WHAT IF? - SEASON 1 EPISODE 10 - I WON´T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME
Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.
1. Int. Mall. Day.
Terri, Paige and Ashley are checking out a large poster in a store window of Terri, who´s modeling clothes for plus sized young women. She looks beautiful on it and looks very happy with it.
Terri:
What do you think?
Paige:
Why can´t I get my hair to look like that?
Ashley:
It looks great, Terri. You should be proud of it.
Terri:
Having professional stylists helps.
Paige:
All they´ve done is bring out the natural beauty, we always knew was there.
Ashley:
I never want to hear you refer to yourself as a fat cow again. You´re beautiful, the way you are.
Terri:
I promise, that I won´t. This hasn´t just lined my college savings, it´s made me feel better about how I look. We can´t all be super skinny.
Paige:
I´d rather look at pictures of healthy girls like you, than some anorexia victim.
Emma accidentally walks into Paige, having been distracted by reading something on a package, she´s bought. She drops it and it falls on the floor.
Paige:
Hey, watch it!
Emma:
I´m so sorry! I wasn´t looking.
Emma quickly picks her item off the floor.
Paige:
Apology accepted. I can´t say, I haven´t been guilty of that.
Emma:
Thanks, Paige.
Paige:
You´re welcome, Hon. I hope it wasn´t breakable?
Emma:
What?
Ashley:
Your package?
Emma:
I don´t think so! I should get going.
Terri:
What do you think of my poster?
Emma looks up at it and to their surprise, almost starts to cry.
Emma:
It´s beautiful, Terri! You look great!
Terri:
Thanks. I ...
Emma:
I´m sorry, but my mom is waiting for me.
She hurries away from them.
Ashley:
She dropped the receipt.
Paige:
Shall we see, what "Little Miss Perfect" has bought?
Paige leans down to pick it up.
Ashley:
I´m guessing, that it´s something for Sean.
Terri:
Those two have been pretty inseparable lately.
Paige makes wide eyes at what she reads.
Paige:
You could say, that it´s for Sean. She´s bought a pregnancy test.
Terri looks worried for her, just because that´s what Terri does.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Ext. Street. Morning.
Terri and Ashley are walking to school.
Terri:
I couldn´t stop thinking about Emma last night.
Ashley:
It could be Karma biting them in the butt, for what they did to Ellie.
Terri:
You don´t believe that, do you?
Ashley:
No, I´m hoping that it was negative. This city has enough teenage mothers, as it is. It´s one thing that they screw up their own lives. It´s the kids, I worry about.
Terri:
My mom was 19 and that was hard enough for her. Doing it at 16 can´t in any way be easier.
Ashley:
We´ll find out soon enough. Some things you can´t hide, no matter how hard you try!
They head into the school.
3. Int. Classroom. Day.
Emma and Manny are working on a project in science class, with beakers and Bunsen-burners and the like. Emma´s mind clearly isn´t in it.
Manny:
Was it the blue stuff, we were supposed to mix with the green stuff first?
Emma:
I wasn´t paying attention.
Manny:
There´s a first for everything! What happened to the Emma, who can´t get enough of school?
Emma:
I have a lot on my mind. Plus, I´m not feeling too hot this morning.
Manny:
You are looking a bit pale. Do you think, you´re coming down with something?
Emma:
I don´t have time to come down with anything. Between Sean and school, I´m all booked up! Germs will have to wait!
Manny:
Sorry, Em. Germs wait for no man! Did I just say that?
Their teacher comes over to them.
Teacher:
I don´t see a lot of work happening here.
Emma:
I´m sorry. You know that I usually love this class.
Manny:
We´re kind of stuck due to lack of memory.
Emma:
Can I have a hall pass, so I can use the restroom?
Teacher:
Sure, Emma. It´s on my desk.
Emma leaves them and goes down to his desk. She has to steady herself on it for a second, before taking the hall pass. JT and Toby, who are in the front row, look worried about her.
Toby:
Are you okay, Em?
JT:
You look like something the cat dragged in.
Emma:
Thanks for boosting my confidence!
She hurries out of the classroom. JT and Toby look puzzled.
Toby:
What was up with her?
JT:
Emma´s never been one to bite people´s heads off.
Toby:
It could be a feminine problem.
JT:
How would you know?
Toby:
When women live together, their menstrual cycles match up. It´s a weird scientific phenomenon. Me and my dad refer to it as "The Perfect Storm", when Ash and her mom get it on the same day.
JT shakes his head.
JT:
Whoever claimed that girls weren´t a mystery, had no idea what they were talking about!
Toby:
You´re telling me. The more I find out, the more they mystify me!
JT:
Speaking of girls. When are you gonna ask Liberty out?
Toby:
Liberty?
He looks over at her and they make eye contact and quickly smile at each other, before she gets back to work.
JT:
Yeah, Liberty! You might remember her as the girl, we´ve known since grade 7, who would be your perfect match!
Toby:
Do you think so?
JT:
Let´s see. You´re both dorks, who like going to school. You´re both know it alls, who spoil it for everyone, when they try to watch a game show with you. Most importantly, she likes you and you haven´t seen the slightest bit of action, since Kendra dumped you.
Toby:
I´ve told you a hundred times, that it was by mutual consent!
JT:
Would you date her, if she asked you out?
Toby:
Yeah, why not?
JT:
Then get to it, Buddy! She won´t stay single forever.
They get back to work.
4. Int. Girl´s Room. Day.
Emma comes running in and runs right into a stall, where she throws up. Terri comes out from the stall next to it and walks up to the sink, where she starts washing her hands. We hear the other toilet flushing and Emma comes out, looking very sick.
Emma:
Hi, Terri. I feel like dirt.
Terri:
You kind of look like it.
Emma rinses her moth with water, to get rid of the taste.
Terri:
Maybe you shouldn´t be in school, if you can infect everyone else.
Emma:
I´m sure, it´s not infectious.
Terri:
How can you be?
Emma:
I already know, what it is. It´s nothing, the rest of you have to worry about.
Terri:
I don´t want to pry, but you dropped your receipt, when you bumped into Paige. We happened to look at it and now you´re in the bathroom puking your guts out.
Emma looks like her whole world just came crashing down.
Emma:
Oh, God! Paige knows? She´s gonna tell everybody!
Terri:
She doesn´t know, what I saw and she doesn´t have to. For all she knows, that test could have been for your mom. I guess, I don´t have to ask, what it said.
Emma:
I can pay you to keep quiet!
Terri:
If you think, I´d ask for money to do that, then you don´t know me. I´d like to help you, though. This can´t be easy.
Emma:
Right now, the best way to do that is to keep quiet. It has to come from me.
Terri:
I also happen to be a great listener, who can keep a secret. After school, maybe?
Emma:
It´s very sweet of you and you seem nice, but I don´t really know you.
Terri:
I´m doing volunteer work with my little sister tonight. You could come.
Emma:
I always heard, you were an only child.
Terri:
I´m in the Big Sister programme. You should come down to the rec center at around seven. We can always use an extra hand and it´s great to help put things in perspective. Dress casual.
She leaves Emma to think about it.
5. Int. Cafeteria. Day.
Emma is eating lunch with Manny and Liberty. Liberty bites into an onion ring and it´s enough to make Emma gag.
Manny:
Are onion rings on the forbidden list now?
Liberty:
What forbidden list?
Manny:
The foods, she can´t stand watching people eat.
Emma:
How can you put that deep fried garbage in your body? The thought of it alone ...
Manny:
We´re not all health nuts, Em!
Emma:
I´m not nuts, because I´m conscious about what I put in my body!
Liberty:
It hasn´t been a lot these past days.
Manny:
Are you gonna tell me, what´s bothering you? I can tell, there´s something going on.
Emma:
It´s private, okay? For once, I´d like to keep something private, so can you please respect that?
Liberty:
I won´t mention it again.
Manny:
You can tell me, when you feel ready to.
Liberty:
I´m having a study evening with JT and Toby, if you´re interested. It´s been a while since the four of us hung out outside of school.
Emma:
I´m taking a rain check. I have something, I need to do.
Manny:
Can I help you with it?
Emma smiles at her friends.
Emma:
I love the both of you, but this is something, I have to do on my own. There´s a lot of things, I don´t know yet, but I promise, you´ll be the first to know.
Manny:
Understood.
She forces a smile and tries to hide, that she really wants to know what´s going on.
6. Int. Basement. Evening.
Emma is getting ready to go out, but Spike has insisted in taking her temperature, so she has a thermometer in her mouth. Spike is keeping time on a watch.
Emma:
Can I take it out soon?
Spike:
Alright. Let me see it.
Emma takes the thermometer out of her mouth and hands it to Spike.
Emma:
I suppose, I should be happy, that you didn´t make me take it the old fashioned way!
Spike:
It´s nice to hear, that you haven´t lost your sense of humor. Your temperature´s normal.
Emma:
As it should be, because I feel fine! It´s just a stomach bug, that´s going around. It´s passed now, so can I please get on with my evening?
Spike:
You can´t blame me for worrying, Sweetie.
Emma:
I don´t. It´s nice, that you still fuss over the smallest things.
Spike:
I can´t help it, Em. To me, you´re still that little girl with pigtails, I had to walk all the way to her first class, on her first day of school.
Emma:
You´ll never let me forget that, will you?
Spike:
It was cute! There´s times, when I wish, I could stop the clock and keep you this age forever. These are the last years, where I get to pretend, that you´re still that little girl. You´re right on the cusp of womanhood, with all the new problems and issues, that will bring.
Emma:
Not to bring you down, mom, but I think, I already have those problems. It wasn´t in the brochure, that growing up would be this hard!
Spike:
It´s only as hard, as you make it. Compared to how it was for me, your life is a hoot!
Emma:
I guess, you didn´t go to many parties, because you had me.
Spike:
Which is why I´m so glad, that it hasn´t happened to you. You get to live the teen life, I wish I could have lived.
Emma gives her a hug.
Emma:
I´m trying to, mom.
Spike smiles and can´t see, that Emma has to wipe a tear away.
7. Int. Liberty´s House. Evening.
Liberty and Toby are trying to study, but JT is too busy goofing off with her little brother Danny, who´s a few years younger than them. Liberty looks frustrated.
Liberty:
JT, we´re here to study!
JT:
Funny, cuz I was under the impression, that we were hanging out to have fun, like we used to. To think, I said no to making out with Paige for this!
Danny:
You have a girlfriend? Is she deaf and blind?
JT:
You little runt!
Danny laughs, as JT chases after him. Liberty tries to calm down.
Toby:
What did you expect? Anyway, without him here, we can get some work done.
Liberty:
Why won´t he grow up? It was cute, when we were 12, but that was a long time ago!
Toby:
Is your long running crush on him beginning to fade?
Liberty:
It´s history! If Paige is willing to put up with it, then she can have him! Why I ever thought, we would make a good couple is beyond me!
She shakes her head and Toby can´t help smiling to himself.
Toby:
Does that mean, you´re on the market?
Liberty:
I´ve never been off it, in case you haven´t noticed. Four years of pining over him and what did it get me? Nothing!
Toby:
It could have been worse. Imagine if you´d pulled a Craig and Manny.
Liberty:
Thanks for putting that image in my head!
She smiles shyly at him.
Liberty:
Thanks for being here to cheer me up. I don´t give you enough credit, but you´re the best friend, anyone could have. You´re kind and nice, plus you look out for us. I don´t know, what I´ll without you, when we head off to college.
Toby:
We´ll cross that bridge, when we get to it.
Liberty:
Can I ask you something personal?
Toby:
Yeah, sure.
Liberty:
Was there a time before you became a couple with Kendra, where you liked me? Cuz I kind of had a feeling, that you might have.
Toby:
That´s ancient history. I´m not even with Kendra anymore.
Liberty:
Did I stand a chance, if I had asked you out?
Toby:
Liberty, you will always stand a chance with me. There´s no other girl like you.
His nice words make her smile widely.
Toby:
I hate to break up the nice atmos, but we do have to get this done tonight.
Liberty:
Of course. Where were we?
Toby:
Neutrino Acids! Doesn´t that sound like a sexy subject?
They smile at each other, as Danny comes running in followed by JT.
Danny:
Is it okay if JT plays "Zombie Blaster" with me?
JT:
I don´t have to ask her for permission!
Danny:
It sounded that way!
Liberty:
If you´d rather play videogames, then go and play video games. I´m not your mom.
JT:
Time to get served, little man!
Danny:
In your dreams!
Jt and Danny leave them again.
Toby:
Who of them do you think is oldest, mentally speaking?
Liberty:
They´re more or less the same!
Toby and Liberty get to work.
8. Int. Rec Center, Evening.
The Rec Center is having a kid´s night, where kids from underprivileged homes can have an evening of fun together. Emma is helping out a girl, who´s around ten, by fixing her dress up with a safety pin, while Terri watches.
Emma:
We all lose a button here and there, especially when we´re having fun. It´s nothing to be ashamed of.
Girl:
Thanks.
Emma:
Anytime.
The girl runs back to her friends.
Terri:
You´d make a great mom.
Emma:
Maybe.
Terri:
You have that caring gene, when it comes to kids. I´m only saying so, because it takes one to know one. I already know, that my future job has to include working with kids.
Emma:
What´s not to love about them?
Terri:
That they´re super expensive, that they from time to time can be impossible to deal with and are sure to hold you back, at least for the first 18 years. Unless, you´re that woman, who wrote Harry Potter.
Emma:
I don´t have any brilliant ideas, I could make a quick million off. I could sure use one!
Terri:
Am I the only one, who knows?
Emma:
I´m scared out of my mind at the thought of telling everyone. Sean and me are in such a good place and I have no idea, how he´ll react. Manny wouldn´t have had Julia, if I hadn´t spent hours convincing her not to have an abortion, like she wanted to. Then there´s my mom on top if it. She thinks of me as the one, who´ll break the cycle of women in my family becoming teen moms. She can accept almost anything, but this is a cardinal sin, with all the hours she´s spent preaching abstinence, until I was old and responsible enough.
Terri:
There are other options.
Emma:
Terri, my mom was barely 14, when she became pregnant. The only choice that made any sense from a logical standpoint, was having an abortion. She decided to have me, knowing everything she would be giving up. I feel like such a hypocrite for even considering it. There´s adoption, but that still means, I have to tell everyone.
Terri:
But you have considered abortion?
Emma:
It´s the one solution without long term ramifications. If I have the kid, then it´s goodbye to college and what if Sean can´t handle it? He doesn´t have the best history, when it comes to dealing with a crisis. This could send him back over the edge.
She looks sad, but quickly cheers up again, when Terri´s "Little Sister" Trina, an adorable 8 year old, comes over to them.
Terri:
Are you having fun, Trina?
Trina:
Lots! Are you just gonna stand there all night?
Terri:
We´re supposed to keep an eye on you guys, so you don´t get hurt.
Trina:
You can do that later! Come and meet my friends!
Trina takes Emma´s hand and leads her towards her friends. Terri follows after her.
Terri:
It´s best not to fight it!
Emma clearly sees no reason to.
9. Int. Liberty´s House. Evening.
Liberty tries to shake the cobwebs off her mind.
Liberty:
We seriously need a break.
Toby:
Yeah, I started seeing double half an hour ago.
Liberty:
Soda?
Toby:
That would be perfect.
She gets up and walks over to the fridge. He stretches his back.
Liberty:
Those chairs suck. Does it hurt?
Toby:
A little.
She brings him a soda and they toast, before taking a sip.
Liberty:
Take your shirt off and get on the couch.
Toby looks surprised.
Toby:
Not that I haven´t been longing to hear a girl say those words, but what about your brother and JT?
Liberty:
For a massage! It´s my fault that your back hurts, so I´ll be the one to fix it!
Toby:
Whatever you say!
Liberty:
Go over there and lie down on your stomach. I´ll be right back.
He does as instructed and lies down. Liberty quickly comes back with a small bottle.
Liberty:
This is coconut oil. It doesn´t just smell nice, it also works like a charm.
She gets on top of him and puts some oil on her hands. He´s clearly enjoying it, as she starts massaging him.
Toby:
You´re not worried, that they´ll see? It is an intimate situation.
Liberty:
Sadly, this is the closest I´ve come to getting some!
Toby:
Me too. Kendra wasn´t much for getting physical. The only part that feels wrong, is that I´m the only one, who´s half naked.
They smile cheekily at each other.
Liberty:
You think, I won´t?
Toby:
With your brother and JT in the other room? No, not really.
Liberty:
Watch this.
Liberty takes her shirt off and is topless, except for her bra. Toby is almost speechless.
Toby:
WOW! You´ve grown up fast!
Danny (off screen):
What´s going on here?
Liberty sees, that they´re busted by Danny, who looks shocked and JT, who finds it very funny.
JT:
They´re doing something, you´ll learn about in biology some day, Danny.
He can´t help himself from laughing.
10. Ext. Rec Center. Evening.
Trina is hugging Terri goodbye.
Trina:
See you on Saturday.
Terri:
I´ll be there with bells on!
Trina breaks the hug with Terri and also gives Emma one.
Trina:
It was nice to meet you, Emma.
Emma:
You too, Trina. Get home safely.
Trina breaks the hug and runs down to her dad´s car. She gets in and they drive off.
Terri:
She´s a hugger. I don´t think, that´ll ever change.
Emma:
I don´t mind. If anything, it makes me long for when I was that age and everything was so simple.
Terri:
Her life isn´t as simple, as you might think. Broken home, poverty, growing up in a place, where she´s surrounded by negativity all the time. If I can help her to turn out as a normal, functioning adult, then I´ve done my part.
Emma:
You should be the one having this baby.
Terri:
No, I shouldn´t! I´m perfectly fine with waiting, until I´m at least in my mid 20´s! If I´m in my 30´s, that´ll be fine too!
Emma:
That would probably be smart!
Terri looks at her with sympathy.
Terri:
Does that mean, you´re having the baby?
Emma:
It´s what I´m leaning towards. I don´t think I could live with myself, if I had an abortion, everything considered. I´ll probably give it up for adoption.
Terri:
It´s a brave move. I don´t know, if I had it in me to tell everyone.
Emma:
I´m still not sure, that I have it.
Terri:
If you need a friend, you always know where to find me.
The two girls hug.
CLOSING CREDITS