WHAT IF? - SEASON 2 EPISODE 14 - CONTROVERSY PART 2
Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.
1. Int. Recording Studio. Day.
Craig is recording his demo in a professional recording studio and is clearly enjoying every moment of it, like he´s finally in the environment he was supposed to be in all the time. Both the producer and Chris are liking what they hear. Craig sees someone else come into the control room and he shakes hands with Chris. Craig tries not to be thrown off by it, as he continues playing and singing.
2. Int. Control Room. Day.
Craig comes into the control room, looking hopeful.
Craig:
How was that?
Producer:
You nailed it!
Craig looks pleased.
Chris:
Craig, this is my friend Stevie. He´s a DJ at K-TOR 98.6.
Craig shakes hands with Stevie, who seems like a pleasant enough guy.
Craig:
It´s nice to meet you, Stevie.
Stevie:
Same here. Have you heard of a show I do every Friday called "Fresh from the press"?
Craig:
No, I´m usually out playing gigs on Fridays. Sorry.
Stevie and Chris smile at each other.
Stevie:
He´s just like you said.
Craig:
Hopefully, that´s not a bad thing!
Stevie:
Not at all. On that show, we feature new artists, who we feel deserve the chance to be heard by larger audience. It´s turned out to be a hit and I think you´d be perfect, to be one of our featured artists. We do a short interview and you play us a couple of your songs. What do you think?
Chris:
You´ll be heard by upwards of fifty thousand people! Bookers will be banging my door down, to get you to play at their venues.
Craig:
It sounds amazing!
Stevie:
I´d like to hear the songs you´re playing first, of course.
Craig:
I could play "Dark Times". That´s a good one. Or "Gone in a second".
Chris:
Those are the two most depressing songs, you have! We´re trying to bring people in, not chase them off with mental images of your dead dad!
Stevie:
I love a great serious song as much as the next guy, but songs like that tend to chase off the middle of the road audience. if you have something light and fluffy, that would be better to lead off with. Like a poppy love song, for example. Something that everyone can relate to and not have to think too hard about.
Chris:
There´s "Thong Girl, Right Girl". I tell you, the girls are gonna love it!
Stevie:
I love that title already! Can you play it for us?
Craig:
Sure.
He starts strumming and they seem to like what they hear, to his joy.
OPENING CREDITS
3. Int. Classroom. Morning.
Mia comes in, looking quite uncomfortable, since she can see plenty of kids whispering about her. She sits down next to Chantay, who stares her down.
Chantay:
Should I be running right now?
Mia:
I guess, everyone read that article on TMZ!
Chantay:
You were in a girl gang and got arrested for assaulting someone?
Mia:
That´s the basics of it. Look, the crowd I hung with at my old school was a rough one, really tough girls, who didn´t take BS from anyone!
Chantay:
I bet!
Mia:
There was this girl and she´d slept with the boyfriend of one of our crew members, so we decided to teach her a lesson. For what it´s worth, I only slapped her a few times. I ran away, when I found out what they were really planning, so I didn´t take part in the worst of the punishment.
Chantay:
Was what they wrote true?
Mia nods and Chantay winces.
Chantay:
Man! That poor girl!
Mia:
I thought, if I moved here, then I could get away from that life and leave it behind me. Chantay, please believe me, when I tell you that this girl sitting in front of you, that´s the real Mia. I´m not some psycho and I would never dream of doing anything to hurt you or Darcy.
Chantay:
What about everyone else?
Mia:
If they have it coming, then they deserve what they get!
Chantay looks horrified, but Mia smiles at her.
Mia:
I´m kidding! I don´t have it in me to hurt a fly! Are we still friends?
Chantay:
I guess so. If we tell Darcy, the way you just told me, then she´ll be okay with it too.
The girls smile at each other.
Hatzilakos (over the PA):
Mia Jones. Please come to the principal´s office.
Mia:
I don´t need three guesses to guess, what this is about!
Chantay:
Good luck. I´ll save your seat for you.
Mia and Chantay both look glad to have gotten it out of the way, as Mia leaves her.
4. Int. Principal´s Office. Morning.
Mia is seated across from Hatzilakos and is reading a piece of paper.
Mia:
You´d have to be a lawyer to understand this!
Hatzilakos:
That´s the idea. It basically says that you won´t sue the school, in light of recent events.
Mia:
Sue them? As is my mom could afford a lawyer!
Hatzilakos:
I´m sure you could find one, who would take the case pro bono, just for the free publicity. It´s none of your fault, that your past has been exposed to the entire school, just because you happen to date the principal´s son. You could sue TMZ, but I´m sure they have an army of lawyers, who specialize in these kinds of cases.
Mia:
I don´t know. I came here to start fresh and just be another kid here.
Hatzilakos:
You probably won´t make more than a few thousand on it either.
Mia:
Maybe I should sign this and get it out of the world.
Hatzilakos:
There is another route, you could take, that will end it almost as quickly.
Mia looks intrigued.
5. Int. Degrassi TV Studio. Day.
Craig is doing publicity for his radio appearance on Degrassi TV, where he´s being interviewed by Liberty.
Liberty:
Aren´t you excited? I would be bursting at the seams, if it were me!
Craig:
If you´d told me a month ago, that I would be where I am now, I probably would have called you crazy! Every day it feels like I´m getting closer to achieving my dream, so yes, it´s very exciting!
Liberty:
Sadly, we don´t have the airtime to hear Craig play, so you´ll have to tune in tonight. I know that I will. Any last message for our viewers, Craig?
Craig:
Just remember to tune in to 98.6 FM at eight o´clock!
Liberty:
That´s it for this week´s Degrassi TV. Have a great weekend!
Kendra turns the camera off and Craig looks pleased with how it went.
6. Int. Classroom. Day.
Manny is watching it with JT sitting next to her. She looks sad, which he immediately picks up on.
JT:
What is it?
Manny:
Not even a "Hi, Manny", just "Here´s where you can hear me!". It´s like I don´t matter to him anymore.
JT:
I´m sure, he meant to and forgot.
Manny:
You don´t have to make excuses for him. He does that fine enough by himself.
JT:
I know, it´s none of my business, but you need to talk to him about this.
Manny:
I´ve tried, but I felt like I was trying to crush his dream.
JT:
Shouldn´t his dreams mainly concern you and Julia?
She silently agrees with him. They sneak their way to slightly touching each other´s fingers and it seems to calm her. Toby, who´s sitting at a table close to them, sees it and doesn´t exactly look approving.
7. Int. Hallway. Day.
JT is heading down the hallway, while whistling the song "Get Happy" to himself. He reaches his next classroom to find Toby outside, waiting for him.
Toby:
We need to talk. Now!
JT:
What´s with the drama? It´s a glorious day! Enjoy it!
Toby:
That depends on how you look at it.
He drags JT away, so they can talk in private.
Toby:
What´s up with you and a certain girl, whose name starts with an M?
JT:
M? Oh, you mean my cousin Mary! She´s doing fine, now that she´s had those kidney stones pulverized. I´ll be sure to let her know, that you send your well wishes!
Toby:
Can we be serious for a second? You´re gonna get burnt!
JT:
How do you know?
Toby:
We´ve known each other for what, four years now, close to five?
JT:
Something like that.
Toby:
That whole time, it´s like you´ve had this silent, un-spoken crush on her. I saw first hand what it did to you, when she turned you down a few years ago, so don´t say, I´m making it up.
JT:
I´ve moved on and if you haven´t noticed, she has a kid with someone else!
Toby:
Look me in the eyes and tell me, you don´t wish, that guy was you.
JT looks him in the eyes.
JT:
I ... okay, so I wish it was me! What´s the big deal?
Toby:
The big deal is that a little girl will get caught in the middle, if you two hook up. I´ve seen how you´ve been talking more and more and the innocent "incidental" touching, you don´t think anyone sees. That usually leads to not so innocent touching!
JT:
I can handle it, okay? I don´t need you to control my life!
Toby:
Take it as a warning. You can´t win in this scenario, JT.
JT:
Yes I will, because nothing more than what´s happened so far, will happen! You can take my word for it!
He heads into the classroom and Toby looks worried about him. Manny, who´s looking a little more cheerful, comes over to him.
Manny:
Haven´t you gone here long enough to figure out, that classes take place inside the classrooms, Tobes?
Toby:
Manny! You scared me!
Manny:
What could possibly be scary about me?
She heads into the classroom.
Toby (to himself):
I can think of plenty of things!
He follows her into the classroom.
8. Int. Hallway. Day.
Craig is doing advertising by walking around with a sign that says "Hear me tonight on 98.6 FM". It´s certainly getting a lot of attention from his fellow students, which is exactly what he wanted. Manny comes over to him with a smile on her face.
Manny:
Is this is what they call "Guerilla Advertising"?
Craig:
They can call it what they want, I call it working like a charm! Anyway, what does it have to do with gorillas?
Manny:
Gue-rilla, not go-rilla!
She sees that he doesn´t get it and gives up.
Manny:
I explain it some other time. Do you know which songs you´re playing?
Craig:
"Thong Girl, Right Girl" and "Satin Sheets".
Manny doesn´t look too pleased.
Manny:
The two sexiest songs you have.
Craig:
I wanted to do one of the serious ones, but they´re the experts. If fluffy pop will get them to listen to the rest, then I´ll give them all the fluffy pop they want!
Manny:
It´s not that. I don´t like the thought of all those girls, who will be picturing themselves with you.
Craig:
You´re cute, when you get jealous!
Manny:
I´m not!
Craig:
What else would you call it?
Manny:
A concern. It won´t be long, until you´ll have girls throwing themselves at you. Ones who are prettier than me and haven´t gone through child birth. Considering that you can´t say no to anyone, when they ask you for something, you can´t blame me for being concerned.
Craig:
Do you want me to give this up and go back to waiting tables?
Manny:
Of course not! Forget I said anything, okay? Don´t let my stupid insecurity get in your way.
Craig:
Manny, I want to make it to the top, but it wouldn´t mean anything without you and Julia by my side. The three of us are more than a family, we´re a team!
Manny looks a little more re-assured, but it´s still clearly lingering with her.
9. Int. Peter´s Room. Day.
Peter, who´s still got his ribs taped up, is lying on his bed and being tended to by Mia, who´s very gentle with him.
Peter:
Remind me to thank my mom, for giving you the rest of the day off.
Mia:
It wasn´t hard to persuade her.
He smiles at her.
Peter:
You sneaky girl! Come here!
She moves in to kiss, but he has to give it up due to the pain.
Peter:
Sorry.
Mia:
Do you want me to get you your painkillers?
Peter:
A kiss from a pretty girl will do, as long as I don´t have to move too much.
Mia:
Where will do you expect me to find a pretty girl, at such short notice? Oh, you meant me!
Peter:
Bingo!
She moves around so that she can kiss him, without him moving and then snuggles up next to him on his good side.
Mia:
Is this okay?
Peter:
It´s better than it was before. Is everyone scared of you now?
Mia:
A pair of freshman girls ran the other way, when they saw me coming.
Peter:
You´ll have to show them, who you are.
Mia:
And who´s that?
Peter:
A fantastic girl, who I´m falling more in love with every day.
She can´t help smiling.
Mia:
Most guys would have run away, when they found out something like this.
Peter:
I´m not like most guys. Plus, with my rap sheet, I can´t claim that I was a saint!
Mia:
What could you possibly have done?
Peter:
I was a bad boy, before I met you.
Mia:
No, you weren´t!
Peter:
I ran a highly illegal bookie business, for one thing.
Mia:
Okay, that gives you a little street cred! What else?
Peter:
When I was a kid, it was dumb stuff like vandalism. My parents, back when they were still together, send me to a child therapist. He told them that I had sociopathic tendencies and a few weeks later, they separated. I can´t help thinking, that it had something to do with me.
Mia:
That sucks. Sometimes I´m glad, I´ve never met my dad.
Peter:
The worst thing I did was to a girl, who turned me down for a date. She wasn´t exactly nice about it, so I started a hate campaign against her, like really nasty stuff, that I´m in no way proud of! I just hated her so much, that in my sick mind, it was justified.
Mia looks surprised, but understanding.
Mia:
How did it end?
Peter:
She had to switch schools. Afterwards, a silent agreement was made between my mom and the school board, that I would switch schools too and the whole thing would be swept under the rug. A handsome bribe from my parents helped.
Mia:
Is that how she got the job at Degrassi?
Peter:
Probably. But before I came here, they sent me to a private school for boys up north. I hated it, so I got myself kicked out again.
She gives him a "Please tell me" look and he quickly gives in.
Peter:
I set fire to the principal´s office. Desperate times call for desperate measures!
Mia:
So, compared to you, I´m the saint in this room?
Peter:
I wouldn´t go that far! Do I scare you now?
Mia:
Do I scare you?
Peter:
No.
Mia:
Then you don´t scare me either.
They smile at each other.
Peter:
What happens now?
Mia:
Your mom said that I could probably have a few reasonable demands swept under the rug, as you call it, if I sign that piece of paper. The first is that she keeps her job, of course. I´m not letting you move away!
Peter:
Well, that´s a relief! What else did you ask for?
Mia:
A big favor for a dear old friend of mine.
Mia smiles to herself.
10. Int. The Dot. Evening.
Jane looks ecstatic at the news, Mia just gave her.
Jane:
Yes! School hasn´t been near the same without you!
Mia:
She said that you can start next week.
Jane:
How? My mom put in a request years ago, but she never got a reply.
Mia:
It helps to know the right people.
Jane:
How do you know them?
Mia:
You have so much to catch up on! First of all, this is by far the coolest after school hang out spot!
Spinner comes over to them in his work uniform.
Spinner:
Thanks for the free advertising!
Mia:
This is Spinner. He works here and plays drums in a band with my friend Darcy.
Jane:
Cool name!
Spinner:
My real name is Gavin, but the only ones who call me that are my doctor and my dentist.
Jane:
I don´t have a cool nick name. I just go by Jane.
Spinner:
What´s wrong with that? It´s a nice name.
The two of them shake hands and somehow instantly seem to be connecting.
Mia:
Jane will be starting at Degrassi next week.
Spinner:
Will she now?
Jane:
I´m super excited! My soon to be old school is kind of a nightmare!
Mia:
She´s not kidding!
Spinner:
You´ll fit in at Degrassi in no time. You already know two people there!
Jane:
I´m sure, I will too.
Jane smiles to herself and Mia is happy, that she could do this for her.
11. Int. Manny and Craig´s House. Evening.
Everyone in the house is making a night out of hearing Craig on the radio and the one who´s enjoying it the most is Angie, who´s totally hyper!
Joey:
Angie, sit down.
Angie:
I don´t wanna. I wanna play.
Caitlin:
I´ll put a candy bar in with your lunch on Monday, if you settle down.
Angie seems torn, but agrees with herself that the promise of a candy bar is worth it and sits down. The doorbell rings.
Caitlin:
It can´t be the press already.
Manny:
I´ll find out.
She walks out to the front door and opens it. It´s JT. She´s happy to see him.
JT:
I was sitting at home being bored and this thought came into my head.
Manny:
A thought? I´ll alert the media!
JT:
I was surprised too, believe me.
Manny:
What was this thought, then?
JT:
That I´d rather be with you, than without you.
He gages her reaction and is happy to see, that she doesn´t in any way look dismissive of him.
Manny:
You know that it´s complicated.
JT:
I felt like, you had to know where I stand. We´ve known each other for too long, to be playing these games.
Manny:
We´re making a family night of hearing Craig on the radio. I´m sure they´ll be okay with you joining us, if you agree to keep Angie entertained.
JT:
No problem! Kids are easy.
Manny:
It´s when those kids grow up, that the problems begin. Come in.
He does and they smile flirtingly at each other, before she closes the door.
They come back into the living room, where he´s immediately greeted by a hug from Angie.
Angie:
JT, you have to play with me!
JT:
Sure! What do you want to play?
Angie:
First I have to show you a new toy, I got.
JT:
Run and get it.
She does and Joey and Caitlin are happy to see him.
Joey:
You couldn´t think of anything better to do on a Friday?
JT:
What´s beats being in the company of good people?
Manny:
You don´t mind, do you? I can´t bare the thought of poor little JT here, at home and bored by himself!
Caitlin:
If you can keep Angie entertained, then you´re more than welcome! She´s been like this all day!
Angie comes back in with her new toy, looking excited. JT sits down on the floor, so they can play together in eye height.
Manny:
Turn it up. It´s time.
Joey does so.
Stevie (voice over):
Welcome back to "Fresh of the press", that was "Followers of Yan" and their song "All Those Episodes". Here with me in the studio is a young man, whose name you´ll all be familiar with sooner rather than later. Craig Manning.
12. Int. Radio Studio. Evening.
Craig is sitting in a studio by himself, while Stevie is in the DJ booth. He has his guitar with him.
Stevie:
He´s only 17, but he´s been playing the scene here in Toronto for a while now. How are you doing, Craig?
Craig:
A little nervous, but alright.
Stevie:
I know that this is your first radio interview. Do you want to say hi to your friends, before we get started?
Craig:
A big shout out to my crew at Degrassi and of course to my girlfriend and my family, who I know are listening right now.
Stevie:
A girlfriend, huh? Is she pretty?
Craig:
She´s as pretty, as they come, Stevie.
13. Int. Manny and Craig´s House. Evening.
We see that Manny looks a little embarrassed, that he called her pretty on the radio. JT finds it adorable, that she´s almost blushing.
Stevie (voice over):
That´s great. First we´re gonna hear a song from you, live here in the studio. It has quite an unusual title. Can you tell us about that?
Craig (voice over):
It´s called "Thong Girl, Right Girl".
Stevie (voice over):
Is is about your girlfriend?
Craig (voice over):
No, it´s about some girl, I made up.
JT (coughing into his hand):
Yeah, right!
Manny glares at him for teasing her.
Angie:
Gesundheit.
Caitlin:
That´s for when someone sneezes, Honey.
Angie:
How do you keep track of all that?
JT:
There´s a few tricks, I know. I can show them to you.
It doesn´t escape his eye, that Manny loves seeing him being a good parent.
Joey:
Quiet! I want to hear Craig sing.
The music starts playing and it sounds pretty good!
Craig (singing):
When you came in, only wearing that thong
I knew, I had to write you a song
Manny´s face turns bright red, as Joey and Caitlin stare at her. JT tries hard not to laugh.
14. Int. Radio Studio. Evening.
Craig sits alone and plays in the Radio Studio, which is very telling of his and Manny´s current situation.
Craig:
I knew you were the perfect girl, right when we met
Now that I know you, I don´t want no one else in stead
You´re my thong girl, you´re the right girl
Nothing else means a thing
You´re my thong girl, you´re the right girl
You´re the one that makes me wanna sing
CLOSING CREDITS