Inspired by Community S4E3: "Advanced Documentary Filmmaking."

Leo POV [Documentary]

Footage of New Rome's resident psychology major, Clovis, in an interview chair fades in on the screen. Although nobody on campus fully understands what Octavianesia is, everyone is fully committed to learning more about this condition and its roots.

Clovis yawns and says, "I pulled an all-nighter studying Octavian, or Gary, as he now prefers to be called. Can't say I disagree with that logic."

"What logic?" Leo asks from behind the camera.

"Octavian—Gary—says he'd rather go by Gary because if he doesn't have any of his old memories, he isn't Octavian anymore. He's Gary."

Leo pushes Jake Mason's boom mic out of the frame and then asks his next question: "What exactly is the difference between Octavianesia and amnesia?"

Clovis lays back, his head thrown over the back of the seat.

"Clovis?" Leo asks.

Leo's trusty cameraman Travis Stoll waves a hand in front of Clovis's face. "He's out cold."

Annoyed, Leo claps his hands in front of poor sleepy Clovis.

Instead of responding, he snores.

"Clovis!" Jake shouts.

He yelps as he's awoken. "What? Oh. That'll teach me to pull an all-nighter. Sleep is very important you know."

"Evidently," Travis retorts.

"Well, thank you for your time," Leo says. "We're going to wrap up here and let you get some sleep, Clovis. Clovis?"

The interviewee has fallen asleep again, so they cut the camera and shift to the second interview of this pivotal documentary. Although the over-eccentric dean is nobody's favorite character in the sitcom that is Leo's life, he's a necessary force, especially when it comes to offering a new perspective on Octavianesia. Besides, Leo would like to hear from the man that hired him as a teaching assistant in the first place.

"What's up, Dean D?" Leo greets as he and his crew step into the dean's office.

"Leonard. Others," he responds, not bothering to look up from his game of online solitaire.

Travis zooms in on the dean and Jake pushes his wheelchair closer to the desk so that the boom mic can reach. They've been doing documentaries like these for about three years now and Jake still can't manage to keep that mic from entering the camera frame, but he's so kind that Leo just doesn't have the heart to fire him. Also, there's no one lined up to replace him, so the director's hands are tied.

"We want to know more about Octavian's condition," Leo says.

Dean D closes out of his game and looks directly at the camera. Slowly, he picks the can tab off his Diet Coke and pitches it into a pile full of them. That man probably drinks about a case of soda a day, which can't be healthy.

"So," the dean says at last, "you want to know about TA turned student turned SoundCloud rapper turned campus security officer turned villain turned Octavianesiac."

"Uh, yeah," Leo says. "Whatever. What can you tell us about Gary from when he was Octavian? How did he become a TA in the first place?"

"I trusted the advice of one of my colleagues from the music and drama department," Dean D explains. "He's from the visual arts as well, and he does the poetry class for our English department... I'm pretty sure he teaches a nursing class now that I think of it. Shoot, I probably shouldn't have cut that guy's pay. The fact of the matter is that I trusted my colleague, and ended up hiring someone who hasn't even completed his undergrad education."

"Wait, which colleague?" Travis asks.

"Then he taught that Spanish class-"

"Latin class," Leo corrects.

"Whatever. He taught that class and someone exposed him, so he enrolled in our music department and then put out a bunch of shitty singles about how Peter Johnson and Jonathan Groff did him wrong-"

"It's true," Jake interrupts. "They're so shitty."

Leo sighs. This interview is dragging on, but they're getting so much good information from the dean. Perhaps he wasn't enjoying his game of online solitaire as much as he thought.

Dean D continues to describe the details of the past four years with Octavian, from his time as a menacing TA to his transformation into a full-on evil maniac.

"Cool," Leo says. "Could you tell us about the research on Octavianesia being conducted here at New Rome?"

Dean D nods, approving the obvious shoutout to New Rome Community College in Leo's documentary, and then says, "Here at New Rome, we're committed to providing our students with hands-on real-life experiences. Part of our program to expand this feature of our quality education is allowing our brain and psychology students up close and personal opportunities to conduct experiments on our subject."

"Cool," says Leo. "Now, why are we really letting the students research Octavian?"

The dean cracks open another can of Diet Coke and then takes a long sip before answering, "The board has decided to invest a lot of money into this project, and we'll get even more funding if we can get 'breakthrough knowledge.'" He puts that last part in air quotes.

Leo cocks an eyebrow. "And that means what exactly?"

"New Rome Community College would officially become a research institution. It's all about research these days. Enrollment would be up, and we'd have more money to expand the opportunities we can give to our student body."

Leo hates that he has to clarify most of Dean D's answers with "And what do you really mean by that?" but he does it anyway.

"We'll have more money to offer free Jamba Juice smoothies at every student organization, fund the Mars Coed Fraternity, and buy a couple of extra cases of Diet Coke. Maybe I'll get you kids air conditioning in the dorms."

Leo rolls his eyes. "I'm a senior. I don't live in the dorms anymore."

"Maybe your friends here will appreciate it."

Jake raises his hand. "I'm graduating in May, and my internship offered me a full-time job, so you know..."

Everyone looks at Travis.

"I dunno," he says. "I always thought my ex-girlfriend Katie would be the breadwinner. I'm earning a degree in communications. What the hell am I supposed to do with a degree in communications, become a social media influencer? A TikToker?"

Leo urges Travis to shut the camera off and then contemplates all the ways he's going to have to edit this interview. Nobody deserves to see Travis's existential meltdown, not even his on-again-off-again girlfriend.

It's a little early for this, but a lot of Leo's footage looks pretty strange out of context. This documentary lacks narration from the host that ties it all together, and it isn't even eight o'clock in the morning yet.

Leo takes a seat on an empty stairwell and asks Travis to turn the camera on him.

"You're probably wondering, why, oh super mega awesome hot filmmaker, are you making such an atrocity?" Leo says. "Well, I'm not entirely sure why I chose to take on this project. Maybe it was a genuine interest, maybe it was sympathy, maybe it was my love for the art-"

"Maybe it was the internship credit Dean D offered you," says Jake.

"We'll cut that out in editing," Leo mutters. "The purpose of this film is to examine Octavianesia from all perspectives. Thus far, dear viewers, you've seen Dean D's perspective as a greedy administrator, and Clovis's perspective as the closest person we have to a psychologist. Was that good?"

Travis nods, shaking the camera as he does so. "That was smart-sounding."

"Thanks," Leo says. He'll edit that out too. "Now, we're also going to look at some other angles. For starters, I have a friend who let's just say, is a little less than believing of Gary's condition."

"Gary?" Jake asks.

"I mean, can't argue with his logic," says Leo. "Plus, it makes for a clearer message. He'll be Octavian when we're talking about him before his Octavianesia, and Gary after."

"Gotcha. Smart."

As the introduction to Leo's scientific documentary reaches its conclusion, it's time to get into the action of the story and introduce our main investigators.

The camera pans across the study table, slowly introducing each of Leo's friends.

Percy flicks a paper football in between Piper's fingers. At the head of the table, Annabeth waits for her computer to load, and Hazel and Frank sit across from each other holding hands and staring into each others' eyes. Behind them, Jason paces across the floor, his footsteps heavy. He is, for a lack of better words, harshing Leo's mellow.

"Hey, bro," says Percy. "Why don't you come and play with us?"

Jason stops long enough to say, "Paper football is a two-player game," and then continues pacing, muttering under his breath.

"Whatever," says Piper. "Let's just go again while we wait for Annabeth's computer to load."

"I'm so sorry," grouchy Annabeth groans from her chair. She tucks her knees against her chest and says something, but her voice is muffled and the microphone can't quite pick that up. So Jake chooses now to keep the boom mic out of the frame. Fantastic timing.

"Cool," says Leo. "So can you guys maybe film some interviews for my documentary while we wait for Annabeth's computer to load?"

"Can't you fix it, Leo? I'm desperate," she says.

Leo shrugs. "Sorry, but when your laptop is a hand-me-down from George Washington, there's only so much I can do."

Percy chuckles. "Maybe you can sell it to the Smithsonian!"

"Do you even know what the Smithsonian is, Seaweed Brain?"

Percy gasps in disbelief. "Yeah! When I was a kid, I got lost in the rock exhibit!"

The paper football bounces off his forehead and Travis pans the camera over to Piper, her hands still in the flicking position. "Of course, you were a rock kid. Why am I not surprised, Seaweed Brain?"

Percy and Annabeth both flinch.

He tries to come up with a nice way to explain it. "Maybe don't..."

"Don't say that," Annabeth says. "It sounds wrong coming from you."

Over the years, Leo has come to appreciate Frank. Sure, they've had their differences, but at the end of the day, nobody can wiggle his way out of an awkward conversation like good ol' Frank Zhang.

"What's your documentary about, Leo?"

Leo puts his hands on his hips, a classic power pose he learned about in his mock interview with his academic advisor the other day. He had no idea he had an academic advisor. What a strange resource. "I'm doing a science piece about the Octavianesia—the inflicted, the researchers... all the perspectives, really."

"Well, I'll give you a perspective," Jason says, pointing to Leo's chest. That's intimidating. What's wrong with Jason, Leo wonders. "There's no way that maniac has any form of amnesia, let alone a made-up kind."

"I believe it's called Octavianesia," Hazel says, folding a new paper football for Percy and Piper's game.

"It's called being insane!" Jason cries. "Hazel, you're being tricked. You have to see that. He's trying to make us all believe him so that he can like, try to take over the school again or-"

Instead of listening to his paranoid rant, she says to the camera, "I hired Gary to work at my sandwich shop. I'm all about second chances, and I do think he's changed."

"Oh, that's nice," Jason says, mocking his friend's catchphrase. "C'mon, guys," he says to the others. Then, he notices the camera, as if for the first time. The crew has always been here. Why is he looking at Leo like that? Leo doesn't like it when people Jim the camera.

"I'll help you with your documentary, Leo. Here's what we're gonna do." One by one, Jason allocates tasks to the group.

"Hazel, since you hired Octavian at your sandwich shop, you and Frank can keep an eye on him at work," Jason says. "Still got that second camera, Leo?"

"Yep."

"Percy, Dean D is presenting this whole thing to a board of researchers who will allocate funding to New Rome if we can prove breakthrough knowledge on Octavian's alleged condition."

"Okay?" Something tells Leo that Percy does not understand where Jason is going with this.

Jason twists the strong on his friendship bracelet from Hazel. "I'll give you the password to my Canva Pro account. You're giving the presentation."

Percy beams. "I mean, I'm not sure what makes me the best choice for that job, but I'll do my best! I've always wanted to MC something. Annabeth-"

Jason ignores his bro. "Annabeth and Piper will figure out where Octavian's been all summer, and what he's been up to."

Piper takes a long slurp from her frappuccino and raises her hand. "I think he prefers to go by 'Gary' now."

"He's not Gary!" Jason yells. "He is evil and we are going to figure out what he's up to. Got it?"

Glances are exchanged across the table while Jason opens a cabinet and retrieves arts and crafts supplies nobody else realized were at their disposal the entire four years they've paid tuition for New Rome Community College.

They're probably going to regret what they've gotten themselves into, but it'll make great content for Leo's documentary.

"Travis," Leo says to his cameraman, "remind me to send Jason an Edible Arrangement."

At Hazel's sandwich shop, Leo is teaching Frank the basics of the smaller video camera. The footage is going to look like it's from an apocalypse given Frank's massive Wreck-it-Ralph hands and the camera is about thirty years old, but it'll do.

"Hey, so we have a problem," Frank says. He shows Leo his hand, which he is struggling to fit through the safety strap on the camera. It does not fit. His hands are just that massive. How does he hold hands with Hazel all the time? Do they not bother with lacing their fingers together? Like, does he just grab her hand and hold it like a stress ball? The world may never know.

Leo finally gets Frank's camera working, so there are two cameras to point at Octavian—Gary—when he walks into the dining hall, looking up and down the posters on the wall in awe. "Wow," he says, not unlike a child at Disney World for the first time. "Are there really this many student clubs I can join?"

"Yep," Hazel says. "C'mon, let me show you the menu." She leads Gary behind the counter and points out various condiments and meat substitutes.

"Gee," he says. "That sure is a lot. How will I remember it all?"

"We'll help you," Hazel says. "I promise it isn't that hard once you get a little practice."

"Thank you so much," Gary says sincerely. "Seriously. You are all being so kind to me."

Travis and Frank look directly into each other's cameras, not unlike an episode of The Office.

Hazel clears her throat. "Oh, sure... Gary..."

"What's this?" he asks.

"That's a knife."

"A knife..."

Part of Leo wonders if Hazel just introduced a potential killer to his murder weapon, but then again, isn't everyone a potential killer—emphasis on 'potential.'

At this point in the documentary, they'll switch over to whatever grainy footage Frank can get on the little vintage video camera because he's closer to the sandwich-making spectacle that's about to occur.

Gary watches with wide eyes as Hazel walks him through the process of making a tuna salad sandwich. It shouldn't be hard—it's just spreading some processed fish across a bun, putting some lettuce and maybe some mayonnaise on top—but the poor Octavianesiac can't even figure out which way to hold the knife.

"Excellent job, young Frank," Leo says. "Leave you to it, I will. Check on Percy, we must."

Frank gives Leo a thumbs up. Leo can trust Frank with the expensive camera. Everything is fine.

"Okay, Gary, maybe fine motor skills aren't your thing," Hazel says patiently. "How about you stir the tuna salad? That's not too hard." She retrieves a plastic tub of tuna salad from the refrigerator and peels the plastic wrap from it, distributing a horrible smell throughout the dining hall. Well, a worse smell than usual, that is.

Hazel hands a wooden spoon to Gary and explains what it is and how to use it. She shows him how to stir the spices and other ingredients into the meat. Octavianesia must be a more intense form of amnesia if he needs this much guidance.

Gary sticks the wrong end of the spoon into the tuna salad.

"Oh!" Hazel shrieks. "It's fine! It's okay." She takes the spoon from Gary and turns it the right way.

"I'm not sure I get it. Can you show me again?" he asks.

Hazel is so good at remaining patient throughout this whole thing. Surprisingly, she isn't an aspiring kindergarten teacher. The actual aspiring kindergarten teacher, on the other hand, is losing patience.

"C'mon, man," Frank says, taking one hand off the camera. "It's like this."

He reaches for the spoon, but Gary maintains his grip. "I think I've got this. Hazel, do I-"

"Gary, just give me the spoon." Frank leans in to take the spoon, but then the picture on the camera becomes even more grainy as the viewer sees Octavian's bony fingers, Frank's dropped jaw, and then tuna salad, nothing but tuna salad.

"Oh my god, Frank!" Hazel cries.

Frank whimpers, "Leo's gonna kill me!"

And that's when the sound cuts out.

The next segment of the footage comes from Leo's primary camera, held of course by Travis Stoll, who poses no threat to Leo's precious equipment. In fact, Leo is starting to worry about Travis's shoulder. There's nothing wrong with building up some muscle, but he only holds the camera on his right shoulder, so he's starting to look a little crooked.

The camera pans across the study table, and the arts and crafts supplies spread across it. A piece of blue construction paper has a list of fish puns written on it in blue washable marker, some crossed out, and some with blue star stickers next to them.

A package of googly eyeballs is spilled over the side of the table, creating a perfect trail for Jason to use to find his best bro.

"Bro," Jason says, surveying the contents of the table. "What the hell is this?"

Percy cuts a piece of blue duct tape with a pair of blue safety scissors. "I'm making the backdrop for my presentation.

"You can't just make a PowerPoint on Canva? Bro, I gave you the password to my Pro account."

Percy peels the duct tape off his arm, taking some hair with it. "I couldn't find a template I liked."

"You can make your own."

"I didn't know how."

"There's tutorials and all sorts of-"

"Are you trying to push your graphic design app on me?" Percy asks. "Not cool, bro." He gets up on a chair and holds a massive chunk of blue poster paper taped together against the wall.

Taking the hint, Jason gets on a chair as well and grabs the opposite end, holding it in place while Percy secures his scenery with—you guessed it—blue duct tape.

"Are you sure you shouldn't be using Command strips?" Jason asks.

Percy scowls. "What are you, man? A representative of the QVC channel?"

"The what?"

"The QVC channel. You know, it's always on at the dentist's office."

"My dentist's office plays HGTV on mute."

"Lame."

Jake contributes to the conversation from behind the camera, declaring, "This conversation is a trainwreck."

Jason and Percy step off their chairs. Like a proud father, Percy admires his handiwork.

"Do you think they'll like it?" he asks Jason.

"Oh, yeah, totally."

"Great," says Percy. "Now I need your socks."

Today is the day that Leo learns he should have invested in another camera because he would love to show the viewers what exactly it is that brought Piper and Annabeth to a livestock farm to look for clues.

The camera pans over the landscape. Gorgeous cows with reddish hues in their thin fur nurse their calves and chew grass that they'll digest in the most complicated way possible with their three stomachs. A little Amish boy from the neighboring farm keeps trying to pedal his mother's homemade soaps on Annabeth, who doesn't have thirty dollars even if she wanted a bar of soap that smells like Coca-Cola. Like the badass she is, she somehow wards off the Amish boy and restrains Piper from chasing down the chickens.

"I just think it's funny how their heads jut forward every time they take a step!" Piper says. "C'mon, Annabeth, don't you want a chicken?"

"A feathered ball of disease? No thanks," she says. "And no thanks to you too, Ezekiel! You can take your mother's soap and shove it up your-"

"Look! This one is fat! We can catch it easily!" Piper yells. She tries to run off toward the chubby chicken but thankfully fails when Annabeth grabs her by the hood of her sweatshirt.

At last, Annabeth, Piper, and the documentary crew reach the gates of the ranch.

Green copper lettering reads, TRIPLE G RANCH. When Travis zooms in, the viewer can see a man on a rocking chair on the porch, a rifle laid out across his lap.

Needless to say, Leo would rather not confront this guy about their Octavianesiac friend back at New Rome Community College.

Breaking the serious mood, Piper snorts and passes her phone to Annabeth. "Take my picture in front of the sign. Triple G! Ha! Imagine all the jokes I can make out of that."

Annabeth smirks. "I can't decide if I want to photoshop 'spot' or 'string' over it first."

Leo says what everyone's thinking. "I thought I was the perverted one."

Piper poses for a couple of photos, sticking her middle finger up for one and giving a duck face for another. Despite the blatant disrespect to the ranch owner, it's pretty funny.

"What are you doing on my property?"

Leo should have warned his friends that the man with the rifle got off his rocking chair, but he likes stirring up drama too much to do that.

Annabeth and Piper's cheeky grins drop as they realize.

Piper starts, "Sir, we are so sorry-"

"I told you damn boy to get the hell off my property! Don't be pedaling your goddamn soap on these nice ladies!" He fires his rifle into the air, effectively scaring Ezekiel the Amish boy back into the cornfields from which he came.

"Oh, uh, thanks," Annabeth says to the man.

He blows the smoke off of the barrel of his gun. "Damn kids. Now, what brings you here? And what the hell do you need a camera crew for?"

"Pretend we're not here," Leo says.

Piper clears her throat. When it comes to adults, she pulls out the manners. "Sir, we're here to conduct some investigative research on a, erm, friend of ours. The camera crew is just here documenting the process."

"I see," he says. "And what's this gotta do with me?"

"We think you might have been in contact with that friend over the summer," Piper explains. "Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?"

"Sure, sure. Come on and have a seat." He leads the crew up to the porch of his massive farmhouse and takes a seat on the rocking chair.

Annabeth and Piper take a seat on a bench, and not realizing that it's hanging from the ceiling, accidentally put their weight too close to the front, causing Piper to fall off and spill her Venti Mango Dragonfruit Acai Refresher with lemonade. "Shit," she swears under her breath.

"Oh, where are my manners?" the ranch owner asks. "Eurytion! Mix up a pitcher of Country Time!"

"You got it, boss!"

Piper climbs back into the bench swing and pushes off with her feet, rocking her and Annabeth back and forth. "Cool, so we're just going to ask a couple of questions."

"Shoot," he says, picking something in his teeth.

Annabeth shows a picture from her phone to the ranch owner, and then to Travis's camera. "Have you ever met this guy?"

"S'pose I have," he says. "Yeah, I remember. Back in August, I think it was."

"How would you describe him?" Annabeth asks.

"Well, the boy wasn't exactly all there if you know what I mean."

"Sorry," says Annabeth. "Can you elaborate? Like, not all there as in he couldn't tie his shoes, or not all there as in he was potentially plotting your murder?"

"Goodness!" he laughs, clutching his round stomach. "That boy wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"Refreshments are ready," a buff guy in overalls and a flannel says, emerging from the creaky door. He passes out lemonade made from powder and pink-frosted sugar cookies from the grocery store down the street. Leo loves those sugar cookies, but he needs to remain professional, so he refuses when offered snacks.

Piper finishes her cookie and wipes her hands against her leggings. "Well, thank you so much for the information."

"I hope you can help your friend," he says.

"Before we go," says Leo. "Can we please get your name for the record?"

"Sure thing, boy. It's Geryon, but friends call me Gary."

The girls thank Gary, the ranch owner, for his hospitality and he wishes them well in the rest of their investigation, but Leo decided that the name reveal would be a more dramatic place to end the scene, so end the scene he did.

Now, Leo is back in the study room, sitting at the table in the middle of Percy's arts and crafts rampage. He's not sure why Percy asked for everyone's socks when they entered the study room, but who is he to question a creative genius? He gave Percy his socks and told Travis to roll the camera.

"You wouldn't believe what we found out at the ranch today," Annabeth says. "Leo, pull up the footage."

Normally, Leo wouldn't cave into her request because showing the main characters the documentary before it's finished can change the story, but this might be interesting, especially considering the nonbeliever in the room.

Jason rests his hands on the back of Leo's chair and watches as he clicks on the footage from the ranch. The audio is a little difficult to hear because there was no ramp leading up to the farmhouse and Jake couldn't quite reach the conversation with the boom mic, but everyone gets that bit at the end about Geryon sharing a nickname with their Gary.

"Woah," says Percy. "That's kinda crazy. Do you think it's just a coincidence?"

"No freakin' way," Piper says. She sets her third sugary Starbucks drink of the day on the table. "He recognized Gary when we showed him a picture."

"You mean Octavian?" Jason corrects.

"No," says Piper. "I think you're failing to acknowledge that this dude might be suffering from a serious disease, and you're going to feel terrible when you realize how wrong you are."

"Woah, trouble in paradise," Percy says, earning a swat on the head from Annabeth.

"Play the tape that Hazel and Frank got," Jason says.

Leo jumps in his seat. "You know I can't do that. It would compromise my integrity as a neutral-"

"Do it, goddammit!"

Leo hits play on the video, exposing Frank and Hazel's screwup to the entire study group.

"Oh, god, that's something else," Piper says.

"Leo, I am so sorry about your camera," Frank says. "Gary was having trouble with the spoon and-"

"And we're just really sorry," Hazel says again.

"Hey, it's still recording!" Percy says, pointing to the screen.

Frank and Hazel may not have noticed it at the time, but the video camera still works, to some extent, and was recording when they pulled it out of the vat of tuna salad. They set the camera on the counter and rush off to the janitor's closet, probably to find a rag or something to clean Leo's precious camera with. Hopefully, to find something to clean Leo's precious camera with.

"Wait, there's Gary," Annabeth says, pointing to a small figure on the screen. There's no doubt that it's Gary. He's been wearing a green safety vest ever since he mysteriously appeared on campus because he doesn't understand the concept of pedestrian safety yet.

Jason pushes his glasses higher on his nose and leans in. "What is he doing?"

"That old payphone in the dining hall works?" Hazel asks. "I can't believe it."

"Who's he calling?" Frank asks.

Leo rolls his eyes. "Oh yeah, just let me use my secret spy technology real quick and figure out what numbers he's pushing and whose phone it belongs to. He probably doesn't know how that thing works." He closes the lid of his laptop. "Come on, crew. We might be able to squeeze in a few more interviews before the presentation starts."

Piper tosses her empty frappuccino into the recycling bin and stands up. "See you guys later; I should probably change into something presentable."

"I'm going to stay here and make sure Seaweed Brain doesn't glue his fingers together," Annabeth says.

"Hey!" he says. "Be nice to me or I'll turn your socks into the bad guys!"

"What the hell?" she asks.

"Besides, you're too late," he says. "I also have to change for my big presentation."

"Percy, you're MCing a schoolwide research project, not starring in a Broadway production," Jason says.

Percy rolls his eyes. "Says you."

That evening, Leo's camera crew sets up in the study room to document the research presentation. It's an exciting scene; people are dressed to the nines, reporters from The New Roman Times are gathering quotes for articles, Gary is being hailed as the guest of honor, and there are even tiny cheesecakes. Who doesn't love tiny cheesecakes? They're just like regular cheesecakes, but tiny.

The study table has been dragged to the side of the room where Percy will be speaking, and has been tipped on its side for some reason. Chairs from the other study rooms have been assembled into rows. The seats don't match, so they've got this Charlie Brown Thanksgiving thing going on, not that Leo's complaining.

Dean D leads the sponsors to the front row and then rushes back out the door to check on Percy and Gary. The presentation is about to begin.

Percy walks up to the podium, wearing a blue suit with a blue collared shirt underneath. When Travis zooms in, the viewer sees that Percy is also wearing a blue tie decorated with various kinds of tropical fish. That's excessive.

He clears his throat and adjusts the microphone. "Good evening, everyone," he says. "Welcome to our o-fish-al research presentation." Was that a pun? That was not a pun.

"My name is Percy Jackson, and I am a marine biology major here at New Rome Community College. Before we get started, there are a couple of people we'd like to thank. For starters, we'd like to thank the sponsors for this oppor-tuna-ty to present our research. Next, we'd like to thank the students and faculty that set aside their busy schedules to support the research project, and of course, Gary for being our subject. Wave to the people, Gary!"

Gary stands up and waves to the sponsors.

"And of course, this couldn't be possible without Leo Valdez, who is documenting our research progress." Percy adjusts his tie and then says, "Here's a joke for you all: How do shellfish take photos?"

When nobody answers, he says, "With a clam-era!" He laughs at his joke. "And uh, speaking of, during the presentation, no flash photo-plankton or shell-phone usage will be permitted. It might scare Gary."

He pulls a blue sock from his pocket and slips it over his hand.

Travis zooms the frame in so the viewers can better see Piper's green Harry Potter sock decorated with googly eyeballs and yarn for hair.

In a pitched-up voice, Percy says, "Hello everyone! My name is Sock-ette!"

So Percy's entire presentation is a joke.

The camera pans behind the New Rome Seven, who are seated in the back row of the makeshift presentation room.

Annabeth turns around and makes eye contact with the camera, with nothing but fear in her eyes.

Jason stands up and walks down the aisle, carrying a briefcase. Leo didn't realize they were collaborating on the presentation.

It's a fantastic contrast, Percy in his tacky blue suit and Jason dressed like a lawyer. Something tells Leo they didn't plan that.

Jason pushes Percy and his sock puppets aside and speaks at the podium. "Hello, everyone. My name is Jason Grace and I conducted the investigation into the validity of Octavian's condition."

"You mean Gary!" Jason's Nike sock says back to him in a shitty British accent.

"I do not," says Jason. He reaches for the projector on the ceiling and turns the potential sponsors' attention toward the video of Frank's encounter with Gary and the tuna salad.

He hits pause and points out what the study group noticed at their initial viewing: Gary aimlessly dialing a number on the old broken payphone in the dining hall.

"I zoomed in on this footage and traced the number he's dialing," Jason says. "No, folks, he's not just pushing buttons. He's dialing a number with an area code. I managed to trace that number back to its owner."

"Really?" Gary asks. "All I can think about are those numbers and what they might mean. Maybe they belong to the love of my life!"

Jason rolls his eyes and continues speaking. "Everyone knows that a true amnesiac or Octavianesiac—whatever you want to call it—wouldn't be able to remember something like a girlfriend."

He snaps his fingers, and then Reyna makes her grand entrance. "Quit calling me, Gary! I am not your long-lost girlfriend! I am not your long lost anything."

Gary gasps. "You're beautiful!"

"Octavianesia is a scam!" Jason accuses.

For a minute, Leo thinks New Rome might lose the funding and not earn its status as a research institution. The sponsors mumble amongst themselves, and then a representative stands up.

"With this heartwarming encounter, we've determined that there is hope for a cure. Mr. Grace, do you know what this breakthrough means for the future of Octavianesia? 5k races, t-shirts, and bumper stickers, all in hopes of finding a cure! New Rome Community College, you will be hearing from us!" the representative says.

With that, the sponsors grab their briefcases and make their way out of the library.

Percy takes the podium and says, "Well, I think we can all say that went swimmingly."

Leo takes it upon himself to finish the documentary with an interview from Jason, just because they're friends and he feels like he owes it to his friend to let the audience know his side of the story, even if it is a bit convoluted.

Jason takes a seat in a booth outside the on-campus Chick-fil-A even though he bought a tuna salad sandwich from Hazel's Sandwich Hub.

In the background, people let Gary go in front of them in the Chick-fil-A line. Ever since yesterday's incident, Gary has become somewhat of a campus celebrity, and Jason, well-

"Hey! Jerold!" Dean D yells. "You suck!"

It seems Jason's lost his place as the resident golden boy.

"Can you tell us a little bit about what you're thinking right now?" Leo asks.

"I still think he's up to something," Jason mutters between bites of sandwich.

Jake lifts the boom mic out of the frame. "Leo, what are we still doing here?"

Leo shushes Jake and then turns his attention back to the scene in front of him.

Gary, flanked by dozens of adoring fans, approaches the booth and takes a seat across from Jason. "Mind if I sit here?" he asks.

"You already have," Jason mumbles.

Gary pushes his Polynesian sauce across the table. "Could you please help me open this?"

Jason does as he's asked and then goes back to minding his own business. He does not like Gary.

"So Jason, I was hoping to ask you about something business-related if that's okay."

"Okay. Wait," he says. "You don't hate me?"

"No. Why would I? You helped connect me to my one true love." Gary blows Reyna a kiss across the dining hall.

"Dude," Jason says. "She is not into you. I promise."

"She's just playing hard to get. Travis told me what that means."

Jake starts to say, "Yeah, Travis is wrong because-"

Leo shushes him.

"I think she's into athletes," Gary says, "but I don't think I'd be good at contact sports."

Jason leans forward. "Go on."

"I'd like to join the Ultimate Frisbee team."

This was going to be Leo's dramatic cliffhanger. It would have been a satisfying ending, what with Jason and Gary appearing to have made amends, but there's more to it.

Later that day, the video camera that Frank dropped in the vat of tuna salad captures something interesting from its bowl of rice in Hazel's Sandwich Hub.

Across the dining hall, a figure in a green safety vest—Gary—picks up the old payphone and dials a number. After waiting a few moments, he says to whoever may be on the other line, "They fell for it."

A Documentary by Leo Valdez

Directed by Leo Valdez

Produced by Leo Valdez

Edited by Leo Valdez

Boom Mic: Jake Mason

Camera 1: Travis Stoll

Featuring...

Dean D as Himself

Percy Jackson as Himself

Annabeth Chase as Herself

Frank Zhang as Himself

Jason Grace as Himself

Piper McLean as Herself

Hazel Levesque as Herself

Will Solace as Himself

And Octavian/Gary as Himself