This Is How We Do It

"Screw you."
— Zoë Rivas to Miles Hollingsworth III

This Is How We Do It is the ninth episode of Season 13, which was the premiere on MTV Canada, a sister channel of MuchMusic, as well as the fall premiere on TeenNick. It aired on October 3, 2013.

Plotline

Overview

Drew, as president, wants to start the school year with a beach bash dance; Zoë has a shaky start at Degrassi and wants to leave so she can protect her secret; Alli hides her relationship with Leo.

Primary

On the first day of school Drew is determined to focus on making the new school year memorable and fun and is trying to not think about Adam. He wants he first event of the year to be a Degrassi Beach Bash Dance while Clare wants to do a Anti-Texting and Driving campaign in honor of Adam. They decide to put it to a vote at the next council meeting. Drew has been having trouble sleeping and takes sleeping pills, which leads to him ordering beach dance equipment and calling Bianca in the middle of the night without remembering. Clare confronts Drew for ordering the equipment without asking her, leaving Drew confused. Dallas reminds him that he ordered it last night and says he better hope he wins the vote at council. Drew decides to ask some of the freshman girls that have a crush on him, as well as Zoe, to join the council and help him win the vote. Clare is annoyed by this and tells Drew he’s on his own. Drew asks for everyone’s numbers so they can plan the dance and Zoe takes his phone and puts in her number. Drew ends up taking more sleeping pills that night and calls Zoe at 4am, complimenting her and saying how great today was while Zoe smiles.

Secondary

Zoë is annoyed that she is being forced to attend Degrassi and is worried people will find out why she was kicked off West Drive, though her mom assured her they won’t. In her first class Zoe walks in while Miles, Maya, and Tristan are talking about his relationship with Zoe being a mistake. It becomes awkward when they notice Zoe standing there. She tries to leave but Mr. Perino tells her to sit down and chill out. Zoe yells at him to chill out and throws her drink at him. This lands Zoe in Mr. Simpson’s office and he threatens to expel her, but her mom jumps in saying Zoe has dyslexia. Zoe tries to brush this off and her mom asks Mr. Simpson if she and Zoe can have a moment alone. She tells Zoe that if she’s not working she needs to be in school and that she needs to do whatever it takes to make this work. Zoe is later seen at her locker when Maya, Miles, and Tristan walk by talking about the basketball team. Zoe approaches them asking if there is a cheerleading team she could join to come cheer them on, but Miles says he doesn’t do “re-runs” with mean girls like her and the three of them walk away, though Maya appears to show some hesitancy and sympathy before walking away. Zoe is angry at their response until she bumps into Drew and he catches her in his arms, and tells her he needs her help with student council. She is later seen at the meeting voting for Drew’s beach bash dance and giving him her number, saying he can call her any time. He later calls her in the middle of the night, though Zoe doesn’t know he’s on sleeping pills at the time, and she appears pleased by the compliments Drew gives her.

Tertiary

Alli tells Jenna and Clare she has a date that night and they believe it’s with Dallas but it’s really with Leo. She meets him for their date and he picks her up and twirls her. Alli is happy the next day which Jenna and Clare take notice of and she confesses her date was with Leo. Jenna isn’t happy with this because of what Leo did in Paris but Alli brushes off her concern. They try to convince Alli that Leo’s behavior was a warning sign but Alli reminds them of the things their boyfriends have done in the past. Alli meets Leo at The Dot to discuss their relationship and asks what will happen if he gets jealous again. Leo claims he overreacted and it won’t happen again, and says he hoped Alli could help him be better. Alli tries to leave for school but Leo asks her to stay with him so she does.

Cast

Regular Cast (Ordered Alphabetically)

Luke Bilyk as Drew Torres
Stefan Brogren as Archie Simpson
Sarah Fisher as Becky Baker
Ana Golja as Zoë Rivas
Alicia Josipovic as Bianca DeSousa (voice only)
Demetrius Joyette as Mike Dallas
Andre Kim as Winston Chu
Lyle Lettau as Tristan Milligan
Eric Osborne as Miles Hollingsworth III
Aislinn Paul as Clare Edwards
Cristine Prosperi as Imogen Moreno
AJ Saudin as Connor DeLaurier
Olivia Scriven as Maya Matlin
Melinda Shankar as Alli Bhandari
Jessica Tyler as Jenna Middleton

Guest Starring

Alex Harrouch as Leo Lauzon
America Olivo as Mrs. Rivas

Supporting Cast

Tom Melissis as Dom Perino

Music

"Black Lightning" by Poor Young Things
"Dress It Up" by Poor Young Things
"Wings" by Haerts
"Catch Me If You Can" by In Dreams

Quotes

Trivia

This episode is named after the song This Is How We Do It by Montell Jordan.
This episode was originally called "Creep" by Radiohead.
This was the first time in Season 13 that episodes aired at the same time in the US and Canada (9pm EST/6pm PST).
This was the first episode to be aired on MTV Canada (source) as Degrassi moved from its sister channel MuchMusic.
Jack is mentioned by Snake, and it is revealed that he watches West Drive.
In this episode, Zoë Rivas is revealed to be dyslexic.
This marks the first appearance of Mrs. Rivas.
This marks the start of the retconned 2013-14 school year.
This marks the beginning of Alli and Leo's second relationship.
This marks the second time Mr. Perino got coffee spilled on his shirt. The first was in Crazy Little Thing Called Love.
Alli mentions K.C. when he brought a gun to school in Heart Like Mine (2). She also mentions Connor DeLaurier stealing panties from Season 11 and Eli crashing his car in Season 10 though the reference to bringing a gun to school could also be for Eli.
There is a picture of Campbell Saunders seen in Mike Dallas's locker.
Tristan mentioned Owen in this episode.