WHAT IF? - SEASON 4 EPISODE 9 - SWEET LADY PART 1
1. Ext. Degrassi. Morning.
Marisol and Katie are coming up towards the school. Marisol looks a little tired.
Marisol:
I wonder if Eli got any sleep last night.
Katie:
Remember how you got tired of me talking about Drew all the time? It goes both ways!
Marisol:
I can´t help it! He´s ...
She takes a break to yawn.
Marisol:
The first boy I´ve liked this way.
Katie:
You´re not at all worried, that you´re the Katie Perry to his Marilyn Manson?
Marisol:
I wouldn´t say he´s like Marilyn Manson. Rob Zombie maybe.
Katie:
A week ago, you had no idea, who Rob Zombie was and the only reason you´d heard about Marilyn Manson, was because he dated that girl from "The Craft"!
Marisol:
He´s helping me to open my mind. There´s nothing wrong with that.
Katie:
There is, if you´re trying to change yourself to be the girl he wants you to be.
Marisol:
Katie, let me worry about Eli! I have him right where I want him!
Katie:
I smell a disaster coming!
Marisol:
All I smell is roses, while I´m floating around on my pink, fluffy cloud!
She smiles at Katie, who decides not to rain on her parade, since she´s so happy and clearly out of reach anyway.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Classroom. Day.
Marisol is trying her best to stay awake, while an old teacher, who looks like she´s one step away from retiring to Florida, is writing a long equation on the black board while holding a long and boring monologue, she´s probably done a thousand times before, without the tiniest hint of any passion for teaching left in her voice. Imogen (sitting next to Bianca) pretends to put a pair matches in her eyelids to keep them open, almost making Bianca laugh, but she (only barely) manages to contain herself. Drew and Dallas are thumb wrestling, while Eli has taken to drawing on his pencil case. Katie is the only one of them taking notes and legitimately tries to appear interested, but even for her it´s a stretch!
Old Teacher:
If we multiply X with Z, we get the final number: 44,5. On to our next problem ...
She starts writing another one, but Marisol has already checked out. She looks over at Eli one last time, before closing her eyes and slumping down over her desk. Allowing her lack of sleep to take over, she closes her eyes.
We fade to:
3. Int. Boiler Room.
Marisol, dressed 80´s style as Nancy from the first "Nightmare on Elm Street" movie, comes walking through the darkly lit and scary looking boiler room, holding a machete!
Marisol:
I know you´re here, Kruger! Show me that ugly, burnt face of yours!
A shadowy figure resembling Freddy appears behind her, towering menacingly over her.
Freddy:
Looking for me?
She turns around, ready to fight him, only to see that he´s disappeared again. It doesn´t deter her though.
Marisol:
You can run, but you can´t hide! Come out, come out, where ever you are!
To our surprise, Eli comes running up behind her. She turns around and they hug passionately.
Eli:
Can you take care of Freddy? Jason, Leather Face and Michael Myers are tearing the house apart!
Marisol:
Take care of them, Eli! Leave Freddy to me!
Eli:
You´re the sexiest girl in the world, Marisol and I want to marry you some day, when we´re old and responsible enough! In a big church, where every girl, who´s said a mean word to you is there to look jealous of you in your twenty thousand dollar wedding dress, that Ralph Lauren gave to you for free, because he was so overtaken by your charisma and beauty, that he thought it would be a crime against fashion to charge you for it!
Marisol:
If that won´t do it, having Whitney herself sing "I Will Always Love You" for our first dance will! Take me, Eli! Here and now!
Eli:
What about the monsters?
Marisol:
They can wait!
Eli:
It´s a slasher movie! If we have sex, we´ll die!
Marisol:
I want you, Eli Goldsworthy and I can´t control the hormones inside my body anymore! Make sweet love to me, like it was the end of the world!
She throws the machete away and starts kissing him. They fall out of view, as they wind up on the floor. All we hear is the sound of Marisol and Eli moaning.
Marisol (off screen):
Yes, Eli! Ahhhhhhhhhh!
Eli (off screen):
Marisol, I want you so bad!
We fade to:
4. Int. Classroom. Day.
Back in the real world, most of the class is laughing at the sight of Marisol moaning and slightly writhing in her sleep with a satisfied smile on her face. An embarrassed Katie wakes her up and if Katie is embarrassed, it´s nothing compared to poor little Marisol!
Old Teacher:
Did you have a nice dream, miss Lewis?
Marisol:
Sorry, that I fell asleep.
Old Teacher:
Are you ready to pay attention? This will be on your next test.
Marisol:
I am.
The teacher goes back to teaching and Marisol looks like she´d like to find a hole to crawl into, with most of her classmates still looking at her and snickering. One who doesn´t though is Eli and that comforts her a little.
5. Int. Hallway. Day.
The students come out of the classroom with Marisol and Katie coming out first, in a hurry to get away from the others.
Marisol:
Please tell me, I didn´t say his name out loud!
Katie:
You didn´t say anything intelligible, except for what sounded like a bit like a "yes" here and there!
Marisol:
Everyone is gonna remember it forever, aren´t they?
Katie:
Only everyone, who was there. And most likely those, who´ll get a great laugh out of hearing about it!
A laughing Dallas and Drew come up behind them.
Dallas:
Who was the lover boy?
Marisol:
Not you!
Drew:
Or was there more than one?
Marisol:
Get lost!
Dallas and Drew run off laughing, while Marisol clearly wishes, that she could turn the clock back an hour.
We cut to Bianca and Imogen, who come out together. Eli comes out behind them and looks annoyed, that they´re blocking his way.
Eli:
Do you mind?
They notice him and move over to the side.
Bianca:
Hi, Eli.
He doesn´t say anything and hurries past them. Imogen looks a little confused.
Imogen:
He could have at least said "hi". It´s not like it would hurt him or anything!
Bianca:
It´s with good reason, that I´m not on his list of favorite people. Me and him don´t have the best history.
Imogen:
Hold that thought. My taste buds are craving hot chocolate and there´s nothing like a good story, to go along with it!
Bianca smiles at her.
Bianca:
Is there some sort of "Bubbliest Girl Award", you´re going for? Because you´re already at maximum bubbliness!
Imogen:
That´s who I am. Take it or leave it!
Bianca:
In that case, I choose to take it!
They head off to get some hot chocolate.
6. Int. Cafeteria. Day.
Bianca and Imogen enjoy their hot chocolate at one of the tables.
Bianca:
I´ve known Eli for what seems like forever. The only non-member of my family, I´ve know longer is Fitz.
Imogen:
Were you friends?
Bianca almost spits up her hot chocolate.
Bianca:
Me and Mopey? I don´t think so!
Imogen:
Mopey? That´s not nice to call someone, Bianca!
Bianca:
It´s because he was moping all the time! Growing up in a place like we did, meant that us kids could be extra cruel. Picking on someone weaker than yourself was an way to make yourself feel better over how bad your life was.
Imogen:
It´s still not an excuse.
Bianca:
Like it or not, it´s the law of the jungle down there. You grow up tough, you grow up mean and if you don´t, then you end up among those, who are picked on.
Imogen:
I don´t believe that you could be mean to anyone.
Bianca:
When I become an adult, I´ll tell every kid never to do it, but I could be a nasty bully to some of the weaker girls. There was one in particular. A girl named Julia.
Imogen can see how bad Bianca feels about it and looks sympathetic with her.
Imogen:
I´m sure, if you apologized to her ...
Bianca:
She took a walk on the highway on a busy evening and got hit by a car. Died on the spot.
Imogen looks shocked.
Imogen:
She killed herself? Jesus H. Christ!
Bianca:
It wasn´t until after her death, that the school decided to tell those of us, who were closest involved, the truth about her. My guess is as a way for us to understand why it happened. Apparently she had a world full of brain issues and had tried to kill herself with pills before that. Her mom suffered from the same disease and had killed herself too.
Imogen:
The poor girl!
Bianca:
If I´d had the slightest idea, it goes with saying that I wouldn´t have teased her. With me having my own crazy ass mom, I would have felt so bad, that I would have been the first to stand up for her. I wasn´t an angel, but it´s not like I don´t have a conscience.
Imogen has to take a moment to take it all in.
Imogen:
I´m guessing that her and Eli were friends?
Bianca:
They were inseparable from the day they met. It wasn´t like the other kids wanted to hang out with someone, who was as depressing to be around as Eli. The two of them however, made for a natural fit. We used to call them Dopey and Mopey, because she acted like she was on drugs half the time. Now that I know why, it makes me ashamed to tell you, that I came up with those names.
Imogen:
How mean are we talking?
Bianca:
Do you want list of things, I did?
Imogen:
A ballpark.
Bianca:
So much, that I don´t know if I´ll be able to forgive myself. There´s nothing in this world I want more, than the chance to tell her how sorry I am. Eli must hate my guts and he has every right to.
Imogen:
Would you have done the same to me? I would have been an easy victim.
Bianca smiles warmly at her.
Bianca:
The great thing about that, is we´ll never have to find out. The one positive to come out of it, is that I don´t think there´s anyone here, who hates bullies like I do.
They smile at each other.
Imogen:
That´s nice to know.
Bianca:
If anyone even thinks about touching a hair on your precious little head, they´ll have me to deal with! Unless you want them to, of course!
Imogen:
You should try telling Eli, what you just told me.
Bianca:
Do you think, it could work? I mean, could you forgive someone, if they did it to one of someone you love?
Imogen:
It doesn´t matter if I could. What does, is if he could and you know him a whole lot better, than I do.
Bianca takes a sip from her cup and considers it.
7. Int. Hallway. Day.
Marisol and Katie come walking down the hallway and Marisol is trying to look as small as possible, but it´s obvious that most people have heard about what happened. Derek and Peter whisper to each other, as they come up towards them and she braces herself for the worst.
Derek:
Had any good dreams lately?
Derek and Peter laugh, as they continue up the hallway. Marisol looks like she´s already getting tired of hearing comments from strangers.
Katie:
At least they kept it more PG than some of the other ones!
Marisol:
It´s official. I´m the biggest loser in the entire school!
Katie gives her a comforting smile.
Katie:
Give it a day or two and it´ll be old news.
Marisol:
That doesn´t help me much today, does it? There´s no way that Eli would want to kiss me now!
Katie:
There´s only one way to find out.
They see Eli coming up to his locker and opening it. Shortly after, Bianca comes over to talk to him, making Marisol immediately become jealous.
Marisol:
I should have known, she would move in on him! He´s probably gonna fall for her now, with her beautiful hair and annoying good looks!
Marisol starts to turn around, but Katie grabs her by the arm.
Katie:
It doesn´t look like she is.
Marisol turns to look at them and we see that while Bianca looks like she´s trying to apologize, Eli isn´t having any of it.
Eli:
LEAVE ME ALONE! HAVEN´T YOU DONE ENOUGH DAMAGE ALREADY?
He slams his locker shut and storms away from her. Marisol and Katie are left looking flabbergasted.
Marisol:
Let me be the first to admit, that I was wrong in my assumption!
Katie:
What was that about?
Marisol:
I haven´t got the faintest idea!
Bianca kicks Eli´s locker in frustration, without registering that people are staring at her.
8. Int. The Dot. Day.
Bianca is stuffing her face with fries, trying to eat the depression away. Imogen watches her with worry.
Imogen:
Is it working?
Bianca:
No! These are great fries, though!
Imogen smiles at her, as JT comes in.
Imogen:
Your Bro is here.
Bianca:
So? Him and his friends always come here after school!
JT comes over to them, looking in a pretty good mood.
JT:
Hello, Sis and back-up Sis, in case something tragic should happen to Bianca! How are the fries today?
Bianca:
Same as usual.
JT:
What´s the matter with you?
He pulls a chair over to their table and joins them.
Bianca:
It´s a long story.
JT:
I´m not in any hurry.
Bianca:
You know who Eli Goldsworthy is, right?
JT:
My AD on the play? What about him?
Imogen:
He hates her.
JT looks surprised.
JT:
Why would he hate you?
Bianca:
As I said, it´s a long story and I don´t feel like telling it right now. I did something bad, a friend of his got hurt and now he can´t forgive me. That´s all you need to know.
JT takes a moment to think about it.
JT:
Physically or emotionally?
Bianca:
The second.
JT:
Those are the hardest wounds to mend. I still haven´t forgiven Craig for hurting Manny and that was 3 years ago!
Imogen:
I´ve got nothing. I´ve had a few minor enemies, but having someone hate me is something I haven´t tried.
JT:
You could do something nice for him.
Bianca:
I can´t imagine what.
JT:
He likes that Marisol girl.
Imogen and Bianca look surprised.
Imogen:
He does?
Bianca:
Are you sure? She´s the last girl, I could see him with!
Eli:
I know that they´ve spend every evening this past week watching movies together. Eli isn´t what you call an open book, but I can see that he likes her as much, as she likes him.
Imogen suddenly giggles.
Imogen:
So that´s who her sexy dream was about!
JT:
That was her?
Bianca:
You´ve heard?
JT:
Everyone has!
The three of them laugh and it helps a little with Bianca´s mood.
Bianca:
I could try to help them along. It can´t hurt to try.
She considers a plan.
9. Int. Eli´s Parent´s Living Room. Day.
Eli comes home. Cece is rocking out to Bruce Springsteen´s "Born to Run" while she´s dusting and he takes a moment to admire the sight.
Cece:
Cuz´ tramps like us, baby we were born to run! Di, da, da, da. Da, da.
Eli:
You´re still hoping that Bruce will trade his wife in for you?
She notices him and they smile at each other.
Cece:
That ship sailed long ago, although I have kissed him one time. Have I told you that story?
Eli:
About how you rushed the stage, back when you were my age and laid one on him? A time or two!
Cece:
You kids today take things way too seriously! You have no idea what it means to have fun, like we did! Being your age should be about exploring life, without having to worry about anything, except for whether or not the cute girl you sit next to in Geometry likes you! You won´t get a second chance, so why not make the most of it?
Eli:
You also must have had ten times more STD´s, than we have!
Cece:
A small prize to pay, compared to how great the memories are. Speaking of ...
Eli:
Nothing has happened with me and Marisol since you asked me this morning. I haven´t talked to her all day.
Cece:
Why not? You like her, don´t you?
Eli:
Yeah, but ... she fell asleep in one of our classes together and started moaning and writhing in her sleep. I figured that it was best to give her some privacy.
Cece:
She was probably having a wet dream about you. The embarrassing stories I could tell you from my high school days! She must have felt like crawling under a rock, the poor thing.
Eli:
Do you really think, it was about me?
Cece:
You´ll have to ask her, when she comes over. She is coming over again tonight, isn´t she?
Eli:
That´s what we agreed yesterday. After today, she could be too embarrassed.
Cece:
If she is coming over, then I want you to be understanding. No sly little remarks or jokes at her expense, that could make her feel worse.
Eli:
I promise you, I´ll be on my best behavior.
Cece:
She´s a real little sweetheart, that one and her coming over has done wonders for your mood. It´s been nice to see you smiling again.
She gets a small smile out of him.
Eli:
It´s nice to be smiling again.
Cece:
There´s a box for you up in your room. Julia´s dad dropped it off this morning, after you´d left.
Eli:
For me?
Cece:
He said that it was your stuff. I guess with him leaving town, he´ll want a fresh start. Who can blame him, huh?
Eli:
Not me. I´ll let you get back to your cleaning.
Cece:
It wouldn´t hurt you to do some house work from time to time!
Eli:
I´m gonna pretend, I didn´t hear that.
He winks at her and leaves her. She shakes her head at him, but snaps out of it and back into her 70´s rock groove, when the second song on the album "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" starts playing.
Cece:
I love this song!
She sings along to the melody line, as she gets back to her work.
10. Int. Eli´s Room. Day.
Eli sits down on his bed, where the cardboard box is. He opens it and looks into it, before pulling out an old VHS tape, that he checks the label on. Smiling to himself, he puts it in his VCR (yes, some people still had those in 2009!) and turns his TV on. He picks up his remote and starts the tape.
Focusing on the TV, we see a young Eli, around 11 years old, doing a fake newscast with a dark haired girl sitting next to him, Julia. Both of the are dressed up for the part and it looks like something they had fun doing together as kids. One look at her is all it takes to fill his face with sweet nostalgia for that time and her.
Young Eli (in the video):
Our top story tonight: Where has Mrs. Carter´s cat Angus run off to?
Young Julia (in the video):
Our sources tell us, that he´s been stealing catnip from a local pet store.
Young Eli (in the video):
For more on this exciting story, that we´re sure has all of you on the edge of your seats, here is our field reporter Rosita Mendez.
The scene roughly cuts to a pet store, where Julia, now dressed up as a spunky Latino girl, is with Eli, who´s in a white wig with a fake white moustache to match it.
Young Julia (in the video):
Thanks, Eli. I´m Rosita Mendez, here to get the beat on the street! I´m here with the owner of the pet store, mister Watson. Now, mister Watson ...
Young Eli (in the video):
Huh? You´ll have to speak up, young lady. I don´t hear that well anymore!
Young Julia (in the video):
Mister Watson, I´m here to talk to you about Angus.
Young Eli (in the video):
The guy from that new rock band AC/DC?
Young Julia (in the video):
I didn´t mean him! I meant Angus, the cat!
Young Eli (in the video):
My hat? I don´t know where I left it! Must be around here somewhere ... there it is!
Young Eli (in the video) takes a hat out and puts it on. Young Julia just shakes her head at it.
Young Julia (in the video):
It´s obvious that I won´t get useful information out of this deaf old man!
Young Eli (in the video):
Do you want to buy a Gold Fish?
Young Julia (in the video):
Back to the studio.
Cutting back to the present day Eli, it now becomes clear to us, just how me misses her from the look on his face. Even though it´s been a few months, the wound is still as fresh and open as it was, on the day where he lost her forever. He can´t bring himself to watch anymore and turns the tape off, before starting to cry. Once he does, it´s like every emotion he´s kept bottled up comes out at once and he has no idea what to do with himself, so he just sits there and sobs.
11. Int. Eli´s Room. Evening.
Eli lies in the near darkness by himself and he the Manic Street Preachers version of "Suicide is Painless" playing from his stereo at a somber volume, that fits his mood. The bags under his eyes tells the story of one, who´s spent the last hours crying uncontrollably. There´s a knock on the door.
Eli (quietly singing along):
That game of life is hard to play
I'm gonna lose it anyway
The losing card I'll someday lay
So this is all I have to say
Suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please
Bull Frog (off screen):
Can I come in, Buddy?
Eli sits up and tries to straighten himself out, before turning the music off.
Eli:
It´s okay. Come in.
The door opens and Bull Frog comes in. He looks at Eli with sympathy.
Bull Frog:
How are you doing?
Eli makes eye contact with him and his face speaks for itself.
Eli:
How does it look like I´m doing?
Bull Frog:
You´re right. Dumb question. What triggered it this time?
Eli:
I watched a video we shot, right before it started to go wrong.
He starts crying again. Bull Frog sits down next to him and puts an arm around his son.
Bull Frog:
It´s okay. Cry it out.
Eli (over his tears):
If I´d only told someone sooner, maybe it could have changed things, but she made me promise not to. I´m such an idiot!
Bull Frog:
You were a kid in an extremely tough situation, that it´s only a small number of adults, who have ever experienced. When put on the spot. who of us wouldn´t have done what you did? If that had been me, I wouldn´t have been able to deal with it. But you did and you were there to help her through some horrendous times, when most kids your age wouldn´t have been.
Eli (over his tears):
I keep asking myself all of these questions. Like if I´d done this differently, would she still be here or if I´d done that differently, would she hate me now, but still be alive? It´s driving me crazy!
Bull Frog:
No one blames you for anything. Everyone can see that you´re a victim in all of this. She doesn´t have to live with her actions. That falls on you, even if it isn´t fair.
Eli wipes his eyes with the back of his hand and tries to compose himself.
Eli:
Why does life have to be this way?
Bull Frog:
It isn´t supposed to be, or at least I don´t think it is. You´ll get back on your feet someday, believe it or not.
Eli:
Are you sure?
Bull Frog:
When you do, you´re gonna look back at this and say "God, I hope, I´ll never have to go through that again".
Eli:
I seriously hope, you´re right.
Bull Frog:
You know, there is someone downstairs, who´s here to cheer you up. Someone, I think you forgot to cancel plans with?
Eli looks even more annoyed with herself.
Eli:
It completely slipped my mind! I haven´t told her anything about Julia and if she sees me like this, she´ll know there´s something wrong. Tell her that I have Diarrhea or some other bug, that goes away quickly.
He gets a small chuckle out of Bull Frog, which also helps with his own mood a tiny bit.
Bull Frog:
It works, if you want to scare a girl off, but you don´t really want that, do you?
Eli:
I guess not. She´s the closest I have to a friend right now.
Bull Frog:
I´ll tell her, that you´re feeling under the weather and you don´t want to risk infecting her with anything. How does that sound?
Eli:
Better than my idea.
Bull Frog gives him a last pad on the shoulder for comfort, before getting up.
Bull Frog:
If you want to do yourself a favor, you´ll let her help you. Women can be incredible, when it comes to helping a man back on his feet.
Eli nods in understanding.
12. Int. Hallway. Morning.
Marisol is talking to Katie by her locker.
Marisol:
His dad told me that he was sick. He must have put two and two together. Dammit!
Katie:
He could have actually been sick. Have you considered that?
Marisol:
In the few hours between school ending and me coming over there, on that particular day? Seems a little too random, doesn´t it?
They´re interrupted by Eli, who comes over to them.
Eli:
Hey! Sorry about yesterday.
Marisol:
It only cost me a three minute walk.
Katie:
Are you feeling better?
Eli:
Yeah, I´m fine. I´m pretty sure that it was something I ate. Are we back on for tonight, Mare? I´m thinking that it´s time we got stuck into the "Hellraiser" Saga!
He smiles at Marisol and she quickly gives in.
Marisol:
Okay, but I´m starting to fall behind in my some of classes! At some point, we´ll have to start doing some studying on our evenings together, or whatever we´re calling them.
Eli:
I´d call it two friends hanging out. Wouldn´t you agree, Katie?
Katie:
That´s that way, it sounds to me.
Marisol:
We´re officially friends?
Eli:
I thought it went without saying. If you´ll excuse me, I have to go and make a fool of myself in P.E.
He surprises Marisol by giving her a hug, but she definitely doesn´t mind it.
Eli:
I´ll make it specially cozy, to make up for yesterday.
Marisol:
I´m looking forward to it.
He leaves them and Marisol is smiling from ear to ear.
Marisol:
He didn´t even mention my dream!
Katie:
On the negative side, you´ll be watching a movie named Hellraiser tonight! The title alone is enough to give me nightmares!
Marisol:
I don´t care. Not as long as I´m watching it with him.
Marisol looks more sold on Eli now than she ever did before!
CLOSING CREDITS