Pride Page #2

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Just tell me where I start.

Why don't you go ask the city?

They the one hired you.

Damn.

Look at this damn stuff.

God bless this space.

You sleeping here now?

Or it just happen to be part of your job?

No.

Elston.

Come on, Elston. I know you're in there.

You knew this was coming, Elston.

Not in three months, I didn't.

You couldn't even call me

and tell me yourself.

I had to find out

from the damn clean-up crew.

I'm sorry about that, Elston.

Things happen.

"Things happen." Yeah.

What happened to all those strings

you supposed to be pulling, Miss Sue?

You're my city representative.

Go down there and start representing.

Elston,

the city isn't gonna fund an institution

that has no economic worth to it

or the community it serves.

Let me tell you something, Sue.

Worth shouldn't be based on economics.

You of all people should know that.

Elston, how many kids

came through that front door today?

None.

How many yesterday?

Hell, the last six months?

Yes, I see them

playing basketball out front.

But you know what?

They can play basketball anywhere.

This place is a nesting ground

for drugs, thugs

and the lowest common denominator.

"Lowest common denominator."

Let me tell you something right now,

Miss Sue.

If it weren't for this place

keeping you off the street,

you wouldn't have no pretty threads

on your back right now.

So don't you ever forget that.

Elston, we are not gonna keep

this place open just for you.

Nice shot. Nice shot.

-Hot out here, like Vietnam.

-What do you know about Vietnam?

I know that's where you going

if you keep flunking English.

You know, they draft the dumb ones first,

right?

-I guess you might be next.

-No, 'cause you're dumb.

Pass the ball. Come on.

Look who's back.

See you still ain't found a iron.

See you haven't found no game yet.

Hey, hey. Look, look, look. Look.

Well, we running a shelter here?

Yeah, I didn't know

the city paid you to swim.

That must be a real nice gig.

Actually, they don't pay me much at all.

But I didn't know the city paid you

to be in my business.

Well, let me get the iron out

and iron this wrinkle out of you right now.

I'm gonna let you know something

straight off the press, baby.

Everything up in here is my business.

And better yet, when the water bill come,

I'll make sure you get part of my business.

Okay, and I'll make sure I don't pay it.

For some reason, I knew that already.

Hey, so Puddin, man,

Puddin say he waiting to get married.

He waiting to fall in love before he do it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's it.

'Cause sex and basketball

ain't the only thing on my mind.

There's more to life than sex.

Man, what you know about sex, man?

You never got yourself none.

-What?

-Shut up, Reg.

Yo, what... What the hell?

-Oh, man.

-Hey, man, what you doing?

What does it look like?

Taking down the rims.

Yeah, but why?

City's closing the place down.

I'm supposed to bring the rims in.

-Sorry, fellows.

-You ain't got to take it, man, just leave...

They always messing

with our neighborhood.

Man, what we supposed to do now?

Walk eight miles

and play over at the Hudson Center?

Man, in this heat?

You must be out your mind.

Hey, say, man,

what you gonna do with that rim?

Get off me. Man, this is bullshit!

What's he smiling at?

What? It's hot.

Y'all having fun?

You suck! You suck!

-Give me the ball.

-I got the ball.

Watch it, watch it, watch it, watch it.

Listen up,

I need to talk to y'all for a second.

You with the basketball.

I got to tell you, first of all, I think

that was pretty low,

what they did to y'all outside,

pulling down your basketball rim.

But as long as this place is open,

I'm gonna let y'all swim in here.

But if y'all gonna be in here,

you gonna have to act

like you got some sense

'cause, I mean, theoretically,

ain't none of y'all supposed to be in here.

Yeah, neither is Puddin Head,

but his pop's condom broke.

Hey, man, watch the 'fro now, brother.

Watch the 'fro.

-What's your name?

-Hakim.

My name's Jim Ellis.

What does that sign say up on the wall?

"No

-"Clowns."

-Clowning.

-l-N-G.

-Shut up, Walt. Did he ask you?

-l-N-G is clowning.

-Look, this isn't a joke right now.

It says, "No clowning in or out of the pool."

Stay away from the deep end

if you can't swim.

What you say you do up here?

Who are you, the janitor?

What, you clean toilets?

Is that it, man? Can we go swimming now?

Yeah, we're straight.

Y'all understand, right?

Yes, we understand.

-Can we swim now?

-Okay.

And you, Mr. Smartass, over there.

-Name's Andre.

-Okay, Andre.

If you cup your hands

while you're swimming,

you swim a whole lot faster, son.

Just think about it.

I think I swim fast enough, janitor.

What was that?

You heard me.

You need to stick to

stacking boxes over there

and leave the swimming to the experts.

-Tell him, Dre.

-Yeah, yeah.

Expert? So you the expert now?

Expert at what, like running your mouth?

Say, man, I back up what I say.

I dust your old ass off in a race.

My 50 to your 20 says, "Negro, please."

Hey, man, you about to get smoked, man.

We talking three months

of swimming rehab.

Janitor don't stand a chance, man.

You ready, old man?

-He got blue panties on.

-I told you he was a fruitcake, man.

-Fruitcake! Fruitcake!

-Look at this! Look at this!

Superhero.

-Captain Panties.

-Save me! Save me!

To the end and back.

Lead the way.

All right. On your mark.

Get set.

Go!

Yo, man, what you doing, man? It's a race.

-Not really.

-Go, man.

Go, go.

All right, come on, Dre. Come on, man.

All right, here we go.

You got him. You got him.

Look, y'all.

You got it! You got it!

Come on.

Come on.

Oh, man,

he got beat by Captain Panties.

You lost! You lost!

-Hey, all I know...

-Get out the pool.

-...is you got burnt.

-For real.

-Burnt! Burnt! Burnt!

-Just shut up.

I'll kick both your ugly asses.

-At what? At swimming?

-I can see you drowning, you going down.

Man, you... You were fierce in that water.

Could you hook me up

with some of those moves sometime?

-First learn how to swim.

-Hey, hey.

What the heck is going on here?

Jim, what you call yourself doing, man?

I'm just surviving, baby.

I guess we just in the place

we supposed to be right now.

-ls that right?

-Yeah.

Y'all be careful.

No clowning in and out the pool.

I'm watching.

Hey, Elston,

why don't you come and swim with us?

Jim, where I come from, we swim naked.

And I don't want to embarrass nobody.

-You owe me 20, daddy.

-Nice, man.

Dre-T, where you going, man?

Stick around, brother, have a beer.

Might even let you drive tonight,

like old times.

Remember all the fun we used to have?

Yeah, I remember.

I remember you leaving me for dead.

Is that how you remember it going down?

No, see, I remember you

taking them bullets like a man, for us.

Look, here.

I haven't forgot that, brother.

You smell that?

Come on, baby.

It's for you.

Swollen up on me.

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