04x03 - Tray Finds His Purpose

[bunniefuu]

My lady left me...

so I'm going back to my first love...

- Cooking.
- ♪ I'm so fresh, and I'm so cool, I'm chillin' ♪

I don't need her, anyway,
'cause I've got other ladies.

♪ I'm chillin' ♪

Time to eat, Black Golden Girls.

ALL: Ooh!

All this food...
Tray, you outdid yourself.

Smell like you done put
your foot, your ankle,

and your calf up in here.

I know I shouldn't say it,

but, Tray, you need to
get dumped more often.

[MURMURING AND LAUGHTER]

So which ones do y'all like the best...

The pulled pork, the hot
fish, or the barbecue brisket?

Ooh, Lord, that's just like asking me

to choose between Jim Brown
and Billy Dee Williams.

Well, don't forget Sidney Poitier, now.

- Oh, he was fine.
- Mm-hmm.

Focus up, please.

I'm not asking y'all
who y'all wanna date?

I'm asking y'all which
one y'all like best, okay?

I'm trying to get hired by
this guy in the restaurant...

- Splendor Greens.
- Oh, I heard of that spot.

That's that new place... farm to table?

Yes. I read about
that. Oh, it's very fancy.

- Yeah, everybody.
- All right.

Yeah, but with Tray
working in the kitchen,

it's not gonna be farm to table.

It's gonna be farm to my thighs!

- And booty!
- [CHUCKLES]

Ooh, turn up the TV.

They're talking about the
community center on the news.

I love Brooklyn. You know what I mean?

So much.

And I started thinking,
like, have you noticed

how many facilities there are
for people after they mess up?

But how many are there to
help others right before?

You know what I mean?
Before it's too late.

That's why this community
center is pivotal.

It's vital to us, Brooklynites.

Can y'all please make sure
that baby has a coat on?

Y'all got a coat on.
Why he don't got one? Please!

But don't get it twisted.

Now, it's not gonna just
be for children, no.

It's gonna be for adults like us.

You know what I mean?
And we're gonna be tackling issues like

mental health, PTSD...

Bears battle for dominance...

- Oh.
- Hey.

Excuse me, we were looking at that.

Sorry, Ma, I made a mistake
and changed the channel.

- It wasn't no mistake.
- What's going on here?

Tray is in his feelings, honey.

Veesy came over here
looking for signatures,

and her and Tray got into
some kind of altercation.

And were cussing each other.

She tried to say my wheelchair
was an insurance scam.

You seem to be having
a whole lot of trouble with women, Tray.

Hold on! We supposed to be talking

about how good my food
is, not my relationships.

sh*t, they both messy.

Mmm.

That sh*t right there gonna melt
in your mouth, not in your hand.

- That's honey, right?
- Yeah.

Okay, cool. Nice little kick.

- I'm feeling that.
- That's what your customers

gonna be saying once you hire me.

- Oh.
- Come on, Wavy, man.

- You know, I need the gig, man.
- Come on, slow your roll. Slow your roll.

You know, we doing this
whole particular kind of thing.

It's got a kind of customer, right?
A certain kind of customer...

That's why everything
you eating right there

is locally sourced and
humanely raised, man.

That pork right there came
from a pig named Stanley.

I knew him. He was a hard worker.

Survived by his wife, Bertha,
two piglets... Woop and Oink.

- [CHUCKLES]
- And the beef...

The beef right there,
that came from a cow.

Mixed cow named Brownie, man.

And they said before
she made the sacrifice,

she turned her life over to Christ.

So you eating
sanctified beef right there.

[CHUCKLES] Stupid. Right.
So I'm eating a holy cow.

Hey, Ma. I thought you
was at the church soup line.

I was, but we ran out of food.

So we had to turn people away again.

You know, uh, Ms. Barker,
I'm sorry to hear that.

You know, I might be able to help
you with that right there, you know.

Oh. Well, who are you?

Ma, this is, um... this is, uh...

- It's Wavy.
- [CLEARS THROAT]

Wavy.

The one that messed up your life?

Nah, Ma, he's the one

that own the restaurant
I was telling about.

That probably started with drug money.

You know what? I think
I should... I should go.

Yeah, you should go.

But before you leave,
let me ask you something.

Do you have any idea

how much damage you caused?

Not just to Tray's life.

I lost 15 years of my son's life

and my grandchildren
just because of you.

Ms. Barker, with all due respect...

Get the f*ck out of my house!

[SOMBER MUSIC]

♪

[STRUMMING GUITAR OFF-KEY]

Dad, I never knew you played guitar.

That's 'cause I don't.

You know, uh, your mom's
favorite musician is Prince.

So I thought I'd surprise her
and learn a lot of instruments.

[PLUCKS GUITAR STRINGS]

That's nice.

That's great. That's awesome.
But can you keep it down?

Me and Amira are trying to
finish our college essays.

I am actually done.
I finished all three of mine.

- You finished all three?
- Yeah.

Different schools look
for different things.

- Here, show me yours, and I'll just help you.
- I'm not finished yet.

Okay, well, just show
me when you're done.

[STRUMMING OFF-KEY]

[SIGHS] Well, I held on
for as long as I could,

but it's happening.

The time has finally
come for me to admit

that I will always
live in Amira's shadow.

Shahzad, you're gonna be fine.

Don't compare yourself to your sister.

It's like me comparing
myself to Jimi Hendrix.

Wait. What? Wait.
So she's Jimi Hendrix, and I'm you?

- Yeah.
- I'm finished.

[HIP-HOP MUSIC]

Afiya, those are the flowers I chose?

- Yeah.
- You know what to do with them, right?

- Okay.
- Thank you.

Man, I never pictured
you working with farmers.

I don't. I buy all my sh*t from Costco.

What? [LAUGHS]

I stock this whole restaurant myself.

The cooks don't even know.

So you flippin' like we
used to do on the streets?

It's a lot safer selling
fake pasteurized eggs

than putting baby powder
in dope, you feel me?

Look, I would've hired
you a lot sooner, but...

Meet our head chef.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

- Tray.
- Elizabeth?

♪

Tray. Tray. Tray. Tray.

I'm the boss, and I say what goes!

Oh, sh*t!

Everyone, this is
Tray... Our new line cook.

I take food to the next level.

So just show me my area. Let me do that.

Mm.

Sorry, Tray, Splendor Greens
ain't 'bout that life, okay?

All our meals... And I
repeat all our meals...

Must look exactly like the picture.

- Got some good stuff in here. Not bad.
- Mm-hmm.

But eventually I'm gonna
want to add some stuff.

[SCOFFS] Okay.

No, no laughing from
you guys. I only laugh.

What's so funny?

I mean, Tray, come on.

Did you go to chef school?

- No.
- I did, actually.

And that's why Wavy hired
me to run his restaurant.

I constructed the menu,

and I'm the only one who
can make additions to it.

But if you ain't want me to make
the food better, why you hire me?

I did not hire you. Wavy did.

So, before you start studying that menu,

if you could just take the garbage out,

and while you're at it,

if you could take that
attitude out with the garbage

that you brought in here.

Uh-oh, corn hand.

Yep.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

Hey, yo, they about to throw down!

- CROWD: Fight, fight, fight!
- What is that?

CROWD: Fight, fight, fight, fight!

Fight, fight, fight, fight!

- [ALL CHEERING]
- Get up!

♪ We walking in like we
gonna run the place ♪

♪ Ain't my fault you
like to run in place ♪

♪ This ain't nothing
but the hardest case ♪

♪ And I been living with
these hunger pains ♪

♪ Oh, and now I'm fighting for the... ♪

- Yo, I'm breaking this up, man.
- No, let 'em fight. Let 'em fight.

♪ You don't even want to see it, punk ♪

♪ Had my back against the ropes ♪

I'm sorry. Don't hit me again.

Don't make me have to.

♪ There they go ♪

Vamanos.

♪ Walking in like they run the show ♪

♪ I guess they don't know ♪

Okay, we've looked
through your transcripts,

and we've covered your
academic interests,

and it's still inconclusive.

Now let's talk passions.

Mm... oh, I always wanted
to be a whistleblower.

You know how when they interview them,

they're in shadow and their
voices are really low, low?

Well, that's not really a job.

Okay.

What classes do I have to take
to become a Renaissance man?

Well, I don't think you can
just become a Renaissance man

without some life experiences.

So I should be an explorer first?

Okay, this is all good.

There are no stupid answers.

I put all of that in,
and the algorithm says...

- What's the answer?
- Yeah, what's my perfect job?

- Nothing.
- Nothing?

- Really?
- You are a one of a kind.

Congratulations. He's a one of a kind.

- Huh. Thank you.
- So what should I major in?

I don't think having a
traditional job is your path.

You think outside of the box.

Those are the qualities
of an entrepreneur.

Exactly, an entrepreneur.

- I'll email you my bill.
- Thank you.

Oh, beautiful fold.

Gotta admit, Tray, you
are actually doing well.

[OVEN BEEPING]

No, no, no. Why are you going to that?

I give you one compliment,

and you're already doing things wrong?

I'm just experimenting.

- No, Tray...
- Try this. Mmm!

Voilà, my spicy Cajun avocado.

Okay, that's good. It's
really, really good.

But it's also against the rules, so, no.

- [CHUCKLES]
- Forget the rules.

Everybody know the kitchen
is the chef's bedroom.

Now, why would you enter the bedroom

if you don't want to reach Nirvana?

Here, try this.

This is my sauce.

[HIP-HOP MUSIC]

Mm-hmm.

My God.

That's so good.

That's amazing. We have to make that.

The customers are gonna die for that.

It's great.

Come...

cook with me.

[UPBEAT JAZZY MUSIC]

♪

♪ I know I told you just the other day ♪

♪ That we were through ♪

♪

♪ But listen here ♪
♪ Tell me ♪

♪ To forget you is
what I set out to do ♪

♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪

♪ Lord knows I can't
get you off of my mind ♪

♪

♪ I ain't lying, baby ♪

♪

- Yo, get it, get it, get it!
- Come on, man!

Yo, come back here, man! Idiots!

- Yo, we out!
- Ooh-ooh!

- n*gga!
- Oh, sh*t.

Veesy, what you doing
in the barbershop...

Getting your mustache trimmed?

Oh, I know you ain't
talking, 'cause if I push

your ugly-a*s face into dough,
we get f*cking monster cookies.

What you doing tearing down
my posters, you big-a*s kid?

I wasn't tearing it
down. I was fixing it.

Your selfish a*s ain't fixing sh*t.

I ain't got time for your
judgmental sh*t, Veesy, okay?

- I'm gonna be late for work.
- Work?

- Who hired you?
- Splendor Greens.

Oh-oh, Wavy's spot.

Now, that makes sense,
because, you know,

crack-selling birds of
a feather flock together.

So that makes sense.
What scam y'all running?

All I know is I'm a chef,
okay, and I'm k*lling it.

People love my farm-to-table
organic dishes, aight?

I keep hearing you
talking... Me, me, me, me, me.

I ain't never heard you
talk about somebody else.

When's the last time you
did something for somebody

that didn't benefit you?

You know what? Good point.

- Hey, Howard.
- What's going on, Tray?

Could you get those sheep shears out

and shave some of the
wool off of Veesy's back

so she could donate to Wigs for Kids?

I'm staying out of it.

How's that for doing
something for somebody else?

- [CHUCKLES DERISIVELY]
- [SCOFFS]

Have a blessed day, you f*cking prick!

[PLAYING HARMONICA]

♪

So much easier than the guitar.

Honestly, you just breathe
in and out, and it plays.

You don't find that on
a lot of instruments.

Shahzad, please hurry up
with this presentation.

Just hit play on my computer.

- Finally.
- Here we go.

Introducing Shahzad Birkeland.

He's an entrepreneur
from Brooklyn, New York.

Ugh, this is so corny.

Since my college counselor thinks

I should become an entrepreneur,

I've come up with a few business ideas.

- All right.
- Exhibit A...

say you're at a music festival,

and your clothes are all dirty.

Ugh!

What do you do?

- I don't know.
- I'd just go buy some merch.

Or you could put a few quarters

in the world's first
portable laundry machine.

I call it the Port-O-Wash...

A porta potty that also does laundry.

- That looks disgusting.
- I don't disagree with her.

- That's a little rough.
- But wait, wait. There's more.

Say you're at the club, then it happens.

You spot someone

with the exact same haircut as you.

That's stinks.

What do you do?

You can go home and
cry... [IMITATES CRYING]

Or you can go into the lavatory

and find one of my bathroom barbers.

I like that! Yeah, you get
a haircut in the bathroom.

No one is gonna pay for any of this.

I'm out.

You know, the bathroom-barber thing,
it can... it could work.

That's why you're gonna
give me all my college money

to get it off the ground.

Okay, first of all,
stop talking like that.

Second of all, I thought
these were businesses

you were going to start
after you graduated college?

But I'm a born entrepreneur.

You still have to go to college.

College is a waste for me.
W-what am I gonna do there?

You could cut hair in the bathroom.

I thought you were out.

Ooh, burn.

[PLAYS HARMONICA]

That's a burn.

♪

Man, think I'm gonna
have to fire Elizabeth.

- For what?
- The last couple of weeks,

I'm checking my stock,

sh*t ain't adding up.

I got more food going
out than money coming in.

So either she's taking my inventory,

or she taking the money.
Either way, she got to go.

She ain't had nothing
to do with it, Wavy.

- Whatchu mean?
- I invented some dishes.

And I was giving it to
the customers on the low,

just to spice it up.

So you stealing from me, man?

They was loving the taste, Wavy.
They kept coming back.

I even got your customer volume up, kid.

Yo, I'm running a business here!

You f*cking with my profit margins!

I'm sorry, fam.

I'm sorry, too...

'cause I'm gonna have to let you go.

Now, you tell your mama that you quit.

Don't tell her I fired you.

[HIP-HOP MUSIC]

♪

Just came to turn in my apron.

I heard what you did, Tray.

Thank you.

Thank you for sticking up for me.

I realized that the restaurant business

wasn't for me, but I
am glad I was the first

to pop that rule-breaking
cherry of yours.

It was beautiful, and it's
never gonna be unpopped.

If you ever decide to let
your inner chef run wild,

hit me up.

We'll cook.

[UPBEAT JAZZY MUSIC]

♪

♪ I know I told you just the other day ♪

♪ That we were through ♪

This is awesome.

Come on. Yes.

Come to daddy. [PLAYS NOTE]

Oh.

[PLAYING HARMONICA]

♪

You know, I don't think it's fair
that Amira gets her college money

to do what she wants to do, but I don't.

'Cause it's college money
and she's going to college with it.

But I want to start my own business.

I want to be my own boss.

Do we have any "be my own boss" money?

Shahzad, I get it. Picking
a college is stressful.

You just haven't figured it out yet.

No, no. I have figured it out.

I'm gonna take a gap year and prove

that I don't need college,
but I need money to do it.

It's not real money.
It's all invested in accounts

- that can only be used for education.
- Dad, I looked it up.

You can take it out.
It's just gonna be a penalty.

No, your mother would k*ll
us if we paid a penalty.

Please, Dad.

I'm not gonna let you blow
your entire college fund

on penalties and your
first business idea, but...

I will talk to your mother
about you taking a gap year

and giving you a small portion...

A very small portion of that money.

And if you double it,
then we'll match it.

But if you lose it, you go to college.

[CHUCKLES] That's a deal.

- It's a deal?
- Yes. Yes.

Thank you, Dad. I love you.

- And you look ridiculous.
- I love you.

When I learn to use this, I
am gonna be a musical weapon.

Do not get in my line of fire.

[PLAYS NOTES]

[SMOOTH MUSIC]

Hey, yo, pass it.

This stuff is going quick, Ma.

- I'm almost out of greens.
- I know. I'm low on meat, too.

- Do we got any more inside?
- Ain't nothing in that kitchen

except some tap water
and some condiments.

[CHUCKLES] Well, I'm
out of mashed potatoes.

I'm gonna go rest the dogs.

Ha ha! I got plenty of Brussels sprouts.

Come on, now.

All of y'all could use
some of this roughage.

I'm sorry, miss... we
running out of a lot of stuff.

I'm gonna have to get you next time.

Tray, why you gonna lie
to this nice old lady?

We got plenty of food.

I thought you was all
about profit margin.

Hey, man, I'm just doing my part.

Got my truck full of
food here. Got my guys.

It's all love.

Yo, didn't I see you fighting
in that alley behind the restaurant?

I don't know what you're talking about.

You're a better fighter
than you are a liar.

Slow down, man. Slow down.

The food ain't going nowhere.

- You fight a lot?
- Only when I need to.

That dude picked on
my two little sisters.

He had that a*s-whupping coming, huh?

My name is Tray.

Javier. My family calls me Javi.

You holding up the line.
Let's go over here and kick it.

Talk to you for a minute.

Uh, we got some more here.

Hey, I come in peace.

How come my skin crawls

every time I hear the
sound of your voice?

[SIGHS]

You have a good day. Y'all enjoy.

All right, take care of
the rest of that, okay?

You like to box?

Yes, I do.

Do you train?

Nope.

Would you like to,

if I got your trainer and
I got you a place to train?

Yeah, I would like that.

Stand up.

You got a lot of talent, man.

I just don't want to see
you waste it on the streets.

Let me see your stance.

I love cooking. Put that foot back.

But you know what I love more?

Inspiring people.

You know how to throw a jab?

You know how to throw a right cross?

What about a uppercut?

It's something I want to keep doing...

Faster.

Helping my community
reach its full potential.

Give it to me! Give it to me!

Aah!

And I know exactly how to do it,

but it won't be easy

'cause the only way forward

is for me to take the hardest path.

- Veesy?
- What?

I want to help save
the community center.

I'm ready to devote myself
full-time to doing whatever it take.

- All right, cool. Then sign this petition.
- Aight.

What else I got to do?

The only thing you
got to do for me, baby,

is to walk your funky a*s
into ongoing f*cking traffic.

- Come on, man.
- What?

We got to put our petty
beef aside and work together.

Nah, actually, I'm good.

Now move along. I'm good.

- Aight.
- [HIP-HOP MUSIC]

A man is not finished
when he's defeated.

A man is finished when he quits.

If 15 years in prison couldn't break me,

mm, Veesy doesn't have a chance.