Black as Night (2021) Movie Script
Oh, jackpot.
Get the hell away from my cans!
-Them cans is mine.
Now, I done told you, them cans is mine!
SHAWNA:
Summer. This one started out
just like the last one
and the one before that.
Taking the bus to the Quarter,
sneaking up onto some
bougie hotel rooftop
and watching my best friend
Pedro get a tan.
Um, when did you get all that?
Get all what?
Okay, what you need to do
is flaunt them shits.
Theyre way cuter than
those little mosquito bites
you was working with last summer.
Youre not even supposed to like boobs.
I never said I liked them, mami.
Why dont you get some of this sun?
Im not trying to get no darker.
SHAWNA: We didnt know it yet,
but this summer...
this summer was about to be
very, very different.
"Different" aint even the word.
I guess what Im trying to say
is this summer,
the summer my whole world got,
like, messed-up beyond belief,
the summer I got breasts,
that was the same summer
I fought vampires.
PEDRO: Ooh, Im so excited
about tonight.
What you got going till then?
SHAWNA: Got to go see my mom.
Trying to roll?
To Ombreux? Mm, no, thanks.
Its not that bad.
But it really is, though.
You excited about tonight?
Beaucoup cute boys.
Trades, you feel me?
Platinum Percys spinning.
You love to dance.
Not in front of other people.
That why you didnt try out
for the dance team?
No, I didnt try out for the dance team
cause 90% of the girls
they pick are Creole.
Theres a certain look.
Okay, that just means
ten percent aint Creole,
so thats all you.
Since when did you become
a life coach all of a sudden?
Dont you have your own stuff
to figure out?
Like?
Like a full scholarship
to a great boarding school
with a nationally ranked track team.
Yeah, but its in Texas, though.
So?
So, if I leave New Orleans,
is it really even New Orleans anymore?
Like, can this bitch survive without me?
Oh, my God.
And whos gonna be here
to educate your ignant ass
about our citys
magnificent history and culture?
Whos gonna remind you
that we did not host
the countrys first Mardi Gras
but we did put on the first opera?
And whos gonna explain to you
why poboys got to be on stale bread?
Okay, I get it, Professor.
You staying.
Plus, my family, you know.
So, this party tonight?
I dont have anything to wear.
Hell nah. No, you are not
backing out on me.
We show up together,
we leave together, and we dance
with as many cute boys
as we can in between.
What time we meeting?
Depends on when my dad gets off of work.
What time, Shawna?
Like... 7:00-ish, maybe.
All right, bitch. 7:00.
Dont be late.
See you.
Yo. Whats going on, partner?
My site to show me love...
Save the Ombreux!
Save the Ombreux! Thats right!
OLD MAN: Youre never too young
to start fighting
for what you deserve.
If not now, then when?
If not us, then who?
ACTIVIST:
Save the Ombreux!
SHAWNA: If you wouldve
asked me back then,
I wouldve told you
these people are crazy.
Like, dont they have
anything better to do?
I mean, the Ombreux
was hardly worth saving.
Besides the fact that
it was falling apart,
this shit had basically become
a one-stop shop
for sellers and users.
If you werent slangin or coppin,
you didnt have any business there.
I was probably the only normal person
who ever came out this way.
Or maybe not.
-Mm, thats Chris Thompson.
Junior, popular, cool, fun,
and the absolute last person
I expected to see
walking into the Ombreux.
Come on. Come on.
H-Hey, Mommy.
I, uh...
I brought you some stuff.
Any money?
Im not supposed to be bringing you...
I just need to buy some Tampax.
What, I need permission from
your father to do that, too?
I know I put a dollar in here somewhere.
Um...
Ill just leave these here, I guess.
Shawna, wait.
Im sorry I hollered at you.
Its just...
things your father put
in your head about me, they...
Im better.
I-Ive been better for months now.
Well, then...
...maybe you could just
come home, then.
Oh, uh-uh.
Aint that easy, baby girl.
You been watching my plants
while Ive been away?
Jamal has.
And they aint died yet?
Mm-mm.
He do know that zebra plant
need light all day?
Its tropical.
I miss you.
We all do.
I miss yall, too.
Hey, uh...
Yeah.
I look at these pictures every night
and pray to Jesus I can come home.
My friends say, "Girl, sell that thing.
You know how much money
you could get?"
But I aint never gonna sell this.
Um...
You got any money for Mama?
Even just a dollar?
Gold bottles, gold letters.
Late Night with Letterman
the winning was better, man.
STEVEN:
And dinner is served.
Hey, Jamal, go ahead and turn
off that music if you could.
JAMAL:
Dad, what is that?
That is a casserole.
Are you sure?
Sit. Eat.
JAMAL: All right.
Dad, do you think maybe
Mom could come home soon?
I mean, maybe shes better.
Or maybe she could be better
if she was here.
Your moms got some stuff she
needs to figure out on her own.
-If she cared, maybe shed try a little harder.
-Hey.
She cares, all right?
Its just, shes been through
a lot since the storm.
The storm? Thats her excuse?
Dad, that was like 15 years ago.
Yeah, well, shes still hurting.
Lot of folks are.
Show some respect.
I saw Chris today, J.
-STEVEN: Whos Chris?
-Just a boy.
-A boy?
-SHAWNA: No...
JAMAL:
A boy who aint feeling her.
How you know?
Cause Chris got mad light-skinned.
Creole girls with wavy hair.
-And?
-Look how dark you is.
You look like Wesley Snipes with braids.
Jamal. You gonna give
the girl a complex.
JAMAL:
My bad. Sorry.
STEVEN:
Yeah, youll be sorry all right.
You understand?
Youre gonna be sorry.
And you too young
to be worrying about boys.
Eat.
Both of you.
"Creole girls." Ridiculous.
Wesley Snipes.
Dont give me that, no
some more...
Excuse me.
When you wiggle low
wiggle low
wiggle low...
-What are you doing?
-Im trying to help you out.
You look crazy, girl...
Like, legit homeless.
You know, next time,
you getting ready at my house
so I can approve beforehand,
cause just...
-Ew, no, no.
-Okay, okay, I get it.
SHAWNA:
It was him again.
Chris.
Those eyes, those lips.
Ooh, those muscles!
Even his hair was perfect.
Oh, my God. I admit it, yeah.
I was thirsty.
You got exactly 30 seconds to
go over there and holla at him,
or Im not gonna talk to you
for the rest of the summer.
What are you even talking about?
Bitch, dont even try me,
cause you know I aint playing.
Pedro.
29, 28,
27, 26...
-Hey, what about...
-25, 24,
23, 22...
-CHRIS: Im telling yall.
-Hey, Chris.
-We do this every weekend.
Saints game, I promise yall.
And then New Years.
Like, yall dont,
yall dont really understand...
Hey, Chris!
Hey.
Uh, hey. Do I know you?
Uh, yeah.
Yeah, we met before.
Im-Im Shawna, Jamals little sister.
Oh. Right.
Youre on the dance team, right?
Mm-hmm.
Like, thats really cool.
SHAWNA:
Um...
I think I saw you today
over at the-the Ombreux.
No.
Ombreux? Nah.
-Nah.
-Yeah, it was definitely you.
Um, maybe, like,
around 4:00, maybe...
I said nah, that-that wasnt me, man.
Okay.
Yeah, I just wanted to, um...
I just wanted to come over here
and just tell you
that I liked your shape.
I liked your shirt.
I liked your shirt.
Um...
yeah, I just...
I just wanted to come over here
and tell you that, so Ill,
uh... Ill see you around.
All right, Samantha.
Be easy.
PEDRO: Oh, you wont
have to take me there.
SHAWNA:
I was so stupid.
I shouldve just stayed home.
Two big lessons from that night:
think before you shoot your shot,
and never walk home alone.
Pedro.
Sorry to dip on you like that.
I just wasnt feeling that party.
I probably shouldnt have even come.
It was stupid of me to even
think that I could just...
Just...
You know what?
Just-just hit me back.
Yo, help a brother out!
I dont...
I dont have anything.
SHAWNA: Why they always
asking me for money?
Dang.
What the...
Hey!
Hey, leave him alone!
SHAWNA:
His skin was freezing.
Felt like... I dont know...
Leather or something.
Cold leather.
Am I crazy?
Did that really just happen?
Was I bitten by a... vampire?
Vampires are for real?
I cant even believe Im asking that.
Sunlight, I knew, was bad.
I didnt want to turn
into a bat or nothing
while I was asleep.
So I decided it was best to stay awake.
Youre up early.
Uh, couldnt sleep.
Nightmares?
Something like that.
Hey, what happened to your neck?
Uh, curling iron.
Who did this?
I did, I guess.
Youre too old to be tearing up
the house like this, Shawn.
Wait, wait.
Get some sleep, Shawn,
after you take down the rest of this.
What?
Took me a minute to figure out
what to do, what to say.
I get how I wouldve sounded.
Still, I knew what I saw,
and I knew what happened to me.
Hola, Shawna.
Back from the dead. A miracle.
You know, Ive been
hitting you up, chica.
I know. I know.
Um, can we talk?
In private.
-Okay, no way.
Get off my iPad.
Go read a book or something.
See why I cant leave this place?
Everyone would be illiterate.
So, what did you want to talk about?
Okay. If I tell you
what I have to tell you,
you cant call me crazy,
and you have to promise
to believe me no matter what.
-Youre freaking me out.
-Promise!
Dios mo. I promise.
Okay.
That night, after the party,
I was walking home, and, uh...
I got, uh...
-Spit it out!
-I-I got attacked.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
-Are-are you o...
-By a group of homeless vampires.
-Bitch, is you smoking?
-You promised.
Okay, uh, maybe I should
just walk you out.
No.
Look.
It wont heal right.
-What is that?
-I told you, I got attacked.
-Are you sure it wasnt, like, a dog?
-Hmm-mm.
Homeless vampires.
Shawna, mami, you probably,
like, blacked out
and had some, like,
crazy delusion or whatever.
You might got the rabies.
Homeless vampires.
Well, I guess that at least
explains why they bit you, right?
What?
You looked extremely homeless that night.
Hello. Im joking.
-Theres no...
-No, they mustve realized I wasnt homeless.
Thats why they let me go
and kept biting that other dude.
-What other dude? What?
-You know, the dude, the dude...
the dude thats always begging
for change over on Benton.
Oh, you mean Mr. Ooh-Wee?
-Hes just a crackhead.
-Okay, well, homeless people,
bums, crackheads,
whatever you want to call it,
thats who theyre after.
Well, if theyre after crackheads...
If theyre going
after crackheads, then what?
Um...
OLD MAN:
And what goes in its place?
-WOMAN: Mm-hmm.
-OLD MAN: Mixed-use development?
WOMAN:
Thats right.
OLD MAN: Thats code for
"were not invited."
This is it. This-this is...
PEDRO: Shawna, theres
no such thing as vampires.
Mom?
What?
Where could she be?
Whered she go?
Mom?
Mom. Mom.
Mom!
See? Shes fine.
-Lets go.
-Listen, Mom.
You got to come back home now.
Okay? Well figure it out
later with Dad,
but it aint safe for you
to be living like this anymore.
You-you need anything else?
Wheres your necklace?
You know what?
It doesnt matter.
Well come back for that.
Right now we just need to...
PEDRO:
Oh, my God.
That doesnt mean anything.
Y-Youre all right.
Look. Look. I got it, too.
See? See?
Im all right.
We both all right.
Just because you got bit,
that doesnt mean anything.
I...
Cold leather.
Shawna! Watch out! Watch out!
-Oh, my God!
-PEDRO: Stop! Stop.
-Move! Move! Move, Shawna!
We got to move! Mami, mami, no!
Mami, no, no! Move!
SHAWNA
No. Oh, my God.
-Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
-Mami.
-Mami, we got... we got to go.
-No.
SHAWNA: The cops didnt know
whether to call it
a homicide or a suicide or an accident,
but I knew exactly what to call it.
It was murder.
I didnt know who or what
was responsible,
but I was gonna make em pay.
No matter what, they were gonna pay.
SHAWNA: This is what
you wanted to show me?
An empty lot?
This is the house.
Was the house
where me, your mom and Jamal
stayed before Katrina.
Finally tore it down a few years back.
And they cram us all down
on the floodplains,
knowing all they got to do
is wait for the next storm
just to press the reset button.
Its not like were much
better off where we are now.
Another big one hits,
well be in the same boat.
No pun intended.
Shawn, I brought you here
to talk about your mom
and how we should remember her.
Dad, we dont have to get into...
No, no, we-we do.
Okay? Its important.
You know, she was grown, so ultimately,
shes responsible for her mistakes.
Lord knows there were plenty of those.
But history matters.
It was so chaotic after Katrina.
The help she needed just wasnt there,
and it never came.
Look, Im not saying
things were perfect before.
Im just saying
things definitely got worse.
And who knows how bad it wouldve gotten
if it wasnt for you?
-Me?
-Thats right.
She was pregnant when the storm hit.
She called you her miracle baby.
She said you saved her life.
And I think she was right about that.
I had to hide it when she left
so she wouldnt...
Shed want you to have it.
Uh, the police found that one.
Listen, Shawn.
Youve got to be brave now.
This city, this world... it takes bravery.
Okay?
SHAWNA: I needed to know the
rules of the game I was playing.
Lucky for me,
New Orleans is full of people
obsessed with monsters
and magic and stuff.
I reached out to
this white girl named Granya.
She hosted a vampire book club
thing in an abandoned church.
-Weird, but I needed info,
and Id get it any way I could.
Anne Rice, huh?
Shes from New Orleans.
Hometown hero.
Oh, my God, this must be what
McAdams Academy looks like.
What you mean?
PEDRO: Lets just say
Im not super excited
about being surrounded by a
bunch of white folks from Texas.
Its not like theyre gonna
roll out the welcome wagon
for an immigrant kid from Mexico,
no matter how fine I am.
-GRANYA Okay.
-See you guys next time.
-Bye.
GRANYA:
Hey, you must be Shawna.
Im Granya.
So, are you guys interested
in the world of vampire fiction?
Dont know much about fiction,
but I do have some questions for you.
Thats a very loaded question.
Theres really no consensus
how someone gets turned
from human to vampire.
Okay, but can you just walk me
through some of the basics?
Well, theres the school of thought
that you have to be drained
of all human blood
and have it totally replaced
with vampire blood.
Ooh, or...
...theres a line of thinking
that you have to be bitten and the venom
has to overtake your system
and thats all.
Sorry to interrupt yall,
but why do you meet in a place like this?
Like, why not go to someplace less weird,
like a library?
The girls like the vibe... its gothic...
And they give us the room for free.
Oh, but youre not, like,
a witch or whatever?
Presbyterian.
Is there anything you can
tell me thats, like, for sure...
Narrow it down, why one person
would turn into a vampire
but another wouldnt,
even if they both got bit?
They have to die.
Thats what all the stories
have in common.
So, to become a vampire, you have to die?
If the character doesnt die,
I dont see how
they can become a vampire.
Theyd just be a person who survived.
Okay.
And how can a vampire die again?
Besides, like, sunlight.
Well, I mean, sunlight
is highly debatable.
Trust me, mami, no, it aint.
Uh, besides sunlight,
theres fire and decapitation,
wooden stake through the heart.
Okay, and what if you wanted
to catch a vampire
but, like, just keep it alive?
Why would anyone want to do that?
Yeah, Shawna, why would
anyone want to do that?
You werent serious in there.
Mami, we almost died last time...
My mom did die, Dro.
What do you need me to do?
We need everything on this list.
Everything.
PEDRO:
Garlic, stakes and a Bible.
Shawna.
Except dont worry
about the silver chains.
I can take care of that.
-Oh.
-CHRIS: Oh.
Um, hey.
My mom wanted me to bring these to yall.
Red beans and rice.
Shes sorry she missed the repass.
Thanks.
Uh, come in.
You know, she said she used
to kick it with your mom
in the Calliope,
play spades and shit,
before they tore it down.
I aint know that.
Yeah, me, neither.
I guess that sort of makes us peoples.
Guess so.
-Jamal around?
-Mm-mm.
Do, uh, they know what went down yet?
Nah, not yet.
Do they think it was, like...
Did somebody kill her?
She wouldnt have done it to herself.
Look, if you or Jamal ever catch wind
of any nigga that mightve had
something to do with it,
I got yalls back.
Mm-hmm.
Chris.
You for real about having my back?
Yeah.
OLD MAN:
If they tear down the Ombreux,
what will we do?
Where will we go?
Theyre taking everything from us:
our low-income houses, our jobs...
What you think of that dude?
I think he crazy.
Maybe.
He aint wrong, though.
-He aint?
-Me and you, we lucky.
We dont got to stay in the projects.
But a lot of people, this all they got.
The Ombreux?
I mean, I guess.
Why you think so many people left
after the storm and never came back home?
Ombreuxs the last of the bricks.
I mean, where people posed to live?
Well, like you said,
lucky for us,
we got another place to stay.
For now.
SHAWNA:
Did you get it?
-Uh...
-Chris, this is Dro.
Dro, this is Chris.
Uh, can I talk to you real quick, mami?
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
Okay, what is he doing here?
Were not exactly the strongest,
fastest people in New Orleans.
I hold, like,
three city-wide track records.
You know what I mean.
-Does he know about...
-Not yet.
Shawna, I really dont think
right now is the right time
for you to be making a love connection.
Im not making
a love connection. I-I...
So, uh, the guy that did it,
wheres he at?
Okay, I dont know if he did it or not,
but he might know who did.
Same shit. Lets go.
SHAWNA Right.
PEDRO:
Maybe we should just go.
Are you sure dude even stays here?
How did you even find out bout him?
Just a hunch, I guess.
A hunch?
CHRIS:
Shit.
Probably just a...
...rat, right?
Maybe we should just go.
Geez, Dro, you always got to be...
CHRIS:
So you killed your own mom?
Yeah.
Well, no, I mean...
It-its really whoevers
responsible for making her...
A vampire.
Fuck.
Okay, you shouldnt have brung him.
You dont drop shit like that on people.
Hell be fine.
I mean, its just...
Its just a lot to j-just, like, process.
And what about our other amigo?
Time to get some answers.
MARVIN:
I dont know that damn woman!
Old Marvin never turned nobody.
-If not you, then who?
-Uh...
now, if I tell you,
theyre gonna kill old Marvin.
Again.
CHRIS: What makes you think
we wont kill you, nigga?
For someone who hates himself,
you sure looked happy as hell
when you was about to chomp down
on a niggas neck.
Oh, man, I...
I couldnt help it, bruh.
I aint ate in days.
Whos turning people into vampires?
Oh...
Yall had garlic in there?
Yall-yall playing foul, bruh.
Dont-dont...
dont come no closer.
-Whats it feel like?
You been tear-gassed by the police?
No, but Im guessing by
your nosebleed I dont want to.
Tell us what we want to know.
-Straight like that.
-Okay.
Okay, okay, Ill tell you.
Just get that shit away from me, man.
Its this nigga named Lefrak.
He building an army.
-An army for what?
-I...
I dont know, but any homeless
or any addict down on his luck,
thats who hes enlisting.
How do we get to him?
You cant.
He dont fuck with humans.
He got to eat, right?
Human blood?
Where does he stay?
Where does he stay?!
An old mansion
down in the French Quarter.
Hes always got that
red Escalade parked out front.
Truth be told,
I hope you get Lefraks bitch ass.
Cause if he dies,
they say we all turn back to normal.
You think thats true?
Too bad you wont be alive to find out.
-Huh?
-We let you go, next thing you know,
we up on some vampire hit list.
Oh, no, no.
How you kill one of these bitches?
Wait. Hold up.
No one said nothing about no murder.
I think we use a wooden stake.
-PEDRO: What?
-What?
Shawna, what are you doing?
Chris is right, Dro.
We cant have him snitching
before we get to Lefrak.
Get to Lefrak? Mami...
I aint gonna drop a dime on you, baby.
Old Marvin never turned on nobody.
SHAWNA:
I have to get to Lefrak, Dro.
And if this works, Im-a put a stake
-right through his heart, too.
-Come on, bruh.
Yall cant do me like this.
Through the heart, right?
Guys, lets just think this through.
Yeah!
Lets think this thing through.
-I untie you right now...
-Shawna.
...tell you
you can have every drop
of his sweet Mexican blood, what you do?
I told you.
SHAWNA:
Wait.
This is my beef.
I should do it.
You sure?
No, not really.
But I gotta.
Get him, then, killer.
PEDRO:
Shawna.
Come on.
Do you really want to do this?
Hmm.
Huh.
Hmm.
Yo, can I holla at you for a second?
Look, I dont do surprises,
especially not surprises
about monsters and shit.
Look, Im sorry.
Look, obviously,
it wont ever happen again.
Give me your phone.
Whatever yall do to this Lefrak cat...
SHAWNA:
Dang. He fine even when he mad.
...I want in.
Uh, yeah.
Yeah, o-okay.
Ill call you.
SHAWNA: Lefraks mansion
in the Quarter... check.
Lefraks red Escalade
parked out front... check.
Me getting inside and putting
a stake through his heart...
To be determined.
Why are you staring at me, punk?
What?
You know, I researched this house some.
Anything that can help us get to Lefrak?
No, but some pretty cool history stuff.
-About?
-What have I told you is
the alpha and omega of
this here New Orleans history?
Slavery?
The man who built this house,
one of the most notorious
slave owners in Louisiana.
Little bitch owned
400 slaves at his peak.
-Ugh.
-Savage.
He must have really loved it.
Held on to the bitter end.
Built an underground
tunnel system to hide
his slaves from Union soldiers.
Yeah, history. Cool.
Okay, can we focus on the now?
All right, well, its getting late.
-The sun is gonna go down.
-Uh-uh. Were never gonna
see nothing if we leave
every day before dark.
Theyre vampires. Duh.
Mami, you know what could happen.
Stop acting like such a girl, Dro.
Okay, fine. If you want
to stay, thats fine,
but dont expect me to put
my fine Mexican ass on the line
cause you want to act all stupid.
-Im leaving, for real.
-Okay.
And dont even try to stop me.
Bye.
I cant believe were doing this.
Thats the third pair
to come out of there tonight.
Vampires like hos.
So what?
SHAWNA: I had a plan,
but I needed another girl.
I knew just the person
crazy enough to do it with me.
In fact, she went straight
SAT prep mode on my ass.
GRANYA:
So, this one says its possible
for some vampires to use
psychic mind control attacks
on their victims.
So...
So, doesnt that explain why
the ladies of the night...
-Ladies of the night?
-The prostitutes.
Oh, the hos. Right.
Lefrak probably used
some kind of mind control
to make them forget about the feeding.
Makes sense.
Okay, but if he uses that on me,
Im a goner, right?
Not exactly.
I read up on psychological attacks,
and I came across this military study
from, like, World War II.
Okay. And?
If Lefrak tries
to hypnotize you or whatever,
just, you know, remember
something from your past
to keep you in the real world
and out of dreamland.
So I just need to think of a memory?
-Thats it?
-Thats it.
Hey, do you think Ill meet a cute one?
I cannot believe Im doing this.
I cant believe Im on this side of town,
in this store, doing this.
I take it this aint
your typical afternoon activity.
Uh, no.
My parents keep my itinerary pretty full.
With what?
With diving, chess, debate team,
Model UN, drama.
Oh, and Mandarin and French.
And like a thousand other things
Im probably forgetting.
SHAWNA:
Were gonna need some makeup.
So, while me and Granya
worked on our entrance plan...
We got pizza, extra garlic powder.
SHAWNA: ...Chris and Pedro
worked on our exit plan.
And I worked on
the plan of attack... alone.
Even with help, it was pretty nuts
to think I could pull this off.
Im not Buffy.
Im just... I dont know... Shawna.
But I wasnt about to give up now.
Night before, couldnt sleep.
Day of, couldnt eat.
STEVEN:
All right, headed out.
-Where are you going?
-Oh.
What are you doing?
What does it look like?
It look like you giving up.
Dead is dead, Shawna.
Dont stay out too late.
Okay, are we good with the getaway plan?
-Yeah.
-Lets do it, then.
Wait. I actually need
someone to help me
tape the stake to my leg.
Um, okay. Can you hold it?
Thanks.
Why doesnt mine look like that?
Fashion 101, mami:
big risk, bigger reward.
I couldnt figure out where to hide it
cause theres not much room
for a stake, but...
I was thinking maybe my leg...
Ill do it. Okay.
Too tight?
Perfect.
Hey, I have a question.
I know why Pedros helping me.
Hes my best friend.
And Granya, well, shes, like,
obsessed with vampires,
so its a no-brainer, but...
you I dont really get.
I mean, Im-Im happy
that youre doing it.
Just, um...
why?
Lets just go kill some vampires.
Okay.
SHAWNA:
This was it.
I didnt have time to
figure out why I had a stalker.
Revenge was just a few steps away.
-GRANYA: Wait.
I dont want to do this.
-This is a horrible idea.
-No, its too late.
MAN: Yeah?
I get it.
You looking for Lefrak.
You got your days mixed up.
Come back Thursday.
Uh, we were told to come tonight.
You know what?
I thought yall had money,
and we were really ready
to get down tonight, so just forget it.
We dont have time for no games.
-MAN: Hold up.
Yall are too young...
and too delicious to let walk away.
Yall go chill inside.
Ill see if Lefraks ready.
Mmm.
OLD MAN:
I was once on the bottom, too.
But now we all have new life.
Weve been reborn.
This time on top.
Those days of us being pushed aside,
forgotten and abused...
Well, those days are gone
so long as youre willing to fight.
Fight back!
We must...
Just make sure that
you take them all with you.
Be hungry.
-Are you with me?
-OTHERS: Yeah!
All right.
Who wants to go first?
Come on, then.
Lefrak is ready for you.
-I usually dont like my girls as dark as you.
-
Sorry.
What you lack in beauty
you more than make up for in youth.
And I like em young.
No silver.
SHAWNA:
Cold leather.
Yo. Theyre in.
-Got the garlic powder?
-Yeah.
All right, lets get this pumped
through the windows.
Ready?
Dont be scared.
-I aint.
-Mm.
I...
I need to use the bathroom.
LEFRAK:
Hurry up in there.
Dont we need a rubber?
Not for what Im about to do.
Look deep into my eyes.
SHAWNA:
Mind control.
Relax.
SHAWNA:
I needed a memory.
I needed a memory quick.
You wont remember me.
You wont remember.
Do you know where you are?
I cant remember.
What is going on here?
OLD MAN:
Get Lefrak!
Come on.
She did it. Come on.
Who are you?
Im Denises daughter.
Who is Den...
-She good?
-You okay?
-Oh, no.
Get back!
Go. Go. I got it.
-CHRIS: You all right?
-SHAWNA: Yeah, I guess.
CHRIS:
Lets bounce.
Come on. Lets go. Lets go.
Four children are leaving the house.
Bring them to me.
Dead, alive... I dont care!
It doesnt matter!
Yo, Chris. What you doing here?
Im with Shawna.
You guys sure you dont
want to take a shower?
We have plenty of clean towels.
Shawna, did you know that Pedro got into.
McAdams Academy in Texas
and hes not gonna go?
-Mm-hmm.
-Thats, like, one of the top schools in the country.
I wouldve killed to go there.
Look, I belong in New Orleans
and nowhere else, okay?
It aint that deep.
He just scared of white people.
Fair enough. White people are
sort of terrifying. I get it.
Im not scared.
Lets just stay focused on vampire stuff.
CHRIS: Well, I guess we know,
if you kill the leader,
shit stays the same.
Except maybe we didnt kill the leader.
Let me see those pictures.
There he is.
Thats the street preacher
from the Ombreux.
Yeah. Hes operating
out of the same house
he was a slave in.
Thats sort of poetic.
Okay, so this little bitch is
a crazy street preacher
and an ex-slave vampire.
That doesnt mean
hes the leader, though.
No, but the way he was talking in there.
His whole... I dont know... vibe.
-I think he was in charge.
-CHRIS: Could be.
Okay, b-but we took our only shot, mami.
Not like we can go back there now.
Damn, Shawna, whats your problem?
Okay.
Okay, wh-what...
what should we do?
-Calm down.
If its them, they cant come in
unless we invite them.
-"Them"?
-We should go.
Go where?
Go away!
Its okay. They cant come in.
Should we jump out the window?
Out the window? What the fuck
is wrong with yall?
-Yall smoking or something?
-Are you guys even listening?
There are rules.
-They cant come in.
-We got stakes.
Stakes? What...
I said go away!
-Go!
-Oh, shit!
-CHRIS: Jamal!
-Oh, shit!
Jamal!
GRANYA:
This cant happen!
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
Oh, my God!
CHRIS: Yo, Granya, I thought
you said they couldnt come in.
GRANYA:
Sorry.
Say, bruh, one of yall better tell me
what the fuck is going on.
SHAWNA:
Turns out my cabbie stalker
goes by the name of Tunde.
At 800 years old, he was
one of the oldest vampires in the world.
Tunde told us there are several covens
and hed been at war with the
street preacher named Babineaux
for over a century.
Tunde told us that Babineaux
was once a slave in the city.
That hes seen the worst in humanity.
One night, he was attacked
by a vampire...
...and turned.
Babineaux took power into his own hands
and killed his master.
And from the ashes rose a new power.
After Katrina, he became worse.
And as the gap between
the haves and have-nots
continues to grow...
he believes its time for action.
Hes been building an army
right under humans noses,
seeking the down-and-out
and turning them into soldiers,
as he thinks they will not be missed.
Babineaux is a vampire supremacist,
one of the last coven leaders
to think this way.
He looks at humans
the way a lion does a gazelle.
Just prey.
Um, if you a vampire,
how come you aint eat us?
With modern-day technology,
it is archaic to eat humans.
So, why were you watching me?
I was there to observe Babineaux.
You were just a curious variable.
And the sun?
TUNDE: The sun is
a nuisance to new vampires.
It hasnt affected me
in about 500 or 600 years.
Survival in the daylight
is possible with time...
and melanin.
Only vampires with an ample supply
can endure the light.
Its like a superpower.
Then youd make
a good vampire, then, Wesley.
Why do you call her that?
Cause she mad black like Wesley Snipes.
When I was a boy,
long before I was like this,
in my village,
there was what
you might call a princess...
The chiefs daughter.
Her skin was as dark
as the nighttime ocean.
All of the other girls were envious
and spent hours in the sun
trying to look just like her.
She was the most beautiful girl
I have ever seen.
You are not unlike her.
Your brother or anyone in your presence
should consider themselves very lucky.
I agree with Tunde.
Youre beautiful.
PEDRO:
Yeah. Me, too.
Its your sister, dude.
I missed the fight!
TUNDE:
Yakubu...
while Im away,
watch over these children.
Watch us? Where you going?
Im going to put an end
to Babineauxs antics.
Okay, if youre getting
Babineaux, I want to go.
Shawna, what you did
with Lefrak was very brave.
But it was also incredibly foolish.
You have disturbed an uneasy peace.
Stay with Yakubu.
Hes strong and trustworthy.
He will keep you safe until the morning.
You cant cut me out of this.
You are no longer part of this.
Mm-mm.
I brought you two forks
so you could share.
CHRIS:
What is that?
I dont know. Dad made it.
Yeah, I think maybe
Ill take that shower after all.
I think Im good.
My brother.
Huh?
Earlier, you asked me
why I wanted to help you.
My brother.
Hes on that stuff,
just like your moms was.
Oh.
Wait, so I did see you
over at the Ombreux.
Its embarrassing.
Is your brother, um...
I mean, did he get turned into a...
A vampire? Nah.
He came home last week.
Not sure it really matters, though.
What you mean?
I dont know who to be mad at:
Kelvin...
dealers, crooked-ass cops, my folks.
But you,
you got somebody to take it out on.
I guess I...
sort of wanted in on that.
Guess it makes me sort of selfish...
No, it dont.
I understand.
I thought you might.
I meant what I said earlier.
Youre beautiful.
I am, arent I?
Yo, and humble, too.
Ay, Dios!
-Oh...
Hell be all right.
Babineaux is not here.
Its been too long.
-Yeah.
-Weve been waiting.
That was Tunde.
Did they get Babineaux?
The coward is hiding somewhere.
So, what are we supposed to do?
Wait until they find him.
Its shaping up to be a long night.
CHRIS:
So, where did Babineaux go?
He couldnt have gone far, right?
The tunnels... under the mansion.
If they were built to hide slaves,
Babineaux would know about them.
-We should tell Tunde.
-CHRIS: We should go.
What? Chris.
I have extra stakes under my bed.
Shawna.
Listen, Dro, if you dont
want to go, its cool.
Youve done enough already.
Shawna, you know Ive supported you
in every crazy thing you wanted
to do since your mom passed.
Trust me when I say this is
the worst idea of them all.
Give me a stake.
Im going to that
boarding school in Texas.
I mean, if we make it
out of this shit alive,
then yeah, Im going.
I just... I figured,
if you can fight vampires
over the summer,
then I can deal with a bunch of
white folks for a couple years.
And I-I deserve it.
Family will be fine.
Youll be fine.
But if I dont go, I wont be.
Dont worry, Ill come back and visit
-your trifling ass for Carnival.
-Oh, shut up.
What yall doing?
Were gonna go get Babineaux.
For Mom.
Hey, Yakubu?
What is it?
-JAMAL: Go!
Go, go, go!
We got to hurry.
-I dont think Im going.
-What?
Why not?
Vampires arent so much fun in real life.
Yeah, I guess they aint.
SAT prep sounds pretty good
right about now.
SHAWNA:
Thanks.
For everything.
Okay.
GRANYA:
Good luck.
Go kick some vampire butt for me.
-Yo. Get down.
The tunnels.
You missed!
-No. No, no, no.
-No. Shawna, Shawna!
-BABINEAUX: Feast.
Shawna, help me! Help me!
SHAWNA:
No, Pedro!
Pedro, no.
Pedro.
Chris.
Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris.
I only want to talk.
Only a loss could make you
this determined, this angry.
Who did you lose?
My mother.
You stole her from me.
I gave your mother power!
I gave her a shot at immortality.
-It was a gift.
-A gift?
Shes dead.
Well, every great struggle
has its martyrs.
What?
They put us down, they-they kick us,
and then they wonder why we
havent gotten up on our own.
Ive watched it for centuries.
I saw it when we were in chains.
I saw it when we were
in the back of the bus.
I see it now as they push us
from our homes.
But why? I mean, why now?
This is the beginning
of the end for us in this city.
The Ombreux was the last straw.
-What?
-When Katrina didnt swallow us up,
well, they... then they turned
to development.
Soon, there wont be enough
of us left to band together.
Band together?
I mean, youre-youre a murderer.
All the protests weve had,
all the marches weve done.
People want to make a difference.
You couldve just convinced us
to just fight with you.
The marches, the protests, the riots.
Slave revolts. Ive seen it all.
1859, 1968, 1992, 2020.
All bright flames
that suddenly got snuffed out.
But when youre immortal,
you get to watch the whole big picture.
You learn how to stoke the flames,
to keep it burning.
Thats what Im doing.
Youre sick.
You should just give up now
cause Tundes already
destroyed your army.
Ill just have to build
another one, wont I?
I mean, this is New Orleans.
Theres never gonna be
a shortage of the down-and-out.
I have nothing but time.
You... No.
You could join me.
You could... you could
actually lead by my side.
Someone with your ability,
with your determination...
Youd be a powerful vampire.
Your skin.
Youd be day-walking by tomorrow.
You...
You could help.
You could actually right the wrongs
that gave your mother the
problems she had to deal with.
Id rather die.
It tastes so much sweeter
when its against your will.
Eat this!
This is for my mother.
CHRIS:
Shawna.
No, no. Pedro, Pedro.
Pedro, Pedro, Pedro, its gonna be okay.
Pedro, its gonna be okay.
Just c-come on.
Just stay with us.
Pedro, Pedro, stay with us.
Pedro, no. No, Pedro, please!
Please stay with us!
Pedro, please stay.
Please stay!
Pedro, no.
No. Please!
SHAWNA: Remember what I said
about my world
getting messed up beyond belief?
Yeah, well, that doesnt even
begin to cover it.
But Pedro always used to say to me...
hed say,
"Mami, hell no. Ill call
the fashion police on you,
and they gonna give you a
life sentence for that outfit."
You know what else he said,
like, when I would get sad or whatever?
Nothing.
He didnt have some inspirational quote
to cheer me up.
Hed just crack a joke,
and next thing I know,
wed be laughing and smiling
and barely remembering
what we were sad about
in the first place.
So thats what Im gonna do.
Im gonna smile.
So that was the summer
I got breasts and fought vampires.
I lost my mother and my best friend.
But I gained some people, too.
Life at home with Jamal
had never been better.
You look pretty today, Shawn.
Just like Ma.
Thanks.
Granya and I became friends for life.
She even convinced me to try goat yoga.
Hey. Would you like
to sign our petition?
Babineaux was wrong
about a lot of things,
-but some things are worth fighting for.
-Okay.
-For my family...
-Hello.
-...my community...
-Would you like to sign our petition?
-...for myself.
-Cool. Okay.
-And of course, there was Chris.
-Sign right there.
Duh.
CHRIS:
Aight, so I handed out
-a bunch of pamphlets.
-Mm-hmm.
-Im gonna head out.
-You leaving?
I got to bring my brother
to this addiction meeting thing.
I said Id be there.
But you still want
to kick it tonight, right?
How about...
you go pick us up a pizza,
and then we meet back at my place?
What about your pops?
As long as you leave before morning.
Oh, Chris...
extra garlic.
Jamal? You here?
Or do I have the whole place to myself?
Including the bedroom?
Chris, did you remember the...
PEDRO:
Hey, mami.
Get the hell away from my cans!
-Them cans is mine.
Now, I done told you, them cans is mine!
SHAWNA:
Summer. This one started out
just like the last one
and the one before that.
Taking the bus to the Quarter,
sneaking up onto some
bougie hotel rooftop
and watching my best friend
Pedro get a tan.
Um, when did you get all that?
Get all what?
Okay, what you need to do
is flaunt them shits.
Theyre way cuter than
those little mosquito bites
you was working with last summer.
Youre not even supposed to like boobs.
I never said I liked them, mami.
Why dont you get some of this sun?
Im not trying to get no darker.
SHAWNA: We didnt know it yet,
but this summer...
this summer was about to be
very, very different.
"Different" aint even the word.
I guess what Im trying to say
is this summer,
the summer my whole world got,
like, messed-up beyond belief,
the summer I got breasts,
that was the same summer
I fought vampires.
PEDRO: Ooh, Im so excited
about tonight.
What you got going till then?
SHAWNA: Got to go see my mom.
Trying to roll?
To Ombreux? Mm, no, thanks.
Its not that bad.
But it really is, though.
You excited about tonight?
Beaucoup cute boys.
Trades, you feel me?
Platinum Percys spinning.
You love to dance.
Not in front of other people.
That why you didnt try out
for the dance team?
No, I didnt try out for the dance team
cause 90% of the girls
they pick are Creole.
Theres a certain look.
Okay, that just means
ten percent aint Creole,
so thats all you.
Since when did you become
a life coach all of a sudden?
Dont you have your own stuff
to figure out?
Like?
Like a full scholarship
to a great boarding school
with a nationally ranked track team.
Yeah, but its in Texas, though.
So?
So, if I leave New Orleans,
is it really even New Orleans anymore?
Like, can this bitch survive without me?
Oh, my God.
And whos gonna be here
to educate your ignant ass
about our citys
magnificent history and culture?
Whos gonna remind you
that we did not host
the countrys first Mardi Gras
but we did put on the first opera?
And whos gonna explain to you
why poboys got to be on stale bread?
Okay, I get it, Professor.
You staying.
Plus, my family, you know.
So, this party tonight?
I dont have anything to wear.
Hell nah. No, you are not
backing out on me.
We show up together,
we leave together, and we dance
with as many cute boys
as we can in between.
What time we meeting?
Depends on when my dad gets off of work.
What time, Shawna?
Like... 7:00-ish, maybe.
All right, bitch. 7:00.
Dont be late.
See you.
Yo. Whats going on, partner?
My site to show me love...
Save the Ombreux!
Save the Ombreux! Thats right!
OLD MAN: Youre never too young
to start fighting
for what you deserve.
If not now, then when?
If not us, then who?
ACTIVIST:
Save the Ombreux!
SHAWNA: If you wouldve
asked me back then,
I wouldve told you
these people are crazy.
Like, dont they have
anything better to do?
I mean, the Ombreux
was hardly worth saving.
Besides the fact that
it was falling apart,
this shit had basically become
a one-stop shop
for sellers and users.
If you werent slangin or coppin,
you didnt have any business there.
I was probably the only normal person
who ever came out this way.
Or maybe not.
-Mm, thats Chris Thompson.
Junior, popular, cool, fun,
and the absolute last person
I expected to see
walking into the Ombreux.
Come on. Come on.
H-Hey, Mommy.
I, uh...
I brought you some stuff.
Any money?
Im not supposed to be bringing you...
I just need to buy some Tampax.
What, I need permission from
your father to do that, too?
I know I put a dollar in here somewhere.
Um...
Ill just leave these here, I guess.
Shawna, wait.
Im sorry I hollered at you.
Its just...
things your father put
in your head about me, they...
Im better.
I-Ive been better for months now.
Well, then...
...maybe you could just
come home, then.
Oh, uh-uh.
Aint that easy, baby girl.
You been watching my plants
while Ive been away?
Jamal has.
And they aint died yet?
Mm-mm.
He do know that zebra plant
need light all day?
Its tropical.
I miss you.
We all do.
I miss yall, too.
Hey, uh...
Yeah.
I look at these pictures every night
and pray to Jesus I can come home.
My friends say, "Girl, sell that thing.
You know how much money
you could get?"
But I aint never gonna sell this.
Um...
You got any money for Mama?
Even just a dollar?
Gold bottles, gold letters.
Late Night with Letterman
the winning was better, man.
STEVEN:
And dinner is served.
Hey, Jamal, go ahead and turn
off that music if you could.
JAMAL:
Dad, what is that?
That is a casserole.
Are you sure?
Sit. Eat.
JAMAL: All right.
Dad, do you think maybe
Mom could come home soon?
I mean, maybe shes better.
Or maybe she could be better
if she was here.
Your moms got some stuff she
needs to figure out on her own.
-If she cared, maybe shed try a little harder.
-Hey.
She cares, all right?
Its just, shes been through
a lot since the storm.
The storm? Thats her excuse?
Dad, that was like 15 years ago.
Yeah, well, shes still hurting.
Lot of folks are.
Show some respect.
I saw Chris today, J.
-STEVEN: Whos Chris?
-Just a boy.
-A boy?
-SHAWNA: No...
JAMAL:
A boy who aint feeling her.
How you know?
Cause Chris got mad light-skinned.
Creole girls with wavy hair.
-And?
-Look how dark you is.
You look like Wesley Snipes with braids.
Jamal. You gonna give
the girl a complex.
JAMAL:
My bad. Sorry.
STEVEN:
Yeah, youll be sorry all right.
You understand?
Youre gonna be sorry.
And you too young
to be worrying about boys.
Eat.
Both of you.
"Creole girls." Ridiculous.
Wesley Snipes.
Dont give me that, no
some more...
Excuse me.
When you wiggle low
wiggle low
wiggle low...
-What are you doing?
-Im trying to help you out.
You look crazy, girl...
Like, legit homeless.
You know, next time,
you getting ready at my house
so I can approve beforehand,
cause just...
-Ew, no, no.
-Okay, okay, I get it.
SHAWNA:
It was him again.
Chris.
Those eyes, those lips.
Ooh, those muscles!
Even his hair was perfect.
Oh, my God. I admit it, yeah.
I was thirsty.
You got exactly 30 seconds to
go over there and holla at him,
or Im not gonna talk to you
for the rest of the summer.
What are you even talking about?
Bitch, dont even try me,
cause you know I aint playing.
Pedro.
29, 28,
27, 26...
-Hey, what about...
-25, 24,
23, 22...
-CHRIS: Im telling yall.
-Hey, Chris.
-We do this every weekend.
Saints game, I promise yall.
And then New Years.
Like, yall dont,
yall dont really understand...
Hey, Chris!
Hey.
Uh, hey. Do I know you?
Uh, yeah.
Yeah, we met before.
Im-Im Shawna, Jamals little sister.
Oh. Right.
Youre on the dance team, right?
Mm-hmm.
Like, thats really cool.
SHAWNA:
Um...
I think I saw you today
over at the-the Ombreux.
No.
Ombreux? Nah.
-Nah.
-Yeah, it was definitely you.
Um, maybe, like,
around 4:00, maybe...
I said nah, that-that wasnt me, man.
Okay.
Yeah, I just wanted to, um...
I just wanted to come over here
and just tell you
that I liked your shape.
I liked your shirt.
I liked your shirt.
Um...
yeah, I just...
I just wanted to come over here
and tell you that, so Ill,
uh... Ill see you around.
All right, Samantha.
Be easy.
PEDRO: Oh, you wont
have to take me there.
SHAWNA:
I was so stupid.
I shouldve just stayed home.
Two big lessons from that night:
think before you shoot your shot,
and never walk home alone.
Pedro.
Sorry to dip on you like that.
I just wasnt feeling that party.
I probably shouldnt have even come.
It was stupid of me to even
think that I could just...
Just...
You know what?
Just-just hit me back.
Yo, help a brother out!
I dont...
I dont have anything.
SHAWNA: Why they always
asking me for money?
Dang.
What the...
Hey!
Hey, leave him alone!
SHAWNA:
His skin was freezing.
Felt like... I dont know...
Leather or something.
Cold leather.
Am I crazy?
Did that really just happen?
Was I bitten by a... vampire?
Vampires are for real?
I cant even believe Im asking that.
Sunlight, I knew, was bad.
I didnt want to turn
into a bat or nothing
while I was asleep.
So I decided it was best to stay awake.
Youre up early.
Uh, couldnt sleep.
Nightmares?
Something like that.
Hey, what happened to your neck?
Uh, curling iron.
Who did this?
I did, I guess.
Youre too old to be tearing up
the house like this, Shawn.
Wait, wait.
Get some sleep, Shawn,
after you take down the rest of this.
What?
Took me a minute to figure out
what to do, what to say.
I get how I wouldve sounded.
Still, I knew what I saw,
and I knew what happened to me.
Hola, Shawna.
Back from the dead. A miracle.
You know, Ive been
hitting you up, chica.
I know. I know.
Um, can we talk?
In private.
-Okay, no way.
Get off my iPad.
Go read a book or something.
See why I cant leave this place?
Everyone would be illiterate.
So, what did you want to talk about?
Okay. If I tell you
what I have to tell you,
you cant call me crazy,
and you have to promise
to believe me no matter what.
-Youre freaking me out.
-Promise!
Dios mo. I promise.
Okay.
That night, after the party,
I was walking home, and, uh...
I got, uh...
-Spit it out!
-I-I got attacked.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
-Are-are you o...
-By a group of homeless vampires.
-Bitch, is you smoking?
-You promised.
Okay, uh, maybe I should
just walk you out.
No.
Look.
It wont heal right.
-What is that?
-I told you, I got attacked.
-Are you sure it wasnt, like, a dog?
-Hmm-mm.
Homeless vampires.
Shawna, mami, you probably,
like, blacked out
and had some, like,
crazy delusion or whatever.
You might got the rabies.
Homeless vampires.
Well, I guess that at least
explains why they bit you, right?
What?
You looked extremely homeless that night.
Hello. Im joking.
-Theres no...
-No, they mustve realized I wasnt homeless.
Thats why they let me go
and kept biting that other dude.
-What other dude? What?
-You know, the dude, the dude...
the dude thats always begging
for change over on Benton.
Oh, you mean Mr. Ooh-Wee?
-Hes just a crackhead.
-Okay, well, homeless people,
bums, crackheads,
whatever you want to call it,
thats who theyre after.
Well, if theyre after crackheads...
If theyre going
after crackheads, then what?
Um...
OLD MAN:
And what goes in its place?
-WOMAN: Mm-hmm.
-OLD MAN: Mixed-use development?
WOMAN:
Thats right.
OLD MAN: Thats code for
"were not invited."
This is it. This-this is...
PEDRO: Shawna, theres
no such thing as vampires.
Mom?
What?
Where could she be?
Whered she go?
Mom?
Mom. Mom.
Mom!
See? Shes fine.
-Lets go.
-Listen, Mom.
You got to come back home now.
Okay? Well figure it out
later with Dad,
but it aint safe for you
to be living like this anymore.
You-you need anything else?
Wheres your necklace?
You know what?
It doesnt matter.
Well come back for that.
Right now we just need to...
PEDRO:
Oh, my God.
That doesnt mean anything.
Y-Youre all right.
Look. Look. I got it, too.
See? See?
Im all right.
We both all right.
Just because you got bit,
that doesnt mean anything.
I...
Cold leather.
Shawna! Watch out! Watch out!
-Oh, my God!
-PEDRO: Stop! Stop.
-Move! Move! Move, Shawna!
We got to move! Mami, mami, no!
Mami, no, no! Move!
SHAWNA
No. Oh, my God.
-Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
-Mami.
-Mami, we got... we got to go.
-No.
SHAWNA: The cops didnt know
whether to call it
a homicide or a suicide or an accident,
but I knew exactly what to call it.
It was murder.
I didnt know who or what
was responsible,
but I was gonna make em pay.
No matter what, they were gonna pay.
SHAWNA: This is what
you wanted to show me?
An empty lot?
This is the house.
Was the house
where me, your mom and Jamal
stayed before Katrina.
Finally tore it down a few years back.
And they cram us all down
on the floodplains,
knowing all they got to do
is wait for the next storm
just to press the reset button.
Its not like were much
better off where we are now.
Another big one hits,
well be in the same boat.
No pun intended.
Shawn, I brought you here
to talk about your mom
and how we should remember her.
Dad, we dont have to get into...
No, no, we-we do.
Okay? Its important.
You know, she was grown, so ultimately,
shes responsible for her mistakes.
Lord knows there were plenty of those.
But history matters.
It was so chaotic after Katrina.
The help she needed just wasnt there,
and it never came.
Look, Im not saying
things were perfect before.
Im just saying
things definitely got worse.
And who knows how bad it wouldve gotten
if it wasnt for you?
-Me?
-Thats right.
She was pregnant when the storm hit.
She called you her miracle baby.
She said you saved her life.
And I think she was right about that.
I had to hide it when she left
so she wouldnt...
Shed want you to have it.
Uh, the police found that one.
Listen, Shawn.
Youve got to be brave now.
This city, this world... it takes bravery.
Okay?
SHAWNA: I needed to know the
rules of the game I was playing.
Lucky for me,
New Orleans is full of people
obsessed with monsters
and magic and stuff.
I reached out to
this white girl named Granya.
She hosted a vampire book club
thing in an abandoned church.
-Weird, but I needed info,
and Id get it any way I could.
Anne Rice, huh?
Shes from New Orleans.
Hometown hero.
Oh, my God, this must be what
McAdams Academy looks like.
What you mean?
PEDRO: Lets just say
Im not super excited
about being surrounded by a
bunch of white folks from Texas.
Its not like theyre gonna
roll out the welcome wagon
for an immigrant kid from Mexico,
no matter how fine I am.
-GRANYA Okay.
-See you guys next time.
-Bye.
GRANYA:
Hey, you must be Shawna.
Im Granya.
So, are you guys interested
in the world of vampire fiction?
Dont know much about fiction,
but I do have some questions for you.
Thats a very loaded question.
Theres really no consensus
how someone gets turned
from human to vampire.
Okay, but can you just walk me
through some of the basics?
Well, theres the school of thought
that you have to be drained
of all human blood
and have it totally replaced
with vampire blood.
Ooh, or...
...theres a line of thinking
that you have to be bitten and the venom
has to overtake your system
and thats all.
Sorry to interrupt yall,
but why do you meet in a place like this?
Like, why not go to someplace less weird,
like a library?
The girls like the vibe... its gothic...
And they give us the room for free.
Oh, but youre not, like,
a witch or whatever?
Presbyterian.
Is there anything you can
tell me thats, like, for sure...
Narrow it down, why one person
would turn into a vampire
but another wouldnt,
even if they both got bit?
They have to die.
Thats what all the stories
have in common.
So, to become a vampire, you have to die?
If the character doesnt die,
I dont see how
they can become a vampire.
Theyd just be a person who survived.
Okay.
And how can a vampire die again?
Besides, like, sunlight.
Well, I mean, sunlight
is highly debatable.
Trust me, mami, no, it aint.
Uh, besides sunlight,
theres fire and decapitation,
wooden stake through the heart.
Okay, and what if you wanted
to catch a vampire
but, like, just keep it alive?
Why would anyone want to do that?
Yeah, Shawna, why would
anyone want to do that?
You werent serious in there.
Mami, we almost died last time...
My mom did die, Dro.
What do you need me to do?
We need everything on this list.
Everything.
PEDRO:
Garlic, stakes and a Bible.
Shawna.
Except dont worry
about the silver chains.
I can take care of that.
-Oh.
-CHRIS: Oh.
Um, hey.
My mom wanted me to bring these to yall.
Red beans and rice.
Shes sorry she missed the repass.
Thanks.
Uh, come in.
You know, she said she used
to kick it with your mom
in the Calliope,
play spades and shit,
before they tore it down.
I aint know that.
Yeah, me, neither.
I guess that sort of makes us peoples.
Guess so.
-Jamal around?
-Mm-mm.
Do, uh, they know what went down yet?
Nah, not yet.
Do they think it was, like...
Did somebody kill her?
She wouldnt have done it to herself.
Look, if you or Jamal ever catch wind
of any nigga that mightve had
something to do with it,
I got yalls back.
Mm-hmm.
Chris.
You for real about having my back?
Yeah.
OLD MAN:
If they tear down the Ombreux,
what will we do?
Where will we go?
Theyre taking everything from us:
our low-income houses, our jobs...
What you think of that dude?
I think he crazy.
Maybe.
He aint wrong, though.
-He aint?
-Me and you, we lucky.
We dont got to stay in the projects.
But a lot of people, this all they got.
The Ombreux?
I mean, I guess.
Why you think so many people left
after the storm and never came back home?
Ombreuxs the last of the bricks.
I mean, where people posed to live?
Well, like you said,
lucky for us,
we got another place to stay.
For now.
SHAWNA:
Did you get it?
-Uh...
-Chris, this is Dro.
Dro, this is Chris.
Uh, can I talk to you real quick, mami?
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
Okay, what is he doing here?
Were not exactly the strongest,
fastest people in New Orleans.
I hold, like,
three city-wide track records.
You know what I mean.
-Does he know about...
-Not yet.
Shawna, I really dont think
right now is the right time
for you to be making a love connection.
Im not making
a love connection. I-I...
So, uh, the guy that did it,
wheres he at?
Okay, I dont know if he did it or not,
but he might know who did.
Same shit. Lets go.
SHAWNA Right.
PEDRO:
Maybe we should just go.
Are you sure dude even stays here?
How did you even find out bout him?
Just a hunch, I guess.
A hunch?
CHRIS:
Shit.
Probably just a...
...rat, right?
Maybe we should just go.
Geez, Dro, you always got to be...
CHRIS:
So you killed your own mom?
Yeah.
Well, no, I mean...
It-its really whoevers
responsible for making her...
A vampire.
Fuck.
Okay, you shouldnt have brung him.
You dont drop shit like that on people.
Hell be fine.
I mean, its just...
Its just a lot to j-just, like, process.
And what about our other amigo?
Time to get some answers.
MARVIN:
I dont know that damn woman!
Old Marvin never turned nobody.
-If not you, then who?
-Uh...
now, if I tell you,
theyre gonna kill old Marvin.
Again.
CHRIS: What makes you think
we wont kill you, nigga?
For someone who hates himself,
you sure looked happy as hell
when you was about to chomp down
on a niggas neck.
Oh, man, I...
I couldnt help it, bruh.
I aint ate in days.
Whos turning people into vampires?
Oh...
Yall had garlic in there?
Yall-yall playing foul, bruh.
Dont-dont...
dont come no closer.
-Whats it feel like?
You been tear-gassed by the police?
No, but Im guessing by
your nosebleed I dont want to.
Tell us what we want to know.
-Straight like that.
-Okay.
Okay, okay, Ill tell you.
Just get that shit away from me, man.
Its this nigga named Lefrak.
He building an army.
-An army for what?
-I...
I dont know, but any homeless
or any addict down on his luck,
thats who hes enlisting.
How do we get to him?
You cant.
He dont fuck with humans.
He got to eat, right?
Human blood?
Where does he stay?
Where does he stay?!
An old mansion
down in the French Quarter.
Hes always got that
red Escalade parked out front.
Truth be told,
I hope you get Lefraks bitch ass.
Cause if he dies,
they say we all turn back to normal.
You think thats true?
Too bad you wont be alive to find out.
-Huh?
-We let you go, next thing you know,
we up on some vampire hit list.
Oh, no, no.
How you kill one of these bitches?
Wait. Hold up.
No one said nothing about no murder.
I think we use a wooden stake.
-PEDRO: What?
-What?
Shawna, what are you doing?
Chris is right, Dro.
We cant have him snitching
before we get to Lefrak.
Get to Lefrak? Mami...
I aint gonna drop a dime on you, baby.
Old Marvin never turned on nobody.
SHAWNA:
I have to get to Lefrak, Dro.
And if this works, Im-a put a stake
-right through his heart, too.
-Come on, bruh.
Yall cant do me like this.
Through the heart, right?
Guys, lets just think this through.
Yeah!
Lets think this thing through.
-I untie you right now...
-Shawna.
...tell you
you can have every drop
of his sweet Mexican blood, what you do?
I told you.
SHAWNA:
Wait.
This is my beef.
I should do it.
You sure?
No, not really.
But I gotta.
Get him, then, killer.
PEDRO:
Shawna.
Come on.
Do you really want to do this?
Hmm.
Huh.
Hmm.
Yo, can I holla at you for a second?
Look, I dont do surprises,
especially not surprises
about monsters and shit.
Look, Im sorry.
Look, obviously,
it wont ever happen again.
Give me your phone.
Whatever yall do to this Lefrak cat...
SHAWNA:
Dang. He fine even when he mad.
...I want in.
Uh, yeah.
Yeah, o-okay.
Ill call you.
SHAWNA: Lefraks mansion
in the Quarter... check.
Lefraks red Escalade
parked out front... check.
Me getting inside and putting
a stake through his heart...
To be determined.
Why are you staring at me, punk?
What?
You know, I researched this house some.
Anything that can help us get to Lefrak?
No, but some pretty cool history stuff.
-About?
-What have I told you is
the alpha and omega of
this here New Orleans history?
Slavery?
The man who built this house,
one of the most notorious
slave owners in Louisiana.
Little bitch owned
400 slaves at his peak.
-Ugh.
-Savage.
He must have really loved it.
Held on to the bitter end.
Built an underground
tunnel system to hide
his slaves from Union soldiers.
Yeah, history. Cool.
Okay, can we focus on the now?
All right, well, its getting late.
-The sun is gonna go down.
-Uh-uh. Were never gonna
see nothing if we leave
every day before dark.
Theyre vampires. Duh.
Mami, you know what could happen.
Stop acting like such a girl, Dro.
Okay, fine. If you want
to stay, thats fine,
but dont expect me to put
my fine Mexican ass on the line
cause you want to act all stupid.
-Im leaving, for real.
-Okay.
And dont even try to stop me.
Bye.
I cant believe were doing this.
Thats the third pair
to come out of there tonight.
Vampires like hos.
So what?
SHAWNA: I had a plan,
but I needed another girl.
I knew just the person
crazy enough to do it with me.
In fact, she went straight
SAT prep mode on my ass.
GRANYA:
So, this one says its possible
for some vampires to use
psychic mind control attacks
on their victims.
So...
So, doesnt that explain why
the ladies of the night...
-Ladies of the night?
-The prostitutes.
Oh, the hos. Right.
Lefrak probably used
some kind of mind control
to make them forget about the feeding.
Makes sense.
Okay, but if he uses that on me,
Im a goner, right?
Not exactly.
I read up on psychological attacks,
and I came across this military study
from, like, World War II.
Okay. And?
If Lefrak tries
to hypnotize you or whatever,
just, you know, remember
something from your past
to keep you in the real world
and out of dreamland.
So I just need to think of a memory?
-Thats it?
-Thats it.
Hey, do you think Ill meet a cute one?
I cannot believe Im doing this.
I cant believe Im on this side of town,
in this store, doing this.
I take it this aint
your typical afternoon activity.
Uh, no.
My parents keep my itinerary pretty full.
With what?
With diving, chess, debate team,
Model UN, drama.
Oh, and Mandarin and French.
And like a thousand other things
Im probably forgetting.
SHAWNA:
Were gonna need some makeup.
So, while me and Granya
worked on our entrance plan...
We got pizza, extra garlic powder.
SHAWNA: ...Chris and Pedro
worked on our exit plan.
And I worked on
the plan of attack... alone.
Even with help, it was pretty nuts
to think I could pull this off.
Im not Buffy.
Im just... I dont know... Shawna.
But I wasnt about to give up now.
Night before, couldnt sleep.
Day of, couldnt eat.
STEVEN:
All right, headed out.
-Where are you going?
-Oh.
What are you doing?
What does it look like?
It look like you giving up.
Dead is dead, Shawna.
Dont stay out too late.
Okay, are we good with the getaway plan?
-Yeah.
-Lets do it, then.
Wait. I actually need
someone to help me
tape the stake to my leg.
Um, okay. Can you hold it?
Thanks.
Why doesnt mine look like that?
Fashion 101, mami:
big risk, bigger reward.
I couldnt figure out where to hide it
cause theres not much room
for a stake, but...
I was thinking maybe my leg...
Ill do it. Okay.
Too tight?
Perfect.
Hey, I have a question.
I know why Pedros helping me.
Hes my best friend.
And Granya, well, shes, like,
obsessed with vampires,
so its a no-brainer, but...
you I dont really get.
I mean, Im-Im happy
that youre doing it.
Just, um...
why?
Lets just go kill some vampires.
Okay.
SHAWNA:
This was it.
I didnt have time to
figure out why I had a stalker.
Revenge was just a few steps away.
-GRANYA: Wait.
I dont want to do this.
-This is a horrible idea.
-No, its too late.
MAN: Yeah?
I get it.
You looking for Lefrak.
You got your days mixed up.
Come back Thursday.
Uh, we were told to come tonight.
You know what?
I thought yall had money,
and we were really ready
to get down tonight, so just forget it.
We dont have time for no games.
-MAN: Hold up.
Yall are too young...
and too delicious to let walk away.
Yall go chill inside.
Ill see if Lefraks ready.
Mmm.
OLD MAN:
I was once on the bottom, too.
But now we all have new life.
Weve been reborn.
This time on top.
Those days of us being pushed aside,
forgotten and abused...
Well, those days are gone
so long as youre willing to fight.
Fight back!
We must...
Just make sure that
you take them all with you.
Be hungry.
-Are you with me?
-OTHERS: Yeah!
All right.
Who wants to go first?
Come on, then.
Lefrak is ready for you.
-I usually dont like my girls as dark as you.
-
Sorry.
What you lack in beauty
you more than make up for in youth.
And I like em young.
No silver.
SHAWNA:
Cold leather.
Yo. Theyre in.
-Got the garlic powder?
-Yeah.
All right, lets get this pumped
through the windows.
Ready?
Dont be scared.
-I aint.
-Mm.
I...
I need to use the bathroom.
LEFRAK:
Hurry up in there.
Dont we need a rubber?
Not for what Im about to do.
Look deep into my eyes.
SHAWNA:
Mind control.
Relax.
SHAWNA:
I needed a memory.
I needed a memory quick.
You wont remember me.
You wont remember.
Do you know where you are?
I cant remember.
What is going on here?
OLD MAN:
Get Lefrak!
Come on.
She did it. Come on.
Who are you?
Im Denises daughter.
Who is Den...
-She good?
-You okay?
-Oh, no.
Get back!
Go. Go. I got it.
-CHRIS: You all right?
-SHAWNA: Yeah, I guess.
CHRIS:
Lets bounce.
Come on. Lets go. Lets go.
Four children are leaving the house.
Bring them to me.
Dead, alive... I dont care!
It doesnt matter!
Yo, Chris. What you doing here?
Im with Shawna.
You guys sure you dont
want to take a shower?
We have plenty of clean towels.
Shawna, did you know that Pedro got into.
McAdams Academy in Texas
and hes not gonna go?
-Mm-hmm.
-Thats, like, one of the top schools in the country.
I wouldve killed to go there.
Look, I belong in New Orleans
and nowhere else, okay?
It aint that deep.
He just scared of white people.
Fair enough. White people are
sort of terrifying. I get it.
Im not scared.
Lets just stay focused on vampire stuff.
CHRIS: Well, I guess we know,
if you kill the leader,
shit stays the same.
Except maybe we didnt kill the leader.
Let me see those pictures.
There he is.
Thats the street preacher
from the Ombreux.
Yeah. Hes operating
out of the same house
he was a slave in.
Thats sort of poetic.
Okay, so this little bitch is
a crazy street preacher
and an ex-slave vampire.
That doesnt mean
hes the leader, though.
No, but the way he was talking in there.
His whole... I dont know... vibe.
-I think he was in charge.
-CHRIS: Could be.
Okay, b-but we took our only shot, mami.
Not like we can go back there now.
Damn, Shawna, whats your problem?
Okay.
Okay, wh-what...
what should we do?
-Calm down.
If its them, they cant come in
unless we invite them.
-"Them"?
-We should go.
Go where?
Go away!
Its okay. They cant come in.
Should we jump out the window?
Out the window? What the fuck
is wrong with yall?
-Yall smoking or something?
-Are you guys even listening?
There are rules.
-They cant come in.
-We got stakes.
Stakes? What...
I said go away!
-Go!
-Oh, shit!
-CHRIS: Jamal!
-Oh, shit!
Jamal!
GRANYA:
This cant happen!
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
Oh, my God!
CHRIS: Yo, Granya, I thought
you said they couldnt come in.
GRANYA:
Sorry.
Say, bruh, one of yall better tell me
what the fuck is going on.
SHAWNA:
Turns out my cabbie stalker
goes by the name of Tunde.
At 800 years old, he was
one of the oldest vampires in the world.
Tunde told us there are several covens
and hed been at war with the
street preacher named Babineaux
for over a century.
Tunde told us that Babineaux
was once a slave in the city.
That hes seen the worst in humanity.
One night, he was attacked
by a vampire...
...and turned.
Babineaux took power into his own hands
and killed his master.
And from the ashes rose a new power.
After Katrina, he became worse.
And as the gap between
the haves and have-nots
continues to grow...
he believes its time for action.
Hes been building an army
right under humans noses,
seeking the down-and-out
and turning them into soldiers,
as he thinks they will not be missed.
Babineaux is a vampire supremacist,
one of the last coven leaders
to think this way.
He looks at humans
the way a lion does a gazelle.
Just prey.
Um, if you a vampire,
how come you aint eat us?
With modern-day technology,
it is archaic to eat humans.
So, why were you watching me?
I was there to observe Babineaux.
You were just a curious variable.
And the sun?
TUNDE: The sun is
a nuisance to new vampires.
It hasnt affected me
in about 500 or 600 years.
Survival in the daylight
is possible with time...
and melanin.
Only vampires with an ample supply
can endure the light.
Its like a superpower.
Then youd make
a good vampire, then, Wesley.
Why do you call her that?
Cause she mad black like Wesley Snipes.
When I was a boy,
long before I was like this,
in my village,
there was what
you might call a princess...
The chiefs daughter.
Her skin was as dark
as the nighttime ocean.
All of the other girls were envious
and spent hours in the sun
trying to look just like her.
She was the most beautiful girl
I have ever seen.
You are not unlike her.
Your brother or anyone in your presence
should consider themselves very lucky.
I agree with Tunde.
Youre beautiful.
PEDRO:
Yeah. Me, too.
Its your sister, dude.
I missed the fight!
TUNDE:
Yakubu...
while Im away,
watch over these children.
Watch us? Where you going?
Im going to put an end
to Babineauxs antics.
Okay, if youre getting
Babineaux, I want to go.
Shawna, what you did
with Lefrak was very brave.
But it was also incredibly foolish.
You have disturbed an uneasy peace.
Stay with Yakubu.
Hes strong and trustworthy.
He will keep you safe until the morning.
You cant cut me out of this.
You are no longer part of this.
Mm-mm.
I brought you two forks
so you could share.
CHRIS:
What is that?
I dont know. Dad made it.
Yeah, I think maybe
Ill take that shower after all.
I think Im good.
My brother.
Huh?
Earlier, you asked me
why I wanted to help you.
My brother.
Hes on that stuff,
just like your moms was.
Oh.
Wait, so I did see you
over at the Ombreux.
Its embarrassing.
Is your brother, um...
I mean, did he get turned into a...
A vampire? Nah.
He came home last week.
Not sure it really matters, though.
What you mean?
I dont know who to be mad at:
Kelvin...
dealers, crooked-ass cops, my folks.
But you,
you got somebody to take it out on.
I guess I...
sort of wanted in on that.
Guess it makes me sort of selfish...
No, it dont.
I understand.
I thought you might.
I meant what I said earlier.
Youre beautiful.
I am, arent I?
Yo, and humble, too.
Ay, Dios!
-Oh...
Hell be all right.
Babineaux is not here.
Its been too long.
-Yeah.
-Weve been waiting.
That was Tunde.
Did they get Babineaux?
The coward is hiding somewhere.
So, what are we supposed to do?
Wait until they find him.
Its shaping up to be a long night.
CHRIS:
So, where did Babineaux go?
He couldnt have gone far, right?
The tunnels... under the mansion.
If they were built to hide slaves,
Babineaux would know about them.
-We should tell Tunde.
-CHRIS: We should go.
What? Chris.
I have extra stakes under my bed.
Shawna.
Listen, Dro, if you dont
want to go, its cool.
Youve done enough already.
Shawna, you know Ive supported you
in every crazy thing you wanted
to do since your mom passed.
Trust me when I say this is
the worst idea of them all.
Give me a stake.
Im going to that
boarding school in Texas.
I mean, if we make it
out of this shit alive,
then yeah, Im going.
I just... I figured,
if you can fight vampires
over the summer,
then I can deal with a bunch of
white folks for a couple years.
And I-I deserve it.
Family will be fine.
Youll be fine.
But if I dont go, I wont be.
Dont worry, Ill come back and visit
-your trifling ass for Carnival.
-Oh, shut up.
What yall doing?
Were gonna go get Babineaux.
For Mom.
Hey, Yakubu?
What is it?
-JAMAL: Go!
Go, go, go!
We got to hurry.
-I dont think Im going.
-What?
Why not?
Vampires arent so much fun in real life.
Yeah, I guess they aint.
SAT prep sounds pretty good
right about now.
SHAWNA:
Thanks.
For everything.
Okay.
GRANYA:
Good luck.
Go kick some vampire butt for me.
-Yo. Get down.
The tunnels.
You missed!
-No. No, no, no.
-No. Shawna, Shawna!
-BABINEAUX: Feast.
Shawna, help me! Help me!
SHAWNA:
No, Pedro!
Pedro, no.
Pedro.
Chris.
Chris, Chris, Chris, Chris.
I only want to talk.
Only a loss could make you
this determined, this angry.
Who did you lose?
My mother.
You stole her from me.
I gave your mother power!
I gave her a shot at immortality.
-It was a gift.
-A gift?
Shes dead.
Well, every great struggle
has its martyrs.
What?
They put us down, they-they kick us,
and then they wonder why we
havent gotten up on our own.
Ive watched it for centuries.
I saw it when we were in chains.
I saw it when we were
in the back of the bus.
I see it now as they push us
from our homes.
But why? I mean, why now?
This is the beginning
of the end for us in this city.
The Ombreux was the last straw.
-What?
-When Katrina didnt swallow us up,
well, they... then they turned
to development.
Soon, there wont be enough
of us left to band together.
Band together?
I mean, youre-youre a murderer.
All the protests weve had,
all the marches weve done.
People want to make a difference.
You couldve just convinced us
to just fight with you.
The marches, the protests, the riots.
Slave revolts. Ive seen it all.
1859, 1968, 1992, 2020.
All bright flames
that suddenly got snuffed out.
But when youre immortal,
you get to watch the whole big picture.
You learn how to stoke the flames,
to keep it burning.
Thats what Im doing.
Youre sick.
You should just give up now
cause Tundes already
destroyed your army.
Ill just have to build
another one, wont I?
I mean, this is New Orleans.
Theres never gonna be
a shortage of the down-and-out.
I have nothing but time.
You... No.
You could join me.
You could... you could
actually lead by my side.
Someone with your ability,
with your determination...
Youd be a powerful vampire.
Your skin.
Youd be day-walking by tomorrow.
You...
You could help.
You could actually right the wrongs
that gave your mother the
problems she had to deal with.
Id rather die.
It tastes so much sweeter
when its against your will.
Eat this!
This is for my mother.
CHRIS:
Shawna.
No, no. Pedro, Pedro.
Pedro, Pedro, Pedro, its gonna be okay.
Pedro, its gonna be okay.
Just c-come on.
Just stay with us.
Pedro, Pedro, stay with us.
Pedro, no. No, Pedro, please!
Please stay with us!
Pedro, please stay.
Please stay!
Pedro, no.
No. Please!
SHAWNA: Remember what I said
about my world
getting messed up beyond belief?
Yeah, well, that doesnt even
begin to cover it.
But Pedro always used to say to me...
hed say,
"Mami, hell no. Ill call
the fashion police on you,
and they gonna give you a
life sentence for that outfit."
You know what else he said,
like, when I would get sad or whatever?
Nothing.
He didnt have some inspirational quote
to cheer me up.
Hed just crack a joke,
and next thing I know,
wed be laughing and smiling
and barely remembering
what we were sad about
in the first place.
So thats what Im gonna do.
Im gonna smile.
So that was the summer
I got breasts and fought vampires.
I lost my mother and my best friend.
But I gained some people, too.
Life at home with Jamal
had never been better.
You look pretty today, Shawn.
Just like Ma.
Thanks.
Granya and I became friends for life.
She even convinced me to try goat yoga.
Hey. Would you like
to sign our petition?
Babineaux was wrong
about a lot of things,
-but some things are worth fighting for.
-Okay.
-For my family...
-Hello.
-...my community...
-Would you like to sign our petition?
-...for myself.
-Cool. Okay.
-And of course, there was Chris.
-Sign right there.
Duh.
CHRIS:
Aight, so I handed out
-a bunch of pamphlets.
-Mm-hmm.
-Im gonna head out.
-You leaving?
I got to bring my brother
to this addiction meeting thing.
I said Id be there.
But you still want
to kick it tonight, right?
How about...
you go pick us up a pizza,
and then we meet back at my place?
What about your pops?
As long as you leave before morning.
Oh, Chris...
extra garlic.
Jamal? You here?
Or do I have the whole place to myself?
Including the bedroom?
Chris, did you remember the...
PEDRO:
Hey, mami.