DEGRASSI: AFTERMATH: SUMMER DREAMS PART 2
Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.
Author´s note: Just to clarify on the timeline. The "Summer Dreams" episodes take place after Episode 10, but before the start of Season 4. I hope you enjoy them.
1. Int. Tent. Evening.
Paige and Spinner are in their sleeping bags. Paige is obviously freezing.
Paige:
You didn´t tell me, it would get this cold!
Spinner:
There´s a simple cure for that.
He snuggles up right behind her and puts his arm around her. She smiles.
Spinner:
Is that better?
Paige:
Much. I haven´t been able to stop thinking about that dream Manny had.
Spinner:
I can´t believe I was a punk. I don´t even like punk anymore.
Paige:
I´ve been thinking, what if I had a dream like that?
Spinner:
What would be the moment, then?
Paige:
At first I thought, what if me and Alex didn´t break up?
Spinner:
That could be interesting.
Paige:
But I´d like to go further back. Like what if I´s listened to that girl the night of the party and left?
Spinner:
You mean the one ...
Paige:
Yeah, I mean that one.
Spinner:
I´d erase that from history too, if I could.
Paige:
Well, then you´ll just have to build a time machine. You´ll do that for me, won´t you?
Spinner:
I´ll do it tomorrow. Right now, I need some sleep.
Paige:
Alright. Nightie night!
They try to fall asleep
OPENING CREDITS (WITH DREAM EFFECTS)
2. Int. Tent. Evening.
We focus on Paige sleeping. We go in for a close up and fade to:
3. Ext. House. Evening.
Paige arrives in a taxi and looks in a good mood. She´s very well dressed. She walks up to the door and rings the doorbell. Inside we can hear kids making noise as we hear footsteps approaching. The door opens and it´s Terri Mason (formerly McGregor), who´s happy to see her. Terri has lost a lot of weight since High School, but not so much that it´s too much. She´s happy to see her old friend.
Terri:
Hey, Paige! Come in.
4. Int. House. Evening.
Paige comes in to Terri and Spinner´s nice, middle class home. Paige looks around and isn´t too impressed.
Terri:
We´re so glad you could come.
Paige:
I was in town for the reunion anyway. How are you?
Terri:
Good.
Their two 8 year olds, Shannon and Mikey almost bump in to them.
Terri:
This isn´t a racetrack!
Shannon/Mikey:
Sorry, mom!
Terri
I´m sorry.
Paige:
It´s okay. It reminds me how happy I am, that I don´t have to worry about mine anymore!
Terri isn´t sure if she´s meant to laugh.
5. Int. Living Room. Evening
The family is eating dinner. That is everyone except Paige, who´s more busy drinking wine and talking than she is eating. She´s already a little drunk. Shannon and Mikey find her entertaining, while Terri and Spinner look a little embarrassed.
Paige:
So now, I´m up shi ... sorry. Poop creek, so to speak.
Shannon and Mikey giggle.
Paige:
I´ll tell you kids one thing. If you´ve got something good, hold on to it. Don´t be like Auntie Paige here and screw it all up for yourself.
Terri:
Paige, do you have to swear so much?
Paige:
I said the S word, not the F word. You know me, Terr Bear! I´m WYSIWYG!
She makes a face at the kids while saying "WYSIWYG" again and they laugh.
Paige:
What you see is what you get. Rough and unfiltered as always! Do you guys want to go out to a bar tonight? I feel like partying.
Spinner:
I´d love to Paige, but I´ve got work tomorrow.
Terri:
I´m not really the bar type anymore. Not that I ever was.
Paige:
Doesn´t matter. We´ll have fun at the reunion tomorrow.
She downs her glass.
6. Int. Manny´s Apartment. Evening.
Manny is looking herself in the bathroom mirror. This is a different Manny, than the one were used to. Her dress is much more conservative and so is her haircut. Her clothes are a little worn here and there, but still look nice. She´s still very pretty for her age and looks like she takes good care of herself.
Stacy (voice over):
Come out, mom. We wanna see it!
Manny opens the door to see her 16 year old daughter Stacy, who´s almost like a younger carbon copy of herself. Next to her is Emma, dressed a little more provocatively, but still tastefully.
Emma:
You look amazing!
Stacy:
Where´s my mom? It can´t be this gorgeous woman standing in front of me!
Manny shyly smiles. Stacy and Emma both look happy for her.
Manny:
They´re the only going out clothes I have. It´s been so long since I wore them, that I wasn´t even sure if they fit anymore.
Stacy:
Stop being so modest! You´re gonna go out tonight and all the men will swoon over you!
Emma:
You heard her. It´s swooning time!
Manny smiles shyly, but looks happy to be getting an evening out for once.
7. Int. Tarrello´s. Evening.
It´s a pretty dead Thursday night at Tarrello´s and there´s only about 20 people there. A now pretty drunk Paige is out dancing to "California Love" by Dr. Dre, despite there not being anyone else out there. J.T Yorke (looking a bit drunk himself) comes out from the Men´s Room and heads up to the bar. The bartender comes over to him.
Bartender:
I let you use the Men´s room, so now you gotta buy something. What´s it gonna be?
J.T:
Relax! I came here tonight, because I´m feeling thirsty! A scotch and soda, my good man!
The bartender goes to get him his drink. JT leans against the bar to steady himself. He sees Paige dancing by her lonely self and nearly tripping over her own legs. He smiles as the bartender brings him his drink.
Bartender:
Five dollars.
J.T:
Start a tab. I´m pretty sure I know that woman from High School.
The bartender looks over at her and smiles to himself.
Bartender:
If you´re looking for a little blast from the past, I don´t think it´ll be hard getting her to come home with you.
J.T:
I´m almost sure, that´s Paige Michalchuk. She was the first girl, I ever went out on a date with.
Bartender:
Did you do it with her?
J.T:
No, we were just kids at the time.
Bartender:
Well, tonight´s your chance.
The bartender goes to tend to another customer as J.T looks at Paige and smiles.
8. Int. Restaurant. Evening.
Emma, Manny, Liberty and Toby are eating dinner at a small Italian restaurant. The mood is good and they seem to be enjoying themselves. Toby hasn´t grown any taller, but the years have matured him in to quite a handsome, albeit very short man. Liberty is clearly the most fancily dressed of the three and looks to be enjoying herself a lot.
Manny:
I was hoping, I´d finally meet your new husband this weekend.
Liberty:
He´s got patients, that couldn´t wait.
Emma:
How´s Robbie doing?
Liberty:
Still going through the "Rebellious Fase", but we´re hoping that a more stable home life will start helping soon. I never should have let him live with J.T.
Toby:
Boys need their father´s too.
Liberty:
If I´d let him live there any longer, he would have flunked every class. J.T´s just not the parenting type, at least not on his own.
Emma:
How about you, Toby? Any hot mama´s on your horizon?
Toby:
No, I´ve had enough bad relationships now to last me a lifetime. The next one has to be someone, I can trust.
He and Manny shyly smile at each other.
Manny:
I´m still searching, too. But I keep staying hopeful, that it´ll happen.
Emma:
It has to! If anyone deserves happiness, it´s you.
Manny:
I live vicariously through Stacy these days. She´s a bit wilder than I was, so I worry about her and try to keep her out of trouble.
Toby:
I always knew, you´d be a great mom. She´s lucky to have you.
Manny:
Yeah, but sometimes I´ve wondered, how much she´s missed having a dad.
Liberty:
Do you still miss Tommy?
Manny:
I don´t think that will ever stop, but I´ve learned to deal with it. My life is really not that bad, it´s just pretty quiet and uneventful.
Emma:
I´m usually either on a plane, in front of a camera or preparing the shoot with my husband. Quiet and uneventful would be a nice change of pace sometimes.
Toby:
But it must feel nice, knowing that you´re doing something good. You´re telling the world about the dangers of pollution. The work you do could have big effects on the climate down the line.
Emma:
That´s what were hoping for. We´ve given up a lot for our passion. Coming back here and with tomorrow, where everyone will be talking about their kids and their families. I wish we´d had at least one kid, but Jean-Luc was never much of a "Kid Person". He thinks we´re too old to have one now and he´s probably right.
Liberty:
I´m not sure, I´ve had my last.
Manny:
I´ve got enough in the one I have. But if I didn´t have her, I´d want to have one. Becoming her mom is the best thing, that ever happened to me.
Toby:
I´m still hopeful, too. I´m just glad, I didn´t have kids with any of my exes.
Manny takes a small sip of wine and looks like she´s enjoying herself.
9. Int. Tarrello´s. Evening.
J.T and Paige are both looking a little worse for wear. She´s having trouble putting the straws in her cocktail in her mouth, but eventually succeeds. She lets out a loud "Ahh" after her sip.
Paige:
That´s the nectar of the gods!
J.T takes a sip of his too.
J.T:
I told you, they´re good.
Paige:
How many have we had?
J.T:
This is number four.
Paige:
No wonder, I´m drunk!
She takes another sip and tries to steady herself.
Paige:
See, that´s my theory for how you take care of being too drunk. You just drink some more and then you forget about the problems!
J.T:
It never works for me. If anything I get sappy, when I get too drunk.
Paige:
I do too. Then I love to listen to really depressing love songs, like Celine Dion or Toni Braxton. It´s nice to know that their love lives are always worse than mine is.
J.T:
Don´t they have positive love songs too?
Paige:
Yeah, but I never listen to them. I wanna hear them being miserable! Hah!
J.T:
It´s been great catching up, Paige, but I´m about done for tonight, as far as the drinking goes. We´ve still got a reunion tomorrow, remember?
Paige:
So, you´re not gonna ask me to come home with you?
JT smiles to himself at her directness.
J.T:
Sure, why not? You were my first crush.
Paige:
I was?
J.T:
I was so proud, that night you let me take you out.
Paige:
That´s so sweet! If I could go back in time and tell that dumb, bitchy girl from High School to take a chance on you, I would. You would have been much better, than the other boyfriends I had. I always thought you were cute in a dorky sorta way.
"Super Freak" by Rick James comes on and Paige livens up a little.
Paige:
This is so my song!
She gets up from her chair, but immediately stumbles over her own legs and lands right in J.T´s lap. The table falls over and the things that were on top of it, go flying in every direction.
Paige:
Whoopsie!
She kisses him and he´s clearly enjoying it. The bartender doesn´t look quite as happy though.
Bartender:
God damn it. You two, get the hell out of here!
He helps her get up as gracefully as possible, until he himself gets up. He´s not quite as drunk as she is, so he helps her steady herself.
10. Ext. Tarrello´s. Evening.
J.T manages to get Paige in to a taxi and gets in next to her. Right after their taxi drives away, another one pulls up. Out steps Manny, Emma, Toby and Liberty. Manny´s looking a little reluctant.
Emma:
You can come in for one drink.
Manny:
It´s way past my usual bed time and I still have to go to work tomorrow.
Liberty:
How often do the four of us get to hang out, like we did in the old days?
Toby:
I´m only having one drink too. We´ll share a cab afterwards.
Manny:
Okay, then. But just one.
11. Int. Tarrello´s. Evening.
Manny and Toby are out dancing to "All Star" by Smash Mouth and look to be enjoying themselves. There´s now more people on the floor, so they´re less conspicuous than Paige was. Emma and Liberty are sitting at a table, watching them with joy.
Emma:
It´s so great to watch her enjoying herself.
Liberty:
Toby, too. Do you think anything will happen between them tomorrow?
Emma:
It´s highly unlikely. Unless we "nudge" them in the right direction.
Liberty:
Aren´t we a little old to be playing match makers?
Emma:
It´s pretty much their one chance. We haven´t all been together for at least three years. Every time, he´s been with some bimbo. Now they´re both single ...
Liberty:
... Ready to mingle ...
Emma:
... And I always thought the two of them would have been great together.
Liberty:
Me too.
Emma sees something and the look of joy on her face goes away.
Emma:
Oh, no.
Liberty:
What?
Emma:
Over there.
We see Dean (the guy who raped Paige in the "Real" Degrassi universe), sitting down at a table with another man about his own age.
Liberty:
Is that him?
Emma:
I´m almost sure. Manny can´t see him.
Liberty:
Don´t you think she can handle it? It´s been almost 25 years since the night he raped her. He spent a lot of them in prison because of it.
Emma:
Exactly. What if he wants revenge on her?
Liberty:
There´s a large bartender up there, who I´m sure will step in and help her.
The song ends. Manny and Toby, both slightly winded, sit down with Emma and Liberty.
Toby:
Thanks for the dance.
Manny:
It was my pleasure. l used to love dancing, when I was a kid. Stacy loves it even more than I did.
Manny and Toby both finish their drinks and get ready to leave.
Emma:
You´re sure you can´t stay for one more?
Manny:
I´m not as used to alcohol as the rest of you are. We´ll have plenty of fun tomorrow.
Standing up, she turns and sees Dean. Her smile instantly disappears.
Manny:
Did you know, he was here?
Emma:
I just spotted him half a minute ago. It´s been a great night, don´t let him ruin it for you.
Manny:
I should be able to take it. I haven´t seen him since his last parole hearing. That must have been at least 10 years ago.
Toby puts his arm on her shoulder to comfort her. It helps a little.
Toby:
We´ll walk out and pretend like he doesn´t exist.
Quickly, they head for the door. Emma and Liberty look at Manny with sympathy.
12. Int. J.T´s Apartment. Evening.
J.T is leading a Paige on very shaky legs in to his batchelor pad. It´s nothing fancy, but at the same time it doesn´t look like he´s missing anything. She looks around and sees some pictures of him. She picks one up and looks at it.
Paige:
Is this your son?
J.T:
Yeah, that´s Robbie. He´s 14 now. That was taken, when we were in Montreal last year.
Paige:
But he doesn´t live with you?
J.T:
No, he did for about a year and a half, but it didn´t go well.
Paige:
Why not?
J.T:
His grades slipped and he started hanging with "The Wrong Crowd" as Liberty called it. Now he lives with her and her husband in Calgary. I only get him for a weekend each month.
Paige:
At least you have visitation. My kids, when they´re not away at boarding school, don´t want to see me right now.
She takes her phone out and shows him her desktop picture. It´s her with her two kids, Allan who´s 11 and Grace, who´s 9.
Paige:
They see me as the one, who broke up our family. The worst part is, they´re not wrong.
J.T:
So, you´re divorced too?
Paige:
No, but I will be within the next few weeks. My husband gave me a great life, but I didn´t appreciate it, while I had it. When a very rich widower showed interest in me, I took a chance on him. When he found out I was married, he not only dumped me, he also told my husband what we did. I´ve tried to make it right with him, but he won´t listen to me. Now he´s found someone new, who´s prettier than me and much nicer to him than I ever were. I haven´t seen Allan and Grace in almost 4 months and it´s killing me inside.
They kiss, but it´s more of a comforting kiss, than a romantic one.
J.T:
Have you never had a career of your own?
Paige:
No, I relied on my men to do things for me. I found out in High School, that when you´re the queen bee, it´s easier to make other people do the work for you. All I have is half a semester at community college.
J.T:
I didn´t finish college either. I started DJíng on the college radio station, found out I loved it, dropped out and got a job at a local station. It´s the only job I´ve had since. I married Liberty after she got her degree and thought I had it made. Life just didn´t turn out to be that easy.
Paige:
We´re a couple of losers, aren´t we?
They smile at each other.
13. Int. Manny´s Apartment. Evening.
Manny comes home to an apartment, that´s mostly dark. She steps in to the living room to find Stacy and her boyfriend Jerome (a 17 year old, athletic, African American guy) half undressed and in the middle of making out on the couch. Everyone gets very embarrassed, probably Jerome more than anyone else. He quickly gets his clothes on and just nods at Manny on the way out. Stacy slowly puts her clothes back on as Manny sits down next to her.
Stacy:
I thought, you wouldn´t be home until later.
Manny:
Look, I know it´s none of my business, but have you and Jerome you know ... done the deed?
Stacy:
If we had, I would have told you. You told me enough horror stories about teen pregnancies from your own youth, that I know I need to be careful.
Manny:
You´re at the age, where it´s not uncommon to start doing ... it. I just can´t stand the idea of you ending up like some of the girls from my past. Have I ever told you about Craig and Ashley?
Stacy:
Not, that I remember.
Manny:
Craig was the school hunk, from the moment he started at Degrassi.
Stacy:
Was he hot?
Manny:
Smoking! Emma and me both had crushes on him and I even danced with him once. But it was this girl named Ashley, who stole his heart away. They were very much a hot and cold couple. Just like you, I don´t think she was the easiest to live with.
Stacy:
Hey. I´m a good girl!
The two smile at each other.
Manny:
They started getting sexual with one another and she got pregnant, when she was 16. She had all these big plans about going to Europe and going to a fancy school, but she had to settle for Degrassi and life as a single mom.
Stacy:
He just left her? What a douche!
Manny:
He had mental issues. He was what they call bi-polar. It all became too much for the both of them and they broke up. After that, she was stuck alone with the child.
Stacy:
Do you know what happened to them?
Manny
No, I haven´t seen either of them since High School. Maybe I´ll see them tomorrow at the reunion.
Stacy:
I haven´t even asked you, if you had fun tonight?
Manny:
It was nice.
Stacy:
Just nice? Nothing happened in the romance department?
Manny:
I did dance for one song with an old friend of mine.
Stacy:
Not bad. For you, that´s like second base!
Manny:
Get to bed, smartass!
Stacy goes in to her room and shuts the door. Manny smiles a little to herself, before going off to her own bedroom.
14. Int. J.T´s Apartment. Evening.
J.T is bringing in a bowl of popcorn in to his living room with a smile on his face. He sees Paige stretched out on his couch and looking comfortable.
Paige:
You know, usually when a guy invites a girl home, it mean they´re gonna do it.
J.T:
We´re still gonna do it. Just a different kind of it.
Paige:
I was kinda hoping, we´d at least make out some more.
J.T:
No one says we can´t do that.
He puts the bowl of popcorn on the table, lies down next to her and kisses her. They look very snuggly together.
J.T:
We just shouldn´t have sex. Not right now, anyway.
Paige:
I´m not usually like I was tonight. I´ve just had some rough times lately.
J.T:
Me too. But we´ve got the perfect movie to forget our troubles! How long has it been since you´ve seen it?
Paige:
"Weekend at Bernie´s"? I can´t even remember when that was.
J.T:
You are in for a treat!
He kisses her on the cheek and starts the movie. All of a sudden we very quickly cut to:
15. Int. Tent. Night.
Spinner is rustling around, having just got out of his sleeping bag. A very tired looking Paige with morning hair sits up.
Spinner:
Sorry. I gotta take a wiz.
He leaves the tent. Annoyed, she lies down and tries to fall asleep again.
CLOSING CREDITS
Author´s note: Since this is a two parter, you won´t get the timeline of events until after part 2, as it could give spoilers away. I expect to have it up either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
