DEGRASSI: GLORY DAYS - S01E16 - A DIFFERENT WORLD
DISCLAIMER: I DON´T OWN DEGRASSI
1. Int. Airport. Day.
Trish and Kat come walking through the airport in Seattle. Trish looks a little disappointed.
Trish:
It doesn´t look any different.
Kat:
How did you think, it would look?
Trish
I don´t know. They always say things are bigger in America.
Kat:
We´re a few hours drive south of the border. It´s not like we went to Uganda or something.
The reach the reception area and Kat looks around.
Trish:
Do you know what they look like?
Kat:
No idea. She said they´d bring a sign.
Trish points at something.
Trish:
I´m pretty sure that´s them.
They see 61 year old Laura Vedder, a rather conservative looking woman and her 19 year old granddaughter Courtney Cobain, a slightly punky looking girl with long dyed, black hair with purple undertones, wearing ripped jeans, a Stooges t-shirt, army boots and a black leather jacket. She´s holding a sign that says "Nelson".
Kat:
I guess that´s my new family.
Trish:
Are you ready to meet them?
Kat:
We didn´t fly all this way for nothing.
They approach them.
Kat:
Laura?
Laura smiles when she sees them.
Laura:
Are you Katherine?
Kat:
In the flesh. It´s great to finally meet you.
Laura:
This is my grand-daughter Courtney.
Courtney:
´sup?
Laura:
Who´s lost the ability to speak in full sentences again.
Kat:
It´s nice to meet you, Courtney. This is my friend Trish.
Laura:
Any friend of Katherine´s is welcome in our house.
Trish:
I appreciate it.
Kat:
You can call me Kat. Everyone else does.
Laura:
I´ll try to remember. Are you ready to see Seattle?
Kat:
Ready as we´ll ever be.
Courtney eyes them and seems to like them, even if she isn´t saying much.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. House. Day.
Kat, Trish, Laura and Courtney enter the living room of the humble house. A 42 year old woman, Gertrude Cobain, gets up from her seat to greet them. 65 year old Victor Vedder looks up from his newspaper and smiles at them.
Gertrude:
The guests of honor have arrived! Which one of you is Katherine?
Kat:
That would be me.
Gertrude:
I´m Gertrude, your aunt.
Kat:
Wow. It´s weird to hear it said like that.
Victor:
It´ll take time to get used to, for all of us. I´m Victor, your grandfather.
He gets up from his seat and she shakes hands with both of them. Gertrude looks sternly at Courtney, who rolls her eyes, looking annoyed.
Gertrude:
I trust there were no more speeding tickets on the way?
Laura:
It wasn´t for lack of trying.
Courtney:
C´mon!
Trish:
She was in complete control all the time. It wasn´t like, we felt unsafe.
Courtney eyes her and they make eye contact. Trish shyly smiles.
Kat:
That´s my friend Trish. I brought her for support.
Victor:
It´s very nice to meet you.
Gertrude:
Same here. We we´re hoping to meet you daughter.
Kat:
I don´t want to take her flying until she´s a little older. I brought lots of pictures.
Gertrude:
I can´t wait to see them.
Kat:
I´m sure you have a ton of questions, like I do.
Laura:
We´ll take all that as it comes. Relax and make yourselves at home.
Kat tries to grasp the situation.
3. Int. House. Evening.
The family is seated around the dinner table, having just finished eating.
Kat:
Thanks, Laura. That was great.
Trish:
I say the same.
Laura:
You´re welcome, girls.
Courtney:
I´m grabbing a smoke.
Gertrude:
I thought you´d quit.
Courtney:
I can have one here and there.
Trish:
I´ll join you. I could use a little fresh air.
Courtney:
Suit yourself.
They leave the table.
Laura:
I´ll get this cleared away.
Gertrude:
I´ll help you.
Kat:
Me too.
Laura:
No, you´re our guest.
Gertrude and Laura get up and start carrying dishes out. Victor gets up and grabs his cigarettes and an ashtray. He lights one up.
Victor:
I´d go outside, but my hips aren´t what they used to be.
Kat:
I´m sorry to hear that.
Victor:
It´s the prize for a life of hard work.
Kat:
What did Artie do for a living?
Victor:
Oh, he did lots of things. He´d work a job for a while, until he got bored and found something else. Even ran off to join a carnival once.
Kat smiles.
Kat:
Did he?
Victor:
Oh yeah, he travelled with them all spring and summer and the next ones after that. He was the announcer for their freak show. Said it was the most fun he ever had. That was how he was. Sometimes impulsive to a fault, but we always knew he´d end up on top somehow, so we never worried too much about him.
Kat gets a little emotional hearing about him.
Kat:
He sounds like someone who wasn´t afraid to be himself, no matter what everyone else thought.
Victor:
He used to say "there´s only a few people in your life that matter, what everyone else think of you doesn´t mean a thing". He was probably right.
Kat:
There´s one thing, I´d like to know more than anything else.
Victor:
You want to know if he knew about you?
Kat:
That´s the one.
Victor:
He didn´t. We made a deal with your mother not to tell him. She thought it was for the best and we respected her wishes.
Kat:
I didn´t know you were in contact with her, after you left Toronto.
Victor:
Only one time, shortly after your grandparents contacted us. She called us and I talked with her. She didn´t want to ruin his future, so she let him off the hook. Everything she did was out of love for him.
Kat looks surprised.
4. Ext. House. Evening.
Courtney and Trish are on a swing set, each of them sitting on a swing. Courtney is rolling a joint.
Trish:
In Canada, a smoke usually means a cigarette.
Courtney:
Here it can mean both things. What else is different up there?
Trish:
We say about (pronounced in Canadian).
Courtney eyes her a with scepticism as she licks the paper. She straightens it out with her fingers.
Courtney:
That´s cool. I like little differences like that.
Trish:
Apart from that, I don´t know if there´s any big differences.
Courtney:
Do you like weed and rock music up there?
Trish:
A lot of people do, yeah.
Courtney:
Then it´s pretty much the same.
She gets a lighter from her pocket and lights her joint. She inhales deeply and tries to pass it to Trish, who refuses.
Courtney:
Are you a lightweight?
Trish:
When it comes to drugs and alcohol. I´ve only been drunk two times.
Courtney:
You´ve never smoked weed before?
Trish:
Can´t say I have.
Courtney:
It´s been a while, since I could say that.
Trish:
It isn´t that I´m afraid to try it. Everyone says it harmless.
Courtney:
I don´t know about that. I´ve seen people make asses of themselves, because they had a puff.
Trish:
Aren´t you worried, your mom will see you´re stoned?
Courtney:
I´ve been stoned in front of her lots of times. Sometimes it´s the only way, I can stand being around her.
Trish:
She doesn´t seem that bad to me.
Courtney:
She isn´t bad, she´s just mind-numbingly boring. She always wants me to everything the safe way. Where´s the fun in that?
Trish:
I´m the safe type too, you could say.
Courtney:
We´ll get it out of you. Do you and Kat want to go out later?
Trish:
Where to?
Courtney:
There´s this youth club, a lot of us hang out at. They have live music tonight. 2 dollars at the door.
Trish:
I can´t complain, that it´s not affordable. It´s a date.
Courtney:
Cool. I´ll show you the real Seattle.
Trish smiles, happy to have found a friend as cool as Courtney.
5. Int. House. Evening.
Kat and Victor are still talking. She´s clearly enjoying the old man´s company.
Kat:
Do you see any parts of him, when you look at me?
Victor:
I see many things. The way you smile, your dimples. You have the Vedder ears.
She smiles and touches them.
Kat:
I do?
Victor:
There´s no denying, you´re one of us.
Kat:
I want to be part of your family. Maybe I can come down in the summer and bring my daughter.
Victor:
We´d certainly love to have you here.
Trish and Courtney come back in.
Kat:
Was it good to get some fresh air?
Trish:
It was nice. Courtney asked us to go to a concert at a youth club tonight.
Kat:
I´m not really up for it, but you should go.
Courtney:
You can sleep at my place.
Trish:
If it´s fine with all of you?
Victor:
You´re young! Let Courtney show you Seattle her way, just don´t learn too much from her. That little Hellcat reminds me of myself, when I was her age.
He winks at Courtney, who smiles back at him. He seems to be the only one in the family she likes and there´s a clear unspoken connection between them. Gertrude comes back in, carrying a fruitcake on a platter. Courtney gets "munchie eyes" looking at the cake.
Gertrude:
Is everyone ready for dessert?
Courtney:
That looks good!
Gertrude:
It´s nice to hear you say something positive for a change.
Courtney:
Trish is sleeping in my room tonight.
Gertrude:
How nice!
Trish:
Thanks, mrs. Cobain.
Gertrude:
Don´t mention it. You seem to be having a good effect on her.
Courtney eyes the fruitcake like a tiger ready to pounce on it´s prey.
6. Ext. Street. Evening.
Courtney and Trish come walking up to a run-down building.
Trish:
Is this it?
Courtney:
I doesn´t look like much, but it´s what we have.
They come up to the door. Courtney is immediately recognized by Joanie, a female bodybuilder in her mid 20´s, guarding the door.
Joanie:
Hey, Courtney. Who´s your friend?
Courtney:
This is Trish. She´s cool. Trish, this is Joanie.
Joanie:
She must be, if you say she is. Welcome to our club, Trish.
Trish:
Thanks. You´re the first woman bouncer, I´ve seen.
Joanie:
There aren´t many of us. It will come.
Courtney:
Has the band started?
Joanie:
No, it´s a record. They´re going on in 20.
Courtney:
We´ll go for a smoke first.
Joanie:
Have fun.
Courtney and Trish leave her.
We cut to them standing behind a large tree. Courtney takes a puff and passes it to Trish. She fumbles with it like a true amateur.
Courtney:
Put it in your mouth and suck. It´s not that hard. Take a small hit or you´ll end up coughing.
Trish takes a big hit and coughs like there´s no tomorrow.
Courtney:
I told you to take a small hit!
Trish:
Easy to say to someone, who doesn´t know how big a small hit is!
Courtney takes the joint from her and takes a puff, while Trish finishes coughing.
Courtney:
Can you feel it?
Trish:
Maybe. I´m not sure.
Courtney:
Sometimes it takes a moment to hit you. Have another one.
Trish takes another hit and this time avoids coughing. She closes her eyes and smiles, looking stoned.
Courtney:
Now you´re ready to party!
7. Int. Youth Club. Evening.
They come in to the club, which isn´t much nicer inside than it was from the outside. There´s around 35-40 girls in there aged 15 to 19. Trish clearly thinks it´s cool.
Trish:
Is this an all girls club?
Courtney:
Only once a month. The boys get their night too.
Trish:
I guess, I couldn´t have come at a better time.
Courtney:
The band is called The Vaginal Warts. Pure Girl Punk!
Trish:
I´ve only heard the word, I don´t even know what Punk is exactly.
Courtney:
Haven´t you heard of The Sex Pistols?
Trish shakes her head.
Courtney:
The Clash?
Trish:
Nope.
Courtney:
You can´t tell me, you´ve never heard about The Stooges?
Trish:
I´m a small town girl. None of that stuff even existed in Wasaga Beach.
Courtney:
I thought you were from Toronto.
Trish:
I only moved there a year ago.
She sees something and can barely believe her eyes. It´s two 17 year old girls kissing freely and looking carefree and in love. Courtney notices them too.
Courtney:
They´re friends of mine.
Trish:
They´re kissing.
Courtney:
On these nights, we´re free to express ourselves. Don´t you have something like this in Toronto?
Trish:
If there is, no one´s told me. It´s like I´m in a dream.
Courtney:
We still can´t kiss in public, without people making a scene, which is total BS, if you ask me.
Trish:
In Toronto I wouldn´t be able to do anything with a girl, without people judging me.
Courtney:
Who cares what they think? You have to be honest with who you are.
Trish:
My dad would freak out, if he found out.
Courtney:
My mom freaked a little, when I told her.
Trish looks almost shocked.
Trish:
She knows and she´s fine with it?
Courtney:
She wasn´t at first, but she came around after a few days. She knows, she can´t change me.
Trish is smiling, happy to be there with Courtney. Courtney takes her hand.
Courtney:
I´m glad Kat decided to say no.
Trish:
Oh? Why´s that?
Courtney:
Duh? I want you to myself, stupid. I´m not looking for a girlfriend, who lives far away. I wanna be clear on that from the start.
Trish:
How did you know, I like girls?
Courtney:
My intuition rarely fails me. What do you say, cutie?
Trish looks flattered and ready to go along with it.
Trish:
What do you have in mind?
Courtney:
This, for a start.
Courtney kisses her. Trish embraces her while they kiss, like she never wants to let her go.
8. Int. House. Evening.
Kat is sitting on the couch, while Victor is in his armchair. Gertrude is leaving and Laura is standing with her.
Gertrude:
I´ll see you tomorrow, Kat. There´s still so much we want to show you and your friend.
Kat
It doesn´t all have to be in one day.
Gertrude:
I´m glad to hear that. Sleep tight, Dad,
Victor:
You too.
Gertrude and Laura hug goodbye.
Laura:
See you tomorrow, honey.
Gertrude:
You too, mom.
She leaves them.
Laura:
It´s getting late for me. Are you two staying up?
Kat:
"Hondo" is starting in a few minutes. How can I go to bed, when The Duke´s best movie is coming on?
Victor:
If she wants to watch it, so do I.
Laura:
Alright. Sleep tight, when you get there.
Her and Victor give each other a kiss on the cheek. Kat thinks it´s cute. Laura leaves them.
Kat:
I love seeing couples, who have stood the test of time.
Victor:
It´s wasn´t always easy. Her father didn´t like me at all. Thought I was a slacker.
Kat:
What did you do?
Victor:
We waited until she was pregnant to tell him, we we´re getting married. Made him a lot more mallable.
Kat:
I have a crush on someone. I know my grandparents won´t like it, if we got together.
Victor:
They aren´t you. You´re the only one who knows, what your heart needs.
Kat:
I don´t know if my crush is returned.
Victor:
There´s only one way to find out. You could end up regretting it for the rest of your life, if you don´t ask.
Kat thinks about it for a few seconds.
Kat:
Maybe that´s why my mom won´t have anything to do with me. What if Artie was the love of her life and I remind her too much of him?
Victor looks at her with sympathy.
Victor:
I wish I could tell you, why your mother left you. She must have had a very good reason.
Kat:
I think she did it, because she was selfish. Without me, she can live life as she pleases.
Victor:
Have you thought about finding her?
Kat:
I´m still exactly where she left me. If she wants to see me, that´s fine. If she doesn´t, I say screw her. Pardon my French.
Victor:
As far as I can see, she´s missing out on one hell of a daughter.
Kat:
Thanks, Victor.
He looks at the clock on the wall.
Victor:
It´s "Hondo" time!
Kat (in her best Southern accent):
Well, saddle my horse and get me a six-shooter!
Victor turns the volume on the TV up and we can hear the music starting.
9. Montage - Music: "I Love Playing With Fire" by The Runaways.
We start with Courtney and Trish rocking out with the other girls at the youth club. Trish is almost in heaven and looks free an uninhibited. She dances tight with Courtney and they make out.
We cut to them walking up the street, but it´s taking a while since they have to stop to kiss every ten steps or so. A car comes driving by with two frat guys hanging half way out the window and cheering them on as they speed by them.
Finally we end with them in Courtney´s bed, undressing each other. Courtney goes down on Trish (who´s face we hold on) and it´s obviously a new and very pleasurable experience for her.
10. Int. Courtney´s Room. Morning.
Courtney wakes up. Trish lies next to her, staring at her.
Trish:
Morning, sleepyhead.
Courtney:
What time is it?
Trish:
Only seven.
Courtney:
How long have you been up?
Trish:
Not long. Did last night really happen or did I dream it?
Courtney:
If you mean the part where you had great sex, then it did happen.
Trish:
I´m so innocent! I didn´t even know that was gay sex, until you told me just now!
Courtney:
What else would you call it?
Trish:
I don´t know. Naked fooling around?
Courtney:
How was it, for a first time? Was it everything you hoped?
Trish:
More. It was life changing.
Courtney:
I´m using "A girl said I was so good, it changed her life" as a pick up line, if you don´t mind.
Trish:
Not at all. I can´t thank you enough.
Courtney:
For a beginner, you weren´t half bad yourself.
Trish:
Thanks, but it´s not only that. You´ve showed me a whole different way of living.
Courtney:
You don´t have to be a stranger. If you´re still single the next time you ´re in Seattle, be sure to look me up.
Trish:
Does a one-night stand mean, I can´t kiss you today?
Courtney:
It´s still Saturday somewhere on Earth.
They begin to make out.
11. Int. Airport. Evening.
Trish and Kat come walking up to their gate. Only a few people are waiting there.
Trish:
Looks like we´re in good time.
Kat:
Good.
They sit down far away from any of the other people waiting.
Kat:
Now you can tell me, why you´ve been quiet today.
Trish:
I´ve had a lot on my mind.
Kat:
What happened with you and Courtney?
Trish gives her a naughty smile. Kat gets excited.
Kat:
Don´t hold out on me!
Trish:
We had sex.
Kat:
WHAT!
The other people waiting look at her. She´s a little embarrassed.
Kat:
You have to tell me everything.
Trish:
First we went to a club, where girls could freely show their love for each other. That´s where we started kissing.
Kat:
Trish and my cousin, sitting in a tree ...
Trish:
Stop it. That´s so grade school.
Kat:
Aww, I´m so happy for you. Get to the good stuff!
Trish:
A lady doesn´t kiss and tell. I will say, that It was amazing.
Kat looks happy for her.
Kat:
Are you girlfriends now?
Trish:
No, she doesn´t want to do long distance.
Kat:
It´s not impossible in the future. You could apply to University of Washington.
Trish:
It´s not the worst idea, I´ve heard.
Kat:
You could have all the girls, you want down here.
Trish:
I´d rather have one and be in love with her.
Kat:
You and me both. I´m asking Michelle soon and we´ll see what happens. I have to find out, if there´s a chance.
Trish:
I´m gonna tell my dad.
Kat looks proudly at her.
Trish:
I love him, but I can´t live my life pretending to be someone I´m not. Whatever happens, it´s better than living a lie.
Kat:
I´m so proud of you!
They hug as we fade out.
CLOSING CREDITS