WHAT IF? - SEASON 4 EPISODE 24 - IT´S A HARD LIFE
HI, GUYS. I JUST WANTED TO WISH YOU ALL A GREAT WEEKEND AND TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THERE´S ONE FINAL TEASER TRAILER AT THE END OF THE EPISODE. I HOPE YOU´VE BEEN ENJOYING THEM AND WILL BE WILLING TO GIVE THE SERIES A CHANCE, WHEN IT DEBUTS (HOPEFULLY) IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
IT ALMOST GOES WITHOUT SAYING, BUT I OF COURSE HOPE THAT YOU´LL ENJOY THIS EPISODE TOO!
1. Int. Living Room. Day.
Marisol is helping her mom with putting invitations in envelopes for an event, that´s to take place soon. From the large stack on filled envelopes next to her, we can see that she´s already done quite a bit of work. She takes a deep breath before getting on with the rest.
Marisol:
Why can´t you and dad send out an E-vite, like any normal couple would?
Marisol´s Mom:
You don´t think it´s more romantic to get a letter, than an E-Mail?
Marisol:
Sure,if it was a love letter, but this is just wasting a fortune on stamps!
Marisol´s mom smiles at her.
Marisol´s Mom:
Speaking of, have you thought about who you´re taking?
Marisol clearly hasn´t been entirely honest with her mom about the nature of her relationship with Eli and just shakes her head.
Marisol:
Not yet, but it´s still months away. I could take Eli?
Marisol´s mom laughs at the suggestion, which only makes Marisol more nervous to tell her.
Marisol:
Why is that funny?
Marisol´s Mom:
Honey, you know that we don´t mind if you´re friends with him, but he´s ...
Marisol:
White, is that it?
Marisol´s Mom:
Troubled, was what I was going to say, before you cut me off. It´s very humanitarian of you to be a friend to someone with a mental disease and I´m certain that God loves you for it, but you don´t want to get romantically involved with one. When he´s ready to someday, he needs to find a girl who understands and can help him, when he needs it.
Marisol:
You don´t think, that could be me?
Marisol´s Mom:
I guess it could, if you wanted it to. But there are so many things to consider, before you even think of getting that deeply involved in a mental patient´s life, that I don´t think someone your age can grasp it yet. The best thing you can do for him is what you´re doing now, by being a friend and only a friend to him.
Marisol tries not to let it show that she´s worried about how hard it will be to tell her parents the truth.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Hallway. Day.
Marisol has her ear buds in and is grooving to the music by her locker. A smiling Eli comes over to her and she smiles back at him, before taking her ear buds out.
Eli:
You´re really getting some mileage out of those ear buds I gave you, aren´t you?
Marisol:
Best gift ever! So much better than my old head phones!
Eli:
I´m glad. What were you listening to?
Marisol:
"Soul to Squeeze".
Eli:
The RHCP song? I love that one!
Marisol:
Me too. Why do you love it?
Eli:
I dunno. The lyrics are good and you gotta love that bridge part!
She giggles.
Marisol:
I love how much you love music!
Eli:
Which is perfect, because I love you! What else is on your playlist?
Marisol:
Two songs named "Crazy", both the Gnarls Barkley one and the Seal one.
Eli:
Of which the Seal song is vastly superior!
Marisol:
There´s one thing, we don´t agree on! What else is on there ... "Insane in the Brain", "Paranoid", "Somebody´s Watching me", "Only Happy When it Rains", "You drive me crazy" ... let´s see, what else ... ?
Eli quickly notices a pattern in her recent listening habits.
Eli:
Is there any song on there, that doesn´t have the words "crazy" or "insane" in the title or are in some way about mental illness?
She sees that he worries and kisses him on the cheek before shooting him a wide smile.
Marisol:
There is this one like really, really old song, like way back from when my parents were our age, that I´ve fallen in love with! It´s called "Desperado" and it´s by some band called The Eagles.
Eli:
I know it. Should we get to class?
Marisol:
Math waits for no man or woman!
He tries to smile it off, but it still worries him.
3. Int. Music Room. Day.
Eli is hanging out with Sav and Craig, who have their guitars out and are ready to play.
Craig:
So you found a girl, who respect the classics! Congrats, man!
Sav:
I wish I could find a girl like that! My last date called Britney Spears old school!
Craig:
I once asked a girl, who she thought was the best guitar player of all time. She said: "The guy from Limp Bizkit"!
Even Eli has to laugh along with them.
Eli:
Was it Manny?
Craig:
In her defense, I should say that she was only 13 at the time.
Sav:
Anya´s favorite is "The hottie from Sum 41".
Eli:
At least it wasn´t Blink 182!
Craig:
Or Bowling for Soup! Have you seen the size of their lead guitar player?
Eli:
The problem isn´t her music taste, which is perfectly fine. She even has a Black Sabbath song on her playlist.
Craig:
Which one?
Eli:
"Paranoid".
Sav:
It´s the poppiest choice for sure, but still pretty damn cool for a girl like her!
Eli:
The problem is that the first line in "Desperado" goes "Desperado, why don´t you come to your senses?".
Sav:
You know your classic rock!
Eli:
My parents raised me on rock from that era. Eagles, CCR, Zeppelin, Springsteen, Skynyrd, Dire Straits, those kinds of bands and artists.
Neither Sav or Craig look all that surprised.
Eli:
Sometimes I wonder, if the real reason she´s with me, is because she feels sorry for me.
Craig:
It´s not a nice feeling, is it? I felt the same way sometimes, back when me and Manny were feeling like we were forced to be together for our daughter´s sake.
Eli:
The problem is that she´s so self sacrificing for me, that she wouldn´t say so, even if it was true. Being sick like I am and knowing it´ll never go away is bad enough, without having to feel like you´re someone´s charity case.
Sav:
Is that how you feel now?
Eli:
Every day, I ask myself that question many times. My only conclusion so far, is that I´m still not sure.
He wonders what to do.
4. Int. Girl´s Room. Day.
Marisol has her ear buds in and is waiting for Katie to finish peeing. She has her eyes closed and is pretending that she´s the singer in the band by mouthing along to the lyrics and it´s clearly a song, she loves. She finally can´t contain herself anymore and starts singing loudly, just as Katie comes out.
Marisol (singing):
It´s all over the front page
You give me road rage
Racing through the best days
It´s up to you boy, you´re driving me crazy
Thinking you may be losing your mind
Katie has to contain herself from laughing and Marisol takes her ear buds out.
Katie:
Felt like you had to put on a mid day show, did you?
Marisol:
Since I got these, I feel like singing along all the time. I couldn´t contain myself anymore.
Katie:
What was that song, you were singing?
Marisol:
"Road Rage" by Catatonia. It´s a 90´s alternative rock band, Eli turned me onto.
Katie looks at her seriously.
Katie:
I guess the lyrics apply to your situation. Having a boyfriend, who´s losing his mind?
Marisol:
He hasn´t had an episode in weeks.
Katie:
How long will it be, until he has the next one? Or the one after that?
Marisol:
Maybe he won´t ever have one again.
Katie:
Do you even believe that?
Marisol doesn´t say anything and averts eye contact with Katie.
Katie:
It doesn´t sound that way, based on the music you´re listening to.
Marisol:
What music I listen to and how I feel about him are two different things.
Katie:
Are they, really? I just don´t want to see you get hurt, Mare.
Marisol:
Eli would never hurt me.
Katie:
Maybe not intentionally, but ...
Marisol:
I don´t wanna talk about it!
She races out of there, before Katie can say any more.
5. Int. Hallway. Day.
Marisol runs to a place where she can be alone and puts the ear buds back in, before letting the music be her escape again.
6. Int. Classroom. Day.
Marisol sits down next to Eli and pretends that nothing has just happened.
Marisol:
Psyched for two hours with Mrs. Manley?
Eli:
As psyched as I would be, to have all the hair plucked off my body!
She giggles.
Marisol:
You always know how to cheer me up.
Eli:
Did you need cheering up?
Marisol:
Don´t we all sometimes, when it´s only ten clock and the worst is still to come?
Eli:
I don´t think anyone would mind, if they got a little consolation at this point of the day!
Marisol:
I almost feel like I owe you one, for often it´s been lately.
Eli:
If anything was bothering you, you would tell me, right?
Marisol gets defensive, but it´s easy to see through her act.
Marisol:
Of course, I would!
Eli:
Anything?
Marisol:
There´ll always be small things, but I don´t want to bother you with those.
Eli:
If it was anything big, then you would, right?
Marisol:
Absolutely!
Eli pretends to believe her to keep the peace and she buys it.
Eli:
I want to be the kind of boyfriend, you feel you can share everything with.
Marisol:
You already are. I couldn´t be happier, than I am right now!
Eli:
By the way, do you know when the barbecue starts on Saturday?
Marisol:
What barbecue?
Eli:
The one your parents are throwing? I thought if anyone would know, it´s you.
Marisol´s act starts to crumble, as she tries not to panic right there in front of all of her class mates.
Marisol:
It completely skipped my mind! You´re sure, it´s this Saturday?
Eli:
That´s what your dad told my dad.
Marisol:
I´ll ask them and let you know.
Eli:
Cool.
We hear the door shut to the classroom, funnily enough at the exact same moment, that any hope that she could get away with continuing to date Eli without her parents finding out for much longer, goes away from Marisol´s eyes. Katie sees it from her own seat a little away from them.
7. Int. Hallway. Day.
Marisol waits for Katie outside of the classroom, who comes out with the rest of their class mates.
Marisol:
I´m in neck deep!
Katie:
Does this mean, you´re not angry at me anymore?
Marisol:
Having a realist like you in my life probably isn´t the worst thing.
Katie:
I´m happy to be of help.
Marisol:
I could use some right now! Come Saturday, all of the r-rated fun me and Eli have been having will be revealed to my parents!
Katie:
You could try telling them before then to soften the blow.
Marisol:
Is there anything behind door number two?
Katie:
There´s the option of breaking up with Eli. I can´t think of a third one, sorry.
Marisol wonders what to do.
8. Int. Living Room. Evening.
Eli is watching some TV with his dad before it´s dinner time. They both smell something bad and look at each other.
Bull Frog:
Did you fart?
Eli:
It´s coming from the kitchen.
Cece comes in looking a little flustered.
Cece:
It isn´t all cooking experiments, that go like you want them to! I´ll order us some pizzas.
She leaves them and Eli high fives with his dad.
Eli:
Nice!
Bull Frog:
Christmas has come early this year! Of course that little girlfriend of yours has probably given you an extra one or two, huh?
He gives Eli a small nudge, but it doesn´t make Eli smile.
Bull Frog:
What´s wrong?
Eli:
Dad, have you been with a girl, where it felt like she was only with you, because she felt sorry for you?
Bull Frog:
Yeah! Your mom! She takes pity on me every day!
Eli:
I´m being serious.
Bull Frog:
So am I. It´s her money that paid for both this house and the old one! All i brought into our relationship was an old guitar with four strings left on it and the clothes on my back. I didn´t have a job and I wouldn´t have the one I have now, if it wasn´t for her.
He gets a smile out of Eli.
Eli:
Okay, so I´ll admit that you´re lucky to have her!
Bull Frog:
In more ways than one. Why do you think she´s feeling sorry for you?
Eli points at his brain.
Eli:
I want her to like me for who I am, not because she feels like it´s her obligation to save me.
Bull Frog:
Women are gonna do that, no matter what you do. Once they´ve decided that they like you, there´s no escaping it.
Eli:
I don´t want her to. Maybe I should break up with her again.
Bull Frog:
You would be a damn fool to do that! Girls like that little sweetie pie of yours don´t hang on trees.
Eli:
Am I supposed to accept it and push it to the back of my mind, because I´m not sure I can do that?
Bull Frog:
Talk to her about it. That´s what us grown up´s do, when we have a problem like yours.
Eli looks like he´s taking his dad´s words to heart.
9. Int. Kitchen. Evening,
Marisol is helping her mom with the dishes after they´ve had dinner.
Marisol:
Mom, when have we invited people for on Saturday?
Marisol´s Mom:
Four o´clock. I told you this weeks ago.
Marisol:
I´ve been a bit scatter brained lately, you know how it is.
Her mom smiles to herself.
Marisol´s Mom:
Back in my day, when I got "scatter brained" it was usually because of a boy.
Marisol smiles ever so slightly, giving it away.
Marisol´s Mom:
It´s okay if you have a crush on someone, Buttercup! Have I met him?
Marisol:
If you don´t mind, I´d like to keep it to myself.
They finish with the dishes and start putting them away.
Marisol´s Mom:
It´s okay, The last person in the world I would have wanted to tell, when I was your age, was my mom. Just tell me this: Have you been on a date with him yet?
Marisol:
Mom!
Marisol´s Mom:
You can´t blame me for being curious about what´s going on in your life.
Marisol sees the chance to get it out, but decides to play it safe for now.
Marisol:
If I had, would it be so bad?
Marisol´s Mom:
You have, haven´t you?
Marisol:
I don´t know if we can actually say, that we´ve been on a real date yet.
Her mom looks a little relieved.
Marisol´s Mom:
But you want to?
Marisol:
Oh, yeah!
Her mom tries not to laugh at her response and smiles warmly at her.
Marisol´s Mom:
Just promise me, that you´ll be careful, okay?
Marisol:
I always am, aren´t I?
She smiles it off, but is at the same time a little annoyed with herself, that she chickened out.
10. Int. Hallway. Day.
Marisol and Katie are heading to their first class of the day.
Marisol:
This was my golden chance to tell her and I completely chickened out!
Katie:
The clock is ticking ...
Marisol:
You don´t need to remind me! It´ll most likely end up with me making some spur of the moment last second decision, when it comes down to having no other choice.
Katie:
If someone did a survey, they would find out that it´s a surprisingly high percentage of all problems, that get solved that way!
They´re interrupted by Eli, who comes over to them and they stop to talk.
Eli:
Hey! Did you talk to your folks?
Marisol:
Four o´clock.
Eli:
Cool! Are you coming, Katie?
Katie:
I certainly plan to.
Marisol:
My parents will be asking questions, if she doesn´t.
Eli:
I can´t wait to tell them about us. Won´t it be nice, when we don´t have to hide it from anyone anymore? Anyway, I gotta get going.
He gives Marisol a kiss on the cheek and leaves them. Marisol hangs her head at her predicament.
Katie:
Push comes to shove, there´s always the old deny, deny, deny!
Marisol:
I´m not ruling it out!
She´s clearly not looking forward to what´s to come.
11. Ext. Driveway. Day.
Marisol is dressed in a pretty dress and is greeting the guests as they arrive with Katie by her side.
Marisol:
Hi, we´re so glad you could come!
Katie:
If you continue straight ahead, then you can´t go wrong!
They see Eli and his parents arriving and Marisol prepares herself mentally for a second.
Katie:
What are you gonna say to him?
Marisol:
I don´t know yet.
Katie:
Good luck.
Eli and his parents come up to them.
Cece:
Aren´t you just all kinds of adorable in that little dress of yours! Isn´t she adorable, Bull Frog?
Bull Frog:
She looks like a princess to me!
Marisol smiles at their praise, then makes eye contact with Eli.
Marisol:
Can we talk in private for a minute, before we head inside?
Eli:
Yeah, sure.
Cece:
Don´t be too long or your dad will have eaten them out of the house!
Katie:
I take it, that you´re Eli´s parents! Mare has told me all about you.
Katie keeps Eli´s parents occupied, so Eli and Marisol get the chance to step aside and talk without anyone hearing.
Marisol:
I have to be honest with you. My parents stll think that we´re only friends. I don´t think they´d like it, if they found out the truth.
Eli looks remarkably unsurprised, to her surprise.
Eli:
Then it´s a really good thing that I told my parents, not to think about mentioning what we´ve been doing in my room to anyone.
Marisol:
You did?
She smiles from ear to ear, making him smile too.
Marisol:
But you said ...
Eli:
That was only, so I could get an honest reaction out of you. I wanted to know how you honestly felt about us.
Marisol:
Those ear buds were nice, but that´s the greatest present you could have given me!
Eli:
Do you think you´re the only one, who has doubts about whether we´re ready to be more than friends?
Marisol:
Does this mean, we should break up?
Eli:
I don´t know if we´re what you would call a real couple. To me we´re just Eli and Marisol, two friends that like hanging out together. If those two friends get the urge to kiss, that´s not anyone´s business except theirs, is it?
Marisol:
Isn´t that what they call friends with benefits?
Eli:
We can try it, if you want?
She thinks about it for a moment, then shakes her head.
Marisol:
I want the whole package or nothing at all. As long as we can wait a while with telling my parents?
Eli:
We can wait as long as you want to.
Marisol looks glad at how it turned out.
CLOSING CREDITS
WE OPEN ON THE DOT, AS IT LOOKS IN THE PRESENT DAY. IT´S BEEN SPICED UP A LITTLE AND THE WALLS HAVE A NEW COAT OF PAINT OR TWO, BUT IT´S STILL BASICALLY THE SAME PLACE, IT´S ALWAYS BEEN. A TALL BLONDE HAIRED BOY AND A MUCH SHORTER LATINA GIRL, BOTH 17 YEARS OLD, SMILE AT US FROM BEHIND HER COUNTER.
JACK:
There´s been a lot of Degrassi alumni, who have worked here over the years.
CATY:
Wasn´t your brother in law one?
JACK:
Sure was.
CATY:
Hi, I´m Catalina, but everyone calls me Caty, pronounced the same way as the common Canadian name that´s spelled K-A-T-I-E, just spelled a little differently.
JACK:
Why is that?
CATY:
Hey, just because I can´t trace my lineage back here several generations, doesn´t mean that I´m any less Canadian, that you are. I was born and raised here!
JACK:
No one says that you aren´t! You still have that Latina temper though!
CATY:
Well, I can´t entirely deny that!
JACK:
Don´t worry, I like you anyway.
They smile flirtingly at one another.
CATY:
You do, huh? Well, maybe I like you too, despite you being wrong about almost everything!
JACK:
Like what?
CATY:
Like you thinking that I´m easy, for one thing!
JACK:
That´s what everyone says!
CATY:
I´ll be the first to admit that I´ve made out with my share of boys ...
JACK:
And girls, now that we´re on the subject!
CATY:
But what I´ve been searching for all that time was a real true love. There just weren´t any of them, who it felt like I wanted to start something with!
JACK:
Out of all those guys and gals, there wasn´t a single one?
CATY:
None that I wanted to see again after that one evening was over.
Jack looks teasingly at her.
JACK:
Someone has commitment issues!
CATY:
Like you haven´t caught a ton of VD´s, from all those random girls you´ve banged over the years? Huh, mister Basketball Big-Shot?
Now it´s her who has the upper hand on him and he looks embarrassed.
CATY:
Girls talk, Jack. I know everything about you!
JACK:
I can guarantee you that there´s one thing, you don´t know!
CATY:
What´s that, then?
JACK:
I´m not gonna tell you, here and now! Where´s the fun in that?
They turn to the camera and wave at it.
CATY:
I guess you´ll have to wait to find out, just like I will!
JACK:
SEE YOU SOON!
We fade to black.