WHAT IF? - SEASON 4 EPISODE 17B - PLAY THE GAME
DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT I WOULD LEAVE YOU HANGING ALL WEEK WITHOUT A NEW EPISODE? I CAN´T DO THAT TO YOU! SO, WHILE I WAIT FOR THE VOTE TO END (THAT HAS STILL ONLY HAD ONE VOTE, BY THE WAY, SO START HITTING THOSE KEYBOARDS OUT THERE!), YOU´LL GET THIS LITTLE EXTRA EPISODE TO TIDY YOU OVER. I EXPECT TO HAVE THE NEXT EPISODE READY SOMETIME IN THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. ANYWAY, I HOPE YOU´LL ENJOY THIS ONE TOO!
1. Int. Hallway. Day.
Drew is holding his phone and is getting a pep talk from Dallas.
Dallas:
She´s not gonna say no, if you´ve already scored with her!
Drew:
Why did I have to get her number from her friend then?
Dallas:
She´s probably shy. You know what they say about shy girls, don´t you?
Drew looks very interested.
Drew:
No, what do they say?
Dallas:
They go absolutely crazy, when you get them in the sack!
Drew:
Really?
Dallas:
She wants to try out ever fantasy she´s ever had on your well trained young body, my friend!
Drew smiles, as he imagines it, then calls the girl on his phone.
Drew:
Hi, it´s Drew. I hooked up with you at the bowling alley last Saturday ... hello?
He looks annoyed.
Drew:
What a time to lose my connection!
Dallas:
Try it again.
Drew does.
Drew:
It´s ringing ... it´s still ringing ...
Dallas starts to see that he might have mad a mistake in putting Drew´s hopes up.
Drew:
She´s probably trying desperately to find her phone right now, before I give up!
Dallas:
That has to be it.
He clearly doesn´t have the heart to tell Drew the truth. Katie and Marisol pass by them and Katie tries her best to catch Drew´s eye, even if his mind is elsewhere.
Katie:
Hi, Drew!
He doesn´t even turn his head to look at her, to her disappointment. Marisol feels sorry for her.
The girls come up to a large bulletin board, that´s filled with different messages and such.
Marisol:
Wanna check out this relic from before the internet?
Katie:
Yeah, sure. We have a few minutes to spare.
Marisol:
Katie, don´t take this the wrong way, but it´s time you moved beyond this hopeless crush on Drew. I mean, what do you even see in him?
Katie:
Sometimes I wonder that myself, but the heart wants what it wants!
They look over the bulletin board for anything interesting.
Marisol:
You can buy a twenty year old moped for sixty bucks. Crash helmet and a small tool kit included.
Katie:
You don´t want to see me with helmet hair, trust me!
Marisol smiles to herself, as they go back to browsing. Katie sees something interesting and looks intrigued.
Katie:
Freshman girl wanted to partake in social studies project. You won´t get paid. but it could end up being a whole lot of fun. If interested, call Craig Manning. It has his phone number too.
Marisol gets interested and takes a look at it.
Marisol:
You´re a freshman girl!
Katie:
Thanks for the update, Mare!
Marisol:
I just meant, that you match the qualifications. I got to know Craig a little, when we did that play together, so I can probably get you the job, if you want it.
Katie smiles to herself and looks up for it.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Classroom. Day.
Katie comes into the classroom, where Allison and Craig are waiting for her.
Allison:
Katie Matlin, I presume?
Katie:
That´s me!
She´s a little shy at being alone with two older students like this, but they look welcoming enough, making her feel at ease with them quickly.
Allison:
Katie, I´d like you to meet Craig Manning. You male counterpart in this experiment.
Katie:
Not the same Craig Manning, who did that underwear song?
Craig:
That was unfortunately me!
Allison:
We are going to test what the reactions will be, if a senior boy with a questionable reputation, as in Craig here, starts talking to a freshman girl.
Craig:
It will only be here at school and it will only be us talking. A week should be enough to get a clear picture.
Allison:
If things go the way, we think they will, people will lose their minds over it!
Katie smiles to herself, not knowing quite what to make of this whole situation, but nods.
Katie:
Sure, why not?
Allison:
You´ll probably want to tell your boyfriend too.
Katie:
I don´t have one.
Craig:
That´s surprising!
Allison:
Don´t even think about stealing this one. He´s mine.
Katie:
I promise that I won´t.
Craig:
In that case, welcome to the team, Katie.
She looks excited for it.
3. Ext. Degrassi. Day.
Katie comes out to join Marisol, who was waiting for her.
Marisol:
So? What´s the deal?
Katie:
I have to talk to a really hot guy!
Marisol:
How hot?
Katie:
Hot!
Marisol:
That hot, huh?
Katie:
And then some! This guy makes Drew look like a little boy in comparison.
Marisol:
I wonder how Drew will react to it ...
Marisol starts to get an idea of her own.
4. Int. Hallway. Day.
Craig and Katie meet up and smile at each other.
Craig:
Why, hi there, Katie!
Katie:
Hi, Craig! Fancy meeting you here!
They go right into a conversation and try to look as natural as possible in doing so. Dallas and Drew pass them by and for once, Drew is noticing Katie!
Drew:
Who´s that guy talking to Katie?
Dallas:
I dunno. He looks like a senior.
Drew:
A senior in college perhaps!
Drew is already starting not to like it. We cut back to Katie and Craig.
Craig:
What´s your favorite pizza topping?
Katie:
Oh, I don´t know! Green peppers, probably. What´s yours?
Craig:
With me, you can never go wrong with pepperoni!
They continue chatting, as Allison watches them from afar. Just like they predicted, it´s already the talk of the school!
5. Int. Classroom. Day.
Marisol sits down and Drew immediately comes over to her. She looks like she was expecting it.
Drew:
Who´s the guy, I saw Katie with?
Marisol:
Why do you care?
She looks him in the eyes and he´s stumped for words.
Drew:
I don´t! It´s just ...
Marisol:
All I know is that his name is Craig and they´ve been seeing a lot of each other lately. According to her, he´s quite the guy!
Drew starts to get self conscious.
Drew:
He is?
Marisol:
If you´re that desperate to know, you can ask her!
Drew:
Well, maybe I will!
She rolls her eyes at him and he realizes how lame his come back was, before going back to Dallas. Just in time to see Katie coming in with a big smile on her face, that doesn´t help him.
Dallas:
What´s the big deal? It´s not like you want to make out with Katie, right?
Drew:
No, she´s the worst! She´s always scowling and she doesn´t have anything resembling a sense of humor!
Dallas:
You don´t think, she´s kinda pretty? I do.
Drew:
I guess, she is.
Dallas:
I´d give her a free ride on the midnight train to Dallas, if you know what I mean?
Drew:
You say that about nearly all girls!
Dallas:
It´s a big train! There´s room for all of them!
Their teacher gets ready to start the lesson, but Drew can´t help himself from looking over at Katie.
6. Int. The Dot. Day.
Katie and Marisol are sitting at a table and are having a post school day soda.
Marisol:
Have you had any reactions yet?
Katie:
Only looks, but don´t think I haven´t noticed them!
Mia and Chantay come over to them, to their surprise.
Mia:
You´re Katie Matlin, right?
Katie:
Yeah, I´m her.
Chantay:
We thought, that we needed to warn you.
Mia:
Craig is what you girls call a player.
Marisol:
He doesn´t seem that way to me.
Katie:
Me neither. Anyway, we´re just friends.
Mia:
Honey, he´s grooming you for something more.
Katie:
Like what?
Katie and Marisol do their best to appear totally clueless. Mia and Chantay look at them with concern.
Chantay:
Oh, God! You´re really are that young and innocent, aren´t you?
Mia:
In other words, an easy victim!
Katie:
Look, I appreciate the concern, but it´s nothing like that!
Her denying it only makes Chantay and Mia even more sure, that something sinister is going on. Marisol and Katie find it all pretty amusing.
7. Montage - Music: "She Blinded Me With Science" by Thomas Dolby.
We see the very different reactions that Craig and Katie get throughout the the next days, as their little social experiment continues. Katie switches between getting looks of concern and students calling her names, with some girls getting directly angry at her, that she isn´t "Playing by the Rules". Craig on the other hand gets a mix between younger girls, who now think they stand a chance with him and start to follow him around and extreme anger from especially many of the older guys, who see him as giving them a bad name for going after what they see as a kid. With every time they´re seen talking to each other, it keeps escalating. Katie and Craig seem to be getting along great though, which drives Drew more crazy with every passing day, in great part helped by Marisol toying with his emotions for her own amusement.
8. Int. Hallway. Day.
Drew has finally had enough and goes to confront Craig, who´s talking to Allison about some music things.
Craig:
Guess who made the right move in recording his song with his buddies, in stead of his girlfriend?
Allison:
Congratulations! You got into the music programme, huh?
Craig:
I´m starting this August!
Drew comes up to them, looking angry. They´re pretty cool to his presence.
Drew:
You need to stay away from Katie Matlin!
They both find his anger more amusing than threatening, which only makes him more annoyed.
Craig:
Who are you to tell me what to do?
Drew:
I´m Drew Torres and what you´re doing with her isn´t right! She´s a kid compared to you!
Allison:
Tell me, Freshman. What do you think my boyfriend is doing with this Katie girl?
Drew again gets stumped, since he in no way was expecting that reply.
Drew:
You´re okay with it?
Craig:
Katie is just a friend.
Drew:
Freshman girls and Senior boys aren´t just friends! It doesn´t happen!
Allison:
It does this time.
Drew becomes so infuriated at not getting anywhere and storms off. Craig and Allison both laugh at him.
Allison:
Were you like that, when you were his age?
Craig:
I won´t say that I was entirely level headed, but not like that, no.
Allison:
He has it bad for her, the poor boy!
Craig:
Not nearly as bad, as I have it for you.
They smile at each other.
Allison:
Are you telling me, that I don´t need to worry about some freshman girl stealing you away from me?
Craig:
I´m telling you, that despite everything people have said about me and I know it´s a lot, in reality I´ve always been a one woman kind of guy. With the exception of a short spell in grade 10, I should add!
Allison:
You don´t feel like revisiting those days?
Craig:
Not in this lifetime!
She looks pleased.
9. Int. Classroom. Day.
Katie is in English class with Marisol, Drew and Dallas. Snake is their teacher.
Snake:
Why do you think, that Cherry is afraid to admit to herself, that she likes Pony Boy?
Several hands go up, including Marisol´s and Drew´s. Marisol is first to be pointed out.
Marisol:
She´s afraid of becoming a social pariah, if her family or friends found out that she likes him. The consequences could be devastating for her, since he´s from the wrong side of the tracks.
Snake:
You don´t think, they could learn to accept him?
Marisol:
I don´t think she´s brave enough to give them the chance to.
Snake:
Let´s hear from someone else, someone whose hand I don´t think has ever been raised in this class before! Mister Drew Torres, what do you have to add?
Everyone´s attention turns to Drew, also Katie´s and he looks ready to get this chance to speak his mind.
Drew:
I think, she´s the smartest character in the entire book.
Snake:
Why is that?
Drew:
She knows that he would only bring trouble into her life, so she does the smart thing and tells him to take a hike! I wish more girls in the real world would have the brains to do that!
Katie scowls, knowing that the comment was directed at her.
Hatzilakos (over the P.A):
Will Craig Manning and Katie Matlin please come to the principal´s office? That´s Craig Manning and Katie Matlin. Thank you.
Drew smirks a little, as Katie stands up.
Snake:
Sorry, Katie. I´m afraid you´ll have to get the cliff notes from Marisol.
Katie heads for the door and Drew can´t help himself from watching her. Dallas smiles to himself, as does Marisol.
10. Int. Principal´s Office. Day.
Craig and Katie are sitting across from Hatzilakos, who also has another woman with her there. Katie´s Mom! Katie looks like she couldn´t possibly be more embarrassed.
Hatzilakos:
We don´t usually get involved in our student´s personal relationships, but given the disturbing rumors about you two, I though it would be best to call in your mother, Katie.
Katie´s Mom:
Sweetheart, we only want to make sure, that nothing is going on that ... shouldn´t be going on!
Katie:
There isn´t!
Craig:
Miss Matlin, I can see why you would be concerned ...
Katie´s Mom:
You´re five years older than her! So yes, you´re damn right, I´m concerned!
Hatzilakos:
It doesn´t say explicitly anywhere in the rules, that this student can´t talk to that student. There are some unspoken rules, though.
Katie´s Mom:
Are you two having sex?
Katie:
No, we´re not, mom!
Craig:
Get my girlfriend Allison Myers down here and we´ll explain it all to you.
Hatzilakos presses the button to turn on the PA.
Hatzilakos:
Allison Myers, come to the principal´s office.
Katie looks relieved that it´ll soon be over.
11. Int. Hallway. Day.
Katie is talking to her mom. The hallway is thankfully empty, except for them and Allison and Craig, who are waiting for Katie a little away from them.
Katie´s Mom:
You can´t blame me for being concerned, Honey. Even if Craig is a nice guy, who never had any intentions to sleep with you, there are older boys, who want to.
Katie:
I´m not so naive, that I can´t tell, mom!
Katie´s Mom:
That´s what all of the girls said too, when I was your age. As it turned out, many of them were. Be honest, if that boy wanted to do things with you, could you have said no?
Katie reluctantly has to admit, that her mom has a point.
Katie:
Probably not. But I would have drawn the line at sleeping with him.
Katie´s Mom:
Boys like him have tendency to get what they want from naive young girls like you. Try to keep that in mind.
Katie:
I will. Now will you please get out of here, before any of my friends see that the principal had to bring my mommy here to solve my problems?
They hug and Katie´s mom heads up the hallway. Allison and Craig come over to Katie.
Allison:
We´ve decided to call an end to the experiment.
Craig:
The last thing we want is to give you a reputation, you don´t deserve. Take it from me, those things can be damn hard to get rid of, even if it´s based on lies and here say.
Katie:
After that spectacle in there, I was gonna pull out anyway. I´m so sorry that you had to meet my mom that way!
Craig:
Ah, don´t worry about it! She seems like a nice lady.
Allison:
If you see us down at the Dot, don´t be afraid to come over and say hi.
Katie:
Okay.
Craig:
I´d have a talk with that Drew kid, if I were you. I´m pretty sure, he has a big crush on you.
They leave her and she tries to process it all.
12. Int. The Dot. Day.
Drew and Dallas are waiting for Marisol and Katie to arrive. Drew looks a little nervous.
Drew:
It´s been twenty minutes since school ended. What if they don´t show up?
Dallas:
They come here every day, so relax!
Drew:
If she turns me down, I don´t know what I´ll do!
Dallas:
I´m already starting to miss the old Drew!
Drew anxiously awaits the arrival of the girls.
13. Ext. Street. Day.
Katie and Marisol are coming up towards The Dot. Katie is looking a little annoyed with her.
Katie:
Mare, I don´t need you to play match maker for me!
Marisol:
It worked, didn´t it?
Katie:
He only wants me because he´s jealous.
Marisol:
Sorry! I was bored and he´s an easy target!
Katie:
Even if he asks me out, I can´t say yes to him now.
Marisol:
Sure, you can!
Katie:
It doesn´t matter, that it would be based on you deceiving him?
Marisol:
The only thing that matters is the end result!
Katie still isn´t looking too sure, as they head inside.
14. Int. The Dot. Day.
Katie and Marisol come in and Drew immediately comes over to them.
Drew:
Hi, Katie! Can we talk?
Marisol:
Soda or shake?
Katie:
I´m in a shake mood today. Vanilla/Strawberry.
Marisol heads up to the counter. Drew smiles nervously at her.
Drew;
You´re not with that guy, I´ve been seeing you with!
Katie:
Yeah, we´ve decided to cool it with talking in public. For what it´s worth, he´s not my boyfriend or anything like that. No matter what Marisol might have told you.
Drew looks relieved.
Drew:
You don´t like him at all?
Katie:
He´s a nice guy, but not that way.
Drew:
In that case, do you want to go out next Friday?
Katie at first smiles, but then her conscience gets the better of her.
Katie:
I´m afraid, I´m busy that night.
Drew:
That´s okay. What about Saturday then?
Katie:
Drew, is this all because you´re jealous?
Drew:
No! I´ve always liked you!
Sadly for him, she sees right through him.
Katie:
Sorry Drew, I don´t think we should go out.
She heads up to join Marisol at the counter, leaving poor Drew looking dejected. Dallas comes over and puts an arm around his buddy to comfort him.
Dallas:
If I could tell you what girls want from us, I´d write a book about it!
Drew:
It would become a bestseller in a week! I don´t get them!
Dallas:
Me neither, Bro!
Drew:
Please tell me that it´ll get easier someday.
Dallas:
It has to!
A very pretty girl 14 year old girl comes into the cafe and the boys make eye contact.
Dallas/Drew:
She´s mine!
They race to be the first to hit on her.
CLOSING CREDITS