Opening theme begins

Leanne:

Wasting Company Time presents Tell No Tales, Episode Fifteen: Keep Learning

Opening theme ends

[SFX: Recording Begins, mouse clicks, then classical music begins playing]

Leo:

Audio diary of Leo Quinn, assistant to Frank Williamson, director of Better Place. Yesterday was a complete write-off. We were both so exhausted after the cemetery that we got basically nothing done. For our official jobs or otherwise. I think Riley must have gotten roughly the same amount done in the workday as a normal human person, and I just relied on the phone ringing loud enough to wake me up in time to answer it. Riley’s doing some digging into the removal of Mr. Whitley today though, they’re gonna figure out if an official case was logged and if not, where the order to go remove him came from. In the meantime, they sent me a new case file to look into, not one of theirs but they said they saw another team leader working on it and thought I might like it. I don’t know if they sent it to keep me off their back, or just to try to keep me from my own anxiety, but either way, I’m grateful for it.

CaseJT#2236, Category 2, Case Status-active. Reported via email by a Dr. Meiko McLaughlan, a lecturer in eighteenth century literature at City, University of London. Initial report:

Dear Eliza, Thanks so much for getting in touch so quickly. When the university said they’d send an enquiry about costs, I assumed it would be a much longer process. You’ve asked for my account of the haunting, but I’m not sure what the university has told you, so I suppose I’ll start from the beginning. I believe the spirit belongs to a former student of mine, a Ms. Layla Owens. She passed a few years ago, towards the end of her Masters year. She really loved it here. It’s amazing, the attachment some students can have after less than a full year studying here. The friendships you form, the intensity of the course, it all has a lasting impression. Layla was a great student. She told me she’d had some mental health issues in the past. She graduated from her bachelor’s with a good enough grade but she confided in me that she struggled through most of it. She took a few years out before she did her Master’s and really found her stride here. She was the first to speak in seminars, always contributing something to the discussion, fast friends with her coursemates, excellent marks in her assignments. She told me once that even just a semester in, she was already having the happiest year of her life. She died the following summer, during the drafting of her dissertation. There were no lectures during that time but I was her dissertation supervisor, so we were still in touch. It was sudden, a car crash I believe. She was mourned, by everyone. She was so well-loved. But time passed, the next cohort of students arrived, only myself and the other staff from the English department who had taught her remembered her. By the time it started, though, most had forgotten her. Sure, if you mentioned her by name to some of the other lecturers they’d remember her, after a moment. Her death had been big news at the time. But she had confided in me more than most, for some reason, and I think I still grieved for a young woman who’d had so much ahead of her, so I thought of her immediately when my seminar room began to feel… Strange. At first I noticed students begin to shiver during seminars, just small shudders that became more common. I felt it too, goosebumps regardless of the temperature. After another few years, it progressed. Students would find their laptops – always laptops these days, never textbooks or notepads – they would find their laptops glitching. There are always some classes in which people just won’t speak. Like drawing blood from a stone, either nobody’s done the reading, or it’s a particularly shy cohort, it just happens sometimes. In those instances, they found their laptops giving them… hints. Words would appear in their notes, talking points, that kind of thing. Or they would find that the PDFs of the assigned reading would have relevant lines highlighted. It’s kind of sweet, actually. Or, it would be if my students weren’t quickly learning that they don’t always have to do the work. I like having her here with me, she’s not a bother, really. I just hate to think of her trapped here for eternity, or however long a ghost would stay around naturally. I’m hoping Better Place can help with that. Please let me know if you need any more information, Thanks again, Dr. Meiko McLaughlan

Okay, so, I’m gonna call the university and ask if I can go into the classroom after teaching hours tonight. It’s been working for me so far, just telling them I’m from Better Place, assessing the situation. So hopefully by tonight I’ll have one more statement to prov-

[SFX: Incoming text, phone being picked up and unlocked]

It’s Riley they… Confirmed no official case was opened for Mr. Whitley

[SFX: Another incoming text]

But there’s no immediate info on any other leads yet.

[SFX: Another incoming text]

Oh, nice. They’re going to check the armoury’s logs to find which dispatchers took out field equipment and when, and then check it against the official cases, see if any don’t match up. Genius. It will take forever though, especially since we don’t know when exactly Mr. Whitley was removed.

[SFX: Typing sounds]

Just letting them know they can send some of it my way. Sifting through endless amounts of data is kinda my whole thing.

[SFX: Outgoing text, phone being locked]

Okay! We’re getting somewhere. I’ll go call the university, hopefully more later!

[SFX: Recording Ends]

[SFX: Recording Begins]

Leo:

Right, so, we’ve been busy. I went to interview Layla Owens at City University last night, then when I got back I had to edit the footage, then I stayed up a bit later working through some of the logs Riley sent me. I haven’t asked how they got comprehensive logs of every piece of equipment requested from the armoury. I’m not sure it’s in my best interests to know, if I’m honest. But, I mean, it’s a lot, but I think speaking to Layla last night helped, you know? Like, okay, I felt on the verge of something big with Mr. Whitley, but that was never the goal here, right? The goal was to build a case that the spirits we remove should have a right to refuse removal. So speaking to Layla was kind of like, a reminder of why I’m doing this. I won’t lie it was already kind of comforting, just being back in a university. I don’t think it’ll come as a surprise to literally anyone who ends up listening to these notes that despite my total lack of common sense, I kinda thrived in an academic setting. But when I had to drop out because of… Well, then the workforce happened to me and it all a little bit went downhill from there. So going into the university, through the gorgeous little courtyard out front, past the library, past endless lecture halls and computer labs, settling into Meiko McLaughlan’s empty seminar room… it was nice. It was peaceful. The quiet of a university after dark, the bustling of the students pulling all-nighters in the library just far enough away to let the room feel still and calm. But when I felt her presence, the anxiety was almost instinctual. An automatic response to a feeling I still associate with the worst… Yeah. Um, I’m working on it. But I didn’t have a panic attack. I knew enough about her to know, through the immediate impulse to be afraid, that she wouldn’t hurt me. She just wanted to learn. That, I could get behind. I pulled up a chair in the little u-shaped row of desks that seemed designed to facilitate discussion. When I was at uni I did inter-planar physics, which was more lecture based than anything, they weren’t so big on seminars there, so this setup was new to me. I pulled out a chair next to me too, just in case she was able to sit. You never know, right? And I’ll just play the recording back.

[SFX: Mouse clicks]

Leo (On recording):

Heey, Layla, right? Sorry to disturb. Er, Dr. McLaughlan sent me. Well, no, she sent the people I work for. She’s been in touch with Better Place, she’s worried about you, she doesn’t want you to feel trapped here. Problem is, she wasn’t able to ask you to see if that’s something you wanted. But I’ve got this recorder, right here, that’ll pick up your voice, if you’re willing to talk to me? If you are, how’d you feel about starting with some basic info for the record? Name, date of birth, that kind of thing.

Layla (On recording):

Hi… Um, sure, yeah, sorry, it’s been a while since anyone but Meiko talked to me. Been even longer since I’ve been able to, you know, talk back. So, er, right, okay. I’m Layla Owens, born 19th July 1989, and I uh, died in a car crash when I was twenty-three, while I was studying for my Master’s in Literature here at City.

Leo:

Thanks, Layla. And, can you tell me a bit about why you think you came here, specifically, when your spirit manifested?

Layla:

I mean, I love it here. Loved it. No, no I love it here. It was like, my second chance, you know? I didn’t do so well in undergrad. Don’t get me wrong I always adored learning. and I loved literature, I really thrived off of the discussion. I mean, all the sociological interpretations of literature, how class and race and gender intersect and influence a text. But as an undergrad, I didn’t get the experience I knew I should have, because I rarely went to lectures. I rarely even got out of bed. I don’t even remember much of it. I had a couple of close friends and we all clung to each other, every one of us just wading through constant debilitating depression. Looking back over those three years all I remember are just long stretches of the three of us in our flat, in our pyjamas, watching anime and taking regular naps. There are flashes, you know, of going out and getting absolutely trashed every now and then, and a vivid memory of all-nighters in libraries, black sludge coffee at four am as we crack out a semester’s worth of forgotten deadlines in time to just make the one-week extension we’d been given. I do remember those. And you know I should have loved uni so much but depression stole that from me. But then, here, I thrived. I- I don’t know what did it, I mean I took a couple of years out after uni, got a job, got on new medication, maybe that helped, maybe it was the intensity of the course – missing class just wasn’t an option. But either way, I was doing so well. I enjoyed every seminar, had every assignment done ahead of time. I was on track for a distinction, actually. I still had my dissertation to do of course, but Meiko was my supervisor and she thought I was in for a really good chance of getting that distinction overall. And look, I know it’s stupid, to be so attached to a place after less than a year. But it reignited my love of learning, which, isn’t… it’s not a small thing, right? I mean I was going to get my PhD, try and get into lecturing. It finally felt like my future was going somewhere, like I might have a future to be excited about, like I could go to bed and hope that I’d wake up in the morning. Of course the universe waited until I finally wanted to live to let me die.

Leo:

Can you tell me a little about your afterlife so far? How it’s been here for you?

Layla:

It’s not so bad. Bit shitty, being dead and all. Like, it’s… It’s actually harder to keep going knowing that nothing will ever really change, you know? Not for me anyway. I’m not going to graduate, move to new places, get new jobs, date new people. I’m just going to stay in here forever, watching other students on the cusp of doing all those things I didn’t get to do. But I do get to keep on doing what I love. I get to keep learning, I even get to kind of participate a bit, which is cool. I sometimes find those kids who are out of it, like, hungover or really burnt out, they’re just not engaging at all, and I prompt them when I can. You know, just a little nudge in the right direction. Also uh, I’m not depressed any more. Like I get sad sometimes, but I’m not like… I don’t think I have brain chemistry any more? In fact I’m pretty sure I don’t have a brain. I’m not so sure how I have emotions and stuff really, guess I never really wrapped my head around a lot of the science of ghosts back in school. But it’s not a bad life. Um, afterlife. I’m enjoying it, for now. That’s the good thing about literature, is that there’s always a new angle. Imagine if I’d been stuck in a maths classroom or something, learning the same equation, for all eternity? That would suck. But, hey, heated debate about Mary Wollestonecraft’s feminist writings? That never gets old. If there can still be new takes on it being published over two centuries later, I don’t see the topic being exhausted any time soon.

Leo:

Okay, so, I mentioned that Dr. McLaughlan had been in touch with Better Place, can you tell me what your thoughts are on this? Is removal by Better Place something you consent to?

Layla:

Do I… do I get to consent? I suppose I didn’t think about it like that. Meiko told me she’d called. She talks to me sometimes, when there’s nobody around. But I didn’t even consider that I’d have a choice in it. Like I said, I don’t want to be here for eternity, but I’m… I’d like to stay, for now. I’m not ready to die. I wasn’t ready to die. I just… I was, for so long. I wanted it all to end so badly. But this feels like my second second chance. I don’t want to throw it all away just yet.

Leo:

Thanks, Layla. And before I go, is there anything you want me to pass on to anyone still living?

Layla:

Sure, uh, thank Meiko for me, will you? For having my back. Both before and after. And, er, I don’t know if you could, but if you could find my parents? Grace and Mark Owens? And let them know I’m here, that I’m doing okay? That I love them and miss them and I want to thank them for helping me through my depression? Also just… Just in case there’s any doubt in their minds. I didn’t want to die. The accident was really just an accident. Thanks, Leo.

[SFX: Mouse clicks, classical music resumes]

Leo (No longer on recording):

So, I sent that to Meiko already, and she said she’s going to cancel the case with Better Place. Which feels amazing, right? Like I’m already helping someone! And Meiko’s in touch with Layla’s parents, so she’s going to forward the message on, and also get in touch with some of the alumni from Layla’s cohort, so that some of them could come and visit her. I really feel like I’m making headway here. Genuinely doing a good thing, bit by bit. And maybe I—

[SFX: Office phone rings, then is picked up]

Leo:

Hey, hey yeah I can talk, Frank’s out. I’m recording notes, actually, let me put you on speaker.

[SFX: Click of a button before receiver is put down]

Riley:

(THROUGH PHONE) Okay, so, do you have the logs to hand?

Leo:

Uh, yeah they’re just… in my drawer.

[SFX: Drawer opening, papers rustling]

Yep, got em here. I’ve been working my way up from the earliest dates, like you asked.

Riley:

Right, yeah, well I’ve been working my way down from the most recent dates. Take a look at, uh, page five, the day before we went out to Highgate Cemetery. See that last entry? At about nine pm, just one person taking out dispatch equipment, solo. Doesn’t match any official case, nobody should ever be going out on a call alone. See the name?

Leo:

Oh. Oh no.

Riley:

Yup.

Leo:

Well, shit.

Riley:

Exactly. Never thought I’d be catching myself saying this voluntarily, but… I think you might have been right about Julia.

Leo:

I’ve gotta…. Can I call you back? I need a minute.

Riley:

Yeah, see you later.

[SFX: Phone is hung up, long pause]

[SFX: Recording Ends]

Closing theme begins

Leanne:

Episode Fifteen of Tell No Tales, Keep Learning, was written and performed by Leanne Egan. You also heard the voices of Michaela Hook as Layla Owens, and Phil Thompson as Riley Matkins. Tell No Tales will be taking a two week break but we’ll be back to our regular schedule on the 29th August for the last ten episodes of the season. In the meantime, stick around after the credits for a trailer for Mx. Bad Luck, a non-binary led audio drama that we love, and we think you’ll love too. Tell No Tales is distributed by Wasting Company Time Productions, under a Creative Commons attribution non-commercial share-alike 4.0 international license. Thank you for listening, and remember: the dead don’t bite.

Closing theme ends

‘’BAD LUCK’’ BY SEBASTIAN VALENZUELA FADE OUT

[SFX: CAT PURRING]

MICAH:

What could go wrong in a month. 31 days. 744 hours. Less than that if you have a decent sleep schedule but i’ve yet to meet anyone who does, so im gonna assume you all to be insomniacs or solar powered robots until proven otherwise. Does anyone actually leave their house before 8 pm anymore? I’m not leaving beforehand to check so that can remain a mystery for now. I’d argue 8 pm is a world known time to collect energy drinks and any source of caffeine before settling down and pretending to do those papers due last month. But that’s beside the point.

[SFX: FOOTSTEPS, DOOR OPENS]

SALEM:

Talking to the cat doesn’t count as therapy y’know?

MICAH:

No, but he’s a good listener

SALEM:

I don’t blame you, it’s been a long month. Are you ready to put an end to it micah?

MICAH:

As ready as i’ll ever be

SALEM:

Then lead the way mx. bad luck, we’ve got a curse to stop- what’s the worst that could happen?

MICAH:

Famous last words salem, famous last words

BAILEY:

Hurry up guys or I’m leaving without you!

SALEM:

Times up, lets go before bailey starts messing with things he shouldn’t

[SFX: FOOTSTEPS]

MICAH:

What could go wrong in a month? Spoiler alert, the answer’s a lot. Like a lot a lot.

‘’GOOD LUCK’’ BY SEBASTIAN VALENZUELA FADE IN

Stream mx bad luck wherever you listen to podcasts and join us on our journey to find good luck amongst the bad.