The Twilight End Zone

**The Twilight End Zone** is the fifth episode of the first season and the 5th overall episode of **School Spirits**.

## Short Summary

As Homecoming unfolds at Split River, Maddie finds herself divided between accepting her fate in purgatory and a newly hatched plan to crack a new suspect.

## Full Summary

Claire waits outside Mr. Anderson's house. She watches as a police car drives by.

Wally does pushups with Rhonda on his back. She asks if she can get off and gets off anyway when he says he wants to do one more. He asks if Charley wants to ride the pony. Charley asks if that's a microaggression or macro. Mr. Marton doesn't know what that means. Wally says they only have ten hours until the Homecoming game. They have to get pumped up. Mr. Martin assures him they're pumped. Rhonda starts to make a sarcastic remark, but changes her mind and tries to have pep. Mr. Martin says they still need some help with decorations and refreshments. Mr. Martin questions where Maddie is. Charley and Rhonda both offer to go find her. Wally says if they both go, who will decorate? Charley agrees to stay and help. Rhonda asks if she should go, but Mr. Martin says they need all the help they can get.

Crystal hands out campaign flyers while Claire and her friends watch. Claire says she thinks Crystal's really pretty.

Simon and Maddie watch this exchange and Simon wonders how far Claire's cult would go to impress her, implying that they might kill for her. Simon says they live for her approval. A student sits down at the table across from Simon. Simon looks at him until he gets up and leaves. Simon asks Maddie about being friends with Claire. Maddie says they were neighbors and it was easy. He asks if Claire just ditched her and she says no.

*Maddie watches her mom walk around the house, looking for something. There's a knock at the door. It's Claire, who begs Maddie to let her in. Maddie cracks the door, but says Claire can't come in and closes it. Claire continues to knock and beg. Maddie slides down the door as her mom says she can't do it anymore.*

Maddie says Claire moved in with her dad for a year and her mom remarried and when she came back, she wouldn't even look at Maddie. They never spoke after that. Simon wonders if Claire is still holding onto that. People hold on to stuff like that.

Xavier is taking out recycling when he hears Sandra on the phone. When she hangs up, she tells him the police found Maddie's backpack in an abandoned house. Xavier's passed the house before. Sheriff Baxter thinks someone's been squatting there. She thinks it's Maddie. Maybe she's scared to come home. Sandra says she has so much to do. She wants Maddie to know things will be different. She tells Xavier thanks and to go to school.

Maddie and Charley dump out Claire's purse and find nothing. Claire's friends talk about Mr. Anderson. When they notice Claire isn't laughing with them, she think she must be angry because her parents donated a lot of the money that was stolen. Claire gets up suddenly. Charley and Maddie follow she she approaches Principal Hartman. She asks him what will happen to Mr. Anderson and the money he stole, claiming to be interested because of her parents. Principal Hartman tells her the Split River police are investigating and Mr. Anderson is on administrative leave. Claire asks more questions, but Principal Hartman doesn't answer them. Claire says her parents don't want to be dragged into a scandal and walks away. Principal Hartman chases her. Rhonda tells Charley and Maddie they're needed back in the gym to help set up. She says there are people there who count on them. Maddie is shocked at her change in attitude. As they walk back, Maddie asks how the letter to Emilio is going. He says he's on his twelfth draft.

Nicole tells Simon about Maddie's backpack. He's upset that she learned it from Xavier. Nicole says they're on the same side. Simon asks if they're sure it's Maddie's and what was inside. He thinks Xavier is feeding her nonsense. Xavier comes up to them and tells them it was in an abandoned house owned by Claire's stepfather that they were about to tear down. Xavier says that doesn't mean Claire has anything to do with it. Simon's still not sure Xavier doesn't have something to do with it. Xavier walks away and Nicole and Simon argue about him. Nicole is upset that he keeps pushing her away because she doesn't want to lose two friends. Simon apologizes, but Nicole walks away.

Wally and Maddie paint a banner. Maddie wonders why they couldn't just steal the school's decorations instead of making their own. Charley says they stole the supplies, but it's a tradition. Rhonda says once a year, they're forced to relive Wally's glory days. Maddie asks him about dying during the Homecoming game. He confirms that he did and says his family still shows up every year. He asks if Maddie's coming to the game. She is, but just to watch the cheerleaders. Maddie watches her mother come in looking for Ms. Fields. Maddie gets up to follow her.

Simon goes to Mr. South. Mr. South is watching a video, but puts his phone down when Simon approaches. Simon asks for a key to Mr. Anderson's classroom. He says he left his notebook in there and needs to study for a test. Mr. South still says no until Simon pretends the notebook was Maddie's and it's all he has left of her. He tells Simon he has ten minutes.

Sandra tells Ms. Fields they found Maddie's backpack. She's there picking up the assignments Maddie has missed. She's applying to Northwestern, which is where Ms. Fields went. She thinks Maddie would thrive there. Sandra knows she hasn't really been involved in stuff, but she wants to be different for Maddie. Ms. Fields thinks that's great.

Maddie follows her mom down the hall until she sees Simon in Mr. Anderson's room and goes in. She enters and tells him about her mom. She wasn't drunk. She was put together. It's been so long since Maddie has seen her like that, she forgot what it looked like. Simon shows Maddie Claire's English papers. They're all the same, but she got As on all of them. This is big. Maddie says they should look into it, but they can't right now. Sandra was so put together and if she learns Maddie is dead, that person goes away and maybe never comes back. Simon says that means letting Claire get away with whatever she's done. Maddie just wants to put the investigation on hold so her mom can have a life.

Claire confronts Mr. Anderson and asks why he hasn't answered her texts. He tells her to leave. She asks him what he told the cops. He says he told them the truth, that he took the money to pay off his dad's debt and he was with his dad the day Maddie disappeared. As he walks away, Claire asks if he said anything about her. He says he doesn't remember.

The Split River football team practices. Charley sits in the stands and writes. Wally's ball lands near Maddie, who just looks at him. Wally's finished practicing and is saving the rest for the big game. He asks how it went with her mom. Maddie says it's fine. Wally says his parents have been coming to his games for 40 years and it's never been just fine. Maddie asks if his dad cursed at the refs and screamed at the coaches. Wally says his mom always pushed him to be the best version of himself. Maddie asks about his death. He says he was at the five yard line and he was running and then he heard his neck snap. It didn't hurt, but it does hurt a little that he didn't die in the end zone. He could have gotten his mom one more win. A whistle sounds and Wally gets up and leaves.

Xavier enters the abandoned house. He calls out, but no one answers. A shadow passes behind him as he walks into the house. He looks around and continues calling out, but gets no response. As he enters a room, he sees someone go out the window. He calls out to them, but they run away.

The announcer starts the game. Mr. Martin and Rhonda are in the stands. She's ready to do whatever it takes to cross over and cheers. Wally breaks through the banner and enters the field. Claire runs in and joins the other cheerleaders, who are already cheering. Chloe's relieved that she's there. She was worried Claire wouldn't get there in time.

Simon asks Xavier what he's doing at Maddie's house. Xavier asks Simon the same question. Simon's there to ask Sandra about Maddie's backpack. He could have asked Xavier. Xavier admits that he went to the abandoned house because he wants answers. He found someone, but they ran away. Simon asks if he thinks it was Claire. Xavier says it could have been anyone. Sandra comes out of the house. She's happy to see Simon. She and Xavier are going to hand out flyers at the game. Sandra is hopeful it'll help them find Maddie. They ask Simon to join them.

Maddie watches Claire. Mr. Martin asks Rhonda what that's about and Rhonda shrugs. They look back at Charley, who is still writing, but Rhonda shrugs again. Mr. Martin thinks everyone has locked focus. He asks Rhonda to keep an eye on Maddie. He doesn't want her to backslide. She's come so far. They all have. Rhonda says she will. Wally comes up into the stands to celebrate, before going to Maddie. He points out Bea Clark, his mom, who comes to every game and always leaves an open seat next to her. His dad stopped coming fifteen years ago, so he thinks it must be for him. He goes to sit in the seat.

Sandra hands out flyers as people enter the stadium.

Claire sees Sheriff Baxter walking around and tenses. She goes to a trash can and vomits.

Ms. Fields asks Sandra for more flyers to hang up in her neighborhood. Sandra asks if anyone has heard from Mr. Anderson. Ms. Fields thinks his lawyers told him not to talk. All they know is he turned over the money. Sandra says he was always kind to Maddie. If all he was doing was stealing money, Sandra can't blame him because teachers are underpaid. Nicole comes up and asks Ms. Fields if they can make Mr. Anderson talk. Ms. Fields says they have to wait and see. The truth might never come out.

Wally says when his mom screams and cheers, it's like she's still there for him.

Wally brings two hotdogs, one for him and one for Maddie. Maddie says when her mom was going through a rough patch, she mostly only cared about drinking, so Maddie was on her own for dinner. That means she ate a lot of hot dogs. She got creative with them. Wally didn't know about her mom. She tells him everyone is haunted by something. They toast to mama drama. Maddie is impressed that Wally's mom is still celebrating something he loved. He says it was actually his mother's idea for him to play football. He doesn't mind it. He's good at it, but he doesn't love it. He played for her. Quitting would have broken her heart. Maddie says he doesn't have to do what his mother wants anymore. He can do whatever he wants. He says he doesn't know if he knows how to do that. They spot Xavier and Wally asks if it's hard to see him. Maddie says it's getting easier, especially since she's pretty sure he didn't kill her. It's weird seeing him pass out flyers with her face on it. She sees a flyer on the table next to them and pulls it to her. It's her mom's favorite picture of her. She wonders how Xavier got it. Then she spots Sandra, still passing out flyers. She wonders what it says about her that she'd rather they not figure out what happened to her so her mom stays over. Wally says he keeps coming back to the field he died on to watch the game that killed him to make his mom proud. Maddie thinks maybe the hope that she'll come back is enough to keep Sandra going. Wally reminds her that she's not coming back.

Simon runs out of flyers, so Sandra sends him to get more. His phone chimes.

Nicole and Xavier's phones chime as well. They all watch a video of Claire blackmailing Mr. Anderson about the stolen money to give her straight As. They meet up and wonder why the person sent it to them. They also wonder who recorded it.

Wally sits next to his mom as the game continues.

*Wally takes a break on a bench. His mom comes up behind him and asks what's going on. She doesn't think he should be on the bench. His dad agrees. Wally says the coach wants him to rest his knee. Bea says he can rest when he's dead. Wally tells her he'll go back in later, but she says later doesn't win scholarships. Wally thinks the coach is right. Bea says if he were always right, he'd be coaching in the pros. She tells him to go back and tell the coach to put him back in.*

Wally looks up at his mom. Maddie watches as he takes off his football jersey. She's surprised when Sandra stops and stands right next to her. Sandra looks up into the stands, then walks back out. Maddie and Wally look at each other. Simon comes to Maddie and says they need to talk. He shows her the video and says if Claire knows about it and thinks Maddie took it, that's motive. Maddie looks at her mother and says she's no better than Wally. She can't protect her mom by giving up. She has to know Maddie's not coming home so she can move on. So does Maddie. Maddie asks what they do now.

Xavier says he had no idea what was going on with Claire and Mr. Anderson. All he knew was what Simon said. Nicole asks if he's sure. Xavier says he only took Maddie's phone to delete the text. Claire must have stolen it. They watch Claire walk by and Xavier thinks he should show the video to his dad. Nicole tells him not to because he'll think Xavier had something to do with it and they don't have time to keep clearing his name. Sandra walks up and says she's done for the night and asks if he can take her home. Nicole offers to take her as Xavier gets a text from Simon asking Xavier to meet up with him.

Xavier meets Simon. Simon says Xavier has to win back Claire's confidence and then crack her. Maddie has Simon tell Xavier to invite Claire to the Homecoming dance. Through Simon, Maddie tells Xavier exactly what to say to Claire to get her to go. Maddie starts crying as Xavier sends the text.

Claire gets the text. She checks it, but doesn't reply.

Wally thanks Maddie for helping him get free. He's never met anyone like her before. She agrees. He asks her to go to Homecoming with him as friends. She says yes. As he walks away, Simon comes to Maddie and says he might know who took the video.

With Maddie watching, Simon asks Mr. South if he gave Simon the keys because there was something he wanted him to know. He noticed Mr. South watching a video, but hiding it from him. Now they've all received a video and he thinks Mr. South sent it. Mr. South says he was hiding it because he didn't want Simon to get upset. Since Maddie disappeared, all kind of people have come to the boiler room to deface it. He has to document everything for the district. People wrote awful things on the wall. Maddie walks away as Mr. South says he'll clean it up.

Sandra asks Nicole if she thinks Maddie will forgive her and come home. Nicole likes to think they can be forgiven for anything if their hearts are in the right place. Sandra asks for a hug and Nicole gives it. Nicole loads the car while Sandra gets in. Nicole gets nervous and looks around.

Maddie finds a door and calls out to Simon ask Mr. South what it leads to.

Maddie and Simon enter a fallout shelter that's been at the school since the Cold War, but hasn't been used in decades. Simon realizes they can talk down there, which means someone died down there. They don't know who. They find a passageway and Simon says he thinks it's how Claire got her body out of there.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* Peyton List as Maddie Nears
* Kristian Flores as Simon Elroy
* Milo Manheim as Wally Clark
* Spencer Macpherson as Xavier Baxter
* Kiara Pichardo as Nicole Herrera
* Sarah Yarkin as Rhonda
* Nick Pugliese as Charley
* Rainbow Wedell as Claire Zomer

### Guest Stars

* Josh Zuckerman as Everett Martin
* Maria Dizzia as Sandra Nears
* Ian Tracey as Sheriff Baxter
* Patrick Gilmore as Derek Anderson
* Alex Zahara as Principal Hartman
* Kalyn Miles as Ms. Fields

### Co-Starring

* Peter New as Mr. South
* Alison Thornton as Chloe
* Vanessa Prasad as Kirsten
* Katarina Mueller as Tira
* Zarina Sterling as Crystal
* Hannah Bos as Young Maddie
* Monroe McWilliams as Young Claire
* Peggy Carlson as Bea (Wally's Mom)
* Tara Pratt as Young Bea
* Brittany Spiteri as Cheerleader #1
* Yudy Rodriguez as Cheerleader #2
* Briggs Gibbins as Cheerleader #3
* Brianne Mapson as Cheerleader #4
* Hannah Cam as Cheerleader #5
* Halle Gall as Cheerleader #6

## Music

 "Castles in My Mind"
 "PIRATE RADIO\*"
* Wally sits next to his mother
* Maddie watches Wally take off his football jersey
* Maddie looks at her mother

"Rosy Glasses" - Sarah Yarkin"Castles In My Mind" - Miino"PIRATE RADIO\*" - Jean Dawson
## Notes and Trivia

* This episode's title is most likely a reference to the show, "The Twilight Zone."

## See Also

 **#02** | "The Fault of Our Scars"
 **#03** | "Dead and Confused"
 **#04** | "Ghoul Intentions"