Séance Anything

**Séance Anything** is the seventh episode of the first season and the 7th overall episode of **School Spirits**.

## Short Summary

Hoping to recount her last living moments, Maddie and her fellow spirits hold an anti-séance which brings to light a shocking new theory.

## Full Summary

Nicole looks at some photos she took of Maddie. Simon interrupts, upset because she was supposed to drive him to school and didn't. She says she had stuff to do. He figured because she was unresponsive all weekend. She tells him she had an application deadline. He understands because he has an interview with a Northwestern alum during his free period. He'd hoping she'll understand that they're all distracted. They found a weapon and now they're trying to convince everyone that their best friend was murdered by the janitor over some money, which makes no sense. Mr. South wouldn't even kill an ant. He asks what Sandra thinks. Nicole says she's upset. Simon expected her to be skeptical like the rest of them. Simon looks through Nicole's portfolio. He comes to a page full of pictures of Maddie. He wonders if Maddie knew Nicole took them. Nicole gets defensive, so Simon backs off. He tells her to stop doubting herself. And if admissions asks why she's upset, she should tell them she worshipped Maddie.

Mr. Martin explains mock trial to the support group. Charley stops him and asks Maddie if she ever did anything that upset Mr. South. Maddie says no, but Charley thinks maybe it happened when she blacked out. He had to black out all of eighth grade. Mr. Martin wants them to focus on mock trial, but Wally says no one wants to do it, especially after last year's boring case. Mr. Martin says they can make up their own case. Maddie doesn't think they'll help her unlocked a repressed memory, so she goes to leave. He tells her to sit, but backs off and asks her nicely when she objects. Mr. Martin says they need to resist temptation to give into what they don't know. She says an innocent man might go to prison for her murder and she can't help him. She doesn't even have another suspect to point to. She's been there for weeks and still has no idea what happened to her. Rhonda thinks maybe that's how it's supposed to be. Maybe her brain erased the memory to protect her. Mr. Martin says she's in no position to help because they have no influence over what happens in that world. Maddie and Charley look at each other and Mr. Martin asks if there's something they're not sharing with the group. Wally changes the subject to the psychology textbooks he found in the library. One of the books has a chapter on retrieving a memory using triggers. They'll help Maddie get through it.

Nicole puts a bunch of pictures of Maddie in the incinerator and watches them burn.

Sandra wakes up on the couch. She goes to Maddie's room, where the window is open. She closes it.

Wally takes a burrito out of the oven. He's hoping the smell will trigger something for Maddie. Maddie smells it, but won't taste it when Wally mentions there's cilantro in it. She hates cilantro and Simon always ordered her burritos without it. Wally's surprised Simon ordered her lunch for her. He pulls the cilantro off and has her take a bite and concentrate on the last lunch she had. She seems Simon with salsa on his chin. Maddie says it's sweet of Wally, but she doesn't think it's working. Rhonda asks what the last song she heard was. She recounts her own memory of the last song she ever heard.

Nicole takes a muffin and goes over to Xavier, Simon, and Claire. Simon clarifies that Xavier's dad only has the crowbar. He's just trying to be the hero. Xavier doesn't know why his alibi can't also clear Mr. South as Mr. South saw him in the bathroom when Maddie disappeared. He as in there for the whole period. It doesn't matter when his father needs someone to kick around. No one can stop him. Claire says it would be easier to save Mr. South if they figured out who took the video. Simon wants to know what other evidence they have against him. Claire proposes breaking into the Sheriff's station. Nicole is suspicious of Claire's motives. She thinks Claire just wants to save herself. Simon quietly asks if she's okay, if this is just about her portfolio. The bell rings and Simon proposes going to the station. Xavier and Claire are in, but Nicole has a deadline.

Rhonda sings to Maddie to try to trigger her memory. Maddie doesn't think it's working, so they add a drum for Charley. A version of that song was the last song she heard, but it's not taking her back. Charley wants to try hypnosis, but Dawn advises against it. She's eating the burrito Wally made. She says hypnosis is too risky. When you're hypnotized, it leaves your body vulnerable to another spirit coming in and staying there. Wally doesn't think they should listen to Dawn, but Dawn says it's risky. She recommends an anti-séance. She just has to conjure the right memory. Maddie agrees to try it.

Nicole goes to a freshman who is working on a computer and says she needs that computer. Mr. Balkin tells Nicole to put her name on the log and check back during lunch.

Zeva asks Simon why Northwestern is his first choice. He says he likes the proximity to a big city without being in it. It's all he and Maddie talked about. He explains that Maddie was also supposed to meet with Zeva. When Zeva realizes who she is, she wonders if it might be a relief for Simon to leave Split River and start fresh. She asks what he thinks he'd bring to the campus. Maddie walks in as Simon struggles to answer the question of his proudest accomplishment from the last year. He also can't answer his favorite subject. Zeva says they're very competitive. He also doesn't know what he wants to major in. She ends the meeting early and he leaves.

Simon walks up just as Claire breaks her own window. It's so they have an excuse to go to the sheriff's station. She'll complain about being stalked by someone at school. It can't be Mr. South because he's not allowed on campus. She goes to break a second window, but Xavier says one is enough.

The same freshman is still working when Nicole checks back, so she walks away.

Xavier and Simon wait outside the sheriff's station. They enter after some officers leave.

Claire talks to Sheriff Baxter about the window. She says the person who came after Maddie might be after her next. Officer Hayes tells Sheriff Baxter he has a call. She tried to take a message, but it's Sandra Nears, who says someone may have broken into her home while she was sleeping. Claire thinks that might be the same person who attacked her car. Sheriff Baxter leaves to take the call.

Xavier and Simon search the evidence locker. Xavier finds Maddie's backpack, but not the crowbar. Simon finds a box that contains the boot print they found in the woods. He says Nicole found it while they were split up. Simon says it's not Maddie's boot.

Nicole goes back and threatens the freshman to let her have the computer. Nicole asks Mr. Balkin if there are back-ups if something gets deleted from the hard drive. He tells her the program autosaves every three minutes. You just have to know where to look.

Xavier, Simon, and Claire return to campus. Maddie stops Simon by the bus stop. She asks him why he left the interview. He says he went to the Sheriff's station and they need to talk about the boot print Nicole found. Maddie is upset that Simon tanked his interview. Simon says the boot print had a Doc Martin stamp on it and Maddie's are knock-offs. Maddie doesn't care, but Simons says someone wanted them to think she left school and ran off into the woods. Maddie is still upset about the interview. She asks him what he was thinking. He says everything they talked about doing at Northwestern was about them. Now it doesn't feel right. She says he can't stop living because she did. Simon wants to talk about Nicole acting strangely. Maddie thinks it's grief, but Simon thinks it might be guilt or resentment.

*Nicole, Maddie, and Simon have lunch together. Simon says Nicole doesn't have to go because she doesn't even like horror movies, but she wants to. Simon points out all the ways Nicole has changed her behavior in order to be like Maddie. Maddie says he's right. Nicole should own it. Nicole gets upset and leaves to get a burger.*

Maddie says that was last February and they apologized to her. Simon thinks maybe Nicole is still holding onto it. They can't assumed they know everything about anyone. Maddie doesn't want to go after someone they care about unless they have proof. If they're wrong, Nicole will never forgive Simon.

Sandra buys alcohol. As she leaves, the two employees talk about her. As she walks out, she sees a poster of Maddie on the door. She sees Mr. South outside getting gas and walks past him. He tells her he knows it looks like he hurt Maddie, but he didn't. Sandra gets in her car and leaves, intentionally turning toward Mr. South as she goes.

Mr. Martin questions Rhonda about them attempting to trigger Maddie. He's upset that Rhonda is indulging her. Rhonda just wants to help. Maddie's just dealing with some tough stuff and Rhonda cares about her. Mr. Martin says he cares, too, but Maddie's been there for weeks and doesn't even have one foot firmly planted in the afterlife. He doesn't believe Rhonda's really prepared to cross over. Rhonda says she is. Charley interrupts and tells Rhonda that Dawn's ready. Rhonda goes with him.

Dawn has Maddie light an old Brussels sprout she found. She waves it around their circle. She tells them all to look inward and breathe deeply. They hold hands and have Maddie recount her last day. Maddie only sees darkness, so Dawn says she'll take them back to her last day first. It's May 17, 1972.

Claire and Xavier look for the janitors' schedule. Claire finds it and shows Xavier. It'll show them who was at the school the day the video was shot. Simon joins them and Claire shows him that the day the video was shot, it was just the cheerleaders and the AV crew. Nicole was definitely there.

Nicole works on the computer.

Dawn says she can hear shoes squeaking on the floor. It's Mr. Mazarra, the AV teacher. His office smells like Hai Karate and cigarettes. She's the first to get to the studio. Her friends Beth and Karen are late. The three of them are doing a project together for social studies. They're going to record "I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar" in 26 languages. Wally wonders when they're going to get to Maddie, but Dawn continues. She went into the supply room to get microphones. She heard Beth and Karen come in making jokes about a flaky, spaced-out bimbo. Then she realized they were talking about her. She closed the door and looked through the window. They kept ripping her apart, everything about her. It gets worse and worse and then they look her way.

*Dawn turns and knocks some liquid into a plug, causing the light to flicker. She reaches up to unscrew the bulb.*

The ghosts are silent. Maddie finally asks if Dawn is okay. Dawn says it should have been them, not her. Maddie says they should stop and try something else to conjure memories.

Simon looks at Maddie's empty seat in Mr. Fields' room. The bell rings and she tells them to leave their quizzes by the door on the way out. Xavier goes to Simon and asks if he's spoken to Nicole yet. Simon hasn't seen her. She skipped class. Ms. Fields sees Simon still in his desk and says she can't give him extra time because she has an appointment off campus. He says that's fine. He hangs her his quiz as Maddie comes in and says they need to talk. Ms. Fields says some people are jumping to conclusions because they need answers, but she believes that Mr. South is innocent. She hopes they find the person who isn't soon. Simon agrees. Ms. Fields leaves and Simon tells Maddie Nicole might have taken the video. Then she sent it to Anderson after getting his number off Maddie's phone. Maddie won't try to stop him. She realizes they may have hurt her more than they thought. She doesn't want to believe there's no one else that she can trust. Simon says he's not going anywhere. He loves her and that's why he doesn't care about Northwestern when she's not going to be there. He's not even sure why he's trying to help solve what happened to her because she'll probably cross over and that'll take her away from him. She reminds him that he'll graduate and leave in June, so he may leave before she does. He starts crying as he thinks about it. She tells him he should leave. He wants to find Nicole.

Sheriff Baxter comes into a convenience store and finds Xavier. He saw Xavier's truck outside. He knows Xavier left school in the middle of the day. Someone spotted him at the station. He says he was helping Claire file the report. Sheriff Baxter asks if he was tampering with evidence. He doesn't want Xavier to incriminate himself. Claire interrupts and calls him out for calling Xavier a loser. By her definition, Sheriff Baxter's the loser. Claire asks Xavier to take her home. Her parents don't think the town's safe anymore and don't like her out after dark.

Nicole watches the video of Claire and Mr. Anderson. She deletes it permanently. Simon walks in and tells her not to bother. They know the truth. She asks what he means. Simon asks her about the boot print. He asks why she blackmailed Mr. Anderson with the video and why she needed the money. Nicole denies anything. Simon thinks Nicole's creating a smokescreen. He asks how she got out of the boiler room alive but Maddie didn't. He asks again what she needed the money for. Nicole says she needed it to be with him and Maddie. She needed it to move to Chicago and be near their college. She couldn't get into either art school in Chicago. Both admissions counselors told her there's not way she'd get a scholarship. And her parents can't afford to send her there. Nicole is upset that he believed she could hurt Maddie. She admits that she stole a teacher's number, but she did it to keep them together, not tear them apart. But she screwed up. She didn't know Maddie was the only one who had Mr. Anderson's number. She spent weeks thinking she was the reason Maddie got hurt. Simon says she should have told them about the portfolio review. She didn't want them to have more reasons to think she was pathetic. Simon hugs Nicole as she cries. He asks her where the money is. If she turns it into the police, they'll know Mr. South doesn't have it, so they'll be closer to finding out what happened to Maddie. The money could prove a man's innocence.

Sandra opens up an envelope in Maddie's room. She takes it and puts it in Maddie's drawer under some other things.

Dawn sits on top of the lockers as the lights flicker. Nicole, Simon, and Maddie walk down the hall. Nicole says she has a shovel in her trunk when Simon asks. Dawn calls out to Maddie and says she's sorry she wasn't able to help Maddie. She wanted to take Maddie back, but Maddie says it's okay. If anything, Dawn deserves and apology. She's sorry they made her feel like a joke. She's not a joke. Maddie thinks she hurt people too, when she should have been there for them. She asks if Dawn's going to be okay. She assures Dawn that she's a good friend, then goes to follow Simon and Nicole.

Wally, Charley, and Rhonda are looking around the school for Maddie. They want to make sure she's okay. Rhonda knows Wally's jealous of Simon, but he insists he can wait while Maddie figures things out. Charley asks if anyone has seen Dawn since the séance. She's not in her usual place. The lights flicker.

Mr. Martin looks up at the lights flicker.

Wally, Charley, and Rhonda realize Dawn has crossed over and don't remember the same thing happening when Janet left.

Nicole digs, but can't find the money. It's not where she left it. Simon thinks she's looking in the wrong place, but she's sure it's the right place. Someone must have come and stolen it. Simon asks if she was followed when she left the dance, but she says she came there from Sandra's. Simon asks if Sandra followed her there. She questions why Sandra would take the money.

Maddie, who has been watching them, has flashes back to her mother yelling at her.

Nicole says she was alone. There was music coming from the dance and some people were outside, but that's it.

Maddie tries to warn them that someone is coming.

Nicole is sure no one saw her. She hears someone coming toward them. Simon takes off after the person as Maddie begs him to stop.

Maddie has more flashes of her mom yelling at her. Rhonda, Charley, and Wally come to her and she says she needs to talk to her mother because she thinks her mother might have killed her.

## 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
* Kalyn Miles as Ms. Fields

### Co-Starring

* Peter New as Mr. South
* RaeAnne Boon as Dawn
* Luvia Petersen as Hayes
* Lucas Noon as Pencil-Neck Freshman
* Mark Chavez as Mr. Balkin
* Sunita Prasad as Zeva
* Ally Kaczynski as Other Worker
* Aiden Ferreira as Cashier

## Music

 "Stella Brown"
 "Monster"

"Mystery" - Jesse Jo Stark"Monster" - Emmett Finley
## Notes and Trivia

* This episode's title is most likely a reference to the movie *"Say Anything."*

## See Also

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