Hemlock High Ep 4 - "That's a Me Thing"

Hemlock High Ep 4 – “That's a Me Thing”

[The school bell rings. A loud, chaotic high school hallway]

Kim
The school bell rings at Hemlock High, but almost no one notices. So captivated they are by the reveal from Walls of the Stalls. It is just a flurry of teens accusing other people..

Students (Kim)
You wrote this? How could you possibly say this? I didn’t know that you knew this! I only told you, why did you tell everybody else?

Kim
All the dirty laundry is coming out, and that’s so much more important than… attending class? Who does that, on our CW TV show?

Cassandra
No one.

Kim
Valley, you learn that Faith is the one who wrote that really bitchy comment about you.

Cassandra
I do learn that. But I only hear it secondhand, because Valley doesn’t have access to it, because her parents don’t allow her to have social media. So she hears that secondhand. But she’s also kind of unimpacted by it, because she never wrote anything. So anything that was written would have just been about her.

Kim
It’s true. Any other blind items people want to open up about?

Percy
At some point it is revealed that Yakubu was the one that said Valley should have been nominated for Homecoming Court.

Kim
Awww…

Cassandra
That’s so sweet.

Kim
That is so sweet.

Cassandra
I think Valley hears that. And after having had this interaction with Yakubu a few days prior, I think she doesn’t mind it. I think she thinks it’s kind of sweet. Like, someone sees who she is, who she wants to be, and like, acknowledged it.

Kim
Many of you are entering into this Friday before the football game, this Friday before your Homecoming dance, dealing with a lot of revelations, here. Yakubu, the truth of the party last weekend, what happened with Dick, can no longer be ignored. Camdyn, the truth behind your parents’ disappearance, and Yakubu’s possible… maybe not culpability in it, but his involvement in it. Sable… [Laughs] Whatever is going on with you.

Madeleine
She’s… high school. It’s just high school.

Cassandra
[Laughs]

Kim
It’s honestly true. The Burn Book is out. I’m turning a bit of my GM fiat over to you. What scenes do we wanna set up before we head into the football game?

Janaya
I know Camdyn definitely wants to speak with Yakubu.

Kim
And he’s not hard to find. He’s like the tallest kid here.

Janaya
Right. There’s definitely a newfound sense of that stare that they normally give to people. Normally it’s curiosity, but this time it’s direct and intentional.

Percy
I definitely believe that you are looking for Yakubu, and I think any time you have seen him, he is desperately glued to his phone and is, like, murmuring to himself. And as you can imagine, a gentleman that large being distracted, it isn’t safe for everybody. So you might even see him bump into a few classmates here or there. Where would you like to corner Yakubu?

Janaya
Perhaps one of those classmates you run into is me.

Percy
Yeah, okay, perfect. Yeah. Then the stars align, and indeed, Yakubu just barrels into you and kind of reflexively, like, reaches out and catches you so you don’t fall.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Oh, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. Camdyn! Camdyn… Hey… What’s… What’s good?

Percy
And he, like, shoves his phone into his pocket.

Janaya
Camdyn accepts the help, naturally, but then looks up and, with the coldest stare in their eyes, says…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
I need to speak with you privately, as soon as possible.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
What… [Chuckles] Like, what’s this about?

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
There’s only one other person that I’ve told this to. A big part of the reason why I live here now is because I’m trying to figure out what happened to my parents. And I don’t know why, or I don’t know how, but somehow you are affiliated with it. And I have to get tot eh bottom of it, immediately.

Percy
As soon as you finish that, you watch – the entire time you were speaking though, Yakubu’s body goes rigid. His breathing gets a little heavy. And he will, like, snatch you by the arm and drag you off into one of the classrooms nearby and, like, slam the door behind him.

[The noise from the hallway fades]

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
I don’t know what you think you know or anything like that, but I ain’t caused nothing with no disappearances.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Call me crazy, but as I was walking here today, I was thinking about my parents, and happened to stumble and fall in the forest. And all I can remember before waking up was… It was like I was there. I saw two girls, and my parents being attacked by them. And for some reason, you were there too. And again, I don’t know why and I don’t know how you would even be there. But I just don’t… I don’t even know what to say to you! And you’re the only person I know. I don’t know who those other two girls are. Do you know?

Percy
Yakubu, listening to you talk, has clutched on to, like, his head and is pacing back and forth as you tell him more and more. And you mentioned the two women, and he drags his hand over his face and looks at Camdyn.

Camdyn
…And upon that look, I already know that you know who those people are.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
If you tell me who those two girls are now, then our problems here are done.

Janaya
I would like to spent a String on Yakubu to tempt them to reveal who those two girls are.

Kim
Alright, Yakubu. So an offer has been extended to you. Camdyn is pulling on one of their Strings. If you do this, you mark experience.

Percy
I think for a moment, we see on Yakubu’s face when Camdyn mentions that the issues between the two of them will be done with, and the memories of sitting with Valley the other night, and her mentioning how she doesn’t like when folks seem to have two versions of themselves… And Yakubu looking at Camdyn, who’s essentially like an innocent in all of this… I think the dam finally breaks, and Yakubu, like, clutching at his head, a couple of tears fall down. And he looks up at them and says…

[Ominous ambience]

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
They’re two people you don’t want to deal with. They’re my sisters.

Janaya
At this point, Camdyn is rendered speechless a little, trying to rattle through their brain and figure out what to say next. The first thing that comes to mind is…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Thank you for your trust. The last time we spoke, you promised me that you would be faithful and truthful. And you are. So thank you. But I have to deal with this. And I have to deal with this alone. Do not get involved. Regardless on who these two girls are to you, sisters or not. They cant be, in this moment.

Percy
And he’ll hang his head when you say that, and lets out a deep exhale before looking up at you, a flash of gold across his eyes.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
You can’t do this alone, Camdyn. You gotta trust me. I’ll help you, however you need.

Percy
And I kinda wanna play off of Camdyn’s Condition, cause I did tell them to trust me, and they promised me their trust. So I think I want to spend a String to tempt Camdyn to do what I want.

Janaya
Camdyn’s picking at their fingers, trying to figure out what to do. And this is the first time in a long time that they haven’t been staring directly at you. And from looking down at the ground, they say…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
You realize that they killed them, right?

Percy
Yakubu kind of clenches his fist.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Yes, they do that. I know they were wrong. I…

Percy
And he is trying to find the words to explain the family dynamic, to someone who has never lived the way he has: under the thumb of a power that is so vast, and under two people that claim to have loved him for so long, and are essentially controlling him.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
I don’t know why they’ve been running wild. I know it’s something with our blood. And I know what they are doing, what they did, is wrong. And I want to make it right. They’re going to be at the game tonight. If we can stop them there, I think it’ll make up for them for all the bad things that I’ve done.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Death can’t be reversed. So whatever needs to happen, you have to remember that that can’t be reversed, either.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Right. Regardless, you trust me, I trust you. Alright?

Percy
And he’ll hold his hand up to shake.

Janaya
Camdyn accepts the handshake.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
I have to go, but thank you. And I don’t know what’s gonna happen tonight. And I also know that it’s hard to choose friends over family, but thank you.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
Heh. We’re friends?

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Friends.

Kim
Sable…

Madeleine
Mmhmm?

Kim
The orchestrator of all of this chaos that is happening at Hemlock High. Where are you? What are you doing?

Madeleine
So I would like to point out that there are two people who have not been affected by any of the fallout: Sable, who has very few things posted about them at all, and they’re all very benign. And Nagi. Nagi has nothing negative posted about her on the entire page, and that is intentional. And all of the posts have been removed, that featured Nagi.

Kim
Interesting…

Madeleine
Sable has left a little butterfly post-it note on Nagi’s locker, which was their old school way of indicating to meet up in the yearbook office. So Sable is waiting for Nagi, hoping that she picks up on this old school little telegraph.

Kim
Yeah. A couple minutes go by, and then Nagi enters the yearbook office. As she’s opening the door, you’re hearing the chaos that is happening outside, of people like shouting, screaming, crying at each other, teachers and principals trying to get a handle on things… And then all of that dims down to just, like, a low murmur once Nagi closes the door to the yearbook office, and the two of you are in relative silence.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I need to say something to you, and I need you to just let me say it.

Kim
She had opened her mouth to speak, and then just closes it and nods with very wide eyes.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Hold on, I’m sorry. You can go first, though, if you need to—

Nagi (Kim)
No, no, no. You can go.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Okay.

Madeleine
Sable’s trying very hard not to be controlling of Nagi, and realizes the very first thing she does is immediately trying to control the conversation. She’s now very delicately trying to walk it back.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
The prom thing, I handled that really badly. I think we can both acknowledge that. I was incredibly cruel about it, and I didn’t need to be. And the thing with pushing you out of yearbook and kind of shutting you out of my life? That was me using a thing that we both had access to, but I had power over, and I was uncomfortable in the situation with the two of us together. And it was really stupid.

And we were together. We were. We hadn’t hooked up yet, but we were more than friends. And I dressed it up as something else, and you knew it, and I knew it. And I shut you down really publicly, and that was wrong.

Madeleine
And she’s made, like – holding the most eye contact Sable has ever had with a human being, which is very, incredibly uncomfortable for her. So she takes a moment, looks away, gathers herself…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I’m really sorry. And I’m worried that you’re messed up with Yakubu, who I think has something to do with all of these disappearances. Do you remember the photos that you helped me take last year in the woods? I know this is crazy, but I think it’s him. I think it’s him we were taking photos of. And you asked him to fuck up my locker, right? Like that was him?

Nagi (Kim)
I didn’t ask him to fuck up your locker, no, not exactly. But I was really mad, Sable. And he wanted a key to the yearbook office, which I still had.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I know. You’re the only person I would trust with it.

Nagi (Kim)
[Chuckles] Thank you. And in exchange, he offered to get back at you. I didn’t think he would do what he did. I’m sorry. I guess I’m glad it wasn’t worse?

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I know. You don’t have to apologize for anything. You never need to apologize to me for anything, ever again.

Nagi (Kim)
I mean, don’t… Don’t say that. But I did come on a little strong with the prom thing.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
But it was really sweet. Just, I… I was in a… That would be a lie, saying I was in a different place last year. I’m just – I don’t… The public stuff is not for me.

Nagi (Kim)
I know. I should have read the room, a bit. And just asked you, you know, privately. I just… I was swept up. And I thought, you know, that you would appreciate the big romantic gesture. And… You didn’t. And I thought that meant that you didn’t appreciate me.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Nagi, I appreciate you a lot.

Madeleine
And then she grabs both of her hands in her hands and says…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
But just as friends.

Nagi (Kim)
… Okay.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
And as friends, we have to do something about Yakubu. And I need your help. Can you help me, like old times?

Nagi (Kim)
Absolutely.

Madeleine
And she, like, nods her head towards the yearbook desk, which is where they used to have fun hexing each other, the year before.

Kim
Yeah. I like the notion that Nagi was, like, a baby witch in your coven.

Madeleine
Yes. If I can have a coven eventually? Nagi, and perhaps Priya.

Kim
[Laughs] Incredible.

Madeleine
But we’ll get there. I need more experience. Sable doesn’t know what she’s doing.

Kim
That would be an absolutely chaotic trio of individuals.

Madeleine
Oh, are you kidding? The dreams. Senior year, just the nerdiest little yearbook kids.

Kim
Nagi clears off the yearbook table and pulls out some gel pens and starts, like, doodling some runs and stuff and circles on the table, just like you’ve shown her.

Madeleine
Absolutely. Sable’s gonna pull out – she has the print out of the photo of Yakubu that she has, as her Sympathetic Token. And we will be casting a lovely, lovely hex together.

[Glitchy, ambient music]

Percy
Don’t do it. Don’t drag Nagi into this. I don’t need more victims.

Madeleine
I’m gonna go ahead and roll with Dark?

Kim
Yeah.

Madeleine
Please, storytelling gods… Please, please, please… Okay, nine.

Kim
So on a mixed success for your Hexcraft, the casting does you one harm, the hex has weird side effects, or you trigger your Darkest Self.

Madeleine
Okay. I’m going to take one harm, because I’m since I’m still my Darkest Self, the hex will already have implied weird effects.

Kim
That is true. Okay. So how does this harm manifest?

Madeleine
Yeah. I think because what I’m asking this hex to do is so severe, it’s definitely, like, a “this spell requires blood” situation. So it’s, you know, Sable putting her hand out, Nagi kind of bracing it, and both of them just looking at each other and being like…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I don’t want to do it. Can you… I don’t want to do it….

Nagi (Kim)
I’m weird about blood, Sable!

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Yes, but it’s harder to do it to yourself, cause you know it’s coming.

Nagi (Kim)
Okay, okay, what if I just, like, close my eyes?

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Well, I – Yeah, sure.

Madeleine
And then it definitely… She stabs her hand way too hard.

Kim
Yeah.

Madeleine
And her other hand, of course. Two pretty useless hands for photographing stuff. Which she’s gonna have to do later this evening, so we’ll see how that goes.

Kim
What is the hex that you’ve chosen?

Madeleine
Ring of Lies!

Kim
Please read it.

Madeleine
Whenever the person attempts to lie, they hear a piercing, ringing noise. Big lies will often make their knees buckle and disorient them. Sever lies can cause harm, or even brain damage.

And this has weird side effects because I’m still my Darkest Self, so… And it’s more powerful, so… Sory, Yakubu!

Kim
What should the side effect be?

Madeleine
I’m wondering if it starts triggering transformations, that…

Kim
Oh, yeah.

Cassandra
Because technically, that’s a lie.

Percy
Exactly, yep. Withholding my true self.

Kim
I like that.

Cassandra
That’s so good. That’s gnarly, and I love it.

Madeleine
So definitely after finishing casting this, this is one of those ones that doesn’t hit as hard as Wither, where you kind of know when it takes effect. So Sable just goes over to the first aid kit that’s attached to the wall by the fire extinguisher. You know, crabs a bandaid, hands it to Nagi, and is like…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Hey, can you…?

Nagi (Kim)
Yeah, of course.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Thank you. Thank you so much.

Nagi (Kim)
Yeah. You’re kind of down both hands, there.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Yeah.

Kim
And she starts bandaging up your hands.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
You know, since I’m a little useless…

Madeleine
And she holds up her wrist that’s broken, and then her now bandaged hand.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I’m going to need an assistant for tonight, if you’re free.

Nagi (Kim)
Yeah, of course I am. I’d be so happy to help. Honestly, I’ve really missed yearbook.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Yearbook, and I, have missed you.

Kim
And she hugs you, and then pulls away.

Nagi (Kim)
I’m sorry, is that too much?

Madeleine
Sable hugs her back. Just, like, full warm friend hug.

Kim
Sable, you can escape your Darkest Self when you offer peace to the one you’ve hurt the most. You’ve hurt a lot of people, but I think Nagi is a good candidate for this, considering the backstory that we built up between the two of you.

Madeleine
The depth of hurt, is… Yeah. Yeah.

Percy
[Laughs] What a read! “You’ve hurt a lot of people.” What a read by you, Kim.

Kim
I mean… It’s not a read if it’s true.

Madeleine
If it’s so true.

Kim
So I will allow you to escape your Darkest Self.

Madeleine
Huzzah! I accept.

Kim
Welcome back.

Madeleine
Still a bitch, though. Have not cleared that condition.

Kim
Nagi lets her arms drop from the hug, and smiles at you. This is like the first smile that you’ve seen from her, basically all school year. She’s been so morose about not only, like, losing you and losing this club that she really enjoyed, and just feeling so much shame about it.

Nagi (Kim)
I’ll see you later, at the game?

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Yeah. Are you gonna go home first to change, because I could pick you up?

Nagi (Kim)
That’d be great, thanks.

Kim
And she kind of skips out of yearbook.

Cassandra
As the door opens and Nagi leaves, Valley kind of pokes her head around the door jam, looking in at Sable.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Hey Sable, can I talk to you for a second?

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Yeah, I was expecting this. Do you wanna talk in here?

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Yeah, that’s fine.

Cassandra
And Valley comes in, and she’s holding a box in her hand that has that kind of, like, decoupage. She’s taken some time to take an old shoe box and make it look kind of fun and like something that is very specific to you. But since she’s never allowed a great a mount of money, all she really has is time and crafts. So she shuts the door and walks over and sets the box down. Probably over this gel pen summoning circle that’s on the desk. Just sets it down.

Madeleine
Just swipes it away.

Cassandra
Yeah. Just sets it down for a second. And she is contrite. She feels so much shame and guilt about looking in on what turned out to bean incredible tender and sweet – but private – moment.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Look, Sable. I know you don’t trust me. And I would completely understand it if you never wanted to talk to me again. But I screwed up, and I know that I did. And I broke your trust, and I just really want you to know how sorry I am about that. And I appreciate everything that you helped me with over the summer, and I just… I just want you to know that, like… That will never happen again. Like never. And I’m just really sorry. And I made this for you.

Cassandra
And she passes Sable the box.

Madeleine
Sable funs her hand along the top of the box.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
It’s very cute.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
I tried. I really, like, tried to think about you while I was making it.

Madeleine
So Sable opens the lid of the box and peers inside.

Cassandra
And inside, Sable would find a couple of different locally picked herbs and flowers from the forest that is near the town. There would specifically be some Douglas fir needles, for clarity and fresh starts. There would be some cedar, for cleansing and warding off negative energy. There’s some wild chamomile that would be calming, considering that Valley saw you at a really dark, heavy moment. There’s some kelp, for emotional healing. And then last but not least is kind of a nod to what Valley witnessed: there’s some red clover, for love and luck.

Madeleine
Sable really quickly sets the box down, gives Valley a hug, and says…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
You read the books I gave you?!

Cassandra
Valley kind of very stiffly, because she’s not super affectionate. Like is, like… I don’t know how to react to the hug. But like gently kind of taps Sable on the back.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Yeah. I have to keep them hidden from my parents, but I try to read them when I can. But I thought this would be helpful for whatever you might be working on, spell-wise.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Thank you.

Madeleine
And Sable walks across the room and pulls back a couple posters that are leaning. Like a trifold poster that are leaning up against the wall, slides them to the side, and you can see there’s a little shelf of occult books there. And looks to Valley, and says…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Insider tip: these are here, if you ever need to borrow from our little witchy lending library. Nagi knows. Don’t worry, she’s cool. But you’re mor than welcome to borrow any time you want.

Cassandra
Valley is kind of, like, taken a back at the “our”. “This is our thing.” And so she kind of smiles a little to herself at being included in it, even though her exploration of the occult is mostly out of necessity at this point, as she’s trying to figure out how she can move on. But she just smiles and kind of shrugs her shoulders, and doesn’t really know what to do.

Madeleine
Sable takes a moment and, very uncomfortably, brings up the continual elephant in the room.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
It’s okay about the… Being in the treehouse when everything happened. It’d be a lot easier to acknowledge that it did, but it did. And I need you to know that being intimate with people is really, really difficult for me. Do you remember last year when I took a week off of school?

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Yeah.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I said I was at Disneyland! …Um, I had taken some photos of Dick, and he had Tomas come to make good on the photos that I took of him, to get them back. And I had thought Tomas and I were going to go on a date… And it was not a date. It was the only other time I’ve tried being intimate or tender with another person. And I just… it felt really nice. And then I was really scared, seeing you afterwards. And I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m really, really, really sorry. It’s just… You mean a lot to me, and our friendship means a lot to me. And you’re one of the last people I would ever want to hurt, and I just… I couldn’t help myself.

Cassandra
Valley, she’s wearing that long-sleeved, like Under Armor shirt under her cheerleading uniform – because obviously, the game is tonight, so she’s in her full cheerleader drip. But she kind of rubs her arm where those horrible bruises, but then also those crosses are still burning in her skin.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Look, I get it. I understand. Sometimes people can’t control themselves when they’re upset. And I understand. And, you know, you had every right to be really, really mad at me for that. And I understand why. And trust me, I get it. It’s really, really hard for me to be anything remotely close to intimate with anyone. So I understand the pain you feel in those situations. And I’m sorry that you do feel that way.

Madeleine
Sable goes to grab Valley’s hand. Slowly, because she knows Valley has a very strict…

Cassandra
I’m very flinch.

Madeleine
Yeah. And I reaching out with her wrist that is currently in its little brace, and grabs her hand, touches the top of her hand, and says…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
I know I’m probably the last person who should be complaining to you about dealing with his kind of stuff, but I now you would understand. Sometimes, no matter how bad the stuff is that we’re going through, it’s nice to have someone go through it with you.

Cassandra
And Valley puts her hand over Sable’s broken wrist. And I think in this moment, I’d like to use my move Transference.

Kim
Can you read it?

Cassandra
Whenever you spend some time truly listening to someone else’s struggles, they heal one harm and then transfer their remaining harm to you.

Kim
Alright. So Sable, you can clear all of your harm.

Madeleine
Ooh!

Kim
And Valley, take one harm. What does this look like?

Cassandra
Valley, with her hand over this broken wrist, you see her hand kind of shimmer and briefly go more transparent, translucent. And her hand sinks into Sable’s, and starts to kind of move under the skin as if it’s just one hand. And when she pulls her hand back out, she is now wearing the wrist brace, and Sable’s wrist is healed.

Madeleine
Sable definitely has a…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Whoah… Uh…

Cassandra
I think Valley is also having the same reaction. Like…

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Like, I didn’t know that… I didn’t know it was gonna do that.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Is that a… That’s not a witch thing?

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
No, I think that’s a me…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
That’s a you?

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
I think that’s a me thing. That’s wild. That’s so weird.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Very cool.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Does it feel better?

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Yeah.

Cassandra
And Valley’s kind of still wiggling this wrist, despite the brace. Because ghosts can’t really, like… Even if the bone is broken, I don’t think it really hurts.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
This is so weird.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Yeah, I feel fantastic. Like…

Madeleine
She looks at her other hand that was cut, and there’s no more wound there. Not even a scar.

Cassandra
Valley looks down at her other hand, and now sees that slash mark in her hand.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Are you okay?

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Yeah. I don’t really feel anything. But I can definitely tell that something happened.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
… Whoa.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
…Whoa.

Cassandra
And I think it’s just that nervous giggling of, like, “Okay, well, we just learned something new, what do we do with it? Who knows?”

Madeleine
Sable’s still smiling, just kind of very pink-cheeked.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
You know, the brace is probably a good place to get sympathy votes, if you’re still in the running for Homecoming Court.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Well, yeah. I mean, seeing what you’ve done in the hallways here? I mean, someone told me that it was Yakubu who put my name in. So I guess I just run with that for a little bit, if we’re kind of going back to the plan of just, like, make yourself untouchable.

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Yeah, maybe run with the suggestion and not the person.

Madeleine
And she raises her eyebrows, gives a nervous smile, and walks out he door.

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
… Oh, alright.

Cassandra
And Valley’s just kind of, like, left with that information. Coupled with also finding out via the madness in the hallways that Yakubu is responsible for putting her name in the hat. But now also has this conflict of loyalty, based on what Sable has just hinted at. But follows her out of the room, and goes back into the mayhem.

Kim
If I may… Valley, before you leave, your gaze is once again brought over to the hastily cleaned up summoning circle where you had given Sable her gift. And you see several photographs of what you are now realizes is a semi-transformed Yakubu.

[Unsettling ambience]

Cassandra
Valley picks these photos up, looking at them. And is definitely in shock at what she sees, but she also feels something akin to anger boiling up in her. Because they had this really sweet moment a few nights ago, but now she’s discovering, kind of like everything else in her life right now… People are not what they seem. And she puts the lid on the box, puts it in the little alcove in the wall behind the posters, and covers it up so no one finds it. And then almost, without her even knowing she’s doing it, she starts to just shred these pictures into a thousand pieces, dropping them on the floor.

Kim
Alright. We’re gonna go ahead and fast forward a little bit.

The sun sets, the full moon rises. We are at the football field. These stands are packed with both students and alumni, all to witness this Homecoming game against the Triton’s rival team, the Brownsville Bars.

I think I just kinda want to montage the football game, a little bit. I’d like to swing the spotlight around to each of you, to cover what you all are doing during the game. And then we will pick up with you all at the end. Because, spoiler alert, of course you’re going to win. This is that kind of TV show.

Let’s start with Yakubu first.

[Quiet synth music. The sounds of a high school football game]

Percy
Basked in the moonlight, anyone that is paying attention to Yakubu sees that he is poised yet jittery. He is locked in like he’s never been locked in before. There’s that pride that he takes in his athletics, in what the Tritons have become, and it is exceedingly obvious on the field, as Yakubu dominates anyone and everything in his path, like a wild animal set upon its prey.

Madeleine
Sable, Nagi, Priya, and Bea are all hanging out together behind the Bears bench, which is unusual. Usually, they’re sitting behind the home team’s player bench. But Sable has, for some reason, insisted that hey sit a little farther away today… She’s assigned everyone different things to be focusing on. Sable herself is Focusing on Yakubu, for shots.

Janaya
Camdyn is a whirlwind of emotions right now. They are anxiously tapping their knees, and looking around with a very intense, searching eye. And trying to find the two girls that they saw in their vision. They have no interest in this football game whatsoever. But the one thing they do is take out their phone, and send a quick text over to Sable.

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
Hey. I’m not sure where you are shooting from, but I hope you have a great time. Hope the pictures turn out great.

Janaya
Heart.

[Text sends]

Madeleine
Sable gets it. Immediately, like, starts looking around the stands and catches the seats where Camdyn is in, and just says…

Sable Finch (Madeleine)
Hiii!

Janaya
And they wave back. They have a smile, but not a grin ear to ear. But just a nice, wide smile with recognition of… love, question mark? But I think they’re a little too locked in to the main task of the evening, to focus on that.

Percy
Not the L word.

Kim
This early?

Cassandra
Not this early.

Janaya
Why I said question mark!

Kim
And Valley.

Cassandra
Valley has found her way into the stands, because Faith kicked her of the team, and is holding to that. I’d like to point out the cheerleading squad is not doing particularly well, without their main flyer and tumbler. They are doing way less tricks than they normally do, and Valley finds herself a little bit pleased about that – as she should – but she’s actually sitting in the stands with Camdyn. She decided to make sure that Camdyn wasn’t left by themselves during the game, since Jackson is on the team and playing. So she’s sitting in the stands, focused on the game, watching Yakubu pretty intensely. But also kind of smirking over what Faith has chosen to do, which is this beret with just strands of a ponytail leftover. And she’s really enjoying the meanness of something that she’s not really accustomed to, but that she feels is very deserved.

Kim
Definitely has like affixed extensions to the inside of the beret…

Cassandra
100%, that is absolutely what she did, and it’s fooling no one. And Valley definitely takes a bit of, I would say, earned joy in the downfall of someone that she finds to be incredibly awful and hypocritical.

Percy
I believe that as the game dies down, the victory firmly in the Tritons’ grasp, Yakubu scans over the audience. And as he takes in the crowd, you do see there is a moment of fear as, front row…

[Monstrous ambience]

Percy
We see these two large, dark-skinned women who are holding a sign over their head that says, “Go, Yakubu, Go!” They are as amped up and into the action as Yakubu is. And he hesitantly breaks eye contact with them, and then does a double take as he looks up into the stands again and sees Camdyn, and then he sees Valley. He offers an excited wave to her.

Cassandra
Valley hesitates, but hen raises the bandaged hand and just gives you like a very quick wave. But without a smile on her face, unfortunately.

Percy
And with those mounting emotions as we get into the last quarter, Yakubu’s eyes change as we see the tiny flash of bright gold. When the lineman clash, Yakubu decimates three different men, sending them flying, opening up for the opportunity to close this game out with a victory.

Kim
Yakubu, you are very quickly overwhelmed by hugs and shouts and celebrations from your teammates. The Brownsville Bears were just decimated in this game, due in large part to your, just, very dominant game, here. And very quickly, your sisters come upon you. They’re so tall, and just command so much presence and so much dominance, that, like, the crowd almost parts for the two of them as they make their way towards you, fling their arms about you, pull you into a hug, kiss your cheek… Their eyes are bright gold, and they are giggling a bit as they are pulling you into this embrace. Abiola, your oldest sister, does lean close to your ear and say…

Abiola (Kim)
Who is the one who took the pictures?

Percy
Yakubu tenses under their grip and from the words, and goes to speak…

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
No clue. I’m working on it.

[Unsettling ambience]

Percy
And then a wave of ringing, body shaking pain hits him as he clutches to the side of his head. And has he clutches it, he feels the skin on his hand begin to wriggle and writhe. And looking down, he like quickly clamps it under his armpit.

Yakubu Anozie (Percy)
I said I’m working on it. Just give me some time. Give me some space, alright?!

Percy
And his voice raises way louder than he anticipates, and everyone hears him reprimand his sisters as he, like, gazes around for a second and then attempts to scramble off.

Kim
I’ve got a move for this! Yakubu, roll Run Away. I’ll go ahead and read it. When you run away, roll with Volatile. On a 10+, you get away to a safe place. On a 7 to 9, you get away but choose one: you run into something worse, you cause a big scene, or you leave something behind.

Percy
Well the good news is that Yakubu is Volatile as hell. Because I rolled a 9 + 2, that’s an 11. This boy is scurrying!

Kim
Alright. Where is it that you squirrel away to? Where is it that you hyena away to?

Percy
I think he heads back to the school. I think he knows that is the place that is the most abandoned right now. He can’t go back to the locker room. He can’t go back to the parking lot. He’s trying to keep as many people away from danger as possible.

Kim
The move works. Your sisters will not pursue you. They do, however, focus their eerily gold gaze upon the quartet of yearbook photographers that are near the Brownsville Bears stand.

Janaya
Camdyn immediately clocks this, because as the game comes to an end, they see the two girls in the front row and finally recognizes who they are. And Camdyn’s eyes go dark. And Camdyn turns to Valley, and says…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
I’m so sorry, but I have to go. Keep an eye on Sable, will you?

Valley McAllister (Cassandra)
Yeah, but… Where are you… Where are you going?

Janaya
And Camdyn doesn’t answer. They’re high up in the bleachers, so they start to head down what feels like quickly, but in the shot is vilely slow. And they pull out their phone and text Sable, and just say…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
I love you. I’m sorry.

[Text sends]

Janaya
Camdyn goes down to approach these two, and looks at them, the bravest they’ve ever been, and says…

Camdyn Lithey (Janaya)
You may not know me, but you will.

[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.