DEGRASSI: GLORY DAYS - S01E02 - THE TROUBLE WITH ME
DISCLAIMER: I DONT OWN DEGRASSI
Author´s note: Be warned that this episode will feature a lot of language and views that today would be seen as politically incorrect and bigoted. In 1977 these views and the language represented would have been seen as being acceptable. I have always considered myself an open minded person and I am not in any way homophobic or a misogynist. The purpose here is to display the troubles a homosexual teenager would have faced at that time. It´s sad to me that so many people still harbor these views.
1. Ext. Lake. Day.
Kat and Michelle are in a row boat. Michelle is rowing. She´s got a flower in her hair that fits in with their gorgeous natural surroundings.
Kat:
We´re far enough away.
Michelle smiles and stops rowing. She lies down in the bottom of the boat. Kat lies down next to her and they begin kissing. Things begin to get hot between them, but the hotter they get, the darker the sky becomes. Michelle begins to stick her hand up Kat´s dress and the rain begins to pour down. Michelle stops, but Kat looks at her pleadingly, so she continues. When she begins to touch her privates (under the dress of course), lightning begins striking down all around them. Michelle looks worrried.
Michelle:
It´s too dangerous.
Kat:
Not if we´re together.
Kat pulls her in close and shakes with pleasure as they kiss passionately. The storm slowly begins to clear around them.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Car. Morning.
Michelle and Kat are driving to school. Kat looks a bit tired, while Michelle is fresh as a daisy.
Michelle:
You´re looking a bit peakish. What did you do last night?
Kat:
Played with Christine while we watched "The Gong Show" and "Chico and the Man".
Michelle:
Why are you so tired, then?
Kat:
I´ve been having these weird dreams for a while.
Michelle:
Weird, how?
Kat:
Weird as in erotic. I´ve been having wet dreams.
MIchelle laughs.
Michelle:
Who´s the guy?
Kat:
It´s not a guy in particular ...
Michelle:
Gang-bangs?
Kat:
No! I don´t even know what that is, but just hearing the word makes me say no.
Michelle:
It´s when ...
Kat:
I don´t want to know!
They stay silent for a few seconds.
Michelle:
Your mom´s probably done one.
Kat:
I´m just glad, that I don´t have to know about it.
3. Int. Hallway. Morning.
Kat and Michelle are walking down the Hallway. Michelle is getting lots of stares and a whistle here and there from the boys, but both her and Kat are used to it. They see Tara Campbell, a slightly overweight 16 year old with glasses and short curly hair. She´s handing out flyers to girls passing by.
Tara:
Join the Feminist Club! We´re not official, but we can still unite, my sisters!
Kat and Michelle come up to her and get a flyer each. Mike and Troy come up to them.
Mike:
You two aren´t really thinking about joining the "Hairy Arm Pit" club?
Troy:
More like "The Dyke Society".
Mike:
Yeah, Tara. Been doing some rug-munching lately?
Tara:
Don´t listen to these two creetins.
Michelle:
We happen to know these two creetins very well. Especially the one who won´t take responsibility for his kid.
Troy:
You´ll never prove if it was me or any of the other guys she banged.
Kat:
I didn´t sleep with anyone except you, you A-Hole!
Mike:
Ooh. The kitten is showing her claws. I like it!
Tara:
Someday in the future, we´ll all look down on cavemen like you, Mike Coleman.
Mike:
Get back in the kitchen!
Mike knocks the flyers out of Tara´s hands and they laugh at her as they walk up the hall. Kat and Michelle help her pick them up and hand their stacks to her.
Tara:
Thanks. Are you thinking of joining?
Michelle:
If it was to stop jerks from behaving like that, I´d join in a second.
Kat:
How many have signed up?
Tara:
6, if you two join us. No one´s done anything like this at Degrassi before, so I know it will take time to build it up.
Kat:
My grandmother says that feminists are just girls, who can´t get a man.
Tara:
Well, she couldn´t be more wrong. All we want is equal rights here at the school, nothing more.
Michelle:
Don´t get me wrong, I think feminism is cool. But if I join, my popularity will plummet. It´s nothing personal.
Kat:
I´ll join.
Tara:
Great!
Michelle:
You´re not afraid, that they´ll think you´re a you-know-what?
Kat:
Aren´t you supposed to be the sexually liberated one?
Michelle:
I am, but you don´t want to be known as one of "Those Girls" , do you? You can be mad all you want. I just want you to be a realist here. If you join them, there´s a lot of guys who won´t date you.
Kat:
Maybe I don´t want to date that type of guys, have you ever thought about that?
Michelle:
Sorry. I´ll keep my mouth shut.
Tara:
We have our first meeting at my mom´s house this Saturday.
Michelle and Kat continue walking up the hall as Tara tries to hijack new members.
4. Int. Classroom. Morning.
Troy and Mike are sitting next to each other, with Dexter sitting in front of them with his chair turned around.
Dexter:
Is everything set for tonight?
Mike:
We have 5 kegs and 5 bottles of whisky.
Dexter:
How many are coming?
Troy:
About 15. We´re keeping it exclusive.
Mike:
Especially as far as the ladies go.
Troy and Mike high five.
Troy:
How can you have a girlfriend? You could be getting so much tail!
Mike:
Wide Receivers are in high demand with the ladyfolk.
Dexter:
I´m more than happy with Ruby, okay?
Mike:
Suit yourself.
Dexter:
Unlike you guys, I happen to believe, that we all have to pay for our sins someday.
Troy:
Can it with the preaching.
Mike:
It´s getting old.
Sandra Williams, a beautiful and very stylish 18 year old blonde with Farrah hair, Trish Mitchell, a cute, but shy looking 17 year old brunette and their friend Ruby King, a short, but pretty 17 year old African American girl with gorgeous hair down to heir waist, come into the classroom. Sandra owns the room immediately and Mike can´t take his eyes off her as they pass them by. Ruby blows a kiss to Dexter.
Mike:
Now Sandra. That´s what I call a fine piece of meat.
Troy:
You´ll end up chewed up and spit out like her other boyfriends. I wouldn´t touch her, if you paid me to.
Dexter:
I´ll keep my sweet Ruby. As far as I´m corcerned, It´s me who´s the lucky one.
Troy makes eye contact with Trish, who shyly looks away after a few seconds.
5. Int. Hallway. Day.
Carl is with Luke by one of the lockers. They´re looking at Annie Carlson, a a slightly quirky looking 14 year old 9th grader with long blonde hair, that she has in a braid.
Carl:
It´s just Annie. There´s nothing to be afraid of.
Luke:
What if she laughs at me?
Carl:
Then you shrug it off. Like "you really thought I was asking you out? I was just joking".
Luke:
I´ve already forgotten all that.
Annie has got her books out of her locker and is about to close it.
Carl:
You have to make your move before she leaves.
Luke:
I know.
He´s like frozen in his spot.
Carl:
Move!
Luke manages to take a few short steps towards her, but she´s gone before he gets anywhere near her. Carl shakes his head at him, but puts his arm around his shoulder for support anyway.
Carl:
You got a a step closer today. We´ll try it again next week.
Luke lets out a small sigh of relief.
6. Int. Classroom. Day.
The teacher, a man named mr. Watson ( who´s in his early 60´s) is teaching the class. He has an extremely monotone voice and it´s almost putting his students to sleep.
Watson:
After the great war came the great european famine of 1918 to 1919, where tens of thousands of people starved to death across the European mainland. Of, course the Spanish flu was also ravaging ...
We focus on Kat. who´s falling asleep. We fade to:
7. Int. Ballroom. Evening. Music: "Can´t Take My Eyes Off Of You" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
Kat and Michelle are alone on the floor, dancing in evening gowns. They´re lost in love with one another, but their dancing is perfect in every way. Franki Valli with his big band is singing just for them and the moment is perfect in every way, when they look each other in the eyes and kiss with great passion. They keep dancing in perfect unison until she´s suddenly snapped out of it as we cut to:
8. Int. Classroom. Day.
Kat wakes up to the sound of laughter from several others in the classroom.
Watson:
Miss Nelson, you can catch up on your sleep in detention the next two days.
Kat:
Yes, sir.
Kat is a little embarrassed, but is comforted when Michelle smiles at her.
9. Int. Hallway. Day
Sandra, Trish and Ruby are coming out of class. Troy, Dexter and Mike follow right after them.
Mike:
Hey, Sandra.
They start walking next to them. Sandra barely acknowledges Mike´s presence. Dexter puts his arm around Ruby. Trish smiles shyly at Troy.
MIke:
You´re coming to our party tonight, right?
Sandra:
Girls, there´s this annoying bug buzzing in my ear.
Mike:
Don´t be cruel, baby!
Ruby:
Elvis quotes? Really?
Mike:
You can´t blame a guy for respecting the king!
Dexter:
I´ll have my girl there. That´s all I care about.
He kisses Ruby´s hair and she smiles. The two of them are obviously in love with one another.
Sandra:
You got your claws in the last good one, Ruby.
Ruby:
And don´t I know it!
Sandra:
As for you and me, Trish. I´m afriad, we´ll have to settle for the left overs, no one else wants.
Mike:
Who are you calling "Left-overs"?
Sandra:
You and Troy.
Troy:
We are two different people, you know.
Sandra:
You could have fooled me.
Mike:
Please Sandra, you gotta come. It won´t be the same without you.
Sandra:
I suppose I can make an appearance.
Troy:
What about you Trish, are you coming?
Trish:
If it´s okay with you, Sandra.
Sandra:
Of course it is. It´s time you knew more people at Degrassi, than just me and Ruby.
Trish:
I guess, I´ll see you there.
Troy:
Awesome. Promise me, you´ll dance with me?
Trish´s face lights up in a smile.
Trish:
Yeah. Of course.
The boys race up the hall. Troy and Mike are almost giddy, now that they have dates. Sandra sees Trish´s smile.
Sandra:
Word of warning, little one. He isn´t someone you can trust.
Trish:
How do you know?
Ruby:
A few years ago he got a girl here pregnant. She had just turned 14.
Sandra:
After she got pregnant, he ditched her right away. He started telling people, that she got pregnant because she slept around and he couldn´t be sure if he was the father.
Trish:
Did she?
Ruby:
No way. She was as pristine as they come. If I found out that she even kissed another guy, while they were together, I´d be shocked.
Trish´s smile has turned to worry.
Trish:
So, he just ruined her reputation and her life like that.
Sandra:
Didn´t care what happened to her or his kid. If you ask me, the guy´s a real scumbag.
Ruby:
Mike´s worse. How could you say yes to a date with him?
Sandra:
It´s not a date. He just thinks it is. I´ll make him spend lots of his parent´s money on me, but he´s never gonna get anywhere. I do have standards, you know.
Trish:
What do I do about Troy?
Sandra:
He is hot, there´s no denying that. If I were you, I´d have a little fun with him and show him off to everyone. You´re new here, you need to be seen with the right people.
Ruby:
Just make sure you keep those legs clenched tightly at all times. If you´re smart, you´ll do what Dexter and I are doing and save yourself for marriage.
Sandra:
Unless, you already have?
Trish shakes her head, then takes a deep breath and tries to regain her composure.
10. Int. Cafeteria. Day.
Carl is sitting with Luke, eating Sloppy Joe´s with great delight.
Carl:
The food here is a lot better, than it was at my old school.
Luke:
They are really good, I´ll give them that. Girlfriend alert.
Carl sees Tif coming towards him, carrying her tray. Luke gets up.
Carl:
You don´t have to leave.
Luke:
I have to listen to her voice in class. That´s all the Tif, I can stomach.
He leaves and Tif comes over to Carl.
Tif:
Can I sit here?
Carl:
Sure. He had things to do.
She sits down in Luke´s old spot.
Carl:
They´re really good.
Tif:
Let me try.
She takes a bite and looks pleased.
Carl:
I´m right, aren´t I?
Tif:
You are. Can I ask you something?
Carl:
Shoot.
Tif:
Why haven´t you asked me out yet?
Carl is a little flustered by the question.
Tif:
I know you said, that you needed time to settle, but it´s been almost two weeks now.
Carl:
I´m still settling.
Tif:
If you don´t like me, I´d rather if you´d let me know now. Because I like you.
Carl:
You do?
She nods and looks him in the eyes.
Carl:
Okay.
Tif:
Just like that? That isn´t how I pictured this happening.
He takes her hands and they smile at each other.
Carl:
Tiffanny Andrews, would you like to go out to a movie with me tonight?
Tif:
Carl Nelson, I would love to!
She smiles and takes another bite.
11. Int. Hallway. Day.
Tara is still handing out flyers, but we see that very few girls have taken one, since she still has almost as many left, as she did before. She sees Mike and Dexter walking towards her and tries to ignore them.
Mike:
Wow, Tara. You failing even worse, than I thought you would!
Tara:
Leave me alone.
Dexter:
Aren´t you ashamed of yourself?
Tara:
What?
Dexter:
You´re advocating same sex relationships to all these young girls. You know the bible is against it, don´t you?
We see that Kat and Michelle are heading up the hall, coming towards Tara, Mike and Dexter.
Tara:
This is about having equal rights at school. It´s got nothing to do with queers.
Mike:
My dad says that if it wasn´t for the damn hippies, they wouldn´t have made it legal back in ´69.
Dexter:
The thought of it alone makes me sick.
Tara:
In this school and in schools everywhere across Canada, there´s two sets of rules. One for the boys and one for the girls. Whether it´s here or outside of school, we get treated completely differently from men. I don´t think that´s fair, do you?
Dexter:
It´s the way, it´s always been. You´ll never change that.
Tara:
If people keep thinking the way you do, they won´t. I´d like to think that eventually people will smarten up, but unless someone spreads the word, that´s never gonna happen.
Mike:
Are you on your period or something?
Tara:
That´s exactly the kind of sexist BS, I want to get rid of. Guys like him can walk around here and say crap like that and there´s nothing we can do about it. After High school, more boys will go to college, compared to girls. Those of us who finish college, can look forward to getting underpaid our entire work lives compared to our male colleagues, for doing the exact same work.
Dexter:
I´m not saying that I don´t sympathize with some of your views, but I still can´t support same sex relationships, when God forbids it.
Tara:
This has nothing to do with that. I like guys! Is that so hard to believe?
Mike:
Why do you look and sound like a dyke, then?
Tara:
Long hair doesn´t look good on everyone. Mine looks like a curly haystack, when it gets longer!
Dexter:
Okay, so maybe you aren´t one. But you´re still sending the message, that they don´t need men in their lives.
Kat and Michelle pass by close enough to hear them.
Tara:
I don´t wanna create a bunch of filthy little lesbos! I think they´re sinners, just like you do!
We see Kat try to hide, that she wasn´t hurt by what she heard as she keeps walking.
12. Int. Hallway. Day.
School is bring let out. Kat is with Carl.
Carl:
It sucks that you got detention.
Kat:
I guess, I needed the sleep.
Carl:
It´s a high prize to pay for it. I gotta go. I´m walking Tif home.
Kat:
Walking her home. You two are getting serious!
Carl:
I´m also taking her out to a movie tonight.
Kat:
"Star Wars" is still playing at the Rialto.
Carl:
I´ve seen it three times already, but maybe she hasn´t. It would be the perfect date movie.
Kat:
Call me tomorrow. I want to know how it went.
Carl sees Tif and runs to catch up with her. Kat thinks they´re cute together.
13. Int. Classroom. Day.
Detention class is almost empty. The only one there is Trish, so Kat sits down next to her and offers her a handshake.
Kat:
Hi, I´m Kathrine, but everyone calls me Kat.
Trish takes her hand and shakes it.
Trish:
I´m Trish. I just started here a few weeks ago.
Kat:
My cousin did too. He´s a Niner.
Trish:
Niner?
Kat:
9th grade student. You really are new here, aren´t you? Where did you live before?
Trish:
I grew up in Wasaga Beach. My dad couldn´t find work up there, so we moved to Toronto last month.
Kat:
I was there a few times, back when I was a kid. How did you end up in detention?
Trish:
I´d rather not say.
Kat:
That´s okay. I´m just making conversation. I fell asleep in class.
Trish:
You did? That must have been embarrassing.
Kat:
A little, but embarrassment is something, I´m used to by now.
Trish:
I´m here because I ran out of class. Then I got caught by the hall monitor without a hall pass.
Kat:
Why did you do that?
Trish leans in to whisper in Kat´s ear.
Trish:
My monthly visitor came a-knocking.
The two smile at each other. We pan out as they continue chit-chatting.
CLOSING CREDITS
I hope none of you were offended by the episode. It was meant to be thought provoking. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of it.