White Smoke

At a gardening club work project, Yusef and Marigold are upset about Erika. Marigold lets Yusef know that she was addicted to Percocet but is not anymore. She rationalizes her need for marijuana because of her anxiety; Yusef tells her she has nothing to be anxious about since she has a family and a free home. Marigold tells him her anxiety is real and none of his business. He apologizes. When Marigold mentions she needs the library printer since Piper’s imaginary friend, Ms. Suga, does not like technology (alluding to her smashed laptop), Yusef freezes up. He takes her to his home and shows her an old photo of Marigold’s house and the surrounding houses, newly built and stately.

Yusef tells her that the Peoples family lived in Marigold’s house; after Joe Peoples won the lottery, he bought other Maple Street houses for his five children and bought his wife, Carmen, a bakery. When he died under strange circumstances, white developers wanted to purchase the houses, but Carmen would not sell. Three of the children died; rumors started that the youngest, Jon Jon, dealt drugs and molested neighborhood children. After Seth Reed died, neighbors including Pop Pop set fire to Jon Jon’s house with him in it. Carmen ran in; they never came out. Later, the molested children confessed they lied because “some Russo mobsters” made them (246). On the way out, Marigold hears Pop Pop order seeds from Reverend Clark’s hotline.

That night, Marigold has the paralyzed sensation, thinks she hears thumping on the roof, and hallucinates the house being on fire. She also thinks she sees Ms. Suga. She manages to wake up and get out of bed. Then, she goes to the kitchen and lays out things to make tea. The pickup truck across the street distracts her again, and she goes outside. It leaves. Back inside, her tea items are put away, and the cup sits on the floor.

On a dark and stormy night, Marigold searches online for evidence that the house might be haunted. Her search is inconclusive. Sammy calls her; Piper is in her room, and Raquel and Alec are out to dinner. Marigold goes downstairs but cannot find Sammy. Suddenly, he yanks her into the hall closet with him and Buddy. They listen and realize the voice calling for Marigold sounds like Sammy, but it is not him.

Marigold holds the doorknob tight, as footsteps and the terrible smell pass the closet door. Marigold convinces Sammy to take Bud and flee, but she remembers Piper and returns. Piper refuses to come downstairs; as Piper turns away, a broom is flung from upstairs and hits Marigold on the head. She leaves, stumbling, and sends Sammy to Yusef’s while she collapses on the sidewalk. Mr. Watson arrives with a blanket. Marigold wakes at Yusef’s, and Sammy explains the voice. 

Yusef takes them home in time to see Raquel and Alec. Piper begins to scream that Marigold and Sammy left her while she was afraid. Sammy and Marigold explain the voice and how Marigold attempted to save Piper, but Alec does not believe them. Marigold wonders if Ms. Suga is possessed. Raquel tries to hand Marigold a urine collection cup; fed up, Marigold tells them she is going to live with her father, which shocks Alec since he does not know that this is a possible deal Raquel made with Chay. Sammy announces he will go too.

Raquel tells Marigold and Sammy she will support their decision to leave if they want but asks them to keep thinking about it. Mr. Watson investigates the electricity and finds nothing; he refuses to enter the basement, however. Marigold and Sammy plan to catch the ghost on GoPro cameras so that Raquel and Alec understand the need to flee the house. Marigold goes to Yusef’s house to tell him how she feels responsible for Erika’s arrest, but she sees a girl’s photograph on the TV screen during Reverend Clark’s show. Searching online, she discovers that Reverend Clark’s daughter, Eden Kruger, is on the Sterling Foundation board. Marigold realizes each person on the board has a hand in making a profit from the demise of Maplewood and its consequent rebuilding as New Cedarville. She calls Tamara from a pay phone since she believes the foundation is monitoring her phone. Tamara agrees the true crime aspect is fascinating and tells Marigold she found Instagram photos of Devil’s Night, though Marigold cannot view them in her location. Tamara sends screenshots.

That night, Marigold and Sammy hear creaks and thumps. However, the next day the footage only shows Piper in the kitchen smiling at the camera. Sammy sets up the cameras again while Marigold distracts Piper in her room. In their conversation, Piper says Marigold is using drugs and insists Ms. Suga wants her to leave. A drawing Piper made shows an image of Ms. Suga and their house on fire. The power goes out; Marigold and Sammy find Alec trying to get into the basement against their warnings. Even Piper warns him not to pry the door open. The lights come back on for their house, but the rest of the neighborhood is dark. They wait outside to see the rest of the lights return.

A mob of neighbors approaches, demanding to know why the family has power and no one else. The neighbors complain, accusing the family members of thinking they are better than others and calling out Marigold’s addiction, Piper’s lack of friends, and even Sammy’s walking of the dog. The power comes back before the mob gets closer. As they leave, Marigold sees Mr. Watson getting into the truck that has been parked down the street.

When Marigold goes to 219 to destroy her secret garden, Yusef is there, furious that she used his tools and fertilizer to plant marijuana. She briefly tries to talk him into letting her harvest the plants, but he threatens to turn her in, so she rips up the plants. After school, Tamara calls. Marigold complains about everything, but Tamara puts her in her place about being selfish and using others. She also tells Marigold that she discovered news: Marigold’s state legalized marijuana the previous year, and a businessman named Nathan Kruger (married to Eden Kruger, daughter of Reverend Clark) is opening a dispensary in Cedarville.

Back home, Marigold and Sammy plan to view the new video on the GoPros. Before they do, Sammy wants oatmeal; Marigold tries to convince Piper to have a truce in their relationship for the remaining four days before Chay comes to pick her up. Piper agrees but seems most focused on Marigold leaving. Marigold finds Sammy in the throes of a peanut allergy attack. When she searches for the EpiPens in their safe place above the fridge, she finds a GoPro smashed to pieces in their place. In her room, the other GoPro is smashed on her bed, but she finds an old EpiPen she kept hidden; it saves Sammy’s life. Marigold suspects Piper. In the hospital, he tells Marigold there was one more camera set up in the kitchen.