EPISODE 8 - SPARKS
(3.2.15)
Sitting at his desk, Mike studies for an upcoming test. He constantly gets distracted thinking about how low his life seems to have sunken lately; getting dumped by Jess, attacking Matt, selling his soul to Isabelle. He shakes his head, utterly disgusted with himself. He then tries bringing his mind back to the task at hand.
After he finishes studying, Mike lies down on his bed and starts watching TV. Before he can settle on a channel, Emilia opens his door. She stands in the doorway, looking extremely distressed.
"What's wrong?" Mike asks, sitting up.
"The police are here," she tells him, her voice cracking, "They wanna talk to you."
Mike feels his heart skip a million beats. "W-what?"
"You might wanna hurry up and come down before they come up here." Emilia suggests, her tone killing any doubt Mike might have had.
Mike slowly gets up, his whole body shaking and feeling numb. He sluggishly follows his sister downstairs to the living room, where Mike's parents stand with two police officers. Mrs. Munroe whimpers while Mr. Munroe just looks at his son in disappointment.
"Are you Michael Munroe?" Cop 1 asks. Mike nods, unable to speak.
"Judging by your face, you probably already know why we're here, but in case you don't, we'll tell you," Cop 2 starts. "We received a call from a young lady who stated that you assaulted and attempted to murder one of her friends this past weekend. Is this true, son?"
"Yes." Mike answers quietly, his stomach churning.
The cops nod. "Well," Cop 1 begins. "We're gonna need you to turn around and put your hands behind your back."
Mike does as he is told. Mrs. Munroe now bursts into tears as Mike is placed in handcuffs and has his rights read to him. Once that is completed, the cops lead Mike out of the house to their police cruiser.
The Munroe's stand on the porch and watch in pain as Mike is put into the backseat of the cruiser. The cops get in the front and drive off.
Mrs. Munroe runs back inside and up the stairs, bawling her eyes out. Mike's dad shuts the front door after he and Emilia re-enter the house and he slowly walks upstairs, shaking his head. Emilia goes into the living room and curls up into a ball on the couch, feeling haunted at the sight of her brother being arrested.
"Damn." she whispers. She then remembers the cops saying a young lady called them. She instantly suspects Sam, Emily, Ashley or Jess. After some more thinking about previous conversations, she deduces that it was either Ashley or Jess and decides to find them and have a talk with him at school tomorrow for snitching on her brother.
(3.3.15)
At lunch, Ashley and Jess boast about their success in putting Mike away. Matt on the hand feels pretty bad about it.
"Cheer up, frowny face," Jess says to him, "Your attacker was put away, you should be thanking us, not sulking."
Matt looks at Jess, who motions for him to thank Ashley, but he just looks down at the table.
"Eh, don't worry about it, Jess. He doesn't have to if he doesn't want to." Ashley says with a shrug.
Jess looks at Matt, disappointed now. "Don't look at me like that," he mutters, feeling her staring a hole through his head.
"You've got like stockholm syndrome or something," Jess says. "You're not physically captured, but he's captured your sympathy."
"I think I'm just bummed about things spanning out the way they have," Matt confesses. "We were all such a close-knit group of friends, nothing could tear us apart. Then some stuff happened, which brought on some tension within the group. It's just like, since that night at the mountain, things have gotten worse."
"Yeah, I wish we were all still close like we once were," Ashley says. "I wanted this weekend to work out so badly."
"Well, it's not like none of us don't talk to each other anymore," Jess points out. "If anything, that night brought you and Chris closer and now you're a couple." she says to Ashley. "And I think it brought us closer too." she says to Matt, nudging him.
Matt huffs. "Yeah, I suppose."
"Mike made his bed, now he has to lay in it." Jess states.
Suddenly, Emilia approaches their table. "Which one of you bitches called the police on my brother?" she asks aggressively, slamming her fist on the table.
Ashley swiftly raises her hand. "It was me, Emilia, what about it?"
"Why did you have to go and do that?" Emilia asks angrily. "Do you know how traumatizing that was to have to watch my older brother get taken out of the house in cuffs?"
"Do you know how traumatizing it was to have to watch your older brother try to kill Matt?" Ashley claps back.
"Did he really try to kill you?" Emilia asks Matt.
"Yes, he really tried to kill him!" Jess interjects, mocking Emilia's voice.
Emilia shakes her head. "Nah, I don't think so."
"He had his thumbs pressing on Matt's trachea, he was intending to kill. And even if he wasn't, he still assaulted him." Jess says, annoyed at Emilia.
"After everything you've all been through, you're just gonna throw it away just like that?" Emilia asks in disgust.
"Mike threw it all away when he did what he did to Matt," Ashley says.
Emilia shakes her head again. "I'm disappointed with you people."
"We're disappointed with Mike," Jess retorts. "And you too for defending his actions."
Without another word, Emilia turns around and walks away.
Jess lets out a sigh of relief. "Goodbye and good riddance." she grumbles quietly.
"Now I feel even worse about this whole thing than I already did." Matt states.
Instead of getting annoyed with Matt again, Jess decides to be sympathetic this time and show him some support. "I understand, Matt. You already know how I feel so I'm not gonna shove that down your throat anymore. I'm sorry that what happened to you happened, and I'm sorry it's stressing you out so much." she gives him a pat on the back.
"Thanks for being more understanding this time around, Jess." Matt says.
"Of course, Matty Boy." she says back, giving him a smile.
Ashley smiles at their interaction, feeling giddy inside.
"They are so cute together!" Ashley squeaks. "I just wish I knew how Matt felt."
"Well, what happened with Justin? Didn't you say you were gonna have him find out if Matt likes her?" Chris asks.
Ashley nearly chokes at the mention of Justin's name as she remembers what she did to him last week. She feels like she can't tell Chris about it, so she lies. "Uh, he hasn't gotten back to me yet." she tells him.
Chris notices Ashley get tense. "Are you okay, babe?"
Ashley smiles and nods her head vigorously. "Yep, I'm okay! Don't worry!" she says a little too desperately.
Chris decides not to press her. "Hm, well, maybe I can find out." he offers. "Matt and I can have like a bro day and I'll hint at it and see what he says."
"That is an excellent idea!" Ashley says.
"Of course it is, ya boy came up with it." Chris says back with a wink.
Ashley rolls her eyes and giggles. "That was so corny, but that's why I love you!" She gives Chris a kiss. "How's your ankle by the way?"
"It's actually feeling pretty okay lately," Chris answers. "I don't think I need the crutches anymore, but I still need to take it easy."
"Well that's good, now Emily won't be able to laugh at you anymore." Ashley jokes.
Chris chuckles. "Yeah, haha."
Jake zooms into the living room, alarming both Chris and Ashley. His face lights up when he sees Ashley.
"Hi Ashley!"
Ashley has an amused look on her face. "Hello, Jake."
Chris groans. "Why can't you ever just leave us alone?"
"For one, you're in the living room," Jake points out. "And two, I just wanted my daily dose of Ashley."
"Go find your own girlfriend already!"
Jake frowns. "You're always so mean to me, at least Ashley is nice to me."
"The only times I'm not nice to you are when you act like an annoying spaz… like right now." Chris counters.
"Whatever, I got my Ashley fix, I'm good now. Goodbye." Jake leaves.
"Well, that was random." Chris comments.
"I think it's cute how he has a crush on me." Ashley says.
"Next time, we need to hang out at your house so there won't be any interruptions like that." Chris says.
Ashley giggles. "Okay."
Sam and Emily finally get together again to do homework. Sam can't stop thinking about yesterday at the park and Emily's choice in agreeing to report Mike. When they get through half of their homework, she decides to bring it up.
"Hey, Em?"
Emily looks up at her. "Yeah?"
"I've been thinking about yesterday," Sam starts. "And I was just wondering why you chose to side with Jess and Ashley about reporting Mike."
"Well," Emily begins. "I just thought about my feelings regarding both Mike and Matt. There was something about Mike that wasn't fully committed to our relationship. And Matt, well, he's the sweetest guy in the world, and I treated him poorly. So it was the right thing to do, and I feel like I owed Matt."
"I see," Sam says understandingly. "You know, Em, you've really started changing for the better and I'm so proud of you." she adds, putting a supportive hand on Emily's shoulder and giving her a smile.
Emily smiles. "Thank you, Sam, that means a lot to me."
"Of course, Em."
Silence follows as they look at each other for a few more seconds. Sam then takes her hand off of Emily's shoulder. "Alright, well, let's get back to work." she suggests.
"Yeah." Emily agrees. She suddenly feels an urge within her, but shakes it away and gets back to work.
While they continue working, Emily sneaks several glances at her friend, and unbeknownst to her, is caught every time. When another quarter of their work is finished, Sam speaks again.
"I know I've said this before, but I'm just so dang amazed at how nice your handwriting is, Em." Sam says after looking at Emily's work.
Emily is caught off guard by the compliment, and stutters in her response. "T-thank you, Sam. You know, you do too."
"Yeah, but like, yours is godly!" Sam exclaims, giving her friend a smile. Emily gives a nervous smile back. "You have a wonderful smile too," Sam adds. At a loss for words, Emily just nods.
The two then continue on with their homework. When they finally finish, they start conversing. They talk about PTSD again and their sessions with Dr. Hill, etc. They both thoroughly enjoy talking with each other. Near the end of the conversation, Emily once again feels an urge within her and realizes she needs to take care of it.
Emily returns home and runs straight to her room, closing and locking her door behind her. She takes care of the urge that was building up inside her, and finds this session to be the best one she's ever had in her life.
When Emily is done, she cleans up and heads down to the kitchen. In the kitchen, she finds her older sister, Bridgette, eating at the dining table. Bridgette looks at Emily with a knowing smirk.
"He must be very hot." she teases.
"Uh… yeah…" Emily stammers.
Bridgette giggles. "Cool."
"Was I really that loud?" Emily asks, embarrassed.
"Oh yeah!" Bridgette laughs. "You're lucky Mom and Dad weren't here to hear that."
Emily sighs. "Jeez." She leaves the kitchen, embarrassed, and goes back up to her room.
(3.4.15)
"Hello, Christopher, I apologize that it has taken me so long to get you in for a session." Hill says.
Chris waves it off. "Eh, don't worry about it."
"I hope you've been okay." Hill says.
Chris nods. "Besides my ankle, yes, I've been okay."
Hill nods in approval. "Good. So, what's been going on lately?"
Chris exhales heavily. "So much, man. This past weekend, Mike attacked Matt and we all just had him arrested."
Hill gives off an intrigued expression. "Oh! I'm sorry that happened."
"Yeah, it was pretty sad," Chris says. "So, do I gotta talk about the mountain? That's what the others said."
"You can if you would like, but I won't force you to."
"I will."
Hill nods. "Go ahead."
Chris takes a deep breath before telling his story. "It was wild, man. Josh was my best friend since third grade, and he put me and Ashley through so much hell. He wanted vengeance for his sisters, but I wasn't even involved in the prank; I was passed out drunk with him. And not only that, but being chased by that Wendigo after it sliced off that guy's head; I was living an actual nightmare. The only good that came from that night was that it brought Ashley and I closer together."
"When you think back to what Joshua did to you and your friends, how does it make you feel?" Hill asks.
"I feel angry and betrayed," Chris answers. "I'd been friends with him since the third grade and it was over in the blink of an eye."
Hill gives him a sympathetic look. "It certainly is a shame."
"Yep, but it's over now. I'll probably be messed up with PTSD for the rest of my life."
"Not necessarily. The work we are going to do will make it so that over time, events like these do not trigger you so much," Hill tells him. "In these first sessions, I gather data so that I can figure out the best way to work with you and help you overcome your trauma."
Chris nods understandingly. "Got it. So, I guess I'll give you some more data then."
Hill smiles. "That would be helpful."
At college, Sam and Emily talk and eat breakfast together. The air feels different this time around. Their nice breakfast date is interrupted when Isabelle confidently walks over to their table.
"Hello, whores." Isabelle says with a smug smile.
Emily groans. "What do you want now, Isabelle? Can't you see we're trying to eat in peace here?"
Isabelle snatches Emily's breakfast sandwich off the table, slams it on the floor, and smushes it with her boot. Sam and Emily stare in bewilderment at her. "Doesn't look like you're eating anymore." she says with a shrug.
"Why the fuck did you do that?" Emily demands.
"Yeah, what's your problem?" Sam asks.
Isabelle picks up the ruined sandwich and throws it in Sam's face, creating a big mess. "Hungry?"
Emily starts standing up. "Alright, that's it."
Isabelle puts up a hand. "Before you do whatever it is you're gonna do, I just wanna quickly share some exciting news with you!"
"You have 5 seconds." Emily warns her, balling up her fists.
"My uncle was just hired as the new assistant dean!" Isabelle tells them, excitement exuding from her. "Isn't that awesome?"
Sam wipes the food from her face and now stained clothes. "Yeah, so awesome." she agrees sarcastically.
"So, what is it that you were about to do, Emily?" Isabelle asks. "Please continue."
"Forget it." Emily grumbles, sitting back down.
Isabelle smiles evilly. "That's what I thought… bitch." Isabelle turns and walks away.
Chris enters the cafeteria. He passes Isabelle on the way to his table and she attempts to bump into him. Chris, now only on one crutch, is able to dodge her and continue toward his friends.
"Hey, guys, what happened?" He asks upon seeing the mess and angry looks on his friends' faces.
"Isabelle's uncle is the new assistant dean." Sam tells him.
"What does that mean?"
"It means she can fuck with us as much as she likes and there's nothing we can do because one of her family members is in a position of power here." Emily snarls.
"Oh." Chris says, understanding now. "Shit."
"Yep."
Sam sighs. "Just our luck."
Two students, Antonio and Caitlin, come over. "Hello," Caitlin greets them sweetly. "We just saw what happened and we wanted to offer our help."
Antonio hands some napkins to Sam and she uses them to wipe the rest of the mess off of her. Caitlin hands a new breakfast sandwich to Emily, who reluctantly takes it.
"Thanks, that's very sweet of you two." Sam says.
"Why?" Emily asks them.
"I don't know about him, but I for one know what it's to be powerless, so I just wanna help you." Caitlin answers.
"I just wanna spread good vibes." Antonio says.
"Well we appreciate it," Sam says with a smile. "You guys can sit with us if you want."
Antonio and Caitlin agree and join them. The five of them talk, our trio getting to know the new duo and vice versa. The conversation goes so well that contact information is shared. Even with Isabelle's interruption, today's breakfast has come full circle with it starting well and ending well.
At high school, Jess converses with other students in the halls while they wait for their next classes. Bark sees them and starts walking their way. The other students get nervous at the sight of him and walk off, while Jess stays and stands her ground.
"You should be getting to class, young lady." Bark tells her, a smug look on his face.
"I am, it's right here." Jess retorts, unphased, motioning to the classroom they are standing in front of.
Bark doesn't like that Jess isn't intimidated. "Why aren't you inside then? Why are you standing out in the hall?"
Jess looks back at him blankly. "Because the bell hasn't rung yet."
"What were you talking to those other students about?"
"School work."
Bark squints his eyes menacingly at her. "You'd better watch yourself, Riley, I would hate for you to get in trouble."
Jess huffs. "As far as I can tell, talking to other people, especially about school work, isn't a crime. You seem upset though, what's wrong?" she asks condescendingly.
Bark gets riled up, but is forced to keep calm. "I am the principal of this school, you'd be wise to show me some respect."
The bell rings. "See you later, Bark." Jess says, mocking Bark's smirk from earlier. She heads into the classroom.
Bark stands there for a moment, extremely upset. Some students walk by and notice the look on his face.
"Are you okay, Mr. Bark, you seem upset?" one of them asks, concerned.
Bark glares at them. "Get to class!" he shouts at them.
The students flinch and scurry off. Bark takes a deep breath and makes his way back to his office, feeling defeated.
After high school and college, Matt and Chris meet up at the local park.
"Been a while since we had a boy's day." Chris mentions.
Matt nods. "Yeah."
"So, what've you been up to, Matt?" Chris asks. "Like any girls?"
Matt rolls his eyes. "Tell Ashley to stop making people ask me about my love life. It's really annoying. First Justin, then some random, now you."
"Alrighty then." Chris responds awkwardly. "How'd you know?"
"Well I wasn't exactly sure, but I know now." Matt says with a smile.
Chris chuckles softly. "You got me."
Jackson and Tyler come over. "Oh great." Matt mutters. Chris follows his gaze to the two approachers.
"Hi, Matt." Jackson says.
"What in the fuck could you two possibly want?" Matt asks angrily. "Like, you really have a lot of nerve talking to me after you jumped me."
"We just wanted to apologize." Tyler tells him.
"Yeah, we're really sorry for what we did to you. It was so wrong and you didn't deserve that." Jackson finishes.
"Didn't you two use to be friends with Matt in middle school?" Chris asks them.
"Yep, we were," Matt answers for them. "Then Brett came along."
Chris shakes his head in disapproval at them. "That's really messed up."
Jackson and Tyler look at the ground in shame, which tells Matt that they are possibly genuinely sorry. "Actions will speak louder than words. As of right now, I'm gonna need you two to go away."
"We understand." Jackson says. He and Tyler walk away.
"Hm, they seem like they're actually sorry." Chris notes.
"Meh, I wouldn't be surprised if Brett put them up to it," Matt says. "Try to befriend me now and strike again when my guard is low which it never will be."
Chris shrugs. "It could be possible. What I learned today is that there are unfortunately some people who are actually evil."
"There sure are." Matt agrees.
Ashley watches TV in the living room. Her mother comes in looking at her phone with a disheartened look on her face.
"What's wrong, Mom?" Ashley asks.
"Did you happen to know a student in your school named Justin?" her mother asks her.
Ashley feels butterflies in her stomach, but does her best to keep her composure. "Yeah, why?"
"He was admitted into the hospital last week," Mrs. Brown informs her. "Apparently, he was attacked by a rottweiler and it left him in critical condition. He hasn't been able to talk very much at all, but he was able to communicate that someone purposely pushed him into the line of fire of the dog."
"Oh, I hope they find whoever did that," Ashley says. "Poor Justin." she adds sympathetically.
"I hope so too, because that is seriously such a messed up thing to do." Mrs. Brown says. She then leaves the living room.
Ashley leans her head on the couch and closes her eyes, holding back tears. The guilt she's been carrying gets even heavier now. "Fuck." she whispers.
Jennifer quietly enters her house. She tiptoes upstairs.
Jess opens the door to her room, startling Jennifer. "Hi, Mom."
"Hello, dear," Jennifer says, panting.
"Why are you home so late?" Jess asks.
Jennifer chuckles nervously. "Work."
"It's 10:30, your shift ends at 5:30 and they never do overtime." Jess points out.
"W-well, I was chatting with my coworkers for a while and then I got caught in traffic." Jennifer stammers.
Jess crosses her arms, no where near convinced. "Still doesn't add up, Mom."
"Honey, please, everything is fine." Jennifer says, giving her daughter a despartate expression.
Jess rolls her eyes and goes back into her room without a word, slamming the door behind her. Jennifer quietly sighs in relief and carefully walks over to her room. When she opens the door, Tom is thankfully sound asleep. She quickly changes into her PJ's and gets into bed…
END
Credits:
Starring
Samantha Giddings
Michael Munroe
Emily Davis
Christopher Hartley
Ashley Brown
Matthew Taylor
Jessica Riley
Secondary
Dr. Hill
Principal Bark
Jennifer
Tom (no lines)
Jake
Emilia
Bridgette
Isabelle
Minor
Jackson
Tyler
Antonio
Caitlin
Mr. Munroe
Mrs. Munroe
Mrs. Brown