"i'm just gonna put down whatever," maya started typing on her computer, but riley stopped her by slamming the lid on her fingertips. "no, our profile on the abigail adams high school social network is who we are in high school and it'll follow us into college and into our careers and into my marriage and into your five."
misha rolled her eyes at how dramatic riley was being. "she's not going to have five marriages," misha said to reassure maya.
"she was married to farkle for six weeks," riley countered. she grabbed maya's hand. "may he rest in peace."
"i'll tell you right now the boy died happy." maya told them. misha scoffed, looking back on her laptop. riley let go of her best friend's hand to do the same. "shall we begin?"
"name. maya penelope hart," maya grinned. "really?" misha asked. misha would never put her full name out there, she thought her middle name was embarrassing.
"i've decided to embrace it." misha smiled and continued typing. "riley matthews. interests." riley stopped. misha looked up to riley, who was sitting at the top step. "why'd you stop, riles?"
"i don't know my interests." she huffed. riley knew her interests, just as misha knew this was something she'd blow way out of proportion. misha wasn't upset at this; at least her life wasn't as boring as it used to be.
"you can think of your interests. you're just worried that your interests aren't interesting and your profile will bore the whole school," maya told riley. she beamed in response. "why are you only smart when it's at me?"
"just skip it and go to the ones you know. like favorite movie." misha said. she filled that out easily. clueless.
riley shook her head. "why?" maya asked. "maya, what if people here don't share my passion for farm animals who save the day?"
"why do you care about what people think?" misha asked. "that's all i do," riley responded.
maya sighed. "well, i think no one else knows what to write either," riley shrugged.
misha ignored what riley said. this was easy for her. she only cared about two people's opinions— one of those people being herself. favorite song. mowgli's road.
"why is this so hard for you?" she didn't mean to speak out loud, she just did. "when one makes a decision, one must consider the consequences of one's choice."
"listen, i think you should just be yourself. there won't be any consequences if you make the right decisions, riles. i'm gonna go find smackle," misha told her. she folded her laptop and walked away.
about an hour later, misha was walking to class with farkle. people were talking a lot more than usual, so the two stopped. "jexica says everything i'm thinking," one girl said.
misha exchanged a glance with farkle. "jexica?" she said. he shrugged. they approached yogi, but he didn't make any sense. "i went to summer camp with her."
"this had to be riley," farkle said. misha nodded in agreement before heading to class.
—
after school, farkle and misha met up at the front steps as they did every day. they walked over to misha's to do homework. most of the trip was silent except when farkle would mention something he learned.
"hey dad, we'll just be in my room if you need anything!" misha tried to get into her room with farkle before her father could mention anything, but she was stopped. "dammit!" she whispered under her breath.
she walked back down the steps to see her dad and miles. "no funny business," miles pointed his finger. "what he said." her father agreed.
"never any funny business. love you both," she responded. misha walked back into her room where farkle was laying on her bed. "sorry about that," she smiled.
"no, i get it." he responded. farkle didn't actually get why her dad and miles were so protective of misha around him.
they settled on the floor in misha's bedroom, ready to begin their assignments. farkle laid out a rigid itinerary for the study session, beginning with english language and ending with geometry. they put their heads together, pushing through the work.
eventually, they took a snack break, in which they ate cheese and crackers. misha caught herself looking at farkle, as always, wondering about him. she found it weird that the closer she got with him, the less she felt like she knew about him.
sometimes misha wondered about farkle's family. misha went to his house one time before, but they weren't there. she'd ask him about it once and he just responded with "my dad isn't around much because of minkus international. what about you?" and then she didn't ask again.
until now.
"farkle?" she turned to the blue-eyed boy. farkle looked to misha. "yep, that's me!" he grinned to the girl next to him.
so, misha pried about it. farkle's grin quickly turned into a frown, and she filled with regret. "why do you ask? i've already told you," he looked down.
"farkle, you told me one thing and then never brought it up again. don't you trust me?" she put her hand on his, as if she were reassuring him. he jerked his away, unintentionally.
misha shot him a confused look. why did he pull his hand away?
"i don't know about that anymore," he got up from his friend's bed. misha took two deep breaths before standing with him. "what did i do?"
she wouldn't dare to look at him, but he looked to her.
"misha, please just tell me what you're hiding. you usually keep to yourself, but not like this." she felt her heartbeat quicken. misha should've known farkle would figure something was up; he was a genius and one of her closest friends.
she sighed before speaking, "you can't tell anyone." misha finally looked up towards farkle, but he stepped away from her. "no, i don't like secrets. you know this," he shook his head.
"then why don't you answer my questions?" she retorted. farkle's face are more hurt at her pathetic attempt to deflect. "this is to keep everyone safe, especially riley," misha insisted. and herself; she didn't want maya to pummel her. farkle didn't respond. "please, just hear me out."
he nodded. farkle really didn't want to be mad at misha.
she took a moment to think of a way to approach the situation, but she couldn't twist her words the way she wanted them.
"maya likes lucas," she blurted. it was too late to take anything back now. misha really hoped farkle wouldn't say anything to riley or lucas.
there was more silence between them. he was taking her news in, thoroughly processing it. "i'm not going to tell," farkle exhaled. misha sighed in relief at his comment.
"not unless it's needed."
she didn't want maya to kill her, but riley needs to know eventually. she can't just keep stepping back for her friend.
"now do you trust me?" misha asked, desperately. the tension between them burned. she almost wanted to cry.
he didn't know if he trusted her, but farkle slumped into a cornered bean bag chair anyway. "i'll tell you." it was nice for misha to earn his trust, at least she thought so. she plopped herself onto the bag next to him.
"alrighty.. so my parents have known each other for awhile. they went to high school with riley's parents and her uncle shawn. my mom actually dated shawn for a bit; i heard that from riley."
he continued, "so my parents somehow fell in love and, ya know, had me." farkle chuckled before turning serious. "my dad joined minkus international and my mom started doing interior design. both of those require traveling, not really coming home often."
misha nodded, knowing the direction this was going to. "i think they're not staying together, misha. i know it's lame of me to be so sad about this because it happens all the time, but i am!" he was tearing up.
"i think my mom cheated on my father. he seems so sad now, and he's home more. i-i just don't think my life will be the same. sure, they're never here, but what about the few times when they were? holidays will never be the same. that was the one time i could talk to my mother."
misha couldn't imagine having your family being torn apart like that after having them together for so long. she wrapped her arms around him. farkle rested his chin on her neck, finally feeling secure.
the two stayed in the same position for a few minutes before miles called out to misha. "i'm coming up! it's too quiet, and that's what funny business sounds like!"
they separated themselves, pushing away all thoughts. "let's finish the page," farkle suggested. misha agreed.
when miles opened the door, they were totally indulged in the computer. they didn't even notice him coming in. he coughed to get their attention.
"dad wants to know if sparkle is staying for dinner," miles asked with a smirk. he knew farkle's name; misha didn't understand why he acted so protective around farkle. "personally, i don't think he should," he put his hand over his chest.
misha looked to farkle, shrugging. "if he wants."
farkle really wanted to smile. he didn't. he just nodded, looking back to the computer.
after dinner farkle called his butler to get him. he initially insisted on walking home, but misha's father wouldn't allow it.
-
the next day couldn't come any sooner. misha and farkle were glad to overcome the trust issue that came up so quickly.
lucas approached misha, zay, farkle, and smackle asking if they wanted to be friends with jexica. farkle and misha wanted to laugh, but they agreed. smackle didn't care too much, so when they approached riley and maya, she was elsewhere.
lucas grinned when he saw the two in the hallway. "c'mon, guys." misha, zay, and farkle followed lucas.
"hey, guys, how do you feel about making some new friends outside our group?" he hoped they'd say yes. jexica was cool and really similar to riley.
"of course. why?" maya was quick to answer. "well, there's this girl-"
riley immediately shook her head rapidly. maya had to stabilize her head. "-named jexica," he finished. riley stopped shaking her head, maya put her hands back to her side. riley hung her mouth open.
maya's eyes widened. "i don't know, i just feel like i really get jexica," lucas continued. farkle added by saying "yeah, she's a mystery woman. a mystery makes a woman very intriguing."
the group didn't notice zay standing by the lockers until he spoke, saying "i went to summer camp with her." lucas pulled him to the group by his collar.
riley shrugged, walking to class with misha and maya. the boys trailed behind.
once everyone was in their seats, cory matthews started his lesson. "i hear the freshmen just joined the social network." riley smiled, ready to counter.
"not me!" she exclaimed. "i hear someone has already caused quite the stir," mr. matthews continued. "not me," riley repeated.
misha looked to farkle, who scoffed. "so, who's ready to learn something today?"
"not me," maya said. mr. matthews continued anyway.
"social network is something that has its roots firmly planted in our history. cave paintings, stone tablets, scrolls and papyrus leaves, they all help decode what went on in a society. now what are historians in the future gonna use to help determine who we were?"
farkle answered quickly after sticking his arm in the air. "the internet and my frozen brain," he answered honestly.
misha chuckled at his comment. farkle's face turned the color of a peach, even when isadora turned around to flash him a smile.
"if they look at the internet, they're going to think we're pretty ridiculous," lucas added. "you think? why is that?" cory asked his students.
"because the internet makes us look like a society of people that only care about dancing cats," misha answered. farkle grinned the girl after she answered.
"but we're more than that," he added. "we are, but no one knows that if the dancing cat videos have a billion views and the discovery of a new planet only gets 27,000 likes," cory countered.
"all me." farkle grinned. "what's the difference? dancing cats and a new planet are just gonna be replaced by something new tomorrow," lucas said, turning farkle's grin to a frown.
"exactly right, mr. friar. so, what does that say about us?"
maya raised her hand, causing mr. matthews to call on her with a surprised expression. "oh, i know! it's not that we're a society of dancing cats," she turned to farkle, "it's that we're a society of-"
she turned back to cory. "-yes matthews?"
"it says that we're society that lets things rise and fall that have no real value because the internet makes them so readily available to us so they get a lot of clicks and likes and comments, and then they fade out of our mind when the next thing comes along," he explained.
misha sat in silence, taking the information in. he was right. she was thinking for a moment about everything that had happened in the past twenty four hours.
"misha?" a voice rang through her ears. her head snapped up, looking at maya and riley. "you must've been thinking about something really important," maya suggested.
"yeah, what's up?" riley added.
misha scrambled to pick up her things, mumbling about nothings. "nope, just remembered i have to babysit my brother." she started to leave.
"you want me to come over?" riley yelled, even though misha was already stepping out the door. she popped her head through the doorway to respond. "not tonight. friday?" riley nodded.
when misha got home, she walked to her room and fell onto her bed. she didn't have to babysit tonight, her brother was nine and perfectly fine without her help. she opened her laptop.
message from: maya papaya
misha opened the message immediately.
maya papaya: what was up with you today? i know you don't have to babysit miles.
misha groaned. of course maya somehow figured out, or sensed, that she was lying. she ignored the text and thought about jexica. misha wanted to ask riley about it.
she sighed, preparing to call riley. misha clicked on the contact and it rang twice before riley picked up.
"hi pal!" her voice rang with joy. misha laughed to herself, saying "hi" back. "so, whatcha calling for?" riley asked. she was sitting in the bay window, legs criss-crossed.
"have you heard of jexica?" misha asked. riley giggled. "of course i have!"
misha wanted to laugh. it was a dumb question, but she went along with it. "she seems so cool. i saw she had a friend called alicha."
riley nodded, though misha didn't see her. "she looks really fun," riley told.
misha sighed. "can you keep a secret?" she asked. "of course, misha."
"why did you make that account? you don't need to pretend you're someone else." she finally let it out. it felt good for misha to finally say what was on her mind.
"what?" riley asked. she hung up.
misha sighed, trying to ring for her again. riley didn't answer; it went to voicemail.
she laid herself back onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. she fell asleep quickly.
-
it was finally friday, but misha woke up feeling uneasy. she laid in her bed, contemplating whether she could fake sick. at the last minute, misha decided she couldn't miss, so she threw on an outfit to look presentable.
when she got to the breakfast table, she grabbed a banana. "i'm gonna eat on the way to school. love you," misha waved to her brother and dad and was on her way out.
in school, misha's head hung low and she ignored anyone. even farkle and will, who seemed disappointed when she didn't respond.
misha slumped into her seat in history. farkle waved to her with a grin. "hey mish fish!" he said with enthusiasm.
"hi farkle sparkle." she countered with not an ounce of joy. "that nickname is very unoriginal, misha," he laughed. farkle sat down in the seat next to her.
"I'm still working on it."
just then, mr. matthews walked into the classroom. "okay, historians will decide whatever they decide about us. how do you guys feel about who you are?" he started.
misha pondered on the subject. she liked herself. not every aspect of course, everyone had something they were insecure about.
"i got one hundred nine followers, so i feel pretty good no matter what happens."
mr. matthews frowned at this comment from riley. "really? what's valuable?"
"polar bears, north pole. penguins, south pole. the capital of minnesota is st. paul." farkle stated.
cory smiled even though he wasn't finished. "that's right, that's great, right? isn't that great?" he asked no one in particular.
no one answered, anyway.
"charlie bit my finger," he quoted. the students in the room all continued to mimic the boy from the hilarious video.
"if something that's important to us today is so easily replaced by something else tomorrow, we have to wonder if it ever really had any value at all. what can we learn from that?" he asked.
"i don't know." misha said in sync with riley. cory didn't notice misha saying it, so he turned to riley. "how do you not know?"
riley gave a small smile. her friends knew it was an upset smile, though. it was something riley did to hide her emotions and be perceived as happy.
"i don't know because i live in a world that judges me based on whatever movie or song i like, and i'm expected to answer questions about myself, but i'm still figuring out who i am and everything could change tomorrow."
cory nodded, turning back to the class. "because who you are isn't measured by today or tomorrow, but by a whole bunch of days of what you do. not necessarily what you like or what you say at a particular time. the great thing about evolving is that we continue to grow and feel. don't be influenced by somebody else's likes or clicks or favorites. who should determine what you think?" he finished with something thought-provoking.
"wikipedia," maya answered with a laugh. "you disgust me."
class was soon dismissed. misha went straight home, even though farkle invited her to riley's with him.
when she finally made it home, misha flopped onto her bed. she immediately started to think.
misha felt tears slowly creeping down her cheeks.
"misha!!" a voice suddenly yelled.
she cursed under her breath and immediately wiped her cheeks, probably creating a rash. "i'm coming," she yelled in response. misha ran to the kitchen, where her brother and father were sitting at the table. "dinner," miles flashed a smile.
she sat down next to miles, eyes drawn to the spaghetti in front of her. misha hoped they wouldn't notice her puffy eyes or red cheeks.
"how was your day, misha?" her dad asked. he looked up to her with a soft smile. misha wanted to break down in tears, but also laugh at the question. she shrugged. miles slurped up his spaghetti with not one care in the world.