WHAT IF? - SEASON 3 EPISODE 11 - SHE´S THE ONE
Disclaimer: I don´t own Degrassi or the characters from it.
1. Int. Hallway. Day.
Sean is by his locker, looking as un-interested in school as he does most of the time, when Craig comes over to him, reading something on his phone and chuckling to himself. It peaks Sean´s interest.
Sean:
What are you laughing at?
Craig:
Your ex can call herself a published writer.
Sean:
Ellie?
Craig:
That would have been my guess too, but it´s the other one.
He hands the phone to Sean, who eagerly reads it and soon starts laughing as well.
Sean:
My, my, Emma!
Craig:
Only a few people know that the alias "Lydia Lovebug" is her, so keep quiet with it.
Sean:
We never did any of the stuff she writes about!
Craig:
You didn´t?
Sean:
We did lots of stuff, but our love making never made it past the basics.
Craig:
It looks like she wants to take an advanced class, if you know what I mean?
Sean smiles to himself, clearly thinking that he´s the inspiration for it.
2. Int. Classroom. Day.
Emma is talking to Manny before class, when Sean comes over to her. He´s still looking kind of cocky.
Sean:
Can we talk for a sec, Emma?
Emma looks up at him and smiles.
Emma:
Talk.
Sean:
In private?
Manny:
I can guess what this is about! Oh, look. There´s an empty seat next to Kendra!
She moves over to sit next to Kendra, as Sean takes her seat.
Sean:
I read your story.
Emma blushes and gets a little embarrassed.
Emma:
Who told you?
Sean:
Craig. Why haven´t you told me, that you´ve been writing?
Emma:
Because I don´t know if I´m any good at it.
Sean:
I´m no expert. but I loved it.
She looks pleased.
Emma:
What did you love about it?
Sean:
It feels like it´s coming from the heart, even the more multi-X rated parts.
Emma:
It was just my mind coming up with stuff.
Sean:
Isn´t that what all writers do?
Emma:
I guess so.
Sean leans in to whisper to her.
Sean (whispering):
If you want to try that out in real life, all you have to do is ask. I can guess, who was your inspiration for the male love interest.
She gets a bit uncomfortable and leans away from him.
Emma (whispering):
It wasn´t you. I´m sorry.
Her words hit him like a ton of bricks.
OPENING CREDITS
3. Int. Music Room. Day.
Craig and Sav are jamming on a pair of guitars, while Sean is driving himself crazy pacing the floor by the looks of it. Craig and Sav sound pretty damn great together, you have to admit and when they finish their song, they high five.
Craig:
Not bad, Sav! How long have you been playing?
Sav:
Almost three years.
Craig:
If you want to start something up, I´m game. What did you think, Sean?
Sean snaps back into reality and looks him in the eyes.
Sean:
It can´t have been Toby, could it? The guy is like 3 feet tall!
Sav:
What´s this about?
Craig:
His ex wrote a very dirty story, that he found out isn´t about him.
Sav can´t help himself from laughing.
Sav:
How dirty are we taking?
Craig:
On a ten scale, it´s a twelve! We´re talking stuff, you would never believe that a girl would have fantasies about!
Sav:
Can I read it?
Sean:
No! I don´t want anyone to read it!
Craig:
You´re not her boyfriend anymore and it´s not your call.
Sean:
Wouldn´t it drive you crazy, knowing that she wrote that while thinking about some other guy than you?
Sav:
It sounds to me like you need to make a list of suspects.
Sean:
With Emma, it can´t be very long. She gets along with Toby, but he looks like a hobbit ...
Sav fights the urge to laugh.
Sav:
Who else?
Sean:
She´s close with JT. They´re always laughing and smiling at each other, when you see them together. The only other choice I can think of is Jay, but I don´t think she´ll want to steal another boyfriend from Elle.
Sav:
Another one?
Craig:
There´s a LOT of history there! Are you forgetting, that JT is practically married to Emma´s BFF?
Sav:
That doesn´t mean, she can´t have fantasies about him. I have a very hot cousin from Vancouver, who´s the same age as me, that I had certain thoughts about when I was younger, but it wasn´t like I actually wanted to live out any of them. My parents would probably have disowned me, if I had!
Craig:
The other option is that it´s someone, she made up. Have you considered that?
Sean:
I have to find out or I´ll lose my mind!
Sav packs his guitar away and gets ready to leave.
Sav:
We´ll talk tomorrow, Craig. I have a hot date to get ready for.
Sean:
Do yourself a favor, kid. Don´t fall in love with her!
Sav;
It´s already too late for that.
He smiles at them and leaves them.
4. Int. Sav´s Room. Evening.
Sav is ready to go on his date and is dressed to look his best for Darcy. His father comes into the room.
Sav´s Dad:
Quite a fancy dress for a normal dinner, don´t you think?
Sav:
I´m not eating at home tonight. I already told mom.
Sav´s Dad:
I know, she told me. You´re off to see that girl again, aren´t you?
Sav:
It´s none of your business, if I am.
He looks at his dad defiantly, as if he´s ready to go another round with him on this.
Sav´s Dad:
Sav, we´ve talked about this many times ...
Sav:
No, we haven´t! You´ve told me, how you want things to be! How I want them to be, has never meant a rat´s ass to you!
Sav´s Dad:
I understand that you want to live like your other friends, but our culture is not like theirs.
Sav:
As in, my white friends?
Sav´s Dad:
You know that I´m not a racist. We´ve never said that you or your sister couldn´t be friends with someone because of their skin color.
Sav:
When you look at the world as being split up between them and us, you are. But guess what? I don´t intend on becoming one! Alli doesn´t want to either, just so you know!
He storms past his father and out the door. His dad looks frustrated with how it went.
5. Int. Craig´s Car. Evening.
Craig is eating from a bag of chips, while Sean stares intently at Emma´s house. They´re clearly doing a stake out and Craig is taking it a lot easier, than Sean is.
Craig:
This is a complete waste of time.
Sean:
I have to do something. What if she´s in love with him?
Craig looks at Sean with sympathy.
Craig:
You and Emma have more history than couples, who have been together for twenty years.
Sean:
Maybe that´s the problem. It would be so much easier, if I´d just met her.
Craig:
You wouldn´t want that either, do you?
Sean shakes his head.
Sean:
No, I wouldn´t. Why can´t we just tell one another that we love each other and live happily ever after? That´s the only thing I want to happen right now.
Craig:
Because real life doesn´t work that way?
Sean nods in sad agreement, but his eyes light up when he sees Emma come out of the house with Snake by her side. They get into his car and he smiles to himself.
6. Int. Comedy Club. Evening.
Sean and Craig come in and are quite surprised to find themselves in a comedy club. They see Emma talking to JT and they look to be enjoying themselves. It doesn´t exactly help with Sean´s mood to see them together.
Sean:
You still don´t think there´s anything to worry over?
Craig:
She would never do anything to hurt Manny.
Sean:
Have you heard the expression "The heart wants what it wants"?
Craig:
Add to that the statistics on how many teenage couples stand the test of time ...
Sean gets even more nervous now.
Sean:
Why did you have to say that?
Craig:
None of us have managed to make it work in the long run, have we?
The emcee, a tuxedo dressed man in his 40´s with the slickest looking hair imaginable, comes on stage holding a microphone.
Emcee:
Good evening and welcome to "The Laugh Factory" everyone! Yes, it´s that time of the week again, for some of those talented and also less talented amateurs to show us if they can in fact, make us laugh. First on the list is a very funny teenage girl, who´s quickly becoming a regular on these nights. Please welcome to the stage, the x-rated comedy stylings of Lydia Lovebug!
Sean and Craig both look shocked, as Emma comes up to the stage and is handed the microphone. She´s looking pretty confident.
Emma:
How are you all doing tonight, okay? I´ve personally had kind of a rough week. I had to break up with my boyfriend. It dawned to me how pathetic it was to be dating something, that needs four new batteries every few days!
She gets a great laugh from the crowd, including JT, Sean and Craig.
Emma:
Believe it or not, but I´ve been celibate for quite a while now. Not by my own choice, it should be said.
Guy in crowd (off screen):
No way!
Emma:
I know! If it wasn´t for all the crabs down there, I would start to feel lonely!
She gets another big laugh and Sean almost blushes at how dirty her humor is.
7. Int. The Mall. Evening.
Darcy is checking out some clothes hanging outside of a clothing store, while Sav waits for her. He´s lost in his own thoughts. She holds up a very cute looking sweater in front of herself.
Darcy:
What do you think of this one?
Sav:
It´s nice.
Darcy puts the sweater back on the rack and makes eye contact with him.
Darcy:
Am I gonna get more than two words at a time out of you tonight?
Sav:
Sorry. I had another fight with my dad, before I left.
Darcy:
At our age it sort of comes with the territory. I´ve had some screaming matches with mine too.
Sav:
Does it happen almost every day?
Darcy:
No, only very rarely. We both feel guilty afterwards, which keeps the peace for a while.
Sav:
I have no idea what to do with him! On one hand, I know that he only wants what´s best for me, but he can´t see that what he thinks is right for me is the opposite of it! I don´t want to marry some girl in an arranged marriage and become some Indian stereotype, like he is! I want to live freely and have a life, where I´m the one who makes all the decisions.
Darcy clearly feels for him and takes his hand.
Darcy:
It´s not too much to ask for.
Sav:
It is to him and my mom. I´m not putting up with it anymore and I don´t want Alli to either. She shouldn´t be forced to live by the same rules, that women did a hundred years ago and get married to some guy, that my parents picked out for her, because it suits them best.
Darcy:
Aren´t you telling this to the wrong person right now?
Sav:
Just forget it. I don´t want to allow him to ruin our date, like he does everything else.
Darcy:
Parents can be a pain in the butt, but we still have to live with them. Going to war with them isn´t the way to solve things.
He nods, but is still torn on what to do.
8. Int. Comedy Club. Evening.
Emma is watching, as JT is up on stage doing his act for the crowd. It´s going down well.
JT:
Ten year old´s are something, aren´t they? My ten year old half sister makes me laugh with the worst jokes ever! Let me give you a sample of her schoolyard humor: What kind of cats like to go bowling?
He looks to the crowd and they go silent.
JT:
Alley cats, of course!
He gets a nice laugh out of them.
JT:
Let´s try another one. What did the spider do on the computer? It made a website!
We cut to Emma, who´s laughing along with the rest of them, as Sean comes over to her. She´s surprised to see him there.
Emma (whispering):
How did you know I would be here?
Sean (whispering):
A lucky guess, I suppose.
Emma (whispering):
He´s good, isn´t he?
Sean (whispering):
He´s almost as funny as you were. I never knew that side of you until today.
Emma (whispering):
It all started with me telling Manny a dirty joke and before I knew it, Lydia was born. When I´m her, I say what I want to say, write what I want to write and I don´t feel sorry over it or care what everyone else thinks.
Sean (whispering):
I can handle the truth. Does Lydia have a crush on JT?
Emma (whispering):
Whether she does or not doesn´t matter. Him and Manny are meant to be together.
Sean (whispering):
Didn´t you used to think that same way about us?
They make eye contact and smile sadly at each other, as we cut back to the stage, where JT is having fun with the crowd.
JT:
One last one and then I´m out here! What do you call a cat with no legs? You can call it whatever you like, but it's not coming! That´s it for me, you´ve been a great audience!
The crowd cheers and claps him off stage, Emma maybe applauding louder than anyone else. Sean can see the love she has for JT in her eyes and soon starts to feel more sorry for her, than he does for himself, as he claps along.
9. Int. Little Miss Steaks. Evening.
Sav is having dinner with Darcy at a LMS and there´s an Indian family consisting of a father, a mother, a son who´s around 12 years old and a daughter, who´s around 8. He´s having trouble taking his eyes off them.
Darcy:
Sav, you´re here with me, aren´t you?
Sav:
What do you mean?
Darcy:
It feels like this dinner consists of you, me and that family over there.
Sav:
It just disgusts me, you know? There they are, pretending to be the most loving parents ever and I know that they´re gonna treat both of those kids as commodities, like mine want to do with me and Alli.
Darcy:
Correction. You, me, that family over there and your parents, who are clearly here in spirit with us!
She puts her knife and fork down and looks annoyed with him. He looks apologetic.
Sav:
It´s not exactly sexy, is it?
Darcy:
It´s kind of the opposite, Sav! If all you´re gonna do all night is bitch about your folks, you can do it by yourself.
Sav:
I´ll try not to. We´ll talk about something else.
Darcy:
I´m leaving, if you bring them up again.
Sav:
Point taken. How´s your steak?
Darcy:
It´s exactly how I like it. Yours?
Sav:
I have absolutely nothing to complain over!
They smile at each other and go back to eating, as Sav tries not to look over at the family and concentrate on his date in stead.
10. Int. Comedy Club. Evening.
JT is at the bar and is served a pair sodas by the bartender. One looks like a cola and the other is a club soda. Sean comes over and stands next to him. JT notices him, as does the bartender.
Sean:
Two Budweisers.
Bartender:
Do you have some ID, I can see?
Sean shows him his driver´s license and the bartender looks like he accepts it, so he gets Sean his beers from a cooler behind the counter. She pays him and he goes to tend to other customers.
JT:
Drinking on a school night, Sean?
Sean:
A few beers isn´t really drinking. Not that I don´t feel like drinking a lot more of them.
JT:
Don´t let me stop you.
He´s about to leave, when Sean grabs his shoulder.
Sean:
JT, she likes you.
JT looks confused.
JT:
Who?
Sean:
I don´t have to say her name, do I?
JT starts to get it and looks worried.
Sean:
I´m only telling you, because I know that she won´t. I haven´t always been the poster child for good guys, but when it comes to Emma, all I want is for her to be happy. If it can´t be with me ...
JT:
It can´t be with me either!
Sean:
Why not?
JT:
It has five letters and starts with an M?
Sean:
JT, I know that you love Manny and I totally get why you would. The fact is that we´re still young and most couples our age don´t last. Often because we meet someone, who´s even better for us, than the one we´re with. Whatever you decide, try not to hurt Em. She´s been through enough already, most of it because of me.
He nods at JT and goes to join Craig and hands him the other beer. Emma comes over to him, while he´s still trying to take it in.
Emma:
What´s keeping you?
JT:
Nothing.
Emma:
It has to be something. Come on, JT. We´ve been able to tell each other everything, ever since we were kids.
JT:
Have we? You haven´t been keeping any secrets from me?
Emma:
You busted me! I´ve been watching Craig Ferguson´s terrible new talk show, there I said it!
They both laugh and it eases the mood between them.
JT:
How bad is it?
Emma:
Extremely! But I did get a few good laughs out of it.
JT:
Then it´s time well spent. If there is anything, you know that you can come to me and we can talk it out, like we´ve always been able to.
Emma:
We say that, but it was easier when there weren´t any secrets to hide.
JT:
So, there is something you´re hiding from me?
He tries to read her face, but she smiles it off.
Emma:
You don´t need to know everything. Anyway, we´d better find some seats. The break is almost over.
JT:
Sure, Em.
We cut to the stage, where the emcee comes out again.
Emcee:
It sure has been a laugh riot so far, hasn´t it? Well, strap in folks, because the second half is only gonna get even more exciting!
We cut down to the table, where Emma and JT have sat down. He looks over at her and gets lost in his own thoughts.
11. Int. Sav´s House. Evening.
Sav comes home from his date. His mother is still up and awake and watching TV. They smile nervously at each other and she mutes it.
Sav´s Mom:
How was your evening, Savtaj?
Sav:
It was good. Yours?
Her face turns grave and he sits down with her.
Sav´s Mom:
Your father didn´t say a word all evening. He was very hurt by what you said.
Sav:
You know that I love him, but I can´t stand having him decide everything for me anymore. I´m not some little kid, who can´t make his own decisions.
Sav´s Mom:
That´s not what it´s about for him or me, for that matter. Say that you would go on to marry this girl, you like so much.
Sav:
Her name is Darcy.
Sav´s Mom:
She´s always been a nice girl, when she´s come here to pick up her sister, so please don´t think that we have anything against her. But can you honestly see her being accepted by our family or you being accepted by hers?
Sav:
Not everyone thinks the way you do.
Sav´s Mom:
She will feel like an outsider in our family and you will feel the same way in hers. At your age it might not matter much, but trust me when I tell you, that it will when you get older. Do you want that for her, to never feel like she truly belongs?
Sav:
Do you know anyone who´s tried?
He stumps his mom with the question and she has to smile to herself.
Sav´s Mom:
You got me there.
Sav:
I know that dad will be almost impossible to change, but I won´t know unless I try. I´m also thinking of Alli, when I´m doing this. She should be allowed to choose her own future, just like I should.
Sav´s Mom:
I don´t know what to say.
Sav:
You don´t need to say anything. But I want you to know that this isn´t a battle, where I plan on surrendering.
She nods and clearly isn´t looking forward to it.
12. Ext. Degrassi. Morning.
Sav and Anya arrive for school together.
Anya:
Sorry about your date.
Sav:
It wasn´t a bad date. I just couldn´t think about anything else.
Anya:
Sounds bad to me!
Sav:
The war has just begun. No matter how long it lasts, I´ll have to stick it out.
Anya:
Talking it out isn´t an alternative?
Sav:
Not with my dad.
He looks determined not to give up.
13. Int. Hallway. Morning.
Craig (clearly inspired by the day before), is trying out his own comedy act on Chantay and Jane. Sean is embarrassed on his behalf.
Craig:
Where do cows go for their entertainment? The mooh-vies! Get it?
Jane:
Don´t quit your day job, Craig!
Chantay:
You´re talented in many ways, but being funny isn´t one of them. Sorry.
¨The girls leave them and Craig looks disappointed.
Craig:
I was sure that joke would kill with them!
Sean:
You´re the only one! Leave the comedy to the comedians.
Craig:
Like Emma? Are you gonna refuse to talk about it, until the day you die?
Sean:
What´s there to talk about? She´s moved on.
Craig:
I don´t buy it. I´ll bet you a hundred, nay a thousand dollars, that you´ll be back together before the end of the school year. The two of you simply can´t avoid the temptation for longer than a few months at the most.
Sean:
Keep your money. This time, it feels like it really is the end.
He looks like he´s more or less okay with it.
CLOSING CREDITS