01x04 - The Four Hustlateers

[bunniefuu]

You got slapped in the f*cking face?

Ha! You got your three, motherfucka.

You been needing that.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. What else happened?

[guitar music plays]

Okay, so apparently Moms keeps
trying to bond with Ashley,

but it's not quite landing.

That's two very
different parenting styles

under one roof, and Trish has been MIA

since the slap heard round the world.

At least Ashley has Janelle,

even though she been gone for five years

and they lost touch that whole time.

Anyway, I'll know more
after our visit today.

[tense music plays]

♪ ♪

_

[man] Visitation is canceled.

Come back tomorrow.

[man ] Come on, man.

[yells]

f*ck!

Look, can-can I just be real with you?

It-it has been a while
since I've been out.

And I'm still really adjusting

to being back. I mean, it felt like...

I've been in this whole
other dimension, right?

And only now am I realizing that...

This is the real one.

And being there...

Is only there there.
You know what I'm saying?

You know what I mean?

You know what I'm saying?

And I have forgot everything

while I was there.

Then I got back here.

And everybody is here here

but I'm here there or-or...

Or there here.

Does that make sense?

Mm.

Why don't you tell me about yourself?

What's your days like?

My days are pretty mellow lax,

mobbing around, play some football

with my broletariats.

That's what I call my dude crew.

- Broletariats, okay.
- Yeah, I try to stay active...

on PS .

I would say we could hit
up that diner by the Fox,

but they turned it into an arcade now.

They got these wack-ass bowling alleys

with these, like, weird, tiny balls.

- Bocce.
- Bocce? Where's that at?

Well, sh*t, a white n*gga
that work in the front,

he let me slide in the back,

and he let me carry up in here, too.

And I ain't talking
about that thang either.

I'm talking about this
bottle of Heen, you feel me?

Heening and scheming,
you know what...

You don't carry a
thang, do you? Like...

Oh, n*gga, always tucked, my n*gga.

Oh, my... what the
f*ck? -sh*t, n*gga.

That way I ain't got
to come up off no bread.

[Janelle] Wait, what's
that on your neck?

- Oh, th-this?
- Uh, yes.

Born somewhere else,

but my soul was waiting for me here.

- You meditate?
- Oh, my God.

When you're boring these
pistols at these n*gg*s,

you got to be centered, calm, vipassana.

My greatest craft is
just how I keep it.

I'm just a real one, hella solid.

- A solid real n*gga.
- So .

I repair antique fountain pens.

What?

What?

What?

What are your
what are your days like?

This.

I check and make sure ex-cons
aren't getting weird...

or f*cking up.

Extension cord?

That's from column A, Earl.

- Do you have a job yet?
- I don't need a job.

I'm just riding this sh*t
out until my year is up.

You need a f*cking job
to fulfill your probation.

Staying unemployed
will get you sent back.

- Got it?
- This is pertinent information

you could've shared earlier, James.

Wha...?

You k*lling me, dog.

Wha...

Jame...

- [stomping]
- Whoa, whoa!

Ja... No!

What the f*ck are you doing?

- You went to jail for weed, Earl.
- And now it's legal,

and I'm on private property.

That's $ you owe me!

I just didn't think,
as paranoid as you are,

you would even risk that sh*t.

It's for my paranoia!

Oh.

Uh, do they got other
probation officers?

Like, do I get to choose about...

Get a job, Earl, today.

- What kind of job?
- [James] I don't know.

Think of something. Be creative.

Learn a craft.

Find something you're f*cking good at.

[door closes]

The last of my weed.

Aah!

[easygoing music plays]

♪ ♪

[Rainey] So there's, like, no way

I pull this off, right?

Nancy keeps trying to
sell me Kente cloth,

and I keep saying, "Nancy,
I can't wear those!"

And she says, "You don't
support Black business."

And I say, "For f*ck's sake, Nancy!"

And I buy three scarves.

Do you want to talk about your visit?

Ah, I was in line at :
this morning to make sure

I was through security by
: so there would be no way

that we would miss our : appointment,

and then they pushed it!

So then I waited until : ,

and then they pushed
it again until :

and then again till : p.m.,

and then they told me
that visitation was done!

f*ck!

I don't know, maybe he'll
find another butt phone

and-and call me tonight.

When you guys say butt phone,

do you mean...

You know what? I'm just gonna be happy

not being clear on what that is.

Where's Sean?

[clears throat] He's having a sleepover

at that weird kid Simon's house.

They want to watch a movie
about dogs living in reservoirs.

I don't know! sh*t!

- No, he can't watch that movie.
- Rainey, it's a dog movie.

Sean can watch a dog
movie with his friend!

I'm telling you, you're gonna
want to see that movie before...

Rainey, I'm the mother.

[sighs]

Okay.

Well, it's just us girls here tonight.

Got the whole place to ourselves.

We can do whatever we want.

Ahh.

Hmm.

Hmm.

[Janelle] Savor it

and let it be completely
free to consume you.

Mmm.

What does that freedom feel like?

[moaning]

- The f*ck?
- Sorry! Sorry, my bad. Sorry.

I just... are you, like, a
phone sex girl or something?

Seriously? No, I'm not.

I do these guided
meditations for this app

called Zen Diagram.

What you want, Earl?

Uh, could I do the
Zen Diagram thing, too?

Like, as a job?
Like, it-it be paying well?

Um...

I think that you need

to find a job doing
something that you do.

- Huh.
- What do you do?

Do you want help finding something?

[bass guitar music plays]

Okay, so...

get all situated here.

That's for you to take notes.

Okay. Let's find you a gig, my nig.

Uh, can we smoke first? 'Cause...

Earl, no. Now, come on.
Take this seriously.

Don't you see me in
this damn suit jacket?

Now, what are your skills?

Well, I'm a hard worker,

considerate, charming at times,

relatively attractive.

I-I kind of let myself go
a little bit when I was...

Those are not skills. I
need skills, Earl, skills.

Okay, uh, all right. Um,
well, I'm-I'm a good cook.

We definitely can
find you a job cooking.

No, I-I'd rather not.

It's just... my pops, he's a chef at...

You know that spot Brewer's Feast?

n*gga, swear.

Brewer's Feast? I don't understand.

I grew up in the kitchen.

I worked the line under
my pops as a teenager.

It kind of ruined it for me...

and he and I's relationship in general.

- He paying your rent here?
- Yeah.

- Is your mama charging you rent?
- Not yet.

Those Zen Diagram meditation checks

seem to be coming slow in the mail.

How were your dates?

Also slow males.

Oh, so they didn't go so
well. Let's take note of that.

[Janelle] Ha ha.

Out of curiosity,

how do you keep it?

I keep it, like, two.
Two's a good number.

[laughter]

Men in the Bay are like
restaurants in the Bay...

a lot of trash, some reliable staples.

Tonight I'm having Ethiopian.

- Okay.
- Men.

- Okay, Ma!
- Holla! [giggles]

Get a real job your damn self, Janelle.

[door opens, closes]

Man, I need to smoke.

- That's what I'm saying.
- I need it.

-Two blunts...
- [Janelle] Come on, right?

- Or maybe even three blunts.
- sh*t, let's do it.

Heeey, I don't got no weed,
though. Do you have some weed?

[Rayana Jay's "Way Back" plays]

[Rayana] ♪ I think you
set the mood right ♪

♪ Champagne and blue light ♪

♪ And a back seat big
enough to do what you like ♪

I think we should smoke.

I just try to do that at work.

No, I mean smooooke.

You know what? Yes. We should do that.

I'm out of mine, but I'm actually sure

- Miles always keeps some in his...
- Closet in his room? Yep.

Be right back.

I swear, man.

[upbeat jazz music plays]

That's that bullshit.

Yes.

♪ ♪

Sheesh.

[mumbling]

[clicks tongue]

Bitch!

No, f*ck!

[hip-hop music plays]
♪ Let's get it started ♪

♪

♪ Let's get it started ♪

♪

♪ Let's get it started ♪

[Earl] Oh, so y'all got, like,
a whole little system here.

[Janelle] sh*t, we been
smoking together for many moons.

[Earl] Oh-ho-ho, What?

This is hella impressive.

- Who is that?
- That's Nancy's tenant, Earl.

You saw him when you slapped
Trish. You were busy.

[Janelle] Yo, man, me and Ash,

we been friends since, like,

what, sixth grade, back at Lowell?

I still remember how it happened, too.

So this stupid boy,
f*cking DeMarcus Riley,

he really liked Ashley, right?

And he wanted to kiss her,
but she wouldn't let him.

So then one day, you
know, he was just like,

"Man, f*ck you, you
light-skinned bitch!"

- Oh.
- Listen, whoo!

I heard him call her that.

Earl, I was like, "Oh, hell, no!"

I grabbed him, held him
down while she b*at that ass!

[laughs] Besties!

Mm, okay.

So you're of the hyphy variety, then.

Do you know we were sneaking down here

and doing this in near
silence since we were ?

Late at night, I'd be
in Miles' room just...

[clears throat] Cuddling.

And then he'd want to smoke,

so we came up with this
pulley system with Collin.

And you called yourself
something, right?

The three... something.

It was four of us. Me,
Collin, Miles, Janelle.

- [Rainey] Right, right, right, right.
- The Four Hustlateers.

- Hey!
- What up, though?

♪ Hit a hustler for the
plug All on a bitch ♪

[both] ♪ Any way you wish ♪

[all] ♪ 'Cause we some
m*therf*cking thugs! ♪

Yeah, I know your song.

I know you were down here getting high,

'cause you ate all my ice cream,

and you were "cuddling" loud enough

for the whole house to hear.

So you knew we were f*cking
and smoking in this house?

So, yeah, uh, me,
Ash, Miles, and Collin,

man, we was the squad. [giggles]

- I miss that sh*t.
- Mm.

But I wanted to travel.

And I actually wanted
Ash to roll with me,

which would've been hella lit,

but she was just moving in with Miles,

and then she had Sean.

And then my brother Collin got locked up

and then came out and then,
like, pointed a g*n at a cop

in a cop's house or some sh*t.

And so he had to dip,
and then Miles went in,

and, you know, it's just town sh*t.

- What?
- Yeah.

It was a whole movie.

[hip-hop music plays]

sh*t is just different now, I guess.

- [clears throat]
- Y'all n*gg*s is wild.

Everybody wild if you push 'em.

[Ashley] When I catch
Sean with a girl or a boy,

I'm gonna... What the
hell am I gonna do?

- I have no idea what I would do.
- That's having kids.

Your heart walks around in
their stupid little bodies.

- Isn't it awful?
- You just let us do whatever we wanted?

I wouldn't say "let." I
mean, you were smoking weed.

Who cares?

And I kept his room filled
with condoms since he was ,

and they just kept disappearing.

Jesus. What is that thing?

No, thank you.

One hit of that, I'd be in a coma.

Let me have what's left.

[R&B music plays]

♪ ♪

[coughs softly] Mm.

Damn, Janelle.

So you always smoked weed, huh?

We never saw you.

You kids were too dumb to pay attention.

How come you didn't just smoke with us?

Seemed smarter to let you
think you were being rebels.

Plus, Trish was so little then,

she wouldn't have understood
why I didn't let her do it.

Trish loved watching us smoke back then.

She thought we were so cool.

What happened?

At some point, the new rebel
rebels against the old rebels.

- Welcome to being the old rebels.
- [laughs]

So what are you?

- f*cking elder rebel.
- [laughs]

- Earl.
- Hmm?

You hungry?

You know...

I am.

I could make us up something quick.

I just got groceries.

So I'ma just say something to you now,

and I don't want you to take offense,

but, uh, I need to speak my truth.

All right.

- Uh, you're not a good cook.
- [gasps]

n*gga, f*ck you.

I'll have you know that I have
a very advanced palate, okay?

- Worldly.
- No, no, no, no you don't.

[Janelle] What you mean, no?

The other morning, I watched you
dip breakfast pastries in milk.

- Why would you bastardize breakfast?
- [Janelle] Wow.

I don't even believe you can cook. Yeah.

- I'll tell you what.
- [Janelle] What?

Cook-off. Right now

And then we can honestly
assess who's the better cook,

which is probably me.

Man...

n*gga, bet.

Smash!

- We finna have a cook-off.
- [Ashley] Mañanas.

Nice having Collin back.

What?

What?

Wait.

That's not what I mean.

Janelle. Jesus, I got to smoke.

- [chuckles]
- [scoffs]

Can you keep a secret?

I can.

I don't let him know

when I visit, but I'm so mad at Miles.

He had an opportunity to take a deal.

Why didn't he take it and
get back to you and Sean?

This "loyal to the soil" stuff
is such tough-guy bullshit.

I mean, who are you
protecting with that?

It's not that simple.

I don't know. It seems pretty simple.

What's complicating it?

♪ ♪

Here.

You want to put this
somewhere in my room?

I wouldn't want Sean to get to it,

and I will be getting to it.

♪ ♪

[soft dramatic music plays]

♪ ♪

I'm just saying that Emeril Lagasse

is basically Black.

It's undisputed.

[clears throat] You
know what I'm saying?

Like, the way that he was hitting

- them "bams" like that?
- [Janelle] Uh-huh.

I wish I could hit those. Bam!

You know, you could-you could
make this with fish as well.

- I know you like seafood.
- Oh. You a "piscopalian"?

What? Catholics can eat fish.

No, that means you only eat fish.

That's what they're called.

There's "piscopalian," Presbyterian,

and "pescapalian."

Only one of those is real.

Do you know which one?

Yeah, the one that
means you only eat fish.

- It's pescatarian.
- That's what I said.

You said "pescapalian."

n*gga! That means something, too.

It's Episcopalian,
Presbyterian, and pescatarian.

- Promise.
- Right.

Okay, so then just say it back,

'cause that's not what you said.

- Oh, my God, man!
- Just say it back!

Right, dang!

It's "escapalian,"

"piscopalian," and p...
Uh, sh*t, no, wait, f*ck!

It's... Ah, f*ck!
I don't remember.

Um, it's just... Let's just not.

- Fine. It's fine.
- Yeah.

[object scraping]

What the hell?

[Kn*fe scraping]

- [both laugh]
- [Janelle] God.

Let me be bougie. It's all I got.

[smooth music plays]

♪ ♪

[Rainey] That's .

I'm going to have to start renting out

some of these houses.

Didn't Miles teach
you how to play bones?

Not this well.

Guess that's why we don't play here.

You know, I've been wondering
why you aren't mad at Miles.

I've seen you mad at him
for all kinds of things,

but this time, there's no
yelling, no anger, nothing.

It's not my business, but I noticed.

And I want you to
notice... that I noticed.

Noted.

I'm just trying to
figure out when...

Because if you did want to tell me,

I'm sort of your mother, too... right?

Domino.

Not that...

Your mother was a wonderful woman,

may she rest in peace,

and you had your dad, but
he was a piece of work.

I was proud of Miles for
helping with all of that.

But you also grew up in my house.

I saw everything.

You can talk to me about whatever.

Domino.

You know, you can talk
to me about whatever, too.

I put the weed in your
closet, by the way.

- Did you look around?
- I did.

Look at us...

both moms.

And we moms get to keep
our secrets, don't we?

We hold them for the family.

Right?

Deal.

[Rainey sighs]

I'm out.

What you got for me?

"Pescapalian"?

Wow, do you just want to look it up?

Man, dang, my brain is all
jumbled now 'cause of you.

- Maybe if you see the word...
- No, no, wait.

"Piscapal"...

No, no, no, wait. It's, uh, pescatarian.

Yeah.

Okay, bitch, I'm back. I know words.

[cell phone chimes]

Uh, another match.

I swear, this town is such a...

It's like somebody took
a story about Oakland

and tried to make it from memory.

Like, some stuff is just way off.

Why'd you come back, then?
You was gone for five years.

You must have had a whole other life.

It wasn't supposed to be
five years. It just happened.

sh*t, I'm gonna be out
faster than your brother was

after his probation.

I'm trying to hit Europe or some sh*t,

marry some sexy-ass
oui, oui-ing-ass

French Mediterranean
woman, pop out a kid.

Work on a fishing boat or some sh*t.

I don't know.

You ain't never wanted
anything like that?

That's not real.

And it was time to come
home. So just let it go, okay?

And now I'm trying to distract myself...

get out more, build my career.

You should do that, too. Get a job.

They got boats here.

[pensive music plays]

♪ ♪

Sorry.

So you don't want to taste
my clearly superior curry?

♪ ♪

[clears throat]

♪ ♪

- [both] This one.
- I know! I know.

I'm that chef. I am the spice king.

- You made that?
- [Earl] I sure did.

Please remember this moment.

I may need you to testify later.

All right, chef, hold
up the winning bowl.

[camera shutter clicks, whirs]

It's official.

You brought us food.
We have your mug sh*t.

Welcome to the family.
Don't start no sh*t.

[doorbell rings]

It's hella late. Who is that?

[Sean] Mommy.

[Leah chuckles]

- Oh, baby. What's wrong?
- [Leah] He wanted to come home.

He got scared from
watching Reservoir Dogs.

No sh*t he did. You let
him watch Reservoir Dogs?

- Isn't it a nature doc?
- The nature of man.

[Rainey] I tried to tell you!

Good night, Earl.

[Earl] Good night.

You know, he just-he just
kept crying and saying,

"Don't take my ear!"

Oh, baby, don't worry.

You're safe, okay?

- Want to go brush your teeth?
- Will you come with me?

- Yes. Thank you, Leah.
- [Leah] Yeah. A-and don't worry.

Next week we're doing Boogie Nights.

- He'll be fine.
- Great.

- Thanks.
- Yeah, good night.

[pensive piano music plays]

♪ ♪

[indistinct chatter, laughter]

[Miles] I wasn't
looking. I wasn't looking!

[Ashley] You didn't call it, so you don't
get the points. They're mine now. Mine!

[Collin] She got you, bro.

[Ashley] It should be
listen! It should be...

♪ Hit a hustler for the
plug, all on a bitch ♪

♪ Anyway you wish, cuz we
some mothafuckin' thugs ♪

[Miles] sh*t, my baby can rap.