May 29, 3:00pm. Degrassi High School.

Paige Michalchuk watched the clock intently, counting down the seconds. The end of the year was drawing closer and many of the students were getting excited for summer break, but Paige was anxious for a different reason. She had been waiting for months to hear back from Toronto University, and she had a gut feeling that her letter would come today. She had been working hard over the past few years to get into college, making sacrifices the 'old Paige' would have never made. But still, she was able to manage her time well, and became the star cheerleader as well as the model student.
The second hand on the wall clock lurched desperately as the hour hand locked to '3' and the minute hand locked to '12'. The bell began to ring and Paige's heart skipped a beat. She leapt up from her seat and ran straight for the parking lot, kissing her boyfriend Spinner on the cheek as she flew past. She drove home faster than usual, her heart pounding hard in her chest, and as she approached her mailbox she wanted to scream in excitement. She plunged her hand in and pulled out a large white envelope. This was it, the letter from Toronto University. She took a deep breath and slowly tore it open, realizing that her entire future was in the envelope. Her heart began to pound faster and harder as she pulled out the letter inside...

3:10pm. Just outside of Degrassi High School.

Marco Del Rossi sighed as he set his backpack on a picnic table on the grass. As he sat down, he pulled out his chemistry textbook and began to read up on covalent bonds. In a matter of mere seconds he slammed the book shut and put his head down on the table. He didn't understand a word of it. He only took chemistry because his parents made him. He didn't care about significant figures or the atomic weight of helium. He just wanted to enjoy his last week as a high school student. The last thing he wanted was the worry of a tough exam hanging over his head.
He stuffed his book back in his backpack and got up. As he began to walk home, he saw a familiar face – a tall boy with blond hair and the build of a hockey player. It was Dylan Michalchuk and Marco was more than happy to see him. Dylan was older than Marco was; he had already graduated and was playing Junior 'A' hockey in Toronto. However, it appeared that he didn't notice Marco and walked past without saying a word. Marco turned and tried to get his attention, but the words got caught in his throat. His stomach tied in knots, he turned around in defeat and walked home.

3:10pm. Degrassi High School.

Ellie Nash felt like she couldn't take it anymore. She sat silently in the far stall of the girl's bathroom, tears biting at her eyes. She snapped the rubber bands on her wrists over and over, but it was simply not doing the trick anymore. She had no real reason to be depressed. She wasn't having any relationship problems and everything was going fine at home, but for some reason she got the urge to cut herself every once and a while. So there she sat, on the verge of tears, desperately trying to rid her system of the addiction that was plaguing her.

3:30pm. The Nelson Residence.

Emma Nelson trudged home, completely exhausted from school. Her grades had been slipping a little, but she thought she had it under control. She swung the front door open and tossed her bag loudly on the floor.
"Emma! Keep it down will you?! Your mother is sick and needs some peace and quiet!" It was her stepfather, the media immersion teacher at Degrassi – Mr. Simpson. She just sighed. He was always yelling at her these days. She hadn't taken three more steps before he appeared before her.
"Emma, we need to talk. Now."
She quietly nodded, wondering what he could possibly be mad about this time. She followed him into the kitchen and sat down at the table, facing him.
"Look, I can see what's going on," he started, "and it has to stop now. I can't allow you to see Chris anymore."
"What?" Emma yelled as she slammed her hand down on the table. She started to defend herself when he interrupted.
"Quiet, please! Emma, your grades have been slipping, you've been coming home late, you're always tired and worn out. You spend too much time with him and it's ruining your life."
Anger rose from deep within Emma. He didn't understand. He didn't know anything. Who was he to mess with her life? She stood up and said, looking straight into his eye,
"Have you ever thought that my grades are slipping because I'm taking senior level classes? Have you ever thought that I'm tired because I'm up late at the library studying?" She grew angrier and angrier as she spoke, her face turning red and her hands shaking, "No, you'd never think that because just hate Chris. You're always blaming him. He's always the problem to you. Well, I'm sorry, but he is a big part of my life and you shouldn't start pointing fingers because you have no idea what's going on!"
"That's enough Emma! Don't you lie to me. I know exactly what's going on!"
Emma's blood began to boil. She was so mad she couldn't even speak. She just screamed out in frustration and turned violently around, knocking the chair over, and ran up to her room. Mr. Simpson followed her up a little later, realizing that he had overreacted, and that he could be wrong about his assumptions.
"Emma, listen..." he began as he knocked on her door, but Emma interrupted.
"I HATE YOU!"