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Maya sighed as she erased, wrote, and then erased what she had written again for what felt like the hundredth time that day. She was sitting in the courtyard at one of the tables in the middle of campus trying to study for one of her final exams. She felt like she hadn't been more stressed in her life.
"Afternoon." Farkle plopped in the seat across from hers and gave her a bright smile as he took a bite out of the apple that he had in his hand. "Watcha workin on?" He asked.
"Studying." Maya groaned. Farkle chewed slowly as he looked at the work that she had been doing on her notebook in front of her. He titled his head slightly one way so he could get a better look.
"Number three is wrong." He stated before taking another bite out of his apple. Maya looked down at her textbook, checked her notes and then looked up and glared at Farkle.
"I really hate you sometimes." She stated, Farkle winked at her as he moved back into his chair and continued to stare at her.
"Hey guys!" Riley exclaimed as she sat down on the beside Maya's and smiled at Farkle, who gave her a smile in greeting. "I have another exam in 30 minuets." Riley sighed as she ran a hand through her hair.
"Mine's in an hour." Maya stated. They both looked up at Farkle and he shrugged his shoulders.
"Fifteen." He replied. Both girls stared at him as he took another bite of his apple. "What?" He asked.
"How are you so calm about all of this, Farkle?" Riley asked him.
"Because I'm a genius." Farkle stated. Riley scoffed and shook her head.
"You know sometimes I really just... ugh!" Riley trialed off, not being able to finish her sentence as she just huffed at the end instead.
"You know, I could help you study. Are you not following along with my study plan that I gave you both at the start of term?" He asked them.
"You hold him down, Riley. I'll get the hammer." Maya said. Farkle rolled his eyes before standing up and nodding his head.
"Alright, alright. I get the message." Farkle grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulder before staring down at Maya again. "Number three is still wrong." He stated, and then ran as fast as he could before Maya could land a hit in.
"So have you thought anymore about going to see your dad?" Riley asked once things had calmed down. Maya didn't say anything at first before she shook her head. "Don't you think you should really start considering it?"
"Considering what?" Maya asked. "I don't even know if I'm going to go to his funeral." Riley bit her lip.
"I think you should go. I think you should go see him first." Riley told her. Maya tensed up before sighing and looking over at Riley.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Riles." Maya said as she shook her head.
"You're the only one here who thinks it's a bad idea, Maya. It's been two weeks since Carrie sent you the address and date. You haven't even texted her back yet. Don't you think that maybe it will be good for you and him both?" Riley asked her. Her voice was a little shaky, as if she was afraid that Maya might bite her head off over this subject.
"I don't know what the right thing to do is anymore." Maya mumbled more to herself than Riley. But Riley heard it, and she gave her friend a sympathetic look.
"Didn't you say Josh would go with you?" Riley asked. Maya snapped her head up and shook it vigorously.
"No. That's where I draw the line. It was sweet for him to offer but I can't make him do that." Maya said. Riley narrowed her eyebrows.
"You're not making him do anything, Maya. He offered. And you know as well as I do that if uncle Josh didn't want to do something then he wouldn't have said anything in the first place. Maybe having him with you will be easier." Riley told her.
"I can't. Riley if I went to see him and things went wrong, and Josh was there." Maya shook her head.
"Then you would have someone with you to help pick up the pieces. Maya, you know I would go with you. But I think there would be something more if Josh was the one to go. Something that maybe I can't give if I went." Maya didn't say anything. She thought about it.
She knew she would have to eventually see her dad. Whether It be before he died or after. It was one of those "life" things that Cory had taught them over the years. Sighing and closing her books, Maya looked over at Riley.
"You're not going to stop on this, are you?" Maya asked. Riley smiled and shook her head.
"If you don't talk to Josh then I will." Riley said. Maya rolled her eyes but nodded.
"Alright fine. I'll talk to him after my exam today."
And that's what had brought Maya here, back to Josh's dorm room once again as she knocked on the door and waited. Maya was starting to feel a little guilty. She had been coming to him more times then when they were together. The door opened and once again Maya was met face to face with Andrew.
"For someone who claims they're over Josh, you seem to find yourself here an awful lot." Andrew grinned at her.
"And you've actually been able to succeed in having a bigger mouth than your head." Josh said from behind him. Andrew rolled his eyes as Josh pushed on his back and he stumbled from the room and right beside Maya. "Andrew-"
"Yeah, yeah I know the drill. See ya later, Short stack." Andrew winked at her before walking down the hallway and out of sight. Maya laughed before she looked over at Josh who had shook his head at his roommate before looking back over at her.
"So what can I do for you?" Josh asked her. Maya twiddled her thumbs, a sign that she was a bit nervous. Josh looked down at her thumbs and then back up at her face.
"Were you serious about possibly going with me to see my dad before he died?" Maya asked him. Josh looked a bit taken back, as if he didn't expect her to ask him that.
"Y-Yeah. Of course I was. You decided to go see him then?" Josh asked her with a hint of a smile on his face. Maya hesitated before nodding her head.
"I guess. Carrie, my uh, stepmom." Maya looked as if it was hard to call her that. But by the confusion on Josh's face at the name, she had to tell him who she was. "She called me. I don't know how she got my number, but she did. Kermit is um, he's getting worse and they say he only has until early June if he's lucky. They're bringing him down here to New York for the last couple of weeks of his life and they want me to come down and see him."
"When?" Josh asked.
"May 15th. It's the day before your graduation." Maya told him. "I understand if it's too close to gradu-"
"I'll be there." Josh cut her off. "What time do you need to be there?" He asked. Maya bit her lip. The gratitude she felt toward Josh was like none other. But at the same time, she wanted to run away and refuse.
"Afternoon sometime. I don't really think it matters when." Maya told him. Josh smiled.
"I'll pick you up at noon then." He told her.
"Thank you, Josh." And she meant it. They both stood there smiling at each other for a moment.
"You two done?" Andrew asked, breaking them from their trance. He had a water bottle in his hands. Josh glared at him and Maya laughed.
"Yeah we're done." Maya stated. "Thanks again, Josh." Maya walked away from them both. She had just rounded the hall when she heard Josh's voice.
"You son of a-" but she couldn't hear him finish it as she had busted out laughing and missed the rest of his sentence.
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