Hemlock High Ep 1 - "Friendship Vortex"

Hemlock High Ep 1 – “Friendship Vortex”

[A quiet forest]

Kim
Talbot Falls, Washington. They’ll tell you autumn is the best time of year, here. Crisp air, burning leaves, fog rolling in just thick enough to make everything look a little soften than it really is.

That’s the trick: In this town, things are always better from a distance.

[Gentle synth music]

Kim
At Hemlock High, Fall means tradition. This week, the whole town’s gearing up for the biggest game of the season. Homecoming. Bonfires, cheap beer, bad decisions – the usual. Friday night football under too bright lights. A dance just around the corner – low lights, loud music, and a hundred bad decisions waiting to happen.

This year, it all lands on the same night. Game, dance, full moon. Funny how that works out.

Everyone’s got a secret in a school like this. Some people are just better at hiding it than others.

There’s the golden boy on the field: fast, hungry, and just a little too good under pressure. There’s the girl who lingers where she shouldn’t, clinging to memories that won’t stay buried. There’s the one behind the camera, capturing perfect smiles and keeping pieces of people they don’t even realize they’ve lost. And then there’s the new kid, who everyone’s already watching.

At Hemlock High, everyone wants the same thing: to be seen, to be wanted, to be chosen. And if you lose a piece of yourself along the way? Well, that’s just part of growing up, right?

Because beneath the lights and noise, something is waiting. And before that last whistle blows, before the last song plays, it’s gonna ask you who you really are.

Welcome to Hemlock High.

[Hemlock High theme]

Kim
Welcome, monsters, to Kitten Marlowe: Hemlock High, an actual play TTRPG of Monsterhearts. I am Kim Dalton, the co-founder of Kitten Marlowe and your GM and host for today, pronouns she/her. I love this game because I’m a messy bitch who loves drama. And I am joined around the table by some of… just the best people on the planet. Please introduce yourself.

Cassandra
Hi, I’m Cassandra Parker. You can call me Cass. And my pronouns are she/they.

Janaya
My name is Janaya Jones, also known as Jay, and my pronouns are she/they.

Madeleine
Howdy, howdy. I’m Madeleine Heil, she/they. Happy to just fuck shit up with y’all.

Percy
And I am Percy Davis, fellow messy bitch. My pronouns are he/they and mess/y.

Kim
[Laughs]

Janaya
Clock it, thank you.

Cassandra
Heard. Recognized.

Kim
Just a cadre of she/theys, and then a man.

[Everyone laughs]

Cassandra
And then a man!

Percy
I’m sorry! I’m sorry for everyone. Yeah, I am so sorry.

Janaya
It’s not a sorry. This is just a regular occurrence that happens.

Percy
It’s more along the lines of the verbal flashbang that I gave everybody that’s listening. It’s like, “Oh, wonderful… Oh, a man!”

[Everyone laughs]

Percy
Ew! I can’t listen to this!

Cassandra
I’m turning it off, it’s not gay enough.

Janaya
[Laughs]

Kim
Just wait.

So Monsterhearts is a Powered by the Apocalypse ttrpg by Avery Alder that explores the messy lives of teenage monsters – or rather, teenagers who are secretly monsters. It explores the terror and confusion of having a body that is changing without your permission. And what I like in this is that the monstrosity of these characters is literal. Like they are vampires, werewolves, witches, etc. But their monstrosity is also allegorical, standing in for common teenage experiences.

To my knowledge, this is everyone at the table’s first time playing Monsterhearts, right?

[Everyone says yes]

Kim
Welcome, virgins.

Cassandra
[Laughs]

Percy
Woah! I didn’t know I was at Rocky Horror.

Madeleine
… I have a son.

[Everyone laughs]

Kim
It should be very fun. It’s basically Riverdale meets Twilight meets The Craft meets Ginger Snaps meets… everything I love in this world. It’s very gay, which is also stuff that I love.

This is also a game, to borrow a phrase from Degrassi (one of my personal favorite teen dramas), it goes there. Monsterhearts is a game that regularly engages with content such as partying, drug use, and alcohol use between teenagers, sexual content between consenting teenagers, addiction, bullying, violence, emotional denial, abuse, puberty, changing bodies, teenage desperation, victimhood, body horror, and monstrosity. So please, listen with care. We will have content warnings in the show notes of every episode.

[Alt pop music]

Kim
Travel with me, if you will, to the hall of Hemlock High.

All around there are posters denoting that this is Spirit Week, the week leading up to the Homecoming football game and the Homecoming Dance. There are flyers reminding you to vote for Homecoming court. A bronze statue of a merman emerging from a waterfall – your mascot, the triton.

And we zero in on a homeroom class. Players, who among you do you think got here early?

[The music fades away]

Cassandra
Oh, I did.

[Everyone laughs]

Kim
Cass, could you describe your character, please?

[A high school hallway]

Cassandra
I am playing Valley McAllister. Her pronouns are she/her.

Valley is the kind of girl people trust before they realize they’ve made the decision. She stands at 5’5”, slight without being fragile. Her posture, just a little too perfect to be natural, like she’s always aware of being watched even when she isn’t. Her skin is pale in a way that doesn’t quite read as delicate, more like something carefully preserved. Dark hair falls straight past her shoulders, almost severe against the softness of her features. A delicate gold cross always hangs gently around her neck. There’s something striking about her, though no one ever agrees on what it is.

The playbook that I am playing is The Ghost. “You used to have a future. Growing up was a painful tumult at times, but at least you were growing. Now you only have a past, unfinished business to take care of before you can leave this world behind. Life is precious. You understand that, now that you’ve lost yours. You just want to help. You just want to be seen. But sometimes even the simplest desires feel so difficult to grasp. Ghosty-ghost, you’re dead.”

[A quiet, empty classroom]

Kim
Yeah, Valley, I think you’re lingering in this home room 20 minutes before school starts.

Cassandra
Oh, absolutely.

Percy
Nerd!

Cassandra
Valley is absolutely very Type A. Her parents have conditioned her to be the type of person that is always at least 15 minutes early, because 15 minutes early is on time, on time is late, late is unacceptable. She’s just sitting at her desk very quietly, unnaturally still, and just waiting for other people to show up.

Kim
The first person in the room is your teacher, Mrs. Merkel. And she sets up for a full 10 minutes before looking up, and says…

Mrs. Merkel (Kim)
Oh! Valley! I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Good morning, Mrs. Merkel. I hope you had a nice night.

Kim
Students start filtering in. Who among you is the next to arrive?

[The classroom starts to fill. The chatter of students]

Madeleine
Definitely me. I think I’m probably the first of the next group of students, filtering in at an appropriate time. Maybe like five minutes? [Laughs]

Cassandra
Wow. Fuck me, I guess. [Laughs]

Kim
I can definitely see you leading, either purposely or unknowingly, like a group of students into this classroom. Madeleine, could you describe your character?

Madeleine
Absolutely. I will be playing Sable Finch, she/they.

Sable is short and unassuming. She has shoulder length brown hair that’s just long enough to put into a low ponytail, and no longer. She has a hidden pink strip of hair that definitely goes against dress code, but no one knows it’s there. So why report it? She’s got little moon and star patches that she’s put on her skirt as repairs, so they can’t get flagged as being against the school uniform – because then they’d have to buy her a new one, and no one’s going to do that.

Sable is a witch. “In every lock of hair, every furtive glance, every secret note that transfers hands during history class, there is an invitation. An invitation to be fucked with. Not that witchcraft is about fucking with others, exactly, but it’s hard not to notice how utterly malleable the world is once you know a thing or two about magic. Of course, a good witch like you knows restraint. A good witch turns a blind eye to all those invitations, and doesn’t think about how sweet vengeance and control might be. A good witch is above that sort of thing. At least, most of the time.”

Kim
Sable, as you enter, you are flanked like a half a step behind by your friend, Priya.

Madeleine
Mmhmm.

Kim
I say your “friend”? She thinks you’re friends.

Madeleine
Yeah.

Kim
She is currently auditioning for the role of your best friend.

Madeleine
She’s doing great. High marks so far. We’ll see how far she goes. There’s a lot of year left.

Priya (Kim)
So. Spirit Week. Big week for the yearbook. Any plans?

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I know we should probably go together to the game and then homecoming, but I think it might be best if we’re apart for those two events. Maybe I’ll get another second shooter.

Priya (Kim)
Oh! I’ve really been practicing, though. Were my last few pictures not good enough?

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
No, they were great. They were great. It’s just, there’s a lot going on, and I don’t want to spread ourselves too thin and avoid good coverage at both events. You know what I mean?

Priya (Kim)
Yeah sure, Sable. That’s… Was it something that I did?

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
No, you’re doing everything so well, Priya. Your last round of edited shots that you sent me were… very well edited.

Kim
I wasn’t sure if we were gonna be rolling moves just yet, but this feels like a Shut Someone Down.

Madeleine
Yeah.

Cassandra
Woah, this is wild.

Percy
Oh my god, poor Priya.

Cassandra
Oh, Priya’s losing it. Priya is absolutely about to go cry in a bathroom, somewhere.

Kim
We’ll see. Let’s read the move.

So in Monsterhearts, whenever we make a roll, we roll 2d6 plus one of our relevant stats. The characters in Monsterhearts have four stats. They are Hot, Cold, Volatile, and Dark. A result of a 6 or below is a failure. The players mark experience, and usually something goes wrong. A 7 to 9 is a partial success. You get what you want generally, but I usually introduce a complication. And a 10 or above is a full success.

Shut Someone Down reads as follows: When you shut someone down, roll with Cold. On a 10+, choose one from below. On a 7 to 9, choose one from below, but you come across poorly and they give you a Condition in return.

Your options are: They lose a String on you – we’ll talk about what Strings are a little later. If they have no Strings on you, gain one on them. They gain a Condition. Or, you take +1 forward.

Sable, go ahead and roll 2d6 +Cold.

Madeleine
That’s an 8.

Kim
Alright, Sable. So on a 7 to 9, choose one of these options.

Madeleine
I’m gonna give her a Condition.

Kim
Oh, fantastic. Alright. What is the Condition that you wanna give Priya?

Madeleine
Frazzled.

Kim
Let’s talk about Conditions in this game. So Conditions, if you’re been listening to Shadows in the Smoke, our previous show, that terminology should sound familiar. That is not a coincidence. Monsterhearts is kind of like one of the ancestors of the system that would eventually become The Between. Conditions are labels. And if you take advantage of someone’s Condition, you can add a +1 to your roll against them. A Condition goes away when the character suffering it takes appropriate action to alleviate it.

So, Sable, on a 7 to 9, you also get a Condition. I’m gonna give you the Condition: Bitch.

Madeleine
Yay! We are messy bitches officially!

Cassandra
I love this game so much.

Percy
[Laughs] I was like, “How long until we get the bitch condition?” And here we are.

Madeleine
I haven’t even sat down!

Cassandra
Oh, here we fucking are, you guys.

Kim
It feels earned.

Madeleine
Yeah. She had a bad morning.

Cassandra
That coffee has not kicked in yet.

Kim
Priya nods. She is smoothing her hair behind her ear, trying desperately to save face.

Priya (Kim)
Alright. Well, um, I wish you had told me earlier, before I had already bought tickets to the football game. Um, we were sitting together. Um, but that’s… that’s okay. I can make different plans. Um… You’re so correct, Sable. So correct, as always.

Kim
And she goes to sit at her desk.

Madeleine
I go to sit next to her, because that’s, unfortunately, where I have to sit.

Kim
Oh my god, right. You do sit next to each other!

Madeleine
Yeah. But it’s cool. This is just another day in the life of Priya and Sable.

Cassandra
This is hurting me so much already.

Percy
Oh my gosh…

Madeleine
They have beautiful moments. They have beautiful moments. This Is not one of them.

Kim
Lingering two steps behind you and Priya is a girl who looks somewhat similar to Priya. They get confused a lot. Sable, you confuse them a lot. This is your former bestie, Nagi. And she watches this interaction with this girl who she considers to be her replacement, and smiles a bit to herself. Looks a little pleased. And then goes to sit at her desk, which is behind you, and just starts staring longingly at the back of your head.

Madeleine
Yeah. I catch it. A little head nod, and then I put my leg up on the side of the desk bar. Very bisexual-coded sitting.

[Cassandra and Percy laugh]

Kim
Fantastic. I think the next to enter are quite the boisterous group of football players, led by… Percy, can you introduce your character?

Percy
I actually believe you nailed it with how rowdy it is. And I think you hear…

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
No, no, I got it!

Percy
And everyone hears a loud, thudding crash as this mammoth of a young man goes barreling into the open door of this homeroom, and knocks it off the hinges.

Kim
[Chuckles] Oh, no…

Percy
This gentleman is massive. About 6’6”, probably 300+ pounds. His uniform is so baggy, because there’s nothing that seems to fit him year after year, as he only seems to continue growing. He has dark skin and a well-maintained short amount of hair on his head. And he looks up with kind of beady eyes, but a wide grin as he is holding a football that was thrown down the hall, and holds it up to show that he did indeed catch it.

We would be looking at Yakubu Anozie, pronouns he/him. And Yakubu is using the werewolf playbook. And that reads, “Everyone around you seems so willing to play the roles they are handed, to quietly color within the lines. They’ve been tamed, domesticated. You have a different stock. You’ve broken down the fence built to contain you. You’ve howled at the moon, and heard it howl back. Now the transformation is complete. This is what you were always meant to be: wild, unwavering, alive.”

And I think you watch as, like, he’s holding the ball up, and he’s like…

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
No, I told you! I’m coming for the wide receiver position. I don’t care. I’m gonna be the biggest one out there.

Percy
And he’s laying on the door.

Kim
Yakubu, one of your fellow football players, Jackson, is like pulling you off of the door quite roughly, trying to get an arm around your head. Which is very hard – you’re six inches taller than this other young man.

Jackson (Kim)
Nice, man.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Nah, nah, you saw that, right? Like I got some – Oh.

Percy
And he finally looks down into the homeroom. And he’ll hand the ball to Jackson.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Jackson! That ain’t cool, main. That ain’t cool to knock stuff over. This is homeroom, man.

Percy
He like shoves him. And shoves him way too hard.

Kim
Mrs. Merkel looks up from her desk.

Mrs. Merkel (Kim)
I do have eyes, Mr. Anozie.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Yeah. They on your head. So that means you saw Jackson… Not the… No?

Mrs. Merkel (Kim)
This is the second door this year, Mr. Anozie.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Yes, Mrs. Merkel.

Percy
And you, like – if anyone was looking very closely at him, you almost can see like his ears droop. And you’ll watch him, like, go and pick up the door and try to, like, put it back in place. And now at some point it’s just – it’s just leaning on one of the lockers.

Kim
You take your seat. Jackson sits next to you and leans over.

Jackson (Kim)
Dude, we missed you at the party this weekend. Where were you? You like totally bailed.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Oh, you know, homecoming game’s coming up. So I had to, you know, get some extra training in. You know how my mom and dad get. They want me to be the best I can be.

Jackson (Kim)
Dick was talking about how lame it was that you, like, ditched so early.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Well you tell Dick that I miss Dick, and I know Dick missed me.

Jackson (Kim)
[Laughs] Okay.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Wait, don’t! Don’t!

Jackson (Kim)
Yeah, I’ll tell him that. You want to tell him that yourself?

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
No, shut up. Shut up. You was listening. You know what I meant.

Kim
More students start filtering in. Valley, sitting next to you is a… So, a question for my players. I know we’ve established uniforms. Is this the sort of CW TV show where the cheerleaders are in uniform all the time, even though there’s not a football game?

Cassandra
Absolutely.

Kim
Is this our Glee universe?

Madeleine
Yeah.

Cassandra
Because Valley is absolutely wearing hers. And while it does show a little too much midriff for her liking, she has on a full long-sleeved turtleneck to mitigate the sexiness of the uniform.

Percy
Respect.

Kim
Fantastic. Valley, sitting next to you is another girl, also in a cheerleading outfit – full midriff out, bare arms. Similar to you, also a gold cross necklace around her neck. This is Faith.

Cassandra
Yes. Faith Pearson and I are best friends, technically. Faith is the pastor’s daughter of the church that they attend together. Basically, Faith is everything that Valley is supposed to be. What her parents want her to be.

Faith (Kim)
Hi, Valley.

Valley McAlliister (Cassandra)
Good morning, Faith, how are you?

Faith (Kim)
Oh, blessed as always.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Oh, I am the same.

Faith (Kim)
I don’t know if you noticed. It’s going to be announced in the announcements today, but Michael and I are up for Homecoming Court.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Was there any doubt that you guys would be? You’re the perfect couple.

Faith (Kim)
I know.

Kim
And she is twirling her purity ring, as she says this.

Cassandra
Valley just looks at it for a second, and something kind of passes over her face of just, like, envy and longing, kind of all rolled into one.

Kim
As she says this, Faith is looking over her shoulder at where Michael is, sitting next to Yakubu. Michael is not staring longingly at Faith. He is staring longingly at Yakubu.

Faith (Kim)
Well, I know that our reign is almost guaranteed. I mean, I suppose there is always the option for people to write in other people to be in the Homecoming Court, but clearly Michael and I are the obvious choice. I’ve already picked out a dress.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
What does it look like? Why didn’t you take me shopping with you? I wanted to go.

Faith (Kim)
Well I haven’t bought it, yet. So maybe you could come with me while we do that.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Oh my gosh, I would love to.

Faith (Kim)
Oh Valley, you are so good.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
And you are so good, too.

Cassandra
And I think they do, like, a little secret Christian – like cross themselves, Jesus-type handshake.

Kim
Secret Christian handshake.

Cassandra
Yes, the secret Christian handshake. Something that they, like, developed over their time in youth group.

Percy
They definitely hold each other’s hands and do the sign of the cross one ach other.

Cassandra
Yeah, it’s very that vibe.

Percy
Yeah, and it’s obnoxious. It’s disgusting.

Cassandra
It absolutely is the most obnoxious thing you will ever see. And I think Faith does it, like, very full out. And when Valley does it, it looks like very intentionally practiced, precise. There’s no joy in it. It’s very mechanical, when she does it.

Kim
I love it.

As the first bell nears, next you, Yakubu, Jackson tosses a note forward towards Faith. And she starts reading it and smiling, but doesn’t say anything. Just tucks it into her backpack.

Also entering at this point is jus ta beautiful, beautiful boy, Tomas, who looks at Yakubu for a second – again, somewhat longingly – before taking his seat. Faith is also looking at him, somewhat longingly.

Percy
I think Yakubu clocks that for a second and he’s like…

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Oh… Oh!

Percy
And he says “Oh, oh!” way too loud. And like claps his hand over his mouth.

Kim
Jackson says…

Jackson (Kim)
You alright, man?

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Mmhmm. Just putting it all together. Know what I mean? Big, big brain over here. I’m putting it all together.

Jackson (Kim)
Sure, man.

[The school bell rings]

Kim
The rest of the students start filing in. Rochelle, quite late, snuffing out a cigarette as she takes her seat in the back. Ace, who you all know is the school mascot, the titular Triton himself. Quinn, a young woman in, like, bright pink patent leather Doc Martens with her school uniform. And Bea, dressed all in black as befitting a stage technician for the theatre club – who, as she passes, drops a note on Yakubu’s desk.

Percy
Yakubu very, like, slyly lay down on it and slowly lay down on it and slowly pull it up to read it.

Kim
“You owe me money.”

Percy
And he very visibly, like, cringes.

Kim
She flashes her eyebrows at you.

Percy
And he gives her a very weak, like, shaky thumbs up.

Kim
Mrs. Merkel stands.

Mrs. Merkel (Kim)
Alright, class, we have a new student joining us today. I hope you will make them feel very welcome. Come on in.

Kim
And entering into this homeroom, almost with kind of a wind machine catching their hair and their uniform as they’re entering, immediately catching everyone’s attention… Janaya, can you introduce your character?

Janaya
As I enter the room, I am trying to figure out the door situation, cause it seems to be broken.

Kim
[Laughs]

Janaya
And I’m trying to slide through it, in hopes that it will stay up on the wall. But then it just hits the ground. And so I’m fluttering about, and Camdyn says…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Oh, um, sorry everyone…

Cassandra
Valley immediately gets up and comes and helps with the door.

Madeleine
Sable bumps into Valley, like…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Oh, I got it. You’re good.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
No, it’s alright. I’ve got it. I can help.

Kim
I think several other students move to try and help this new, mysterious student with the door.

Janaya
Yeah.

Kim
Everyone is feeling chivalrous today.

Percy
I’m sorry, but Yakubu bursts out laughing. Like when he sees it fall…

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
[Laughs]

Percy
His laugh is like booming and obnoxious. You know three rooms down, they’re hearing him laugh.

Janaya
And upon that response, Camdyn looks up at Yakubu with that haunting, new person stare. And no, like, anger or aggression or anything towards him. Just curiosity.

[Emo, alt music]

Janaya
My character’s name is Camdyn Lithey. Their pronouns are they/them. They are an innocent, beautiful, displaced teen who just moved from the big city to a small town, due to a loss in their family. Camdyn’s look is very Season 3 Ashley Kerwin from Degrassi, when Ashley cuts her hair super short—

Kim
I immediately know what you’re talking about.

Janaya
[Laughs] Yeah. But with Camdyn’s scenario, Camdyn has what people will not recognize just yet, but very long, textured, auburn hair that they currently have tied up in a bun. They have nervous eyes, chestnut brown skin, and soft, thin lips that gravitate people’s gaze often. Their nails are painted, but clear. And their hair is the only color that they have on their entire body, with the exception of their chestnut skin.

So they walk in and also have this layered school uniform sort of situation, where it’s not leather or pleather, but it’s moreso additional belts and bits and bobs, to make it look somewhat individual, while still blending with the community.

And so they’re still trying to work on this door, and apologizing…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Sorry. Mrs. Merkel, is it?

Mrs. Merkel (Kim)
Yes.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Sorry about the door. Um… It’s entirely my fault. I didn’t know it was broken.

Mrs. Merkel (Kim)
I assure you, Camdyn, it was not your fault.

Kim
She says, staring daggers at Yakubu.

Cassandra
Valley puts her hand on Camdyn’s shoulder, and just nods.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
It’s absolutely not your fault.

Kim
Camdyn, what playbook are you?

Janaya
I am The Mortal. “None of them would understand what you have, here in this dark and secret place. It’s beautiful. They’d warn you that this sort of beauty is dangerous, like a raging fire. Well, some things are worth getting burned for. Love has eclipsed all hope, and the dark has left you feeling beautiful.”

[Music fades. The classroom fades back in]

Mrs. Merkel (Kim)
Camdyn is joining us from the city. I hope that you will make them feel welcome, especially considering this is our Spirit Week. Camdyn, would you like to say anything about yourself?

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Uh…

Janaya
Camdyn’s, at this point, visibly shaking their whole entire body, even down to the legs and thighs. And just doesn’t really know what to say, because they look around the room and at all the people and recognize only Jackson, and say…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Oh, what a treat! For those of you who don’t know, Jackson and I are… Not relatives, but close in family. And they are part of the reason why I’m here.

Jackson (Kim)
Yeah, their aunt’s fucking my dad.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
[Laughs]

Percy
Yeah. Just, again, a burst of laughter from Yakubu.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Right. My Aunt Minnie is with Jackson’s father. And I moved here from the big city, as Mrs. Merkel said, for a bit of a… quieter life.

Mrs. Merkel (Kim)
Well, isn’t that a fun fact?

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Uh, it’s a fact, alright!

Janaya
Once again, Camdyn is still staring at Yakubu. Quite frankly, has not blinked, necessarily, any time that they are looking in Yakubu’s direction. But anytime that the condensation starts to go, they turn and look away and blink, but then just hyper-focus come right back.

Mrs. Merkel (Kim)
Well, Camdyn, I believe we have an empty seat right here in front.

Kim
And Quinn, one of the only other students here that you recognize, is excitedly tapping the desk right in front of her, for you to sit.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Oh hey, Quinn. Good to see you.

Quinn (Kim)
Hi! I didn’t know that you were starting today. That’s so exciting!

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Oh, yeah. A bit earlier than expected. But, you know, things change.

Quinn (Kim)
Camdyn and I work at the craft store together.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Yeah, we work at Knits and Knobs together, and it’s pretty cool.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
[Laughs] They said Knits.

Cassandra
Valley, on her way back to her seat, just gives Yakubu a look of, like, “Could you please stop?”

Percy
Yeah. Yakubu gives you the same, like, shrugging. Like, “What do you want from me? This is me.”

Cassandra
And Valley rolls her eyes and sits back down, very straight in her chair.

Kim
Mrs. Merkel stands and begins to take roll, moving through the students.

Mrs. Merkel (Kim)
Bea?

Bea (Kim)
Present.

Mrs. Merkel (Kim)
Jaso – Sorry, Ace.

Ace (Kim)
Here.

[Unsettling ambience starts fading in]

Mrs. Merkel (Kim)
Dick Talbot? Absent. Interesting.

Percy
I think that one gets him. He’s gonna kinda, like, lean over to Jackson and be all, like…

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Dick wants to see me so bad, where is he? Thought y’all said he was partying.

Jackson (Kim)
I haven’t seen him since Saturday.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Saturday, Saturday… Oh, yeah. No. I was busy on Saturday. Obviously, you know, important stuff. Nah, yeah, nah, yeah… whatever. It’ll be fine.

Kim
And right as you say this, Jackson’s dad, the Sheriff of Talbot Falls, enters and pulls Mrs. Merkel aside, out into the hallway.

Mrs. Merkel (Kim)
If you’ll all just mind yourselves. Go read something. Uh… Study.

[The chatter of homeroom]

Janaya
As the sheriff shows up, I immediately turn to Jackson and I go…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
What is he doing here? What is your dad doing here?

Jackson (Kim)
I don’t know.

Camdyn LIthey (Janaya)
What do you mean you don’t know?

Jackson (Kim)
What? Do you think my dad consults me on police business?

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Yeah. He’s your dad. He obviously would be telling you these things. It just doesn’t make any sense.

Jackson (Kim)
I think he was at the Talbot house earlier today? Oh… shit.

Percy
I just want to point out, yeah, Yakubu is a thousand percent eavesdropping.

Madeleine
Sable is likewise eavesdropping, but she has decided to pull up her phone. She runs the school’s anonymous board, Walls of the Stalls.

Kim
[Laughs] Fantastic.

Cassandra
Walls of the Stalls is diabolical, and I love it.

Madeleine
She is the Janitor, but no one knows. You’re welcome, you’re welcome.

Kim
XOXO, Gossip Girl.

Madeleine
Absolutely. I approve all content before it gets posted, so I want to see if any content has popped up, any posts potentially about Dick. I like knowing things before anyone else does. Any hot gossip come in yet, or nothing?

Kim
This is not a mechanic in the game, but it is a mechanic that we engage with a lot in Shadows in the Smoke. I’d like to Paint the Scene, here. If everyone here could rattle off a blind item that is waiting in the queue for Walls of the Stalls. What’s some of the high school gossip going on right now?

Madeleine
The first one I see is definitely someone that posts, “We should all write in Valley for Homecoming Queen.”

Kim
Aww!

Madeleine
But it has a little, like, skull and then flame emojis next to it. Yes. Who knows what that means?

Cassandra
There is an item in the queue that just says, “Misty Peters is starting to show.”

Kim
Oh my god.

Percy
There’s one that says, “Late night snowfall in the theatre.”

Janaya
There’s definitely a queue in there that’s basically like a lost and found for post-party or post-hangs or whatever. Like, “Hey, some body left their cell phone at my house.” “Is anybody’s camera missing?” “Who left this here?” You know, Camdyn had, like, found this page while searching the forums for information about the school.

Kim
There’s definitely, in your queue, Sable, a somewhat blurry picture taken on somebody’s phone of Camdyn walking into he school that says, “Mysterious new hottie spotted.”

[Everyone laughs]

Percy
Yes!

Cassandra
Hell yeah.

Percy
Hell yeah.

Madeleine
Incredible.

Kim
And I think a brief video of Dick Talbot, the richest boy in school. Belonging to the wealthiest family in town – his family named the town. And he is having what looks to be a bonfire party out in the forest. It’s a quick, three second clip of him like slamming down a beer from Saturday night.

Percy
Hell yeah.

Madeleine
I clock that. I delete the photo.

Kim
Okay.

Madeleine
But I post everything else that’s in the queue, waiting to go up on the site. People need to know about this hot, mysterious new person at school.

Kim
Faith is checking her phone and sees the update from Walls of the Stalls.

Faith (Kim)
Valley, I didn’t know you were running for Homecoming Court.

Cassandra
Valley goes more still than she already is. And Faith is actually interrupting her. Because ever since the sheriff showed up, Valley has been boring a hole in the back of this man’s head. And she turns back to Faith.

Faith McAllister (Cassandra)
What are you talking about?

Faith (Kim)
Homecoming Court. You’re running?

Faith McAllister (Cassandra)
No. Faith, what are you talking about? I don’t have any interest in that. Like, that’s your thing. That’s not my thing.

Faith (Kim)
Are you sure, Faith? Because I saw this point. And I don’t know why anyone would suggest voting you in as a member of Homecoming Court, unless it was to possibly embarrass you?

Cassandra
Valley is really quiet for a moment. Because Valley lives in this very specifically curated space between visible and untouchable. She’s not disliked. People are afraid of Faith, but people generally like Valley. They just don’t understand her. But she is a person that is reliable. She always has extra notes for people. She’s always, like, there to help immediately if someone needs something. She’s a teacher’s pet, but she is relatively well liked, but kind of continues to fly under the radar so she doesn’t piss Faith off. So she’s definitely surprised, and kind of caught off guard by this announcement from Faith.

Faith (Kim)
Listen, Valley, I’m just looking out for you. I mean, if you posted this, then you should tell me. It’s just… I would hate for it to have been someone else, and they’re posting it because they wanna, like, prank you or something, because they know that you wouldn’t win.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Faith, come on. You know how my mom feels about social media. She never lets me get on those things, especially when I’m at home. So like, I – Faith, I didn’t post it.

Faith (Kim)
Are you sure you didn’t ask someone to do it for you?

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
No. Who would I ask?

Faith (Kim)
Well, I was just looking out for you, Valley.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
I know, Faith. And I appreciate it. But I promise you, I didn’t post it. I didn’t ask anyone to post it. I’m honestly shocked that someone did. And I mean, come on, Faith. No one’s going to vote for me. They’re going to vote for you.

Faith (Kim)
That’s right.

Kim
Faith gets on her phone.

Sable, something new is in the queue for Walls of the Stalls.

Madeleine
Oh, fantastic! Let’s review.

Kim
[Laughs]

Madeleine
Sable is like looking at Faith while she’s typing, and then sees it come into her inbox.

[Everyone laughs]

Madeleine
And is like, “Huh, interesting!”

Kim
It says, “Valley McAllister is a stuck up loser. Don’t vote for her.”

Madeleine
I post it.

Cassandra
Valley wouldn’t know about it. Her phone is, like, not a smartphone. Her parents insist that she’s not on social media, because the devil lives inside the internet. So she is not allowed access to those types of things. So she is one of the few girls that’s, like, actively not on social media at all with the school, which is definitely a point of conversation. So she would not see this. And she would likely not suspect that Faith would have posted something like that.

Kim
No, why would she? She’s so virtuous.

Cassandra
Valley thinks so. She’s… This is the person that her parents want her to emulate.

Kim
What else is going on during these several now long minutes of this unsupervised homeroom?

Madeleine
Oh, I’ve definitely turned over my shoulder and been like…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Hey Bea, are you going with anyone to the game or to Homecoming? I need a second shooter.

Bea (Kim)
That could be fun, I guess. Yeah, sure. Count me in.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Cool. Great. I have gear for you. I’ll get you set up after class.

Kim
Priya, right next to you, is just, like, boring a hole with her eyes into her desk.

Percy
I definitely think that Yakubu is reaching back to, like, Nagi to try and get her attention.

Kim
Poor Nagi, who is probably about my height, like 4’11”, just absolutely being dwarfed by the mountain of a teenager that is Yakubu. All she can see is you.

Nagi (Kim)
Yeah?

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Nagi, hey. You know anything about, um… Dick? No, like, the guy. Your seatmate, next to you.

Nagi (Kim)
Oh. Uh…

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Yeah. I’m not being fresh, I promise.

Nagi (Kim)
He was having his annual pre-Homecoming party in the woods on Saturday. I wasn’t invited to something like that. I assume you were.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Well, you know, there’ve been, like, bear attacks and everything like that. Like, he didn’t… He didn’t read about that in the news, or nothing?

Nagi (Kim)
Okay, Yakubu, how many bears have you seen in the forest?

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
I don’t have to answer that. I do not have to answer that. We’re getting sidetracked.

Percy
Now he’s leaning down, conspiratorially. Which is very scary. Cause again, now he’s just dwarfing over her.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Hey, you used to be in yearbook and everything like that, right?

Nagi (Kim)
Yeah. I used to be.

Kim
And Yakubu, I think you even remember the failed prom-posal that Nagi gave to Sable last year at Prom, that Sable turned down. And then Nagi very quietly dropped out of yearbook, and dropped out of Sable’s life.

Percy
Yep. And I think he does… I think that’s why he’s kind of, like, using his little amount of pulling on knowledge of the happenings of the school, for this exact moment.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
You don’t happen to have, like, copies of photos from last year, right? I think there was something that was, like, a picture of me on the football field that I really, really need. You know what I mean? And I think you’d be the perfect person to find that for me.

Nagi (Kim)
I may have kept a key to the yearbook office.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
What are the odds of you letting me procure that little key?

Nagi (Kim)
Well, I don’t know. What are you gonna do for me?

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Nagi! Nagi… We’ve been seat mates for the past couple months, maybe. Come on.

Nagi (Kim)
Uh-huh. What are you gonna do for me?

Percy
His eyes flick just for a moment over to Bea as he’s like, “Oh no, I’ve got myself in another situation.”

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
What do you… What do you want?

Nagi (Kim)
Dude, you gotta learn to negotiate. If you want something, you gotta offer something.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
This isn’t a negotiation. You’ve turned this into a hostage situation. Look, wait…

Percy
And he kind of looks over his shoulder and somehow gets quieter, even though his voice is very resonant.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
What if I help you get back at Sable? That bitch over there, what she did to you was wrong. Everybody knows it. What if I embarrassed her for you?

Nagi (Kim)
You would do that?

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Yeah. Easy for Yakubu.

Nagi (Kim)
Meet me at lunch, then.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Yeah. Yeah, lunch. You, me, lunch together. Meet there.

Kim
She shakes your hand.

Percy
Yeah. And his hand just dwarfs hers, and he shakes very gently.

[Unsettling ambience]

Percy
You’ll see him kind of turn, and he’ll flick through his phone for a second. You’ll see him go through his photo gallery, and you’ll see there’s a message that he had gotten from one of his holder sisters that says, “Is this you?”

And there’s a massive, furry creature wearing football pads, and he’s pulling off his helmet. Luckily, he was moving just fast enough that the number is blurred, but Yakubu knows that’s him. And he doesn’t know how his sister saw this picture, and now it’s fluctuating, and the only people that take pictures of the athletes are usually the yearbook.

[The chatter of homeroom]

Kim
Camdyn. While all this is going on… Mrs. Merkel is still in the hallway with Jackson’s dad, the sheriff. At this point, whispers are circulating that a student has gone missing. But what are you doing, in the midst of all this? This is so much drama for your first day.

Janaya
Right? I’m very slowly but surely taking it all in, kind of like a sponge. But I’m trying to glance around the room. And I didn’t get a good look at every single person, because Yakubu was distracting my eyes in the first meeting.

Kim
Yeah, he does that.

Janaya
He often does that, when you’re 6’6” in a very small room. But I’m going through my phone, and I’m checking these Reddit messages. And I’m looking at a previous conversation that I had with someone, and they mentioned they went to Hemlock High, and I’m trying to figure out who this person is. So I just shoot a quick text over Reddit, saying…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Hey. I don’t know if you’re out there. But I just started here at Hemlock High. Would you want to meet for lunch?

[Text sends]

Kim
Sable, your phone buzzes.

Madeleine
Sable pulls her phone out of her pocket, sees that she got a message in Reddit, and just… She starts sweating, because she knows what it’s going to be about. And she opens it, looks at it, starts to message back, deletes the message, starts to type another message, deletes that, puts her phone face down on the desk for a second, looks at it again, and then texts back…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I might be busy during lunch. Maybe after school?

Madeleine
Question mark.

[Text sends]

Janaya
Camdyn pulls out their phone and sees the message, and kinda sinks in their chair for a little bit. Replies and says…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
yeah, no worries. It’s just been a crazy day at school, and I was hoping to talk to somebody. There’s a missing kid in our class, and I don’t really know what’s going on, so I wanted to get more intel.

[Text sends]

Madeleine
As soon as Sable gets that message, she now knows that the person has to be someone in the class. Uh oh! Do I like any of these people?

Percy
[Chuckles] And you’re like looking back at, like, everyone who’s on their phones. You’re like, “Crap! Crap!”

Kim
Yeah, Sable, you look around. Everyone is on their phone right now, texting.

Madeleine
Yeah. And I’m like, oh my god…

Cassandra
Valley is sitting, like, writing notes. Has a textbook out, highlighters. Like everything is meticulously organized on the desktop. She’s the only one not on her phone.

Kim
Incredible. Camdyn, this seems like a good opportunity for you to read a couple of your moves for us. Can you read True Love?

Janaya
You always have exactly one Lover. The first is chosen during your backstory. If you ever fall in love with someone else instead, give them a string, and they become your new lover. You always carry 1 forward to earning your lover’s heart or fancy.

Kim
And who is your lover right now?

Janaya
My lover is Sable Finch.

Kim
There we go. Related to that, you have another move: Excuses Are My Armor. Could you read that?

Janaya
When you ignore some blatant problem with your lover or how they treat you, mark experience.

Kim
Camdyn, I think you should mark experience, considering Sable just blew you off.

Janaya
Yeah, probably. Yeah.

Madeleine
This is going to be devastating, because I don’t know that I’m doing this!

Percy
So I do want to point out, Yakubu is, like… Whatever Valley’s writing, he’s copying. Yakubu put himself behind Valley, purely to cheat off her papers. And again, he doesn’t have to try, because he can… He’s dwarfing over her, and he sees what she’s writing and he’s like…

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Oh… Oh.

Cassandra
Valley knows that Yakubu does this. And from underneath her spiral notebook that she’s been writing, she just pulls out a pre-written set of notes and just hands it over her shoulder to him.

Percy
And Yakubu’s going to, like, very swiftly take it. And he kind of, like clutches your hand and gives it a quick squeeze. And he’ll take it, and he mutters under his breath…

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Always watching out.

Cassandra
At the hand squeeze, Valley yanks her hand away very quickly. That is so inappropriate.

Percy
Just trying to be nice. Just trying to be nice.

Kim
Valley, can you roll Shut Someone Down?

Cassandra
Oh, okay. Hold on.

Percy
Hand holding, this early into the session? My god.

Cassandra
How dare you touch me? I am a Christian woman.

That is a seven.

Kim
Alright. On a 7 to 9, you may choose one from below, but Yakubu gives you a Condition.

Cassandra
Let’s see. Let me… Where did I put my Strings at?

Percy
I know you have one on me.

Cassandra
I have one on you. You have two on me. I don’t mind you having those. I think I’m gonna take the 1 forward.

Kim
Okay.

Yakubu, what is the Condition you wanna give Valley?

Percy
I think I want to give her the Condition: Lingering Touch.

Cassandra
Cute. Very cool.

Kim
Several more minutes pass until eventually Mrs. Merkel enters the classroom with Sheriff Shaw.

[Unsettling ambience]

Mrs. Merkel (Kim)
Alright, students. Dick Talbot’s parents have been informed that he has gone missing, as of the last several days. Sheriff Shaw will be hanging around the school today in the next few days, to ask some of the students about what they know. If you have any information, I would appreciate it if you came forward.

[School bell rings]

[Students milling about the hallway]

Kim
We’re gonna go ahead and fast forward to lunch. Who wants to roleplay class? No one is ever in school on my CW high school shows.

Madeleine
No.

Cassandra
No.

Madeleine
No homework.

Cassandra
This was enough class.

Kim
Yeah, class is boring. Let’s go to lunch.

Yakubu, you and Nagi meet up outside of the yearbook office.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
You bring the thing?

Nagi (Kim)
I did.

Kim
And she withdraws a small silver key and puts it in your hand.

Nagi (Kim)
Alright. I can hang out near the door. Keep an eye out for Sable and her little flying monkey.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Whoa, whoa, whoa… Priya’s kind of nice! She’s sweet. Deep, deep, deep, deep down.

Priya (Kim)
Yeah. She’s fine.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Do you even know her? Have you two even talked before?

Nagi (Kim)
Yeah. We used to be friends, if you believe that.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Oh. Y’all got some kind of, like, friendship vortex going on, where one of you just takes from the other. Oh, that’s… I said that out loud, didn’t I?

Nagi (Kim)
You did. Are you gonna go in?

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Yeah, no. And he’s like, turns and is like unlocking it. And will try and, as Mission: Impossible as possible, sneak on in.

Kim
I think this is a good opportunity for Keep Your Cool.

Percy
Yeah.

Kim
When you keep your cool and act despite fear, name what you’re afraid of and roll with Cold. On a 10+, you keep your cool and gain insight. Ask the MC a question about the situation, and take 1 forward to acting on that information. On a 7 to 9, the MC will tell you how your actions would leave you vulnerable, and you can choose to back down or go through with it.

So I feel like there is a lot that could go wrong, here. With you sneaking into the yearbook office.

Percy
I most assuredly believe his biggest fear is leaving a trace. Because Yakubu knows he is a bull in a china shop. So he knows he needs to, like… He doesn’t know what he’s looking for. He’s going to be going through the computers. He’s going to be going through the cameras, like looking for SD cards. Like, he’s going to try to do a gentle smash and grab. But that is the problem. If this place turns up even the smallest amount of damage, everyone’s going to know it’s him. Because that’s what he’s known for.

Kim
So go ahead and roll 2d6 +Cold.

Percy
Which my Cold is a -1…

Kim
Oops.

Percy
That is a 4 and a 1. Which makes a 5, minus 1. Which is a 4, baby. Give it! Give me that experience. I earned it.

Kim
Yakubu, please mark experience.

Percy
Yeah.

Kim
And you muscle your way in there, and I believe just find Sable and Priya working on the yearbook, in this locked yearbook office.

Madeleine
I think it’s Bea, also. Because at lunch, I out loud in the room said that I was going to get her set up with the camera.

Kim
Oh, yeah. Bea is here as well. Bea looks up from her camera at you, Yakubu.

Bea (Kim)
Well, if it isn’t the person that I wanted to see. Did you bring it?

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Oh, well, not… That’s why I’m here. Sable said she was gonna help me out with that. Right, Sable?

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Uh-huh. Yeah, sure. Right after I finish giving Bea her cameras?

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Yeah. The cameras. Bea, you know about the cameras. That was what was agreed upon.

Bea (Kim)
No it wasn’t, Yakubu.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Well, correct. But the monetary value of the camera, you know what I mean?  Like it is kind of crazy that the year book, how the yearbook would be selling cameras that don’t belong to her. But you know, it’s whatever.

Percy
And I think he says it a little too loud, for it to echo through the hallway.

Kim
While all this is happening, you hear Nagi just absolutely ditch you. Just the sound of shoes running down the hallway.

Madeleine
I think it’s a familiar squeak though. Like she wears the same shoes, so it’s like clear that it was Nagi. Everybody knows.

Kim
Absolutely. Sable, you clock it. Also, you know how many keys there are to the yearbook office.

Madeleine
Oh, yeah. And it was locked.

Percy
I was played from the get go!

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Hey Yakubu, I don’t like that you’re implying that I’m just giving these cameras away. We get them as part of yearbook. Bea’s just taking it out on loan. She’s gonna be a second shooter for me for the game.

Bea (Kim)
Sable, Yakubu owes me $300.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Holy shit.

Bea (Kim)
And he is implying that I’m supposed to steal this camera? That’s probably a problem.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Oh, that’s what you’re doing here? Shoot. I mean, the door was locked. I got in, I see the handoff, I’m just trying to make sense of it myself. I mean, you know, the sheriff’s here. Anyone want to talk about that?

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
So you broke into the yearbook office?

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
No, I got a key.

Percy
He shows the key.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Can’t break in, when you got a key.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I’ll take that. Thank you very much.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Of course. And it would be very good…

Percy
And as he hands it to you and you get ahold of it, you very much can tell you’re not getting that key until he lets go.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
It would be very wise for you to keep your eye on this, and off of people who don’t want bad publicity. You hearing me?

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I’m not concerned with bad publicity. I am the publicity.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
No, no, no, you’re misinterpreting.

Percy
And he’s, like, pulling the key from your grasp. And you probably feel yourself moving closer to him.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
I’m telling you to stay away from other people, and their publicity. It can be bad for your health.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Okay… I’ll be sure to tell our yearbook moderator that I won’t be on top of publicity for the school for the rest of the year? Like, I don’t know what you want me to do right now.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
No, I think you’re understanding very well.

Percy
And he kind of flicks his eyes to Bea.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Listen, we’ll handle our business when we gotta handle it. But as of right now, I’m happy to have talked to both of you and returned a lost piece of property.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
… Okay.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
I’m gonna go. Y’all stay here and do what y’all was doing. Which definitely wasn’t illegal, you know, with the sheriff being here. [Chuckles]

Percy
He’s gonna try to amble his way out, with a big smile, and like slam the door shut behind him.

Kim
Yakubu, take the Condition: Snitch.

Percy
Most certainly.

Madeleine
100%. Which is why I turn around and go to Bea and Priya.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
So that was really weird, right? Am I reading that moment wrong?

Bea (Kim)
No, yeah. Everything that just happened was extremely weird.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Okay. Like I understand that he owes you money. But why was he… I don’t… I’m not even going to pretend to understand what’s going on, in his head.

Bea (Kim)
Why did he have a key?

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Nagi.

Bea (Kim)
Oh my god…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
You heard the shoes!

Bea (Kim)
You’re so right.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
It’s fine. She can do what she wants, and –

Kim
Priya leans forward.

Priya (Kim)
I just didn’t know that she kept the key to the yearbook office. That’s kind of sad.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Oh, well, I mean… There are only three, and it’s, you know, it’s good to have someone with a backup.

Priya (Kim)
Yeah, but Nagi?

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Yeah. What’s wrong with Nagi?

Priya (Kim)
Well, I just thought that you weren’t with – I thought that she wasn’t in yearbook anymore.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Yeah. It doesn’t mean she’s not trustworthy, you know? We don’t hang out anymore, but … Why, do you have something against Nagi, Priya?

Priya (Kim)
No! No, no – why would you… Sable, why would you say that?

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Okay, no. It’s totally fine.

Madeleine
Sable takes Priya’s camera bag away from her and is like…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Hey, hold on. Let me just make sure Bea gets this.

Madeleine
Hands it over to Bea. And is like…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Here you go. Everything you have is in there. I have like a little instruction PDF printout in there. Everything’s really simple. Everything basically shoots itself. So like you don’t have to worry about it. Anyone could do it.

Madeleine
And she kind of side eyes Priya.

Kim
Incredible.

Madeleine
I do want to get Bea out of the room for a second, though. And then turn to Priya and say…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Hey, sorry. Today’s just been really stressful. There’s a lot going on. Dick’s missing, and everything. You don’t know why Yakubu came in here, do you?

Priya (Kim)
I don’t really know. I didn’t think that he really cared about yearbook or all that stuff. All that stuff he was saying about publicity… I mean, he’s on the football team. We’re going to take pictures of him.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I don’t know. I feel like there has to be something in here.

Madeleine
And she’s just pulling up the computer, starting to go through files. Starts pulling up the photos from the game on Friday. Is like…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Well, this is the last time we shot him. Let me see if there’s anything in here. I don’t know. This is all really weird.

Madeleine
Scrolling through photos. And then I think comes across a couple weird, blurry photos.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Huh. Did you take these? These are horrible.

Priya (Kim)
They’re moving, Sable.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Okay, but like –

Priya (Kim)
They’re gonna be blurry.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
There’s an autofocus on the camera. Okay, hold on. Let me just…

Madeleine
She’s scrolling, she’s scrolling… And I think she sees the photo that was sent to Yakubu’s sister.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Huh. Interesting.

Madeleine
Sable drags it into an email, sends it to herself.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Priya, did you see this photo before?

Priya (Kim)
I took like a hundred pictures. I don’t, like, closely look at all of them.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Okay. Well, that’s obvious. Okay. That’s.. It’s probably nothing. This probably isn’t even it. Didn’t they lose that game, anyways?

Madeleine
And she’s just closing all the files, folders, drags the original copy of the photo to the trash can. Right click, empty trash can.

Kim
Sable, take a Sympathetic Token on Yakubu.

Madeleine
Incredible. I will.

Percy
Doesn’t feel very sympathetic!

Madeleine
Empty trash, empty trash. You’re good, you’re good.

Kim
We have Strings as a resource in the game that people can use to tempt other characters – both player characters and NPCs – to do what they want. But the Witch also has a separate resource that she is tracking, which is Sympathetic Tokens. And in this case, with you being on the yearbook, they are pictures of other students.

Madeleine
Ah, yes. So convenient.

Kim
Let’s go elsewhere during lunch. Valley, what are you up to?

Cassandra
Valley is walking through the lunchroom carrying a tray – very healthy, no sweets. Protein-centric. A carton of milk, whatever the meat of the day is from the school, and a salad. She sees the cheerleader table, which is where she would normally be sitting at lunch today. But then she also clocks Camdyn sitting by themselves across the lunchroom. And wanting to make this new person feel welcome in what is likely feeling like a kind of unsafe environment, I think Valley tosses a little wave to her cheerleader girlies and then walks up to Camdyn’s table.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Hi. Would you like some company?

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Oh, that’s really nice. Thank you. Sure, if you’d like.

Cassandra
And Valley sits down and starts meticulously straightening the tray, so it’s just the right angle against the roundness of the table.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
I’m Valley, by the way. Camdyn, right?

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Yeah. Camdyn with a Y.

Valley McAllister (Casandra)
Very cool. It’s a pretty name.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Thank you. It was a family name, on my mom’s side.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Very cool Mine too. My great aunt was called Minnow, but everyone called her Valley. And so that’s what I got named. My parents are big on keeping it in the family.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Well, you know, the Minnow and Valley. The land and the sea, right?

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Yeah, it’s cool. It’s definitely a unique name. And I kind of always feel like I’m climbing up a hill, so…

Cassandra
And she starts to meticulously cut into the chicken on her plate, for something to do.

Janaya
Yeah. Meanwhile, on the other hand, looking at Camdyn’s lunch… It’s literally just, like peak high school slop. They just did not know what to get. And they’re looking through, going to the lunch person and just being like… Whatever you have, please. And it’s just like the full shot of the spoon slapping down on their lunch try. And they’re like… Oh, okay. Great.

So Camdyn’s like picking through it with a fork, trying to figure out what part of it to eat first.

Cassandra
Valley notices this, and eyeballs the potatoes, and just gives Camdyn a look.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Be careful with those.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Got it, thanks. [Chuckles]

You know, first day and all. I’m just trying to get a lay of the hand, here. And I notice you’re a cheerleader. Do you know a lot about this school or the people around it, per chance?

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Yeah. I mean, I grew up here. My parents are a little protective, so I’ve been a little sheltered. Which I’m not afraid to admit. It’s pretty much a known fact about me. I spend a lot of time at church, so I’m pretty well shielded from some of the sketchier stuff that goes on. But if there’s something specific you’re after, I might be able to help you find it out.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
I mean, just the sketchiness of what you brought up. Everything seems a little off, here. You know, I’m from a very fast-paced big city, right over next door. And ever since I came here, I just felt like things have slowed down drastically. But my mind has just been racing, already. I now know, what? Four people? And a friend that I met online, who I’ve been trying to find.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Well, I won’t be able to help you much with the online part of it. My parents don’t let me have social media. So I don’t know any of the stuff that goes on there.

Talbot Falls is kind of one of those places where everybody knows everybody else’s business, and secrets kind of don’t stay secret for very long. So if you have any skeletons in your closet, I would make sure you take care of them.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Noted. Thank you.

Janaya
And I immediately – like, my shoulders start to rise as high as they can to my ears. Just because I am immediately waiting for the inevitable, “So what do you do? What’s your life? Where did you come from?” But Valley’s not asking that, for any reason. Camdyn’s trying to dig under their nails, and figure out what to say next. Because In reality, I think they’re just desperately looking for their partner, their person. And now knowing that Valley is not that, and Valey is the only person that’s come up to them and had a conversation with them? They’re like, “Oh God… I have to go around this giant lunch hall and be like… My betrothed?! Where are you?”

[Everyone laughs]

Kim
Yeah. As this is going on, Ace, the school mascot, walks by with a bunch of students. And points you out and says…

Ace (Kim)
That’s them. Mysterious new hottie.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Oh…

Cassandra
Valley turns around to Ace. I imagine Ace being already in, like, the mascot. But like carrying the head around with him through the lunch room, for some reason. That’s very much like the beat.

Kim
I like it.

Cassandra
And Valley has seen the discomfort that is all over Camdyn. Sees the raised shoulders. Recognizes the discomfort, the trauma of whatever is going on in their mind right now. And gets, like, very defensive.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Ace, why don’t you put on your head and rotate it and walk away from this table?

Kim
Roll Shut Someone Down.

Casandra
Okay. So I have a 4 and a 2 on the dice, for 6. +2 is 8.

Kim
On a 7 to 9 choose one from the list below, but you get a Condition.

Cassandra
Can we take Strings on side characters?

Kim
Yeah.

Cassandra
Interesting. Okay, I’m gonna take a String on Ace.

Kim
Okay, go ahead.

Ace (Kim)
Chill, Valley. I didn’t realize you’d already laid claim to the new kid.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
It isn’t about laying claim, Ace. They’re clearly uncomfortable. So why don’t you just give it a rest? Why don’t you go bark someone else’s tree for once?

Kim
Take the Condition: In Love with the New Kid.

[Everyone laughs]

Percy
Oh my god. That is the most high schooler thing! Oh god…

Kim
Somewhere, Sable, you get a new blind item in your queue that is a picture of Valley and Camdyn, having lunch. And it says: “Christian girl has a new partner.”

Madeleine
I snort laughing, and I just… Post, post, post, post, post.

Percy
It’s just immediate…

Cassandra
Sable said, “I’m very lax with the posting requirements.”

Madeleine
There are very few, and it’s just.. Nobody knows, but Sable knows.

Cassandra
Cause you’re the janitor.

Madeleine
I’m the janitor.

Percy
Messy…

Janaya
As Ace walks away with their lackeys, I turn to Valley and I say…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Thank you. You didn’t have to do that. That was way too nice for someone that you don’t know.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Well, that’s what we’re called to do. Strangers are just friends we don’t know very well yet. You’re new, and Ace is kind of a garbage human sometimes. So just be careful with them.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Noted. Thank you.

Janaya
Then Camdyn opens up their phone and just has like a Notes app going. Just like all the things that have been happened.

[Everyone laughs]

Kim
Incredible!

Cassandra
“This person seems okay…”

Janaya
Yeah. It’s like a Dear Diary, but not like – I don’t think Camdyn is a diary doer. But it very much is like, I can’t wait to talk to my person about this and tell them what a crazy day today was, since so much has happened and I don’t want to forget anything.

[School bell rings]

Kim
Let’s move to after school.

The final bell rings and Yakubu, Nagi seeks you out. It takes a second for you to clock, because she’s like a foot and a half shorter than you.

Nagi (Kim)
So I didn’t stay, but it sounded like it didn’t go well at the yearbook.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
no, It went about as good as it happens when the lookout doesn’t tell me that everybody in the yearbook club was in the yearbook room.

Nagi (Kim)
I told you I was gonna watch the hallway. That’s on you, for entering an already occupied room.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Ooh, your political campaign is going to be great one day…

Nagi (Kim)
Oh, speaking of. I just told you I’d give you the key. Now you need to make good on your promise.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
You’ll hear about it tomorrow.

Nagi (Kim)
I better.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Offers Nagi a sly wink as he like walks away. And I think, like, you’ll see for a minute a tiny flash of gold in Yakubu’s eyes, as he does indeed have plans for embarrassing Sable.

Kim
How do you make good on your promise to Nagi? What do you do to Sable?

[Unsettling, monstrous ambience]

Percy
Yakubu knows that Sable works late for your book club. And he also knows that she doesn’t have a means of getting home. Like, any kind of vehicle. So she’ll probably go back to her locker, grab her keys, grab her wallet, stuff like that. And that is the place that he decides to embarrass her.

He makes sure that no one is around, that it is late in the school day. Everyone has returned home. He finds Sable’s locker. And we watch as his hands become these spotted, furry masses of claws. He has drawn his claw across the metal of your locker, and has torn it out. It is a ripped and jagged form, and it’s bent into a heart. And carved into the metal is, “Will you go to Homecoming with me?”

Kim
Sable.

Madeleine
Mmhmm.

Kim
Your day’s ending. You head back to your locker, and that is what you see.

Madeleine
Sable immediately sits on the floor, back against the lockers, trying to freak out. Trying not to hyper ventilate. She knows, with Dick missing, something horrifying is happening. All the stuff with Yakubu threatening her, like, vaguely earlier today. Dealing with Priya being Priya, always. And now just feeling so emotionally overwhelmed, and not knowing how to deal with that, and handling those emotions?

She whips out her phone. Pulls up her thread with her mystery online lover, and starts writing…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I’m so sorry I bailed on you for lunch today. I really don’t want to mess this up. I have a really hard time opening up to people, and I feel like I can be myself around you. And I’m nervous to meet you in person. But I think it’s really important. I’m really scared. I don’t want to do things without you. You mean so much to me. I’d do anything for you. Are you still at school? I would really like to meet you.

[Text message sends]

Janaya
Camdyn’s locking up for the day, and I would assume they run into Jackson. And there’s a quick aside of, like… “Hey, do you need a ride home, or something?”

Kim
Yeah, absolutely.

Janaya
As soon as that happens, get a ping on my phone. I read the message back and immediately, you know, tears start to well up in my eyes a little bit – but they’re happy tears. They’re not worried or sad. It’s finally just, like, moreso relief tears. And I look up at Jackson and just say…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
You know what? I’m good. I think I want to make sure I know how to walk home, jus tin case you’re not there to drive me.

Jackson (Kim)
Sounds pretty smart. Alright. See you later.

Janaya
And then I get back into the thread with my mystery person.

Madeleine
This has also taken long enough that I think Sable has, at this point, responded with another question mark…

[Text message sends]

Madeleine
And then also another, like…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I don’t want to pressure you in any way. I’m so sorry.

[Text message sends]

Janaya
Camdyn immediately gets back in the thread, and says…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Yes. I am so happy to meet up with you. Is there a good place that we should meet?

[Text message sends]

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Yes.

Madeleine
Dot dot dot.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I think you need to see this.

Madeleine
Dot dot dot. And then her locker number.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
South hall, by the US History room.

[Text message sends]

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Hey, sorry. A little lost. Do you have any good indicators that would take me to South Hall?

[Text message sends]

Madeleine
Sable immediately knows who her person is.

Kim
[Laughs]

Madeleine
And gets up and starts wandering. Because the only person who wouldn’t know what the layout of the school is, is the person who had never been to this school before. And you hear Sable go…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
… Camdyn? C-Camdyn?

Janaya
[Laughs] And I hear that and I’m trying to, like, find it. It’s the most distant voice, and it’s one of those hot or cold situations. And I just shout back…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Who is this?

Madeleine
Sable just immediately walks down the hallway, finds Camdyn.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Uh… H-hi… Hi? Hi…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Hi.

[Hemlock High theme]

Kim
Hemlock High is a Kitten Marlowe production, edited and produced by Kim Dalton. This episode featured a theme song written and performed by Jason Myers, with additional lyrics by Kim Dalton. You can find out more about us by visiting KittenMarlowe.com, signing up for our newsletter, or following us on socials. For Discord access, exclusive cast talkbacks, ttrpg materials, and more, visit Patreon.com/KittenMarlowe and join the coolest kids we know, our Kitten Marlowe patrons, in supporting artist-driven storytelling. Thanks for listening.