WHAT IF? - SEASON 2 EPISODE 43 - BEAT IT
Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.
1. Int. Clothing Store. Day.
Jane and Mia are out clothes shopping, but are mostly just browsing. Jane looks at the price tag of a shirt and shakes her head.
Jane:
85 dollars? What kind of world, where it apparently rains money, do these people come from?
Mia:
It´s an Yves Saint-Laurent. You can´t expect to get it cheap.
Jane:
Anyone who spends that kind of money on a single piece of clothing, needs to get their head checked. Let´s go to the second hand store in stead.
Mia:
Give me a moment! Window shopping is still free.
Jane:
Enjoy it, while it lasts!
She´s surprised and not in a good way, when she sees Johnny come in with a pretty girl with him. She pokes Mia on the shoulder and Mia sees it too.
Jane:
Look what the cat dragged in.
Mia:
Maybe she´s a friend of his.
Jane:
She´s got skank written all over her! I can´t believe, he would do this to me!
Mia:
You mean your non-boyfriend?
Jane:
I haven´t made my final decision on him yet. But you know what? I have now!
Jane walks over to them and looks ready to tear someone´s head off. Mia puts the dress she was looking at down and follows after her. Johnny sees her and if he is doing something he shouldn´t be, then he´s certainly great at hiding it.
Jane:
Who´s this, Johnny?
Johnny:
Hi, Jane. This is Joan, my ...
Jane:
You seriously replaced me with a girl named Joan?
Joan:
I can go look at clothes, if you need to talk.
Jane:
You know what, Skank-A-Rella? He´s all yours!
Jane storms out of there and Johnny looks shell shocked. Mia passes by them.
Mia:
Way to go, Johnny!
Johnny:
What did I do?
Mia:
Like you don´t know!
She follows after Jane, leaving Johnny puzzled over what exactly just happened.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. The Dot. Day.
Paige and Marco are using The Dot to study for finals. Spinner comes over to them with drinks and serves them.
Spinner:
I´m guessing that this goes on your tab, Paige.
Paige:
Thanks, Hon.
Jane comes in looking frustrated. She kicks the counter in anger and hurts her own foot in the process. The others make wide eyes at it.
Marco:
Are you okay, Jane?
Jane looks at him in a way so scary, that it makes him shudder.
Jane:
Why do boys have to be so annoying?
Paige:
Haven´t we all asked ourselves that question a time or two?
Spinner:
Who exactly is annoying you?
Jane:
Johnny DiMarco. My boyfriend, that never was!
Marco:
Did you have a fight or something?
Jane:
I saw him with another girl. Why do I bother with them? It always ends this way!
Paige and Marco smile at each other.
Marco:
Remember when our biggest problem, was whether a boy liked us or not?
Paige:
Those were the days!
Jane:
It´s not funny! Anyway, I told him where to stick it, so it´s over.
Spinner:
Were they doing anything, like holding hands?
Jane:
No. But ...
Marco:
Then how do you know, that he´s doing anything with her?
Jane:
I guess, I don´t. But it´s Johnny! He´s infamous for making out with every girl, who wants him!
Paige:
Hon, I used to have that same reputation and I´ve only made out with three guys in my entire life.
Spinner:
Because someone has a rep, doesn´t mean it´s true.
Marco:
High schoolers make up stuff all the time, to appear interesting to their peers. I´m sure Lakehurst isn´t any different than Degrassi, in that respect.
Jane sees that she may have made a big mistake.
Jane:
I didn´t give him a chance to explain, before I exploded at him.
Paige:
It sounds to me, like you´ve got some apologizing to do.
Jane face palms at her mess up.
3. Ext. The Dot. Evening.
Paige and Marco are waiting to be picked up.
Marco:
You´re sure, your dad won´t mind giving me a ride home?
Paige:
Of course not. I´m pretty sure, that he wishes, we would end up together.
Marco laughs at the thought of it.
Marco:
We´ll call that plan Z, after we´ve gone through the rest of the alphabet!
Paige:
Are you nervous about tomorrow?
Marco:
A little. The worst part is the fear that leads up to it. Once we get started, I get into my zone and forget about it. You?
Paige:
I´ve never been more prepared for anything in my life. There´s literally no way, that I´m not getting an A!
Marco:
I wish, I had some of your confidence.
She puts her hand on top of his head.
Paige:
There you go!
They smile at each other, as Paige´s dad pulls up to the curb.
4. Ext. Johnny´s House. Evening.
Jane is practicing her speech, before ringing the doorbell.
Jane:
Johnny, I should have heard you out, in stead of blowing up in your face, like I did. It wasn´t fair of me and ...
She gets a small shock, when the door opens and Johnny is standing there.
Johnny:
Are you in the habit of talking to yourself, outside of other people´s houses?
Jane:
Johnny! I came to apologize, for how I reacted.
Johnny:
Now you have, so goodbye.
He´s about to shut the door, but she stops him.
Jane:
I don´t want to leave things this way.
Johnny:
Joan is my cousin and my mom wanted me help her out with some shopping, because she´s new in town. If you have so little faith in me, that I won´t sleep around on you, it´s never going to work. It´s too bad, because I really like you.
Jane:
I really like you too. Isn´t there some way, we can get past this?
Johnny:
Sometimes liking each other isn´t enough. Bye, Jane.
He closes the door and she looks frustrated at how it went down.
5. Int. Study. Evening.
Paige´s dad is working on a PC by his desk, when Paige knocks on the door and comes in.
Paige:
Hi, dad. How was your Tango lesson?
Paige´s Dad:
You know, how they say, that white people can´t dance?
Paige:
Yeah?
Paige´s Dad:
They´re definitely right, as far as your mother goes!
She smiles to herself. She´s clearly a daddy´s girl.
Paige:
I´m pretty sure, I´ve inherited her lack of sense of rhythm!
Paige´s Dad:
Are you ready for tomorrow?
Paige:
I should be. There´s no way, I can be more prepared.
Paige´s Dad:
Nervous?
Paige:
Nah. If I follow my plan, then I´ll succeed.
He stops working and makes eye contact with her.
Paige´s Dad:
What plan?
Paige:
The one I´ve been following since grade 5! I´ve told you about it a hundred times!
Paige´s Dad:
Honey, you can´t make a plan, when you´re ten years old and expect it to all come to fruition. If mine had, then you would have been the daughter of a Nascar driver.
Paige:
Was that your dream?
Paige´s Dad:
Until the next year, when I wanted to be an Astronaut. If you had told me back then, that I would end up an accountant, I would have called you crazy.
Paige:
I only have one plan. Graduate with straight A´s, go on to Banting, where I graduate Magna Cum Laude and become an entertainment lawyer. One, who makes a ton of money and represents all the big stars, of course!
Paige´s Dad:
What if it doesn´t work out? Do you have a back-up plan?
Paige:
It will. Goodnight, dad.
Paige´s Dad:
Goodnight, Sugar Plum. Good luck tomorrow.
Paige:
Luck isn´t a part of the equation.
She leaves him and he can´t help looking a little worried about her.
6. Int. Paige´s Room. Evening.
Paige is setting her alarm clock, before going to bed.
Paige (to herself):
You´ll get up an hour earlier, get a shower, a good, hearty breakfast and straight A city, here you come!
She puts it on her bedside table and gets in bed. A quick shot shows us that the alarm clock reads ten o´clock. She smiles to herself, as she turns out the light.
We cut to later, when she turns the light on again. The clock now reads a quarter past one.
Paige (to herself):
It´s okay, Hon. You can still sleep for five and a half hours.
She gets out of bed, to go to the bathroom.
7. Int. Paige´s Room. Morning.
It´s now light outside and Paige is still trying to fall asleep, when the alarm clock rings. She groans, as she picks it up and turns it off.
8. Int. Bathroom. Morning.
Paige is splashing cold water in her face, to try to wake up. She looks herself in the mirror and the bags under her eyes are clearly showing.
Paige (to herself):
You look like, you´re 30!
She hangs her head and yawns.
9. Ext. Degrassi. Morning.
Paige meets up with Hazel outside of school.
Paige:
Good morning ...
She has to stop to yawn.
Paige:
Hon.
Hazel:
Are you alright? You look like, you´re aged ten years overnight!
Paige:
That´s probably because I´ve never been this tired before.
She has to yawn again.
Paige:
Sorry. I have to find a way, to stop yawning.
Hazel:
Have you tried with coffee?
Paige:
I´ve had three cups already and it hasn´t made the slightest difference. I´ll have to power through somehow.
Hazel:
You could tell them, that you´re too sick to take the test. The way you look, I´m sure, they´ll buy it!
Paige:
That would throw my entire plan off. It takes more than a little lack of sleep, to throw a Michalchuk off!
She yawns again and Hazel looks anything but convinced.
10. Int. Classroom. Morning.
Jane is explaining the situation to Mia, before the finals are about to start.
Jane:
I´ve never felt dumber in my life and that´s saying something!
Mia:
Given Johnny´s reputation, I would have reacted the same way.
Jane:
On the long way home, I got to thinking and I´ve never actually seen Johnny make out with anyone. I´ve heard girls brag, that they made out with him.
Mia:
I don´t think, I´ve seen it either, come to think of it. I´m sure, he must have made out with other girls than you at sme point.
Jane:
Let´s face it, I´m no angel either. Why didn´t you stop me?
Mia:
I would have, if you had given me the chance to.
Jane looks frustrated, as coach Petrino comes in with a stack of papers and hands them to Mia.
Petrino:
Take one and pass them on.
He walks up to the front of the class, as the papers get passed around.
Petrino:
I am here to supervise this exam and trust me, if you try to peek or cheat, then I will see it! I have the eyes of a falcon!
Jane looks over the test and shakes her head. She whispers to Mia.
Jane (whispering):
How am I suppose to concentrate on this?
Petrino:
Anything, you want to share with the rest of the class, before we get started, miss Vaughn?
Jane:
No, sir.
Petrino:
Then shut it!
Jane doesn´t like it, but tries to concentrate on the job at hand.
11. Int. Other Classroom. Morning.
Snake is supervising this exam and Paige is trying to stay awake and concentrate on the exam at the same time. A point of view shot from her shows, that she´s so tired, that her vision is blurry and she can´t even make out what the questions are. Seeing that it´s useless, she raises her hand. Snake comes down to her.
Paige (whispering):
Can I go to the bathroom, mister Simpson?
Snake (whispering):
Are you sure? You have little enough time, as it is.
Paige (whispering):
I had three cups of coffee this morning and ...
Snake (whispering):
You don´t need to finish that sentence!
She gets up from her seat and he gets a hall pass for her.
12. Int. Bathroom. Day.
Paige splashes water in her face and tries cleaning her eyes, as if that will help. She´s clearly frustrated with herself.
Paige:
This can´t be happening!
She looks herself in the mirror and tries to focus her eyes, before giving herself a pep talk.
Paige:
You can do this! Us Michalchuks don´t quit!
She tries to look as assertive as possible, but even she isn´t buying it anymore.
13. Int. Cafeteria. Morning.
Paige is lightly banging her head against a table she´s sitting at in frustration. Marco, Terri and Hazel are at the table with her.
Terri:
How much of it did you complete?
Paige stops and looks up at her.
Paige:
I wrote my name. Do you think, it´ll be enough to get a D?
Hazel:
It´s not likely.
Marco:
You were perfectly prepared! What went wrong?
Paige:
I was so tired, that I couldn´t read the questions! I´m not even sure, that I wrote my name in the right field!
A smiling JT comes into the cafeteria with Manny on his arm.
JT:
The cocoa is on me. There´s no way I would have passed, if it wasn´t for you, babe!
Manny looks happy for him, as Paige bangs her head on the table one more time.
Paige:
I´m dumber than JT! How can I be dumber than JT?
She looks up again.
Paige:
Seriously, I´m asking you.
Terri:
He must be smart in some way, with all of the success his children´s show has.
Paige:
Thanks for reminding me of how much of a failure I am, compared to my ex!
Marco:
You´re not dumb, Paige. You´re smarter than any of us.
Hazel:
If you explain it to Simpson, maybe he can help you get a make-up exam.
Paige:
You don´t understand. Failure isn´t accepted in our family. If I take a make-up exam, then I´ll have to explain it to my parents. I can´t win!
Marco:
It´s either that, or accept your F. Won´t that mean no Banting this fall?
Paige:
I might as well apply for a job as a dishwasher! If I´m not too dumb, to do that right!
She looks ready to give it all up.
14. Int. Hallway. Day.
Jane and Mia come out of the classroom with their class mates.
Jane:
Is there any way, these last 24 hours could have gone worse?
Mia:
I´m pretty sure, I did alright.
Jane:
I tried my hardest to concentrate, but I can´t get Johnny out of my head. I keep repeating in my head, every word he´s said to me, since we started dating.
Mia smiles at her.
Mia:
You really like him, don´t you?
Jane:
I didn´t know how much I liked him, until it was too late.
Mia:
You´re far from the first one, it´s happened to.
Jane:
He can be so sweet and caring, when he wants to be. I´ve never met a guy, who treats me as great, as he does. Or rather did.
Mia:
There´s only one thing for it, if you´re gonna win him back.
Jane:
Begging on my hands and knees? I´d be willing to, if it meant, I got him back.
Mia:
You don´t need to take it that far. Tell him, what you just told me.
Jane:
Do you think, it´ll work?
Mia:
It´s worth a try.
Jane:
I guess so. What kind of cruel sadist decided, that romantic stuff should be this hard?
Mia:
Once you get past this, you´ll be on easy street from here on out!
Jane:
You´re such a liar!
Mia´s encouraging words do seem to have comforted Jane a little, though.
15. Ext. Paige´s House. Day.
Paige is standing outside and is too afraid of her parent´s reaction to go inside. Her dad comes out of the house and walks over to her.
Paige´s Dad:
What are you doing out here, Honey?
Paige:
I failed you and mom. I´m so sorry.
He looks at her with sympathy.
Paige´s Dad:
The exam didn´t go, like you hoped?
Paige:
That´s the understatement of the year! I had it all planned out and now I´ve completely ruined my entire future.
He gives her a hug, that she clearly needed.
Paige´s Dad:
Ona bad exam doesn´t change, that you have a bright future ahead of you.
Paige:
I was so tired, that I couldn´t read the questions. I didn´t answer a single one.
They break the hug and he looks her in the eyes.
Paige´s Dad:
Would it surprise you to hear, that I flunked my verbal Spanish exam, when I was your age?
It seems to help a bit.
Paige:
What happened?
Paige´s Dad:
I prepared as well, as I possibly could. I even made your uncle Robert only speak Spanish to me, the last week up to it. I thought, there was absolutely no way, I wasn´t getting an A. Then the exam started and I got so nervous, that lost all my ability to speak Spanish. Actually, that´s not true. I remembered the words for no.
Paige:
If you´d forgotten the Spanish word for no, that would have been really bad! How did you get through it?
Paige´s Dad:
The best I could, but the only thing I got right, was when they asked me to verify my name. I´ve never felt as humiliated in my life, as I did for those minutes, that felt more like hours. I came home, thinking that your grandparents would freak out.
Paige:
Did they?
Paige´s Dad:
They could see, that it had hit me hard enough, as it was. Later, when I had calmed down, I talked to your grand dad about it. He started out by telling me, that even though he was disappointed, it wasn´t the end of the world. He knew, I had tried, all I could.
Paige:
It feels that way.
Paige´s Dad:
I know, it does. We make back-up plans, because it´s so few plans, that work out exactly, like we want them to. The key is how we rebound and move on, when they don´t. If you can do that, it shows you have character. When you become an adult, that´ll mean infinitely more, than what grade you got on some exam, you´ll barely remember ten years from now.
It makes her smile a little.
Paige:
Thanks, dad. Can you help me tell mom?
Paige´s Dad:
We´ll butter her up with a nice dinner and an expensive bottle of Merlot first. I wouldn´t worry too much, though. At the end of the day, she just wants you to be happy, like I do. You´ll always be our little butter cup and we´ll support you, no matter what happens.
Paige:
She´s always talked about Banting, like it´s the end all, be all of schools.
Paige´s Dad:
Just because it was perfect for her, doesn´t mean it will be for you. Life is going to take it´s strange twists and turns, like it did for us and will for your brother too. No plans we make, can predict exactly what will happen. Life would be very boring, if we could.
She´s clearly doing better, now that they´ve had their talk.
16. Int. Video Store. Day.
Johnny is working behind the counter, when Jane comes in. There´s only a few other people in there, who are browsing through the selections. She smiles nervously at him, but he´s clearly not forgiven him yet.
Johnny:
You´ll need to get a membership card, if you want to rent a DVD.
Jane:
How long have you worked here?
Johnny:
Since last week, but it´s only a few days a week. I figured, that now I had real girlfriend for the first time, I would need money, so I could treat her right.
She can´t help smiling.
Jane:
This is all for me?
Johnny:
It was. Until I found out, you don´t trust me any further, than you can thorw me.
Jane:
Which given my size, won´t be very far! Sorry, bad joke. I have a tendency, to resort to lame humor, when I get nervous.
Johnny:
It can´t work, if you´re afraid all the time, that I´ll cheat on you . It´ll drive you paranoid and me crazy.
A customer comes up to the counter.
Customer:
Do you have the new one with that guy, who was in that movie last year?
Johnny:
Back row.
Customer:
Thanks.
The customer leaves them and Jane looks impressed.
Jane:
How did you know, which movie it was?
Johnny:
It´s where we keep the newest releases. You have to leave or rent a DVD. Otherwise, I´ll get in trouble with my boss.
Jane:
I´ll leave, but only after I tell you something. If after that, you still don´t think, we can work it out, I won´t bother you again. Cross my heart.
Johnny:
It´ll have to be something special!
Jane:
Something special. Let´s see.
She closes her eyes and gets into character. He looks puzzled.
Jane:
I´m just a girl, standing in front of a boy and asking him to love me!
He has to laugh a little.
Johnny:
That´s the corniest line in movie history!
Jane:
You´ve seen "Notting Hill"?
Johnny:
Don´t tell your brother!
Jane:
How about this one : All I want, is a guy who´ll say "Gesundheit", when I sneeze, but I prefer "Bless You".
Johnny:
From "Singles", right?
Jane:
Someone knows his romantic comedies!
Johnny:
It´ll take more than a few movie quotes, Jane.
Jane:
You won´t guess this one: "He can be so sweet and caring, when he wants to be. I´ve never met a guy, who treats me as great, as he does".
Johnny:
I have no idea which movie, it´s from.
Jane:
It´s what I told Mia this morning, when we talked about you. I meant every word of it, from the bottom of my heart.
Johnny takes a few moments to consider it, while she waits with excitement.
Johnny:
I get off work at seven. Would you like to go out for a burger afterwards?
Jane smiles widely.
Jane:
More than anything in the world!
They smile at each other.
CLOSING CREDITS
THERE´S ONLY ONE MORE EPISODE LEFT OF THE SEASON. IT´S ALMOST HARD TO BELIEVE THAT WE´VE COME THIS FAR, THIS SOON. IT BE TIME TO SAY OUR GOODBYES TO SOME CHARACTERS, AS THE NEXT GENERATION GETS READY TO MOVE IN. IN FACT, IT COULD VERY WELL BE THAT A CERTAIN GIRL, WHO´S KNOWN HER NAME AND HER FIRST INITIAL SHOWS UP IN THE SEASON FINALE. I HOPE YOU´LL "STAY TUNED" TO FIND OUT!