WHAT IF? - SEASON 2 EPISODE 13 - CONTROVERSY PART 1
Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.
1. Int. Cafe. Evening.
Craig is performing a solo set for a crowd of around 40 or so, while his manager Chris watches from one of the tables. Craig is a natural performer and it isn´t missing Chris´ eyes, that there´s quite a lot of girls in their late teens to early 20´s in the crowd and most of them have their eyes fixed on Craig all the time. Craig finishes up his song and the crowd applauds him.
Craig:
It´s been a joy playing for you. Have a great night!
Girl (off screen):
Take it off, you sexy beast!
Craig can´t help smiling at her comment.
Craig:
Some other time, sweetheart!
He gets a few woo´s and laughs from the crowd, as he begins to pack his gear down. Chris comes down to him.
Chris:
How do you think, it went?
Craig:
Alright, I guess. What do you think?
Chris:
I agree with that girl!
Craig smiles to himself.
Craig:
I didn´t know you swung that way!
Chris:
I don´t, but they all made up their minds pretty quickly.
Craig:
I´m not sure how Manny would like it.
Chris:
Craig, if you´re gonna make it in the biz, then you can´t be concerned with what she would think all the time! Christ, it´s like she has you in a noose, even when she´s not here! I don´t say this often, but you need to grow a pair!
Craig:
You don´t know the full story. I can´t do anything to hurt her, after how things went down!
Chris:
Did you ask her, if you could record "Thong Girl, Right Girl" on your demo?
Craig:
No way I´m asking her that! That is a very ... personal song!
Chris:
It´s by far the catchiest song you´ve written and we both know that girls will eat that stuff up, if it´s you singing it. Everyone in this industry, who´s good looking, takes advantage of it. If she complains about that, then she needs a reality check. That´s just my opinion.
Craig:
I´m scared of how she´ll react. I wrote it specifically for her.
Chris:
It sounds to me, like you´ve been letting her call all the shots, because you´ve been afraid of upsetting her. It´s bound to drive you apart, if you don´t try to change it. You can´t go on like that for the rest of your life. Asking her for this one little thing, could be a start to you having more of a fifty-fifty relationship.
Craig considers it and likes the idea.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Manny and Craig´s Room. Morning.
Manny and Craig are getting ready for school, which is interrupted by her giggling over him having his T-shirt on inside out.
Manny:
Are you making a fashion statement?
Craig:
What?
He notices it and feels foolish.
Manny:
Let me help you, my sweet boy.
She pulls the T-Shirt off him and gets aroused for a moment at the sight of his bare chest.
Manny:
We´ll save that for later!
Craig:
Is that what I´ve been reduced to? A sex toy on two legs?
Manny:
Shut up, Mr. Dildo, ehm, I meant Craig!
They smile at each other as she puts the shirt over his head and makes sure it looks less wrinkled than it did before.
Manny:
There´s still time to change into one, you haven´t worn three days in a row, you know? Especially when there´s plenty of clean ones in the closet.
Craig:
I´ll just wear this one.
Manny:
How do I put this nicely? Out of respect for those, who have to sit close to you and smell your old sweat coming from that gnarly thing, I really think you should change it!
Craig:
No, I won´t!
Manny looks surprised at his outburst.
Manny:
Where´s this coming from?
Craig:
I always give in the moment you smile at me and it can´t go on like that. Can I get my way, just this one time?
Manny:
Sure, if you´re dead set on stinking the day away! I pity the poor souls, who will be forced to smell it with you, is all!
Craig:
This isn´t about choosing what clothes I wear. I think it´s time we looked into making this more of a fifty-fifty relationship in stead of one, where you get you way all the time and I never do.
Manny tries to take it in.
3. Ext. Degrassi. Morning.
Craig and Manny arrive for school to find that there´s quite a commotion outside of the school, with Snake and other teachers trying to keep things in order. They look at each other in surprise, when they see a busy TV truck parked by the side of the road, right outside of the school. They spot Paige and Marco coming towards them.
Manny:
Do you guys know what´s going on?
Paige:
You didn´t hear? It was all over Face Range last night!
Craig:
Sorry, Paige. Some of us have to make the moolah in our evenings!
Marco:
It turns out that our relatively new principal has, or should I say had, a rather large and embarrassing skeleton in her closet.
Paige:
Of the soft-core porn variety.
Craig and Manny try hard not to laugh.
Manny:
No way!
Marco:
Oh, it gets worse!
Craig:
Someone found it?
Paige:
And put some "select clips" on a private server for everyone to see. I tell you, Hatzilakos has some nice boobs back in her day!
Manny:
You just couldn´t help yourself, could you?
Paige:
Do you want the address to the website or not?
Manny:
Of course, I do! It was only soft-core, right? I´m not all of a sudden gonna get an "Ah, shut it off!" moment?
Marco:
Except for the nudity, what I saw was pretty innocent.
Craig:
You too?
Marco:
I saw five times more naked man butt, than I did boobs! Oh, to think of the many sexually repressed boys of the 80´s, who had to sit through those few seconds of boobs to get to what they really wanted to see!
Craig:
And all those straight boys who sat there, weiner in hand, ready to jack it the moment a flash of a boob appeared!
Paige and Manny shake their heads at them.
Manny:
Aren´t you glad, we didn´t have to live through that?
Paige:
As much as that both scared and amused me, I´m more glad than anything, that I´m not Hatzilakos. How can she keep her job after this? No one will respect her again.
Marco:
Because she got naked in some low budget movie 20 years ago? So what?
Craig:
Don´t underestimate the power of the "Morality Police". You know, the ones who keep insisting to never to have done anything wrong in their entire lives, even though all the rest of us know, they´re full of it!
Paige:
I know what I would be calling them right about now, if I was her! Plus, can you imagine what this is doing to her son, who has to face his class mates? There won´t be any winners in this one!
Paige clearly feels sorry for them.
3. Int. Hallway. Morning.
Peter is coming up the hallway with Mia by his side and holding his hand. He clearly isn´t looking forward to what´s ahead.
Peter:
You wouldn´t happen to know of a hole close to here, I can crawl into and possibly live in for the next year, until this dies down?
Mia:
The only way to deal with it is head on.
Peter:
What makes you an expert?
Mia:
After I broke up with my ex, there were some of his friends, who decided to get even by bullying me. You don´t want to end up acting out, the way I did.
Peter:
What did you do?
Mia:
I´ll tell you some other time. Right now, let´s focus on getting you through this day.
Peter:
I´m sure it´ll be one to remember, for all the wrong reasons!
They head off to class with him being less than enthusiastic.
4. Int. Classroom. Morning.
Peter and Mia come into the classroom and right away, a pair of boys come up to him.
Mia:
Don´t let them get to you!
Bully #1:
We saw your mom´s Oscar entry from the 80´s.
Bully #2:
How does it feel to know that the entire school has seen her tits?
Peter:
I could see your mom´s, if I went down to the closest strip club! The thing is, I´ll never be that desperate!
Mia looks proud of him, but it only makes the bullies angrier.
Bully #2:
You´re dead, pretty boy! After school I´m gonna ...
Mia:
You´re not gonna do anything, you moron! Leave us alone!
Derek and Danny rush to diffuse the situation.
Danny:
Enough! You heard the girl!
Bully #1:
Why should I do what some little slut tells me to?
Derek:
Look, this is getting out of hand ...
Miss Kwan comes in and sees what´s going on.
Kwan:
What´s happening here?
Peter:
Nothing.
Bully #2:
Yeah, Miss Kwan, it´s like he said.
Kwan:
Then get back to your seats. We have a lot of work to do, if you´re gonna be ready for mid-terms.
The bullies go to sit down. Danny and Derek look concerned about Peter.
Danny:
You probably shouldn´t walk the streets alone for a while.
Kwan:
Boys, I don´t like repeating myself!
Derek:
Sorry, Miss Kwan.
Danny and Derek take their seats next to each other, while Peter sits with Mia. He makes eyes contact with one of the bullies, who makes a slit throat gesture at him. Peter defiantly gives him the middle finger.
5. Int. Hallway. Day.
Manny is by the vending machine, trying to make up her mind on what to buy. JT sees it and comes over to her.
JT:
What´s the lady in the mood for today? That´s the big question!
Manny:
It´s a problem.
JT:
I can see that. Let´s split it into general categories, then we can narrow it down.
Manny:
Alright. Let´s start with healthy or unhealthy.
JT:
I´m not the guy to ask. Un-healthy is many and O in the competition between those two, in the fight over my snack needs.
Manny:
The problem is that on one hand I have this voice in my head, I call her Emma. She always tells me to eat healthy and I know that what she says makes perfect sense!
JT:
But you don´t want to give in without a fight?
Manny:
Which is insane, because she´s not even here.
JT:
That´s just you.
Manny looks a little annoyed with him.
Manny:
What´s that supposed to mean? Am I bossy?
JT:
No, but at the same time, you like having your way and when you don´t get it ...
Manny:
Then what? Say it, JT!
JT:
You become hard to say no to!
Manny:
What you´re basically saying, is I´m a manipulative shrew, is that it?
A freshman girl comes up and stands in line behind them.
Girl:
Is this gonna take you guys long, because I have to get to class?
Manny stares her down so angrily, that it´s even freaking JT out.
Girl:
I´ll find a different vending machine, if that´s okay?
Manny nods and she heads up the hallway in a hurry, We follow her for a brief while.
Girl:
Damn, she was scary!
We cut back to JT and Manny, who´s trying to cool down.
JT:
What´s really the problem here?
Manny:
It´s come to my attention, that I might have been using my power of persuasion on Craig too much.
JT:
He finally found out that he´s whipped, huh? Took him long enough!
Manny:
I don´t want to be the kind of girl, who does that, but he makes it so easy, that I can´t help myself! This morning he asked me for one little favor and even though it was a very reasonable request, my immediate instinct was still to say no. When I asked myself why I reacted that way, I couldn´t come up with a reason why. You can be honest with me. Am I going crazy?
JT:
Not more than the average person. You reacted that way, because you didn´t want to lose the power, you have over him. It doesn´t take a genius to figure out!
Manny:
Thanks for making me sound like a bitch from hell! What happened to make me that way?
JT:
I´m sure, there´s a bunch of psychiatrists who will tell you that it has to do with your domineering father, who you still feel the need to rebel against, especially now that he´s cut you out of his life, but what do I know?
Manny:
That sounds right on the money, now that you say it! It all comes down to daddy issues!
JT:
Name me one girl here, who doesn´t have a ton of those! I assure you, that you´re perfectly normal.
She looks happy, that he could help her.
Manny:
Thanks. It never hurts to hear.
JT:
Don´t mention it. Just don´t take it as relationship advice, because I think it´s been determined, that I don´t have a clue, when it comes to those!
Manny:
Stop saying that. Any girl would be lucky to have you as her boyfriend. Paige is just too wrapped up in her own ego, to see what she´s lost.
She looks at him in a way, that easily could be seen as semi-flirting to the casual observer and he can´t hide, that he likes it. His shy reaction to it seems to please her and she has to stop herself from smiling.
JT:
Have you figured out whether you´re going with healthy or unhealthy?
Manny:
I´m getting a bag of gummy bears. Emma doesn´t have to know everything!
JT:
That´s our Manny, folks!
She smiles at his silliness, as she puts coins in the machine.
6. Int. Shop Class. Day.
Sean and Craig are working on a car together. Other students are busy too, while the teacher keeps an eye on them. Sean looks pleased, when he sees what´s wrong.
Sean:
Look at that little fella down there. He´s the one causing all the ruckus.
He points it out to Craig, who tries to look interested.
Craig:
Oh, I see.
Sean:
Let me guess. You have no idea what it´s called, do you?
Craig:
It´s either a "What-Is-It" or a "Thing-A-Ma-Jic".
Sean:
You would have been flunking this class hard, if it wasn´t for me!
Craig:
I´d call that a safe bet.
Sean:
Hand me the socket wrench.
Craig looks confused and holds up one wrench. Sean shakes his head at him.
Sean:
It´s the one next to it! Did you leave your brain at home?
Craig hands Sean the right one and Sean gets to work.
Craig:
I have a million things on my mind. School keeps getting pushed further down the list.
Sean:
I know how you feel. It´s crazy to think that I´ll be joining the daddy ranks with you and the rest of them in a month or so.
Craig:
Would you characterize your relationship with Emma as being even?
Sean:
Even how?
Craig:
Like, do you always do what she wants to do?
Sean:
She´s close to eight months pregnant. It seriously limits what we can do!
Craig:
What about before she got pregnant?
Sean:
No, I´d say it was split pretty evenly, when it became an issue.
Craig:
If she asks you to do something for her, do you always do it?
Sean:
Not always, but I do most of the time. I tell ya, that girl gets some weird ideas!
Craig:
Does she do the same for you?
Sean stops working and looks up at him.
Sean:
Since when are we playing 20 questions?
Craig:
How do you see me and Manny as a couple?
Sean:
I don´t know. You´re just you and Manny, I guess.
Craig:
You don´t think of me as being pussy whipped, do you?
Sean tries not to laugh, making Craig annoyed.
Craig:
So it is true?
Sean:
In a big way, buddy. If she says jump, you ask how high!
Craig:
It wasn´t like this in the beginning.
Sean:
It´s what you get for always being the nice guy. Sometimes you have to do or say something, that someone else won´t like or the alternative could be worse. You have to keep telling yourself, that it will work out for the best.
Craig:
There´s only one problem. This is Manny, we´re talking about. You know, the girl who gave up everything to be with me?
Sean:
And the girl you´ve been working tirelessly day and night to keep satisfied. If you ask me, that debt was repaid a long time ago. Either you start standing up for yourself, or it´ll be too late, when you finally find the guts to.
Craig considers it, as Sean gets back to work on the car.
7. Int. Hallway. Day.
Mia is talking to Chantay and Darcy:
Darcy:
I heard that they threatened to kill him!
Chantay:
That isn´t true, is it? Because if it is, then I´m staying clear of Peter for a while, just to be safe.
Mia:
It wasn´t that crazy at all! They were being jerks, he stood up to them and then miss Kwan came in. Nothing more happened. To tell you the truth, I couldn´t be prouder of him, than I am right now!
Darcy:
That´s all well and good, but this is the real world and Peter isn´t exactly a big guy. He won´t stand a chance, if it´s two on one.
Peter comes down the hallway with Derek and Danny and comes over to them.
Peter:
What are we discussing here? The Olympics, the world economy ...
Chantay:
How can you be this calm? I would have asked for police protection!
Mia:
Peter knows that bullies like them are all bark and no bite.
Peter:
I´ve dealt with guys like them before.
Derek:
If they try anything, then they´ll have us to deal with!
The girls try not to laugh, as him and Danny try to look tough.
Peter:
Wait here for me. I have urgent business to attend to.
Danny:
I can come with you, if you want.
Peter:
I have two hands, so I can hold it on my own, thank you!
He smiles as he leaves them. Darcy and Chantay look at Mia.
Mia:
What? I haven´t seen it yet! Darcy, you got further with him, than I have.
Darcy:
Not that far! Now I can´t stop thinking about it.
Chantay:
You guys must have seen it in the shower. How big is it?
Derek:
We´re not discussing the size of our friend´s junk, so lay off it.
Chantay and Darcy are clearly still keen on knowing.
8. Int. Boy´s Room. Day.
Peter comes in, passing a kid on the way out.
Peter:
Privacy, while you take a wiz. Isn´t that a crazy concept?
He steps up to the urinal and we can hear him unzip his pants. We can also hear the door opening and the sound of at least one person come in. Peter whistles to himself, as he finishes urinating and zips up his pants. He´s barely turned around, when he´s hit with a fist right on his jaw and he goes down.
9. Int. Hallway. Day.
Peter´s friends are still waiting for him. Chantay has her hands around two inches apart.
Derek:
That looks about right!
Chantay:
Damn! I would have though a big guy like that would have a huge ...
Mia:
Where´s Peter? We´ll be late for class at this rate.
Danny:
He´s probably taking a ... well, you know!
Darcy:
Eww! I didn´t need that mental picture!
Mia:
Tell him, I´ll see him in class. I can´t be late again.
Derek:
Will do!
The girls leave them and they look at each other.
Danny:
This won´t be pleasant.
Derek:
All for one and one for all!
They fist bump on it and head to the bathroom.
10. Int. Boy´s Room. Day.
Danny and Derek come in to find Peter on the floor, bleeding from his lip and holding his ribs. They rush to his aid.
Danny:
Did those goons do this?
Peter:
I never saw them, but who else could it be?
Derek:
We have to get you to the school nurse. Can you walk?
Peter:
I can try, if you´ll help me up.
His friends do, but it makes him grimace in pain.
11. Int. Nurse´s Office. Day.
Peter has his shirt off and we can see, that he´s black and blue all the way up his left side. The nurse and his mom are there with him.
Nurse:
I can say for certain, that you´ve broken several ribs, but you´ll need an scan, before we know the full extend of your injuries. I´ll call the hospital, so we can get you there ASAP.
Hatzilakos:
I´ll drive him. He´s my son and he isn´t waiting any longer, than he has to!
Nurse:
Try to keep as still as possible. I´ll be back in a minute with some painkillers, to hopefully take the top off.
The nurse leaves them.
Hatzilakos:
Did you know them?
Peter:
I never got a clear view. I turned around and got hit in the face and after that, all I remember is trying to protect myself, while they kicked the daylights out of me. After they apparently were satisfied, they ran away.
Hatzilakos:
There must have been a reason for it.
Peter:
It was probably these two boys I have English with. I can´t prove it, so let´s just try to move on.
Hatzilakos:
Did you have some sort of run in with them? Tell me the truth.
Peter:
They said some things about you and I gave them a smart ass answer. I didn´t think, they would do this.
Hatzilakos looks frustrated.
Hatzilakos:
I guess, we have to find ourselves a new school.
Peter:
I´m not letting them bully me out of here and neither should you! This is the first school I´ve gone to, that I actually liked and I´ll be damned, if I´m letting those two take it away from me!
Hatzilakos:
What if it happens again?
Peter:
It won´t. Mom, I don´t need you to explain to me, why you did that movie. I´m sure you were young, had no money and thought, that no one besides maybe a few people at some porn cinema would ever know.
Hatzilakos:
That more or less sums it up. I never would have imagined, that my future son would get beat up over of it, twenty years later. There´s more than a few school board members, who want me fired. If it happens, then we´ll probably have to move again.
Peter:
Then we have make sure, it won´t.
She looks proud of him for standing up for his convictions.
12. Int. Manny and Craig´s House. Day.
Manny comes home to find Craig desperately looking around the living room.
Manny:
I thought, we were walking home together.
Craig:
Sorry, it must have slipped my mind. I have a meeting with Chris to discuss which songs to record for my demo. You haven´t seen my guitar tuner, have you?
Manny:
What does it look like?
Craig:
It´s a small, rectangular box. I know, it has to be here!
Manny:
Not that I remember, sorry.
He starts looking between the seat cushions, as she walks over to him.
Manny:
Look, I´ve been doing ton of thinking about us today and you´re right. I need to let you have more of a say in our lives together.
Craig stops looking and looks pleased.
Craig:
You´re not just saying that and tomorrow, it´s back to the same?
Manny:
I can only promise you, that I´ll try. If I become bossy, then let me know, okay? That isn´t who, I want to be.
Craig:
Does this mean, I can record the song?
Manny:
Do you promise to remove all references to me, so that everyone and by that I mean my friends and family, won´t know that it´s about me?
Craig:
That can be arranged.
Manny:
Then you have my blessing. I love you and if I´ve been manipulative or anything like that, then I´m very sorry. I didn´t mean to be that way.
Craig:
I love you too, Manny.
They kiss and as they do, we hear Manny´s thoughts.
Young JT (in her mind):
How would you feel, if we made each other a promise?
Young Manny (in her mind):
What kind of promise?
She kisses Craig even more passionately, than she usually would to remove her guilt over thinking about JT at this moment. Or it could just be that she´s imagining, she´s kissing JT in stead of Craig.
CLOSING CREDITS