One More Minute

### Actors

Tomaso Sanelli, Ethan Pugiotto, Alex Castillo, Jaeden Noel, Nadia Casandra, Leonidas Castrounis

### Next

Itchy

**One More Minute** is the first episode of *Creeped Out*'s second season, and the 14th episode of the series overall. It first aired on 24 April 2019 on CBBC.

## Synopsis

Jack loves to play video games. But when he starts playing with a mysterious new kid online, he starts to notice gaps in his memory. He wakes up not knowing how long it’s been. Where did the time go and how much worse can this get?

## Plot

### Prologue

The Curious wanders around a classroom. The Narrator says that time slows down when you're bored, and flies when you're having fun – does that mean we can control time through what we choose to do?

### Episode

Jack and his friends Carlos and Rich are playing their favourite video game, *Kingdom of Teven*, together, talking through their headsets. As Jack celebrates his latest win, his mom interrupts. Jack asks for 'one more minute', but she tells him it's time for bed. Once she's gone, Jack continues playing. Carlos and Rich have to go offline, so he plays with a stranger who goes by 'The Paladin'.

At school the next day, Jack is exhausted. He tries to tell the girl he has a crush on, Carrie, a joke, but he's too tired to remember what he should be saying and messes it up, insulting Carrie. Carlos invites Carrie to a party he's having on Sunday, making Carrie forget about Jack’s bad joke, and Carrie is excited to be having the chance to hang out with Jack.

On the day of the party, Jack is getting ready to leave when The Paladin comes online and says he needs backup. Jack says he will play for 15 minutes, but the next thing he knows, several hours have passed and the party is over. He has missed lots of texts and calls from Rich, Carlos and Carrie.

At school, Jack pretends he couldn't make it to the party because he was stuck in his bathroom. That night, Carrie joins the boys to play *Teven*. Eventually, the others all leave the game to spend time with their families, but Jack (and The Paladin) continue playing. Once again, time seems to pass in the blink of an eye. Jack eventually snaps out of his reverie when he hears his mom calling his name. Looking at the calendar, he realises a month has gone by. It is not February anymore, it’s March.

Jack's mom tells him she is worried, as for the last month he has been distant, unhelpful and doing badly at school. He tries to explain he has no memory of the past month, but she says they went to the doctor two days ago and he was fine. They stop arguing when Jack's younger brother, Aiden, walks in.

At school, Jack is horrified to discover Carlos is now dating Carrie. Rich and Carlos say they have barely seen him for weeks, he has been missing lots of school like his mother said and he also bullied Carrie. Jack is confused as before he played the game, he enjoyed talking to his mother, he worked hard and did well in school, often spent time with his friends and was charming to Carrie, and was kind to her. Jack tries to convince his friends that he has no memory of the last month, but they don't believe his amnesia story. Jack apologises and says he wants things to go back to normal. He also makes an effort at home, making dinner for his mom and Aiden.

Later, Jack plays *Teven* with Aiden and his friends, then logs off to do homework. However, he can't get to sleep, and ends up logging back in. He and The Paladin play until they have completed the game. Five years have passed.

Jack is now 18 (though he still sees himself as 13) and a Senior in High School. Aiden is a teenager and a Sophomore in High School, his family have moved out of their apartment and into an expensive house, and the brothers have a new stepdad. He tries to explain what has happened to Aiden, who doesn't believe him. At school, he bumps into an angry Carlos, who tells him they are no longer friends, he and Carrie broke up before High School and Rich moved away years ago. Jack finds he has an important exam, but has no idea how to answer any of the questions due to having the mind of a 13 year old, despite being close to top of his class before. He rushes out of the classroom in a panic, shouting that he wants to 'go back'.

At home, Aiden tells Jack he has remembered the argument Jack and his mom had years ago, during which he said he had lost his memory of the past month. He now believes Jack. He says they should go for pizza and talk about it, but also mentions a big update for *Kingdom of Teven* has been released that day.

Jack logs back on and asks The Paladin who he is. He says 'I’m you'. That's why he was always around whenever Jack needed to play. The Paladin says Jack has a choice between staying in a world where he is an outcast, or going back to 'where we belong', i.e. the game. Jack sits down and gets ready to play. Aiden enters the room and tells him he has a choice, and can leave the game and fix his life and try to find a way to return back to the time he is from, but The Paladin says all he needs to do is play 'for one more minute'.

### Epilogue

Back in the classroom, The Curious picks up a piece of chalk and writes on the blackboard. The Narrator wonders how many 'one mores' is too many. You may only find out once you've passed the point of no return.

## Cast

* Jack (Tomaso Sanelli)
* Aiden Whitaker (Ethan Pugiotto)
* Claire Whitaker (Alex Castillo)
* Carlos Vasquez (Jaeden Noel)
* Carrie (Nadia Casandra)
* Rich (Leonidas Castrounis)
* Teacher (Paloma Nunez)
* Older Aiden (Brennan Clost)
* Older Jack (Tyssen Smith)
* Older Carlos (Coreton Moore)
* Bob (Christian Potenza)
* The Curious (Lukas Engel)
* The Narrator (Hedvig Becke)

## Trivia

* The name 'The Paladin' is likely a reference to a character class found in *Dungeons & Dragons* and other RPGs.
* When the older Jack and Aiden walk to school, they pass several posters advertising 'Ace the Amazing Aromatologist', a reference to the protagnoist of **Side Show**.
* Jack and Aiden's school is called 'Chris Lloyd High School', a possible reference to the actor Christopher Lloyd, who played Dr. Emmett Brown in the *Back to the Future* films.