DEGRASSI PRESENT DAY - EPISODE 2 - DESIRE
1. Int. Clothing Store. Day.
Caty is browsing with Jack in tow, although he´s not looking too into it.
Jack:
If you´re not gonna buy anything, why are we wasting our Saturday here?
Caty:
You called me, so it can´t be like you have anything better to do.
Jack:
It was between this and helping my parents clear out the garage. How can someone with a dad, who´s on the city council and works herself, always be broke?
Caty:
When you´re seven siblings to share the wealth, it doesn´t add up to a whole lot for each of us. Don´t think re-election campaigns are cheap either.
Jack:
I guess, that makes sense.
Caty:
If I want new clothes or any other luxury item, I have to pay for it myself.
Jack:
Do slushies count?
She tears herself away from the clothes, she can´t afford anyway and smiles teasingly at him.
Caty:
Why, Jack Nelson! Are you asking me on a date?
Jack:
Someone has to be the first, don´t they?
Caty:
I´ve been on dates before!
Jack:
If we exclude agreeing to meet up to make out?
Caty:
Then I guess, I haven´t.
Jack:
Come on. I´m buying.
Caty:
I´m not saying no to an offer like that!
He walks in front of her and doesn´t notice, that she´s slyly shoplifted several items without him noticing it. One person who has though is the store detective, who intercepts them on their way out. Caty tries to play it cool, while Jack is blissfully oblivious.
Store Detective:
Can I see your bag, miss?
Caty:
No, you can´t!
Store Detective:
II saw you putting things in there, that weren´t yours to take.
Jack:
No, she didn´t!
Store Detective:
If that´s true, she won´t mind me looking, will she?
Caty hands her bag over to him and he starts taking the things out, one after another. Jack looks shocked, while Caty looks anything but proud of herself.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Classroom. Morning.
Caty is telling Izzy about what happened the day before, while they´re waiting for class to start.
Izzy:
What did your parents say?
Caty:
All my dad thought about was how it would hurt his political career, if it got out.
Izzy:
I guess, you can´t have the perfect family on the outside, if one your kids gets caught shoplifting.
Caty:
Even if it gets out, his spin doctor will find a way of saving the day. He usually does.
Izzy:
What about your mom, how did she react?
Caty:
The same way, she always does, when it´s something regarding me.
Caty shrugs. Izzy feels bad for her.
Izzy:
That´s all she could give you? A shrug?
Caty:
Don´t feel bad for me. After 16 years of living in that house, I should be used to it by now. Have you heard anything about what happened to Jack? He won´t return my texts.
Izzy:
He´s pretty mad at you, but can you blame him?
Jack comes in and takes a seat far away from them. Caty looks at him with sadness in her eyes.
Caty:
I guess not.
She looks determined to make it right with him though.
3. Int. Hallway. Day.
Izzy is replacing one of her campaign posters by simply gluing a new one over the old one. Alex comes over to her.
Alex:
Was anything wrong with the old one?
She turns and smiles at him.
Izzy:
Someone drew a moustache on it.
Alex:
The same thing happens in Russia, when they have elections.
He smiles back at her.
Izzy:
It´s nice to know, that it´s not just here. I´ve been wanting to talk to you all week.
Alex:
It´s not like I´ve been hard to find.
Izzy:
I didn´t know how to start the conversation. I guess I just wanted to know or ask you, if you want to hang out tonight?
Alex looks flattered and not at all uninterested, to Izzy´s delight.
Alex:
It will have to be at your place. My parents don´t want me having visitors over.
Izzy:
My mom is really nice, you don´t have to worry about meeting her.
Alex:
I´ll see you later, I have basketball practice.
Izzy:
Is eight o´clock okay with you?
Alex:
Sounds good.
He leaves her and she looks glad to have a date with him.
4. Int. Boy´s Changing Room. Day.
Jack is getting ready for basketball practice and has his locker next to Brady´s.
Jack:
Thanks to Caty´s grabby hands, I won´t be allowed to go to any parties for a month.
Brady:
So? Go anyway!
Jack:
And face my mom´s blaming looks? She can lay a guilt trip on you, that will make you feel like you´re the worst person in the world instantly!
Brady:
I prefer my dad´s method of yelling into my face, what a useless excuse for a son I am, until he gets it out of his system.
Jack clearly can´t help feeling a little sorry for him, despite his massive male ego.
Jack:
It´s not how the Nelson/Simpson household works.
Brady finishes changing and shoots Jack a cocky smile.
Brady:
What were you doing in a clothing store with a girl, you´re supposedly not doing it with anyway?
Jack:
I like hanging out with her, because I always get the unfiltered truth. She doesn´t give a crap what I think and I feel the same way about her.
Brady:
I´ll believe that you´re getting something from her. With her reputation, I´d wear two rubbers though.
Jack:
It is possible for a guy and a girl to be just friends.
Brady:
Not in high school! Take my word for it: If you haven´t already done it, you will sooner or later!
Alex comes over to them, carrying his gym bag and gets ready to change. Brady sees it as a chance to pick on him.
Brady:
You think you´re the star or something, Igor?
Alex:
My name isn´t Igor!
Brady:
Aren´t all the guys named Igor over in that sorry excuse for a country, you come from?
Alex (muttering to himself):
Proklyatyy Mudak!
Alex tries to get to changing, but Brady isn´t done with him yet and pushes him from behind, so he falls on the floor. Jack feels sorry for Alex, but hasn´t got the guts to step up for him.
Brady:
What did you say, Ruski?
Alex:
Wouldn´t you like to know?
Jack:
Leave him alone, Brady. We have practice to get to.
Brady:
When you talk to me, you only speak English, so I can understand it, is that clear, Alex?
Alex gets up and tries to ignore him.
Alex:
Whatever.
Brady:
Let´s go, Jack.
Jack:
In a sec.
Brady leaves them and Jack moves in close to Alex, so he can speak quietly to him, as the rest of the team begin leaving too.
Jack:
If you play up to his ego, he´ll go easier on you. That´s what the rest of us do.
Alex:
They tried that with a guy over in Russia, you´ve probably heard of.
Jack:
You can´t compare Brady to Putin!
Alex:
Why not? They´re practically the same. Both are weak and need to constantly be assured by their followers of how much of a big man they are!
Jack:
I don´t like guys like him, any more than you do, but I´m saying this for your own good. There´s no use in starting a war, you have no chance of winning. You´ll only end up getting kicked off the team.
Alex:
I guess there is some truth to what you´re saying.
Jack:
I know what I´m talking about. The best you can do, is leave the politics in the dressing room and play your hardest on the court. Perhaps then you´ll see, that the reason he´s after you, is because he knows you´re better, than he is.
Jack leaves Alex to think about it, as he begins to get changed.
5. Int. The Dot. Day.
Izzy toasts on a soda with Sam and Caty.
Sam:
To the closest, our dear friend Izzy has come to having a date!
Izzy:
Thank you, ladies! I think we can all agree, that it´s been long enough coming.
Caty:
I still think that one of us will be having kids, before you lose your virginity!
Izzy gets shy about being put on the spot about it like this.
Izzy:
It´s a step in the right direction, isn´t it?
Sam:
Don´t let her twisted views on sex warp yours, Iz!
Caty:
It´s no big deal, once you´ve done it the first time.
Izzy:
It should be.
Sam:
Would you have sex with Jack for instance, if it meant that he instantly forgave you?
Caty has to look away from the gaze of the other two, so they can´t tell her real feelings. It´s still tells them everything though.
Caty:
With him it´s different.
Sam:
He´s just another guy, isn´t he?
Caty:
He´s the only guy friend I have, who doesn´t secretly want to get into my panties. I don´t know, it´s nice to have someone like him in my life. If he still is, that is.
Izzy:
I´ve known him since pre-school and if there´s one thing that´s never changed, it´s that he forgives very easily.
Sam:
It didn´t take him a day to forgive me after I broke up with him.
Caty:
You mean after your epic one day "relationship", back when you were twelve?
Sam:
It was a day and eight minutes, to be precise! My point is that if you do something nice for him, you´ll be out of the doghouse in no time.
Caty:
The question is what to do?
Izzy:
Don´t you think that a proper apology is a good place to start?
Caty nods and sees what they mean.
6. Int. Jack´s Room. Evening.
Jack is watching videos on his phone of people partying, which doesn´t help with his mood. He gets a text from Caty and decides to read it. It reads:
Look out your window.
He smiles at it and goes over to open his window.
7. Ext. Nelson House. Evening.
We see that Caty is standing down underneath Jack´s window and is holding a shopping bag. Jack opens the window and sticks his head out.
Caty:
I´m really sorry, okay? What else do you want me to say?
Jack smiles to himself and clearly isn´t that mad at her anymore.
Jack:
A little grovelling wouldn´t hurt!
Caty:
I´m not gonna grovel! I bought all of your favorites and it cost me all the money I had left, so can I come in?
Jack:
Yeah, I guess so! Just a minute.
She looks glad that it´s going well.
8. Int. Mia and Izzy´s Living Room. Evening.
Izzy is getting things ready for her and Alex´s "date" with her mom Mia helping her. Mia is still a looker, although the years she´s aged are also clearly visible on her.
Mia:
Are you nervous?
Izzy:
A little perhaps. I think it has a calming effect on me, that it´s here.
Mia:
There´s less pressure?
Izzy:
Plus there´s knowing that you could walk in on us any time!
They smile at each other.
Mia:
Isabella, it´s only natural at your age, that you want to try what´s it´l like to do things with boys.
Izzy:
We´re not gonna have another talk about my natural urges, are we? It was embarrassing enough the last time!
Mia:
I´m just worried that you´ve kept it bottled up for so long, that it´s gonna explode into something uncontrollable, once you try it.
Izzy:
I can control my hormones, mom!
Mia:
I remember another girl, who used to say that. You´re looking at her.
Izzy shoots her a reassuring smile.
Izzy:
If you´re worried about me getting pregnant, it´s not in the cards for a long time to come.
Mia shakes her head at her daughter´s naivety, as the doorbell rings.
Mia:
Promise me that you´ll use at least two kinds of contraceptives, if it happens.
Izzy:
All that´s gonna happen, is that we´ll get to know each other better!
Mia:
You´re really killing it with stealing my old lines, you know that?
Izzy goes to answer the door and Mia sighs to herself.
Mia (to herself):
Why do they have to grow up?
She tries to look okay with it.
9. Int. Jack´s Room. Eveniing.
Jack and Caty are having fun sitting across from each other on his bed and throwing peanuts into each other´s open mouths. Jack overthrows one though at it almost hits Caty in the eye.
Caty:
Auw!
He gets concerned for her and looks apologetic.
Jack:
Sorry. Are you okay?
Caty:
Yeah, I´m fine. Some basketball player you are!
Jack:
At least I´m better at basketball, than you are at being a shoplifter!
Both of them have to laugh.
Caty:
I´m not planning on making a career of it!
Jack:
I hope not! Why were you stealing, seriously?
Caty:
My life sucks, okay?
Jack:
That´s what everyone says.
Caty:
In my case, it´s true.
He looks her in the eyes and can see that she really means it.
Jack:
What´s wrong with your life?
Caty:
Nobody cares about me at home, not even my parents. Sometimes it feels like no one there cares, whether I´m alive or dead.
Jack:
I´m sure, that´s not true.
Caty:
They´re too busy trying to keep the whole house of cards from collapsing, to notice anything I do. I´m the invisible middle child and that´s just how it is. I´m not special or have something I´m good at, like all of my other siblings do. I´m just there as the irrelevant one.
A tear falls on her cheek, but she quickly wipes it away.
Jack:
You´ll never be irrelevant to me. You know that, right?
His sweet words get a small smile out of her.
Caty:
You promise?
Jack:
There´s no other girl like you in the world and it would be much worse off without you in it. I know I would be, if I didn´t have you in my life.
She looks glad to know, that she has a real friend in him.
10. Int. Mia and Izzy´s Living Room. Evening.
Izzy´s date with Alex looks to be going well and they´re not short on things to talk about.
Izzy:
Both of your parents work at the Russian embassy?
Alex:
They´re not around each other all the time. If they were, they would drive each other crazy in no time.
He gets a sweet smile out of Izzy, that he clearly loves seeing.
Izzy:
Be glad, that you have two parents. There´s been times, when I barely had one, back when my mom was modelling.
Alex:
Was she famous?
Izzy:
Not really, but she did model for some of biggest designers for a few years, before she got tired of it and moved us back here.
Alex:
What about your dad?
Izzy:
He died, before I was born.
Alex looks sympathetic with her.
Alex:
I´m sorry to hear that. It must have been tough on your mom.
Izzy:
It´s not something I like to talk about, if that´s okay.
Alex:
No problem. I probably wouldn´t either, if it was me.
They have a moment, but it´s interrupted by Mia coming in.
Mia:
Did I hear you calling my name?
Izzy:
No.
Mia:
It must have been a noise that sounded like it then.
Izzy looks annoyed, knowing exactly what her mom is doing.
Alex:
Izzy was just telling me about your modelling career.
Mia looks surprised.
Mia:
Oh? Not everything about it, I hope!
Izzy:
Is there anything you want, mom?
Mia:
Can I talk to you in private for a second, Izzy?
Izzy:
Can´t it wait? I´m kind of in the middle of something!
Mia:
It´ll only take a moment. You can wait for her that long, can´t you, Alex?
Alex:
Yes, of course.
Izzy looks at Alex apologetically.
Izzy:
I´ll be back in two minutes, tops!
She follows Mia into the kitchen.
11. Int. Kitchen. Evening.
Mia and Izzy come in and Mia closes the door after them.
Izzy:
Can we make this quick? I´m in the middle of a date and it´s going great.
Mia:
That´s fine, Honey. But you have to tell him the truth, even if it isn´t pretty.
Izzy:
I don´t want to scare him off.
Mia:
What did you tell him about your dad?
Izzy:
I told him, that he´s dead.
Mia looks disappointed in her.
Mia:
What are you gonna do then, when he gets out?
Izzy:
He´ll still be dead to me, whether he´s in jail or not.
Mia:
There´s no reason for you to be ashamed of who you are, because your parents are far from perfect. You should be proud of yourself and how you´ve learned from our mistakes.
Izzy looks annoyed, that her mom is right, but at the same time a little proud at her praise.
Mia:
He´ll see it the same way, I promise.
Izzy:
You don´t think there´s a chance, he´ll run away screaming?
Mia giggles, making Izzy smile.
Mia:
If I could get a boyfriend at your age, with you as extra baggage, so can you!
Izzy:
Did I scare off a lot of guys, when I was little?
Mia:
They weren´t worth my time anyway, if they couldn´t deal with me having you. Just like Alex in there won´t be, if he can´t handle, who the real you is.
Izzy nods in understanding.
12. Int. Mia and Izzy´s Living Room. Evening.
Izzy comes back in, where Alex is waiting for her. She sits down next to him and looks him in the eyes.
Alex:
Is everything okay?
Izzy:
Alex, I´m going to tell you the truth about me, because I don´t want to start this off on lies.
Alex looks surprised, but understanding.
Alex:
Okay.
Izzy:
My mom didn´t leave the fashion business, because she wanted to. She was basically kicked out of it and told never to return, after she was sent to rehab for being a Cocaine addict. She´s been clean ever since and for that, I´m proud of her. It´s not something a lot of people know about, except for those who look her up on the internet.
Alex tries to take it in, as she builds up the courage to tell him the rest.
Alex:
Wow!
Izzy:
There´s more. I said that my dad is dead, which is true in the sense that he died to me, when he left my 13 year old mom to deal with being pregnant with me, on her own. The truth is that he´s a scumbag, who´s been in jail for the past twelve years, which is also circa how long I haven´t seen him. As far as I´m concerned, he lost the right to call himself my dad, when he chose a life of crime over being a father to me.
Alex has to stand up, as he tries to take in what she told him.
Alex (to himself):
Proklinat!
Izzy:
What does that mean?
Alex:
It´s the Russian word for damn!
Izzy:
That pretty much sums it up, doesn´t it? Look, I get it, if this freaks you out too much ...
Alex sits down next to her and takes her hand, to her joy.
Alex:
Not at all! I´m glad, you told me.
Izzy:
It doesn´t scare you?
Alex:
A little, but I was already scared to come here tonight.
Izzy:
Why were you scared?
Alex:
Because I knew that there´s a good chance, that I´ll end up falling for you. That hasn´t changed, by the way.
She smiles.
13. Int. Jack´s Room. Evening.
Jack and Caty are lying next to each other and are watching "The Breakfast Club" on his TV.
Caty:
Don´t you wish that your life could be like a Molly Ringwald movie?
Jack:
You wouldn´t be the Molly Ringwald in one those movies.
Caty:
No, I would be the Ally Sheedy or Jon Crier. The freakish loser who dreams big, but deep down knows that they´ll never get what they want.
Jack:
Allie Sheedy gets the boy in this one. Well, a boy!
Caty:
Like if this was real life, her and Emilio wouldn´t break up within a week? Jocks and freaks don´t mix. Never have.
He turns his head to smile at her.
Jack:
There´s those who would call me a jock.
Caty:
You´re not a jock! Jocks are dumb and mostly sexist too. You´re a freak like me, who just doesn´t know it yet.
She smiles warmly back at him.
Jack:
If it had been any other girl lying here ...
Caty:
You would have done what? Kissed me?
Jack:
For a start.
Caty:
Save it for the spank bank, Jack! You can have any other girl, except for this one!
She goes back to watching the movie, while he wonders if she really meant it.
14. Ext. Degrassi. Morning.
Alex arrives for school and has to pass by a couple of his so-called team mates. They look at him with a scorn, that doesn´t escape his eye.
Boy #1:
Why haven´t you gone back to Russia yet, like we told you to?
Boy #2:
No one wants you here, freak!
Alex takes their abuse n stride and smiles slightly to himself when he´s passed them, in the knowledge that they´re wrong. At least as far as one girl at school is concerned.
15. Int. Hallway. Morning.
Izzy and Sam are talking by their lockers, while they wait for Caty.
Sam:
He didn´t get freaked out at all?
Izzy:
He was a little at first ...
Sam:
That´s understandable!
Izzy:
But after I calmly explained it to him, he was cool with it.
Sam:
You could have found yourself a keeper there!
Izzy:
Let me enjoy this first, before you start making wedding plans, wiil you?
Sam:
Too late!
Sam smiles widely at Izzy, who smiles shyly to herself as Caty comes over to them.
Caty:
Hi, guys!
Izzy:
Did you and Jack make up?
Caty:
Sure did!
Sam:
Did you make out?
Caty:
No!
Sam:
You so did!
Caty:
I keep telling you, we´re just friends and that´s how it´s gonna stay!
Izzy:
Why, when you would be perfect together?
Caty:
Some things, you girls just don´t understand!
She smiles to herself.
CLOSING CREDITS