03x09 - He's a Ghost, She's a Rainbow, Part 2

[bunniefuu]

I'll get that.

Don't forget the festival starts today.

- The Founder's Week thing?
- Mm-hmm.

Do I have to go?

Layla, it's for you.

Please come in, and feel free to have a seat.

So sorry to drop by this early, but given the evidence, the board didn't think it could wait.

I don't understand. What evidence?

I received these pictures yesterday of you meeting with the man I believe stole the Eloquent Peasant.

Alex Thompson is a donor.

He wanted to discuss ways to help the university.

I'm afraid audio of the meeting contradicts that.

So, Layla, how much do you think we could get for the Eloquent Peasant?

Five million. Maybe a little more.

This is ridiculous.

I barely know Alex Thompson. He called me.

And the five million
is for campus housing.

The whole thing was taken out of context.

Clearly, this Thompson is setting her up.

The board thought the audio was enough
to authorize a search of your office...

What?

...where I found these.

These old tunnels run
underneath the entire university.

I believe the thief used them
to smuggle the Peasant off campus

and bring it here.

Then you've hit a dead end.

There aren't any tunnels in the basement.

Mind if I see that for myself?

I have nothing to hide.

It's right this way.

Nia, sweetie, go back upstairs.

What's the investigator doing here?

- Are you in trouble?
- Of course not.

She's just doing her job.
We'll be up in a bit.

According to these, the tunnel entrance
should be behind this cabinet.

Okay if I look?

Be my guest.

Who could have done this?

Whoever it is,
they're clearly framing my mom.

I don't know.
There's barely any color in here.

But there might be a clue.

Yes. Let me check.

Why would anyone want to frame your mom?

She's sending ancient artifacts
back to their home countries

and lowering tuition.

- But those are good things.
- Yeah.

Some people are very scared of change.

Especially if what's good
for everyone else is bad for them.

I think I found something.

A gum wrapper?

Somebody must have dropped it last night.

I think someone's following us.

Nia, your father and I wanna talk to you.

I'll meet you in my room after.

There's a little issue
with the investigation.

It's a big, complicated misunderstanding,

and we don't want you to worry, okay?

I did nothing wrong.

I'm meeting with a great lawyer tomorrow,
and it's all being handled.

It seems pretty bad, Mom.

What's really going on?

If you tell me, maybe I can help.

That's sweet, Nia.

But let the adults deal with this one.

I have to take this.

Oh, remember to be on time
for the festival.

How could she be thinking
about Founder's Week right now?

Hello?

She doesn't want this
to disrupt our lives.

So we're going to put on
our happiest faces,

and we're gonna be there
for your mom. Okay?

We'll be there soon. Absolutely.
Thank you for your call.

- It could work!
- Yes!

Sounds great to me.

Hey, everyone.

Are you all right?

Yep. Only happy faces here.

Well, Charli and I came up with a plan
to figure out who is following us.

Here's a hint: It involves shape-shifting.

- Do you wanna tell them what happened?
- What?

I don't really know.

When I was the caterer
at the board meeting,

Rainbow, like, glitched or something,

and my hand changed back into my own.

I could have gotten caught.

I was just tired, okay? I feel fine today.

Don't worry.

If you say so.

What's the plan?

We call it "follow the follower."

Catchy. How does it work?

Well, if someone is following us,
we need to catch them in the act.

We'll go back to the spot
where we last saw Thompson.

- Nia, you and I walk around like normal.
- Save the turtles.

- That's where Rainbow and Charli come in.
- Yes!

I will shape-shift
into someone totally under the radar,

and I'll try and figure out
who's following you two.

We'll be in a public place,
and we won't get too close.

We'll find out who they are,

and once we do,
the last step is to follow the follower.

Guys, I think I've got something.
And she's walking right towards you!

Oh, never mind. It's not her.

Stop for a second. I need to regroup.

See anything?

Honestly, it could be anyone.

What's going on over there?

No idea. Our alarms won't stop going off.

It must be a clue from Oliver.

Twelve o'clock?

- It's a direction.
- What?

Twelve o'clock is a direction.
Look straight ahead.

There, with the camera.

That must be our follower.

Charli, it's the woman
in that green baseball cap.

Yeah, save the turtles, right?

No way.

It's Amber.

She's friends with Sydney.

Whoa.

Okay, time for phase two.

Hello, Charli.

Nia?

I'm Nia. That's Samir.

Maybe we should bring name tags next time.

Let's go.
Maybe she'll lead us to Alex Thompson.

It's the same gum wrapper
Rainbow found in the tunnel.

Why is my sister's friend following us?
I don't get it.

Let's go.

The Archaeology Department.

- Yeah, we're back where it all started.
- But whose office is that?

This says "Professor Todd McCormack."

What do you think this means, Nia?

I'm Samir, remember?

Right, sorry.
What do you think this means, Samir?

Maybe McCormack is Alex Thompson.

No way.

Nia's mom would've totally recognized him,
even in a disguise.

But I bet McCormack's in charge
and set this whole thing up.

He doesn't want my mom to be president,
and that's a motive.

Plus, he's got the expertise
to fake the EP,

and he's the one

that wanted the investigator to look
in my mom's office,

like he knew
the blueprints were planted there.

Look.

Someone lost a dog named Bowie.

Amber and Alex Thompson must be
working for McCormack.

Whoa.

You know what? It makes sense.

What's happening?

Thanks, Professor.
I'm headed to the festival.

- Let me know if you need anything else.
- Sounds good.

I'll see you there.

- Coast is clear.
- Rainbow, your dress.

That was close.

A... Are you okay, Rainbow?

I think so.

I was feeling funny for a second,
but now I'm... I'm fine.

So, what do we do about McCormack?

I'm not sure yet.
If he's behind all this, we'll need proof.

I'm supposed to be at the festival soon.

- We'll have to brainstorm ideas later.
- Maybe we should all go.

Samir and I can keep an eye on Amber.

Let's go.

Honesty. Integrity. Fairness.

These are the bedrock principles
that this institution is built on.

It was true when Charles Wickford founded
this university two centuries ago,

and it's true today.

Let's all take a moment
to reflect on these core principles

that led us to this moment,

and which will continue
to light our path ahead.

Thank you.

All students are welcome
in the quad to kick off Founder's Week.

Hey, there. Here you go, honey.

Yum.

They're all being so... nice.

Mom could use a little nice today,
don't you think?

I'm up.

Are you really feeling okay, Rainbow?

Yes, of course. Fine.

Then why hasn't your dress changed back?

Oh, just trying something new.

- Hello, hello.
- Hi.

- Darius.
- Hi.

Ah, Nia, good to see you again.

How's school?

I'm so glad you made it, Professor.
Are you having a good time?

Indeed, I am.

It's good to see you, President Barnes.

Honestly, I'm a little surprised you came.

- Well, don't be.
- Nia.

I'm sorry. It's been a long day.

Yes, I'm sure it's been very difficult.

Take care.

Nia Joy Barnes.

What's gotten into you?
You don't talk to people that way.

But he's so two-faced! Can't you tell?

So are the other board members.
They all think you're guilty.

Come on. That's not true.

It is. Trust me. They're being fake.

And we're no different.

We're pretending everything is normal.

Why am I the only one who's upset?

Your father and I don't like it either,

but that's not an excuse to act out
or make a scene.

There's a time and a place for anger,
and this isn't it.

Happy faces, remember?

I know it's tough, but we'll get
out of here in 15 minutes, okay?

Hey, don't be sad.

Once you solve this mystery,
everything will go back to normal, right?

I hope so.

Do you think it's weird
that Amber became Syd's friend

right after we discovered
that the EP was a fake?

Weird how?

The timing. It... It's too perfect.

Almost like Amber was just using Syd
to get close to me.

We can't jump to conclusions.

- It could be a coincidence.
- But what if it's not?

Hey. What are you guys doing here?

Oh, hi, Syd. We, uh...

We came for the lemonade.
It's fresh-squeezed.

So, what are you doing here? I...
I thought you were going shopping today.

I did. Amber was supposed to come with me,
but something came up.

So she wanted to meet up here.

Hey!

There you are!

My God, I a-am so sorry
that I flaked on you earlier.

I had to finish my psych paper.

A bunch of us are headed to the dorms
to get ready for the masquerade party.

Do you have your stuff?

Wait, what masquerade party?

The Hawthorne Club has one every year.

Yeah, it's just a little reception
for potential new members, like Syd.

It's the last step before
they get accepted.

It's really cool.

And it's really fancy, I heard.

Oh, I... I got a mask for you.

I love it! It'll be so fun.

I'm so excited to introduce you
to Professor McCormack.

He's been in the Hawthorne Club for,
like, ever, and he's such a great mentor.

Amazing. I can't wait.

- Wish me luck.
- Good luck.

If Amber and McCormack are both involved
with the club,

m-maybe Alex Thompson is too.

We need to get into that party.

I'm a little nervous.

We'll be fine as long as we stick together
and remember who's who.

Easy. Nia. Charli. Samir.

Nia, Charli, Samir. Got it.

Wrong password.

That could be a problem.

Maybe not. Look.

"D-R-E-A-M-S."

"Dreams."

Thanks, Oliver.

- Password?
- Dreams.

Go ahead.

- How do you feel?
- Fine, I promise.

Well, try to keep it together.
If you glitch here, we're in huge trouble.

I won't let you down.

I see Amber.

Great.
I'll try and see if McCormack's around.

You two, stay here.

But be careful. And don't get too close.

Okay.

Let's see if we can get closer.

You heard what Nia said.
What if Rainbow glitches?

Everybody will see the real us.

- But we can't eavesdrop from here.
- I'll be right back.

Hey, I love your phone case.

- Um...
- My sister has the same one.

She loves llamas.

Cool.

Yeah. Go llamas.

Okay.

Oh, Syd! You gotta try this.

I better get into this club.

- Maybe McCormack's not even here.
- Don't worry. I'm sure he'll turn up.

I'm telling you,
it's easy once you get the vowels down.

Here, try saying, uh...
Try saying "bogo pogo."

Rainbow, do you hear that?
An Australian accent.

That's Alex Thompson!

I swear it works, mate.
You just gotta practice.

Nia, there!

I'm so sorry! I...

- Hey!
- No...

Alex Thompson's here.
Rainbow and I just saw him.

Nia, Charli, Samir, I found him.

Maybe we should wait for him to come back.

We already came this far.

It's time to find out
who Alex Thompson really is.

But what if we get caught?
We'll get kicked out.

Well, I'm going in.
I wanna see this through.

Where did he go?

- What are you doing?
- We need to get a look at Thompson's face.

But what do we do when we find him?

Improvise?

That sounds fun.

No, it sounds dangerous.
This is serious, Charli.

We just need a quick peek.
We won't get caught.

Come on. We're smart. We'll figure it out.

Let's just put on our happy faces
and finish the mission.

I'm tired of happy faces.

If I can't prove
that McCormack's framing my mom,

she could get fired. Or worse!

We could lose everything.

And maybe everyone else can pretend
this is fine, but I can't anymore.

I'm not pretending!

I'm trying to be strong,
but I'm worried sick for Sydney too.

People are using her, and she has no idea.

We all want to help,
but I'd rather not get caught.

Nia, McCormack had us followed.
He's framing your mom.

Who knows what else he might do?

I... I can't stop it.

Yes, you can. You have to.

I'm sorry.

Hey, you know what's tough
is South African.

Australian's actually pretty easy.
I've been working on it for a while now.

Probably for about six months.

So, what do you reckon?

It's good, right?

He's gone.

Rainbow.

I don't know what's going on.

Something's wrong with me.

Just tell us what happens when you glitch.

It's hard to explain.

I... I just suddenly feel off.

What does "off" feel like?

It's different every time.

I-In the boardroom,

I was feeling angry at the way
they were talking about your mom.

So was I.

And then I was...

I was just so sad when Samir talked about
why he had to leave his home.

Or when I saw that sign
for Bowie, the dog.

And now there's this awful lump
in my throat, and I feel terrible.

I'm sorry I let you down.

You didn't.

I'm just not supposed to feel bad things.

I'm from a happy song,
like you said.

We all have problems.

And maybe sometimes

we do need to put on a happy face
to get through them.

But we can't do it all the time.

It can be dangerous
to hide your feelings too much.

So, if I feel bad...

...that's okay?

Yes.

I get sad from time to time. Do you think
there's something wrong with me?

Of course not.

And I am always sharing my feelings.

It's totally normal.

There's nothing wrong with you, Rainbow.

We like you when you're happy and sad,
and everything in between.

Really?

I promise.

I don't know why I'm crying.

I really am feeling happy.

That happens sometimes too.

Thank you.

I'll miss her.

- Me too.
- Me too.

We gotta go.

Wait. We're us again. We'll get caught.

What about these jackets? Maybe we could...

What?

Look at this. What's a door doing here?

A wig.

So, we have a wig and some makeup?

And a bunch of costumes.

That looks like Old Chauncy's outfit.

That's what the groundskeeper was wearing.

And that's what Alex Thompson wore
when he met my mom.

Whoa.

We can prove my mom's being framed.

This is evidence.

What do we do?

Oh. Uh...

The bathroom's down the hall to the right.

Thank you?

That's Thompson.

With Sydney and Amber.

I saw him in the hallway.

Liam. My sister's friend.

Syd is joining a society of villains?

McCormack?

- Let's step in here, Todd.
- All right.

I wanted to chat with you about something.

What is Avery Boyd doing here?

It's unfortunate,

but the board isn't comfortable with
a president under criminal investigation.

Okay.

So Layla will be relieved of her duties
effective immediately.

- Wait, are you saying... What...
- Yes.

You'll be stepping in as acting president.

We all have high hopes for you,
President McCormack.

Thank you.