DEGRASSI: AFTERMATH - S09E03 - GHOSTS

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

1. Int. Hallway. Day.

Julie and Taryn are talking to Chrissy and Lisa.

Chrissy:

I don´t know. I don´t think, that it´s something, they want to re-visit.

Taryn:

What happened with Rick Murray is the dark secret, that the school has tried to keep quiet for over 25 years. It´s time that the truth about what really happened that day, came out.

Julie:

I know, that your family was right at the centre of it. If anyone can tell the story, as it should be told, it would be them.

Lisa:

No one´s not saying, that it shouldn´t be done. It´s just ... how can you defend a school shooter?

Taryn:

Rick Murray was viciously bullied, to the point, where he lost his mind. Don´t tell me, that bullying isn´t still going on here, because I see it every day.

Julie:

If this can help to stop it from happening again in the future, shouldn´t we do it, then?

Taryn:

Let´s face it. It´s not like the possibility of it happening has become smaller, since Rick´s days here. There´s more reports of school shootings than ever before, to the point where people have become numb to them.

Chrissy:

I know, that you hate bullying and I´m right there with you. I´ve tried it, Lisa has tried it and we know what it´s like to be scared to come to school, because you don´t know, if you´re gonna get beat up or verbally abused. What about the girl, he assulted or the guy, who wound up in a wheelchair? They´re victims too.

Taryn:

We want to show their side of it too. Is there any way, you could get in touch with them?

Chrissy:

Maybe. My dad and Jimmy have been playing fantasy football against each other, since I was little. Paige could still know, where Terri is.

Taryn:

Your family has to be okay with it, or we won´t make it. But if they are, will you help us make this and tell Rick´s story?

Julie:

It needs to be heard. It´s time for the silence surrounding him, to come to an end.

Chrissy looks more or less on board.

OPENING CREDITS

2. Int. Snake´s Office. Day.

Chrissy, Lisa, Taryn and Julie are with Snake and Emma. Julie has a small film camera.

Chrissy:

I figured, that you would be the place to start. I don´t want to get you in trouble, granddad.

Taryn:

None of us do. But don´t you think, it´s time?

Snake:

I´ll agree to go on record, if and only if, you get everone´s approval. Jimmy was one of my students too. He had his entire future ruined by what happened.

Julie:

That goes without saying. Can we record?

Snake:

Okay, but I want the footage, if the documentary doesn´t happen.

Chrissy:

It´s a deal.

Julie starts recording.

Taryn:

Principal Simpson, what can you tell us about what happened with Rick Murray?

Snake:

I was only a teacher back then. Daniel Raditch was the principal.

Taryn:

What can you tell us about him?

Snake:

Raditch? Great teacher, lousy principal. I can say so, because I play golf with him from time to time and he will be the first to admit it. He went back to teaching Junior High and it was the best thing, that could have happened to him. He didn´t take the warning signs, as serious, as he should have. Letting Rick back into the school was the first mistake. He could have fought it, but didn´t, because that was, what was easiest. If you want one sentence to epitomize Raditch as principal, that is it. Get away with doing it with as little effort as possible.

Snake shakes his head, when thinking back on it.

3. Int. Chrissy´s House. Day.

The girls are interviewing Paige and Spinner.

Paige:

You have to remember, what came before. We all loved Terri. She was like everyone´s innocent little sister, that we felt like, we had to look out for.

Spinner:

When me and Jimmy first heard, that he had hit her, we wanted to kill him. In our minds, nobody touched Terri. That was the same as hurting Paige or Hazel.

Taryn:

Can you tell us about them as a couple?

Paige:

Rick was the first boy, who really showed any interest in her. She was over the moon for him at first. Then he started beating her. She would have mysterious bruises, that she would come up with dumb explanations for.

Spinner:

He would also belittle her about her weight. God, I wanted to smack him one, every time he did that!

Taryn:

Did they break up over it?

Paige and Spinner nod.

Spinner:

She saw sense and dumped him, but it wasn´t long, until they were back together.

Paige:

It didn´t last long though, until the incident.

Spinner:

The worst day of my life.

Taryn:

What exactly happened?

Paige:

We were going away for the weekend and she brought him along, which didn´t go well. Rick was a very intense young boy. Today I would have seen, that it was probably because he´d been bullied and treated him differently. As it was, I got into a screaming match with him and he ran off. Terri chased after him.

Spinner:

We went looking for them, after we hadn´t seen them for a while. He was holding her head, when we found them. It was soaked in blood.

Taryn:

You must have been in shock.

Paige:

You can say that again. Rick ran off, probably because he was afraid, that Spinner would beat the crap out of him.

Spinner:

Which to be fair, I would have!

Paige:

We called for an ambulance and soon after, she was on her way to the hospital.

Spinner:

I´ll never forget, when we had to face her dad. The way he looked at us, like why didn´t you tell me? He didn´t suspect that something wasn´t right with Rick at all. Terri must have kept it quiet from him.

Taryn:

Did she return to Degrassi?

Paige:

No, her dad sent her off to a private school.

Taryn:

Do you feel like, you should have saved her from him?

Spinner:

Absolutely. It doesn´t excuse what happened to him afterwards.

Spinner and Chrissy make eye contact. She´s clearly nervous about hearing the truth.

4. Int. Emma and Sean´s Apartment. Evening.

The girls are interviewing Jay, Emma and Sean.

Taryn:

Emma, you were the one Rick selected to be his second victim. Sean, I understand that you two were involved at the time?

Sean:

No, I was with a girl named Ellie. But it would be wrong to say, that we weren´t still a little bit involved.

Taryn:

Emma, why did he select you?

Emma:

He had fallen in love with me, or what in his mind represented love, anyway. We were on the student quiz team together and he was friends with Toby, who was also a friend of mine. After I got to know him a little, I started to feel sorry for him.

Jay:

She even stood up for him with me, when I wanted to beat him up.

Taryn:

Why did you want to beat him up? Was it because of the girl, he hurt?

Jay:

I didn´t even know her. To be honest, I couldn´t have cared less about her. I was just happy, that here was a guy that everyone hated, so it was okay to do it. Everyone did it, so why shouldn´t I get in on the fun, while I had the chance?

He looks Taryn in the eyes.

Jay:

I´m not proud of it. What happened with Rick ruined a lot of things for me. It also changed me, even if it took a while to really kick in.

5. Int. Snake´s Office. Day.

Snake:

It was my idea to put Rick on the team. I thought that if Jimmy saw, he was actually a pretty nice kid, then that would help stop the bullying. I knew, that we had a winning combination, with the team we had. There´s not a day that goes by, where I don´t regret that decision.

Taryn:

How did they do?

Snake:

Great. They knocked all the competition out of the park. Rick and Jimmy were even getting along, like I hoped they would. For a while there, things actually looked, like they might work out.

Taryn:

Why do you think, they didn´t?

Snake:

I must have asked myself that question a thousand times. What could I or the other teachers have done differently? Rick came to talk to Raditch several times to complain over the bullying. Looking back, it´s astounding, the amount of mistakes were made. They say that you learn more from your mistakes, than what you did right. The mistakes that Raditch and the school board made, taught me more, than ten years as a principal possibly could. Raditch should have come down harder on the bullies, but it was the school board, that allowed Rick to come back in the first place. It will always more be their fault, than it was his. As his friend, I can tell you, that he tried his best. Everything is easy in hindsight and we´ll never know, if anything he did, could have changed the outcome.

6. Int. Chrissy´s House. Day.

Spinner has set up a laptop and gets it ready.

Spinner:

I give you, our good friends, Jimmy and Hazel Brooks.

Jimmy and Hazel come on the screen. They wave at them.

Jimmy:

Hey, guys!

Spinner:

Hey, Jimmy.

Jimmy:

You´re looking balder than ever!

Spinner:

Says you. I´ve got more left on the top, than you do!

Jimmy:

Keep dreaming, Spin!

Hazel:

Hi, Paige! Miss you!

Paige:

I miss you too, hun. When are you coming up to these parts?

Hazel:

Not until Christmas, I´m afraid.

Spinner:

Is it okay, that these girls ask you about Rick?

Jimmy:

It wouldn´t be, if my girls Lisa and Chrissy weren´t among them. How are my home girls doing?

Chrissy:

Great, Uncle Jimmy.

Lisa:

Me too. These are our friends Julie and Taryn.

Julie/Taryn:

Hi!

Jimmy:

What´s this I hear about you and Craig´s kid?

Hazel:

Jimmy! You can´t just ask her like that!

Jimmy:

I´m curious!

Lisa:

We are very much in love, it´s safe to say.

Hazel:

Don´t go jinxing it, girl! If you knew, how many times I´ve heard girls say that and how often they ended up single, you´d watch it with that kind of language!

Jimmy:

Congrats, Lisa. Say hi to Nick and the fam for us.

Lisa:

I will.

Taryn:

I´d hate to break up a nice reunion. Can we ask you our questions? It´s perfectly understandable, if you don´t want to talk about it.

Jimmy:

It´s been long enough. I say, let the truth come out once and for all.

Hazel gives him a kiss on the cheek and looks proud of him.

7. Int. Sean and Emma´s Apartment. Evening.

Taryn:

You started befriending Rick. Then what happened?

Emma:

I started regretting it pretty quickly, when he started to get clingy. It got worse, that closer we came closer to the competition.

Jay:

Meanwhile, the poor kid was getting beat up on a daily basis. It was like the entire school turned into a pack of wolves and he was our prey. My girlfriend egged me on, because she had issues, after seeing her mom get beat up all the time. This was her chance to get back at all the men, that had hurt them, represented in this one boy.

Emma:

It was heartbreaking to look at. I have no idea, why he didn´t just give up and transferred schools. It couldn´t have been worse, than what he was going through.

8. Int. Chrissy´s House.

Jimmy:

I was just as bad as the rest of them, if not worse.

Hazel:

It´s understandable, after what happened with Terri.

Jimmy:

We took it way over the line. When I got to know Rick, it was like I´d woken up from a haze. A haze of hatred. He must have felt, like the freed slaves in the south did, after the civil war. Hated and looked down on by everyone.

Hazel:

What happened with Terri was terrible, but it was an accident. He did care about her, in his own way. The problem is, that when something like that happens, everyone wants to point the finger at someone. He should never have come back. No one wanted him there.

Julie:

Was it really everyone, who hated him?

Paige:

Emma´s friend Toby was the closest, he had to a friend.

Spinner:

He was bullied too, for not getting in on the hate. It´s crazy to think back on, but my only thought was that he needed to be punished, for what he did. He spray painted a large X on the side of my car and taunted me with it. That´s when we decided to really get him.

Jimmy:

Not me. I was out of it by this point.

Spinner:

I wasn´t. It was my idea to paint and feather him in front of the school. Jay and his girlfriend were more than happy to help.

9. Int. Snake´s Office. Day.

Taryn:

What was your reaction, when you saw the paint drop down on him?

Snake:

Dismay. Shock. We´d seen acts of vandalism and had our share of troublemakers, like all schools do, but nothing like that. This was cruel, it was solely done to humiliate him and it was uncalled for. Rick felt bad about what had happened with Terri and he came back there to show people, that he wasn´t a monster. He was turned into one here.

Taryn:

Shouldn´t his parents or teachers have seen warning signs coming?

Snake:

That´s the million dollar question, isn´t it? What could have been done to change, what happened that day? I don´t know, if I have that answer for you. Rick´s mother, rest her soul, was a kindhearted woman, who loved him deeply. She only wanted the best for her boy and this could have meant, that there were signs of mental illness, she refused to see. When it´s your own children, it isn´t as easy to be objective, as it is, when it´s other peoples. I can say for my part, that the boy I had in my class, wasn´t someone I though would be capable of doing, what he did. What I saw in him was a highly intelligent young man, who had the world at his feet. To see all that stripped away from him is one of the worst things, I´ll see in my life.

10. Int. Emma and Sean´s Apartment. Evening.

Jay:

Spinner and me found out, when we would have the perfect opportunity. Alex set it up and we waited for the right moment.

Taryn:

What was people´s reaction?

Sean:

Some of them laughed, but most of us didn´t see anything funny in it. I just felt bad for the kid.

Emma:

He ran away in shock and I chased after him with the trophy, we´d just won. I caught up to him and he tried to kiss me, but I stopped him. I don´t remember what I said to him, but I handed him the trophy and ran off. It probably sounds dumb, but I was mad that he got paint on my new shirt, that I´d bought for the competition. He took off and the next time, I saw him, was when he pointed a gun at my head.

11. Int. Chrissy´s House. Day.

Spinner:

We saw ourselves as heroes, at first anyway. We got him down good. Me and Jimmy had a fight earlier in the day, because he didn´t like, what we were doing to Rick. When Rick came back covered in paint, we saw a chance to stop the friendship, brewing between them. We pretended not to see, that he was hiding in a bathroom stall and talked about, how Jimmy´s plan had worked to perfection. We had no idea, that he had a gun or was crazy enough to try to kill someone. To us, it was just another step in driving him to leave the school.

Paige:

I saw him and told him, that I thought it was childish, what they did to him. I´ve often wondered, if he would have shot me, if I hadn´t done that? He hated me, after what happened with Terri.

Hazel:

He was crazy enough to do it.

Taryn:

Jimmy, I know it must be hard. Can you tell us about the shooting?

Jimmy:

I was by my locker, when he confronted me. He looked crazy, but when he pulled that gun out, I still didn´t think that he would fire it. It wasn´t until he closed his eyes, that it dawned on me, that he would. I turned around and ran, but I only got a few steps, until I went down. I don´t remember much from the days, that came after.

Julie:

How did the rest of you find out?

Hazel:

They put the school under lockdown and we were joking around about, what could have happened, to pass the time. It was a teacher, who took me out into the hallway and told me. I broke down in her arms, because I was sure, that he would die.

Taryn:

How did you take the news, Spinner?

Spinner:

Shocked, most of all. I couldn´t believe, that I could have got my best friend killed. I wanted to tell the cops, but Jay convinced me not to. I remember going to the hospital with the others and spending the entire time in the bathroom crying and cursing myself. That´s the only night, where I´ve thought about killing myself. If Jimmy had died, it´s hard to say if I wouldn´t have.

Jimmy:

I´m glad, you didn´t, Spin.

Chrissy:

Me too.

She gives Spinner a hug.

12. Int. Emma and Sean´s Apartment. Evening.

Chrissy:

You don´t have to talk about it, if you don´t want to, mom.

Emma:

I don´t really remember much of it. I remember us hearing a shot, me, Sean and Toby. We rounded a corner and there he was. From the moment he pointed the gun at me, to him and Sean lying on the floor, is blacked out in my mind. I don´t remember any of it.

Sean:

I tried to talk him down and I thought for a moment, that I had, when he lowered the gun. When he raised it and pointed it at Emma, I just charged at him.

Taryn:

Weren´t you afraid?

Sean:

You´d think so, but I really didn´t have time to be afraid. Everything happened so fast and I just knew, that I had to act.

Julie:

Do you remember you thoughts, from when the gun went off?

Sean:

I´m glad that it didn´t hit me, was probably the first one! Things after that are sort of a blur of confusion. I hated the whole media circus that followed it and especially being called a hero. Ellie helped to keep me sane, but I had big time survivor´s guilt. It took me a long time to just get over the worst of it.

Taryn:

Are you completely over it?

Sean shakes his head.

Sean:

No, I won´t ever be. That´s one part of me, that´s never going away.

Chrissy:

Do you think, that´s why, you work so well as a couple?

They smile at her.

Emma:

It could be, Honey. There´s no doubt, that it´s created a special bond between us.

Sean:

One that nothing else can compare to.

They kiss. Chrissy looks happy for them.

13. Int. Chrissy´s House. Day.

Taryn:

How did you manage to get past it, Jimmy? If that were me, I don´t know, if I could.

Jimmy:

I guess, I started feeling sorry for the poor guy, especially after he got cancer.

Spinner:

The day you first talked to me again, is right up there with when my kids were born, as the best moments of my life. I´ll never forget you for that.

Jimmy:

Who else was I gonna hang out with, after the others had left for college?

The two old friends smile at each other.

Taryn:

Do you feel sorry for Rick, or do you hate him?

Jimmy:

I feel sorry for him. No one deserves what happened to him.

Hazel:

Me too. Looking back on it, as an adult, makes you wish, that you would have done things differently.

Paige:

I think, that goes for all of us.

Spinner:

I never saw bullying as a big deal before that. It was just messing around and boys being boys. It´s not just that. Seeing Chrissy being bullied made me feel even worse, because there was a time, where I wasn´t any better.

Paige:

It changed all of us and forced us to grow up. Before that, it was mostly fun and games. Rick´s death robbed all of us of an innocence, that we´ll never get back.

Taryn:

One last question, Jimmy and Hazel. The shooting, looking at it now, all these years later. How has it affected your lives?

Jimmy and Hazel look at each other and smile.

Hazel:

We probably wouldn´t be together.

Jimmy:

And we wouldn´t have our kids. What happened taught me to appreciate life and every day it gives me. So, I didn´t become an NBA star, like I wanted to be, when I was a kid. I´m doing fine as a radio DJ.

Hazel:

I couldn´t imagine spending my life with anyone else.

They kiss.

14. Int. Snake´s Office. Day.

Snake:

What´s the biggest lesson to be learned from the Rick Murray tragedy? That we need to keep in mind, how our actions affect others. Bullying isn´t going away. Back in Rick´s day, cyberbullying was barely on our radar. Today it´s how most bullying takes place. More kids are affected by it than ever before and to some, it becomes too much. Some are naive enough to think, that they can regulate their way to getting rid of it, but let´s be real. You can´t control what goes on on-line. We can crack down harder on bullying and do what we can to help the victims. At the end of the day, what it comes down to, is parents teaching their kids from an early age, to respect those around them. That we´re all a part of society and the only ones, who can change things for the better are ourselves.

Taryn:

Thank you, principal Simpson.

Snake:

Do Rick proud. He deserves that much.

Taryn:

We´ll try our best.

Julie puts the camera away.

15. Int. Emma and Sean´s Apartment. Evening.

Sean and Emma are saying goodbye to the girls and Jay.

Taryn:

Can I be sure, that I should drive with him?

Sean:

This Jay isn´t the same Jay, he was back then.

Emma:

I don´t know, if there´s anyone, who hates bullying, as much as he does.

Taryn:

I was bullied. Really badly. Do you think, I should try to forgive them?

Jay:

I would, if I were you. Life´s too short, to waste it on hate. In the end, the only one you´re hurting is yourself.

Chrissy:

You stole that from somewhere, didn´t you?

Jay:

I did, but I can´t remember where.

Taryn:

I guess, if you and Spinner could turn out okay, then there´s a chance for my bullies too.

Taryn considers it.

16. Int. Chrissy´s Room. Evening.

Chrissy and Spinner are talking.

Spinner:

Was it hard to hear?

Chrissy:

I can´t say, that it wasn´t. I´m glad, I did, though.

Spinner:

Did you get everything, you needed?

Chrissy:

It would have been nice, if we could have talked to Terri. I´d say, that we have enough in what we have, though.

Spinner:

I´m glad, that we could help.

Chrissy:

What happened to her?

Spinner:

She´s happy, where she is. That´s all, you need to know. Now get ready for bed, It´s past your bedtime.

Spinner leaves her.

17. Int. Chrissy´s House. Evening.

Paige is watching a video on the laptop. Spinner sits down next to her.

We focus on the screen, which is Terri in a group home at her recent 41st birthday.

Terri (voice over):

Hi, Paige and Spinner! I´m having so much fun today, that you wouldn´t believe it! I beat Shane three times at Yatzy and I got your present this morning. Thanks so much! I love it and it´s totally gonna spice up my room. My dad is coming down tonight and we´re gonna have birthday cake and watch movies. It´s gonna be a blast! When is school starting up again, by the way? I keep asking the nurses and doctors, but they won´t tell me. Won´t it be exciting next year, when we´ll be juniors? I know, you don´t like him, but please say hi to Rick from me. I know, that he´s not perfect, but I still miss him. Please don´t be hard on him, he didn´t mean to hurt me, like he did. I hope, that we can still work things out, because he really is a sweet guy, when you get to know him. If you gave him a chance, I think that you´d like him too. Have a great day and say hi to Ashley and the others from me. Tell them , that I can´t wait to get out of here and back to Degrassi. Love you! Bye!

She turns the camera off with the help of an aide.

We cut back to Spinner and Paige. Paige is crying, while Spinner holds her.

18. Int. Hallway. Morning.

Taryn comes walking up the hallway. She sees Hannah and Heather talking by Hannah´s locker and walks over to them.

Taryn:

Hi.

They look surprised, that she´s talking to them.

Hannah:

Hi. How´s it going?

Taryn:

Pretty good. I´m actually starting to like it here, which I didn´t think would be possible.

Heather:

That´s nice to hear. We want you to have it as good, as you can here.

Taryn:

I did this assignment about the school shooting, that happened here 25 years ago.

Hannah:

I heard about that. It´s a terrible story.

Taryn:

What fueled it was hate and it made me realize, that I don´t want to be a hateful person anymore. You both seem like you´re sorry, for what you did.

Heather:

We are and Regina is too. She has her faults, but she hit rock bottom a few years ago and it changed her for the better. We all want to move on from it and take a more positive path going forward.

Taryn:

Same here. I´m not letting myself get turned into the next Rick Murray.

She leaves them and smiles to herself, as she walks away from them.

CLOSING CREDITS