01x05 - Permanent Detention

[bunniefuu]

Hey. Hey, hey. Slow it down! Slow it down!

Thinking of joining the art club?

No. It's a waste of time.

Looks fun to me. You know
you have detention today?

Yeah. You don't need
to remind me every time.

Actually, I do because
I'm detention monitor,

and you're usually late.

Mr. Hodge, I just want to say,

I think it's unfair you gave me
detention for arguing over a grade.

You already said that many times,

and I already told youth
at I think it's appropriate.

Okay, but if you knew how important
my grades are to me, you'd understand.

Why don't you put all
that passion into studying

for your next test rather than continuing to argue with me.
For your next test rather than continuing to argue with me.

[sighs]

Tap to sign in by your name,
then put your phone in the box.

You will get it back
in 60 minutes.-[beeps]

Please put your phone in the box.

Yeah. I've been here before. Thanks.

You have detention?

Thanks for caring.-[scoffs]

Everyone's here.-Thank you, Ben.

So only two students
today. That's refreshing.

So, detention doesn't
have to be a bad experience.

It's a chance to think about what got
you here and how you can improve.

Yasmine, I'm surprised to see you here.

"Arguing with a teacher"?

Mr. Hodge gave me a Bwhen…
[scoffs] …I deserved an A.

Shouldn't I be allowed
to protest an unfair grade?

[typing on tablet]

Says here, "Did it loudly,
in front of the whole class,

wasting everybody's time."

You must know that's disrespectful.

I was doodling when I was supposed
to be writing an English essay.

Madison, I don't get it.

You always have this
"why bother" attitude.

You like getting detention?

I can sit here and do nothing for an hour.

Fair enough. But I have a better idea.

You're gonna be spending
detention cleaning the trophy cases.

Perhaps seeing the accomplishments
of others will inspire you.

That'll take more than an hour.

I'll help her.

Great.

The custodian's room is up ahead. You can get cleaning supplies there.
The custodian's room is up ahead. You can get cleaning supplies there.

This basement looks
ancient. Smells like it too.

[sighs]

Well, it is the oldest part of the school.
Everything above has been rebuilt.

Oh, hey, um, Ben, since
this is my first ever detention,

think I could convince the vice principal
to take it off my permanent record?

That's why you volunteered.
To get on his good side.

If you didn't want it on your record,
you shouldn't have gotten detention.

But this is your first offense,

so you could bring your
parents to talk to him and ask.

Why do you care about your
eighth-grade record so much?

They don't mean anything.

They do to me.

Detention looks bad, and
a B might as well be an F.

Not that you'd understand.

[Madison] Whatever.

Through here.

After you.

[Madison] Ew.

I wonder why the walls are metal.
I wonder why the walls are metal.

In the 1950s, this was
an emergency shelter.

As detention monitor, part
of my job is student safety.

I had to memorize the
school layout and exits,

and study the handbook.

What handbook?

The Newton Middle School
Code of Conduct and Safety.

I can email you both a copy.

No. No, thanks.-[chuckles] I'm good.

[person breathing heavily]

[whirring]

[whirring continues]

[electricity pulsating]

Hey! Take that outside.

Lots of junk in here.

Guess they're not expecting
any more emergencies.

Okay.

When you're done, come
to detention and sign out.

[sighs]

Huh?

Ben?

What is going on?

It's like everyone's frozen.

In an emergency,

we're supposed to
alert the nearest teacher.

I don't think he's gonna
help.-Stop messing around.

Why? This is weird. But cool.

I mean, we have the
whole school to ourselves.

We can run in the halls or check out the teachers' lounge.
We can run in the halls or check out the teachers' lounge.

That's off-limits to students.-Well,
we have to do something.

Why aren't you worried?

Because I'm sure somebody
somewhere knows how to fix this,

and they're working on it right now.

You think so?-Mmm.

What if that person who knows
how to fix this is frozen too?

Fine.

Okay. See if you can find any
clues about what happened in here,

and I'll check outside
and in the auditorium.

Wait. We can't split up. We
have to use the buddy system.

Yasmine, I'll be your buddy.

[blows]

Figures you'd be yelling at someone.

Much better.

We should call emergency services.

It's not working.

[sighs] The phones are frozen too.

Do you think this happened
everywhere in town?

[sighs]

[breathing shakily]

Hello?

Hello?

[breathes shakily]

Anybody? [Breathes shakily]

Come on, come on,
come on.[breathes heavily]

Great. Phone's not working.

3:34 and 59 seconds.

So we know exactly when this
happened. Not like that helps.

[sighs] We went five blocks, and nobody's moved an inch.
[sighs] We went five blocks, and nobody's moved an inch.

That's really weird.

I think we're way past "weird."

[sighs] Did you find any
clues?-Nothing in here.

How about the gym and
the pool?-I didn't go there.

Did you expect me to look in every corner?

Madison, this is serious.

This isn't just some school
project you can blow off.

Of course, this again.-Wait. What?

Last year, we were
assigned a group project,

and Madison didn't do her part.

Yasmine, you can relax,
because whatever's going on here,

we're not gonna be graded on it.-[scoffs]

Maybe we should all focus
on what happened to everyone.

They're frozen.-Not literally.

They're not cold like an ice cube.

Could everyone be hypnotized?

You can't hypnotize a clock.

[Madison] The clock, it moved.

Before, it said 3:34 and 59 seconds,
and now it says 3:35 and one second.

His eyes are closed.
Earlier, they were open.

Wait. So if his eyes are closed

and the clock moved
two seconds, that means...

They're not completely still, but they're just moving really slowly.
They're not completely still, but they're just moving really slowly.

[door opens]

[footsteps approach]

[door closes]

Someone's here. [Breathes
heavily]-They gotta know what's going on.

Wait. It could be them. The same
"them" that made this happen.

Shh. They're coming.

[footsteps approach]

[breathing heavily]

[groans] I don't feel so
good.-[whispers] Ben. Ben, Ben.

[grunts, breathes heavily]

You're okay.

[groans]

Ben!

[panting] Is he okay?

Mr. Hodge?

Cinder block construction
with metal insulation.

Good protection.-From what?

And why were you dressed like that?

It's a lead composite suit for safety,
much like this shelter protected you.

[sighs] Ben's feeling okay now.

I got him some water, and
he's gonna rest for a bit longer.

Now, what is going on?

I conducted an experiment in time dilation.

It's a theory I've been working on

since I was a physicist
in a lab12 years ago.

Basically, I believed that the speed
that time passes could be altered.

Two locations, or two
people, for that matter,

could experience a
different time-flow rate.

One hour for one person
could be 36 seconds to another.

[inhales deeply] My colleagues didn't believe I could do it, but… [chuckles]
[inhales deeply] My colleagues didn't believe I could do it, but… [chuckles]

So, you used everyone as guinea pigs?

Not exactly.

I was running the experiment
within these controlled parameters.

You only meant to affect the butterflies.

Yeah, but the time-field generator

requires a considerable
amount of electricity,

so I utilized the
school'sauxiliary power supply.

But… [sighs] …there was
an unexpected power surge

that delivered an electrical
load that was too great,

and that caused a massive temporal wave.

Accidentally shifting everyone
into a slower time-flow rate.

[stammers] You proved your theory.

Now, how do you change things back?

Well, I do have an equation that
runs the entire program in reverse,

but the school's auxiliary power
reserves have been depleted,

and I don't have an
alternative power source.

In other words, you can't fix this?

You can't leave all those
people in super snail mode.

And what about us?-No
one is being abandoned.

Your scientist friends told you you couldn't do it,
Your scientist friends told you you couldn't do it,

and you should've
listened to them and quit!

Wait. Look... If you can't
sync up the time flows,

our lives are ruined.

Do you get that?-I know.

You should've gotten detention
and have it on your permanent record.

[sighs]

I can't believe I fainted.
I'm detention monitor.

I'm supposed to help in a
crisis, not panic and black out.

Dude, relax. You can't
expect to never make mistakes.

Easy for you to say. Sorry.-Lean forward.

I didn't mean it like that, like
you make a lot of mistakes.

It's okay. How did you end
up with that job anyway?

My mom and dad work late,

and I needed something to do after
school until they could come pick me up.

You seem to really like it.-I do.

Middle school is hard and confusing,

and I think the rules
help you know what to do.

For me anyway.

Yeah, I can see that.

Maybe I need an after-school activity too.

Besides detention. [Chuckles]

[chuckles]

I found some snacks in my locker.
I found some snacks in my locker.

Thank you. Are you okay?

Are any of us?

I mean, whatever plans we
have for the future don't exist.

Ben. Glad to see you're feeling better.

I hope you all are.

Of course you're not.

Look, for what it's worth,
I'm sorry. I promise I'll fix this.

Are all those people gonna be okay?

Yeah, they're healthy.

And as far as they know,
they're still walking around

or driving their cars as usual.

They have no idea anything's wrong.

The cars. They're electrical.-Yes?

In science class, we were
talking about electricity,

and you told us new cars are built
with high-capacity, super-cell batteries.

You actually listened in class.

You said you needed a big power source.

[Ben] Do you need any more?

Yeah. Just one more
from that car over there.

This was a really good idea you had.

[sighs] I just remembered
something the teacher said.

No, I think you're smart. I don't
understand why you refuse to try.

Is this about that
group project again?-No.

Partly.

Fine. I'll tell you why I didn't try. It
wouldn't have been good enough.

And you, Emily and Maya would've
been mad if you didn't get an A.

We did your part for you.

And you got your A.Look, I'm bad at stuff.

Remember when I tried out
for the play and I got laughed at?

I study, and I study, and I
still get C's.It's a waste of time.

I don't think you should
give up on yourself.

I mean, you're the one saving the day here.

[sighs] Maybe don't put so
much pressure on yourself.

Coming from the person who
argued over a B? [Chuckles]

Look, I'm the first one in my family who has a chance to go to college.
Look, I'm the first one in my family who has a chance to go to college.

That's cool, but your grades
don't have to be perfect.

After today, worrying
about a B seems so dumb.

And I'm sorry that when
we did that group project,

I made it feel like your
best wasn't good enough.

[Ben] He's got it!

What was this experiment for,
Mr. Hodge, if it worked right?

Altering time within parameters
has a wide range of applications.

I mean, suppose
somebody was ill or injured.

They could be put in a time-flow
stasis awaiting critical medical help.

So it could save lives.

Yeah, or imagine if the polar ice caps

could be put into a reduced
time-flow rate and slow their melting.

I see why you never gave up.-[chuckles]

We put notes on the cars that
we borrowed the batteries from.

Is it go time?

[sighs]If this works,
you're all getting A's.

[gasps]

[breathes heavily]

[whirring] [whirring]

[beeping]

Oh, no.

[electricity crackling]

[breathes heavily] It's
not working!-What's wrong?

The super-cell batteries must be
transferring at a higher ion exchange.

If the thermionic valve bursts, it's over.

We gotta find a way to cool it down.

Compressed air is
cold.-Good thinking. Let's try it.

[air hissing]-[rumbling]

[groans] It's not working.

Page 14. "Each classroom is
equipped with a CO2 fire extinguisher."

It comes out ice-cold.-Of course! [Pants]

[chuckles] It's working!

Bet you're glad I memorized
the handbook now.

All right. Get to the emergency shelter!

If it's anything like the last time,
the temporal wave should arrive fast.

[grunts]

[rumbling]

[electricity crackling]

[grunts]

[Ben grunts]

[both grunt]

[rumbling]

[grunting]

[students chattering]

Hmm.

[students chattering, laughing]

[chuckles] Yes. [Chuckles] Yes.

Good to be back in the same
time flow as everyone else. [Sighs]

So, now what?

Well, you still have to finish detention.

Then again, the vice
principal never checks in,

so I'll let you go early.

Ben's breaking a rule.-[gasps] No.

Bending.

["My Best Life" playing]

[song ends]

Oh. [Breathes heavily]

"We had to borrow your
battery to save everyone.

PS, please don't give us detention
"? PS, please don't give us detention"?

[vehicle approaches]

I thought you might need a lift.

[sighs]

[song continues]