Leave Aunt Karen's trust in the hands of Mrs. Davis.
Ronald unexpectedly discovered that the life of Mrs. Davis' family was not bad, not as bad as he imagined. This was mainly because America provided good welfare for the poor.
Every year, the government spends huge amounts of dollars to purchase agricultural and animal husbandry products. Part of it is turned into food stamps to provide welfare to the poor.
Although Mrs. Davis did not have a serious job and had to raise three children, there was never a shortage of food and she raised little Bud very strong. The old clothes were just in need and could be used for little Bud's sister.
The cookies made by her aunt touched Mrs. Davis the most. When their husbands put on military uniforms and went to the battlefield together, military wives in the same combat company often supported each other together. Baking cookies was what Karen often made.
food.
A few years ago, Aunt Karen had to raise another Ronald and had no energy to make such a time-consuming snack. When she ate it again after a few years, Mrs. Davis secretly shed tears.
After Ronald said goodbye to Mrs. Davis, little Bud also slipped out of the house and met him at the street corner. The two of them were going to meet the ballet dancer.
Little Bud took Ronald to Sylvia's fried chicken shop across the street. Ronald ordered the signature fried chicken with waffles. Crispy and juicy fried chicken, topped with honey.
Waffles and a big glass of Coke are the soul food of Harlem.
While eating happily with Little Bud, a voice came from the side: "I heard you are looking for me?"
Ronald looked up and saw that it was the dancer wearing a top hat who was dancing just now.
"Yes, let's make a long story short. My name is Ronald Lee. I am an assistant director and I am selecting roles for the crew. Do you want to make a movie?" Ronald took out his wallet, pulled out the Directors Guild card and handed it to the dancers.
, "This is my director's union card to prove my identity."
The dancer was a little surprised, took the union card and put it on the table, pulled up a chair and sat down, "Of course I want to shoot, but..."
"It's okay, we can talk slowly." Ronald asked the waiter to serve him another piece of food.
"Let me take a picture of you. What's your name? I see you dance, you seem to have some ballet skills?" Ronald took out a Polaroid camera and took a picture of Jean.
"My name is Gene Anthony Ray, and I studied ballet at the Academy of Performing Arts in New York."
"Have you studied?" Ronald was a little surprised. He didn't expect Jean to be a student of the Academy of Performing Arts.
"Yes, I studied there for one year and then they fired me."
"Can I ask why?"
Gene took the plate from the waiter and started eating fried chicken while telling his story.
It turns out that Gene is one of the few black boys who entered the dance department. The ballet industry is still more or less discriminatory against black people. There are very few black people who can play classical ballet roles. Black ballet dancers usually dance a fusion of jazz dance.
of modern ballet.
The public high school in Harlem that Gene attended was of poor quality, and his English scores were always poor. After attending the Performing Arts Academy, he failed English many times.
For this reason, the English teacher stopped his qualification to practice and forced him to pass the English test before he could continue to enter the Kung Fu studio.
Gene was unable to improve his English scores and was deprived of the opportunity to dance, which was the only thing he was good at. He slapped the teacher in anger and was expelled from the school board.
However, the English teacher later found out that his poor grades were not due to lack of effort, but because there was no one to make up for the lessons and he could not keep up with the progress. For this reason, he took the initiative to plead with the school. However, there seemed to be racists on the school board who had long wanted to expel Jean.
, firmly disagree with the decision to withdraw the expulsion.
Gene can only go to the even worse Julia Richman Performing Arts High School, where the teaching quality is terrible and only 35% of the students can graduate every year.
Except for the practice room, Gene spent little energy on other subjects. When he was not practicing, he went to dance on the streets of Harlem.
"By the way, what dance were you dancing just now?" Ronald asked.
"We call him breakin' (floor dance) and poppin' (mechanical dance), why don't you white people call him that? What's his name?"
Gene is a little strange, Ronald can obviously jump.
"Nothing, we call it that too."
"We are looking for 600 extras and dozens of permanent roles for this movie. If you are interested, I can recommend you to audition."
"Sure, what role will I get?"
"I can't say for sure. The final decision is made by the director. I just recommend you to audition."
"What's the movie about?"
"It's a story about eight art school students, from the time they entered school to the time they graduated. In fact, the prototype of the place where the story takes place is the performing arts college you attended."
"Then I can definitely act well. I am a student there, and I used to be." Gene said confidently, "Then what are you trying for in the audition?"
"I'll let you do a dance, and then let you act in a scene. If the director is satisfied, he will sign a contract with you."
"Then when can I go to the audition?" Gene stopped moving after eating another piece of fried chicken.
Ronald noticed that he didn't eat waffles and didn't add honey. As a dancer, he is still somewhat conscious about maintaining carbohydrate and calorie intake.
"Do you have a phone?"
"Yes, Gene reported a series of phone numbers. This is the phone number in the corridor of my house. If I don't answer the call, you can just call Joan's son."
After agreeing on the contact information, Gene prepared to go back and wait for notification. He took the remaining fried chicken and waffles, and the cornbread that came with the restaurant, and held it in a paper lunch box, "I want to bring some for my mother to eat.
"
Ronald simply ordered him another piece of fried chicken and asked him to take it away with him.
"By the way, what's the name of your movie?" Gene asked while waiting for the meal.
"Call a hot lunch."
"Hot lunch?" Gene started laughing wildly, and little Bud also laughed so much that he got under the table.
"Why is it called this name? Just hearing the name, I thought you were making adult movies, hahaha..."
Ronald was laughed at inexplicably, but it was little Bud who explained in his ear: "In Harlem, black people use their mouths to solve problems, which is called hot lunch."
"Hahaha..." Ronald also laughed, "I will talk to the director next time I have a chance."
After Gene left, Ronald picked up the Directors Guild card on the table and put it in his wallet. "It seems that his English is really poor and he doesn't know how to read."
Leroy's character is also illiterate. Unfortunately, the script is written as a Latino. If he were black, Gene would have a chance to fight for it. Gene's background is very similar to Leroy's.
"Are you really looking for that b-boy to act in a movie?" Little Bud asked Ronald with a playful smile.
"What is a b-boy?"
"Those who do that kind of floor dance, we call them b-boys."
"Hmm? So what's wrong with him?"
"He's a fag."
Ronald raised his eyebrows: "The director will take care of it. The movie is actually about his character. As long as he can dance well and act the character well, it doesn't matter."
Among the eight protagonists, one character, Montgomery, is gay, and Leroy likes girls. But this is not the scope of his consideration.
The waiter was called and 4 more portions of food were ordered.
"I can't eat four servings, cousin."
"This is for your mother and sisters, you guy." Ronald raised his hand and patted little Bud on the forehead, "Study well."
"Is there no point in studying? There are not so many jobs in Harlem that require high school graduates." Little Bud touched his head in embarrassment.
"As long as you graduate from high school successfully, I will recommend you a job opportunity in the future."
"Is it true, cousin? Don't worry, my grades are actually not bad and I will definitely be able to graduate."