01x04 - Ghoul Intentions

[bunniefuu]

Previously on "School Spirits"

Mr. Anderson, can I ask

what you were doing there?

Drive safe, Simon.

Some toddler with a badge said

that you're calling off my search party.

I assure you we're doing everything

to find out what

happened to your daughter.

You don't think it's weird,

Mr. Anderson giving Maddie his number?

I gotta get to class.

Have you seen his car?

It's like he sleeps in it or something.

You broke into his car,

Si. Why'd you do that?

I'll solve my m*rder on my own.

Holy sh*t.

I found something.

I shouldn't have given

Maddie that f*cking money.

Why does he have a shitload of

cash hidden in his classroom?

I'm guessing it has to

do with why you're dead.

I can't believe it.

It won't recognize his face.

I'm never gonna guess his passcode.

Three minutes.

Oh, my God, unlock your phone.

Check your email. Do something.

Tell him to check his email.

What?

Come on, don't you wanna know

why he's got tons of

money stuffed in his wall

or why he thinks he

gave some of it to me?

Simon.

Eyes on your paper, please.

Sorry.

Maybe it's his birthday.

I'm thinking '81, '82.

Did he have any Dave

Matthews Band in his car?

Little help here.

OK, pens down.

Papers on my desk, please.

Simon?

OK, thank you, Rhonda.

Though maybe we narrow it down a bit.

I'm afraid reciting all of Ginsburg

might have us Howl-ing by the end.

Because

Maddie, hi.

Nice of you to join us.

We're brainstorming fun things

we could all do this weekend.

I'll tell you what I wanna do.

I wanna figure out why

Mr. Anderson was talking

to someone on his phone about

giving me money last night.

OK. I'm

I'm not sure how to board that, but

Wait, who was he talking to?

That's what I'm trying to figure out.

So I need to know if anyone

here has seen anything.

Seriously?

All we do is haunt the

halls of the stupid school,

and none of you have seen anything

suspicious from Anderson?

Oh, well, OK.

Well, one time I saw

Mr. Anderson misspell

the word "fundraiser" on

a Boosters Club poster,

and I he forgot the D.

I feel like that's pretty suspicious

coming from an English teacher.

Wally, I'm pretty sure that was a pun.

So I'm assuming he probably

did that on purpose.

Sorry, sweets, we

don't just stand around

staring at the living all day.

No.

You plan weekend fun like movie nights.

Well, we do what we can to

break up the monotony, Maddie.

- That's all.

- If I may,

to be fair, watching the

same five sports movies

over and over again is kind

of monotonous, Mr. Martin.

I thought you loved "Rudy."

No.

Wow.

Just w I can't even.

OK, so if none of you

have seen anything,

then what about the others?

Maybe one of the other

ghosts has seen something.

Am I allowed to barf on camera?

My media class has to do interviews

on all the homecoming court nominees,

and guess who got Claire?

OK, yeah.

- Barfing might be appropriate.

- I know.

Oh, hey, so I got an update

on Maddie's boot print.

Xavier said the cops canvassed the area

where we were last night

and found more prints

leading to a service road.

Hello? You know what this means, right?

Maddie's alive.

Yeah, and whatever

happened in the boiler room,

she got out and she's OK.

What's going on with you and Xavier?

Yesterday you were ready

to put his head on a stick.

Now you guys are what, texting buddies?

I I don't know, Simon,

maybe it's about you ghosting me

ever since Maddie went missing

instead of helping me find her.

I mean, seriously, where

were you last night?

I texted you, like, ten times.

OK, look.

The reason I

this is gonna sound sort of crazy.

I've been talking to her, Nicole.

Of course you have. So have I.

I mean, not, like, out loud,

because she's not really gone.

I feel her just like you do.

A and I got us tickets to Horror Con

for tonight to prove it.

And if there's a safe

place for us to meet,

Horror Con is it. I mean,

she's never missed it.

Nicole, listen to me.

I know you wanna believe Maddie's alive.

She's not. She is gone,

and not the kind of

gone you come back from.

How do you know that?

I can't tell you how.

I just I do.

But I don't understand.

What would be so bad

about talking to them?

Maddie, they're replaying

their last days on Earth

like they're still living them,

spinning like tops,

and you don't wanna be there

when they finally spiral out.

Why?

Haven't you ever heard

you're not supposed

to wake a sleepwalker?

They can mistake you as part

of their nightmare or worse.

What would be worse than that?

Y you get trapped in

a nightmare of your own,

start looping yourself.

Oh, speaking of looping.

OK, "Bull Durham."

Eh, too much baseball.

OK. Uh "The Natural."

Way too much baseball.

Boom, we got it.

"Rad Racing."

Oh, is that the one where they do

the BMX bike ballet at the school dance?

Yes, it is, and it's freakin' amazing.

Oh, no, it's absolutely not though.

Sorry.

What about her? Dawn.

She basically goes

through people's things

and lives in the halls.

Maybe she knows something.

- Ugh.

- Good luck with that.

The only thing Dawn could

tell you is your horoscope

from 1972.

Yeah, Rhonda's right.

She's a literal dead end.

Mm, more like a cul-de-sac.

Well, you know what? So

are you guys right now.

I mean, I'm not afraid

of the walking dead.

OK? So talk.

I need names.

Oh, hey.

What are you doing after seventh?

Uh, going to biology.

Not anymore.

Let's go.

OK.

I know what people think.

They hear "grief counselor"

and assume it means just one thing.

But you can talk to me whether

you're grieving or angry

or confused.

Sorry, excuse me.

In fact, you might feel one thing

while your friend feels another.

But here's the thing.

Hope is a very powerful emotion,

and I would caution

you not to take it away

- from someone else.

- Yeah.

Remember, my office is always open.

If you're free now

Sorry, thank you.

Actually actually, no thanks.

I I'm I'm late for

Three, two, one.

Action!

Officially in the running

for homecoming queen,

my next guest needs no introduction,

but my partner, Andy, wrote one anyway.

Swim team captain, varsity cheerleader,

honors student, and now local hero,

Claire really does it all.

Oh, you mean that thing at the pool?

I was just at the right

place at the right time.

So Claire, what would being

homecoming queen mean to you?

Well, firstly,

I have to say being

nominated is such an honor.

So thank you, everyone.

But honestly, the only homecoming

that matters this year is Maddie's.

I mean, I I'd give up my crown

in a second if it brought Maddie back.

I keep thinking I wish I

could have seen something

or done something to help her,

like how I saved Ava.

Maddie didn't drown, Claire.

No, I I know.

But you think you could have saved her?

- No, I just I

- It's funny,

I haven't heard you say two words to her

since I've been at this school,

but the second her face is

on more posters than yours,

- you think what?

- Nicole.

You could

No, you're right, Nicole.

Maddie and I, we used to be friends,

but I haven't talked

to her in a long time.

And now I just I

can't believe she's gone.

I really hope she's OK.

Then there's Mina.

And what happened to her?

She was crushed by a stage light in '87.

Hasn't left the theater since.

Our very own Phantom of Split River.

OK, who else?

Uh, Yuri. He hangs out

by the pottery wheel all the time,

but he only speaks Russian.

And of course, there's

the bus crash kids.

Tyler, Rachel, Jacqueline,

Jonah, Erin, Marci, Zach, and Stephanie.

We need to talk.

Bus stop now.

Did he just

she just

Yeah.

They did.

I thought about sneaking it

back into his room, but

it's too risky.

If Mr. Anderson really

did what we think he did,

then it's over.

We don't want you to be next.

Simon, I think that

grief counselor was right.

I think it's time for

you to talk to someone,

like your parents or the police.

My mom's pretty freaked out as is.

With you being gone,

that blood on the wall.

- The other day there was that

- OK, Principal Hartman then.

And say what exactly?

That I broke into Anderson's car?

That I stole his phone?

That you're a ghost,

and I can talk to you?

The second that gets out, no one's gonna

believe anything I say, Nicole included.

We've gotta stick with

the things we can prove.

I mean, Anderson's

got money in his wall,

and he kept that piece of

my phone when he should've

turned it in. Maybe it's enough.

What about his phone?

Uh, leave it for now.

I don't want you in any more

trouble than you already are.

And maybe if we're lucky,

we can find a way back in.

What are you looking at?

Nothing.

Don't worry about it.

Good luck.

Nice chat with your friend?

You know, I told you some

pretty personal sh*t yesterday.

You didn't think to maybe mention

that you can talk to the living?

OK, not the living, just just Simon.

Oh, just Simon.

That's a big f*cking deal, Maddie.

I wanted to tell you.

I tried, but

But what?

- Oh, my God, you knew.

- What the hell, Charley?

- Yes, but

- Does Mr. Martin know?

No, no.

I don't I don't think so.

So what was your plan?

Find some way to use

Maddie's special ability

for yourself and never

tell the rest of us?

- I didn't have a plan.

- Like hell you didn't.

OK, OK, let's just everybody, Rhonda

Let's take a breather.

How are you not pissed right now?

I'm p I am pissed, Rhonda.

I'm just I'm trying

to make sense of this all.

This is very new to me.

- I don't know how I feel

- Trying not to lose it

- in front of your crush?

- OK, you don't have to be

mad at me, Rhonda. I didn't do anything.

- Be mad at him.

- I am mad at you.

- Thanks for the help.

- OK, you said you wouldn't

- bring that up again.

- OK, well, she's gone.

So great. I hope you're happy.

- What, like that's my fault?

- I I actually

- You guys

- I cannot. Are you

- It's OK. It's OK.

- You knew?

- You guys

- I'm sorry.

Mina?

Mina?

You up there?

Hello?

Mina?

You up here?

It's Maddie,

new dead girl.

OK, can you turn that off?

What you've just told me

is very serious, Simon.

And I can tell that

it wasn't easy for you.

So what happens now?

Now I call the authorities,

relay everything you've just told me,

and, uh, make sure they

look into all of it.

Sound good?

Yeah.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Did you take the safety course?

Uh

Let me guess.

Didn't get the part you wanted

and now you're up here boo-hooing to me.

I'm not an actor.

I'm just looking for answers.

Have you seen my teacher, Mr. Anderson?

He's six foot, scruffy beard,

wears a lot of Hawaiian shirts.

He might have come in

here for a Booster meeting

or to hide a dead body.

Look, I'm up here day after day

so that what happened to

me doesn't happen to you.

All right?

And what do I get in return?

No flowers. No thank you.

Not even the common courtesy

of cleaning up after yourselves.

So the next time you

or one of your needy

little castmates wants

something from me,

remember this.

I am the one keeping everyone safe.

Me.

A3 is tightened.

Moving on to B6.

Lana, Hey. Oh, I love that shirt.

Here. Don't forget to vote next week.

- Vote for Claire.

- Vote for Claire.

Hey.

Hey. Ready?

Yeah.

Can we stop at my place on the way?

I need to grab some cash.

Yeah.

So do they wear costumes to this thing?

Some do. Some just wear black.

You'll fit right in, actually.

Nicole. Um, hi.

I'm so glad we got to

talk earlier about Maddie.

Mm.

Here. In case you need it.

Oh, and

Hi.

Jeez.

Dawn.

You scared me.

Sorry.

What are you what are you doing here?

The kids leave the most interesting

things behind in the theater

phones, wallets, sweets.

Oh!

I missed one.

Mmm. Watermelon.

What are you doing in here?

I just came to find out

more about Mr. Anderson.

Have you seen anything?

You mean like him with a m*rder weapon

or your dead body?

- Yes.

- Nope.

Nothing like that,

though I am pretty easily distracted.

Is it the bad acid?

Charley mentioned something about that.

Well, no, I've never taken drugs.

I just meant from all the new ways

you kids have had to connect.

In my days, someone had to

hand you a note in class.

Oh, how things have changed.

There's Myspace, Facebook,

Instagram, Twitter.

I'm still trying to figure out TikTok,

but from what I can tell,

it's basically the new Vine.

What happened to Vine anyway?

I don't I don't know.

I have to go talk to the bus crash kids.

Oh. Good luck.

Those banjos are a little bongo,

if you know what I mean.

You should let me come with.

I speak bongo.

Charley said their bus crashed

on their way back from a competition.

Yeah. They won Regionals

but didn't get a chance

to compete at State.

They really thought it

was gonna be their year.

So now they just keep practicing

over and over and over.

- You were late.

- Are you kidding?

How many times have we done this today?

Too bad the drum major survived.

He really kept the band together.

- You were late.

- Are you kidding?

- You were early.

- You were late.

- Hi.

- You were early.

Hi.

I'm Maddie. Uh, sorry to interrupt.

Um, I was just looking

for info on Mr. Anderson.

He teaches English, is

part of the Boosters,

which recently raised

money for the school band.

Do you play anything?

No. Um, I'm not a musician.

Then get out of the way.

Let's try this from the bridge.

Follow my lead.

Please tell me you haven't been

staring at him since I left you.

I just don't get it.

Why can he only see her?

They share a bond

that pierces the boundary

between life and death?

Who the hell knows?

OK.

Simon Elroy?

Got a few questions to ask you.

Come with us, please.

What? Why?

Simon?

What did he do?

Si please, wait.

Simon.

What's going on? What's happening?

Wai

damn it, he can't hear me.

Where are they taking him?

Simon.

If anything happens to him,

I will never forgive myself.

I can't believe her.

Who's that?

Claire.

She says she doesn't

care about homecoming,

and then she cries

literally cries on camera about Maddie,

and then she goes full-on

Tracy Flick in the lobby.

It's like that's weird, right?

I don't care that she

and Maddie were friends

in middle school or

whatever. That doesn't matter.

What matters is that she's using Maddie

to win this stupid popularity contest.

And it's like, who does that?

I cannot wait to see

the look on her face

when Maddie comes back and

tells Claire to f*ck off.

Xavier?

What?

Look, I'm glad you're

coming with me and all,

but if you're gonna use Simon's ticket

and eat all my snacks,

the least you can do

is try to contribute

to the conversation.

The topic is Claire and that she sucks.

I say something, you say something.

- It's really not that hard.

- Yeah, I'm sorry,

I thought you had both sides covered.

Right. Well, it's Claire, so

yeah, she definitely sucks.

Yeah. She doesn't seem to

like you very much either.

What does that mean?

That she looked right through you

when we were on our way out.

I mean, I know you're still town pariah,

but even so, that was cold.

Claire's good at icing people out.

Like you said, you

never would've thought

she was friends with Maddie.

But she was friends with Maddie.

So what are you saying? She

was something to you too?

Xavier?

Do you wanna walk to Horror

Con or do you wanna tell me

what the hell went down

between you and Claire?

Did you even talk to Mr. Anderson?

Did you look into his wall?

He's got thousands of dollars in there,

money he thinks Maddie knew about,

and that's why he k*lled her.

And and I think he's

working with someone else too.

I heard him on the

phone talking to someone.

Maybe that's who

destroyed Maddie's phone.

I don't know. Tha that's your job.

That's what you're

supposed to look into.

There's no money in Mr. Anderson's wall.

There's this,

which Mr. Anderson

willingly handed over.

He said you gave it to him.

You think it's a piece

of Maddie's phone.

It is a piece of Maddie's phone.

I found it in the auto shop,

and I gave it to Mr. Anderson.

Why Mr. Anderson?

'Cause at the time we thought

I thought I thought

I could trust him.

- Who's "we"?

- No one.

Me. I thought I could trust him.

Is there even anything in that file?

What are you people even doing here?

You wanna look at Maddie's file?

You can look at it.

We got a pretty good

theory if you wanna hear it.

Maddie wanted to leave Split River,

and she really didn't wanna be found,

so she made it look like there

had been some sort of attack.

But she needed someone's help,

a reliable best friend

to swap her phone,

plant some evidence,

maybe frame a teacher.

When in reality, she simply ran away.

I shouldn't have told you.

If Maddie knew what you did,

maybe that's why she ran away.

Hey, I screwed up.

I get that. But I wanna find Maddie

You cheated on her.

You're literally the last person

I should have brought here

to bring Maddie back home.

I'm I'm sorry.

I I didn't

Stay in the f*cking car.

Sorry, have you seen my friend, Maddie?

No?

Have you seen my friend?

She's like 5'8".

She's blonde.

No? Sorry.

Hey, excuse me.

Um, have you seen my friend?

Her name's Maddie.

Excuse me, have you

seen my friend, Maddie?

She has blonde hair.

Uh, have you seen my friend?

Her name's Maddie.

OK, sorry.

What the f*ck?

Sorry.

Maddie.

Maddie.

Sorry.

Maddie?

It's me. It's me. It's me.

What the f*ck are you doing?

Looking for Maddie.

I'm doing the rounds.

- Are you OK?

- I'm fine.

Are you sure?

'Cause you look a little shook up.

Just go back to the car, Xavier.

Please, let me help you.

Haven't you done enough?

What, you want to

scare her a second time?

You were supposed to take care of her.

You were supposed to look after her.

And now she's not here, Xavier.

I don't know if you've f*cking noticed,

but she's not here.

She's nowhere. She's gone.

I know that.

You're right.

I failed her.

And if I could take

back what I did, I

but I can't.

I have to live with that.

So if it makes you

feel better to hit me,

then please, swing away,

'cause I'm just

I'm sorry.

Heard you were out here.

Rhonda and Wally told me about Simon.

Said I should come find you.

Let me guess. They're still too pissed

to come find me themselves.

At me, maybe.

Not at you.

How are you feeling?

My best friend just got carted off

for helping me solve a

m*rder I can't even remember.

How do you think?

Powerless.

Shitty.

Alone.

You're not the first person here

who's broken something they can't fix.

We all have unfinished business.

Does your unfinished

business have a name?

Emilio.

Only, you know him as Mr. Figueroa.

You're Charley?

Yeah.

I'm Emilio, the new exchange student.

I heard you had room for one more.

Oh, better watch out, new kid.

Oh, sh*t, Charley finally

found a butt buddy, you guys.

Oh, somebody's pitching a tent tonight.

You can sleep somewhere else.

I actually like being alone, so.

Hey, different countries, same cabrones.

They used to say the same sh*t about me.

They were right too.

Oh, when you come crash ♪

Wanna hear something incredible?

Sure.

And I come into you ♪

In a boy's dream ♪

In a boy's dream ♪

You like it?

Mm-hmm.

If I've gone overboard,

then I'm begging you ♪

I fell fast after that.

To me, Emilio wasn't just

from another hemisphere.

He was

he was from another world.

And you come crash into me ♪

Emilio was everything I wasn't,

confident, magnetic.

He used to say I got all

the sh*t for being g*y

and none of the joy.

He thought if I just came out,

you know, to everyone,

it'd be different.

And then one day my parents asked me,

in front of him,

why I never dated anyone.

And so, um, he told them about us.

He outed you to your parents?

Ah, he was convinced they already knew.

Maybe they did.

All I know is that I was furious.

Mm.

And I wrote him this

mean, terrible letter.

And I dropped in his locker the next day

and then tried to drown my feelings

in a plate of French fries.

The worst part was, um,

watching Emilio find the letter.

I told him that I never loved him

and I never wanted to see him again.

Just my luck he became a teacher here,

because, um, now all I

do is see him and just

and just wish I could

take back those words.

I'm sorry, Charley.

Thanks.

Look, I swear I'm not telling you this

to bum you out further.

OK?

I'm telling you this

because you need to know

that you are not alone.

We're all Split River Devils.

For better or worse,

we're in this together.

Charley, why am I a

Bandit and not a Devil?

Well, after the bus crash,

people started getting these ideas

that the Devil mascot

was partly to blame

instead of, you know, black ice.

Plus none of the survivors wanted

to wear their uniforms anymore.

So they changed the mascot

and became the Bandits?

Yeah.

Thank you, guys,

for everything.

I'll tell everyone the truth tomorrow.

Mr. Martin, everyone.

Maybe don't.

Really?

I think he's right.

I think we should keep this contained,

you know, for now.

OK.

So what do we do now?

Now we have to find some flowers.

I've never seen her

on ground level before.

I've never seen her

not scream at us before.

I've actually never seen

"Waiting for Godot" before.

These smell stolen.

More like borrowed.

But you know, you deserve

some recognition too,

a thank you for keeping us all safe.

Well, it's not about me.

It's about the work.

But I appreciate it.

You know, we're not that different.

I'm trying to prevent

what happened to me

from happening to someone else too.

I found this on the floor earlier.

Does this mean anything to you?

Yeah. Your Hawaiian shirt guy,

he's always banging around here,

interrupting my work.

Sorry,

banging?

Uh does this mean anything?

What is it?

Did Mr. Anderson even pay this?

We need Simon to call this place.

Mr. Anderson totally played us.

I mean, they're convinced

I helped you run away.

Seriously? That's

I know.

They only let me come back here

'cause I promised I'd

get Anderson's phone

and turn it in.

OK, well, before you do that,

I think I might have found

something that can help,

maybe keep the cops off your back.

Thank you all for meeting on a Friday.

Simon? What are you doing?

Uh, we're in the middle of a

Faculty meeting, I know.

But I have something

you need to see.

This is one of our new band uniforms,

the ones the Boosters all

raised money for last summer.

Mr. Anderson kindly offered

to order them himself.

Only problem is the uniforms

he purchased aren't new.

They were retired and

stowed away for decades.

Simon, I have no idea

what you're talking about.

So you didn't find these,

spruce 'em up, and pay

yourself that money?

What?

No. I a I absolutely did not.

Then how do you explain this receipt?

The company doesn't even exist.

And as for our mascot,

Mr. Anderson used it to cover up

all traces of the old one.

I can't prove he hurt Maddie,

but I can prove this.

I really thought she would be here.

I know.

I think Simon might be right.

What do you think's gonna happen?

He'll be questioned, probably arrested.

But not for m*rder.

I swear to God, if I died over

some stupid band uniforms

Maybe he'll confess.

Or you'll turn that

phone over to the cops

and we'll never know

who he was working with

or why he said he gave me money.

I'll never know what

really happened to me.

At least for now some of

the heat will be off you.

What are you doing?

I was thinking

I can't hug you,

but my sweater can.

Next best thing.

You ever think we'd be in our

own real life horror movie?

Eh, it could be worse.

Really? How?

You could've turned into a

zombie instead of a ghost.

Or a blob.

You would make a great blob.

Thank you.

You should go.

Get Anderson's phone. Get some sleep.

Good night, Maddie.

Good night.

Hey.

Wasn't sure you'd make it.

Wally finally let me decide.

I know it's a little on the nose,

but can't go wrong with Swayze.

What's this?

Write what you wanna say to Emilio.

I'll make sure he gets it.

You you don't have to.

I want to.

Oh, my God.

This is so much better than "Rudy."

Rhonda.

You usually boycott movie night.

Everything all right?

I've been here for 60 years,

60 graduations.

I've watched class

after class hug and cry

and throw their stupid little

cardboard caps in the air

and go.

I made my peace with it

because nothing changes.

But now

I know I'm not always a joiner,

but I gotta get out of here.

I'm willing to try anything.

So whatever you did to help Janet,

I want in.

I'm glad to hear it.

Psst, wanna take a selfie?

Where'd you get that phone?

Some pimply freshman left it

in the theater last period.

Told you it's a gold mine.

Was it unlocked or

I used her passcode.

How did you know her passcode?

I know everyone's passcodes.

How else would I keep

up with my socials?

Wait, what do you mean everyone's?

Dawn, what do you mean everyone's?

Simon!

Simon!

Simon!

Simon!

Check his call log.

We need to know who

Anderson called that night.

I can't wear this to homecoming.

Whoa, you guys.

Mr. Anderson might get arrested.

What for?

Does this have to do with Maddie?

Oh, my God.

You've reached Claire.

Do me a fave and just text me, OK?