WHAT IF? - SEASON 5 EPISODE 16 - I AM ONE (PART 2)
1. Int. Matlin House. Morning.
Katie is looking over the living room and thinking about everything that needs to be done with her sister and mother, who´s on crutches and won´t be much help. Neither will Maya to be honest, with how small she is and how little she´ll be able to carry.
Katie:
We´ll never get all this done in time!
Mrs. Matlin:
Not with that attitude, you won´t.
Katie:
Marisol said she would be here by now. Where can she be?
Maya:
If only you had more than one friend to help you with this! Sorry, I shouldn´t have said that.
Mrs. Matlin:
No, you shouldn´t have, Maya. It´s not Katie´s fault, that she´s shy. That´s just how she is and there´s nothing wrong with it.
Katie:
Thanks for the pep talk, mom! It still doesn´t change the fact that I´ll need a whole crew of people, if we´re going to get everything done in time!
Just then. the doorbell rings and she looks a little relieved.
Katie:
That´s probably Marisol.
She goes to answer it and opens the door. Outside is Marisol along with more of her class mates, than she would ever have thought cared this much about her.
Marisol:
Surprise!
Katie:
Mare, you got all of these people together to help here today?
Bianca:
Just tell us what to do and we´ll get right on it!
Katie looks so happy, that she can´t even get a word out.
OPENING CREDITS
Katie is directing the troops with Maya next to her, as the family living room is ready to be turned into a party space with the help of Eli, Mo, Drew, Dallas, Bianca, Imogen and Marisol.
Katie:
Do any of you know how to cook?
Imogen:
I do! I cook breakfast and dinner for me and my dad every day.
Bianca:
I like to cook too, as long as I don´t have to do it alone.
Marisol:
You´ve already tasted my first attempt at cooking.
Katie:
Yeah, we don´t need to ever bring that up again! Imogen and Bianca, you´ll be my mom´s assistants in the kitchen.
Maya:
If you´ll follow after me, ladies.
Imogen:
Whatever you say, tiny leader!
Imogen and Bianca follow Maya out to the kitchen.
Katie:
Drew, Mo and Dallas, I´m counting you you to be my strong men.
Marisol:
What do me and Eli have to do?
Katie:
You two will go up to my room, use my Mac to log on to iTunes and put together an awesome playlist for tonight. You both know much more about music than I do, so I´m counting on you two to provide the perfect background entertainment. Plus and I don´t want you to take this the wrong way, Eli, but you look like my sister could lift more than you.
Eli:
None taken, as long as I don´t have to any heavy lifting! Shall we?
Marisol:
Have fun. You know, we will!
They hurry off to Katie´s room.
Drew:
Do you mind, if I bring Alli tonight? She won´t bother anyone, I promise.
Katie:
Yeah, she can come.
Dallas:
Look, Katie. Me and Drew both figured that it´s about time, we all buried the old hatchet and tried showing some unity in this grade of ours.
Drew:
While we can´t promise that we´ll never act in a juvenile way again, we will go so far as to pledge to try our best not to in the future.
Katie:
That´s a very nice half hearted pledge, boys.
Mo:
I´ll be honest. I´m only here as an excuse to get out of the house.
Katie:
That´s a perfectly valid reason too, Mo!
She looks delighted at the unexpected support, she´s getting.
3. Ext. Riley´s House´s Garden. Morning.
Riley is helping his mom pack down their things like beach chairs, a parasol and a table now that fall is officially here and they won´t be outside as much anymore. Riley inspects the parasol, that looks very old and worn.
Riley:
We´ll need a new parasol next year.
Riley´s Mom:
Yeah, it´s seen better days. Throw it out.
Riley:
Mom, what did you think of Katie?
Riley´s Mom:
She´s a nice girl. Do you like her?
Riley:
I guess so. She´s pretty and we have a lot in common.
Riley´s Mom:
That´s a good place to start off from.
Riley can read from his mother´s face, that there´s something she isn´t saying.
Riley:
Mom, I know that look. You can be honest with me.
Riley´s Mom:
It seemed to me like she was more interested in you, than you were in her.
Riley:
I am, it just takes me more time to grow affections for someone, than it does for her apparently.
Riley´s Mom:
Riley, you don´t have to rush into anything, if it´s just to please me. Next time, it would be nice if you´d known the girl for more than one day, before you bring her home to meet me.
Riley gives her a comforting smile.
Riley:
I´ll be sure to keep it in mind at all times. I only brought her home, so she could taste your delicious cooking.
Riley´s Mom:
If you aren´t sure about her, then you need to tell her, so she knows where she stands. Few things that are worse than being unknowingly dragged along by someone, who isn´t as serious about the relationship, as you are. I remember that much, from when I was your age and a guy did it to me.
Riley:
Did you ever forgive him?
Riley´s Mom:
We never spoke again afterwards. Let´s get a move on. It´s getting cold out here!
Riley:
Sure, mom.
They get to work, as the severity of how bad the situation with Katie could get more and more starts to dawn on him.
4. Int. Katie´s Room. Day.
Marisol and Eli are still busy putting the playlist together, but are having a little trouble agreeing on it.
Marisol:
For the last time: She doesn´t like heavy metal or EMO music!
Eli:
But you think she´ll want to hear three Aqua songs in one evening? I can barely stand hearing one!
Marisol:
It´s music that she´ll remember from our childhood!
Eli:
And send everyone else fleeing out the door! Not to mention, nine Spice Girls songs?
Marisol:
Don´t you dare say anything bad about the Spice Girls! Mel B is my 14th biggest idol!
Eli:
I´m only saying that a tiny bit more variation wouldn´t hurt!
Katie comes in to interrupt them.
Katie:
How´s it going in here?
Marisol:
He´s upset that there´s nine Spice Girls songs on the playlist!
Eli:
I´m only saying ...
Marisol:
I heard you the first time!
Katie sees that it´s causing a rift between them and decides to act.
Katie:
Eli, why don´t you go down and help in the kitchen and then Marisol can put together the playlist on her own?
Eli:
Gladly!
He leaves them and Katie looks over the playlist.
Katie:
Put in a few more Aqua songs.
Marisol:
Gladly!
She gets to work finding songs.
Marisol:
So, are you excited that Riley is coming?
Katie:
I guess so. Although I´ll probably be too busy to get any quality time with him.
Marisol:
Then make time! This could be the one time in your life, where the perfect guy has decided that he likes you.
Katie:
Mare, be honest. Have you been playing match maker for me?
Marisol sees no reason to lie about it anymore and doesn´t have to say it, for Katie to be able to read it off her face.
Katie:
Thanks.
Marisol:
Thank you for being my best friend for all of these years. If I can do anything to help to make you happier, then you know that I´ll never hesitate to do it.
They smile at each other.
5. Int. Matlin House Kitchen. Day.
Eli comes into the kitchen, where Imogen, Bianca and Maya are hard at work under the direction of Maya and Katie´s mom.
Eli:
You have another volunteer!
Bianca:
Couldn´t agree on the music, huh?
Eli:
What a surprise!
Mrs. Matlin:
What´s your name?
Eli:
It´s Eli, Mrs. Matlin.
Mrs. Matlin:
You can take over for me, while I go and check what we need to buy from the store. We weren´t expecting this many to come. Maya, I´m leaving you in charge, while I´m gone.
Maya:
Sure, mom.
Mrs. Matlin leaves them and Eli is handed a knife by Maya, that he takes.
Maya:
You´re on salad chopping duty.
Eli:
How old are you?
Maya:
Eleven.
Eli:
Something tells me that we´ll all end up working for you some day!
Maya looks proud at his praise.
Imogen:
So, Maya. Do you have a boyfriend?
Maya:
Not yet.
Bianca:
A cute little thing like you? I don´t believe that!
Maya:
There´s this one boy, but we´re probably too different.
Imogen:
What´s his name?
Maya:
It´s Zigmund, but everyone calls him Zig. With a Z, not with an S like with Freud.
Eli:
You know, Maya. Sometimes it helps if you´re not too much the same. Look at Rob Zombie and Sherri Moon.
Maya:
I´ve never heard either of those names.
Eli:
He´s this famous hard rock singer and film maker, who makes these really gory horror movies that I love, but my girlfriend hates. He looks like something from another planet, if I´m gonna be honest about it and Sherri Moon is his ultra hot actress wife, that he has starring in all of his movies. They make for a very strange couple when you see them together, but for whatever reason, it works for them.
Bianca:
Don´t they seem like two people who both wish it was Halloween every day though, or is it just me, who thinks that?
Imogen:
It´s not!
Eli:
So don´t be discouraged Maya, just because you´re not the same on the surface. It´s what you have in common beneath the surface, that decides whether you stay together or not. Marisol and I can´t come close to agreeing on what music is the best and I´ve sat through more horrible chick flicks for her, than I thought I´d ever see in my entire lifetime before I met her. Still I do those things gladly, because she does the same for me.
Maya looks pleased with his answer, as do the other two girls, Bianca especially.
6. Int. Matlin House. Evening.
People have arrived at the Matlin house for Katie´s sweet sixteen party and it looks to be a pretty good gathering. Katie is being showered with gifts, that hey have a table set up for. Mostly the kind of gifts you would get for a girl who you don´t know anything about, that you can´t possibly go entirely wrong with, but she´s also been given a new soccer ball by her team mates. She looks to be having a great time though and is flanked by Marisol and Riley, the people who are closest to her right now. "Barbie Girl" by Aqua is playing from the speakers and is a surprise hit with most of the partygoers judging by how much dancing is going on.
Two that can´t stand it however are Bianca and Eli, who do however get a kick out of seeing how much fun Imogen is having dancing to it with Fiona, who´s more ironic about liking it.
Bianca:
Is it us there´s something wrong with, because we´re too cynical to even be ironic over how comically bad this song is?
Eli:
Imogen looks like she genuinely loves it!
Bianca:
Imogen loves 99 percent of all things! It´s why it´s so impossible for me not to love her and why we´re the perfect counterbalance to one another.
Eli:
It sounds like you´ve done a lot of thinking on the subject.
Bianca:
When you don´t have much else going on in your life, you tend to do so.
Eli:
I know what you mean. Loneliness can sometimes be your friend, but most of the time it´s your enemy.
They smile at each other in sad understanding, as the song starts to fade down. The next one isn´t much better though, since it´s "Backstreet´s Back" by The Backstreet Boys.
Bianca:
I need some air to get a break from this!
Eli:
ll race you to the door!
They hurry out of there without anyone noticing it.
7. Ext. Matlin House. Evening.
The music is much quieter outside to the relief of Bianca and Eli´s ears.
Eli:
Sweet blessed silence! From now on, I´ll appreciate you so much more!
Bianca:
I don´t care if it´s only a short reprieve. This is my version of heaven right now!
They both have to laugh a little.
Eli:
You have my apologies. I feel partly responsible for this.
Bianca:
Nah, don´t! I´ll say this for you girlfriend´s music taste. It´s not my thing, but it´s a hit with everyone else, so she probably picked right.
Eli:
What´s your favorite music and least favorite music?
Bianca:
My favorite is hardcore dance stuff like Aphex Twin, if you´ve heard of him.
Eli:
Only that he makes some incredible music videos.
Bianca:
If you wanna know what music I don´t like, I can´t stand boybands and I wish they would become a forgotten thing of the past at this instant and that the entire population of the world silently agrees with me, never to mention them again!
Eli:
You guessed my least favorite too. As for my favorites, I tend to switch between rock genres depending on what mood I´m in.
Bianca:
Even hair metal?
Eli:
"We´re Not Gonna Take It" is a surprisingly great song to rock out to, when you´re feeling PO´d with the world!
Bianca:
I´ll keep it in mind for the next time that happens.
The two of them look like they´re starting to form an unlikely friendship.
8. Int. Matlin House. Evening.
Katie is dancing with Riley to "Low" by Flo-Rida and is clearly enjoying every moment of it.
Riley:
You sure know how to throw a party!
Katie:
It´s all to Marisol´s credit.
Riley:
Friends like her are hard to find. Make sure you hold on to her.
Katie:
You don´t need to worry there.
We cut to Marisol, who is dancing with Dallas, since Eli isn´t there. She looks around for him.
Dallas:
If he´s in the bathroom, then he´s taking his sweet time!
Marisol:
Eww, Dallas!
Dallas:
Sorry. I´m a master at sticking my foot in my mouth.
Marisol:
I don´t think he would have gone home without telling me.
Dallas:
He´ll likely come walking through the door in a moment. This is a party, so enjoy yourself!
He gets a smile out of her and she forgets about Eli for a while.
We cut to Fiona and Imogen, who gets excited when Katy Perry´s "I Kissed a Girl" comes on.
Imogen:
This is the song, I told you about!
Fiona:
The one about kissing girls?
Imogen:
It´s the best! We have to dance to it!
Fiona follows Imogen´s lead while she wonders if there was any deeper meaning to her music taste or she simply loves a great pop song as much as the next girl.
We cut to Drew and Alli, who are getting in some make-out time now that there´s no older brother or parents around to stop them.
Drew:
Wanna see if we can find an empty room?
Alli looks a little torn but doesn´t want to disappoint him, so she nods.
Alli:
Okay.
They head off to find an empty room.
9. Ext. Matlin House. Evening.
Bianca and Eli still haven´t gotten further, since the last time we saw them.
Eli:
You never did anything with Johnny DiMarco?
Bianca:
What do you think? He´s like, four years older than me!
Eli:
Everyone said you did.
Bianca:
I paid him five bucks once to scare off a pair of girls, who had it in for me. That´s the only time, I´ve ever talked to him, I swear!
Eli:
Did it work?
Bianca:
They didn´t bother me again, I´ll say that much for him.
They smile at each other.
Eli:
I guess that having Julia in my ear constantly, didn´t help to improve my opinion of you.
Bianca:
I didn´t do myself any favors in that regard either, so I guess we´re even.
Eli:
Why don´t you ever date anyone? We´ve been class mates for almost a year now and I haven´t seen or heard about you going on any dates.
Bianca:
It´s a long story.
Eli:
Try me.
Bianca:
Remember Fitz from back at Lakehurst?
Eli:
I try to forget him, but yeah.
Bianca:
We´re both a couple and we´re not a couple, depending on what kind of mood we´re both in. Sometimes we kiss a little, but most of the time we just hang out and talk about the old times, back when we still had something in common. Now he lives in his world, that´s a lot different and a lot tougher than than my world, where I worry about grades and getting into the right college. All so I can have a bright future, while he doesn´t seem to think that he´ll have one, that doesn´t involve crime in one way or another. At the same time, he´s my only link left to my past before I came to Degrassi and I don´t want to lose that either.
Eli nods in understanding.
Eli:
Look, if anyone at this party gets how hard it is to let go of the past, it´s me. I still get flashbacks multiple times a week and there´s days, where I hear her voice inside my head constantly talking to me. If I wasn´t on heavy medication, like I still will be for a long time to come, I´m pretty sure that I would completely lose my mind. But I have to keep trying to move forward, or I´ll never be able to leave what happened far enough behind me, so I can have something resembling a normal life again. You still feel guilty over what happened, don´t you?
Bianca:
Every single day.
Eli:
Then you can´t keep taking two steps forward, only to take one huge step back every time, if you´re going to move on from it. You don´t need a high prized psychologist to tell you that. Take it from me, who spends two hours a week talking to one.
Bianca looks glad to finally be talking to someone, who understands her inner pain. Eli checks his phone.
Eli:
Holy crap, we´ve been out here almost the entire evening!
Bianca:
I´m sorry that I was such good company.
Eli:
Don´t be. You can never have enough good company around you.
Bianca:
They might start asking questions though.
Eli:
About you and me doing stuff? I doubt it!
Bianca:
You never know ...
They head back inside.
10. Int. Matlin House. Evening.
Eli and Bianca come in together and he immediately walks over to Marisol, who´s still dancing with Dallas.
Eli:
Mind if I cut in?
She looks relieved to see him, while Dallas can´t help looking a little annoyed.
Marisol:
I was afraid, you´d gone home! Where have you been?
Eli:
I´ll tell you while we´re dancing. You don´t mind if I dance with my girlfriend, do you, Dallas?
Dallas:
No, of course not. It´s been fun dancing with you, Mare.
Marisol:
Right back at ya, Dallas!
Dallas:
I´ll see if I can find Drew. I haven´t seen him in a while.
He goes off to find Drew and Marisol and Eli start dancing, which is more a case of her dancing and him grooving to the music, which is "Don´t Stop the Music" by Rihanna.
Eli:
You actually had something current on the playlist! I´m impressed.
Marisol:
I´ve played lots of current stuff! Where have you been all evening?
Eli:
I was talking to Bianca. It´s safe to say that we´ve made peace, once and for all.
Marisol clearly doesn´t like that he spent so much time alone with another girl, least of all Bianca.
Marisol:
That´s nice, but couldn´t you have done it some other time and not on the evening where your girlfriend arranges the biggest party of her life so far?
Eli:
In retrospect, maybe I should have been in here dancing with you.
Marisol:
Lat´s forget it. Anyway, I had so much fun dancing with Dallas, that it´s no biggie.
Eli:
You did, huh?
Eli now starts to worry, whether Dallas is getting set to move in on his girlfriend.
We cut over to Bianca, who´s talking to Imogen.
Bianca:
I´ve made the decision to break it off with Fitz and tell him, that we can´t hang out as much anymore.
Imogen:
Just now?
Bianca:
Eli helped me to see, that it´s time I started actively working on moving forward with my life. I can´t do that with him still being such a big part of it.
Imogen:
It sounds like a clever decision.
Bianca:
All I needed was the help of a clever guy to help me get there.
She looks over at Eli and Marisol dancing, clearly wishing it was her dancing with him as his girlfriend in stead of Marisol.
Drew and Alli finally make their re-appearance and are met by Dallas, who shoots them a cheeky grin.
Dallas:
Did you two ...
Drew:
No offense, but that´s none of your business, Bro!
Dallas:
But you did, right?
Drew:
What we did up there is no one´s business except for ours. Isn´t that right, Alli?
Alli:
Yes, Drew.
Drew not denying it only makes Dallas even more sure in his case. Alli is already starting to see what a mistake she might have made and looks uncomfortable.
11. Ext. Matlin House. Evening.
The party is breaking up and the party guests are leaving, except for those who are staying to help clean up. From the looks of the smiling faces, it´s been a good time had by all.
12. Int. Matlin House. Evening.
Inside the house the clean up is going fast, while Drew, Dallas and Mo are moving furniture back in place to make it look the same as it was that morning.
Drew:
Where were you all evening, Mo?
Mo:
I was busy making out with one of the girls from Katie´s soccer team and we´re also going out next weekend, I´ll have you know!
Dallas:
Go, Mo! Is she pretty?
Mo:
I wouldn´t say that she´s above a four, but beggars can´t be choosers and she does seem very nice, so she´s got that going for her.
Drew:
Hey, getting a four is still better than not getting anyone!
Dallas:
I´ve made out with my share of fours, even a few threes. You gotta give those girls, they put in more of an effort than the hot ones.
Drew:
I say go for it with your four there, Mo. I would, if I were you. What about you, Dallas? No luck?
Dallas:
I didn´t even try anything. For the next girl I´m going after, I´ll be going for nothing short of perfection from top to bottom!
Mo:
Are you sure that such a girl even exists?
Dallas:
I know, she does.
Marisol comes over to them and her and Dallas smile at one another.
Marisol:
That´s perfect, you guys. We´re almost done with the clean-up, so you can head home now.
Dallas:
Is that a friendly way of kicking us out?
Marisol:
It´s more like Mrs. Matlin wanting her house back!
Drew:
Thanks for a great party, Marisol. We need to do something like this again soon.
Marisol:
Maybe at your house?
Drew:
If you don´t mind me not coming to school the Monday after on account of being dead!
Marisol giggles and Dallas is clearly loving the sweet sound of it.
13. Ext. Matlin House. Evening.
Katie is saying goodbye to the last of her helpers, who are leaving to go home. Finally, it´s just her and Riley there.
Riley:
That was the most fun party, I think I´ve ever been to! My sixteenth birthday was just me and my family for the most part, because that was all we could afford.
Katie:
There´s really only one thing left, that could complete this evening.
She looks him in the eyes in a way that can´t be misunderstood and he tries to play it cool.
Riley:
I thought we agreed to wait until after our second date with that?
Katie:
What are you so afraid of? It´s just a kiss.
She puts her arms around him and presses herself in close to him. He tries to play along by awkwardly putting his hand around her waist.
Riley:
I lied, okay? I´ve never kissed a girl before.
Katie:
It´s my first kiss too, so relax.
Riley looks torn, but before he can decide what to do, Katie is already kissing him. She´s got her eyes closed and is clearly loving it, while he has his eyes open and can´t wait for it to end soon enough.
CLOSING CREDITS
AND WITH THAT, KATIE BECAME THE THIRD GIRL IN THIS VERSION OF DEGRASSI HISTORY TO KISS A GAY MAN AFTER ELLIE AND HEATHER SINCLAIR, WHO BOTH KISSED MARCO. BTW IT´S OKAY OF ME TO MAKE FUN OF AQUA, SINCE MOST OF THEM ARE DANISH LIKE I AM (EXCEPT FOR THE NORWEGIAN GIRL, WHO´S PRACTICALLY DANISH BY NOW) AND UNLESS YOU LIVED IN DENMARK AND WERE IN YOUR TEENS OR EARLY 20´S IN THE LATE 90´S, WHEN WHERE THEY WERE BIGGER THAN ANY OTHER MUSICAL ARTIST OVER HERE, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW INCREDIBLY ANNOYING IT BECAME TO HEAR THEM PLAYED EVERYWHERE! I CAN LOOK AT THEIR MUSIC TODAY AS FOR THE GOOD SIMPLE POP MUSIC IT WAS, BUT AS A GUY WHO ALMOST ONLY LISTENED TO ROCK AND METAL BACK THEN, THAT´S ONE PART OF THE 90´S, I DON´T MISS!
ANYWAY, I HOPED THAT YOU ENJOYED THIS DOUBLE EPISODE. AS ALWAYS THANKS FOR SUPPORTING THE SERIES AND HAVE AN AWESOME DAY!