DEGRASSI: AFTERMATH - S02E09 - 25 Hours To Go

Disclaimer: I don´t own the rights to Degrassi or the characters from it.

1. Int. Jail Cell. Morning.

Maya, Amy and Alex are playing yatzee. Amy and Alex are enjoying it, but Maya is having a hard time getting into it. Amy hits 5 sixes and smiles.

Amy:

Who´s on fire today?

Alex:

That would be you.

She writes her score down.

Amy:

Yay! Your turn, Maya.

Alex:

When you said you wanted to get a yatzee set smuggled in, I thought you´d lost it.

Amy:

Me and my brother used to play it all the time, when we went camping with our parents. It´s a lot more fun than staring at the TV or a book all day.

Alex:

Maya, it´s your turn.

Maya is off in her own thoughts and slowly snaps back.

Maya:

Sorry, guys.

Alex:

I know it´s hard to think about anything else, but you can´t make the time pass faster, no matter how much you think of it.

Amy:

I can´t blame you. At least I know that I´m getting out in four months. You have no idea how long it´ll be, until you get a final verdict.

Maya:

The first step is when Shelly gets her verdict. The jury´s been deliberating for two days and what they decide down there could make a big difference.

Alex:

So you´re not even sure that she´ll get it before your appeal?

Maya:

Nope. This is gonna be a long day.

She picks up the cup and starts rattling it.

OPENING CREDITS

2. Int. Degrassi Hallway. Day.

Julie, Lisa and Chrissy are walking down the hall. Julie isn´t her usual, cheerful self.

Julie:

He´s gonna dump me.

Lisa:

Lots of kids have to get braces.

Chrissy:

It´s not the end of the world.

Julie:

The dentist told me, that I probably have to have them in for at least two years. What boy would want to kiss a girl with a mouth full of metal?

Lisa:

Remember when Hannah Sinclair had braces? She was always getting food stuck in them.

Julie:

That´s not helping!

Lisa:

Sorry.

Julie:

She got braces when she was ten and now she´s done with them. I had to wait until I´m thirteen and I have a boyfriend. Story of my life!

Chrissy:

See ya.

Lisa:

Have fun in the Rubber Room.

They separate, with Chrissy going one way and Lisa and Julie the other. She runs right into Jamie.

Chrissy:

What a coincidence!

Jamie:

Yeah, I had no idea that you walk this route to class every Thurday at this time.

They embrace and give each other a very small kiss.

Chrissy:

We don´t want to get in trouble for breaking the PDA rules again. It was so awkward talking to my granddad about it, but he said that he got plenty of practice when my mom went here.

Jamie:

It´s just that you´re so kissable!

Charlie comes up to them. He looks a little upset.

Charlie:

Hey.

Jamie:

Hey Charlie. What´s up?

Charlie:

I guess you haven´t heard about Deb and Seb.

Chrissy:

What about them?

The bell rings and they follow mrs. Oh into the classroom. Chrissy and Jamie now also look worried.

3. Int. Classroom. Day.

Deb and Seb´s seats are empty. Mrs. Oh addresses the class.

Mrs. Oh:

Class, as you can see, We´re without Deborah and Sebastian today. Last evening their mother was found dead.

Chrissy, Jamie and Charlie are clearly very affected.

Mrs. Oh:

It goes without saying, that they´re going through a very difficult time right now. They have to be allowed to take the time they need, until they feel like they´re ready to come back.

As Mrs. Oh continues talking, we focus on Chrissy and Jamie digesting the news.

4. Int. Hallway. Day

The kids leave the classroom. Jamie, Charlie and Chrissy stand out to the side, so that they can talk.

Jamie:

Have you heard anything about how she died? She wasn´t that old.

Charlie:

I heard she committed suicide. I got it from a guy I know down from the Ravine, who lives in the same building as them. He said the cops have had their apartment sealed off since last night, so they can collect evidence.

Chrissy:

Poor Deb and Seb!

She´s clearly shaken up and Jamie comforts her. He looks pretty shocked as well.

5. Int. Jail Cell. Day.

The women are done playing yatzee and are now just passing the time. Maya is still reading "The Stand", but has managed to read an impressive amount of it in such a short time. A guard comes in.

Guard:

Matlin.

Maya gets out of her cot.

Guard:

You have a call from your lawyer.

Maya takes a deep breath and follows the guard.

6. Int. Phone Room. Day.

Maya sits down and picks up the phone.

Maya:

Georgia.

Georgia (voice over):

Maya, I´ve got big news. The jury has convicted Shelly of first degree murder.

Maya smiles.

Maya:

That´s great news.

Georgia (voice over):

We´re far from out of the woods yet, but this was a very big step.

Maya:

It won´t change anything if she appeals it?

Georgia (voice over):

Not for us. They basically stamped her a liar and the forensic evidence didn´t add up with her explanation. I´m glad I´m not her lawyer right now!

Maya:

What about the other charge? About disposing of the body?

Georgia (voice over):

Even if they get you convicted on it, they´d have to release you right away for time served. Without a murder charge, they won´t think it´s worth it.

Maya:

I wish I could turn the time forward, so we could start the hearing right now.

Georgia (voice over):

Me too, Maya. But I don´t want you to think there´s no chance we´ll lose. Right now I´d say we´ve gone from ten-ninety to fifty-fifty.

Maya:

That´s still a whole lot better. I´ll see you tomorrow.

Georgia (voice over):

You sure will. Try to have a good day.

Maya:

You too.

Maya hangs up the phone and looks more hopeful than she has in a while.

7. Int. Hotel Room. Day.

Bianca is with Ed, Deb and Seb, who have been entire family looks very unhappy. Ed is downright distraught.

Bianca:

We hope this won´t have to be for too long. Usually it takes the police two to three days to finish their investigations.

Ed:

We´re not moving back to that place, no matter what.

Bianca:

Do you have some family or friends you could stay with? We can help find you some public housing you´d be able to afford, but it won´t happen from day to day.

Ed:

We could stay at my brother´s house, I suppose.

Bianca:

If any of you need to talk to me, I´m always available.

Deb:

Thanks.

Seb:

Yeah, thanks, ms. DeSousa.

Ed:

I hope you feel like you can talk to me. But if there´s something you feel you can´t talk to me about, I don´t want you to be afraid to call her. There´s never any shame in asking for help, when you need it.

Bianca:

Thanks for supporting me, Ed.

Ed:

I know I can´t have been the easiest to deal with, but I´ve always respected you. You´re hard as a brick, but your heart is in the right place. I´m not a man who likes asking for help, but we´ll need some support to move on from this.

Bianca:

Thank you, Ed. I have to get back to my office.

She shakes hands with them and leaves.

8. Int. The Dot. Day.

Spinner is wiping off the grill and Michaela is clearing tables, when Chrissy comes in. She still looks pretty down.

Chrissy:

Hi Michaela, hi dad.

Michaela:

Hi there, Chrissy. You have a good day at school?

Chrissy:

Not really.

Spinner:

What´s wrong, honey?

Chrissy:

There´s these two kids, a brother and sister, that I´ve become friends with in remedial class. They weren´t there today, because their mom killed herself.

Both Spinner and Michaela stop what they´re doing, to go tend to her.

Spinner:

That´s terrible. Are you close with them?

Chrissy:

We´ve hung out a lot lately. Deb, that´s the sister, she has the same learning disability I have.

Spinner:

We´ll get your mom to pick up your brothers. She can take them for the night.

Chrissy:

I´m okay, I guess. It made me think of what I´m gonna do, when you or mom die. I didn´t speak to her for almost five months. That´s time with her I´m never getting back. She could have been killed in an accident or something and we wouldn´t have become close again.

Spinner:

Tonight we´ll do whatever you feel like doing. You can invite Jamie, Julie and Lisa over too, if you want.

Michaela:

I could take over the grill and you could leave right away.

Spinner:

I don´t know.

Michaela:

It´s the end of the afternoon. We´ll get ten customers at the most, until Sam comes in. I´ve seen you do it a million times. She needs her dad right now.

Spinner:

Allright.

He goes to get his coat.

9. Int. Prison Exercise Room. Day.

Alex is teaching self defense to Amy and Maya. Maya´s almost in a good mood. She´s got Amy caught in a headlock.

Alex:

Amy, you can do this.

Maya:

Why are you rooting her on?

Alex:

She´s still got four months. Either way, you´ll be out of here soon.

Amy is fighting to get out, but can´t. Maya looks cocky.

Maya:

Do you give up?

Alex tickles Maya under the armpit, giving her no chioice but to release the hold as she laughs. Amy and Alex laugh too, but their laughter subsides when Val and Roxy approach them.

Alex:

What´s up, Val?

Val:

Not much. Roxy and me just got out of solitary. Thought we´d come to say that we´re done with Janine. I haven´t got a problem with you.

She turns her attention to Amy, who tries to look brave.

Val:

Well, hello Amy.

Amy:

Val. I´m not scared of you anymore.

Val:

You´re not? You betrayed me, Amy. There´s nothing worse than a traitor and after all I did for you. That hurts me, Amy. I´ll have to take out all my pain on you, that´s how things work around here.

Amy now looks really scared, but Alex steps between them, so that Val can´t see her.

Alex:

You´re not touching her.

Val:

We´ll see about that.

Her and Roxy leave. Maya and Alex comfort Amy.

10. MONTAGE - music: "You´ve got a friend" by Carole King - At first the mood is a little down, so Spinner and Lisa do everything they can to cheer Julia, Jamie and Chrissy up. Lisa first manages to make Julie laugh by making silly faces at her. Spinner, Lisa and Julie´s silly dance gets Chrissy to cheer up and Chrissy cheering up cheers Jamie up. After that they have a fun night and Spinner is clearly enjoying having all these kids in the house.

11. Int. Call Center. Evening.

Manny and Bianca are manning the phones with Carlos. Manny now has her own line and looks to be comfortable in her new job. She´s just finishing up a call.

Manny:

Don´t hesitate to call us again, okay? It´s what we´re here for. Bye.

She hangs up the phone.

Bianca:

You´re getting better by the day.

Manny:

Thanks. I try to put myself in their situation and work from there.

Carlos:

You should do the counsellor´s programme.

Manny:

I can´t really afford it right now.

Bianca:

What if I guaranteed you a paid full time job, when you´ve completed it?

Manny lights up and is one big smile.

Manny:

Are you serious?

Bianca:

Of course I am. You´re dedicated and you truly care about every person you deal with. Terry will be retiring in a few months and we´re short staffed as it is.

Carlos:

I could loan you the money, if that´s what it´s about. We´ve spent a lot of hours manning these phones together and I see the exact same things Bianca does. I know Eddy a little and I know he´s not exactly making millions. I´m sure Marco wouldn´t mind either if I helped out his friend´s girlfriend.

Manny:

I don´t know what to say.

Bianca:

We can fill out the forms tomorrow and get the process started. In four months you´ll be a qualified counsellor, if you say yes. You can be pretty sure you can get a student grant, with our recommendation.

Manny:

Yes. It´s a big yes! Can I go call Eddy?

Bianca:

Sure. Just don´t flunk out of the programme. I´m counting on you.

Manny:

I´ll dedicate myself to it 100 percent, I promise.

She grabs her phone and leaves the room. Bianca and Carlos look at each other and smile.

12. Int. Hallway. Evening.

Manny is calling Eddy.

Eddy (voice over):

If it isn´t the love of my life.

Manny:

Hi, honey. I´ve got amazing news.

Eddy (voice over):

Amazing, huh? Well, you´ve certainly built it up, what is it?

Manny:

I´ve just been offered a spot on the counsellor´s programme, a full time job when I finish it and a way to pay for it.

Eddy (voice over):

You´re sure you didn´t fall asleep in between calls?

Manny:

Stop kidding and be happy for me!

Eddy (voice over):

You know that I´m happy for you. We need to celebrate as soon as possible.

Manny:

It can´t be tomorrow. You don´t get home until 5 and I´ve already left by then. Then I don´t get home until 3.30.

Eddy (voice over):

What about Saturday?

Manny:

I´ve got a house call and then I´m manning phones in the evening. Maybe if I don´t sleep, we can hang out in the morning.

Eddy (voice over):

I wouldn´t do that to you. But you´re free Sunday, right?

Manny:

100 percent. Actually my parents asked us to come over for lunch, if that´s okay.

Eddy (voice over):

Cool. Then we could try having a real date in the evening. It´s been a while since we´ve had one of those.

Manny:

Look, I know I´ve been completely wrapped up in this. You must feel like you´re housing a stranger.

Eddy (voice over):

I´ve been busy too, with the band. We´ve rehearsed three times this week. I can´t believe how good we´re beginning to sound.

Manny:

That´s great, just make sure you don´t over use that arm. It´s supposed to last you a lifetime and I want you to be able to play with our kids someday.

Eddy (voice over):

You´ve been thinking about kids, huh? You know where I stand.

Manny:

Things are kinda crazy right now, but I´m not getting any younger and I feel like I´ve found the perfect dad. I want to have your kids and it´s not something I see as being too far into the future. Of course that first requires us getting intimate again.

Eddy (voice over):

Manny, it´s no big deal.

Manny:

You´re only only saying that because you´re the nicest guy ever. We´ve only been together for five months and already you´re getting as much action as someone who´s been married for fifty years.

Eddy (voice over):

Okay, so I´m not completely satisfied with our love life right now, but we can change that, can´t we?

Manny:

I want you twice as much as you want me. It´ll change, I promise. Look, I gotta get back to work.

Eddy (voice over):

Okay and congratulations on your success. You deserve it.

13. Int. Eddy´s Apartment. Evening.

Eddy has his shirt off and rubs some more cream on his arm. He´s clearly in pain from over using his arm and he winces in pain when he lifts it. He´s got a laptop in front of him and we see that he´s looking at the Wikipedia page for Carisoprodol and he´s got the bottle with the pills in his hand. He has a bottle of water on the table next to the laptop. He reads to himself from the page.

Eddy:

Carisoprodol, also known as Soma. This is the one that killed all those pro wrestlers in the 90´s and early 2000´s.

He scrolls the page down and continues to read to himself.

Eddy:

A high number of deaths among athletes have been attributed to abuse of the drug, as it is highly addictive.

He´s in pain from even the simplest movements. He gets a pill out and opens the cap on the bottle.

Eddy:

So basically it´s poison. How lovely.

He swallows the pill and drinks some water. He then lays down on the couch, tries to get comfortable and turns on the TV.

14. Int. Jail Cell. Evening.

Alex and Amy are playing cards, while Maya is reading.

Amy:

Alex, after this game, could you walk me to my cell?

Alex:

We´ll figure something out.

Amy:

You keep saying that, but my cell is far away from yours. Val has a million chances every day to get at me.

A guard comes in.

Guard:

Matlin, it´s your lawyer again.

Maya:

I thought I was only allowed one call a day.

Guard:

She showed up and demanded to see you. The warden knows what she´s like and thinks it´s easier to give her what she wants than it is to argue with her.

Maya follows the guard.

15. Int. Visiting Room. Evening.

Georgia is waiting for Maya, who´s brought in.

Maya:

You bugged them into letting you talk to me?

Georgia:

I didn´t feel like it could wait. First I called and got the same answer every time until they hung up the moment they heard my voice. So I had to come up here and convince them in person. I think you better sit down.

Maya sits down.

Maya:

Lay it on me.

Georgia:

Shelly LaMotta changed her testimony tonight. They´re pleading guilty and she completely exonerates you. Backed your story up to the letter.

Maya:

You mean ...

Georgia:

We have to get the paperwork done first, but tomorrow at nine o´clock you´ll be able to leave here a free woman.

Maya couldn´t look happier.

Maya:

What about the hearing?

Georgia:

There´s no point in having a hearing and the DA knows it. I called him up the moment I found out about Shelly´s confession and they´re dropping the case completely.

Maya:

It´s over?

She can barely believe it.

Georgia:

It´s over, Maya. You can finally go on with your life and put all this behind you.

Maya stands up and raises her arms above her head to celebrate her victory.

CLOSING CREDITS