WHAT IF? - SEASON 3 EPISODE 5 - GROWIN´ UP
Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.
Author´s Note: I know that a lot of you have probably been waiting to see her, since Sav joined the story. So here I give you in all of her glory, the one and only miss Alli Bhandari!
1. Int. Sav´s Room. Evening.
Sav´s 13 year old little sister Alli is waiting anxiously, while he´s still hiding behind his vanity screen.
Alli:
I don´t have all night!
Sav:
Promise, that you won´t laugh.
Alli:
I´m not making any guarantees.
Sav steps out from behind the vanity screen and we see that he´s wearing a brand new and very nice looking suit. Alli smiles at the sight.
Alli:
You look like an adult!
He smiles at her praise.
Sav:
You really think so?
Alli:
Absolutely! Darcy will be impressed too.
Sav:
I hope so.
Alli:
Sav, mind if I ask you something personal?
He sits down next to her and smiles warmly at her. They´re clearly close, despite their differences.
Alli:
Why are you going to the dance with Darcy and not Anya? I get that Darcy is like a total knockout, but you and Anya are soul mates.
He smiles at her innocence.
Alli:
Clare thinks so too and if anyone was gonna be on her sister´s team, it would be her.
Sav:
Do you spend a lot of time talking about us?
Alli:
We do sometimes. Anya is obviously crazy about you, so what´s stopping you guys?
Sav:
I don´t know. I guess that at some point we passed a line, where I stopped thinking about her that way.
Alli:
She´s just like Jennifer Love Hewitt in "The Trojan Wars".
Sav:
I´m not sure, I´ve seen that one.
Alli:
She´s this tomboyish girl, who´s been best friends with the leading boy for years and has a secret crush on him, only now he´s got a hot date with the prettiest and most popular girl in school.
Sav:
Sounds very teeny!
Alli:
Trust me, it was!
Sav:
Let me guess, he gives up on the hot girl and finally realizes that he should have been with Jennifer Love Hewitt the entire time?
Alli:
Sound familiar?
Sav:
It´s just a movie, Alli. You can´t force these things in real life.
Alli:
How would you know, when you´ve never tried it?
He sees that there´s no arguing with her logic.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Manny and JT´s Room. Morning.
Manny is lying in bed with a thermometer in her mouth. She´s not looking too great. JT is with her and takes the thermometer out. He looks at it.
JT:
I know someone, who isn´t going to school today!
Manny:
It´s just sitting and listening! I can ...
She tries to sit up, but has to give up and lie down again. JT smiles at her.
JT:
Is that enough evidence for you? You´ve probably caught the same thing, Joey has.
Manny looks annoyed, but gives in.
Manny:
It also means that I´ll miss the dance. Dammit!
JT:
It´s not all bad. I´ll be here all night tonight, to wait on you hand and foot.
Manny:
JT, you work all the time. Go and have fun without me.
JT:
No, it´s okay.
Manny:
You can get Emma to dance with you, plus all of your friends will be there. Take tonight off to have fun for once, like you used to all the time.
JT:
I´ll go, if it´s that important to you.
Manny:
Now if you don´t mind getting off the bed, because I´m pretty sure that I´m gonna barf within the next five seconds and I feel something about to come out the other end too!
He does and she somehow finds the strength to get up and rushes out to the bathroom. His face can´t hide, that he´s looking forward to an evening of fun at the dance.
3. Int. Hallway. Morning.
JT and Emma are talking by his locker.
Emma:
Poor Manny! She´s far from the only one though. Snake wasn´t looking too great, when I left and my mom is showing symptoms too. It´s only pure stubbornness, that brought her to work today!
JT:
Joey hasn´t left the house in four days. It´s a wonder, that the rest of us haven´t been infected.
Emma:
Like you wouldn´t mind a few days off from school?
JT:
Not if I have to be sick to get them!
They see Toby coming towards him and he looks like he´s running on pure willpower. Sweat is glistening from his forehead and his legs are a lot more uneasy than they usually are.
Emma:
Speaking of being sick!
JT:
And that´s the guy, who calls me crazy sometimes!
Toby comes over to them and they look concerned about him.
Toby:
Morning, guys.
Emma:
You look like, you should be home in bed.
She feels his forehead.
Emma:
I´m pretty sure, you have a fever.
JT:
If nothing else, you should go and see the school nurse.
Toby:
I can fight my way through!
Emma:
You can also infect everyone, you have classes with, yours truly included.
JT:
You know that it´s the right thing to do, buddy.
Toby:
Okay, you´re right. I´ll go and see the nurse.
He starts walking very slowly towards the nurse´s office.
Emma:
I suppose, it´ll just be you and me tonight.
JT:
Plus the other couple hundred students and the teachers, who are there as chaperones, of course.
Emma:
We can still have fun, the two of us.
JT:
Emma, if we were a couple, fun would be our middle name!
Emma:
So, it would be "Emma Fun JT" or "JT Fun Emma"? Either way, it sounds weird!
JT:
You know what I mean. We´ll most likely only go on one date alone together, so let´s make the most of it. Deal?
Emma:
Deal.
They smile at each other.
4. Int. Lakehurst Junior High Classroom. Day.
Alli and Clare are among the students present in the classroom.
Teacher:
It seems that I won´t have time to hand them out, so you can pick up last week´s graded papers on your way out. Have a great weekend.
The attendance bell rings and students start to rummage through the papers to find their own. Some kid hands Alli and Clare theirs and they look them over. Alli is all smiles, while Clare looks a little disappointed in herself.
Clare:
Only an A? What did you get?
Alli:
I´m not complaining!
Clare:
The A plus princess strikes again!
Alli:
An A is still a great mark, Clare.
Clare:
It´s not an A plus, is it?
Seeing that Clare is looking a little down, Alli comes up with an idea.
Alli:
What do you say, we do something out of the ordinary tonight?
Clare gets a little nervous, but is also intrigued.
Clare:
Like what?
Alli:
Do you trust me as your best friend, to ensure that you will have a maximum amount of fun and nothing bad will happen to you?
Clare looks a little unsure.
Clare:
I guess that nothing bad has happened so far ...
Alli:
See? Are you in or out?
Clare takes a moment to think about it, before smiling at Alli.
Clare:
Sure, I´m in.
Alli squeals with excitement.
5. Int. Clare´s Room. Day.
Clare is looking very uncomfortable, as Darcy is putting make up on her face, while Alli watches with great interest, learning from what she´s seeing.
Darcy:
You´ll knock the socks off all the boys tonight, sis.
Clare:
I don´t want to! I´m not ready to do any ... knocking yet!
Alli:
How old were you, when you had your first kiss, Darcy?
Darcy gets a little shy.
Darcy:
I´m not sure, I should tell you.
Clare:
She was only eleven.
Alli smiles at the revelation, while Darcy looks embarrassed.
Darcy:
It was super quick and it barely counted! I didn´t have my second kiss, which I think of as my first, until a few years later.
Alli:
You were our age now?
Darcy:
More or less. But just because your birth date says, that you should be ready, it doesn´t mean you are. Everyone´s different that way.
Clare looks happy with Darcy´s answer.
Alli:
Are you hoping, that you´ll get to kiss my brother?
Clare is shocked at how direct Alli is, while Darcy handles it with a smile.
Clare:
Alli, a little courtesy!
Darcy:
It´s okay, that you´re curious. I´d like to kiss him, yes. After all of the drama with my last boyfriend, flirting with someone as down to earth and uncomplicated as your brother makes for a nice change. With him, I get a completely fresh start. After what happened last year, I could definitely use one.
Alli looks a little torn over what to do now. seeing that it would clearly be great for Darcy too, if she had someone like Sav in her life.
6. Int. Emma´s House. Evening.
JT is let in by Spike, who looks like she´s sick too.
Spike:
Hi, JT. She´ll be down in a minute.
JT:
You´ve caught the bug too, huh?
Spike:
Yeah and it´s a real nasty one! Have fun at the dance.
JT:
Thanks. I´m sure, we will.
Spike leaves him, as he waits for Emma.
Emma (off screen):
Yeah? Well, if you love Jay and Spinner so much, why don´t you date one of them? Because you´re not dating me anymore! Ever!
JT makes a face to himself, as a beautiful looking Emma comes down to join him.
Emma:
Shall we go?
JT:
First off, are you okay?
Emma:
You heard that? Sean has decided to go to a Monster Truck show with Jay and Spinner tomorrow, in stead of on a date with me, like we´d planned.
JT:
In all fairness, it´s hard to compete with giant trucks named "The Behemoth" or "Truckzilla"! I wouldn´t take it too hard.
He gets a smile out of her.
Emma:
Can we not talk about Sean Cameron for one evening? It feels like my entire life has revolved around him for months now.
JT:
Just out of curiosity, what is your status with him?
Emma:
I´m still technically single and very confused, as to what he wants.
JT smiles comfortingly at her.
JT:
We won´t mention him again.
Emma looks glad to be getting an evening off from her Sean problems.
7. Ext. Emma´s House. Evening.
Emma and JT comes out to JT´s ride for the evening, a really nice looking sports car. She´s impressed.
Emma:
How long have you owned this?
JT:
Joey has it for sale, so I loaned it. It´s nice though, isn´t it?
Emma:
I was expecting a rusted out Honda with holes in the floor!
JT laughs.
JT:
It can be yours for thirteen thousand.
Emma:
Do you have twelve thousand, nine hundred and ninety dollars, you can spare?
JT:
I was going to ask you the same thing!
They smile at each other and he gallantly opens the door for her. She´s pleasantly surprised and gets in, before he shuts the door after her. Her face says, that she´s enjoying herself so far.
8. Int. Bus. Evening.
Clare and Alli are sitting next to each other on the bus, both dressed to party. Alli is looking excited, while Clare tries to keep her eyes off a couple in a pair seats nearby, who are kissing and groping each other. Clare makes wide eyes, when the guy sticks his hands down the back of his girlfriend´s panties and forces herself to look away. She needs a few seconds to take it in.
Clare:
Now I know why my parents don´t want me taking the bus in the evening!
Alli:
Lighten up! It´s not like they´re hurting anyone.
Clare:
Doesn´t she have any shame?
Alli:
What did we agree about that word?
Clare:
That it´s old fashioned and we shouldn´t be ashamed to be our true selves. Anyway. we´re not getting in. They won´t believe, that we´re fourteen.
Alli:
We will be in seven and nine months respectively! Try to imagine, that you´re fourteen. Can you do that?
Clare:
I guess so, but it´s not just that. You weren´t there to see Darcy, when Rick was missing. She was put through the wringer and we both know that your brother wouldn´t dream of doing anything to hurt her.
Alli:
Haven´t you been paying attention to all of the rom-com´s, I make you watch with me?
Clare:
I kind of tend to zone out after a while.
Alli:
She will end up getting hurt, when he chooses Anya over her. They´re going to end up together, I´ve never been more sure of anything.
Clare:
Okay, we can try to get it. But I´m not doing anything, that could ruin things for Darcy.
Alli looks pleased that Clare is still (more or less) with her on the plan.
9. Int. Auditorium. Evening.
Emma and JT are dancing and having fun, but are still keeping their distance, so that no one will start talking about them. They´re both smiling a lot though and are clearly enjoying themselves. A slow song comes on and they stop dancing.
Emma:
I need a break anyway.
JT:
Same here. I feel the need for a major sugar rush, if we´re gonna keep this style going all night.
They smile at each other.
Emma:
I´ll pass. I´m still on my cleansing diet.
JT moves in closer to her, like a drug dealer trying to sell her his products.
JT:
It´s just sugar, Emma. It can be your friend, if you let it!
Emma:
I´ll let the rest of you be slaves to it, if you don´t mind!
JT:
You know, that you want it!
Emma:
What I want is for you to get your sugar fix, so we can be ready to dance to the next song after this one. Now go!
He does as she tells him to and she watches him leave and pass by Darcy and Sav, who both look like they´re having a great time too.
10. Int. Hallway. Evening.
JT comes out to the vending machine and puts some coins in it. We hear something go bump, as it hits the tray and he gets an energy drink out of it. He opens it and is about to take a sip, when he hears some rummaging from down the hall. Going to investigate, he finds Alli halfway stuck, while she was trying to get through a window. He can´t help laughing a little, as she notices him.
Alli:
Could you give me a hand, in stead of laughing at my misery?
JT slowly walks over to her, taking a sip from his drink on the way and looking like he´s in no hurry, making her even more frustrated.
JT:
How much is it worth to you?
Alli:
If you want money, I´m worth around ten cents at the moment. You´ll have to settle for my gratitude.
JT:
You´re lucky, that I´m a nice guy, little lady.
He drinks the rest of his drink and dumps the can in a garbage can, before helping her as gently, as he can. She´s relieved to be free and looks grateful to him.
Alli:
Thanks. I´m Alli.
JT:
James Tiberious Yorke, better known as JT. Pleased to meet you.
Claire (off screen):
Hey! What about me?
Alli:
That´s my best friend Clare.
JT:
You´re gatecrashing, aren´t you?
Alli:
We´re still in Junior High. Please don´t tell anyone.
JT:
I wouldn´t dream of it. Hey, Clare?
Clare (off screen):
Yes?
JT:
Follow the building around the corner, until you reach a door. We´ll make sure, that it´s open for you.
Clare (off screen):
Will do.
They can hear Clare walking away outside. Alli smiles at JT.
Alli:
You really are a nice guy, aren´t you?
JT:
That´s what they keep saying. Come with me.
She follows after him, as they head up the hallway.
11. Int. Auditorium. Evening.
JT comes back in followed by Clare and Alli, who look a little overwhelmed with it all. They come over to Emma, who looks curious.
Emma:
Ditching me for a pair of younger models, are you?
JT:
These two are a little too young for my taste, plus I´m pretty sure that Manny would mind!
Alli:
This isn´t your girlfriend?
JT:
No, my girlfriend is her best friend, but she´s at home sick. Emma, meet Alli and Clare, our resident juvenile gatecrashers.
Emma smiles at his description of them, while Alli and Clare are a little embarrassed.
Emma:
Couldn´t wait to try it for yourself?
Clare:
My sister is here on a date with her brother. Darcy?
Emma:
She´s your sister? You look nothing alike!
Clare:
I get that a lot!
Alli:
Have you seen them?
Emma:
Yeah, they´re around somewhere.
Alli:
Let´s get to work, Clare. We´re here on a mission.
Clare:
Thanks for letting us in, JT.
JT:
No sweat. You two enjoy yourselves.
Alli:
You know, you two make a cute couple too, in case it doesn´t work out with her friend. Just saying.
Alli and Clare leave them and they smile shyly at each other.
Emma:
They´re so young and don´t know anything yet.
JT:
She probably hasn´t even held hands with a boy yet.
Emma:
Although, we would make a scorching couple, don´t you think?
He takes a moment to think about it, but is saved when the DJ puts on "Never Gonna Give You Up" with Rick Astley and he starts dancing goofily to it, making her smile.
JT:
You know as well as I do, that this is why we really came here!
Emma:
You´re seriously gonna Rick Roll me?
JT:
Rick Roll me back!
Emma:
You asked for it!
She starts dancing goofily with him and they don´t care that they´re getting laughed at a little by some of the others. In fact, it´s clearly refreshing for Emma to be there with JT, so she won´t have to care at all, what anyone thinks of her. Mia and Peter see them too and Mia is looking less than approving of JT having this much fun with a girl, who isn´t his girlfriend.
We cut to Alli and Clare, who are trying to get closer to Sav and Darcy, without being seen of course. The two tiny spies watch with interest, but can´t help getting swept up in the fun of it either. Alli is first to start dancing and Clare soon joins in.
12. Int. Foyer. Evening.
Alli and Clare are looking for Sav and Darcy.
Clare:
This is what we get for not keeping our minds on the job!
Alli:
Who says that you can´t mix work and fun?
Clare:
If you ever become a boss somewhere, I want to work for you!
They smile at each other, but Alli´s smile soon fades, when she sees Sav and Darcy kissing. Now she looks disappointed in herself.
Alli:
That´s it. We failed.
Clare:
Maybe it´s for the best. I´m sure they don´t need us interfering in their love lives.
Alli:
You have to admit, that it was kind of fun.
Clare:
Yeah. If nothing else, we´ve still had a blast tonight!
Someone clears their throat behind them and they look up to see Anya standing there, looking at them sternly.
Anya:
Since when do they let 8th graders in to high school dances?
Clare:
We ...
Alli:
We wanted to get you and Sav to dance, but as you can see, we kinda failed miserably.
Anya´s heart goes out to them, seeing as they had the best of intentions.
Anya:
Just make sure, that Sav doesn´t see you.
The girls smile.
Clare:
You´re okay with us staying?
Anya:
As long as you butt out of your sibling´s relationships. Find some of your own in stead!
Alli:
There are plenty of cute boys here. A lot more, than we usually see.
Anya:
Sav is right, when he says that this school won´t be ready for the mini tornado, that is you! Have fun, you guys.
She leaves them and heads back into the auditorium. Alli looks giddy at all of the boys she´s gonna dance with, making Clare a little worried.
13. Int. Auditorium. Evening.
Emma is getting a foot rub from JT, while they sit at one of the tables. She´s clearly enjoying it a lot.
Emma:
You are so good at that!
JT:
See? I am good at something!
Emma:
You´re amazing at so many things, JT. So what, if school doesn´t always agree with you?
JT:
Correction, never agrees with me!
Emma:
You´re gonna become someone that everyone has heard about and meanwhile, I´ll be working my dead end job, where no one believes me, when I tell them that I used to know you.
He smiles comfortingly at her.
JT:
In that case, you just call up your old pal here and he´ll come over and tell them the truth.
Emma:
You would do that for me?
JT:
Emma, don´t you know by now, that there´s almost nothing I wouldn´t do for you?
She smiles shyly back at him, as Alli and Clare come over to them.
Emma:
If it isn´t the gatecrashers. Are you enjoying yourselves, girls?
Alli:
Totally! Do you wanna dance, JT?
Emma nods at him, telling him that he should and he stands up.
JT:
You´re sure, that this old man won´t be cramping your youthful style?
Clare:
She doesn´t have a style yet.
JT:
In that case, I have nothing to worry about!
Him and Alli head out on the dancefloor, as Clare takes JT´s seat next to Emma.
Clare:
What´s high school really like? I mean, I hear some things from my sister, but I´m pretty sure she sugarcoats it for me.
Emma:
It´s not something to be afraid of, if that´s what you´re wondering. Sure, it´s harder than it was in Junior High, but it´s not like they throw all of it at you on the first day.
Clare:
It´s not the school work, I´m worried about. I´m not the sort of person, who makes new friends easily.
Emma:
Good thing you have Alli then.
Clare:
I know. She´s like my mirror opposite in many ways, but our friendship just works for whatever reason.
Emma:
You two remind me of me and Manny, when we were your age.
Clare smiles a little to herself.
Clare:
How?
Emma:
We´re different too and always have been. Except for a few major points, of course.
Clare:
What are they?
Emma:
She has a big heart and so do I. Not that we´ve not had a spat or a few arguments over the years, but at the end of the day, we couldn´t imagine our lives without each other in them.
Clare:
Me and Alli are kind of the same way, I guess.
Emma:
You´ll go through a rough spot here and there, as all friends will in their teens. When she became pregnant four years ago, we had a fight so big, that I was afraid she´d never speak to me again. But we got over it. Of course, since then everything has gone right for her, while things for me seem to be going in reverse most of the time.
Clare gets a little uncomfortable, that Emma is being this open with her.
Emma:
You push it off and try to be happy for her, until you wake up one day and realize, that you´d rather be her and you hadn´t wasted the last five years on a guy, who apparently still can´t make up his mind about you!
Clare:
After five years? How thick headed is he?
Emma:
I know! It´s like, how much more info do you need, Sean? Meanwhile your best friend is having the kind of perfect romance, you´ve always dreamt of having and with a boy, you had plenty of chances to get with, before she snatched him up! Then you go on a stupid friend date with him and there´s nothing you want to do more than kiss him, but you can´t because you´ll lose your best friend!
Clare takes her answer in, as Emma sulks.
Clare:
I hope that me and Alli won´t fall for the same boy.
Emma:
I hope so for your sake too, Kiddo. If you´re smart, which you look like you are, then you´ll skip the bad boy phase entirely and find a boy like JT. Someone nice, who´ll love you with all of his heart and lives to make you happy, like he does for Manny.
Clare:
He sounds like quite a guy.
Emma:
If only there were two of him ...
She´s left pondering the possibilities, as we cut to Alli and JT dancing with each other. Alli is having the time of her (so far) short life and JT is just glad, that he could do this for her. Cutting back to Clare, she can easily see why Emma is crushing on him this hard.
14. Ext. Degrassi. Morning.
JT and Manny arrive together for school on Monday, along with lots of other students. They´re holding hands.
JT:
It´s no shame, if you can´t make it through the day.
Manny:
I don´t feel all that terrible anymore. It´ll be okay.
JT:
Plus, you have Biology with old mister Tremont and that severely monotone voice is always great for catching some Z´s.
Manny:
And you wonder, why you don´t get decent grades?
She sees Mia arriving with Jane.
Manny:
I´ll catch you later. Spirit Squad stuff.
JT:
Those girls are stealing you away from me!
He lets go of her hand and heads inside, while she walks over to Mia and Jane.
Manny:
Hi, guys. How was the dance?
Jane:
Very dancy, unsurprisingly!
Manny giggles.
Mia:
Good, except that your boyfriend and your BFF were playing the mating game, right there for everyone to see!
Manny:
They´re just friends.
Jane:
I don´t know. They looked like more than that to me!
Mia:
Their body language said it all and theirs was practically screaming "Let´s find a place, where we can get busy in every conceivable way"!
Manny can´t help looking a little worried.
15. Int. Sav´s Room. Day.
Sav is on the phone with Darcy.
Sav:
No, you hang up! I´m not gonna be the one to hang up on you!
He laughs, as he listens to her reply.
Sav:
Then I might as well come over, right? We can´t keep ruining our families with these phone bills, we´re racking up. I´ll be there in half an hour, tops. See ya.
He hangs up, just as there´s a knock on the door.
Alli (off screen):
It´s just me.
Sav:
Come in.
She does and closes the door after herself.
Sav:
What´s up, Short Stack?
Alli:
Can you help me with my Spanish homework?
Sav:
Sorry, sis. I´m heading over to Darcy´s.
Alli:
For a date?
Sav:
To hang out.
Alli:
Will you be making out, while you hang out?
He looks a little annoyed with how nosy she is.
Sav:
I´ll leave that up to your imagination.
Alli:
Which means, that you will. What are you gonna do, when mom and dad find out? They´re not gonna like you dating a white girl.
Sav:
I´ll fight that battle, when I get there. Promise me, that you won´t tell them?
Alli:
I promise. Look, I know that I know absolutely nothing about love, except for what I´ve seen in movies and on TV. But I know that Darcy is a sweet girl. You could do a whole lot worse than her.
Sav smiles at her.
Sav:
You´re okay with it?
Alli:
You´re my brother. It´s my job as your sister to be happy for you in these situations.
She smiles back at him.
CLOSING CREDITS