John Quincy Adams Middle School, Auditorium
Maya and I were sitting in the audience watching the school play, "Rome and Juliet". Usually I wouldn't be here since I dislike the story of Romeo and Juliet, but Riley was playing Juliet and to her joy Lucas was playing Romeo.
On the stage Juliet is laying in the coffin playing dead when Romeo walks over to her.
"Eyes, look your last." he recited looking a Riley. " Arms, take your last embrace. And, lips, oh, you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss." he was about to kiss her when the play was interrupted.
Farkle jumps out from the side of the stage. "Back off!"
"What meanest thou?" Lucas asked trying not to break character. "Spear carrier... who havest no lines."
"You tried to kiss my woman. This I cannot allow. Prepare to die!" Farkle exclaimed at him.
"Farkle, what are you doing?"Lucas asked finally breaking out of character. "It's "Romeo and Juliet." "
"Well, now it's "Romeo and Juliet and Farkle." " Farkle told him, "I play Farkle."
"Dude, I'm supposed to kiss the girl. Shakespeare said." Lucas told him
"Who thinks the spear carrier should finally get to kiss Juliet?" Farkle asks the audience.
The audience cheers, and Maya gets up bringing attention to herself. "Yeah, you kiss that girl, you crazy spear carrier."
"Hark! You cometh uppeth here and getteth kissed too." Farkle told her.
The audience cheers louder. "Thank you, thank you. You're too kind, seriously." Maya said as she walked up the stage. She lays down next to Riley, "How you doing?"
"I just don't understand how we end up in situations like this." Riley said to Maya.
At the same time as all this was going on, I took out my phone and recorded everything. This was just to funny not to record.
________________________________________________________
John Quincy Adams Middle School, Hallway
After the play I watch as a crowd gathers in the school hallway to cheer for the Lucas,Riley, and even Maya, but as Farkle walked out nobody clapped. Riley feeling bad started clapping for him causing everybody else to join.
Farkle walks through the cloud waving his arm around, "Thank you. Thank you, Farkle Nation!"
"Farkle, come here." Maya and I said, until Riley stopped us.
"Maya, Rose, don't. He thinks he was good." Riley told her.
"Yeah, we're gonna fix that." Maya replied.
"But you can't tell him the truth. You'll crush him." Riley told us.
"Oh, we can tell him the truth. It's you who can't tell him the truth because you're afraid." I told Riley.
She looked at me offended, "I'm not afraid. I'm nice."
"You're saying we're not nice?" Maya asked her with a smile.
"No, I'm afraid to say that." Riley said voice quavering.
"Tell him the truth. You know Farkle. You know what will happen if you don't." I pleaded to Riley, as we approached Farkle.
Riley turned to face Farkle. "Farkle. You were so-- What are the best words?" she asked
"He killed the play." Maya told her. "Those are the words."
"Those are the only words."I piped up. "You killed the play. Tell him."
Farkle looked at the three of us confused, "What? What do they mean?" he asked Riley.
"They means you killed it, Farkle. Killed It! Showbiz talk." Riley lied to him. I slapped my hand on my forehead.
"I actually I thought I ruined the play. If you would've told me I ruined the play, I would have believed you." Farkle explained to us. Just as Riley was about to say something else he continued. "I would have been crushed, but I would've believed you."
Riley sighed, "How could I crush one of the best actors working in middle school today?" she asked him.
"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. Thanks, Riley, my public awaits. Hello, everybody!" Farkle rants before leaving.
"You can't lie to him, Riley. You're gonna break our little Farkle." Maya told Riley.
"Oh, I will not. I didn't do anything. This will all go away." Riley said, just as Farkle returned and started tap-dancing across the halls.
I turned to Riley, "And I think... You broke him."
________________________________________________________
John Quincy Adams History Class
I was sitting in class waiting for dad to start the lesson, and since his writing the word truth on the board, I believe the lesson is about telling the truth.
I could overhear Riley commenting on Maya's new locket, "Nice locket."
"You likey?" Maya asked Riley.
"If history's about discovering the truth of what happened in the past, we should spend some time finding out what truth is." Dad explained as he started the class.
"Where'd you get the nice locket?" I asked Maya.
"Shh, I come here to learn." Maya told us. The three of us burst into laughter.
"All through history, people have suffered consequences for telling the truth."
"Is that real gold?" Riley asked her.
"Don't know. Doesn't matter." Maya shrugged.
In front of us Dad was still continuing is lesson. "They all suffered dearly for having the courage to tell the truth."
"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." Dad explained to us, just then the school bell rings.
"So... Where'd you get the locket?" Riley asked Maya as we walked out of class.
"France." Maya lied.
Riley looked shocked, "You were in France?"
"Si, senor." Maya replied.
I rolled my eyes, "That's spanish, not french."
"You didn't go to France because if you went to France, you would have brought me back a croissant." Riley explained.
Maya pulls out a croissant,"Bing"
"Ooh. Piping hot." Riley said taking the croissant. Maya and I walked away heading to our lockers, when Riley called out to Maya. "Wait a minute. Where did you really get this?"
"I found it on the street." Maya told her. I laughed.
"Bleah!" Riley saids as she approaches Maya at her locker. " Come on, where'd you get the locket?"
"Just tell her, you know how she is. If you don't she won't leave you only." I told Maya.
Maya looked at us, "My father sent it to me." she told us.
Riley and I looked at her in disbelief. "He did?"
"You don't believe me?" she asked looking at the both of us.
"Did you just tell us?" I asked her.
"I just told you." Maya replied.
"Then we believe you." Riley told her."
"So this is over?" Maya asked.
"It's over for me" I told her, she looked at me gratefully. "I don't know about Riley though."
"Like it never happened." Riley said. "I do, however, have one question for the locket. Where'd you get the Maya?!"
"You don't believe my father sent this to me?" Maya asked her.
"Why don't you just tell me?" Riley asked instead.
"Riley leave it, if she wants to tell us she'll tell us." I told Riley, trying to diffuse the ongoing argument. They both ignored me.
"Why don't you just call me a liar?" Maya asked Riley.
"Why don't you just tell me the truth?" Riley asked her back.
I interrupted again,"Oh, you think that's important?"
"I do." Riley answered.
I smirked at her, "Did you think Farkle was good in the play?"
We heard a gasp from behind, and turned to see Farkle behind us.
________________________________________________________
The Matthews Apartment, Dining Area
I was sitting at the table with my family, we were enjoying our dinner, when Riley spoke up.
"I want to skip ahead in your truth lesson." Riley told dad. "Is it okay to tell a little white lie to spare somebody's feelings?"
"No." he told her firmly, "My feelings?"
"No." she told him.
"Then always truth." said, before looking at the chicken Mom cooked for him. " Well, what do we have here?"
Mom smiled at him, "Chicken."
Dad looked at her in disbelief, "I'll tell you right now, Topanga, this was never a chicken."
"Why don't you just eat it, Honey. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of it after." Mom told him.
I smirked at dad, "Oh, great teller of the truth, please demonstrate how you're going to get out of this one."
"Psst, what'd you get?" Dad asked Auggie.
"S'ghetti and meatballs." Auggie replied.
"Ooh, yum. Yum that! Why this me?! Why yum him?!" Dad complained, Mom just moved the chicken closer to him. "All right, fine, I'll eat it. Here we go. Have we prayed? Have we prayed as a family? We haven't done that in a while."
"Go ahead, pray." Mom told him.
"Oh, I'll pray. The world is a beautiful place... Full of many beautiful things." he said putting his hands together. "Look what she did to your chicken!"
"Eat your dinner, Honey." Mom glared at him.
"Okay." Dad said, before looking upwards. "I'll see you soon." he took a bite of the chicken.
"Well, what do you think?" Mom looked at him expectantly.
"Um, you know, from eating this chicken, I'll tell you right now how this chicken died. It ate this chicken." Dad explained.
Auggie looks up at Dad, "You know, Daddy, sometimes when I don't want to eat something, Mommy feeds it to me like it was an airplane." he mimics airplane motor while putting the spaghetti in his mouth "And I like that."
"That's very sweet, Auggie, but Daddy's a little too old for Mommy to feed him." Dad chuckles.
Mom didn't agree with him. She puts a fork in the chicken and moves it like an airplane to Dad while making the same motor noise Auggie made
________________________________________________________
The Matthews Apartment, Riley's Bedroom
I was sitting on the bay window, group messaging my friend Amy,Ash,Eloise, and Max, when Maya comes in through the window.
"There's a serious pigeon following me." Maya told us, as she sat down next to me.
"How you doing?" Riley asked her, "Hey, here's a new thing. Where'd you get the locket?"
Maya ignored her, "He's a very sneaky pigeon, but I'm onto him."
"Because it's gold, it's expensive, and my curiosity gets the better of me." Riley explained to her.
"So I ducked behind the tree to fake out the pigeon. And you know who came over?" Maya asked as she continued to ignore Riley, "A squirrel. I didn't say hello though, because I was already in my thing with the pigeon."
"I need to know if you're stealing things." Rile asked her seriously.
I texted my friends bye, and got off my phone, I might need to intervene.
"You don't think my dad sends me stuff?" Maya asked her.
I put my arms around her, "Maya, you've cried to us because your dad doesn't send you stuff." I told her.
She sighed, "Sometimes I walk around the village and I pass stores and I look in windows at things I know I'll never have." she explained to us, "So one day, I saw this sitting in a lost-and-found basket. 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 said, causing me to roll my eyes at her. "I don't think like you people."
"I would hardly call this a criminal offense." I told Riley.
"I walked by the window for months. Nobody claimed the locket, okay?" Maya asked us. "It sat there like a kid that has no-- like an orphan. So I claimed it. It's mine now."
"It's not. You took something that doesn't belong to you." Riley told her.
"How come you don't tell Farkle the truth, but you have no trouble telling her? I asked Riley. A pigeon flies into the window and warbles toward Maya "And you stop judging her." I yelled at the pigeon casing it to fly off.
"Hey, my father tells my mother the truth, even when he knows she's gonna shove a chicken in his face." Rile told her.
"Sorry I missed it." Maya laughed.
"Yep, I was thinking about you." Riley replied.
"Thanks." Maya said.
"'Cause I love you." Riley told her.
"I love you too." Maya smiled.
"Then why do you want to end up in the slammer?" Rile asked her in distress.
"Here we go." I sighed.
"You won't do well in the slammer." Riley told Maya.
Maya looked offended, "I will so."
"Don't encourage her." I scolded Maya.
"You won't pack right. And you'll forget to bring shower shoes and you'll take somebody else's from the lost-and-found. And I think... You're gonna get toe fungus! And I think you deserve to get toe fungus because they're not your shower shoes. They're not!" Riley explained frantic.
"That's adorable." Maya told her.
"I think you're a thief." Riley said. Maya and I's eyes widened.
"That's not" I muttered, just loud enough for them to hear.
"You think I'm afraid to tell people the truth? I'm not, and I now await your praise." Riley extends arms waiting for Maya to hug her, but she Maya goes out the window. "Maya?"
"Riley that was harsh." I scolded her "Did you think that, this might not be about the locker. She said the gold didn't matter. "
"Than whats it about?" she asked me sadly.
I just hugged her to me.
________________________________________________________
John Quincy Adams Middle School, Hallway
I was standing by my locker with Riley waiting for Maya. When Maya arrives Riley gives her a look, and Maya comes and hands her books to Riley.
"I got something to say to you." Riley told her.
Maya put's her fingers in her ear and starts to sing, "I can't hear you. Baddada dadaa dadaa..."
"I'm talking to you." Riley told her.
"Da da dadaa. Whata whata whata, waa waa waa." she continued to sing, before stoping. "And... Go."
"Whether or not you're a thief, or not a thief, or you stole the locket or you didn't, it doesn't belong to you. It belongs to somebody else." Riley explains to her "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."
I jumped into the conversation, "And what about you? When are you gonna tell the truth to Farkle?"
"I hardly think the universe is upset with me for being nice to Farkle." Riley told me, "I mean, what could possibly go wrong there?"
"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 insulted the chess club.
I shared a look with Maya. "'Cause Riley said so." we mimicked Farkle.
"Hey, Chemistry Club, you know what you get when you put sodium and chlorine together? You're a bunch of losers!" he told the the chemistry club.
"Farkle!" Riley calls out to him.
Farkle turns to face her, "Riley. You changed my life. The Farkle you knew is gone." "I am now... Farkle!" he said dramatically.
"Whata whata what. What could possibly go wrong? Whata whata what could possibly go wrong?" Maya sings.
________________________________________________________
The Matthews Apartment, Riley's Bedroom
I was once agin sitting on the bay window doing my homework, when I heard a knock from the window.
"Maya?" Riley asked hopefully.
"Nope, me." came Dad's voice.
I opened the window for him and sighed, "Told more truths, did ya?"
"Well, the thing I probably should have mentioned is I've never understood the universe at all." he told us.
"The universe is upside down. I lied to Farkle, he loves me. I told Maya the truth, she went out the window. Upside down! You hear me?" Riley freaked out.
Just than, Maya comes through the window, "Hey." she greets.
"Well, now she's back. Maybe it's not as upside down as you think." Dad told her, before he noticed Maya's locket. "It's a nice locket, Maya."
"Thanks, Mr. Matthews." Maya told him.
"It looks like someone else's expensive gold locket." Riley said like that explained everything.
"Maybe it is. But, you know, I don't think that matters to Maya at all." Dad told her.
"You don't?" Rile asked "Rose doesn't either."
Dad smiled at me and I smiled back. "You wanna take this?" I asked him.
"Sure." he told me. "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?" Dad asked her, before getting up to opening the door only for to find Mom standing in his path. "Yeah, okay." he said closing the door. "Please don't tell anyone this is how I live in my own house." he goes out the window.
"What's inside the locket, Maya, that's so important to you?" I asked Maya. Maya opens the locket with a family photo inside.
"Who is this family?" Riley asked.
"I don't know." Maya said, breathing deeply "A father, a mother and a little girl. I just like that they're all together. I'm keeping it."
"Oh, boy." Riley said.
Dad re-enters through the window.
"She's at the front door too. It's like there's two of her." he told us as he tries Rileys door again. He opens the door only to find mom with the chicken making airplane noises; he screams and closes the door then sits between Maya and Riley, while I move to the bed. "So what do we do now? Just sit here or what?"
"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?" Rile asked him.
Maya and I looked at her in surprise, "I/she should?"
"Maybe." Riley told her, "Is it me that's upside down?"
"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." Dad explained to us.
"Is that the truth?" I asked him.
"It's the only one I'm still sure of." Dad said. Auggie opens the door with a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. "Hey, Auggie, is that for me, Buddy?"
"I made it for you." Auggie told him.
"Oh, Auggie, thank you so much. Thank you." Dad sit's down and looks at the plate. "Look at this, ooh. This looks good." Dad said taking a little bite. "It's-- It's cold s'ghetti."
"I know it's better warmer, but I don't know how to do that" Auggie told him.
"Auggie, I appreciate that you did anything for me at all." Dad smiled at Auggie.
"You said that very nice." Auggie told him. "Why didn't you say it that way to Mom?"
"What? But all I did was tell Mom the truth" Dad said confused.
"Then why did you get cold s'ghetti?" Auggie asked him.
"Whoa." Maya and Riley said.
"Whoa. Auggie, are you saying the truth doesn't matter as much as how you treat people?" Dad asked him.
"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?" Maya asked.
Auggie looked at all three of them as if they're insane. "Do you people realize that I'm only..." Auggie raises his left hand "this many?" Maya high-fives him.
I picked up Auggie, and hugged him to me, "Doesn't matter, you very smart for being.." I raise my right hand "this many." I told him.
________________________________________________________
John Quincy Adams Middle School, Auditorium
Riley, Maya and I entered the auditorium looking for Farkle. We've been looking for him since school ended for the day, but we don't seem to be having any luck every where else. Luckily for us he was laying down on the fake coffin on the stage.
"Farkle, I need to talk to you. I've been looking all over for you." Riley told him, but he didn't respond back to her.
Maya grabbed a spear from somewhere on the stage, and jabbed him with. " Farkle."
"Farkle's gone." Farkle told us despondent, "He gave up the chess club. He gave up the chemistry club."
"What happened?" Riley asked.
"You happened." Farkle told her. "You told me I was good. Well, I just auditioned for the next play."
"Are you gonna be in the next play?" I asked him.
"I'm not even allowed to watch the next play."
"I'm sorry Farkle." I told him.
"I'm sorry you stink." Maya said.
"I'm sorry I could never hurt you." Riley told him.
"I'm sorry you stink." Maya said again, I elbowed her in the side.
"I heard you!" Farkle exclaimed.
"Well, it was very important." Maya told him, while rubbing her side. She was glaring at me, I just smiled at her.
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." he explained to Riley.
"Farkle..." Riley started.
"Thank you." he tries to give Riley and kiss, but Riley dodges and he ends up kissing her checks. "Mmmm... Mwuah!"
Farkle smiled and put his fist and air, before leaving. Maya and I shared a look and stepped closer to Riley, whose eyes were shut tight..
"Well... that happened." I told her
"Is it over?" she asked us, still not opening her eyes.
"Can we talk about this?" Maya asked.
"No." Riley said, finally opening her eyes.
"Because that was your first kiss and it was with Farkle." I told her.
"He missed." she said determinedly.
"Still counts. 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 teased her only to be interrupted.
Lucas approached us, "Eyes, look your last."
"Oh, yeah!" Riley exclaimed, she took Farkle's place on the fake coffin with her arms folded.
"Arms, take your last embrace. And, lips, oh, you the doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss." Lucas recited from the play.
"Hi." Riley greeted him.
"Hi." he greeted her back.
"How long you been here?" Riley asked him.
"Yeah, I saw the whole thing. I just can't believe that little guy stole my moment... Again." Lucas told her.
"You thought that was your moment?" Riley asked.
"No." Lucas told her.
"Oh." Riley replied disappointedly.
"My moment will be my moment." Lucas told her before leaving.
Riley sighs and giggle as he leaves. Me and Maya smile and join her on the fake coffin.
"How you doing?" We asked her.
"I like that we end up in situations like this." she told us.
________________________________________________________
Bleecker Street Subway Station.
Later that day the three of us headed to the subway.
"You're doing the right thing, returning the locket to the store." Riley told Maya.
"I guess so." Maya replied.
"Maya, we know how much you want a locket with a family inside it." I told her.
"You want the truth?" she asked us.
"Yes, please." Riley and I replied.
"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 told us.
Riley and her weren't listening though we were looking in shock at the family in front of us. It was the same family form the locket. We point them out to Maya when she looks at us. The three of us approach the family.
"Hi. I think this belongs to you." Maya told them.
"Oh my Gosh. I've been looking all over for that." The mom told us. "Thank you."
Maya returns the locket to the little girl.
"Thank you." the little girl told her.
"Never lose this." Maya told the little girl. We waved as the family left.
"A cool universe, huh?" I asked the Maya and Riley as we headed for the subway, the pigeon following us.