To Your Health
Written By: Tom Fontana
Directed By: Alan Taylor
Original Airdate: August 11, 1997
Transcribed: November 22, 1999. Last Revised: November 23, 1999.

Oz is the property of Tom Fontana, Barry Levinson, Rysher Entertainment, and HBO. This page is not authorized by any of the above. Absolutely no copyright infringement is intended and no profit is being made from this page.

(Hill narrating.)

Hill: Six percent of the total prison population is 55 and older. That's double ten years ago. And we say 55 is old because criminal life adds about ten years worth of wrinkles. Still, in Oz, you get decent food, exercise, regular check ups. And if you don't get whacked you live longer than you would in your own hood. (Shots of Rebadow getting a package of brownies and having Wangler steal them and beat him.) Yeah, the prison system. It can keep you alive, but it can't take care of you.

(In a conference room.)

Nathan: I'm telling you, we're ignoring the problem. We have to deal differently with aging inmates.

Sister Pete: That's right. Oz was designed to punish the young, to keep them in line, to keep them down, but with a guy like Rebadow, you don't need to keep him down.

Glynn: So what are you proposing?

Mukada: Tell unit 2 into a cell block exclusively for seniors. They sleep together there, they can eat all their meals together there, they can play cards, they can watch the TV shows they wanna watch.

Glynn: Saturday night Bingo?

Sister Pete: Well, why not? We need to keep them active.

Nathan: And less stress will help slow down the aging process which will help save on medical costs.

Mukada: Plus, the older guys are not a security problem, so you can save money on the officers.

Glynn: McManus, you've been awfully quiet today. Never thought I'd ask but do you have an opinion on this?

McManus: Sure. Sounds like a good idea.

Sister Pete: That's it?

McManus: Yep.

Glynn: Fine, I'll run it by the Commissioner. Meeting adjourned. (Everyone but Nathan and McManus leave.)

Nathan: Tim, you ok? You don't look so good. Are you feeling all right?

McManus: I said yeah, ok?

Nathan: OK. Free for dinner tonight?

McManus: Dinner? You think I'm an asshole.

Nathan: I do not think...

McManus: Well, I appreciate the offer, but the last thing I need from you is a mercy dinner.

(In McManus' office.)

McManus: Bob Rebadow's in the hospital, Kenny.

Wangler: So?

McManus: So, I'm pissed off about that!

Wangler: So?

McManus: So I hear you're responsible.

Wangler: Where'd you hear that from?

McManus: I got ears everywhere, Kenny, and I know it's true. You don't hit old men, Kenny. You don't...

Wangler: What do you want, McManus?

McManus: You see those guys out there? If I tell 'em to, they will gladly kick your ass.

Wangler: I'm not afraid of them. I'm not afraid of you either.

McManus: You're not?

Wangler: No.

McManus: What are you afraid of?

Wangler: I ain't afraid of nothing!

McManus: Nothing?

Wangler: Nothing!

McManus: Huh, you afraid of this? (Starts choking Wangler.) You afraid of dying? You little fucking punkass! (Pushes Wangler to the floor.) Get him the fuck out of here!

(In the gym. McManus is working out and Glynn comes in.)

McManus: Leo, what are you doing here?

Glynn: Same thing you are, I guess. I like to work out when no one else is around.

McManus: I'll ignore you if you ignore me.

Glynn: McManus, you ok?

McManus: Why does everybody keep asking me that?

Glynn: I don't know. Past few weeks you've seemed different.

McManus: I'm fine.

Glynn: Commissioner rejected our proposal for a senior citizens unit.

McManus: Big surprise. Commissioner didn't reject it. Governor Fuckwad did.

Glynn: Well, Devlin's almost out of office. I mean, he's on trial for taking those kickbacks, lying, fraud, extortion.

McManus: I'll miss him.

Glynn: You know, I've been hearing rumors that you're living in Emerald City, that you never leave the grounds to go home anymore.

McManus: Since when do you listen to gossip?

Glynn: You know, I've been dancing down these hallways a long time. I've seen this place change people completely, not just the prisoners. You're not careful, Tim, Oz'll nick away at your soul.

McManus: Huh. That's the first time you've ever called me Tim.

(Hill narrating.)

Hill: You know, you don't even have to be 55 to be old.

(Shots of McManus watching over Em City at night.)

(In the hospital.)

Groves: How you feeling?

Rebadow: I can't stay here anymore.

Groves: In the hospital?

Rebadow: In Oz.

Groves: Why?

Rebadow: I'm afraid.

Groves: Of what?

Rebadow: Them. The young. When I first came to Oz, we treated our elders with dignity. But these kids, it's all different now. I've decided to leave.

Groves: Leave?

Rebadow: Escape.

Groves: How you gonna do that?

Rebadow: God will show me the way.

(Shots of Rebadow running up and down the stairs, looking for a way out, then collapsing.)

(Hill narrating.)

Hill: The human body. It's amazing. Made up of all these cells and neutrons and veins and shit like that. So many little pieces, so many things that could break down, and add on to that the wear and tear we give our bodies, what with the drugs and drinking and chicken fried steak. Man, that any of us are still standing, still breathing, it's a miracle.

(In solitary.)

Hunt: Breakfast, boys! Let's go, Alvarez. (He notices R. Alvarez on the floor of his cell, naked and singing.) I think maybe we got a problem.

CO: What?

Hunt: Look at Alvarez.

CO: Hey, Alvarez.

Hunt: You think he's faking?

CO: Alvarez! Alvarez! Call for the doctor.

(Hill narrating, with flashbacks of R. Alvarez' crime.)

Hill: Prisoner number 43A515, Ricardo Alvarez. Convicted March 3, '43. Armed robbery. Sentence: 20 years. Convicted June 6, '61. Murder in the first degree. Sentence: life imprisonment, solitary confinement.

(In the hospital.)

Nathan: Ricardo, we're going to start with a series of tests. (He babbles in Spanish.) You have to go home? Your mother? Ricardo, where are you? Do you know what city you're in? (She repeats the question in Spanish.)

R. Alvarez: Havana. Havana.

(In the staff break room.)

McManus: So, we're agreed, the medication's controlling Cragen's paranoia.

Nathan: Yeah, we should keep him on it.

Sister Pete: Definitely.

McManus: Next is Miguel Alvarez.

Sister Pete: Oh, yeah. I'm scheduled to do a psychiatric reevaluation on Thursday.

Mukada: Good luck, Pete. His baby died right after birth. He's pretty depressed.

Nathan: He's about to become even more depressed. His grandfather, Ricardo Alvarez, has Alzheimer's.

McManus: Christ.

Sister Pete: Does his family know?

Nathan: No, not yet. Ricardo's son Eduardo is an orderly in my ward. I'll tell him when he comes in for his shift.

Sister Pete: Eduardo. That's the one with no tongue, right?

Nathan: Uh-huh.

McManus: I'll talk to Miguel.

Mukada: Listen, Tim, could I do that? If you don't mind.

McManus: I'm always willing to give up an opportunity to deliver bad news. Next?

(In Em City.)

Mukada: Miguel, I need you to come with me.

Alvarez: I didn't do shit!

Mukada: Miguel, please. Come on.

(In Mukada's office.)

Alvarez: How come no one knew 'til now that Ricardo's mind was going?

Mukada: He was in solitary, Miguel. He hardly says three words a day to anyone.

Sister Pete: And there's nothing we could have done to stop the disease anyway.

Alvarez: So what happens now?

Mukada: Well, that's the tricky part. Unfortunately, Oz is just not equipped for long term custodial care and there isn't anywhere else to send him.

Alvarez: You're telling me the state doesn't have anyplace to take care of its old prisoners?

Sister Pete: The state, the state's attitude towards the elderly, any elderly, in or out of prison is hurry up and die.

Alvarez: I wanna see my grandfather.

(In the hospital.)

Alvarez: Hey. It's me, Miguel, and Eduardo. Eduardo, your son. Miguel, grandson.

Sister Pete: You know what we should do with Ricardo Alvarez?

Mukada: What's that?

Sister Pete: Let him go free.

(In Glynn's office.)

Glynn: Let him go free? The man is a convicted killer.

Mukada: He stabbed the inmate who cut his son's tongue out.

Sister Pete: And he's old.

Mukada: He's old, Leo.

Glynn: Old doesn't necessarily mean nice. If there's any doubts about that, spend ten minutes with my mother in law.

Mukada: Leo, a 31 year old inmate costs $21000 a year to maintain. A senior costs three times that amount.

Glynn: Since when did you get so interested in the budget?

Mukada: Since I figured out that the money we're gonna waste taking care of Ricardo Alvarez could be put to much better use.

Sister Pete: Besides, Ricardo doesn't know where he is or why he's here. There is such a thing as criminal menopause, right? He cannot commit the crime again. The man is no longer a threat to anybody.

Glynn: It doesn't change what he did and it doesn't change his sentence. Life imprisonment means just that. Besides, if he doesn't really know he's in prison, then he's already free. Isn't he?

(In Sister Pete's office.)

Alvarez: When I was growing up, both my father and my grandfather came to Oz. You know, when I was little I always wondered what was so great about prison that they'd wanna leave us to come here. But you're a kid. What do you know?

Sister Pete: Yeah. So, the word "grandfather". What does the word mean to you? Emotionally?

Alvarez: Nothing. Don't mean nothing at all to me. Pizza means more. Doorknob.

Sister Pete: Would you like Grandfather to mean something to you?

Alvarez: Yeah.

Sister Pete: Dr. Nathan's not sure how long your grandfather has to live. Look, since your father's an orderly in the hospital and is going to spend the remaining time with your grandfather, there's no reason you can't do the same thing. Maybe if you take care of him, you'll learn to care for him.

Alvarez: You know, in my family, Ricardo was like God. You know, he was a legend. My grandmother used to show me these pictures, you know, and tell me stories all about him. And I wanted to be like him, you know.

Sister Pete: Yeah.

Alvarez: Now I see he's just a man, you know. He's just an old man and he's rotting away. I don't wanna end up like my grandfather.

Sister Pete: You don't have to, Miguel.

Alvarez: Oh, really? Well, I don't see it going down any other way.

(In the hospital.)

Groves: Rebadow, I'm sorry you didn't make it out.

Rebadow: It's ok. It was worth it. The adrenaline rush. I felt 25 again.

Groves: Here's your dinner.

Rebadow: I don't want it.

Groves: OK. What do you want?

Rebadow: I'd like a few years at the end of my life to be free.

(Hill narrating with shots of Alvarez and E. Alvarez taking care of R. Alvarez in the hospital.)

Hill: Do we care for people when they're sick because we actually care about them? Or do we care for them because when our time comes, we want someone to care for us? Or does it matter? At least you got your health. Don't you hate it when people say that? I mean, you lose your job, you lose your wife, you're in prison, and some punkass dude gonna say, "At least you got your health." Like that's supposed to make me feel better. So what if I'm broke? So what if some drug dealer wants to cap my ass? At least I ain't got a tumor. I swear, the next person that says ALYGYH to me, I'm gonna make sure they ain't got their health much longer.

(In Sister Pete's office.)

Sister Pete: You say you were having nightmares. Can you remember any of them?

Groves: No. Ow.

Sister Pete: What's the matter?

Groves: My tooth hurts. It's been hurting for a week.

Sister Pete: Then go see a dentist.

Groves: No.

Sister Pete: Why?

Groves: I hate the dentist.

Sister Pete: All dentists, or just Dr. Cocher in particular?

Groves: The concept of dentists.

Sister Pete: Then what? You prefer the concept of pain? Make an appointment, Groves? OK? OK.

(In the hospital.)

Cocher: Oh, God.

Nathan: What?

Cocher: Oh, sweet Jesus, Donald Groves is coming in to see me.

Nathan: So?

Cocher: Gloria, he ate his parents. I'm not sticking my fingers in his mouth. My fingers are my livelihood.

Nathan: He's been working in the ward as an orderly. He seems harmless.

Cocher: So you'd stick your fingers in his mouth?

Nathan: If I had to. If he's in pain, you have to.

Cocher: No, I don't.

Nathan: What about the Hippocratic Oath?

Cocher: Dentists don't take the Hippocratic Oath. We don't make any promises to anybody.

(In the dentist's clinic.)

Cocher: How's that gas working? You feel happy? Calm?

Groves: Uh-huh.

Cocher: Good. OK, let's have a look. Open your mouth. Wider. Wider. Wider.

Groves: I can't get any wider.

Cocher: Allrighty, then. They look fine.

Groves: It hurts.

Cocher: It's probably nothing.

Groves: It's hurts.

Cocher: Oh, don't be a baby.

Groves: Who are you calling a baby?

Cocher: Nobody. Forget it. Forget I said anything. A-ha. There is a tooth that's rotted out. I'm going to have to pull it. That means I have to get a needle and inject some Novocaine in your mouth.

Groves: I hate needles.

Cocher: Everybody does. Then I have to drill.

Groves: I hate drills.

Cocher: Right now, so do I. Right now I wish there were holistic dentistry.

Groves: I'm in pain.

Cocher: Well, you're going to be in a lot more before we're finished. After that, you won't have any pain. If I cause you pain it's not my fault, so don't bite my head off. I mean, uh...

Groves: I know what you mean.

Cocher: OK. Let's get started. First, the Novocaine. Open wide. Carol, could you give me a hand here, please?

(In the laundry room.)

Groves: This is my tooth. It was in my head. This tooth and I have been together since we were kids. This tooth chewed on my mom.

Ross: You should sell it.

Groves: Sell it?

Ross: Sell it. The tooth from the mouth of Donald Groves? Do you know how much that's worth on the open market?

Groves: How much?

Ross: Plenty.

Groves: Who'd wanna buy my tooth?

Ross: Collectors.

Groves: Collectors?

Ross: Collectors. People collect everything. Stamps, salt and pepper shakers, World's Fair tchochkes. Some people collect crime stuff. Lindbergh ladder, Ted Bundy's toenail clippings, and this.

Groves: We'd have to get a fence, right?

Ross: We're in prison. How hard's that gonna be?

Groves: Ross, if we get a good price, I still got 30 more.

(Hill narrating.)

Hill: The mind is just like the body. It's under constant assault from fear and hate and a whole pile of loneliness. These things are as deadly as any Cancer cell. The mind is just like the body. The fact that the mind can survive is a miracle.

(In the cafeteria, during a talent competition. One inmate is sticking a balloon up his nose and pulling it out through his mouth.)

Hill: Our next contestant is the lovely and talented Tobias Beecher.

(Beecher comes out on stage in full drag and makeup and sings "I Got It Bad". Everyone is laughing except Sister Pete and Ryan. He finishes and goes backstage to snort some heroin. Sister Pete catches him.)

(In a hallway.)

McManus: We knew Beecher was doing drugs.

Sister Pete: Yeah, but now I'm beginning to figure it out. He thinks of himself as a victim, so he's not going to get better unless he feels he can control his life.

McManus: He's in prison, Peter Marie. His life is totally out of his control.

Sister Pete: I know, but now we have to get him back to when he was in charge. We have to remind him that there's another victim involved here, the little girl he killed.

(In the visiting room.)

Rockwell: Hello. My husband wouldn't come. He said he was afraid he might kill you. This is Kathy. (She holds up a picture of the girl Beecher killed.) I'm sorry, I didn't want... I'm not sure why I came. At the trial, I was sitting behind you. I could barely see your face. Guess I just wanted to finally see you, see your eyes and to tell you that I miss her. Every single moment of every single day. You fucking bastard! I hope you die in here, you monster! I hope you rot in hell! You killed my baby!

(In Sister Pete's office.)

Beecher: I don't know. Maybe I let Schillinger treat me like dirt because I deserve to be punished. Because I killed Kathy Rockwell. Because I destroyed her family. And my own.

Sister Pete: And you hate yourself for that?

Beecher: Yes. I guess I hated myself back before too. I hated myself so I drank too much. I hated myself for drinking too much so to punish myself, I drank more. Sister, I don't wanna hate me anymore.

(In Beecher and Schillinger's pod.)

Schillinger: Hey, don't think you're fooling me. I know the only way you got through that variety show was by using drugs.

Beecher: Look, I...

Schillinger: Hey, I told you, I don't want you doing that shit.

Beecher: I'm sorry, sir.

Schillinger: No, I'm sorry. (Hands him a shirt.) Here. Put it on. (Beecher puts on the shirt, which has a Confederate flag on the front.) Perfect fit. No, no, leave it on.

Beecher: Come on. If I go out there with this on, one of those black guys is gonna kill me.

Schillinger: Yeah, I know.

Beecher: What is this?

Schillinger: There's a new kid in town. (He looks out at Ross.)

Beecher: OK, that's great. I'm happy for you. I'll move out of the pod.

Schillinger: No.

Beecher: Why not?

Schillinger: I don't want some nigger to have your ass. Goodbye, prag. (Beecher leaves with his hands held over the shirt and goes to Ryan's pod.)

Beecher: O'Reily, I need your help.

Ryan: I'm here.

Beecher: Schillinger wants me dead. He just gave me this to wear. What am I gonna do, man?

Ryan: Well, if you gotta go, you gotta go high. Ever tried PCP?

(In Em City. The inmates are watching TV.)

Reporter: The trial of James Devlin opened today at the state courthouse, not far from the capital building, where the Governor has ruled with an iron fist for the past year. Devlin, who said he'll never resign even if convicted, is facing 25 years in prison for fraud, extortion, racketeering, and obstruction of justice.

(Beecher, high on PCP, goes back to Schillinger's pod and throws a chair through the window, sending glass into Schillinger's face. He tries to jump over the railing but CO's pull him down. Then we see Beecher in the hole, strapped down to a table and screaming as McManus and Sister Pete look in.)

(In the hospital.)

Nathan: We need you to keep your hands away from your face.

Schillinger: Oh, shit.

Nathan: I need a couple of 4x4's and some tape. The glass in his eye is pretty bad. I'm not sure we can save it. We need to get him to Benchley Memorial for surgery as soon as possible.

Schillinger: Fuck, I'm gonna kill that motherfucker. Beecher, you're a dead man!

(In the hole.)

McManus: You have to go back to drug counseling.

Beecher: Fuck off!

McManus: If you don't, I'll transfer you out of Emerald City.

Beecher: Fuck off!

Sister Pete: Tobias, we're trying to help you.

Beecher: Fuck off!

McManus: Look, if you're afraid Schillinger's gonna kill you, I'll place you under protective custody.

Beecher: Fuck off, fuck off, fuck off, fuck off, fuck off, you fucks!

(Hill narrating.)

Hill: People say, "She broke my heart." That's bullshit, man. The heart can't break, it's a muscle. Muscles tear, muscles cramp. Yeah, the heart's a muscle. So's the brain. So's the dick.

(In Em City. Ryan is mopping the floor.)

Schibetta: O'Reily, give this guy the mop. You're through with the bucket brigade.

Ryan: Good.

Schibetta: Dino Ortolani ran the kitchen like a Swiss watch. The best. Joey was good. Markstrom too. But this Adebisi character, he's not really focused on the job, you know. And he abuses the privilege. Everybody steals, but he steals too much. Now you're a smart guy and you've been very efficient doing the jobs I've asked you to do, so I'm putting you in charge of the whole cafeteria.

(In the kitchen.)

Adebisi: What are you talking? I run this kitchen.

Schibetta: And you're doing a half-assed job. I got rotten fruit. I got cold entrees. I got Glynn complaining about cost overages.

Adebisi: I'm not working with him.

Schibetta: Fine. How's about I have you transferred back to the sweatshop?

Adebisi: I don't like the sweatshop.

Schibetta: Then shut the fuck up. OK? It's all yours.

Ryan: All right, ladies, back to work. What?

(In Schibetta's pod.)

Adebisi: We had a deal. We were partners.

Schibetta: We still are. When it comes to running tits, that part of the operation I got no complaints with, but the kitchen I can't afford you fucking up. O'Reily will do a good job.

Adebisi: Fuck that pretty little mick.

Schibetta: Adebisi, you make your peace with this any way you can. I say O'Reily's gonna run the kitchen as good as Dino ever did.

Adebisi: You wanna bet on that?

(In the cafeteria. The inmates are yelling because nobody's working.)

Ryan: What the fuck is going on here, Wangler?

Wangler: Nothing.

Ryan: Exactly. Pick up the Goddamned pace!

Wangler: We're going as fast as we can, man.

Ryan: You're not fooling me.

Adebisi: What are you talking about, boss?

Ryan: This. Adebisi, listen to me, I know why Schibetta put me in charge over you. He's doing the old divide and conquer. As long as he keeps the two of us at each other's throats, he's got all the power. (He wraps a towel around his hand and breaks a glass.)

Adebisi: What are you doing?

Ryan: Let's face it, the both of us only got one goal in mind and that's to take over Schibetta's drug trade. (He begins rolling a can over the broken glass.) Together we can do it.

Adebisi: Together?

Ryan: We gotta make him think that we're enemies, keep him off guard 'til we kill him.

Adebisi: We kill him, the mob kills us.

Ryan: They won't know. Not if we put this in his food.

Adebisi: Glass.

Ryan: As long as we make it fine, he won't be able to taste it. Over time, the glass will cut his insides up.

Adebisi: And he'll die slowly.

Ryan: Painfully.

Adebisi: You are a sick motherfucker, O'Reily.

Ryan: Coming from you, that's a compliment.

Adebisi: Wangler!

Wangler: What's up?

Adebisi: Bring me Schibetta's food.

Ryan: And tell everyone to start working full speed.

Wangler: OK. Everyone, move your asses now!

(In Sister Pete's office.)

Sister Pete: So, Ryan, if you were released from Oz today, what would you do?

Ryan: Travel.

Sister Pete: Where?

Ryan: Around. You know, since I got here I've been reading brochures and vacation guides. They're great for when you're taking a shit or before you go to sleep. While I'm sleeping I actually dream about going to these places.

Sister Pete: Like?

Ryan: Mora Goro.

Sister Pete: Mora Goro? That's a jungle, isn't it?

Ryan: Yeah. You knew that?

Sister Pete: Yeah.

Ryan: Yeah, it's in Africa.

Sister Pete: Yeah.

Ryan: You wanna go with me?

Sister Pete: Me?

Ryan: Yeah, you and me, you know.

Sister Pete: I'm twice your age and I'm a nun.

Ryan: Yeah, well, growing up and going to St. Pat's, I never had a nun like you.

Sister Pete: St. Pat's, huh? Tough neighborhood.

Ryan: Yeah, I learned the alphabet the hard way. DEA, HIV, IOU.

Sister Pete: I see.

Ryan: You know, Sister, I got 12 years to my parole. I wanna be alive to make that parole. I'm gonna walk out of here. I'm gonna survive.

(In Em City.)

Ryan: Nine of Spades.

Schibetta: Trump.

Ryan: You ok, Nino?

Schibetta: Yeah, just a little (?). I told you, you're making the red sauce too spicy. I don't know what the fuck you're putting in it but it's too fucking spicy.

Ryan: Trump.

Schibetta: Shit.

(Hill narrating.)

Hill: I was addicted to crack. Then I had my accident. Lying in the hospital bed, I went through detox. But that was easy. The doctors had me on Morphine, Demerol, Percodan. I didn't know I was in pain. I didn't know I was in the hospital, paralyzed. Then I came here, went into counseling. I take it one day at a time, you know. But every day I think about drugs. About not doing drugs. Every single day, every single hour, every single minute, staying straight has become my obsession. My new addiction.

(In Em City.)

Hill: Oh, shit. Jackson Vayhue got 12 years.

Ryan: Yeah, I hear he's coming to Oz.

(In a stairwell.)

Hill: Hey, McManus, I been waiting to see you, man. You really outta get wheelchair access to your office.

McManus: Put it in the suggestion box.

Hill: Hey, I wanna be Jackson Vayhue's sponsor.

McManus: How come?

Hill: The man is one of the greatest b-ball players of all time. I'm one of his biggest fans.

McManus: What makes you think that I'm bringing him to Emerald City?

Hill: Cause, like everybody else, you're a starfucker.

McManus: Oh, right. Nobody could ever accuse you of being an asskisser. All right, you're Jackson Vayhue's sponsor.

Hill: When does he arrive?

McManus: Tomorrow.

Hill: Great.

McManus: You think you can get the marching band ready by then?

(Hill narrating, with flashbacks of Vayhue's crime.)

Hill: Prisoner number 97V588, Jackson Vayhue. Convicted August 17, '97. Attempted rape, assault. Sentence: 12 years. Up for parole in 5.

(In the admitting area.)

Hunt: Vayhue, you wait here for transport to Em City. The rest of you scumfucks, now that you had your shower and you're all sweet and squeaky clean, are gonna follow Officer Smith to your new accomodations. This way. Right through there. Come on, come on, come on. Hey, Jackson, can I get your autograph? It's for my kid.

(In Em City. Vayhue is brought in and everybody looks at him.)

Wangler: Hey, Jackson, what up, baby?

(In the gym.)

Hill: Nice shot, yo. Thought I'd find you here.

Vayhue: I told you to leave me the fuck alone.

Hill: I'm just here to help you get adjusted.

Vayhue: What, adjusted to this shit? Where you from? You from the projects?

Hill: Yeah.

Vayhue: Yeah, me too. Spent all your time adjusting, right? Figuring out how to fucking stay alive. Figuring out why you don't have nothing. You got about three ways to get out. You can sell drugs, sing, or this shit right here. It all takes talent, man. I just happened to be lucky. Fucking joke. I could hang, I could put this ball in the hoop. Oh, I got adjusted. I got famous, I got rich. I got used to the touring, the endorsements, the women. Maybe not the women. I fucking blew that, boy, I blew that. The one thing I'm good at don't mean dick in here. So how the fuck am I supposed to adjust to that?

(In a hallway. Vayhue is looking at a bucket of water.)

Vayhue: Fuck you. I ain't doing this.

Mineo: Oh, yes, you are.

McManus: What's the story here?

Mineo: Mr. NBA won't do his work assignment.

McManus: It was explained to you, right? Everybody in Em City has a job to do.

Vayhue: Give me another job, then, 'cause I'm not doing this one.

McManus: You don't get to choose.

Vayhue: Look, pal, I don't do windows, ok? I don't do windows. (He throws the bucket of water.)

McManus: Well, now you get to clean that up.

(In a classroom.)

Teacher: George Washington Carver. He was born to slave parents but he worked his way up and through Iowa State College, becoming a botanist and an agricultural chemist. Now, he discovered hundreds of uses for the peanut, the sweet potato, and the soybean. Now... Mr Vayhue, are you listening to me?

Vayhue: Sure. Soybeans.

Teacher: All right, we'll pick up here next week. Vayhue, I know you're a big hotshot basketball star. If you don't start paying attention in the class, you'll go on report.

Vayhue: Go ahead, nigger.

Teacher: Oh, no, my friend, you're the nigger.

Vayhue: You got any drugs?

Hill: No.

Vayhue: Then what the fuck good are you?

(In the cafeteria.)

Ryan: Hey, Jackson, we made this special for you.

Vayhue: Thanks, man.

Ryan: No, thank you. I won 10 grand on that Bulls game.

Vayhue: What, you're looking for an autograph?

Said: No, my brother, your fame means nothing to me. Except that you are important to many children and you are a role model.

Vayhue: I didn't ask to be nobody's fucking role model.

Said: Nonetheless, you are. And that carries an enormous responsibility.

Vayhue: Look, man, fuck you, all right? Go preach that shit to somebody else.

Said: All right, my brother, all right. But we will talk again.

Vayhue: Don't bet on that.

Said: Asalaam aleikuum.

Vayhue: Eat me, nigger. (He goes to get a drink and sees Adebisi and Wangler.) Who do you have to fuck to get high?

(On the stage.)

Poet: Son, come on son.
Let me squeeze them titties
I been fiending for this freedom
I been begging for the beat
I been jonesing for the jump over the wall
But all I keep coming back to is them titties
Round and firm, for the vein burn
I keep bugging over the reasons
For this shit I yearn
Years in this piece got me
Wanting the shit that I unlearned
Got me wanting to block it out
Forget about
Erase it from my think.

(In Em City.)

Vayhue: Come here, brother.

Hill: No.

Vayhue: What, you don't wanna get titillated?

Hill: No.

Vayhue: Come here, boy, don't be a pussy.

Hill: Man, I been clean almost two years.

Vayhue: Man, this one hit ain't gonna kill you. Come on. See, we talking about the '95 Bulls game.

Hill: You scored 58 points.

Vayhue: That's right. That ain't all I scored. Little threeway with two cheerleaders.

Hill: You'll always be my hero, man.

Vayhue: That's me. Fucking role model. Come on.

Hill: Well, maybe just, just one.

(A drug-induced fantasy sequence of Hill playing basketball with Vayhue and beating him.)

Adebisi: You know that's been up Kenny's ass.

(In a conference room.)

McManus: Next is Kareem Said.

Nathan: Dr. Ferstopnick diagnosed him for hypertension and prescribed Callen but his vital signs have yet to stabilize.

McManus: He's not taking his medication.

Sister Pete: That doesn't make sense. A guy like Said has everything to live for.

McManus: My guess is that he's concerned about the effects the drugs could have on his mind. He doesn't want his judgment clouded.

Mukada: Well, I can understand that. Oz is the last place you want to let your guard down.

Sister Pete: Can't you switch his prescription?

Nathan: Yeah, but they all have side effects. If we don't get him to take something and soon, it's only a matter of time before his blood pressure explodes.

(In Sister Pete's office.)

Sister Pete: Don't think of me as a psychologist. Don't think of me as a nun. Think of me as your mother. Kareem, take your medicine!

Said: Now, Sister, I thought I was in here for psychiatric evaluation.

Sister Pete: You are. Because when you play fast and loose with high blood pressure, you are crazy.

Said: Oh, Sister, I'm far from crazy. You see, God endowed me with a mind and gave me the ability to choose. I choose to be drug free.

Sister Pete: And you make the choice how? By considering the facts. The fact is, you will die.

Said: My physical condition is a small part of a greater reality. Now, it's been hard. But I am now at peace with this, Sister. Now why can't you be?

Sister Pete: You, you...

Said: Asalaam aleikuum, Sister. You're a good woman.

Sister Pete: Yeah.

(In the admitting area.)

Hunt: OK, Huseni Mershaw, this is Kareem Said. Kareem's gonna help you get used to the routine in Emerald City.

Said: Asalaam aleikuum, brother.

Mershaw: Asalaam aleikuum.

Hunt: Here, your cuffs.

Mershaw: Asalaam aleikuum, huh?

Hunt: Yeah. Have a nice day.

(Hill narrating, with flashbacks of Mershaw's crime.)

Hill: Prisoner number 97M688, Huseni Mershaw. Also known as James Monroe Madison. Convicted August 11, '97. Attemped murder, assault in the first degree. Sentence: 20 years. Up for parole in 3.

Mershaw: The Jew shot Omar Selim because he figured Selim was gonna rip off his little store. Selim didn't even have a weapon on him.

Muslim: And the Jew got off.

Mershaw: Oh, you know it. So we had to teach the little Jew a lesson on respect.

Said: Thank you, brother Huseni. Now we pray.

Mershaw: Imam Said, listen, I think we gotta do a little more than pray.

Said: We will, brother. Believe me, we will.

(In the cafeteria.)

Arif: Believers are like a single man. If his eye is affected, then all of him is affected. If the head is affected, then all of him is affected.

Ross: Hey, wanna shut the fuck up? Yo!

Arif: Got a problem?

Ross: Your bullshit's making me sick.

Mershaw: Don't insult the holy word.

Ross: Suck my dick, asshole.

CO: What's the problem here, guys?

Said: There ain't no problem, Officer. Sit down. I'm sorry if we disturbed you.

Ross: Fuck you.

CO: Make nice, Ross. If you can't handle that, take a walk.

Ross: Fuck you too. (The CO's take him away.)

Said: Everybody sit down.

(In Said's pod.)

Mershaw: He was making fun of the word of God, Minister.

Said: God does not need you to defend him from a moron. What God needs you to do is to rein in your basic instincts. What God needs you to do is be a little patient, brother. The more of these little skirmishes you get involved in, is the more you weaken the holy war we're about to fight.

Mershaw: So where you from, Minister?

Said: From?

Mershaw: Yeah, where you from? You're not from the ghetto, right?

Said: I was born in the ghetto. But unlike most, I got out. I have traveled the world, Huseni, studied the great religions. And I have sat at the knee of mystics, shaman, and madmen. I know the world, Huseni.

Mershaw: Yeah, well, maybe you been on the mountaintop so long you forgot where you came from.

Said: I have not forgotten who I am.

Mershaw: Well, maybe Allah sent me to remind you.

(In the showers.)

Mershaw: Hey, Imam Said's moving slow, man. It worries me.

Arif: He knows best, brother.

Mershaw: Yeah, well, he's blessed by Allah and all that, but that don't mean he can't be wrong.

Arif: So?

Mershaw: So, I'm thinking he might be more valuable to us as a symbol rather than a leader.

Arif: A symbol? What do you mean?

Mershaw: Nothing, man, nothing. I'm just talking smack. I'm just wasting time.

(In Said and Mershaw's pod.)

Said: Huseni.

Mershaw: What, what? Imam, what?

Said: My heart.

Mershaw: You're having a heart attack.

Said: Call the doctor.

Mershaw: It is the hand of God. It is the will of Allah.

Said: Help me, help me!

Mershaw: You must go ahead and die.

(Hill narrating with shots of Rebadow in the hospital, Adebisi, Beecher, Ryan, and Hill high in various places, and Said being rushed to the hospital.)

Hill: All those little aches and pains, eventually, they add up to something. Body, mind. Body, mind. They gotta work together, or they don't work at all. You gotta take care of your body. You gotta take care of your mind. You gotta love your body. Most people don't. Most people hate their bodies. You gotta get your mind to love your body. Even if you're fat around the neck or even if things don't work like they're supposed to, you gotta love your body. Cause it's all you got to hold onto. It's all you got. I'll make a deal with you. I'll love your body, if you love mine.