"All through history, countries go to war. That's what we normally study in here, but today, we're gonna talk about peace and forgiveness and how we get there. Every once in a while, I come up with a good idea." Cory said.
"What could it possibly be that I haven't already thought of?" Farkle asked.
"Farkle, I forgive you." Cory said.
"What'd I do?" Farkle asked.
"I forgive you, too." Zay said.
"What'd I do?"
"You know what you do." Zay said.
"I feel better now that I've forgiven you. How do you feel?" Cory asked.
"I'm sorry for every time I hurt you! What did I do?" Farkle asked.
"Ladies and gentlemen, today we're gonna begin the forgiveness project. Our history isn't just about what we've done. How we grow comes from the repair of what we've done and how we forgive what was done to us." Cory said.
"We're in. What do we do?" Riley asked.
"Everyone take out a piece of paper. This isn't your laptop or your cellphone. You've got unlimited characters here. As many words as you want. The impact will last longer than six seconds and I guarantee you, it's never gonna disappear. So pick up a pen. Express feelings. This is one of the most important things you're ever gonna do. You're about to forgive someone." Cory said.
"What's this gotta do with history, Matthews?" Amzie asked.
"It gives you a chance to change it." Cory said.
"Like when I forgave Auggie for biting the face off my Barry the Bear Bear." Riley said.
"That wasn't forgiveness, honey." Cory said.
"Why not?"
"Because you haven't gotten over it." Cory said.
"This is the first thing I see every day." Riley said as she held up her teddy bear.
"So is there anyone in your life that you wanna forgive? Change your history. Go." Cory said before everyone started writing.
"Dear Auggie the murderer—!"
"Maya, Amzie, no one in your lives you wanna forgive?" Cory asked as he looked at the blondes.
"No."
"Don't you think now would be a good time? You and your mom are in a good place. You're strong, Maya. Don't you wanna forgive him one day? Why not now? Riley, butt out. I'm serious. Butt your butt out. I forgive you. Okay, now you—!" Riley said as she looked at Amzie.
"No."
"—but I didn't get to say anything." Riley said.
"Because I already know what you're gonna say." Amzie said.
"—but don't you think you should?" Riley asked.
"No."
"—but you and Luke—" Riley started.
"—have nothing to do with it. No." Amzie said after Riley started to say something.
"You try to do your best by people. You try to be the best friend you could be and what do you get? What'd I do?" Farkle asked after Lucas and Zay both gave him a letter.
"Read them."
"Dear Farkle, I forgive you for ruining every single movie we've ever seen together. How do I ruin every single movie?" Farkle asked as he looked at Lucas.
"Read mine. Read mine."
"I forgive you for figuring out the end of every movie and shouting it out before it happens." Farkle read.
"Because see: we don't wanna know." Zay said.
"I just wanna share my abilities with my friends." Farkle said.
"We don't want your abilities." Lucas said.
"Your abilities make us wanna hurt you." Zay said.
"Girls, movie with me?" Farkle asked as they walked by.
"Are you crazy?" Riley asked.
"Never again." Maya said.
"Not happening." Amzie said.
"She dies!"
"He blows up!"
"She's the killer."
"Nobody gets out of Monkey Town."
"He's the psycho!"
"She jumps into the lava."
"Are you crazy?" Riley asked.
"Hurt you." Amzie said.
"Never again." Maya said before they walked away.
"Well, thank you for forgiving me. Do you think we could still go to the movies if I stop telling you what happens next?" Farkle asked.
"Do you think you can?" Lucas asked.
"Of course I can. Let's give him one more chance. Hey! Then you chase me and then I scream." Farkle said.
"Let's give him one more chance." Zay said.
"Hey!"
"It's just too much fun!" Farkle said before Zay and Lucas chased him down the hallway.
"Go on, open it. Read it. Go on. Open it. Read it. Go on! Open it. Read it. I'll read it. Dear August, remember when you bit the face off of my Barry the Bear Bear? Well, I forgive you. Ha! Now what are gonna do?" Riley asked.
"Didn't I do that when I was like three years old?" Auggie asked.
"Well, now I forgive you. Your move." Riley said.
"Don't you think a normal person would have gotten over this by now?" Auggie asked.
"Auggie, this isn't about me. This is about you thanking me for forgiving you. So thank me." Riley said.
"What is the matter with you?" Auggie asked.
"This is the matter with me." Riley said before she held up her bear.
"It doesn't sound like you're trying to forgive me. It sounds like you just want me to be sorry." Auggie said.
"You should be."
"Well, I'm not, Riley. So do you still forgive me for something I'm not sorry for?" Auggie asked.
"Forgive you with no return apology? No, I do not." Riley said.
"Then good day."
"Good day to you, unforgiven." Riley said.
"Good day to you—not!" Auggie said before he left her room.
"So what's Matthews having you do this week?" Luke asked as he and Amzie sat at the bakery.
"Forgive someone." Amzie said as she rolled her eyes.
"That's—awful?"
"Yeah."
"Z, I'm really trying, but how is that awful?" Luke asked before Amzie looked at him.
"Because then I'll have to forgive my mom. I think I'd rather fail." Amzie said before she took a sip of her smoothie.
"All you have to do is send a letter." Luke said.
"Yeah, but if she shows up, then I'll actually have to forgive her." Amzie said.
"Z, she's had your address for fifteen years and I hate to say it, but if she hasn't shown up by now, I don't think she will even if you send her a letter." Luke said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Amzie said.
"—and my brother says I don't have any good ideas." Luke said as he leaned back his chair.
"Honey, I didn't say you had a good idea. I said you were right." Amzie said before Luke playfully rolled his eyes.
"Topanga, please don't worry about this." Katy said.
"No, I told you that I would come and help out when I can and I can today." Topanga said.
"Yeah. No."
"This is gonna be good." Amzie said.
"I can't take my eyes off it." Maya said.
"You don't think I can do this, do you?" Topanga asked.
"I think that you are Topanga Matthews—attorney at law—and that might perhaps color the way that you deal with customers, who I don't even think will believe that you're a waitress." Katy said.
"I could be a fine waitress. What will you have, sir?" Topanga asked after she walked up to Howie.
"Yeah, give me the cheesecake." Howie said.
"You wanna try that a different way, chief?" Topanga asked.
"No!"
"Okay. Hey, Howie. There you go. You know what comes with our biggest piece of cheesecake? Our biggest smile." Katy said as she put the cheesecake in front of him.
"Don't ever leave me again." Howie said as he picked the fork up.
"Aw, thanks, Howie."
"I was talking to the cheesecake." Howie said.
"Okay, one more." Topanga said.
"No more ever." Katy said.
"No. I'm gonna try that guy right over there." Topanga said as she nodded towards Kermit.
"No, I got him." Katy said.
"Okay. I'll learn from you." Topanga said.
"You're gonna wanna watch what happens next very carefully." Maya said.
"Why? Your mother's great at this, Maya. What could happen?" Riley asked.
"Hello, sir. How are you today? You a little hungry, are you? Is that why you've come here? Are you a little hungry?" Katy asked.
"What do you recommend?" Kermit asked.
"I recommend the first thing that I can get my hands on. Give me something." Katy asked as she looked at Topanga.
"Okay. You should've said please!" Topanga said as she took the cheesecake from Howie.
"That's what I recommend!" Katy said as she smashed the cheesecake in Kermit's face.
"You can do that? I didn't know you could do that. I would love to do that." Topanga said.
"Oh my gosh. Is that him? Is he him? Did you do it? Did you do the assignment?" Riley asked as she looked at Maya.
"I wrote something and I mailed it. Tell me it was a good move." Maya said.
"It was a bad move." Riley said.
"Why?"
"Tried it. It doesn't work. They don't apologize. Forgiveness is for jerks." Riley said.
"I'm glad you told me in time." Maya said.
"I don't understand. Is this guy our millionth customer?" Topanga asked as Katy threw food at Kermit.
"No!"
"Sir, why are you okay with this?" Topanga asked.
"I kind of expected it." Kermit said.
"Katy, who is this guy?" Topanga asked.
"Hi, Maya."
"Hi, Dad."
"Hi. I'm Riley. This is Amzie. We've heard a lot about you." Riley said.
"Hi, Riley. Hi, Amzie. You two good friends of Maya's?" Kermit asked.
"I'm sorry—and please don't take this the wrong way—but what?" Amzie asked.
"Riley and Amzie are my best friends, but you wouldn't know much about them. Or me." Maya said.
"Thank you for being Maya's best friends." Kermit said.
"It's easy. Maya's great. She's the best person I know." Amzie said.
"Then I'm happy she found you." Kermit said.
"I was picturing a monster. He doesn't seem like a monster. He seems like Frosty the snow guy." Riley said before Maya and Amzie looked at her.
"What are you doing here, Kermit?" Katy asked.
"I was invited." Kermit said as he held up Maya's letter.
"What?"
"This is all my dad's fault." Riley said.
"Your father had an idea?" Topanga asked.
"Uh huh."
"I apologize immediately. Your food is on the house." Topanga said.
"That's very nice of you because I wouldn't have been able to afford all of this. May I please borrow a towel and your sink? I'll take this to go." Kermit said as he motioned to his face.
"You said you were going out for a walk and you'd be back in an hour. You're nine years late." Katy said after Kermit cleaned up.
"Thank you, Katy."
"For what?"
"I know that in those nine years, you protected me with Maya. You never once sold me out." Kermit said.
"Yeah, well, a girl should think well of her father." Katy said.
"I was real happy to get your letter, Maya, and that you got friends like Riley and Amzie." Kermit said.
"These girls here are more of a father to me than you." Maya said.
"Yeah, we raised Maya since she was a pup." Amzie said.
"Looks like you did a bang up job." Kermit said.
"So you left. Why were Mom and I not good enough?" Maya asked.
"No, no, no. Maya. That was a long time ago. We're over it. Why were we not good enough?" Katy asked as she hit Kermit's arm.
"I think you know that wasn't it." Kermit said.
"You know, I should really go anywhere but here." Riley said as she stood up.
"Nope. You're gonna stay with me. You're my family. How's your other family?" Maya asked as she looked at her father.
"Everyone is fine."
"Riley, do you care to explain to me your father's idea here?" Topanga asked.
"Our assignment was to forgive somebody." Riley said.
"What does that have to do—?" Topanga started.
"It changes our history." Riley said.
"Oh. That's pretty good." Topanga said.
"So Maya wrote to him and he showed up." Amzie said.
"—to forgive him?" Topanga asked.
"Yeah, that was the assignment, but I haven't decided if I'm gonna pass or fail." Maya said.
"Maya, whatever you decide, thank you for reaching out to me." Kermit said.
"You know, this would be so much easier for me if he was a monster." Riley said as she looked at Amzie.
"I know, sweetie."
"Do you remember that night the thunder shook the apartment? I was five and I thought the lightning was so bright, I thought the world was on fire." Maya said after she stood up.
"Why bring this up?" Kermit asked.
"I'm all under my covers crying and you come flying into the room and peek under the covers and decide to make it a game. We were in Alaska looking for gold and you said the lightning was the Northern Lights; the Aurora Borealis." Maya said.
"Is this the reason the only thing you know is the Aurora Borealis?" Riley asked.
"You made that entire night an adventure until the storm passed. I woke up the next morning and it was a sunny day. Don't you remember that?" Maya asked.
"No, Maya, I don't." Kermit said.
"That's because it never happened. The storm happened, but you didn't." Maya said.
"So how do you know the Aurora Borealis, Maya?" Amzie asked.
"Mom. It was Mom that came in. She made it Alaska and I wasn't scared at all." Maya said after she walked over to Katy.
"I was petrified. Greatest performance of my life." Katy said.
"Where were you?" Amzie asked as she looked at Kermit.
"I wasn't home." Kermit said.
"How could you not be home?" Amzie asked.
"Because kids bite teddy bears faces off, friends ruin movies, and parents leave. Sometimes you can let it go, sometimes you can't. Your dad was wrong about this one, Riley." Maya said before she left.
"Riley. Amzie."
"Yeah."
"Hey, Amzie." Cory said after Amzie walked into the apartment.
"Hey."
"You have a letter." Cory said before Amzie took the letter and opened it.
"Thanks. Virna Hunter? The one time I hoped he was right, he was wrong." Amzie sighed.
"What was that, Z?" Topanga asked as she looked away from the stove.
"Nothing. I need to go tell Luke something. I'll be back soon." Amzie said as she headed for the door.
"Hurry, sweetie. Dinner's gonna be ready soon." Topanga called.
"How's the forgiveness project going?" Cory asked.
"You killed us, Matthews." Maya said.
"I gotta say, Matthews: I don't know what you were thinking." Riley said.
"You think forgiveness leads to peace? It leads to war in a movie theater." Zay said.
"Lights go down. The movie starts. I make Farkle sit in the other corner of the theater so he can't ruin anything." Lucas said.
"Sounds like good strategy." Cory said.
"Yeah. Then a cowboy comes on the screen. Farkle yells—" Lucas started.
"—dead!"
"An old prospector comes on the screen." Zay said.
"—alien looking for a time portal." Farkle said.
"Next comes a cheerleader." Lucas said.
"How is there a cheerleader in this movie?" Amzie asked.
"No kidding."
"Well, I'm sure some of you had a better experience." Cory said.
"Forgiveness doesn't work, Dad. I forgave Auggie and he didn't thank me." Riley said.
"Riley, did you really forgive Auggie?" Cory asked.
"No!"
"Maya, did you forgive your father?" Cory asked.
"No."
"We didn't forgive Farkle. Ow." Farkle said before Zay threw a piece of paper at him.
"Amzie, your mom?" Cory asked.
"She sent me a letter." Amzie said.
"That's good."
"She wants to meet me." Amzie said.
"That's—not good."
"Yeah, tell me about it." Amzie said as she rolled her eyes.
"Well, it sounds to me like forgiveness is harder than it looks." Cory said.
"I tried. Made it real clear. Wanna hear it?" Maya asked.
"If you're alright with it." Cory said.
"In school, I'm learning about forgiveness. What you did makes me have a lot of angry feelings inside of me. I don't wanna be angry anymore. Why did you leave? Did I do something? Make me understand what I did. Your daughter, Maya." Maya said.
"Did he help you to understand what happened?" Cory asked.
"No."
"Why not?"
"I guess I never gave him the chance to explain." Maya said.
"Riley, why did Auggie bite your bear's face off?" Cory asked.
"I don't know."
"Why not?"
"I never asked him." Riley said.
"Lucas? Zay?"
"Farkle, why do you tell us the end of the movies?" Lucas asked.
"Well, because you're good at everything you do. You got that class clown thing going. All I got is my mind, so I try to impress you with it any way I can. Farkle, you don't need to impress us. We love you just the way you are." Farkle said.
"Farkle, we are never going to the movies with you again." Lucas said.
"Ever."
"Guess you missed that one. Huh, Farkle?" Lucas asked.
"No, I didn't." Farkle said.
"Farkle, you don't need to impress us." Riley said.
"We love you just the way you are." Amzie said.
"Movie?"
"Anytime."
"We gotta get better minds, man." Zay said.
"Yeah, we do."
"All of you do. Better minds know that sometimes to really forgive someone, it helps to understand them first. It gives the other person a chance to be heard, too." Cory said.
"Why can't you just admit that you're wrong about this?" Amzie asked.
"Because forgiveness is one of our finest qualities as human beings, Amzie. You have to understand each other before you can even begin to know what comes next. Go understand each other. Go meet with your mother. See what happens. Your assignment hasn't even begun until you do." Cory said.
"Why am I here, Riley?" Auggie asked.
"In all the time I've been mad at you, I don't think I actually asked you why you did it. Now I'll probably never know because it was so long ago, you don't even remember. How do I forgive you?" Riley asked.
"It's for the same reason I always make you mad. It's for the same reason you get mad at me when I bother you when you're with Maya and Amzie. If they weren't so much stronger than me, I would've bitten their faces off a long time ago." Auggie said.
"Why, Auggie?"
"Because if it wasn't for the bear, Amzie, and Maya, maybe you would spend more time with me." Auggie said.
"Auggie, I'm so sorry. How will you forgive me?" Riley asked.
"I forgive you, Riley." Auggie said.
"Oh. Good."
"Now thank me." Auggie said.
"Thank you."
"Amzie?" Virna asked after she walked to the snack shack.
"Hi, Mom."
"Look at you. You're so beautiful. So why'd you send me that letter?" Virna asked after she sat down.
"Because I'm supposed to forgive you." Amzie said.
"—supposed to?"
"Yeah. I haven't decided if I'm gonna pass or fail yet." Amzie said.
"Amzie, I changed. I have another family back home waiting for me." Virna said.
"What did I do? I wasn't even a day old before you took off. You have another family? You're there for them, right? You go to all of their soccer matches, their school plays, celebrate all the good grades they make, right? What are they doing right that I didn't do?" Amzie asked.
"Honey, you didn't do anything wrong. You were just a newborn. I wasn't ready for a family yet." Virna said.
"You had to have a baby before you realized you weren't ready for a family? Growing up, all my friends had moms who would dress up with them, take them to get ice cream, play dolls with them. They got to have that. I didn't. I bet you do all of those things with your new daughter." Amzie said.
"From the moment I first saw you, I knew I wasn't good for you, so I decided to leave. That was my choice. It was nothing you did. I wasn't ready for you or your brother. There was nothing you could've done to prevent that, but I've changed. My new family has no idea about who I was fifteen years ago." Virna said.
"Who are you, Mom? How'd you change?" Amzie asked.
"I have a job and I haven't lost it. I've put my family's needs first. I came all the way up here to tell you in person that I'm so proud of the young woman you've become." Virna said.
"You have a job?" Amzie asked.
"I do."
"You were supposed to stay. That was your job. You weren't supposed to leave. You don't think I could've allowed my mother room to grow? You know what? Thank you for telling me what happened. I'm glad I decided to write to you. It makes me feel better knowing that I had nothing to do with it." Amzie said.
"I know I wasn't there. You turned out great, Amzie. You turned into a wonderful, brilliant young lady. I know this will never make up for my fifteen absent years, but I'd really like it if you'd move to Boston and lived with me and my family." Virna said.
"I've been mad for so long. I'm not mad anymore. Thank you for driving all the way down here, but New York is my home and this is where I'm staying. Thank you for coming and I hope you get home safely. Goodbye." Amzie said before Virna walked away.
"Z? You wanna go home?" Luke asked after he walked over.
"Yeah."
"Hey, Z. Hey, Luke." Cory said before Amzie went upstairs.
"How'd it go? That bad, huh?" Topanga said after she saw the look on Luke's face.
"I just have a feeling that Z isn't gonna be forgiving her mom anytime soon." Luke said.
"Amzie, will you come down here for a minute? What happened at the park?" Cory asked.
"I failed. I'm sorry. I just couldn't do it. I just don't think I can forgive her. You were wrong about this one, Cory." Amzie said.
"I never expected that out of you, Amzie. I know how much pain she caused both you and Shawn. All I wanted is for you to forgive yourself. It's okay." Cory said as Amzie hugged him.
"Forgiveness does work, Maya. You just have to do it right." Riley said as Auggie sat on her lap.
"Can I go play with my friends now?" Auggie asked.
"No! All you have to do is listen to the other person." Riley said.
"Can I at least go to the bathroom, Riley?" Auggie asked.
"Quiet. I'm talking." Riley said.
"Auggie's there every day, Riley. My dad and Z's mom couldn't get out of here fast enough. They're halfway home by now." Maya said as Amzie nodded.
"Yeah, Ri. Forgiveness doesn't work for everybody." Amzie said.
"I'm not hungry, so please don't throw anything at me." Kermit said after he walked into the bakery.
"I thought you left." Katy said.
"I did. I did. I was in the car on the way back and then I looked at this thing again and it says you don't wanna be angry anymore. I know what you all are to Maya. Thank you. I just need to borrow her for one second if it's okay. This wasn't you, Maya. This was all me. I couldn't provide comfort for you in a lightning storm and I was no good for you on a sunny day either. I blew every paycheck instead of providing food for the refrigerator and when you know you're not good for people, you start not showing up and then you don't show up enough times and it begins to feel like leaving until you do." Kermit said.
"You're there for your new family, aren't you? What did they do that I didn't do?" Maya asked.
"You never did anything, Maya. You were just a little girl. I was who I was and there is nothing you did or could've done. I wasn't ready for you or anyone, but I think I've changed. These people believe that I'm capable of something. They don't know who I was. They believe in who I am now." Kermit said.
"Who are you?"
"I found a job and I managed to keep it. I came back to tell you that I'm grateful for what you wrote and I'm sorry for what I did. I'm glad you're okay." Kermit said.
"You found a job?" Maya asked.
"I did."
"Your job was to stay. Thank you for telling me your side. My teacher thinks if I forgive you, it'll bring me peace. He's usually right about these things, but I don't see how he's right about this one. I can't. Your job was to stay. You don't think I had it in me to allow my father to grow? I'm happy I wrote to you and heard what you had to say. It makes me feel better knowing that I had nothing to do with what you did. I always thought that this was my fault somehow, but it's not. I didn't do anything." Maya said.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there. You turned out great." Kermit said.
"Wow."
"What?"
"I've been angry for so long. I'm not angry anymore. Thank you for coming and I hope you get home okay. I'm sorry. I failed. I know you wanted me to forgive him, but I didn't. I couldn't do it. You were wrong about this one, Mr. Matthews." Maya said after she went back inside.
"I never expected that, Maya. That kind of forgiveness, it doesn't come so easy, but life is a long time. I hope you get there someday, but that's never what I was looking for right now." Cory said.
"What did you want from me?" Maya asked.
"Maya, did you forgive yourself?" Cory asked before Maya hugged him.
"I am begging you to let me go. If you don't let me go, I swear I will eat your face off. Sweet freedom." Auggie said after Riley let go of him.
"The forgiveness was wonderful, Dad. Once you start, you just don't wanna stop. Here." Riley said before she handed Cory a letter.
"Me? What'd I do? Dear Dad, I forgive you for everything." Cory read.
"I do."
"Wait a minute. Wait a minute. What'd I do?" Cory asked after Amzie handed him a letter.
"You know what you do." Amzie said before she and Riley went upstairs.
"I think a person should only be forgiven, Topanga, if that person has actually done something wrong. Really? Come on! Okay, I know what that one is." Cory said after Topanga handed him a few letters.