WHAT IF? - SEASON 5 EPISODE 10 - SOUR GIRL (PART 1)
If you´re wondering why my old series "Degrassi: Aftermath" all of a sudden climbed to the top of the search list, it´s because I accidentally posted this episode as the next episode of that series first. I deleted it right after, but by then the damage was done. So if you wasted time looking for a new "Aftermath" episode, like I see that some have already done, then you have my sincere apologies. I consider that series to be completed and don´t have any plans of continuing it at the moment.
1. Int. Hallway. Day.
Mia is listening to Darcy complaining about her date the evening before.
Darcy:
The evening is already a disaster, but it´s about to get even worse!
Mia tries hard not to laugh and be supportive in stead.
Mia:
How could it get worse?
Darcy:
We´re standing in line for the movies and he lets out the biggest fart, I´ve ever heard in my life! We´re talking at least ten seconds of an uninterrupted stream of farting coming from his anus! Everyone´s staring at us and I´m seriously considering making a run for it at this point and saying to heck with how I´m gonna get home!
Mia finally can´t hold in her laughter anymore.
Darcy:
Just to make it worse he says "I think that one came with extra gravy"!
Mia has to hold her stomach, so hard is she laughing by the end of the story.
Mia:
Please tell me, that you didn´t still see the movie with him?
Darcy:
I had to! He was my ride home! To make it even worse, I think he could have been right about that gravy part!
Mia:
I´m so glad, I´m not single!
Darcy:
Dating is a nightmare! Why can´t I just find guy I have a few things in common with and can see myself with? Do they not exist in this city or am I not looking hard enough?
Mia:
It can´t be impossible!
Darcy:
You´re only saying that because you´ve been removed from it for so long! I mean, two years! For our age, that´s worthy of a gold medal!
Mia:
Sometimes I wonder how we´ve managed to last this long, but one day takes the next and before you know it a month has passed, then two months and so on and now me and Peter have been together for two years! Meanwhile I´m left thinking "How did that happen all of a sudden"?
Darcy:
Meanwhile here am I, still not a step closer to finding the one, than I was when I started here! I´m this close to giving up and becoming a nun, I swear!
Mia:
Before you do, why don´t I try to find you a boyfriend?
Darcy doesn´t look dismissive of the idea.
Darcy:
It´s not like my dates could get any worse than that guy yesterday! Just promise me that you´ll try to find someone who´s nice, gentle and caring for me.
Mia:
And doesn´t make disgusting fart jokes?
Darcy:
That´s my minimum requirement!
Mia:
I can´t see how that could be too hard!
Mia looks positive that she can find someone for Darcy.
OPENING CREDITS
2. Int. Classroom. Morning.
Sav is sitting at his desk looking depressed with Anya sitting next to him.
Sav:
That´s one more weekend, I won´t get to see her! Apparently her new friend Kelly´s surprise birthday party is more important to her, than I am!
Anya:
Sav, you can´t blame Veronica for trying to fit in at her new school!
Sav:
I´m not, I just wish that it felt like I was priority to her! I knew that long distance would be hard. I didn´t know it meant that I would get to be alone with my so-called girlfriend twice a month, if I´m lucky!
Anya:
Maybe you need to face, that it´s not gonna work between you guys.
Sav:
I already have, I just haven´t told her yet. My little sister has more luck in love than I do! This is officially rock bottom and there´s no way I can fall lower!
Anya gives him a comforting smile, but it doesn´t seem to help much.
3. Int. Classroom. Day.
The freshmen are having computer class with Snake as their teacher. Alli and Clare are sitting next to each other.
Snake:
That is what we call a what?
Many students raise their hands, including Connor and Clare.
Snake:
Connor?
Connor:
A website.
Snake:
He´s right! Give the young man a prize!
Connor looks pleased. We cut over to Clare and Alli, who´s busy making a big pink heart in Paint with the words "A+D 4-EVER" Iin the middle of it and several little hearts inside the bigger heart.
Clare (whispering to Alli):
You´ll end up getting a grade below that first letter you wrote, if you don´t start paying attention!
Alli (whispering to Clare):
Chill!
Clare (whispering to Alli):
Is that a word Drew taught you?
Alli (whispering to Clare):
I´m not the only one, who has a boy that likes me!
Clare (whispering to Alli):
Who?
Alli (whispering to Clare):
That boy Connor.
Clare (whispering to Alli):
Connor doesn´t like me that way! He only wants to be friends, because we´re both in the gifted programme!
Alli (whispering to Clare):
So am I, but you don´t see him chasing me around!
Clare (whispering to Alli):
I really don´t hope that he does! He seems nice, but he´s also kind of ...
Alli (whispering to Clare):
Strange, socially awkward, doesn´t know when to shut up, annoying, ugly ...
Clare (whispering to Alli):
I don´t think he´s annoying or ugly, I just can´t see myself ever liking him that way!
Alli (whispering to Clare):
Neither do I. I just wanted you to admit, that you didn´t think he was!
Alli smiles at her, that she got one over on her. Clare becomes shy and evasive.
Clare (whispering to Alli):
I still don´t like him that way!
Alli (whispering to Clare):
In that case, you have to tell him so that he can´t misunderstand you. There´s no other way, Clare.
Clare looks annoyed that Alli is probably right.
4. Int. Hallway. Day.
Clare and Alli are on their way to class, when Connor comes up behind them.
Connor:
Guys, wait for me!
He catches up to them and they try to be nice to him.
Alli:
What´s up, Connor?
Connor:
If was just wondering if you guys wanted to come over and watch the rocket launch on Sunday? KC is coming over and my foster family will be there, so do you guys want to come over? It´ll be fun, I promise!
Clare:
I´m not that big on rockets, Connor.
Alli:
Me neither, but I hope you all have a great time with it!
Connor smiles innocently at her.
Connor:
Thanks, Alli! Rockets are one of my biggest hobbies. I build one at my old school that could shoot three hundred feet straight up in the air!
Clare:
That´s very impressive!
Connor:
I hope to be able to build one some day, that will go all the way up into space. That´s my big dream, but I have lots of other hobbies too. There´s engineering, chemistry, natural science ...
Connor keeps on rambling, while Alli and Clare wonder when he´s gonna stop! Alli sees Sav coming towards them and sees a chance to get out!
Alli:
I need to talk to my brother. I´ll see you guys later!
She shrugs apologetically at Clare for leaving her with Connor, before running ahead of them to meet Sav.
Connor:
Sure, Alli! Where was I? Oh, right, there´s also video games, but only if they´re educational, otherwise I get bored with them pretty quickly and of course board games. I love board games! Have you ever played RISK?
Clare:
I´ve never heard about it until now.
Connor:
It´s the best game ever! You would love it, if you tried playing it.
Clare is almost looking exhausted at all of the info Connor is feeding her in such a small space of time, as we cut to Alli and Sav.
Alli:
Can you do me a favor and pretend, that we have something important to talk about?
She nods towards Connor and Clare and he gets what she means. They stop to talk.
Alli:
Mom and dad have this huge thing, that they wanted to tell you about!
Sav:
Any idea what it is?
Alli:
No idea, but all I know is that it´s big!
Clare and Connor pass them by and she looks relieved to be in the clear.
Sav:
Was that it?
Alli:
That guy just won´t stop talking, when he gets started! He´s the first one I´ve ever met, that I wish came with a mute button!
Sav laughs a little.
Sav:
You don´t think he could be ... different?
Alli:
Different how?
Sav:
Different in the head, Alli. Like mildly Autistic perhaps?
Alli:
Don´t they go to their own special schools?
Sav:
Not those who are only a little different from us normals. Except for talking too much, is he otherwise normal?
Alli:
He´s insanely intelligent, even to a degree where I envy him a little!
Sav:
Does he have friends or does he hang out by himself all the time?
Alli:
No, he´s very social! I really don´t think he could have autism, Sav!
Sav:
Then something else maybe. I´m not an expert on these things.
They´re interrupted, when Mia comes over to them.
Mia:
I have something to ask you, Sav!
Sav:
Yeah, sure. We´ll find somewhere to talk. Later, sis!
Alli:
Later!
Sav and Mia walk down the hallway together, as Alli wonders whether Sav could be right about Connor.
5. Ext. Courtyard. Day.
Sav and Mia come out to one of the new additions to the school over the summer, the small but quite cozy courtyard, where you can enjoy some fresh air without having to leave school property or just take a load off and relax, if that´s what you need to do. They have a seat.
Mia:
I´ve been trying to find the right guy for Darcy, but there´s one big problem. Despite us having been friends for so long, I don´t really know what the right guy for her would be like.
Sav:
That´s brave! What if you end up fixing her up with some creep and it ends badly for her?
Mia:
Of course I don´t want that to happen for her. I sometimes feel a little bad, because us, her best friends, have all had boyfriends that we´ve been with for a long time. As things stand now, with us having less than a year left until graduation, the only romantic success she´s had, was when she was with you. Since you broke up, it´s been sad to see her not being able to find anyone, when she´s at the same time such a good friend.
Sav:
Is there a point you´re getting to?
Mia:
Sorry! I tend to ramble sometimes!
Sav:
I find rambling cute, believe it or not. My first crush was Six from Blossom.
Mia:
I used to love that show, when I was a kid! Joey was my first crush.
They smile at each other.
Sav:
As much as this will make me sound like a loser, I tried everything I could to copy him back when I was 12, because I thought that was the way to get girls.
They laugh together.
Mia:
If you had tried that on me at age 12, it could have worked!
Sav:
It´s a shame we didn´t know each other, even though we both went to Lakehurst. You could have been my first date.
Mia:
I´m sure it would have been much better than my actual first date! Then again, I guess that´s what you get for saying yes to the first guy, that asks you!
Sav:
I had you picked as being more popular than that.
Mia:
I was a hundred times the romantic loser Darcy is now, before I met Peter! The only boyfriend I´d had was a domineering jerk, that I praise myself lucky I broke up with as soon as I did! After he told everyone that I was a skank, there weren´t any boys who would touch me with a pitchfork of the few, I could see myself with. If a sweet boy like you had come over and talked to me, I would have fallen for you instantly.
Sav:
I would have been thrilled that a a cool and pretty girl like you, would have shown interest in me!
They make eye contact and both get a little lost in the moment. She forgets for a second, what she was gonna ask him.
Mia:
So anyway, I was wondering if we could hang out, so I can pick your brain about what the right kind of guy for Darcy would be like.
Sav:
Sure. I´m not doing anything tonight, if you´re not busy.
Mia looks pleased.
Mia:
Cool! My house or yours?
Sav:
My parents are very strict when it comes to which girls, I´m allowed to be alone with in my room. There´s Anya and my sister and that´s the end of the list!
Mia:
My house then. I can text you my address.
Sav:
Your mom won´t mind?
Mia:
No, she´s cool! Plus, she´s out of town, so she won´t even be home.
Sav:
Let me get your phone number, so I can text you.
He gets his phone out.
We see Darcy passing by outside and looking more than a little surprised that Mia looks like she is giving Sav her phone number. It doesn´t look like she´s ready to act on it though.
6. Int. Pizza Parlor. Evening.
Alli and Drew are having a secret date and are very into one another.
Alli:
I wish, we had a place to hang out, where we can be alone.
Drew:
Your house isn´t an option?
Alli:
Not if you want this to last! My parents would freak out, if they knew I was on an unsupervised date and not the classic Indian way, where you have a parent or grandparent there, so that nothing indecent goes on!
Drew:
I have my own "Indecency Patrol" at home. She also responds to the name "Mom".
Alli giggles, which makes him smile.
Drew:
Did you know that you have the cutest laugh?
She smiles at his flattery.
Alli:
I guess this will have to do for now, but I´m okay with it.
Drew:
How is school going?
Alli:
It´s what I expected it to be, before I started. Drew, do you know any disabled people?
Drew:
There was a boy, that had been paralyzed from the waist down by Polio, when he was a baby, who I went to middle school with.
Alli:
So he was in a wheelchair?
Drew:
It wasn´t like he could walk without feeling in his legs.
Alli:
Of course not. Were you friends with him?
Drew:
Not best friends, but it wasn´t like I ignored him because of it. It´s not his fault, that he got some awful disease as a baby. I felt sorry for him more than anything else.
Alli:
Was he bullied or anything like that?
Drew:
A little, but the teachers were quick to put a stop to it, when it happened. What´s with all of these questions?
Alli:
I´m starting to think that a boy in my grade could be mentally disabled.
Drew:
Like dumb?
Alli:
No, he´s really intelligent. It´s more like he´s awkward in the way he acts around people. Like he´s different from us "normal people", if that makes any sense.
Drew:
If it isn´t like he gets violent or anything like that, I still think I would be friends with him. It could even be interesting to know a guy like that.
Alli:
You wouldn´t see it as a negative?
Drew:
I can´t say for sure, since I´ve never met the guy you´re referring to, but I don´t think I would. Think of it this way, Alli. If all of us were exactly the same, wouldn´t the world be a very boring place to live?
She smiles at the way he sees it.
Alli:
I guess so!
She looks determined to find out more about Connor.
7. Int. Mia´s Apartment. Evening.
Mia and Sav are hanging out in the living room and are enjoying themselves, perhaps even a little too much.
Mia:
Did you have Mrs. Jenkins for anything?
Sav:
You mean "Dead Tooth"?
Mia:
Her breath was so bad, that it could slay a dragon!
Sav:
It was a test of manhood among the boys in my class, that you had to take her breathing right into your face at least once! I couldn´t get myself to do it, but I know lots of boys who did!
Mia:
Those poor little boys! I feel so bad for them!
The two of them laugh.
Sav:
Were there any "tests of womanhood", that you had to do to be accepted?
Mia:
It was more like lots of little ones.
Sav:
Like?
Mia:
I´m not telling you!
Sav:
I told you mine!
Mia:
The big one of course was "Who has sex first?". I came frighteningly close to winning that one, when I was only 13.
She clearly isn´t too crazy about talking about this subject, which he picks up on.
Sav:
That´s early.
Mia:
I was also a really messed up kid with a lot of issues! I would have no doubt ended up in juvie, if it hadn´t been for Jane and my mom not giving up on me. That´s where many of the other girls I used to hang out with, are currently spending their time.
Sav takes it in and smiles at her.
Sav:
That considered, it´s impressive how far you´ve come.
She looks glad that he thinks so.
8. Int. Hallway. Morning.
Mia has just arrived and is getting books from her locker for the first class. She has to stop to yawn and shakes the cobwebs away. Darcy comes over to her.
Darcy:
Good morning, Mia. You´re looking tired.
Mia:
I didn´t get to bed until late.
Darcy looks a little suspicious.
Darcy:
Were you doing anything special last night?
Mia:
I ... ehm ... had a visitor.
Darcy:
That´s always nice. Anyone I know?
Mia shakes her head in denial.
Mia:
No, it was our neighbor!
Darcy:
Your neighbor?
Mia:
Yeah, she had locked herself out, so she had to wait for a locksmith!
Darcy:
Why were you up late because of that? The one time we´ve had to call a locksmith, they came in no time.
Mia:
It was that and ... ehm ... stress! I´ve been stressed out lately and that´s why I haven´t been able to sleep!
Darcy doesn´t look like she´s buying, what Mia is selling, but is still playing it cool!
Darcy:
You have to watch out for that stress, Mia! It will kill you!
Mia:
You don´t need to tell me!
Mia looks uncomfortable and Darcy sees right through her.
Darcy:
Mia, what really happened last night?
Mia:
Sav came over to talk about you.
Darcy:
Me?
Mia:
To help find you the perfect boyfriend! Only we lost track of time and it became kind of late, until he went home. I never knew he was this nice until now.
Darcy shakes her head at her.
Darcy:
Look, it´s not my place to judge you, that´s God´s job. But I can warn you that if you continue seeing him, you could be opening a Pandora´s Box, that you might not want to open. I´m only saying that as a friend, who wants the best for you.
Mia:
You couldn´t see me and him as a couple?
Darcy:
Sav comes with complications the likes of which you can´t understand, until you´ve tried it. Trust me when I tell you, that you´re better off with what you´ve got. If you´re in any more doubt, try asking Holly J what it was like to be his girlfriend.
Darcy leaves her to think about it.
9. Int. Hallway (elsewhere). Day.
Mia is quizzing Holly J on Sav.
Mia:
Holly J, can I ask you about Sav?
Holly J:
Sav Bhindari? Why?
Mia:
It´s just that ... ehm ...
Holly J:
You have a crush on him, don´t you?
Mia:
Man, my acting abilities are bad today!
Holly J smiles and shakes her head at Mia.
Holly J:
First of all, you´ll have to get in line. I can name at least five girls who have crushes on him and that´s just those I know!
Mia looks disappointed.
Mia:
Does he sleep around a lot?
Holly J:
I don´t think he sleeps with them, but he definitely likes the adulation!
A small smile creeps back on Mia´s face.
Holly J:
Another thing you have to consider is his family and they´re a whole story on to their own! I still, all of these months later, praise myself lucky every morning when I wake up, that I won´t have to talk to them that day!
Mia:
Did you do anything to make them mad at you?
Holly J:
I wasn´t born Indian. That´s enough in their book.
Mia looks like she´s about to give up an the idea.
10. Int. Science Classroom. Day.
Alli is doing an experiment next to Connor and it´s so easy for both of them, that it´s turned into a friendly competition to see who can do it the fastest. Connor goes a little too fast though and knock over a beaker with liquid in it, that goes everywhere.
Connor:
Oh, no!
He looks at the mess and is far more crushed by it, than any normal boy would be. Alli smiles apologetically at him.
Alli:
It´s my fault too, Connor. I´ll get some paper.
She quickly gets them some paper and hands half of it to Connor and they get to work cleaning it up.
Connor:
I´m gonna get an F now!
Alli:
No, you´re not, Connor! This is my fault too, so I´ll help you. It´ll be okay.
Connor:
No, it won´t! This has never happened to me before!
Alli:
Connor, look me in the eyes.
He does and her smile has a comforting effect on him.
Alli:
It´s just a little spill, not the end of the world!
Connor:
Are you sure?
Alli:
Of course, I am! Do you think you´re the first one to spill something on this floor?
She gets a smile out of him.
Connor:
I guess not!
Alli:
Take it easy and we´ll do it one thing at a time! Don´t worry!
He looks glad, as they get to work together. KC watches them while doing his own project.
11. Int. Hallway. Day.
Alli and Clare are talking by their lockers.
Alli:
He´s very sweet, but he´s also not normal, I´m sure of that much.
Clare:
That´s a big accusation, Alli!
Alli:
I´m not accusing him of anything. I´m saying that he clearly has something wrong in his head.
KC come over to them, looking annoyed with Alli.
KC:
Were you flirting with Connor, Alli?
Alli:
Normal conversations start with the word hi, KC!
KC:
You can´t do that to him, if you don´t mean anything by it. He doesn´t understand human emotions like we do and takes everything people do and tell him at face value.
Alli:
I was only trying to be his friend.
KC:
I don´t mind you being his friend, or you Clare, for that matter, just tread lightly around him.
Clare:
You´re talking about him, like there´s something wrong with him.
KC:
He has a brain disease called Asperger´s disease. It doesn´t mean that you should be scared of him, because he would never hurt a fly, just keep it in mind, when you talk to him in the future. Please?
Alli:
Is there anything else we shouldn´t do around him?
KC:
In most ways, he´s exactly like us and he wants to feel accepted like all of us do. He just doesn´t have that filter in his brain we have for things like ...
Clare:
When it´s time to shut up?
KC:
That´s one that turns a lot of people off! When he does it, just tell him to stop because it´s getting annoying and he will without getting angry at you or anything like that. Once you get to know him, you´ll also find out that he´s the best and most loyal friend in the world.
Alli and Clare look pleased to have found out more about Connor.
12. Ext. Degrassi. Day.
School is out and Clare and Alli come out together.
Alli:
Are you excited to watch your first rocket launch on TV?
Clare:
Maybe it´ll be more interesting than it sounds!
Alli:
Connor sure got excited, when we told him that we would come!
Clare:
I don´t know about you, but I´m going to try to be his friend.
Alli:
Me too. He seems like someone, it will be very interesting to get to know.
They smile at one another.
13. Int. Hallway. Day.
Sav has his guitar bag over his shoulder and is heading to band practice. He´s met by Mia.
Mia:
I´m glad, I caught you!
Sav:
Well, you have!
Mia:
Look, Sav, about last night ...
Sav:
You think that we both let it go too far.
Mia:
That and then some!
She looks like she feels guilty over what happened.
Sav:
Do you regret it?
Mia:
Sav, I have a boyfriend.
Sav:
Who you said yourself that you´ve wanted to break up with for a while now!
Mia:
Peter´s been there for me, we have the same friends and our families know and like each other. With you all I hear is that your family is a nightmare to deal with and how you´ve gone from one girl to the next. I have to try and forget it and move on. So should you.
She starts to walk away from him.
Sav:
Mia, you´re not one of many, if that´s what you´re afraid of. What we did was probably too much too soon, but how I felt about you at that moment was real. You can´t tell me that it wasn´t for you too, because you´re not that great of an actor.
He heads off to band practice. She looks angry with herself over what she did with Sav, but at the same time torn because she clearly likes him.
CLOSING CREDITS