WHAT IF? - SEASON 3 EPISODE 9 - WAITIN´ ON A SUNNY DAY
Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.
1. Int. Andy´s Apartment. Morning.
We start on Paige doing a line of Cocaine before she´s about to leave. She smiles to herself, as she wipes her nose with her fingers. Andy is lying on his bed, bare chested and probably naked under the covers.
Andy:
That´s the way this is gonna be, is it? You´re just gonna love me and leave me?
Paige:
Stop being such a girl, Andy! You´ll survive a few days without me.
Andy:
I´m kidding. I hope you have an awesome time back in Toronto. What was it, an engagement party or something?
Paige:
For two of my best childhood friends.
Andy:
That´s nice.
Paige:
It really is. The two of them were born to be together. Like us.
She gets on top of him and kisses him.
Andy:
You only like me, because I can get you drugs.
Paige:
That´s not true! You´re not half-bad in bed either!
Andy:
Seriously, Paige. We´ve talked about you cutting down your use and it´s been the opposite lately.
Paige:
So? You do it too.
Andy:
Once in a while. Not practically every day.
Paige:
I´m not an addict, if that´s what you think.
Andy:
Prove it. Do the entire trip back to Toronto without doing any kind of drug.
She doesn´t like it, but sees that she has to, to shut him up about it.
Paige:
Okay! I´ll be the city´s biggest goody two shoes, happy?
Andy:
Happy.
Paige:
What if I have a headache? Can I take an Aspirin?
Andy:
That would be okay. I love you and I don´t want to be responsible for your fall from grace.
They look each other in the eyes and she smiles warmly at him.
Paige:
I love you too. Seriously, you have nothing to worry over.
She tries to give him a comforting look, but he isn´t entirely believing it.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Car. Day.
Marco is driving with Paige in the passenger seat and Ashley in the back seat. They look glad to be reunited.
Ashley:
I can´t believe how fast they´ve jumped into it!
Marco:
Why wait, if you know that it´s meant to be?
Paige:
Plus, engagements can last for as long as they want them to. It´s probably an excuse to get the old gang back together again, because they´ve missed us.
Ashley:
You still see them pretty often, don´t you, Marco?
Marco:
Mostly Ellie, but that´s because we have lots of classes together. After school, she´s off to be Jay´s private porn star.
Ashley and Paige giggle.
Paige:
I guess, she´s made it past that hurdle!
Ashley:
Good for her! I didn´t give them any chance of lasting, but I´m glad to be proven wrong this time.
Marco:
As for the rest, I see Terri around campus once in a while and we say hi, but that´s about it. I´ve hung out with Spinner maybe twice, since he started working full time.
Paige:
We´re all growing up so fast. Before we know it, we´ll be adults with adult problems like paying mortgages and having kids, that we have to get to daycare.
Ashley:
Paige, you do realize that you´re in the company of two people, who like those of their own gender?
Paige:
Being gay doesn´t mean that it won´t happen to you too. I don´t know about you, but I plan on enjoying the hell out of my time, until I get there!
Ashley:
As if you´re not already!
Paige smiles to herself, looking glad to be home again as she looks out the windows.
3. Ext. Spinner´s Mom´s House. Day.
Spinner and Terri are greeting their guests, as they arrive. First are Jimmy, Sean and Craig.
Spinner:
Welcome to the banquet hall, aka my mom´s house, that she´s nice enough to let us use!
Jimmy:
With you, Spin, it wouldn´t feel right any other way!
Craig:
Where´s the ring, Terri? We want to see it!
She holds up her hand and smiles at them. The ring is simple, but elegant, in many ways fitting with who Terri is. The boys look at it.
Sean:
How can a pair of students, who also have to pay rent, afford that?
Terri:
It´s called a payment plan.
Spinner:
In only four years, it will officially be ours. Then I can buy her a wedding ring.
He gives Terri a small kiss and they look happy together.
Spinner:
There´s plenty of beer inside, boys.
Jimmy:
That´s what I like to hear!
The boys head inside and next up are Darcy and Jane.
Spinner:
Welcome, ladies!
Jane:
Thanks for letting us come.
Spinner:
It wouldn´t be the same without the entire band here.
Terri:
I made sure that there were alcohol free options too, when he told me you were coming.
Darcy:
Thanks, Terri. The last thing I need is another drunken one night stand!
Jane:
Weren´t you stoned?
Darcy:
Same dif.
Spinner:
Whatever you do tonight, promise me that you´ll have a great time and I´ll be happy.
Jane:
That´s one thing, I can assure you of!
They smile at Spinner and Terri, as they head inside. Next up are Ashley, Marco and Paige, who comes running up to the house and gives Terri a huge hug.
Paige:
I´m so happy for you!
Terri:
Thanks, Paige. From what I hear, you´re not doing too bad either.
Paige breaks the hug and gives Spinner a smaller one, as Marco and Ashley come walking up to them.
Spinner:
You could have brought him, if you wanted to. I´d like to meet him.
Terri:
If he´s stolen your heart, then he must be someone special.
Ashley:
I take it, that you´re talking about Paige´s main squeeze, Andy. The one I have to listen to her ramble on about all the time?
Paige:
You know that I try not to, but it´s hard, when you´re in love.
Marco:
At least you have something to ramble about, Paige.
Terri:
Still no luck?
Marco:
Nah, but I have found nice place to live with a cool room mate, so that´s something.
Spinner:
Including you guys, that means everyone´s here.
Ashley:
Including Alex?
She looks hopeful and Terri smiles at her.
Terri:
Including Alex.
Ashley lights up in a wide smile.
4. Int. Spinner´s Mom´s Living Room. Evening.
The party is well underway and some of the guests are starting to look a little drunk. Among them are Craig and Ashley, who´s got her arm around Alex´s waist.
Craig:
Sometimes a girl can be mega hot and seem right in every way, but she has to be old enough too.
Ashley:
You didn´t learn that lesson three years ago?
Alex:
As fascinating as it is to hear about your affairs with the local fifteen years old girls, my drink is empty. Wanna get a new one with me, Ash?
Ashley downs her glass and smiles at her.
Ashley:
What do you know, I´m out too! Later, Craig.
Craig:
Later, girls.
They head over to the drinks table, where there´s beer and many kinds of booze and various mixers. Alex grabs a bottle of each and gets to work.
Alex:
Try this one. It´s quickly become my new favorite and I´m sure you´ll like it too.
Ashley:
Since when are you an expert on drinks making?
Alex:
My college room mate grew up with parents, who were both bartenders. She made her first Margarita, when she was five!
Ashley:
Hopefully, she didn´t drink it!
Alex laughs and hands Ashley her drink.
Alex:
I´ve never asked her. Try it.
They both take a sip of their drinks and Ashley goes "Mmm".
Ashley:
You´re right. It is right up my alley. You and your new roomie are close, huh?
Alex:
It´s no big deal, right? I mean, you´re close with Paige too.
Ashley:
Yeah, but we´ve known each other forever. Getting along with someone you´ve never met is a different kind of challenge.
Alex:
It´s not like it was a challenge. We more or less got along from moment one ...
Alex takes another sip of her drink to try to hide her nervousness. Ashley picks up on it and looks a little worried.
Ashley:
Is there something, you´re not telling me?
Alex:
I haven´t seen you in months, so I got lonely.
Ashley puts her drink on the table and looks Alex in the eyes, even if Alex tries to avoid it.
Ashley:
Did you have sex with her?
Alex:
No, I swear! This isn´t the time or place.
Ashley:
I wanna know!
Alex:
Only some kissing, I promise. And some groping, but nothing more.
Ashley:
Where did she grope you?
Alex looks away, not wanting to answer her.
Alex:
Do I have to say it?
Ashley gets angry and takes a large sip of her drink.
Ashley:
Thanks for the drink, Alex. You can have a nice life as well!
Alex:
Ash, come on!
Ashley doesn´t answer and walks away angrily. Alex looks frustrated at how it went.
5. Int. Kitchen. Evening.
Jane and Darcy are chatting with Terri, when Ashley comes storming in and sits down. She puts her head in her hands and Jane and Darcy leave them alone. Terri sits down with her.
Terri:
What´s wrong?
Ashley:
Alex cheated on me.
She starts crying and Terri puts her hand on her back to comfort her.
Terri:
You haven´t felt like doing anything at all with another girl, while you´ve been apart?
Ashley looks up at her.
Ashley:
Don´t tell me, that you´re defending her!
Terri:
I´m not. But let´s face it, it´s not really a relationship, if you can´t spend time together.
Ashley:
It´s not that I haven´t been tempted. There´s plenty of pretty girls, who are looking for other girls at Banting.
Terri:
But?
Ashley:
I hated Craig like you wouldn´t believe, when he cheated on me with Manny. Seriously, I was one step away from making a Voodoo doll of him!
Terri giggles a little.
Ashley:
It took me most of the next year to get over it. I promised myself that no matter what, I wouldn´t put anyone else through the same thing.
Terri:
She´s only human and I think that especially at our age, we need to feel loved. What we do together is just our way of showing it.
She gets a small smile out of Ashley.
Ashley:
When did you become so clever on love?
Terri:
Since I found out what the real deal is like, I suppose.
Ashley:
How would you describe it?
Terri smiles to herself.
Terri:
Like I never feel complete, when I´m not with him.
Ashley:
I´ve never felt that way about Alex.
Terri:
Then it wasn´t really true love, was it? Anyway, wouldn´t you rather have a girlfriend, who you see every day and spoils you with those little surprises, that turn a grey day into a sunny one?
Ashley nods in agreement.
Ashley:
I´m still mad at her, though.
Terri:
Oh, you should be! She still cheated on you. But in the end, it´s probably for the best that she did, crazy as it may sound.
Ashley takes Terri´s advice in.
6. Int. Living Room. Evening.
Paige is talking to Marco and Jimmy.
Paige:
Don´t get me wrong, I love college. I just wasn´t prepared for it being that hard!
Jimmy:
It´s like the difficulty has been turned up by factor five!
Marco:
What were we at before?
Jimmy:
One, Marco. That´s how that whole analogy works.
Marco feels a little dumb for asking now. A very drunk looking Craig comes over to them and puts his arms around Jimmy and Marco.
Craig:
There are my buddies! I tell ya, school just isn´t the same without you guys to hang out with.
Jimmy:
What´s this I hear about you and some sophomore girl?
Paige:
Been doing some shopping in the Junior section, Craig?
Craig:
It´s a long story. The short version is that I probably shouldn´t have slept with her, but I did anyway.
Marco:
It´s nice to know that some things don´t change.
Paige and Jimmy try not to laugh, since Marco is keeping a straight face and Craig isn´t getting it.
Craig:
Huh?
Jimmy pads him on the back.
Jimmy:
Next time, go for someone who´s old enough to get a driver´s license. That should be your bench mark.
Craig:
None of it would have happened, if Manny hadn´t gotten engaged to JT. I got so desperate and lonely, that I must have stopped thinking straight. Anyway, it all worked out for the best, because I´m dating her now and it´s actually going alright.
Paige looks shocked at the news.
Paige:
They´re engaged? To be married?
Marco:
No, to buy a bunk bed together! What does the word engaged usually mean to you?
Craig:
I thought, you knew. It was months ago.
Jimmy:
Even I knew.
Paige:
Did you, Marco?
Marco:
It´s news to me.
Paige:
Excuse me. I need some fresh air.
She hurries out of there, trying her best not to look upset, when she in reality is.
Craig:
Here I thought I had problems getting over my ex!
Jimmy:
Shouldn´t one of us go and talk to her?
Marco:
I´m her every day shrink, with the phone bill to prove it.
Craig:
I´m too drunk to care!
Marco:
It falls on you, Jimmy, if you want to volunteer.
Jimmy:
I should. Me and Paige go back to when we were kids.
Craig:
Go and comfort the crying girl then. I´m just glad, that it isn´t me!
Jimmy leaves them, as Craig starts to lose his balance and has to sit down.
Craig:
Marco, I´m pretty sure, that I could be drunk.
Marco:
That´s not a claim, I will dispute, buddy!
Craig tries to focus his eyes, but is clearly having problems with it.
7. Ext. Spinner´s Mom´s House. Evening.
Paige comes out and looks around to see if she´s alone. She gets a small vial of Cocaine and a tiny spoon from her purse and snorts a tiny bit up each nostril. She doesn´t at first notice Jimmy coming out from the house and busting her in the act. When she does, she´s embarrassed and quickly hides it away.
Paige:
I don´t know what you think you just saw, but I can explain.
Jimmy:
How bad is it?
Paige:
It´s nothing, okay?
Jimmy:
You snuck off to do drugs, hiding it from your friends. Do you know, who you remind me of?
She doesn´t say anything, but looks uncomfortable at being made to talk about it.
Jimmy:
You´re probably already a master at hiding it. That part comes frighteningly natural, doesn´t it?
Paige:
They´ll kick me out of school, if they found out. You´re nice to care, Jimmy, but I have it under control.
Jimmy:
You sound exactly like I did half a year ago! Only I didn´t have it under control and I was scared senseless to admit it to myself. Getting over that hurdle is one of the hardest things, I´ve had to do. Just as bad as the withdrawals, that aren´t a laugh either, believe me!
Paige:
I get them sometimes, if I haven´t used in a day or two. Please Jimmy, It´s my problem. Don´t tell everyone or they´ll never look at me the same way again.
Jimmy:
If you get withdrawals, it´s a clear sign that you need to take a long hard look in the mirror. You either quit or it keeps going downhill from here.
Paige nods and it looks like his words are getting through to her.
Paige:
I´ll go and flush the rest of it.
Jimmy:
Do you want my help?
Paige:
I can flush a toilet by myself!
She heads inside. He isn´t looking all that sure that she´ll actually do it.
8. Int. Bathroom. Evening.
Paige is standing by the toilet, as she takes the vial out of her purse. She opens it and stares at it, as if hypnotized by it. She starts to turn it, but stops herself, just before any of the Cocaine falls out of it. Losing her nerve to, she puts the cap back on and puts the vial back on her purse. She in stead checks out how she looks in the mirror and fluffs her hair with her fingers.
Paige (whispering to herself):
What does he know?
She smiles at herself in the mirror and pretends that everything is fine.
9. Int. Kitchen. Evening.
Ashley is still being comforted by Terri, when Alex comes in there.
Alex:
Sorry, I didn´t know you were here.
Ashley looks over at her and to Alex´s surprise, smiles slightly at her.
Ashley:
I think we need a talk, don´t you?
Terri gets up from her seat.
Terri:
I´d better check if everything´s okay in there anyway.
She leaves them and Ashley stands up. She walks over to Alex, while looking her in the eyes.
Ashley:
Do you have any idea, how important you´ve been to me?
Alex:
Ash, I´m so sorry! If I could go back and change it, I would. I couldn´t lie to you about it either, because it´s been eating me up inside.
Ashley:
Do you like her?
Alex:
It doesn´t matter.
Ashley:
Answer me truthfully. After all of that time as your girlfriend, I deserve that much.
Alex takes a moment to consider it, then slightly nods. Ashley doesn´t look mad at her.
Alex:
Kind of. Please don´t hate me.
Ashley:
We both knew that it would be hard at our age, trying to make it work long distance. If you like her, then you have my blessing to pursue it.
Alex looks sad.
Alex:
You´re breaking up with me, aren´t you?
Ashley:
Alex, you perhaps more than anyone, helped me to find out who I am. When I look at my life, it´s split into life before you and life after you. That´s a gift, there´s no way I could ever begin to repay you. But I can give you your freedom and that´s what I´m doing.
Alex:
I just can´t believe that it´s actually over between us.
Ashley gives her a hug.
Ashley:
College won´t last forever. There will be a life, after it´s over. If you haven´t found anyone, I haven´t either and we happen to meet again under the right circumstances ...
She gets a small smile out of Alex.
Alex:
You were my first real love.
Ashley:
Same here. But it´s time for both of us to move on with our new lives, without anything from the past holding us back.
Alex holds her tightly this one last time, enjoying it while she can.
10. Int. Living Room. Evening.
A drunk looking Spinner is ready to give a toast. Everyone has their glasses raised.
Spinner:
When I look around this room, I see people who I love and whom I wish, that I could still talk to every day. But that´s life and who knows if we´ll ever be together like this again or what the future will look like? All I know is that it doesn´t matter where in the world all of us will be, because there will always one thing, that unites us. We were a crucial part of each other´s lives at the time, when we needed our friends the most. To old friends!
Everyone:
To old friends!
Everyone toasts and drinks.
11. Ext. Spinner´s Mom´s House. Evening.
Paige is hugging Terri goodbye, as her and Ashley are ready to call it a night. The party has started breaking up anyway.
Paige:
I promise to start calling more often, Hon.
Terri:
Get home to Banting safely and you´re forgiven.
Paige:
Thankfully I still have a day or two here.
Ashley gives Terri a hug too.
Ashley:
Take care, Sweetie. Anytime you feel like talking, don´t hesitate to call, okay?
Terri:
I will.
They smile at each other.
Paige:
Between everything else that´s happened, I haven´t asked how you´re doing?
Terri:
You know me. I´m not one to complain.
Ashley:
Are you happy?
Terri nods and they look happy for her.
Terri:
It turns out that being nice isn´t the worst trait, you can have in college.
Paige:
And who in the world is nicer than you?
A taxi pulls up to the curb.
Ashley:
That´s us.
Terri:
We´ll talk soon.
She closes the door and the girls begin walking down to their taxi.
Paige:
How was your evening?
Ashley:
Eventful. I broke up with Alex.
Paige:
I´m sorry to hear that.
Ashley:
It´s for the best. As much as I didn´t want to admit it to myself, having a long distance relationship at this time of my life is too much to handle.
Paige:
JT is getting married to Manny.
Ashley has to take a second to take it in.
Ashley:
It might be kind of rude to say so, but I´m kind of relieved that she won´t be marrying Craig now. Are you okay?
Paige:
I want him to be happy, it´s not that. I just can´t help feeling like I´ve lost to her, you know?
Ashley:
You have Andy now. Let JT and Manny live their lives and go on with yours.
Paige:
The future is so bright, that I gotta wear shades, right?
Ashley smiles at her, as she gets in the taxi. Paige´s face when Ash isn´t looking tells the real truth however.
CLOSING CREDITS