WHAT IF? - SEASON 2 EPISODE 36 - MAN IN THE MIRROR PART 2
Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.
Just a quick note here, as to why this episode was a little late. I´m currently sick with Covid (for the second time and despite being vaccinated, so whoopee!) and I haven´t been able to do much of anything these past days. If you want to help cheer me up during these extremely sucky times, do your boy here a solid and leave a comment or review.
1. Int. Lexy´s Apartment. Morning.
Rick wakes up with Lexy lying next to him. She smiles at him.
Lexy:
You must have needed the sleep. You´ve been out for over ten hours.
Rick:
So it did happen. I was hoping, that I dreamt it.
Lexy looks disappointed.
Rick:
Not that! That was ... the best thing, that´s happened to me in ages. I meant the other thing.
Lexy:
Can you handle bad news right after you´ve woken up?
Rick braces himself.
Rick:
Is he dead?
Lexy:
He´s in a coma. It´s all over the news sites.
Rick:
God!
He tries to take it in, but it hits him hard.
Rick:
You shouldn´t be anywhere near me. No one should.
Lexy:
I don´t agree with that. You probably saved me from getting beat up or raped.
Rick:
Why were those guys after you?
Lexy:
I´m an easy victim. The kind, guys like that prey on.
Rick:
That´s not the way, it should be.
Lexy:
It´s the way it is. You shouldn´t feel sorry for him.
Rick:
I can´t help it. Lexy, I have to tell you something.
Lexy:
Rick, I´m not expecting anything from you. You´ve already done more from me, than most people in my life ever have.
Rick:
What about your parents?
She holds two fingers up around half an inch from each other.
Lexy:
My mom loves me this much.
Rick:
Your dad?
She narrows the gap to half the size.
Lexy:
Don´t feel sorry for me. I don´t want to be seen as a charity case.
Rick:
Where´s Red?
Lexy:
He left, before I woke up. I guess, he was feeling like a 5th wheel.
Rick gets out of bed and starts getting dressed.
Rick:
I have to find him.
Lexy:
Do you have any idea where to begin?
Rick:
One. There´s a pretty good chance, though.
Lexy:
I´ll come. You don´t have to be alone, Rick. Maybe the rest of the world can´t see it, but I can feel how special you are.
She smiles at him.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Ext. Street. Day.
Red is begging on the streets, like he usually does. A woman puts a few coins in his paper cup and he looks grateful.
Red:
Bless you, madam.
She smiles sadly at him, before moving on. Rick and Lexy come over to him, but he looks away from them.
Rick:
Can we talk?
Red:
If you get rid of the female presence among us, we can.
Rick looks pleadingly at Lexy.
Lexy:
It´s okay. I´ll get us something to eat from that supermarket over there.
She points it out to him and walks over there. Red finally makes eye contact with Rick.
Red:
You can´t trust girls like her. She´ll lie her ass off, if that´s what it takes to get by.
Rick:
Can you blame her? One day in this hell hole and I´m already wishing, I was anywhere else.
Red:
Join the club! Are you gonna turn yourself in?
Rick:
And go back to the mental hospital or to jail? It´s not a pleasant alternative, even compared to this.
Red:
They´ll go easier on you, because you´re a minor. Although, it´s not the first time it´s happened, is it?
Rick shakes his head.
Red:
You still haven´t told me, who Terri is.
Rick:
Until last night, she was the worst mistake of my life.
He thinks about her and looks sad.
3. Int. Classroom. Day.
The "Rick Search Committee" is in session, with Toby and Darcy leading it. Many of those who know Rick and even some who don´t, have shown up to help. Among them are Chantay, Terri, Paige and Spinner. Hatzilakos is also there.
Toby:
Here´s what we know so far. Last night at around ten o´clock, a girl was assaulted by two men in a park in Hamilton. Two other men rushed to help her and one of them severely beat up one of the assailants. He´s had to be put into a coma.
Darcy:
Based on an eye witness account, the police believe, that the one who beat him up was Rick. They´ll arrest him, if they find him, but we all know how hard it is to find someone, who doesn´t want to be found.
A hush goes over the shocked attendees. Some whisper among themselves.
Toby:
You can think of Rick as a hero or a villain, but the sad fact is that it will happen again, if he doesn´t get his medication. Without it, he´s like a ticking time bomb, that´s just waiting to go off.
Darcy:
Which is why it´s imperative, that we find him as soon as possible. Time is working against us and every second could count. Miss Hatzilakos, you had something to say?
Hatzilakos:
Thank you, Darcy. I´m sure, it would warm Rick´s heart, if he saw how many of his peers care about his well being. Since this is an unusual case, to say the least, it´s also the time for unusual measures. This is why I´m allowing anyone, who wishes to join Toby and Darcy in their search for him, the rest of the day off to do so.
Toby:
If you have a car, your help will be most welcome. We can cover a lot more ground on four wheels, than we can on a pair of legs.
Darcy:
Even if you can´t come with us to Hamilton, you can still help by spreading awareness on places like Face Range. The more we are, who are looking for him, the better chance we have of finding him.
She´s trying her best to keep up hope, but it´s obvious to everyone, that she´s on the verge of cracking.
4. Int. Girl´s Room. Day.
Darcy is crying inside one of the stalls, her front falling apart completely. Terri comes in and knocks on the door to it.
Terri:
Darcy?
Darcy wipes her eyes and tries to regain her composure.
Darcy:
Just a moment!
Terri:
I don´t want to rush you, but they´re waiting.
Darcy blows her nose and throws the paper in the toilet, before flushing it. She comes out to Terri, who can see how bad she´s doing.
Terri:
Maybe you shouldn´t go. It´s not like people won´t understand.
Darcy:
I have to. Especially since it´s all my fault.
Terri:
Do you think, you´re the only one, who´s on a major guilt trip right now?
Darcy:
Did any of them lie to him and deceive him for months on end? I have to be the dumbest girl in this entire school, if not in the entire world!
Terri:
We all have things, that we wish, we could change. If I could go back, I wouldn´t have done what I did either. Mental diseases, like the one Rick has, aren´t easy to understand for us normies. If I had tried to support him and not told him to never speak to me again, that could have made a difference too.
Darcy:
It´s not your fault. From what everyone tells me, you´re practically an angel. Not like "Demon Girl" here!
Terri smiles at her and she has to laugh a little at what she said.
Terri:
Blaming ourselves won´t help Rick and that has to be our number one priority. We´ll have plenty of time for self loathing afterwards.
Darcy:
I guess, you´re right.
Terri:
You´re not a demon, Darcy. We´re at an age, where we´re certain to make a mistake here and there. What matters isn´t what you´ve done, it´s what you do to make things right again, that really matters.
Darcy:
Wouldn´t it be nice, if the time machine was invented?
Terri:
If you find one, will you let me know?
Darcy nods and Terri gives her a comforting smile, that helps a little.
5. Int. Car. Day.
Paige is riding with Spinner. The mood between them is somber.
Paige:
Does it feel weird to you too, doing this?
Spinner:
I´m doing this for Terri. It breaks my heart to see her this upset.
Paige:
Me too. If anyone doesn´t deserve it, it´s her.
Spinner:
If we happen to save some poor, unfortunate soul from getting the living daylights beaten out of them, I´ll take it as a bonus.
Paige:
You still don´t like him, do you?
Spinner:
Forgiveness has never been my strong side.
Paige smiles sadly at him.
Paige:
You forgave me, didn´t you?
Spinner:
That was different. You had every reason to get back at that piece of human garbage.
Paige:
I´ve forgiven him. Rick, not Dean. I don´t think, I´ll ever be able to forgive him. But Rick is just a guy, who was unlucky enough to be born with a disease. It isn´t his fault, that he can´t control it.
Spinner:
We don´t all run off, every time we have girl problems. If you ask me, he´s taking the coward´s way out. No disease excuses that.
Paige sees that there´s no reason to argue with him and they drive on in silence.
6. Ext. Park. Day.
Lexy and Rick are just finishing their meager lunch that she got from the supermarket. Her phone rings and she takes it out. It´s a very old model, but it works, at least.
Rick:
Where did you get that phone? The 80´s?
Lexy:
It works, doesn´t it?
She puts it up to her ear.
Lexy:
Hi. Yeah, I can be there in twenty or so. Bye.
She hangs up and puts it away.
Rick:
Where do you have to be?
Lexy:
Work.
Rick:
You work? What do you do?
She makes eye contact with him and looks sad. She doesn´t have to say it, for him to get it.
Lexy:
How else do you think, we could afford this luxury feast?
Rick:
You´re a hooker?
Lexy:
Don´t say it like that. I hate that word.
Rick:
You prefer prostitute?
She stands up and looks disappointed in him.
Lexy:
You´re just like all the rest!
She starts to walk away from him, but he gets up and stops her.
Rick:
I´m not, Lexy. I care about you.
Lexy:
You don´t even know me, Rick. I´m not the girl of anyone´s dreams.
Rick:
If I find a way to help you, will you accept it?
Lexy:
No one can help me, any more than they can save Red from dying of AIDS. I´ll come back here afterwards and if you´re here, great. If you´re not, then I understand.
She gives him a kiss on the cheek and leaves him. He clearly doesn´t like it, but has to accept it.
7. Ext. Street. Day.
Rick comes back to join Red on the street. Red isn´t too surprised to see him.
Red:
She´s off to see a "Customer", isn´t she?
Rick:
You knew?
Red:
We used to hook together, before I found out.
Rick looks shocked.
Red:
Does it shock you, that I´ve had to do it too? I didn´t like it, if that´s what you´re wondering.
Rick:
Is that how you got HIV?
Red nods.
Red:
He seemed like a proper sort of fellow, well dressed and not short on money. When he asked to do it without a condom and offered me a hundred more, I thought what the hell. An extra hundred would keep me fed for a few weeks and I wouldn´t have to beg during that time.
Rick:
Red, I ...
Red:
It´s not your fault, Rick. Just know that if you stay down here, then you´ll end up the same as me and Lexy. Fighting every day to survive, until we die and no one remembers us. One more name on a sad statistic, that those better off prefer to believe, doesn´t exist.
Rick starts to see, that others have much bigger problems, than he does.
8. Int. Car. Day.
Darcy is riding with Chantay, Terri and Toby in Toby´s parent´s car. They reach the sign that says "Welcome to Hamilton".
Toby:
Now we have to find the needle in a haystack.
Terri:
Any ideas on where to start?
Chantay:
Don´t homeless people usually sleep on park benches or places like that?
Darcy:
You think, he´s homeless?
Darcy looks even more depressed and Chantay gives her a comforting hug.
Chantay:
We have to be prepared for every possibility.
Darcy:
I can´t stop thinking about his mom. He´s everything to her.
Toby:
We´ll get him home to her in no time, Darcy. Everything will be okay again.
He makes eye contact with Terri. Both of them want to believe it, but the uncertainty is painted on their faces.
9. Int. Car. Day.
Paige and Spinner are driving through a part of town, where only those who have no other choice come down to. Paige is uncomfortable just looking around at the place.
Paige:
Aren´t you glad, this isn´t a place, you have to live?
Spinner:
You can say that again!
Paige:
Now I feel guilty.
Spinner:
Why?
Paige:
All of my life, I´ve gotten everything I wanted. If I tell my parents, that I need something, they either give me money for it or get it for me. The only time, I´ve ever had to pay for something myself, was when I wrecked your car. Even that was only to teach me a lesson on the value of money.
Spinner:
We aren´t all that lucky. People in a place like this don´t live here, because they want to. It´s because they have no other choice.
Paige:
It beats sleeping on the streets, I suppose.
Spinner:
Only barely.
They see Lexy come running out of a house, crying and with her clothes torn up. Paige is shocked at the sight.
Paige:
Stop, Spinner! We have to help that girl!
Spinner:
Are you nuts? She´s likely to rob us!
Paige:
We can´t do nothing.
Spinner:
If we get mugged, then I´m blaming you!
He pulls over and they get out of the car.
10. Ext. Street. Day.
Paige rushes over to a shocked Lexy, who´s crying on the curb.
Paige:
Are you okay?
Lexy:
Does it look like, I´m okay?
Paige:
Sorry, dumb question!
Spinner:
We can take you to a hospital or the police station, if you want?
Lexy:
Like that´ll do any good.
Paige:
If you´ve been raped ...
Lexy:
Just leave me alone, okay?
Paige:
I´ve been there. It happened to me too, at party a few years ago.
Lexy looks up at her, as the tears keep flowing.
Lexy:
Can you take me to my boyfriend? He´s waiting for me.
Spinner:
Sure, but can we get out of here? I´m not feeling safe at all.
Lexy nods and Paige helps her to stand up.
Paige:
It´s not your fault, Hon.
Lexy:
It´s Alexa, but they call me Lexy.
Paige:
I´m Paige and this is Spinner. Let´s get you to safety.
She helps a still shocked Lexy get into the back of Spinner´s car and gets in with her.
11. Montage - Music: "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson.
We see Rick waiting anxiously for Lexy, where she left him. He sees her running towards him and into his arms, where she cries it out. Paige and Spinner follow after, a bit behind her. They´re glad to see, that Rick is at least physically fine. Spinner calls up Terri on his phone.
We see Terri getting the news in Toby´s car and her smiling at the news. She tells the others and Darcy starts crying again, only this time it´s happy tears.
We see Rick walking up to Red in the street, with Spinner in tow. They convince him to come with them, even though he´s a little apprehensive at first.
We see Rick and Lexy walking up to the police station, surrounded by his friends. He smiles at them one last time, before going inside. Darcy sees that he´s holding Lexy´s hand, but it doesn´t seem to bother her. She´s just glad, that he´s alright.
12. Int. Rick´s Mom´s House. Evening.
CAPTION:
TWO WEEKS LATER
Rick is getting a welcome home party, whether he likes it or not. Guests there include Lexy and Red, plus the members of the search commitee. No one is more delighted to have him home than his mom, though. She gives him a big kiss on the cheek, that embarrasses him a little. Lexy and Red smile at it.
Rick:
Mom! We have guests!
Rick´s Mom:
I don´t care. I´m just so glad, that it´s over and you´re home and safe, where you need to be. I´ll get you kids some more snacks.
She leaves them and Rick looks apologetic to Red and Lexy.
Rick:
She´s the way, she is. There´s no use in trying to change her!
Red:
Why would you want to?
Lexy:
I wish, my parents were more like her.
Paige and Darcy come over to them.
Paige:
This is a great party, Rick.
Rick:
Thanks.
Darcy:
I hear, that you two have enrolled at Degrassi for the next semester. I guess, we´ll be classmates next year.
Lexy:
Rick loves it there, so why shouldn´t we?
Red:
Plus, it´s a great excuse to get out of the group home, we live in now.
Paige:
It´s still better than sleeping on the streets, isn´t it?
Lexy:
Infinitely better!
Paige:
What did the judge say?
Rick:
I´m not off the hook completely, but it looks like I´m getting a suspended sentence. It´ll still be on my criminal record, but what´s another one to add to it, right?
Red:
Thank God, the guy woke up from his coma, huh?
Rick:
You have no idea, what a relief that is!
Darcy:
Rick, can we talk in private for a sec?
Rick:
Sure, Darcy.
They walk off towards his room. Lexy can´t help looking a little jealous.
13. Int. Rick´s Room. Evening.
Rick closes the door behind them.
Darcy:
First of all, I´m so glad, that you´re okay. You gave us quite a scare.
Rick:
I´ll try not to do it again.
Darcy:
Secondly, this is where I have to break up with you.
Rick looks to take it well.
Darcy:
I´ve seen you and Lexy together. She´s the one you should be with and not just because she needs you more, than I do. The two of you practically belong together.
Rick:
What are you going to do?
Darcy:
My Romeo is out there somewhere. Whether I meet him remains to be seen, but I´ll be alright. I´m the last girl, you should be worrying about.
They smile at each other. Both of them look relieved, that it´s over between them.
Rick:
I´ve never done this before, where it didn´t also involve a restraining order. I´m not sure how to feel about it.
Darcy:
Smile and be happy. There´s a girl in the next room, who wants to make you hers. One, who doesn´t care what you´ve done, or about your illness. She just wants you to love her.
Rick nods and she looks glad, that it all worked out.
14. Ext. Rick´s House. Evening.
The party has ended and Rick is saying goodbye to the guests. He slaps hands with Toby, who has Kendra by his side, like Rick has Lexy by his.
Toby:
See you Monday.
Rick:
You too, buddy.
Lexy:
It was nice meeting you, Kendra.
Kendra:
You too. Maybe we can become friends next year.
Lexy:
I can´t see why not?
Red comes over to them.
Red:
I got us a ride.
Lexy:
I´ll be there in a sec.
Rick:
Are we on for an evening of playing D&D tomorrow?
Red:
Yeah, sure. Don´t be too long.
The others leave them and Rick waves goodbye to them. He makes eye contact with Terri, who looks happy for him, but Lexy turns his head, so he looks at her in stead. Terri gets into Spinner´s car with him, Toby and Kendra.
Lexy:
Don´t tell me, that I have to be jealous of every girl at, what was it called again?
Rick:
Degrassi.
Lexy:
I still think, it´s a weird name for a school!
Rick:
It´s named after the street, it lies on.
Lexy:
As in Degrassi Street? Who comes up with the names around here?
Rick smiles at her.
Rick:
I can´t tell you for sure. One think I am sure of, is that you´ll fit in easily.
Lexy:
Are you sure?
Rick:
I´ve never been more sure of anything.
They kiss and look happy together.
CLOSING CREDITS
THANKS FOR READING THE EPISODES. I SADLY LIVE IN A CITY WITH MORE THAN IT´S SHARE OF HOMELESS PEOPLE AND I KNOW AS WELL AS ANYONE, HOW EASY IT IS TO BECOME NUMB AND COLD TOWARDS THEM. THE NEXT TIME YOU PASS BY ONE, REMEMBER THAT THEY´RE NO DIFFERENT FROM YOU OR ME. THEY JUST WEREN´T AS LUCKY, AS WE WERE. IF YOU CAN, GIVE THEM A DOLLAR OR TWO (OR EUROS, IF YOU´RE FROM EUROPE). FOR US WHO ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO NOT BE IN THEIR SITUATION, IT´S THE LEAST WE CAN DO AND IT CAN MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE TO THEM. THERE´S NOTHING EASIER THAN TO CALL IT SOMEONE ELSE´S PROBLEM, BUT IF EVERYONE THINKS THAT WAY, THEN NOTHING WILL IMPROVE. EVERYONE DESERVES THE RIGHT TO LIVE A SAFE LIFE, WHERE THEY DON´T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WHERE THEIR NEXT MEAL IS COMING FROM OR HOW THEY´LL STAY SAFE DURING THE NIGHT.