They had been sophomores for two weeks and Riley couldn't believe that Maya had done something so crazy that it landed all six of them in Saturday detention at the same time. She couldn't help but be angry at her best friend for causing it, Riley didn't want anything bad on her permanent record. The memory of the D she had gotten in Spanish still haunted her even though she had pulled up her grade in the long run.
"Riley," Maya said trying to get her attention as they stood out in the hallway waiting for the guys. "Riles… Honey… you have to talk to me."
Riley turned around and looked at a spot on the wall, she thought about hiding in the hole but it was pointless. The guys were walking up the nearby stairs, Smackle glaring at Farkle, Lucas kept staring at the floor, while Zay happily smiled at everyone.
"I hate this," Riley finally said. "Why did you have to do? Why Maya?"
"Because Zay kept saying that we needed to do something crazy," Maya said. "and he's right I've had the need to do something for a long time."
"But you threw mashed potatoes at the cafeteria lady, she never did anything to you, and on top of that instead of stopping you forced everyone into this crazy food fight, that we had to clean up afterwards on top of having to be here today."
"It was worth it though," Zay said as he joined Riley and Maya. "Wasn't it."
"Yeah it was," Maya said and Riley groaned walking over to her boyfriend.
Lucas pulled her into his arms and sighed. "This isn't worth it at all," he said to their friends.
"Oh here comes Lucas the Good," Maya said. "Ranger Rick wants to be a good person but I know you have a little bad in you."
"I don't care about that Maya, not if it's going to upset Riley," he said.
"Shut it the both of you, let's just get through this horrible morning, we'll be out by noon and we will never have to deal with this again," Riley said pulling Lucas away.
Farkle and Smackle hadn't said a word, like Riley they were disappointed in how they had been dragged into the situation. Their records had been marred and they couldn't handle how their families had reacted. Neither of their parents were disappointed, instead they thought that it would be a good learning experience since the two geniuses had nothing put perfect records.
The six of them sat down in the school library, Zay and Maya were still joking around, Farkle and Smackle pulled out their homework, and Lucas just held Riley's hand.
"Okay you delinquents," Mr. Matthews said as he walked in through the doors. "Can't believe I'm here on a Saturday, this isn't a freaking movie."
"Hi Daddy," Riley said trying to smile but failing to bring herself to do it.
"I'm not Daddy today, instead I'm your warden, because even though I know you didn't start that food fight," he said looking at Maya and Zay. "You participated in it."
Riley wanted to say that it wasn't true, but she couldn't, she hadn't stopped Maya and when she was trying to walk away with her food, she slipped on a pile of potatoes and tossed her tray up in the air before it landed on the Principal. Her own clumsiness was her downfall.
"Now, you all have an assignment, and as much as I know you six, you're not allowed to sit at the same tables," he said separating Riley from Lucas and putting her in a table as far away as possible. "Now separate, and get to work, you each have to write a paper about a battle during a war in American history, so I chose the Civil War for you all, and you each have to write it from one side of the war."
"Is that why we're in the library Matthews, because that sounds weak," Maya said.
Riley glared at her best friend before looking down, "Which side do I get?" she said knowing that she needed to keep herself from lashing out.
"Riley, Smackle, and Farkle, you each are a part the union side, Maya, Lucas, and Zay you get the confederate side of the war. Farkle and Zay you get the battle of first Bull Run, Smackle and Lucas will get Battle of Antietam, lastly Riley and Maya will get the Battle of Gettysburg."
"Is there a lesson in this sir," Farkle said looking up at his teacher.
"No Farkle, I just want you all to learn that sometimes starting a war can have dramatic consequences, so I chose the war this country fought with themselves all because of how they viewed the changing dynamics in their lives," he said looking at the group sitting around the room. "They had to fight a war before they realized that they were better off as friends, and although we still feel the remnants of that war today, we need to remember that some friendships need to break apart before they realize how much they need one another."
Maya scoffed and looked around but when she noticed the faces on four of her friends she knew that she may have done something wrong. Riley hadn't spoken to her since, and every time she tried to talk to her friend she would get the cold shoulder.
"Since I don't trust any of you," he said pulling out a box. "Give me your phones." They all dropped their phones into the box one by one. "I'll be back to check with you all in an hour, and I'll bring something for you to eat as well," Mr. Matthews said before leaving them alone in the library.
"I guess we should get to work," Riley said getting up and heading into the stacks. Maya followed her since they were both working on the same battle, yet they were on different sides.
"This feels like that time in middle school, were you were in Rileytown, and I was in Mayaville," Maya said trying to start a conversation.
"Yeah, except do you remember how that turned out Maya?" Riley said turning to her friend. "Everyone went bad except for me, I got kidnapped, and your reaction in the end was that one day you would bring me to your side. I learned since that I just want to be me, and not a part of you."
"But Riles."
"No Maya, I love you like a sister but in the end I'm happy becoming who I am, I don't want war paint on my face, I just want my best friend to know when she should stop before she goes too far."
"Okay," Maya said as Riley started pulling out books on the battle of Gettysburg.
"You take half and I'll take half," Riley said as they walked back to their tables. "Maybe after this is done we can learn something."
"Yeah," Maya said feeling defeated.
The rest of the group did the same, they grabbed their books and started working, none of them said a word to the other as time passed. Riley looked up and smiled at her father when he came in and gave them all breakfast sandwiches he had gotten from her mother's café before he walked back out and left them alone.
"This is so boring," Zay said after her father left. "Can we do something more fun, like sneak out and play in the gym?"
"No," Farkle said to Zay before going back to writing his essay.
After another twenty minutes had passed Riley had finished putting the final touches on her short paper, when she looked up she saw that Lucas had finished as well. The only ones still working on their papers were Maya and Zay, both of which had started doing other things. Zay had constructed a paper football, and Maya had drawn all over her paper.
Farkle nodded at Riley and the two of them got up and sat next to the other half of their paper partners. Farkle started helping Zay with his and Riley took away the stuff that Maya had been drawing on and pulled her away from the table with the books.
"You have to do this Maya," she said and the blonde girl nodded.
"I'm sorry," Maya said. "I didn't think, mainly because it had been fun but I didn't really think about what I was doing."
"That's the problem you never think, and while at times it's fun, that day it wasn't and we all got in trouble, even me and I was trying to walk away."
Maya looked down at her hands, they were covered in black from doing the pencil drawing, "Are you going to help me with my paper?"
"Yes, but they have to be your words. You have to understand what that battle meant for these people and why it happened."
"Okay," she said.
They worked together for another hour as Maya wrote down everything she could, once they were done, Riley realized that they only had a half an hour left in their detention and smiled at Maya for finishing something without complaining.
"Okay," Riley said as they joined the group. "How about we play a friendly game of hide and seek, in the library, only the person looking has to wear a blind fold until they count to one hundred."
"Riley," Maya said smiling. "Are you breaking the rules?"
"Maya… We all finished our work so we're allowed a little fun," she said pulling off the scarf she had around her neck.
"Who goes first?" Lucas asked as the group stood around each other.
Riley thought about for a minute, "Rock, Paper, Scissors battle," she said making everyone huddle in a group. "Ready," they all nodded as she started. Lucas and Riley both lost the first match choosing scissors while everyone else picked rocks. Smackle lost the second round for picking paper while the others chose scissors.
"This is the dumbest game in history," she said as she walked over to Riley and Lucas.
Farkle lost the next round because he picked rock while Zay and Maya both picked paper. The final match against Maya and Zay last five minutes as the two constantly picked the same options. When it came to an end Zay won, making him the first one to go. Riley tied the scarf around his eyes and put him in the farthest corner of the library.
"Alright Zay, count to one hundred," she said walking away as he started.
The five friends scattered around the room looking for places to hide that Zay wouldn't look. Riley settled herself in between one of the two displays that had a hollow middle big enough for her to fit in, she didn't know where everyone else had settled but she tried to keep as quiet as possible. Every once and a while she heard the thumping of someone's feet but she didn't say a word. Her legs were starting to cramp when she heard Lucas ask Zay about where she could be.
"She's the only one we haven't found," Zay said looking around.
"Come on guys she was never that good at hide and seek," Maya said as she reached the pair.
"Come out Bubbles, you win," Smackle said. Riley tried to keep herself from giggling at the fact that she had won but her legs were numb and she couldn't move at all.
"I might need some help," she said hoping that they would help her out.
"Where did that come from?" Farkle asked as he joined the group.
"I'm in the display," she said trying to get their attention. Lucas pulled out the panel and revealed a scrunched up Riley. "My legs are asleep," she said as he slowly pulled her out.
"Aww my poor poor Riley," Maya said. "How long were you in there honey?"
"How long ago did we start playing this game?"
"Riles you've been in there for ten minutes, if you can walk that would be a miracle," Maya said smiling. "You got better though so props to you."
"I had to win one day," she said smiling. "Ouch, my legs are doing that tingling thing."
"Come on let's get back to our tables before your dad comes back," Lucas said as he picked her up like she was a princess making Riley blush.
When Lucas put her down he smiled at her and kissed her on the forehead before walking away, she couldn't help but feel happy about what had just happened. As she rubbed her legs in hopes that they would regain their feeling her father walked into the room.
"So what did you learn?" he said looking around the room at the six friends.
"That even when we fight amongst ourselves as long as we work together we can become stronger," Farkle answered.
"That when you just sit down and talk you can learn a lot about one another," Maya said.
"That sometimes friends have to be separated in order to learn how important they are," Zay said.
"That war is only an action, but communication is the key for everyone to stay together," Smackle answered.
"That sometimes you fight because you think it's right but in the end what you think is right may not be the answer," Lucas said.
"That friendship is the key to life," Riley said smiling at her friends. "And sometimes even though mistakes are made it's up to us to fix the problem before we end up in a war that divides us."
"Good," her father said looking at the group. "Now take your phones, give me your papers and get out of here and enjoy the last days of warmth before winter comes."
The six friends stood up and put their arms around each other before walking out of the library, Riley thought about the last time they had been in a library and realized that it was as good as the bay window because it always helped them mend their friendships, and it made them learn to talk to each other without the façade of their insecurities.