Finding Forrester Page #6

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Jamal, l'm not asking for some

kind of prenuptial agreement here.

lt's just a question.

Why does everything have to be

so black and white with you?

l forgot what the question was.

You don't forget anything,

Mr. Stamford.

You don't think he wrote it?

That's a serious accusation, Robert.

You come to the board

with something like this....

l'm aware of how serious it is.

lt's remarkable work.

You recognize any of it?

lt smacks of something.

But l don't know.

The boy does well in my class.

He had good scores coming in.

Maybe all he needed was direction.

Carl, he's a basketball player...

...from the Bronx.

Who just happens

to have won 1 7 straight...

...for a school that likes winning.

Robert, have you considered

that he might just be that good?

Not this good.

Do you know what

the absolute best moment is?

lt's when you've finished

your first draft...

...and you read it by yourself.

Before these a**holes

take something...

...that they couldn't do

in a lifetime...

...and tear it down in a single day.

People love that book, man.

l didn't write it for them.

And when the critics

started all this bullshit...

...about what it was

l was really trying to say....

Well, l decided then...

...one book was enough.

William, that was 50 years ago, man.

William.

William, l actually spent money

on these tickets. Come on.

ls it still light outside?

lt's nighttime, man.

Well?

You look good, man.

lt's not the latest stuff out--

l wasn't asking how l look.

l was asking, are we ready to go?

Oh, yeah. Come on, man.

Let's go.

Come on.

We're playing here in two weeks.

l said we're playing in two weeks.

State tournament.

Come on.

Hold on. They got programs.

Let me get a program.

William.

Yo, William!

Damn.

William!

Hey, William!

William.

Come on, let's get you out of here.

l got you.

You used to get out, right?

Yeah, a long time ago.

-What happened?

-How the hell should l know?

l didn't keep track of the time.

Sorry for losing you back there.

No apology needed.

Good, because l got one more place.

lt's quiet and it's on the way home.

You only got 1 0 minutes.

-All right.

-Keep it going.

-Take that. lt's all good.

-Thanks a lot.

Ground level.

House that Ruth built.

Why did you bring me here?

Because it's your birthday, man.

l looked it up in the almanac.

They don't even have you

in the dead people section yet.

l figure with all

the games you watched...

...with whoever you watched them with,

you never got down this close.

-What the hell are they doing?

-What you worried about, man?

You acting like they gonna play

a World Series championship game.

Relax.

My brother and l,

we were here for every game.

Till he left for the war.

l thought it'd be the same

when he came back...

...but he talked a little less...

...and drank a little more.

l promised my mother l would

help him get through it all.

So l caught up with him

this one night...

...and l was already

half a dozen drinks behind.

So we had a few more.

And after a while

he tells me he wants...

...to drive me back to the apartment.

l said, ''No, thanks.''

We were all still living there then.

l just stood there...

...and watched him drive off.

Makes it through

the whole goddamn war...

...and l let him drive.

Later that night...

...the nurse was typing

whatever it is they type...

...and you know what she tells me?

She tells me how much

my book meant to her.

My brother's getting cold

in the next room...

...and all she can talk

about is a book.

Well...

...everything changed from then on.

Within five months,

l buried him, my ma, my father.

All of them here...

...in the Bronx.

We'd spent our summers here.

And if we were lucky, the fall.

A lot of falls with those teams.

Yeah, well...

...not enough.

''The rest of those

who have gone before us...

...cannot steady

the unrest of those...

...to follow.''

You wrote that in your book.

Jamal, l realize that

if l give you enough time...

...you'll find a way to amaze even me.

Does he know?

No, he doesn't know.

This was one of the best evenings

l've had in quite some time.

All of it?

Yes, all of it.

Well, l....

This guy, man.

How do you say you know

this guy again?

-He's my teacher.

-Oh, yeah?

Seems like a different kind of dude.

Anyone in particular?

l sometimes come here in the morning.

Just me, the aspiring...

...and all of them.

l got a note saying

l should come and see you.

Mr. Wallace...

...l think it's time you and l

had a very honest...

...and very open discussion

about your writing.

l thought you liked it.

Your recent work?

l liked it very much.

No, Mr. Wallace, the question

concerning your most recent work...

...isn't whether it's good.

lt's whether it's too good.

The speed in your progress...

...from your old school

to this one is unusual.

To the point that l must draw

one of two conclusions.

Either you've been blessed with a rare

gift that has suddenly kicked in...

...or...

...you're getting your inspiration

from elsewhere.

Given your previous education

and your background...

...l'm sure you'll forgive me

for reaching my own conclusions.

l wrote those papers, man.

Then you won't mind showing me.

The next assignment

is due in two weeks.

l'll schedule some time

for you to come to my office.

l'd like you to write it there.

ln the meantime, if there's anything

you wish to talk about....

l'm not writing anything, man.

Which proves what?

lf a two-comma kid wrote the papers,

would he use this ''background'' sh*t?

-Two-comma kid?

-A million dollars.

-One comma, two commas.

-No.

No, l don't.

Do you know what people

are most afraid of?

-What?

-What they don't understand.

When we don't understand,

we turn to our assumptions.

Crawford cannot understand...

...how a black kid from the Bronx

can write the way you do.

So he assumes you can't.

Just like l assume he's an a**hole.

You knew him, didn't you?

Crawford?

No.

But he thought he knew me.

So what's all this stuff

about his book?

A lot of writers know

the rules about writing...

-...but don't know how to write.

-So?

So Crawford wrote a book

about four authors who did know.

And l was the only one still alive.

-And?

-He convinced a publisher to buy it.

So l made a polite telephone call...

...to this publisher,

telling him and others...

...that l was in the process

of writing a second book.

And if they wished to bid on it--

Oh, so that's why

Crawford's book went away.

But you knew there wouldn't

be a second book.

Yeah, but they didn't.

lnteresting what happens when

the resources aren't close at hand.

The rich tradition of handing

in competition entries...

...on the final day continues...

...for yet another year.

Ladies and gentlemen...

...may l have your attention...

...please, if you don't mind.

''Ere sin could blight or sorrow fade

Death came with friendly care

The opening bud to heaven convey'd--''

How nice of you to join us.

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