Councilman Johnson: Rochelle, I want to thank you for volunteering to help our campaign.
Rochelle: Oh, not a problem, Lamar. You know you are like family to me.
Councilman Johnson: Like play cousins.
Adult Chris: [v.o.] My mother saw a councilman, but my father saw this:
[fantasy: Rochelle is chewing gum and wearing a blond wig, a fur coat and pantyhose as she sits on Councilman Johnson's lap:]
Councilman Johnson: Rochelle, baby, Daddy needs you to get on out there with your fine self and get Daddy them votes.
Rochelle: Aw! But Daddy, it's raining cats and dogs out there.
Councilman Johnson: Cats... [chuckles] Girl, you better get on out there and go on that campaigning. Get on out there.
Rochelle: Vote for Daddy. Vote for Daddy.

Councilman Johnson: Uh, I was going anyway. Bye. Listen, don't forget to vote.
Julius: Oh, I won't.
Adult Chris: [v.o.] Oh, he won't, but not for you.

Rochelle: Chris, put that paper away. You're just like your daddy. You know better than to read at the table.
Chris: Sorry, ma. It's just that I'm writing an article in the school paper and I'm looking for ideas.
Rochelle: Oh, well... Why don't you write about Councilman Johnson, and all the wonderful things that are happening in the neighborhood?
Adult Chris: [v.o.] Like crack?
Rochelle: You know what, as a matter of fact, I think we all should help. Drew, you can help me put up posters. And Tonya, you can hand out buttons.
Drew: I've got homework.
Tonya: Yeah, and I got to read an autobiography on Billy Ocean.
Julius: Don't even look at me.
Rochelle: You know, that's a shame. People marched and had dogs and hoses turned on them for the right to vote, and you guys can't even help.
Adult Chris: [v.o.] Maybe you should turn dogs and hoses on them.
Rochelle: Okay, fine. I'll do it by myself.

Doc: How's school?
Chris: Tough, I've got to write an article for the school paper.
Doc: Oh, you're a writer now, huh?
Chris: Well, it's just that this is my last year at Corleone and I think people won't remember me unless I do something.
Doc: Good for you. It's great to be a writer. You can get your legacy started.
Chris: Legacy?
Doc: Your legacy. Like, what people remember you for.
Adult Chris: [v.o.] Somebody should tell Bobby Brown about this whole "legacy" thing.

Adult Chris: [v.o.] When I turned in my story, Lisa read me the riot act.
Lisa: You call yourself a writer? This is the worst story I've ever read. I just wasted 20 minutes of my life. Do you know how many trees died for you to write this? You're destroying the ozone layer. People are gonna get cancer.
Chris: Okay, okay, I get it. So what's wrong with it?
Lisa: Everything. Who wants to read about some crusty old ghetto Romeo?
Chris: Well, you told me write about something I know, and I know this guy.
Lisa: Well, if this is the best you can do, maybe you should think about doing something else.
Adult Chris: [v.o.] Like the Chess Club? [fantasy: Chris defeated by a Russian girl in a chess match] I wonder if there's a Checkers Club.

Adult Chris: [v.o.] Everyone else hated my article, but I knew I could count on Greg for support.
Greg: It's horrible, dude. I've only been to your neighborhood twice, and even I have more exciting stories.
Chris: Well, I don't know what to write about, 'cause everything they're asking for doesn't exist.
Greg: That's the wrong attitude.
Chris: What do you mean?
Greg: Do you want to be remembered for being something more than just a human pinata?
Chris: Yeah.
Greg: Do you want to have something under your picture in the yearbook?
Chris: Yeah.
Greg: Then give the people what they want.

Adult Chris: [v.o.] I thought journalism was supposed to be about reporting the facts, but what I found out is that people don't always want the facts. So I decided to give the people what they want. I took Doc's story about being a lady killer, and dropped the word "lady."

Rochelle: What is that noise?
Julius: That's Mr. Omar. He's having an anti-Johnson rally.
Rochelle: What?!
Mr. Omar: [o.s.] When I say, "Johnson," you say, "Fool"... Johnson!
Crowd: [o.s.] Fool!
Mr. Omar: [o.s.] Johnson!
Rochelle: Oh! Tonya, tap your butt on downstairs and lock the door. Go on, now!

Adult Chris: [v.o.] After I changed my story, everyone else changed theirs.
Ms. Morello: Oh, Chris! Oh! My brilliant little Alex Haley.
Chris: So, did you like the story?
Ms. Morello: Like it? I love it! The Scissor Killer?! I wouldn't step foot in Bed-Stuy for all the money in the world.
Adult Chris: [v.o.] That's how most people feel.
Lisa: It was so frightening! So real! The truth leapt off the page.
Adult Chris: [v.o.] The truth jumped off a cliff.
Chris: So, are you going to publish it?
Lisa: Are you kidding? After this story, no one at this school will ever forget you, Chris.
Ms. Morello: But that's just the beginning. This Scissor Killer has got to be stopped, so I sent your story to a friend of mine at the Brooklyn Crier, and they published it, too! Look! [exhales loudly] Because of you, they're going to bring this man to justice.
Adult Chris: [v.o.] Because of me, they're gonna waste their time.

Adult Chris: [v.o.] I wanted to be remembered, and this was something people were never going to forget.
Brooklyn was paralyzed with fear. There was fear in the beauty shop.
Vanessa: "Put the knife to her and..." [all gasping]
Adult Chris: [v.o.] There was fear in the barbershop. There was even fear in the gutter. There was only one man who was happy.
Mr. Omar: [laughs] Now that's what I'm talking about. [wheezing laugh]