DEGRASSI: AFTERMATH - S09E14 - MEMORIES

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

THE ENTIRE EPISODE IS SHOWN LIKE A DOCUMENTARY

1. Int. Classroom. Day.

Eli is sitting on a desk in an empty classroom at Degrassi.

Eli:

Hi, I´m Eli Goldsworthy. This is Degrassi, where I spent most of my high school years. The thing is, that this place is much more than just a bunch of buildings, where young minds go to be educated. It´s a place that shapes people, one than many of us who went here, hold very fondly in our hearts. I got in touch with several older students, to talk about why Degrassi is such a special place. Many of them remain close to this day and as for myself, I met my future wife here and friends, I hold very dear to my heart. The school has become more famous than ever and many people think, that the stories in the series are over dramatized. As you´ll find out, the real Degrassi is and was just as dramatic, if not more, than the series is.

He smiles to the camera, as it fades to black.

CAPTION:

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION OF DEGRASSI?

We cut to Clare, Jenna and Alli.

Claire:

I thought it was so scary for the first months, that you wouldn´t believe it!

Alli:

Really? I loved our first year there, when I think back on it!

Claire:

Of course, you would! It was whole new school of boys, for you to ogle at!

They laugh.

Eli (voice over):

Would you describe yourself, as having been boy crazy, Alli?

Alli:

More than a little. It was nice, when Jenna joined us, because then I wasn´t the worst anymore!

Jenna:

At least, I didn´t go after Johnny DeMarco and his mega mullet!

Alli:

I thought, he was cute! What can I say?

Jenna:

I was lucky, that these two were here. They made me feel at home right away.

Alli/Clare:

Aww!

They give her a group hug.

We cut to Craig, Spinner and Sean.

Sean:

I hated coming back here. At first, anyway. I knew, that I´d get picked on for being held back a grade.

Spinner:

I loved it, from moment one. I won´t say, that it always stayed that way, but I did at first.

Craig:

I was just excited, I think. Manny was here, Emma was here and I knew them already. It wasn´t long, until I started making more friends.

Eli (voice over):

Were the three of you friends?

Spinner:

I played in a band with Craig and some of my other friends.

Eli (voice over):

What would you say was the highlight of your band´s run?

Spinner and Craig laugh to themselves, when thinking back on it.

Craig:

Playing at a battle of the bands, against an all-girl band put together purely out of hatred for me. That´s one´s hard to beat!

Spinner:

They were called "Hell Hath No Fury" and they all had these anti-Craig T-shirts on. It was hilarious!

Craig:

Did I get Ashley back at the end of the night or not?

Spinner:

You did. It was also one of the only complete shows, we played, where you didn´t run off to catch some girl!

Craig:

I was a teenager and I loved girls! You weren´t any better!

Sean:

At least he wasn´t constantly getting boners in class!

Spinner:

I´m not telling that story!

We fade to black.

CAPTION:

WHAT WAS THE MOST EMBARRASSING THING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU AT DEGRASSI?

We cut to Joey, Snake and Spike.

Snake:

Joey, you were the king, as far as those moments went.

Joey:

Let´s see ... having to walk naked through the cafeteria was a definite highlight.

Spike:

At least, you had your hat to cover the worst parts!

Joey:

Yeah, but I also had to explain it to Raditch! Talk about an awkward conversation!

Snake:

I didn´t have that many as a student, but Emma gave plenty of them. Her going almost full frontal nude in front of half the school is one, I´ll never forget.

Eli (voice over):

Was it just because she wanted to or what?

Spike:

She was upset over yet another cause. You have to give it to her, she went all out, when she felt like, she needed to!

Joey:

What was yours?

Spike:

Having to tell everyone, that I was pregnant, when I was barely 14! I remember feeling all those judging eyes on me and thinking, that everyone saw me as some cheap tramp. It took me a long time to get rid of that feeling.

Joey:

At least, you had me to make you laugh in the meantime!

Spike:

You always had a high entertainment value, Joey!

We cut to Manny, Emma and Paige.

Emma:

It was grade 7 and I got my first period.

Manny:

Oh, God! With those enormous gym shorts!

Emma:

You saved me that day Paige, remember?

Paige:

Not really.

Emma:

You gave me a pad and a big sisterly talk about becoming a woman. I still remember it, like it was yesterday.

Paige:

It sort of rings a bell, now that you mention it.

Manny:

Of course, she´d bled through, so I had to find a replacement in a hurry. The best I could find were a pair or gym shorts, that were more fit for a grown elephant, than a 12 year old!

They laugh, when thinking back on it.

Manny:

Standing there, holding them up and trying to keep a straight face was close to impossible!

Emma:

Oh, puberty, how I don´t miss you!

Paige:

I was head cheerleader and I felt like, I was queen bee for a while there. That starkly contrasts to the constant disasters, that were my proms! Whether it was looking like a tomato, because I was sunburned, breaking my leg the day before it or any other form of once in a lifetime accident, you can imagine, I was downright cursed, when it came to that one night a year!

Manny:

I had my share, but having a drunken, topless video being sent to the entire school, is a hard one to top.

Paige (mimicking Manny):

"I'm going to be an actress, like, academy award winning. And you can sell this for a million dollars 'cause I am going to be FAMOUS!"

Emma and Paige laugh, while pretending to flash their boobs. Manny still doesn´t find it funny.

Emma:

At least you didn´t go full frontal, like I did!

Manny can´t help smiling.

We fade to black.

CAPTION:

HOW WAS YOUR FIRST DEGRASSI ROMANCE?

We cut to Lola, Zoe and Maya.

Zoe:

Disaster.

Lola:

Absolute disaster!

Maya:

Mine wasn´t that bad, actually.

Lola:

You and Zig, the first time around, when he was still with Tori?

Maya:

You´re right, it was kind of a disaster! What was yours?

Lola:

When Winston kissed me out of nowhere, while he was still dating my best friend.

Zoe:

I wouldn´t say, that one kiss counts as a romance.

Lola:

Then it would be Tiny, before Shaye stole him him from me. Me and romance just never went hand in hand, while I went there.

Zoe:

I wasn´t any luckier. My first was Miles, who dumped me, so he could be with Maya. God, I couldn´t stand you that first year!

Maya:

I didn´t exactly like you either. But do you know, what my favorite memory from that year was?

They smile at each other.

Zoe:

The night, we hid out from the storm?

Maya:

And sang the "Golden Girls" theme together!

Lola:

I would have loved to have been there! Every time, they´ve told that story and trust me, it´s many! Every time, they´ve told it, I´ve wished that I had a video of it!

Eli (voice over):

That led to you becoming friends? How cute!

Zoe:

It didn´t last for more than half a year, at most. Let´s just say, that I had a bit of an explosive personality back then!

Maya:

At least, we ended school as friends.

Zoe:

It helped a lot, when I found out, that I´m gay and we stopped fighting over the same guys all the time.

We cut to Drew, Bianca and Becky.

Drew:

My first was Alli.

Bianca:

Which I kind of messed up for him, because he couldn´t keep his hands off me.

Drew:

Alli was a sweet girl, but I knew, who I was supposed to be with. We lasted a long time, that first time around.

Eli (voice over):

What was yours, Becky?

Becky:

I remember getting a lot of crushed at first, but the first one, I count is Adam, Drew´s younger brother and your good friend.

Eli (voice over):

Who can ever forget him?

Bianca:

He was a transgender kid here, before it became more widespread and accepted. It can´t have been easy on him.

Drew:

Adam loved it here, even if it didn´t always love him. It wasn´t fair, that he only lived to be 17, but considering what we came from, this place was heaven to him.

Becky:

Knowing Adam showed me and taught me, that even if someone is created as one gender, doesn´t mean that´s the one, they were meant to be. I saw him as a girl at first, but he was a boy. All the way through.

We fade to black

CAPTION:

WHAT WAS THE DUMBEST THING, YOU DID AT DEGRASSI?

We cut to Alli, Jenna and Clare.

Alli:

I don´t know, if I can pick, there were so many.

Jenna:

Mine has to be the diet pills, especially considering, that I was pregnant. Let´s just say, that the aftermath of that one wasn´t pretty at all!

Clare:

Stealing KC from me doesn´t count in your book?

Alli:

Or getting pregnant, when you were 15?

Clare:

Or when the entire class saw you boob at graduation?

Jenna:

That would have been bad for anyone else, but for me, it was just another day at the cringe office!

Clare:

My dumbest was letting a guy come between me and these two. No doubt.

Alli:

Can I just say, everything I did, that involved guys?

We cut to Craig, Spinner and Sean.

Spinner:

I inadvertedly caused a school shooting, so try to beat that one!

Sean:

Gut busted with drugs, illegal street racing, got busted stealing, actually I confessed on that one, what else?

Spinner:

What about that crazy chick, you dated?

Sean:

Amy? Nah! That was fun, for the very short while, it lasted.

Craig:

I got a 14 year old girl pregnant, when I was 15.

Eli (voice over):

Do you care to elaborate?

Craig:

I was in an on/off relationship with another girl, but this girl was crazy about me. Call me young and dumb, but I couldn´t stay away from her, even if I was crazy about my girlfriend. It ended up going way too far one night and a few weeks later, I found out that she was pregnant.

Eli (voice over):

Did you have the child?

Craig:

No, even if we considered it at first. She had an abortion, which was what was best for everyone involved. We´re still friends today.

Eli (voice over):

Do you regret not having it?

Craig:

You always wonder, what could have happened. I´ve been blessed with a son and I´m just grateful, that I have him. I don´t need to have more.

We fade to black.

CAPTION:

WHICH ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE, WHO´S STARTING A DEGRASSI?

We cut to Snake, Spike and Joey.

Snake:

Embrace it. The school gives as much back to you, as you give to it. Sure, it can be just be a place, where you spend a few years of your life, but it can also be a place that helps you to grow both as a person and and academically.

Spike:

Mine is to be yourself. This is the time in your life, where you have the freedom to. As we grow older, we start to lose sight of those things, that make us special, Being different isn´t a bad thing, unless you allow it to be. Hold on to those things that make you stand out, because they can also be the x-factor, that gets you places in life later on.

Joey:

I say, enjoy it. Enjoy your friends and not having a world of responsibilities. Ask that hot girl or guy out, if you like them, because you never know, what could happen if you do. Studying is important and yeah, it can get you a fat paycheck or the job you want. But it´s the people in your life, that make it exciting.

We cut to Emma, Manny and Paige.

Emma:

One thing, I´ve tried to impart on my kids, is to stand up for what they believe is right. There will always forces at work, who want you to get in line and just do what you´re told. If you see something, that goes against your beliefs, then speak up. Even if you don´t manage to change things right away, you can still start a discussion, that could lead to change. Every cultural revolution started with one person having an idea. That next person could be you.

Manny:

I would tell you to not worry too much about, what other people think of you. It matters, but what matters just as much, if not more, is how you feel about yourself. I´ve faced my share of haters in my life and you just have to remember, that you can´t please everyone and some people will continue to judge you, for even the slightest mistake you make. Forget about them and concentrate on the ones, who are worth your time.

Paige:

Mine is a little in the same vein and is to not worry too much about your popularity. All three of us know, that it can feel like the most important thing in the world. We can also tell you, that it doesn´t mean anything, if you push your real friends away to get it. People, who only like you because your popular won´t be there for you, when push comes to shove and you need them. Your real friends will.

We fade to black.

CAPTION:

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT FROM YOUR TIME AT DEGRASSI?

We cut to Drew, Becky and Bianca.

Drew:

I can say that in one word, Graduating!

Becky and Bianca laugh.

Drew:

I was held back twice and believe me, being 20 and still in High School, doesn´t make you feel like a winner! Getting that diploma was like weight off my shoulders, I tell you!

Bianca:

You had some fun times along the way. Not the least with me down in the boiler room.

Eli (voice over):

Are those your favorite moments, Bianca?

Bianca:

There were many, but they´re definitely up there. Graduating and knowing that I was off too to college was big deal, because I was the first in my family, in a long time, to do so.

Becky:

Becoming friends with Imogen was amazing, because I´d never had a friendship that close with anyone before. I remember at this one dance, I pretended to be gay, so we could go together. She saw through my bluff and I fessed up to her. We then had the sweetest moment, where we cemented our friendship. It always makes me smile, when I think back on it. She´s still one of my best friends, to this day.

We cut to Maya, Zoe and Lola.

Maya:

My favorite at school itself, would be when I was accepted into my first band. You have to understand, that I wasn´t just small for my age, I also felt small compared to everyone else. When they took me in, it finally felt like I was one of them and I belonged here.

Zoe:

Your favorite outside of school, has to be the ketchup story.

Maya:

Can you think of any cuter gesture, when you have to wear a hot dog costume for your job, than to have your boyfriend turn up dressed as a bottle of ketchup? I still love Miles for that one!

Lola:

It´s so hard for me to pick one, because I look more at it as a whole, you know? To me, it´s all the great times I had with my friends, I look back on and smile. There´s other moments I look back on and think wow, did I really do that? Like when I did that video about my abortion. That whole experience was what made me come out of my mousy little shell and start to embrace the idea of just being, who I wanted to be.

Zoe:

With me, it was becoming friends with Grace in summer school. My entire life, I base into the pre-Grace period and the post-Grace period. Seeing how she kept on defiantly living her life, in spite of the heart condition, that would eventually take her life, is still an inspiration to me. That she was such an amazing woman, who helped me to grow in incredible ways as a person, only adds to how much I wish, she was still with us. Some people, you are proud to have called your friend and she´s on the top of my list.

Maya:

Mine too. It wasn´t fair, the fate dealt her such a rotten hand, but she lived life to the fullest and touched a lot of hearts along the way. There´s a lot of us, who still miss her.

We fade to black.

CAPTION:

WHAT IS YOUR SADDEST MEMORY FROM YOUR TIME AT DEGRASSI?

We cut to Jenna, Alli and Clare.

Clare:

With me, it´s Adam´s death. The were other hard ones, but that´s the one, that will always stand out to me, because it was so unfair, he was finally in a real good place in his life and then to see it vanish in the blink of an eye was heartbreaking. There´s not a day, that goes by where I don´t wish, that he was still here with us.

Alli:

There was also Cam´s suicide, remember that?

Jenna:

The poor kid. You´ll probably never forget finding him?

Eli (voice over):

Not for as long as I live.

Alli:

It can still make me angry to think, that a 15 year old kid was driven to suicide, because he couldn´t handle the immense pressure, everyone put on him. I think back to every time, I talked to him and tutored him and I wonder, what I could have done differently. If there was something, I could have done, that could have made him want to keep on living.

Jenna:

Giving up my son for adoption is still the hardest thing, I´ve ever had to do. We were too young to be parents and our relationship was already on the rocks, even before I found out, that I was pregnant. We made a go of it for a few months and we both really wanted it to work, but there was no way it would work out. We gave him up to the right family and he´s doing good today. But at the time, I felt like such a failure.

We cut to Spinner, Sean and Craig.

Sean:

JT´s death, no doubt about it. I only knew him through Emma, but he would never hurt a fly. He was just a happy, goofy kid, who enjoyed life and spread joy to those around him. That some psycho stabbed him to death over a nothing school conflict, is almost too crazy to think back on.

Spinner smiles to himself, when thinking back on him.

Spinner:

He could be such an annoying little pain in the butt, the first years I knew him, but still there was something about him, it was impossible not to like. He in no way deserved what happened to him.

Craig:

Rick Murray is another one, that we can´t forget. My dad getting killed in a car accident is another one, that´s up there for me.

Spinner:

My girlfriend getting raped, another one finding out, that she was a victim of incest, getting cancer ...

Sean:

Can we move on to a different question? This stuff is too depressing to think back on.

We fade to black.

CAPTION:

IN WHAT WAY HAS DEGRASSI HELPED SHAPE YOU INTO THE PERSON, YOU´VE BECOME?

We cut to Alli, Jenna and Clare.

Clare:

It opened my eyes, in ways I never could have imagined, when I started there. I came there with a very set view of the world and by the end I found out, that I knew almost nothing about it. So, I would say, that it´s made me less closed off.

Alli:

I suppose the main thing it taught me, was to learn from my mistakes and it made me more wary to the consequences of my actions. I wish, I hadn´t made as many, as I had, but I learned from all of them.

Jenna:

I learned what true friendship is and to put the people I love, ahead of chasing my dreams. I can be apart from these two for years, but give us five minutes together and we´re like sisters again. That´s something, money or fame will never buy.

We cut to Spinner, Sean and Craig.

Spinner:

It taught you to stick to one girl at a time!

Craig:

It still took a while for it to sink in!

Sean:

Wasn´t there a little Darcy/Paige crossover thing happening there for a while?

Craig:

AND who can forget about, when you went after Manny, while you were still officially with Paige?

Spinner:

We don´t mention that!

Eli (voice over):

Seriously, guys.

Sean:

It made me believe in people again. For the first time, I felt like there were people, who believed in me and supported me, without having other motives behind it. I let most of them down more than once, but they still stood by me. For a messed up kid like I was, that meant the world.

Craig:

It can´t be put into words, what the years I was there did for me. I can only shudder to think, how life could have turned out, if I hadn´t and had stayed at my first school. It taught me morals, compassion, to put someone else first and most of all, to enjoy life again, Looking back, I was headed to a very dark place and if I hadn´t had the support that my friends gave me, then I´m not sure, I would be here today.

Spinner:

In my case, it was where I grew from a dumb, selfish kid into to a decently functioning adult, by the end of it. I had as many up´s and down´s, as anyone in this place has ever had, but I kept fighting through them and with every one of them, I grew a little more and became a stronger person. There´s things, I would have done differently in hindsight, but it´s all led us to where we are. If you ask me, that ain´t a half bad place.

We cut to Eli and Imogen.

Eli:

What did you take with you from Degrassi?

Imogen:

I found out, that there´s always someone, who´s willing to embrace who you are. Even us weirdos.

Eli:

Weirdo is just another word for original, anyway.

Imogen:

I didn´t say, that it´s a bad word. After all, wouldn´t the world be a really boring place, if we were all the same?

Eli:

It wouldn´t be anywhere close to the same, I´ll guarantee that much.

Imogen:

What about you?

Eli:

This is where I found out both, what kind of person I wanted to be and just as importantly, which kind, I didn´t want to become. I met the love of my life here and some of the most amazing people, that I took something from, with each and every one of them. This place has it´s share of stories, mostly good with a handful of the tragic ones, that every school has. All of those stories are what make up the soul of this place and new ones are added to it every day. It looks a little different from when we went here, but the magic is still here. The magic, that at any moment you can have that experience or meet that person, that will change you life. I just hope, that every student who goes here, can experience just a fraction of the wonderful things, we did.

Imogen:

I couldn´t have said it better myself!

They smile at each other and fist bump.

CLOSING CREDITS