WHAT IF? - SEASON 6 EPISODE 6 - IT´S LIKE THAT (PART 1)
HI GUYS. SO, I RAN INTO A PERIOD WITH WRITER´S BLOCK, IN GREAT PART BECAUSE THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS HAPPENING IN MY PERSONAL LIFE, THAT TOOK UP MY MIND AND ON TOP OF THAT I HAD ANOTHER IDEA THAT I´D BEEN WANTING TO DEVELOP FOR A WHILE, SO I´VE BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME WORKING ON THAT TOO.
SO, WHAT´S A HALF-WAY MEDIOCRE WRITER TO DO, WHEN THEY NEED TO GET OUT OF A WRITER´S BLOCK FUNK? WELL, YOU CAN ALWAYS GO BACK AND TAKE A COUPLE OF YOUR MANY, MANY HALF FINISHED EPISODES AND TRY TO SPLICE THEM TOGETHER AS ONE, WHICH IS WHAT I DID HERE. THEY´RE TWO VASTLY DIFFERENT STORIES HOWEVER, SO I´M HOPING THAT THEY´LL WORK TOGETHER.
AS YOU PROBABLY NOTICED, THIS IS ONLY PART ONE OF THE STORY AND I HAVEN´T STARTED WRITING PART 2 YET, SO IT´LL BE AT LEAST A FEW DAYS UNTIL IT´S READY. HOPEFULLY, I´LL BE ABLE TO START GOING BACK TO A MORE NORMAL RELEASE SCHEDULE SOON, BUT RIGHT NOW I CAN´T TELL YOU FOR SURE, WHEN THAT WILL BE.
1. Ext. Parking Lot. Morning.
Anya is getting ready for her driver´s test to start and is looking rather nervous. Thankfully she has Holly J there for support.
Anya:
Maybe it would have been better if I´d stayed at home today! There´s a "Daria" marathon on MTV, that I´m missing out on!
Holly J:
You´ll never get your driver´s license, if you don´t start believing, that you´ll pass.
Anya:
I know. I just hope that I won´t have to fill out any more insurance claims after this driving test!
The car that she´ll be driving comes pulling up next to them and Sav comes out from the driver´s seat door, while the driving instructor steps out from the passenger seat door.
Driving Instructor:
Congratulations, mister Bhandari.
Holly J:
Passed it on the first attempt! Way to go Sav!
He high fives with Holly J and Anya.
Driving Instructor:
Ms. McPherson, you´re next. Lord help us all!
He shudders and gets into the car again. Anya starts looking even more nervous, than she did before.
Sav:
You can do this, Anya. Just remain calm, do it one step at a time and everything will be fine.
Holly J:
You got this!
Anya:
Okay, I´ll try.
Anya gets in through the driver´s side door and sits down in the driver´s seat. Sav closes the door for her.
Holly J:
I bet you 20 bucks, that she´ll fail again?
Sav:
Do I look like, I was born yesterday?
Holly J looks a little annoyed, that he wouldn´t take her bet.
2. Int. Car. Morning.
Anya puts her seatbelt on and starts up the engine.
Anya:
I promise that this test will go better than the last one!
Driving Instructor:
There´s no way it could go worse, is there? Unless you actually manage to kill someone this time!
Anya puts the car in gear and starts driving.
3. Ext. Street. Morning.
The student driver car with Anya driving it is being driven through a middle class residential neighborhood, but is veering quite a bit from side to side, even though it only has to drive straight ahead.
4. Int. Car. Morning.
Anya is trying her best, but her driving skills are somewhat lacking, it should be said. Still, she hasn´t had any disasters yet, making the driving instructor look a little relieved.
Driving Instructor:
So far, so good. Now I want to see you parallel park in between those two cars up there.
Anya:
Do I have to? There´s no way, you could let me pass without having to do it?
Driving Instructor:
Sorry, Ms. McPherson. If you want to get a driver´s license, there´s no getting out of it.
Anya doesn´t look too happy, but is willing to give it a shot.
5. Ext. Street. Morning.
The driver´s ed car pulls up into the right position to parallel park into between two other cars.
6. Int. Car. Morning.
Anya checks her mirrors and tries her best at doing the parallel parking.
Driving Instructor:
Just take it nice and easy and ...
Just as he says that, Anya mistakenly steps down on the gas pedal too hard and we hear a loud bump, as she backs into one of the other cars. She looks disappointed in herself.
Anya:
Should we leave them a note?
The driving instructor just nods. He doesn´t have to tell her that she failed again.
OPENING CREDITS
7. Int. Hallway. Day.
Jay is doing his janitor´s work, when he hears the sound of a scuffle down the hallway. He looks and sees Jeremy Joplin, a rather small for his age 15 year old, who´s had his books taken by a pair of boys, who are a few years older than him and much bigger, Trevor and Mike. Trevor has Jeremy´s books raised up so high, that Jeremy can´t reach them and they find it funny, that he won´t give up on it.
Trevor:
You must be this tall to go on the rides, Jeremy!
Jeremy:
Give ém back!
Mike:
What are you gonna do, Midget? Beat us up?
They laugh, while the frustration shines out of Jeremy´s face. Jay decides that he seen enough and goes to stop it.
Jeremy:
Come on, guys, please! If I´m late for class again, my dad will kill me!
Trevor:
And we should care why?
Jay:
Hey, Dumbasses! Give the kid his books back!
They lose their interest and gives Jeremy his books back, before turning their attention to Jay, who doesn´t look scared of them one bit, although they try to look intimidating.
Mike:
What did you call us?
Jay:
I call them like I see them.
Trevor:
Sounds like you´re cruising for a beating!
Jay:
Try it and you´ll be picking your teeth up off the floor a minute from now. Which begs the question: Do you feel lucky, Punk?
Mike looks like he´s about to lose his temper, but Trevor grabs his arm.
Trevor:
This loser isn´t worth getting suspended over. Let´s go.
Mike takes a second to think about it, then gives up and turns around with Trevor. As if to just get even with someone, he bumps into Jeremy so hard that it knocks him over and he drops his books. Mike and Trevor walk on like it was nothing though and Jay gives Jeremy a helping hand in standing up.
Jay:
Are you okay, Jeremy?
Jeremy stands up and brushes his clothes off.
Jay:
Yeah, sorry about that! I hadn´t gotten to the part of the floor yet.
Jeremy:
It´s okay. How did you know my name?
Jay:
I over heard them saying it.
Jeremy:
Oh, of course. Thanks, I guess. I should get to class.
He tries to walk past Jay, but Jay stops him.
Jay:
You shouldn´t let them push you around like that. Have you tried telling one of your teachers?
Jeremy scoffs at his suggestion.
Jeremy:
So i can file a complaint against them and maybe those guys can get an hour or two of detention, if I´m really lucky?
Jay:
It´s still better than nothing, isn´t it?
Jeremy:
It´s the exact same as nothing!
Jeremy walks angrily off to class and Jay watches him walk away with concern on his face.
8. Int. Manny´s Office. Day.
Jay and Manny are eating lunch together. Her´s looks better than his though and he can´t help being a little jealous of her.
Jay:
Wanna trade?
Manny:
No, I´ll pass. Why do you think I´m eating in here, if not to get away from the jealous eyes in the teacher´s lounge?
Jay:
Plus, you´ve probably heard enough about their boring lives by now, to last you a lifetime already, am I right?
Manny:
Yeah, teachers generally don´t live all that interesting lives! There´s only so many ways you can make an evening that you spent grading papers sound exciting!
They smile warmly at one another, before he turns serious.
Jay:
I saw a kid get bullied today. I can´t tell you how ashamed I am, that I used to be the one doing that kind of crap.
Manny:
None of us can change the past. It´s who you are now that matters and I know, you´re not that kind of guy anymore.
Jay:
Says the girl, who stole Craig from his potential one true love, only to cheat on him and then break up with him, when she found something more to her liking!
He looks at her teasingly, but she takes it in stride.
Manny:
I think that we need to get you to that company from "Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind", so you can forget all of those personal things I´ve been telling you!
Jay:
That was a really good movie!
Manny:
Yeah, it´s brilliant! So, tell me about this kid, who got bullied.
Jay:
His name is Jeremy. He´s not very tall and very skinny.
Manny:
It´s probably Jeremy Joplin, you´re talking about. He doesn´t have it easy, that´s for sure.
Jay:
Have you had him in for a talk?
Manny:
Several times. Usually because he got in trouble over losing his temper again.
Jay:
Yeah, it kind of seemed that way. Like he´s angry at the world, for not treating him like it should have.
Manny:
Wouldn´t you feel that way, if you had parents who didn´t care about you. or at least you felt like didn´t care about you, had no friends and you were getting bullied every day?
Jay nods in agreement.
9. Int. Hallway. Day.
Anya is still looking dejected by how her driver´s test went, but thankfully has her friends to cheer her up.
Anya:
I´m never getting my driver´s license, am I?
Sav:
Never is a long time!
Holly J:
Sav, you´re not helping her!
Anya:
No, he´s right! I´m a terrible, horrible, dismal driver!
Sav:
All three things in one, huh?
Anya:
Wrapped up in one giant package called disappointment!
Holly J:
So you´ll have to take a few more driving lessons, until you can try again! Big deal!
Anya:
Says you, who passed on your first try! Plus, it´s report card day!
Sav:
Are you fearing the results?
Anya:
Like Tokyo fears another visit from Godzilla!
Holly J:
Sorry, Anya. That´s what you get for spending your time smooching with your boyfriend, when you should have been studying!
Anya:
My life is over and we have PE next period! Is there any way, things could get worse?
Sav and Holly J can´t help finding it a little funny, how much she´s over reacting.
10. Int. Gymnasium. Day.
The Junior girls are playing floor hockey. Holly J and Anya are currently bench warmers, which looks like it suits them fine.
Holly J:
What you need is something to take your mind off it. If you keep thinking about it constantly, then you´ll build it up in your head as something, that´s impossible for you.
Anya:
You´re probably right, but he´s busy preparing paintings for an exhibition, that´s coming up.
Holly J:
It doesn´t have to involve your boyfriend every time!
Anya:
I guess not! I´ve just gotten to used to thinking that way.
Holly J:
It sounds to me, like you need to do something that will make you feel proud again and give you a feeling of achievement! Build up the old self esteem a bit, you know?
Anya:
That sounds great, but you´re leaving out one important part. I´m not great at anything!
Holly J:
Sure, you are!
Anya:
Name me one thing, that I´m better at, than anyone else you know! I bet, you can´t!
Holly J takes a moment to think about it.
Anya:
See?
Holly J:
I know what you´re better at than anyone else. You care more about people, you don´t know, than anyone else, I´ve ever met.
She gets a small smile out of Anya.
Anya:
Okay, so maybe that´s one thing!
Holly J:
What you need to do is some selfless act to help someone else and I guarantee, that it´ll make you feel a thousand time better about yourself!
Anya:
That´s not a bad idea.
She smiles to herself and wonders what to do as her selfless act. Just as she does, a very short for her age, kind of clunky, but adorable looking and clearly very hastily dressed girl comes running into the gymnasium.
Brittany:
Sorry, I´m late! I got lost again!
Teacher:
That´s okay, Brittany. You can go and sit on the bench for now.
Brittany smiles nervously at the teacher and goes to join Anya and Holly J on the bench. They can´t help smiling at the sight of her.
Anya (whispering to Holly J):
That girl is absolutely, one hundred percent clueless!
Holly J (whispering to Anya):
Could it be, that you´ve found your charity case?
Anya considers it, as Brittany comes over to them and takes a seat next to her.
Brittany:
Hi, guys! I´m Brittany, but I guess you already knew that, since the teacher just called me by it! Sorry, I´m a master at creating word salad!
Anya:
I´m Anya and this is Holly J.
Holly J:
New here?
Brittany:
Just started today and I´ve already been late for all three of my classes, because I got lost on the way to them! You know, they should assign you a guide to help you get through the first days here, because whew! It´s like I´ve landed on a new planet compared to my old school!
Anya and Holly J smile at one another and both of them clearly like Brittany already.
11. Int. Cafeteria. Day.
Anya and Holly J are giving Brittany the low down on the school over lunch.
Anya:
What was you old school like?
Brittany:
You could walk from one end to the other in two minutes flat. Pretty much everyone knew each other, because there were so few of us. Completely different from here, basically!
Holly J:
Well, you´re lucky that you got a good start, by getting to know us!
Anya:
At Degrassi, for most of us it´s about which group you belong to. First, you have the future business people, they have their own group.
We cut to a group of over achievers, looking like they´re right out of a Gap commercial, who are eating lunch together, before cutting back to the girls.
Holly J:
Date one of those and you´re sure to be taken on plenty of fancy dinners! I can´t give you any guarantees for how interesting the conversation will be though.
Anya:
She went out with one of them a few months ago and it ...
Anya just shakes her head and Brittany gets the picture.
Brittany:
I´m not into guys, who are all about the money anyway. There´s a lot more to life, if you ask me.
Anya:
In that case, maybe it´s the future broke artists group, you should be looking into!
We cut to a group of them eating lunch while still managing to be very artistic about it, before cutting back to the girls again.
Holly J:
On the positive side, they usually have a lot of exciting things to talk about, if you´re into that kind of stuff.
Anya:
Otherwise it can tend to get tedious, listening to your boyfriend go on for what feels like ten hours about Munch´s amazing use of shading or how genius it was, that Van Gogh mixed this color in with that one.
Holly J:
Plus, they never have money to take you anywhere!
Brittany:
You´re not doing the best job at making them sound appealing! I mean, why are you dating him, if he´s so uninteresting?
Anya:
He´s REALLY hot!
Holly J nods in agreement.
Brittany:
I don´t want to sound ungrateful for what you´re doing here, because I really am grateful, that you´ve taken me in as your friend like this. But I don´t think that I want to be with someone, who´s just one of the flock. I want someone, who thinks for himself and isn´t obsessed over what everyone else thinks about him.
Holly J:
If you find someone like that, will you let me know?
Anya:
It can´t be impossible to find!
Brittany:
Look, you guys, I appreciate you trying to help, but I´ll figure it out on my own. It´s only my first day here, it´s not like I have to get it on with the first guy, that asks me out!
Anya still looks set on helping Brittany find love, even if she doesn´t want her to.
12. Int. Detention Room. Day.
Jeremy is in detention with among others Eli, who´s sitting next to him. Petrino is running the show, so to speak and everyone has to keep quiet, while they do their homework. It gets too boring for Eli though, so he writes a note on a small slip of paper and passes it to Jeremy.
It reads:
What did you do?
Jeremy reads it and nods to Eli, who writes another one.
I refused to believe in Christian lies, they tried to teach us as fact. You?
Jeremy thinks about it for a second, then writes a note for Eli, that shocks him, when he reads it.
They found a bomb in my locker. I was gonna make the whole school go ka-boom with everyone except for myself still in inside of it! Then I would have stood there laughing, while I watched you all burn!
Eli tries to look Jeremy in the eyes to gauge if he´s telling the truth, but Jeremy smiles it off, making him a little more comfortable with the situation. It´s still clear to him though, that something isn´t entirely right with this boy, he´s sitting next to.
13. Int. Hallway. Day.
The detentionees have been let out for the rest of the day and Eli hurries to catch up with Jeremy, who clearly can´t get out of there fast enough.
Eli:
Is it because you have more buildings to blow up today, that you´re in such a hurry?
Jeremy smiles ever so slightly at his joke.
Jeremy:
Wanna help? Set your dark side loose and just go crazy?
Eli:
I know a whole lot more about both of those things, than I ever would have wanted to, believe me! If you want to know how bad it is, just ask my shrink or my pharmacist!
Jeremy:
Yeah, me too. The world is bitch and then you end up marrying one, am I right?
Eli:
It definitely feels that way sometimes. What are you doing now?
Jeremy:
Why are you asking me that?
Eli:
I dunno. I thought maybe, we could hang or something. It´s cool, it you don´t want to, I just thought I´d ask.
Jeremy looks pleasantly surprised, that someone wants to be his friend.
Jeremy:
Yeah, sure, I guess. We can go over to my house, it´s not too far from here.
Eli:
Doesn´t that seem to be the case, for everyone that goes here? I´m Eli Goldsworthy, by the way. Don´t let the name fool you, I´ve never won gold in anything!
Jeremy:
Me neither. Jeremy Joplin. You know, like the singer from the 60´s and 70´s?
Eli:
Jeremy, when you´re raised in the home, I was raised in, you get to know who Janis Joplin is from a very early age!
Eli looks glad to find out, that Jeremy is at least mostly a normal kid.
14. Int. Jeremy´s Parent´s House. Day.
Eli is getting a tour of the place from Jeremy. From the looks of the place, he comes from an upper middle class family and everything looks very neat there, like it´s in the perfect order, that his parents want it to be in. It however also gives the house a very cold and clinical kind of atmosphere to it.
Jeremy:
In there is my dad´s office and next to that, his and Elsa´s bedroom.
Eli:
You don´t call her mom?
Jeremy:
That gold digging tramp? She doesn´t care about anything, she can´t wear, so no, I don´t call her mom! I´m sure that if she had her way, then I´d be shipped off to some military school, where she can pretend, I don´t exist. Not that my dad is much better with his "I decide everything and you´re not allowed to say anything" approach to parenting, but at least he gives a tiny bit of a damn.
Eli:
What about your biological mom?
Jeremy:
She cares about me so much, that she showed it by moving to the other side of the world and as an extra special present, not giving any word from herself for the past five years. I look her up on Face Range every few months or so. She´s remarried, not that I give a damn.
Eli:
She didn´t even bother calling to tell you, that you have a new step dad? That´s low!
Jeremy:
Yeah, but we don´t get to pick our parents, do we? What are yours like?
Eli:
I guess that lovable weirdos would be the best way of describing them. My mom is still rocking it, like it was 1987 and my dad has a saying, that goes: If it´s from after ´93, it´s not for me!
He gets another of Jeremy´s ever so slight smiles out of him.
Jeremy:
But they´re nice, is basically what I´m hearing?
Eli:
Yeah, they are. I know that they´re not anything like the parents, most of the people I know have, but I wouldn´t dream of trading them in for anyone else.
Jeremy:
I wish, mine could be more like that. Then maybe ...
He gets a sad look on his face, that gets Eli concerned.
Eli
Then what? Jeremy, I know what it´s like, when it feels like you have a million feelings running wild in your brain and you have no control over it. You can tell me.
Jeremy suddenly becomes defensive and clearly isn´t ready to talk to Eli or anyone for that matter about it yet.
Jeremy:
It´s okay, I just lost my train of thought! You should go, my dad will be home soon and he doesn´t want me having visitors over.
Eli looks okay with it and clearly knows from his own personal experience not to push it any further right now.
Eli:
I´ll still see in you detention tomorrow, won´t I? It would be somehow even more boring, if you´re not there.
Jeremy:
Yeah, I still have some time to do, so I guess, I´ll see you there.
Eli leaves him.
15. Int. Jay and Ellie´s Apartment. Evening.
Jay and Ellie are watching a movie, but his head clearly isn´t in it. Her´s is though.
Ellie:
I didn´t see that plot twist coming! Did you?
Jay:
Nah.
She sees that his mind isn´t in it and pauses the movie with the remote.
Ellie:
Describe to me the plot twist, I was talking about, Jay.
Jay:
It was the one with guy and the girl and he ... I can´t, Ellie. I´m sorry.
Ellie:
It´s okay. What´s on your mind, that you clearly can´t get off it?
Jay:
Remember Rick, that we used to go to school with?
Ellie:
First he beat up Terri, then he stalked her, before he went all crazy again our senior year and ran away from home? He´s kind of hard to forget.
Jay:
I was so mean to him and all for no other reason, than because I could.
Ellie:
Considering what he did and I´m not saying it´s right, but if anyone deserved it ...
Jay looks surprised at what he´s hearing from her and she takes it back, from the look on her face.
Ellie:
No, you´re right. There´s no excuse for bullying someone, no matter how you look at it.
Jay:
It isn´t until now, that I´m starting to realize what a horrible thing it was, I did to to him. Had I done it because I cared about Terri, that would have been one thing, but I couldn´t have picked her out in a police line-up, if you´d put a gun to my head. She was just my excuse to do it, nothing else. All I have to say is thank God, that he didn´t go nuts like those Columbine boys did, or it would have been all my fault.
Ellie:
Jay, what happened with Rick was years ago. You made peace with him in the end and that´s all you could have done, given the circumstances. Did anything happen to trigger all of these emotions in you, that I should know about?
Jay:
Promise you won´t psycho-analyze me?
Ellie:
I can promise to try not to!
Jay:
I saw the same thing happen to someone today, a boy who reminded me a little of Rick. I tried to help him of course, but I know what kind of a hopeless battle he´s fighting against those bullies. Even if they got suspended, it would only mean that they´ll take it out on him later, only worse than what they´re already doing to him. There´s nothing I want to do more than to help him, but it seems like it´s impossible for me to do anything, that won´t end up hurting him worse in the end.
She looks sadly at him and curls up in his arms.
Ellie:
You need to try, Jay. For your own mental well being too, so you can finally put what happened with Rick behind you.
Jay looks like he agrees with her and wonders what to do.
16. Int. Holly J´s Room. Evening.
Anya and Holly J are having fun finding matches for Brittany on-line.
Holly J:
He´s kinda cute.
Anya:
He´s also on the chess team!
Holly J:
Point taken! What about that one?
Anya:
His mom clearly picked out that sweater for him! She said that she wanted someone, who could think for himself.
Holly J:
Wow, your demands for a boyfriend for the girl you just met today and who asked us specifically not to do this, are astonishingly high!
Anya:
She´s so cute and adorable, that I just want the best for her.
Holly J:
She is sort of like a little lost puppy that you find and take home, isn´t she?
Anya:
Have you ever done anything like that?
Holly J:
Once, when I was little. It´s an embarrassing story!
Anya:
Why, what happened?
Holly J:
It turned out that it wasn´t a lost dog, it was just my neighbors, who had gotten a new dog. By the time they figured out that it was living at our house, they´d been looking for it for three days and already had fliers up in over half the city with it´s picture on them.
Anya:
Whoops!
Holly J nods in agreement.
Holly J:
Which is also the answer to why we´ve never had a dog of our own. This is hopeless, Anya. We´re never gonna find a suitable match for her this way!
Anya:
I think that what we need to do is narrow it down. Freshmen, jocks, yuppies, flock animals and mama´s boys, we can sort out from the beginning.
Holly J:
And those with girlfriends already.
Anya:
That goes without saying! He also needs to be nice, have at least reasonably good looks and be someone, we can stand to be around, if we´re going to continue to be friends with her.
Holly J:
Both him and his friends.
Anya:
Good point! Now who can meet those criteria ...
They both think about it and Holly J gets an idea. She types something on the keyboard.
Anya:
Had an epiphany, did ya?
Holly J:
Maybe I wouldn´t go that far, but it´s an idea!
A picture of a boy pops up on the screen. It´s of Drew.
Holly J:
He´s got the looks, he´s single and although he isn´t the sharpest knife in the drawer, he´s not all that bad either. Not to mention that I already have an in with him, since his brother/sister was the one who cat fished me a few months ago.
Anya:
It sounds to me, like we have our boy.
Anya smiles to herself.
CLOSING CREDITS