Sometimes it's strange how things can happen. It's even stranger how
things happen and they aren't linked at all, until you get deep down into
them and research them a lot.
Christmas was approaching fast. Three years had gone by since Eric,
Cory, Topanga, and Shawn had moved to New York. They'd kept in touch with
their Philadelphia friends but as time went by, the letters and calls and e-
mails became fewer and farther apart until suddenly they disappeared. They
didn't need each other anymore; they had their own lives.
But the strangest things that happened that one fateful day in
December 2003, things that didn't make any sense whatsoever if I told you
they related to each other. But I'm going to tell you them anyway, and
assume that you'll understand what I'm talking about and that sooner or
later, these three events will be linked together like a chain.
At 6:00 AM, Mrs. Topanga Matthews got up and went to work, driving in
her silver BMW.
At 3:00 PM, Ms. Morgan Mendoza drove into the city in her turquoise
convertible and went into Vista View Apartments.
At 8:00 PM, Mr. Cory Matthews received a phone call from his best
friend, Mr. Shawn Hunter that apparently couldn't wait.
No relation at all, one would say. In fact, if I told them they
related to each other, you would probably tell me "Girl, please". But
believe it or not, these things relate to each other very closely. They all
link together in the center, like a hub of a wheel. The hub of this wheel
is true love, or some might argue this point and say Vista View Apartments.
Fixed points these things are, and best left undisturbed, because without
them, nothing holds together. But sometimes people find this out too late.
The alarm rang at exactly 5:00. Mrs. Topanga Matthews woke up to the sound of her favorite radio show. It took her an hour to get ready for work, but in the end it was worth it. She headed off to her internship job. Topanga's cell phone rang at exactly 7:44. Topanga answered it. "Hey, Topanga!" a voice said. "Excuse me, do I know you?" Topanga asked like she was trained to, in case this sort of thing ever were to happen. "It's me, Angela. You gotta remember me!" the voice said. Topanga held in her scream. "Hi, Angela! You're lucky; it's almost my coffee break." The clock moved to 7:45, and Topanga clocked out, still on her cell phone. Angela and Topanga talked for two hours, and if you had been watching, you would have wondered who she was talking to that was so important. Angela and Topanga reminisced and had a great time, even though they hadn't seen each other in awhile. "So are you back in Philadelphia?" Topanga asked. "Yeah, Europe was great though I can't be away from home. I just didn't know Shawn was going with you guys! I would have gone too!" Angela said. "Is he coming back?" "I don't know," Topanga answered truthfully. "I hope when the internship is over we can move back, but I don't think Cory will want to. He's very sensitive. He doesn't like change." "Girl, please." Angela said logically. "Cory would love to go back to Philadelphia. Where you guys live and where you belong! You don't belong in New York! The rats will eat you! Topanga laughed. "Thanks for your concern, Angela, but I think I'm safe from the rats. Vista View Apartments is a very nice place to live." "Vista View?" Angela asked. Suddenly her voice sounded strange. "Yeah, why?" Topanga asked, totally oblivious to Angela's attitude change. "Do you know someone named.mmm.Mendoza?" Angela asked. "No, I don't remember anyone named Mendoza, and we know most of the people in our building. Why?" Topanga asked. "Oh, nothing. Hm, look at the time! I have to go. Nice talking to you, I'll call you later, okay?" And without even saying bye, Angela hung up. Topanga was a little suspicious, but she didn't think anything was wrong. Angela was her best friend, if there was a problem with this Mendoza person, Angela would have said something. She was probably just looking for an old friend or something. Still, Topanga couldn't help but be worried. Mendoza? Did that mean something? As she got back to her office, she noticed a turquoise convertible. "That's odd," Topanga said to herself. "A turquoise convertible?" She thought nothing of the fact it went around in circles three times.
At three pm, Morgan Mendoza walked into Vista View Apartments. She put her car keys back in her pocket and headed to the front desk. "Hi, I'm Morgan Mendoza, I just bought an apartment here. I believe its apartment 3B?" "Oh yeah," the receptionist said. "Your late. You were supposed to be here at 2:50." "It's only ten minutes," Morgan said. "Besides, I bought this apartment. I can be here when I want. Where's my key?" The receptionist forked over the key. "Oh by the way, you'll be next to a just-married couple. I believe the last name is Matthews or somethin'. You three might get along." "Well, thank you," Morgan said. She was polite, but she was also a little bit on the wild side. She headed up to her apartment. It was right next to 2B, but then again, that was no surprise. It would have been 2B or 3A, depending on how Vista View did its numbering system. She unlocked the apartment door. It was a mess - at first glance. Afterwards, it was really nice. Her friends had obviously come in here and furnished it. Except for the dust, they must've forgotten about the dust. But now her friends were gone. "Gone in the stupid car wreck that changed my entire life," Morgan thought. "Hi, you must be the new one," a voice behind her said. "What about the car wreck?" "Oh, I'm sorry, was that out loud?" Morgan said, turning around. As she did so it felt like her entire life was going to be different. But - what was that supposed to mean? "Well, yeah, kind of. But that's okay; everyone talks to themselves once in awhile. What's your name?" He asked. "Hi, I'm Nancy or something. Oh, no, Morgan. Morgan Mendoza. She said, shaking his hand. "Okay, Nancy or Morgan Morgan Mendoza. I'm Cory Matthews." "You can let go of my hand now," she told him. "Oh," he said, obviously embarrassed. "Sorry." "It's okay," she said, "lots of guys do that. So.you live in 2B?" she asked. "Uh, yeah. You live here?" "Yeah, I do. Um, so, what do you do? For, like, work?" "I'm in Telemarketing. You?" "Well, I sorta applied for an internship in fashion, for the clothing line Veritaz." She said. "Oh, my wife loves that line," Cory remarked. "Oh, does she?" They laughed dryly and then it died down. "So, then they decided the things I designed were really good, so now I'm a fashion designer for Veritaz. Uh, I'm the youngest one they've ever had." "Really? How old are you?" he asked. "Twenty-two," she replied. "Me too!" he said. "That's cool," she tried to make some kind of conversation. "So, I guess I'll see you around, huh?" "Probably not, I mean I'm really new here and I don't know very much about New York. I grew up in Philadelphia." "So did I! That's really neat! Did you go to Pennbrook?" "Yeah, but before that, John Adams High." "Me too! That is so cool! It's like a small world, isn't it." "Guess so. Um, do you know where the local coffee place is?" She asked. She was a lover of coffee, so it was only obvious that she was asking that. "Yeah, it's - what the heck, I'll take you there anyway." He smiled and she thanked him and they headed to the local coffee shop. If you had been watching, you would have thought they made a cute couple, because they did. You might have wondered if they were married yet and you would certainly not have thought that they had just met. They headed to the Digital Hang-Out, the coolest place for people to go when they wanted coffee. "I'd love a double latté with skim milk," Morgan told the cashier. "Yeah, I'll have the same thing," Cory agreed. She smiled at him again. She had the smile that would melt you faster than ice on a 100 degrees day. Morgan got out her wallet, but Cory pulled out a twenty faster. "I'll pay," he told her. She put it back. "Okay, thank you," and smiled at him again. She thanked the cashier and smiled at both of them, and they headed for a seat. They talked for only three hours, but if you had been watching you would have wondered when they would stop. She told him everything about her - about how she loved her turquoise convertible, about how she got blue streaks in her hair when she was in high school and how Mr. Feeny hated it, about how she told her parents she wanted to go to Paris and paint for a year and they let her, and about how she had the biggest crush on Shawn Hunter from seventh grade to ninth grade. And then it got personal. They talked about friends and Morgan poured out her soul about how she didn't have any. Then about how she was anorexic for two years and never got caught and never had to go to the hospital. By the time they finished, Cory felt like he had fallen in love with Topanga all over again. It was disappointing to him when they finally had to leave. Well, at least he'd see her tomorrow. But that scared him - he thought he loved Topanga, but it felt like he was in love with Morgan. The same girl who seemed to struggle, the same girl who seemed so self-confident, he felt like he loved. But was it possible to love two girls at once?
At 8:00, thirty seconds into the minute, the phone rang. Topanga had gone to go get milk because they were all out of it -- that and pretty much anything that would keep them alive. It was Shawn. "Hey, Cor! Have you met that cute new girl on the block? Her name's Morgan Mendoza. She's sooo hot!" Shawn commented. "Yeah, I have. I bought her coffee." Cory said like it was an amazing thing. To anyone else, it wasn't, but to Shawn it was. "You animal! You're married!" Shawn remarked. "Yes, but - it doesn't mean I can't be a friendly neighbor." "Should I ask her out?" Shawn asked. "Umm." Cory's first reaction was heck no! I saw her first, she's mine! But that scared him even more. He wasn't in love with her - was he? That stupid little voice in the back of his head was being really annoying. "Sure, why not?" Cory asked. "Well, I just don't know what she'll say. Besides, I don't even have Angela so it's not like I'm not doing anyone a favor." If you had been listening to Cory's voices in the back of his head, you would have thought he's a dirty rotten no-good cheater! Of course, then again, he was in love with Topanga, not Morgan who he hardly knew anything about. But that wasn't true. He knew a lot about her. She'd told him an awful lot over a three-hour coffee. He was in love with Topanga and that's it. Wasn't he?
The alarm rang at exactly 5:00. Mrs. Topanga Matthews woke up to the sound of her favorite radio show. It took her an hour to get ready for work, but in the end it was worth it. She headed off to her internship job. Topanga's cell phone rang at exactly 7:44. Topanga answered it. "Hey, Topanga!" a voice said. "Excuse me, do I know you?" Topanga asked like she was trained to, in case this sort of thing ever were to happen. "It's me, Angela. You gotta remember me!" the voice said. Topanga held in her scream. "Hi, Angela! You're lucky; it's almost my coffee break." The clock moved to 7:45, and Topanga clocked out, still on her cell phone. Angela and Topanga talked for two hours, and if you had been watching, you would have wondered who she was talking to that was so important. Angela and Topanga reminisced and had a great time, even though they hadn't seen each other in awhile. "So are you back in Philadelphia?" Topanga asked. "Yeah, Europe was great though I can't be away from home. I just didn't know Shawn was going with you guys! I would have gone too!" Angela said. "Is he coming back?" "I don't know," Topanga answered truthfully. "I hope when the internship is over we can move back, but I don't think Cory will want to. He's very sensitive. He doesn't like change." "Girl, please." Angela said logically. "Cory would love to go back to Philadelphia. Where you guys live and where you belong! You don't belong in New York! The rats will eat you! Topanga laughed. "Thanks for your concern, Angela, but I think I'm safe from the rats. Vista View Apartments is a very nice place to live." "Vista View?" Angela asked. Suddenly her voice sounded strange. "Yeah, why?" Topanga asked, totally oblivious to Angela's attitude change. "Do you know someone named.mmm.Mendoza?" Angela asked. "No, I don't remember anyone named Mendoza, and we know most of the people in our building. Why?" Topanga asked. "Oh, nothing. Hm, look at the time! I have to go. Nice talking to you, I'll call you later, okay?" And without even saying bye, Angela hung up. Topanga was a little suspicious, but she didn't think anything was wrong. Angela was her best friend, if there was a problem with this Mendoza person, Angela would have said something. She was probably just looking for an old friend or something. Still, Topanga couldn't help but be worried. Mendoza? Did that mean something? As she got back to her office, she noticed a turquoise convertible. "That's odd," Topanga said to herself. "A turquoise convertible?" She thought nothing of the fact it went around in circles three times.
At three pm, Morgan Mendoza walked into Vista View Apartments. She put her car keys back in her pocket and headed to the front desk. "Hi, I'm Morgan Mendoza, I just bought an apartment here. I believe its apartment 3B?" "Oh yeah," the receptionist said. "Your late. You were supposed to be here at 2:50." "It's only ten minutes," Morgan said. "Besides, I bought this apartment. I can be here when I want. Where's my key?" The receptionist forked over the key. "Oh by the way, you'll be next to a just-married couple. I believe the last name is Matthews or somethin'. You three might get along." "Well, thank you," Morgan said. She was polite, but she was also a little bit on the wild side. She headed up to her apartment. It was right next to 2B, but then again, that was no surprise. It would have been 2B or 3A, depending on how Vista View did its numbering system. She unlocked the apartment door. It was a mess - at first glance. Afterwards, it was really nice. Her friends had obviously come in here and furnished it. Except for the dust, they must've forgotten about the dust. But now her friends were gone. "Gone in the stupid car wreck that changed my entire life," Morgan thought. "Hi, you must be the new one," a voice behind her said. "What about the car wreck?" "Oh, I'm sorry, was that out loud?" Morgan said, turning around. As she did so it felt like her entire life was going to be different. But - what was that supposed to mean? "Well, yeah, kind of. But that's okay; everyone talks to themselves once in awhile. What's your name?" He asked. "Hi, I'm Nancy or something. Oh, no, Morgan. Morgan Mendoza. She said, shaking his hand. "Okay, Nancy or Morgan Morgan Mendoza. I'm Cory Matthews." "You can let go of my hand now," she told him. "Oh," he said, obviously embarrassed. "Sorry." "It's okay," she said, "lots of guys do that. So.you live in 2B?" she asked. "Uh, yeah. You live here?" "Yeah, I do. Um, so, what do you do? For, like, work?" "I'm in Telemarketing. You?" "Well, I sorta applied for an internship in fashion, for the clothing line Veritaz." She said. "Oh, my wife loves that line," Cory remarked. "Oh, does she?" They laughed dryly and then it died down. "So, then they decided the things I designed were really good, so now I'm a fashion designer for Veritaz. Uh, I'm the youngest one they've ever had." "Really? How old are you?" he asked. "Twenty-two," she replied. "Me too!" he said. "That's cool," she tried to make some kind of conversation. "So, I guess I'll see you around, huh?" "Probably not, I mean I'm really new here and I don't know very much about New York. I grew up in Philadelphia." "So did I! That's really neat! Did you go to Pennbrook?" "Yeah, but before that, John Adams High." "Me too! That is so cool! It's like a small world, isn't it." "Guess so. Um, do you know where the local coffee place is?" She asked. She was a lover of coffee, so it was only obvious that she was asking that. "Yeah, it's - what the heck, I'll take you there anyway." He smiled and she thanked him and they headed to the local coffee shop. If you had been watching, you would have thought they made a cute couple, because they did. You might have wondered if they were married yet and you would certainly not have thought that they had just met. They headed to the Digital Hang-Out, the coolest place for people to go when they wanted coffee. "I'd love a double latté with skim milk," Morgan told the cashier. "Yeah, I'll have the same thing," Cory agreed. She smiled at him again. She had the smile that would melt you faster than ice on a 100 degrees day. Morgan got out her wallet, but Cory pulled out a twenty faster. "I'll pay," he told her. She put it back. "Okay, thank you," and smiled at him again. She thanked the cashier and smiled at both of them, and they headed for a seat. They talked for only three hours, but if you had been watching you would have wondered when they would stop. She told him everything about her - about how she loved her turquoise convertible, about how she got blue streaks in her hair when she was in high school and how Mr. Feeny hated it, about how she told her parents she wanted to go to Paris and paint for a year and they let her, and about how she had the biggest crush on Shawn Hunter from seventh grade to ninth grade. And then it got personal. They talked about friends and Morgan poured out her soul about how she didn't have any. Then about how she was anorexic for two years and never got caught and never had to go to the hospital. By the time they finished, Cory felt like he had fallen in love with Topanga all over again. It was disappointing to him when they finally had to leave. Well, at least he'd see her tomorrow. But that scared him - he thought he loved Topanga, but it felt like he was in love with Morgan. The same girl who seemed to struggle, the same girl who seemed so self-confident, he felt like he loved. But was it possible to love two girls at once?
At 8:00, thirty seconds into the minute, the phone rang. Topanga had gone to go get milk because they were all out of it -- that and pretty much anything that would keep them alive. It was Shawn. "Hey, Cor! Have you met that cute new girl on the block? Her name's Morgan Mendoza. She's sooo hot!" Shawn commented. "Yeah, I have. I bought her coffee." Cory said like it was an amazing thing. To anyone else, it wasn't, but to Shawn it was. "You animal! You're married!" Shawn remarked. "Yes, but - it doesn't mean I can't be a friendly neighbor." "Should I ask her out?" Shawn asked. "Umm." Cory's first reaction was heck no! I saw her first, she's mine! But that scared him even more. He wasn't in love with her - was he? That stupid little voice in the back of his head was being really annoying. "Sure, why not?" Cory asked. "Well, I just don't know what she'll say. Besides, I don't even have Angela so it's not like I'm not doing anyone a favor." If you had been listening to Cory's voices in the back of his head, you would have thought he's a dirty rotten no-good cheater! Of course, then again, he was in love with Topanga, not Morgan who he hardly knew anything about. But that wasn't true. He knew a lot about her. She'd told him an awful lot over a three-hour coffee. He was in love with Topanga and that's it. Wasn't he?