01x01 - Leave Them Kids Alone

[bunniefuu]

(theme music)

(school bell rings)

(rock music playing on headphones)

(background chatter)

♪ Yo, double up, double up

double up, double up ♪

♪ Yo, hustle now, hustle now

hustle now, hustle now ♪

PODCASTER:

The fungi emit networks of mycelia

- that go beyond ordinary cells.

- (clanks)

The university botanists

believed the trees are

(Freedom Feels Like

by Maiden Dixie playing on headphones)

♪ She's a rebel, she's a saint ♪

♪ She's salt of the earth

and she's dangerous ♪

♪ She's a rebel, vigilante ♪

♪ Missing link

on the brink of destruction ♪

- (rock music playing loudly on headphones)

- (indistinct dialogue)

♪ She's the one

that they call old whatsername ♪

♪ She's the symbol of resistance ♪

- Oh, my God, I'm sorry. What?

- (rock music playing loudly)

Oh, right.

(chuckles)

Anyways, I was just saying that

I heard from Amy Volpintesta

that Paul told Tim Hargreaves

that he loved me!

So I texted him from

Lauren DiGangi's phone,

and I was like,

"Do you actually love Robin?"

- And before he could text me back

- Robin, our planet is dying.

Get your head in the game.

Make it a double twist of fate

or a melody ♪

I don't get it, Veronica. You're smart.

You come from a good home,

but you have this streak.

Streak?

You were my sunny straight-A girl,

all the way through eighth grade.

Then you come back from summer break

with all these buttons.

All these causes. Your smile's gone.

Your grades are terrible.

You're disruptive.

What happened?

I started paying attention.

It's up to my generation

to save the Earth.

Is that why you stood on a table at lunch

and called for an uprising against our

"school's w*r on climate"?

I wasn't calling for an uprising.

I was calling for a protest.

- Of Hamburger Day.

- VERONICA: Yes.

American schools serve

over a billion pounds of beef a year,

which translates to a hundred million

tons of CO2 and methane emissions.

I'm a high school principal.

What am I supposed to do

about methane emissions?

One person can make a difference.

Maybe.

That doesn't change the fact that

this makes nine infractions this year.

Nine?

You're suspended, Veronica.

- Oh, what?

- Rules are rules.

Students are allowed

four detentions per semester.

- That works out to eight a year.

- There's gotta be

some other form of punishment.

Look, I get it.

You did what you thought was right.

You just did it the wrong way.

Can't we at least talk about this?

Don't make us out to be

the bad guys here, Veronica.

We grew up in the '80s.

Heck, I had a "Save the Whales" T-shirt

that I wore loud and proud.

But we didn't let it affect our grades.

And we certainly didn't make trouble

- at school.

- I wasn't making trouble.

- I was trying to educate people!

- Well, your teachers don't seem

- to agree with that.

- Well, I'm trying to save the world.

Enough!

(dramatic music)

(sighs)

The world will still be here

when you get back.

Miss Genevieve's.

Comes highly recommended.

VERONICA'S FATHER:

They have an impeccable track record.

They specialize in girls like you.

Girls like me?

Oh, you know, uh, girls with a streak.

VERONICA'S FATHER:

We wanna see that pretty smile again.

The girl we used to take to go

get frozen yogurt after soccer practice.

The girl who used to snuggle us

on movie night.

That girl was living in a fantasy world.

Well, we miss her.

(suspenseful music)

(bell rings)

(light music)

MISS GENEVIEVE: We don't often accept

girls this late in the year.

But your letter, oh, well,

how could I say no?

You seem to have quite

the rabble-rouser on your hands.

VERONICA'S FATHER:

She's a terrific girl, really.

- She's just complicated.

- MISS GENEVIEVE: Mm-hmm.

Yes, I've seen

hundreds of complicated girls,

all sent by loving families like yours.

- I've never failed.

- So Miss

- May I call you Evelyn?

- You may not.

Miss Genevieve, do you mind

my asking about the hair?

(quirky music)

We want our girls

focusing on studies, not style.

Our hair is simply

an extension of our uniform.

You see, the young mind is a sponge,

Mrs. Vanderhall.

They come to us soaked in bad habits,

and we just give them a little squeeze.

Ms. Corbett, right on time.

This is Heather Corbett,

your daughter's roommate.

How do you do, Mr. and Mrs. Vanderhall?

(Veronica chomping)

(whispers)

She's chewing gum.

We don't permit chewing gum,

Ms. Vanderhall.

(dramatic music)

VERONICA'S MOTHER:

Veronica, take that off right now.

- I am so sorry.

- Uh-uh.

No need to apologize. It's all right.

We see this all the time.

Just a dirty sponge.

MISS GENEVIEVE: Don't you worry.

The next time you see Veronica,

she will be the model of perfect manners.

(whispers)

I promise.

(suspenseful music)

(engine revs)

- Ms. Corbett.

- Yes, headmistress?

Show Ms. Vanderhall to her room.

I'm going to call Mr. Welch

and schedule her hair appointment.

Yes, headmistress.

(light music)

(foreboding music)

- May I help?

- (gasps)

No, you may not.

- Don't you have somebody else to rat out?

- I'm afraid I don't follow.

You turned me in for chewing gum.

Well, rules are rules.

Come on, you can drop the act,

it's just us.

Act?

Genevieve.

Psycho, right?

"You seem to have quite

the rabble-rouser on your hands."

And the hair, what is up with the hair?

It's a permanent.

Mr. Welch gives them to all of us.

Yeah, right.

(scoffs)

- (thuds)

- (beeps)

(upbeat music stops)

Hey!

Music is strictly forbidden.

(eerie music)

We are gonna have such

a wonderful time together.

Yay!

(giggles)

- (door opens, closes)

- (retreating footsteps)

(alarm clock ringing)

(ringing stops)

(door opens)

(clattering)

Good morning!

It looks like it's going to be

another beautiful day.

(door opens)

- Good morning!

- (door closes)

Good morning.

(background chatter)

Good morning! Bacon or sausage?

Do you have any vegan options?

I'm sorry, I don't know what that means,

but we're having cheeseburgers for lunch.

These girls had no regard for the rules.

They disobeyed their parents.

They even accused them of wrongdoing.

The people of Salem

dealt with these troublemakers

by putting them on trial.

Why, you could say that they were

witching to get rid of them.

(students laugh)

- Fortunately, they never really care

- Well, they weren't troublemakers.

They were victims of oppression.

The adults couldn't handle their reality,

so they just dumped all of their problems

on a bunch of teenaged girls.

(indistinct chatter)

It's all right, ladies.

It's Ms. Vanderhall's first day.

Why, she hasn't even had

her hair appointment yet.

(speaker feedback)

MISS GENEVIEVE:

Ms. Vanderhall, report to my office

now.

(sighs)

(ominous music)

(wind howling)

Ms. Vanderhall, this is Mr. Welch.

He needs to take a few measurements

ahead of your hair appointment.

- What's he doing?

- (shushes)

Age?

What's that gotta do with my hair?

Your age.

- Fourteen.

- Mm.

Get off!

(exhales)

- Can you see her this evening?

- This evening, no.

No, impossible.

I am booked solid with touch-ups.

MR. WELCH: Next week at the earliest.

I suppose I could squeeze her

in tomorrow night.

Very well.

MISS GENEVIEVE: Then tomorrow night it is.

- (clock ticking)

- (snoring)

(sneaky music)

(crickets chirping)

(foreboding music)

(sighs)

I wouldn't go that way.

(gasps)

(crickets chirping)

They patrol the roads.

You're better off

cutting through the woods

if you can get over the barbed wire.

Claire.

Veronica.

I know.

Come on, it's not safe here.

(door opens)

(door closes)

VERONICA: Who's the girl?

The last two girls got caught

before they made it to town.

One on the road

and one by the perimeter fence.

I tried to warn them. I have the patrols

timed down to the minute.

And I can get you through the fence.

I can help you,

but you don't have much time.

What are you talking about?

Your hair appointment's tomorrow night,

isn't it?

Yeah. So?

(exhales)

What is this place?

I'll show you.

(sneaky music)

(clinking)

(ominous music)

(whirring)

MISS GENEVIEVE: Mr. Euvrard said

you were disruptive in class today.

That's not like you.

I didn't mean to be.

It's just

(stammers)

I'm confused.

I don't quite feel like myself.

(tuts)

Aw.

You just need a little touch-up.

Don't worry, we'll have you

looking your best again in no time.

(metal clanks)

SALON GIRL: What is this?

(panting)

(grunting)

(whirring)

Headmistress.

(panting)

Headmistress.

SALON GIRL: Please, I'm, I'm scared.

SALON GIRL (panting): Let me out!

Oh, no.

No. No. Please, please.

Headmistress, stop him.

(screaming)

It doesn't work on me.

I had a skateboarding accident

when I was little.

Got a bunch of stitches

and a steel plate here.

It must block it somehow.

(machine whirring subsides)

How do you feel?

I feel

(sighs).

..wonderful.

(giggles)

Good.

(whispers)

We should go.

(clinking)

(thrilling music)

VERONICA: Do our parents know?

CLAIRE: No, our parents don't know.

But they don't question it either.

They say they send us here

'cause we're acting out,

or that we're troubled.

I think they send us

'cause they're scared.

They see us changing and growing up.

We stopped hugging them,

talking to them, listening to them.

Before I got here

my parents were the last people

on Earth I wanted to hear.

And now, I'd give anything.

Then why stay?

CLAIRE: We were sent here together

at the beginning of the year.

Our parents thought it'd be easier

if we had each other.

I remember the last time we talked,

me and Mary

like normal, like sisters.

A couple nights later, she was

All of a sudden,

she wasn't my sister anymore.

It was like she didn't even know

who I was.

Before I could figure out

what was going on,

they took me down there,

strapped me to that machine.

Now, every day I sit at the same bench,

watch her walk between classes,

and every day she passes right by me.

Sometimes she even looks right at me.

It is not her.

I'm her sister, I'm supposed

to protect her and I couldn't.

Why don't

you just take her and run,

and tell somebody?

Well, if I asked her to go,

she'd just turn me in to Genevieve.

I'm not leaving without her.

One way or another,

I'm gonna find a way to make it right.

- The salon.

- What?

If it takes away your personality,

maybe it could just give it back.

Or it could just make her worse.

What's worse than her not

even knowing who you are?

It's a guard. This way.

(snoring)

(exhales)

MISS GENEVIEVE:

Rise and shine, my beautiful girls.

Let's have a magnificent day.

(indistinct chatter)

(whistling)

Ms. Vanderhall.

Whistling is one of our no-nos.

Of course, it is.

Silly me.

The little rebel.

Oh, so much smarter than everyone else.

So unique.

Do you know how many times I've met you?

MISS GENEVIEVE: Mm?

A thousand defiant little brats,

like yourself, have come through my door.

I've broken every last one of them.

Come by my office tonight

at the supper bell.

I'd like to take you to the salon myself.

(tense music)

Claire?

- Claire, are you in there?

- (pounding on door)

- Hello.

- Claire, thank God.

Genevieve is gonna try

and fry my brain tonight.

We we have to get you and Mary

down there, like, now!

Claire, hello? Did you hear me?

Claire.

What happened to you last night?

CLAIRE: Funny, I'm not exactly sure.

I remember the guards

taking me to the headmistress.

I remember Mr. Welch finding out

about that metal plate in my skull, and

then I remember feeling so clear,

all of a sudden.

So wonderful.

- (bell ringing)

- (crow cawing)

MISS GENEVIEVE (on speaker):

Supper time, ladies. Don't be late.

Aren't you coming to supper?

(exhales)

I used to be a happy kid, you know.

Before I knew things

or before I understood

what the world was really like.

I used to think

it was a pretty great place.

(sighs)

What's it like?

Not worrying or caring about anything.

Must be nice.

Bet the world seems like

a pretty great place in there.

Bet you were cool

before they sent you here.

You have to be somewhat cool

to get into this place, right?

Bet we would have been friends.

(tuts)

We're going to be late for supper.

(chuckles)

I'm not going to supper.

(sighs)

I'm going to my hair appointment.

I wanna know what it's like to

think the world

is a pretty great place again.

A little something to remember me by.

(chuckles)

I mean,

music is strictly forbidden, right?

- (panting)

- (static noise)

Heather, are you okay?

(Heather panting)

- (clicks)

- (rock music plays)

(Heather screams)

(sobs)

No! No.

(music stops)

(breathing heavily)

(suspenseful music)

(gasps)

Who are you?

(screams)

Wha Why is my hair like this?

HEATHER: Why am I wearing pink slippers?

I hate pink!

Hello?

Are you even listening to me?

Whoever you are, I am freaking out!

Heather.

I Heather, I swear,

I will explain everything to you.

- (exhales)

- But right now,

I need you to listen.

(Heather pants)

A little late, aren't we?

I told you to report at the supper bell.

Did you?

Well, I wasn't really paying attention,

to be honest.

Anyhoo, I'm here now.

What do you say let's get this little

brainwashing party started, huh?

VERONICA: Woo-hoo.

You were sneaking around

with Ms. Driscoll last night.

Wow, Evelyn.

Your powers of deduction are incredible.

That's all right.

We'll shut that's smart little mouth

of yours for good.

So how long have you been

using your little brain fogger, Evvy?

Do you mind if I call you "Evvy"?

Sorry, I don't actually care if you mind.

Our parents, though,

they might mind if they found out.

No parent has ever complained.

They send you here sick,

we send you home better.

Better? What?

By making us dress the same

and act like your perfect little robots?

If that's what you mean by "better",

I think I'll pass.

- What a shame, you don't get to choose.

- Yeah, that's kind of my whole point.

You don't care about making us better.

You're just too scared

of what we have to say.

You wanna know what I think?

I think today's children are lazy,

disobedient, and full of themselves.

And you are one of the worst cases

I've ever seen.

What can I say?

I've got a streak.

- She's a rebel ♪

- (loud feedback)

♪ She's a saint ♪

(students screaming)

(all screaming)

(screaming continues)

(all clamoring)

♪ And she's holding on my heart

like a hand grenade ♪

What have you done?

(softly)

What have you done?

- I gave them their voices back.

- (panting)

No.

MISS GENEVIEVE: No!

♪ What I'm thinking ♪

♪ Is she the mother of all bombs ♪

♪ Gonna detonate ♪

♪ She sings the revolution ♪

♪ The dawning of our lives ♪

Mary?

Mary.

(students exclaiming)

(students cheering)

MISS GENEVIEVE:

Ladies, ladies. Ladies, stop.

I said stop!

Get get back in! Ladies!

(students cheering)

♪ She sings the revolution ♪

♪ The dawning of our lives ♪

♪ She brings this liberation ♪

♪ That I just can't define ♪

♪ Nothing comes to mind ♪

♪ She's a rebel ♪

♪ She's a rebel ♪

♪ She's a rebel ♪

♪ And she's dangerous ♪

(closing theme music)