Chapter 1
"Can you believe this?" JT asked as he peeked through the window into the computer lab.
"What?" Toby asked as he zipped his backpack closed.
JT pointed at what he was observing. Sean was sitting at a computer surrounded by three girls. "Look at that—they're practically hanging on to his every word! He's been constantly surrounded by women since he and Ellie broke up!"
Toby shook his head. "No—he's been constantly surrounded by women ever since he got his license to drive his motorcycle."
JT leaned against his locker and crossed his arms. He watched as the three girls waved good-bye to Sean and smile flirtatiously. He sighed sadly. "He has taken all of our ladies!"
Toby looked at his insane friend. "What are you talking about? What ladies?"
"OUR ladies, Toby! Our man, Sean, is single and every girl in Degrassi is after him."
"Why are we wasting time talking about Sean, JT?" Toby asked uninterested.
"I've decided that the only way for us to increase our chances to meet girls is to take Sean off the market," JT explained.
"Really? And what do you plan on doing?"
"Hey, Emma!" a voice called out.
JT and Toby turned around and saw Manny walking down the hall towards her best friend.
JT stared at Emma for a moment, then looked over at Toby and grinned.
Toby knew exactly what his friend was thinking. "Oh no..." he muttered.
"Oh YES!" JT replied back. "If Sean dates a 'certain someone' he will be out of the way and our door will be open to the 10th grade women of Degrassi!" He grabbed Toby's sleeve to pull him towards the computer lab.
"Guess who's back in school?" Manny asked Emma.
Emma glanced through the doorway and saw Sean sitting at one of the computers. Sean was out of school for a week because of a motorcycle accident. She realized then and there how much she still cared for him when she found out that he could have been killed. Ever since the accident she decided to try to be close to Sean again. She looked over at Manny. "I know. I've been thinking of a way to approach him."
Manny rolled her eyes. "Em, this is SEAN—not some Hollywood movie star! Just talk to him—you know...like you USUALLY do!"
Emma nodded but stayed frozen in the doorway staring at Sean. She felt the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. It was like 7th grade all over again.
"How's the arm, Sean?" Sean looked up and saw JT and Toby hovering over his shoulder.
Sean lifted up his splinted left arm and smirked. "This isn't where the damage is, guys." He sighed. "You should see my bike. ...Or what's left of it." Sean was in a motorcycle accident the week before. He was taking a curve a little faster than he should have. Miraclously, he slid into some bushes and only got a sprained wrist and a few scrapes and bruises. His bike, on the other hand, slid at least 100 feet down the concrete road. Today was his first day back at Degrassi since the accident and he was in Mr. Simpson's computer lab checking the million e-mails of assignments his teachers sent to him to make up. He sighed when he saw a long list of e- mails pop up on the computer screen in front of him. "I don't get it!" He slouched in his chair and shook his head with disbelief. "I've only been gone for a week and it looks like it will take me the rest of the term to catch up!"
JT looked up and noticed Emma and Manny talking in the hallway outside of the computer lab. He smiled lightly. "Well...maybe you should take advantage of the situation." He nodded his head towards Emma. "You can ask Emma to help you study."
Sean looked up to take a quick glance at Emma, then looked back down to continue skimming through his e-mails. He pretended to brush off JT's last comment, but a part of him really wanted to ask for Emma's help. They hadn't studied together since they dated a few years ago. He was always able to grasp things so much easier when he studied with her. ...Or maybe it was the fact that he was around someone so positive like her that made him want to do better. He shook the thoughts out of his head to focus back on reality. "I'm not going to ask Emma for any help." He started typing on the computer. "It would be too weird."
JT and Toby looked at each other and smirked. They knew he would say that. "Sean, Emma broke up with Chris last year..." Toby pointed out.
"And you broke up with Ellie this summer because she had to move when her dad got transferred," JT added. "You and Emma have finally made it to the point where you can be in a room alone together and have a civil conversation ...AND you're BOTH single." He crossed his arms and looked over at Toby. "This is definitely going to be the year."
Toby nodded in agreement.
Sean stopped typing for a moment to throw an annoyed glance towards his nosy friends. "...the year?" he repeated.
"Yes," JT answered. "This is going to be the year you and Emma get back together. You guys have already gotten together and broken up twice. What's one more time?" He looked up and cleared his throat when he noticed Emma approaching them. He leaned towards Sean and tapped him on the shoulder. "Now's your chance," he whispered quickly before he and Toby scattered to their seats.
"Hey, Sean," Emma replied with a warm smile. She sat down next to him and saw his splinted wrist. "How's your wrist?"
Sean returned her with a nervous smile. He lifted up his wrist for her to see. "This damage isn't even going to compare to the damage my brother will do to me if I don't pass the 10th grade." He pointed at his list of assignments.
Emma pulled out a folder from her backpack and slid it next to Sean. "I copied my notes for you. I'm sure they'll help you with your assignments." She was about to stand up to move to her seat next to Manny but stopped. "Oh, and Sean..." she said nervously.
Sean looked at her to wait for what she was going to say next.
"I can help you study...that is...if you need help." She replied.
In the corner of his eye, Sean saw JT nudge Toby. He quickly threw a dirty look at them, and JT slipped him a hidden "thumbs up." He turned back to look at Emma and nodded coolly. "Sure," he answered calmly with a quick shrug of the shoulders. "I could use all the help I can get!" He quickly went back to skimming through his e-mails. He was afraid that if he looked at Emma long enough, she would notice how excited he really was about her offer to help him.
"Well...okay," Emma said as calmly as she could to mask the built up excitement she had inside. "Just let me know when you—"
"Oh my god!!" Sean exclaimed with his eyes glued to his computer screen.
Emma looked up to see what Sean was looking at. Out of curiosity, JT and Toby got up from their seats to also see what Sean was surprised about.
JT read the name on top of the opened e-mail Sean was reading. "Who's Devon Simmons?"
Sean looked at Emma, JT, and Toby with a huge grin on his face. "Devon is a buddy of mine from Wasaga Beach."
Emma skimmed through the e-mail and realized why Sean was smiling. "Looks like your friend is transferring to Degrassi this year."
Sean nodded. "The two of us got into so much trouble in Wasaga. We constantly pulled pranks on people, got into fights...and served many sessions of detention together." He laughed lightly and shook his head. "I can only imagine the mess Devon is going to get the two of us into here in Degrassi." He turned away to finish reading his e-mail as JT, Toby, and Emma stood up and went to their seats.
JT and Toby sat down in their seats. "So what do you think about Sean's friend coming to Degrassi?" JT asked.
Toby shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." He looked over at JT puzzled. "Am I supposed to care?"
JT rolled his eyes. "This guy sounds exactly like another "Sean". Which means that he will be getting a lot of attention from—"
"getting into trouble?" Toby interupted.
"No," JT shook his head. "Another 'bad boy' in Degrassi? That only attracts more ladies!" He rested his hand against his cheek and sighed. "Getting Sean out of the way will be no problem." He looked over at Toby. "But what are we going to do about this friend of his?"
As Emma sat down in her seat next to Manny, Manny smiled and her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Well...what did he say?"
Emma gave her a small smile. "He accepted my offer for me to help him study."
"That's great!" Manny replied back. She looked at her friend closely. "Why do you look so disappointed? I thought you wanted to try to get close to Sean again."
"I do..." Emma replied. "But when I was talking to him, he was reading an e- mail from one of his friends."
"So?" Manny didn't understand where Emma was getting at.
"It was a friend he used to get in trouble with when he was living in Wasaga."
"Oh..." Manny realized what Emma's concern was about. "Em...Sean moved away from Wasaga three years ago. He's changed a lot since then...especially this past year. He's a completely different person now."
Emma nervously nodded her head. "SEAN may be a different person now..." she looked over at Sean who was still beaming over the e-mail he received. "It's his friend that I'm worried about." She looked back at Manny. They were both thinking the same thing: What if this "old buddy" from Wasaga Beach encourages Sean to fall back into "old habits"?
"Can you believe this?" JT asked as he peeked through the window into the computer lab.
"What?" Toby asked as he zipped his backpack closed.
JT pointed at what he was observing. Sean was sitting at a computer surrounded by three girls. "Look at that—they're practically hanging on to his every word! He's been constantly surrounded by women since he and Ellie broke up!"
Toby shook his head. "No—he's been constantly surrounded by women ever since he got his license to drive his motorcycle."
JT leaned against his locker and crossed his arms. He watched as the three girls waved good-bye to Sean and smile flirtatiously. He sighed sadly. "He has taken all of our ladies!"
Toby looked at his insane friend. "What are you talking about? What ladies?"
"OUR ladies, Toby! Our man, Sean, is single and every girl in Degrassi is after him."
"Why are we wasting time talking about Sean, JT?" Toby asked uninterested.
"I've decided that the only way for us to increase our chances to meet girls is to take Sean off the market," JT explained.
"Really? And what do you plan on doing?"
"Hey, Emma!" a voice called out.
JT and Toby turned around and saw Manny walking down the hall towards her best friend.
JT stared at Emma for a moment, then looked over at Toby and grinned.
Toby knew exactly what his friend was thinking. "Oh no..." he muttered.
"Oh YES!" JT replied back. "If Sean dates a 'certain someone' he will be out of the way and our door will be open to the 10th grade women of Degrassi!" He grabbed Toby's sleeve to pull him towards the computer lab.
"Guess who's back in school?" Manny asked Emma.
Emma glanced through the doorway and saw Sean sitting at one of the computers. Sean was out of school for a week because of a motorcycle accident. She realized then and there how much she still cared for him when she found out that he could have been killed. Ever since the accident she decided to try to be close to Sean again. She looked over at Manny. "I know. I've been thinking of a way to approach him."
Manny rolled her eyes. "Em, this is SEAN—not some Hollywood movie star! Just talk to him—you know...like you USUALLY do!"
Emma nodded but stayed frozen in the doorway staring at Sean. She felt the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. It was like 7th grade all over again.
"How's the arm, Sean?" Sean looked up and saw JT and Toby hovering over his shoulder.
Sean lifted up his splinted left arm and smirked. "This isn't where the damage is, guys." He sighed. "You should see my bike. ...Or what's left of it." Sean was in a motorcycle accident the week before. He was taking a curve a little faster than he should have. Miraclously, he slid into some bushes and only got a sprained wrist and a few scrapes and bruises. His bike, on the other hand, slid at least 100 feet down the concrete road. Today was his first day back at Degrassi since the accident and he was in Mr. Simpson's computer lab checking the million e-mails of assignments his teachers sent to him to make up. He sighed when he saw a long list of e- mails pop up on the computer screen in front of him. "I don't get it!" He slouched in his chair and shook his head with disbelief. "I've only been gone for a week and it looks like it will take me the rest of the term to catch up!"
JT looked up and noticed Emma and Manny talking in the hallway outside of the computer lab. He smiled lightly. "Well...maybe you should take advantage of the situation." He nodded his head towards Emma. "You can ask Emma to help you study."
Sean looked up to take a quick glance at Emma, then looked back down to continue skimming through his e-mails. He pretended to brush off JT's last comment, but a part of him really wanted to ask for Emma's help. They hadn't studied together since they dated a few years ago. He was always able to grasp things so much easier when he studied with her. ...Or maybe it was the fact that he was around someone so positive like her that made him want to do better. He shook the thoughts out of his head to focus back on reality. "I'm not going to ask Emma for any help." He started typing on the computer. "It would be too weird."
JT and Toby looked at each other and smirked. They knew he would say that. "Sean, Emma broke up with Chris last year..." Toby pointed out.
"And you broke up with Ellie this summer because she had to move when her dad got transferred," JT added. "You and Emma have finally made it to the point where you can be in a room alone together and have a civil conversation ...AND you're BOTH single." He crossed his arms and looked over at Toby. "This is definitely going to be the year."
Toby nodded in agreement.
Sean stopped typing for a moment to throw an annoyed glance towards his nosy friends. "...the year?" he repeated.
"Yes," JT answered. "This is going to be the year you and Emma get back together. You guys have already gotten together and broken up twice. What's one more time?" He looked up and cleared his throat when he noticed Emma approaching them. He leaned towards Sean and tapped him on the shoulder. "Now's your chance," he whispered quickly before he and Toby scattered to their seats.
"Hey, Sean," Emma replied with a warm smile. She sat down next to him and saw his splinted wrist. "How's your wrist?"
Sean returned her with a nervous smile. He lifted up his wrist for her to see. "This damage isn't even going to compare to the damage my brother will do to me if I don't pass the 10th grade." He pointed at his list of assignments.
Emma pulled out a folder from her backpack and slid it next to Sean. "I copied my notes for you. I'm sure they'll help you with your assignments." She was about to stand up to move to her seat next to Manny but stopped. "Oh, and Sean..." she said nervously.
Sean looked at her to wait for what she was going to say next.
"I can help you study...that is...if you need help." She replied.
In the corner of his eye, Sean saw JT nudge Toby. He quickly threw a dirty look at them, and JT slipped him a hidden "thumbs up." He turned back to look at Emma and nodded coolly. "Sure," he answered calmly with a quick shrug of the shoulders. "I could use all the help I can get!" He quickly went back to skimming through his e-mails. He was afraid that if he looked at Emma long enough, she would notice how excited he really was about her offer to help him.
"Well...okay," Emma said as calmly as she could to mask the built up excitement she had inside. "Just let me know when you—"
"Oh my god!!" Sean exclaimed with his eyes glued to his computer screen.
Emma looked up to see what Sean was looking at. Out of curiosity, JT and Toby got up from their seats to also see what Sean was surprised about.
JT read the name on top of the opened e-mail Sean was reading. "Who's Devon Simmons?"
Sean looked at Emma, JT, and Toby with a huge grin on his face. "Devon is a buddy of mine from Wasaga Beach."
Emma skimmed through the e-mail and realized why Sean was smiling. "Looks like your friend is transferring to Degrassi this year."
Sean nodded. "The two of us got into so much trouble in Wasaga. We constantly pulled pranks on people, got into fights...and served many sessions of detention together." He laughed lightly and shook his head. "I can only imagine the mess Devon is going to get the two of us into here in Degrassi." He turned away to finish reading his e-mail as JT, Toby, and Emma stood up and went to their seats.
JT and Toby sat down in their seats. "So what do you think about Sean's friend coming to Degrassi?" JT asked.
Toby shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." He looked over at JT puzzled. "Am I supposed to care?"
JT rolled his eyes. "This guy sounds exactly like another "Sean". Which means that he will be getting a lot of attention from—"
"getting into trouble?" Toby interupted.
"No," JT shook his head. "Another 'bad boy' in Degrassi? That only attracts more ladies!" He rested his hand against his cheek and sighed. "Getting Sean out of the way will be no problem." He looked over at Toby. "But what are we going to do about this friend of his?"
As Emma sat down in her seat next to Manny, Manny smiled and her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Well...what did he say?"
Emma gave her a small smile. "He accepted my offer for me to help him study."
"That's great!" Manny replied back. She looked at her friend closely. "Why do you look so disappointed? I thought you wanted to try to get close to Sean again."
"I do..." Emma replied. "But when I was talking to him, he was reading an e- mail from one of his friends."
"So?" Manny didn't understand where Emma was getting at.
"It was a friend he used to get in trouble with when he was living in Wasaga."
"Oh..." Manny realized what Emma's concern was about. "Em...Sean moved away from Wasaga three years ago. He's changed a lot since then...especially this past year. He's a completely different person now."
Emma nervously nodded her head. "SEAN may be a different person now..." she looked over at Sean who was still beaming over the e-mail he received. "It's his friend that I'm worried about." She looked back at Manny. They were both thinking the same thing: What if this "old buddy" from Wasaga Beach encourages Sean to fall back into "old habits"?