America Page #5

- Stay, stay. Don't go.

I'll write to you, America,

but you have to write back.

Liza...

I love you, too.

Hey, Dwayne. Morning, Carol.

- Good morning, Dr. B. How are you?

- What you got there?

- Two messages.

- Okay, I'll do them after lunch.

Okay.

Hey. What are you doing here?

Come on in.

Come on in.

Why're you up so early?

- I couldn't... I couldn't sleep.

- You know why?

- Liza's gone.

- Yeah, but she's gonna be okay.

Did you really tell her

that cutting yourself...

lets all the pain

you have inside out?

Yes, I did. But you don't have to

cut yourself to let all the pain out.

- What else can you do?

- You talk to someone,

someone you trust, and

that's why I'm here.

- I'm sorry.

- Wait, don't.

- No. I'm sorry.

- No. No.

- I'm not gonna touch you again.

- Don't...

- Don't touch me.

- I'm sorry about that.

What's going on? Can

you... Can you tell me?

- No, I can't.

- Just tell me, America. Just say it!

- Everybody leaves, okay?

- Everybody like who? Like Liza?

My mother, Liza, my brothers.

- They all... They all go away.

- No one ever stays.

Okay.

People who are supposed

to protect me, don't.

People who are

supposed to care, don't.

Reggie, Mrs. Harper, my

brothers, my mother, everyone.

So confused you don't know what's

right, what's wrong anymore.

This is gonna be our special secret

This is gonna be our special secret

This is gonna be

our special secret.

I'm just teaching

you to be a man.

And you know what?

You're a good learner.

You're a good learner

You're a good learner

Yes, you did!

I didn't do nothing wrong! I keep

telling you, I didn't do nothing!

Then why do they keep calling

me, wanting to have a conference?

Your grades are going down.

They telling me you're disturbed!

No, something ain't right.

Imagine having your fingers scraped

like I'm scraping this carrot.

Take the skin of your finger and

peel it right off, just like that.

Imagine that as a way to think about

what might happen if you tell our secret.

What about Mrs. Harper?

What... What was that

about Mrs. Harper?

Nothing. The boy's just

giving me trouble, that's all.

I don't like carrots, is all.

Since when? Since when

you don't like carrots?

- What's going on here?

- Nothing. Everything's fine.

Look, don't worry

about America.

I talked to the principal and the

teachers, and they're working it out.

And he's gonna

straighten up, right?

- Something's always with this boy.

- Yeah, always!

Yeah, he's just a little

behind, that's all.

Just a little dumb.

- I ain't dumb!

- Yes, you are! You're dumb!

- I'm not dumb!

- No, you're not dumb.

He kept... He kept saying...

He kept saying I would like it!

And in the beginning I did, but

then it stopped feeling good!

You're talking about Reggie?

Is that the way

you going to be?

Well, maybe I go find

your precious Mrs. Harper,

go find that old lady, huh?

Is that what you want?

Is that what you want?

He said he was gonna hurt her.

- He was gonna hurt Mrs. Harper?

- Yes. I...

- I... I can't. I...

- Yes, you can.

You're so close,

America, you're so close.

What did he do? Tell

me, what did Reggie do?

He took care of me, okay? He

bought me stuff. He was nice.

Now you know all the things I do

for you. Just remember that, huh?

Just remember. Put

that in your head,

and then you don't have to

worry about that old lady.

She's just getting in the way.

She's just getting in the way

I had to do it!

He said he was going to kill her,

okay? I had to do something! I...

- I just couldn't take it anymore.

- What did you do?

I knew where they

kept some money.

I was gonna pay her back, I swear.

I would... I would never hurt her.

I know you wouldn't

hurt her, America.

Look at me. Look at me.

Tell me what happened.

I wet some towels. I

put them under her door.

I put them I put

them by her door and

I was drunk and

I killed him! I killed him!

- I killed him! I killed him!

- Okay.

- I had to do it.

- Okay. Okay, okay, okay.

I saw it on TV.

They were pulling his body out

of the house on a stretcher.

Mrs. Harper told them

he was smoking in bed.

She covered for me.

She loved you.

I didn't hate Reggie.

He was... He was kind.

He wasn't.

- What?

- Are you going to tell?

No, America. I'm

not going to tell.

Okay.

- Are you ready?

- Yeah.

You wrote down everything in there

that you need to say to Reggie?

- Everything?

- Yeah.

Okay. Now we bury it.

Now it's done.

I'm proud of you.

You take as long as you need.

I'll meet you inside, all right?

You try to bury the hurt and

hope the future will be better

Kids go away, released into the world

at 18 I never know where they may land

Most aren't ready

They go back to a family that's

unable or unwilling to care for them,

or they end up in the streets

It often feels hopeless

But at the end of the

day, I live for that moment

when I see one kid

heading down the right path

Foster, it means to support, to

encourage, to sustain, to cherish

Its very first meaning

was to feed or nourish

That seems pretty simple

All a kid needs is one

person to hang on to,

one person to see them,

to listen, to care,

to show up consistently

One person, that's

what I believe

Another batch, and I always

get a catch in my throat

Maybe I'm naive, but I

think in a country like ours,

we can do better, we must

These kids don't belong to somebody

else These kids belong to all of us

They are America's

children They are America

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