The episode is a fairly simple story. Simple, but thorough. Four doctors; a student, two heads their own department, and well seasoned, rested, fueled former chief. On the table is a john doe and the entire episode is about them saving this man. Three of them are exhausted, fighting anger, frustration, and emptiness as they work to save yet another poor unfortunate soul.
The one rested doctors convinces them to play a game where they make up faces. To Logan this is frightening. The entire skit is nerve wracking and leaves him shaking in his seat unable to speak. The sight of the liver, the depth of each characters psychosis, the loss of loved ones. When the girl next to him cried because the main character relives a memory where she tells her children their father died Carlos is ready to scream.
"That's a good show." Smirks Carlos outloud.
The professor nods as the lights come on and he's suddenly interested in what this diverse student has to say.
To Carlos it was a dance. The main character's refusal to play along, the beautiful cascade of the other doctors and who they saw and listened too. People from before, who no longer exist arriving to help rather than hinder. It was a smooth change of pace. And nobody died. That's a complex detail on a story selected for their Monstober studies.
A professor teaches so he throws an out of bounds question, "How did you feel about the young girl portraying the student's memory of her old self."
"She lacked experiencing in the acting field but that's expected of a tiny human. However, her abruptness was unforeseen. The echoes still ringing in my head." He responds.
Oddly enough, this exact statement became too much for Logan. He's grabbing his back and headed for the door.
"Mr. Mitchell, I have not dismissed my class." Explains the professor.
Logan turns to him, "I'm covered in blood. I've had a Hell of a day and it's barely began. That." He gestures up to the screen, "Was a lot."
The professor nods and knows he probably shouldn't but he asks anyways, "How do you expect to be a surgeon if you can't so much as watch what it might be like?"
His feet shuffle across the carpet, he pulls open the door and it slams shut behind him.
Clang! A strong vibration jiggles through the tight ropes of the backstage. A wall falls and bits of blue and white fly every which way around the two boys who stand on a stage as a CD runs through the music Kendall had written for this very scene. It wasn't supposed to happen this way and they're frozen unable to say any lines because the stage hands are scrambling behind them to pick up the pieces.
A long swatch of a pointer stick slaps the stage between them and they both look over at Mr. Long. He's got a wild smile on his face as he says to Kendall, "It's you. I Shouldn't have known the day I read your music. If it were me I'd kill for the role. You have killed. That was wonderful."
Insane. All Kendall did was sing the song he wrote for the part and get James to follow a sweet and simple harmony. Then a kid named Beck Oliver had gotten caught in some loose rope and he's now dangling behind the set as a bunch of band kids are rushing to his rescue. He's unconscious, bleeding from his head, and they can tell his leg is broken.
James sighs, "I get the feeling this is just not anybodies day."
"It's sure as Hell just might be mine." Says Kendall who finally looks away.
The bell rings and class is dismissed. Cat Valentine, the girl who'd clapped for James comes running up beside him. "Hey, you. Yeah you! Do you drive?"
"Yeah." He says.
"That there's my friend. He's Beck and I think my Beck is broken can you bustle me on over to the hospital buddy? Can you?" There's a certain groove in her high pitched voice that makes her sound like a new yorker attempting to sell him a hot dog.
He nods and laughs a little bit as they walk out into the hallway and he says, "Sure. I'll get you there."
Three more EMT's come racing into the theatre past the kids who were leaving in a hurry.
The Dean stands out in the main hall talking to a roughed up student. It's president Reese and he's not only black and blue. He's in trouble. A clinic nurse is patching him up. Closing a stitch cut into his cheek. Then he's being booked. Two officers are leading him out the door. Then the students are all flooding the hall.
"Hey Kendall." Smiles James, "You want to go with us?"
Kendall smirks, "I'm sorry. Truely, about your friend Cat but since I'm helping Mr. Long with the production he's going to need my help here. This is going to be a mess to fix."
She nods. She and Beck lived for performance. She's certain he will come around from this and they'll get right back to the show. There's not light without Beck. He a bird in the sky reflecting rays from his outspan of wings and she will catch the light like raindrops in the pails of her hand. The stage was where they belong.