WHAT IF - SEASON 5 EPISODE 22 - REAL THING
THIS ONE IS FOR ALL OF YOU, WHO HAVE BEEN MISSING SEEING MORE OF EMMA AND JT THIS SEASON!
1. Int. Bus. Day.
We start with a view out of the window, where we pass a sign that says "Toronto 8". We see Emma sitting in a window seat and looking glad to almost be home again.
2. Ext. Bus Station. Day.
JT and Manny are waiting for her at the somewhat crowded bus station. JT checks his phone.
JT:
She should be here soon.
Manny:
I just wish that it was now!
JT:
You´re not the only one who´s missed her. At least you talk on the phone with her regularly. The last two times I did, was four months ago to congratulate her on the new apartment and then a week ago, to tell her about Bianca´s situation.
Manny:
It´s a shame that she won´t be here for Christmas. I know that Emma wants to be there for her to help her through this and is frustrated that she can´t, although she hasn´t said so in that many words.
JT:
Then again, we can´t really blame my little sis for wanting spend her Christmas getting to know our shared dad, now that it could be the only chances, she´ll get to.
Manny:
Remember the key word, we talked about, JT: Positivity. Us getting all depressed won´t do Bianca any good, you know that as well as I do. It´ll only end up ruining one of the few times a year, where me and Em get more than a day or two together, before she has to go back to school.
JT:
I´ll try, but I can´t guarantee, that it won´t be on my mind.
Manny:
That´s all I ask. I´ve been getting the feeling lately, that there´s something she isn´t telling me.
JT:
Do you tell her the truth every time, without exception?
He looks her in the eyes and she has to give in.
Manny:
I do nearly all of the time.
JT:
Then it isn´t really fair to blame her for the same, is it?
Manny:
I guess not. I just wish, she´d get here soon!
They look around for Emma and don´t see her sneaking up, until she´s right behind them.
Emma:
Are you waiting for me?
Manny lets out a small squeal of joy and gives Emma a giant hug.
Manny:
Everything is finally right with the world again!
Emma:
If you think you´ve missed me, it nothing compared to how much I´ve missed you!
Manny lets go of her and gets a smaller one from JT.
JT:
You´re early.
Emma:
I took an earlier bus. Are you doing good?
JT:
You know me. I rarely complain.
They smile at one another.
Manny:
Where´s Sean?
Emma:
He´s on his way to Wasaga to visit his parents.
Manny:
He´ll be here for Christmas though, won´t he?
Emma:
I don´t know yet. It´s a long story, that I don´t feel like getting into right now. So, where are you parked?
Manny and JT both look surprised at the news with Sean.
OPENING CREDITS
3. Int. Emma´s Room. Evening.
Emma jumps down on her old bed and looks glad to be home again. Spike is with her and smiles at the sight.
Spike:
You did the exact same thing, way back when we first got it for you.
Emma:
I´ve missed this bed so much! Just like I´ve missed everything here so much! Jack is growing up fast, my friends have their own new and exciting lives. It feels like I´ve been completely out of the loop.
Spike:
That´s what comes with living in a different city.
She sits down on the bed with Emma, who sits up.
Spike:
Just be glad, that you´re still in contact with so many of your high school friends. Apart from the ones I see more or less every day, like Joey, Caitlin and of course your dad, the only one I talk to regularly is Liz.
Emma:
Isn´t that a little sad to you?
Spike:
That´s how life is, Em. It moves on at a break neck speed and before you know it, the years have passed by and you´ve lost touch with most of them.
Emma:
I´m not gonna let that happen to me!
Spike:
How is school going?
Emma:
Oh, you know! It´s like high school, only a little harder.
Spike:
I´m asking, because you always change the subject quickly, when I try to ask about it on the phone.
Emma:
Really mom, there´s nothing to worry over. I am doing just fine and so is Sean!
Despite Emma´s assurances, Spike can easily see though that she isn´t telling her the whole truth.
4. Int. Living Room. Evening.
Snake is sitting on the couch and is playing with the new family pet, a dog that looks a lot like the one Emma adopted in the OG DNG. It´s clearly loving life in the Nelson household to the fullest and gets a small cuddle from Spike too, when she sits down next to Snake.
Snake:
What did she say?
Spike:
She tried to make it seem like everything was perfect.
Snake:
Then here comes the million dollar question: Did you believe her?
Spike:
There´s clearly something troubling her, but she won´t say what it is.
Snake:
We can only help her, if she asks for it.
Spike:
I know. It´s just so frustrating to know that something is troubling her and she won´t allow me to help her with it.
Snake:
She´s still a teenager, Spike. How many teenagers did you know, when we were her age, who told their parents everything?
Spike:
I wasn´t one of them, that´s for certain!
They give each other a small kiss. The dog looks so happy, that it´s almost smiling.
5. Int. Warehouse. Day.
JT is doing his work, which isn´t particularly exciting to say the least. He pulling a pallet lifter with a pallet on top of it around and is picking up loose garbage where ever it´s to be found. He´s looking bored as sin, as most people would in a job like this. One of his colleagues, a stocky built and very tomboyish looking girl with short brown hair, who´s around his own age and is named Tina, comes over to him. They both have the same work uniform on and you can hear the extra sound that her work shoes make compared to normal shoes, as she walks towards him.
Tina:
The boss-man wants me to give you some good news. You´re off garbage duty for now.
JT:
What´s the catch, you haven´t mentioned yet?
Tina:
We have a container to unload.
JT:
Great! I get to trade in five hours of being bored for three hours of heavy lifting!
Tina:
Sorry, JT. It´s one of the large ones.
JT groans to himself at the thought of it, but Tina shoots him a smile.
Tina:
Cheer up! It´s little Friday!
JT:
Can you give me some of that positivity, you have in abundance, Tina?
Tina:
What´s really the matter? Talk to me.
JT:
Manny and me are spending tonight with an old friend of ours from high school.
Tina:
Is that bad? I usually look forward to seeing my old friends, whenever they´re in town.
JT:
She´s in college and actually doing something with her life. Meanwhile, I´m picking up garbage and destroying my back emptying containers for eight bucks an hour.
Tina:
You feel like a loser in comparison, huh?
JT:
I knew that not getting my high school diploma would close some doors, but I thought that I could get something better than this.
Tina:
JT, real college life isn´t like what you see in the movies. It´s hard work and if you don´t try your best, then you´re not going to finish it. I know you well enough by now to know, that you would have hated every minute of it, just like I would!
JT:
It still has to be better than this!
Tina:
I´m sure that if you get her to tell you the truth, then you´ll find out that it´s not as glamorous, as you think it is.
He nods in understanding and they smile at one another.
6. Int. The Dot. Day.
Paige is paying off one of The Dot´s vendors, a Latino guy in his mid 20´s named Emilio. Emma sits at the counter.
Paige:
See you in few weeks!
Emilio:
Have a nice day, Paige.
Paige:
You too, Emilio. Say hi to the missus from me!
Emilio:
I will!
Emilio leaves them and Paige steps back behind the counter.
Emma:
Being a cafe manager looks like it suits you.
Paige:
Who would have known that getting kicked out of college would lead to me getting my dream job?
Emma:
This is your dream job?
Paige:
Hon, when you have a criminal record with words like "Drug Distribution" in it, your goals change accordingly! Sure, there´s other places I could live that are more exciting, but I love it here where I have my dad and my friends close to me. Not to mention that I don´t have to worry about anything, compared to the nervous wreck I was most of the time, I spent at Banting. This is the life, I was meant for all along, I just didn´t know until I tried what it was like, without having my support system around me.
Emma nods in understanding and looks happy for Paige.
Paige:
How is college life treating you?
Emma:
It´s great! Everything I expected it to be!
Paige:
Except for ...
Paige looks Emma in the eyes and Emma can tell that she has her read. She still doesn´t want to tell her though.
Paige:
Emma, you can´t fool me. I know what it´s like to have sleepless nights, because you have to study all night to keep up or your entire body is so stressed out, that you can´t remain calm enough to fall asleep. Even without the drugs to make things worse, I was like a fish out of water at Banting.
Emma decides with herself that it´s time to tell someone about it.
Emma:
I haven´t been able to sleep lately either. It´s like everything worries me and I can´t stop thinking about it. My grades, Sean ...
Paige:
Things aren´t peachy between you, Hon?
Emma:
I´m worried that we´re not gonna make it through three and a half more years of this. That´s if I graduate on time, which right now looks doubtful.
Paige gives her a re-assuring smile.
Paige:
I´m not someone, whose example anyone should follow, but I can tell you this. If I could go back to when it started to go downhill and ask for help from the people who love me and would have loved to help me, I would in a second. Looking back, that´s by far the biggest mistake I made.
Emma takes in what she said.
7. Ext. Snake and Spike´s House. Evening.
JT and Manny are coming up to the house, where Emma and Manny have spent so many hundreds, if not thousand of hours together, when they were growing up.
JT:
How are we going to deal with the Sean situation?
Manny:
We don´t bring it up, unless she does so first. While we´re at it, could you make your own job sound a little better, than it is?
JT:
You´re disappointed in me, I get it.
Manny:
No, I´m not. There just isn´t any reason for her to know, how much you hate it.
JT sees why she doesn´t want him to tell Emma the truth.
JT:
You´re afraid that it would reflect badly on you, aren´t you?
Manny:
I don´t want her to think, that it´s something I´m making you do against your will.
JT:
Okay, I´ll make it sound like I can´t wait to come to work five days a week.
Manny smiles at him.
Manny:
Thanks for understanding.
They walk up to the house.
8. Int. Emma´s Room. Evening.
Emma is enjoying her time with her two old friends, almost as much as they´re enjoying it.
Emma:
Isn´t it sort of like being back in high school again?
Manny:
Kind of, but it´s fun to see what it´s like from the side of the teachers too.
JT:
Admit it, Manny. You love your job!
Manny:
I have to admit that there was a time there, where I was more than a little afraid of what the future held for me, but it´s worked out for the best.
Emma:
Does this mean that you´ll want to make a career out of it?
Manny:
I think so. I´m loving it so far!
Emma:
I can´t think of anyone, I would rather send my kids to for counselling. In your case, it makes perfect sense for it to be your future.
Manny smiles to herself.
Emma:
What´s your job like, JT?
JT:
It´s exciting. Every day I get to try something new, so the time flies by.
Manny:
He´s even thinking about getting a forklift license.
Emma:
As in going back to school, JT? That doesn´t sound like you!
She smiles at him teasingly.
JT:
It´s only a two week course. I´ll survive it.
Emma:
Plus I´m guessing that you get to hear lots of guy humor working in a warehouse!
JT:
Actually my best friend there is a girl named Tina, although I can´t say that she holds back with the guy humor either!
They laugh.
Emma:
You´re not worried that this Tina will steal him away from you with her dirty jokes, Manny?
Manny:
My best work friend is of the other sex too. I think that once you get past that whole divide there is between you in school, it doesn´t matter as much which set of genitals you have.
JT:
Haven´t you made any friends in college yet, Em?
Emma:
Yeah, ehm ...
She clearly hasn´t and has to make something up.
Emma:
There´s just so many of them, that I wouldn´t know where to start! And the classes .. I mean, the classes! They´re everything I hoped for and more!
Manny and JT make eye contact and clearly aren´t buying it.
Manny:
That´s great, Em. What about Sean, how´s he doing?
Emma:
Oh, he´s great too! He has this great job and we´re more in love than we´ve ever been! Seriously guys, my life is heaven right now!
Manny looks frustrated that Emma won´t just tell them, but doesn´t want to call Emma out on it yet either.
9. Ext. Snake and Spike´s House. Evening.
Emma is saying goodbye to her friends.
Emma:
Get home safely.
Manny:
It´s two streets over, Em! We´ll be okay.
JT:
It´s still a weird thought that your parents are selling the house.
Emma:
My mom only bought it, because it was all she could afford, when she was alone with me. I can´t blame them for wanting to move into something bigger and not as run down as this old house, now that they can afford to.
Manny:
I´m still gonna miss it though. I practically grew here as much as you did.
JT:
As fun as this has been, I hear our bed calling me. It´s saying "JT, get home to me! You have to get up at half past six tomorrow morning, so you can reach the first of the three buses, you take to work, in time"!
Manny:
See you tomorrow, Em.
Emma:
See you tomorrow, guys!
Emma head back inside and closes the door behind herself. JT and Manny make eye contact.
Manny:
Did you believe her?
JT:
I was sitting there waiting for her pants to catch on fire, with how much she was lying!
Manny:
She always used to tell me everything. Why wouldn´t she be honest with me?
JT:
The same reason that you didn´t want me to be honest with her? I think it´s only natural to want to come off better to someone, you haven´t seen in a while, where as when you see someone every day, there´s no way of hiding it.
Manny:
I guess, I can see your point.
JT:
Are my trousers too tight?
She has to giggle a little.
Manny:
That was one of your lamer jokes!
JT:
Let´s get home, sweetheart. I have a long work day tomorrow ahead of me!
They start to head home.
10. Int. Living Room. Evening.
Snake is grading papers, when Emma comes in. He looks up from them and they smile at one another.
Emma:
A teacher´s job never ends, does it?
Snake:
It´s the life I chose for myself. Although I´ll admit, that some of these freshman English reports aren´t the easiest to get through.
Emma:
Want some help?
Snake:
I´m pretty sure that I would get fired, if I allowed my teenage daughter to grade papers for me, but I appreciate the offer.
She sits down next to him and looks one of those he has graded over.
Emma:
"Oliver Twist is the tale of a guy named Oliver whose, spelled W, H, O, apostrophe, S, last name was Twist". Were mine this bad?
Snake:
No, yours were always easy to get through. There were never any spelling or grammatical errors, like I see with almost all of them.
She gives up on reading more of it and puts it back on top of the pile.
Emma:
Snake, was it easy for you to transition from high school to going to college?
Snake:
I wouldn´t call it easy. It took some getting used to that I was getting B´s and C´s, where I used to get all A´s.
Emma:
You too, huh?
Snake:
They don´t call it higher learning for nothing!
Emma:
What about socially?
Snake:
How do you mean? Like did I get invited to parties and things like that?
Emma:
More like ... did you miss your friends like crazy too?
He stops his work, looks her in the eyes and shoots her a warm smile.
Snake:
I won´t say that I didn´t at first.
Emma:
It didn´t matter what I needed, when I lived here, I always had a friend to be there for me. If I needed a friendly ear to tell secrets to, I could go to Manny or Jane and if I needed to be cheered up with some sweet compliments and a few lame jokes, I could go to JT or Toby. I guess, I just miss having them there all the time.
Snake starts to see where the problem lies.
Snake:
Honey, tell me the truth. Have you been homesick a lot this past semester?
Emma:
Kind of. Please don´t tell mom.
Snake:
She´s not gonna look down on you for it, if that´s what you´re afraid of.
Emma:
I don´t want her to worry more over me than I know, she already does. I´m sure that I´ll get past it soon.
Snake can see that she´s worried over whether she will or not though.
11. Int. Kitchen. Morning.
Spike and Snake are having their morning coffee, while Jack rides around the living room on a toy motorcycle and making the engine noises himself.
Spike:
Don´t go too fast or you´ll end up hurting yourself, Sweetheart!
Jack:
I won´t, mom!
Snake and Spike smile at how innocent he is.
Spike:
I still remember when things were that easy with Emma. Now she´s a college girl, who doesn´t want her mom to know anything about her life!
Snake:
She´s the exact same as we were. My mom still thinks that I waited with sex, until I was married!
Spike:
If I hadn´t become pregnant at 14, I would have tried that on my mom too. It´s just so frustrating to know that she needs help and not being able to help her, when I want to so badly! She´s my daughter, I don´t want her to have a ton of unresolved problems!
Snake:
She opened up to me a little, after her friends had left.
Spike:
What did you find out?
Snake:
The main problem is that she´s been homesick and misses her friends. If we help her solve that part, all of the rest of them will be much easier to deal with.
Spike looks glad to at least find out that much.
12. Ext. Bus Station. Day.
JT arrives at the bus station after a hard day´s work, looking pretty beat. He´s surprised to see Emma sitting on a bench there by herself and comes over to her.
JT:
What are you doing here, Em?
They smile at each other.
Emma:
Debating with myself whether to take a day trip to Wasaga to see Sean.
He sits down next to her.
JT:
What´s really going on between you, Em?
Emma:
It´s okay. I don´t want you to worry over it.
JT:
Just because we don´t live in the same city anymore, doesn´t mean that I don´t care what happens to you. You´re still my 2nd best friend along with Toby.
Emma:
Can I ask you something?
JT:
Shoot.
Emma:
How long do you think a relationship can keep going on sex alone?
JT:
That´s hard to say, since I haven´t tried it. It all depends on how good the sex is, I suppose.
Emma:
Because it feels like it´s all we have in common anymore. He lives in his world there and I live in mine, except for when we´re alone together. Since we don´t have much in common to talk about anymore, we end up having sex to avoid the blatant issue, that´s staring us in the face. That maybe we aren´t as perfect for one another, as we thought we were and we´re just fooling ourselves into still believing that we are.
JT can see that it´s hurting her and sees the need to console her.
JT:
Emma, do you know what Manny did at work today?
Emma:
Her job?
JT:
She loved every moment of it. Every day, when I come home, she can´t wait to tell me how her work day was and all of the exciting things that happened with the students, she´s helping. That girl has found her calling in life, I´m sure of it!
Emma smiles to herself.
Emma:
That´s nice for her.
JT:
I spent my work day mostly waiting for five o´clock to arrive, so I could get the hell out of that place as fast as I could!
She looks surprised.
Emma:
But you said that it was a great job.
JT:
It´s a job and I get paid for doing it, but that´s all I can say for it! I´ve been so bored there, that more than once I have actually considered quitting and going back to school. Really, I have! Basically, my job has two parts, the mind-numbingly boring part and the physically draining part. Which of them I dislike the most, is hard to say.
Emma:
Why don´t you just quit then?
JT:
The same reason, you haven´t dropped out of college. I know that I´m working towards something better. After a long day, I come home to Joey and the girls, who help me forget what a sucky day it was. If it gets really bad, all I have to do is remind myself of what my sister is going through and then I don´t feel like I have the right to feel sorry for myself anymore.
Emma:
That´s just it! It feels like I don´t have anyone there, like you have here.
JT:
Em, just because we´re not there, doesn´t mean we won´t be there for you, when we can. All you have to do is ask for help and we´ll all bend over backwards for you, if that´s what it takes. I hope you know that and if you didn´t, then now you do.
She nods in understanding and it looks like she´s ready to.
13. Int. Living Room. Day.
Emma comes home to her parents, who are chilling out after being drained from playing with Jack. It makes Emma smile.
Emma:
There´s nothing to drain the energy out of you like playing with a little kid, is there?
Spike:
That kid has more energy in that tiny body, than five of all three of us combined would have!
Snake:
How was your afternoon?
Emma:
Not all that great. As you can probably guess, me and Sean have been having some problems and I spent the day at the bus station, wondering if I should take a trip up to see him, so we could talk.
Spike:
What kind of problems?
Emma:
Look, I haven´t been completely honest about a lot of things. Sean is just one of them and they´re all connected to each other in one way or another.
Snake:
Then let us help you. That´s what we´re here for.
Emma looks ready to open up to them, which pleases her parents.
14. Int. Car. Evening.
Manny is driving with Emma in the passenger seat.
Manny:
I promise to come and visit you more often. I won´t have my best friend being lonely and miserable!
Emma:
It´s okay. You have your own life without me in it now and I´m happy that things are going so great for you, I really am.
Manny:
There will always be room for you in it. Anytime you have any crisis, big or small, I´m only a phone call away.
Emma:
I´ll be honest with you, I don´t know how I´m gonna make it through three and a half years more of this. There´s classes, where I´ve felt lost from the beginning and it doesn´t matter how hard I´ve tried, I just can´t seem to catch up!
Manny:
I´m sure you can´t be the only one there, who feels that way.
Emma:
There is one girl in my study group, who does too. We´ve sort of started to become friends.
Manny:
You know what they say, make one friend and more will follow!
Emma:
Do they say that?
Manny:
I dunno, but I just did!
They laugh a little.
Emma:
This is what I miss most of all, Manny. You and me hanging out, talking about every small detail of our lives and making dumb little jokes to make the other one laugh. I had no idea how much I´d miss it, until I didn´t have it anymore.
Manny:
You can find that with someone else, Emma. Be open to the possibilities the present themselves and you´ll do fine. Unless it´s a possibility to do something criminal or porn related of course, in which case I wouldn´t recommend being open to it!
Emma looks glad to be getting some "Manny Time" again.
15. Ext. Road. Day.
We see their car pass by the "Welcome to Wasaga" sign.
16. Int. Car. Evening.
Emma and Manny are on the lookout for the right house.
Emma:
It´s the one up here on the right.
Manny:
Are you sure?
Emma:
Pretty sure. You can drop me off right here.
Manny:
Sure, if you´re sure, that you´re sure enough!
Emma:
I´m sure enough!
Manny pulls over to the curb and the car comes to a stop.
Manny:
Do you want me to wait for you?
Emma:
Nah, I´m going to stay the night. Me and Sean have a lot of things, we need to talk about and for once, I´m going to be completely open with him over how I feel inside.
Manny:
You´re just going through a rough spell. It´ll pass.
Emma:
Not unless we start being open with one another.
She smiles to herself.
CLOSING CREDITS
THAT´S THE END OF SEASON 5, FOLKS! NEXT UP IS AN EXPLANATIONS CHAPTER, BEFORE WE CONTINUE WITH SEASON 6!