I've lived my whole life on Normal Street.
There's a lake at one end,
and a forest of shady trees at the other.
But what lies in between
is anything but normal.
What makes someone great, truly great?
What is it about life that will assure someone
will go down in the annals of history?
Is there any one quality
or a combination of qualities
that determine a legacy?
And is being remembered the same thing as being great?
So how about this green light?
What should we make of it?
Mel?
I think it represents Gatsby's unattainable dream.
Interesting.
Let's get our hands dirty with that one.
Daisy Buchanan, she, like the green beacon--
- What's all this? - Fundraiser for debate club.
Are you still coming?
We wanna hit the trail before the mosquitoes do.
What?
Oh!
Yes, of course.
I'm almost finished.
[phone rings]
Can you get that for me?
Fuller residence, how may I help you?
Whoa! Whoa, whoa, slow down.
Okay, okay, she's here. Just a sec.
Some kid's on the phone saying it's a code red fraction meltdown?
Matthew, the fourth-grader I'm tutoring.
Hey, Matthew.
She's tutoring now, too?
Look at this sloppy work.
The chip distribution is totally off.
Poor little guy. Just wait until he gets to decimals.
We're not gonna make it to Normal Falls today, are we?
You're gonna have to go hiking without me.
I'm sorry, guys.
We'll just wait till we can all go together.
How about tomorrow?
Field trip and student council and spirit committee
and volleyball.
How about Wednesday?
Rosemary Jeske's in town, and she's coming to talk to us.
Wait, who?
Rosemary Jeske? I'll give you a hint.
- She's a human cannonball? - [sighs]
Oh, no, no, no! She's the lady
that invented that tube thingies.
Close.
Capsule-free pneumatic tube travel.
She's also a brilliant physicist, painter,
and civil rights activist.
She'll go down as one of
the most influential people of her generation.
And I wanna follow in her footsteps.
Hey, guys. I'm glad I caught you.
I need you to sign off on the new engineering club calendar.
When did we get an engineering club?
When Mel founded it.
Did she tell you Rosemary Jeske is coming?
It's a total coup. I have a hundred questions,
like what she considers to be
her all-time greatest achievement.
It'll really help me prioritize for--
College. Allergies.
Yeah, your body's allergic to you being so busy.
If I tried to do even half of what you do,
I'd probably make myself sick.
Lucky for me, I never get sick.
I'm not sick.
Okay, I'm sick.
I still don't know why my dad's making me stay home.
Why are you taking his side, Gortimer?
I can't believe I'm missing this field trip.
Doctor Grapehall is going to unveil a bunch of previously
unreleased pirate-era artifacts.
Will you take notes for me?
I was going to write about it for the school newspaper.
I'm up for editor.
Oh, thanks.
You're the best.
I'm hoping it's just a 24-hour bug.
I know, I know. It's just one day.
It's not like I'm gonna miss everything.
Bye.
Hey!
How was the field trip yesterday?
- Uh... - I can only imagine how great it was.
But don't tell me.
Okay, just give me the details.
- I'm sorry, I-- - Oh! Um--
I had some thoughts about next month's engineering club calendar.
- Why? - I know, right?
My dad said I should just rest.
But I couldn't stop my brain.
I was thinking we could bring in someone
from the N.U. chemical engineering department.
- Hippity-hoppity? - Flippity-floppity.
What was that with Randy?
Hippity-hoppity, flippity-floppity.
You know Randy?
- Hippity-hoppity. - Flippity-floppity.
- Hey, guys. - Hi.
Hi, it's Tracy, right?
Don't you usually sit back there?
Well, actually, this is Tracy's seat.
What?
Yeah, there's an open seat right there.
Right, it's Tracy's.
Um, okay, I guess I'll play along
with this weird and slightly cruel game.
So I was wondering if you wanted to hike Normal Falls this afternoon.
- I'm in. Tracy? - I'll make it this time.
I promise.
- Uh... Hmm. - Yeah.
Gortimer: Yeah, so we can go maybe later.
[overlapping chatter]
What exactly was that all about?
- I'm sorry. What? - Back there.
- What's going on? - You guys are acting really weird.
Uh, please don't take this the wrong way,
but what was your name again?
- Mandy? - Mel.
- Oh, great to meet you. - Meet me?
What is this?
This is me introducing myself.
- I'm Gortimer. This is Ranger. - Hey.
Otherwise known as my best friends
I don't get it. Tracy's our best friend.
Okay, this isn't funny anymore.
Is this about the hiking thing? 'Cause I said I was sorry.
No, it's okay. Really, it's fine.
Yeah, don't worry about it.
Sure, Jay Gatsby may seem shallow or materialistic at first glance,
but think about where he started--
Growing up in the middle of nowhere
with no friends or prospects.
Why wouldn't he do everything he could
to become a new person?
Excellent point, Tracy.
- Hippity-hoppity. - Flippity-floppity.
- Hi, Tracy, I have the calendar schedule here. - Awesome.
- Can you-- - Yeah. Okay, cool.
So this is good.
Okay. Um...
Okay so, when Jesse gets here,
I will introduce her to the club,
at which point, Katherine, you can start the video.
And let's hold any further questions until after she's done speaking.
Crud, I'm late.
Tracy's gonna kill me.
But she wouldn't, because she's so awesome.
Yeah, she's pretty great.
They're gonna have to save extra room for her in the yearbook.
All her clubs aren't going to fit on one page.
She's legendary.
Well, hippity-hoppity.
Wait, Audrey?
What's this hippity-hoppity business?
- From the field trip yesterday? - I wasn't there. I was sick.
The security guards at the museum were doing it,
and we all thought it was funny.
Then Tracy started saying it, and now everyone does.
Wow. You really missed everything.
You're telling me.
- Hippity-hoppity, Audrey. - Flippity-floppity, Trace.
This should be your top priority, Kevin.
[chuckles] No, I'm not gonna call you detective,
until you start calling me doctor.
Just find it, okay?
Or you can consider yourself uninvited for Thanksgiving.
You would think having a twin brother
on the police force would be helpful.
But, no.
I'm sorry. Who are you again?
Mel Fuller, I was instrumental in uncovering
the evidence that made us reevaluate
the founding of our town.
It seems like something Tracy would have done.
Never mind.
I was hoping you could tell me
what happened during the field trip yesterday.
How do you know about that?
The only people who knew about the theft
are me, my sorry excuse for a brother,
and you.
I don't know anything about a theft.
Where were you between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. yesterday?
I was home sick.
I believe you.
So what was stolen exactly?
A sextant used by Captain Normal's chief navigator.
Now, a sextant is probably a meaningless word to you, but--
It's a navigational device first used in the 18th century.
Precisely.
And this one is of earth-shattering historical importance,
coveted by all manner of scoundrels over the years
for the legend that surrounds it.
- What legend? - The year was 1832.
Captain Normal's ship Mamas Bonitas Del Mar.
had just embarked on its second Trans-Atlantic voyage.
Aboard the vessel was a lonely cabin boy
named Nathaniel.
None of the other pirates ever noticed him.
But he noticed them.
And one in particular.
He was a lookout named Eagle Eye Ethan
who scoured the horizon day and night.
Land ho!
Nathaniel always imagined what it would be like
up there in that crow's nest,
looking down at the rest of the world,
being the one everyone cheered for.
Then late one night, a great storm seized the ship.
And in the chaos, a mysterious sextant
fell from the bunk of the ship's navigator.
[thunderclap]
Nathaniel snatched it.
And when the storm passed,
Nathaniel took the instrument onto the main deck
and held it to the stars.
The next morning, the pirates all looked at Nathaniel
and asked why he wasn't manning the crow's nest.
Confused but excited,
Nathaniel climbed the mast.
Eagle Eye Ethan protested,
but the pirates only laughed at him.
[chuckles] Ethan as a lookout!
That's a good laugh.
Now swab the deck, cabin boy.
And thus a legend was born.
The sextant not only guided your position at sea,
but your position in life as well.
Nonsense of course. [chuckles]
- But an amusing story. - You're right.
Nonsense, thanks, bye!
Wait, where are you going? Who are you again?
Great. See you later.
- Hippity-hoppity. - Flippity-floppity.
I need to borrow her for a sec.
Come with me.
- Hey! - You stole the sextant.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Yes, you do, and you need to return it to the museum.
But first you have to undo whatever it is that you did.
I don't know how.
- You're lying. - No, I'm not.
I've never even talked to you before today,
and now, you're taking over my life.
Why do you want to be me?
I don't want to be you.
I just wanted to be like you.
Oh, so you made everybody forget about me.
No!
Look, I didn't mean to.
This has all gotten out of hand.
Here, take it. I don't even know how it works.
Tell me what happened, please.
Well, Doctor Grapehall was talking about the story behind the sextant.
And hence, a legend was born.
The sextant not only guided your position at sea,
but your position in life as well.
This was my chance.
I could be somebody.
So whileeveryone was eating lunch...
I snuck up...
grabbed the sextant...
...and messed around with it.
[overlapping chatter]
- Hippity-hoppity? - Flippity-floppity.
The next thing I knew?
Gortimer and Ranger were acting like my best friends.
And from then on I was like you, Mel.
I was confident.
I was valued.
I was a leader.
I'd never experienced anything like it.
It was incredible.
But why me?
Did you know I tried to start an engineering club last year?
But nobody came.
And then Mel Fuller starts one
and everyone rushes to join.
Maybe you just didn't talk to the right people.
People don't listen to me like they listen to you.
Everybody likes you.
And you're always the first one picked for the team
- or called on in class. - Not all the time.
I've been watching you.
And, yes, it's all the time.
And you have these amazing friends.
They're so funny and supportive.
And they always want to go on these little adventures
and hang out.
It's heaven.
You're life is so full.
Yeah, but it's my life and my friends.
But you do more and more and see them less and less.
If I had friends like that,
I would always put them first.
They mean everything to me.
But you're not wrong.
I'm sorry. That's not fair.
I guess I'm just jealous of what you have.
But you could have friends.
You just need to put yourself out there.
Its not that easy.
You're right.
It's not.
It can be scary.
Until you find the right people.
I had the right people.
I had to leave them when I moved.
But you know it's not right for you to take my friends.
And my life.
I know.
We're setting everything back to the way it was.
So how does it work?
I don't know, I just look through the eyepiece.
Okay, now what?
Then I move the arm at the bottom.
[sextant clicks]
I must have hit a lock or something.
- It won't move. - It's stuck?
I feel weird.
Maybe everything has gone back to normal?
Let's go.
Hey, guys, look who it is.
- Hey, you-- - Mandy.
Hey, Mandy.
You guys still don't know who she is?
Sure we do. She's the new girl that wanted your seat this morning?
Nice to meet you guys.
This is Gortimer and Ranger.
Gortimer? That's an interesting name.
You guys have been best friends since you were kids.
Actually, my best friends are Jack and Macy, but
I haven't seen them since we left Texas.
Those were my best friends.
- Oh, no. - What's up with you?
Locking it just made it a million times worse.
- What am I gonna do? - About what?
Long story.
- I'll be back. - Where are you going?
To see Doctor Grapehall. He's gotta know how to fix this.
You guys stay here.
Talk, get to know each other.
So.
Yep.
Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Come in already!
I stole your sextant.
What?
You have no idea the depths of trouble you're in, Tracy.
- Calling the police. - Wait!
I have it right here, but it's stuck or broken or something.
Broken?
Well, this has been really fun,
but, uh, Ranger and I need to get going.
We have some science homework we need to do.
We do?
Oh, right, we do.
We have to figure out how many balloons
it would take to lift Gortimer off the ground.
Cool. Well, don't forget to take into account
the temperature outside,
because it will affect the density of the helium.
Are you saying that we could actually make Gortimer float using balloons?
Sure.
We just have to do a simple calculation.
Well, let's figure out Ranger's balloon number first.
He's the risk taker.
Yeah, if you ever need anybody
to smell test expired dairy products,
I'm your guy.
Okay, first things first.
How much do each of you weigh?
If you walk away right now, I won't press charges.
I don't care about that. I only care about my friends.
Well, they're not actually my friends.
I kind of accidentally stole them.
It doesn't matter. You need to fix the sextant.
The last thing you should be doing is telling me what I need to do.
Don't steal anything else on the way out.
[laughter]
Yes, that's what I said. It was returned.
Call off the investigation.
You never started an investigation?
[laughing]
- That's hilarious, do another one. - Okay, okay.
[Socttish accent] Aye, laddie, the moors are dark and mysterious.
When he pulls that one out at Little Scots, they give us free haggis.
Ranger eats it. I just watch.
Yeah. You should really come with us sometime.
I'd love that. Do you have anymore?
Gortimer [English accent]: I could do British, like a more proper version.
- Do you have another one? - You know, it's more proper.
Hi.
And that's why they call me Doctor.
Hi, uh, I'm Gortimer.
I think you're in our English class.
We were just gonna catch Mel up on everything.
She was out sick for a day.
But it feels like way longer than that.
It does, doesn't it?
I missed you guys.
So you guys are friends.
- No. - Best friends.
Great.
Would you guys like to hang out sometime?
- Sure. - Wait.
We don't know where she stands
on the delicious new mango arctic sludgies.
Actually, I think they're kind of gross.
Trick question, they are gross.
She's good to hang out with us.
- And Mel? - Yes, Tracy?
I would really like to be part of the engineering club.
I'd really like that, too.
- The engineering club! - Rosemary Jeske!
Woman: Unbelievable. Just who do you think you are?
And I looked at my professor right in the eye
and said, "I'm Rosemary Jeske.
Remember that name, because you are going to hear a lot of it."
All: Oooh!
And indeed I have made a name for myself.
But the thing I'm most proud of is the first thing
I ever invented.
It was never patented, never marketed.
And only two people in the world ever used it.
It was a primitive transceiver
that allowed me and my best friend in the world
to communicate when tragedy separated our families.
Connection is the foundation of all great things in life.
Peace, love, and happiness.
There is nothing more noble or rewarding.
Any questions?
No, Mrs. Jeske, you just answered all of mine.
Thank you so much for coming to talk to us.
It's been a real honor.
I have some more time, if anyone would like to stick around.
Wonderful.
I'm giving the floor over to my co-president,
if she has any questions.
Um, Actually, I have a ton of questions.
Gortimer: What makes someone great isn't the number of activities
listed next to their picture in the yearbook.
Greatness is about the choices they make.
They choose to be inspired and to be curious.
They choose to work hard and to challenge themselves.
They choose to support and respect
and love those they surround themselves with.
And if that's how you measure greatness,
then Mel Fuller is the greatest.