WHAT IF? - SPECIAL - EBONY AND IVORY
1. Int. Cafeteria. Day.
It´s lunch time at Degrassi and JT is in the front of the lunch line with Toby behind him. He pays the lunch lady and looks at his food, that doesn´t look too appetizing.
JT:
You´re sure that I won´t get sick from eating this?
Lunch Lady:
That´s the chance we take!
JT:
Reassurance isn´t your strong suit, is it?
The lunch lady doesn´t seem to care and Toby pays her as well. They go off to find a table and see Liberty sitting by herself. They make eye contact and silently agree to sit with her.
Toby:
Want some company?
Liberty:
I guess so.
They sit down at the table with her.
JT:
Is something wrong, apart from this toxic sludge, they call food here?
Liberty:
I got a B for my English report.
Toby:
It´s just a grade! You´ll make it up.
Liberty:
I don´t know what mr. Harris wants from me. It´s like he´s incapable of giving more than a B plus.
Toby:
I got an A on my last report card from him.
JT:
You don´t count as someone to compare to.
Toby:
Why not?
JT:
When did you last get anything below an A?
Toby:
It´s happened ... once.
Liberty:
What did you get?
JT has to take a moment to remember it.
JT:
I´m pretty sure, it was a C.
Toby:
Something smells fishy, if you ask me. No offense JT, but you only getting one grade below Liberty happens once every blue moon.
Liberty:
Let´s not go there, guys. Even if he is a racist, there´s no way that I can prove it.
JT:
You can´t take it lying down, if the grade is unfair!
Liberty:
What can I do? If he doesn´t want to give me a higher grade, there´s no way I can make him.
She looks ready to give up, but Toby and JT aren´t.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Hallway. Morning.
Danny and Peter are talking, while Danny gets things out of his locker.
Danny:
Did you have another hot date with Mia last night?
Peter:
Sizzling hot! I think that I´m in love, dude!
Danny smiles to himself.
Danny:
I guess, congratulations are in order then.
Peter:
How about you?
Danny:
You mean the terrible wasteland, that is my love life?
Peter:
It can´t be that hard to find someone! I´ve seen plenty of worse looking guys than you and if they could do it, you can.
A pair of girls their own age walk by and Danny gets a smile from one of them, a pretty blonde girl named Daria. He smiles back at her and they have a moment. Peter finds it amusing.
Peter:
Down, boy!
Danny:
There´s no shame in window shopping!
Peter:
Don´t you know who her dad is?
Danny:
Should I?
Peter:
They´re loaded! You have a better chance of finding ice in the Sahara desert, than you have of getting a date with her!
Danny:
I won´t know, if I don´t ask her, will I?
Peter:
Danny, you´re on some level down here with guys like me and Derek.
He holds his hand just above the floor.
Peter:
We´re the guys, who are lucky if a girl like Mia looks our way and even luckier, if she decides that she likes us. Her, on the other hand ...
He lifts his hand up to as high as he can reach.
Peter:
She can get any guy she wants.
Danny:
What was with her smile, then?
Peter:
Pity?
Danny doesn´t look deterred.
3. Int. Computer Lab. Day.
Toby is working on a PC, while JT pays close attention.
Toby:
JT, it´s admirable that you want to help her, but this is going to get the both of us in trouble.
JT:
Can you think of another way to see, if he grades unfairly or not?
Toby:
Even if we do manage to find evidence, we still aquired it by hacking the school´s mainframe. You might get Liberty a better grade, but we´ll both get detention at the same time.
JT:
Can we at least agree to see if there is something there, before we give up?
Toby:
Let´s have a look.
A screen pops up, that lists thousands of grades.
JT:
Is there any way, we can narrow it down to only his grades?
Toby types a few things and the list is considerably narrowed down. They study it.
JT:
This goes back to the late 80´s.
Toby:
Whoever that Joey Jeremiah was, he sure wasn´t the sharpest tool in the shed!
Snake comes in and looks around at what the various students are doing.
JT:
Print it out, fast!
Toby tries to, but the screen freezes.
Toby:
Not now!
They try to look innocent, when Snake comes over to them.
JT:
Isn´t it a lovely day, mister Simpson?
Snake looks at the screen and both of them know, that they´ve just been busted.
4. Int. Hatzilakos´ Office. Day.
Hatzilakos is looking over the print out´s, that Toby and JT made. They´re with her, as is Snake.
Snake:
There is a clear pattern of him not giving above a B to colored students, going back to when he started here.
Hatzilakos:
No one´s complained about it until now?
Snake:
It´s the first I´ve heard about it. If it hadn´t been for these two, it´s doubtful that we would have.
JT:
In that light, may I suggest that we get a reward, in stead of detention?
Hatzilakos looks at him in a "Not in this lifetime" way.
JT:
It was only a suggestion!
Toby:
Miss Hatzilakos, this is Liberty, we´re talking about. She gets straight A´s in everything!
Hatzilakos:
I can´t promise you anything, but I can look into it.
Snake:
If it´s true ...
Hatzilakos:
Then we´ll cross that bridge, when we get to it. We can´t do much more right now.
JT and Toby don´t look completely happy with it, but see that it´s better than nothing.
5. Int. Hallway. Day.
Danny is biding his time, to wait for Daria to get done talking to her friends. When they leave her, he walks over to her and smiles nervously.
Danny:
Hi, Daria.
Daria:
Hi, Danny. What´s up?
Danny:
Not much. You?
Daria:
Same as usual.
He tries to work up his nerve and she looks confused.
Daria:
Did you want anything, besides a bit of small talk?
Danny:
Do you want to go out on a date sometime?
She looks uncomfortable and he gets dejected.
Danny:
It´s okay. I get the picture.
Daria:
It´s not that you´re not a nice guy.
Danny:
I´m just not the type, you can see yourself with.
Daria:
If you hadn´t been ... you know ...
Danny gets the picture and walks away from her.
Daria:
I didn´t mean it like that.
Danny:
I know exactly what you meant!
She looks frustrated.
6. Int. Classroom. Day.
Liberty is trying to get past it, by hanging out with Manny.
Manny:
You still have a lot going for you right now. So what, if you get a B in one class?
Liberty:
My parents won´t see it that way. To them, anything below an A is a small disaster.
JT and Toby come in and go to join them.
JT:
Guess who proved that Harris is a racist?
Toby:
He´s been doing it for decades.
Liberty looks annoyed with them, to their surprise.
Liberty:
I told you, to leave it be.
Toby:
If it´s unfair ...
Liberty:
Say that we get it changed, then what? You don´t think, that he´ll want to get back at me for humiliating him?
JT:
Fair is fair.
Liberty:
You don´t get it, JT. There´s no way, that you can. I need some water.
She gets up and leaves them, looking upset. The boys look confused.
JT:
Why wouldn´t she want our help?
Manny:
Because you´re turning her into a Canadian Rosa Parks.
Toby:
The woman, who refused to sit in the "Colored Section" on the bus, back in the 60´s? How do you figure that?
Manny:
Do you think everyone applauded her for doing it? I guarantee you, that most people in the south thought what she did, was an unneeded provocation. She must have had to listen to hundreds of comments from people, that she could have done without. On top of that, you need to remember, that she didn´t have as much to lose, as Liberty does.
Toby:
If no one tries to change it, then it never will.
Manny:
Put yourself in her situation. She has no way of winning in this scenario, unless you manage to actually get Harris fired. Being the one to take that first step takes as much guts for her, as it did for Rosa all of those years ago.
JT and Toby take it in, seeing that she could be right.
7. Int. Liberty´s House. Day.
Liberty is giving the news to her dad, who doesn´t look particularly understanding.
Mr. Van Zandt:
Do you expect to get into a good college with B´s?
Liberty:
It´s only in this one subject. Danny pretty much never gets an A.
Mr. Van Zandt:
What grades Danny gets it beside the point. We won´t have slacking off in this house!
Mr. Van Zandt takes a moment to consider it.
Mr. Van Zandt:
You´re grounded for the time being. If you won´t take school seriously, then we´ll have to make you.
Liberty:
I tried my hardest, but the teacher has it in for me!
Mr. Van Zandt:
Why would you think that?
She looks him in the eyes and doesn´t have to say it, for him to get it.
Mr. Van Zandt:
Do you have proof?
Liberty:
No, but ...
Mr. Van Zandt:
Come back with that argument, when you have it. Throwing the R word around is too risky, is you don´t have proof.
Liberty:
How is that fair?
Mr. Van Zandt:
Liberty ...
She´s heard enough and storms off to her room. Danny, who´s heard all of it from the kitchen, looks worried about her.
8. Int. Liberty´s Room. Day.
Liberty is studying, when there´s a knock on the door.
Danny (off screen):
It´s me.
Liberty:
Come in.
Danny comes in.
Danny:
I caught the show from the kitchen. Are you okay?
Liberty:
I will be. Why can´t he see things my way for once?
Danny:
Because he knows that shouting up about it, will come back to bite you in the butt?
Liberty:
It´s not like I asked to be the centerpoint in this discussion.
Danny sits down next to her.
Danny:
Do you think there´s racism at our school?
Liberty:
Probably. What do you think?
Danny:
My first day there, the basketball coach came over and asked, if I was trying out. He didn´t ask Derek, even though he was standing next to me.
Liberty:
How did Derek react?
Danny:
He was hurt. It was clear that I was welcome on the team, but he wasn´t. None of us needed many guesses, as to why.
Liberty:
So much for rules that say, we all have to be treated the same!
Danny:
I couldn´t play on the team after that. I love playing basketball, don´t get me wrong, but I don´t want to be on a team, when it isn´t fair, who makes it and some don´t stand a chance to, because of the color of their skin.
Liberty:
Good for you, little brother! However, my situation is a bit different.
Danny:
Both are blatant cases of racism.
Liberty:
It´s not that simple.
Danny:
I won´t tell you what to do, because you know your situation a whole lot better than I do. But if no one speaks up, then people like him and the coach can keep on doing for it for more years to hundreds of more students. Do you want that hanging on your conscience, knowing you could have done something to change it?
Liberty considers it.
9. Int. Library. Day.
JT and Toby are waiting for detention to start, when Sean comes in and takes a seat.
JT:
What are you here for?
Sean:
Saying that the food in the cafeteria, isn´t fit for human consumption.
Toby:
That´s just stating facts!
Sean:
How did you land detention?
JT:
Hacking the school mainframe.
Sean looks a bit impressed.
Sean:
Couldn´t you have changed my grades, while you were at it?
Toby:
We did it in the name of a good cause. Liberty has a teacher, who gives grades based on skin color.
Sean:
Harris?
JT:
How did you know?
Sean:
He´s the only non-shop teacher, who´s given me above a C!
Toby:
We have to stop it. I just hope, that my parents see it the same way!
Sean:
What makes you think, that you can?
JT:
Because we have evidence.
Sean mockingly shakes his head.
Toby:
We can do this, even if you don´t believe it.
Sean:
You guys are dumber than dirt!
JT:
Not that I disagree in my own case, but who are you to talk, mr D average?
Sean:
I´m not a future professor or anything, but I know that if your plan doesn´t work, then you´ll be ruining two lives and getting zero out of it.
Toby:
If that´s the way you think, then you´re part of the problem.
Sean:
Are you implying, that I´m a racist?
He stares Toby down, making him uncomfortable.
Toby:
No.
Sean:
It sounds that way to me. Maybe Harris is a crusty old geezer, who yearns for an all white Canada, or he could be getting senile, for all we know. My point is that it´s not your business, to interfere in a case you have no way of knowing the basics of.
JT:
Educate us, then. What are the basics of it, according to you?
Sean:
That if you´ve never felt what it´s like to be a victim of racism, then you can´t put yourself in the shoes of someone, who has.
JT and Toby look at each other, seeing that he´s right.
10. Ext. Degrassi. Morning.
Liberty arrives at school to find JT waiting for her. He looks apologetic.
JT:
Liberty, I´m so sorry about yesterday. You´re right. I don´t know what it´s like to be you and I never will.
Liberty:
You meant well and that counts too.
They smile at each other.
JT:
Have you thought about what you´re gonna do?
Liberty:
File a complaint, I suppose. It´s not that I want to do it, but someone has to take the first step.
JT looks proud of her.
JT:
Maybe it´s time, we started calling you Rosa.
Liberty:
Why Rosa? I like my name!
JT:
No reason.
They head inside.
11. Int. Hallway. Morning.
Danny is by his locker, when Daria walks over to him. He still looks angry with her.
Daria:
You didn´t let me explain yesterday.
Danny:
No further explanations were required.
Daria:
The thing is, they were. I didn´t turn you down, because you´re African American. That is so unlike me, that it´s not even funny.
He calms down and looks her in the eyes.
Danny:
Why then?
Daria:
You´re a jock and I like burying my head in books. We could have fun for sure, but I can´t in my wildest imagination see us working as a couple. If you must know, the only guy I have kissed has even darker skin than you.
Danny suddenly feels very foolish.
Danny:
I guess, I owe you an apology.
Daria:
No one´s ever called me a racist before, so that was a first. I can´t say, that it felt nice in any way.
She leaves him and he clearly feels bad about it.
12. Int. Classroom. Morning.
Danny comes in and takes a seat next to Peter.
Peter:
Did you get your date?
Danny:
No, but I managed to make an ass out of myself, so that´s something!
Peter laughs, while Danny shakes his head.
Danny:
I didn´t even give her a chance to explain, before the idea of her being racist popped into my head. It´s like a natural default answer, that my brain always jumps to.
Peter puts his arm around him and smiles at him teasingly.
Peter:
Just so you know, I would have dated you if you looked like Mia, was as sexy as Mia, talked like Mia, walked like Mia ...
Danny:
Basically, I would have to be Mia?
Peter:
It would certainly help! Look, I get that it would be easy to think that way, but it´s only a very small number of us pale faces, who look down on others, based on their skin color. The rest of us just want everyone to get along.
Danny:
Same as us.
They nod at each other and fist bump on it.
13. Int. Hatzilakos´ Office. Day.
Liberty is with the principal and is explaining the situation to her.
Liberty:
I only want the same treatment as everyone else. That can´t be too much to ask.
Hatzilakos:
Not at all. I´ll take it to the school board and we´ll see, what they say. If they won´t play ball, then we´ll take it to the board of education.
Liberty:
Honestly, as someone who´s been in this game for a while, do you think it´ll make a difference?
Hatzilakos:
I wish, I could tell you for sure, that it will. The truth is that he´s innocent, until he´s proven guilty. That´s the way the system works and I´m sure you wouldn´t have wanted it any other way. I know, I wouldn´t.
Liberty nods in understanding.
14. Int. The Dot. Day.
Liberty is having a celebratory soda with Danny and JT, who raises his glass.
CAPTION:
TWO WEEKS LATER
JT:
Here´s to what a few minutes of illegal hacking can do!
They toast and drink.
Liberty:
Now I just have to hand in a killer assignment!
JT:
Like you couldn´t do that in your sleep!
Danny:
What happened to the teacher?
Liberty:
He´s suspended, pending further investigation. In any case, Hatzilakos assured me, that he won´t be my teacher again, no matter what.
JT:
And with that, everything´s been wrapped up in a neat little package!
They suddenly go quiet.
Danny:
Except, now we have to deal with all of our other issues!
Liberty:
Like all three of us being hopelessly single?
JT:
That would be it!
Danny:
Why don´t you two give it a go? You´re friends and it´s not like you have a ton of others, knocking down your door.
JT and Liberty look at each other.
JT/Liberty:
Nah! It would never work!
They collectively shake their heads.
CLOSING CREDITS