WHAT IF - SEASON 2 EPISODE 41 - BLACK OR WHITE PART 1
Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.
1. Int. Arcade. Evening.
JT and Toby are in the middle of a hotly contested game of "Whack-A-Mole", while Manny and Liberty wait for them to finish.
JT:
This is too exciting!
Toby:
You´re still losing, pal!
The girls roll their eyes at how much the boys are into it, as JT starts a wild final sprint and just catches up to Toby. It ends in a draw, to both of their disappointment.
JT:
A draw?
Toby:
We can´t end it like that!
Manny:
Oh, yes you can! It´s getting late.
Liberty:
And we all know how cranky the two of you get, if you don´t get enough sleepy time!
The girls laugh at them and the boys see, how childish they´re being.
JT:
You´re right. I´ve just been having so much fun tonight.
Liberty:
Don´t you every night?
JT:
Most. Why not enjoy life? We´ll probably only get one chance to.
Manny:
There´s also such a thing as responsibilities and we have to get up early.
Toby:
Rematch tomorrow?
JT:
Like you have to ask!
The two boys do their secret handshake and the girls just shake their heads at them, as they lead them out.
2. Ext. Joey and Caitlyn´s House. Evening.
JT and Manny are saying goodnight.
JT:
Manny, you can tell me the truth, am I too childish?
Manny:
Sometimes, but it´s also what makes you such a great and understanding dad.
JT:
I try to think more like an adult, but ...
Manny:
Don´t! I don´t want anything to be taken away, from the magic that is you!
JT:
Stop! We both know that it´s coming for me, whether I like it or not.
Manny:
What is?
JT:
The future. I would be lying, if I didn´t admit, that it scares me a little!
Manny gives him a re-assuring smile.
Manny:
You? The most care-free guy in the world?
JT:
I only make it seem that way, because it´s what everyone expects. There´s a lot of times, where I force myself to be the guy, they want me to be. On camera, at school ...
Manny:
Not with me, I hope?
He shakes his head and returns her smile.
JT:
No, never with you. You, Toby, Em, Liberty, the old gang. I feel like with you, you´ll accept me no matter what. With everyone else ... it´s gonna be a big change, when I have to worry about paying bills and saving up enough money, so Julia can go to college some day.
She gives him a big kiss and looks him in the eyes.
Manny:
JT, we´ll figure all of that out together. You´re the guy, I want to spend the rest of my life with and I couldn´t imagine myself with anyone else.
JT:
Even if I turn out to be a loser?
Manny:
You will never be a loser in my eyes.
They hug tightly.
OPENING CREDITS
3. Int. Hallway. Morning.
JT comes sauntering up the hallway, looking like his usual cheerful self. He high fives with Danny on the way and almost doesn´t notice Liberty, who´s walking way off to the side, lost in her own thoughts. It isn´t until he passes her, that he realizes, who it was and turns around on his heels.
JT:
Good morning, Liberty!
Liberty almost gets a small shock and snaps out of it. She´s a little embarrassed.
Liberty:
Hi, JT. Sorry, I´m totally spacing out this morning!
JT:
Like I do in every class? Tell me, which technique do you prefer? The slowly drifting off, while you consider various subjects or stick to one and really concentrate on that one?
She can´t help laughing and he´s glad, he got a smile out of her.
Liberty:
There´s only one on my mind this morning. Can you keep a secret?
JT:
Of course, but why would you have secrets?
Liberty:
I´ve been admitted into a program, that´s like, one the top five academic programmes ...
JT:
That´s great, isn´t it?
Liberty:
In the US.
He can suddenly see her dilemma.
Liberty:
It´s extremely rare for a Canadian to be admitted and I should be feeling honored right now. When I applied last year, I thought that it was a one in a million chance. Of course, that was pre-Jimmy.
JT:
Where is it?
Liberty:
Boston. It would require me living there all of the next school year.
JT:
At least it isn´t too far from our borders.
Liberty:
Everything is going so great right now! I´m supposed to go with Jimmy to his parents tonight, so we can convince them to let him go to college here. All so we can still be together. How can I do that, when I don´t even know, if I´ll be here?
She starts to get a little hysterical, so he grabs her by the arms and steadies her.
JT:
Easy, Tiger! As far as problems go, this is a manageable one! Turn it down.
Liberty:
Oh, no! My dad would completely go bananas, if I turned down a chance like this! In his eyes, that´s like committing a mortal sin!
JT:
We could flip a coin?
His dumb suggestion calms her back down again.
Liberty:
Not this time, JT. I have no idea, what I´m gonna do.
JT:
You´ll figure it out. You always were the smart one.
They smile at each other, as Hatzilakos comes over to them.
Hatzilakos:
JT, it´s good that I caught you. We need to have a talk.
Liberty:
See you later, JT.
Liberty leaves them.
Hatzilakos:
We should do this in my office.
JT´s smile fades quickly.
JT:
Seriously, what´s wrong?
Hatzilakos:
We shouldn´t discuss it here.
JT:
I´ll be late for class.
Hatzilakos:
This is more important.
He follows after her, looking very worried. Some of those he passes stare at him, since they´re not used to seeing him this way.
4. Int. Hatzilakos´ Office. Day.
JT takes a seat across from Hatzilakos and tries to get comfortable, but it too worried to be able to.
JT:
No offense, miss H, but this chair sucks!
Hatzilakos:
JT, there´s no easy way of saying it. I see no other choice, than to hold you back next year.
JT instantly stops worrying about the comfort of his butt and looks at her in disbelief.
JT:
No! You can´t be serious!
Hatzilakos:
JT, you lave the lowest marks of anyone, not just in your grade, in the entire school.
JT:
It had to be someone, right? I´ll carry that burden, so no one else has to! For free, even!
Hatzilakos:
With a healthy margin to the next one above you. When I looked over your academic record, I was very surprised, why this hasn´t happened before.
JT:
It´s been mentioned a few times. Nothing came of it, so I don´t know ... I figured, I was off the hook.
Hatzilakos:
JT, honestly. How much of the home work you´re assigned, do you actually do?
JT clearly doesn´t want to answer her, but reluctantly sees that he has to.
JT:
Half, maybe.
Hatzilakos:
Is that the truth?
JT:
I mean, I do it most of the time, if it´s something I have to turn in.
Hatzilakos:
What if you don´t get it done?
JT:
Then I quickly come up with something, right before we have to hand it in. It´s become a specialty of mine.
Hatzilakos:
Not looking at your grades, it isn´t! What if it isn´t?
JT:
Five percent is probably a generous number.
She looks disappointed in him, but not all that surprised.
Hatzilakos:
JT, you dug your own grave, but guess what? You get a second chance next year. Try to study this time around.
JT:
Won´t I take any credits with me?
Hatzilakos:
You would, if you weren´t failing almost all your classes. Hearing this is never easy, but more often than not, it turns out to be the best thing for the student in the long run. We only want what´s best for you.
JT shakes his head and looks distraught.
Hatzilakos:
Senior year, it´s only gonna get harder. With how far you are from passing this year, you quite simply wouldn´t stand a chance next year.
He nods, as he stares out into blank space.
5. Int. Classroom. Morning.
Miss Kwan is teaching the Junior´s French class, with Toby, Liberty, Manny and Emma among those there.
Kwan:
Qui peut me dire pourquoi Javert déteste Valjean autant que lui ?
(Who can tell me, why Javert hates Valjean, in the way that he does?)
Manny´s hand is quickly up, as the teacher´s pet, she is.
Kwan:
Mademoiselle Santos?
Manny:
Javert est un homme qui vit pour la loi et l'ordre. Pour lui, Valjean est un fléau pour tout ce qu'il vit et respire.
(Javert is a man, who lives for law and order. To him, Valjean is a black mark on everything, he lives and breathes for.
Kwan:
Tres bien, mademoiselle Santos! Très poétiquement dit aussi.
(Very good, miss Santos. Very poetically spoken as well)
Manny smiles at the praise, as there´s a knock on the door and a defeated looking JT comes in. Kwan turns to him.
Kwan:
Monseour Yorke, Où étais-tu?
(Mr. Yorke, where have you been?)
JT looks her into the eyes with the look of one, whose ready to just give up and say to hell with it all.
JT:
I know that it´s French class, but I´m not in the mood, okay? I have a note from Hatzilakos.
He hands her the note and she reads it, as he takes a seat at the back row, where he can be left alone with his thoughts. His friends all look worried at how depressed he looks.
6. Int. Hallway. Day.
JT comes out, as his friends hurry up to catch up with him, Manny first of them.
Manny:
What´s the matter?
JT:
I don´t want to talk about it. In fact, I´m gonna get out of here and go somewhere that isn´t here.
Emma:
You can talk to us.
He stops walking and turns to face them.
JT:
What´s the one title in school, you don´t want to hold?
None of them really know how to answer him.
Manny:
I don´t know.
JT:
The dumbest kid in school. Well, you´re looking at him! According to Hot Sauce, I have the worst academic record of anyone here!
The others have to take it in.
Toby:
Wow, JT! I don´t really know how to respond to that. Are you okay?
JT:
What am I even doing here? I don´t belong here!
He turns to leave, but Manny tries to stop him.
Manny:
I´m so sorry, JT.
JT:
She´s holding me back. School is bad enough with you guys there. Without you, it´ll be all misery, all the time!
Emma:
I´m sure, it won´t be that bad.
Liberty:
Yeah! I mean, if anyone´s a master at making friends, it´s you!
JT:
Thanks for trying, but I can´t stand in my head, being here right now. I don´t care if she gives me detention or whatever. It´s not like she could take any more from me.
He gives Manny a small kiss and walks slowly up the hallway. His friends watch him leave, looking sad for him.
7. Int. Cafeteria. Day.
His friends are trying to take in the news over a cup of cocoa, but are still quite shocked.
Manny:
It´s just as much my fault.
Toby:
It can´t possibly be your fault.
Manny:
He never says no to me. If I ask him to come over and watch Julia or keep Angie entertained, so I can study in peace, he always does it and turns up with a smile.
Liberty:
It´s because he loves both of those little girls, that he says yes. The way he talks about them, you´d think they were his own daughters.
Emma:
What kid wouldn´t be super lucky to have JT for a fun dad?
Manny:
He is so amazing with them. Did I tell you, that Julia called him "dada", a few days ago? I´ve never seen him so proud before.
They all smile at the thought of it.
Manny:
Craig is her father, but JT is her dad. I don´t think Angie could begin to imagine, what her life would be like without him in it now. He deserves so much credit for all of that.
Toby:
But it came at a prize.
Emma:
Clearly!
Liberty:
You´ve known him longer than I have, but I don´t think I´ve seen him this low.
Emma:
Do you think, he´ll drop out? He didn´t sound too happy about coming back here!
Manny:
Once he cools down, then we´ll figure it out. We always find a way.
Liberty:
I just hope that he finds some way to get it out of his system, so he can move on.
Toby:
It won´t be easy. Not this time.
They nod in agreement.
8. Ext. The Ravine. Day.
JT comes down walking through the ravine, looking for someone to party with, but it´s completely deserted, save for a few dog walkers, who allow their dogs to run free and play. However, not even the sight of happy dogs is enough to put a smile on JT´s face, as he just sulks at his lack of luck.
JT (muttering to himself):
I guess, I´m a year late to the party.
A dog walker, a girl in her early 20´s stops up near him.
Betsy:
What did you say?
He snaps out of it to pay attention to her, as her dog, a black Labrador puppy, finds him very interesting and won´t stop sniffing his leg. JT finally gives in and has to smile at how adorable it is.
JT:
What´s her name?
Betsy:
She´s Scarlet and I´m Betsy. You are?
JT:
JT.
Betsy:
That can´t be your full name!
JT:
It´s James Tiberious.
Betsy:
Then I´d go by JT too. You can pet her. She wouldn´t dream of hurting a fly.
JT squats down and pets little Scarlet, who´s enjoying every second of it.
Betsy:
She´s decided that she likes you. That must mean, you´re a good person.
JT:
So you believe in that old myth?
Betsy:
Absolutely, I do. Dogs have senses, that we can´t begin to comprehend!
He stands up and smiles at her. This looks to be working a little.
JT:
I like your ideas on dogs, Betsy.
Betsy:
You miss how it was in the old days too, huh?
JT:
To be honest, I wasn´t here for it. I figured that it would always be here, when I felt like going someday.
Betsy:
That´s what we all thought, until it went haywire. Now everyone´s spread across the city and you barely see a soul here at night anymore.
JT:
Because of the cops?
Betsy nods.
Betsy:
They come down and bust you in an instant, if you try anything. Say, JT. What are you doing today?
He pretends to need a moment to think about it.
JT:
Let´s see ... I have a jam packed schedule full of ... doing absolutely nothing!
She smiles at his answer.
Betsy:
Funny how that´s the exact same as my schedule! Wanna get wasted together?
JT smiles at the suggestion.
JT:
Wasted? Like drunk?
Betsy:
Yeah! It´s my only day off this week and I wanna have fun on it. We´ll get some beer, maybe a bottle of something, something ...
JT:
I´m not old enough yet.
Betsy:
Duh? Like I couldn´t tell from the moment, I saw you. No one says, both of us have to go into the booze store, do they?
JT:
I guess, we could. I have a girlfriend, though.
Betsy:
And I´m way past making out with high school boys! That doesn´t mean I can´t have fun with one, I find interesting.
JT smiles at how his day took such a turn so quickly. Scarlet looks happy too, that she´ll get to spend more time with her new found friend.
9. Int. Liberty´s House. Day.
Liberty comes home from school and sees her dad busy (and looking very happily busy as well), laying out some papers on the dining room table. Curious, she goes in to say hi to him.
Liberty:
Hi, dad. What´s going on?
He smiles and looks thrilled to see her.
Liberty´s Dad:
Just the girl, I´ve been waiting for! Come over here.
She does and she looks over the papers, which are printouts of pictures of various pretty high prized looking apartment listings.
Liberty´s Dad:
Which one is your favorite?
Liberty is a little taken aback by the question.
Liberty:
I don´t know. They all look like really nice apartments.
Liberty´s Dad:
Where would you prefer to live? Downtown or maybe a little more on the outskirts of the city, where things are a calmer, but you´ll have a longer commute?
Liberty finally gets what´s going in.
Liberty:
These are in Boston, aren´t they?
Liberty´s Dad:
An old college friend of mine is a hot shot in the real estate market down there.
Liberty:
Lucky for us, huh?
She tries to play it off, like she´s super happy, but she´s clearly forcing it for her dad´s sake.
Liberty´s Dad:
What do you say if next week, you, me, Danny and your mom fly down to look at them? That way you can get a feel for what the neighborhoods are like, before you decide.
Liberty:
I have school.
Liberty´s Dad:
I´ll talk to your principal and arrange it. I can´t be away from work all week either, but we could travel down Wednesday. That way we can take our time and you can calmly and with no stress choose, where you want your future to be. We´ll pay your rent and give you a healthy allowance, so you just choose which one you want.
Liberty tries to take it in.
Liberty:
I´m almost speechless!
He smiles at her and gives her a hug.
Liberty´s Dad:
Liberty, I can´t begin to tell you, how proud I am of you. When I see the drive and work ethics you have, I see a young woman, that there´s absolutely no limits for.
She can´t hide how much she loves him being this proud of her.
Liberty´s Dad:
Now that you´ll get to learn from some of the finest teachers in the Western Hemisphere, you´re already living out dreams, that neither me or your mother did. So, are you up for a trip to Boston?
Liberty:
I´m pretty sure that Danny would hate me for months, if I robbed him of a chance to see the states.
Liberty´s Dad:
Great! I´ll book the flights right away.
He gathers the papers and hands them to Liberty.
Liberty´s Dad:
Take these and look them over. If you don´t think any of them are good enough, then I´ll call up my buddy and we´ll figure it out. Okay?
Liberty:
Okay, dad.
She´s keeping it going, but it´s getting harder and harder.
10. Int. Bathroom. Day.
Liberty stares herself in the mirror.
Liberty (to herself):
Is there such a thing as a problem, that´s too positive?
She hangs her head and try to forget it.
Liberty (to herself):
Here you´re worrying about yourself. Just think of how poor JT is doing right now!
She clearly worries about him.
11. Int. Betsy´s Apartment. Evening.
Betsy´s small apartment looks like an image of what she is, a girl who still hasn´t figured out exactly what she is yet and is a little messy. She´s showing JT the pictures on her walls, while they drink beer. Scarlet is happily napping on the couch.
The picture, they´re looking at, is one of Madonna in the mid 80´s.
Betsy:
There to me is your OG rebel girl!
JT:
There had to have been others before her.
Betsy:
There are and a lot of them totally kicked butt! But she was the first to tell young girls to say "Screw what guys think. It´s what you think of yourselves that matters".
JT:
Is that like a mantra to you?
Betsy:
Kind of. I was totally obsessed with what they thought of me in high school, for which I can probably blame my beauty obsessed mom, but that´s a different story ...
JT smiles to himself, looking more than a little drunk.
Betsy:
And I don´t know. One day, I just thought "why do I care so much?". I had pretty much no girlfriends and most of the guys I knew, only wanted to get into my pants as often, as they could. I was called so many things every day by both boys and girls, that you could make a book, if you listed them. Even when I did get lucky, it wasn´t like it made me happy, it just filled a constant, gaping void of loneliness inside.
JT:
It sounds like a miserable high school experience.
Betsy:
Which is probably why I never finished.
He´s a little surprised.
JT:
You didn´t?
Betsy:
Nah. Dropped out before my senior year.
JT:
But you´re doing ... fine!
She smiles at his answer.
Betsy:
Thanks. Say, JT. How would you like a glimpse into how fun life after high school can be?
He looks very intrigued.
JT:
What do you have in mind?
Betsy:
I´ll only tell you, if you say, you´re in!
He doesn´t have to take long to think about it.
JT:
I´m JT Yorke, baby! Of course, I´m in!
His mood looks to have been greatly improved by now, let´s put it that way!
CLOSING CREDITS