- Nikki Vaughn: Mom, my first-choice college application just got released.
- Angela Vaughn: That's great, Nikki. What did they say?
- Nikki Vaughn: They wanna know how many community service hours I've performed, and if I speak a foreign language and what my participation in "The Arts" looks like.
- Patricia 'Aunt Piggy' Williams: Well, damn, is that all?
- Nikki Vaughn: I didn't have time to clean a highway or learn Mandarin after school. I-I worked.
- Angela Vaughn: No. You are going to be this family's first college grad. I promise you that.
- Nikki Vaughn: They also recommend an in-person on-campus interview. That means travel and a hotel. If I can't compete with the other applicants, I might as well just not apply.
- Angela Vaughn: No.
- Patricia 'Aunt Piggy' Williams: She's right. It's not fair. Not that that ever matters in life.
- Angela Vaughn: Keep hearing the Graceties talk about all the college counselors that'll be at cotillion. Nikki needs access to them.
- Leah Franklin-Dupont: I can't just add a new debutante to the roster. I mean, there are rules and protocols.
- Angela Vaughn: [SCOFFS] That sounds like some B.S. put in place to keep the common folk out.
- Leah Franklin-Dupont: Mm. Well, something tells me the common folk wouldn't just let Nikki show up and jump the line, either.
- Angela Vaughn: She can't jump a line she was never allowed into in the first place. Look, Leah, Nikki has been busting her butt with the single-minded dream of getting into Spelman one day. I mean, I feel like I haven't done my part. I didn't know. I was so busy trying to get Eve's Crown going. Maybe I should've spent that time looking for ways to expand her horizons, or send her on trips, or...
- Leah Franklin-Dupont: Or doing a million other things. I get it. I often feel like I'm failing as a mom, too.
- Angela Vaughn: I know I'm late with all this, but I need to set Nikki up for success. Cotillion will help.
- Leah Franklin-Dupont: Well, how could I deny my niece this opportunity? But the only way that she could be announced with the class on Friday at the Claiming Ceremony is if you make a contribution. And the minimum standard is $25,000. And that's not including formal wear, hair and make-up, shoes and accessories. Do you need help with that?
- Angela Vaughn: No. No. I've got the money.
- Leah Franklin-Dupont: Wonderful. So, who can we expect at your table? My calligrapher needs it for the place cards.
- Angela Vaughn: Well, uh, just me and my Aunt Piggy two G's. And a big ol' check for 25 G's.
- Leah Franklin-Dupont: Ladies, understanding your place settings is more than just figuring out which fork to use. Remember, you cannot be kept out of a room when you are confident that you belong. Take it from me. Now, watch closely.
- Leah Franklin-Dupont: Understood? When you are as comfortable dining with royalty as you are at home, no banquet hall, no matter how imposing, will ever intimidate you.
- Angela Vaughn: Leah, I thought the Graceties society was supposed to be the pinnacle of female empowerment and strength and freedom. I mean, why are we giving the penis so much importance?
- Leah Franklin-Dupont: Uh, what's happening here? I mean, this is supposed to be the father-daughter rehearsal.
- Angela Vaughn: I know, but we don't need a man. I raised her with my own two hands, fed her with my own two breasts, and this weekend, I will dance with her with my own two feet.
- Leah Franklin-Dupont: Hmm. Well, you know, as detailed and inspiring as that is, she's gonna need a male companion.
- Nikki Vaughn: The ring never goes on top of the glove. Always under.
- Angela Vaughn: Who wants to hide their bling?
- Nikki Vaughn: Well, that's kind of the point. It's like an unveiling of sorts. The gloves come off at dinner. And then you fold them and put them in your lap, and then the napkin goes on top.
- Olivia Dupont: See, the best way to win a war is to never let the enemy know that they're in one to begin with.
- Olivia Dupont: Back in my day, a wife knew her place. At her husband's side, supporting him.
- Leah Franklin-Dupont: Well, it's not back in "your day. " And times have changed.
- Olivia Dupont: Change is not always progress. Look at how slavery became Jim Crow and then segregation
- Leah Franklin-Dupont: I don't know which makes me feel worse, seeing you behave with such selfish cruelty or knowing that I'm the one who made you that way.
- Leah Franklin-Dupont: Your insistence on hijacking this week to serve your worst impulses when we should be lifting each other up it needs to stop now.