Chapter Text
"Why do we have to sneak out of the house if we're not doing anything wrong until we sneak onto the subway?" Riley asks Maya, as they sit in the bay window of her bedroom.
"You think you're ready to just walk by your parents?" Maya asks, raising her eyebrows slightly, sounding vaguely amused. She loves Riley, she does, but Riley is so not ready for that.
"I think I'm ready." Riley declares. She actually sounds fairly confident about it too, though her expression gives her away.
"Let me see your face as you walk by your parents." Maya challenges, not buying it for a second.
Riley's face immediately morphs into a very nervous, very awkward smile that practically screams 'I'm doing something I'm not supposed to'.
"Why are you making that face at us, Riley?" Maya asks, pretending to be on of Riley's parents, narrowing her eyes slightly. Yeah, not convincing, Maya thought.
"Because I'm sneaking onto the subway" Riley immediately confesses, nervous smile still clearly present. "Out the window" Riley points, seeing Maya's point.
"Let's go" Maya agrees as the two move to sneak out of the window.
They don't get very far. As soon as they crawl out of the window, they see Riley's father, Corey Matthews.
"Daddy, what are you doing here?" Riley asks, surprised
"Being smarter than me. How come you're always smarter than me?" Maya mutters as they crawl back through the window and into Riley's bedroom.
Corey follows them in. "Here's what I'm thinking" he begins as Riley and Maya move to sit on Riley's bed. Corey crawls fully through the window, into the bedroom. "It's not your world yet. It's still my world. Because if it was your world, Maya would have you on the subway already, thinking you put something over on me. But you didn't." Corey continues as Maya and Riley smile and exchange amused looks. "Know how i know? Look at ya. You're right here." Corey points out.
"How long do i have to live in my father's world?" Riley asks, looking towards Maya even as she talks to her dad.
"Until you make it yours." Corey answers before walking towards Riley. "Riley, do you know what I want more than anything? Go ahead, make it yours." Corey implores, gesturing towards the door.
"I will. And when I do will you still be there for me?" Riley asks, peering up at her dad, almost as if she's worried he won't be. Maya can't help but think Riley would never have to worry about that.
"Right here" Riley's mother, Topanga, answers from the doorway of Riley's bedroom. She walks further into the room with a small smile, as she approaches her husband, hugging his arm as she continues, "We'' be right here." She gestures to herself and Corey as she speaks.
Riley and Maya smile as they get up and head out of the door, linking arms.
Topanga and Corey watch them go, then exchange smiles, proud of themselves and their daughter.
-
Maya and Riley arrive at the subway. Riley looks around almost in wonder. She's never been on the subway before so everything is new to her. Maya, on the other hand, is used to the subway. She looks around much more casually.
Their attention is drawn by someone playing the drums on some upturned bins.
Maya starts dancing along as Riley watches from beside her. She slowly walks closer and dances alongside Maya, a smile appearing on both girls' faces.
"Weasel!" Maya greets the drummer, sounding happy to see him.
"Maya!" Weasel returns the greeting. "Who's the chick?" He gestures to Riley.
"Chick!" Riley repeats, smiling, seeming excited. "Down here I'm a chick." She mused. "No wonder my parents don't want me on the subway." She mumbles to Maya, leaning closer to her, though her smile and excitement at the new title remain.
Maya starts to walk towards where their train is, when a girl walking the opposite way turns to her. "You're slouching, Maya." She notes.
"Thanks, Gretchen" Maya smiles at her before straightening her posture, hands on her hips as she struts towards the train.
Riley watches the interaction and copies Maya's strut.
Maya and Riley get on the train and, soon after it sets off, Maya notices Riley putting on lip gloss.
"Whoa, Riley. You don't do lip gloss." Maya teases slightly, shaking her head.
"Oh, what I forgot to mention is that I'm completely reinventing myself." Riley states, excited. "I ride the subway now, I have kiwi lips now and I'm just as cool as you now." Riley enthuses.
"Yeah? Let's see how cool you can be when you look at him." Maya jokes, looking at someone behind Riley.
Riley turns to follow Maya's gaze, only to see a boy around their age, reading a book. He looks up an offers the girls a friendly smile, that Riley returns with a much more awkward smiles. Riley giggles as she turns back to Maya, who watches her, amused. She expected this.
"Yeah, you're gonna need some lessons." Maya informs Riley with a smile and a slight nod. "Okay, let me show you everything you need to know about boys and girls."
Maya walks away from Riley and over to Lucas as Riley turns to watch the interaction.
"Hi, I'm Maya. You're really cute." Maya greets Lucas with a smile. "We should hang out sometime. You make me happy." Maya continues, sitting next to Lucas. Then her expression changes to a more annoyed one. "You don't pay enough attention to me. This isn't working out." She stands back up. "It's you, not me. We can still be friends. Not really." Maya shrugs, walking away from him and back to Riley, leaving the boy looking very confused as he watches her go.
Riley smiles as she looks at Maya.
"He's available. We just broke up." Maya announces, tilting her head slightly to the side as she jokes with a small shrug.
"Are you okay? Do we need to talk about it?" Riley asks, concerned.
"You still want to be like me?" Maya asks, raising her eyebrows.
"I want to be exactly like you." Riley states. "I think too much and you don't think at all." Riley smiles, shaking her head. From anyone else that would be an insult, but Riley is just so kind and earnest that she not only doesn't mean it as an insult, she truly does mean it as a compliment, a good thing.
"See, you get me. So let's not think." Maya encourages, grinning, before she pulls Riley's hand off the metal pole, making her fall back. Riley screams as she stumbles back. Lucas realises what's happening, and reaches out to steady her, as she lands sitting in his lap, and gives him an awkward smile.
Maya watches them with a smile until she hears someone laugh slightly. She looks up to see a girl with black hair and blue eyes, gazing back at her in amusement from the seat across from Maya. Maya recognises her instantly, Serena Willis, one of her classmates. She knew Serena often took the subway, sometimes alone, sometimes with her friend, Mason, but they've never really spoken before.
"Well, that's one way to do it" Serena notes, amused. "Sorry, i don't mean to laugh." Sha apologises, offering a friendly smile.
"No problem" Maya shrugs before looking around. "No Mason today?" Maya doesn't know why she asked, she doesn't really know Serena or Mason. Still she's asked it now.
"No, not today" Serena answers, though she seems surprised Maya thought to ask. "His dad was off today and offered him a ride."
Maya nods.
"So, did she sneak onto the subway?" Serena asks.
"No. We tried but we got caught" Maya sighs.
Serena laughs. "Somehow I'm not surprised" She muses. "Oh, Riley's coming back" She notes, causing Maya to turn her attention back to her friend.
Meanwhile with Riley and Lucas.
"Hi." Riley greeted the handsome boy nervously as she sat in his lap. "We were just talking about you." Riley admits, still nervous, with a slightly awkward nervous smile, as the boy smiled and looked down slightly before looking back up at her face. "You used to go out with my friend Maya" Riley gestures to Maya before looking back at the boy, who looks towards Maya, smile never leaving his face. He sees Maya talking to a black haired girl sat nearby, and gives a slight nod to acknowledge Riley's words.
"I'm Lucas." He introduces himself, turning to look at her.
"I love it." Riley responds, awkwardly, smiling. She moves to sit next to him instead of on his lap as they look away from each other. Lucas wears a small smile. Why did i say that? Riley thinks, kicking herself for being so awkward.
"Perhaps someone would like to give their seat to someone older?" An older woman suggests, as she looks pointedly towards the two.
Lucas starts to stand up to let her sit down.
"Oh, not you, sweet potato pie." The woman stops him.
Riley stands up and leans towards the woman. "Please don't make me move." She mumbles pleadingly. "I just want to see where this goes."
"I've just worked a 12-hour shift and i just wanna see where this goes." The woman responds, gesturing to her own butt. "Mmm-kay?"
"Mmm-kay" Riley agrees and walks back over to Maya.
Maya smiles expectantly at Riley as she approaches.
"That was great." Riley smiles happily, pleased with how the interaction went. Sure, she was slightly awkward, but overall, it could've gone worse.
"You're welcome." Maya returns happily with a slightly smug smile.
"What if that was the best moment of my life?" Riley asks worriedly. "What if nothing ever happens for me again?"
Maya grins as she throws Riley's hand off the pole. Riley screams as she yet again stumbles backwards, this time landing on the woman. She gives her a nervous, apologetic look.
The woman narrows her eyes, annoyed before she picks Riley up and sits her on Lucas' lap. "It's for you."
Riley gives an awkward smile.
Maya glances back at Serena, who glances up from her phone to offer an amused little smile before returning her attention to her phone.
-
At school, Maya closes her locker and turns to head to her classroom. Riley closes her own locker and follows Maya towards the classroom as she asks, "Did you have trouble with the homework?"
"Piece of cake." Maya answers, shrugging.
"You didn't do it, did you?" Riley asks, voice soft.
"I don't even know where my books are." Maya admits, turning to face Riley as they stop in the middle of the hallway, shaking her head with a smile.
"They're here and they're heavy." Riley replies, taking Maya's books out of her bag and handing them to her friend, giving her a pointed look. The bell rings as Maya turns back towards the classroom after taking her books from Riley.
As the two girls enter the classroom, Maya notices Serena is already there, glaring at Mason, as he smirks back at her, apparently teasing her about something.
"You have to do the homework, Maya." Riley urges as she follows Maya into the classroom. "This teacher's insane, a total nutjob." She rants as she gest urges with her hands. "I think there's something seriously wrong with him." Riley states at they walk to their seats in the front of the classroom.
"Hi, honey." Corey greets with a fake smile. He's their teacher for this class.
"Hi, daddy." Riley greets back with a bright smile.
"You're late to your father's class." Corey points out.
"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Matthews." Maya cuts in, reaching for her pocket. "You wrote her a note." She takes out the note and hands it to Riley.
"I did?" Corey asks, looking confusedly towards Maya.
"He did." Maya states.
"You did." Riley hands him the note Maya gave her as Maya watches on with a grin that fades into a smug smile as she leans on her desk.
"This should be good." Mason mutters to Serena, who watches on curiously. She hums under her breath in agreement.
"Riley is late. Deal with it." Corey read off the note, nodding slightly.
"Wow, what a straightforward note." Serena jokes to Mason who chuckles.
"Mhm" he hums in agreement.
Riley adjusts the strap of her bag on her shoulder and turns to Maya with a smile.
"Well, you got my signature down pretty good this time." Corey acknowledges, giving Maya an almost amused look.
"Oh it was easy. You write like a girl." Maya shrugs as she and Riley sit down, and Corey tries to decide whether thats an insult or not, eyebrows furrowing as he processes the response.
"Okay, let me get back to jamming some learning into your heads." Corey evidently decides to drop it as he slips back into teacher mode, as Riley and Maya get their books out.
"The civil war." Corey introduces the topic of the lesson, sounding excited.
"The civil bore." Maya calls out in a similarly excited tome, making fun of him with a smile.
"Thank you, future minimart employee of the month." Corey quips sarcastically.
"Would i be making more money than you?" Maya asks, mockingly.
Behind her, someone snickers as Corey seems to think for a second and admit to himself that she would. Maya glances back to see who snickered curiously and smiles slightly as she notices Mason nudging Serena, as if to stop her from laughing, though he also looks amused, rolling his eyes playfully at her.
"The Civil War!" Corey repeats, tone enthusiastic, deciding not to respond to Maya's question.
"I guess that's a yes." Mason mutters to Serena under his breath, who smirks in amusement in response.
"Anybody?" Corey asks, inviting his students to share anything they know about the civil war.
"A war we fought against ourselves." Riley answers.
"What, you actually studied it?" Corey asks his daughter, surprised.
"No, I'm actually living it." Riley answers dramatically, making Corey furrow his eyebrows in confusion, as she plants her head on her desk.
"Mood." Serena mutters jokingly. Mason chuckles.
"People, people. are we hear to learn or not?" Farkle draws their attention as he claps his hands together.
"What do you mean, Farkle?" Corey asks, furrowing his eyebrows, as Riley turns to look at Farkle. Maya remains facing the front of the classroom.
"I've been in love with Riley since first grade." Farkle states, gazing adoringly at Riley who throws her hands up slightly in exasperation. "But I'm also equally in love with Maya." Farkle declares, looking intensely at Maya, who still hasn't looked at him. "Some might say the great mystery of the universe is who's gonna be the first Mrs. Farkle." Farkle continues as Maya turns to face him, smirking slightly.
"Me." Mason mutters, gazing at Farkle.
"I wasn't aware you were a miss to become a Mrs. Something to share?" Serena teases.
"Shut up" Mason scowls and lightly pushes her, as she laughs.
"You don't want this." Maya warns.
"Bring it on." Farkle challenges flirtatiously.. Maya's eyes widen as she slowly turns away from Farkle, looking very much like she regretted ever responding in the first place.
"I always thought he'd wind up with back-of-the class Brenda." Riley admits quietly, leaning towards Maya, as she gestures with her head towards the girl in question.
Brenda gives a wide smile and an energetic wave as they turn to look at her.
"Ew, Yuck!" Farkle grimaces in disgust as they turn back to the front.
"Rude" Serena muttered.
Mason hums but continues to gaze at Farkle. Serena rolls her eyes when she notices and nudges him. "You're staring."
Mason glares at her then sighs. "I know." He mumbles. Serena offers a sympathetic smile.
"Actually, the great mystery of the universe is how you could love two women the same who couldn't possibly be more different." Corey points out, gesturing at Riley and Maya as he leans against his desk.
"We're not so different." Riley argues, shaking her head slightly.
"May I overstep my bounds, sir?" Farkle requests as he holds up his hand.
"You always do." Corey agrees, gesturing to the front of the classroom, inviting him to do as he wishes.
Corey and Farkle switch places, Farkle moving to the front of the classroom., as Corey sits in Farkle's seat.
Farkle flips Corey's nametag so that, instead of saying Mr. Matthews, it says Farkle.
Mason grins but looks down to hide his smile. Serena tilts her head as she watches, curious where this is going.
"Riley is the sun," Farkle begins, giving Riley an intense look as he slaps his hands on her desk and leans towards her. "Warm and bright and lights up my whole day."
"Aww, that's kind of romantic." Serena coos quietly. Mason, meanwhile, can't help but sigh. He knows Farkle is probably straight. Never made it any easier to accept it. Mason had had a crush on Farkle for years. He hadn't spoken to him much, but he thought Farkle was cute, and funny, and smart, and he seemed kind. Serena reaches across and squeezes his hand, offering a sympathetic smile. She was the only one who knew about his crush.
"Maya is the night," Farkle continues, moving to Maya's desk. "dark and mysterious."
"True." Serena mutters, nodding. Mason glances towards her with an amused little smile.
"And the night has always been a mystery to me." Farkle admits standing up in front of the class. "Because I go to bed at 7:30."
Serena nearly laughs but manages to stop herself. "Don't laugh, laughing at people is mean." Serena mutters to herself.
"Don't you dare." Mason warns, to which Serena playfully holds her hands up as if surrendering.
"How could I love these two different women?" Farkle asks, looking between Riley and Maya. "How could I not? Thank you! I am Farkle!" He finishes dramatically with a bow before returning to his seat.
Mason smiles softly as he watches him.
"At least he's confident." Serena muses. "Good for him."
"So we were indeed trying to find out who we are as a people." Corey explains as he walks back to the front of the classroom and flips the nametag on his desk so it says Mr. Matthews once more. "Who am I?" Corey asks. "What should i be?" He continues
Riley watches him, lips a thin line.
"History shows that bad things happen when you don't know who you are." Corey states.
"I guess that's one way of looking at things." Serena mutters to Mason, who nods.
Just then the door opens and Lucas, the boy from the subway enters the classroom. Hayley sits up in her seat, looking between Lucas and Riley, then to Mr Matthews.
"Who are you? I don't know who you are." Corey asks when he notices Lucas entering the classroom.
Riley turns her head towards the door and sees Lucas. "Subway boy." She mutters to Maya with a smile.
"I'm Lucas Friar from Austin, Texas." Lucas introduces as he heads towards the front of the classroom and hands Mr Matthews a piece of paper.
"Oh, new student, Mr. Friar?" Corey asks, taking the paper
"Yes, sir." Lucas confirms with a polite smile as Corey reads what's on the paper.
"Great, you're just in time for today's assignment." Corey nods and turns to look at Lucas with a welcoming smile. "Have a seat."
Lucas moves to sit in the only empty seat left, right behind Riley.
"I have a feeling he's gonna regret that." Mason notes.
"Definitely." Serena agrees with a nod.
Corey turns to put the paper on his desk.
As Lucas sits down, Riley watches him with an almost dreamy smile, eyes soft. Lucas returns the smile with a friendly one of his own.
"Okay, so we--" Corey cuts himself off when he notices his daughter is distracted. He grabs Riley's head and turns it to face the front of the classroom, her smile slowly fading. "So I'd like you guys to open your books to page 48."
The students do as they're told, waiting for further instructions.
"Now I'd like you to turn to page one." Corey instructs. They obey, slightly confused. Serena narrows her eyes at Mr. Matthews suspiciously. "Now I'd like you to read from page one to 48" He looks slightly amused as he says it.
The students groan at the thought of so much reading, except Lucas.
"Oh, too bad on you." Corey brushes off their complaints. "Okay, so for tonight's assignment, I'd like you to write me a three-page essay on anything-- anything at all that you guys believe in so strongly you'd fight for it." Corey finally reveals the assignment.
"That!" Maya suddenly exclaims with a grin.
Corey looks towards her curiously.
"I'd fight for no homework." Maya declares, leaning forward slightly in her desk. "I come here every day. Why can't you teach me everything i need to know while I'm here?" she challenges.
"Whoo!" Riley cheers encouragingly, grinning until she looks back to the front and sees her dad, looking back at her with a slightly confused, vaguely disapproving expression, eyebrows furrowed. "Not whoo." Riley corrects, slumping slightly in her desk.
"He gets our days. Lat's take back our nights." Maya encourages as she stands up. "No homework, more freedom. Who's with me?" Maya asks, turning to face her classmates as Riley watches her.
Corey looks at the rest of his class.
Gradually the students begin chanting. "No homework, more freedom. No homework, more freedom. No homework, more freedom..."
"You gonna join in too?" Mason asks Serena, amused.
"I wish." Serena mutters. "My parents are home, can't afford a detention." Serena shrugs.
Mason nods and gives an understanding smile. "You mind if I?" Mason gestures to their chanting teammates.
"Go ahead." Serena shrugs. "Have fun."
Mason grins and joins the chanting.
Serena rolls her eyes but can't quite fight back the amused smile as she watches her classmates.
"This is it, Kid. You want to be like me, stand up." Maya tells Riley leaning towards her.
"No homework, more freedom. No homework, more freedom. No homework..." The class continues chanting as Maya walks around the classroom with a smile encouraging them. She pauses at Serena's desk and Serna offers a smile and a shrug.
"Not this time." Serena offers. Maya nods and continues on her way.
Riley stands up from her desk.
"Whatcha doing?" Corey asks Riley.
"I'm making a choice about who I am," Riley answers, leaning against her desk. "About whose world I want it to be." She states.
"Riley, I know you. You know exactly who you are." Corey implores Riley stepping towards her, almost pleading with her not to.
"Who am I, dad?" Riley challenges him.
"You're just like me." Corey shrugs, smiling at his daughter.
Serena facepalms as she watches the conversation. She notices Lucas is also watching them.
"Yeah? Would you do this?" Riley narrows her eyes before joining her classmates. "No homework, more freedom. No homework, more freedom." She smiles as she chants. "Farkle, are you with us or not? No homework, more freedom." Riley asks Farkle as she passes his desk.
Lucas watches her with a small frown, seeming disapproving.
Farkle turns to watch her go as he stand up.
Maya leads the chanting classmates out of the door, Riley right behind her. "No homework, more freedom."
Mr. Matthews watches them go, mouth slightly agape, eyes sad, as Farkle walks towards the front of the classroom.
"My education, or my women?" Farkle questions himself as he looks between the front of the classroom and the back of the classroom, where Riley and Maya have left. Corey glances toward him and lifts and eyebrow as he watches him consider his options.
Serena tilts her head to the side as she watches him. "My education or my women? My education or my women?" He can't decide. Corey, knowing exactly what's about to happen, holds out his arms. "Oh, it's happening again, sir." Farkle goes cross-eyed then faints backwards into Corey, who catches him.
"Well, that went well." Serena comments sarcastically before getting up from her desk. She pats Lucas' shoulder as she walks past him. "Come on, cowboy. You can help me take Farkle to the school nurse. We'll be back before you know it."
Lucas looks like he's about to argue but shrugs as he gets up and picks up Farkle, following Serena to the school nurse, to leave Farkle until he regains consciousness.
-
Topanga is sorting her bag for work when Riley throws the door open and bursts into their apartment.
"Ma!" Riley calls, eyebrows slightly furrowed, looking slightly angry.
"Ma!" Corey copies Riley as he bursts in behind her and they glare at each other.
"Whatever this is, do not put me in the middle of the two people that I love equally." Topanga warns as she approaches them, holding her hands up. "Just kidding, c'mere, honey." Topanga smiles, offering Riley a hug, which she accepts with a smile.
"My teacher followed me home. Can we keep him, can we keep him? Please say no!" Riley exaggerates. Topanga blinks in surprise.
"She walked out of my class." Corey explains, raising his eyebrows before fixing a stern gaze on Riley. "She's trying to be Maya."
"Why would you want to be Maya?" Topanga asks Riley, confused, as Riley turns to face her.
"She's cool. She has a wild side." Riley explains in an admiring tone, smiling as she thinks of her rebellious best friend. "She does what she wants."
"But you're such a good person." Topanga praises as she brushes her hand over her daughter's hair with a proud smile.
"Who cares about that?" Riley demands, squinting her eyes at her mother.
Topanga's hand drops as she binks at her, frowning slightly.
"Do you really think I'm one of those girls who follows all of the rules and never gets into trouble?" Riley asks, turning to face her dad.
"I was hoping." Corey admits, with an amused smile.
Riley's jaw drops slightly as she shakes her head and turns to her mom. "You think I'm well-raised." She demands.
Topanga looks shocked as she glances toward Corey. "Half." She answers Riley as Corey's grin fades to furrowed eyebrows, as he realises what his wife means, and he looks down slightly. Riley looks at her mom like she can't believe what she's hearing.
"How important is it that you don't know me at all?" Riley looks between her parents with a frown, then heads to her bedroom.
Corey walks over to Topanga as they watch her storm off.
"Let's get married! Let's have a kid! Let's have another kid!" Topanga mocks, turning to face Corey, with an amused smile.
"Well, you listened to me, you big stupid!" Corey jokes, giving a slight shrug.
Topanga laughs as she wraps an arm around Corey and he wraps an arm around her.
-
Riley sits in the bay window of her bedroom, with Auggie, her younger brother, sat next to her, looking sad.
"Am I the type of person who always plays it safe?" Riley questions. "Is this who I'm going to be for the rest of my life?" She asks. "Am I ever going to take a risk that changes my destiny?"
"Do birds know how to smile?" Auggie asks, tilting his head as he ponders, eyebrows furrowed. "Why is cake always so delicious?" Auggie demands, still trying to find the answers for the greatest mysteries of the universe. "Will my drawings ever get any better?"
Riley glances at him and furrows her eyebrows slightly. "Are you making fun of me?"
"No, I think just like you because we're twins." Auggie answers earnestly.
Riley looks down and presses her lips together before turning back to Auggie. "We're not twins." She pointed out.
"Ma-aaa!" Auggie cried for Topanga as he ran out of the room.
Riley sighs slightly as she watches him go.
-
The next day, at lunch, Maya and Riley sit at an empty table in the cafeteria together. Maya has a sloppy Joe and Riley has a chicken pot pie.
"Aww, look at him looking for a place to fit in." Maya points out Lucas as she nudges Riley, who looks over with a smile.
Lucas walks past a table with a group of boys he doesn't know, looking slightly awkward.
"Do you think he'll sit with us?" Riley asks Maya hopefully.
Maya smiles and moves down a seat so there's a seat between her and Riley, pressing her lips together as both girls look towards Lucas with a smile.
Lucas walks over and is about to sit down when Farkle swoops in and steals the seat, making Lucas turn away.
"Hey, cowboy" Serena calls out to Lucas, waving him over. Lucas approaches slowly. "Sit with us for a bit. " Serena invites.
Lucas glances at Mason, who offers him a friendly and gestures invitingly towards the empty chair. "Go ahead."
Lucas smiles faintly and sits down.
"So, your name is Lucas, right? I'm Mason. I'm guessing you already met Serena." Mason introduces.
"Kind of. We spoke briefly but I never got your name." Lucas shrugged.
"Well, now you have." Serena shrugs. "He helped me take Farkle to the school nurse after he fainted. Again." She explains to Mason.
"Farkle fainted? Is he okay?" Mason asks, concerned, looking towards him.
"He's fine." Serena brushed off his concern.
Meanwhile
"Ladies." Farkle greets.
"Farkle." They greet him simultaneously, turning away from him, Maya vaguely annoyed, Riley vaguely disappointed.
"Interesting lunch-line dilemma: sloppy joe or chicken pot pie? Or sloppy Joe? Or chicken pot pie?" Farkle mentioned, flirting with each of them as he mentioned the option that represented them.
"Is that all you got?" Maya raises her eyebrows, amused.
"That's it. Same time tomorrow." Farkle confirms, as he starts to get up
"Well, I'm done eating. Ready to go?" Serena asks Mason as she grabs her bag and gets up.
"Ready when you are." Mason nods.
They get up and Lucas looks after them.
"But I thought-"
"Sorry, we'd normally stay and sit with you but I have to grab something before class." Serena offers an apologetic smile. "Oh look, Farkle's not sitting with Riley and Maya anymore. I'm sure they won't mind if you sit with them."
Lucas nods and starts heading towards them.
"Why?" Mason asks her.
"Wanna see how Mr. Matthews reacts." Serena admits with a shrug, grinning.
Mason laughs and follows her out of the cafeteria.
"There he is. Invite him to sit down." Maya encourages as she grabs Riley's arm and pulls her to the middle seat, leaving the seat next to Riley empty.
"With words?" Riley asks nervously.
"You're ready for this." Maya assures, nodding.
"What do I say?" Riley asks, panicking.
"Hey, Lucas, looking for somebody special?" Maya suggests, smiling.
"I can't say that." Riley states.
"Hey, Lucas, looking for somebody?" Maya suggests.
"Too forward." Riley rejects.
"Hey, Lucas." Maya suggests, starting to sound a little bit exasperated.
"Like we're on a first-name basis?" Riley asks, smiling nervously.
"Hey." Maya suggests, grinning.
"Hey." Riley agrees, smiling back at her.
"Hey, back." Lucas greets as he sits next to Riley, who turns to face him with an awkward smile. Maya also looks towards him with a small smile, hoping Lucas didn't hear their conversation.
"Hi." Riley greets with a nervous smile. "You're sitting here." She points out awkwardly.
"Is that okay?" Lucas checks. He doesn't want to intrude or make them uncomfortable.
Riley gives a thumbs up, awkward, nervous smile still in place. Lucas smiles, happy that they're okay with him sitting there.
"Can you excuse me for just one sec?" Riley requests. Lucas nods, looking down slightly. He can't quite bring himself to meet her eyes.
Riley turns to Maya and they both squeal excitedly to each other before Riley happily turns back to Lucas, only to see her dad crouching at the table near Lucas' chair.
"How ya doing?" Corey greets with a smile, making Lucas turn to look at him as well.
Maya and Riley's eyes immediately widen, mortified he's there and hoping he won't embarrass them.
"Dad, you have a choice here." Riley attempts to prevent him form doing anything embarrassing. "You can either understand that this is just a boy talking to me in the cafeteria--"
"I'm gonna do whatever you say next." Corey states, interrupting her.
"But this is so innocent." Riley argues, pleading with her dad to understand.
"Honey, fathers don't see anything as innocent." Corey states, leaning past Lucas, towards Riley, as she turns away from him. "We see it as... what's the opposite of innocent?"
"Right here." Maya grins, putting her hand up.
Corey gave an awkward wave and smile, seeming to agree
"Please don't embarrass me." Riley pleads, shaking her head.
"I'm just going to talk to Mr. Friar about Geography." Mr. Matthews assures his daughter. "You know, I've been a lot of places. Never been to Texas though." Corey addresses Lucas, resting a hand on his shoulder. "What part of Texas is closest to Mexico?"
"That's be El Paso, sir." Lucas answers respectfully with a nod and a polite smile.
"Great. Let's go right now." Corey decides with false cheer before grabbing his chair and dragging him out of the room. Lucas waves at Riley as he's pulled out of the cafeteria, as Riley watches on in mortification. Other students turn to watch.
"Guess that's how Mr. Matthews reacted." Serena muses as she stands, leaning against her locker, which is next to Mason's and both are able to see the cafeteria from their lockers.
"Guess so." Mason grins, amused before they both shrug and go back to their conversation. "So, your parents are back in town. How long this time?"
"Until Friday." Serena answers him.
"So, got any plans with them?" Mason asks.
"We went out for a meal last night and we're having a family game night on Friday before they have to leave to be back at work for Sunday. They want Saturday to get settled." Serena shrugs. "As for the rest of the week, they're home, so that will probably be catch-up time. You should come over tomorrow. They were asking about you yesterday."
"I don't know, I wouldn't want to intrude on your family time" Mason admits.
"Why not? I intrude on yours." Serena jokes. "Plus you wouldn't be. You know they see you as the son they never had, their other child." Serena points out.
"Okay." Mason agrees, making Serena grin.
"So. did you do the homework?" Riley asks as they walk over to give their trays back.
"No, I didn't do the homework." Maya answers. "The question on everybody's kiwi lips is did you do the homework?"
"No. I'm one of the founding members of the homework rebellion." Riley denies incredulously. "You think I did my homework?" Riley asks.
"I think you did mine too." Maya admits, turning to face her.
"I did, I did and I really liked it." Riley confesses excitedly with a bright smile.
"Riley, don't save me." Maya complains.
"What?" Riley asks, confused.
"Let me be me." Maya requests. They smile at each other until Maya notices Farkle walking past. "Oh, you got two desserts?"
Farkle nods.
"Angel's food cake." Riley notes.
"And devil's food cake." Maya acknowledges. "Let me guess who's who." Maya puts a hand on her hip, somewhat sassy, with a sarcastic smile.
"Hey, Farkle's just hungry. Not everything is about you." Farkle corrects, looking between them before walking away from them.
Maya and Riley exchange a look as Farkle walks away.
-
When Lucas comes to class, Riley and their other classmates are already there. Riley turns to watch him as he puts his jacket over the back of his chair and sits down.
"Guess Mr. Matthews didn't have enough time to get him to El Paso." Serena jokes to Mason, who laughs and nods.
"Apparently not." Mason agrees.
"Hi, I'm glad you're back." Riley greets him with a smile.
"Hi, me too." Lucas whispers, returning her smile with one of his own.
"Hi." Corey greets in a whisper, getting between Lucas and Riley's desks. Riley glares at her dad.
"Man, I wish I had popcorn." Mason sighs as he watches on in amusement.
"Next time." Serena nods.
"Apparently you have a better sense of direction than I anticipated." Corey whispers, as Lucas smiles back at him.
Riley turns to face the front of the classroom and runs her hands through her hair, annoyed and embarrassed. She doesn't see her dad give Lucas an 'I'm watching you' gesture.
"You are a really good-looking guy." Corey admits, concerned. Riley wishes the ground would just open up and swallow her whole. Lucas smiles as he looks at his desk, not really knowing how to respond to that.
"I don't see it." Mason admit, eyeing Lucas.
"Me neither." Serena admits, narrowing her eyes at Lucas. "I mean, he's fine, just..." Serena trails off.
"Yeah." Mason agrees.
"Okay, so..." Corey claps his hands together as he walks to the front of the classroom. Riley brushes her hair out of her face, flicking it over her shoulder. "Today we're going to find out if anybody here believes in something so strongly they'd fight for it." Corey states, looking out at his students. "Maya." Corey points to her.
"Yes sir." Maya responds.
"Present your homework." Corey invites, gesturing to the front of the classroom.
"Can't do that, sir." Maya shakes her head, smiling.
"Why not?" Corey asks.
"Didn't do my homework, sir." Maya answers,
"Why not?" Corey asks, exasperated.
"That's what I'm fighting against, sir." Maya informs. Corey grimaces slightly at her response.
"We already knew that." Mason shrugs.
"Shh, I'm sure I have- Aha!" Serena pulls a bag of chips out of her bag. "I don't have popcorn, but i have these." She opens up the bag and shares them with Mason.
"Oh, this could go on for a while." Farkle realises as he pulls on a sleeping mask and puts his feet on his desk, falling asleep. "Farkle Farkle Farkle Farkle." Farkle snores. "Farkle Farkle Farkle."
Mason gazes at him adoringly. He can't help it. Serena rolls her eyes good-naturedly at her friend and nudges him. Maya turns back to watch him and catches Serena's eye, who shrugs at her and offers a friendly smile that Maya returns.
"I didn't do my homework either." Riley shrugs, looking up at her father, arms crossed on her desk.
"Oh really?" Corey raises his eyebrows at her, not believing her.
"Yeah. We're the same now. I don't believe in homework." Riley answers, looking up at him.
"Guess what, Riley? That doesn't make you the same as Maya at all." Corey shakes his head at Riley.
"I have something to say." Maya announces, raising her hand.
Corey looks at her, pursing his lips. "Wow, I don't know what to do. I've never seen this before" Corey acts surprised, gesturing to Maya with her hand raised. "The floor is yours, miss Hart." Corey allows, gesturing to the front of the classroom.
"Why?" Serena sighs, sensing that this isn't the smartest move.
Maya gets up from her seat. "Get up, Farkle. You're gonna want to be awake for this." Maya states, snapping Farkle's sleep mask against his face. as Mr Matthews watches on curiously.
"Is it our honeymoon?" Farkle asks excitedly as he takes off his sleep mask and stands up, leaning against his desk.
"No, you missed that. Now it's time to hand in our essays." Maya answers sarcastically, gesturing to the front of the classroom.
"Oh, Farkle goes first. Farkle always goes first!" Farkle volunteers before running out of the classroom.
"Why didn't he do that before?" Serena asks, watching Farkle leave with her eyes narrowed in confusion.
"Shh! Don't question genius." Mason brushes off her question, earning an eyeroll.
"All right, everybody who did your homework, put it on your desks." Maya instructs as she stands in front of the class, facing her classmates. Her classmates start to do so.
"Careful there, Miss Hart." Mr Matthews warns, narrowing his eyes as Maya starts to collect the homework.
Serena starts looking for her homework only to pause, eyes widening as she remembers something.
"You didn't do your homework, did you?" Mason asks, amused.
"I... may have forgotten." Serena admits sheepishly.
Mason laughs. "Guess you did join the homework rebellion, after all." Mason jokes, making Serena glare at him.
"Are you sure about this?" Riley checked, concerned.
"I got this." Maya assured, collecting the homework.
"Okay." Riley mumbles, though she can't quite decide if she believes her. Still, Maya seems confident, so Riley will trust her.
Maya gets to Serena and Mason and takes Mason's homework before looking towards Serena.
"I forgot." Serena admits with a shrug, throwing Mr. Matthews an apologetic look.
Maya nods with a smile and continues on.
Farkle comes running in with a diorama that includes sparklers. "The burning of Atlanta led to the end of the Civil War and to peace. I believe that peace is worth fighting for." Farkle begins.
"Huh, not what I was expecting." Serena muses, then smiles. "But you can't really argue with that, can you?" Serena shrugs.
"See, I told you, genius." Mason smiles proudly.
Maya takes one of his sparklers.
"Hey, that's a pivotal part of my diorama!" Farkle protests, glaring at Maya. Maya takes another sparkler with a sarcastic smile, clearly not caring. "And there goes Virginia." Farkle sighs.
"So, someone should stop her, right?" Serena asks, looking between Maya, Riley and Mr. Matthews.
"Probably." Mason nods.
Maya walks back to her desk and climbs on her chair. "The burning of the homework led to the end of the homework rebellion--"
"Okay, this just became distinctly unsafe." Mason points out. Serena nods.
"Because there was no more homework" Maya continues before going to light the homework on fire with the sparklers.
"All right, all right, that's far enough, Maya. I get it." Mr. Matthews intervenes, taking the homework from her before she can set it on fire.
"No homework, more freedom." Maya chants, thrusting the sparkler into the air, where it touches one of the sprinklers, causing it, along with the fire alarm, to go off, wetting everyone in the classroom, and causing their classmates to scream. "Okay, so those work." Maya cringes, gesturing to the sparklers.
"Is this still part of your presentation or is this actually going on?" Farkle calls out, confused and panics.
Their classmates run out of the classroom, Mason pulling Serena out with him.
"Why didn't you stop your friend?" Lucas asks Riley as he uses his jacket to cover them both.
"It's not what I do anymore." Riley shakes her head, looking at Lucas.
"You're better than that." Lucas states.
"I'm just letting her be her." Riley insists. Even now, with water quickly soaking them, Riley can't bring herself to be truly mad at Maya. She can't help but think at the thought of Maya.
Maya looks away, down, wrinkling her nose at the cold water soaking into her clothes.
Farkle hesitates as he panics, not sure where to go or what to do before he runs towards Mr. Matthews and jumps on his back and shoulders.
"Miss Hart, you have detention." Mr. Matthews informs her, though he truly wishes it didn't have to come to this. Maya looks down, disappointed in herself, as she steps off her chair onto the floor. She hadn't truly meant for things to go this far. She hadn't been thinking, not really. "The principal will determine if it goes further than that." Corey informs her. "Miss Matthews, please leave." Mr. Matthews instructs.
"I deserve detention too" Riley insists, steeping out from under Lucas' jacket.
"No, you don't." Corey refutes, wiping water from his eyes. "You didn't do anything. And because you didn't do anything, your best friend is in very deep troble." Mr. Matthews points out.
Riley looks towards Maya and goes over to her, leading her out of the classroom.
"All right, Farkle. You can get down now." Corey tells him.
"Well, you're actually quite comfortable, sir." Farkle admits.
"Thank you, Farkle." Mr Matthews acknowledges. "Get off!" He shouts, losing patience.
"Farkle isn't going anywhere!" Farkle yells, clinging to Mr. Matthews.
-
Maya and Riley close their lockers and turn to face Mr. Matthews as he leaves his classroom A and approaches them, Farkle still clinging to his back.
Despite knowing she's in trouble, Maya can't help but give a faint smile, as Riley purses her lips, watching her dad, concerned.
"Down, Farkle." Mr. Matthews orders. Farkle jumps off his back and gives the girls a small smile.
"You're looking at us pretty hard there, Mr. Matthews." Maya points out, trying to hide how nervous and worried she is with humour.
"I just want to stand by my girl." Riley admits, as she and Maya exchange smiles before smiling back at Mr Matthews.
"You missed the moment to stand by your girl." Corey points out. Maya frowns at him and Riley glares at him. "You were so busy trying to be her, Riley, you forgot the best thing you can do for her is be you." Maya glances sadly towards Riley. "Riley, take Farkle for a walk." Corey suggests, gesturing down the hallway. He wants to talk to Maya alone.
Riley glances at Maya, meeting her eyes, before walking away with Farkle. Mr. Matthews and Maya watch them go.
Maya slowly walks closer to Mr. Mathews as he looks down at her. "Listen, for as long as I can remember, it's always been Riley and Maya." Mr. Matthews states, leaning down slightly, so he can look her in the eyes. Maya looks back at him sadly. "Now I always believed that a friend helps another friend out of trouble, not into it." Corey states. He knows it to be true. All the times Shawn tried to push him away, all the times Shawn got into trouble, Corey never once gave up on him, always made sure he was there to pull Shawn back from the edge, stop him going too far. He fully believed what he was saying.
Maya looks down and purses her lips. "I'm sorry." She apologises softly, looking back up at him. She means it.
"I am too." Corey admits. "Because you go too far." He points out. "Do you understand me?"
"I have nobody at home who helps me with my homework." Maya admits sadly before shew walks away.
Corey stands up straight, a look of sad realisation on his face.
-
"Maya! Hey, wait up!" Serena calls, jogging to catch up with Maya. Maya turns to face her. "Hey. Sorry, um, I didn't mean to but I overheard what you said to Mr. Matthews, the last bit, about having no one at home to help with homework.
"What about it?" Maya asks defensively, a slight glare entering her eyes. No one was supposed to see that moment of vulnerability but Mr. Matthews.
"Well, I mean, I know it might not be the same, and you probably won't even want to, you're friends with Riley so you probably won't, but, I mean-"
"Where are you going with this?" Maya interrupts her.
Serena sighs. "What I meant to say is, if you ever need or went help with your homework, you should call me. Or text me. whichever you prefer." Serena finally offers, taking a piece of paper with her number on it out of her pocket and handing it to Maya. "If you want."
Maya looks at the number, surprised. She looks up at where Serena was, about to ask Serena why she'd do that, especially for someone she's only spoken to a couple of times, but she's already walking away. Maya watches her go and allows a small smile to appear. Maybe today wasn't completely terrible, after all.
-
Still, as she stands on the train with Riley, she can't help but think about what Mr Matthews said, about her going too far. "Riles?" She asks after pondering for a few minutes.
"Yeah?" Riley turns to her friend, not having any idea what she's about to say.
"If we can't hang out with each other as much anymore, don't worry about it." Maya assures with a fake smile, trying to put on a brave face.
"Wait. Why wouldn't we--" Riley begins, the idea of not hanging out with Maya as much seeming ridiculous.
"He's going to make you end the friendship." Maya assumes, unable to meet Riley's eyes until after she's said it.
"He said that?" Riley asks, voice low, not fully believing it. Even if her dad did say that, she wouldn't let that happen.
"He's really upset with me." Maya admits, wincing slightly.
"He loves you." Riley scoffs, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I don't think so anymore." Maya admits, shaking her own head, pursing her lips. "I just want you to know that I get it wouldn't be your fault." Maya reassures her.
Suddenly, the woman from the previous day, the one Riley fell into starts laughing. "Beyootiful!" She cheers, as she applauds them. "You two little bumblebees hot a sweet thing going." The woman points out, grinning. "But where's your hunk?" She asks, looking around the train. Maya narrows her eyes slightly at the woman, not sure what to make of her comments. Riley also looks at her, head tilted slightly to the side. "You ain't got no hunk, you ain't got no story!" The woman declares, shaking her head as she looks between the two girls.
Probably Lucas, both girls secretly think but don't say.
"I haven't been your good friend." Maya insists to Riley, shaking her head as she elects to ignore the woman's comments.
"You're my best friend." Riley argues, furrowing her eyebrows slightly. She doesn't get where this is coming from.
"She's your best friend! Best friends are important." The woman calls out to them, making Maya look back towards her with slightly furrowed eyebrows, narrowing her eyes slightly. "I got a best friend. I'm not talking to her right now." The woman turns away, wrinkling her nose and scowling as she thinks of her and why they're not talking.
"I go too far. And I don't think that's gonna stop." Maya admits, turning back to Riley, shaking her head. "I'm bad for you."
"Did he say that?" Riley asks, furrowing her eyebrows, voice low.
"He will." Maya insists, sounding sure of it. "This is your stop." Maya points out as the train stops. Riley looks back towards the doors, then looks down. She doesn't want to leave her friend like this. "Don't be me." Maya shakes her head. Riley frowns. "You don't go as far as me." Maya implores.
"No." Riley rapidly shakes her head, refusing to let this happen. Maya gently grabs her shoulders, pushing her, though it's really mor like guiding her, off the train. "No." Riley protests.
"No! Do not push her off this train!" The woman cries out, disapproving of Maya's choice. "You do not push your best friend off the train." The woman says as Riley turns to walk away.
Riley stops and shakes her head lightly. "I'm not you." She states, turning back to the train and prying the doors open.
"Oh, she's back!" The woman cries excitedly, making Maya whip her head to look at Riley, as she struggles to push the doors open. "That little girl pushed those doors open with the power of love." The woman declares dramatically.
"You are not allowed to abandon our friendship!" Riley protests, walking towards her. "I would never do that." Riley states, gesturing to herself.
"Riley, I'm pushing you away because I'm not good for you anymore." Maya responds, shaking her head slightly, trying to make her friend understand.
"Only I decide that!" Riley insists, refusing to back down. Maya sighs as she peers at her friend. "You know why?"
"Why?" Maya asks, slightly hesitantly but wanting to know.
"Because if this is my world now, the first person I want in it is you." Riley admits softly, smiling at Maya.
Maya bites her inner lip. "You're gonna save me, aren't you?" Maya realises.
"I am." Riley confirms as she takes Maya's hand off the pole and pulls her along as she runs off the train.
-
"Where is he?" Riley demands, bursting into her apartment, still holding Maya's hand slamming the door.
Topanga and Auggie immediately point at Core, who is sat across from them at the table, with his back to the door. It looks like they were in the middle of a jigsaw together. Corey turns to look towards Riley and Maya, wondering why his daughter sounded upset, eyebrow raising slightly.
"There is no way I'm gonna let you break up my friendship with Maya!" Riley asserts confidently.
Corey turns to face them more, mouth slightly agape. "Is that what you think I want, Riley?" He can't believe his daughter actually thinks he'd ever want to end her friendship with Maya.
Riley and Maya exchange a look and Riley immediately shakes her head. "No. What you said you really want is for me to make the world my own." Riley acknowledges. She knows her dad would never truly want that, want her to stop being friends with Maya. Maya may not see it but he truly does see her as a second daughter. She's part of their family, that won't change because of one bad day. "And you want me to do my homework." Riley shrugs. "Well, I'm doing it right now."
Topanga rests her head in her hand as she watches on. She can't help but feel proud of her daughter as she stands up for her friendship with Maya.
"Here's what I think is worth fighting for:" Riley turns to face Maya and wraps her arm around her shoulders. "This is my best friend.2 Riley states, smiling at Maya, who can't help but smile back as she warps her own arm around Riley. "She's gonna get me into trouble and I'm gonna get us out of it." Riley declares.
Corey gives a half smile as he watches his daughter. He knows all too well what that feeling, that assertion, that confidence is like.
"And I did. Because here we are." Riley declares, removing her arm from around Maya. "Look at us, dad. We're right here. My civil war is over, dad. I won." Riley nods, looking back at Maya with a smile, which she returns. "What happens now?"
Topanga and Auggie smile at Riley.
-
"Maya, can I talk to you a second?" Mr. Matthews asks. Maya stayed for dinner and now Mr. Matthews, Corey, feels it's time to clear some things up.
"Sure, Mr. Matthews" Maya agrees, smile nervous and small. Is this it? Is he going to tell her she can't stay friends with Riley after all?
"I'm sorry, Maya. I never meant to make you think that I wanted to end yours and Riley's friendship. That's the last thing I want" Corey admits. He knows what it's like to have a friend many would say is a bad influence. His best friend growing up, and even now, was Shawn Hunter. He also knows how important having a good friend can be for helping someone heal and grow up to become a better person. If that's what Riley is for Maya, he'd never want to take that from her.
"Thank you" Maya mumbles.
"I was just worried. About you. What you did was dangerous, Maya. You, or one of your classmates, could have easily gotten hurt. If you got hurt on my watch, I'd never forgive myself. And, if you accidentally hurt someone else, I don't think you'd forgive yourself either. I don't want you to stop being friends with Riley. I just want you to think your actions through more, okay? If you're having trouble with your homework, just tell me, or Riley. Either of us would be happy to help you. Don't shut us out, Maya. Let us help you when you need it" Mr. Matthews mumbles.
"Okay. I will. Thank you" Maya murmurs, smiling softly. She already knows she won't. She can't let anyone realise how... dumb she is. How much of a failure she is. She appreciates the sentiment, but she can't risk another person giving up on her and leaving her, especially a member of the Matthews family. Still, it warms her to know he cares, so she offers a soft smile and lets him hug her and hopes it's enough to settle his worries. He shouldn't worry about her. She'll be just fine.
At the subway, Riley stands with her mum, Auggie, Maya, Lucas and Farkle. Corey approaches them. "Friends, family-- and all you other subterranean mole people-- we're here today to celebrate Riley being Riley." Corey announces. "Now some may call this a New York City subway pass." Corey holds it up , with a proud smile. "But you, Riley, can consider this a ticket to the world."
"You think I'm ready?" Riley asks her parents hopefully.
"You showed us you are." Topanga states, nodding.
"Riley, I've already met the world." Corey points out, grabbing his daughter's hand as he gazes at her proudly. "It's your turn." He holds out the subway pass to her. Riley smiles as she takes it.
"Hey, this place isn't so different from Texas." Lucas declares suddenly as he moves slightly away from the family, Farkle watching him. "Look, there's a pony." He points out, as Riley and Maya watch him, smiling.
"That's a rat." Farkle corrects as he walks next to Lucas, watching as his smile quickly becomes a frown as he stares at the apparently pony-sized rat.
"Ladies." Farkle greets Gretchen and her friend as they walk past.
"Farkle." They return the greeting, equally flirtatious as the smile, and Gretchen's friend even winks at him. before they walk away. Lucas watches them go then follows Farkle as he walks away.
"Confused by the city, cowboy?" Serena jokes, when she sees the expression on his face. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."
"Eventually." Mason jokes.
Lucas smiles when he sees them. "Really?"
"Yeah you get used to the crazy." Mason muses before he sees Farkle and immediately looks away, unable to meet his eyes.
"We should get going." Mason sighs.
"Yeah. We'll see you around, Lucas. Farkle." Serena nods towards Farkle.
"Lady" Farkle greets, somewhat flirtatiously, though it's noticeably different go how he talks to Riley and Maya.
"Farkle. Lucas." Mason nods.
"Mason." Farkle nods. Mason blushes slightly, surprised but pleased that Farkle knows his name.
"Yeah see you guys around." Lucas smiles, watching them walk away.
"You know them?" Farkle asks Lucas curiously.
"A little. I sat with them the other day during lunch." Lucas shrugs. Farkle nods.
"So where do you wanna go?" Maya asks Riley as they walk towards the train.
"Don't know. Big world." Riley acknowledges with a slight nod, though she can't help but smile, eager to explore the world.
"Ours now?" Maya suggests with a playful grins.
"Yeah, but my dad did say I have to be home by five." Riley admits quietly, pointing towards her dad.
"Don't worry, he wrote you a note." Maya jokes, giving her a note that was in her pocket., which Riley takes before they get on the train, Corey watching them go.
"Next stop, Astor Place, 14th street... and the world." the conductor announces as the doors close.
-
Riley and Maya get off the train to find Corey, Topanga and Auggie waiting for them.
"You guys came back and waited for us?" Riley asks as they walk over to them.
"Hey, we told you we were always gonna be there for you." Topanga reminds her
"Yeah, Riley." Corey agrees. "It's not so easy handing over the world without making sure everything's going to be okay." Corey admits before looking over his shoulder. He could've sworn there was someone there.
"Well done, Mr. Matthews." He could hear Mr. Feeny, his old teacher, praise him, but Feeny wasn't there, only a poster of him. Corey wrapped his arms around his family as they left the subway
When Maya got home that night, it was with a smile on her face. Spending time with Riley always made her happy, well, most of the time. And it wasn't like it was Riley's fault Maya sometimes looked at her and her family and saw all the things she could never have.
Just like she could never accept Mr. Matthews' help with school work, or anyone else's. That thought brought her back to earlier that day, to Serena giving her her phone number. No, she wasn't going to accept her offer for help or anything like that, but, well, it couldn't hurt to at least text her a quick 'hello', right? That was a thing classmates did. And so Maya got out her old cheap flip phone and Serena's number, typing in Serena's number before sending a simple text. 'Hey, is this Serena? It's Maya.'