in the split river cafeteria, the group gathered around, each grabbing food for the impending movie night. jenna stood with charley, maddie, and rhonda, while wally was off in the back, wielding the cart.

being that maddie was still on her expedition for answers, charley began listing off some of the other ghosts that were stuck in their past lives, "then there's mina."

"and what happened to her?" maddie inquired cautiously.

"she was crushed by a stage light in '87. hasn't left her theater job since." rhonda responded, nonchalantly squirting ketchup onto her food while charley handed a box to maddie.

"our very own phantom of split river." charley quipped casually. "okay, who else?" maddie prompted, going down the list.

"uh, yuri. he hangs out by the pottery wheel all the time, but he only speaks russian" wally chimed in, taking cookies from the container and nudging a food cart forward.

"what about the bus crash kids?" jenna remembered. they stood outside all day every day, they had to know something.

charley nodded, recalling their spectral ghosts, "tyler, rachel, jacqueline, jonah, erin, marci, zach, and stephanie."

but before they could continue brainstorming, simon bolted inside, running straight up to maddie, "we need to talk. bus stop, now." he sternly demanded, looking straight into maddie's gaze.

as simon hurried toward the exit, rhonda and wally exchanged incredulous glances, shocked by the fact that the boy could see and talk to her.

jenna felt a lump in her throat, frozen now that the secret was out while charley just pretended to be shocked. maddie glanced around the room, her jaw dropping slightly as she let out a light chuckle, immediately following after simon.

"did he just—" wally stumbled over his words, taking a hesitant step forward, "she just-"

"yeah." rhonda echoed in disbelief, "they did."

👻

as rhonda, charley, wally, and jenna slowly crept up to the bus stop, maddie was sat having a full blown conversation with simon.

"and say what, exactly? that i broke into mr. anderson's car? that i stole his phone? that you're a ghost and i can talk to you? the second that gets out, no one's gonna believe anything i say, nicole included." simon argued, trying to figure out how to go about proving maddie's death.

"we've gotta stick with the things we can prove. i mean, anderson's got money in his wall, and he kept that piece of my phone when he should've turned it in, maybe that's enough." maddie suggested, her voice tinged with determination.

"what about his phone?" simon inquired further.

still reeling from the shock, wally squinted behind the glass that separated them, while jenna, rhonda, and charley observed from a small distance behind the stop.

"uh, leave it for now." maddie replied, pausing for a moment as she noticed the other ghosts hovering around her, "i don't want you in any more trouble than you already are. and maybe if we're lucky we can find a way back in."

maddie's gaze shifted toward the three spirits behind simon, causing rhonda, jenna, and charley to exchange glances with her.

"what are you looking at?" simon glanced around, sensing the nears girl's distraction. "nothing." maddie quickly dismissed, trying to divert simon's attention. "don't worry about it."

simon nodded in understanding, getting up to leave. "good luck." maddie shouted out as he left.

now that simon was gone, rhonda stormed up angrily, ready to give maddie a piece of her mind. "nice chat with your friend? did you ever plan on telling us you could talk to the living?!"

"okay, not the living, just-just simon." maddie defended herself, her voice tinged with tension.

"oh, just simon. that's a big fucking deal, maddie!" rhonda's voice rose with each word, her anger boiling over. wally sighed, his disappointment clear in his expression.

"i wanted to tell you.. i tried, but—" maddie attemped to excuse herself, her gaze shooting back towards charley.

"but what?" rhonda pressed, her frustration mounting.

maddie glanced back at charley, who shook his head in resignation, while jenna avoided eye contact, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. turning around, rhonda and wally realize slowly began to realize.

"oh my god, you guys knew." wally exclaimed, his voice filled with a mix of disbelief and disappointment.

"you know, i told you some really personal shit yesterday jenna, you didn't think to maybe mention you knew that she could talk to the living?!" rhonda immediately directed her anger toward jenna.

"he wouldn't let me tell anyone!" jenna shot back in defense, refusing to take the blame.

"what the hell, charley? is that true?" rhonda yelled, redirecting her attention to him.

"yes.. but—" charley attempted to explain, but wally's impatience cut him off. "does mr. martin know?" he asked, clearly frustrated.

"no, no." charley stammered, "i don't—i don't think so." wally turned around in stress, his hand pressed firmly against his forehead, trying to process the unfolding events.

"so what was your plan? find some way to use maddie's special ability for yourselves and never tell the rest of us?" rhonda accused, her tone sharp with anger.

"no, i-i didn't have a plan." jenna insisted, her voice shaking with emotion. "like hell you didn't!" rhonda shot back, her anger unabated.

as jenna's voice wavered with emotion, wally couldn't help but notice the distress etched on her face as her shoulders tensed. she'd already been extremely tense today and this was just making it worse.

with a determined resolve, he stepped forward, interposing himself between the girls. "okay, okay, rhonda. stop yelling at her," wally implored, his tone firm yet gentle. "let's just.. everybody.. let's take a breather."

rhonda's anger still smoldered, her frustration visible as she demanded, "how are you not pissed right now?"

"i'm p— i am pissed, rhonda," wally admitted, his gaze shifting between the two girls. "i'm just— i'm trying to make sense of this all. this is very new to me. i don't know how i feel..."

"trying not to lose it in front of your crush?" she jabbed, gesturing the jenna who just raised a brow in confusion.

"okay, you don't have to be mad at me, rhonda. i didn't do anything! be mad at him!" wally shouted, clearly angered by what rhonda just revealed.

"i am mad at you!" rhonda retorted, her own frustration boiling over.

"thanks for the help." maddie muttered as she turned to leave, her tone heavy with disappointment. jenna was just about done with the conversation as well, storming off back into the building.

"okay, you said you wouldn't bring that up again!" wally's voice carried frustration as he addressed rhonda now that jenna was out of earshot.

"okay, well she's gone! so great. i hope you're happy." rhonda snapped back, her irritation clear in her tone.

"what? like that's my fault?" wally's voice rose with indignation. "i-i cannot." rhonda huffed, attempting to storm off.

"it's okay.. it's okay." wally murmured, trying to diffuse the tension. "you knew!" rhonda's accusation rang out at charley, filled with hurt and betrayal.

"i'm sorry!" charley's apology was barely audible as he watched rhonda storm off, the weight of his actions heavy on his shoulders.

👻

after destroying claire's cupcake sale outside to calm herself down, jenna headed back to roam the hallways.

wally watched intently as simon leaned against the lockers, his gaze fixated on the boy as he moved. he couldn't shake off the perplexity of simon's unique connection to maddie, a bond that seemed to defy the laws of life and death.

"please tell me you haven't been staring at him since i left you." jenna's voice interrupted his thoughts as she approached, her eyes also drawn to simon's figure.

"i just don't get it. why can he only see her?" wally voiced his confusion, his brow furrowing in contemplation.

"they.. share a bond that pierces the boundary between life and death? who the hell knows?" rhonda shrugged, her gaze lingering on simon thoughtfully.

as they pondered the mystery, maddie walked up the hall just as a classroom door opened, revealing a police officer heading over to address simon. "simon elroy? got a few questions to ask you. come with us please."

the three exchanged confused glances, instinctively stepping back as simon was led away.

"what? why?" simon's confusion echoed in the hallway, but his protests were ignored as he was taken away by the officers.

"simon? what did he do? si- please wait, simon!" maddie rushed forward, her concern evident in her voice. "what's going on, what's happening?"

rhonda, wally, and jenna followed suit, their footsteps echoing in the hallway as they trailed behind.

"simon! dammit he can't hear me." maddie turned around, frustration evident in her expression. "if anything happens to him, i will never forgive myself." with that, she ran out of sight, leaving the ghosts torn between following her and staying behind.

as jenna moved to follow, rhonda reached out, stopping her in her tracks.