DEGRASSI: AFTERMATH - S03E05 - BOYS DON´T CRY PART 1
Disclaimer: I don´t own degrassi or the characters from it.
Author´s note: I dedicate this and the next episode to Ole Michelsen. Ole was the host of a movie review show called "Bogart" that ran here in Denmark from 1985 to 2002 and reviewed movies for newspapers for many years before that. I watched it almost religiously and in many ways, he´s the one who taught me why a good movie is good and why a bad one is bad. He lived nearly his entire life in the same neighborhood, I live in and I was lucky enough to get to talk to him a few times at a local bar, he sometimes visited. He was a very pleasant man to talk to, but it was a little wild to know that I was talking to a guy who´d interviewed great directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese and huge actors like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep back in the day. He was known as an intelligent and kind man, who always loved to talk to old fans like me and many others. I just read this morning (march 7th), that he passed away yesterday at the age of 79. In true Ole fashion, he ended it with a touching goodbye video, that was shot a few weeks ago. His last words in the video were that he hopes, we can get away from all the fighting that´s going on and try to understand each other in stead.
These next two episodes will now be very different from the original ones I had planned. After I saw that farewell video, these episodes came to me right away.
1. Int. Skatepark. Evening.
CAPTION: WEDNESDAY
Montage - music: "Carousel" by Blink 182. We open with Jamie and Simon practicing hard for the Half Pipe contest at the Junior City Championships. They keep one upping each other and it´s like they´re making each other better all the time. Watching them are two 14 year old girls wearing In-Line Skates, Allison Lambert (an egdy and slighty tomboyish girl with long black hair, who loves her dark makeup tones and her big hoodie sweaters, she can hide away in) and her BFF Sun-Yi Yamamoto (a pretty and slightly quirky looking asian girl, known as Suey to most people. She´s quite small for her age and unlike Allison, loves her bright colors). When the boys get tired, the girls get their turn and show that they´re to be taken seriously as well. They show off their skills and the boys are impressed.
Afterwards the four of them are hanging out on top of the ramp drinking sodas. Allison makes a face at the taste of her´s.
Simon:
You can´t say, I didn´t warn you.
Allison:
You´d think that strawberry soda would taste great, but this is horrible!
Suey:
Let me try.
Jamie:
She already told you, it tastes bad. Why put it in your mouth, if you already know?
Suey:
I dunno. I just wanna.
Allson hands her the can. She tastes it and smiles.
Suey:
What are you talking about? This is great!
Allison:
Classic you. If everyone else hates it, I can always count on you to be the one person that likes it.
Jamie gets a phone call. he gets up and steps away from the others to talk.
Allison:
I think you´re better than Jamie. You´ll take home that championship for sure.
Simon:
Thanks. I´ll do my best and we´ll see how it goes. Maybe we can have our victory parties together.
Allison:
Do you train a lot?
Simon:
I do now. I had a while, where I was with this girl and I didn´t skate as much.
Suey:
We heard about the whole drama.
Allison:
If you wanna hang out and talk or skate together, you can always come to me. I´m great at bringing moods up and I know a ton of great skate spots.
Simon:
Sure. Maybe we could go street skating or something after school tomorrow .
Allison:
It´s a date.
Jamie comes back with a shocked look on his face.
Jamie:
My dad just told, that there´s been a shooting at a concert.
The other three look shocked too.
Suey:
Is anybody hurt?
Jamie nods and fights to hold the tears back. Simon stands up and goes over to him.
Simon:
What´s happened, man?
Jamie:
Charlie was there. He got shot in the back.
Jamie can´t hold the tears back any longer. Simon is shocked at the news.
Simon:
Is he alive?
Jamie:
He´s in surgery. He could die.
Simon gives Jamie a hug. The girls look stunned.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Kitchen. Day.
CAPTION: THURSDAY
Spinner is getting the kids ready to leave for the day. Chrissy sits on a chair and looks pretty depressed.
Chrissy:
Do I have to go?
Spinner:
Honey, we talked about this. I really think it´s better for you to be with friends right now, than being alone with your thoughts.
Chrissy:
I won´t be able to follow the classes. I can´t stop thinking about Charlie and Jamie. What do I say, when I see him? "Sorry, your cousin got shot"?
Spinner:
You´ll know, when you get there. He doesn´t expect anything from you. All you have to do is be there for him. Are you ready to go?
She stands up and he gives Chrissy a hug, that it looked like she needed.
Spinner:
I don´t think they´ll mind, if you want to leave early. Come down to the Dot, when you´re done and I´ll fix you a ride to the hospital.
Chrissy:
Thanks, dad.
3. Int. Teacher´s Lounge. Day.
Snake is holding a meeting with all the teachers at the school.
Snake:
Good morning, people. It goes without saying, that this isn´t an ordinary day. As you all probably know, last night a lone gunman shot six innocent people at a Kid Elrick concert, before committing suicide. So far two have passed away and one is in critical condition. Thankfully, the last three got off easy. The one in critical condition is a student here at Degrassi. An 8th grader named Charlie Howerton.
The teachers look at each other in shock.
Snake:
I´ve been told that his surgery went well, but he´s still dependent on a respirator. I´ve debated with myself, whether or not we should tell the students that fact. In the end, I decided that it´s better they hear it from one of their teachers, than them seeing it on the news. Today, we won´t be having classes. In stead, I want you to explain in a calm manner to the students, what´s happened. Allow them to ask all the questions they want to. Answer them to your best ability, that´s all I can ask for. When they´re done with their questions, give them the rest of the day off. You´ll be excused too, but if a student wants to talk, please talk to them for as long they need to. Good day.
The teachers get up from their seats and begin to leave. We focus on Marco and Eddy.
Marco:
I can´t believe, this is real. This stuff doesn´t happen in Toronto.
Eddy:
It happens everywhere. Poor Chrissy. Charlie´s her boyfriend´s cousin.
Marco:
I´ve talked to him as a counsellor lots of times. He´s a good kid, he just wants to grow up too fast, that´s his big problem. Or was his big problem. A guy named Jimmy, I went to school with, got shot in the back. He had all the talent to become an NBA player. In stead, he ended up in a wheelchair.
Eddy shakes his head at the insanity of it all.
4. Montage.
We cut between the various classrooms throughtout the segment.
7th grade art.
Eddy:
All of you have probably heard, what happened at the Kid Elrick concert last night. Six people were shot, three of them got hurt badly. Two of them have died and one is in the hospital.
Remedial Class.
Mrs. Oh:
One of those, who were shot was Charlie. He´s in the hospital and he´s in what they call a respirator.
Kimmie:
Is he gonna be okay?
Mrs. Oh:
That´s still too early to say.
8th grade history
Megan:
Why would anyone do that?
Marco:
It´s impossible to say right now. They haven´t released any information on him, except that it was a man in his thirties. Sometimes people lose it and do terrible things. In his own mind, what he did might have seemed right. He was probably a very sick person.
Suey:
Should we be afraid to go out?
Marco:
Not at all. Bad things happen, but we can´t let fear of what might happen rule our lives.
5. Ext. Degrassi. Day.
School is being let out. Lisa and Chrissy come out together.
Lisa:
Are you off to the hospital?
Chrissy:
Yeah. Not that I´m looking forward to it.
Lisa:
Say hi to Jamie for me, okay?
Chrissy:
I will.
They see Taylor slowly coming out of the school by herself. She looks very depressed.
Lisa:
We should go talk to her, before you leave. Maybe you could give her a ride or something.
Chrissy:
Sure.
They walk over to her.
Lisa:
Hi, Taylor.
Taylor:
Hi.
Chrissy:
I´m heading down to the hospital. I thought you might like a ride. You must be dying to see him.
Taylor:
Oh. I don´t know if I should.
Chrissy:
Why not?
Taylor:
Part of me wants to see him, but then there´s this other part that´s saying "Stay away, cuz you won´t be able handle seeing him like that". It´s like right now it´s still completely unreal, but if I see him, it all becomes real. It sounds dumb, I know.
Lisa:
It doesn´t sound dumb to me.
Chrissy:
Me neither. I´m scared out of my mind about seeing Jamie again. He´s not even the one who´s hurt.
Taylor:
I´ll go down there tomorrow. Maybe that way I can spend today building up my courage.
Lisa:
Want some company?
Taylor:
That´d be nice.
Chrissy:
I´ve left you both in good hands. I´m off.
Lisa:
Good luck.
Chrissy leaves them.
Lisa:
You wanna go hang out in the park?
Taylor nods and smiles a tiny bit.
6. Int. Snake´s Office. Day.
Snake is getting ready to leave, when there´s a knock on the door. Eddy pops his head in.
Eddy:
Do you have a second?
Snake:
What´s up?
Eddy:
I´m supposed to play a gig with my band at a bar on Saturday. I just got word, that the owners have cancelled it, because of the shooting.
Snake:
I guess you can´t blame them.
Eddy:
I was thinking of having it here in stead. We´ll dress up the auditorium a little and make a Unity Concert out of it. We´ll sell tickets to the students and sell food and drinks. We´ll then donate the money to the families of the two that died. Manny works in Social Services, I´m sure she´ll figure out how to get it to them.
Snake:
Can you make it happen in two days?
Eddy:
I´ll talk to the band later, but I´m sure they´re up for it.
Snake:
You know, we can´t pay you.
Eddy:
This isn´t about money. In times like these, people need something to pull them together. What do you say?
Snake:
I´ll need an answer by the end of the day, but if you can pull it off, I´m all for it.
Eddy smiles and leaves him.
7. Int. Hospital Hallway. Day.
Chrissy has come up with the elevator. She looks very small in the huge hospital. She spots Jamie sitting with his 19 year old half-brother Tucker, a large and muscular football player with as little brain as he has brawn. She takes a deep breath and slowly walks towards them. Tucker points her out to Jamie, who runs to her and hugs her. Tucker gets up too and walks towards them.
Tucker:
You just took over babysiting the little snot bubble.
Chrissy and Jamie kiss and it´s an emotional moment for both of them. Jamie takes her hand and leads her to the bench.
Chrissy:
Have you been here since last night?
Jamie:
My parents took me home late in the evening, but I couldn´t sleep. I´m so tired that I don´t know how I´m awake, but I can´t sleep until I know he´s okay.
Chrissy:
What´s the status on him?
Jamie:
He´s out of critical condition, so that´s something. They´re gonna try to remove the respirator tonight.
Chrissy takes a deep breath of relief.
Chrissy:
He´s not gonna die. Thank god!
Jamie:
Yeah, but it´s not all good news.
Chrissy:
It´s not?
Jamie:
The bullet hit him close to his spine.
Chrissy:
What does that mean?
Jamie:
We won´t know how much feeling he has left in his body. until he wakes up.
Chrissy holds him and comforts him.
8. Ext. Park. Day.
Taylor and Lisa are also hanging out on a bench. Taylor can´t stop watching a girl, who´s about 5 or 6, playing with a small dog.
Lisa:
They always make good couples, don´t they? Little kids and small animals.
Taylor:
I guess. Remember when life was that simple?
Lisa:
Those were the days. Nothing to worry about, except how much fun you were gonna have that day and who you´d have it with.
Taylor:
Can I tell you a secret?
Lisa:
Of course you can.
Taylor:
You absolutely can´t tell anyone.
Lisa:
Cross my heart and hope to die.
Taylor:
Okay. This is so messed up, but I don´t have anyone to talk to about it, except my counsellor. She´s the only one who knows. Right now, I just really need to talk to a friend my own age about it.
Lisa:
I´m your friend?
Taylor:
Except for Charlie, you´re the closest to it I have at Degrassi. I didn´t have a whole lot of friends at my old school either. I´ve always been kind of a loner, but I don´t wanna be that way anymore.
Lisa:
Well, you´ve found a friend in me and you can trust me not to tell anyone, I swear.
Taylor:
I´m pregnant. Charlie´s the dad.
Lisa looks shocked.
Lisa:
I ... I don´t know what to say.
Taylor:
That´s exactly how I felt, when I found out.
Lisa:
I´m so sorry.
Taylor:
You´re not the one who had sex with him. He doesn´t know yet.
Lisa:
How long have you known?
Taylor:
About three weeks. I have no idea what to do and I know that, with every day that passes, it´s becoming too late for an abortion . Now he could die and i feel so selfish, that I´ve kept it a secret from him.
Lisa:
What about your dad?
Taylor:
I´ve tried to tell him, but I choke up every time.
Lisa:
Charlie´s gonna wake up and you´ll all work it out, I´m sure of it. I don´t know your dad, but I´m sure he loves you and Charlie does too.
Taylor:
How could it all go this wrong?
Lisa gets a text and checks her phone. She smiles.
Lisa:
I just got a text from Chrissy: "Charlie isn´t in critical condition anymore. Tell Taylor".
Taylor looks relieved.
9. Int. Rehearsal Room. Evening.
The band is gathered and are jamming. Eddy comes in and they stop playing.
Eddy:
Sorry, I´m late. It´s been a busy day.
Kayla:
Is the gig still cancelled?
Eddy:
It is. There´s nothing I can do about it, but I got us a replacement gig.
Maya:
Where?
Eddy:
At Degrassi. I´m putting together a charity concert for the families of the deceased. I´m thinking us and one or two of the school bands. It´s unpaid, but it´s for a good cause.
Everyone in the band consents to it.
Maya:
I´m guessing, you´ll need help setting up.
Eddy:
Any help is appreciated.
Maya:
You can count me and Jay in. I´m sure that when I tell Lola and Zoe about it, they won´t wanna miss it for the world. This is so cool of you, to arrange this.
Kayla:
Don´t think I´m missing out, either.
Eddy:
I´m gonna go call Snake and Manny to tell them the good news right away, then we´ll rehearse.
He goes out to the hallway and the band goes back to jamming. He calls up Manny first.
10. Int. Manny and Eddy´s Apartment. Evening
Manny is reading a book called "You´re Pregnant. Now What?", while she´s watching a gameshow on TV. She´s just started reading it. She tries to keep ker concentration on the book, but the gameshow keeps taking her attention away, so she puts it down. Her phone rings. She looks at it and smiles. She presses the screen and puts the phone up to her ear.
Manny:
What´s up?
Eddy (voice over):
We´re in business. I´m calling Simpson to tell him, but I wanted to tell you first.
Manny:
I´m so proud of you right now.
Eddy (voice over):
I´ll see you later. Right now, I feel like rocking out.
Manny:
Have a great time.
Eddy (voice over):
You´re not too bored at home by yourself?
Manny:
No, I´ve got my book.
Eddy (voice over):
Alright, bye.
She puts the phone down and picks up the book again. She tries reading, but gives up quickly and goes back to watching the gameshow. Her phone rings again and she picks it up.
Manny:
Marco?
Marco (voice over):
Hey, Manny. I hop, I didn´t disturb you.
Manny:
No, not at all.
Marco (voice over):
If you´re close to a TV set, turn it to channel 9.
She picks up the remote and turns the channel. We see that Bianca is about to be interviewed for a news segment by a young reporter. The Anchorwoman has a serious look on her face.
Anchorwoman (voice over):
For those just joining us. It´s been confirmed that the shooter at last night´s Kid Elrick concert was a 38 year old local man, named Ed Likens.
Manny´s face turns to dread.
Manny:
Oh, my god.
Marco (voice over) :
That´s the guy you saved, isn´t it?
Manny:
Yeah.
Anchorwoman (voice over) :
Mister Likens had a long history with violence and was recently released from a mental instution, following a suicide attempt. We´re joined now by Bianca DeSousa, the head of the Toronto Youth and Family Counselling Program. Martin Rogers is with her now. Martin?
Martin (voice over):
Miss DeSousa, we understand that you handled this family´s case personally.
Bianca clearly isn´t feeling comfortable.
Bianca (voice over):
Yes. I met them all many times over the years.
Martin (voice over):
Ed Likens´ story has come out in the media today. He was obviously a dangerous man, wouldn´t you agree?
Bianca (voice over):
He had a temper, no doubt about it. But I never in my wildest dreams imagined, that he was capable of doing what he did.
Martin (voice over):
He lost his wife Gertrude earlier in the year, when she also took her own life. Do you think that event was what led him to this?
Bianca (voice over):
I´m sure there were a lot of factors, that played in to it. I didn´t see him in the mental hospital, so I don´t know what happened in that period.
Martin (voice over):
Don´t you think that you should have?
Bianca (voice over):
What?
Martin (voice over):
If your department knew that he could be dangerous to himself and others, shouldn´t you have kept tabs on him?
Bianca (voice over):
If we had unlimited resources, we would have. You have to realize that for every family we take off the observation list, at least one more takes it´s place. We can´t be everywhere at the same time, no matter how much we want to.
Martin (voice over):
But wouldn´t you agree, that at least a small part of the blame for this, can be blamed on your obviously careless handling of the family´s case?
Bianca is starting to look pretty annoyed with his questions.
Bianca (voice over):
I´ll tell you this and then this interview is over. If you try to pass blame for what Ed Likens did on us, you´d be dead wrong. We did everything we could to help them, just like we´ll be doing everything we can for his kids.
Manny turns the TV off.
Marco (voice over):
That could have gone better.
Manny:
She´s just upset. I am too, right now. Thanks for calling.
Marco (voice over):
Don´t worry about it. It´s not your fault, that the guy went psycho.
Manny:
That´s easy for you to say.
Marco (voice over):
Manny, if we blamed ourselves for everything that went wrong in our clients´ lives, we´d all go crazy. You´ve done nothing wrong here. We´ll talk tomorrow, okay?
Manny:
Okay.
She hangs up on Marco, then calls up Eddy again.
Manny:
Could you come home? I really need you right now.
She puts the phone down and tries to digest the news.
11. Int. Degrassi Hallway. Day.
CAPTION: FRIDAY.
Julie, Lisa and Chrissy are heading to class.
Julie:
So, are you and Taylor friends now?
Lisa:
I guess. She´s a sweet girl, that Taylor.
Chrissy:
Isn´t it crazy how many people we know now, compared to when the schoolyear started?
Julie:
It´s weird, how there´s only a few weeks left of it.
She stops, when she sees Simon talking to Allison. They seem to like each other´s company. She doesn´t look too happy about it and Lisa notices immediately. Jack comes rushing past them.
Lisa:
Jack, wait!
Jack:
This has to be fast, Lisa. I just got here and I really need to use the bathroom before class starts.
Chrissy and Lisa cant´t help smiling at Jack´s desperate facial expression. Julie´s eyes are fixed on Simon and Allison.
Jack:
It´s not funny!
Lisa:
What´s the deal with Simon and Allison?
Jack:
They talk sometimes, that´s all I know. I gotta go.
Lisa:
Run, Jackie Boy. Run!
He runs to the bathroom. Chrissy and Lisa tend to Julie.
Julie:
He´s dating her.
Chrissy:
How can you tell? They´re not even touching each other.
Julie:
Call it my Girl´s Intuition. What a way to start the day, huh?
Chrissy sees Jamie walking down the hallway and smiles.
Chrissy:
See you later.
She quickly walks toward him. When he sees her, he speeds up, too. They hug and give each other a small peck on the mouth. Lisa and Julie look happy for them.
Julie:
Our love lives are in the dumps and they´re closer than ever.
Lisa:
I´m actually fine with my love life or lack there of. I´d rather find a band to play with, than a boyfriend right now. I´m not gonna date anyone, I´m in a band with, that´s for sure.
Julie:
That still leaves plenty of fish in the sea, right? I can move on too. It shouldn´t be that hard. I just gotta stay calm and ...
She sees that Allison is giving Simon a palm reading and is very lighly touching his palm, like barely at all.
Julie:
... punch that slut right in her mouth! Who does she think, she is?
Lisa:
A girl talking to a boy, she knows?
Julie:
If she thinks, I´m letting her put her grubby hands all over on my Simon like that, she´s got another thing coming!
Julie tries to get up, but Lisa holds her back.
Lisa:
We need to do a lot more work on that moving on thing.
We cut to Jamie and Chrissy, walking up the hall and holding hands.
Chrissy:
I think, you´re brave to come today.
Jamie:
I don´t feel brave. I still feel like I´m falling apart inside, but I can´t take another day in the hospital. At least, I got some sleep last night.
Chrissy:
So, he´s off the respirator now?
Jamie:
He´s breathing on his own. He could wake up at any time.
Chrissy:
I hope, we can be there, when he does.
Jamie:
Me, too.
They smile at each other and head into the classroom.
12. Int. Classroom. Day.
The kids in the remedial class pretty much all stare at them, when they come in. They see that Deb and Seb are absent. They sit down next to each other. Kimmie comes up to them.
Kimmie:
How´s he doing?
Jamie:
A lot better, but he´s not awake yet.
Chrissy:
Where´s the siblings?
Kimmie:
You haven´t heard?
Chrissy:
Heard what?
Kimmie:
Their dad was the shooter.
Jamie and Chrissy´s good mood disappears in an instant.
CLOSING CREDITS
