FADE IN:

INT. CARVELLI RESIDENCE, CHICAGO, 1964 - NIGHT

An Italian American outlaw named VITO CARVELLI, a rather handsome and tall man, operates a corrupt residence on the near North side of Chicago.  Different CUSTOMERS come to his house to purchase drugs, alcohol, and to have sex with some of his prostitutes.  VITO meets with them individually in the front room.

CUSTOMER #1
Hey, Vito, my wife and I are separated and I really need a good fuck from one of your girls.

VITO
Got plenty of girls for you.

The first CUSTOMER is exiting the home and a second CUSTOMER is allowed entry.

CUSTOMER #2
Give me a dime bag of coke, Vito.

Vito is handing him a small plastic bag that contains pure white cocaine inside.

A third CUSTOMER knocks and VITO allows him entry, while the second CUSTOMER rushes out with the cocaine stuffed in his deep pocket.

CUSTOMER #3
Think I can do a threesome with two of your lovely girls, Vito?

VITO
You can do whatever your money allows you to.

By now, the CARVELLI residence is very busy with the trafficking of CUSTOMERS.  Yet another CUSTOMER is knocking very hard on the door.  He is inquiring about one of VITO's many hookers.

CUSTOMER #4
What can I get for twenty bucks, Vito?

VITO
Twenty bucks'll get ya at least two hours with one of our girls.

CUSTOMER #4
Really?

VITO
Give my wife the twenty bucks and she'll take you upstairs so you can meet one of my girls.

CUSTOMER #4
Jeez!  I can't wait, Vito!

INT. CARVELLI RESIDENCE, THIRD FLOOR - NIGHT

VITO's wife, MARION CARVELLI, an attractive and well-built black woman, takes the CUSTOMER up to the third floor of the corrupt residence.  MARION knocks on the door at the end of the hall and a vuluptuous hispanic woman named CHILI PEPPER seductively steps into the hallway.

MARION
Sir, this is one of our girls named Chili Pepper.  She's one of the beautiful women that my husband was telling you about.

CUSTOMER #4
Sweet Jesus!  She's....she's....

MARION
Beautiful?

CUSTOMER #4
Yeah, yeah, that's what I was trying to say.

INT. FIRST FLOOR, BACK ROOM - NIGHT

MARION notices that two of her children, VALERIE and VERNON, two attractive black children, are stirring up lots of noise, in which MARION is afraid they'll awake their baby brother, VINCENT, a six month old bi-racial baby, who happens to be the only child that VITO fathered with MARION.

MARION
Cut out all that noise before you all wake up Vincent.

VERNON replies first to his mother.

VERNON
Yes mam.

VALERIE replies second to her mother.

VALERIE
Yes mam.

INT. THIRD FLOOR - NIGHT

MARION enters one of the vacant rooms that is usually occupied by the hookers and the tricks.  She starts to clean up empty whiskey bottles, pornographic magazines, and used condoms.

INT. FRONT ROOM - NIGHT

The satisfied CUSTOMER is walking down the stairs fastening his pants with CHILI PEPPER on his arm.  VITO and MARION are waiting in the middle of the floor in the front room.

CUSTOMER #4
(an intoxicating voice)
Whew!  I had a hellavu good time, Vito!  This senorita can fuck better than any hooker that I've been with in any of the whore houses around Chicago.

VITO
That's what were here for.

INT. BACK ROOM - NIGHT

MARION stands over her six month old son, VINCENT, and pats him across his rosy red cheeks and runs her fingers through his shiny curly locks.  She removes a bottle from in between his tiny red lips.

INT. FRONT ROOM, MINUTES LATER - NIGHT

A roaring knock on the front door is heard by MARION as she stands near the front room.  She becomes terribly alarmed and rushes towards another part of the house.

INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT

MARION is standing in a frightened position at the middle of the basement stairs.

MARION
Vito, Vito, someone's acting like they're wanting to knock the door down!

VITO
Wait a second, Marion.

VITO grabs his .38 revolver and a .22 pistol from a secret compartment behind several boxes of unopened whiskey.  Both guns are stuffed in his pants as he rushes upstairs.

INT. FRONT ROOM AGAIN - NIGHT

The person viciously knocking at the door is VITO's childhood buddy from Brooklyn, New York, named TONY CASTELLANO.

TONY
Bennie Caputo and Fat Tony have got dope pushers, bootleggers, and pimps who're gonna get their boys to move in on ya.

VITO
What makes ya think that Bennie and Fat Tony are gonna finish me off in this sweet, notorious fashion?

TONY
When one guy makes more fucking money than the next one, those jealous sonofabitches come out of the woodwork.

VITO outrageously explodes after hearing this.

VITO
If they come to my house, right here, fucking with me, Marion, or the kids, I'm gonna pump some hot lead in their asses!  Goes for'em all, Tony!

TONY
They wouldn't care about killing you and your family.  Do yourself a favor and get out of here.

VITO
Why, Tony?

TONY
The word's out on the streets that they're supposedly gonna send some of their henchman down Fitzgerald and shower up your house.

VITO
Thanks, Tony.

INT. BASEMENT AGAIN - NIGHT

VITO returns to the basement to finish unboxing bottles of whiskey and weighing cocaine and marijuana on a small scale.  MARION stands at the bottom of the basement stairs and appears to be worried senselessly.

MARION
Tony wouldn't have come around here a second time if things weren't as bad as he said.

VITO
Tony doesn't know everything about what's going on out there on the streets.

MARION
(sarcastically)
Like you would know?

VITO
I might.

MARION
I think that it's time to follow Tony's advice.  He's into the rackets just like us.

VITO
I've heard enough advice for one day.

MARION
Tony was sent here by God to warn us, and we'd better take heed to his warning.

VITO
Are you getting sanctified on me, Marion?

MARION
I wouldn't call it sanctified, but just using God-given common sense.

VITO
Why would you mention God at a time like this?

MARION
God works in mysterious ways and he sends whoever he wants to be his messenger.

VITO
So, Tony's the messenger, huh?

MARION
Could be.

VITO
Tony came by here to warn us because he's my friend.

MARION
Don't you believe in God, Vito?

VITO
Yes, I believe in God.  My mamma and pappa were Roman Catholics and we went to church every Sunday.

MARION
Well, my family were Southern Baptists, and I still say God used Tony as a messenger.

By this time, MARION has become increasingly intolerable.  Vito angrily explodes by throwing a pint of whiskey back into the box.

VITO
Damn you, woman!  Your family was nothing but a bunch of poor, dumb niggers from the white man's south!  Let's get off this religious bullshit and get back to trying to make some more money!  Can we do that, please?

MARION blasts right back by bamming her fist down on the wooden railing.

MARION
What did you say!  What did you call my family?  What was your family?  They were nothing but a bunch of poor dumb dagos who snuck into the white man's America.

VITO
(apologetic voice)
Marion, I'm sorry.  Honey, I'm sorry for saying that.  I swear to ya, I didn't mean a word of it.

MARION
Yeah, I'll bet you're sorry.

VITO
We'll worry about those things later.  Let me finish what I started.

EXT. FITZGERALD AVENUE, NEAR NORTH SIDE OF CHICAGO - DAWN

An early model Chevy cruises down Fitzgerald with the windows rolled down halfway. The DRIVER of the automobile orders one of the HENCHMAN to fire away with a high-powered machine gun.

DRIVER
Let them have it.

HENCHMAN
With pleasure, boss. 

A sudden burst of gunfire from this car sprays the Carvelli residence. The car has cruised more than a block away.

DRIVER
Think Vito got the message?

HENCHMAN
I think so. 

INT. CARVELLI RESIDENCE - DAWN

Everyone in the house are alarmed at the shattering of glass and the tearing and shredding of plaster and wood.  VITO jumps out of bed and reaches into his dresser drawer for two pistols that he keeps in their bedroom.  MARION and VITO run downstairs to make sure the children are okay. We see the baby VINCENT crying loudly. MARION brings him out of his crib and pampers him. VALERIE and VERNON are quite shook up from the aftermath.

MARION
Are you all okay?

VERNON
I'm alright, mamma.

VALERIE
Me too, mamma. 

INT. FIRST FLOOR - MORNING

MARION reads through a fresh copy of The Chicago Tribune and finds a sitter who is willing to keep their three children.  We see the baby VINCENT sitting in a high chair chanting baby words.  VALERIE and VERNON are sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast.

EXT. FITZGERALD AVENUE - DAY

VITO and his family are getting into his shiny red, 1964 Cadillac Sedan.  He starts the car up and they're on their way to Milwaukee Parkway on the south side of Chicago.  While they're riding, VITO turns on the radio and listens to Sam Cooke's classic hit, "Darling, You Send Me".

EXT. MILWAUKEE PARKWAY - DAY

VITO and his family arrive in front of one of the spookiest looking houses on the block.  It reminds them of something right out of a horror movie.  Neighbors from up and down the block are coming out on their porches in this all black neighborhood to view the interracial couple and their children.

MARION
What the hell are they looking at?

VITO
Marion, Marion, just ignore those people.

MARION
They're acting like they've never seen a colored woman with an Italian man.

VITO
Maybe they haven't.

MARION
Well, they need to get back in their houses and mind their own business. 

VITO and MARION come up on the porch and VITO taps lightly on the screen.  A black woman, BESSIE MAE WILLINGHAM, who is olive complexioned with tiny black moles all over her face, limps to the front door.  BESSIE MAE limps as a result of an improperly set broken hip at the age of two.

BESSIE MAE
May I help you?

MARION
Are you Bessie Mae Willingham?

BESSIE MAE
Yes, I am.

MARION
I'm Marion Carvelli, and this is my husband, Vito Carvelli.  I spoke with you on the phone about bringing my children over.

BESSIE MAE
Yes, yes, come on in. 

INT. THE WILLINGHAM RESIDENCE, KITCHEN - DAY

BESSIE MAE limps unevenly into a smoke-filled kitchen.  Her husband, J.D. WILLINGHAM, an extremely dark complexioned man, who is rather heavyset with a shiny bald head, is sitting at the kitchen table smoking a cigarette.  His overall appearance is that of someone who is big, black, and ugly.  BESSIE MAE's elderly mother, known as GRANNY DEAR, is sitting in a wheelchair at the opposite end of the table.

BESSIE MAE
J.D. and Granny Dear, guess what?

J.D.
What's dat?

BESSIE MAE
You all remember that woman who called about bringing her kids over here to stay awhile?

J.D.
I memba.

BESSIE MAE
They're in the front room and guess what?

J.D.
Wuss dat?

BESSIE MAE
She's a colored woman and he looks like one of them dam dagos.

J.D.
Ain't no colored woman and dago mane spose ta be'gether.

Because J.D. is a native of Clarksdale, Mississippi, and he only has a first grade education, spending most of his growing years picking cotton for white people, we see that his vocabulary is extremely limited.

BESSIE MAE
I don't know why they're together.

J.D.
Dey got any chilluns wit'em?

BESSIE MAE
Two boys and a girl.

INT. FRONT ROOM - DAY

The CARVELLI couple and the WILLINGHAM couple are making one another's acquaintance.

J.D.
Whaddaya do fo a libbing?

VITO stares intensely at J.D. after hearing his totally wrecked dialogue.

VITO
Could you repeat yourself?

J.D. tries talking much slower so VITO can understand him.

J.D.
Whaddaya...do...fo...a...libbing?

VITO
You're asking me what I do for a living?

J.D.
Yep.

VITO
I sell goods out of my house.

Two men, GEORGE BRAUN and RAYMOND BOLTON, JR., are walking down a set of stairs that faces the room where the CARVELLIS and the WILLINGHAMS are occupying.  BESSIE MAE pulls them closer for the purpose of introduction.

BESSIE MAE
Vito and Marion, this is George Braun.  He's a mentally retarded man who's been living with us for awhile.

Both MARION and VITO reply in a frightened voice.

VITO
Good to meet you, Braun.

MARION
Same here, Braun.

BRAUN is beating the middle of his right hand with a bent hanger wire.  It's a nervous condition that's a result of his state of mental retardation.

BESSIE MAE
Put that wire away, Braun.  Tell Vito and Marion that you're pleased to meet them.

BRAUN
(hyperatively)
Yeah, yeah, I'm pleased to meet you, too.

VITO and MARION are frowning distastefully at one another, because all of BRAUN's black teeth are badly rotten, and they have much food particles and tobacco kernels smeared across them. BESSIE MAE is fanning her hand at BRAUN.

BESSIE MAE
Quit spitting that black junk all over people!

BRAUN
Okay, okay, I'll stop spitting black junk on people.

Because BRAUN sneaks and eats tobacco off the end of old cigarette butts, his saliva is always dark and foamy.  The man behind BRAUN, RAYMOND BOLTON, JR., who wears a low haircut and has a thin build, is staring motionless without a blink of his eyelids or movement of his eyeballs.

BESSIE MAE
Vito and Marion, this is another mentally retarded man that I've been keeping for a few years.  His name is Raymond Bolton, Jr., but everybody around here calls him Junior.

In relaxed voices, VITO and MARION greet JUNIOR.

VITO
How are you doing, Junior?

MARION
Pleased to meet you, Junior.

JUNIOR nods his head swiftly without moving his glossy eyes or eyelids.

JUNIOR
Pleased to meet you, Junior.  Pleased to meet you, Junior.

BESSIE MAE
Tell Vito and Marion you're doing fine.

JUNIOR
Tell them you're doing fine.  Tell them you're doing fine.

We see that JUNIOR repeats every word, almost verbatim, spoken by someone else.

BESSIE MAE
Like I told you at first, Junior's mentally retarded.  He repeats everything you say.

VITO
That's understandable.

As JUNIOR is being excused by BESSIE MAE, J.D. notices something that deeply angers himself.

J.D.
Put yo goddam shirt tail in yo britches, Joanyer!

JUNIOR
(frightened)
Put shirt tail in britches.  Put shirt tail in britches.

VITO and MARION turn to stare at one another, and they're wondering why J.D. shouted cruelty at the frail, mentally retarded man.  JUNIOR walks away shoving his shirt down into the back of his pants.  A ten year old girl, CARMEN TAYLOR, also very dark complexioned, walks into the front room patting her chest.  BESSIE MAE grabs her by the arm and pulls her closer.

BESSIE MAE
Everyone, this is a foster girl of mine's named Carmen Taylor.

MARION
Is Carmen the only foster child that you all keep in your home?

BESSIE MAE
Right now she is.  I'd like to have more foster children come and stay.

CARMEN finds the baby VINCENT irresistable and bounces him around in her arms.  She kisses all over VINCENT as she makes her acquaintance with VALERIE and VERNON.

INT. BASEMENT STAIRWAYS - DAY

VITO and MARION are following J.D. and BESSIE MAE down a set of stairs that come to a messy laundry room.  VITO and MARION jerk their heads back, because there are many piles of clothes that have both dried and moist urine and defecation stains on them.

VITO
(voice-over)
Look at all that shit and piss on those underwear!

The foul odor fills the air.  VITO and MARION now realize that there is a place for filth inside the WILLINGHAM residence.

MARION
(voice-over)
It smells like raw shit and piss inside this room.

INT. A ROOM IN THE BACK OF THE BASEMENT - DAY

BESSIE MAE and J.D. take VITO and MARION down a short hallway and into a small dim room.  A young man, SEAN RANDLE, is very fair complexioned, also with a low haircut. SEAN isn't quite mentally retarded, but he has a paralyzed left hand and suffers from occasional seizures.  He rocks back and forth in a sturdy wooden chair.

J.D.
Shone!  Sat yo muttapucking ass up in dat chair wight!

SEAN
Yes, sir.

SEAN quickly sits up straight, scooting firmly against the back of the chair.  VITO and MARION turn to lock eye contact once more.  They are wondering why J.D. is going around cursing at the helpless, handicapped men.

VITO
(voice-over)
How much education did this dumb nigger have?  Where did he get the word 'muttapucking' from?  I thought the word was supposed to be 'motherfucking'.  Did this big, black, and ugly nigger ever go to school?

BESSIE MAE stands to the side of the chair where SEAN is sitting.

BESSIE MAE
Vito and Marion, this is another handicapped man that I've been keeping for awhile.  His name is Sean Randle.  He can be stubborn at times, but my husband usually straightens him out.

BESSIE MAE brags as though the handicapped men that she and J.D. keep at their home are nothing more than property.

VITO
Pleased to meet you, Sean.

MARION
Same here, Sean.

SEAN
Pleased to meet you all, too. 

INT. FRONT ROOM - DAY

Though VITO and MARION are extremely apprehensive about leaving their children with the WILLINGHAMS, they also realize that they would be much safer in a house that isn't being shot up by rival gangsters.  We see CARMEN kissing the baby VINCENT all over his innocent face.  Before leaving, VITO and MARION give their children many hugs and kisses.

VALERIE
When are you coming back, mamma?

MARION
Mamma'll be back when we find another home.

VALERIE
I wanna go with you, mamma.

MARION
You can't go right now.  Be good now.

EXT. FRONT PORCH OF WILLINGHAM RESIDENCE - DAY

Several months have passed and VITO and MARION didn't return for their children.  BESSIE MAE learned through legal sources that they had been arrested for their vice activities and were once held in Cook County Jail.  Since then, BESSIE MAE and J.D. have gained custody of VALERIE, VERNON, and VINCENT through the courts. BESSIE MAE sits anxiously on the porch waiting for POSTMAN TUCKER to bring several checks for every foster child and handicapped man, including her elderly mother.

POSTMAN TUCKER
Hello there, Mrs. Willingham.

BESSIE MAE
Hello, Postman Tucker.  How's it going today?

POSTMAN TUCKER
Going just fine, Mrs. Willingham.  Let's see what I have for you today.

BESSIE MAE
(anxiously)
Okay!

POSTMAN TUCKER counts the checks consecutively in a mumbling voice.

POSTMAN TUCKER
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and....eight.

POSTMAN TUCKER hands BESSIE MAE eight checks in light brown envelopes from the state of Illinois.

BESSIE MAE
Thank you, Postman Tucker!  Have a nice day, now.

POSTMAN TUCKER
You do the same, Mrs. Willingham.

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

BESSIE MAE is sitting at the kitchen table proudly thumbing through the stack of checks.  The phone rings and it's VITO CARVELLI making an inquiry about the children.  BESSIE MAE limps over by the wall and answers it.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
Hello.

VITO
(over the phone)
Yes, can I speak with Bessie Mae Willingham?

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
This is Bessie Mae Willingham.  Whom am I speaking with?

VITO
(over the phone)
This is Vito Carvelli.  I really need to speak with you.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
Yes, yes, I remember you now.  Why are you calling here?

VITO
(over the phone)
I'm calling because my wife and I want the kids to come back home.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
Your children are at home.  They're at our home for good, Vito.

VITO
(over the phone)
Are you trying to tell me that your crippled ass got custody of our children?  Not you and your big, black, and ugly husband?

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
Hold on one goddam minute!  I know all about the liquor and dope and pussy selling that went on over at that house on Fitzgerald.  The courts summoned you and your wife several times and you never showed up.  Apparently, this would tell anybody that you didn't want the children anyway.  Don't ever call here talking crazy to me, you dope-pushing-dago-pimp.

VITO
(over the phone)
You dumb, crippled, nigger-bitch!  Don't you ever call me another dope dealer or dago-pimp as long as you live.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
If I'm a nigger-bitch, then your wife's one. Go back and be with your whores and junkies, you dope-dealing-dago-pimp-motherfucker!

BESSIE MAE slams the phone down in VITO's ear and the furious conversation has ended. BESSIE MAE fires up a cigarette and reaches into a kitchen cabinet for some of her blood pressure medication.  GRANNY DEAR notices that she is distraught.

GRANNY DEAR
What's wong, Bessa Mae?

BESSIE MAE
That dago-bastard had the nerves calling here confronting me about getting custody of those children.

GRANNY DEAR
What he gone do fo dose chilluns?

BESSIE MAE
He can't do nothing for those children.

INT. LIVING ROOM OF WILLINGHAM RESIDENCE - DAY

J.D. walks into the living room wearing a blue uniform with patches of tar, swinging his large silverish lunchbucket.  He notices a well-dressed white man, DOUGLAS MCINTOSH, talking with BESSIE MAE, trying to sell her a sewing machine.  J.D.explodes after hearing DOUGLAS quote BESSIE MAE a price.

J.D.
Ya mean ta tell ma dat thang coss dat much?

DOUGLAS
But sir, this sewing machine is really a bargain.

J.D.
Out da doe!

DOUGLAS
But....

J.D.
But my ass!  Git yo white ass out my house.

DOUGLAS
But....

J.D. cuts him off and points towards the front door.  While growing up in Clarksdale, Mississippi during a period of extreme racial tension, J.D.'s hatred is nursed especially strong for white men.

INT. PORCH - DAY

BESSIE MAE steps onto the porch with DOUGLAS.  She tries to explain that J.D. has a serious hatred towards white men.

BESSIE MAE
I'm very sorry for the way that my husband acted in there.

DOUGLAS
That's quite alright.  In this line of business, I've dealt with those type of people before.

BESSIE MAE
Don't go around hating all colored men because of my husband's bad attitude towards you.

DOUGLAS
Trust me, I won't.

INT. DINING ROOM - DAY

J.D. sits at the dining room table still mumbling words to himself about DOUGLAS trying to sell BESSIE MAE the sewing machine.

J.D.
Can't bleeves dat white mane gone come round tying ta cheat somebody.

BESSIE MAE
You didn't have to curse that white man like that, J.D.

J.D.
I curse white folks all day long if I could.

INT. FRONT ROOM - NIGHT

VERNON and VINCENT are watching an episode of Batman and Robin.  CARMEN stands above them broke out in a mild sweat.  She nervously rubs her fingers together.  VERNON notices that she is acting quite strange.

VERNON
Are you alright, Carmen?

CARMEN
Of course I'm alright.

VERNON
Are you sure?

CARMEN
Of course I'm sure.

CARMEN tells VALERIE to go to bed and VERNON leaves the front room to go to the basement in order to prepare for school the next day.  CARMEN grabs VINCENT by the arm and leads him over to the stairways leading to the second floor.

INT. SECOND FLOOR BATHROOM - NIGHT

CARMEN takes advantage of VINCENT by sneaking him into a humid bathroom so they can have an unusual type of sexual intercourse.  No one in the home knows what is happening on the other side of the bathroom door. Only moans and groans can be heard from the other side.

INT. BASEMENT, VERNON AND VINCENT'S ROOM - NIGHT

VERNON is totally angry with VINCENT for making he and VALERIE travel all around the house looking for him.

VERNON
Where were you at, boy!

VINCENT
I was down....

VERNON
You're lying, boy!

VINCENT
No, I'm not.

VERNON
Shut up and go to sleep.

INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT

VINCENT awakes in a bed that is soaked with his own urine.  He has a serious bedwetting problem and has received several beatings from J.D. everytime he wets the bed.  He sits on the side of his bed with his face buried in his hands, feeling sorry for himself.

FLASHBACK - INT. BASEMENT - DAY

J.D. and VINCENT stand in front of his bed, which has a large yellow ring covering most of the sheet.  VINCENT stands there frightened out of his wits, as J.D. holds tightly onto his long brown extension cord, questioning him about his bedwetting problem.

J.D.
Why can't ya git yo ass up and go ta da bathwoom?

VINCENT is standing before J.D. shaking profusely.

VINCENT
I don't know, Mr. Willingham.

J.D.
Dunno?

VINCENT
No, sir.

J.D.
Dis stanching code gone make ya know.

J.D. wastes no time beating VINCENT with his extension cord.

INT. BASEMENT AGAIN - NIGHT

VINCENT is sitting at the middle of his bed with his pajamas heavily soaked with his own urine.

VINCENT
(voice-over)
Oh God, I've done it again!

INT. STAIR LANDING TO SECOND FLOOR - NIGHT

VINCENT has begun a risky journey up to the second floor.  He is creeping across the thick carpet on the landing.  The door to the WILLINGHAM's room suddenly opens.  VINCENT quietly races for a narrow corner to his left.  The shadow of a very heavyset man falters into the hallway.  J.D. drags his heavy feet across the carpet on his way to the bathroom.  VINCENT perspires heavily while he stoops in a curled position in the tight corner.  J.D. uses the bathroom and enters their bedroom letting off very loud farts.

INT. SECOND FLOOR - NIGHT

In the thick of darkness, VINCENT faces a linen closet with shelves that hold towels, washrags, sheets, and pillowcases.  He quickly snatches a fitted sheet, a top sheet, and a pillowcase.  The bed linen is cuffed under his armpits and he is making a run for the steps.  The doorknob to the WILLINGHAM room turns softly.  Being fiercely alert, VINCENT races down the stairs without being caught.  The sounds of someone limping across the carpet indicates that it is BESSIE MAE on her way to the bathroom.

INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT

VINCENT is quietly changing the sheets on his bed.  Before he places the fresh sheets across the soaked mattress, he evenly spreads several layers of plastic and old copies of The Chicago Tribune on top.  His only concern is to avoid a vicious beating by J.D. by simply sleeping in a dry, clean bed.

INT. BASEMENT, SEAN'S ROOM - NIGHT

VINCENT is taking the soiled sheets and pillowcase and is throwing them in a large trash barrel just a few feet away from SEAN'S bed.

INT. BASEMENT - MORNING

J.D. stands at the head of VINCENT'S bed.  He reaches for the edge of the top sheet and jerks it back to the foot of the bed.  VINCENT turns over and looks right into J.D.'S evil red eyes.  The long brown extension cord is clutched in his right hand.

J.D.
(light groan)
Hmmmm.  Ya finally went wittout pissin in da bed.  Who woke ya up dis time?

VINCENT
Nobody.  I woke myself up.

J.D.
Ya betta git yo ass up ev'ry night and go ta da bathwoom.  Ya unnastands ma, boy?

VINCENT
(submissively)
Yes sir, Mr. Willingham.

VERNON has awaken and glances across the room at J.D. as though he wants to strangle him with the very extension cord that he clutches in his hand.

VERNON
(voice-over)
Why is he always picking on my little brother?

EXT. LINCOLN PARK, FOURTH OF JULY - DAY

Fireworks are racing all through the sky inside Chicago's Lincoln Park, one of the more popular public parks.  It is the middle nineteen-seventies and many Negro teens are wearing large afros, bellbottom pants, and platform shoes.  The music of many popular soul groups are playing at nearby shelters.  VALERIE and VINCENT climb into the back of J.D.'S camper to avoid any further embarrassment from being seen in the company of a group of handicapped men.  BESSIE MAE is limping over to the back of the camper.

BESSIE MAE
(thunderous shout)
Alright, goddamit!  I'm not going to put up with no more bullshit from no half-breed bastard and no high-yellow bitch like you all!  Do you want me to call you all's caseworkers to come and get your asses?

VALERIE
(whines)
No, Mrs. Willingham.

BESSIE MAE
Then you all better straighten up.

BESSIE MAE gains the attention from others at many other shelters throughout Lincoln Park.  VALERIE and VINCENT stand before her with their heads hung low.  BESSIE MAE begins serving the Fourth of July food that she and GRANNY DEAR cooked earlier.  She notices that VALERIE and VINCENT are eating slowly with sad expressions on their faces.  Both are absolutely embarrassed to be seen in the company of mentally retarded men, like BRAUN, JUNIOR, and SEAN.

BESSIE MAE (CONT'D)
What the hell's wrong with you all?

VINCENT
(whines)
Nothing, Mrs. Willingham.

BESSIE MAE secretly limps over to one of the big trees and breaks off a couple of long thin branches.

BESSIE MAE
Why can't you all act right?

VALERIE
We are acting right, Mrs. Willingham.

BESSIE MAE charges VALERIE and VINCENT with the twisted switches and both are given three painful lashes across their back, arm, legs, and shoulder.  VALERIE drops a mound of potato salad onto her lap, while VINCENT jumps up from the bench screaming with tears rolling down his face.  VALERIE cries continuously while wiping potato salad from her leg.

BESSIE MAE
Me and Granny Dear didn't cook all this food for you to mess over!  I'm sick of a yellow bastard and a yellow bitch acting up in public!

EXT. PORCH - DAY

VALERIE is on the front porch sitting in a lawn chair.  Her young, shapely figure has brought her much attention.  Her silky black hair has grown past the middle of her back.

INT. FRONT ROOM - DAY

J.D. is sitting on the sofa watching an episode of Sanford and Son.  He is constantly turning his head to watch VALERIE in her tight shorts.  J.D. tries to disguise an erection, as he lustfully watches VALERIE.  We see his red veiny eyes travel from her breasts, to her hips, thighs, and down to her firm buttocks.  VALERIE walks into the front room and J.D.'S evil red eyes frighten the living daylights out of her.

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

BESSIE MAE has limped into the kitchen to give GRANNY DEAR a goodbye kiss before she takes off for Memphis, Tennessee to see about one of her sick uncles.

INT. O'HARA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT - DAY

J.D. is dropping BESSIE MAE off at the airport.  He helps carry her luggage inside the extremely busy airport.  They kiss and she begins to board the plane.  J.D. begins his journey around the sinful streets of Chicago.

INT. ADULT THEATRE ON RUSH BOULEVARD - NIGHT

J.D. sits in a dark adult theatre, looking around at several other men who are tossing and turning in their seats.  Some of these same men are masturbating.  J.D. has seen enough, so he leaves the theatre.

EXT. FRONT OF ADULT THEATRE - NIGHT

J.D. runs into a HOOKER on the way out of the adult theatre.

HOOKER
Come on and treat yourself to some of this good pussy.

J.D.
Naw, dat's alwight.

HOOKER
I've got some rubbers, baby.

J.D.
Naw, naw, dat's alwight.

INT. KITCHEN OF WILLINGHAM RESIDENCE - NIGHT

J.D. stands in the pitch dark kitchen and he can clearly hear GRANNY DEAR snoring loudly.

INT. SECOND FLOOR - NIGHT

J.D. stands at the doorway to the room of BRAUN and JUNIOR.  He watches them as they are also snoring loudly.  He walks a few feet from their doorway and is now in the doorway of VALERIE'S room.  His wet tongue rolls around his dark chapped lips.  He becomes excited by breathing heavy, with deep redness filling his eyes, and scalp oils causing his bald head to shine moreso.  He lustfully watches VALERIE sleep.

INT. ROOM OF BESSIE MAE AND J.D. - NIGHT

J.D. is reaching under the mattress that he and BESSIE MAE sleep on top of.  He is pulling out a stack of pornographic magazines, and begins flipping through every page.  This makes him sexually excited.

INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT

J.D. stands quietly inside the room of VERNON and VINCENT.  Asleep under the covers is VINCENT.  He walks several yards and ends up in SEAN'S room.  He glances strongly to make sure that SEAN isn't awake.

INT. FRONT ROOM - NIGHT

J.D. checks to make sure that all of the locks on the front door are secure.

INT. SECOND FLOOR - NIGHT

J.D. quietly creeps into the room of VALERIE and stops at the middle of the floor.  As he silently moves towards her bed, he is viewing her pink pastel panties that can be seen through her transparent gown.  With no warning whatsoever, he slams his colossal body on top of VALERIE.  Her mouth is clamped by both of his strong callous hands.  She is immediately awakened and greatly alarmed.

J.D.
Ya betta not squeam!

VALERIE
(mumbling)
I won't scream, Mr. Willingham.

J.D.
Keep ya mouth closed, gal!

By now, VALERIE is trembling from being frightened senselessly.

VALERIE
(shivering)
Please...don't...hurt...me!

J.D.
Don't make no noise, gal!  Ya tell anybody, I'm gone kill ya!

VALERIE begins to make a cry and J.D. presses down harder.

J.D. (CONT'D)
Ya unnastands ma, gal?

VALERIE
Ummmm, huh!

J.D.
Shut yo mouth, gal!

We see VALERIE crying profusely as J.D. clamps her mouth much harder.

VALERIE
Please, please, don't hurt me, Mr. Willingham!

J.D.
Don't squeam, gal!

VALERIE is restrained helplessly with J.D.'S powerful arms and upper-body strength.  She unwillingly submits to him as he pulls up her nightgown, and then pulls down her panties.  VALERIE then tries kicking and scratching and biting the arm and fingers of J.D., but we see that her struggle is hopeless.  J.D. unbuckles his belt and quickly pulls down his pants and underwear.  He forces his large erect penis into her vagina, and then thrusts in and out of VALERIE until he achieves an explosive ejaculation.  At this moment, blood begins to gush out of the vagina of VALERIE, and soon it mixes with the pool of semen down on the sheets.  After the brutal rape, J.D. climbs off her and runs out of the room pulling up his underwear and pants.

INT. GRANNY DEAR'S ROOM - DAWN

VALERIE momentarily went into a mild state of shock.  She has traveled down to GRANNY DEAR'S room to tell her about the brutal rape.

VALERIE
(shaking wildly)
Granny Dear, Mr. Willingham did it to me.

GRANNY DEAR
What ya mean J.D. did it ta ya?

VALERIE
He jumped on top of me when I was sleep and he stuck his thang in me.

GRANNY DEAR
Ya saying dat J.D. made ya have sex wit'em?

VALERIE
Yes.

GRANNY DEAR
I don't bleeves J.D. would do no such thang.

VALERIE
But, he did.

INT. THE KITCHEN - MORNING

CARMEN has been called to the WILLINGHAM residence and listens to VALERIE tell her story from out in the kitchen.

VALERIE
He jumped on top of me and covered my mouth.

CARMEN
What happened after that?

VALERIE
Then, he pulled up my gown and jerked my panties down.

CARMEN
Okay, what happened after that?

VALERIE
He stuck his thang in me.

CARMEN
His ding-a-ling?

VALERIE
Yes.

INT. ROOM OF VALERIE, SECOND FLOOR - MORNING

CARMEN goes up to the room where VALERIE sleeps and moves slowly towards her bed.  As she bends forward to view the sheets, she quickly jumps back, because the blood mixed with the semen is a horribly grotesque sight.

INT. GRANNY DEAR'S ROOM - MORNING

CARMEN wastes no time informing GRANNY DEAR what she has just seen up in VALERIE'S room.

CARMEN
Granny Dear!  Granny Dear!

GRANNY DEAR
What done happen?

CARMEN
Valerie was raped by Mr. Willingham!

GRANNY DEAR
What ya gone do now?

CARMEN
I'm taking Valerie to the hospital so a doctor can look at her.

INT. COOK COUNTY HOSPITAL - MORNING

Doctors and nurses are examining VALERIE inside a room of the trauma section at Cook County Hospital and can clearly see that she is the victim of a brutal rape.

INT. LOBBY OF HOSPITAL - MORNING

CARMEN is pacing the floor inside the lobby of the hospital.  Some haunting memories has her doing some serious soul searching.

CARMEN
(voice-over)
I wonder if having sex with Vincent when he was a little boy is just as bad as Mr. Willingham raping Valerie?

INT. FRONT ROOM OF WILLINGHAM RESIDENCE - MORNING

VALERIE reveals the terrible news of the rape to VERNON, and he can't seem to keep his composure. He goes into an anger frenzy and wildly paces the floor.

CARMEN
Mr. Willingham raped Valerie when everybody in the house was sleep.

VERNON
(very angrily)
I wish I could chop his dick and balls off and slice his motherfucking throat!

CARMEN
And get yourself in a whole lot of trouble.

VERNON
Where's the black sonofabitch who raped my sister?

CARMEN
Mr. Willingham's out in the streets somewhere.

INT. FIFTH DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS OF THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT - DAY

J.D. has been apprehended after a warrant was issued for his arrest.  A sex crimes detective, JAMES BUCCI, questions J.D. about raping VALERIE inside a small interrogation room.

BUCCI
Mr. Willingham, where were you between the hours of eleven p.m. and one o'clock a.m.?

J.D.
Lemme see now.  I went ta da lickka sto ta buy some bares.

BUCCI can clearly see that J.D. is illiterate and that he can hardly use correct English.

BUCCI
You went where to buy what?

J.D.
I went ta da lickka sto fo some bares.

BUCCI
So, you went to a liquor store to buy some beers?

J.D.
Yep.

BUCCI
What's the name of this liquor store?

J.D.
I dunno.  Can't memba dat well.

BUCCI pauses a moment from the interrogation process.  He can see "lie" written all over the shiny black face of J.D.

BUCCI
(voice-over)
This guy must be totally illiterate. It's evident that he didn't get too far in school.

BUCCI nods his head and continues with the interrogation process.

BUCCI (CONT'D)
Where's this liquor store located?

J.D.
Can't memba dat neither.

BUCCI
Where did you go after you left the liquor store?

J.D.
I sat out in ma tuck and drank my bares.

BUCCI
You drunk your beers out in your truck?

BUCCI feels the need to grill J.D. to no apparent satisfaction.  He commandingly paces the room.

J.D.
Yep.

BUCCI
Where did you go after you finished drinking your beers?

J.D.
State ta bed afta dat.

BUCCI
Approximately, what time did you go to bed?

J.D.
Bout, quota ta twelve.

BUCCI knew that it would be difficult with the questioning process, especially since J.D. couldn't use proper English.

INT. DINING ROOM - DAY

BESSIE MAE returns from her trip down in Memphis as a very disappointed woman.  CARMEN and VERNON has brought VALERIE back to the WILLINGHAM home.  They sit and listen to BESSIE MAE talk furiously on the phone with J.D., who is being held on bond inside Cook County Jail.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
What possessed you to do such a lowdown thing, J.D.?

J.D.
(over the phone)
Lowdown thang lack what, Bessa Mae?

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
Fucking me wasn't good enough?  You had to fuck your own foster daughter, huh?

J.D.
(over the phone)
Ain't nobody did no such thang ta dat gal.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
You fucked her and that's all it is to it.

J.D.
(over the phone)
I ain't did no such thang.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
You could've easily went out and bought you some pussy.

J.D.
(over the phone)
Dat yella bitch lying, Bessa Mae.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
You're black filth, J.D.

J.D.
(over the phone)
Ya gone bleeves ma or her?

BESSIE MAE hands the phone over to VALERIE so she can say a few words to J.D.

VALERIE
(into the phone)
You did rape me!  You left your cum on the sheets after you raped me!

J.D.
(over the phone)
Ya lying, ya yella bitch!

VALERIE
(into the phone)
You're lying, Mr. Willingham, and you know it.

BESSIE MAE reaches for the phone and has some final words to say to J.D. before she hangs up.

BESSIE MAE
You can sit your nasty black ass in jail and think about what you did.

BESSIE MAE slams the phone down and limps into the kitchen to fire up a cigarette and go into one of the cabinets for some of her blood pressure medication.

INT. PORCH - DAY

VALERIE is being taken to another foster home just two weeks after BESSIE MAE decides that J.D.'S side of the story sounded more convincing.  VALERIE'S caseworker helps her take her belongings out to the car.  VERNON and VINCENT sadly watch their sister leave for another foster home without being told of the exact location.  J.D. sits on the porch with a mischevious smirk on his face.  VERNON turns to give J.D. a look of wanting immediate revenge.

VERNON
One day I'm going to confront him for what he did to Valerie.

VINCENT
What, when he raped Valerie?

VERNON
Exactly. 

INT. FRONT ROOM - DAY

VINCENT walks into the front door carrying his school books, and there sitting on the sofa is BESSIE MAE, a caseworker named SANDRA MALONEY, and two new foster boys, GILBERT CURRY and JOSE UNDERWOOD.

BESSIE MAE
Vincent, this is Sandra Maloney from The Department of Children and Family Services.

SANDRA
Hi, Vincent.

VINCENT
Hello, Mrs. Maloney.

BESSIE MAE now turns to introduce VINCENT to his two new foster brothers.

BESSIE MAE
Vincent, these are your two new foster brothers.  Their names are Gilbert Curry and Jose Underwood.

VINCENT
Hi Gilbert.  Hi Jose.

GILBERT
Hi, Vincent.

JOSE
Hello, Vincent. 

BESSIE MAE wants VINCENT to help GILBERT and JOSE carry their belongings to the basement while she and SANDRA discuss some matters concerning foster care.  SANDRA glances around the room and a silently strong thought hits her.

SANDRA
(voice-over)
I know the rape of a foster child occurred at this foster home.  Why did the state allow me to bring Gilbert and Jose here?

There was suspicion that was created after the rape of VALERIE. But no investigation of the WILLINGHAM residence ever got underway.

INT. BASEMENT - DAY

GILBERT and JOSE place their belongings beside the beds that VINCENT and VERNON sleep on.  VINCENT and his two new foster brothers observe the shyness of one another.  One of them are eager to say something.  GILBERT is staring over at VINCENT.

GILBERT
Why did you have to be put into a foster home?

VINCENT
My mother and father were selling drugs and whiskey in a house when I was a baby.

GILBERT
Where's your mamma and daddy at now?

VINCENT
I don't know.

GILBERT
So, you haven't seen your mamma and daddy since you were a baby?

VINCENT
Yes.

GILBERT
Wow!

VINCENT
Why did you have to be put into a foster home?

GILBERT
Which foster home?

VINCENT
How many foster homes have you been in?

GILBERT
This is the fifth one.

VINCENT
Why did they put you in the first foster home?

GILBERT
My daddy came home drunk all the time and kept beating up on my mamma.

VINCENT takes GILBERT and JOSE into the next room to meet SEAN.  They notice his paralyzed hand and become alarmed.

INT. FIRST FLOOR - DAY

BESSIE MAE introduces GILBERT and JOSE to JUNIOR at the bottom of the first floor stairways.

BESSIE MAE
Gilbert and Jose, this is Junior.  He's a mentally retarded man that I've been keeping for awhile.

GILBERT
How are you doing, Junior?

JOSE
How are you doing, Junior?

GILBERT and JOSE strongly notice the glossy eyeballs and eyelids of JUNIOR that aren't moving.  BESSIE MAE taps JUNIOR on the shoulder and points at the new foster boys.

BESSIE MAE
Junior, say hello to Gilbert and Jose.

JUNIOR
Say hello to Gilbert and Jose.  Say hello to Gilbert and Jose.

BESSIE MAE
Tell them that you're pleased to meet them.

JUNIOR sways his head quickly.

JUNIOR
Tell them you're pleased to meet them.  Tell them you're pleased to meet them.

BRAUN walks down the stairs beating the middle of his hand with one of his hanger wires.  BESSIE MAE'S already escalated blood pressure is boiling at this point.

BESSIE MAE
Stop slapping your goddam hand with that wire, Braun!

BRAUN
Okay, okay, I'll stop slapping my hand with this wire.

GILBERT and JOSE are staring and frowning as they observe the black, rotten teeth in BRAUN'S mouth.  Dark brown saliva has dried around the rim of his mouth.  BESSIE MAE pulls BRAUN closer.

BESSIE MAE
Braun, this is Gilbert and Jose.

BRAUN
Hey, hey, how ya doing there?

GILBERT
Fine, sir.

JOSE
I'm okay.

As BRAUN extends his right hand out, GILBERT and JOSE notice a dark line that is a result of the wire tearing through the skin of his palm.

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

The final introduction of GILBERT and JOSE will be to J.D. He is sitting at the kitchen table smoking a cigarette.  GILBERT is especially frightened of his sinister appearance.

GILBERT
(voice-over)
Dam, he's big, black, and ugly!

BESSIE MAE stands in between GILBERT and JOSE while making the introduction.

BESSIE MAE
J.D., these are our two new foster boys who came to live with us today.

J.D.
New falsta boys, huh?

BESSIE MAE
Sure is.

J.D. blows a long stream of smoke from his wide nostrils and turns his attention to GILBERT.

J.D.
What's yo name, young mane?

GILBERT answers in a very frightened voice.

GILBERT
My name's Gilbert Curry, sir.

J.D.
Peased ta meet ya, Gillbutt.

GILBERT
Thank you, sir.

J.D. discharges a long drag of cigarette smoke from his mouth and now turns his attention to JOSE.

J.D.
And what's yo name, young fella?

JOSE trembles slightly as he glances down at J.D.'S shiny black face.

JOSE
My name's Jose Underwood, sir.

J.D.
Peased ta meet ya, Holezay.

JOSE
Pleased to meet you, too, sir.

JOSE stares into the inner depths of J.D.'S evil red eyes.  He gets the worst vibes imaginable.

JOSE (CONT'D)
(voice-over)
I wonder if he's gonna be a mean foster father.

INT. BASEMENT - EVENING

GILBERT and JOSE stare at the walls around them.  A wall facing VINCENT'S bed is covered with hundreds of cockroaches.  Three mice suddenly dash across the floor and into the unsanitary laundry room.  GILBERT notices the piles of laundry soiled with urine and defecation.

GILBERT
Yuck!  Did somebody forget to wipe their ass?

VINCENT
The same thing's on our mattresses and boxsprings.

GILBERT
Shit and piss?

VINCENT
Yes.

GILBERT
What about the roaches on the wall?

VINCENT
Mr. Willingham won't spray down here.

GILBERT
I saw those three mice run across the floor.

VINCENT
There's a lot of them around here.

GILBERT
Hope they don't jump up in the bed with us.

VINCENT
Sleep with the covers over yourself.

INT. BASEMENT, SEVERAL WEEKS LATER - NIGHT

GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT dream up the idea of throwing objects from behind their beds.  They gather socks, cups, wall plaster, books, shoes, and some of BESSIE MAE'S old records, and use them to throw at one another.  They begin this crazy game by throwing different objects at one another.  Some of these objects are smashing against the wall.  GILBERT jumps up with an antenna and aims it precisely at JOSE.  The sharp metal end of the antenna deeply pierces the skin on JOSE'S forehead.  GILBERT and VINCENT rush to his rescue.

GILBERT
Take your hand off your forehead.

JOSE
I can't!  It's bleeding!

VINCENT
Let us help you, Jose.

GILBERT
Let's see where the antenna stuck you.

JOSE
Get away from me!  It's your fucking fault!

GILBERT and VINCENT escort JOSE into the bathroom and places a cold washrag against his forehead.  Their game of throwing objects at one another has stopped at the perfect time.  J.D. walks into their room swinging his long brown extension cord.

J.D.
Ganny Dear tell ma and Bessa Mae dat yall down here makin whole lotta racket.

GILBERT
We weren't making any noises or racket.

VINCENT
Yeah, we weren't doing nothing, Mr. Willingham.

J.D.
Ganny Dear say yall down here throwin thangs ginst da walls.

VINCENT
We weren't throwing nothing against the walls. 

GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT stare frightfully at the extension cord clutched in the tight black fist of J.D.

INT. DINING ROOM - EVENING

It is dinnertime at the WILLINGHAM home and everyone is assembled at the dining room table.  The front door opens softly, but it closes very hard.  J.D. walks into the dining room wearing his blue uniform with the usual patches of tar everywhere, swinging his silverish lunchbucket.  Fearful expressions come upon the faces of GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT.  J.D. stops at the end of the table where JUNIOR is eating very slowly.

J.D.
(rumbling yell)
Eat yo muttapucking food, Joanyer!

JUNIOR nods his head swiftly.

JUNIOR
Eat the food, Junior.  Eat the food, Junior.

J.D. transmits an even louder yell inside the room.

J.D.
Ya can eat fast'ta dan dat, Joanyer!

JUNIOR
Can eat faster than that, Junior.  Can eat faster than that, Junior.

J.D. yells ferociously to intimidate Junior and others around him.

J.D.
Blow yo goddam food, Joanyer!

JUNIOR
Blow your food, Junior.  Blow your food, Junior.

J.D. stares at JUNIOR with eyes like flaming red marbles.

J.D.
(voice-over)
Bet if I had ma stanching code, he blow his goddam food.

J.D. exits the dining room and travels into the kitchen.  GILBERT pauses from eating and turns his attention to VINCENT.

GILBERT
What does muttapucking mean?

VINCENT
(cautious whisper)
It's that MF word that people say.

GILBERT
What MF word?

VINCENT
Motherfucking, Gilbert.

GILBERT
Dummies like Mr. Willingham can't say nothing right. Not even curse words.

VINCENT
Yes, he's a real big dummy.

BRAUN has a very ferocious appetite as a result of all the hard labor assigned to him by BESSIE MAE.  GILBERT and JOSE slide their bowls down to VINCENT and he quickly dumps pig feet and pig ears into BRAUN'S bowl.  He wastes no time sinking those rotten teeth into the leathery skin of the ears and feet.

INT. A THRIFT HOUSE, SOUTH SIDE OF CHICAGO - DAY

BESSIE MAE has taken GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT to a rundown house that sells second-hand clothes.  BESSIE MAE hands VINCENT a pile of pants and shirts with rips and holes in them.  She looks up and notices an unhappy expression on his face.

BESSIE MAE
What the hell's wrong with you, boy!

VINCENT answers bitterly with the worst frown on his face.

VINCENT
Nothing.

BESSIE MAE
Something's wrong with you, boy!  Don't lie to me.

VINCENT
I don't wanna wear these funny looking pants.

BESSIE MAE
Why?

VINCENT
Because the other kids at school are gonna laugh at me.

BESSIE MAE
Why are they gonna laugh at you?

VINCENT
Because they'll have better clothes than me.

BESSIE MAE
Do you know why they'll have better clothes than you?

VINCENT
No mam.

BESSIE MAE
Those other kids at your school are not in a foster home.  Their mothers and fathers probably have good jobs and can afford to buy them nice clothes.  Their mothers and fathers didn't run off and leave them like your mother and father did you.  Do you understand?

VINCENT
Yes mam.

BESSIE MAE
Don't you know that those people from the state don't give me enough money to buy you all no nice clothes?

VINCENT
Yes mam.

GILBERT and JOSE are standing further into the room trying on some of the old clothing, also frowning from watching the rips and tears and buttons missing.

EXT. ABRAHAM LINCOLN ELEMENTARY, THE PLAYGROUND - DAY

Two of VINCENT'S troublemaking classmates, JERRY GRAYSON and CLINTON MARKS, follow him out to the playground after the bell rings for school to end.  VINCENT tries to weave his way around a crowd of other elementary kids.

JERRY
You white honky!

VINCENT
Leave me alone!

JERRY
Where are you going, white boy?

VINCENT
(sorrowfully)
I'm going home.

JERRY
You're going home to that foster home with those retarded men.  Aren't you, white boy?

VINCENT
(yells)
No!

JERRY
Yes you are, you orphaned-punk!

VINCENT
No, I'm not!

JERRY
Yes you are, white boy!

A GROUP OF KIDS, who are acting totally unruly, form a tight circle around VINCENT.  They are making insulting remarks about his bi-racial identity.

GROUP OF KIDS
White boy, white boy, you don't shine.  If you call me a nigger, I'll beat your behind.

VINCENT cries loudly and pushes some of the kids out of his way.

VINCENT
Leave me alone!

GROUP OF KIDS
White honky!  White honky!

VINCENT
Quit it!

GROUP OF KIDS
You funky white honky!

VINCENT
Go home and leave me alone!

CLINTON MARKS, who is rather obese, steps up to VINCENT to make his insulting remarks.

CLINTON
Shut up, you half-breed, white honky.

VINCENT
Leave me alone, Clinton!

CLINTON
Hell no, you half-white sissy.

Moments later, GILBERT and JOSE step onto the playground.  GILBERT walks into the midst of the kids who are picking on VINCENT.  He moves right up in CLINTON'S face.

GILBERT
Hey, fat boy!  He's not a half-breed or no white honky.

CLINTON
I was just playing with him.

GILBERT
Don't look like you were playing to me.

JERRY GRAYSON moves around CLINTON to make his presence known to GILBERT.

JERRY
Why are you taking up for this half-white punk?

GILBERT
He's not a half-white punk.

JERRY
Well, I said he was.

GILBERT
Well, how about I knock the black off your burnt ass!

JERRY
Who is he to you?

GILBERT
He's my foster brother.

JERRY
Foster brother?

GILBERT
Yeah, punk, he's my foster brother.

JERRY
So, you're in the same foster home where those funny-looking retarded men live?

GILBERT
Say something else about the retarded men who live with us.  Go ahead, you tarbaby-niggah.

JERRY, CLINTON, and the GROUP OF KIDS didn't want to test GILBERT'S fighting abilities, so everyone starts walking different directions.

EXT. RUSH BOULEVARD - DAY

GILBERT and VINCENT stand near the crime-infested end of Rush Boulevard.  They are trying to sell one of Chicago's prominent black newspaper.  Across the street is a long row of expensive automobiles parked in front of Bennie's Town and Country Hotel.  A massive group of prostitutes approach the cars that have flashy white men behind the wheels.  VINCENT and GILBERT are walking towards the hotel.

VINCENT
Let's ask one of those white men to buy a paper.

GILBERT
White people don't read these papers.

VINCENT
Let's ask one of those ladies.

GILBERT
They're not going to buy one, either.

VINCENT
Why not?

GILBERT
They're prostitutes.

VINCENT
What are prostitutes?

GILBERT laughs out loudly and nods his head at VINCENT.

GILBERT
You don't know what prostitutes are?

VINCENT
No, what are they?

GILBERT
They're ladies who sell their pussy for money.

EXT. FRONT OF BENNIE'S TOWN AND COUNTRY HOTEL - EVENING

Two hookers are walking from the south end of Rush Boulevard.  One of them is the veteran hispanic hooker named CHILI PEPPER.  She walks up and stands in between GILBERT and VINCENT.  She especially focuses her attention towards VINCENT.

CHILI PEPPER
What's your name, baby?

VINCENT
My name's Vincent.

CHILI PEPPER
I think I know you from somewhere.

VINCENT
Where?

CHILI PEPPER
Can't remember.

FLASHBACK - INT. CARVELLI RESIDENCE ON FITZGERALD - NIGHT

CHILI PEPPER remembers her days as a hooker in VITO and MARION's house, and how she would hold the adorable baby VINCENT in her arms whenever the tricks stopped coming to the home.

EXT. FRONT OF BENNIE'S TOWN AND COUNTRY HOTEL - EVENING

CHILI PEPPER is studying the innocent face of VINCENT very closely.

CHILI PEPPER
How much money have you made?

VINCENT
How much?

CHILI PEPPER
Yeah, how much?

VINCENT
I haven't counted it yet.

CHILI PEPPER
Pull it out so I can see it.

VINCENT
My foster mother doesn't want me showing my money to nobody.

CHILI PEPPER
Do you wanna have a good time?

VINCENT
A good time?

CHILI PEPPER
Do you wanna buy some pussy?

From out of nowhere, the owner of the hotel, BENNIE CAPUTO, kicks open the left side of the double glass doors to his hotel.  He explodes like a stick of dynamite.

BENNIE
What the fuck are you doing!

CHILI PEPPER jumps back quickly, as BENNIE CAPUTO rushes her with his finger pointed up to her face.

CHILI PEPPER
I wasn't doing nothing, Bennie.

BENNIE
You're trying to sell some ass to a kid, for chrissake!  Get the fuck away from in front of my hotel!  You're a lowlife-spick-whore.

INT. BOTTOM STAIRS IN FRONT ROOM OF WILLINGHAM RESIDENCE - DAY

It is one of the coldest winters imaginable around the windy city of Chicago.  J.D. stands at the bottom of the set of stairs near the front room and summons for BRAUN.

J.D.
Brawns!

BRAUN
Yeah, yeah, you looking for me, J.D.?

As usual, BRAUN is beating the middle of his hand with one of his thick hanger wires.

J.D.
Put dat goddam wire up!  I'm gone need ya ta hep ma skan dose wabbits.

BRAUN
Okay, okay, I'll help you skin the rabbits.

INT. BASEMENT - DAY

J.D. jerks the basement door open and kicks his way through the piles of soiled clothing in the laundry room.  GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT run to the head of their beds.

J.D.
I want yall ta shuvel dat snow fum in funt of dis house.

GILBERT
Where do you want us to start?

J.D.
Start toads da backyard.

GILBERT
Yes sir.

GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT snatch their parkas from the closet and rush out of the basement and towards the toolshed.

INT. BASEMENT, SEAN'S ROOM - DAY

J.D. has traveled into the room of SEAN, where we see SEAN is angrily breaking up an ink pen and spills ink all over his pants.  The eyes of J.D. buck with sheer anger, as he watches the handicapped SEAN soak his light colored pants with black ink.

J.D.
Why ya baking up dat pen?

SEAN
Because it was mine's.

J.D.
Why ya gittin smart wit ma?

SEAN
Because you got smart with me.

J.D.
Don't git smart wit ma no mo.

SEAN
You got smart with me first.  Remember?

J.D.
Where ya git dat pen anyway?

SEAN
None of your business.

J.D.
I'm comin back wit ma stanching code.

SEAN
I don't care.

J.D.
I's be back afta I skan dose wabbits.

EXT. WEST SIDE OF WILLINGHAM RESIDENCE - DAY

Heavy snow is falling and the accumulation is piling up.  J.D. is a skilled hunter and he has BRAUN holding the hind legs of one of the rabbits that he killed during a hunting trip.  J.D. is skinning and gutting the rabbit with a large hunting knife.  The rabbit is slipping out of BRAUN'S hands.

J.D.
Hold da wabbit up wight, Brawns!

BRAUN
Okay, okay, I'll hold the rabbit up right, J.D.

J.D.
(snarls furiously)
And shut yo goddam mouth!

BRAUN
Alright, alright, I'll shut up, J.D.

J.D.
Shut da fuck up, Brawns!

BRAUN
Yeah, yeah, I'll shut up, J.D.

After the rabbits are skinned and gutted, J.D. walks over to the pen that houses his beagle hounds.  They are jumping against the fence as J.D. throws the organs of the rabbits over to his hounds.  They quickly sink their teeth into the organs.  J.D. leaves the pen to check on GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT.  VINCENT stops to rub his hands together to create some warmth from the blistering cold weather.  GILBERT stops to brush away some frozen mucous from his upper lip.  JOSE stops to plant his hands between his legs to also create some warmth.  J.D. kicks a small pile of snow their direction to get their attention.

J.D.
Yall betta keep shuvlin.

VINCENT is looking mighty pitiful, as the blistering winter draft turns his face dark red.

VINCENT
My hands are real cold, Mr. Willingham!

J.D.
(growl)
Keep shuvlin, boy!

GILBERT seeks refuge for his cold hands by sticking them in his mouth and then rubbing them together.

GILBERT
My hands are real cold, too, Mr. Willingham.

J.D.
Dat's yo problem, boy! 

By now, the hands of GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT are becoming red and numb.  They're reaching the stage of being frostbitten.  The extreme winter draft blows into J.D.'S red eyes.  He kicks his way through the snow and up the stairs leading to the side of the porch.  He is no longer in sight and GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT run over to one another.

GILBERT
Mr. Willingham's going to get his extension cord.

VINCENT
How do you know?

GILBERT
He was cursing when he was going up the stairs.

VINCENT
So.

GILBERT
Whenever he gets mad, he runs and gets that extension cord.

VINCENT
You think he'll beat us out here in the cold?

GILBERT
Not if we start shoveling.

VINCENT
You're right.

INT. LAUNDRY ROOM IN THE BASEMENT - DAY

GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT are in the laundry room searching for anything to keep their hands warm from the extremes of the cold.  They find pairs of thick dirty tube socks and are beating the dirt out of the socks against the walls.  Dust is flying all through the air.

EXT. SIDE OF THE HOUSE AGAIN - DAY

The heavy snow continues to fall and it accumulates high on the sidewalks.  J.D. kicks his way through the high snow with his long brown extension cord clutched in his left hand.  VINCENT isn't shoveling the snow in the right places and this greatly angers J.D.

J.D.
Git dat snow wight dere, boy.

VINCENT
What snow?

J.D.
Wight dere, ya dummy.

VINCENT
Right where, Mr. Willingham?

J.D.
Quit paying dumb, boy.

VINCENT
I'm not playing dumb.

J.D.
I'm gone hit ya wit dis stanching code.

VINCENT
Please don't hit me with the extension cord.

J.D.
Den git dat snow ova dere.

VINCENT
Yes sir, I'll get it.

INT. BASEMENT, SEAN'S ROOM - EVENING

J.D. and SEAN are in a confrontation about him breaking the ink pen up and spilling the ink all over his pants.

J.D.
What's yo muttapucking problem, Shone!

SEAN
What's your problem?

J.D.
Why ya bake dat pen up?

SEAN
The pen was mine's.

J.D.
Afta I beat ya wit ma stanching code, ya gone tell ma why ya bake dat pen up and spill dat ank evry'where.

EXT. FLASHBACK - CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI, LATE 1930'S - DAY

J.D.'S father, HENRY WILLINGHAM, also a very dark complexioned and rather heavyset man, has a teenage J.D. stripped down to his underwear.  They are near an open cottonfield on a steaming hot day in Clarksdale, Mississippi.  HENRY wrestles with J.D. and ties him to a thick willow tree and he begins beating him with a long thick strap.  J.D. is screaming exceptionally loud.

J.D.
Don't beat ma, pappa!

HENRY swings the thick strap wildly across J.D.'s partially nude body.  Swollen welts are forming all over his body.

HENRY
Ya gone mind ma and yo mammy.  Aint'cha, J.D.?

J.D.
Yes suh, pappa, yes suh!

INT. BASEMENT, SEAN'S ROOM AGAIN - DAY

J.D. is brutally beating SEAN with his extension cord.  We see J.D. taking long and hard strokes across the back, chest, legs, and buttocks of the handicapped man's body.  SEAN is crying and begging for the mercy of J.D. Thicks mounds of saliva and a long string of mucous are gushing from the nose and mouth of SEAN.

SEAN
Please, don't beat me, Mr. Willingham!

J.D.
Ya didden have ta bake dat pen up.

SEAN
I'm sorry for breaking that pen up.

We see SEAN twisting and turning and jerking wildly across the floor, as his loud screams can be heard all over the house.  J.D. is taking even harder strokes across his handicapped-stricken body.

J.D.
Ya ain't gone bake up no mo pens?  Aint'cha, Shone?

SEAN screams at an even higher octave as the extension cord makes strong impacts across his body.

SEAN
No sir, Mr. Willingham!

J.D.
Ya ain't gone git smart wit ma no mo?  Aint'cha, Shone?

SEAN
No sir, Mr. Willingham!

J.D.
Ya gone mind next time, aint'cha?

SEAN
Yes sir!  Yes sir!

J.D.
What cha say, boy?

SEAN
Yes sir!

J.D. stops beating SEAN with the extension cord.  He boldly walks into the next room, where GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT are frozen like glaciers.  Sweat is dripping off the greasy black face of J.D. He clutches tightly onto his extension cord to sort of intimidate them.  He leaves their room and returns upstairs.  They rush into SEAN'S room to see how vicious his beating was.  The swollen red welts are very much visible across the body of SEAN since he is very fair complexioned.  This has greatly angered GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT.

GILBERT
Somebody should shoot that fat, black motherfucker!

VINCENT
I hope he rots in hell for doing this to Sean!

GILBERT
We should call the police on his black, ugly ass!

JOSE
Or the family services people.

GILBERT
I'm scared.

VINCENT
Of what?

GILBERT
Of being in this foster home.

VINCENT
Why?

GILBERT
Mr. Willingham could've killed Sean by beating him with that extension cord.

VINCENT
What can we do about it?

GILBERT
Call our caseworkers and tell her that we wanna leave this foster home.

GILBERT and VINCENT are staring closely at some of the swollen welts across SEAN'S arm.

VINCENT
Somebody should hang him around his black neck with that extension cord.

GILBERT lightly touches one of the welts. He notices that blood is leaking out.

GILBERT
These blisters from the extension cord has got blood coming out of them.

VINCENT
He's going to need some alcohol.

GILBERT
Is there any down here?

VINCENT
Somewhere down here.

GILBERT and VINCENT go into the bathroom and look inside the cabinet.  They find a half-full bottle of green alcohol and go back into the other room with a wet washcloth.  JOSE pours a generous amount of the alcohol on the rag and pampers some of the marks.

JOSE
He might need to go and see a doctor.

GILBERT
Mr. or Mrs. Willingham probably don't care if he dies.

VINCENT
We should tell on both of them. 

SEAN begins to smile knowing that somebody at the WILLINGHAM residence shows him some concern.

EXT. PORCH - DAY

BRAUN is walking alongside the north end of the house and he is picking up cigarette butts and biting the remaining tobacco off the top. Seconds later, he pulls out one of his hanger wires. As he walks past the porch beating the middle of his right hand, BESSIE MAE notices a bulge in both of his pockets.

BESSIE MAE
Empty your pockets, Braun.

BRAUN
(answers nervously)
You want me to empty my pockets?

BESSIE MAE
Come closer to me, Braun.

BRAUN
You want me to come closer to you?

BESSIE MAE pulls BRAUN closer to where she is sitting and shoves both hands down his pockets. She pulls out a handful of cigarette butts that she and J.D. had thumped on the side of the house earlier. BESSIE MAE becomes increasingly angry at BRAUN.

BESSIE MAE
What are you doing with these butts?

BRAUN
I'm not doing nothing with these butts.

BESSIE MAE
You were going to eat them. Weren't you?

BRAUN
No, no, I wasn't going to eat them.

BESSIE MAE
I told you before, you're going to eat these dam butts until you die.

BRAUN talks to BESSIE MAE while dark brown saliva is gushing from his mouth.

BESSIE MAE (CONT'D)
Quit spitting all that black shit on me!

EXT. NEAR THE SIDEWALK OUT BY MILWAUKEE PARKWAY - DAY

VERNON and his prom date, DAPHNE SINCLAIR, are all dressed up in their formal wear and are now getting into her brand new Cadillac Fleetwood. BESSIE MAE is waving goodbye to them.

BESSIE MAE
You all have a good time, now.

VERNON waves back as he holds hands with DAPHNE.

VERNON
We will, Mrs. Willingham.

The deep voice of J.D. shouts out at GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT, as they are playing a game of kickball with other neighborhood kids.

J.D.
Yall git up on dis poach.

GILBERT
Can we play one more game, Mr. Willingham?

J.D.
Hell naw!

GILBERT
Please!

J.D.
Git up here and don't leave fum in funt of dis house.

BESSIE MAE and J.D. get into her Cadillac and they drive off.

INT. FRONT ROOM - DAY

GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT has snuck off to one of the liquor stores on Rush Boulevard. BESSIE MAE and J.D. are in the front room watching an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man.  GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT walk into the house and are trying to creep past BESSIE MAE and J.D. without being noticed, but she stops them right in their tracks.

BESSIE MAE
Stop right there! Where have you all been?

VINCENT
Down the street.

BESSIE MAE
You lying yellow bastard!

VINCENT
Really, Mrs. Willingham, we were down the street.

BESSIE MAE
You need to quit your lying. Everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie, Vincent.

VINCENT
I'm not lying.

BESSIE MAE
Didn't J.D. tell you all to stay in front of this house?

VINCENT
Yes mam.

J.D. crushed out his cigarette and pointed towards the dining room.

J.D.
I want all thwee of yall ta git in dere.

GILBERT
But....

J.D.
Git yo ass in dere!

INT. DINING ROOM - DAY

GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT stand around the dining room shaking. Their dreadful eyes travel from the ceiling to the walls and down to the floor. J.D. steps into the dining room with his long brown extension cord. He points directly at GILBERT.

J.D.
Git ova here, Gillbutt.

GILBERT
What did we do wrong?

J.D.
Shut da fuck up, boy!

FLASHBACK - EXT. CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI, LATER 1930'S - DAY

Before J.D. would execute a beating on anyone, his sick mind would always travel back to some of the extreme beatings that his father, HENRY WILLINGHAM, would execute on him. HENRY is beating J.D. harshly with his wide leather strap. He has him tied between two wooden poles near an open cottonfield. This is a harsh discipline that HENRY'S forefathers handed down to him, which the white slaveowners handed down to his forefathers. 

HENRY
Why can't ya do lack me and yo mammy tell ya, J.D.?

J.D. is screaming to the point of being heard by others who live near the cottonfields.

J.D.
I's do what yall tell ma, pappa!

HENRY
Wassamatter, J.D.? Why can't ya tell dose white folks dat negro folks got thangs ta do, too?

J.D. is at the point of crying for mercy, a thick stream of saliva running from his chin to his neck and down onto his chest.

J.D.
I's tell dose white folks dat ma mammy and pappy need ma round da house fo suppatime!

INT. DINING ROOM - DAY

J.D. jerks GILBERT by the arm, giving him hard lashes across his entire body with the painful extension cord. GILBERT is screaming mercifully, as J.D. causes the swollen welts to form on his chest, back, arms, and buttocks.

J.D.
Why ya leave fum in funt of dis house?

GILBERT
I don't know, Mr. Willingham!

J.D.
Didden I tell ya ta stay in funt of dis house?

GILBERT
Yes sir, Mr. Willingham!

J.D.
Didden Bessa Mae tell ya ta stay in funt of dis house?

GILBERT
Yes sir, Mr. Willingham!

J.D. knowingly strikes GILBERT right near his penis. Thick saliva gushes out of GILBERT'S mouth. J.D. releases his arm and he runs to the basement screaming. J.D. now points directly at VINCENT. He steps towards J.D. and then jumps back. He grabs the arm of VINCENT and begins swinging the extension cord wildly.

J.D.
Why ya leave fum in funt of dis house?

VINCENT
I don't know, Mr. Willingham!

J.D.
Ya gone mind next time? Ain't ya, boy?

VINCENT
Yes sir! I'm going to mind!

J.D.
Ya done got too smart fo yo goddam britches. Ain't ya, boy?

VINCENT
Yes sir! Yes sir!

J.D.
Ya done got too grown. Ain't ya, boy?

VINCENT
Yes sir, Mr. Willingham!

J.D. gives VINCENT a couple of more hard thrashes and he is directed to go the basement. He grabs JOSE by the arm and also swings the extension cord wildly across his body. The beating that JOSE receives is much shorter than that of GILBERT and VINCENT.

INT. BASEMENT - DAY

GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT are sitting on their beds pampering the painful welts across their chest and arms. They are experiencing a serious stinging sensation.

VINCENT
Blood is coming out of one of the blisters on my arm.

JOSE
Me too. 

VINCENT is trying to stop the slight bleeding from one of the whelps. GILBERT pushes his underwear and pajamas outwards to view a large red welt on the head of his penis.

GILBERT
Can't believe it!

VINCENT
Can't believe what?

GILBERT
That black motherfucker hit me on my dick with that extension cord!

VINCENT
On your dick, Gilbert?

GILBERT
I should call Mrs. Maloney on that fat motherfucker!

VINCENT
He kept hitting me in the same place with that extension cord.

GILBERT
I wanna go somewhere else besides this fucked up foster home.

VINCENT
Do you think Mrs. Maloney'll put you in another foster home?

GILBERT
I really don't know.

VINCENT
They probably don't have no more foster homes for you to go to.

The light inside the laundry room comes on and the silhouette of someone with a large afro reflects off the wall adjacent to the next room. GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT quickly slide their covers over their heads. VERNON steps into the room and laughs out loud. GILBERT gradually raises his head and sees that it isn't J.D.

GILBERT
Whew!

VERNON
What's wrong?

GILBERT
I thought you were Mr. Willingham coming down here to beat us again.

VERNON
Beat you all for what?

GILBERT
For walking to a liquor store on Rush Boulevard.

VERNON
That's stupid.

GILBERT
Has Mr. Willingham ever beat you for anything?

VERNON
(boastfully)
Never!

GILBERT
Never?

VERNON
Not since I've been living in this foster home.

GILBERT
What if he tried hitting you with that long extension cord?

VERNON
I'd wrap it around his neck and choke him with it.

GILBERT
You aren't scared of Mr. Willingham?

VERNON
Not at all. If he ever hits me, they'll find him in the bottom of the river with cement shoes.

GILBERT
That sounds like something that those mafia men do to people.

GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT come over by VERNON to show him the swollen welts on their arms and chest. He nods his head in total disapproval.

INT. BATHROOM IN BASEMENT - NIGHT

GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT have gone into the bathroom to put alcohol on the welts. They use wet washcloths to apply the alcohol.

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

BESSIE MAE stands over the stove stirring a large pot of chicken and noodles. The kitchen is steamy and GRANNY DEAR is fanning the humid air out of her face. BESSIE MAE limps over to the telephone on the wall to make a call. The phone rings inside the office of VIRGIL ROSELLI, the owner of Roselli's Market, who also happens to be VERNON'S boss.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
Can I speak with the owner?

VIRGIL
(over the phone)
This is Virgil Roselli. How can I help you?

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
I wanna know if Vernon was paid today.

VIRGIL
(over the phone)
Who are you?

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
I'm his foster mother.

VIRGIL
(over the phone)
That information is confidential.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
Why is it confidential?

VIRGIL
(over the phone)
It's a policy that I have.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
I need to know if Vernon was paid or not.

VIRGIL
(over the phone)
Then ask him when he gets home.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
You goddam dago-wops are all the same!

BESSIE MAE slams the phone down and starts walking towards the basement door.

INT. BASEMENT - DAY

BESSIE MAE has limped down to the basement and she is staring over by VERNON'S dresser. She notices that his payroll check is sitting there. VERNON is shuffling through some of his fresh socks and underwear.

BESSIE MAE
Did you get paid at Roselli's today?

VERNON
Yes, I did.

BESSIE MAE
Have you cashed it?

VERNON
No, I haven't.

BESSIE MAE
I want you to cash it and give it all to me.

VERNON
Why do you want my whole paycheck?

BESSIE MAE
I'm feeding you and giving you a roof over your head.

VERNON
The family services people are paying you to feed me and give me a roof over my head.

BESSIE MAE
Those white folks aren't paying me enough.

VERNON
White folks? Why not?

BESSIE MAE
After I pay all the bills, I barely have enough for me and J.D.

VERNON
It's all about you and J.D., huh?

BESSIE MAE
That's right.

VERNON
You never cared about any of us foster kids or these retarded people that you keep? Is it all about the money, Mrs. Willingham? Is it all about waiting on those checks at the first of the month?

BESSIE MAE
Just hand over your paycheck.

VERNON
I'll just leave your foster home, Mrs. Willingham.

BESSIE MAE
Go ahead and leave. You don't have nowhere to go.

As soon as BESSIE MAE limps up the basement stairs, VERNON immediately starts to pack his belongings. He already knew that BESSIE MAE was a greedy foster mother.

EXT. SOUTH SIDE OF WILLINGHAM RESIDENCE - AFTERNOON

VERNON gathers everything and places his belongings in the backseat and in the trunk of his car. He slams the trunk of the car and kicks the back tire. He angrily paces on the side of his car and goes into a state of total frustration.

VERNON
(raging shout)
This is one fucked up foster home ran by some fucked up foster people!

INT. KITCHEN - AFTERNOON

BESSIE MAE hears the explosive outcry made by VERNON and she quickly limps over to the window facing the side of the house. She blows a long drag of cigarette smoke out the window.

BESSIE MAE
It can't be too fucked up, niggah!

VERNON
It's fucked up, alright!

BESSIE MAE
You've been here this long.

VERNON
But I'm getting away from here right now.

BESSIE MAE
Where are you gonna go?

VERNON
I've got somewhere else to go.

BESSIE MAE
Where, niggah?

VERNON
Don't worry about where.

BESSIE MAE
We'll see how grown you really are.

VERNON
I'm gonna send the family services people out here and let them see just how fucked up your home really is.

BESSIE MAE
Those white folks at family services can't come here telling me how to run things.

VERNON
Wanna bet? Those white people got more power than you think.

BESSIE MAE
Me and J.D. run this castle.

VERNON
They need to close this foster home down for good. Make you get out and get a job.

BESSIE MAE
Dream on, fool!

VERNON
You don't have what it takes to run no foster home, Mrs. Willingham.

BESSIE MAE
Whatever, fool!

BESSIE MAE can't stand to listen to no more of VERNON'S scrutinizing remarks about her abilities to operate a foster home. She limps away from the kitchen window to finish stirring the chicken and noodles. He zooms up the street in his car.

INT. BOTTOM OF THE STAIRS ON THE FIRST FLOOR - DAY

J.D. has a new assignment for BRAUN, GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT. He summons for BRAUN to come down from the second floor.

J.D.
Brawns!

BRAUN
Yeah, yeah, you want to see me, J.D.?

As usual, BRAUN is beating the middle of his right hand with one of his hanger wires. J.D.'S blood pressure elevates and he shouts in a voice of fury.

J.D.
Put dat goddam wire up, Brawn!

BRAUN
Alright, alright, I'll put the wire up. 

J.D. notices that BRAUN'S mouth is full of chewing gum. Dark brown saliva is drooling on the side of his mouth.

J.D.
Where ya git dat gum, Brawn?

BRAUN
Got this gum from Bessie Mae.

As his mouth is working, BRAUN is discharging mists of the dark saliva towards J.D. The dark saliva lands near his eyes.

J.D.
Quit spittin dat black shit in ma face.

BRAUN
Okay, okay, I'll stop spitting the black stuff in your face, J.D.

INT. THE ROOM OF BRAUN AND JUNIOR ON THE SECOND FLOOR - DAY

BESSIE MAE and J.D. travel up to the room where BRAUN and JUNIOR stay. JUNIOR is sitting in his usual chair and he is staring at the wall ahead.

BESSIE MAE
Open your drawers, Braun.

BRAUN
Okay, okay, I'll open my drawers.

BESSIE MAE stares in disbelief as she looks down at his bottom drawer.

BESSIE MAE
Look at this mess, J.D.

J.D.
Dat's nasty, Bessa Mae.

BESSIE MAE and J.D. move closer to the bottom dresser drawer. We see that the drawer is nearly filled with hard black balls of months old chewing gum and cigarette butts.

BESSIE MAE
Throw that old ass gum away!

BRAUN
Okay, okay, I'll throw the gum away.

BESSIE MAE
You need to stop sneaking in the trashcan and ashtray and getting old gum out. You don't know where people's mouths have been.

BRAUN
Alright, alright, I'll stop sneaking in the ashtray.

BESSIE MAE
And get rid of all these dam butts.

BRAUN
Okay, okay, I'll get rid of the butts.

J.D. nods his head in disbelief.

J.D.
Brawns gone git sick fum chewin dat nasty gum and eatin dose butts.

EXT. BACKYARD - AFTERNOON

BRAUN, GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT follow J.D. out to the backyard, where they each witness a grotesque sight. The entire backyard is filled with dead rats. BESSIE MAE had called The City Of Chicago's Rodent Control Division to bring lots of bait out, and all the dead rodents are evidence that there was a serious problem.

J.D.
I want yall ta kean up all dese wats out here.

GILBERT
(frowns)
All these rats, Mr. Willingham?

J.D.
Yep.

JOSE and BRAUN follow J.D. over by the pen where his beagle hounds are housed.

J.D. (CONT'D)
I want yall ta kean up da mess intide dis pen.

JOSE
All these bones and dog mess?

J.D.
Ain't dat what I said?

JOSE
Yes sir.

J.D.
I want dis pen ta be kean.

GILBERT and VINCENT take their rakes, shovels, and trashbags around the backyard, raking the large rats up into the shovels and then dumping them into the bags. GILBERT discovers one of the most disgusting sights known to man. He summons for VINCENT to come to that part of the backyard.

GILBERT
Vincent.

VINCENT
What?

GILBERT
I've got something to show you.

VINCENT
I'm raking right now.

GILBERT
Stop raking and come here.

VINCENT
Mrs. Willingham is probably watching us.

GILBERT
Fuck Mrs. Willingham and come here.

VINCENT journeys to the other side of the backyard. He stares down at the ground and takes a strong swallow.

VINCENT
Yuck!

GILBERT
Looks nasty, don't it?

VINCENT
Nasty's not the word.

GILBERT
It stinks real bad,too.

VINCENT
I wonder how long it's been dead?

GILBERT and VINCENT are staring down at an exceptionally large rat that is filled with thousands of hungry maggots, which are devouring their way through all of the rat's internal organs. BESSIE MAE limps over to the kitchen window to make sure that the rats are being cleaned up.

BESSIE MAE
Quit talking and get back to work.

GILBERT belligerently drags his rake across the grass.

GILBERT
We're working, Mrs. Willingham.

BESSIE MAE
No, you're not.

GILBERT
Yes, we are.

BESSIE MAE
I said you're not.

GILBERT
I said we are.

BESSIE MAE
Shut your goddam mouth, boy!

GILBERT
What did I say wrong?

BESSIE MAE
How about I send J.D. out there with his extension cord?

GILBERT
Don't do that.

BESSIE MAE
Then shut your smart ass mouth and get back to work.

BESSIE MAE now turns her attention out towards the dog pen. Her attention is especially focused on BRAUN.

BESSIE MAE (CONT'D)
Braun! What are you out there doing?

BRAUN
Yeah, yeah, I'm not out here doing nothing.

BESSIE MAE
Are you looking for butts?

BRAUN
No, no, I'm not looking for no butts.

J.D. suddenly appears in the backyard holding tightly onto his long brown extension cord. He swings the cord back and forth to sort of intimidate GILBERT. His red watery eyes, puckered lips, and heavy breathing, indicates that he is furious. He turns to stare viciously at GILBERT.

J.D.
What's yo muttapucking problem, Gillbutt?

GILBERT
(fearfully)
I don't have a problem, Mr. Willingham.

J.D.
Bessa Mae say ya sassing her.

GILBERT
I wasn't sassing Mrs. Willingham.

J.D.
Ya calling Bessa Mae a liar?

GILBERT
No sir.

J.D.
Why ain't dese wats keaned up?

GILBERT
Me and Vincent are raking the rats up in piles before we put them in trashbags.

J.D.
Yall betta have dese wats gone when I come out here a'gin.

GILBERT
Yes sir.

People around the neighborhood are walking up the street watching J.D. stand before GILBERT and VINCENT with a tight grip on his extension cord. J.D. walks over to inspect the work that JOSE and BRAUN have been doing inside the pen. He leaves the backyard and BRAUN and JOSE continue raking and shoveling all the bones and defecation inside the pen. Flies are swarming all around the bag.

EXT. FRONT YARD - DAY

GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT are throwing a pigskin football to one another in a triangular formation. A 1977, Cadillac El Dorado convertible slows up traffic and is making a sharp left turn. A well-dressed VITO CARVELLI is behind the wheel of this expensive automobile. He is wearing an expensive suit along with expensive jewelry. VINCENT drops the ball to the ground and steps out towards the street.

VITO
Come closer, son.

VINCENT
Who are you?

VITO
I'm your father, Vito.

VINCENT is staring at VITO nervously and he speaks with sheer amazement.

VINCENT
You're really my father!

VITO
Come over here and give your old man a hug.

VINCENT steps over to the car and embraces VITO rather tightly. It has been been nearly thirteen years since VITO last saw his son VINCENT.

VINCENT
Can I ask you a serious question, my father?

VITO
You sure can, my son.

VINCENT
Why did you and my mother leave us in this foster home?

VITO
Your mother and I were doing a lot of illegal things, son.

VINCENT
What kind of illegal things?

VITO
We had a house that we were using to sell dope, liquor,and run whores and tricks in and out of.

VINCENT
Yes, those things are illegal.

VITO
How are they treating you in this foster home?

VINCENT
Real bad.

VITO
What do you mean?

VINCENT
Mrs. Willingham's a mean and greedy foster mother.

VITO
What about her husband?

VINCENT
Mr. Willingham?

VITO
Yeah, the big, black, and ugly guy.

VINCENT
He beats on me and other foster kids real badly who live here.

VITO becomes quiet all of a sudden. All of his attention is directed up at the porch. J.D. stops at the middle of the porch on his way inside the house. VITO and J.D. are staring very distastefully at one another. He is returning from work and is wearing his blue roofer's uniform which has many patches of black tar.

VITO
What the fuck does that nigger do for a living?

VINCENT
He's a roofer.

VITO
Roofer, huh?

VINCENT
He spreads hot tar over roofs.

VITO
The dumb sonofabitch walks in hot tar all day. That's all that dumb nigger will ever be good for.

VINCENT
He beats on everybody at this home.

VITO
That black gorilla needs to be locked up in a cage at the zoo. Animals like him don't need to be on the loose anyway.

J.D. ends the evil staring battle with VITO and starts walking towards the front door.

VINCENT
When are you coming back to see me?

VITO
I don't know, son. Hopefully, it'll be real soon.

VINCENT
Promise?

VITO
I promise.

VITO reaches into his pocket and pulls out a crispy twenty dollar bill.

VITO (CONT'D)
Here's some money for you, son.

VINCENT
(excited)
Wow! Thank you, my father! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

VITO
You're welcome, my son. Now, put this money away so your greedy foster mother can't find it.

VINCENT
I'll hide it somewhere in my room.

VITO
Good boy.

VINCENT
Bye.

VITO
Love you, my son.

VINCENT
Love you, too, my father.

VITO
Be good now.

VINCENT
I will.

VITO drives off and VINCENT continues throwing the football around to GILBERT and JOSE.

INT. A WHORE HOUSE OFF RUSH BOULEVARD - DAY

VINCENT is lured into a house by a group of HOOKERS who pretentiously want to buy some copies of the paper that he's selling. We see empty beer cans and whiskey bottles, soiled tampons, cat and dog waste, along with drug paraphernalia that is spread across the floor. VINCENT wants to try and negotiate with one of the HOOKERS, but the foul odor inside the house is starting to irritate him.

VINCENT
(voice-over)
This house smells like shit and piss and funky breath and sweaty feet and musty underarms.

One of the HOOKERS is plotting against VINCENT and he begins to feel unsafe.

HOOKER
Now, here's what we're going to do. I'll give you this dollar when you give me four papers and four quarters.

VINCENT
You're trying to cheat me!

The HOOKERS form a tight circle around VINCENT. The same HOOKER is talking more cleverly.

HOOKER
I'm not trying to cheat you.

VINCENT
Yes, you are.

HOOKER
Why would I try and cheat you?

VINCENT
You're supposed to give me the dollar, and I'm supposed to give you four papers.

HOOKER
Let me see the quarters.

VINCENT
Let me see the dollar.

HOOKER
I need to see the quarters first.

VINCENT
Not until you show me the dollar.

VINCENT reaches down into his pocket and brings out a handful of quarters. When his hand unfolds, the one HOOKER snatches his money right out of his palm and runs upstairs along with the other HOOKERS. VINCENT bams on the wall at the bottom of the stairs.

VINCENT (CONT'D)
Give me back my dollar!

EXT. A RUNDOWN STREET A BLOCK OFF RUSH BOULEVARD - DAY

VINCENT is running up the street crying and happens to run into GILBERT and JOSE, who have nearly sold all of their papers.

GILBERT
What's wrong, Vincent?

VINCENT
(cries hesitantly)
They took my money!

GILBERT
Who's they? Why are you crying like that?

VINCENT
Those black bitches in that house took my money!

GILBERT
Which house?

VINCENT
The brick house over there.

GILBERT
How did they take your money?

VINCENT
I showed it to them.

GILBERT
Remember what Mrs. Willingham always told us?

VINCENT
What?

GILBERT
Don't ever pull your money out and show it to nobody.

VINCENT
I forgot.

GILBERT
We're going over there to get your money back.

VINCENT and JOSE follow GILBERT to the same house where the one HOOKER snatched VINCENT'S money. GILBERT bams on the door with a closed fist. The group of HOOKERS open the door, and the same one who got away with the quarters stands at the very front.

GILBERT (CONT'D)
Where's my foster brother's money?

HOOKER
What money?

GILBERT
The money that you stole from him.

HOOKER
Nobody stole nothing here.

GILBERT
You're lying, bitch!

HOOKER
I'm not lying, motherfucker!

GILBERT
Why's he crying like that?

HOOKER
I don't know, and I really don't care.

GILBERT
We're not leaving until we get his money back.

HOOKER
You're not getting a motherfucking thing!

GILBERT
My foster mother will blow your head off if you don't give us the money back.

HOOKER
We have a gun just like her.

GILBERT
Anyway, this is part of her money.

HOOKER
So.

GILBERT
Give him back the money, bitch!

HOOKER
I don't have his money, pussy!

A PIMP, appearing to be in his late thirties, who is dressed in a white silk suit, with a matching white brim and lots of jewelry draping his body, steps onto the porch with a .357 magnum clutched in his right hand.

PIMP
What the fuck's going on?

GILBERT
My foster brother said that this black bitch took his money.

PIMP
Hey, hey, watch your mouth, youngblood.

GILBERT
Sorry, but she took his money.

PIMP
How much did she take?

GILBERT
He said that she snatched four quarters out of his hand.

VINCENT steps in front of GILBERT to make his presence known before the flamboyant PIMP.

PIMP
(soft tone)
How much did she take, youngblood?

VINCENT
A dollar.

The PIMP reaches into his pocket and hands VINCENT a wrinkled one dollar bill. The HOOKER ragefully jumps in front of her PIMP and points a wavering finger in the face of VINCENT.

HOOKER
You're a lying, half-breed pussy!

PIMP
Hey, hey, watch your mouth, girl.

HOOKER
Get away from around this house! You three orphaned motherfuckers!

PIMP
Girl, didn't I tell you to watch your mouth? Get in the house and leave these young boys alone.

GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT walk away from the whore house and they begin a journey back over towards Rush Boulevard.

GILBERT
Stay out of people's houses around Rush.

VINCENT
Was that lady a prostitute?

GILBERT
She sure was. That man in the white suit was her pimp.

VINCENT
What's a pimp?

GILBERT
(chuckles softly)
First, you ask me what a prostitute is. Now, you're asking me what a pimp is.

VINCENT
What is a pimp, Gilbert?

GILBERT
He's a dude who makes women sell their pussy to make him money.

INT. LAUNDRY ROOM - AFTERNOON

BESSIE MAE is in the laundry room sorting through big piles of filthy laundry. She unexpectedly comes across a sheet with a dark yellow stain. She limps into the room where VINCENT stays with the sheet hanging over her arm.

BESSIE MAE
Did you try and hide this pissy sheet?

VINCENT
No mam.

BESSIE MAE
Where did this sheet come from?

VINCENT
I don't know.

BESSIE MAE
How did it get in with the rest of the sheets?

VINCENT
I don't know, Mrs. Willingham.

BESSIE MAE
Why are you lying to me, boy?

VINCENT
I'm not lying, Mrs. Willingham.

BESSIE MAE
When are you gonna stop pissing in the bed?

VINCENT
I use newspaper and plastic.

BESSIE MAE
What good does that shit do?

VINCENT
Sometimes it stops the pee from getting on the sheets.

BESSIE MAE
That's not going to stop the piss from getting on the sheets.

VINCENT
It works most of the time.

BESSIE MAE
You're almost thirteen years old and you're still pissing in the bed.

VINCENT
(whines)
I can't help it, Mrs. Willingham.

BESSIE MAE
You can help it, alright. 

INT. GROCERY STORE NEAR RUSH BOULEVARD - DAY

GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT are going up and down the aisles at one of the neighborhood grocery stores searching for the dairy section in order to find a gallon of milk for BESSIE MAE. They end up in an aisle where all the candy is inside metal baskets.

JOSE
I know how we can buy some of this candy.

GILBERT
How?

JOSE
With the money that Mrs. Willingham gave us to buy the milk.

GILBERT
Mrs. Willingham knows how to count.

JOSE
She does?

GILBERT
She's not a dummy like Mr. Willingham.

JOSE
She won't find out.

GILBERT
Yes, she will.

JOSE glances at all the assortment of candy and his mouth  begins to water.

JOSE
I know what we could do.

GILBERT
What?

JOSE
When nobody's looking, we can stick some of the candy in our pockets.

GILBERT
You're saying that we should steal some of this candy?

JOSE
Hell yeah!

GILBERT
What if we get caught?

JOSE
We won't get caught.

GILBERT
What if we do?

JOSE
If we hurry up, we won't get caught.

Before making their move, GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT stare up at the ceiling and scan every aisle. When the customers push their carts away from the aisle that they are standing in, they begin stuffing all types of candy in their pockets.

INT. EASTER SUNDAY AT ST. MARK'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH - DAY

GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT are attending special church services with J.D. and BESSIE MAE on this bright and sunny Easter Sunday. The pastor, BISHOP BURGESS, is fired up as he powerfully delivers the Easter sermon. The CHURCH CONGREGATION are also fired up as they listen to the powerful words.

BISHOP BURGESS
We all should be thankful, because he loved us enough that he shed his own blood!

CHURCH CONGREGATION
(shouts loudly)
Go on and preach, Bishop Burgess!

BISHOP BURGESS
Not only your blood!

CHURCH CONGREGATION
Yeah!

BISHOP BURGESS
Not only my blood!

CHURCH CONGREGATION
Yeah!

BISHOP BURGESS
Not only your mamma's, daddy's, brother's, or sister's blood!

CHURCH CONGREGATION
Yeah!

BISHOP BURGESS
Not only your cousin's, uncle's, or aunt's blood!

CHURCH CONGREGATION
Yeah!

BISHOP BURGESS
Not only your associate's, best friend's, or worst enemy's blood!

CHURCH CONGREGATION
Preach on, Bishop Burgess, preach on!

BISHOP BURGESS points a wavering finger around at both sides of the CHURCH CONGREGATION.

BISHOP BURGESS
Do you love his son Jesus Christ like I do?

CHURCH CONGREGATION
Yeah!

BISHOP BURGESS
Say, 'thank you Jesus'.

CHURCH CONGREGATION
Thank you Jesus!

BISHOP BURGESS
Say, 'thank you for saving me'.

CHURCH CONGREGATION
Thank you for saving me!

BISHOP BURGESS
Say, 'thank you for shedding your blood'!

CHURCH CONGREGATION
Thank you for shedding your blood!

We see J.D. sitting in the fifth pew on the right side of the church nodding his head in total disapproval. His evil red eyes follow BISHOP BURGESS up and down the consecrated aisle. His anger is on the rise, because his breathing has gotten a lot heavier and his chapped lips are puckering up.

FLASHBACK - INT. AN OLD GENERAL STORE, 1930'S CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI - DAY

A young J.D. is seeking employment at a rundown store near a cottonfield that is owned and operated by an extreme racist white family.  RAY COOP is the clerk present in the store while J.D. is desperately searching for a job.

RAY
We can't use ya round here, boy.

J.D.
Why not, suh?

RAY
You're too dark, boy.

J.D.
My pappy tells ma dat I need ta find work.

RAY
We can't use tarbaby niggers like you.

J.D.
My pappy gone put ma outdoors, suh.

RAY
Customers don't want no niggers round them.

J.D.
Pease, pease, hep ma, suh.

RAY
Ain't no work in this store for niggers like you. 

J.D.
I'a do anythang ya need, suh.

RAY
Go and work in the cottonfields with those other coons. You jiggs are good for picking cotton.

J.D.
Dey got all da negro folks dey need in da fields, suh. 

RAY
Get out of my store, you tarbaby-coon. 

EXT. THE STREET IN FRONT OF ST. MARK'S CHURCH - EVENING

Before BESSIE MAE could close the door, J.D. is speeding up the street behind the wheel of her Cadillac. GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT are sliding sideways and nearly falling on top of one another. They are alarmed after J.D. slams his foot down on the gas petal.

BESSIE MAE
What the hell's wrong with you, J.D.?

J.D.
Ain't nuttin wong wit ma.

BESSIE MAE
Why did you speed off like that?

J.D.
Dat muttapucking Bissup Burguss!

BESSIE MAE
You didn't even let me close the door all the way. I could've fell out of this car.

J.D.
Bissup Burguss betta stop dat shit!

BESSIE MAE
What did Bishop Burgess do?

J.D.
Pointin his goddam fanger!

BESSIE MAE
What's wrong with him pointing his finger?

J.D.
I'm gone bake dat muttapucker off!

BESSIE MAE
Quit saying things like that, J.D.

J.D.
Dat sonofabitch needs ta stop pointin his goddam fanger!

BESSIE MAE
He didn't mean no harm. He always points his finger when he gets happy.

J.D.
Fuck Bissup Burguss!

BESSIE MAE
You're a blasphemer, J.D.

J.D.
I ain't no bassfeemer.

BESSIE MAE
Yes you are.

J.D.
Naw, I ain't.

BESSIE MAE
You're annoying at times. 

J.D. takes his eyes off the road to stare furiously over at BESSIE MAE. GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT are staring disbelievingly into one another's face from the back seat.

J.D.
Huss yo mouth, woman!

BESSIE MAE
You hush your mouth, man!

J.D.
Ain't nobody ask ya fo yo two cents.

BESSIE MAE
Well, I gave you my two cents.

J.D.
Go ta hell, woman!

BESSIE MAE
Hush up and drive, niggah!

EXT. THE FISHING BANKS OF LAKE MICHIGAN - DAY

GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT are standing at the banks of Lake Michigan catching several fish with their long bamboo poles. The ferocious anger of J.D. is on the rise once again, simply because he hasn't caught a single fish. J.D. jumps out of his lawn chair, slams his pole on the ground, and kicks dirt and grass towards the water. There are others near the fishing banks who are observing the explosive temper of J.D.

J.D.
Put dose goddam poles up!

GILBERT
(surprisingly)
What did we do?

J.D.
Juss put dose fucking poles up!

GILBERT
What did we do wrong, Mr. Willingham?

J.D.
Put dose poles way fo I drive home and git ma stanching code.

GILBERT snatches his pole out of the water and turns to look at J.D.

GILBERT
(belligerently)
Alright, alright, I'll put my pole up.

J.D.
Don't git smart wit ma no mo, boy.

GILBERT
You got smart with me first.

J.D.
I'm gone knock da fuck out of ya, boy!

JOSE and VINCENT follow GILBERT up to J.D.'S truck and put their poles inside.

INT. INSIDE THE CAMPER OF J.D.'S TRUCK - DAY

J.D. speeds down the highway on his way back to the WILLINGHAM residence. GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT are rather upset with J.D. for embarrassing them in front of a lot of people at the lake.

GILBERT
I'm calling Mrs. Maloney and tell'er I wanna leave this fucking foster home.

JOSE
Me too.

VINCENT
When are you all going to call her?

GILBERT
As soon as we get home.

JOSE
Me too.

VINCENT
Are you gonna do it for real?

GILBERT
Hell yeah!

VINCENT
Did you see the way that those white people were looking at Mr. Willingham?

GILBERT
I'll bet all white people think all black people are dumb like Mr. Willingham.

VINCENT snaps his finger and smiles at GILBERT and JOSE.

VINCENT
I might be leaving right with you and Jose.

GILBERT
I'm leaving just like Vernon did.

VINCENT
When's the last time we got any new clothes?

GILBERT
Not since I've been in this foster home.

VINCENT
Mrs. Willingham is a mean and greedy foster mother.

GILBERT
And Mr. Willingham is a big, black, and ugly foster father who can't even talk right.

JOSE
He sure is.

EXT. SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF WILLINGHAM RESIDENCE - DAY

GILBERT and JOSE are standing out by Milwaukee Parkway with all of their belongings that they came to the WILLINGHAM residence with. They are giving final hugs and regards to VINCENT, who they are leaving behind. Their caseworker, SANDRA MALONEY, stands in the midst of the trio. VINCENT doesn't hesitate to validate some important information that GILBERT disclosed earlier to SANDRA.

SANDRA
Gilbert and Jose tell me that your older brother Vernon doesn't live at the Willingham foster home anymore.

VINCENT
No, he doesn't.

SANDRA
Where does he live?

VINCENT
I don't know, Mrs. Maloney.

SANDRA
Why did he leave?

VINCENT
He got into an argument with Mrs. Willingham.

SANDRA
Why did they get into an argument?

VINCENT
She wanted to take his whole paycheck away from him.

SANDRA
Mrs. Willingham is still receiving checks from the state of Illinois for keeping your brother.

VINCENT
I didn't know that.

SANDRA
Well, she is.

VINCENT
Isn't she supposed to stop getting any checks for Vernon?

SANDRA
Absolutely.

VINCENT
Couldn't Mrs. Willingham go to jail for that?

SANDRA
It all depends.

VINCENT
On what?

SANDRA
Whether or not we could prove that she knowingly and willingly kept receiving the checks.

VINCENT
Is Mrs. Willingham in trouble?

SANDRA
Possibly.

SANDRA clears her throat and moves over towards GILBERT.

SANDRA (CONT'D)
Gilbert and Jose also tell me that Mr. and Mrs. Willingham are very abusive to everyone in the home.

VINCENT
They are abusive to everybody. But they never abused my brother Vernon.

SANDRA
I'm told that Mr. Willingham beats people who come to live in their home with an extension cord.

VINCENT
It's true, Mrs. Maloney.

SANDRA
I'm also told that this cord leaves swollen red marks all over your bodies.

VINCENT
That's true, too, Mrs. Maloney.

SANDRA
We were apprehensive about bringing more foster children to this home after the rape of one of the foster girls.

VINCENT
My sister, Valerie.

SANDRA
I didn't know that she was your sister.

VINCENT
Yes, she is.

J.D. is strolling across the porch and looks out towards the sidewalk, where GILBERT, JOSE, and VINCENT are strongly conversing with SANDRA. GILBERT becomes scrupulously quiet and glances up at the porch. J.D. smiles and waves out to them. GILBERT and JOSE transmit angry gestures by frowning back at J.D. and nodding their heads in disapproval.

GILBERT
(voice-over)
If I ever see that big, black, and ugly motherfucker anywhere on the streets of Chicago, I'm gonna fuck him up!

JOSE
(voice-over)
One day I'm gonna come back to this foster home and blow his bald head clean off his fucking shoulders!

VINCENT
(voice-over)
I wish I could be leaving with Gilbert and Jose, but Mrs. Willingham says that no other foster home that will take me.

SANDRA has deadlines to meet, so she and VINCENT help GILBERT and JOSE place their belongings in her car. VINCENT hugs GILBERT and JOSE a final time and waves goodbye to them as the car takes off.

EXT. THE DOG PEN IN THE BACKYARD - DAY

From one of the kitchen windows, BESSIE MAE is watching VINCENT as he carries a slopbucket that is filled with food from several days ago. BESSIE MAE disdainfully criticizes VINCENT for carrying the heavy bucket in the wrong manner.

BESSIE MAE
Stop swinging that bucket like that!

VINCENT
(strainful voice)
This bucket's heavy, Mrs. Willingham!

BESSIE MAE
You're dropping food everywhere, boy!

VINCENT
I can't help it. Can't you see that, Mrs. Willingham?

BESSIE MAE
I can see J.D. beating the hell out of you with his extension cord.

VINCENT
Whatever.

BESSIE MAE
Yeah, whatever, you yellow bastard!

VINCENT has made it out to the dogpen. He steps inside and dumps an assortment of food slop, like oatmeal, eggs, pinto beans, neckbones, collard greens, biscuits, spoiled milk, molded bread, and crusty spaghetti, most of which is left from days ago. The beagles waste no time sinking their teeth into the variety of food. VINCENT locks the pen and allows the bucket to slide across the grass. BESSIE MAE limps over to the window that gives her a full view of the backyard.

BESSIE MAE (CONT'D)
(yells wildly)
Stop dragging that bucket on the ground!

VINCENT
I'm not dragging the bucket.

BESSIE MAE
I'm sitting here watching you drag that bucket, boy!

BESSIE MAE limps around to the kitchen window facing the side of the house. VINCENT turns on the water hose and sprays the bucket out with a spray gun.

BESSIE MAE (CONT'D)
Stop splashing water on this house!

VINCENT
I'm cleaning the bucket out.

BESSIE MAE
You don't have to splash that much water on the house.

VINCENT
The bucket's real dirty, Mrs. Willingham!

BESSIE MAE
It's not that dam dirty!

VINCENT
Yes, it is.

BESSIE MAE
No, it isn't.

VINCENT
How would you know?

BESSIE MAE
I just know, you yellow fucker!

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

VINCENT places the slopbucket in the corner and turns around to face a very angry BESSIE MAE. The kitchen is very humid and tensions mount between BESSIE MAE and VINCENT.

BESSIE MAE
(snaps violently)
What the fuck's wrong with you, boy!

VINCENT
Nothing's wrong with me.

BESSIE MAE
Why can't yellow bastards like you act right?

VINCENT
I am acting right.

BESSIE MAE
Do you want me to call your caseworker?

VINCENT
What caseworker?

BESSIE MAE
Are you happy being here?

VINCENT
I don't know.

BESSIE MAE
Don't you know that you can leave when you get ready?

VINCENT
I don't know.

BESSIE MAE
You can pack up all of your shit and get the fuck out of this house. Nobody's forcing you to be here.

INT. DINING ROOM - DAY

BRAUN, JUNIOR, and VINCENT are sitting at the dinnertable eating dinner. J.D. is lying down on a large cot right behind JUNIOR. He quietly rolls over on the cot to look up and see if JUNIOR is eating at a moderate rate. J.D. secretly slips his belt from around his massive waist and forms a loop in his right hand.

J.D.
(yells furiously)
Eat yo goddam food, Joanyer!

JUNIOR is nodding his head swiftly and staring down at the bowl with his glossy eyes.

JUNIOR
Eat your food, Junior. Eat your food, Junior.

J.D.
Quit peating what I say, Joanyer!

JUNIOR
Quit repeating what I say, Junior. Quit repeating what I say, Junior.

J.D.
What's yo goddam problem, Joanyer!

JUNIOR
What's your problem, Junior? What's your problem, Junior?

JUNIOR is struck harshly across the middle of his back with the thick leather strap. With a swift movement of his powerful right arm, J.D. strikes JUNIOR a second time. JUNIOR'S face is turning flushed red and every muscle in his face is rippling. Both of his arms fly up into the air and his back twists from side to side. He moans from the painful impact of the strap. Thick saliva and broth from his bowl of chicken casserole run down his mouth. J.D. sees that JUNIOR is starting to eat, so he lies down and rolls over facing the wall. VINCENT is sitting right across from JUNIOR crying heavy tears, which are dropping into his plate of casserole.

VINCENT
(voice-over)
Why is Mr. Willingham always picking on Junior? I hope he rots in hell forever.

VINCENT ragefully storms out of the house before he could finish eating his dinner.

EXT. ONE OF CHICAGO'S BUSY HIGHWAYS - DAY

VINCENT has walked several miles away from the WILLINGHAM residence. The madness at their home has taken it's toll.

VINCENT
(voice-over)
I'm sick of Mr. and Mrs. Willingham's motherfucking foster home!

VINCENT walks along the busy highway with his head hanging low, kicking loose gravel along his path. A handsome man of etiquette, JAMES DRISCOLL, appearing to be in his late forties, pulls over and gets out of his car.

JAMES
Are you lost, son?

VINCENT
(gravel voice)
I'm running away from home.

JAMES
Why come?

VINCENT
I'm tired of living in this one foster home that I'm at.

JAMES
It can't be that bad.

VINCENT
Yes, it is.

JAMES
What's wrong with it?

VINCENT
My foster mother and my foster father are real mean to me.

JAMES
Will you let me take you home?

VINCENT
I don't know.

JAMES
Come on, you can work things out with your foster parents.

VINCENT
I don't know, sir.

JAMES
Come on, let me take you back home.

VINCENT
Okay.

EXT. LOWER PORCH OF WILLINGHAM RESIDENCE - DAY

VINCENT is returned home by JAMES DRISCOLL. J.D. is holding the front door open and is pointing directly towards the dining room.

J.D.
Git yo ass in dis house, Vinsun.

VINCENT is shaking from the thought of receiving another vicious beating from J.D.

VINCENT
I'm not coming in there, Mr. Willingham.

J.D.
Ya want ma ta go and git ma stanching code?

VINCENT
You can go and get your extension cord, but I'm still not coming in the house.

J.D.
(roars)
Git in da goddam house, Vinsun!

VINCENT
No.

VINCENT is fed up with getting vicious beatings from J.D. His only alternative is to start running down the street.  J.D. jumps into his truck, using one hand to hold the steering wheel and using the other to hold his extension cord, while he takes off after VINCENT.

EXT. RUSH BOULEVARD - DAY

VINCENT is running hysterically along Rush Boulevard, hoping to find someone who can rescue him from the sinister capture of J.D., who is swurving up to the curb to where VINCENT is running. His extension cord rests in the front on the passenger's side. VINCENT spots a BIKER on a Harley-Davidson with a long beard, who is wearing all denim and black cowboy boots. Excessive tears are running down his face. He runs up to the BIKER and pulls on his faded denim jacket, pleading desperately for help.

VINCENT
Help me sir, please!

BIKER
I can't help you, son.

VINCENT
My foster father's gonna beat me!

BIKER
What the hell did you do?

VINCENT
I ran away from home!

BIKER
Sorry, I can't help you, son.

The light at the intersection turns green and the BIKER switches gears. VINCENT tries jumping on the back of the motorcycle, but the BIKER pushes him away and then speeds off, peeling rubber near VINCENT'S leg. J.D. swiftly pulls over to the curb in his truck and points to the passenger side.

J.D.
Git in dis tuck, Vinsun.

VINCENT
I'm not getting in that truck, Mr. Willingham.

J.D.
Ain't nobody gone do nuttin ta ya, boy.

VINCENT
You promise?

J.D.
Yep.

VINCENT
I don't wanna get another beating, Mr. Willingham.

J.D.
Bessa Mae gone call dose white folks ta come and take yo ass way fum dere.

VINCENT
What, my caseworker?

J.D.
Yep.

VINCENT submits to J.D. and gets inside the truck. They drive back to the WILLINGHAM residence.

INT. FRONT ROOM - DAY

BESSIE MAE has acquired another foster child, RHONDA DAVIS, a seventeen year old, who is coming from another foster home.  VINCENT walks through the front room carrying the slopbucket. BESSIE MAE stops him and he is introduced to RHONDA.

BESSIE MAE
Vincent, this is your new foster sister. Her name is Rhonda Davis and she'll be staying with us for awhile.

VINCENT and RHONDA stare at one another in the most derogatory manner. Their impression of one another seems to have come off as being negative.

VINCENT
How are you doing, Rhonda?

RHONDA looks mischeviously at VINCENT with a set of tired eyes.

RHONDA
I'm doing okay. How are you doing?

VINCENT
I'm doing alright.

The fact that there are myths that black people are prejudice within their own race, the very fair complexioned blacks having been known to face off against the very dark complexioned blacks, causes VINCENT to automatically develop negative stereotypes about RHONDA.

VINCENT (CONT'D)
(voice-over)
She looks like she could pass for Mr. Willingham's daughter. The only difference between them is that she's very skinny, but she's still black and ugly just like him. She's probably a dirty black bitch just like Mr. Willingham.

RHONDA studies VINCENT with a look of vengeance in her eyes. She also has developed her stereotypes of those blacks who are very fair complexioned.

RHONDA
(voice-over)
He looks like he could pass for a white person. I'll bet since he's light-skinned with good hair, he probably thinks he's the finest dude on the earth. He's probably in the mirror more than any woman.

VINCENT jerks the slopbucket off the floor and walks outdoors.

INT. DINING ROOM - DAY

BESSIE MAE and RHONDA are in the dining room sitting at the long dining room table. BRAUN turns the corner heading towards the kitchen beating the middle of his hand with a silverish hanger wire.

BESSIE MAE
(shouts)
Put that dam wire up, Braun!

BRAUN
Okay, okay, I'll put the wire up.

BRAUN slides the hanger wire into his pocket and steps closer to the table.

BESSIE MAE
Rhonda, this is George Braun. Everybody around him calls him Braun. He's a mentally retarded man that I've been keeping for awhile.

BRAUN
Hey, hey, how ya doing there?

RHONDA cuts a slight frown after viewing BRAUN'S black rotten teeth. Dried tobacco kernels and dark brown saliva are stuck around the rim of his mouth. She extends her arm to shake his wire-beaten right hand.

RHONDA
I'm glad to meet you, Braun.

BRAUN is repeatedly gushing out mists of dark brown saliva. Brown spots are landing on the arm of RHONDA.

BRAUN
Yeah, yeah, glad to meet you, too.

BESSIE MAE wildly fans some of the mist that is being sprayed her direction.

BESSIE MAE
Quit spitting that black shit on me!

BRAUN
Okay, okay, I'll stop spitting the black stuff on you.

INT. FRONT ROOM AGAIN - DAY

BESSIE MAE introduces RHONDA and JUNIOR to one another near the front room stairways.

BESSIE MAE
Junior, this is a new foster girl named Rhonda Davis.

JUNIOR nods his head quickly before he gives a reply.

JUNIOR
New foster girl named Rhonda Davis. New foster girl named Rhonda Davis.

BESSIE MAE
Ask Rhonda how she's doing.

JUNIOR
Ask Rhonda how she's doing. Ask Rhonda how she's doing.

BESSIE MAE turns to RHONDA and cuts a slight grin.

BESSIE MAE
Rhonda, you'll have to excuse Junior repeating everything you say. He's mentally retarded and he can't help himself.

RHONDA
That's okay, Mrs. Willingham, I understand.

BESSIE MAE steps right up in JUNIOR'S face and notices a bulge on the side of his jaw.

BESSIE MAE
Open your mouth, Junior.

JUNIOR
Open your mouth, Junior. Open your mouth, Junior.

BESSIE MAE comes within close range and inspects JUNIOR'S mouth by gliding her fingers along his toothless gums. Her fingers land on something that is very familiar.

BESSIE MAE
This fool's got chicken bones left in his mouth! Go spit those bones out in the trash.

JUNIOR
Spit those bones out in trash. Spit those bones out in trash.

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

RHONDA and BESSIE MAE are sitting near J.D. at the kitchen table. J.D. is blowing cigarette smoke out both of his bull nostrils. He stares lustfully at RHONDA. BESSIE MAE formally introduces the two.

BESSIE MAE
J.D., this is our new foster daughter. Her name is Rhonda Davis and she'll be staying with us for awhile.

The evil red eyes of J.D. are bucking wider than ever.

J.D.
Dis our new falsta dawda, huh?

BESSIE MAE
Yes, she is.

J.D. has the most mischevious smirk on his face.

J.D.
How long our new falsta dawda gone be here?

BESSIE MAE
Rhonda's gonna be here until her caseworker decides if this'll be her permanent foster home.

BESSIE MAE notices that there's a strong attraction between RHONDA and J.D. While RHONDA is extending her skinny arm out, she and J.D. stare sensually into one another's eyes.

RHONDA
How are you doing, sir?

J.D.
Call ma J.D., pease.

RHONDA
How are you doing, J.D.?

J.D.
Doing juss fine.

RHONDA
That's good.

J.D.
I hope dis can be yo new falsta home fo good.

RHONDA
Yeah, that'll be nice.

J.D. momentarily turns his attention back to BESSIE MAE.

J.D.
What woom we gone put our new falsta dawda in?

BESSIE MAE
Probably Valerie's old room.

J.D.
Dat'll be good.

After listening to how excited J.D. is, BESSIE MAE senses that bringing RHONDA to their foster home may have been the biggest mistake that she's ever made, a sort of bad omen.

INT. INSIDE THE CAMPER OF J.D.'S TRUCK - NIGHT

Less than twenty-four hours after her arrival at the WILLINGHAM residence, RHONDA and J.D. have snuck off and are undressing themselves in the back of his truck camper. The truck is parked on a deserted street deep in one of the public parks around Chicago.  Once they're in the total nude, they are engaging in some serious sexual intercourse.

INT. BEDROOM OF RHONDA - NIGHT

We see RHONDA gently closing the door to her room. She begins undressing herself and then very quietly gets into her bed.  

INT. BEDROOM OF BESSIE MAE AND J.D. - NIGHT

After returning from the park with RHONDA, J.D. has snuck back into his room and begins to undress himself. BESSIE MAE rolls over and looks over at the clock. She detects an odor that is very familiar to any person. She immediately becomes suspicious.

BESSIE MAE
Where have you been, J.D.?

J.D.
Been out checkin on da dogs.

BESSIE MAE
What's wrong with the beagles?

J.D.
Dey out dere bawking.

BESSIE MAE
I didn't hear no barking.

J.D.
Dey stop bawking.

BESSIE MAE
(sniffs profusely)
What's that nasty ass smell? 

J.D.
What smell, Bessa Mae?

BESSIE MAE
Smells like....

J.D.
Lack what?

BESSIE MAE
Smells like somebody's ass.

J.D.
I ain't smellin nuttin.

BESSIE MAE
Smells like somebody's been fucking. 

BESSIE MAE lies down and rolls over to where she doesn't have to face J.D. She is gradually covering her nose to sort of avoid smelling the raw sexual odor coming from the body of J.D.

INT. FRONT ROOM - DAY

VINCENT is running the vacuum cleaner across the front room carpet. RHONDA and J.D. are walking through the front door.  After living with the WILLINGHAMS for more than nine months, RHONDA has become eight and half months pregnant with J.D.'S baby. VINCENT guides the vacuum cleaner around she and J.D., and looks at the both of them in the most distasteful manner. Not long after the arrival of RHONDA, she and VINCENT were having serious problems of getting along.

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

BESSIE MAE stands near the wall in the kitchen talking on the telephone. Tears are coming out of her eyes like water shooting out of a well. She is explaining some very disheartening news to the pastor of her church, BISHOP BURGESS, an understanding minister who counsels couples with marital problems.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
It's like this, Bishop Burgess. J.D. has gotten our eighteen year old foster daughter pregnant.

BISHOP BURGESS
(over the phone)
Jesus! How far along is this girl?

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
She's almost due.

BISHOP BURGESS
(over the phone)
How do you know that brother Willingham's the father?

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
He admitted to it.

BISHOP BURGESS
(over the phone)
Say what! Can I get personal with you, Sister Bessie Mae?

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
Go right ahead, Bishop Burgess.

BISHOP BURGESS
(over the phone)
Were they sneaking away from the house to have sex?

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
They may have been having sex right here in the house.

BISHOP BURGESS
(over the phone)
I'd think the law would lock brother Willingham up for having a girl that young.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
J.D. should have been locked up a long time ago. He's fifty-five years old and she's only eighteen.

BISHOP BURGESS
(over the phone)
What do you plan on doing now?

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
I'm filing for a divorce next week.

BISHOP BURGESS
(over the phone)
Do you think brother Willingham'll come back to church?

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
I don't know, Bishop Burgess, and I really don't care.

BISHOP BURGESS
(over the phone)
I'm so sorry, Sister Bessie Mae.

BESSIE MAE
(into the phone)
Don't be sorry, Bishop Burgess.

BESSIE MAE kindly hangs up the phone and sorrowfully limps out of the kitchen.

INT. BEDROOM OF BESSIE MAE AND J.D. - DAY

The disturbing sounds of two people arguing is coming from the second floor. VINCENT shuts off the vacuum cleaner and moves towards the stairways. We hear the pounding of objects against the floor and walls. BESSIE MAE and J.D. are engaged in a heated argument. She has a .38 calibre handgun pressed firmly against his left temple.

BESSIE MAE
Shut up, motherfucker!

J.D. stands before BESSIE MAE trembling excessively, with sweat rolling off the top of his bald head.

J.D.
Dun shoot ma, Bessa Mae!

BESSIE MAE
Shut the fuck up, goddamit! You had to fuck her, didn't you?

BESSIE MAE presses the barrel of the gun even harder into the sweaty right temple of J.D.

J.D.
Pease, pease, dun use da gun, Bessa Mae!

BESSIE MAE moves her finger back further on the trigger and J.D. continues to tremble even moreso. She shouts extremely loud into his face.

BESSIE MAE
Why did you have to fuck her and get her pregnant!

J.D.
I didden mean ta git'er pegnant, Bessa Mae.

BESSIE MAE
Yes, you did!

J.D.
Naw, I didden.

The furious voice of BESSIE MAE raises to a much higher octave.

BESSIE MAE
Why did you have to rape Valerie!

J.D.
Ain't nobody waped dat gal, Bessa Mae.

BESSIE MAE
Shut the fuck up, you lying sonofabitch!

J.D.
Pease, pease, put da gun down, Bessa Mae.

BESSIE MAE
I should blow your goddam brains out with this motherfucking thirty-eight!

J.D.
Pease, pease, don't do no such thang, Bessa Mae.

BESSIE MAE
Don't say another goddam word!

BESSIE MAE continues to hold J.D. at gunpoint. Any wrong movement of her finger on the trigger and J.D.'S life could come to an end. We see beads of sweat rolling excessively off the top of his bald head and down onto his shiny black face. BESSIE MAE slowly lowers her arm and moves toward the side of the bed. She opens the top drawer of her dresser and places the gun inside. J.D. rushes out of the room and out of the house with RHONDA following right behind.

INT. FRONT ROOM - DAY

CARMEN stands next to VINCENT near the bottom of the stairs.

CARMEN
What happened up there?

VINCENT
I think Mr. and Mrs. Willingham were up there fighting.

CARMEN
About what?

VINCENT
Sounded like they were arguing about Mr. Willingham getting Rhonda pregnant.

CARMEN
He's a lowlife, black bastard. First, he rapes Valerie and lies about it. Then, he gets his eighteen year old foster daughter pregnant and admits to it. What's he gonna do next?

VINCENT is staring at CARMEN with eyes of disappointment, the set of eyes that were searching for some lost answers.

VINCENT
(voice-over)
What about when you'd take me in the bathroom to have sex? How can you say those things about Mr. Willingham when you're just as guilty as him? Even though Mr. Willingham is a worthless piece of shit.

CARMEN
What's wrong, Vincent?

VINCENT
Nothing's wrong.

CARMEN
Seems like something's on your mind.

VINCENT
I'm okay.

INT. SECOND FLOOR, INSIDE THE ROOM OF BESSIE MAE AND J.D. - NIGHT

Inside her dark and quiet room, BESSIE MAE is lying across her bed kicking every direction. She is breathing heavily, as her head jerks back and forth. She recalls a montague of bittersweet memories between she and J.D., like the first meeting between she and J.D., their wedding day, the establishing of their foster home, the many foster children who came and went from their home, the dilemma of J.D. raping VALERIE, and worst of all, RHONDA becoming pregnant by J.D. In her deep, turbulent sleep, BESSIE MAE cries out.

BESSIE MAE
Why me, J.D.? Why did you have to do it to me, J.D.?

BESSIE MAE is trembling from head to toe as thick foams of saliva is discharging from her mouth and running along the sides of her jaws. Her eyes are rolling around inside her head and her tongue is stretching out of her mouth.

INT. KITCHEN - EARLY MORNING

VINCENT is creeping around the kitchen, trying to sneak into the refrigerator for something sweet to eat. 

INT. GRANNY DEAR'S ROOM - EARLY MORNING

Inside her room, GRANNY DEAR is scooting to the edge of her bed, because the footsteps of VINCENT are heard very clearly.

GRANNY DEAR
(drowsy)
Who in dere?

INT. KITCHEN AGAIN - EARLY MORNING 

VINCENT doesn't answer and stands perfectly still on the side of the refrigerator. GRANNY DEAR pulls her curtain back with a long cane and stares into the pitch dark kitchen. She drops the curtain and moves back up to the head of her bed.  A large rat is at the opposite end of the kitchen sniffing near the containers that hold the flour and sugar. VINCENT is terribly frightened and tries any mechanism to scare the rat off.

VINCENT
(whispers softly)
Shew! Shew! Get out of here, you stinky rat!

VINCENT avoids being possibly attacked by the large rat by bravely throwing up a threatening fist. The rat runs the other direction and VINCENT now moves closer to the refrigerator. He jerks the door open and snatches out two jelly glazed donuts. GRANNY DEAR jumps up and reaches for her cane again.

GRANNY DEAR
Who in dere? Who dat huntin fo something intide da icebox?

INT. SECOND FLOOR AGAIN - EARLY MORNING

BESSIE MAE is trembling excessively from head to toe. Her upper-body trembles at an accelerated rate. Large foams of saliva are saturating the sheet underneath her head. She is suffering a major stroke and no one in the home is aware.

INT. KITCHEN - MORNING

VINCENT and BRAUN are standing in the doorway of GRANNY DEAR'S room, right after BRAUN informed him that something was wrong with BESSIE MAE. VINCENT came from the basement to inform GRANNY DEAR.

VINCENT
I think Mrs. Willingham's upstairs dying.

GRANNY DEAR
What's wong wit'er?

VINCENT
Her eyes are wide open, and there's a whole lot of foamy spit around her head.

GRANNY DEAR
Oh my Lawd! Call da ambalants folks.

INT. FRONT ROOM STAIRWAYS - MORNING

A group of PARAMEDICS are rushing BESSIE MAE down the stairs on a stretcher. We see an oxygen mask covering her face and tubes going through her arms. Granny Dear stops the paramedics when they come to the bottom of the stairs.

GRANNY DEAR
What's wong wit ma dawda?

PARAMEDIC
She suffered a severe stroke, mam.

GRANNY DEAR
She gone be alwight?

PARAMEDIC
We must rush her to the hospital, mam.

GRANNY DEAR
Will ya call when ya git'er to da hospital?

PARAMEDIC
Sure will, mam.

INT. INTENSIVE CARE UNIT OF COOK COUNTY HOSPITAL - DAY

VINCENT stands at bedside where BESSIE MAE is hooked up to total life support. He is shedding some light tears and glances at the ventilator in her throat and the feeding tubes in her arms.

VINCENT
(voice-over)
I hate to see Mrs. Willingham like this. She's almost like a zombie.

A NURSE enters the room to check the chart for BESSIE MAE.

NURSE
How are you doing today?

VINCENT
I'm okay.

NURSE
Is this your grandmother?

VINCENT
No, she's my foster mother.

NURSE
Oh, I see.

VINCENT
I've got a serious question to ask you.

NURSE
Sure, anything.

VINCENT
Is she gonna live?

NURSE
It's hard to say right now. We're doing everything to keep her alive, you can rest assure of that.

VINCENT
Will she be like a vegetable?

NURSE
We sure hope not.

VINCENT
Thank you, nurse.

NURSE
You're welcome, young man.

The NURSE leaves the room and VINCENT steps closer to the bed to give BESSIE MAE a kiss on her right cheek.

EXT. BUSY STREET CORNER NEAR RUSH BOULEVARD - DAY

It is a bright and sunny early Saturday morning and VINCENT is dressed in a sharp blue leisure suit. After being in a coma for nearly five months, BESSIE MAE lost her struggle to live. VINCENT is standing at a busy intersection near Rush Boulevard, waiting for traffic to clear so he can finish his journey to the church. He looks up to the sky and begins to think heavily to himself.

VINCENT
(voice-over)
Could Mrs. Willingham have been a good foster mother if she wasn't married to someone like Mr. Willingham?

The sounding of loud horns causes VINCENT to slip out of his daze and rush across the street.

INT. UPPER LEVEL, ST. MARK'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH - DAY

VINCENT is standing at the head of BESSIE MAE'S shiny brown casket on the top level of St. Mark's Episcopal Church. BESSIE MAE is dressed in a white robe with a matching white veil, along with a white rosary that is placed between both hands. Tears are flowing rapidly down his face while he places his hand over her cold cheek. It is at this moment, that he realizes that he'll miss BESSIE MAE. The tears are flowing constantly and a warm feeling is coming over him. One of the church elders, MOTHER DAVENPORT, comes up to comfort VINCENT.

MOTHER DAVENPORT
Sister Bessie Mae's at peace now.

VINCENT turns to stare at MOTHER DAVENPORT as he smashes the tears against his face.

VINCENT
Mrs. Willingham had to die to have peace?

MOTHER DAVENPORT
She's got eternal peace, Vincent.

VINCENT
Why did she have to die, Mother Davenport?

MOTHER DAVENPORT
It was her time to go.

VINCENT
What do you mean?

MOTHER DAVENPORT
God's going to call all of us one day.

A spark comes to the eyes of VINCENT when he sees VALERIE coming up the stairs. Several years have passed since VALERIE and VINCENT have seen one another. They are embracing one another tightly and planting kisses all across each other's face.

VALERIE
Boy! How've you been, Vincent?

VINCENT
I'm doing okay. How've been, Valerie?

VALERIE
(sadly)
I'm doing okay, I guess.

VINCENT
I haven't seen you since you went to that other foster home.

VALERIE
I'm really, really, glad to see you.

VINCENT
Same here.

CARMEN stands to the side observing the heartwarming reunion. VALERIE walks over to the casket and stares hard at BESSIE MAE'S ashen face. VERNON is rolling GRANNY DEAR over to the casket, while he proudly wears his Air Force uniform.

GRANNY DEAR
Dey sho got Bessa Mae fixed up pretty.

VERNON
I think so, too.

GRANNY DEAR
I really lack dis robe dey got'er in.

VERNON
The rosary fits the robe and veil real good.

GRANNY DEAR
Dey sho do.

Many men, women, children, and a few newborn babies, are in a long line waiting for their turn to view the body of BESSIE MAE. A lot of former foster children are coming to pay their final respects. The casket is closed and is rolled down the consecrated aisle to rest in front of the pulpit. By now, we see that the entire church is packed.

INT. PULPIT OF CHURCH - DAY

The pastor of St. Mark's, BISHOP BURGESS, steps up by the front altar and grabs a set of brass bells. He walks over to the center of BESSIE MAE'S casket. With a swift flick of his wrist, the bells ring loudly three times.

BISHOP BURGESS
(shouts)
Halleujah! Halleujah! Halleujah!  Bessie Mae used to respond to these bells, but she doesn't respond anymore.

BISHOP BURGESS is pacing all around the casket. He is pointing at both sides of the church.

BISHOP BURGESS (CONT'D)
(croons loudly)
I've said it many times before, and I'm going to say it once more. If you die wrong, you're going to wake up wrong.

The regular CHURCH CONGREGATION, more like the cheering sections, are throwing up their arms and waving them at BISHOP BURGESS.

CHURCH CONGREGATION
That's right, Bishop Burgess!

We see most of the people inside the church turn around in their seats. J.D. has entered the church and he is walking on the right side wearing dark sunglasses, along with a black and white checkered suit. RHONDA is following behind him carrying their baby son. Most people are turning in their seats to get a glance at the baby. They assume that it's J.D.'S baby, because of the sloped forehead, wide nose, and very dark complexion, which matches perfectly with the features of J.D. VERNON and VINCENT turn around in their seats to look at J.D. with the look of sheer rage in their eyes.

VERNON
(voice-over)
I wish I could rip his heart right out of his chest hand it to him.

VINCENT
(voice-over)
I hope lightning busts through the ceiling of this church and strikes him dead.

BISHOP BURGESS quickly paces up and down the consecrated aisle working up a serious sweat.

BISHOP BURGESS
She came to me, and she told me all about it.

All eyes in the church observe his every move. The CHURCH CONGREGATION are raising their hands towards him once again.

CHURCH CONGREGATION
Take your time, Bishop Burgess.

BISHOP BURGESS
She left this old Earthly temple, and she's putting a down payment on another one.

CHURCH CONGREGATION
Preach on, Bishop Burgess.

Those sitting out in the pews are nodding in agreement to the words of his eulogy.

BISHOP BURGESS
Bessie Mae! Bessie Mae! Bessie Mae! God has given you a holier temple. God has given you a higher temple.

CHURCH CONGREGATION
That's the truth, Bishop Burgess.

BISHOP BURGESS rushes towards the very back of the church. On his way back up towards the front, he stops at the pew where J.D. is sitting and points his wavering finger right in the greasy black face of J.D.

BISHOP BURGESS
(ferociously yells)
Brother Willingham, you need to straighten up and fly right! Fly right, you hear me!

The entire church is staring in the direction of J.D. He is terribly embarrassed after BISHOP BURGESS puts him on the spot. From under those dark shades, the red evil eyes of J.D. are burning with fury. VERNON and VALERIE and VINCENT are a few benches up nodding their heads in total agreement with BISHOP BURGESS. A WOMAN from the opposite side of the church jumps up wildly and points right over at J.D.

WOMAN
That evil man is damned to the eternal fires of hell!

VERNON and VINCENT begin clapping wildly, then turning around to stare back at J.D. BISHOP BURGESS and the funeral home staff open the casket for final viewing of the body. CARMEN, VERNON, VALERIE, and VINCENT step up to the casket. They individually bend forward to give BESSIE MAE a kiss. GRANNY DEAR raises from her wheelchair to kiss BESSIE MAE on her cheek. She accidentally drops a tear into the casket and then falls back into her wheelchair. J.D. and RHONDA are the last ones to approach the casket. Intense guilt causes them to turn their heads away when it came time for them to view the body. The casket is closed and everyone begins to walk out of the church. VALERIE is staring furiously over at J.D. as she is exiting the church.

FLASHBACK - EXT. SECOND FLOOR OF WILLINGHAM RESIDENCE - NIGHT

VALERIE is recalling the painful memory of the night that J.D. brutally raped her.

J.D.
Ya betta not squeam!

VALERIE
Please don't hurt me!

J.D.
Don't make no noises.

VALERIE
Please don't hurt me, Mr. Willingham!

J.D.
Shut yo mouth, gal! 

EXT. CHAPEL MEMORIAL CEMETERY - DAY

VINCENT is kneeling before the casket of BESSIE MAE with his eyes closed and hands interlocked in prayer. He is saying a prayer that he was hoping will be heard from Heaven above.

VINCENT
(voice-over)
Dear Lord, I just want you to know that I loved Mrs. Willingham. I know she's in Heaven, and I want to meet her up there one day.

VINCENT finishes his silent prayer and crosses himself. MOTHER DAVENPORT comes up from behind and places her arm across his shoulder.

MOTHER DAVENPORT
Everything alright, Vincent?

VINCENT
I'm gonna miss her, Mother Davenport.

MOTHER DAVENPORT
If you be good, you'll see her again.

VINCENT
Where?

MOTHER DAVENPORT
In Heaven.

VINCENT
Mrs. Willingham's in Heaven?

MOTHER DAVENPORT
She's resting right now.

VINCENT
I loved her Mother Davenport. It's not gonna be the same without her.

MOTHER DAVENPORT
I know you did, son. And she loved you, too.

VINCENT
You think she really did?

MOTHER DAVENPORT
Sure she did.

The cemetery staff are lowering the casket into the ground. VINCENT watches momentarily and then looks up at the sunny sky.

INT. LIVING ROOM OF WILLINGHAM RESIDENCE - DAY

J.D. is in the living room with a CUSTOMER auctioning off some of the expensive antique furniture that BESSIE MAE had collected over the years.

CUSTOMER
How much are you asking for this sofa with the matching loveseat and end chair?

J.D.
Give ma bout five-hunted fo it.

CUSTOMER
How much did you say?

J.D.
Five-hunted.

CUSTOMER
Five-hundred sounds like a bargain. Got yourself a deal, sir.

The furniture set is actually worth a lot more than five-hundred dollars. J.D. doesn't know that because of his lack of education.

J.D.
Dis some nice stuff.

CUSTOMER
Do you take personal checks?

J.D.
(chuckles)
Sho do.

CUSTOMER
Who do I make it out to?

J.D.
Make it out ta Jesse Willingham.

INT. SECOND FLOOR - DAY

J.D. is in his old bedroom auctioning off all of the furs and jewelry once owned by BESSIE MAE. A very WEALTHY MAN from the elite suburbs of Chicago is sorting through a stack of furs that are lying across the bed. His WIFE is over by the dresser pricing some of the rings and necklaces.

WIFE
Look honey, these pearls will go perfect with my red dress.

WEALTHY MAN
I'd have to say so, honey.

The WEALTHY MAN lifts one of the furs off the bed and flashes it before his WIFE.

WEALTHY MAN (CONT'D)
Look honey, this fur will look good on you when it gets cold. It'll also look good with those pearls.

WIFE
Yes it would, dear.

The WEALTHY MAN and his WIFE hold the goods up in front of J.D.

WEALTHY MAN
How much do you want for this fur?

J.D.
Give ma a hunted fo it.

WEALTHY MAN
How much did you say?

J.D.
A hunted.

WEALTHY MAN
Oh, you're asking one-hundred dollars for it?

J.D.
Yep.

WEALTHY MAN
What about those set of pearls?

J.D.
Give ma a hunted fo dem, too.

WEALTHY MAN
You've got yourself a deal.

INT. BASEMENT - DAY

J.D. is standing inside the laundry room allowing CUSTOMERS to make their bids on the washing machine and the dryer.

INT. FRONT ROOM - DAY

J.D. is standing inside the front room auctioning off a floor model television and some wall fixtures.

INT. DINING ROOM - DAY

J.D. is standing inside the dining room auctioning off an expensive china cabinet and a dining room table set.

EXT. FRONT YARD - DAY

An interested CUSTOMER is circling around the sky blue Cadillac Sedan de Ville that was once owned by BESSIE MAE.

CUSTOMER
Nice car.

J.D.
Yep, it is.

CUSTOMER
The interior looks nice inside.

J.D.
Yep, it does.

CUSTOMER
I like the body, too.

J.D.
Dives good, too.

CUSTOMER
Drives good, huh?

J.D.
Yep.

CUSTOMER
How many miles does it have?

J.D.
Bout, sixty-tousand.

CUSTOMER
Sixty-thousand's not bad. 

INT. GRANNY DEAR'S ROOM - DAY

A lot of GRANNY DEAR'S belongings are being gathered by CARMEN and VERNON. They are exiting her room to go into the front room.  J.D. walks past them on his way towards the kitchen. GRANNY DEAR is rolling herself out of the kitchen to use the bathroom on the first floor. J.D. tiptoes into her room and unplugs her small portable television. He opens the curtain to GRANNY DEAR'S room and CARMEN is right there to rudely greet him with an unpleasant surprise.

CARMEN
You're not going to take Granny Dear's television.

J.D.
Who gone stop ma?

CARMEN
We are.

J.D.
Who's we?

VERNON makes his presence known to J.D. by stepping around CARMEN, and he boldly steps up in the shiny dark face of J.D.

VERNON
You heard Carmen.

J.D.
What ya gone do?

VERNON
Take that television away from you and bust you upside your head.

J.D. lifts the television and draws back as though he is going to strike VERNON.

J.D.
Boy, if ya don't git out'a ma face, I'm gone....

VERNON quickly reciprocates by reaching under his shirt for a .25 automatic pistol. He points the gun at the chest of J.D.

VERNON
You're gonna do what?

J.D.
Put dat gun way, Vunon.

VERNON
I told you that I was gonna confront you about raping my sister.

J.D.
Ain't nobody waped yo sista.

VERNON
And for beating on my little brother with that extension cord.

J.D. is gradually lowering the television and showing signs of fright by slightly trembling.

J.D.
Vinsun didden wanna mind nobody.

VERNON
You still didn't have to beat him like that with no extension cord.

J.D.
Ya need ta git dat gun out'a ma face.

At this point, we see VERNON holding a firm grip on the pistol, with his finger curling tighter around the trigger. J.D. is sweating heavier than ever.

VERNON
We catch you trying to steal Granny Dear's television. It's bad enough that you sold Mrs. Willingham's car and all of her fucking clothes and furniture.

J.D.
A lotta dose thangs was mine's. 

J.D. knows that VERNON is angry enough to execute life-threatening tactics. He goes right into GRANNY DEAR'S room and places the television on a table.

INT. SECOND FLOOR - NIGHT

For the past few days, VINCENT has been sleeping in the room that VALERIE and RHONDA once slept in. It proved to be more convenient since the basement has a serious mice and roach problem. It is 11:00 o'clock p.m. and VINCENT awakes out of his sleep to go and use the bathroom on the second floor. As he walks towards the bathroom, he yawns and rubs his eyes for better vision. The moment that he comes to the doorway of the bathroom, the surprise of a lifetime slaps him right in the face. J.D. and RHONDA are in the middle of having sexual intercourse on the side of the bathtub. VINCENT nods his head as he stands momentarily in the doorway.

VINCENT
(voice-over)
How could these two black monkeys do this to Mrs. Willingham? Don't they have any respect for the dead?

The smell of raw sex travels into the air. VINCENT has seen enough and walks unannounced into the bathroom. J.D.  expeditiously jumps away from RHONDA and runs over by the medicine cabinet. He pretends to be looking for something inside. RHONDA runs over near the wall and tears off a piece of toilet paper and then flushes it down the stool. VINCENT stands motionless, staring at RHONDA and J.D. with fury in his eyes.

VINCENT (CONT'D)
(voice-over)
God will punish these two black dogs for the rest of their lives for doing this to Mrs. Willingham.

INT. KITCHEN - DAY

VINCENT is saying farewell to GRANNY DEAR before she returns to her native Memphis, Tennessee.

VINCENT
I'm leaving, Granny Dear.

GRANNY DEAR
Ya make sho ya lemme know how ya doing.

VINCENT
I will.

INT. SECOND FLOOR - DAY

VINCENT is saying farewell to BRAUN and JUNIOR inside their room. Their belongings, which is nothing but old clothes, is boxed up and sitting on the floor. BRAUN is sitting in an old wooden chair beating the middle of his right hand with one of his hanger wires and chewing some old gum.

VINCENT
Well, I'm gonna be leaving now, Braun.

BRAUN
Okay, okay, you're gonna be leaving?

VINCENT
I'm gonna be going to another foster home.

BRAUN
Yeah, yeah, you're going to another foster home?

VINCENT moves over to where JUNIOR is also sitting in a wooden chair staring at the wall straight ahead. He extends his hand out to JUNIOR.

VINCENT
I'm leaving now, Junior. I'm gonna miss you and BRAUN.

JUNIOR is nodding his head swiftly and neither of his eyes are blinking.

JUNIOR
Gonna miss you and Braun. Gonna miss you and Braun.

VINCENT
Take care of yourself, Junior.

JUNIOR
Take care of yourself, Junior. Take care of yourself, Junior.

INT. BASEMENT - DAY

VINCENT is standing at the middle of the floor inside the room that he once slept in, along with others who left long  before him. He glances over by the wall where his bed once was. Though the room is practically empty, we see literally hundreds of cockroaches that are crawling all over the walls and floor. Mice can be seen running across the floor and in between open cracks.

VINCENT
(voice-over)
Time seems like it's done flew by since I first came to this foster home. 

INT. FRONT ROOM - DAY

J.D. is sitting at the dining room table counting large sums of money. RHONDA stands behind him holding their son with a noticeably mischevious smirk on her face, rubbing him across his shoulders with her other hand. VINCENT comes from the basement and has to cut through the dining room, which is where he runs into both of them. He suddenly stops and stares intensely at J.D.

J.D.
Wuss wong wit ya, boy?

VINCENT
You really want to know?

J.D.
I ask ya, didden I?

VINCENT
I should've done what Mrs. Willingham wanted to do.

J.D.
Wuss dat?

VINCENT
Blew your brains out.

J.D.
Dun make ma go and git ma....

VINCENT cuts J.D. off before he can finish his sentence.

VINCENT
Your extension cord?

J.D.
Dat's wight.

VINCENT
You're exactly what my father said you were.

J.D.
What ya talkin bout?

VINCENT
You're a big, black, and ugly insane gorilla who needs to be locked up in a cage, just like the other wild animals at the zoo.

J.D.
Ya done lost yo mind, boy?

VINCENT
The next time you lift that extension cord to anyone, it's gonna be wrapped around your neck to choke you to death.

INT. FRONT ROOM - DAY

VINCENT and VERNON are saying goodbye to one another while embracing tightly.

VERNON
Give me a call when you've settled into your next foster home.

VINCENT
I'll call to let you know how I like this foster home.

VERNON
Call collect.

VINCENT
Are you sure?

VERNON
I'm sure your new foster parents don't want any long distance bills.

VINCENT
You're probably right, big brother.

VERNON
I love you, Vinnie.

VINCENT
I love you, too, Vern.

VERNON
It's back off to my Air Force duties.

VINCENT
It's off to my next foster home.

VERNON
Take care of yourself.

VINCENT
You do the same.

VERNON
God be with you, always.

VINCENT
Same to you.

VINCENT'S caseworker, JASON RICHBURG, stands at the front door holding a small notepad and a pen. He and VINCENT walk out on the porch with his belongings.

JASON
All ready to go?

VINCENT
(smiles)
I was ready to go fifteen years ago.

JASON
What do you mean?

VINCENT
It's a long story, Jason.

JASON
Well, it's off to your new foster home.

VINCENT and JASON walk out to his green Datsun B-210 carrying a large suitcase and two trashbags. His belongings are placed in the backseat and JASON goes around on the driver's side of the car. VINCENT takes a deep breath of relief and a final look at the WILLINGHAM residence. As usual, the nosy neighbors are coming out on their porches to see the last foster child leave from that foster home. VINCENT looks up to the sky and  smiles.

VINCENT
(voice-over)
It really feels good knowing that I no longer have to live with Mr. and Mrs. Willingham. It really feels good knowing that I no longer have to live in the care of evil.

JASON is starting his car up and he rolls down the window on the passenger side.

JASON
Are you okay, Vincent?

VINCENT
Yeah, I'm okay.

JASON
Ready to go?

VINCENT
I'm ready.

VINCENT gets into the car and JASON drives off down the street.

FADE OUT