[***]
NARRATOR: There she was: Keisha, the girl of my dreams.
I used to dream about a girl named Didi, but then I moved.
And it seemed like I could never get her off my mind.
Chris. Chris.
Wake up.
Chris.
Wake up!
[BOTH SCREAMING]
What's going on?
Scared the death out of me!
[***]
NARRATOR: Some days, I thought everyone I saw was Keisha.
* Ooh!
* Baby, you're so fly
* Won't you halt time
* Every time I see Your pretty face... *
I'm glad that wasn't her.
Well, at least I hope that wasn't her.
* Wonderful, inimitable
* I don't wanna let you go
* Girl, you're just So beautiful *
Keisha?
[GASPS] You ain't taking my check!
[SCREAMS]
What check?
[SCREAMS] What was she thinking?
[CAR HORNS HONKING] Get out of the street, fool!
MAN'S VOICE: Get out of the street, fool!
[SCREAMS]
Get off of my car, fool!
I got to get this girl off my mind.
[***]
* Aw, make it funky now
[***]
[CHUCKLES] Rochelle, I love your place.
Oh. How you keep it so clean with three kids?
Oh, no, my children know how to act.
They know, once they walk through that front door,
I don't tolerate no foolishness.
Mm-mm. NARRATOR:That's Sheila,
Keisha's mother.
My mother didn't make a lot of friends,
because she's what I like to call a ghetto snob.
Look at that woman out here with rollers in her hair.
Mama, you have rollers on.
Yeah, but I'm wearing a scarf.
No class.
[SIPPING LOUDLY]
Sheila gave my mother compliments
and my mother loved compliments.
Oh, girl, I love those shoes.
[CHUCKLES] They're all leather.
No, they aren't.
Chris, this is, uh, Ms. Ridenhour.
Hi. Nice to meet you.
You too.
And you know her daughter, Keisha.
Hey, Chris.
[***]
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, boy!
Where do you think you're going
after getting a C on your quiz?
Back upstairs to study? Right.
Chris...
Chris.
[SCOFFS] Boy, you hear me talking to you?
Ow!
Close your mouth and go upstairs and help Drew with his math.
Do you know that Drew got a C on his math quiz?
That boy knows he could do better than that.
Well, Keisha's great at math.
She can help him if he needs it.
Oh, thanks, but Chris could do it.
You know he's going to a good school now.
Oh.
Well, I like your coffee.
Is it instant?
Uh-uh. No, child. It's freeze-dried.
Like I said, ghetto snob.
I don't hear no math!
That's Joey Caruso.
After giving me a beat down in front of everybody in school,
Caruso got a warning.
If I see you within 10 feet of him,
you, young man, will be back in detention.
[KIDS GASPING] So, for a few days,
Caruso left me alone.
And Greg figured if he stuck close enough,
Caruso would be off his ass too.
There's Greg.
Hey, Chris.
Hey, Greg.
If only Keisha liked me this much.
Why you all up on me?
Look, Raymond told Caruso he couldn't get near you.
So can I stick to you kind of close for a while?
Yeah, but can a brother get some space?
[LAUGHS] Oh, yeah.
All right.
Uh, so... So, what happened?
Ah, man! Keisha?
Right in your living room?
Yeah. And she said, "Hi, Chris."
Ah, man! You are so in there.
You think so?
Yeah. I mean, she didn't just say "Hi."
She initiated the "Hi."
Whoa. I never thought of it like that.
Man, you got to get a condom.
It'd be two years before I knew what a condom was
and eight years before I got to use one.
Back at home, my father was thinking about
something he wanted.
Hey, baby.
[GRUNTS]
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Hey!
Who are you? I'm Sheila.
You must be Julius. What are you doing?
Um, Rochelle said-- Where's Rochelle?
She's downstairs. I live next door. Rochelle!
Where? Next door.
I'm sorry, I...
I didn't mean to, um...
smack you on your... No, it's okay.
No. Forget about it. It's all right.
What?
Why didn't you let me know
there were people in here?
I'm sorry.
Uh, nice meeting you, Julius.
Girl, this color! I love it!
It's going to look good on you. It's hot.
Thank you. I'mma let myself out. Bye, Rochelle.
No problem. You got it.
Next time,
let me know when you got people in my house.
Okay.
Anybody else in here? No!
If she found a strange man in her bathroom,
she'd be nervous too.
What is wrong with that man?
After I helped Drew with his math,
his score changed by a whole grade.
A D?
Chris, he got a C before.
I thought I told you to help him.
I did. [ROCHELLE GROANS]
So you move the decimal point over two places.
Hey, which one you like better?
The spider web or the step ladder?
Is Drew stupid?
No, I'm not stupid, you idiot.
Well, this look like you are...
Hey, hey. Shut up.
Nobody is stupid.
Daddy, Drew got a D on his math test.
Shut up. A D?
Chris! I thought you were going to help.
I did.
Before Chris helped him, he got a C.
Be quiet. No, you be quiet.
Would you do something about this?
Will you please be quiet? All y'all be quiet.
Chris, you go to a good school.
What you learning to do, ride the bus?
Don't yell at me. He got the D.
Watch your mouth, boy.
We're just going to have to get him a tutor.
Tutors are expensive.
Y'all just going to have to work harder.
We can barely afford kids. We can't afford stupid kids.
ROCHELLE: Julius, if Drew's grades keep dropping,
he's going to get kicked out of school.
And then he's going to get hooked on crack.
Next thing you know, we'll be walking in without furniture.
Do you want to pay for a tutor
or do you want to pay for new furniture?
How much is it going to cost?
Not a lot. I'll get Keisha.
Who's Keisha?
You know Sheila.
It's her daughter.
Back at school, Greg camped out for me
like I was the newStar Warsmovie.
[***]
Hey, where were you?
I was at class.
At class? I've been waiting here for 15 minutes.
I told you to wait at my locker.
You weren't at your locker. I'm at it now.
But you weren't then!
Greg.
Too close.
There goes two more girls
we're never going to get.
What's with the outfit?
Oh, Keisha's coming over to tutor Drew today,
and I want to look good.
So, uh, what's the plan?
I mean, you've got to have a plan.
I guess, when I get home, I'll check in
just to make sure everything's cool.
When Drew's finished, he'll be outside.
and then Tonya will be watching TV.
That'll leave the two of us...
alone.
And then, you know...
No, I don't.
I mean, you going to ask her to be your girlfriend?
I didn't know a lot of girls who had boyfriends.
Babies, yes, but not boyfriends.
I don't know. Maybe. Hey.
You think it'd be weird if I, you know, went home with you,
hid in your closet and watched the whole thing?
Yeah. Thought so.
[***]
I felt better than Billy Dee Williams
after a case of malt liquor.
ROCHELLE: Chris!
My mother was so loud,
every Chris in Brooklyn could hear her.
Come on, boy. I'm late for my hair appointment.
Look, Keisha's upstairs with Drew, Tonya's watching TV.
Drew can play outside when he's done.
Oh, and give this to Keisha before she leaves.
I'll be back in a couple of hours.
[***]
Tonya's watching TV. Check.
Couldn't risk being funky.
I'm the reason for the hole in the ozone layer.
[***]
Hi, Chris.
* Everybody hates Chris
Ooh, I'm telling.
Shut up, Tonya.
Usually, when Tonya said she was telling,
that meant I was getting in trouble.
But I didn't care.
All I wanted to do
was slap the black off of Drew.
[SIRENS WAILING]
What happened?
Looks like the older brother came home,
found the little brother kissing his woman
and slapped the black off him.
Is this the black? All we could find.
So much for brotherly love.
You're supposed to be up here studying,
not kissing no girl.
That's not part of your-- Shut up.
I ain't shutting up nothing.
And you going to ge-- Shut...up.
But I said I was telling.
I don't care.
You don't?
Hmm.
All that mattered at that moment
was that Drew had my woman.
I'm going to go downstairs.
What's wrong with you?
What?
You knew I like Keisha.
Now you're up here kissing her?
I... I didn't even know you liked her.
And besides, I wasn't kissing her.
She was kissing me.
He used that same excuse
with a woman's husband 10 years later and it worked.
Is she going to tell?
No.
My mom told me to give you this.
KEISHA: I'll see you later.
[SIGHS]
[***]
I had never had a broken heart before.
I was so messed up, nothing could get me out of it.
Baby, I love ya! I love you.
Oh, Chris, I'm in love with you. Who cares about that Keisha?
Come on, superstar! Aw, man!
Let him have the white girl.
It's all mine now!
[SCREAMING]
Did I tell you nothing?
[DOOR BELL BUZZING]
Hey, Julius.
Uh, Rochelle's not here.
No. Keisha left her jacket here.
You mind if I come in and look?
Nah, I'll get it.
Sheila made my dad nervous.
Since there weren't a lot of men around,
women on the block were always coming around
when my mother wasn't home.
Did I leave my house keys?
Did I leave my frying pan?
Did I leave my sweater here?
You have never been here!
Can't blame a sister for trying.
Try this.
It's not here.
No, it's got to be here.
It'll only take a minute, Julius.
My father didn't like other women in the house
for the same reason he didn't like guns in the house--
even with the safety on, somebody could get killed.
Oh. I found it. So tell Rochelle...
You can, uh, let yourself out.
Okay.
I'll see you later, Julius.
Tell Rochelle that I'll be...
[***]
After everything that happened to me,
the last thing I was thinking about
was what was going to happen to Greg.
Hey, Chris.
So, uh, what happened with Keisha?
Nothing. Nothing?
Come on. Something must have happened.
Nothing happened, okay?
All right, but, uh, you're acting kind of weird.
Fine, okay?
I walked in on Drew kissing Keisha.
Wow. You must feel terrible.
I mean, if I were you,
I wouldn't even be able to stand right now.
I mean, seriously, I'd be on the ground crying.
Man, Drew kissing Keisha after all you went through
to impress her, I'm surprised you aren't on
the top of Brooklyn Bridge with a rock tied-- Shut up.
It's bad enough I had a girl taken by my little brother.
I don't need your suggestions on how to end it all.
You want to make me feel better?
Tell me about the time when you got crushed.
Knowing a guy whose little brother made out
is the furthest I've ever got with a girl.
Just leave me alone.
Hey, you little punk,
I'm going to kick your butt up and down...
just like it's your daily beating.
[RAYMOND CLEARS THROAT]
I didn't want to see you get beat down.
Thanks, man.
Come on. Let's go.
Greg's problems went away,
but mine just kept coming back to haunt me.
Hey, son.
You want a soda?
Dad, what do you do when you're trying
not to like somebody, but you can't get them off your mind?
Chris, we can't talk about this!
Why not?
Look, Chris,
sometimes things ain't always what they look like.
I mean, just because you might think about somebody,
doesn't mean anything's going to happen.
You know, it's...
it's just... it's innocent.
But you can't tell nobody.
You just keep your mouth shut.
And keep your distance.
But she lives right next door.
Don't you think I know that?
What you want me to do, move?
I... It's nothing. Forget it.
Drink your soda.
Well, what if she decides to tutor Drew again?
Well, you just got to...
Drew? Yeah.
Who are we talking about?
Keisha.
Oh...
Oh!
Oh, Keisha!
[CHUCKLES] Keisha.
Hey, man, look.
Chris, you just have to focus on other things, okay?
I mean, you know, it'll take a little time.
You'll meet some more girls.
She's just the first one.
Is she the first one?
Kind of.
This is good.
If my father could just keep things to himself,
he'd be all right.
You know, I waved at Sheila today and she acted all siddity.
Yeah, pretty women are always stuck up.
You think she's pretty? Huh?
No. No, I... I don't. I... No!
No, you had just said that you thought she was pretty.
I mean, she's not ugly.
I didn't notice.
So you didn't notice a pretty woman
walking around our house that you didn't know?
I really... Okay!
She was in the bathroom,
and I smacked her on the butt.
You smacked her on the butt?
I smacked her on the butt. I thought she was you!
Look, I see a grown woman's behind running around my house,
I automatically assume it's yours.
So you can't tell my behind from hers?
No. But yet, my behind
was perfectly clear to you last Wednesday.
I don't... I... I'm sorry.
So are you attracted to Sheila?
No. No.
Well, Julius,
if you're not attracted to her,
how could you think she was me?
Because, y'all both fine, baby.
What's... Sit down, Julius.
I know you're not blind, Julius.
[SIGHS] She's pretty.
And if you think I look like her,
then I'm okay with that.
Really? No!
If that happens again, somebody getting stabbed!
That's my mother's version of being understanding.
DREW: Hey, Chris.
What?
I'm sorry about that girl, Teisha.
Keisha.
Her name's Keisha.
Yeah, Keisha.
I didn't know you liked her like that.
[SIGHS]
It's nothing. Just forget about it.
I know how you feel.
I remember this one time when I was 6, man,
this girl broke my heart,
wouldn't give me the time of day.
Can you believe this?
I'm being given advice about women
by my little brother.
Don't worry. You'll be all right.
If you want, I could hook you up with Shanice.
Shanice? She's 16.
She'll make you forget all about Kiki.
Keisha. Her name's Keisha.
Right. Keisha.
I always regretted that I never tried Shanice.
Since Keisha broke my heart,
I promised myself I would never give her the time of day.
Hey, Chris.
Hi, Keisha.
Okay, that didn't work.
[CAR HORN HONKING]
[SCREAMS]
DRIVER: Get out of the street!
* Everybody hates Chris
[***]
* Aw, make it funky now