Alex becomes a waitress at a gentleman's club when she and her mother start drowning in financial debt, but she soon finds out that there's more money to be made onstage. Meanwhile, Emma is upset when Sean's plans for the future do not include her.
At Alex's Paige: Thanks Emily. You are the hostess with the mostest. Emily: You come over anytime you'd like Paige. Paige: Put me down for Oscar night so long as Chad lets us watch on his 6000inch Plasma TV. (There's a knock at the door.) Emily: Pizza money's on the side table, hon. (Chad opens the door.) Police Officer: Good evening. We're looking for Chad Kent. Are you him? Chad: Depends. Uh what do you want? Police officer: We have a warrant for your arrest for the crime of credit card fraud. Emily: Credit card fraud? What? No, there must be some mistake. Chad: Sorry Emily. Emily: No wait! Alex: Should I come? Emily: No. No you stay. I'm sure we'll get this all uh sorted out. (She leaves.) Paige: Wow. How 'Cops' was that? Are you okay? Alex: Paige you should go. Paige: You sure? The TV's all ours. Alex: It's late and I have exams. Could you just go, please? Paige: As you wish, hon. Thanks for your help. At Alex's, the next morning Alex: Nothing like an all-nighter at the police station. Where's Chad? Emily: In jail. You know that big raise he told us about? That was a lie Lexy. He was fired. Alex: Mom that was six weeks ago. What's he been doing all this time? Emily: Well besides buying new plasma TV's with stolen credit cards? Alex: Mom, its okay. We'll send it back and then we're fine, right? TV's gone, loser's in jail. Good riddance. (She doesn't say anything.) Alex: What? Emily: I uh...I gave him a card with his name on it. He took advantage of me Lexy. Now I'm in the hole for 6 grand. Alex: That's not a hole, mom. That's the Grand Canyon. Emily: I know. Alex: How could he put $6000 on your card? Emily: He told me he was making the payments. Lie #2. Alex: You're not paying those charges. Emily: Bank says my credit card, my problem. We need that card to pay the bills. I mean I'll work double shifts, but uh I'm not sure it's gonna be enough, you know? Alex: It's our problem, okay? And we're gonna get through it. I promise. At Degrassi Manny: I'm doomed on my functions exam. Doomed! How am I supposed to be your fab university roommate if I fail?! Emma: Assuming I don't already have a roomie lined up of the blue-collar, sexy mechanic type. Manny: Yeah right. Sean's like "Hey let's shack up. I'm real serious about our future, yo!" Emma: Is that so completely unbelievable? I think it would be great to have something that's just ours. Like a little home together. Manny: Em you're 17. You have your whole life to settle down behind the white picket fence. Emma: Well excuse me for wanting to move in with my boyfriend. Manny: And you're so sure he wants to move in? Emma: Why wouldn't he? Manny: Because there's only one 4-letter word in the young male dictionary, commitment. At the movie theatre (Alex is working behind the counter.) Paige: I used to love dispensing artificial nacho cheese product. That ooey, glooey texture. Alex: Great. First the cops raid my house and now you see me wrapped in polyester. Real attractive. Paige: Hon if you needed a job so bad, you could have asked me. Of course I can only pay you in t-shirts. Alex: My mom needs the cash fast. Big faceless corporations weren't the only ones Chad stole from. He racked up my mom's credit card, so... Paige: Um I wish I could do something. I mean maybe I could lend you a little bit. Alex: No, I'll be fine. Paige: So um how is the lovely and talented Miss Carla these days? Alex: I think Ms. PHD was slumming it with me. Besides we had zero in common. It just wasn't worth my time. Paige: Well if Ms. Snooty Pants thinks she's too good for you, she isn't invited to my housewarming party. At Paige's housewarming party Marco: Man these appetizers are like tiny little flavour bombs. How does Paige do it? Ellie: She's just a culinary wizard, I guess. Even the devil has her fine points. Marco: Ellie don't start, okay? You told her it was okay to date Jessie. Ellie: It bugs. I can't help it. Marco: So there's plenty more fish in the sea, okay? We'll hit a club, put you out there. Ellie: Great. Meeting guys at a club. Yay. Paige: You made it...with guests. Jay: Paige, this is my new girlfriend, Mel. Alex: You said invite people. Their movie ended, so I did. Now where can I change out of this loser suit? Jay: Mel's been telling me she might be able to get you out of that sexy uniform. Mel: Yeah they're looking for cute servers where I work. Paige: Where's that? A strip bar? Jay: Club Zanzibar. Perfectly respectable cocktail bar...on one side. Crazy hot peelers on the other, or so I've been told. Mel: Yeah they prefer to be called exotic dancers. Besides I work in the bar, fully clothed at all times. It's good tips. About $150 a night. Alex: And they're hiring? Mel: Come by. I'll get you an interview. Paige: Jay's girlfriend works at Zanzibar. Quel surprise. Guess NASA wasn't hiring. At Emma's, during dinner Spike: How are things at the garage? Sean: Okay. Actually not so good. It's kind of dead end. Need to upgrade my skills if I want to run my own shop. Mr. Simpson: Have you considered a technical high school? Sean: I need hands-on experience and a pay check. Emma: So you're just going to skip high school, forget your diploma? Sean: I can get all the training I want and get paid for it. Emma: Where? Sean: Nowhere. Just forget it. Emma: Forget what? Where is this wonderful, merry, magic mechanic land? Sean: This isn't exactly how I wanted to tell you this. It's the armed services. (Emma laughs.) Emma: You're not serious. Sean: Yeah I am. I signed up already, passed my physical. I'm pretty psyched, actually. Mr. Simpson: You know with your skills, it might be a perfect fit. Emma: I'm sorry. I've lost my appetite. (Emma leaves the table.) Mr. Simpson: Ketchup? At Zanzibar Stephanie: The girls are all friends here. You'll like it. Alex: Thanks Stephanie. I'll, I'll see you tonight for my first shift. (She walks over to Mel.) Alex: Hey work buddy. Thank you so much! Mel: You got it! That's amazing. Steph is cool, but then there's- (The creepy owner walks over to them.) Mel: Alex this is Vlad... Alex: Hi. Mel: ...the owner and Alex is our new server. Vlad: Welcome Alex. You are prettier than many of my dancers. Alex: Well thank you I think...in a clothes-on sort of way. Vlad: My girls are very well paid and they're very happy. Maybe sometime you want to audition. Alex: Oh definitely not. Vlad: I understand. I'm sure you'll make a great waitress. Like this one. (Mel makes a face as he leaves.) During Alex's shift Alex: You weren't lying, eh? I think I've cleared a hundred already. Mel: (with a fake accent) That is nothing. Girls on the other side are rich and happy like movie star. (One of the strippers walks off the stage.) Alex: She doesn't look so happy to me. Mel: Maybe not, but she is paid well. Alex: Small price to pay for your soul. Mel: Lexy, if you are so against stripping, then why are you working here? Alex: Why else? I need the money. Mel: So does she. The only difference between her and us, is that she needs it more. At Alex's Alex: Hey. Emily: Greasy popped-popcorn 'til 2am? Alex: I quit! I got a job as a waitress at this schmancy bistro. Goodbye minimum wage, hello crazy tips. Emily: That's great. I'm really happy for you. Alex: Your happiness is overwhelming. (She shows her an eviction notice.) Alex: We're getting evicted? Emily: Yup. We have 10 days to come up with the money. You know anyone with a spare two grand kicking around? Alex: Just how? How did this happen? Emily: Well we'd been bouncing rent checks for the last two months and I had no idea. Alex: Mom how could you not know that? Emily: Chad hiding the letters from the building manager, that's how. And no, I'm not proud I trusted that scumbag. Alex: Okay. So what do we do now? Emily: Well I asked for a raise again. They turned me down again. I never wanted it to be like this, Lexy. I let you down and... Alex: Chad did this, mom. Not you. [SCENE_BREAK] In Alex's room (Alex is practicing her dance moves.) Alex: Okay tell me I don't look completely idiotic. Mel: Well not if you're on your way to a rap video shoot. Alex: Or say the stage at Zanzibar. Mel: Woah, woah, woah. This is why you called me here at 9:00 in the morning? Alex: Kind of. Mel: Whatever happened to a small price to pay for your soul? Alex: Well my soul just got a whole lot cheaper. Try not to laugh okay. I need your help. (She starts practicing to the video on her TV and Mel starts laughing.) Alex: Nice vote of confidence, jerk. Mel: I'm sorry. I'm on 3 hours sleep. Maybe it's just too early for me to picture you as an exotic dancer. Alex: Who am I kidding? I can't do this. Mel: And that's bad? There's got to be another way. Alex: Sure. Uh armed robbery, prostitution, drug mule, tiger poaching... Mel: What about Paige? Alex: Paige looks a lot better off than she is. Not that I'd ever ask. At Degrassi Sean: Emma! Emma: Sean, are you crazy? If principal Hatzilakos sees you out here, she'll... Sean: She'll what? She'll give me detention? I'm outside. Just talk to me, alright? I've been calling you around the clock. Emma: I know. Sean: So why haven't you answered? Emma: Because I can't believe you'd make such a stupid decision without even talking to me. Sean: Emma I thought you'd be happy for me. You know spreading democracy, peace keeping, protecting our country. These are all good things. Emma: Sean you would hate it. The army is all about taking orders and being told what to do and what to think. Sean: So being told what to think is wrong? Isn't that what you're doing? Emma: This is different. Sean: How? Emma: Because I'm your girlfriend, Sean! If you join the army, you could get hurt and I need you right now. Sean: Why? Tell me. I can take it. Emma: Honestly I'm not sure you can. At Paige's Paige: Describe the function of enzymes and metabolic reactions in mitochondria. Alex: How about not? Break time? Paige: I thought you'd never ask. So uh I have some news. You are looking at a newly single girl. Alex: You broke it off with Jesse? Paige: We had zero in common, hon. He wasn't worth my time. Alex: Well it sounds like you got it all figured out, Paigey. Paige: Hardly. I was supposed to be at Banting fast tracking to an MBA. I was supposed to be a sorority girl sipping cosmos with Brittany and Amber, but here I am chilling with you and it feels right. Why is that? (Paige kisses her.) Alex: Why do you keep doing this to me? Paige: Sorry I...I thought the door was kind of open. Alex: Yeah it's been open for weeks. The problem is you keep opening it and then closing it and opening it and closing it. Just make up your mind! Paige: Look you're cool with being a lesbian, but I don't know what I am. Alex: The word is bisexual Paige and it's just a label. Who cares? Paige: My parents already have one gay kid. Alex: So?! Paige: So I just dropped out of university! Let them deal with one major parental crisis at a time. Alex: Great. Everything's always on your schedule, isn't it? Paige: I am supposed to give them grandkids one day. You do not get the pressure I am under. Alex: Pressure? Excuse me for finding your idea of pressure pretty...pretty damn pathetic right now. Paige: Hon, don't cry. Alex: Stop. You don't get to break my heart and then comfort me too. (Alex leaves.) At Emma's Emma: This is my worst nightmare, Manny. My boyfriend is joining the war machine. He could get himself killed protecting big corporations from the poor. Manny: Well at least you're keeping an open mind, Jay. Look I'm sure Sean's doing it for the right reasons and I bet one of them is you. Emma: I know. I just, I had these plans for me and Sean and him joining the army wasn't among them. Manny: And you don't like it when things don't go according to plan. Emma: No. I really, really don't. Manny: Em, we're getting into control issue zone. Are you sure you're okay? Emma: Yes I'm fine! This is just Sean, okay? (The phone rings and Jack picks it up.) Emma: Jack! Manny: Hello? At Zanzibar Alex: Alright guys. (Alex gives a table their drinks and she slaps a guys arm away as he tries to grab her ass.) Alex: Thank you. (She takes her end of the night tips and eyes all the money one of the strippers gets.) Outside Emma's Sean: Emma! What was so important that you couldn't tell me on the phone? I'm worried about you. Emma: You might want to sit 'cause this is gonna freak you out. Sean: I don't need to sit. I know what's going on. You're emotional, you're scattered, you have trouble concentrating. It adds up. You're anorexic again, aren't you? Emma: No. Sean you're not even close. I'm pregnant. Sean: You're right I am going to freak out. Uh are you sure? You do a test? Emma: We'll do it together, okay? At Alex's Alex: Tell me something good mom, please. How did it go with the uh building manager? Get that extension? Emily: I tried. Alex: Tried what? What did you do? Emily: Well turns out he doesn't have a thing for me after all. Alex: So we're still being evicted. Emily: You think they'll remember us at the women's shelter? Alex: We're not going back there mom, ever. I know what to do. At Emma's Sean: I thought we had all the bases covered. Emma: And sometimes you hit a homerun. Accidents can happen. Maybe the pill didn't kick in. Sean: Time's up. Emma: It's negative. Sean: Yes! Emma: Don't get too excited. False negatives are common. I have all the symptoms, I'm days late! Sean: So now what do we do? Emma: We talk. We, we make decisions. I never thought I'd abort and there's always adoption, but... Sean: Emma! Emma the test said it was negative, alright? Just take a breath before you start getting all worked up about this. Emma: Okay. I'll breathe. At Zanzibar Mel: Oh my god. You're actually gonna do this. Alex: That would explain the outfit, yeah. Mel: Vlad just let you? No audition? Alex: Apparently I have natural talents. Might as well use them. Mel: So you just changed your mind? Alex: Life changed it for me, Mel. Mel: Lexy, I have seen so many girls do this. If you go out there, it changes you. Announcer: And now let's welcome newcomer to our stage, the beautiful Lextasy. Alex: I'm not going out there, Mel. Lextasy is. (She walks onto the stage and starts dancing with the pole.) Scenes for next week Voiceover: A relationship... (Ellie is shown with Jessie.) Paige: Will you be my sweetheart? (Alex kisses Paige.) Voiceover: Based on deception. Alex: If she finds out I'm an exotic dancer, there won't be one at all. Voiceover: s*x, lies... (Ellie and Jessie are shown in bed together, Alex is shown slamming the door and a customer gives her money.) Allan: Name your price. Alex: This never happened okay? Voiceover: And exposure. Jay: You see if a hot girl shakes her naked ta-tas for a living, word gets around. (Paige throws a bouquet of flowers at Alex.)
Don't You Want Me