Poetic Justice

Lucky goes to leave.

CHICAGO

Where you goin?

Lucky turns.

LUCKY

Why you need to know? You ain't my bitch! I'm off!

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. THA PROJECTS – DAY WIDE

As Lucky comes to the curb and gets ready to exit his car. In the far background, we see and hear another car coming up.

GANGSTA RIDE – DAY

From the inside of the car, we roll up on Lucky getting out of his car. WE get the feeling something drastic is gonna happen. 36, 48, f.p.s. Time slows down. Lucky turns around just as the car stops.

ANGLE ON LUCKY

As he turns and attempts to see who is in the car. It turns out to be some of his old friends.

LLOYD

What's up, Lucky?

LUCKY

What up, nigga? What y'all doing?

LLOYD

Looking for a nigga to jack.

In his lap we see a gun.

LUCKY

Ya'll need to jack that cracka Larryl Gates.

BACKSEAT GANGSTA

Who's that?

Everybody just turns and looks at him. Ne shrinks back into the back seat.

LLOYD

Yeah we gonna jack him too. Goin up to City Hall later today... Remember Lerek?

LUCKY

Yeah. He live over there.

(points)

LLOYD

Not no more. Got his ass caped out yesterday... We gonna get tha niggas that got him.

Lucky nods.

LUCKY

Well, later.

LLOYD

All right. Peace.

Lloyd smiles ironically.

LUCKY

Yeah, peace.

They drive off. Lucky turns and walks into the projects.
 

EXT. J-BONE'SPORCH – DAY

Lucky walks up to a porch where we see a tall, slender, light-brown brother wearing no shirt and smoking a joint. This is J-Bone, Lucky's old friend. So close are they that they have children by the same woman. J-Bone is standing on his porch enjoying the afternoon sun and a cool Santa Ana breeze. We hear a jet fly overhead. We hear a fly-ass beat flowing from someone's apartment window.

J-BONE

(greeting)

Mr. Postman! Working muthafucka!

LUCKY

Don't start! Whatsup, J-Bone.

J-BONE

Want some Thai bud?

LUCKY

Naw. Can't fuck wit that.

They pause for a moment. J-Bone's attention has wandered across the way.

ACROSS THE WAY

We see an Old Woman toiling in her garden. In the projects older folk respect their small spaces by making them as comfortable as possible. Some playing children run through this shot.

BACK TO PORCH

J-BONE

Hi, Ms. Jackson... She hate my ass.

MS. JACKSON

Looks up toward J-Bone. Her face does not register the slightest hint of a positive response to J-Bone's greeting. In fact it says, "Go to hell." Ms. Jackson tells one of the kids, a young boy, to go inside. Upset and reluctant, the boy complies with his grandmother's wishes.

THE PORCH

LUCKY

Heard 'bout Derek.

J-BONE

Yeah, Derek. D-Dog! Crazy muthafucka, huh? Ain't that about a bitch?

(reminiscing)

... Anyway, so you here to check on Keisha, huh?

They start walking.

LUCKY

Yeah, I'm a give Angel some money to buy her some clothes.

J-BONE

Awww, muthafucka, you don't need to do that. I'll get her some clothes. Take her to the Slauson Swap Meet, Fox Hills Mall, get her what ever she need.

LUCKY

Naw, you don't need to do that.

A crack addict walks toward J-Bone. He makes a quick transaction.

J-BONE

Ain't no thang... It ain't like I ain't got the money. Besides, she call me Daddy sometimes anyway.

J-Bone walks on ahead. Lucky seems a little miffed. They walk upstairs to Angel's apartment.

INT. ANGEL'S PLACE – DAY

Where Lucky and J-Bone enter. There are two small children on the floor watching television. One is a girl, the other a boy. The girl is six years old, and the boy is four. This is Keisha and Antonio. On the screen are afternoon cartoons.

LUCKY

What you mean she call you Daddy?

J-BONE

Just what I said.

LUCKY

(gestures to his child)

Hey, little girl!

Keisha runs up into her daddy's arms.

LUCKY

Who's your daddy?

Keisha timidly points to Lucky, who smiles and looks at J-Bone.

LUCKY

That's your son, this my daughter. Don't you be forgetting.

J-BONE

Well, I'm her second daddy, since they came from the same hooka.

As if on cue and "on cue" we see a young woman of about twenty-two enter the room. Her face looks like that of someone who is entering the threes of what will be a hard life. Despite this, she retains a beautiful but very uninnocent look. This is Angel.

ANGEL

What y'all two fools talking 'bout?

LUCKY

Talking 'bout your yamp ass.

(takes a drink, then takes a second look at her)

We notice the unusual color of her lipstick and her nervous twitching. Angel begins rearranging things on her already-cluttered-up coffee table.

LUCKY

What you cleaning up for? Place look fucked up! Normal!... You ain't been basing, is you?

(to J-Bone)

Has she?

J-Bone doesn't say anything.

ANGEL

No, I ain't, and neither one of y'all is my husband, so y'all can't tell me shit.

(darts back toward the bedroom)

ANGEL POV – MOVING BACK AWAY FROM LUCKY

LUCKY

You know what I told ya ass bout that!

The bedroom door is slammed shut. Lucky lets his little girl out of his lap and loose.

LUCKY

Told her if she start doing that shit, I'm gonna take Keisha to live with my momma.

J-BONE

(looking at cartoons)

She all right, Lucky. Believe me, I'd know.

LUCKY

Yeah.

(takes a swig, then places his forty on the table)

I gotta stop drinking this shit. Fuckin wit my brain.

From outside someone calls J-Bone. He reluctantly leaves the cartoons to sell some more crack. Lucky starts to take notice of all the clutter on the coffee table. Downstairs, J-Bone makes a transaction. We see a piece of a crack pipe under the hair of a Black baby doll. This catches Lucky's attention. Lucky picks it up and notices Angel's lipstick is on its tip. He looks from J-Bone outside toward the bedroom. Then he gets up and walks in that direction.

INT. ANGEL'S PLACE – DAY – THE BEDROOM

Where we see Lucky opening the door. Inside Angel is just covering herself up after being with a gangsta. Lucky closes the door.

IDEA

Start shot of Lucky opening the door then PAN OVER to reveal Angel and the Gangsta surprised then PAN back to Lucky's reaction and he CLOSES the door.

INT. ANGEL'S PLACE – DAY – THE HALLWAY

As Lucky takes a moment to think. He walks off.

THE LIVING ROOM

Lucky picks up Keisha
 

LUCKY

C'mon, we gonna go see Grandma. Your momma tripping.

Suddenly, Angel bursts from the bedroom, cursing and talking shit.

ANGEL

Who the fuck you think you is? You don't tell me what the fuck I can do! Who the fuck I can see!
 

EXT. ANGEL'S PLACE – DAY – OVERHEAD

Outside, downstairs, J-Bone begins to take notice of the storm brewing in the apartment. He looks up toward the noise.

ANOTHER ANGLE – ON CRANE

Where J-Bone runs around and up the stairs as we CRANE UP with him and past the front of the apartment to see Lucky and Angel, perfectly framed in a window, arguing up a storm.

INT. ANGEL'S SPLACE – DAY – BACK TO LIVING ROOM

As Lucky and Angel go at it. Lucky has Keisha in hand. J-Bone enters the apartment and comes in between the two of them.

LUCKY

Fuck you, bitch! How you gonna be fucking some nigga while my little girl around here?!

(to the guy)

What you looking at nigga?

GANGSTA #1

Hey, Bone, you better tell this muthafucka to get outta ma face before I get my strap!

J-BONE

Lucky! Lucky, calm down, G!

LUCKY

Naw, fuck her yamp ass!

GANGSTA #1

Who is this muthafucka?

Lucky throws the Gangsta a funny look. Then, breaking the first rule of the street, he turns his back on him to continue arguing with Angel.

GANGSTA #1

What you looking at, punk? Mark ass, nigga!

Gangsta #1 sucka-punches Lucky. And they both start a big fight in the middle of the small apartment. J-Bone joins the fight, on Lucky's side.

J-BONE

Hey, hey!

Lucky and J-Bone kick his ass. Tha Gangsta is out cold. From the fire and light in Lucky's eyes, we can see shades of his previous life. He and J-Bone stand back to admire their handiwork. Outside we can see a crowd has gathered from the noise.

LUCKY

Aw, shit! Ijust got offa work. I don't need this shit. C'mon, Keisha. Later, Bone.

Lucky walks off, daughter in hand.

EXT. ANGEL'S PLACE – DAY

As Lucky, daughter in hand, quickly emerges. Behind him Angel throws a verbal arsenal of dirty insults and threats such as "Fuck you, niggs!" "You don't make no money, anyway!" "How you know she your baby?" etc. As Lucky walks, we lower Angel's voice and hear another one of Justice's poems.

JUSTICE (V.O.)

"In a time of secret wooing today prepares tomorrow's ruin. Left knows not what right is doing. My heart is torn asunder. In a time of furtive sighs. Sweet hellos and sad goodbyes. Half truths told and entire lies. My conscience echoes thunder."

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. JESSIE'S SALON – LATE AFTERNOON

As we see Justice standing over her notebook reading a poem to Iesha while putting the finishing touches on her head. The salon is nearly empty. Jessie is sitting at the counter. Heywood is on the phone.

JUSTICE

"In a time when kingdoms come. Joy is brief as summer's fun. Happiness, its race has run. Then pain stalks in to plunder."

(closes the notebook)

So what you think?

IESHA

It's pretty. What you call it?

JUSTICE

"In a Time."

Iesha's beeper goes off.

IESHA

(looking at her beeper)

Uh-oh, Chicago paging me.

Iesha gets out of the chair and goes to the receptionist's phone. Heywood is on the phone. His face is so serious. Jessie quickly points Iesha in the direction of the pay phone on the wall. Iesha sighs and walks that way.

JESSIE

You need some change?