DEGRASSI: AFTERMATH - S03E08 - THE TRUTH
Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.
1. Int. Antonia´s Office. Day.
Maya and Antonia are shaking hands.
Antonia:
Good luck, Maya.
Maya:
Thanks for, well, saving my sanity, I guess.
Antonia:
You know where I am, if you need to talk.
Maya:
And have the money to pay for it, right?
They smile at each other.
Maya:
Do you think I made a mistake, by agreeing to do the interview?
Antonia:
Only time will tell.
Maya:
Would you have done it, if you were me?
Antonia:
Probably not, but I´m not you. I fully understand, why you did it. I just hope your loved ones feel what you want them to feel, after they´ve seen it. That´s what I´d be most afraid of, if I were you.
Maya:
They´ll see the truth. This is it, Antonia. When the program airs tonight, I´ll finally be free of any guilt in Vince´s death, once and for all.
She smiles confidently.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Frankie´s Fashions. Day.
Frankie is off in her own little world, while Amy is finishing up with a middle aged female customer.
Amy:
So that´s 872 dollars and 75 cents, but just because I like you, we´ll call it an even 872.
Woman:
How generous of you.
She pays with her credit card and the sale goes through. Amy hands her the receipt with a big smile.
Amy:
Thanks for doing business with us!
Woman:
You remind me of my granddaughter. She´s got that same spunky spirit, you have.
Amy:
That´s me. Little Miss Spunky.
The woman smiles at her obvious innocence, before taking her bags and leaving.
Amy:
She was nice!
Frankie snaps out of her thoughts and tries to get her head in the game.
Frankie:
Yeah. 872 dollars. Not bad.
Amy:
What´s up with you today?
Frankie:
I did something I shouldn´t have last night. With a guy.
Amy:
Is it the guy from the record store?
Frankie:
Yeah. The guy from the record store, who cheated on his girlfriend with me.
Amy:
Oh. I can´t say that I have any experience with that. I was always the one, who was cheated on.
Frankie:
So was I. When me and Jonah were a couple back in High School, there was this girl called Grace. After he broke up with me, he kept me believing that they were "Just Friends" until I saw him serenading his love for her, at school and in front of all my friends.
Amy:
Ouch.
Frankie:
Then there´s was my darling, criminal ex-husband, who cheated on me with half of the bimbos in Manhattan.
Amy:
And you feel this bad for doing it once?
Frankie:
Are you saying, that I shouldn´t feel guilty about it?
Amy:
That´s not for me to say. But what you should do, is make him tell his girlfriend. Say "No lies or it´s not happening!"
Frankie:
You´re right. She doesn´t deserve this. I´ll talk to him later on and make him do the right thing, if he hasn´t already.
3. Int. Grace Records. Day.
Maya and Lola are hanging out and laughing at some of the 80´s metal album covers. Lola is holding "Girls, Girls, Girls" by Motley Crue and pointing at Nikki Sixx.
Lola:
If I had your hair, I´d have to get that hairstyle.
Maya:
Maybe if I combined his fro with the lead singer´s make up and the guitar player´s clothes.
Lola looks at Maya, then back at the cover and tries to imagine it.
Lola:
Not even for Halloween, honey.
Jonah comes into the store, looking a bit flustered.
Lola:
Missed me so much, that you couldn´t stay away on your day off?
Jonah:
You´ve always been good at giving me advice. Hi. Maya.
Maya:
Hi, yourself. You don´t seem your usual, calm self. You´re still coming to my Viewing Party, I hope.
Jonah:
That´s because I´m not calm. I´m anything but calm.
He tries to gather his thoughts. Lola reads him like a book.
Lola:
Something happened with you and Frankie, didn´t it?
Jonah snaps out of his thoughts and looks her in the eye. He doesn´t have to say anything , for Maya and Lola to get what´s going on.
Lola:
I can´t say, I´m too surprised.
Maya:
I am. I never had you pegged for a cheater.
Jonah;
I´m usually not. This was the first time since my teens and now I feel like crap for it.
Maya:
What are you gonna do?
Jonah:
I have to tell Paige and face the heat. If she dumps me, then so be it.
Lola:
Would it be the worst thing, if she did? When you and Frankie did, whatever it was you did, how did it feel at the time?
Jonah:
It felt great and comfortable. I never knew how much I missed her kisses until last night. But right after I left her place, the guilt set in. I don´t know what to do now!
Maya:
Make up your mind about which one it´s gonna be and stick with it.
Jonah:
If you were me, who´d you choose?
Maya:
I´d go for Frankie. I think the two of you are perfect together, but I don´t know Paige like you do. You´re the only who knows the answer. It can just be hard sometimes to find it.
Lola:
I´m probably biased, but I´m with Maya. Frankie´s your girl.
Jonah:
I need to go home and think about this.
He begins to leave and Maya and Lola go back to being amused by the 80´s looks.
4. Int. Degrassi Hallway. Day.
Lisa is trying to look cool, standing and chatting with Nancy and Sandy. We see Chrissy and Julie looking at her from afar. Chrissy looks excited for her, but Julie doesn´t look nearly as excited,
Chrissy:
It looks like her audition went well.
Julie:
I guess, I should feel happy for her.
Chrissy:
You don´t?
Julie:
When the band split up, we agreed that we were gonna start a new one.
Chrissy:
She can play in two bands.
Julie:
Why would she want to play with me, when she could be playing with girls that are much better, than I´ll ever be?
Nancy and Sandy leave to go to class. Lisa sees Chrissy and Julie and comes over to them.
Lisa:
Why didn´t you come over?
Julie:
We didn´t wanna ruin your new, cool style, now that you´re hanging out with 9th graders.
Chrissy:
So, I´m guessing that they have a new guitar player?
Lisa:
They do!
Chrissy:
Yay! Congratulations!
Lisa:
Thanks. We sounded amazing. Playing with The Dead Kids was a blast, but with these girls it just felt like we all connected. Suey´s so much fun, when you get to know her. We walked home together and I think she kept me laughing the entire way.
Julie:
That´s great, Lisa. Really great.
Lisa:
Look, I know we said that we´d start a band together again, but this is really big for me! Can´t you be a little bit happy on my behalf?
Julie:
Jack´s probably the one, who´ll be really disappointed, that he won´t be playing with you.
Lisa:
Yeah, but he´ll understand. This feels like the first big step on my way to becoming a rock star!
Chrissy:
Well, rockstar. Are you ready for some bitchin´ algebra?
Lisa is still one big smile as they head off to class.
5. Int. The Dot. Day.
Manny and Paige are sitting at a table. Michaela brings them their lunch.
Michaela:
One Bacon Buster Cheeseburger with extra bacon?
Paige:
Here!
Michaela:
Which makes the Ham and cheese Panini yours. Enjoy!
Paige joyfully inspects her burger, that has an almost perverse amount of bacon in it.
Manny:
You look like, you´re in culinary love.
Paige:
Now, that´s what I call a burger!
She bites into it and the joy is written all over her face. Manny tastes her Panini and likes it, but not to the same degree, that Paige likes her burger.
Manny:
So, are you bringing "What´s His Name" tonight?
Paige:
We haven´t planned anything yet. I know he´s boyfriend and I should bring him, but It´d rather if it was just you, me and Eddy like in the old days.
Manny:
An old school LA crew evening sounds great to me, too.
Paige:
There´s this old friend of his, a girl, who´s got a lot of problems right now. I told him that it´s more important, that he´s there for her and helps her get her life back on track.
Manny:
Hmm. Tell me about this girl.
Paige:
I haven´t met her or even seen a picture of her, but he told me that they know each other from High School.
Manny:
Did they date back then?
Paige:
I don´t think so.
Manny:
So you´re not sure?
Paige:
No, but I´m sure he would have told me if they did.
Manny:
Not if there´s old, left over feelings there. What else do you know about her?
Paige:
I know that she comes from a rich family, that she recently got divorced and moved back here. I know she owns a clothing store called "Frankie´s Fashions" and that they´ve recently reconnected. He´s been teaching her to cook.
Manny:
Aren´t you just a little curious about her?
Paige:
She´s his friend, so I´m sure I´ll meet her at some point.
Manny:
Don´t take this the wrong way. But if it was my boyfriend, who´s been reconnecting with a recent divorcee, who might or might not be his his ex, I´d wanna check out what she´s like.
Paige:
You know, I´m not the paranoid type, hun.
Manny:
Do you know where her store is?
Paige:
No, but I could look it up. Do you think I should pay her an unexpected visit to introduce myself?
Manny:
I would.
Paige:
It´s not like I have a ton of other plans. Why not?
She takes another bite of her burger with great delight.
6. Int. Degrassi Hallway. Day.
Jack is getting some books out of his locker. Lisa sees him and comes up to him. She´s still all smiles, but he´s not in the best mood.
Lisa:
Where have you been? I haven´t seen you all day.
Jack:
I overslept this morning. How did your audition go?
Lisa:
Couldn´t have gone better! I´m in the band!
Jack:
Cool. I gotta get to class.
He closes and locks his locker.
Lisa:
We can still play together.
Jack:
When? You´ll have a new band and your mom still doesn´t want us hanging out after school.
Lisa:
Maybe I can talk to her, but she still hasn´t completely forgiven me for going to that Ravine party and lying to her.
Jack:
It´s hopeless!
Lisa:
Maybe you could start a band with Simon?
Jack:
He´s putting music on hold to concentrate on skating for a while.
Lisa:
Then how about, if you and Julie start something? You´ve become friends lately.
Jack:
Yeah, but that´s only because of you. We´ve never hung out alone together and she´s so different from me.
Lisa:
Do you wanna play in a band or not?
Jack:
Of course, I do. It´s what makes playing fun.
Lisa:
Then she´s your best shot. All you need is a drummer and a singer and you´re good to go. She´s one of the sweetest girls you´ll ever meet, trust me. I´m sure the two of you can find some kind of common ground.
Jack:
I guess, I could try to talk to her about it.
Lisa:
There you go! Now give me a smile.
He forces himself to smile for her and they head off to class.
7. Int. Frankie´s Fashions. Day.
Frankie is standing behind the counter, staring in to blank air and looking pretty far away, when Paige comes in. Frankie sees her and immediately looks like she´d rather be anywhere else. Being a good actor clearly isn´t one of her strengths.
Paige:
Hi, I´m looking for Frankie, the owner?
Frankie:
Yeah, she´s ... not here right now. I´m Amy, her assistant.
You can see that she immediately regrets lying, but knows that she has to go with it now.
Paige:
Do you know when she´ll be back?
Frankie:
Probably not for the rest of the day. She´s a very busy woman, that Frankie.
Paige:
How long have you worked for her?
Frankie:
We opened here about a month ago.
Paige:
Is she a good boss?
Frankie:
Oh yeah! She´s the best boss in the world!
Paige is sensing that something´s amiss, since Frankie is having great trouble hiding how uncomfortable she is.
Paige:
It sounds like you two have become friends.
Frankie:
We are!
Paige:
Huh? What can you tell me about her and a guy named Jonah? He´s my boyfriend, you see and I hear that they spend a lot of time together.
Frankie:
I really shouldn´t talk about this to you ...
Paige:
Then don´t. All you have to do is nod or shake your head. You can do that for me, without breaking any friend code, can´t you?
Frankie nervously nods.
Paige:
Okay, Amy. So Frankie and Jonah, were they a couple in High School?
Frankie nods.
Paige:
When they broke up, did he break up with her?
Frankie nods.
Paige:
Was she heartbroken. when he dumped her?
Frankie nods.
Paige:
Now, that they´ve reconnected, would say that they´re mostly alone, when they´re together?
Frankie nods.
Paige:
You two must really have become good friends in a month. Why, you seem to know everything about her!
Frankie tries to shrug it off, but clearly knows that Paige has caught her.
Paige:
I´ll let you off the hook in a moment, Amy. Just answer me one last question: Do they flirt, when they´re together?
Frankie:
Define flirting.
Paige:
Come on, Amy. You seem like a woman of the world to me.
Frankie:
Sometimes, what some people see as flirting, other´s don´t.
Paige:
Okay. So do they stand and sit a lot closer, than they have to?
Frankie:
No, they always keep a solid distance between each other!
Paige:
They do, huh? You can relax now Frankie, I´m done with the 3rd degree.
Frankie:
How did you know?
Paige:
I´m an assistant director in Hollywood, hun. I´ve seen enough bad actresses to last me a lifetime! You were nervous as hell just now and resorting to lying about who you are? How long have you been trying to get him back?
Frankie:
About a month, I guess.
Paige:
Did you know all this time, that he has a girlfriend?
Frankie:
I did. Look, I´m not proud of it, but all´s fair in love and war, isn´t that what they say?
Paige:
You know what they say about girls, who don´t respect other people´s relationships? They say that they´re MISERABLE SLUTS, WHO NEED TO KEEP THEIR HANDS TO THEMSELVES! AM I BEING CLEAR HERE, FRANKIE?
Frankie looks scared as hell and just nods. Paige stares intently at her.
Paige:
Now, I can play nice or I can play hard. If he´s cheated on me with you, I´m not guaranteeing that I won´t come back for revenge. I once used my boyfriend´s car to smash another guy´s car and I´m a Michalchuk, hun. We´re known for our tempers!
Frankie:
We´ve had one slip up, but that´s all, I swear!
Paige:
Define slip up?
Frankie:
We kissed.
Paige:
Once?
Frankie:
No, several times. But I´m sure, he was just doing it to comfort me. My life isn´t exactly rosy right now.
Paige reads her like an open book and is clearly getting pissed off!
Paige:
It happened yesterday, didn´t it? That cheating Son of a Bitch!
Frankie:
Don´t be too hard on him. It was mostly my fault!
Paige storms out of the store. Frankie picks up her phone to call Jonah and puts it up to her ears.
Frankie:
Hey. There´s a five foot tall tornado coming your way.
8. Ext. Grace Records. Day.
Jonah is waiting outside the store when a taxi pulls up. Paige comes out of it and looks irate. The taxi pulls away and she walks intently towards him.
Paige:
Get out of my way!
Jonah:
Shouldn´t we talk in stead?
Paige:
After I smash ever record in your store!
Jonah:
Paige ...
Paige:
Don´t Paige me! Trust me when I say, that you´d rather have me take in out on your inventory, than to have me take it out on you!
Jonah:
Then punch me, if it´ll make you feel better. Come on, free shot here!
He puts his hands behind his back and closes his eyes.
Paige:
I really should be an adult about this. It´s not like you slept with her.
He smiles, thinking that she´s letting him off.
Paige:
But I´m a Michalchuk.
She knees him in the balls and he goes down in pain instantly.
Paige:
And we´re through. Asshole!
He lies on the ground, holding his balls as she walks away.
9. Int. Degrassi Hallway. Day.
Jack is waiting outside a classroom as kids are filing out. When Julie comes out, he taps her shoulder. She looks a bit surprised as he pulls her out to the side.
Jack:
Can we talk?
Julie:
Sure, I guess.
The walk off to the side, where thye can talk privately.
Julie:
Has something happened to Lisa?
Jack:
Not except that she´s been a smiley face all day. Look, I was wondering if you want to start a band. With me.
Julie:
We can´t be a band, just the two of us.
Jack:
So we´ll get one or two more people to join us.
Julie:
You know, I´m not very good.
Jack:
I´m not either. Lisa was better than I am now after she´d played for a month. Maybe we should rehearse together first, before we start the band. We could learn some songs off the internet and when we start to play with other people again ...
Julie:
They won´t think we suck! I think it´s a great idea.
Jack:
You do?
Julie:
I wanna get better and if I don´t play, I won´t.
Jack:
You could come over to my house tonight. My parents aren´t home, so we can make all the noise we want to.
Julie:
I´m looking forward to it.
She leaves him and Jack smiles to himself.
10. Int. Manny and Eddy´s Apartment. Evening.
The three of them are gathered around the dinner table, Eddy and Paige drinking wine and Manny drinking Cola.
Paige:
... So I kneed him in the balls.
Eddy:
Damn!
Manny:
You always had your own version of girl power. Did you let her off easy?
Paige:
I scared her so much, that she´ll be sleeping with one eye open for a while.
Eddy:
I´m sorry, Paige. I know you liked him a lot.
Paige:
Yeah, I did. But he wasn´t someone I felt like, I could fall in love with. I think we were just too different and at different places in our lives. I´ll be working a lot too, so it´s not like I could have spent too much time with him.
Manny:
Spinner told me, that you´ve hired The Dot to do catering for the movie.
Paige:
If I could help out an old friend, why shouldn´t I?
Manny:
Of course, this also means that you´ll see each other every day. I saw how much you loved playing Chrissy´s mom at the hospital and she obviously adores you.
Eddy:
If you didn´t notice, Spinner was one big smile, when he looked at the two of you.
Paige:
Yeah, but if me and Spinner got together, it has to be serious or not at all. I´m not gonna make his kids believe that they have a new mom, only for me to leave when the movie´s finished. I could never do that to them.
Eddy:
He´s been single for close to a year, because he has this idea in his head that if it isn´t absolutely perfect, he shouldn´t do it.
Manny:
He´s not gonna find that out of the blue with someone, he doesn´t already know. If I were you ...
Paige:
Well, you´re not and neither are you Eddy, so drop it.
She takes a sip of wine.
11. Montage - music: "Are You Ready?" by AC/DC
Maya and Jay are in a great mood, first shopping for the party and goofing around in the grocery store. Then making Guacamole, which is a slow process, since they can´t keep their hands off each other and end up doing it on the kitchen table in stead. They just get their clothes back on in time, before Lola and Zoe arrive. They have some Margaritas as more guests arrive: Katie, Margaret, Amy, Kayla, Frankie and Jonah (who´s still reeling a bit).
12. Int. Lola and Maya´s Apartment. Evening.
Everyone´s gathered around the TV. Maya (who´s a little bit drunk) stands up.
Katie:
Where are you going? The program starts in a minute.
Maya:
I should make sure that we have plenty of snacks and drinks for this.
Katie:
Sit down, sis. I´ll go. This is your night.
Maya:
Well, no. It´s also your night and yours, mom. After tonight, you´ll never have to be ashamed of me again, I promise.
Katie leaves to get more snacks.
Margaret:
I´ve never been ashamed of you, honey.
Zoe:
What was it like being interviewed?
Maya:
Pretty exciting. The time flew by really fast. Honestly, I don´t remember exactly what I said, so I´m excited to see, how they edit it together. It´s starting.
We focus on the TV. The opening video comes on and it features several pictures of the people feautured in the episode. Out of nowhere, Tristan pops up for a second.
We cut back to the characters.
Lola:
Wasn´t that Tristan?
Jay:
Who´s he?
Zoe:
A friend of ours from High School. Did you know that he´d been interviewed?
Maya:
No, but they said that they would Interview other people too, to get the full story.
She looks at the TV and sees Zig (who´s clearly let himself go a lot since we last saw him) come on for a second, right before the opening video ends. Katie comes back in, bearing beer, sodas and chips. Jay opens a beer for himself and takes a sip.
Maya:
Zig, too?
We focus on the TV again.
Speaker (voice over):
Tonight on "Canadian Injustice". Maya Matlin.
A picture of Maya as an 8 year old comes on.
Speaker (voice over):
A seemingly normal Canadian girl, who´s spent her adult life going through hell. A boyfriend, who commited suicide at 15.
First a picture of Cam and Maya is shown, then Zig comes on.
Zig (voice over):
Cam´s death was an absolute tragedy.
Speaker (voice over):
A life of crime in her teens, with a notorious criminal for a boyfriend.
A picture of Maya, Zig and Tiny (whose face is blurred out) together is shown.
Zig (voice over):
Maya and me, we did some messed up stuff, man.
Tristan (voice over):
I was scared for her. He got her in a lot of trouble.
A picture of Miles comes on.
Speaker (voice over):
A sordid affair with one of Canada´s most beloved writers.
Esme comes on. Maya starts to look worried.
Esme (voice over):
She had played with his heart like he was her toy. When he and I got together, he was so messed up that I was scared for his life.
Maya now looks pissed.
Maya:
Says the girl, who did all she could to keep him high?
We cut back to the TV. Pictures of Maya playing a gig with Eddy in the background is shown.
Speaker (voice over):
A short career in music followed, until she went X-Rated!
Several naked, but censored pictures of Maya is shown. A girl comes on.
Girl (voice over):
She was the one, who got me into stripping and camming to pay for my drug habit. She never told me, how it would ruin my life!
Jay is not looking too happy anymore and downs half of his beer .
Speaker (voice over):
Drug dealing followed until she committed she ultimate sin: Killing a man.
A censored picture of Vince´s body is shown.
Speaker (voice over):
Join us tonight as we take an in depth look at Maya Matlin and find out if she´s a victim, as she claims she is.
Maya comes on the TV.
Maya (voice over):
I feel like the world is punishing me and my family for something, where I´ve done nothing wrong.
Speaker (voice over):
Or is she, as some say, a manipulative Sociopath, who started her life of crime by driving her first boyfriend to suicide at the age of 14?
Tristan comes on again.
Tristan (voice over):
The way she reacted to his death wasn´t natural at all. It almost seemed like she didn´t care at first, that he was dead.
Esme comes on again.
Esme (voice over):
I didn´t know her then. But knowing the master manipulator she turned in to, it wouldn´t surprise me one bit if she drove him over the edge, just to see if she could.
Shelly, dressed in orange prison garb, comes on.
Shelly (voice over):
The more I think about her, the more sure I am, that she´s evil. Just pure evil.
An elderly and well dressed man comes on the screen.
Man (voice over):
If what these people are saying about her is true, then we must consider her a danger to society as a whole.
The introduction to the show ends. Everyone looks pretty shocked.
CLOSING CREDITS
