Don't Mind | Sealskin Rock | Ep. 3

Hello, listeners.

I'm K.A.

Stats, the writer and creator of Don't Mind.

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And now...

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Previously on Don't Mind Sealskin Rock.

Melody met her father's assistant, Ian Paulson, and spoke with Miss Julia about the chateau.

Later, when Melody went to the basement to give her father his pain medication, she overheard him and Ian discussing their dishonest con to squeeze money from the chateau's new owners.

Afterwards, the day on Sealskin Rock proceeded normally enough until a sleeping Melody was awoken after midnight by creeping sounds drawing her out to the grand staircase.

Don't mind seal skin rock.

Who's there?

I don't even

Yeah,

not anymore.

This place is just old, Makes all kinds of noises.

Back to what we were talking about.

How much does Melody know?

Is she gonna stay quiet about this?

She's a smart girl.

She knows she can't tell anyone about the plan without messing up Maxine's life and her own.

What about Julia?

She wouldn't tell her.

Nah, it'll be fine.

If Mel's known about this for a while, then she's kept a secret from a lot of people, Maxine included.

When she came down the steps, we were still near the stairs.

She didn't need to go too far into the basement.

I don't think she'd even stepped off the stairs.

There's no way she could have seen it.

No, no way.

But we still have to test it anyway.

We don't really know what we're dealing with.

I can pick up a test kit in town tomorrow before coming over.

So far, my access to a private boat has been pushed off a few days, so I'll still need to use Lucas's boat for now.

But we need to be more careful.

What about your other daughter?

Sure she knows nothing?

Maxine doesn't leave the room often, and never without Melody.

Her sickness keeps her tired, and I would certainly be surprised if she tried to make it down to the basement without some help or forewarning.

Okay, so I'll pick up the test kit.

A few, maybe, and bring them in.

We can test multiple spots around the basement just to be sure.

If it's real,

we'll be rich.

Only if we do this right.

Keep quiet and don't be suspicious or too excited.

Now get out of here.

You need to get up early to drive into town if you want to get anything done tomorrow.

What?

Probably just Mel getting up for a drink.

Go on.

I'll see you tomorrow.

Right.

Just a second

Good morning.

I made oatmeal for breakfast.

It's the good stuff.

Not too sweet.

Want some?

Yep, please.

I feel kinda sick.

Wait, really?

Tired or sick-sick?

You feel a bit warm.

I have some hot water.

I can make tea.

We don't have lemon or ginger or anything.

But we do have those peppermint tea bags we took from the motel lobby.

Is it your stomach or your head?

Tired, hungry, warm.

Just stay in bed.

I'll get you some oatmeal and tea.

Once you eat, we'll see how you feel.

Sorry.

Thanks, Mel.

Never a problem.

I'll clean the room today, like you wanted.

The extradust might be messing with you.

We can set you up out here on the balcony once it warms up a bit, so we can open the doors and windows and get some fresh air in.

Was there anything you wanted me to move?

I was thinking we could set up your wheelchair today and make this space a bit easier to navigate if you want.

Max?

Just because it's so stuffy, you know?

Any of that sound good?

Sounds great.

But after I eat, I think I'm going back to sleep.

Sounds like a good idea.

I can do all that in the afternoon, so you just focus on feeling better.

Watch the tea.

It's still super hot.

I'll get your meds.

Thanks.

And I'm going to send out the list with Lucas today, so we should be getting some fresh produce as early as tonight.

But most likely tomorrow.

Eating fresh foods is a lot healthier.

So maybe you're just feeling the processed food.

Can we have carrots and yellow peppers?

Maybe some blueberries?

Blueberries would be so nice.

And they're in season, right?

They shouldn't be too expensive right now.

I can add them to the list, but you know what?

I think there may be some in the garden.

It's all overgrown, but I'll take a look.

Freshly picked berries would would be the best.

That's so cool.

I want to go to the garden sometime.

Just let me know when, and I'll go with you.

It's nice.

We passed it on the way in.

The little courtyard.

They must have had to have brought dirt over to the island.

Well, I don't think I'm up for it.

Not today.

Can you take the phone downstairs and download some new videos?

It sucks that the Wi-Fi doesn't reach up here.

Of course.

Uh, what do you want?

I saved some YouTube videos on my watch list, so those.

And the next couple episodes of that detective show on Netflix, please.

And Little Lit Amber streamed a new horror game last night, and it should be available for download now.

You hate horror games.

Amber makes it funny.

And download the next section of my password.

It's marked in the app.

Okay, I can do that.

It might take a while.

That's a lot, and the Wi-Fi might not be great.

Or even good.

I just don't have high hopes for it.

I can't watch when I'm sleeping anyway.

Good point.

Good?

Yep.

Good.

Perfectly bland.

What I aspire to.

I'll leave the tea on the nightstand.

Get some rest.

I'm gonna head downstairs.

Miss Julia, are you here?

Miss Julia

Password,

password

Everything's in French.

Miss Julia, if you can hear me, I'm looking for the Wi-Fi password.

Sorry to go near your desk, but did you write it down somewhere?

Is the router in the closet or in the

Miss Julia?

Oh, what are you doing in here?

Miss Julia, are you okay?

Are you crying?

Is something wrong?

The password

is on the router

under the table

next to the SETI.

Okay,

do you need help out of the closet?

No.

Do you need anything at all?

Close the door.

Oh,

okay.

Sorry.

Do you know where my dad is?

Basement.

Wine cellar.

Thank you.

Capital G seven four

lowercase you

YouTube, Netflix.

Miss Julia, I'm going to leave our phone here to download while I go downstairs to see my dad.

I'll be back soon.

I'll check on you then, okay?

Okay.

Oh, Julia!

I didn't even

hear you come out here.

You shouldn't go down.

You shouldn't

spend time down there.

Melody.

It's better not to.

Why?

What's down there?

Bastard?

What the hell

Dad, are you down here?

Ian, do you know where my father is?

Ian!

Ian!

What are you doing down here?

I'm looking for my dad.

Why are you tearing up the floor?

We need to.

For the demo.

The whole basement floor has to come up.

Samson's upstairs in the dining room.

He's putting together an initial list for the demolition.

Your hands are bleeding.

Huh.

Look at that.

Can't feel them.

Must have burst a blister.

Thanks.

I'll take a break and clean up.

Good morning, by the way.

Yeah, you too.

Excuse me.

Wait,

how's your sister doing?

Is there anything I can help you out with?

I'll be going back and forth from the mainland a lot more than you or your dad.

I just think it'll be easier and better for everyone if we get along.

For example,

Lucas and I were talking this morning and he said he's taking food and item orders for the next time he heads into town.

He should be back in a few minutes, but you know, if you want anything and Lucas isn't available, I am.

Sometimes I'll even have my own boat for getting back and forth.

No, no, no, we're good.

Thanks.

And you don't need to think or worry about Maxine.

She's just relaxing upstairs.

So please don't let us interrupt your work.

You certainly have a lot to do.

Bye.

Melody, I can help out.

I just.

Dad?

Dad?

Dad?

Dad?

Why are you in the fireplace?

Oh, is it gross in there?

Like dead seagulls that nests and stuff.

Dad?

Yo, Dad!

Come on, get out here.

You're not even working.

Gross, you're a mess.

Don't try to sit on any of the furniture until you've showered and changed.

What?

Mr.

Lucas is coming back soon, and the list for the groceries is pretty long.

I'm thinking if prices are anything like that in Hamilton, about a hundred should cover it.

I'll tell Lucas that if it's not enough, the stuff on the bottom isn't important this time around.

Dad?

Yeah,

sure.

Sorry, Mel.

A hundred?

Did you get it from the budget envelope upstairs this morning?

Yes.

Just letting you know.

What were you doing in the fireplace?

Something wrong with the chimney?

What are you talking about?

In the fireplace?

You?

In fireplace?

There.

No, I'm checking the floors in all the ground floor rooms and some of the skirting boards in here.

There's a lot of rot down in the basement.

That you were in the fireplace.

Right there.

There's even soot on your fingers.

It's dirt.

From working in the basement.

Ian and I are pulling up the floor and the subfloor and hauling out some rocks.

What are you doing down here?

What did did you want?

The list.

I just told you.

Do you want anything specific from the grocery store?

Like, Max, she wants fresh veg and blueberries.

Have you even eaten anything?

How many of your pills have you taken this morning?

I'm fine.

And I'm sure whatever you put on the list is fine.

Now I have to get back to work.

There's a lot to do, and this place is huge.

What do you even?

Fine.

Fine.

Just be careful.

Do you have your pills?

No, they're upstairs.

Want me to bring it down?

No, I'm fine.

Just...

just be sure to get your schoolwork done and look after Maxine.

I'm busy.

You never leave the pills behind when you work.

Well, it's not like I have far to go for this job.

Fine.

If you do decide you want me to get your meds, I'll be out in the courtyard for a few minutes.

This place is a mess.

Blackberries

and a lot of bird poop.

Lucas.

Hey, Mr.

Lucas.

Hey!

Good morning, Melody!

You need to be careful there.

You shouldn't be rushing down those steps.

That's an easy way to end up hurt, or worse.

Sorry.

Yeah, I can see that.

But I wanted to get you the list, the grocery list.

You have it?

Well, that saves me having to walk up those steps.

Yes, here.

Thank you.

And And this is the money.

If this doesn't cover it, then the stuff near the bottom of the list is less important than the stuff at the top.

We can wait to order it until later.

The fresh stuff and the canned stuff is the most important.

This is good.

Looks like normal stuff.

I have found a few too many sweets.

It's just the stuff we know we like.

But if there's something local that you think we should try that's around the same price, we can switch it out.

It could be fun.

A nice surprise for Maxine.

But please get the blueberries.

They're one of her favorites.

Blueberries are in season, so I can get them in larger containers.

How much do you want?

Maybe about

this fashion.

We eat a lot of them when we can.

Okay, so

two of them.

You know, those blackberries will stay in your skin.

You should put them in something.

Easier to collect them with something, too.

I didn't know they were going to be here, so I just picked them.

The chateau has a courtyard garden, and there's a whole bunch of berries growing there.

I think it used to have like gooseberries and strawberries, too, but they all rotted before we got here.

That's past the season for those.

Just be sure to wash anything well.

There's lots of bats out here, and they can carry a lot of diseases.

Do you need anything that's not food?

Not on the list?

Yeah, I have some money for it, too.

One sec.

I don't know how much it would be, but that's what I have for now.

If you find something, I can always pay more to.

I broke one of the wires

strings for Max's violin.

This one.

I don't know what type or name or anything, but if a store has one, maybe someone working there would know.

Do you think you might be headed somewhere that might have one?

There's a shop near the grocery store that sells audio equipment, but I'm not sure if they'll have violin strings.

I can check, but I won't promise that I'll find one.

At least not quickly.

Hold on to the extra cash until I know I can find one.

Are you sure?

Yeah.

Again, though, the town's not big, so I'll have to ask around.

Ah, Ian, are you ready?

Yeah, thanks.

Sorry for the quick return.

It's just a busy day.

I'll only be picking something up, so I'll need to come back right after.

And I'll keep an eye out for the violin strings while I'm there.

It's fine.

You're busy, and Mr.

Lucas is already keeping an eye out for it.

Don't worry about it.

Oh, it's no trouble.

I hope to get to hear Maxine play once the violin is fixed.

Haven't heard it yet.

No, really, you're busy.

I'm sure you and my dad have a lot to plan.

If we're ready, I'd like to get back.

It's gonna rain, so I'll aim to get you back here before it starts.

Doesn't seem likely, though.

Bye, Belody.

I'll keep an eye out for that string.

Bye!

Thanks again, Mr.

Lucas.

All right, let's go.

Bye, Bill.

Dennis is gonna love the experience.

If Lucas comes back to dropping it off later, we may even get those ingredients for tonight.

Or

maybe not.

They ain't got here so fast.

Miss Julia, Miss Julia, is this normal?

It's so loud.

Does it sound like this upstairs, too?

The phone.

That's probably not done, right?

Oh, it is.

Miss Julia, my downloads are done, so I'm probably going back upstairs for now.

Are you still in the closet?

Can you hear me?

Miss Julia.

Well, I guess it's a good thing she's not still standing in the coat closet.

Miss Julia,

I'm taking one of your paper napkins for some blackberries I found in the garden.

Sorry, and thanks.

I guess I'll see you tomorrow.

Spaghetti swimmer

Blackberries now with a lesbian

Dad, you still in here?

I'm heading back upstairs.

I gave Mr.

Lucas the list.

Anyone?

What were you doing in here?

In the silver sleeps.

In the silver sleeps.

What the hell, dad?

Mel.

What the hell, dad?

Melody, you shouldn't be in there.

Why?

What did you write in there?

What are you talking about?

You can't be in here.

I know I said you can explore, but we just noticed a lot of rotted-out beams.

The marble floor in here is too heavy for the wood underneath, and it could fall at any point.

It's like what Julia said about the boards in the tower.

Oh,

okay.

Damn.

What about upstairs?

Is it even safe to stay here?

I was just looking around upstairs.

It's fine.

It looks like the rotten ones got some severe water damage a few years ago, and others have much older damage going back decades.

Maybe the 40s.

Same with the basement demo.

Rotting must have started around the time they ran electricity out to this place.

Well, if you didn't hear me earlier, I gave the grocery list to Mr.

Lucas and got the next set of Maxine schoolwork downloaded to the phone.

Ian left, by the way.

He'll be back later.

What about your schoolwork?

I'm still working on the last set.

Have you seen Miss Julia recently?

Did she leave?

I didn't see her boat down by the dock with Mr.

Lucas' boat.

I didn't see it last time she was here either.

I don't know.

I've never seen her boat at the dock, and I only saw her once this morning.

Pretty early, too.

Did she look okay?

Like, not upset upset or anything?

Don't know.

Only saw her in passing.

She was at her desk, so I just said hello and got to work.

If she doesn't have anything to do, she probably left for the day.

And make sure that you don't bother her too much if she's busy.

Did you wake up last night?

Yeah.

I had to close the window.

It was making too much noise.

Why?

Just wanted to make sure it was you I heard.

The floorboards creak a lot.

Didn't want it to be a big rat or something.

Thankfully, I haven't seen any rats.

Maybe a cat.

You saw a cat?

I thought I did.

Haven't seen it since, though.

I'm going up then.

Sorry about.

Oh, and there's blackberries growing in the courtyard.

I see it.

I see it.

What happened?

I didn't close it right after I cooked dinner.

I am sorry.

I just latched it up.

Try to go back to sleep.

It's only...

It's like 2 a.m.

Did any of the bats get in?

Bats?

That's that sound.

I think they live in the courtyard or maybe in the rocks.

No, nothing got in.

No bats, just some rain.

Sorry, I didn't lock it.

I didn't think the weather was gonna get this bad.

No, it's good.

I was having a terrible nightmare, anyways.

Is dad here?

I'll check.

Hey, Dad, you in there?

You asleep?

He's not there.

I'm gonna go downstairs and look for him.

Go back to sleep.

No nightmares this time.

Okay.

Don't wear wet shoes in the apartment.

No wet feet in the bed.

Got it.

Hey, Dad,

you up here,

Dad,

are you there?

Maxine

Don't Mind, Sealskin Rock, written and created by K.A.

Stats, produced, directed, with additional sound design by Travis Vengroff.

Co-edited and directed with dialogue editing, editing, sound design, mixing, and mastering by Finner Nielsen.

Writing assistance by W.K.

Stats.

Music by Brandon Boone.

And executive producers Dennis Greenhill, A.J.

Punkin, Carol Vengroff, and Michael Viegas.

Starring Marcy Edwards, Lily Pichu, Ewan Sheng, Stefan Koenikart, Russ Moore, Mark Muir, and Caroline St.

Pei.

For bonus content, early releases, and ad-free episodes, please support the creators at patreon.com/slash foolandscholar.

You can also get a limited edition sealskin rock coin made of metal if you sign up today.

This is a Fool and Scholar production.

Thank you for listening.

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