LAKEHURST HIGH - EPISODE 15 - HEAVY FUEL
Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.
1. Int. Diner. Evening.
Erica is drinking coffee with Dwayne.
Dwayne:
You´re looking a lot better.
Erica:
I feel a lot better too. I can´t even begin to thank you, for all the nights you let me stay with you. Your place was my sanctuary.
Dwayne:
It´s always a pleasure having you there. The door is still open for you, if you need it.
Erica:
Thanks. You´re probably the best friend, I have.
Dwayne:
Really? A fat guy with HIV is your best friend?
Erica:
You´re much more than that to me. I see past, what everyone else sees. You´re a great guy. I would so date you, if you didn´t have HIV,
They smile at each other.
Dwayne:
You would, huh?
Erica:
What can I say? You´re a catch, once you get to know you.
Dwayne:
With those two scumbags locked up for the next years, you should be able to put it behind you.
Erica:
Now I have 30 hours of picking up trash by the highway in those oh so fashionable yellow vests and I´ll be home free.
Dwayne:
Do you still drink a lot?
Erica:
I´ve managed to stay sober for the most part, but whenever I feel lonely, I also feel like drinking. I don´t think, that´s a good sign.
Dwayne:
Have you thought about going to an AA meeting?.
Erica:
I´m not an alcoholic.
Dwayne:
When you drink to forget reality, then you have a problem. Trust me, I´ve been there. AA can help you.
Erica:
I told you. I´m not an alcoholic! I just like to drink. There´s a big difference.
Dwayne doesn´t look convinced, which annoys her.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Ext. Heather and Erica´s House. Day.
Heather and Erica hug goodbye.
Erica:
Say hi to grandma and grandpa for me.
Heather:
You´re sure, that you´ll be alright on your own?
Erica:
I´ll be switching between community service and doing homework. It´s limited, how much trouble, I can get into.
Heather:
Take care.
Heather gets in the car with their parents. Erica waves goodbye to them.
Erica:
BYE!
They drive off.
3. Int. Living Room. Day.
Erica is looking bored, while doing her homework. She walks over to her parent´s liqour cabinet, but it´s locked. She tries to pry it open and to open it using a hairpin, but it´s not working. She in stead goes to a drawer and sees some money in it. She has a moral dilemma over it for a moment, before taking it.
4. Ext. Liqour Store. Day.
Wheels is outside the store, trying to get someone to buy liqour for him, but no one is around. He´s about to give up, when he sees Erica walking towards him.
Erica:
It sucks, not being 18 yet, huh?
Wheels:
It´s Friday. Where is everyone?
Erica:
Beats me. What do you need?
Erica flashes him her fake ID.
Wheels:
Sweet!
Erica:
Never leave home without it!
She smiles at him.
5. Int. Wheels´ Apartment. Evening.
Wheels and Erica are eating pizza and drinking beer on his couch, with their feet on the table and Helix playing on his very small stereo. His apartment is just one room, but it´s cozy.
Erica:
I wish, I had my own place.
Wheels:
I loved that car, but I´d rather have this any day.
Erica:
No wonder. I heard about Kathleen. I´m sorry, I know that you really like her.
Wheels:
How are you dealing?
Erica:
He was sentenced yesterday. Four years.
Wheels:
Damn.
Erica:
That´s the end of that, if it wasn´t already. I´m never finding anyone again.
Wheels:
You will.
He strokes her hair and they have a moment.
6. Int. Wheels´ Apartment. Morning.
Erica is busy putting her clothes on, while Wheels is waking up.
Wheels:
What´s your hurry?
Erica:
I have to be at my community service in an half an hour. I´m so dead!
Wheels:
Chill! I´ll drive you.
Erica:
You will?
Wheels:
I´m not just gonna sleep with you and be a dick the day after! Give me a minute and I´ll be ready.
Erica looks pleased.
Erica:
Most guys would.
Wheels:
We´re not all as bad as those two, you fell in with.
Erica:
Do you want to do something after I´m done?
Wheels:
Yeah, sure.
Erica kisses him to his surprise, but he kisses her back anyway.
7. Montage.
We get a short montage of Erica´s very unglamorous day, picking up trash by the roadside with other juvenile offenders. It becomes so bad, combined with her hangover, that she has to run off and throw up. A boy offers her a swig from his pocket flask and she gladly takes it, to help get rid of her hangover and the taste out of her mouth.
8. Int. Garage. Day.
Wheels is looking over his new car, a rusty wreck to say the least, with Joey helping him.
Joey:
You seriously bought this pile of rust?
Wheels:
It´s a fixer upper, but it´ll look completely different, after I invest five hundred dollars in new parts. The engine is still in good shape. That´s what matters most, when it comes down to it.
Joey:
You´re the expert. I would throw five dollars after it, if it were me. How are you coping without Kathleen?
Wheels:
I had a lady visitor at my new place yesterday.
Joey:
Wow. That´s fast.
Wheels:
It´s just a girl to have a little fun with, so I can move on. Kathleen left me. I don´t owe her anything.
Joey:
No, of course not. Is it Karen?
Wheels:
No. It´s someone, you know.
Joey:
Any more clues?
Wheels:
She´s our age. We´ve known her since grade school.
Joey:
That certainly narrows it down. Let´s see. There´s Lucy, but she´s with Bronco and I don´t see her cheating on him. It´s not Spike, is it? You really shouldn´t do that to a single mom, because she´s gonna expect more from you!
Wheels:
It´s not Spike. I´ll give you one last clue. She has a twin, who recently came out of the closet.
Joey:
Erica? You had sex with Erica?
Wheels smiles at him.
Wheels:
Some guys just have it.
Joey:
Are you sure, that she´s alright with it being a casual thing?
Wheels:
I think so. As easy as she was to get in bed, she must have known, that it was casual.
Joey:
I would be a hundred percent sure, before I did any more with her, if I were you.
Wheels:
She knows, that I´m on the rebound. I´ll explain it to her calmly, if it an issue, but I really don´t think, it is.
Joey doesn´t look convinced.
9. Int. Car. Day.
Erica gets in Wheels´ car. Some of her fellow "inmates " laugh at the sight of it.
Wheels:
At least, I have a car!
Girl:
Barely!
Erica:
Don´t mind them.
Wheels:
You don´t think that´s it´s ugly, do you?
Erica:
I think, that it could be uglier! Cheer up! We´re gonna have a great day.
Wheels:
Where to?
Erica:
Do you even have to ask?
She pulls her fake ID out of her pocket.
10. Int. Wheels´ Apartment. Evening.
Erica and Wheels are both very drunk and she´s all over him.
Erica:
I need a drink.
She grabs a nearly empty bottle of Rum and takes the cap off. She takes a swig from it.
Wheels:
You´re a harder drinker, than I am.
She offers it to him and he shakes his head.
Erica:
Suit yourself.
She puts the cap back on and puts it away.
Erica:
Say that you like me.
Wheels:
I like you.
Erica:
Am I pretty?
Wheels:
Yes, you are.
Erica:
Am I your girlfriend now?
Wheels:
Erica, Kathleen has just left town ...
Erica:
I get it. You don´t want to jump right into it. It´s just that, I´ve liked you for a long time. I hope, that you don´t think, this is just some casual thing for me. I need a stable boyfriend, after what I´ve gone through.
Wheels:
Please let me finish ...
She starts to get dizzy from the Rum.
Erica:
Sorry, Wheels. I need to lie down.
Wheels:
Are you okay?
Erica:
No. I feel really bad. Everything is spinning.
Wheels:
Lie down.
He gets up and gently lies her down on his couch. He then gets a blanket and puts it over her.
Erica:
Thanks, Wheels. You´ve always been such a sweet and decent guy. You and Dwayne are the only two guys, I feel safe with. I love you.
Her words hit him like a ton of bricks. Erica quickly falls asleep.
11. Int. Wheels´ Apartment. Morning.
Erica wakes up, looking very hung over. She sees Wheels and Dwayne looking at her.
Erica:
What is this?
Wheels:
I got in touch with him thanks to Joey.
Dwayne:
You still don´t think, that you have a problem?
Erica:
So, I like to get drunk! I´m not different from most other people.
Wheels:
You clearly can´t control it.
Erica:
You don´t know anything!
Dwayne:
What about the report, you were supposed to get done this weekend? How is going with that?
Erica:
I haven´t started it. I`ll just do it tonight. It´s no big deal.
Dwayne:
Do you know, who also used to say that it was "no big deal" all the time? My old man, before he drank himself to death. You drink to forget.
Wheels:
There´s deeper issues, when you drink as much as you do. You have to deal with them.
Erica:
What I have to do, is get to my community service, so they don´t add extra hours to it!
Dwayne:
I´ll drive you there.
She sits up and looks sick.
Erica:
Out of my way!
She runs out to the bathroom and throws up. Wheels and Dwayne look worried about her.
12. Montage.
Erica´s day at the community service program is even worse and she looks so sick, that she can barely get through it. She almost collapses and a guard runs to check on her. She gets up and convinces him that she´s okay and carries on.
Dwayne arrives at the end of the day to pick her up, but she sneaks away into a bus with the others.
13. Int. Erica and Heather´s house. Day.
Erica uses a screwdriver on the liqour cabinet and gets it open. She grabs with shaking hands a bottle of Vodka and a bottle of Scotch.
She walks into the kitchen and grabs a glass from the cabinet. She fills it half full with Vodka and downs it. It makes her shaking slowly go away.
14. Ext. Apartment Building. Day
Wheels comes out to Dwayne, who´s waiting by his car.
Wheels:
What happened?
Dwayne:
She snuck off with the others. You really did a number on her.
Wheels:
Me? I didn´t do anything!
Dwayne:
Didn´t you drink with her and had sex with her?
Wheels:
Would you have said no?
Wheels sees his goof and looks apologetic.
Wheels:
Sorry, I forgot for a moment, that you have HIV.
Dwayne:
You knew, what she´d gone through and you did it anyway. I hope, you´re proud of yourself.
Wheels:
Don´t make me the bad guy! I want to help her.
Dwayne:
Do you know, where she lives?
Wheels:
I think so.
Dwayne:
That a good place to start.
They get into Dwayne´s car.
15. Int. Erica and Heather´s House. Day.
Erica is frantically trying to clear up the evidence from her booze theft.
Erica:
This is so bad!
She starts to panic, as she hears the sound of a car pull into the drive way.
Erica:
Why did the have to come home early?
She gives up and tries to come up with an explanation, when there´s a knock on the door.
Wheels (voice over):
Are you in there, Erica? I´m here with Dwayne. We just want to talk.
She considers hiding for a moment, but goes out to answer the door.
16. Int. Erica and Heather´s Room. Day.
Erica is having a heart to heart with Wheels.
Wheels:
How bad is it?
Erica:
I can´t control it. I thought, I could, but it´s time I woke up to reality. I´m an alcoholic.
Wheels:
You need to get help.
Erica:
I think, we can all agree on that!
Wheels:
Have you considered rehab?
Erica:
If I go, then I´ll get held held back year. Everyone will know and I don´t know, if I could deal with all of that.
Wheels::
At least, try going to an AA meeting. You can´t go on like this.
Erica:
That´s what I was thinking. Dwayne told me, where they take place.
Wheels:
Erica, I can´t be your boyfriend, for a whole lot of reasons.
Erica:
You don´t need to explain. I need to do a lot of work on myself, before I become ready for that again.
Wheels:
Do you regret, what we did?
She smiles at him and shakes her head.
Erica:
It sort of feels like it was something, I had to get out of my system and now it is. I hope, that´s not too difficult to hear.
Wheels:
In a strange way, I´m glad to hear it.
Erica:
You were my first crush. It feels like the end of an era.
Wheels:
Let´s call it the beginning of a new one. One, where we´re friends.
Erica:
I´d like that.
They hug.
17. Int. Living Room. Day.
Erica, Wheels and Dwayne are purposely making a mess in the living room, trying to make it look like a break in took place.
Erica:
That should do it. Thanks for helping, guys. You saved my butt.
Dwayne:
I didn´t think, that we would get to have fun today!
Wheels:
If you want us to trash your home again, just give us a call.
Erica:
You´d better get out of here. They´ll be back soon.
Dwayne:
Don´t forget, that we have a date tomorrow at the rec center.
Erica:
I won´t.
The guys leave her.
18. Int. Wheels´ Apartment. Evening.
Wheels, Joey and Dwayne are playing cards. Dwayne wins his hand.
Joey:
You´re cheating!
Dwayne:
You just can´t stand, that you´re still the same loser, you always were. Your deal.
Joey starts shuffling the cards.
Joey:
Seriously, how´s it going with the treatment?
Dwayne:
They try one thing and see if it works, then another.
Wheels:
How do you go on? If I had a death verdict hanging over my head, I don´t think, I could think of anything else.
Dwayne:
You get used to it. I can either let it ruin my life, like I did at first, or I can go on living. I have to keep believing, that there will be a cure someday, or it would drive me nuts. In the meantime, I´ll take whatever meds, they tell me to.
Joey:
Don´t you miss having sex?
Dwayne:
I can do other stuff with girls. Stuff, you two punks are too young to hear about.
Wheels:
It´s funny, because it sounds like Dwayne, but it´s not really him.
Dwayne:
I prefer this version.
Wheels:
So does Erica. Are you gonna date her?
Dwayne:
Wouldn´t you like to know?
Dwayne smiles to himself.
19. Int. Rec Centre. Evening.
Erica comes in with Dwayne. There´s several other people there.
Erica:
How did I get to this point? It feels like one minute it was a few beers and the next, I was drinking Vodka to stop shaking.
Dwayne:
You allowed alcohol to control you. Same as everyone else in here.
Erica:
I don´t want to stop drinking altogether. I just want to have a normal relationship with it.
Dwayne:
People like us, don´t get that luxury. It´s sober or the alternative, that none of us want to go back to.
Erica:
How do I tell my family or my friends?
Dwayne:
That´s up to you. You got here, that´s the first step of the journey.
They sit down and the meeting begins. A man steps up to the microphone.
Allan:
Hi. My name is Allan and I´m an alcoholic. I see, that we have a few new faces here tonight. Why don´t you come up here introduce yourselves.
Erica stands up and comes up to the microphone:
Erica:
My name is Erica and I´m an alcoholic. These past nine months haven´t been good for me. I met a guy, who showed me a new and exciting world, that was far removed from the protected world, I grew up in and I got swept up in it. It started with a few beers in the weekend and before I knew it, I was drinking every day and sneaking mini bottles to school. I sold drugs to pay for my habit, which I´m not proud of. It got me expelled, when they found out and I ran away from home, to be with him. At the time, I thought, it was because I loved him. I see now, that what I loved was getting drunk. Because when I did, it meant that I got to feel better about, what I´d become. He got sent to jail and I was given a second chance, but I never really appreciated it until now. There´s no one to blame, except for me and I´m the only one who can take the steps, I need to take, to get my life straight. Tonight, I´m here to take the first one. Thanks.
The crowd applaud her and she sits down next to Dwayne. He looks proud of her, to her delight.
Allan:
Welcome to the programme, Erica. Who´s next?
20. Ext. Community Center. Evening.
Erica and Dayne come out from the center. She´s looking more relaxed.
Dwayne:
Didn´t it feel good to be open about it?
Erica:
It did. I´ve been lying to myself for so long, that I was starting to believe it.
Dwayne:
I was the same. I thought, that if I got drunk enough, then I would forget about the disease, that´s slowly killing me.
Erica:
Don´t say that. There´ll be a cure within a few years.
Dwayne:
Not the way, things look now. It´s just as hard to stay positive, as it to not drink.
Erica:
I´m probably gonna need some help from someone, who understands.
Dwayne:
I could apply to be your sponsor.
Erica:
Don´t.
She looks him in the eyes.
Erica:
That way I can´t go out with you.
Dwayne:
Maybe, when you´re better. You have bigger things to worry about than dating.
Erica:
Would getting a cup of coffee and a slice of pie together break the rules?
Dwayne:
No, that´s still in friend territory.
They start walking towards the diner.
Erica:
What if was to hold your hand?
Dwayne:
That could be pushing it.
Erica:
You´re probably right. I suppose, I can wait. You´re someone, who´s worth waiting for.
The last freeze frame is them smiling at each other.
CLOSING CREDITS
