Nightcrawling

After returning from the visit with her mother, Kiara walks the streets in search of potential johns. She is approached by one, but instead of taking her to a car or hotel room, he pulls her down a street and assaults her. Police arrive and tell Kiara she will be taken into custody.

The police have offered Kiara a deal: They won’t arrest her, and in exchange she will be “on call” for officers of the Oakland Police Department. She describes how she is the “prize” for the winner of card games at secret parties and, though the money she is paid has helped her pay the rent, she regrets agreeing to this arrangement.

After seven days with no calls, Kiara decides to go to Bottle Caps, the liquor store where she worked previously, to inquire about additional hours. On the way she stops to visit Alé at the taqueria. Alé decides to accompany her so that she can skate at the skatepark near Bottle Caps. Kiara learns that Ruth, her contact at Bottle Caps, has died; the new owner is not willing to rehire Kiara. She joins Alé, telling her the news. As they sit together, Camila approaches. She encourages Kiara to let her introduce her to a friend of hers, Desmond, who can become Kiara’s pimp. When Kiara leaves, Alé admonishes Kiara for engaging in sex work, but Kiara is certain she has no other option.

As she arrives home, Kiara receives a phone call from Shauna, who is worried that Marcus, Cole, and their friends may be involved in some illegal activities. Just as Kiara hangs up, insisting she can do nothing to help Shauna, Marcus arrives. He tells Kiara he has a surprise for her, and they bike to an overpass, where Marcus unloads a backpack filled with cans of spray paint in several colors.

Kiara explains that she began tagging—making graffiti art—when she was 13. Marcus supplied the paint and later encouraged her to make paintings to sell. When they did not sell, Kiara stopped painting. But the array of paint in front of her excites her, and Kiara proceeds to paint an image from a recurring dream she’s been having: that of a young girl standing in a meadow. Kiara decides to tell Marcus about her arrangement with the police, and an argument follows. Kiara begs him to try asking Uncle Ty for help. When Marcus refuses, Kiara tells him he can no longer live in the apartment.

Kiara and Trevor have been earning some money by continuing to run bets on basketball games—enough for Kiara to pay rent for the month of March. After Marcus moves out, she prepares for the party at Desmond’s house. She sets off on foot but accepts a ride from a group of women on the way there.

At Desmond’s house, Kiara finds a lively party. She gets a drink and searches for Camila, finding her on the patio. Camila takes her to a bedroom where Desmond lounges and smokes, surrounded by women and girls, many of them as young as Kiara. She speaks briefly with Desmond but keeps her guard up.

Kiara has sex in a shed with one john, then another. Afterward she finds Camila, who is dancing. Kiara dances with her, then answers her ringing phone. It is one of the police officers, calling to inform her that undercover police are present at the party and that it is about to be broken up. He instructs Kiara to meet him outside, and she obeys.

The officer, whom Kiara knows by his badge number, 612, takes her to his home. After they have sex, he refuses to pay Kiara, but then agrees to do so if she will spend the night with him. She reluctantly complies.

A few weeks pass, and on her 18th birthday, Kiara and Trevor bake a cake. Kiara has planned for the day to be just for the two of them, and Trevor wants to swim in the pool. When Kiara protests that she does not know how to swim, he insists he will teach her.

Two police officers—a man and a woman—suddenly appear, looking for Kia Holt, the name Kiara uses on the streets. She gets dressed and is taken to the police station, where the two officers attempt to get her to admit to being trafficked by Oakland police. Kiara refuses to provide any information. After several hours, she is escorted out of the station, which is surrounded by protesters, and taken back to her apartment.