Written by Mandy
There’s a model of a stage and we hear Danny talking from behind it. He’s reading his lines for the upcoming play “Dracula,” which if you remember took some effort to get approved after the Rick Incident. J.T. and Liberty are watching Danny go through the lines while other cast members wait their turn. It’s a rehearsal of some sort. Sitting backstage is Jay, my favorite bad boy. (And Mike Lobel, who plays him, has now made the Lifetime movie crossover so many Degrassi stars do.) Jay jumps up suddenly and walks up behind Emma.
She’s mouthing lines from the play as Jay puts his hand on her shoulder. She jumps a little and he tells her she’s tense and starts to rub her shoulders. Emma tells Jay she’s always tense. Jay decides this is the perfect time to put his mack daddy moves into play, telling Emma, “If you don’t relax…” while running his fingers somewhat seductively all the way down her arm. The orgasmic look on his face says he’s really into this little massage. But wait. Do I see what I think I see? Emma is a little hot and bothered by this, too, and misses her cue to come on stage.
J.T. has to yell the cue, “Three beauties? Three beauties? Emma?” She walks on the stage to join the two other beauties, which includes Jay’s girlfriend, Alex. The boy is ballsy for putting the moves on another girl about 15 feet from his lady, who is known for her mean right hook. Emma apologizes and reads her line, “We are ravenous.” Alex continues, “We hunger. We long. Tonight we feast.” Emma looks back at Jay during the last part of Alex’s line. Wow, he really did get prim and proper Emma all shook up.
With that, let’s cue the theme song. I still don’t care for it, but it’s here to stay according to Degrassi producers who have said that nothing will change in the opening next season except for the featured characters. So love it or hate it, the music isn’t changing.
Emma is walking out of class when she is interrupted by a teacher. He asks if she’d like to see a graph of her participation grade. He holds his hand up high and drops it down low. Her face reads like she isn’t even there and he explains, “I know you went through a lot after the shooting, but the grace period is coming to an end, okay?” She gives him a “go to hell and die” look before walking off. Emma doesn’t care about her grades now? To quote Keanu Reeves or even Blossom‘s Joey Lawrence, “Whoa.” Emma walks the hall in a daze until she sees Jay and Alex having a little hugging action in the hallway. Jay tells her, “Why don’t you take a picture, it’ll last longer?” His comebacks are straight from 5th grade, but Alex kicks it up a notch and tells Emma that she can sell said photo online for big porno bucks. Emma eyes the two up and down then walks off, with Jay watching her behind Alex’s shoulder.
Ellie is sitting outside with Ashley at a lunch table, reading a magazine. She’s trying to show Ashley something, but Ash is off in her own world. Maybe they drugged the water at Degrassi after the shooting, because it seems like a lot of people are off in their own worlds. Ellie shakes the magazine in front of Ashley, which seems to snap her out of it. “I have to parade anorexic fashion victims to get your attention?” Ashley explains she is worrying about Craig, as usual. “It’s so not your job to worry,” Ellie says, “trust another sicko here.” Craig picks that moment to walk up and asks who the sicko is. Ellie covers well, saying it’s her after seeing the food on his tray. Craig explains it’s goulash, which I happen to adore. Ellie leaves the table.
Once Ellie is out of earshot, Ashley asks Craig how shrink time was. Wow, that’s a sensitive way to refer to therapy. Craig immediately asks what Ellie and Ashley were talking about before he walked up. Ashley reassures Craig she hasn’t told Ellie about Craig’s little problem, but I have a hard time believing that. Craig lightens up, saying he figures any food with the word “goo” in it has to be good. Ashley then asks, “Have you ever thought about going to a support group?” Craig asks, “For goulash lovers?” Ash explains there’s a mental health group for teens that night at the rec center. There goes the mood of the table again. “Have you not noticed my desperate urge to talk about something else?” Craig asks her. Ash explains it’s just one night and if he hates it, he never has to go again. Craig predicts that he’ll hate it, but Ashley pushes on, urging him to go. He gives her a look like, “Do I have a choice?” I don’t think he should be putting up such a fight after wrecking a hotel room, hitting his dad, and ruining Ashley’s Big Gay Dad’s marriage ceremony. She smiles at Craig, telling him that it’s good. It looks like Craig is going to the teen mental support group tonight!
Back in the auditorium, the play is in partial dress rehearsal for new principal, Ms. Hatzilakos, and the feisty Ms. Kwan. J.T. and Liberty are there, of course, and J.T. cues Act 1 Scene 5. Manny and Darcy walk up on stage to go through the scene. Darcy can’t seem to remember her lines. Emma is off to the side to help, yet she still messes it up. J.T. turns to Liberty and says it’s time to talk about their lead actress. She’s messing up the lines, adlibbing, and it’s only three days until the play opens. “Have patience, my hot-headed paramour,” she says. J.T. argues back, “But she’s paraphrasing your words.” Their discussions are sugar sweet and mixed with lots of big words to show how smart they are.
The lovebirds are interrupted by Darcy, blowing a gasket at Emma for helping her out. She tells Emma that prompting supposed to be Liberty’s job. This moment catches Jay’s attention, who is working nearby on the scenery. Ms. Kwan calls for a break yet J.T. boasts to everyone that he’s directing and playing Van Helsing, and he knows all of his lines. Darcy tells him that he should stop changing the blocking every five minutes. Oh, wrong move, sweetie. “I know, how about I change the casting instead?” J.T. says. Darcy is shocked, and asks if she is being fired. J.T. tells her that he can’t if she resigns first, knowing that will have the exact effect he wanted. Darcy then says the cheesiest line of the show, “Fine. Then I curse you, Macbeth,” as she storms off the stage.
Manny turns to her costars backstage and tells them to drive a stake through the play’s heart; they have to cancel it. Amy says they could let her play Mina, the beautiful virgin, but Alex is quick to mention that Amy in that role would be acting. Emma puts on Mina’s hat and recites lines from the play. Manny tells her, “Em, you could do it, just go ask.” Emma reminds them she bombed the audition and just because Darcy quit doesn’t mean they will have changed their minds about her. Then Amy freaks out – her bracelets are gone. Alex tells her, “Those wire things? They are worth a nickel,” while filing her nails. It’s a big deal to Amy, though, who is rummaging around for them everywhere.
Manny tells Emma she should come over tonight, as she and Liberty are giving each other manicures and pedicures; they would do her, too. Emma is quick to return to dazed mode, saying they’d have more fun without her hands and feet tagging along. Emma walks off to leave and grabs her jacket, finding Amy’s bracelets underneath it. She turns to hand them to Amy, who snatches them from Emma’s hands. Manny looks concerned as she watches Emma walk out of the room.
You know it’s a good group meeting when the first thing you see is a girl crying. Behind her are “Rules for Group Members” written on a dry-erase board. A different girl is discussing how she felt people in her ballet class were wondering what she was eating because she was losing so much weight. Another group member named Nigel says, “So you reveal yourself as an anorexic depressive instead?” The camera is panning the room so we get to see everyone’s reaction. The leader of the group says that Nancy, the anorexic depressive ballet dancer, had a positive experience by telling people.
Craig jumps in, saying he agrees with Nigel and he wouldn’t tell anyone unless he had to. Now Craig is in the hot seat, and the leader asks why he feels like that. Craig is nervous as he begins to explain, “Once people think you’re crazy, I think they just think about that. They stop treating you like you.” The door opens and Ellie walks in, apologizing for being late. She spots Craig, and the two share a look. The leader explains they are talking about stigmatization and asks Craig to continue. Craig, who is not happy Ellie is there, tells the group leader that’s all he had to say. Ellie looks like she feels bad for interrupting, yet Craig looks like he’s going to be physically ill.
Jay is driving around in his car, music blaring, when he pulls in front of Emma walking home from rehearsal. “You know, my ride’s got 16 independent speakers,” he says, as if girls should be dropping their panties, just at the suggestion. Jay looks at the empty seat next to him and tells her, “Some of us got places to be.” Obviously this works for Emma, who hops in the front seat of his car. She thanks him for the ride and begins to explain where she lives. He reminds her he knows where she lives, as he dropped her off after, “Sean ran home to Mummy.” He admits it sucks without Sean there and Emma says she misses Sean, too. Jay pretends like missing Sean has nothing to do with how much it sucks for him not to be there. He’s really working on his game here, giving Emma very interested looks. “Don’t go getting all mushy on me, Greenpeace,” he says, pursing his lips in an odd way.
This route to hooking up may not work for most, but at this point Emma is digging it. As they pull up in front of her house, the song on the radio says, “You are so innocent.” Foreshadowing! Emma thanks him for the ride and is flirting with him, her body language saying a lot. Jay asks Emma if she is going to the ravine later. She says she is and he tells her a bunch of them hang out there. That’s as much of a personal invite as she’s going to get.
Emma walks in on a conversation about her between Snake and Spike. Spike is worried about her, but Snake thinks she will be okay. Spike tells Snake, “She’s stopped bringing friends over; no dates. I feel like she just didn’t get over the shooting.” Snake says that most of the kids at school have gotten over it, but not all of them saw a person die. Spike starts to reply, but she’s cut off as Emma makes her presence known. Snake tries to play off their conversation by being funny, “It’s the Emma Nelson show, starring Emma Nelson!”
Emma peps up a bit, to act as if she didn’t hear their conversation, and says she can’t wait for them to see the play. Snake tells Emma they held dinner for her, but she claims to have had pizza after rehearsal so she’s stuffed. I didn’t see her eating any pizza after rehearsal, so I’m guessing she isn’t down for the casserole that Snake and Spike made for dinner. Spike asks Emma if she’s okay. Emma explains she has a ton of work to do on her lines so she’s going to her room. She tells her parents goodnight and heads downstairs while they look on somewhat helplessly at her. She falls on her bed and starts to cry. The phone rings and the caller ID says it’s M. Santos at 416-555-0179, which is easily read with a pause on TIVO. (And fake, so don’t call it.) She doesn’t answer the phone, but gets a weird look on her face, grabs her jacket, and goes out through the basement window.
It’s dark now, really dark, and she’s at a park where there are a lot of kids hanging out. She walks up to Jay and asks if the seat on top of the park table next to him is taken. He moves some cans of what looks like beer to the side and tells her it is now. She sits down and asks if he’s surprised to see her. He shakes his head no. She asks Jay if he thinks she’s weird, and he answers with the best response he can considering he’s trying to hook up – “Now there’s a loaded question.”
Emma says that everyone has been acting like she belongs in a straightjacket. “That’s their problem,” Jay says, “you’re no weirder than the rest of us.” A van door opens loudly and out comes Amy with some no-name messy-haired boy. She’s fixing her hair and he has his arm around her. Emma asks Jay what’s in the van. He asks her what she thinks is in the van, while smiling at her. She smiles back saying, “Beer. More beer. Smelly shag carpeting from the 70’s.” He laughs and looks her over before asking, “You wanna see?” Emma stares and stares at the van before giving Jay an affirmative glance.
He gets off the table and she follows him. She gets in the van before he does, which is cheesier than she described. If I were 15, though, I might find it kind of cool. It’s filled with candles, a curtain, red shag carpeting, and a 70’s green carpet-covered seat. Emma looks around before declaring it “fully anti-climatic.” Jay slams the van door behind him as he climbs in. She turns around when the door slams and Jay moves closer. Emma says, randomly, “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” though I’m not sure who she’s talking to. Jay puts his arms around her and says, “Hey.” She jumps a bit, and when she turns around, he kisses her. She pulls back and he confesses that the van is for hooking up. Emma looks a little shocked, but come on girl, it’s a van in the middle of a park with candles in it. Jay then asks the question of the night, “You know what blowjobs are, don’t you?” Emma goes to leave and he ties a bracelet around her arm while explaining, “Every player gets a prize.” She opens the van door and takes off running, with the bracelet still on.
It’s time for school and Emma is admiring the bracelet on her wrist while sitting in class. J.T. walks in backwards while talking to Liberty in the most annoying sugary baby talk ever. He’s begging for forgiveness. Liberty asks, “Do I honestly strike you as a baby talk kind of person? You fired Darcy and now we have zip, zero, zilch.” Liberty is backing J.T. into a corner and Emma comes to his rescue. She jumps up from her desk and says, “Let me be as your lighthouse, a canary for your coalmine. Let Dracula come to my breast and I will allow him sustenance.” Too bad Jay wasn’t as lucky as Dracula could apparently be.
J.T. is impressed and asked how she knew all that. Emma reminds J.T. that she auditioned for Mina. Liberty interrupts this, “We need reliable, rock solid.” You can tell Liberty still has some hostility for Emma. Emma tells them both that she does rock solid pretty well. Liberty is quick to point out her flaws. “Day before yesterday, you missed your cue. Last night you didn’t even show up to Manny’s. Everyone knows you’re off or whatever.” Emma is persistent, though, telling Liberty she’s not off. She turns to J.T. and says, “I’m your Mina. I know the blocking.” J.T. asks her if she’s ever worn a corset. Liberty is not happy with this decision.
Ashley opens the double doors and walks into the infamous halls of Degrassi. She walks up to Craig and tells him that her dad and Chris got back from Puerto Vallarta last night. She informs him it’s apparently “gay honeymoon paradise.” Craig is obviously not happy and he won’t even look at Ashley. She tells him they asked about him, to which Craig says, “Crazy Craig? So what did you tell them? Oh! I bet everything!” Ashley chalks this up to medication by saying, “It’s a good thing I know mood swings are common when you first start meds.” Craig has had it; he turns around and accuses her of sending him to Ellie’s group. Ashley is apparently the most oblivious girl ever born, as she tells him how much Ellie loves it and she didn’t think he’d mind. He tells her, “Well, then you didn’t think at all.” Craig walks off and Ashley stands there staring after him.
J.T. and Emma walk onto the stage, which now has the full scenery up, and J.T. asks everyone to put their fangs together for her. It’s time for the cast to get into Act 2 Scene 7. Jay walks by Emma with some pieces for the scenery and gives her an interested glance. J.T. asks the actors to start and the actor playing Dracula closes in on the new Mina, Emma. The scene requires a kiss and as Dracula moves in, Emma starts to laugh. J.T. explains, “The script says kiss him, so kiss him.” Emma apologizes and explains it’s weird doing it in front of everybody. Nate, who is Dracula and somewhat new, is irritated with this all. Amy and Alex laugh as Jay looks on. Emma promises to get it by tomorrow and J.T. tells her not to let him down. J.T. tells everyone it’s time for the set change for scene 1. Emma walks off the stage as Jay walks by her. She turns to look at him as he works on the scene change.
Alex and Amy are talking backstage. Alex tells Amy, “Give you one minute with Nate, and you’d do better than that.” Amy is quick to say, “I’d eat him all up.” Ah, we now know why the girl has so many bracelets. Emma walks in and Amy says, “For the sake of guys everywhere, I hope she becomes a nun. One of them big ones that sing all the time.” Alex continues with the torturing of Emma by saying, “Aw, Amy, that’s mean. The poor girl suffers from penis-o-phobia. Her mom can’t even buy bananas.” Amy continues, “One time, they gave her a hotdog and she threw up for a week.” Alex drives it home, though, “Simpson has to keep his jockey shorts locked in a shed out back or she won’t go in the house.” Alex is face to face with Emma at this point. Emma walks off and reaches in front of Amy to grab something, using the arm with her new bracelet. Amy asks if the bracelet is one of hers, as she has quite a few. Emma tells her, “No, it’s mine,” and walks off. Alex asks what that was about and Amy shrugs her off while looking very confused as to how Emma earned her bracelet.
Emma runs to catch up with Jay after school. She stops him to say, “Hey, did you know I’ve only been in a car with 16 speakers twice.” She tells him how Amy was being mean to her about the scene and how she showed her the bracelet which shut her up. Emma is happy, explaining to Jay that the bracelet is like “Amy-kryptonite.” Jay turns on her and yanks his arm away. “This isn’t some brownie badge competition,” he says. “Maybe you’re the one who needs to shut up. You didn’t earn anything; Amy did.” Emma looks at the bracelet then looks at Jay, before asking, “Did she earn one from you?” Jay tells her, “There are a lot of girls down at ravine Emma. I picked you.” He walks off. She touches the bracelet thoughtfully.
Ellie’s at Craig’s house, Ellie holding a guitar case. When he opens the door she asks if he knows how to string a guitar. Craig walks off after letting her in, telling her to have Ash do it; she’s good at forcing things. Ellie replies, “Like forcing me to come here with this paper-thin guitar excuse?” Craig won’t even look at Ellie. Ellie tells him that she used to cut herself, which he knew. “What’s bizarre is that I’m always going to be a cutter,” she explains. “Even if I don’t it for years, it’s still me.”
Craig can’t bring himself to look at her, but tells her it sucks. Ellie just keeps on going. “It just is. It doesn’t matter how I feel, or anyone else feels.” Craig turns around to face her finally and says, “I’m bipolar and apparently it doesn’t matter if I think that sucks either.” Ellie tries to get to him through rock n roll, and tells him that they thought Kurt Cobain was bi-polar. If only he had accepted it! She tells him that Nigel from group is okay, asks him to come back, and tells him to call Ash. He asks her why, because he bit her head off in the middle of school. “Maybe because of that,” she says. Craig explains that all she talks about lately is medication, his shrink and his moods. Ellie tells him, “She cares about you. A lot.” Craig looks on the edge of tears as he says, “I know.”
Back at the ravine, there’s a fire going with people hanging around. Jay is sitting on the same table he was the night before. Emma walks up to Jay and he tells her, “You already had the tour.” Emma asks him to show her again. He looks up at her again as she says, “Show me again for real.” He motions his head towards the van and tells her, “After you.” She walks towards the van and Jay follows. Emma climbs inside and he slams the door behind her.
Craig is at Ashley’s house, where she is confessing that she should have told him sooner that the group was Ellie’s. Craig tells her that he liked it and that he’s going to go next week. He just wants to be her boyfriend. She tells him that he is, that they went through that a couple of months ago. He explains he wants to be her boyfriend, and not the crazy guy that she has to save all the time. Craig goes further into it, “I want to talk about music, movies, and yes, goulash.” Ashley says she gets the message. It’s about time. Craig says, “So…” and before he can continue, Ashley leans over and kisses him with a nice, long, romantic kiss. Not a kiss that says, “Did you take your meds today?” He kisses her back.
Emma is sneaking back in through the basement window after her van-rocking night. The light clicks on to reveal Spike and Snake waiting for her. Spike says, “Well?” Emma walks by them defiantly, lying that she went for a walk. Snake reminds her it’s two in the morning. Spike wants to know what’s wrong with her. Emma waits a minute, then starts to cry “I can’t sleep. I haven’t been ever since the shooting,” she explains. “I didn’t want to upset you guys. Since then, I was so scared.” Spike and Snake are immediately supportive, and tell her she can go to bed instead of talking about it. Emma hugs Spike and tells her not to worry, while looking at the new bracelets on her wrist. When they leave, Emma wipes the tear off her face and half-smiles, knowing she just got out of some serious trouble with her parents. She looks down at her wrist, where there are now two bracelets.
Emma shows up for school the next day, touching her bracelets as she walks in the door. They have really become a badge of honor for her. She walks by Alex, who is suspended in the air by Jay. Amy is commenting on how she loves how mature Alex’s boyfriend is. Emma watches as Alex says, “Great, first doctor’s note I’ve had that isn’t a forgery and Mr. I Can Pick Up A Girl has to make it look all suspicious.” Jay isn’t even paying attention to her, he’s staring dead ahead at Emma. Jay realizes he isn’t paying attention to his girlfriend and leans over to kiss her.
At that moment, Nate walks up and asks Emma where the costumes are supposed to go. She looks at Jay, then turns to Nate and lays one on him, kissing him while never breaking eye contact with Jay. This is in front of everyone in the hallway, including Jay, Manny, and a very shocked Snake. Nate tells Emma, “I’ve had more conversations with the janitor than I’ve had with you.” Jay is shocked and I think Manny may have had a coronary. Emma explains, “I was acting. Just kissing all my nerves out pre-dress rehearsal. But don’t worry Nate, I’ll wait for my cue next time.” She smiles and walks off, leaving a stunned group of people in her wake.
As she walks by the library, Jay pulls her aside. He asks her, “Are you hot for Dracula or are you trying to mess with me?” She doesn’t answer him but asks, “Are you going to be in the ravine again tonight? Are we going to party? I think I need another bracelet.” Okay, she’s now a bracelet blowjob earning queen. Jay tells her, “I don’t like being messed with, okay?” Emma tells him she knows that, smirking at Jay the whole time. They are interrupted by Snake, who tells Jay he needs a moment with his daughter. He looks at the two of them, then just at Jay. (FYI: I’ve met Stefan Brogren who plays Snake in person, if he gave me that look while towering over me, I’d be quick to do whatever he said.)
Jay tells Snake that his concern is adorable, and Snake says, “Cut the commentary Jason and go.” Jason! Heh. Jay looks at Emma as he backs away, her smile never changing. She then looks at Snake, offering her own commentary: “Standby for concerned father figure lecture.” She leans against the books casually and Snake looks like he wants to throw her skinny butt across the library. “You come in at three in the morning, hysterical, crying, wanting to talk about the shooting,” he says. “And now you’re kissing random guys?” She gives him a smile and tells him it wasn’t random. Snake pleads with her, “Please Em, let me be here for you, let me talk to you.” The smile finally fades off her face as she says, “the bell is going to go.” With that, she walks off and leaves a visibly upset Snake in the library.
Right about now there is somewhat of a plot change, and an addition of other Degrassi students. In the US, this was made into one episode. It was shown originally in Canada as two. While Degrassi may occasionally have plotline holes, this is from The N’s editing practices and nothing more.
Jimmy is posing for photos with Nurse Paula in their wheelchairs. Paula thanks Marco for taking the photo. Jimmy talks as Marco and Craig help him pack. “Poor nurse Paula, she’s going to miss me. But home is a full fridge and a widescreen.” Marco jumps in, “Craig and I can come hang out without visiting hours. We can play Kid Elrick as loud as we want.” Craig tells him that Jimmy’s dad can tuck him in instead of Nurse Paula. Jimmy throws a basketball at him and says that is the only thing he’s going to miss about this place.
There’s a knock on the door, and it’s Jimmy’s dad. “Don’t block the doorway, pops,” Jimmy says, “no time for speed bumps. You ready?” His dad tells him that he looks good, but in a voice that says the opposite. It doesn’t sound good, and you can see in Jimmy’s face he agrees. He tells his dad, “I don’t like ‘You look good Jim.'” His dad stammers for a minute before explaining that the railing isn’t done in the condo yet. Jimmy doesn’t get it. His dad tells him that he’ll have to stay in the hospital for at least another week. Jimmy is upset by this news. Craig says that Jimmy gets around really well, but Jimmy’s father isn’t buying it. “I know Jimmy’s made great progress, but I can’t be with him 24/7 right now and I don’t want something happening that’s going to trash all the progress that he’s made.” It’s Marco’s turn to appeal to Mr. Brooks. “He really wants to go. What about Mrs. Brooks, or a nurse, we could even help out.” Jimmy tells him to forget it and wheels off.
It’s time for the dress rehearsal and Danny is performing his lines. Emma and Manny are walking around the stage. Manny, forever being Manny, whispers to Emma, “If Nate were 50 and fat, you could have caused cardiac arrest.” Emma, doing an accent, says, “Anything for the theater.” Liberty shushes them. Manny tells Emma, “I need complete teen girl details. Why? Good? Tongue? Like it or not? Bring the answers over tonight.” Emma tells Manny, “I can’t tonight. I have to go to the ravine. I’m meeting some people.” J.T. finally shushes the two. “Is it too much to ask for silence in the peanut gallery?”
Danny gets to the line, “There in the moonlight were three young women.” Yet only two of the girls are on stage, one being Amy. Danny repeats, “three” as Amy explains that Alex is at the doctor. At that moment, in rushes Alex with Jay right behind her. He’s telling her, “Lexie it was nothing, come on Lexie.” J.T. says to Jay, “Lexie is late for her scene.” Alex tells the room, “You want a scene, J.T.? Hey, best friend Amy, let’s give J.T. a scene.” She walks on stage and punches Amy in the face.
Alex continues, “Tell me about the ravine, Amy, and how you went down on my boyfriend, Amy. And the bracelets you got for it.” Emma looks scared at what is happening and goes to hide her bracelets before anyone notices. She forgets Manny is right by her and they were talking about the ravine. Jay grabs Alex by the shoulders and says, “Just come outside, Alex.” She turns around and tells him, “Don’t touch me. Don’t talk to me. I’ll deck your smug face, too.” Jay watches her walk off the stage.
Jimmy is watching people walk out of the recovery center when Nurse Paula tells him to shake it off and calls him “Mopey Brooks.” He turns his chair around to tell her he’s not mopey. She continues, “A chair is only a prison if you let it be.” Jimmy asks her to stop the inspirational quotes because he’s not buying it. She tells him bluntly, “What you shouldn’t buy is your dad’s attitude. You and I both know Jimmy Brooks can do whatever he sets his mind to. At least I know it.”
Emma is walking off and Manny runs to catch her. She tells her, “It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out it out. But why would you hook up with Jay? Are you in love with him?” Emma says she’s not. Manny wants to know what she gets out of it, then. ‘That’s a really stupid question,” Emma says, and starts to walk off again. “What you’re doing is stupid,” Manny tells her. “You’re letting a disgusting bottom feeder use you to go cheat on his girlfriend.” Emma says the words I was hoping she would with, “Should you really be preaching to anyone about that? We’re not having real sex.”
Manny tells her that it’s pretty close, and Emma decides to go for the low blow. “But I’m not getting pregnant,” she says, and she gives Manny a condescending look. Manny is taken aback and asks why Emma is trying to hurt her. “Because you won’t leave me alone,” Emma yells and runs off. Manny yells after her that she’s better than what she’s doing. Emma turns around and says, “What do you know about who I am or what I’m worth or anything?” Emma storms off and leaves Manny shaking her head.
Marco and Craig show up at Jimmy’s room with a special delivery of pizza. Marco says, in his best fake Italian accent, that it’s from the “Sorry Your Dad Sucks Pizzeria.” Jimmy is online, saying he will hold out until tomorrow. Jimmy has a plan. There’s a student council meeting, which will get Marco and Craig out of school. He then wants them to come over there and bust him out. Craig says, “Sounds like trouble.” Marco lets them know he’s not good with trouble. Jimmy explains that he needs to see something besides those two damn fine boys – my words not his – and those ugly ass walls. The two look at each other. Craig says that Jimmy will be “Houdini on Wheels.” Jimmy turns around the newspaper he was holding to show them a Kid Elrick show. He explains that is where the “Houdini on Wheels” wants to be.
Emma is back at the ravine, looking for love in all the wrong places. She sees someone she recognizes and asks if they’ve seen Jay. He asks her to hang with him; he could always use another friend. She says, “Yeah, friends with benefits.” He tells her that everyone could use good benefits. Next time, she says, and then she’s off to find Jay.
She finds him parked at his house, sitting in his car and not looking so good. She asks if she can climb in and mentions how she went to the ravine but he wasn’t there. She is leaning across the front seat to be in his face. “My day kinda sucked,” he says, “in case you didn’t notice.” Emma starts running her hand up his thigh and offers to make him feel better.
Jay stops her hand. “Alex is sick with something and she thinks I gave it to her so she won’t talk to me,” he says. “So I don’t feel like it tonight.” Emma puts on a pouty face and asks, ‘Are you going to cry now?” Jay tells her she’s “one cold girl.” Emma looks him dead in the eyes and says, “There are a ton of guys who would love the chance to be with me.” Jay pulls away from her and says that right now he isn’t one of them. He opens the door behind her and she takes the hint to get out of the car. Jay watches her walk off.
Operation Houdini is underway. Jimmy tells Marco that it was sweet of him to bring the incredible disguise, which is a black hooded fleece jacket. Jimmy mentions it does nothing to hide the huge shiny piece of metal he’s sitting in. Marco thought it would be cool to look like ninjas. Their ninja squabbling is done when they see Craig come in. I do believe someone told him it would be cool to dress as Inspector Gadget. He’s got on the hat, the trench coat, and is walking with his hands in the coat pockets. He walks up to the nurse’s station and tells her, “I’m here for Dr. Schencklhaken.” The front desk nurse explains they don’t have anyone there by that name.
As she answers the phone, Craig gets a bit manic on her ass. He starts asking, “Dr. Spillcomission?” On the phone is Marco, who is pretending to be Dr. Spitz Kozentcki and coughing constantly. It’s pretty pathetic, but seems to be working. Then Craig ups his act and says, “Go get Dr. Shrunkenhoser.” Marco then tells the nurse that she needs to leave the area now, as the person there is extremely dangerous. She asks Craig to wait and takes off running. The boys have their chance and make it out for the show.
Jay is working on the set when Emma walks up. She calls out his name and sits down. She starts to tell him “about last night,” but has trouble with her throat. Jay asks if she is alright and she tells him it’s just a sore throat. “I don’t care about Alex or anything, you know. Really I don’t,” she says. J.T. interrupts them with a drink of raw egg, honey, and lemon. He wants Emma to drink. She tells J.T. her voice is just tired, but he is insisting she drink up. “You told me you were going to be able to do the show,” he says. “So you’re going to do the show. Period.” She sips and makes a face.
Everyone is heading to class when J.T. notices the health nurse is in the room. He makes some commentary as he and Emma take their seats. “Show of hands,” the nurse demands. “oral sex is safer than regular intercourse.” A few kids raise their hands. She then drops the bomb on the room, “We think there’s been a mini outbreak here at Degrassi of this.” She points to the word Gonorrhea on a flip chart. Manny says, “Gonorrhea?” and the class laughs. She is embarrassed and says, “Sorry. Did I just say that out loud?” The nurse continues, “It’s not a very nice word, is it? Gonorrhea. And how do you know if you have Gonorrhea?” She flips a page on the chart and it’s a list of symptoms no person ever wants. She says, “Some symptoms are genital discharge, bleeding, burning, or you might get a fever or sore throat.”
J.T. turns to his star with a sore throat and asks, “Hey Em, you got something to tell us?” She is looking like she’s seen a ghost and tells him to shut up. Manny’s facial expression lets us know she knows exactly what is going on with Emma. The nurse continues, “And sometimes, those with the disease show no symptoms at all. Lucky, you might think. Think again. Untreated gonorrhea can cause arthritis, heart disease, and infertility.” Emma looks like she might throw up. The nurse starts again, “Ok, recognize this?” It’s a condom. She pulls one out and says, “If you’ve had any sex without using one of these, you are at risk. This applies to oral sex as well, especially if you’ve had it with a bunch of people or if your partner has.” Emma looks like she’s going to cry.
The three amigos are out and about to see the Kid Elrick concert. We know this because we see images of the city before they are in the bar. A girl walks by and looks Jimmy over, obviously eying the goods. Marco notices it and says, “Mr. Mobility just got checked out.” Jimmy says, “No, it was more like a ‘what’s with the gimp?’ drive-by.” He rolls himself into the bar and collides with a man. The guy isn’t upset, but Jimmy is. He wants to leave. Craig won’t let him.
Liberty is putting on makeup and telling Manny, “I can’t believe I have to be Alex. Tell me, are you as nervous as I am?” Manny says, “Is the Pope a Catholic?” She walks over to Emma and sits down. Without further ado she asks, “Does Jay have gonorrhea?” Emma turns to her and starts reply but Manny keeps going. “Alex and Amy happen to be sick. What are you going to do out there?” Emma looks confused and answers that she’s going to play the part of Mina. Manny shakes her head, since her being the smarter one in most situations is rare, and explains, “If you have any conscience at all, you will not kiss Dracula.” Emma gives Manny the “go to hell” look she’s been giving everyone and runs off. Manny yells after her.
At the concert, Jimmy is annoyed because Kid Elrick is about to be on the stage and he can’t see a thing. The boys look around for wheelchair seating, and then decide to find a manager. Marco and Craig start to head off and Jimmy freaks. He tells Craig they can’t leave him there like that, but Craig lets him know it’s only going to be for two seconds. They take off and leave Jimmy in the middle of the floor. As soon as they leave, Kid Elrick takes the stage. Jimmy can’t see and tells the guy in front of him. The guy, the same one he bumped into earlier, says it’s no problem and lets Jimmy move ahead of him. Jimmy is thrilled and he is able to make his way through the crowd. Jimmy is happy, dancing in his wheelchair, and looking free. FYI: For those of you who haven’t seen Kid Elrick, he’s a Kid Rock rip off down to the hat.
On stage at the school play, Emma as Mina is waiting on the lounge seat. Nate as Dracula is coming towards her as he puts her under his spell. She stands and walks toward him. This is the kissing scene. He pulls her close then off to the side. She whispers, “What are you doing?” He says, “Keep going.” People notice the change, including Snake and Spike in the audience. Emma’s last lines mirror her life to a certain extent. “What have I done? What have I done to deserve such a fate? I, who have walked in meekness and in righteousness in all my days. God pity me.” Dracula takes her in his cape and the scene is over.
Backstage, Emma tells Nate that he threw the scene, and was completely unprofessional. He tells her he’d rather be that than diseased. She asks him to repeat what he just said. “There isn’t enough antibiotic in the world that would make me kiss you,” he says. “And that little smooch in the hall the other day, who knows what I caught from that. Thanks so much.” Jay, who was listening in the background, walks up to Emma. He puts his arms around her and says, “Screw him.” She asks Jay, “Why did you do this to me?” Wow, I think her mouth was involved and it wasn’t forced. Jay tells her that he didn’t do anything, but Emma tells him he gave her a social disease. “You said you didn’t care,” he reminds her. “Even this morning, you said it.”
Emma tells Jay to leave her alone. Jay waits then runs towards Emma, “Look, I never told Alex about you, Emma. I liked how you had virtue or whatever.” You can see he does have a thing for her. She says to him, “I don’t, not any of that.” Jay says, “Come on, who are you trying to fool? Everybody knows. Everybody knows about the real you.” He’s trying to help but she’s in “pity me” mode. She walks back to finish the next scene, in which Manny is killed with a stake through the heart.
The boys are riled up from seeing the concert and are sneaking back in the care unit with Jimmy. His dad is waiting for them. He tells them the nurse called and he’s furious. Jimmy wheels himself in and asks, “So what are you going to do? Ground me? Look, today was an obstacle course and I brought my A game. I have an A game.” His dad interrupts and Jimmy keeps going, “I’m ready to come home, now you have to be ready for it.” His dad sits down and thinks about it before asking, “Will you be here tomorrow morning?” Jimmy says, “It depends, what are you offering?” His dad says that he’ll find a homecare person, someone to fill in the gap when he can’t be there. Jimmy looks at his friends, who think he should take the offer, and back to his dad. He tells his dad, “Okay,” and they have a moment.
Spike and Snake are in the kitchen. Spike is talking about Emma’s performance and says she can’t believe she’s the same girl. Snake is even more complimentary, saying she was Kate Hepburn reborn. Emma walks into the kitchen and Spike asks, “Did we wake you, Miss Hepburn?” She says she wasn’t asleep. Snake says, “Post show adrenaline. You probably feel fantastic right now.” Emma hasn’t been able to look at them at all. Spike tells her, “And for the record, Snake and me walking on eggshells around you are officially over, our girl’s back.”
Emma starts rambling. “I just wanted you to be proud, before. How brave and perfect I was and after everything that happened and Rick died, I couldn’t hold on to it anymore.” Spike tells her she doesn’t have to be brave or perfect ever as long as she’s herself. Emma is crying and says, “What if I don’t like me very much right now?” Spike looks to Snake, who looks like he might know what’s going down. Emma says she needs someone to take her to the clinic. Spike tries to feel for a fever, but Emma pulls back and explains, “I just need to go to the health unit tomorrow.”
Snake steps in to explain, “There’s something going around at school right now, but it’s a very specific group and Em if you’re worried, there’s a good chance you don’t have to be.” Emma looks away and says, “I have to be.” Snake realizes what she is saying, and Spike says, “Emma?” Emma asks, “Just say you’ll take me, just say.” Spike walks up and hugs Emma, who is bawling. Snake isn’t sure what to do, but he stays within arms reach.
2005-07-20