SCENE: MuchMusic.org digital studio — Queen Street West.
LED screens glow neon blue. A giant “MUCH” logo pulses behind them. George Strombo leans on a high table, sleeves rolled up. Avril Lavigne sits on a swivel stool, Vans on, tapping her heel. Joe stands near the backdrop where classics like MuchOnDemand used to film.
GEORGE:
Alright Joe, welcome to MuchMusic.org — the revival. You said you had something real to get off your chest.
JOE:
Yeah. It’s about Nelly… and her family.
They keep saying I’m not good enough. ’Cause I’m a skater boy. A ski bum. A nobody.
AVRIL:
(leans forward, eyebrow raised)
Dude. Being a skater boy is a whole culture. They don’t get it? That’s on them — not you.
JOE:
They see the board, the hoodie, the lift passes. They don’t see the history.
When Nelly was getting bullied in grade school, I was the kid who held her hand.
Now she’s getting bullied online, and I’m still here. Same guy. Same loyalty.
GEORGE:
Families have expectations carved in stone. Careers, status, perfect little boxes. You don’t fit the box — but that’s kind of your strength.
JOE:
Exactly. I’m not trying to impress them with a resume. I’m trying to protect her.
They call me a ski bum… but you know what? A ski bum knows mountains. Knows storms. Knows how to survive them. And she’s in a storm right now.
AVRIL:
(smiles, gestures with her hands)
Look — they once said my skater boy wasn’t good enough either.
But real ones don’t need approval. Real ones show up. Real ones stay when things get tough.
Sounds like you’re the real one.
GEORGE:
What happens if her family never sees it?
JOE:
Then I’ll do what wins people over every time — being honest, being grounded, being with the common people.
I don’t need a limo or Lennon’s Rolls Royce to impress anybody.
I’ll take the bus, the SkyTrain, public transit… that’s where hearts and minds are anyway.
AVRIL:
(smacks the table playfully)
MuchMusic should bring back a segment just for this — “Skater Boys Who Get Wrongfully Judged by Girlfriends’ Families.”
You’d be episode one.
GEORGE:
Laugh all you want — but Joe’s got the heart of a Canadian classic.
If Nelly knows who he is, the rest will follow.
JOE:
And she knows. That’s all that matters.