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"Our town, by Thornton Wilder." Cory lectures in front of the class, holding up the book. "My favorite play."
"You can't teach English." Farkle interrupts in a disbelief expression.
Cory smiles at the boy and walks over. "It's all about the history-"
"There you go." Lucas points with a smile, Jake looks up from his sketchbook and shakes his head at his boyfriend.
"-of people just like you and me, mostly about not taking what we have for granted, and a girl who gets a chance to
take one look at the life she left behind." Cory finishes.
Neveah, Maya, and Riley enters the class and sneaks back over to their seats while Cory continues. "'Just for a moment now we're all together. Just for a moment we're happy. Let's really look at one another.'" The three girls turned to each other then back at Cory.
He looks up from the book with a smirk and eyes the three.
"Hello, girls. You're back?" He raises a brow and glances at Neveah who grins, glad to be back.
"Yessss." Maya sheepishly smiles.
"As bad as this is-" Riley starts.
"-everything else is worse." Maya finishes.
Neveah scoffs and leans back into her chair. "I didn't want to leave in the first place." Lucas, Jake, Farkle, and Eva laughs at the girl's words.
Cory shook his head at her but held a smile on his face.
"Well, welcome back, ladies. You're just in time for today's lesson."
"Did we miss anything?" Riley eagerly asks, Neveah also was eager as she wanted to learn from her God-father.
Cory waves his daughters off. "Nah, we're just putting everything back in place. The real lesson begins right now." He walks to the board with a snap of his fingers.
"Face it, we are never going to escape him." Neveah walks behind Riley and Maya as they entered Svorski's bakery.
"He's everywhere." Maya nods her head with frustration, "How are we going to be kings of anything if everywhere we go?" Neveah sighs and looks behind them to see Topanga walking with her head glued to the papers in her hands.
"We might run into my- mom?" Riley asks once she turns around. "What are you doing here?"
"Is my-krainian bakery." Topanga smiles at the girls, Neveah tilted her head at the familiar joke, Svorski tells her and Auggie.
Auggie looks up at his mother with a frown, "Still not funny."
"Auggie!" Neveah opens her arms for the boy, Auggie smiles and hops out of his chair to hug her.
"Veah!"
Topanga frowns for a second. "Not funny, huh. I'll tell you what's not funny. This place loses $1.50 on every bulochki." She looks at the old lady sitting down.
"I bake with love." Svorski defends, placing a hand on her heart. "How can you put prive on love?"
Topanga scoffs out a laugh. "Watch me." She places a price tag on the pastry. "$4.95."
"Ooh! Ka-ching!" Svorski smiles.
Riley sighs and points to the sit. "Bakery window. Bakery window right now." She orders her best friends, Neveah sighs and lets go of Auggie to follow Riley and Maya after waving hi to Svorski.
"That's nice." Maya laughs, "So, your dad's at school, your mom's at our hangout. That's nice."
Neveah giggles softly, causing Riley to look between the two. "You're laughing at me?"
"Inisde, I'm crying so hard." Maya admits.
Neveah shrugs. "I was technically laughing at Maya but yeah, I guess."
Riley gives her a blank stare before sighing with frustration.
"I can't escape them, guys. My, my parents are constantly circling me like planets."
"It's not that bad, Riles." Neveah waves her hand.
Without missing a beat, a knock on the window above them was heard. Neveah pauses as the three girls stared ahead.
"I spoke too soon, huh?"
"Hello." Cory walks into the bakery with a cheesy smile.
"Riley. Neveah. I haven't seen you both in 20 minutes. Did you miss me? 'Cause I missed you." He pulls to the two up from the seat and brings them into a hug. "Auggie, come here. I miss you too, bud." He grabs his son to joing the group hug. Neveah tried pulling away, but the man hugs them tighter.
"Mrs. Svorski. I have someone who I think can be the perfect manager for when I can't be at the bakery." Topanga says.
"This person know way around food game?"
"Absolutely. She's also very colorful. She really gets into whatever she's doing."
Svorski nods in approvement. "Sounds like good woman." Topanga hums with a smile.
"Oh! Sorry I'm late." Neveah manages to pull away from
Cory in time to see Katy Hart leaning against the doorframe.
"My donkey died on way here." The blonde woman said in an accent. She takes a deep breath in before walking deeper into the cafe. "Oh. Smells like being back in kitchen in Ukraine. Waiting for Tato to come home, hoping he has not lost last finger in field mower. Oh, no, no, he did." She frowns.
Svorski shakes her head. "Oh, poort Tato. He can never win at paper, rock, scissors. Always know rock is coming." Katy turns to her. "One-"
"Two-" Svorski joins.
"Three! Rock!" They say together.
Svorski leans closer to Topanga. "I like her." Katy giggles, glad that she made a good impression.
"Hi, mama Kate." Neveah waves at the woman.
"Oh, hi Veah." Katy smiles.
"Mom." Maya bluntly states, sliding off the window seat.
Katy gasps, "Ohh, Mayabushka. I am gonna be here all the time now, baby girl. How great is that?" She pulls Maya into a hug.
Neveah looks at her Godparents and best friend's mom with a laugh. "So, your parents are here." She points to Riley then turns to Maya. "And your mom is here." She points again,
"Ha, the irony of my mom walking in here now would be top tie-"
"Neveah," Riley gapes in shock causing Neveah to pause from finishing her sentence.
Neveah looks at the brunette, "You're fucking lying."
"Language, Neveah." Cory scolds but was ignored by the girl who was staring at her mom and brother walking in.
"Veah, mom's here!" Jake walks in happy with Carmen beside him in her scrubs. "And guess what!"
Carmen laughs and pulls her son into a side hug then turns to her daughter. "My supervisor said that I've been overworking myself for a long time and needs some time with my family." She rolls her eyes but deep down she agreed with him. She sighs with a smile and rubs Jake's arm as he was still in the side hug. "So, I guess I'm going to be around here for a little while."
Neveah mouth opens in astonishment, it was as if the universe wanted the three girls' parents to be breathing down their necks this school year.
"You're lying." Neveah hears Riley and Maya speak in shock.
Cory smiles as Neveah walks over to join the hug between her mom and brother. He then rubs Riley right shoulder.
"Looks like the parents are gonna be here in your lives...wherever you are." He teases, trying to get a reaction out of her, which worked as she scrunches her face up with tears.
"Everywhere?" Riley whispers, Cory hums and leans closer to her. "Everywhere."
Maya shakes her head in disbelief. "Uh uh. Mom, you can't be here."
Riley turns to her parents. "Dad, mom, you're everywhere."
Neveah and Jake look up at their mom. "Does that mean dad is finally coming back home as well?" They say instead of their best friends, Carmen laughs and squeezes their shoulders motioning them to wait and listen to their friends complaining.
"We just need some space." Maya continues.
"It's like you're circling around us." Riley adds and walks behind Maya.
Cory scoffs out a chuckle. "I'm sorry. You think we're circling around you?" Riley nods her head.
"Yes."
Topanga raises her brow in amusement. "Oh. I see." She turns to her husband. "So, I guess we're all done with the parenting?"
"Yes, it seems we're all done with that part now." Cory grabs his wife's hand and gives it a shake. "Good job, Topanga!"
"Good job, Corey! Remember that whole potty-training thing that we did for her? And now she wants to leave?"
"Oh, I loved every minute of that. Good times!"
Neveah shakes her head at them and looks up at Carmen. "That's my God-father?"
Carmen sighs and rested her hand on top of her head. "Sadly. I blame Shawn for getting me to agree to that decision." She says but Neveah clearly knew it was a joke.
"So, you're okay with this?" Riley asks.
"Oh yeah, we understand. You're a grownup. You know everything there is to know." Topanga waves her off.
"Yup, you're ready to move away." Cory fake sniffles. Riley pauses, "Well, I mean, I'd like to stay in my bedroom."
"Okay. You'll just drop us a line when you get married and have kids?" Her mom shoots back.
"Mom, I just don't want you to be everywhere." Riley frowns.
"Okay. Well, when you need us, we'll be at home." Topanga tells her.
"And I'll be back there, staying out of your way." Katy looks at Maya before walking over to the counter.
"And I would be at home, starting dinner." Carmen inputs and looks down at her kids. She sometimes be feeling bad for her best friends and the struggles of their daughters while her kids are understanding are open minded. Even Jake and he's been her kid officially for eight months.
Neveah and Jake nod their heads. "Okay."
"Good." Maya looks at the four adults.
"So, nobody feels bad about this?" Riley adds and looks at her parents for confirmation.
Cory smirks. "Well, let's see what happens."
Carmen pecks Neveah and Jake's heads before following after Cory, Topanga, and Auggie.
Svorski rubs Neveah arm. "Ready to help, Katy?"
Neveah gives the woman a smile and nod. "Yeah, I'm ready." She looks at Jake who nods.
"We'll be over there until you get off." He tells her and heads over to the booth that Maya and Riley sat at.
Neveah looks at them and sighs before heading behind the counter to help Katy with the bakery, but not after giving a sad stare at the old woman who looked tired walking to the back.
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★ ☆ ✰ ✮ ✯
"The sun doesn't go around the earth. We're the ones moving. We orbit the sun, because we need it. We need its light and its heat, and if it wasn't there, we'd be dark and alone." Riley stood in front of her family and friends and other people who knew the woman, next to a picture of Mrs. Svorski.
Neveah sat in between Lucas and Farkle who were comforting the quiet girl who stared blankly at the woman's picture. Lucas held her hand with his on his lap while Jake laid his head on Lucas' shoulder, tears silently falling on his boyfriend's shirt. Farkle was closely sat next to his girl, kneading his thumb on her exposed thigh soothingly as he composed his emotions for her sake.
"I wasn't in Mrs. Svorski's orbit for very long, and I missed out on someone wonderful. My brothers and sister knew better." She motions to the three kids who were crying or looking off into a distance. "They were her very good friends." She walks over to Maya, leaving Neveah who wouldn't look at anyone.
"We think that we're the center of the universe, but the truth is we need to circle the ones we love for as long as they're here." She squeezes Maya's hand and slowly pulled away to their hands drop before walking over to her family. "We need to hold them close, because no matter how far we travel, they are the ones who hold us in place. It's gravity, and without it, we would just all float away from each other." She walks back to the front.
"We are not kings at all. We are just tiny little specks. My name is Riley Matthews from Greenwich Village, New York City, the United Staes of America, the continent of North America, the Western hermisphere, the Earth, the solar system, the universe, the mind of God. That's from our town, my father's favorite play." She gently smiles at her dad.
"'Just for a moment we're all together. Let's really look at one another." She walks over to the portrait of Svorksi. "Good night, Mrs. Svorski."
Carmen rubs her daughter's shoulders and pecks her head while Farkle grabs her other hand and gives it a squeeze.
"Veah?"
Neveah slowly snaps out of her trance and turns to her little brother who pulled away from Riley while holding the note.
"Yeah, bubs?" She pulls him on to her lap.
"Mrs. Svorski wrote us her last joke." He passes her the little note, Neveah grabs it and read it.
Is not my-krainian bakery. I'm dead.
She chokes out a sad laugh, the tears that she was holding fell from her eyes. "Oh, babies." Carmen whispered heartbrokenly at the sight of her kids.
Auggie began wiping her face. "Don't cry, Veah. She's in a better place, now."
Neveah nods her head in agreement and snifles. "Yeah, I know..." She sniffles again and wipes her eyes and gives the little boy a smile. "I love you, bubs."
Auggie pulls her into a hug, "I love you, too Veah."
★ ☆ ✰ ✮ ✯
Neveah and Jake were in the living room with their Mom, Neveah's macbook was propped on the coffee table in front of them as they called Shawn.
"Hey, kiddos. Beautiful." He smiles at the woman through the screen, Carmen rolls her eyes at the man while the kids giggle softly.
"Shawn."
"How was the funeral?"
Jake gave him a half smile. "It was good. Riley gave a meaningful speech."
"Mrs. Svorski is finally at rest..." Neveah quietly adds, trying to hold back her tears not wanting to cry again. "Which is good..."
Shawn looks at her daughter with sympathy, knowing how close she was to the woman. "Yes, she's finally at peace."
"Shawn." Carmen speaks up, stirring the conversation in another direction. "The kids want to know when you're coming back." Neveah and Jake stared into the camera as they watched Shawn lean back into his chair.
"Uhhhh...well this was my last stop here in Tennessee. I got some great pictures and talked to my team." He tells them, rubbing the bottom of his beard. "I'm pretty sure, I'm off for at least four months? But I asked for more time since I can work at home..."
"So, you're staying longer?" Jake asks excitingly at his father. Neveah waited for his answer.
Shawn chuckles. "Yes, kiddo I'm staying longer this time."
Neveah and Jake turned to each other with a smile before looking back at the computer. "Yay!" Carmen and Shawn laugh at their kids.
"Okay, okay. You both have school tomorrow, so you two need to go to bed." The woman pointed at them with squinted eyes. "So, tell your father goodbye and call it a day."
Neveah pouted but obliged to her mother's words. "Good night, dad. I love you." She kisses her hand and blows it to her father who did the same thing but with a smile.
"Good night, lil cube. I love you too." He tells her as Neveah walks to her room after giving Carmen and Jake the same words and hug.
"Good night, dad...I love you." Jake shyly admitted, he was still getting used to having actual affection after so many years of torment from his biological figure.
Shawn's features softened as he stared at the boy. "Good night, kiddo. I love you too. I'll see you soon." He sincerely admits.
Jake smiled. "Yeah." He stood up and hugs Carmen. "Good night, mom. I love you."
Carmen rubs his back and kisses his forehead. "Good night, my baby. I love you." She gives him one more peck on his forehead and watches him walk away before turning back to Shawn with a soft smile. "He's getting better day after day."
Shawn sighs and leans back into his chair. "Yeah?" Carmen hums, Shawn smiles as he misses his kids. "I'm glad. I know he seemed okay when I would talk to Neveah last year but deep down, I knew he wasn't okay."
Carmen nods her head with a frown on her face. "He was struggling for so long for years...he didn't deserve any of that. But now, he's healing and he has amazing people in his life."
Shawn nods his head with a smile. "And an amazing mother." He chuckles when he watches Carmen trying to hide her smile.
"You always have to find a way to flirt, huh?" She rolls her eyes but a smile was on her face.
"With you? Always."
It was quiet for a few seconds as Carmen composed herself. "I...I miss you." She admits.
"I miss you, too." He grins then clears his throat. "When I get back, we should go out."
Carmen raises a brow. "Go out?" Shawn nods his head.
"A date. We haven't been on one in years."
Carmen tried so hard not to grin from ear to ear from his words. They still haven't talked about what they were from months, just harmless flirting. She would like to think it's because they still had chemistry with each other, she couldn't deny that the two were literally dating in their young adult years. But now, he's been staying over her house to watch the kids and vice versa, which would make sense since they're co-parenting. But that the flirting was coming back and it was bringing back memories of when they dated, feelings of when they dated. And to be completely honest. Carmen was scared, though she still loves Shawn, she didn't want him to break up with her again and leave her heartbroken.
"Shawn, don't you think we should talk...? About us?"
Shawn's smiles slowly faded. "Yeah...let's do that on the date."
Carmen sighs, "Okay, let's do that then."
"You should go to sleep, I know you're tired." Shawn points out.
"Yeah, I know." She sighs, "Good night, Shawn."
"Good night, Carmen. I-" He stops himself, he knows she knew what he was about to say but didn't want to tell her again until they talk about their feelings.
"I know. On our date." Carmen gives him a smile and a last wave before ending the call on our date. "I love you, too...Shawn."
Neveah had walked into her and slid into her bed, she was tired, but the funeral was still on her mind. She knows that Mrs. Svorski is in a better place and at rest, but she deeply misses her already.
My King <3
Hey, want to FaceTime? -read 8:37 pm.
My World <3
Yeah :) -read 8:37 pm.
She answers on the first ring when Farkle's caller ID pops on her screen.
"Hi, baby." She smiles, getting comfortable on her side and prepping the phone on her side pillow after turning off the light.
"My queen." Farkle was in the same position as her with his lights off. The light from his phone the only thing illuminating his face. "I didn't want to go to sleep without hearing your voice. How are you feeling?"
Neveah fixes the bonnet on her head and set her head back on the pillow. "I'm fine." Farkle gives her an 'are you sure' face causing her to softly smile. "Yes, I'm telling the truth. I know earlier I was too quiet but I was just...taking on the reality that Mrs. Svorski wouldn't be here with us anymore. She was an amazing, funny, and caring woman who taught me so much over these past few months. It's going to take some time to get use to her not being in her presence but I know that she's in a better place and is now resting."
Farkle smiles at her. "Okay. I believe you." Neveah playfully rolls her eyes before yawning. "Alright, I can see you're sleepy. I'll let you go Ve-"
"Do you want to stay on FaceTime?" Neveah cuts him off.
Farkle's heart began to race. "Like, go to sleep on the call together?" Neveah nods her head, another yawn escaping her mouth. "Y-yeah. Of course, my queen."
"Good night, Farkle." Neveah mumbles as she closes her eyes.
Farkle watches her drift off with a smile. "Good night, my queen."