05x01 - The Tale of the Dead Man's Float

[bunniefuu]

[Child giggling]

Tonight's one of
those meetings

I always have
mixed feelings about.

It's sad because
Frank's family moved

and we've lost
one of our members,

but it's exciting because
we have to find a new member.

Who did you bring?

Nobody!
I brought him.

Tucker's gonna
nominate somebody?

Why not? He's a
friend of mine.

You say that
like it's a good thing.

So, who's the new meat?

Hi, babe.

Oh! No. No, no.
Anyone but Stig.

You know this guy?

Yeah. He's a virus.

Don't let him next to the
fire. He might explode.

Tuck, I don't know
about this.

Aw, come on.
Give him a chance.

Yeah. Is this about
telling a good story

or winning
a popularity contest?

Excellent. Sit
over there, Stig.

Hey! That's my sweater.

What? The log was wet.

Don't push it,
grungy boy.

All right.

I figure I've gotta
impress you guys,

so I'm taking my best sh*t.

A lot of people
don't like the way I am.

They're always telling me
I've gotta clean up my act.

But sometimes, things are the
way they are for a reason.

If you go making changes
that shouldn't be made,

you're gonna end up
with a whole mess of trouble.

Submitted for the approval
of the Midnight Society,

I call this story...

Charlie, you sure
it's OK?

[' s rock 'n roll
music plays]

Yes. Just be careful.

Yah ha ha!

You're the lifeguard.

Shouldn't you be guarding
my brother's life?

You want me to leave?

Not really.

Ugh.

P-U. What is that smell?

What the--

Charlie!

Charlie, there's
something in the pool!

[Screams]

[Poof]

Aah!
Aah!

Oops.

I'm sorry.

I didn't expect the
reaction to be so intense.

Apparently your calculations
were a little flawed.

Don't move.
I'll get the custodian.

Zeke Matthews
was one of those dips

who lived for schoolwork.

I guess you might call him
the smartest loser in school.

What a geek.

I think he's cute...

Like a puppy you want
to take care of.

More like a puppy you
have to clean up after.

Come on. Let's help him.

Forget it.

Hey. What went wrong?

Nothing.

If you mix maganite
with water,

the reaction
is always the same.

Kaboom.

Lava surprise.

I just miscalculated
the ratio.

How interesting.
My education is complete.

[Bell rings]

We'll continue
next time, people.

Charlie can do this,
Zeke.

Actually, school work wasn't
the only thing on Zeke's mind.

Hi. Clorice?

You're on the
swim team, right?

Yes. So?

I'd like to show
you something

I think you might
find interesting...

Because you're on
the team, I mean.

What is it?

I'd rather show you.
How about after school?

I have practice. I'm on
the swim team, remember?

Right.

What about tomorrow,
before school?

Just tell me
what it is.

That's no fun.

Fun? You're telling me
what's fun?

OK, beaker boy.
You're on.

Great. Meet me tomorrow
at the gym at about : ?

I forgot. This is
the boys change room--

Hello?
Is anybody here?

If this is
your big surprise,

I've seen it already.

Watch this.

What are you doing?

Last week I was
trying to calculate

the volume
of the school.

I found out there's
more to this building

than meets the eye.

Oh, man.

I didn't know
this was here.

Strange, isn't it?

After I found it,
I did some research.

It was built
in the s,

but they only used
it for a short time.

How come?

I don't know.

Unbelievable.

Hey! Maybe I can get
the school to open it up again.

I doubt it.

Why? We shouldn't
have to drive

an hour to practice if
there's a pool right here.

True, but they'll
never--

Uh, stop.

Excuses are for people who never
get things done, understand?

Good. Thanks. You did
a real cool thing here.

I did?

Hey, maybe we can
get together sometime--

Don't push it.

[Whistle blows]

Clorice wasn't kidding.

She got in the face
of everybody at school

and wouldn't take no
for an answer.

After a few weeks,
the swim team had their pool.

Not bad, huh?

I don't know how
you did it, but...

Oh, man.

What's that smell?

The pipes must
still be dirty.

It's gross.

C minus?

I hate science.

It could be worse.

No kidding.

If I don't bring
this grade up,

I'm off the swim team.

Maybe I could help you.

How?

Maybe I could
tutor you.

Chemistry is
kind of my subject.

What's in it for you?

How'd you get in?

Stole the key
from my coach.

I wonder
if we get caught.

I'm not doing
anything wrong,

and we're the only
ones here.

You ever teach anyone
to swim before?

Yes. Enough questions.
Dive in.

Hey, you really are
afraid of the water.

OK. We'll take it slow.

See? It's not so bad.

What is it that scares you
so much?

It's dumb. Really.

Tell me.

When I was a kid,

I was swimming
in a pond.

I got my foot tangled
in some underwater plants

and couldn't get loose.

The harder I tried,
the worse it got.

Almost drowned.

Then what happened?

My brother saw me,
cut me loose.

But ever since,
I've had this feeling

that there's
something down there...

Waiting, because
I cheated it once.

It wants a second
chance with me.

Zeke, I guarantee you,

in the pool there's nothing
down there to get you.

Try putting your hand
in the water.

See? That wasn't so bad.

Now try--

Clorice! Clorice!

[Coughing]

What happened?

Boo!

Not funny, Greta!

I thought you didn't
like puppies.

He's helping me
with chemistry.

Yeah. Right.

What was that
about puppies?

Nothing. Are you OK?

Yeah. I think.

Maybe we should go.

No. I want to help you.

Now, relax.
There's nothing down there.

Yeah, I know. Just...

Take a look.
Nothing's there.

See anything?

No.

OK. Put your hand
in again.

You smell that?

[Sniffs]

Yeah. What is it?

I don't know.
Smells like acid.

Zeke!

Zeke!

Zeke!

Hold my hand.

What happened?

[Coughing]

Something grabbed me.
It tried to drown me.

What?

There's nobody down there.

I'm telling you,
it grabbed me.

Do you think maybe it was
just because of your fear?

You mean,
like I imagined it?

There's nothing
in the pool, Zeke.

Yeah. I guess
you're right.

It's not logical that--

What was that?

What's happening?

It's gonna dump us!

Let's get outta here.

[Screams]

There is something
in the pool.

We can't paddle.
It'll grab us.

It's OK.
We'll stay right here.

Someone will find us.

Wait. That smell.

That acid smell.

[Screaming]

Hang on! I got you.

Grab this!

Charlie, what was that?

It's back.

Or maybe it never left.

What's back?

I was the lifeguard
when this pool first opened.

My girlfriend's
little brother drowned

on my watch, but...

It was no accident.

I tried to save him,
but it wouldn't let me.

It pulled him away from me,

and then...
Then he was gone.

Nobody believed me,

until more
people drowned.

Hey--closed down the pool,

people forgot
all about it...

Until now.

What is it?
What's in there?

When they built
the pool,

they had to get rid
of an old cemetery

and move the bodies.

Nearest I can figure
is they missed one,

and its spirit wants
revenge for being disturbed.

The same thing's
gonna happen.

No one's gonna believe us
until someone gets hurt.

Maybe not.

Maybe there's a way to even
things out a little bit.

Nobody believes in this
thing because it's invisible,

but maybe we can get
a look at it.

How?

It smells, remember?

Like rotten eggs.

Like acid.

Here. Methyl orange.

We're gonna do
a little experiment.

Methyl orange
reacts with acid.

If this thing
is really part acid,

we should get
a nice, red snapshot.

How can you be
sure to--

Wait. You smell that?

That's it.

It's coming.

Look.

What is it?

I can't tell.

Wait. It's taking shape.

It looks like...

It's...

[Screams]

Water.
It's made of water!

He's in shock.

Charlie, are you OK?

Come on, Charlie.
Focus.

We've gotta get out of here!

He needs a doctor!

What about that thing?

Why'd it come out now,
after all this time?

Because it can't
hide anymore.

Come on, Charlie.
Focus!

Let's just get a--

Oh, no.

[Screams]

We can't leave Charlie
with that thing!

I don't know
how to stop it.

Maybe I do.

It's made of water, right?

What's your recipe,

mix water with maganite,
and kaboom,

lava surprise?

My volcano.
That's brilliant!

Why'd you do that?

There's moisture
on your hands.

It'll burn you.
You need gloves.

I'm going after it.

Clorice!

Got it!

Clorice! It's coming!
Swim!

Get outta there!

Clorice!

Hurry up!

Get outta there! Swim!

I gotcha, kid!

Yo, red! Catch!

You did it.

You really did it!

Finally.
After all these years.

It's over.

Thank you, kids.

Thank you.

The evil spirit never bothered
anyone again,

and Charlie was no longer
tortured by his memories.

As for Zeke and clorice,

Clorice figured it was OK.
To be a science geek,

and she showed Zeke there were
a lot more fun things to do

than study all the time.

You wanna go for a swim?

Sure.

Though Zeke still didn't
care much for water.

The end.

Tell me
that wasn't the best.

OK.
We've gotta vote.

Hey!

Eww. Ugh.

Listen, um,

you told
a great story,

but the vote has to
be unanimous, and...

It wasn't.

But it's not fair.

Yeah, well...

Thanks for the sh*t.

Wait! We're giving you
another chance.

Come to a couple of meetings
and tell another story.

If by then--

If we don't think
you're a total puke...

Then you're in.
Fair enough?

I can handle that.

Then handle a shower.