LAKEHURST HIGH - EPISODE 3 - THE CURSE OF PROGRESS
Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.
1. Int. Arcade. Day.
Yick is playing a video game and is on fire. Two boys, who are around ten years old, watch him with excitement.
Yick:
This is how it´s done, boys!
Boy #1:
You´re almost at 200.000!
Boy #2:
And you still have a life left! This is incredible!
Yick dies in the game and the boys look as annoyed, as he does.
Boy #1:
You still have your last life.
Boy #2:
If you could hit 300.000, that would be insane!
Yick:
Watch me work my magic.
He sees Arthur walking thought the arcade, holding hands with a pretty girl. The shock makes him lose his concentration and it´s game over.
Boy #1:
So much for magic!
Boy #2:
I can play the game better than that!
The boys leave him. He makes eye contact with Arthur and they´re happy to see each other.
Arthur:
Yick Yu! How are you doing, old pal?
Yick:
Not as good as you are!
Arthur:
This is my girlfriend Mindy. Mindy, this is Yick, my oldest friend.
Mindy shakes hands with Yick, who´s impressed that Arthur scored with such a hottie.
Mindy:
This is the Yick?
Arthur:
That´s the one.
Mindy:
Artie has told me so many stories about the things you got up to.
Yick:
Has "Artie" now? I´m sure, there´s one or two, he´s left out.
Arthur and Yick wink at each other.
Arthur:
Are you seeing someone?
Yick:
Ehm ...
Yick clearly doesn´t want to come off as inferior to Arthur.
Yick:
Yes.
Arthur:
What´s her name?
Yick tries to think fast.
Yick:
I´m back together with Tessa.
Arthur:
Congratulations. I always thought, you made a great couple.
Yick:
She got a taste of life without me and practically begged me, to take her back. We´re more in love, than ever!
Mindy:
We should double date, so I can meet her!
Yick:
What a great idea!
Yick instantly regrets, that he lied to them.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Hallway. Morning.
Wheels is talking to Kathleen.
Kathleen:
You have to be on your best behavior!
Wheels:
I won´t embarrass you.
Kathleen:
That means no touching me inappropriately.
Wheels:
I´ll expect the same from you.
Kathleen:
No cursing.
Wheels:
Okay, but you only get one more.
Kathleen considers it for a moment.
Kathleen:
Can you try to act like, you´re smart?
Wheels:
That could be tougher.
Kathleen:
I´m sure, there´s a sophisticated person, trapped somewhere very, very, very deep inside of you. Can you try to bring him out for those few hours, for me?
Wheels:
Only because you asked nicely.
They smile at each other and kiss.
3. Int. Classroom. Morning.
Yick is talking to Joey and Caitlyn. They´re excited, while he´s far away.
Caitlyn:
It´ll be like getting the gang back together.
Joey:
I´m in. What about you, Yick? Do you feel like being in a movie?
Yick:
Yeah, sure.
Caitlyn:
You don´t sound too excited.
Yick:
I´ve got a problem, I can´t get it off my mind.
Joey:
Caitlyn´s smart and you have to admit, that I have my moments. Maybe, we can help.
Yick:
I ran into Arthur at the arcade.
Caitlyn:
How´s he doing?
Yick:
Great, by the looks of it. He loves life at his new school and he´s even found a girlfriend.
Caitlyn:
How nice for him!
Joey:
Yeah, but she has be a wreck, right? I mean, if she would date Arthur ...
Caitlyn:
What do you mean by that?
Joey:
Let´s be real. Arthur is a "take, what he can get" kind of guy.
Yick:
She´s both extremely nice and a hottie.
Joey:
Go Arthur! I had no idea, he had it in him.
Caitlyn:
Why is that a problem?
Joey:
You´re sure, that it wasn´t a cousin of his, that he got to pretend?
Yick:
His cousins look like almost exactly like Dorothy. Their family pictures scared me, when I was younger!
Joey:
I´ll be damned!
Yick:
He asked me, if I was seeing someone. I panicked and said that me and Tessa are back together. We´re going on a double date on Friday.
Joey:
Does she know?
Yick:
That´s the problem.
Caitlyn smiles at him.
Caitlyn:
You have to ask her or ´fess up to Arthur.
Yick:
The second choice isn´t an option. The question is, how do I spin it?
Joey:
You could offer her money?
Caitlyn:
It isn´t the ethical choice, but it is your best chance.
Yick makes eye contact with Tessa, as she comes through the door. They wave at each other, before she takes her seat.
4. Int. Library. Day.
Tessa is trying to read, when Yick comes over and sits down across from her with a book. He pretends to read it. Tessa smiles, when sees the title and decides to toy with him.
Tessa:
I didn´t have you pegged for a "Little Women" kind of guy. Not when you weren´t forced to read it, anyway.
Yick:
I´m working on my sensitivity.
Tessa:
It´s about time, you did.
Yick:
I was thinking, that you might be interested in going on a double date with me on Friday.
Tessa:
Not in a million years!
He puts the book down.
Yick:
I ran into Arthur and his new girlfriend. I might have said, that we´re back together.
Tessa puts her book down and makes eye contact with him.
Tessa:
Might have?
Yick:
Okay, so I did. You would be doing me a huge favor, if you could pretend to be my girlfriend, just for that evening.
Tessa:
I´ll do it for 20, but I expect a nice meal at a restaurant. Not the "Yick Yu, slice and a movie in the cheap seats special", that I grew accustomed to!
Yick:
It´s a deal!
Tessa:
it´s only a friend date. You have zero chance of any hanky panky!
Yick:
You won´t regret it!
Tessa:
I´m sure, I will, but there´s a purse I´ve been saving up for. With your 20, I can also buy some cute earrings I´ve seen, that match with it.
Yick smiles.
5. Int. Classroom. Day.
Snake is giving Wheels an etiquette class, with Michelle, Simon and Alexa helping him.
Alexa:
This is the first time, you´re meeting her mom?
Wheels:
I´ve say hi to her a few times, but that´s it.
Alexa:
Then it is the first time. Whatever you do, don´t do what Simon did, the first time he met my family.
Simon looks annoyed, that she´s embarrassing him again.
Simon:
Did you have to bring that up?
Alexa:
You want him to learn from your mistakes, don´t you?
Snake:
What happened?
Simon:
I mistook her older sister for her mom.
Alexa:
And?
Simon:
I said, that she looked nice for someone, who´s old enough to have given birth to Alexa.
Wheels grins.
Wheels:
I´ll keep that one in mind for the future.
Michelle:
The key is to be respectful. Pretend that you´re having dinner with the queen of England.
Wheels:
That´s good. I can use that. What else?
Alexa:
Be complimental, but not too complimental.
Wheels:
Where does the line go?
Alexa:
"That´s a lovely dress, you´re wearing" is fine, "That´s a nice rack, you have in that dress" isn´t!
Snake:
Don´t say anything, that you wouldn´t say to your grandmother.
Michelle:
That´s a good general rule. Keep it in mind at all times.
Wheels:
She wants me to pretend, that I´m smart.
Alexa:
I´d watch it with trying to sound too clever. It´s another lesson, you can learn from Simon´s many mistakes.
Wheels and Snake both look at him, expecting a follow up.
Simon:
I said, that Joe Montana is my favorite hockey player. Her cousins still make fun of me for that one.
Michelle:
The main thing, is you keep calm and try to keep a pleasant conversation going.
Alexa:
Most importantly and it can´t be stressed enough, don´t appear, like you´re ready to jump Kathleen at any moment!
Snake:
We´ve all seen the way, you mentally undress each other.
Wheels takes a deep breath.
Wheels:
No one said, it would be easy!
Snake puts a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Author´s Note: For those, who don´t know, Joe Montana was arguably the biggest sports star in North America at that time and one of the best quarterbacks of all time. He played American Football, not Ice Hockey. Simon might as well have said, that Hulk Hogan was his favorite Tennis player!
6. Ext. Restaurant. Evening.
Yick is waiting outside the restaurant for Tessa to show up. He´s dressed in his finest clothes. His jaw almost drops, when he sees her coming towards him, dressed to look like a million bucks.
Yick:
Why did you never dress that way, when we were together?
Tessa:
You never gave me a reason to. Do you like it?
Yick:
You´re a perfect 10!
She smiles at his praise.
Tessa:
I thought, I´d dress up, so you felt like you got your money´s worth. You want to impress Arthur, don´t you?
Yick:
Yeah. Thanks for putting in the effort!
Tessa:
It´s the least, I could do. This could be fun, like improv theatre or something.
Yick offers her his arm and she takes it.
Yick:
Really, thanks for doing this.
Tessa:
I want us to be friends, like we were before all that other stuff came between us. I miss, how we used to goof around. You were always the best of the boys, at making me laugh.
Yick:
I miss making you laugh. I only did, because the sound of how cute it was, made me laugh along with you. It was a bonus, if I could make you laugh so hard, that you got hiccups. Those sound even cuter.
They smile at each other and head inside.
7. Int. Kathleen´s House. Evening.
Kathleen is helping her mom make dinner for them and Wheels. The mood is still good, but Kathleen looks worried, when her mother pours herself another glass of wine and takes a sip. We can see that the bottle is close to empty.
Kathleen:
Don´t you think, you should take it easy on the wine?
Mrs. Mead:
I have a few bottles in back-up, in case I run low.
Kathleen:
Why doesn´t that surprise me?
Mrs. Mead makes eye contact with Kathleen.
Mrs. Mead:
I know, this is a big deal to you. I remember, how scary it was, the first time I brought a guy home to meet my folks.
Kathleen:
How did it go?
Mrs. Mead:
Not good. It came out, that his dad worked for a company, that was putting the one my dad worked for, out of business. It put a dampener on it and he broke up the next day. I can´t blame him, considering the things, my dad called his dad. The only positive, was it could only go better, the next time I tried it.
Kathleen:
I just want tonight to go smoothly. He´s the first guy I´ve liked, who hasn´t turned out to be a jerk or abusive, like Scott was. Wheels is really nice. He hasn´t had it easy either and he understands what it´s like.
Mrs. Mead:
That´s probably why you go well together. We tend to navigate towards others, who are like ourselves.
Kathleen and her mom have a moment, that´s ended, when a pot overflows.
Kathleen:
Mom, the potatoes!
Mrs Mead quickly gets it off the burner, but spills some boiling water on her hand.
Mrs. Mead:
Ahh!
Kathleen:
Are you okay?
Mrs. Mead:
It´s nothing.
She turns the faucet on and sticks her hand under the running water.
Mrs. Mead:
Nothing a little wine can´t make go away.
She takes a big sip from her glass, making Kathleen look worried.
8. Int. Restaurant. Evening.
Yick, Arthur and their "girlfriends" are looking over their menus.
Arthur:
What are you having?
Mindy:
The number 23 looks good.
Arthur:
I´ll try that one too.
Yick:
I can guess, what Tessa´s having.
Tessa:
How? Humor me.
Yick:
You can´t stand asparagus or sprouts, so that´s everything with those, off the list. You don´t eat veal, because you think it´s wrong, that baby cows are killed to make it. You don´t eat chicken in silent protest over the small cages, they keep them in, so that´s another ten dishes gone.
Mindy and Tessa can´t help looking impressed with him.
Mindy:
Is he right?
Tessa:
He is so far.
Yick:
You don´t mind eating fish, but not when there´s other options, you like better. This lowers the list to numbers 3, 6 and 12. 3 however, comes with a mushroom sauce, which is your favorite.
Tessa:
You got me!
Mindy:
That´s so cute! What´s Yick getting?
Tessa:
Yick looks adventurous, but he´s incredibly predictable, when it comes to food. There´s ribs on the menu, so that´s what he´s getting! There´s a large and a medium portion, so he´ll take the large one, because he doesn´t see the point in ordering a smaller portion, when you can have a large one.
Yick:
Color me impressed!
Tessa:
It wasn´t hard.
Mindy:
You guys are the perfect couple! I hope, that Artie and me will know each other, like you do, someday.
Arthur:
I´d say, that we´re getting there.
Arthur and Mindy kiss. Tessa and Yick smile at each other.
9. Int. Kathleen´s House. Evening.
Kathleen, Wheels and Mrs. Mead are eating dinner, that looks like it´s more than a bit overcooked. Kathleen looks embarrassed and her mom is looking drunk.
Kathleen:
I´m sorry about the food.
Wheels:
It´s fine. Don´t worry about it.
Mrs. Mead
It´s still edible.
She takes a bite and there´s an awkward silence, as she has another large sip of wine and pours another glass for herself.
Mrs. Mead:
Tell me, Wheels. Do you beat up your girlfriends?
Kathleen:
Mom!
Mrs. Mead:
The last one did! I´m not letting it happen again!
Wheels:
Kathleen is my first girlfriend and I can guarantee you, that I´m as peaceful, as they come. Just seeing her sad makes me feel down. I would hate myself, if I did anything to hurt her.
Kathleen can´t help smiling.
Mrs. Mead:
You must feel down all the time, with her constant scowl.
Kathleen looks at her mom in disbelief.
Kathleen:
Why are you being like this?
Mrs. Mead:
I´m just saying, that it wouldn´t hurt you to smile more. You have a nice smile.
Wheels:
I know, that I can´t get enough of it.
Mrs. Mead:
Kathleen tells me, that you´re an orphan.
Kathleen looks at Wheels to gage his reaction.
Wheels:
It´s true. My parents were sadly killed in a car accident, a few years ago. I live with my grandparents.
Kathleen:
Mom, I don´t think, Wheels wants to talk about it.
Mrs. Mead:
I´m just thinking, that it´s a positive in this situation.
We can see on Wheels´ face, that he´s had about enough.
Wheels:
How in any way, is it a positive, that my parents were killed?
Mrs. Mead:
Kathleen hasn´t had it tough too. I mean, with my divorce from her dad, her abusive boyfriend, her bulimia ...
Wheels looks at Kathleen.
Wheels:
Why didn´t you tell me, that ou have bulimia?
Kathleen:
There´s only a few people, who know.
Mrs. Mead:
Don´t you think, he should? I´d want to know, if I was dating a basket case!
Kathleen:
I´ve never been this embarrassed! I´m sorry, Wheels, but I can´t do this!
She leaves the table and runs upstairs, leaving Wheels looking very uncomfortable with a drunk woman, he doesn´t know.
Wheels:
I should go. Thanks for dinner.
He leaves, as fast as he can.
10. Ext. Restaurant. Evening.
Arthur and Mindy are saying goodnight to Tessa and Yick.
Arthur:
We should do this again soon.
Mindy:
I had a blast!
Tessa:
You´re not getting out of going shopping with me! I have to see that shop, you told me about.
Mindy:
We can do it next weekend?
Tessa:
I´ll give you a call on Thursday.
Arthur and Yick shake hands.
Yick:
Say hi to the other Degrassi-ites from me.
Arthur:
I will. Have a good night.
Tessa:
You too.
They go their separate ways. Yick takes a breath of relief.
Yick:
I got away with it! Yes!
Tessa:
Next weekend, I´ll tell Mindy about our sudden and very sad break up. You´ll be off the hook for good.
Yick:
Or until, I say something dumb again.
Tessa:
It´s not a bad bet, that you´ll do that first! If you do, you know where to find me. I can always use more pocket money.
Yick:
You were amazing in there. They totally believed, that you´re still my girlfriend.
Tessa:
You know that thing you did, when we ordered dinner?
Yick:
Yeah?
Tessa:
If you´d been that sweet and attentive, when we dated, we still would be. I liked seeing that side of you.
Yick:
You did, huh?
They smile at each other.
11. Ext. School. Morning.
Kathleen arrives at school, to find Wheels waiting for her. She´s embarrassed to see him.
Wheels:
I tried calling you. Several times.
Kathleen:
I suspected, that it was you. I was too embarrassed to pick up.
Wheels:
That was some evening!
Kathleen:
She has her good days and her bad ones. I can´t always predict, how she´s gonna be on any given night. She couldn´t even remember, what she´d said, after she´d slept it off. From what she remembers, I was the one, who flipped out for no reason.
Wheels:
Do you think, she needs help?
Kathleen:
I´ve reached out to her siblings and my grand parents. We´re gonna do an intervention, as soon as we can. Either she quits cold turkey, or I ask my dad, if I can live with him. I´ve had enough.
Wheels gives her a hug, that it looked like she needed from him.
Kathleen:
You don´t want to break up with me?
Wheels:
You´re not getting rid of me that easily.
He gives her a small kiss.
Wheels:
I know, what dark times feel like, because I´ve been through the worst of them. If you think, that I´m abandoning you, when you need me the most, then you don´t know me.
Kathleen:
We like to play our little games and be ironic about it and I love, that I feel like I´m fun, when I´m with you. If I need to talk about serious things, can we do that too?
Wheels:
It´s what I´m here for, isn´t it?
He gets a small smile out of her.
12. Int. Hallway. Morning.
Joey is hanging out with Caitlyn, when Yick comes over to them. He has a wide smile on his face.
Joey:
By the looks of you, I´m guessing, it went to plan?
Yick:
They bought it, hook, line and sinker!
Caitlyn:
How much did you have to spend?
Yick:
It was nothing to cry over, but I need a favor.
Joey:
I´ll cut you a deal, if you need to loan Caitlyn. There´s some wear and tear on her, so I can´t charge full prize!
Caitlyn pinches his arm with her fingernails, making him wince. Caitlyn smiles coolly at Yick, as she has Joey in her vice grip.
Caitlyn:
You can have Joey for free and for as long, as you want him! He´ll even clean your room, if you want him to!
Joey:
Sure, anything!
She lets go and he holds his arm.
Caitlyn:
I´ll gladly help, because you´re polite and you talk to girls and women, how we should be talked to. Unlike certain other boys!
Yick:
Can you get Tessa a part in the movie? I happened to mention it to her and she really wants to try out. Acting has been a dream of hers, since we were kids.
Joey:
Can she act?
Yick:
Her performance on that date was Oscar worthy!
Caitlyn:
I can talk Lucy into letting her audition. The rest is up to her.
Yick:
That´s all she´s asking for. There´s no way, I would have got out of it, as easy as I did, if it hadn´t been for her.
Joey:
Did she enjoy herself?
Yick:
She said, that she did. You should have seen her. She was something!
Caitlyn and Joey smile at each other.
Caitlyn:
It sounds like you´re sweet on her again.
Yick:
I´ve never stopped. If she lets me, then I´ll be the kind of boyfriend, I should have been.
Joey:
Is there a chance?
Yick:
I´m not giving up without finding out for sure first.
The last freeze frame is Yick looking determined.
CLOSING CREDITS
