Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Tonight's one of those meetings

I always have mixed feelings about.

It's sad because Frank's family moved

and we've lost one of our members,

but it's exciting because we have to find a new member.

Who did you bring?

Nobody! I brought him.

Tucker's gonna nominate somebody?

Why not? He's a friend of mine.

You say that like it's a good thing.

So, who's the new meat?

Hi, babe.

Oh! No. No, no. Anyone but Stig.

You know this guy?

Yeah. He's a virus.

Don't let him next to the fire. He might explode.

Tuck, I don't know about this.

Aw, come on. Give him a chance.

Yeah. Is this about telling a good story

or winning a popularity contest?

Excellent. Sit over there, Stig.

Hey! That's my sweater.

What? The log was wet.

Don't push it, grungy boy.

All right.

I figure I've gotta impress you guys,

so I'm taking my best shot.

A lot of people don't like the way I am.

They're always telling me I've gotta clean up my act.

But sometimes, things are the way they are for a reason.

If you go making changes that shouldn't be made,

you're gonna end up with a whole mess of trouble.

Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society,

I call this story...

Charlie, you sure it's OK?

['50s rock 'n roll music plays]

Yes. Just be careful.

Yah ha ha!

You're the lifeguard.

Shouldn't you be guarding my brother's life?

You want me to leave?

Not really.

Ugh.

P-U. What is that smell?

What the--

Charlie!

Charlie, there's something in the pool!

Aah! Aah!

Oops.

I'm sorry.

I didn't expect the reaction to be so intense.

Apparently your calculations were a little flawed.

Don't move. I'll get the custodian.

Zeke Matthews was one of those dips

who lived for schoolwork.

I guess you might call him the smartest loser in school.

What a geek.

I think he's cute...

Like a puppy you want to take care of.

More like a puppy you have to clean up after.

Come on. Let's help him.

Forget it.

Hey. What went wrong?

Nothing.

If you mix maganite with water,

the reaction is always the same.

Kaboom.

Lava surprise.

I just miscalculated the ratio.

How interesting. My education is complete.

We'll continue next time, people.

Charlie can do this, Zeke.

Actually, school work wasn't the only thing on Zeke's mind.

Hi. Clorice?

You're on the swim team, right?

Yes. So?

I'd like to show you something

I think you might find interesting...

Because you're on the team, I mean.

What is it?

I'd rather show you. How about after school?

I have practice. I'm on the swim team, remember?

Right.

What about tomorrow, before school?

Just tell me what it is.

That's no fun.

Fun? You're telling me what's fun?

OK, beaker boy. You're on.

Great. Meet me tomorrow at the gym at about 7:30?

I forgot. This is the boys change room--

Hello? Is anybody here?

If this is your big surprise,

I've seen it already.

Watch this.

What are you doing?

Last week I was trying to calculate

the volume of the school.

I found out there's more to this building

than meets the eye.

Oh, man.

I didn't know this was here.

Strange, isn't it?

After I found it, I did some research.

It was built in the 1950s,

but they only used it for a short time.

How come?

I don't know.

Unbelievable.

Hey! Maybe I can get the school to open it up again.

I doubt it.

Why? We shouldn't have to drive

an hour to practice if there's a pool right here.

True, but they'll never--

Uh, stop.

Excuses are for people who never get things done, understand?

Good. Thanks. You did a real cool thing here.

I did?

Hey, maybe we can get together sometime--

Don't push it.

Clorice wasn't kidding.

She got in the face of everybody at school

and wouldn't take no for an answer.

After a few weeks, the swim team had their pool.

Not bad, huh?

I don't know how you did it, but...

Oh, man.

What's that smell?

The pipes must still be dirty.

It's gross.

C minus?

I hate science.

It could be worse.

No kidding.

If I don't bring this grade up,

I'm off the swim team.

Maybe I could help you.

How?

Maybe I could tutor you.

Chemistry is kind of my subject.

What's in it for you?

How'd you get in?

Stole the key from my coach.

I wonder if we get caught.

I'm not doing anything wrong,

and we're the only ones here.

You ever teach anyone to swim before?

Yes. Enough questions. Dive in.

Hey, you really are afraid of the water.

OK. We'll take it slow.

See? It's not so bad.

What is it that scares you so much?

It's dumb. Really.

Tell me.

When I was a kid,

I was swimming in a pond.

I got my foot tangled in some underwater plants

and couldn't get loose.

The harder I tried, the worse it got.

Almost drowned.

Then what happened?

My brother saw me, cut me loose.

But ever since, I've had this feeling

that there's something down there...

Waiting, because I cheated it once.

It wants a second chance with me.

Zeke, I guarantee you,

in the pool there's nothing down there to get you.

Try putting your hand in the water.

See? That wasn't so bad.

Now try--

Clorice! Clorice!

What happened?