Cry For Help
It's the night of the Halloween dance and Molly and Libby are at the McGee's house getting ready in her room. Libby brought her book on astral projection and did some research beforehand. The more she learns, the more afraid she is about all of this. It seems like they'll be putting Molly in real danger, so she tries to be the voice of reason.
Before Libby can say anything, Molly summons Scratch. A portal appears and he floats through it, wondering why Molly called him. Knowing it's the big dance tonight, he thought she'd be focused on that.
"I was just about to win a card game, with Geoff unknowingly helping me cheat of course, but that's not the point. I thought you had that dance thing tonight, so why am I here?" Scratch asked.
Molly gives Scratch the book on astral projection and he looks at her confused. So Molly explains with a slightly unsettling smile.
"Scratch, can you help me become a ghost again? We need a good scare for the Halloween dance. Normally I'm not scary as a human, we've established that, but as a ghost I can be pretty terrifying. It's brilliant!" Molly said.
Scratch knows that look in Molly's eyes. There's something she's hiding and he doesn't like it.
"Okay, but I'm already a ghost. Why can't I just haunt the school dance?" Scratch asked.
Molly takes the book back and tries to come up with a reason.
"That's a great question. It's because I need a costume for the dance and who better to go than my wraith self? I get to be a ghost haunting the dance while wraith Molly will act as my disguise. We could dress her up like a zombie or something since she kind of already looks like one." Molly replied.
Scratch and Libby both look at Molly confused, wondering why Molly's resorted to coming up with such an elaborate plan.
"So you want to dress up your wraith self and have Libby bring her to the dance looking all creepy and lifeless while you haunt the dance as a ghost?" Scratch asked.
Molly gets impatient, but tries to keep on her smile.
"Yes, that's what I said. Now come on, open up a portal so I can jump through it and be a ghost again." Molly asked.
Libby's tried to be supportive, but she's had enough of Molly dancing around the truth.
"Molly, I know there's more to this than making the dance scary. Are you okay? Ever since you went to the ghost world, you've been acting different. It's okay if you're sad, scared, or angry about what happened. We can talk about it if you want." Libby said.
Molly gets nervous having both Libby and Scratch look at her with concern. She wants to tell them the real reason, that she's been struggling with the fact that she enjoyed the sense of power she felt using joy as a weapon to kill the chairman. That part of her scares her and as a ghost she finally felt in control of this darker side of herself.
Molly starts to tear up, feeling overwhelmed by her emotions and wishing she could just let them go. Then anger starts to rise in her.
"Fine. If you two won't help me, I'll figure this out myself." Molly said.
Molly storms out of her room, taking the book with her, leaving Libby and Scratch speechless.
Molly runs downstairs and out the door, trying to hold back her tears but they keep falling.
Darryl notices and tries to go after her, but she's too fast.
"Molly, what's going on?" Darryl asked.
Pete and Sharon see Molly run out the door in tears and worry.
"Molly, what's wrong?" Pete asked.
"Molly, where are you going? Come back here!" Sharon yelled.
Before anyone can stop her, Molly's already out the door riding away on her bike. She keeps going as fast as she can. All she wants is to feel safe and comforted by her loved ones, but their constant concern for her makes her feel so small and she doesn't want to worry them.
Molly stops at Brighton middle school. She goes behind the building and hides in an area where no one else can see her, it's dark out so she uses her phone as a flashlight. She opens the book on astral projection and frantically scans through the pages.
"Come on, there has to be something in here. They don't think I'm strong enough to handle being a ghost. Well, I'll show them. I'll show them all how scary I can be." Molly said.
Suddenly, Molly hears something in the bushes. She closes the book and goes to investigate. She finds nothing in the bushes, but turns around to see Andrea and a couple of her friends.
"Hi Molly, what are you doing in the back of the school alone with this creepy book? The dance is inside." Andrea said.
Molly doesn't know how to respond, she's slightly embarrassed Andrea found her sneaking around with a book on paranormal stuff. The last thing she needs right now is to be judged, although she knows Andrea's changed and wouldn't do that, being seen as a freak is still a deep seated fear she has.
Molly sits down on the ground and starts crying, letting out all of the pain she's been holding in since she left the ghost world.
Andrea looks up from her phone and starts to feel bad when she sees Molly who's usually so optimistic and happy look so broken. So walks over to her, placing her book next to her.
"Hey, I don't know what you're going through, but maybe I can help. Do you need a ride home? I can call my Shofur and he'll drive us." Andrea said.
Molly looks at Andrea and smiles.
"No, I'm okay. I'll call my parents to come pick me up." Molly replied.
Andrea smiles and takes out her phone again, recording this moment for her fans.
"See that Fandreas, this is how you help a sad person in need of a friend. Molly was having a bad day but thanks to my top notch communication skills, I was able to pull her out of the funk she was in and bring her back to her happy self." Andrea said.
Andrea puts her arm around Molly and smiles for her fans. Embarrassed, Molly wipes her tears away and puts on her most convincing smile. The last thing she wants is to be crying on the internet, so she does her best to hold back her tears, but it doesn't work. She's forcing a smile and Andrea can tell by the concerned comments that she needs to say something.
"Well, at least she's smiling now. Remember Fandreas, it's okay to cry when you're sad as long as you have friends who will always be there for you. Right, Molly?" Andrea asked.
Molly keeps trying to smile through the pain. She doesn't want to cause a scene because she knows that will only make things worse for her.
"Right, I'm feeling much better now. Thanks for being here for me Andrea." Molly replied.
Andrea winks and gives a thumbs up to her fans before doing her outro. Then she puts her phone away and starts walking away with her friends, looking back at Molly one last time.
"Are you sure you don't want a ride home?" Andrea asked.
Molly stands up and grabs her book, then she takes out her phone to make it look like she's going to call someone.
"No, I'll call my parents right now and have them come pick me up." Molly replied.
Andrea shrugs and waves goodbye, leaving with her friends.
Suddenly, Molly hears that rustling sound in the bushes again. She turns around curious to see what or who it could be.
Molly jumps back when she sees a ghost flying towards her. This one is an icy bluish purple color and she looks friendly with an innocent smile and kind eyes. Then she speaks in the sweetest quiet voice.
"Nice to meet you, Molly. My name's Claire and I think I can help you." Claire said.
Molly looks at this mysterious ghost intrigued.
"With what exactly?" Molly asked.
"I can help you become a ghost again. I just need you to make a deal with me." Claire replied.
Molly's slightly suspicious of this ghost, she seems a bit too innocent and offering to make a deal right off the bat is very suspicious. But Molly also thinks about how this might be her only chance to feel that sense of control again, to show everyone who underestimates her how powerful she truly can be when she lets her dark yet joyous side take control.
Letting her emotions cloud her judgment, Molly walks towards this seemingly friendly ghost with a smile on her face.
"Alright Claire, let's make a deal." Molly said.