Maybe there is a meet cute with another reporter, like she is carrying a big stack of papers and they bump into each other and A.J. He’s intimidated by how much everyone seems to be in their element since he feels like such an outsider. He looks around at all the people shuffling here and there in their shiny clothes, looks of determination on their faces. gets to the television studio and it’s like walking into another world. This is a lovable guy that you can’t help but root for and everyone’s so excited that this tough kid has persevered long enough to finally get the break that he deserves. He gets a cup of coffee from his go to coffee place and all the baristas know him by name. “I’m gonna be on KFYR.” Then there’s a montage of A.J.’s last normal morning as a civilian, taking a jog through the old neighborhood, everyone saying hello to him and wishing him well. “I got the job, ma,” he says, knowing she can’t hear him. quietly turns of the television and tucks her in.
comes home to find his mom passed out again on the couch, a half-finished bottle of vodka in her lap. His father’s out of the picture, and we see a scene in which A.J. Clemente would come from a hard scrabble family.
