WHAT IF? - SEASON 5 EPISODE 4 - MISS WORLD
THIS ONE IS DEDICATED TO ALL YOU ECLARE FANS
I HOPE YOU´LL ENJOY IT!
1. Int. Hallway. Day.
Clare and Alli come down towards the bulletin board. Clare looks nervous.
Clare:
I wish they would send an e-mail to let us know these things.
Alli:
Oh, but Clare, that would require that the teachers, who still refuse to learn how to turn on a computer, would also have to learn to send an e-mail! It´s probably just easier for them to do it this way, until those fossils retire!
Clare:
If I didn´t get into the creative writing program, I´ll be so disappointed!
Alli:
Why wouldn´t they take you?
They reach the bulletin board and Clare looks at the piece of paper with names, that´s been hung up. She looks bitterly disappointed at what she reads.
Clare:
How could I not get in?
Alli:
Here comes Mr. Simpson. You can ask him.
Snake comes down towards them on his way to class and Clare and Alli come over to him.
Clare:
Mr. Simpson?
Snake smiles warmly at them.
Snake:
Clare and Alli, right?
The girls nod and smile back at him.
Snake:
It´s always awkward, when you call a student by the wrong name!
Alli:
We can imagine!
Clare:
Do you have any idea why I´m not in the creative writing class?
Snake:
Did you fill out the form?
Clare:
What form?
Alli:
The form we were supposed to fill out and hand in, that they told us about on the first day?
Clare remembers and looks disappointed in herself.
Clare:
I guess, I know why I´m not in it now!
Alli:
Can´t she put in a late application?
Snake:
It´s one of the most popular classes, so I´d be shocked, if it wasn´t full already. Sorry, Clare.
They´re interrupted, when a flustered looking Eli comes over to them.
Eli:
Can I talk to you, Mr. Simpson?
Snake:
Look how popular I am today! What do you need, Eli?
Eli:
Look, I know that I promised that I would write the first play of the year, but I don´t have anything written. I was gonna spend part of my summer on it, but then other things kept getting in the way ... if you could just give me more time, maybe I could write the next play after this one!
Snake:
This thing getting in the way wouldn´t be a girl, who´s around five foot three or four and goes by the name Marisol, is it?
Eli tries to play it cool, even as the two freshmen girls start giggling.
Eli:
She was a factor in it, yes!
Snake:
Say, here´s an idea. Why don´t you and Clare write the play together?
Eli:
Hold on! Who´s Clare?
Clare:
I am.
Clare smiles nervously at Eli, who does his best to smile back at her, but clearly isn´t all too thrilled about this idea!
Snake:
Clare, you´re upset that you didn´t get into the creative writing class. Well, here´s your chance to do some creative writing! Eli, if you can´t come up with any ideas, then I´m sure Clare can.
Alli:
She WAS gonna take creative writing!
Snake:
Precisely, Alli.
Clare:
Does it work towards college credit?
Snake:
That it does.
Clare:
Then I´m in.
Snake:
What do you say, Eli?
Eli still isn´t sure, but knows that he doesn´t have much choice.
Eli:
Have you ever written a play or even seen a play, Clare?
Clare:
I was in a play in Junior High.
Alli:
She totally stole the show with her two lines!
Eli:
Great!
Clare:
But I have tons of ideas!
Snake:
You have to decide now, before we´ll all be late for class, Eli.
Eli:
I´ll probably end up regretting this, but it doesn´t look like I have much choice.
Snake:
I have a feeling that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship! Now off to class, everyone!
The students leave him and he looks a little proud of himself.
Snake (to himself):
They should make me the principal!
He smiles at the thought.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Hallway. Day.
Eli is talking to Sav about music in between classes.
Sav:
I took Anya to see Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds this past summer.
Eli:
I wanted to go, but the tickets were too expensive for a guy, who has to survive on ten bucks a week! Was it great or just great?
Sav:
Beyond my wildest expectations! By far the best concert, I´ve been to so far!
Eli can´t help looking jealous.
Eli:
Man, I wish I´d been there! What did Anya think?
Sav:
She didn´t like that there weren´t more songs you could dance to and she had nightmares for the next three days! Next time, you and me are going together!
Eli:
At least you didn´t take her to see Gwar!
They laugh and fist bump on it. Clare nervously comes over to them with Alli by her side. Alli and Sav smile at each other.
Alli:
What are you laughing at, Sav?
Sav:
Nothing you would understand!
Eli looks surprised.
Eli:
Have you guys dated or something?
Alli:
EWW!
Sav:
Eli, this is my little sister Alli. I´ve mentioned her like a thousand times, when we´ve talked!
Eli looks embarrassed at his mistake. It helps Clare ease up a little though.
Eli:
I´m sorry, I don´t know how I got that idea ...
Alli:
Is it because we´re both Indian and you think Indian people only date other Indian people?
Eli:
No, I would never believe in a stereotype like that!
He sees the chance to turn the conversation to something else by talking to Clare.
Eli:
So, Clare! Hi!
Clare:
I was wondering if we should set up a writing session for after school today?
Eli:
That sounds like a great idea! We can meet in the cafeteria.
Clare:
Sounds good to me.
Eli:
I should be off to class. See ya!
He hurries away from them, still a little embarrassed at his mistake.
Alli:
Sav, what´s Eli like?
Sav:
Eli? He´s as nice as the day is long. He´s also the poster boy for the classic tortured poet.
Clare:
He doesn´t seem that way to me.
Sav:
That´s only because you don´t know him, like I do. He´s gone through things, I wouldn´t wish on my worst enemy. It´s amazing, that he´s managed to still be as normal as he is and not lost his mind.
Clare looks like she´s becoming more and more interested in Eli!
3. Int. Classroom. Day.
Eli is sitting at a desk with a blank piece of paper in front of him and holding a pencil in one hand, trying to think of something to write, but he can´t. A widely smiling Marisol comes over and sits next to him.
Marisol:
Guess what they had for dessert in the cafeteria?
Eli:
Pass!
Marisol:
I´ll give you a clue. It´s a cake, that has an orange vegetable in it ...
Eli tries to think.
Eli:
Orange cake?
Marisol:
An orange is a fruit, Eli! Plus, have you ever heard of an Orange Cake?
Eli:
I guess not. A vegetable ...
He can´t come up with anything and puts his hands up.
Eli:
I have no idea!
Marisol:
Carrot cake! You know it´s my favorite!
Eli looks glad on her behalf.
Eli:
Was it good?
Marisol:
So yummy! What are you writing?
Eli:
I´m trying to come up with an idea for the school play, but I´m drawings blanks all the time!
Marisol:
We could do "The Little Mermaid" and I could play the mermaid?
Eli:
As cute as you would look with a fish tail, it has to be an original story. The only ones I´ve been able to come up with have been rip-off´s of other plays!
Marisol:
Maybe your new writing partner will be a help!
Eli smiles at her naivety.
Eli:
Yeah and I might win a million dollars tomorrow! I give both of those an equal chance of happening! Here´s what I think her ideas will be: first a rip-off of Twilight, followed by another rip-off of Twilight, followed by a third rip-off of Twilight!
Marisol:
Not all girls love those books!
Eli:
You do!
Marisol:
Not so loud! It´s a little embarrassing! Look, you can approach this two ways, either you go in all negative like you are right now, you don´t get any work done, she ends up thinking that you´re a pretentious pain in the butt and they never allow you to write a play to be produced here again! Can you guess what the second option is?
He´s a little taken back by what she´s saying.
Eli:
I try to be positive?
Marisol:
Bingo! That way this could work out for the best!
Eli:
You don´t mind me spending a lot of time alone with another girl?
Marisol has to giggle.
Marisol:
No, Eli. Clare Edwards doesn´t scare me! I mean, let´s be honest, she´s a total nerd! I´ll bet you a trillion dollars, that she´s never even held hands with a boy! But nerds are smart and that can work to your advantage!
Eli looks a little more positive about the idea now.
4. Int. Hallway. Day.
Clare and Alli come out of a classroom with their class mates. Alli looks excited on Clare´s behalf. Jenna and Gracie are right behind them.
Alli:
It´s almost time!
Jenna:
Time for what? Tell me!
Alli:
Clare´s first date!
Gracie:
Isn´t this an odd time of the day to go on a date?
Clare:
It´s not a date!
Alli:
It´s the closest you´ve come to going on one!
Clare:
And how many have you been on?
Alli:
One more than you!
Jenna and Gracie both find their friendly bickering a little funny.
Jenna:
Who´s the lucky guy?
Alli:
His name is Eli and he is so hot!
Gracie:
Go, Clare!
Clare stops walking to address her friends.
Clare:
For the last time, it´s not a date! It´s an extra curricular activity, that I´m doing for college credit! That´s all I care about!
Jenna:
Alli, on a scale of one to ten, how hot is this Eli?
Alli:
Nine and nine tenths. His hair could look better.
Gracie:
Is he sort of dark and brooding like the guys from Twilight?
Alli:
To a T!
Jenna:
And you still expect us to believe, that this is just about college credit, Clare, the biggest Twilight fan in the world?
Clare shakes her head at them.
Clare:
You guys are so dirty minded! I don´t think that way! Now, if you´ll excuse me, I have to go and meet Eli in the cafeteria!
She storms away from them and her friends look at each other in agreement.
Jenna:
She´s gonna fall for him!
Gracie:
Do you guys give it more than a day until she does?
Jenna and Alli both shake their heads.
Gracie:
Me neither.
They look glad on Clare´s behalf though.
5. Int. Cafeteria. Day.
Eli is already waiting for Clare, while he´s reading a book at one of the tables, when she comes in and hurries over to him.
Clare:
I hope, I didn´t keep you waiting.
He smiles in a friendly way at her and puts his book away.
Eli:
It´s fine, Clare. My last class was practically next to the cafeteria, so I would have been surprised if you´d gotten here first. Have a seat.
She smiles nervously at him and does.
Eli:
Do you want a cup of hot chocolate from the drinks machine? It´s pretty good for something, that comes out of a machine!
Clare:
No, that´s okay! You´re nice to ask, though.
Eli:
You´ll have to try it one of these days.
She looks to be getting more at ease by how nice he´s being to her.
Eli:
So, do you have any ideas that don´t involve werewolves and vampires fighting each other over a damsel in distress?
Clare looks surprised.
Clare:
How did you know that I love Twilight?
Eli laughs.
Eli:
A wild guess! Just know that you´re not alone in it. My girlfriend is a big closet fan! I think they´re okay, but nothing more than that.
She smiles widely.
Clare:
You´ve actually read them?
Eli:
I try to be interested in the things, she´s interested in and she does the same for me. That´s what being a couple is about.
Clare:
It sounds nice.
Eli:
Do you have a boyfriend?
Clare shakes her head like it´s a crazy idea, that she would have one.
Clare:
Boys aren´t interested in me that way!
Eli:
Why not? You seem like a pretty cool girl to me!
Clare:
Have you seen the way I look? This isn´t exactly what boys my age are pining for!
Eli starts to get an idea.
Eli:
Hmm!
He thinks about it some more, while Clare looks at him like she doesn´t know how to react.
Eli:
Hmmmmmm!
Clare:
Is that a good "Hmm" or a bad "Hmm"?
Eli:
It´s a good "Hmm"! Clare, why don´t we make a play based on you?
Clare looks like she´s in no way on board with that idea!
Clare:
Me? You can´t be serious!
Eli:
Not you directly of course, but a character based on you. It´ll be an unlikely love story, where she falls for the guy she knows she can´t get, but gets him anyway in the end. It´s got feelgood written all over it and that´s exactly what people like the principal love! I could easily see it opening doors for us to do more productions together, if we do it right.
Now that she knows more, she´s not quite as dismissive of it, as she was.
Clare:
As long as she won´t be named Clare, I guess it would be okay.
Eli:
We already have a plan! Gimme me five!
He puts his hand up for a high five and her, not used to high fiving guys, gives him a weak slap on the palm.
Eli:
You can do better than that! Try again!
She hits him harder this time and giggles.
Eli:
That´s more like it! What do you think a good name for the main character should be?
Clare takes a second to think about it.
Clare:
Can she be named Bella?
Eli:
If you want that to be her name, then that´s her name!
Clare looks pleased at how this is going and how easy Eli is to get along with and talk to.
6. Int. Laundry Room. Evening.
Clare is folding and sorting her family´s freshly washed laundry, when Darcy comes in.
Darcy:
Want some help?
Clare:
That´s nice of you, thanks.
Darcy gets to work helping her.
Darcy:
Shouldn´t you have gotten this done earlier?
Clare:
I was home late from school.
Darcy:
Why was that?
Clare:
I have this extra curricular project, that´s hopefully gonna score me lots of nice college credits!
Darcy smiles at her.
Darcy:
Good for you, little sis! Tell me about it.
Clare:
It´s a long story, but I´m co-writing the next school play.
Darcy looks happily surprised for her.
Darcy:
How did this happen and who´s your co-writer?
Clare:
Basically what happened was that I didn´t get into the creative writing class, so I was offered this as an alternative. My co-writer is this guy named Eli, who´s ... how do I put it?
Darcy:
Attractive?
Clare:
That too!
Clare gets embarrassed and Darcy giggles a little.
Darcy:
Did you have a little Freudian slip there, Clare?
Clare:
I ... he ...
Darcy:
It´s so cute, that you have your first crush!
Clare:
I don´t have a crush on him! I think he´s fascinating, easy to talk to, intelligent ...
Darcy:
Can you think of anything negative to say about him?
Clare:
He has a girlfriend, that he´s been with for a long time.
Darcy looks sympathetic with her, but tries to cheer her up.
Darcy:
I´ve gone to high school for three plus years now and do you know the one undeniable truth I´ve learned so far there?
Clare shakes her head.
Darcy:
Teenage relationships rarely last all that long! You´ll get your chance with him, if you wait it out.
She gets a small smile out of Clare.
Clare:
You really think so? Why would he want me?
Darcy:
Because not every guy gets turned on by cheerleaders or the girls that other girls think are beautiful! That another thing I´ve learned. They have varied tastes like we do and you can´t say for sure what Eli likes, before you find out for sure. Having self confidence helps too. That´s one thing you´re sadly missing and need to work on.
Clare looks glad at getting good sisterly advice from Darcy.
7. Montage - Music: "What a Girl Wants" by Christina Aguilera.
We get a montage of Clare and Eli working together over the next weeks and becoming closer and closer friends in the process. The two of them clearly have a natural chemistry together and Eli can barely write fast enough on his laptop, to get down all of what Claire is coming up with. It´s clear that it´s her that´s coming up with much more of it than he is, while he´s letting her call the shots, knowing that it´s what´s best for the play and therefore himself in the end. It´s also doing a world of good for Clare´s self confidence to the delight of her friends, who also can´t help notice that she´s smiling a lot more than usual. Eli is letting Marisol be his eyes as far as looking through what he´s written and she looks like she´s extremely impressed by it, which makes him smile widely, especially when Marisol gives him a big congratulatory kiss, so that he doesn´t forget who his real girlfriend is!
8. Int. Cafeteria. Day.
Clare and Eli are sitting at a table and she is reading the final script, while he awaits her reaction to it.
Clare:
Eli, it´s great!
He looks thrilled.
Clare:
You got all this just from what I said?
Eli:
That´s what a stage writer does! I´m pretty happy with it too.
Clare:
You should be!
She puts the script down and they smile at each other.
Eli:
I couldn´t have done it without you. It´s your story, more than it´s mine.
Clare:
I couldn´t have brought it together the way you did! You´re the genius here!
He looks a little flattered.
Eli:
Thanks for saying so, but I´m still in my learning phase.
Clare:
If this is how good you are now, then I´d love to see how good you´re gonna be, when you´re done with that learning phase!
Eli:
The only sad part is that we won´t be seeing as much of one another anymore. It´s been really fun getting to know you, Clare.
Clare:
Same to you.
She looks a little sad, so he sees the need to cheer her up.
Eli:
Come. We still have one thing left to do.
He stands up and offers her his hand. She smiles to herself before taking it and makes sure to bring the script with her.
9. Int Hallway. Day.
Eli and Clare are finally getting that cup of hot chocolate, they were talking about. She looks like she likes it.
Clare:
Mmm!
Eli:
I told you it was good.
She smiles at him.
Clare:
I have to thank you, Eli.
Eli:
It´s me who should be thanking you!
Clare:
I mean it. These past weeks I´ve been happier than ever and I don´t feel as much like a nobody here, as I did before ... what I´m trying to say is thanks for giving me a new found self confidence.
He looks glad on her behalf.
Eli:
It suits you, you know?
She looks pleased.
Eli:
Keep it up and it won´t be long until the boys start biting. Just do me a favor and don´t pick the first, the best. You´re a special girl, Clare.
She blushes at his praise, which he finds adorable.
10. Ext. Degrassi. Day.
Eli and Clare come out to where Marisol is waiting for them. Her and Eli smile at each other.
Eli:
Did you wait for me here all this time, just so we could walk home together?
Marisol:
I have to confess that I´ve been at the Dot most of time!
Eli:
Aren´t we lucky that we have a place like that right up the street?
Marisol:
Have you been there, Clare?
Clare:
Only one time, on the first day of school.
Marisol:
Eli, do you mind if me and Clare have a little talk girl to girl?
Clare becomes nervous, but Eli looks okay with it.
Eli:
Sure. I´ll wait for you down by the road.
She gives him a big kiss with extra tongue, just so that Clare knows who the queen bee here is! Eli walks down towards the road and she looks Clare in the eyes.
Marisol:
Tell me the truth, Clare. Do you have a crush on him?
She menacingly approaches a scared looking Clare, who starts to back up.
Clare:
No! I swear!
Marisol:
Relax! I´m not gonna hurt you! If anyone gets why you would fall for him, it´s me!
She gets right up in Clare´s face and stares her dead in the eyes.
Marisol:
It doesn´t take a genius to figure out who the love interest in that script is based on!
Clare:
You´ve read it?
Marisol:
Every word! There´s a lot of boys at this school, little freshman! Try to go after mine and you will have made an enemy who´s way more powerful than you can imagine! Are we clear?
Clare:
Clear!
Marisol:
I wish you luck, Clare and I mean that sincerely, because of what you´ve done for Eli. Just make sure that you remember, what I said.
Marisol leaves her to go and join Eli. Clare looks relieved, that she´s leaving.
Clare (to herself):
Welcome to high school!
She still smiles to herself at how of an experience it´s been.
CLOSING CREDITS