Manny locked the door of her bedroom, and ran over to the closet to pull out a large, black suitcase on the top self. She pulled it down, and lugged it over to her bed. For the next few minutes, Manny slowly and delicately began packing her most important things. She sighed as she walked over to her dresser and opened the top drawer.

She was leaving. She had made a decision that afternoon in Math class. While Mr. Armstrong babbled away about fractions, it had suddenly dawned on Manny that she didn't need school, or her parents, or anyone in Degrassi, for that matter. So she was leaving- she wasn't sure where she was going, or how she was going to get there, but that didn't matter. She just wanted to get the hell out of the stupid town as fast as humanly possible. She hated it, and she couldn't take it anymore.

Suddenly, she heard a loud knock on her door, and the doorknob began rattling. "Manuella…what are you doing in there?!" he mother cried. Manny sighed as she shoved the suitcase under her bed. She probably thinks I tried to hand myself on the rafters or something.

"Hold on," she called back, and she went over, unlocked the door, and let her mother in. Her mother stared at her while she stood in her doorway, and then she glanced around the room.

"I was just…changing, Mom," Manny said, hoping her mother wouldn't notice the fact that she was wearing the same clothes she had been wearing all day. Manny's mother nodded slowly.

"There's a boy downstairs. He says he wants to talk to you," she said. Manny frowned and walked over to her window. When she glanced down, she saw Carter standing at the front door, his hands stuffed uneasily in his pockets. Manny bit her lip, and turned to her mother. "Mom, can I go out and talk to him?"

Manny's mother shook her head. "I don't think I want you to go out. I'll send him up here, but he can only stay until your father and I leave for the play tonight." Manny shrugged and nodded. Her mother left, and a few minutes later, Carter appeared in her doorway. He stepped in and closed the door behind him, staring at her the entire time.

"Carter…what are you doing here?"

Carter took a deep breath. "I had to talk to you. Manny, I love you. More than anything. I…I don't care if you have problems, or if you take drugs, or whatever. I want to be with you. I have to be with you," he said meaningfully, staring straight into her dark brown eyes.

Manny looked away, full of mixed emotions. She cared about Carter, but her heart was still pining for Craig. She thought about the half-full suitcase that was hidden under her bed. She was leaving, and that was final. At this point, she didn't think that anything or anyone could make her stay. She looked back at Carter. He really loves you, she realized.

"Carter… that's sweet, but….I don't want to be with you," she said slowly. He's going to be crushed when you leave, she thought. The best thing to do is make him hate you now, so it won't be as bad when you leave. She knew what she had to do.

"Manny….I love you," he said suddenly, stepping up to her. "I'm graduating next year. I don't want to lose you. When you graduate, I want us to be together…I want to marry you."

Manny felt her stomach drop. Carter Monroe just proposed to her.

"Carter…I told you, I don't want to be with you!" she said harshly, stepping back. He is not making this easier, she thought, staring at his handsome face, and his sad eyes. "What part don't you understand? I don't love you like you love me. I…I love Craig," she said. "I always have. You….you never really meant anything to me anyway," she lied. Stop! She screamed at herself. But she couldn't. "But Craig is dating Ashley, and if I was with you…well, you'd just be a rebound."

Carter stared at her. "So this is about Craig?"

Manny took a deep breath. "No…yes…I don't know. Everything sucks, Carter! Craig didn't want to be with me, my parents are always on my ass, and everyone treats me like some freak! You don't what it's like. You haven't had to go through all this."

Carter shook his head. "God, you're selfish."

"What?"

"You're selfish. Everything is all about you, isn't it? Everything you've been through. Yeah, it's sucked. But you made a decision, and you got yourself thrown into rehab. You've made all the decisions that have ruined everything. This isn't easy for anyone, Manny! Not your parents, or Craig, or Emma, or….me. So stop feeling so sorry for yourself and start realizing that you've hurt a lot of people by getting thrown into rehab."

Manny didn't say anything, so Carter sighed and went on. "I want to help you, Manny. I care about you so much…and I know you care about me."

"No," she said. "I…I don't. Look, we're not meant to be together…we're just not," she said, holding her head up high. "We're done, Carter."

"Why are you doing this, Manny?" Carter said, and Manny could hear the pain in his voice.

"My…parent's are leaving soon, and you have to go," she replied quietly. "Good-bye, Carter."

He turned and walked out of her room, and he slammed the door shut behind him. Manny sat down on her bed, suddenly feeling horrible. Why did you hurt him like that? She wondered. All Carter's ever done is want to be with you. He's loved you, through everything. And you just broke his heart. He was right-she was selfish. She had hurt everyone.

That's why it will be better that I'm gone, she told herself as she reached under her bed and took out her suitcase. It will be better for everyone.

          Sean groaned unhappily and clutched his pillow over his ears. Who the hell is that? He wondered. He sighed and rolled over onto his back. Sean had been sleeping, until someone began pounding loudly on his front door. Sean sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes. Usually Sean didn't take afternoon naps, but he had had basically come home and collapsed into bed. Someone's in for a serious ass-kicking, he thought as he got up, left his room, and walked to the door. When he pulled open it open, he saw Jay standing there. I got up for him? Sean thought with a sigh.

"What?" Sean barked, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Jay smirked.

"Man, were you napping?" Jay asked, shaking his head.

"Uh…no," Sean lied, standing up straighter. "I was…you know. I was-"

"Yeah, whatever," Jay said impatiently. He glanced over his shoulder, and then turned back to Sean. Sean noticed that he was grinning and bouncing on his feet anxiously. "Come on. Let's go."

"Go where?"

"These jerk-offs from Stanton High have been saying shit about a bunch of the guys at Degrassi," Jay said. "Including me and you, man. They jumped Jason last night, and now there's gonna be a big fight. Man, I can't wait to kick some serious ass," Jay said, punching a fist into his other hand.

Sean sighed. "Calm down, tiger. What have they been saying about us?"

"Well…" Jay said, glancing away and then back at Sean. "I wasn't going to say anything, but…some guy's been saying that he hooked up with Emma. At some party a couple of weeks ago."

Sean jaw clenched and he felt anger boil up in him. It had to be the guy that raped Emma! Sean grabbed his jacket and pulled it on. Then he stepped out and closed the door behind him. "Let's go."

A few minutes later, Jay pulled his car onto a curb next to the park, and killed the engine. "There. There are a few guys up there," Jay said, pointing to a few shadowy figures that were standing a few yards away. The sun was gone now, and it was dark and chilly outside. Sean shifted in his seat and stared out the window. He had completely worked himself up when they had been driving, and he was dying to go and smash someone's face in. He turned to Jay. "What are we waiting for? Come on."

They both got out of the car and stalked across the grass, toward the small crowd that had gathered. When he spotted them, one Stanton guy smirked and nudged his friend in the arm. "Well, look who it is. Jay and Silent Bob." He and his friends chuckled at his lame joke. Sean and Jay glanced at each other and rolled their eyes.

"Look, we can talk shit about each other all day," another Stanton boy said, stepping up. "But it's not going to get us anywhere, is it? Just admit that you're a loser school with nasty chicks, and this will all be settled."

Roger, a Degrassi student, shook his head. "No way. Why don't you keep your mouth shut and stop saying crap about us, and maybe we won't beat the shit out of you."

"I don't think so," the boy said, shaking his head and smirking. "See, unlike you wimps, we don't back down."

"Well, if you're not wimps, then why don't you stop gossiping like little girls and start acting like a man?" Sean said. The head boy laughed and nudged another boy behind him in the arm.

"Sean Cameron," he said. "It's Sean Cameron, Kevin," he said, smirking at his friend.

"Start acting like a man, huh?" Kevin replied. "I think I was man enough for your cute little blonde girlfriend when I fucked her!"

That was it. Sean leaped out and slammed Kevin right in the face. No one talks about Emma like that! He thought, so angry he could hardly see straight. The idea of this jerk touching Emma and kissing Emma…it made Sean want to throw up. He kicked Kevin hard in the stomach, watching in satisfaction as the asshole winced in pain. Soon, an all-out battle began, and boys from the two schools began pounding each other, just taking random shots at anybody. Sean hardly noticed, because he was too focused on Kevin.

"You want me to stop?" Sean yelled at Kevin, who was hunched on the ground. He kicked him hard in the chest. "Did Emma want you to stop? Huh?"

Finally, Kevin rolled over and staggered to his feet. "I can't help it if your girlfriends a slut, man!" He went charging at Sean, and Sean ducked to avoid a punch to his face. Kevin swung around and nailed Sean in the stomach. But Sean had already beaten the crap out of Kevin, and he clearly had the upper hand. Sean threw Kevin to the ground and jumped on top of him, and he began repeatedly hitting Kevin in the face.

Sean was too busy pounding Kevin to notice the police cars pull up, or to notice the burly cop hurry up toward the fighting. He was followed by a few other officers, and they began grabbing and cuffing boys. Sean felt two strong hands grab his arms and lug him off of Kevin. Before he knew what was happening, his face was being smashed into the dirt and he was being handcuffed.

"Come on," the tall officer said, pulling Sean to his feet. "You really did a number on that kid, you know that?" He nodded toward Kevin. Sean didn't say anything as the officer led him to the police cruiser….

     "Alright, son," the officer said. He pushed Sean toward the payphone in the corner. "One call. You know the drill."

Sean remained silent as he stepped up to the phone and picked up the receiver. He thought for a second, and glanced around the police station. Two cops were staring at him with large smirks on their faces, and Sean just turned back around and sighed. Without thinking, he began dialing….

      "Ok," Roxie whispered, nudging Spinner in the side. "This is an introductory parenting class. This is serious, alright?"

Spin glanced around the airy classroom at the community center, and shrugged. "Duh, it's serious. Do you think they are going to serve food or anything?"

Roxie sighed. "I don't know. Why don't you ask?" she said sarcastically. Spin began raising his hand, but Roxie grabbed it and put it down. "Spin, I was kidding. Look, try not to talk, ok?"

"Ok!" the instructor said loudly from the front of the room. "Good parenting isn't just about having the right crib or baby clothes. It's about knowing how to love and care for your child. Most of you are going to be first-time parents, and even though it may seem overwhelming, having a baby is wonderful. It is going to change your life, but for the better." She clapped. "Ok. You've all been given a baby. First, we're going to practice changing diapers. It may seem simple, but it's something you absolutely have to know."

Roxie sighed and picked up their baby. "Alright. Hand me the diapers. This should be simple."

Spin shook his head. "No, you hand me the diapers. I want to change it." He reached out for the doll, but Roxie pulled it away and shook her head.

"No. I'm changing it first."

"Just give me the doll- thing," Spin insisted, reaching out and grabbing at the baby.

"It's not a doll-thing. It's a baby," Roxie said in frustration, refusing to let the baby go. Spin began tugging at the baby, and Roxie tugged back. "Spin, stop being such an insensitive jerk!"

Finally, after a minute of pulling the baby back and forth, the baby's leg popped off. Roxie held up the baby's leg, and sighed.  "Look what you did!"

"You did it!"

The instructor walked up holding a clipboard, and spotted the baby. "Well, you've managed to amputate your child. But don't worry. Real babies limbs don't come off that easy." She walked away, and Roxie sighed miserably.

"The government should make me barren," Roxie said, holding up the leg and shaking it at Spinner. "We look completely incompetent."

The instructor overheard this, and walked over to them with a reassuring smile. "Don't be so hard on yourselves. It was a little mistake. You and your boyfriend are going to learn to work together, believe me."

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend. Well, not really. He was my sister's boyfriend," Roxie blurted out. A few couples glanced over at each other, and Roxie winced. You sound like you belong on a Jerry-Springer episode, she thought. "I mean…uh…actually…."

The instructor held up and hand. "It's alright. We don't pass judgments here, we just try to help. Now, we try to make these babies as realistic as possible. This is what your baby is probably going to resemble about a month after birth."

"Except our baby isn't going to be Asian, that's for sure!" Spinner joked, gesturing to the baby in front of them, who was Chinese. Roxie nudged Spinner in the side. The instructor just smiled politely.

"So, honey, how far along are you?" the instructor asked kindly. Roxie frowned.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"What trimester are you in?"

"What's a trimester?" Roxie said. The instructor smiled politely again.

"Honey, I think I'm going to get you a few books on being pregnant," the instructor said, jotting down a note on her clipboard. "I think their really going to….help you."

Roxie nodded slowly as the instructor walked away, and then she set down the baby on the table in front of them. "I'll be right back, ok?" She turned and hurried out of the classroom. Spinner frowned and followed her into the hallway. Roxie was sitting in a chair, looking sad.

"Roxie, is everything ok?" he asked, sitting down next to her.

"No!" she suddenly burst out, throwing up her hands. "Spin, I hardly know anything about being pregnant, or having a baby or anything! And I highly doubt you know anything at all! Maybe keeping this baby is a mistake. I'm going to the be the worst mother in the whole world!" Roxie buried her face in her hands, and Spinner shook his head and put his arm around her.

"No way. You're going to do fine. There's like…well, plenty of time to figure all this out," he said reassuringly. "Don't worry so much."

"But what if I don't hold in enough, or if I forget to feed it?" she asked. Spin smirked.

"Ok, this isn't going to be a hamster or something. It's a human being. Believe me, you won't be able to ignore it," Spin said. Roxie looked up, and sniffed. "Well…I guess your right. I still have months to figure this whole "mother" thing out."

Spinner nodded and stood up. "Good. Let's go back inside."

Roxie stood up and smiled. "Ok. But let's just try not to mutilate any more babies, ok?"

Spinner nodded and slung his arm over her shoulder as they walked back to the classroom. "Deal."

      Ellie walked up the steps of the police station, clutching her bag toward her side uneasily. Who knows what kind of creeps hang around police stations, she thought as she pulled open the doors and stepped inside. Ugh….this place is disgusting.

Ellie walked up to the front desk, where a short bald man was talking on the phone and eating a turkey sandwich. When he saw Ellie, he put the phone on his shoulder and smirked at her. "May I help you, missy?"

Yeah. First, you could not call me "missy", she thought sarcastically. She nodded firmly. "I'm here to post bail."

The man rolled his eyes. "Larry, I'm going to have to call you back," he said into the phone, and then hung up. He ruffled through a few papers and finally looked up at her. "Name."

"Ellie Nash."

"No. The name of the person you'd like to bail out."

Ellie blushed. "Oh. Um, Sean Cameron."

After a minute, the man nodded. "Bailing out your boyfriend, huh?"

"No!" Ellie said quickly. "Just a friend. Well, not really a friend even. We got stuck working together on this project at school, because we both got detention, and…" she trailed off. The man just stared at her blankly. Oh, right…he doesn't care. "Um…I have the money."

The man shrugged. "Ok. Well, your boyfriend beat the crap out of some kid, but the bail shouldn't be that much."

Ellie nodded silently, figuring it was useless to point out that Sean wasn't her boyfriend. He's clearly incompetent, she thought, pulling out her wallet. As she went through the process of bailing Sean out of jail, she wondered why the hell she was doing this. I'm spending all the damn money I've been saving for four months because Sean got in a stupid fight? There's something wrong with this picture.

       Sean leaned against the steel bar of the his holding cell, and sighed miserably. My probation officer is going to kill me! He thought. But he wasn't really thinking about the trouble he was in- he just wanted to get the hell out of the place. There was a tall man sitting in the corner that kept staring at Sean, and a drunk man had fallen asleep on the bench, and was snoring loudly. Sean wanted to bang his head against the cinder-block wall. Get me out of here!

Sean watched as an officer walked in, and nodded at him. "Well, it's your lucky day. Your girlfriend's here to get you," he said, walking over and unlocking the door with his keys. Sean sighed with relief when he saw Ellie walk up. "You're free to go, son."

Sean nodded and stepped out. "Thank you so much," he said sincerely, turning to Ellie.

Ellie shrugged and nodded. "Let's just get out of here," she said quietly, glancing around. Sean nodded.

After he had retrieved the things they had taken from him, Sean followed Ellie into the lobby, and then outside. As soon as he stepped out, he took a deep breath of the fresh night air. Ellie began walking down the steps, and Sean quickly followed.

"Ellie…wait," he said. "Thank you. I really mean it."

Ellie shrugged. "Oh, it's fine. I love coming down to the police station and spending all my money on getting people out of jail," she said sarcastically. "It's my favorite past time."

Sean smiled sheepishly. "I kind of…got in a fight."

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I heard. With who?"

Sean shrugged. He didn't really feel like telling Ellie the whole story. "Just some jerk that got in my face," he said.

"Oh," Ellie said, stepping onto the sidewalk. "Can I ask you something?"

"You just bailed me out of jail. At this point, you can do whatever you want."

"Why did you call me and not….say….your girlfriend Emma?"

Sean stopped and thought. Actually, he had no idea why he had called Ellie of all people. He had just automatically dialed her number without really thinking. He stared down at his shoes. Why didn't I call Emma? He wondered. He looked at Ellie, who was staring at him, waiting for an answer.

"Well….I doesn't know. I guess…I trusted you," he said.

Ellie nodded. "Oh."

Sean cleared his throat. "Anyway….thanks for coming.  I owe you."

Ellie nodded and smirked. "Seventy-five dollars, to be exact."

     Manny slumped against the back of her couch and stared at her parent's open liquor cabinet as she took another sip of her parents imported Scotch. After her parent's had left for their play, Manny had laid on her bed for an hour, just sobbing and randomly throwing things at the wall. Finally, after she felt like she couldn't cry anymore, she had wandered downstairs and raided all her parent's alcohol. They'll come home and be completely pissed off, Manny thought, but she was too drunk to worry about her parents.

Carter hates me now, she thought sadly, unscrewing the cap of a bottle of vodka. I don't blame him. I'm a witch. It was probably, like, impossible to love Manny. I'm definitely leaving, she decided. There's nothing left here for me here. I should just start over.

Manny heard the doorbell ring, and she sighed. She struggled to get to her feet, and then unsteadily walked to the front door. Maybe it's Carter, she thought. Yeah, right. She opened the door, and came face to face with Craig Manning.

"Craig?" Manny said slowly, surprised to see her ex-boyfriend standing on her doorstep.

"Hi, Manny," Craig said. He bit his lip. "Do you think we could talk? I know it's late, but…"

"Why would I want to talk to you?" she snapped. Craig shrugged.

"Because…there are some things I need to say," Craig confessed. Manny rolled her eyes, shrugged, and pulled open the door. "Fine. You can come in. My parent's aren't home or anything." Craig nodded and stepped inside. Manny closed the door and turned to face him.

"Alright. What do you want to say?"

"Manny…I know you're pissed off at me.  When you cam by my house the other day I acted like a complete jerk. And I'm sorry. I was surprised. I wasn't expecting you."

"And I wasn't expecting you to be with Ashley," Manny said coldly.

"She's my girlfriend, Manny," Craig said weakly with a shrug. Manny shook her head.

"But in the hospital that day…you made it seem like you wanted to be with me!" she suddenly cried, throwing up her hands. "You're always playing these fucking games, Craig. Games I can't seem to win."

"We agreed to be friends that day, Manny," Craig said calmly. "We both agreed. You and me….we don't belong together. Things are too messed up when we're together."

"So you came over here to tell me that I'm not good enough for you?!" she replied. " Gee, thanks." She turned and ran up the staircase to the second floor, and stomped into her room. Craig winced when he heard her bedroom door slam, and he sighed. This is exactly what I was talking about! Craig thought as he headed up the stairs. Things are always way too complicated with Manny. 

Craig walked up to Manny's closed door and knocked lightly. "Manny…you're reading this all wrong."

"Leave me alone," she called out. "Go back to your girlfriend Ashley."

"You're not being fair," Craig said through the door. "I came here to be your friend, Manny. I care about you, and I always will. That's why I'm so worried about you."

Manny, who was standing in the middle of her room, snorted and shook her head, even thought Craig couldn't see her. Who the fuck does he think he is? She thought. She stomped over, grabbed a teddy bear off her bed, and hurled it at the wall. This is my house- he needs to just get the hell out. She picked up a hairbrush off her dresser and threw it at her closet. "I loved you, Craig! I thought about you all the time in rehab! You're why I came back."

 Craig leaned against the door and sighed. What could he say to that? He couldn't tell her that he had been thinking about her the whole time she was gone, because that wasn't true. Sure, he had thought about Manny sometimes. But, honestly, he had been too absorbed in Ashley and their relationship. Great. She's throwing things in there. That was never a good sign.

Craig opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly the door flew open and Manny walked out, tears stains on her cheek. "Why can't you just leave?" she yelled, stomping past him to the staircase. Craig followed her.

"Manny, you need help. I saw your parent's liquor cabinet. I've heard things about you at school….you need help!"

Manny whirled around. "I don't need your help, or anyone's help! You don't have to worry about me anymore, Craig. I'm leaving Degrassi forever, ok?" With that, she turned to the staircase. Craig reached out and grabbed her arm and stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"What do you mean your leaving?"

"I'm leaving, ok?" Manny said, wrenching her arm away from him. "I can't take all this anymore!"

"You can't leave!" Craig cried. "Manny, you seriously need some kind of help. The things you're doing…their dangerous. I'm not letting you leave!"

"You don't know anything!" Manny screamed. "Now let me go!" With that, she reached out and shoved Craig away from her.

But Manny forgot that they had been standing in front of her staircase. She watched in horror as Craig stumbled backward, lost his footing on the top step, and went tumbling down the stairs. Manny screamed, and reached out to catch him, but it was too late. A minute later, there was dead silence, and Manny stared down the staircase. Craig's body was scrawled on the ground at the foot of the stairs, and he wasn't moving.

Oh, my, God, Manny thought, and she put her hand over her mouth. What did I do?

Automatically, Manny hurried over to the phone in the upstairs hallway. I have to call the police…before it's too late. Just as Manny reached out to pick it up, the telephone suddenly rang. Manny jumped. Whoever it is…I have to get rid of them.

"Hello?" she said into the phone, still thinking of Craig's lifeless body downstairs. "Look, I can't talk right-" She stopped when she heard loud sniffling on the other end.

"M-Manny?" Manny frowned.

"Sadie? Is that you?" she asked.

"Oh, my, god….Manny," Sadie sobbed into the phone. "M-Manny. Something's happened."

Manny's blood ran cold. "What?"

"Carter came over earlier. He-he was really upset and depressed about something. Then…he….he…" Sadie trailed off, and Manny could hear her crying uncontrollably. "He left. They said he started drinking…a lot. Then he…got-got….in his car. They said he crashed into another car."

Manny leaned against the table next to her for support. "Carter…was in an accident."

"He….he didn't make it, Manny. He's….dead."

Immediately, Manny's entire body began to shake, and her mouth went dry. She shook her head numbly. "I…I have to go," she whispered into the phone, and then placed the phone back on the receiver.

Manny stood there in shock, and she couldn't stop her hands from shaking. It's not true, she thought. He can't be…he can't be dead. Manny suddenly felt dizzy, and her breathing became shallow. Unwilling to believe that her boyfriend was dead, Manny picked the phone up again. I have to help Craig, she thought, but she seemed completely detached from the entire situation. With shaking fingers, she punched in 911.

"Hello?" the dispatcher said a minute later. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

But the phone fell from Manny's hand, and landed on the floor a loud thud. A second later, Manny fainted, and collapsed backwards onto the ground….

   Authors Note- Oh, no! Carter's dead! Oh, and I don't live in Canada, so I don't know what the police number actually is, so I just had Manny dial 911. Anyway….Roxie and Spinner are going to try to work together, but what happens when she reveals a surprising secret? Manny is crushed over Carter's death, but what will she do to vent her anger? Sean and Ellie are becoming closer, so where does that leave Emma? Plus, a lot more! Keep reading and reviewing!