Lifetime

Original air date: November 23, 2002
Writer: Skander Halim
Director: Patrick Williams

Guest Stars:

Actor's name Character played

Brian Bannan Julian

Connor Lynch Kevin

Andrew Tarbet 30-something Lucas

Donald Ewer Elderly Lucas

It is Vaughn’s turn to select a player for his team. He has the choice between Marshall and Lucas. He sees Josie sitting out. Corrine picks Marshall and the turn comes back to Vaughn. Lucas is the last to be picked, again. Instead of selecting Lucas, however, Vaughn selects a person sitting out who is in a wheelchair. On the field, the wheelchair bound student hits the ball towards Lucas. It goes into the woods and Lucas is closest to retrieve it.

“Josie, do you play softball?” – Vaughn to Josie.
“Skateboard, yes. Softball, no.” – Josie to Vaughn.
“Great, um…I still take Josie.” – Vaughn.

Corrine wanders into the shrubs and sees Lucas holding a Mayfly nymph. She tells him that he was supposed to retrieve the ball. It is right next to Lucas. Lucas is more interested in the Mayfly nymph, which bites Lucas on his hand.

“Isn’t it beautiful? It’s so delicate, so gentile, so ow! It bit me!” – Lucas to Corrine.

Lucas carries around the Mayfly nymph in a container. As he walks down the stairs two boys take the container from him and start tossing it around, keeping it away from Lucas. Lucas is unable to retrieve the container when Professor Zachary appears on the stairway, ordering the two boys to give Lucas back the container. The two boys comply and walk off. Lucas is ungrateful for the assistance, however.

“I know you meant well, Professor Z, but next time just let me get pulverized. It’s a lot less humiliating.” – Lucas to Professor Zachary.

In science club, Professor Zachary notices Lucas scratching at his hand. The bug bite has pussed up and appears quite bad. Professor Zachary tells them that if they are really worried they can look for books about Mayflies in the library. All, but Lucas and Professor Zachary, proceed to the library.

“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. Then again this is a fairly odd school so if any of you are really worried I’m sure you can find some books on Mayflies in the library. That is if you’re really worried….” – Professor Zachary.

In Principal Durst’s office, Principal Durst is talking to herself in the mirror about how she is annoyed with Victor. Victor walks in right after she finishes and asks her if she is practicing her resignation speech, which she denies. Victor tells her that the school is on top of the most important scientific find in all of history and that if she can’t handle it then Victor will find another, fresh, younger, person who can. She appears distressed at what he has told her.

"I've had it with Blake Holsey High. Everything isn't alright here. I'm tired of disappearing professors and I'm tired of covering for you Mr. Pearson." - Principal Durst to herself, talking to a mirror.

“If your conscious is bothering you, Amanda, just sit with it a while. It’ll pass. You’re in far too deep to get out now.” – Victor to Principal Durst.

Lucas is looking at himself in a mirror. Apparently, he has noticed two hairs on his chin. Marshall tells Lucas of his research on Mayflies. They have a rather short life expectancy. Lucas looks at the Mayfly nymph, discovering it has grown wings and has become an adult. Lucas wishes that he wasn’t a teenager but could be an adult like the Mayfly instead. Marshall goes off to a dance while Lucas goes to bed.

“I wish I wasn’t a teenager. I wish I could grow up as fast as you.” – Lucas to the Mayfly.

The next morning, Marshall tells Lucas there is only five minutes left before class and walks out. Lucas gets up from the bed. He doesn’t notice that his pajama pants are higher on his legs than the previous night. He walks into the bathroom after running into the deck. Inside the bathroom, there is a scream. Lucas comes running out of the bathroom. Bending over to look in a mirror, he splits his pants. Lucas goes for his glasses and looks at the mirror again. Lucas has become an adult.
Lucas runs down the stairs, sneaking through the hallways. He goes into a teacher’s lounge, room 111. He comes out wearing a teacher’s clothes while Victor is talking to Principal Durst a little ways down the hallway. Victor tells her that Vaughn has learned nothing and he walks off disappointed. Principal Durst notices Lucas and asks him if he is the substitute Math teacher. He replies that he is. Principal Durst was afraid she’d have to teach the class herself but now that Lucas, who she has mistaken for the substitute has arrived, she’ll be alright. She tells Lucas not to be worried, that she got her start as a substitute teacher, when she was about his age.

“This is supposed to be a preparatory school. Yet my son is prepared for nothing.” – Victor to Principal Durst.

Lucas enters the classroom. He stumbles around the front of the room. He manages to introduce himself as “Mr. Lucamopolis.” Lucas notices the two kids who were picking on him yesterday and sends them to Principal Durst for talking during class and talking back to him, even though they did nothing. The two boys walk out of the class. Marshall, Josie, Vaughn, and Corrine look to each other.

“It’s Math time!” – Lucas to the class.

As he tries to start the lesson, Lucas instead dismisses the class, saying the day is too good to be inside. That is, everyone except Josie, Corrine, Vaughn, and Marshall. After everyone else has left, Lucas tells them that he wants a five page report on the entire textbook. They all question the amount of homework when he tells them to forget it, and says Marshall’s name. Marshall asks how Lucas knows his name and Lucas replies that they are best friends, revealing that he is Lucas. Josie is scared but Marshall is curious about this. He asks Lucas what they did at science camp. They all laugh about how Marshall won the beauty contest and it occurs to them all that the teacher is really Lucas.

"What didn’t we do? We put dye in the pool so everyone’s hair turned blue, we were the runners up in the robot wars competition, and you dressed up like a girl and won the camp beauty contest." – Lucas to Marshal.

Professor Zachary looks over Lucas. He is amazed. They all blame the rapid growth on Lucas’s bug bite. He then notices what Lucas is wearing and Lucas denies that the jacket he is wearing is Professor Zachary’s, to everyone else’s amusement. Professor Zachary just keeps looking back and forth at Lucas. Vaughn points out that now that Lucas is old, he’ll have to get a job, pay taxes, and get married, but Lucas points out that he can go to R-rated movies. They review what they know about Mayflies and realize that Lucas must be in the adult stage They become worried about just how long Lucas will be in that stage. Lucas starts to leave with the container that holds the Mayfly, saying that the conversation is boring him. He says that the bug bite is only a bug bite and it will go away the next day. Professor Zachary tries to get Lucas to stay, saying that they should find a solution, but it is futile.

“Amazing, it’s like they’re kids and then, bam! They’re adults.” – Vaughn.

That night, Lucas unintentionally walks in on Principal Durst in a recreation room. She asks him sarcastically if he knows what time it is. Lucas replies that he doesn’t care. Principal Durst tells him that she remembers what it was like to be as young as Lucas is now and having the energy to stay up late. She was looking over a yearbook of her first year at Blake Holsey High. She closes the book, telling him that she doesn’t like getting old. Lucas responds that being young isn’t as great as it seems. Principal Durst warns him about how fast one gets old, which is quite ironic for Lucas’s situation. Lucas jumps onto the couch, telling her life is missing fun.

“You’d better watch out. You get old, just like that.” – Principal Durst to Lucas.

The next morning as Professor Zachary comes down the stairs. There is some commotion in the room where the stairs end. He looks in as he passes the room but then stops, questioning what it was that he saw. Professor Zachary looks back into the room, seeing Principal Durst, Lucas, and the Janitor in a game of Twister. Principal Durst is bending over the Janitor’s body. The Janitor’s head is between Lucas’s legs as Lucas is lying on the mat. The Janitor’s face is expressionless. Professor Zachary watches in horror as he pulls himself away.

“No, no, no, the yellow one.” – Lucas.

With a transition of the spinning of the Twister spin board, the camera focuses on Vaughn and Corrine in class. Principal Durst begins talking on the PA system but it is only a prank. Lucas dances to the song as Principal Durst sings on the PA.

“This is Principal Durst with a very important announcement. 'These boots are made for walkin’. And that’s just what they’ll do. I said, one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you. I said thank you, thank you very much.'” – Principal Durst on the PA system.

Professor Zachary comes into Principal Durst’s office, she had called for him. He is nervous. She tells him to have a seat that that she has a very important matter to talk with him about. Professor Zachary sits down and there is a farting noise. Principal Durst bursts into laughter. Professor Zachary reaches under him and pulls out a whoopee cushion. He looks at Principal Durst, seemingly questioning why she did that.
Later in the day, in the back, Lucas is outside playing a handheld video game on the stairs. Principal Durst quickly walks past him. She has gotten word of a missing kid, one Lucas Randell. Lucas denies seeing him. She starts panicking, saying that she hopes he hasn’t disappeared. Lucas takes the opportunity to try to get her to tell him about people disappearing. Something is clearly bothering her.

“Hey, Dursty, ready to have some more fun?” – Lucas to Principal Durst.

Right as Principal Durst is about to tell Lucas, Victor Pearson comes out from the school saying that he needs to talk to her. Victor tells Lucas to go away but Lucas talks back to Victor. Victor just stands there and takes it while Principal Durst tries to get him to stop. She is standing behind Victor. Victor calmly fires Lucas.

“Very impressive. Please, go multiply something, your meeting is over here.” – Victor to Lucas.

“I like you, young man. You remind me of myself when I was your age. Very direct, very assertive, very fired.” – Victor to Lucas.

Lucas runs into another recreation room where Marshall, Josie, and Corrine are. Other students look at Lucas. Lucas tells them the joys of being an adult. He has stayed up all night, no one told him what to do, and that he got fired. He adds that Principal Durst came so close to telling him what is wrong at the school. He asks them if they’d want to hang out in the teacher’s lounge since he can get them in there. Marshall comments about why they would want to hang out with teachers. Lucas offers to meet them in their room but Josie points out that it would be weird to be seen with Lucas in a dorm room. Corrine points out that it is weird hanging out with him now and that other students are looking at all. Lucas asks where they can hang out but Marshall’s answers that it isn’t really possible. Disappointed, Lucas walks out of the room.

“Not a lot of places, Lucas. I mean, you’re all grown up. I miss you being a kid, like us.” – Marshall to Lucas.

Marshall walks into his room, finding Lucas sitting at the desk. Lucas has grown really old now. He was white hair and a slower voice. He is watching over the Mayfly.

“Marshall, I’m not having fun anymore.” – Lucas to Marshall.

Down in the science room, they see Lucas’s rapid aging corresponds to the aging of the Mayfly. Lucas has aged 65 years in one day. Vaughn points out the Mayfly isn’t moving very much, just sitting on the leaf. Lucas realizes there is something that he must do.
Outside, Lucas apologizes to the Mayfly for confining it and stealing its life. He also admits that he wanted to grow up too fast and that he should have just let nature take its natural course. Lucas releases the Mayfly and it flies off. After that, Lucas grows younger, back to being 30-something, and then to his normal age. Josie asks Professor Zachary if he knows what happened but Professor Zachary, not really knowing, says that maybe the bug bite just ran its course.

“Sometimes, even in science, we have to learn to just trust.” – Professor Zachary to Josie.

In the hallway, the two boys from earlier confront Lucas on the stairs again. Principal Durst is about to intervene but Professor Zachary tells her to wait and watch what happens. Lucas tells the two boys that while they may be bigger than he is, he knows enough to tell someone who is bigger than them to get them to stop. The two boys walk off, saying that Lucas isn’t worth the trouble.
Down in the Janitor’s residence, the Janitor looks at a bug in a small container.

Personal thoughts:
This one is a Lucas episode, comboed with getting to know Principal Durst. A lot of people did not like this episode apparently. It had a good feeling to it, I thought. Though it is actually a filler episode, I think it was one of those important episodes where we get to see the perspective of Principal Durst, who is kind of on the bad side of things at Blake Holsey. It has you think, maybe they aren't as bad as I thought.

Rating: 7/10