overtime

the way they were going.

Yeah, for real.

I was on the edge of my seat.

And those fouls?

Hey, is Mr. Robinson here?

Nah, he's not here.

Okay, well, I'm here

for my last check.

So do you know where he is?

He's not here,

so come back later.

Okay, so do you know

where he puts the checks

so I can sign for it?

Do I look like your

office assistant?

I said he's not here, man.

Just come back later.

Is this for me?

Yo, you don't

work here anymore.

Man, we finally

got a brother here

who actually needs this job

so he can take

care of his family,

so you can take your

white privileged self

and bounce up out of here.

Okay, I'm gonna

call him real quick.

Yo, I said he's not here.

Just leave.

Give me my phone back.

Dang.

You really gonna

do him like that?

Man, you saw what happened.

I had to protect myself.

All right, what you

got going on after this?

You gonna watch the game?

You gonna catch

the game tonight?

I'm a try, man.

I might catch the

fourth quarter.

You know, my wife, I got

to stop at a grocery store.

My wife, she pregnant.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, man.

I done told you about

betting on those games.

Oh, Carson, hold on.

What happened to you?

Who did that to you?

Okay.

Carson, let's go.

♪ Yeah

♪ I'm about to

make it disappear ♪

Hey, I'll see y'all tomorrow.

Bye, Felicia.

Hey, bro, we actually closed.

Which one of y'all Rod?

I am.

Hey, bro!

Sit down!

So,

you like to hit people, huh?

Hit me.

Nah.

I'm not gonna tell you again.

You feel that?

That fight or flight

running through you?

That's how you make this

kid feel every single day.

So, here's what we gonna do.

If I even hear you looked

at this kid the wrong way,

you gonna see me again.

Do we understand each other?

Yes, sir.

Good.

Now, go make me a sandwich.

Club on rye.

Yo, Carson, you want one?

Yeah, yeah.

Make that two.

How much is that?

Darren, hey.

How you doing?

Good.

I noticed you were gone

from school for like a week.

How are you holding up?

Doing better.

Yeah.

I started seeing one of

those new counselors here,

but it's nothing like Mr.

Ryans' sessions we had.

Yeah.

Overall, you're

doing pretty okay?

Yeah.

Hanging in there?

Ooh, it looks like you

did something with yourself.

You're almost cute.

Almost?

I'll see you.

All right.

What do you want?

I just want to say

I'm sorry for what happened

to your girlfriend.

Well, thanks.

Well, hey, now that

you're back in school,

I have this assignment that's

due at the end of the week.

You gonna help me with it?

I'm not gonna help

you with the assignment.

Sorry, correction.

I'm done helping

you with anything.

You know, if you're still

tripping off of Maria,

newsflash, everyone

has gotten over it.

Hey!

Go.

Now.

You know, the principal's

gonna hear about this assault.

Shut up.

Idiot.

Ah, man.

Think I'm gonna get

in trouble for that?

No, no, no, absolutely not.

As a matter of fact,

you might be rewarded.

Don't worry about

your grades, James.

As long as you have

your paper in by Friday,

you'll be fine, okay?

Cool.

All right, I'll

see you in class.

Yes, Sir.

James, wait.

I know you're probably

not about to believe

a word I'm about to say,

but I can't go another

day without saying it.

Like, I'm so sorry.

It was really stupid,

childish, immature.

I was so angry when you

broke up with me, Jay, like,

and then you started

talking to other women.

I was jealous.

I wanted you to hurt just

as bad as I was hurting,

but I was 100% wrong.

I get it if you hate me, you

never want to speak to me,

you never want to see me again.

However you may feel about me,

it's justified and I

probably deserve it.

I made this apology video

and I'm going to post it today

and let everyone

know how sorry I am.

I mean, I'll be embarrassed

and I'll look so stupid,

but it's nothing compared to

how much I probably

embarrassed you.

Here, press play and take a

look at it before I post it.

Wait, what?

All right, class,

I'll be right back.

Hey, Biggie Smalls,

can you pass me

my candy bar back?

Bruh, that candy bar

done already passed through

her bloodstream by now.

♪ I hate this class

♪ I hate all this work

♪ Dang you want

some more candy ♪

♪ Why don't you make

that belly twerk ♪

I ain't never seen

Porky Pig twerk before.

You want me to twerk, jerk?

Okay,

but you go first.

But wait, pop a mint because

your breath is the worst.

I'm sick and tired of you

guys' lame fat people jokes.

So,

that's all, folks.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey.

I don't know what's

going on here,

but I need your

attention, please, okay?

All right, everybody,

take out your textbooks.

Turn to page 15, please.

Hey.

Respect.

Hello?

Can I help you?

I'm Julia,

Maria's mom.

Oh my gosh.

Hi, how are you?

As well as can be expected.

I hope you don't mind me

catching up with you here.

Principal Hanway gave

me your information.

She said she tried to call,

but you weren't answering.

And I just, I really

needed to talk to you.

No worries at all.

I'm just on my way to

the gym, but I have time.

Please, what's going on?

I'm not going to

hold you long, I just,

me and Maria never really

had a great relationship.

And when her father

went to prison,

things really got

bad between us.

But over these past

weeks before she,

I started noticing she

was acting different.

You know, she was reading more.

I even saw her praying.

She seemed more at peace.

You know, like nothing

could bother her no more.

One day she told me that she's

never gonna give up on me.

That as long as she's

alive, she still has hope.

And she's no longer with us,

but she did something for me

that no one's ever done before.

She gave me hope.

And Mr. Ryans, I just,

I just wanted to let you know

that you have such a

big impact on these kids

and I thank you for

helping my baby.

Without even knowing

it, helping me, too.

Come here.

It's good to

see you guys, too.

Y'all been good?

Yeah, I've been good.

I wonder why Mr.

Ryans want us to

put our chairs like this?

I don't know, probably a game.

Something he would have.

Sheesh, Carson, what

happened to your eye?

I don't want to

talk about that.

All right.

Wait, so, each of you guys

got that email from

Mr. Ryans, too?

Would we be here if we didn't?

I guess not.

But where's he at?

He hasn't shown up yet.

Do you see him in that chair?

Come on, man, you're

supposed to be the smart one.

He is the smart one.

What's going on?

Give me your fire,

woman, come on, man.

How you guys doing?

Hey, hey, hey.

Good to see all of y'all here.

Man, look at them smiling faces.

James, you on time?

Hey, man, it's a new day.

Listen, I just wanted

to get you guys here

because I wanted to apologize.

I'm sorry.

You know, I feel

like I let you down,

but somebody reminded me

that there's people

counting on me to be strong.

And those people where you.

You know, Mr. Ryans,

you don't always have

to be strong for us.

Remember you said that

we're all in this together.

I mean, I know that

you're here to help us,

but we're all here to

help you if you need it.

I appreciate that.

I really do, from

all of you guys.

And with that being

said, I got news.

Good news.

Ooh.

So the sessions are back on.

Woo!

Woo hoo.

Absolutely.

So check it out, look,

we're gonna get this thing

popping every single day.

I want to make

sure that you guys

make it through the school

year on top, all right?

Fantastic.

See, I was hoping something

like this was going to partake.

So let me go ahead.

What's he got?

Relax, relax, relax.

Is that an answering machine?

Indeed, it is.

Let me see that bad

boy right there.

What in the world?

Where did you find this thing?

It was in my father's attic.

What?

I know, man.

I couldn't believe my

eyes, but I snatched it.

Hopefully he don't

know I took it.

But, anyway, so I,

my idea was this,

I feel like we should all leave

a positive message on here,

you know?

'Cause I feel like we family

now, and I don't know,

that's what you said

families used to do.

Well, family still

does that today

and it's gonna start today,

right after our little activity.

All right, sessions

start now, all right?

Yes!

So, I wanted us to get

in this little circle

'cause I just

wanted to catch up.

You know, it's been awhile.

You know, let's talk

about your week.

James, how's it been?

You know it's crazy, right?

Everybody know I lost my woman,

but I ain't no quitter.

So I ended up getting two.

I said it.

All right, all right.

Hey.

So, you met with

the kids today?

I did.

That's good.

Listen, I know I

already apologized to you

and I just feel like

it's not enough.

I wanted to say that

I'm sorry again.

You know, Donna, you didn't

deserve the way I spoke to you.

I know you were just caught

up in the middle of all this.

Nothing is your

fault and I'm sorry.

It's okay.

I understand.

I've been praying so

hard for you every day.

Thank you.

I appreciate that.

And, I mean, God's

been listening,

that's for sure.

I missed you.

I missed you, too.

So, is he here?

Yeah, he's coming.

Okay.

So, are you sure

you're ready to do this?

Yeah.

He's coming.

Okay, he's coming.

It's okay.

Hey, Leshon, listen, man.

Don't be scared, okay?

Relax.

I needed you to be here today

'cause I wanted to

tell you something.

I realized that

you made a mistake,

a very, very big mistake.

But,

you know, I realized

that everybody,

everybody deserves

a second chance.

When I look at you, man,

I see in your eyes that

you've had a hard life.

I know you've had a lot

of bad things going on.

Listen, I wanted to

ask you something.

Will you forgive me?

Forgive you for what?

Will you forgive me?

I was the one that was wrong.

I'm sorry.

Come here, come

here, come here.

I didn't mean to hurt her.

It's okay, I forgive you.

I forgive you.

It's okay.

♪ Father told me to repent

♪ I had to trash my sense

♪ I done did some

things before ♪

♪ I'll never do again

♪ Lately I been in the zone

♪ I done come up

with some money ♪

♪ That's to pay the rent

♪ Working hard

♪ Sustain the flow

Don't get mad

at me if I strike.

You didn't see that.

All right, you ready?

♪ I been in my zone

♪ Ain't nothing wrong

but you on your own ♪

♪ I ain't mean to bring you

down but now I'm moving on ♪

♪ Ignore the fakery

♪ It was a fantasy

That was good.

Yo, they suck.

They can not bowl.

They really bad.

Y'all seen one Wanda, though?

I ain't seen here her.

Mr. Ryans, you didn't know?

About what?

Wanda got selected to perform

on America's Talented Teens.

Shut up?

Yeah, right?

So this is what she did, okay?

She sent in an audition of

her rapping and beat boxing

and she got selected.

So she's in LA already,

like right now.

That's crazy.

You talked to her?

Yeah, we've been talking,

we've been in communication.

So she's doing really

good right now.

Man, well, if you

just talk to her,

let her know I said hi.

I will.

Cool, cool.

Oh, you up.

Me?

You up.

Come on.

Wish me luck.

You got it.

Go get it.

Yo, Darren, you all right?

Yeah, it's just

one of those days.

I miss her and I wish

she could be here.

Yeah, man.

You know, we all wish

she could be here.

We all miss her.

We all miss her,

but hey, you know,

I feel like Maria wouldn't want

us to, you know, stay down.

So

How about we do something

a little different?

How about we do

something Maria style?

Okay.

Let's do that.

Hey, yo, hey.

Got an idea.

All right, hold on

one, Sir, one second.

Come on, come on, come

on, come on, come on,

get in here, get it

here, get in here.

All right, whenever

you're ready,

you can take a picture, okay?

All right.

What should we say?

Hold on, what should we say?

Hope lives?

I like that.

Hope lives.

Hope lives, hope lives,

hope lives on three.

All right, one, oh,

James, come on, brother.

Come on, man,

this thing heavy.

On three, hope lives.

One, two, three.

Hope lives!

♪ God is good God is good

God is good God is good ♪

♪ All the time all the time

all the time all the time ♪

♪ God is good God is good

God is good God is good ♪

♪ All the time all the time

all the time all the time ♪

So, who's going first?

I don't know,

but what exactly

are we gonna say?

Just say anything.

I'm not going first.

Well, all

the eyes is looking at me,

so I'm a go.

Mm-hmm.

Okay, so

whoever just called Mr. Ryans,

he's not here right now.

So you got to talk to all of

his favorite people first.

No, that's way too sassy.

Whoever just called Mr. Ryans,

he unfortunately couldn't

make it to the phone.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

It's.

Oh, wait, sorry, I

got excited, you guys.

Go ahead.

That was cool, though.

I wish I could do that.

But, man, look, leave

a positive message.

It's all positivity

on this side, ya dig?

That was good.

♪ Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

♪ Hello hello

hello I'm the man ♪

♪ Yeah yeah

♪ You can't tell

me anything else ♪

♪ I see y'all looking

real impressed ♪

♪ The way I'm getting

more interest ♪

♪ I can't hear it all

♪ Y'all looking up

at my ascension ♪

♪ I'm always number

one in the liner ♪

♪ Hit after hit after

hit boy walk me ♪

♪ Call me big papi

with the big hit ♪

♪ Yeah that's low key

♪ You can't knock me

down up off my perch ♪

♪ Nah

♪ Big fish on the

mantle go to work ♪

♪ Yeah yeah

♪ No catch and release

♪ Man it's cash in and teach

♪ If you try to boy I'll

knock you out your seat ♪

♪ You can't tell me nothing

♪ I'm winning game

after game after game ♪

♪ I'm never finished.

♪ Cut the competition

♪ Use my feet to

walk your road ♪

♪ You are the reason I go on

♪ And I want everyone to know

♪ Wasn't as good

if it ain't you ♪

♪ Haven't found

anyone more true ♪

♪ Nobody does what you can do

♪ You made this sinner

a brand new world ♪

♪ My God is bigger

than the storms ♪

♪ My God is bigger

than my faults ♪

♪ My God is bigger

than the hate I get ♪

♪ My God is bigger than it all

♪ Ooh

♪ Yeah my God is

bigger than it all ♪

♪ My God is bigger

than the storms ♪

♪ My God is bigger

than my faults ♪

♪ My God is bigger

than the hate I get ♪

♪ My God is bigger than it all

♪ Yeah yeah

♪ My God is bigger than it all

Daddy, the son is setting.

Awe, it's so pretty.

Hope Lives (2022) - full transcript