Finding Forrester Page #2

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the hot water's taking a few minutes.

-l wasn't thinking about it.

-Hey! Hey, where's your pack?

-l don't know.

-Don't know?

What do you mean, you don't know?

We wanted you to bring something,

not leave something.

Leave this one alone, man.

What was in your bag anyway?

l'm not talking about the damn bag.

Bet you ain't, man.

Let me teach you something.

Now watch the eyes.

He's probably watching you right now.

Stop. Stop. See?

You don't know about that, man.

Here's how you do it.

l'm not gonna do anything

to your car, man.

l'm sorry?

You look worried,

like l'll do something.

No, l worry about this car

everywhere, not just here.

-Don't take it personally.

-lt's just a car.

No, it's not just a car. lt's a BMW.

Those who know anything

about that company...

...know that it's more

than just a car.

Oh, those who know. So l wouldn't

know anything like that, right?

No, that's not what l meant.

Last thing l knew about BMW...

...is, they made plane engines

when they first started.

A guy by the name of Franz Popp

started it all.

Franz Popp. l like that name.

Made this one engine before 1 920.

lt flew six miles up.

Well, Popp and his boys were

just getting started, man.

Made this one engine,

the 801 , World War ll...

...14 cylinders,

2300 horsepower, seven miles up.

With more time, they would have

bombed the sh*t out of England...

...and maybe even won the war.

That's where this comes from.

White propeller zipping

around a blue sky.

After the war, they couldn't

make plane engines anymore.

And that's when BMW gave some

serious thought to making cars.

Kind of like this one.

But you probably knew all that,

since you lease one.

Thanks for the history lesson.

No problem, man.

Messing with my stuff, man.

Hey....

The other night was--

lt was just this dare thing

me and my boys do.

Well, l was wondering maybe l could

bring you some more of my stuff...

...or maybe l could

write something else.

How about 5000 words on why you'll

stay the f*** out of my home?!

Come on, man, l know you in there.

Take your goddamn hand off my door!

l just came to drop off

that thing you asked me for.

What thing?

The 5000 words on why you wanted me

to stay out of your place.

That's kind of the way you said it.

Well, try remembering it

exactly as l said it.

Come on in, Jamal.

Hi, honey.

lt's okay.

Sit down.

Mrs. Wallace, Jamal. When we got

your recent test scores...

...we figured there may be some

interest from private schools.

Well, it turns out we were right.

Mr. Bradley.

Jamal, Mrs. Wallace,

my name's David Bradley.

l'm with the Mailor School

in Manhattan.

-Mailor? Mailor-Callow?

-That's right. You familiar with us?

Yeah.

Jamal, Mailor-Callow is not only

the best prep school in the city...

...it's one of the finest

private schools in the East.

Only the best go there.

You may know we're a few weeks

into our fall term...

...but every year

we hold some openings...

...while we wait

for test scores to come in.

Jamal, your test scores...

...to put it mildly,

caught our attention.

l'm here to see if you'd be

interested in attending our school.

Jamal, we know leaving

for another school...

...especially a private school,

is not gonna be easy.

But this isn't the right place

for you anymore.

Jamal, it's not a difficult choice.

Mr. Bradley...

...there's no way

that we could pay for this.

We're not asking you to.

When Dr. Simon said,

''Only the best go to Mailor''...

...he neglected to mention...

...that our excellence extends beyond

the classroom.

l figured that.

We thought you might.

Mrs. Wallace, about 40 of our students

have gone on to play college ball.

Three have made it

to the professional level.

We evaluated your play last year.

While this is strictly

an academic offer...

...we won't be disappointed

if you choose to play.

All we ask is you come out for a

few days, take a look, think it over.

-Okay.

-Mrs. Wallace.

-Thank you.

-Jamal.

Goodbye.

We'll be in touch.

-l didn't knock this time, man.

-To whom were you speaking?

l'll tell you that

when l get my 5000 words back.

Bolt the door...

...if you're coming in.

The man in the car?

He was from this private school.

They want me to go there.

We don't have to pay anything, though.

We live a couple blocks from here,

me and my mom.

Well, my brother was there

a couple of years ago...

...but he left after my dad left.

My mom got tired of waiting

for my dad to get himself clean.

And my dad got tired of trying.

But that's when l started writing.

What's your name?

Jamal Wallace.

Sounds like some kind of marmalade.

How old are you?

l'm 1 6.

Sixteen!

And you're black!

-lt's remarkable.

-Remarkable? What?

lt's remarkable that l'm black?

What does me being black

got to do with anything, man?

You don't know what to do

right now, do you?

lf you say what you

really want to say...

...l might not read any more of this.

But if you let me run you down

with this racist bullshit...

...what does that make you?

l'm not playing this game, man.

Oh, l say you are playing it.

An expression is worth

a thousand words.

But perhaps in your case just two.

Here.

What an a**hole.

One hand to give, one hand to receive.

As we eat together in unity...

...may our minds, bodies

and spirits grow strong...

...and congratulations to Jamal.

Amen.

-Amen.

-Amen.

Did you see this?

-Let me see.

-Don't mess it up.

Wait a minute.

From the cover this look like

the funny-man school to me.

Terrell, eat your food.

You'll be fine, big bro, because

Mommy don't make nothing but soldiers.

You could have done the same thing.

l work at a parking lot. And l ain't

no regular parking attendant.

l am the supervisor

of all the parking attendants.

You don't know how much

you'll make from week to week.

One week it's $50,

one week it's $1 00.

-That's not a real job.

-Leave him alone.

Ma, look, l rap, l get busy.

You know l got my rap thing going.

Don't bring up the rap.

Eat your food.

-You don't want to hear my songs?

-Eat.

l'll sing it for you now.

When l come due

And l blow the spot

Yourson is supervisor

Of the parking lot

Tell her, Jamal.

My choice is hot, right?

Jamal Wallace?

Hi, l'm Claire Spence.

Bradley asked me to show you around.

All right.

Come on.

Don't worry about answering

any questions or anything.

Not till you decide

what you're gonna do.

Besides, the teachers here...

...aren't all that into

student participation.

They're busy listening

to themselves talk.

-What do you mean?

-You'll see.

This morning we begin our third

required reading of the semester...

...the study of a novel

that offers everything...

...and an author who could

have offered much more.

That's Robert Crawford.

Been here as long

as most of the buildings.

When William Forrester was 23,

in 1 953...

...he set out to write his first book.

Many aspiring authors talk about

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