"Eyes, look your last. Arms, take your last embrace." Lucas said, as he walked over to the table, where Riley was laying on. I sat in the audience with Maya. We were watching our school's production of the play "Romeo and Juliet".
"And, lips, oh, you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss." Lucas continued, and leaned down to kiss Riley. "Back off!" Farkle shouted, jumping into the scene. I rolled my eyes, and sat back in amusement. "What meanest thou? Spear carrier. Who havest no lines." Lucas said, trying to stay in role. "You tried to kiss my woman. This I cannot allow. Prepare to die!" Farkle shouted. "Farkle, what are you doing? It's "Romeo and Juliet." Lucas reminded. "Well, now it's "Romeo and Juliet and Farkle". I play Farkle." Farkle said.
"Dude, I'm supposed to kiss the girl. Shakespeare said." Lucas reminded. "Who thinks the spear carrier should finally get to kiss Juliet?" Farkle asked the audience, holding up his spear. Maya stood up and began to cheer. I clapped too. "Yeah, you kiss that girl, you crazy spear carrier." Maya said. "Hark! You cometh uppeth here and getteth kissed too." Farkle said. I stood up and clapped and cheered loudly, just like Maya did a few seconds ago.
Everyone else started to clap too. "Thank you, thank you." Maya said, as she layed down beside Riley on the table. "You too! Cometh uppeth here!" Farkle shouted at me. Everyone cheered and applauded. I stood up, off of my seat. I started to walk to the table where Maya and Riley were sitting. "You're too kind, seriously." I told people, as I walked to the table. I lied down beside Maya.
"How you doing?" Maya and I asked Riley. "I just don't understand how we end up in situations like this." Riley told us. I giggled, as the weird play continued.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I walked into the school hallway when the play ended, and I was greeted by applause. I was a little taken back, but accepted it. I stood next to Maya and Riley and watched as Farkle entered. Everyone went silent. Riley started to clap, so the whole hallway slowly began to clap. I didn't want to, but. I did it to be nice. "Thank you. Thank you, Farkle nation!" Farkle shouted.
"Farkle, come here." Maya said. "Maya, don't." Riley warned. "Okay. I will," I said, "Farkle." I stepped closer to Farkle, but Riley held me back. "Dylan. No. He thinks he was good." Riley defended. Maya and I shared a knowing look. We turned back to Riley. "Yeah, we're gonna fix that." Maya and I said in unison.
"But you two can't tell him the truth." Riley said, "You'll crush him." "Oh, we can tell him the truth. It's you who can't tell him the truth because you're afraid." Maya pointed out. I nodded. "I'm not afraid. I'm nice." Riley corrected. I raised my eyebrow. "You're saying we're not nice?" I asked. "No, I'm afraid to say that." Riley said. "Tell him the truth." Maya ordered. "Yeah. You know Farkle. You know what will happen if you don't." I added.
"Farkle. You were so what are the best words?" Riley asked, as we walked up to Farkle. I sent Riley a "seriously" look. "He killed the play. Those are the words." I said, to Riley. "Those are the only words. You killed the play." Maya told Farkle, and then turned back to Riley. "Tell him." "What? What do they mean?" Farkle asked Riley. "They means you killed it, Farkle. Killed it! Showbiz talk." Riley lied. I rolled my eyes.
"I actually I thought I ruined the play. If you would've told me I ruined the play, I would have believed you. I would have been crushed, but I would've believed you." Farkle told Riley. I leaned closer to Maya."This is just so amusing," I whispered to my sis. Maya nodded. Riley sighed. "How could I crush one of the best actors working in middle school today?" She asked Farkle. "I'm a good actor? What if I'm better than good? What if I'm great? What if I'm the greatest actor who ever lived, and I never knew it? That would be sad. Wah. It's okay, it's okay. I was acting." Farkle said, "Thanks, Riley, my public awaits. Hello, everybody!" He walked away.
Maya and I turned to Riley. "You can't lie to him, Riley." I told her. "You're gonna break our little Farkle." Maya added. I nodded. "Oh, I will not. I didn't do anything. This will all go away." Riley said. Some jazz music began to play. Farkle appeared with a top hat and a cane. He began to do a tap routine. "And I think..." Maya began. "You broke him." I finished.
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I sat in history class the next day. I was playing with a charm bracelet I got. "Nice locket, Maya. And what a beautiful charm bracelet, Dylan." Riley complimented. "You likey?" Maya and I asked. "If history's about discovering the truth of what happened in the past, we spend some time finding out what truth is." Mr. Matthews said, continuing his lesson.
"Where'd you get the nice locket and beautiful charm bracelet?" Riley asked. "Shh, I come here to learn." I said. Maya, Riley, and I bursted out laughing. "All through history, people have suffered consequences for telling the truth." Cory continued. "Is that real gold and real silver?" Riley asked. "Don't know." I replied, staring at the bracelet. "Doesn't matter." Maya answered.
"They all suffered dearly for having the courage to tell the truth." Cory continued. "So sometimes it's better not to?" Riley asked. "But aren't there consequences for that too, sir?" Lucas asked. "Yes, there are, Mr. Friar. But in my experience with the universe, no matter what you do, the truth always finds a way of coming out." Cory answered. The bell ringed, and the room was filled with the chatter of the students.
"So where'd you get the locket and the charm bracelet?" Riley asked, when we were the only ones left in the room. "France." I answered, simply. "You two were in France?" Riley questioned. "Si, senor." Maya replied in Spanish. "You two didn't go to France because if you went to France, you guys would have brought me back a croissant." Riley said. "Bing." Maya said, as I held up a croissant. "Ooh. Piping hot." Riley said, taking a bite out of the bread type thing. Maya and I stood up and we walked to the door. "Wait a minute. Where did you guys really get this?" I asked. "Should we tell her?" I asked Maya. "We found it on the street." Maya said, smirking and walked out of the room. "Bleah!" Riley said, spitting out the food.
~~~~
"Come on, where'd you get the locket and the bracelet?" Riley asked, coming out of the room. "My father sent it to me." Maya answered. "And I got the bracelet from The Foster System I was in. They sent it to me, hoping I am enjoying my forever family," I replied.
"They did?" Riley questioned. "You don't believe us?" Maya asked. "Did you just tell me?" Riley asked. "We just told you." I answered. "Then I believe you guys." Riley answered. "So this is over?" I asked. "Like it never happened." Riley said, "I do, however, have one question for the locket and the bracelet." Riley grabbed Maya's locket, and she took my hand, which the bracelet was on. "Where'd you get the Maya?! And you. Where'd you get the Dylan?!" Riley asked the jewelry.
"You don't believe my father sent this to me?" Maya asked. "And you don't believe that The Foster System sent this to me?" I asked. "Why don't you guys just tell me?" Riley asked. "Why don't you just call us liars?" I asked. "Why don't you just tell me the truth?" Riley asked. "Oh, you think that's important?" Maya asked. "I do." Riley replied. "Did you think Farkle was good in the play?" I asked. Farkle heard my question and did a melodramatic gasp.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There's a serious pigeon following us." Maya and I said in unison as we crawled into Riley's bedroom through the window. "How you doing? Hey, here's a new thing. Where'd you get the locket and bracelet?" Riley asked. "He's a very sneaky pigeon, but we're onto him." Maya continued. "Because it's gold and that's silver, they're both expensive, and my curiosity gets the better of me." Riley continued with this whole situation.
"So we ducked behind the tree to fake out the pigeon. And you know who came over?" I asked, "A squirrel." "We didn't say hello though, because we were already in our thing with the pigeon." Maya said. I nodded. "I need to know if you two are stealing things." Riley said. "You don't think my dad sends me stuff?" Maya asked Riles. "And you don't think that The Foster System would send me stuff?" I asked. "Maya, you've cried to me because your dad doesn't send you stuff. And Dylan. You told me The Foster System doesn't send anyone anything." Riley told us. I let out a little sigh and turned to Maya. She looked at me in the same way and nodded.
"Sometimes Dylan and I walk around the village and we pass stores and we look in windows at things we know we'll never have." Maya began. "So one day, we saw this locket and this bracelet sitting in a lost-and-found basket." I continued, "Do you think it's right that somebody loses something so beautiful and never comes back for it?" "Who knows? I don't have a criminal mind." Riley answered, "I don't think like you people." "We walked by the window for months. Nobody claimed the locket, and the charm bracelet okay?" Maya continued. "The jewelry sat there like a kid that has no," I started, but hesitated, "Like an orphan. So Maya and I claimed the two. They are ours now."
"It's not. You two took somethings that doesn't belong to you." Riley told us. "How come you don't tell Farkle the truth, but you have no trouble telling us?" Maya asked. The pigeon that was following Maya and I appeared on the window sill. It warbled. "And you stop judging us." I told the pigeon. It flew out of the window.
"Hey, my father tells my mother the truth, even when he knows she's gonna shove a chicken in his face." Riley said, as we sat at the window. I giggled. "Sorry we missed it." Maya and I said in unison. "Yep, I was thinking about you two," Riley told us. "Thanks." Maya told her. I nodded. "'Cause I love you, guys," Riley said. "We love you too." Maya and I said in unison. "Then why do you guys want to end up in the slammer?" Riley asked, going back to the subject. "Here we go." I mumbled.
"You two won't do well in the slammer." Riley informed us. My eyes widened and I turned to her with an offended look. "We will so!" Maya and I shouted in sync. "You guys won't pack right. And you will both forget to bring shower shoes and you'll take somebody else's from the lost-and-found. And I think. Both of you are gonna get toe fungus! And I think you guys deserve to get toe fungus because they're not your shower shoes. They're not!" Riley said. I smiled softly. "That's adorable." I admitted. "I think you two are thieves." Riley told us. "That's not." Maya said.
"You think I'm afraid to tell people the truth? I'm not, and I now await the praise from you two." Riley said, holding out her arms for a hug. Maya and I crawled out of the window without saying a word. "Maya? Dylan?" I heard Riley ask, as Maya and I walked to our house. We didn't say a word to each other. Which was sad.
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I sat on my bed with a piece of paper, and a pencil in my hands. I tapped the pencil against the pencil. I wanted to write a diary/journal entry. But I didn't know what to write about. An idea popped into my head.
Dear Diary,
I consider things that have been forgotten, and no one cares about anymore. I consider those things as orphans. Just like me. I am an orphan. Like the charm bracelet, I may or may not have "stole". Or like the locket Maya may or may not have "stole". I am an orphan. And no piece of paper can change that fact.
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I walked down the steps of the staircase at school, with Maya. As I walked down the last step, I saw Riley standing by the doorway of our history class. Maya and I walked up to her in a sad manner. Maya handed Riley the textbooks she was holding. "I got something to say to the two you." Riley announced.
Maya plugged her ears. "I can't hear you! Baddada dadaa dadaa!" Maya sang, to avoid Riley's lecture. I just stood there watching. "I'm talking to you." Riley said, trying to get her attention. Maya began to sing words that were just. Nonsense. She sang the weird words, as she entered the girl's bathroom. She exited the bathroom, and continued to sing. "Da da dadaa Whata whata whata, waa waa waa" Maya sang, "And Go." I gave her an amused look and then turned to Riley.
"Whether or not the two of you are thieves, or not thieves, or you both stole the locket and the charm bracelet, or you two didn't, it doesn't belong to either one of you. It belongs to somebody else. And you have to tell the truth about it because you are upsetting the universe. And the universe is going to have the truth come out anyway." Riley lectured. When she finished, Mr. Matthews walked into his classroom, eating noddles.
"And what about you?" I asked, getting a little frustrated with Riley. "When are you gonna tell the truth to Farkle?" Maya asked. "I hardly think the universe is upset with me for being nice to Farkle. I mean, what could possibly go wrong there?" Riley told us. Just as she asked that, Farkle walked down the stairs and to the chess club.
"Hey, chess club, you can move king's knight to bishop six and then you can eat it! 'Cause I quit the chess club 'cause I'm an actor, 'cause Riley said so." Farkle told the club. Maya and I turned back to Riley. "'Cause Riley said so." We said in sync. "Hey, chemistry club, you know what you get when you put sodium and chlorine together? You're a bunch of losers!" Farkle shouted at the club.
"Farkle!" Riley shouted, as we walked up to him. "Riley. You changed my life. The Farkle you knew is gone. I am now Farkle!" Farkle said, dramatically. He walked away. "Whata whata what. What could possibly go wrong? Whata whata what could possibly go wrong?" Maya sang, as we all walked up the stairs.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey." Maya and I greeted, Mr. Matthews and Riley as we crawled in through the window. "Well, now they're back. Maybe it's not as upside down as you think." Mr. Matthews told Riley and turned to us, "It's a nice locket, Maya. And a beautiful charm bracelet, Dylan." "Thanks, Mr. Matthews." Maya and I thanked in sync. "It looks like someone else's expensive gold locket and silver bracelet," Riley pointed out.
"Maybe it is. But, you know, I don't think that matters to Maya at all." Mr. Matthews said. I gave him a confused look. "You don't?" Maya, Riley, and I asked. "You know, it's an interesting thing about lockets. It's usually what's in the inside that matters most to people. Isn't that right, Maya?" Mr. Matthews said. He stood up and walked to the door. He opened it. And revealed Topanga. "Yeah, okay." Cory said, closing the door. "Please don't tell anyone this is how I live in my own house." Cory said. He then crawled out of the window.
"What's inside the locket, Maya, that's so important to you?" Riley asked. I nodded. "Yeah. Maya. What's so important that you couldn't tell me?" I asked. Maya glanced at me, and then opened the locket. Inside the locket was a picture of a family. A father, a mother, and two little girls. I noticed one of them was wearing the charm bracelet. Guilt instantly struck me.
"Who is this family?" Riley asked. "I don't know." Maya answered, and sighed deeply, "A father, a mother and two little girls. I just like that they're all together. I'm keeping it." Maya said, closing the door. "Oh, boy." Riley said.
Mr. Matthews crawled back in through the window. "She's at the front door too. It's like there's two of her." He said, walking to the front door. There stood Topanga with a chicken? on a fork. She was mimicking a motor. Cory screamed, and slammed the door. He ran and sat in between Riley and me. "So what do we do now? Just sit here or what?" He asked. I shrugged.
"Hey, dad. Can you tell me why I kind of think trying to help Farkle may have been wrong and maybe Maya should keep the locket and Dylan should keep the locket?" Riley asked. "We should?" Maya and I asked in unison. "Maybe. Is it me that's upside down?" Riley asked. "You know what, girls? The universe is the most confusing place you'll ever live. But if you listen carefully, you'll find out that it's paying attention and that it cares about you." Cory explained. "Is that the truth?" Riley asked. "It's the only one I'm still sure of." Cory reassured. The bedroom door opened, revealing Auggie. He walked in with a plate of spaghetti.
"Hey, Auggie, is that for me, buddy?" Cory asked. "I made it for you." Auggie said. I gently smiled. "Oh, Auggie, thank you so much. Thank you. Look at this, ooh. This looks good." Cory said, eating some of it, "It's it's cold s'ghetti." "I know it's better warmer, but I don't know how to do that." Auggie admitted. "Auggie, I appreciate that you did anything for me at all." Cory said. "You said that very nice. Why didn't you say it that way to mom?" Auggie asked. "What?" Mr. Matthews asked, "But all I did was tell mom the truth." "Then why do you get cold s'ghetti?" Auggie asked. I stared at him in shock. "Whoa." Riley, Maya, and I said in unison.
"Woah. Auggie, are you saying the truth doesn't matter as much as how you treat people?" Mr. Matthews asked. "Auggie, are you saying that the truth does matter, but you should tell it to people warmly?" Riley asked. "Auggie, are you saying that the universe pays attention to me and Dylan?" Maya asked. "Auggie, are you saying that no matter what the universe will be paying attention to you, even if you don't know it?" I asked. "Do you people realize that I'm only this many?" Auggie asked, holding up his hand and holding up 5 fingers. Maya gave him a high-five. Auggie rolled his eyes and walked away.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Farkle, I need to talk to you. I've been looking all over for you." Riley said, as she, Maya and I entered the theater room of the school. I don't know what it is called. "Farkle?" I asked when he didn't answer Riley.
"Farkle's gone. He gave up the chess club. He gave up the chemistry club." Farkle said, all gloomy. "What happened?" Riley asked. "You happened. You told me I was good. Well, I just auditioned for the next play." Farkle answered. "Are you gonna be in the next play?" I asked. "I'm not even allowed to watch the next play." Farkle replied. "I'm sorry you stink." Maya and I said in unison. "I'm sorry I could never hurt you." Riley apologized. "I'm sorry you stink." Maya and I repeated. "I heard you!" Farkle shouted all frustrated. "Well, it was very important." Maya defended. I nodded.
Farkle sighed. "You made me think I was this great actor. You filled me up with confidence that I was really special. You made me think I could go after something totally unrealistic." Farkle told Riley. "Farkle-" Riley began. "Thank you." Farkle said. He then kissed Riley. My mouth hung open at the sight in front of me. Farkle pulled away and walked away. Riley stood there with her eyes closed.
"Well... That happened." Maya said. "Is it over?" Riley asked. "Can we talk about this?" I asked. "No." Riley answered, simply. "Because that was your first kiss and it was with Farkle." Maya said. I nodded. "He missed." Riley pointed out. "Still counts." I said. "Now for the rest of your life when people ask you, "hey, Riley, who was your first kiss?" You're gonna have to say," Maya started. "Eyes, look your last." Lucas said appearing out of nowhere. "Oh, yeah!" Riley said, jumping onto the table Arms, take your last embrace.
"And, lips, oh, you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss." Lucas said. "Hi." Riley greeted. "Hi." Lucas greeted. "How long you been here?" Riley asked. "Yeah, I saw the whole thing. I just can't believe that little guy stole my moment. Again." Lucas admitted. "You thought that was your moment?" Riley asked. "No." Lucas said. "Oh." Riley mumbled. "My moment will be my moment." Lucas told her, and walked away.
Riley sighed and started to giggle as Maya and I lied next to her. "How you doing?" Maya and I asked in unison. "I like that we end up in situations like this." Riley admitted.
~~~~~~~~~~
"You're doing the right thing, returning the locket and bracelet to the store." Riley told Maya and I as we walked into the subway station. "I guess so." Maya and I mumbled. "Maya, I know how much you want a locket with a family inside it." I told her, rubbing her shoulder. "You want the truth?" Maya asked. "Yes, please." Riley replied. I nodded.
"My father hasn't sent me anything in a long time. And the universe is probably much too busy to notice whether or not I'm doing the right thing." Maya said. "Wow," I mumbled. "Hey, Dyl. Why is the charm bracelet so important to you?" Riley asked.
I sighed and looked at the bracelet. I held up a heart shaped charm. "You see this charm. Well on the back of it, there is a little message," I said. I turned the charm around. "It says: Family forever. It makes me feel safe for some reason. Like. I am actually part of a family." I admitted. "Dylan. You are a part of a family," Maya and Riley told me. I gave them a small smile.
Riley gestured to something behind Maya and I. We turned around and saw the family that was in the picture in the locket. Maya and I walked up to them. "Hi. I think these belong to you." Maya said, as she and I held up the jewelry.
"Oh my gosh. I've been looking all over for those. Thank you." The lady said. I nodded. Maya and I took off the jewelry and put it on the little girls. "Thank you." They both said in unison. "Never lose these." Maya told them. "These are special." I added. Maya and I stood up, and linked arms with Riley.
"A cool universe, huh?" Riley asked. I smiled and the three of us walked away all happily.