Girl Meets Him

Girl Meets Goodbye

"Has your mom made a decision on the London job offer yet?" Maya asked.

"Don't you think you two will hear as soon as I've heard?" Riley questioned.

"Have you heard?" I turned to face my cousin.

"How can I pretend this isn't happening if you keep bringing it up?" Riley asked.

"London is three thousand, four hundred and fifty-nine miles away from New York," Maya stated.

"What? You're too far away now!" Riley protested.

"We need to face this, cous," I breathed.

"This is the end of Riley and Maya," Maya panicked.

"How could you say that? How could you even think that?" Riley questioned. "Riley and Maya are forever, no matter where we are."

"Remember our fourth best friend, Kerri Abelson?" Maya questioned.

"Oh, yeah. What happened to her?" Riley asked.

"She moved across the street," I said in disbelief of the two.

Maya and I walked into class. The entire room was silent. Riley stood in the doorway.

"Wow, so much emotion. Why is everybody so emotional when nothing's happening?" Riley questioned. She sat in her seat.

"Because it is happening, Riley," Farkle answered, holding my hand across my desk.

"Why are you so sure?" Riley asked.

"Look at the board," I breathed, knowing it felt like the last day on Earth.

"Belgium, 1831. The Netherlands was a group of friendly states who thought they'd stay together forever..."

"Uh-oh," Maya said.

"Belgium 1831 is us," Farkle revealed.

"Until Belgium made the decision, it was time to go," Uncle Cory continued.

"Hey, Riley?"

"Yeah?" She turned to face me.

"Don't leave me," I breathed, feeling a lump in my throat with tears threatening to show.

~~~

"How is a decision like this made? Is it tougher to leave something you love or stay when you could be missing an opportunity?" Uncle Cory asked.

"Well, that depends," Zay spoke up.

"On what, Mr. Babineaux?" Uncle Cory motioned to him.

"What you're leaving behind," Zay admitted.

"Anybody else?" Uncle Cory questioned.

"To be fair, I think it's important to know what's waiting for you wherever you're going," Lucas reasoned.

"Right. Lucas and Zay both left someplace that they loved," Uncle Cory explained.

"They were right to love Texas. We had the best time there," Riley pointed out.

"And we've had the best time here," Lucas added.

"So, Belgium left the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, then what happened?" I asked.

"Everybody was happy forever. The end," Riley blurted.

"Okay. Anybody else want to try?"

"The United Kingdom of the Neverlands fell completely apart," Maya answered.

"Maya. You looked something up?" Uncle Cory said, impressed.

"No. I didn't have to. You don't really have to be smart to know what's coming. It's those two who've been smart. It's them who've wanted to know what Belgium 1831 was ever since it went up on the board. It's them who've always loved us and tried to protect us."