01x02 - The Code

[bunniefuu]

I'm tellin' you this Friday,

we gotta be ready to play minutes

of nonstop basketball.

You know, the coach says our big

is that they're running teams.

Hm-hm-hm.

That's not gonna be a problem.

You know why?

'Cause we got conditioning

on our side, baby...

[coughs]

Hey, man, when'd you start smoking?

This morning.

I was reading my copy of the DC Gazette,

the Leisure section,

which points out that

ladies like bad boys.

Now, check this out,

this bad enough for you?

How about this?

[coughs]

Man, more like this, goodnight.

What's up, guys?

So, give me a pound, Einstein.

Well, in your case, a quarter pound.

There it is.

Moe, that's a cigarette!

You're right, it is!

Now, listen, all that we have to do

to stop their running game...

beef up our defense.

Don't you know smoking

can cause lung cancer,

heart disease and yellow teeth?

Don't you know that grabbin' on my jacket

is bad for your health too?

Think about it, homey.

Ha ha! Tough guy.

Hey. I'm just trying to help

a brother out.

[bell rings]

[cough] Let's bounce, man.

Why would you put this stinky

stick in your mouth?

'Cause I think I look cool.

Too bad I can't breathe.

Zip 'em up, boys. I smell smoke.

Principal Dowling!

Just the person I was looking for!

[whistle blows]

♪ Another slice of the life

Of Master T.J. Henderson ♪

♪ Super intelligent,

A fine young gentleman ♪

♪ A -year-old whiz kid

Bustin' high school ♪

♪ A pugnacious little shorty

With a thousand IQ ♪

♪ He's got a way with the ladies ♪

♪ And he's keepin' it real ♪

♪ Your favorite little study buddy

He knows the deal ♪

♪ That he's still just a kid

On the ball, very clever ♪

♪ You can say that he's bright

Brainy, gifted, whatever ♪

♪ Your brother is smart ♪

♪ He's a smart guy ♪

♪ Smart guy ♪

♪ Smart guy ♪

♪ He's a smart guy ♪

So, Marlboro man,

let's hear your explanation.

It wasn't mine.

Then whose was it?

Now, I only ask because I'd hate to see

you do somebody else's detention.

Not to mention what your Father might do

If I have to call him.

Now, I know you tough guys like

to try and protect--

It was Moe! Short for Morris!

Morris L. Tibbs!

Grab an a* and I'll take you

to his locker.

Hey, take it easy.

Relax.

I believe you.

So I'm free to go?

Sure.

Whew!

Actually,

I came in here 'cause,

you know, I had to...

Oh.

Right. Ha!

It's me who should be going.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

You can't be painting me, man.

That ain't it.

That's your number, isn't it?

It may be my number,

but it sure isn't my chest!

I mean, it's too small.

I've worked out all summer for this chest.

See?

You shouldn't have stopped at the summer.

You look like the black Gilligan.

Marcus, I got a problem.

Me too. Look at my ears.

I wanna know what you're gonna

do about your little brother.

Well, you know, I once tried leaving

him in the woods,

but he located the North Star

and b*at me home.

Man, he gave me up to Principal

Dowling for smoking.

Now my Pops is all over me.

I got suspended from

the team for two weeks.

Man, I'm out the game!

Oh, man, they can't do that.

Who's gonna be our force in the middle?

Second-string Steve.

Oh, no, you're lyin'!

They can't put Second-string Steve

in a game like this!

You tellin' me.

Man, he's living proof that it ain't only

white men that can't jump.

Man, we're dead.

Mm-hmm and you got your

little brother to thank for that.

Now, you gonna be letting him

hang out with adults like us,

you got to teach him about the code.

So where are we sitting, guys?

[growling]

Oh, you heard.

If I may explain--

If I was just six years younger,

you'd be in a lot of trouble. No!

We'll talk later.

Come here and sit down.

Now, look, T.J.,

you're new here so you

don't know how things work.

But see, there's this code in high school

that governs the way we operate.

It's the only thing that separates

us from the animals.

Actually, it's our opposable thumb.

Look, I don't want to hear

that smart stuff right now.

I'm trying to teach you something.

Oh, you're serious.

Now, look...

you ratted on Moe. You broke the code.

Well, Principal Dowling said

I could get suspended.

So what if you miss a few days?

I mean, you're already six grades ahead.

So I'm supposed to lie?

No. You're supposed

to keep your mouth shut.

See, you never rat on Moe

and Moe never rats on you.

And that's the beauty of the code.

You're sure about this?

Did you hear about Moe?

He can't play in the game

'cause somebody squealed on him!

Man, that stinks! Who would do that?

I have no idea.

Yeah, well, this is gonna cost us

the conference championship.

Hey, Rob! Did you hear about Moe?

Now, you see what I just did?

That was the code in action. Follow it.

Jackie! Oh, man!

Do you know who turned Moe in?

He got caught with a cigarette?

Yes, but it wasn't his.

Well, what was he doing with it?

He picked it up, he was holding it.

It's no big deal.

Oh, yeah, you're right.

We'll get him a nicotine patch

and he'll kick the habit

by the time he's .

Dad, he wasn't smoking.

So I still should've been notified.

How come the Principal didn't call me?

And what would that call say?

"Hello, Mr. Henderson,

your son was not smoking today.

We'll call you next week

when he's not cheating."

So, you think I'm blowing

this out of proportion?

Well, I just like to know

what's going on, so...

and now you do.

Dad, you have to remember that T.J.

is not alone at that school.

I mean, he's got me looking out for him,

he's got Marcus...

he's got me looking out for him.

Hey, Marcus, we got a situation.

Man, the guys from Truman High

are gonna come

try to steal our scoreboard tonight.

Ha ha! Man, where'd you hear that?

From Jimmy.

Jimmy who's always saying,

"H-hey, ain't nothin' wrong with me."

That Jimmy?

No, not twitchy Jimmy. Chess Club Jimmy.

Oh, then that's a strike there, okay?

Now, me and Lester gonna go down there

and guard the scoreboard tonight.

Alright! Watch out now! Look real!

Look at you! ha ha!

Pace yourself, Lester.

Gonna be a long night.

Right. You got it.

Pace. Chill.

I'm straight.

So, you in?

Man, of course, I'm in!

And look, if we don't go down there,

we're not men.

Men defend their honor, okay?

Men defend their school. [chuckles]

[Moe] Where you goin'?

I'm just going to ask my Dad,

see if it's okay to go. You know, hey.

I'm gonna go listen to him ask.

You know...

Oh, I don't know, Marcus. I--

But... please, I mean,

everybody else is going.

It's real important. Come on, Dad, please!

Look, I was once, son,

I guess that if--

Yes! Ha ha ha!

Uh, Marcus...

I don't want to regret this.

I don't want any two a.m. phone calls that

start with "We have your son, Marcus."

It's all on the level, Pop.

Calm down. I'll see you in a bit.

Can I go too?

No. No. No.

And you know why.

Fine. Who wants to save your stupid

old scoreboard anyway?

Hey, you know, T.J.,

you shouldn't feel bad

about not being included every time.

I mean sometimes Marcus just

wants to spend time

with his own friends.

Trust me. You're not missing anything.

They used to be my friends too.

They will be again.

Yeah. As soon as I learn

how to keep my mouth shut.

So... something happened

and you maybe saw what happened

and you told what you saw

and so now they're freezing you out, huh?

I'm not saying yes and I'm not saying no.

Well, you know, you can trust me, man.

We go way back.

Sorry, but that would be

breaking the code.

And you wouldn't want to do that.

Oh, no. No. But...

See, I do remember that there

was a clause in the code

that protects father-son confidentiality.

Dad...

I skipped six whole grades.

You really expect me to fall for that?

Yes, I do. That's the sad part.

So, you know, we formed a human

shield around the scoreboard

and those Truman cowards

didn't dare come in.

They didn't want to deal

with the consequences, ladies.

Ah, here you go. Meet the consequences.

Yo, guys, guys!

I was just getting coffee at the -

and I heard two guys

from Truman talking trash

about how they really got us good.

Lester, first thing, decaf.

Second thing, they ain't got diddley.

Okay, calm down.

Okay, everybody, gather around.

May I have your attention?

This weekend our basketball team

goes up against Truman.

And that's the worst news Truman ever got.

[cheering]

Okay. Now, Ricky Hensworth

graciously volunteered to work off

his graffiti detention

by painting a mural depicting our team.

So, without further ado,

I give you the

Piedmont Varsity Starting !

Oh, man!

While we were in the gym

guarding the scoreboard,

they were in here messing

with my manliness!

Well, look on the bright side, Gilligan.

At least your chest is bigger.

Somebody's going to pay for this.

Okay, ladies.

Now, I know you got your pantyhose

all in a bunch

and you want revenge.

But, even though they have sunk

to the level of a childish prank,

I know you will have

the maturity and inner resolve

not to retaliate?

-Definitely.

-Right.

No retaliation on our side.

-We all good.

-I'm on a different level.

We alright. We know better. Ha ha!

We're chill.

Alright, how're we gonna fix this?

Now, quiet. I'm thinking.

And whatever we do, it's got to be good.

I got it!

I mean, real good. Neutron-b*mb good.

Absolutely! I got it.

Not something stupid

like putting toilet paper over

their school statue.

How about silly string?

Pitiful. Just pitiful.

You got a better idea? Let's hear it.

Gee, I hate to go with my really good idea

where I'm not wanted.

Boy, get your butt over here.

-[Marcus] Take us away.

-Miss me?

Don't push it. Go ahead.

What major event that affects

all high school students

will occur on Wednesday?

Hmm... I don't know.

District report card day.

And you know what that means.

A whuppin'?

No. It means you get me into the computer

room at Truman

and I can lower the grades of every guy

in their basketball team

so they don't qualify for the game.

-Yeah!

-I like that! I like that!

They made dummies out of you,

now you can make real dummies out of them.

Welcome back, little bro. Very good.

Okay, guys, we move out at hours.

-Huh?

-Huh?

Midnight.

Here it is. Truman High School.

The enemy camp.

Let me see the night vision goggles.

Hey, man, look,

do you see any guards

or anything like that?

No, man, I can't see a thing!

Man, give me those things.

And he's right. You can't see anything.

What type of night vision

goggles are these?

They're regular binoculars.

Oh yeah? Then you explain to me

why my Dad's always using them at night?

Oh.

[Marcus] Man, this place

is locked up tight.

It just looks like we're just gonna have

to scale the fence, y'all.

So go ahead. Come on. Let's go.

[beep]

[clears throat]

Well, if you want to use technology...

So, hi the team, who is next when we

go through the window or something?

Yes, good. Let's set off the alarm bell.

I suggest we enter through... the vent.

This little hole?

Hey, wait, wait, wait.

Hold it, whoa, whoa.

Now, I didn't volunteer

for Escape from Alcatraz .

Follow me, troops.

Go on. I ain't going--

-You're troop, man, now do it.

-I'll stay outside--

Right here.

Stop.

Okay, T.J., it's up to you.

You set?

Roger.

Oh, that's not Roger. That's Marcus.

[laughs]

Y'all lighten up. We're in a vent!

Okay, guys.

-Operation Dumb 'em Down is a go!

-Alright...

Remember, guys, hold the rope.

-Got it.

-Got it.

Slow down!

-Try to make it.

-We all good.

Lower...

lower...

lower...

Come on, guys, lower. I'm almost there.

Ugh! Alright, well,

you can't go any lower.

Why not?

We ain't got no more rope.

Man!

How could you run out of rope?

Man, if he was a regular size th grader,

he would hit the floor by now.

You had jobs, show up and bring rope.

Guys, guys! Ohh...

Well, excuse me for not knowing

how much rope it takes

for a little kid to break

into a computer room!

Oh!

Oh! Oh, my head...

If he misses some points on his IQ,

you got some explaining to do.

Okay, I'm in the files!

Oh, darn, I need a password.

It's got to be something nobody

would ever think of.

How about... "enough rope"?

What's their mascot?

Pirates.

Pirates... pirates...

famous buccaneers...

Blackbeard, real name Edward Teach,

spelled backwards would be...

[keying]

Bingo! I'm in!

First victim, please?

The center on the team. Warren Thomas.

Oh, too bad, Warren.

You just flunked

Social Studies and French.

[speaking French] Tant pis, mon ami.

Next?

Darryl Weaver.

Darryl, say hello to summer school.

Marcus, stop playing.

Hey, what are you talking about?

Come on, Marcus, stop playing!

You gonna make me drop this boy!

That ain't me. It's a rat! Aah!

-What?

-[both screaming]

T.J.! You okay, man?

Yeah. The cement floor broke my fall.

[Lester, on radio]

Come in, red team leader.

Are you there?

Where else would we be, Lester?

Not Lester. Delta Delta Bravo.

We're kind of busy here.

Is there something

we can do for you, Delta?

[Lester, on radio]

Yeah, the security guard heard

all that noise you guys made

and he's headed your way.

T.J.? The security guard's coming, man!

Throw us the rope!

Saving file, exiting and we're out!

-Hold this, man. Haul him back up!

-Let go there man, keep--

Faster, boy, faster!

Now, Moe, you tell me,

'cause I don't know.

Are we bad or what?

Man, it was the perfect prank.

And the genius part about it

is it's impossible to trace.

[ding dong]

[P.A.] This is your Principal.

Will Marcus Henderson

and Morris Tibbs come to my office,

please?

Hey, hey, relax.

I mean, she's got nothing on us.

We're clean.

We left no evidence.

I have, in my hand, a scrap of paper

found on the floor

of the Truman High computer room.

Sorry, but I, you know,

I-I don't see the connection, you know.

And it reads,

"From the desk of Morris L. Tibbs."

[whimpers]

Now, since a caper

of this technical complexity

would seem to transcend your rather

modest capabilities...

-Huh?

-Huh?

I suspect a third,

smarter party is involved.

Oh, no, no. I'm sorry, but you, you know,

you ain't going to get nothing out of us.

Unless you found another list.

Too bad, 'cause if told tell me

I wouldn't have to ban you from basketball

until you're too old to lift one!

Little man. Little short ride.

You know, he was the one.

Alright, which one of you

dropped the dime on me?

You sang like the Harlem Boys' Choir,

didn't you?

I'm sorry, T.J., man.

I've been under a lot of stress.

I just quit smoking.

What happened to the famous code?

The one where everybody is supposed

to keep their mouth shut, huh?

Huh?

Morris! Your Father would

like a word with you.

Oh, man!

I done heard that word.

Well, I got to say, fellas,

I'm pretty upset.

Me too. He broke the code!

Well, she said she was going to from

the team for the rest of the season.

I mean, what was I supposed to do?

Well, she didn't exactly

invite me to Six Flags.

That's why I rolled over on Moe.

Well, I didn't have any choice.

Neither did I.

I love seeing the code at work.

You are familiar with the code?

You mean the one where nobody

rats on anybody else

until their fat is in the fire?

That's the one.

But that's not a code at all.

Exactly.

Boy. This is confusing.

Tell me about it.

Well, it's a hard concept to grasp, T.J.

Even for a genius.

So how do I know when I'm a rat

and when I'm not?

I guess you pretty much have

to rely on your own internal code.

That's the one you had before your high

school friends set you straight.

What's it telling you now, T.J.?

It's telling me that what you're saying

makes a lot of sense,

and when I see somebody doing something

that I know in my heart is wrong,

I have to do the right thing.

Now, that sounds like we're back on track.

So I have to tell you,

Lester was in on this too.

Thank you, T.J.

And Earl Avery cheated on last week's

Geometry test.

Uh, that's enough, son.

And janitor Fred's smuggling light bulbs

home in his suds bucket.

Take him home.

Oh, yeah...

and Yvette has a fake ID

that says she's .

Uh, we're almost there.

We just got to do a little fine tuning.

Yvette got a fake ID?

[narrator] Subsequent

to the events of this story,

the participants received

the following punishments:

Morris L. Tibbs, months' grounding.

Tibbs is currently

serving community service

by picking up cigarette butts

on school grounds.

Marcus Henderson, six weeks' grounding.

Extra laundry duty

and two weekends' rain gutter detail.

T.J. Henderson, four weeks' grounding.

No cupcakes or other after school snacks

and no McLaughlin Group.

Tasha Yvette Henderson,

one month grounding

and confiscation of forged

identification card.

Miss Henderson is currently

serving her confinement

in her room, a medium-security prison.

[clapper]

I'm never working for this guy again.