Shows V

The scene shifts back in time and we see Young Vi carrying a bag full of store-bought goods. She gives the bag and a handful of change to her father. He looks at the goods, counts the change, and scolds Violet for once again getting short-changed. To teach her some 'rithmetic, her father sits her down and teaches her draw poker, which will aid her in learning subtraction and give her "something to do with boys, when the time comes for that. ("Luck of the Draw") Pretty soon Young Vi is beating her father at cards, and Older Violet is beating Flick and Monty. The Bus Driver announces that the bus will be leaving in five minutes. Violet continues talking with Flick who is impressed with her card dealing. She tells him that growing up high on a mountain, with her mother dying so early, there wasn't anything to do except to play cards with her father. She tells him she is travelling to Tulsa to see a television preacher who heals. With his aid, she plans to come home beautiful. Flick laughs at her and her preacher. He'd trade his black skin for her scar any day! Violet says she doesn't have any need for black skin. She wants people to think she's pretty! Flick runs off obviously hurt by her remark. Monty calms Violet down. We learn she is twenty-five, her father died three years ago, and she has seen many doctors about her scarred face. They all said she waited too long, so seeing this faith healer is her last hope. Monty warns her to be careful and not put too much hope in this healing preacher. In the midst of his advice, Monty grabs Violet's catechism and starts to read from it mockingly. Violet cries out and Flick comes to her aid, stopping Monty from acting so childishly. In a flashback, Young Vi is hiding in the attic, reading by a flashlight. She hears her father calling from downstairs. He enters the room demanding that Vi give over the book. It is just her mother's catechism, but he feels she is too young to be reading it. It isn't the religion that bothers him; it's what mama wrote inside that worries him. Vi asks her father if it is true that her mother could have had the choice of any boy in five counties. Her father doesn't want any questions from his young daughter, so he challenges her to play cards. A new driver speaks over the P.A. system as they reach the Nashville station. The Old Lady invites Violet to stay overnight at her son's house in Nashville. That way she can freshen up and be on her way tomorrow. Violet turns down the Old Lady's offer, saying she's in a hurry to get to Tulsa. The woman presses the point by saying it's not proper for a young girl to travel alone with two soldiers. Flick and Monty are rude to the woman, and she leaves. Violet is not impressed by their actions. Things will be different for Violet after she is changed in Tulsa. She's ready for a transition. She wants to look like every famous movie star out there with looks to spare. With all her beauty, someone might meet her and fall in love with her. As the two men board the bus, Violet sees her accident happen in her mind. Violet dreams that she is being healed in the Preacher's chapel. Young Vi is brought up to the Preacher who heals her scarred face in front of a television audience. Soon she is nudged by Flick who hears her talking in her sleep. Once again they discuss Violet's situation and how she wants to change. As far as Violet is concerned people take one look at her and think that's all there is. She wants people to see past her scar and get to know her for who she really is. Flick has a hard time understanding this because, as a black man in 1960s America, he will always be marked by the colour of his skin. He tells her you choose your road and then you walk it alone, one step at a time. The bus arrives at Memphis, the last stop. Everyone leaves the bus to make connections. Flick and Monty plan on spending the night in Memphis at a nearby boarding house, and Flick asks Violet to join them since her bus doesn't leave until the next morning at 6 a.m. Violet doesn't think that it would be right. Instead, she plans to spend the night with some relatives she has there. She has never met them, but she is certain they will take her in. Monty goes to call her a cab. While he is gone, several mechanics get in a racial dispute with Flick that erupts into a huge fight. They mock Violet's face; she gets enraged and joins the altercation. When Monty returns, he helps Violet and Flick beat the two men. They steal Violet's suitcase as they run off. The suitcase contained the dress Violet planned to wear the next day and her relative's telephone number. She has no choice but to stay with Flick and Monty. The three of them make their way to a nearby boarding house. As Violet gets ready to go out for the evening, the landlady has a talk with Flick. She is upset that he brought two white people to her all black establishment. She has a business to consider and doesn't want the word to leak out. In fact, she asks Flick that they all use the exit on the alley. He gives her twenty dollars to try and smooth things over. Monty is ready for an evening of drinking and having the time of their lives.

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