Pride Page #3

---

All right, brother.

It's all right, young blood.

You know where to find me.

What you guys have to remember

is that each and every stroke

begins with an extension into the water.

You are reaching and stretching

as far as you can.

Now, I'm gonna show you.

Remember, you keep moving your legs.

Stretch out, reach as far as you can.

Try it.

One, two, breathe.

Now you're swimming

like a wounded animal.

One, two, breathe.

One, two, breathe.

Coach, why do these got to be here?

They keep messing me up.

The line is there to keep you

from messing everybody else up.

One, two, breathe.

If you breathe correctly, you don't drown.

Pull it back.

Reach out.

Make eye contact, pull them back again.

Walt, who told you

to take a board out there?

-But my hair.

-Get rid of the damn board.

What, you trying to drown us?

I'll show you fools.

Hey, Jim, let me show them how it's done.

Push.

Push.

Push.

You can make it, don't give up.

You can't run across the water.

Come on out here, young man.

Hey, Mr. Ellis,

you see how fast I was today?

Yeah, Reggie, you were smoking, man.

I think you broke a record.

Hey, don't some of those

rec centers have...

Have like swimming teams?

Like... Like...

Swimming tournaments and stuff.

You mean like meets? Swim meets?

Yeah, I suppose they would,

especially the ones that got pools.

Why?

I'm saying...

We swimming like every day, you know.

Maybe we should get in some.

-Hey, mister. Are there girls at these meets?

-Yeah.

That must be why they call them meets.

You meet girls.

Hey, we could be

splish-splashing with some girls.

Yeah, I think we really should.

Look, fellows. Look, what we do here,

I mean, this is all fun and games.

You talking about leagues,

and these people, they take this serious.

Dig, man. I'm tired of racing these jokers.

I need some more janitors to go up against.

-Why? So you can get smoked again?

-And again.

And again.

Yeah, why don't y'all

finish getting dressed?

But I really think we're ready.

Hey, foxy.

-Say, baby doll.

-Yeah, my name is Walt.

What's your name?

Victoria, huh?

-Let me walk you on down the street.

-We on the swim team.

See, I know how to do the breaststroke.

-Girl, I'm just saying, look...

-Reggie.

Hey, baby boy, how you doing?

You want some of this candy

to go along with your groceries?

You need a new trick.

-Does she fetch, too?

-A little bit of everything, brother.

I'm just trying to hook you up, man.

Make a little peace offering.

-The brother loves the peace.

-I'm with you, man. I feel that.

You sure? I got your back, man.

Oh, it's like that?

It's like that, baby boy? It's all right, baby.

I ain't going nowhere.

You gonna learn to love me.

Here you go, Jim.

What's that?

All the city parks and recreational sports

schedule, right there.

Why do I need this?

I might start a lacrosse team or something.

Brothers around here don't lacrosse.

Brothers don't swim, neither.

Hakim!

Hakim!

Hakim!

-What?

-Come on.

It's past your curfew, boy.

Hey, shut up!

Hi.

You're about to get very embarrassed.

Can't you see me hanging with the guys?

Get in the car.

Out of the pool.

Come on, let's go. Right now.

Let's go, line up here.

Act like you got some sense.

-What did we do?

-Come on, you get right there.

Come on! Come on. There you go, Jim.

I wanna talk to you guys about something.

Do y'all remember the first gift

that you was given

after you made it into this world?

What was it?

-Your name?

-Your name.

What's the last thing that's remembered

about you when you leave this world?

-Your name?

-Your name.

-Where's Hakim?

-Man, that fool's on restriction.

Yeah, his sister's crazy, man.

I'm telling you, man,

she's all about the books and stuff.

Yeah.

Well, take a good look at each other.

-Mr. Taylor, right?

-Yeah.

Mr. Williamson,

Mr. Davis and Mr. Jones.

You are now the official representatives

of the Marcus Foster Recreational Center.

-What you talking about?

-You guys asked for a meet, right?

Well, you got it.

This weekend against Main Line Academy.

You are now an official team.

We're a team, man,

we gonna be stroking.

-I'll be stroking on.

-Right on, brother.

-Yeah.

-Right on.

All right, I guess we a team.

How you doing?

Hello, my name's Jim Ellis.

I work down at the Foster's Rec.

-Foster's?

-Yes.

-ls Hakim home?

-Can I help you?

See, I'm coaching the boys down there.

We've started a little swim team.

I wanted to know if...

If Hakim would like to be a part of it.

-Swim team at Foster's?

-Yes.

We're closing that place down.

What do you mean, we?

We, meaning the city, me.

I'm Councilwoman Sue Carter,

Hakim's sister.

Well, is Hakim's parents home?

-I'm his legal guardian. You can talk to me.

-Okay.

Some of the kids kind of took to swimming.

And just Hakim

has shown so much promise.

So much promise and

I would love for him to continue with that.

And then what happens?

Do they get swim scholarships?

-Do they become professional swimmers?

-No, probably not.

Definitely not.

Miss Carter, do you swim, by chance?

-Do I swim?

-Yes, ma'am.

Mr. Ellis, Hakim missed three weeks of

school when he was with your swim team.

-I'm sorry, I didn't know that.

-Yeah.

I don't want my brother

back out on the street, okay?

So the best thing you can do for these kids

is encourage them to get a good education,

pack up that rec center and shut it down.

Well, Miss Carter, do you mind

if I have a word with him then?

Please.

Man, you got some really great books here.

You must love to read.

No, I ain't never read none of them.

Really?

"But the sister said, 'That is the pain."'

Looks like you could use some help,

young man.

Okay?

You serious?

One-zero.

All right.

-What y'all doing?

-Studying swimming.

Wait a minute,

y'all got two days before a Main Line event

and you sitting here, sitting on your ass?

I think Main Line's

got a meet with us in two days.

You know, pride is before crash.

Come on, man, you're a team now.

Get up, get up.

Get in the pool.

Excuse me. How you doing, young lady?

Can I help you with something?

-Yes, I'm here to swim.

-Coach, we got us a swimmer here.

Hi, I'm Wilhelmina Thompson.

My friends call me Willie.

I'm Jim Ellis.

But unfortunately, young lady,

we don't have a girl's team here.

Well, from the looks of it, you don't have

much of a guy's team, either.

-You feisty.

-I like her.

-Show us what you got.

-All right.

Excuse me, girl.

You know, you got a bright future with you.

Guess she on the team, huh?

Come on, man. Hey, look at

your mamma over there, walking.

Is that your mamma, covered in dirt?

What's up, brother?

We're going to swim. We're going to swim.

Hey, Coach, man, this place make

Marcus Foster look like a damn outhouse.

Boy, no need for all that.

What we're gonna try and do today

is go in there and swim like a team.

Because it's not where you swim,

it's how you swim.

And if we act like a team,

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes