The Best at It

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of racism and mental illness.

Rahul’s mom picks him up after school: She, Chelsea, Bhai, and Arun are all going to the audition for luck. His mom notices his whitening makeup and is concerned. He gets his mom to double-check that she locked the car.

Seeing the other “perfect” boys, Rahul becomes more nervous and almost begins crying. Rahul sees Justin and his dad, Mr. Emery. Justin asks about the “white, crusty” makeup on Rahul. Mr. Emery and Rahul’s mom comment on how the boys don’t hang out like they did when they were younger.

Rahul’s mom fills out Rahul’s information form, but he changes her answers: Under hair color, he changes “black” to “dark brown.” When the casting director calls Rahul, his mom has to correct her pronunciation. Chelsea goes in with Rahul. When one of the men in the room remarks that Rahul is a “nice surprise” and asks about his heritage (156), Rahul realizes that the man, Wyatt—who self identifies as “African American” (156)—is the only other non-white person there.

When a man named Mark keeps mispronouncing Rahul’s name, Chelsea firmly corrects him. Mark shows Rahul a picture of the couple cast as parents, both white, and says that Rahul isn’t the right “type” for the commercial.