Monday morning, the second day of Spring. The sun was warm and welcoming, shining bright and shimmering against the morning dew on the grass, along with shining right in through the windows of the apartment complex in Greenwich. To most within the building, it was just another Monday, another 7:36 in the morning, and another start of Spring. But to another portion of the residents, it was the first day of school.
And to Riley Matthews of apartment 26 in particular, the first day of high school. She was, for lack of better words, anxious. Excited she was, but the nerves inside of her couldn't be ignored. Now why would that be? It was just another school year, surely, as her family kept insisting. But it was much more than a simple school year. Because she wouldn't have the same teachers, it wouldn't be the same school, there would be different students, and different schedules. And from what she's heard, high school is where you make yourself out to be someone. You leave as a different person. You make new friendships, new relationships.
Riley, who had already been awakened by her younger brother, swallowed, in attempt to calm herself down. Then took a deep breath, and smiled at herself in the mirror. That was just fiction, obviously, right? I mean, she'd never met anyone was currently attending high school. And maybe it wasn't so bad. She hoped deep in her heart that things would stay all right.
But there were some upsides, which was what kept her happy as she could. One upside was that Isadora Smackle would be attending their school alongside the group of five friends. A sextet? Maybe that'd be weird to use in an average conversation within the school. Either way, that was quite irrelevant.
7:45. Riley had spent the last nine minutes doing what? Apparently staring at herself in the mirror, preparing for the next eight hours of her life. She wondered what her friends were doing at this very moment, how Smackle was dealing with the idea of adjusting from her school to a new one, maybe less sophisticated than Einstein Academy. Riley pressed her lips together. Another thought on her mind was how different school life might be with not only a new friend being added into their group of friends, but it being Smackle. They were already decent friends with her, so maybe it wouldn't be such a difference? Although something that might be different was now Farkle, one of Riley's closest friends, would have a girlfriend. And not just a regular girlfriend, like how things were recently, but a school girlfriend. High school sweethearts.
She quietly sighed, running her fingers through the ends of her dark hair than hung over her shoulders.
7:54. Another nine minutes.
At least she was already finished and dressed for school, so she didn't have to worry all too awfully on not being ready in time. Besides, her and Maya usually finished dressing together- at least when it comes to their makeup, which Riley has only been wearing for a few months. But Maya has a natural talent at it, likely because of how artistic she naturally is.
Maya would be here soon, and that had Riley looking on her normal brighter side of things.
Another few minutes.
She found her way out her bedroom door, where her father and brother were arguing over which cereal was better. She laughed to herself at their silly arguments. It was really a normal day, except for when Riley had noticed someone important missing.
"Where's mom?" She asked, sitting down by the table, not yet getting down her cereal. She'd always waited for Maya.
"At work." Her father, Cory, replied, his spoon digging at his breakfast- Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Apparently the best one.
"This early?" Blinking, she tilted her head. Hopefully there was no reason to worry, but she still could never be sure. "Is something... wrong?"
He raised his eyebrows, before catching her drift. "Good one. You know our life is like a 90's sitcom, Riley. Nothing ever goes wrong in those."
His daughter let out another awkward laugh. "Sure, Dad." Before nodding her head. "No, really, why's she at work so soon? Usually she's still here."
"She's got a big case, and thinks that if we- if she wins this," he corrected himself quite quickly. "then we might finally be able to take that vacation we always talked about."
"Disney World?!" Riley was quick to jump in her seat, her palms against the wooden table, eyes wide with excitement. She's dreamed of that specific trip since she was a little girl. Or, littler.
"Yeah. Auggie's excited, aren't you, buddy?"
But the boy's only reply was him loudly chewing his Rice Krispies, not breaking eye contact with his father. It looked a rather lot like he was possessed.
"Yeah okay." Cory's attention had turned back to his daughter. "When's Maya getting here?"
"Eight o'clock, like always." She replied with a nod
"Right. You know it's eight o'two now."
"What? No, you can't be right, it's only" she took a glance toward the wallclock, and nearly screamed. "eight o'two! Maya's late!"
"By two minutes!" Along with her father's comment, Auggie held up two fingers, perfectly in synch.
"She's late!"
"Maya's always late."
"What if something's wrong?!"
"What if something's not?" Auggie interjected.
"You know something's not." Cory nodded.
But Riley just pouted. Sure, it was typical for Maya to be tardy, but with it being the first day of high school, she was worried. And really, without any reason to be. Another three minutes went by, and a voice was heard through the intercom.
"Hey losers." was a popular form of greeting for the blonde. Although she was short, she could be vicious.
"Five minutes late!" Riley yelled in a whisper, though an oxymoron of sorts, but she had to make sure that her friend hadn't heard her, not yet. Even though that really wasn't how an intercom worked. Now the girl had made her way to the machine, holding down the button. "Come on up."
And not even two minutes later, Maya had entered the apartment, to then having the brunette throw her arms around her, in a clinging way. "What're you doing?" she then had Riley pried off of her.
"You were late! What happened?!"
"Mom had to make sure her 'babygirl was ready for the big day!'" And with that comment, she flashed a thumbs-up sign across her chest, further proving her point.
"Are you okay?" Riley's hands checked through her best friend's hair, to who's eyes narrowed.
"No, seriously, what are you doing?" She took her hand to stop her, and studied the brunette, as if to check for her safety. Maybe something had occured within the hours that Maya was gone from her.
"Five minutes late! I was worried about you."
"Why?"
"Because I thought maybe high school had you nervous and you were going to-" she stopped. A good place to stop.
"Going to what?"
Now Riley mumbled a few, strung together words.
"What?" But not before long, Maya understood what and why her friend had stopped as sudden as she did. "Ohhh. You thought I was gonna skip school?"
"Mhm." Riley's hands were folded together, and she nodded her head with lips pressed against each other.
"Aww, honey." Maya's arms laid against the brunette's shoulders, before she pat her head with her other hand. "You know ol' mama bear is a changed mama bear."
She widened her eyes, which then developed into a smile. "So no skipping school?"
"Not yet."
"Maya!" The family members all yelled in synch with each other.
"No." Maya had corrected herself, especially in front of her teacher. Well, as far as she knows, her ex-teacher. Really, neither of the girls knew what would actually happen when they step foot inside of the building, not for now.
"Good mama bear!" Cory had told the blonde from where he was sitting, and then she laughed, bowing her head, then thanking him.
"School time?" Riley then turned to her friend, offering her arm to Maya.
"School time. See you later, Matthews." She waved to the two sitting at the table, and they said their own goodbyes. Maya linked her arm with Riley's, and the girls took off, out the apartment.
The walk to the subway station wasn't a long one, so with the time in between they mainly talked over how different things would be. Maya brought up new teachers, which made Riley more anxious than she was. Riley brought up a new principal, which made Maya more anxious that she was. She'd have to find another way to wriggle out of detention, most definitely. Or she'd have to be on her best behavior, which she found unlikely, but Riley had belief that she'd find her way to stay good. At least until she could get the principal to like her.
The station was closer, and they could see it in sight. Riley knew that they would be seeing their friends all there, waiting for them, likely waiting in the station, just as they had agreed. Even though they tended to take different routes, this time, with a new school, they made sure to make plans to all meet up at the same time. Besides, then finding six seats all next to each other would surely be easier. Or that's how Maya had hoped.
Left, right, left, right. Riley's mind stayed focus on making her way down the station's stairs without tumbling directly down them. She was clumsy, and especially when made nervous. She could only imagine how embarrassing it'd be to show up the first day of school with bruises on her knees.
They reached ground, and Maya gave a grin to her friend, as if showing her pride to Riley not falling over. The brunette had nudged her in the side, then pointing forward to the group of five heads, all staying by, waiting for the train's arrival. Their closest friends, Lucas and Farkle, were having a conversation, to which their faces seemed particularly concerned. Maybe it was due to their eight-minute tardiness. Of course they'd planned to meet up earlier than the subway would arrive, but that didn't mean they weren't worried for their friends.
The two girls stood behind the five, and Maya cleared her throat rather loudly. Lucas instantly shot his head back to look at her. He smiled, and so did she. Riley took glances between the two of them, looked at her feet, then took a deep breath. But really, she couldn't help but crack a grin. They were always so happy whenever seeing each other.
"You're here!" She had said suddenly to Isadora Smackle, as if not expecting her to be punctual, which was highly unlikely for the girl.
"Of course I am. I'm always on time." Smackle, the name she prefers to, nodded her head, and Riley chuckled.
"I knew that. It's just, you know, different seeing you here, with us, going to school. Are you nervous?"
"Oh no, I love school, Riley, you know that." Her smile cracked through her usually-stern lips. She did have an undeniable passion for academics. "Everyone seems to."
"Yeah. But it's not a bad thing! We like school, too, don't we, Farkle?" She turned to him, and he nodded quite quickly, a pride grin on his face.
Smackle furrowed her eyebrows together, nodding awkwardly.
"Are you excited then?" Riley asked her, and she tried to soften her face.
"Sure. As excited as I can be." Then she pulled up two thumbs, and a toothy smile.
"Good. I am too." She held out her arms, to which Isadora knew was an offer for a hug. She stepped closer, and tried her best at returning the embrace. Riley was proud, if she was being entirely honest. "That was your best hug yet!"
"I have been practicing."
Farkle seemed to focus on one of them, his eyes catching on her bright pair, and the light from her smile seemed to stain his vision. The sun is as the sun does. He couldn't help but smile, just before turning to the other one.
"First day of a regular school. It's going to be different, huh?"
Smackle nodded, then sighed. "It will be different, and I'll always miss Einstein Academy, but I've missed you five more."
Zay finally spoke up, seeming to break his stare from the subway tunnel. "Even me?"
"Surely. I hardly know you, but I'm sure I'd miss you. You seem charming."
He nodded with a grin. "Yeah you do."
She tilted her head, before forcing out a robotic laugh, which only seemed to make him prouder. Zay had made her laugh, even if it was fake.
Not even a minute later, the train pulled into the station, then coming to a halt, and the doors swung open. Knowing how impatient the subways were in the morning, they had to force their way past the herds of people, who were as impatient as the driver. Maya, the most aggressive of the six, held her arms out like a jet, nodding to Lucas to do the same, as he was much taller than she, and likely posed a bigger threat to anyone who may have tried to push past them. Then finding their seats, most of them sat. All except for Smackle, who refused to sit on a dirty subway seat. She remained standing up, her hands firmly on the pole in front of the benches.
"How long will this ride take?" Smackle had asked, as this was one of her biggest concerns.
Riley laughed, looking up at the other brunette, having to lean to the side in order to see around Smackle, who was nearly blocking the clock that hung above the doors of the subway. "A few minutes. I mean, we'll be there soon."
Then the girl nodded, fiddling with the bracelets on her arm, and Maya, apparently, couldn't help but notice that she might in fact have those nerves that she claims not to.
"Hey, are you sure you're okay?" Lucas asked quietly, a concerned look on his face. It was rare for them to see Smackle quivering.
"Is normal school different?" She asked, almost sharing the same worry as her blond friend.
"Yeah, it'll be different." he replied, only to have Smackle close her eyes and sigh. But when she was to open her eyes, she only saw the friends all smiling. It was confusing for her, as she couldn't see why different would be better.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Because different is better."
And it was. According to the tight little group of them, different meant finding who you can tell anything to, always be there to help you, no matter what. Finding where you belong, and who you are. What's real and what's not. That's what different meant to the five. Of course, they always had room for a sixth.
"So... are you in?" Maya asked, her smile curled into a half-grin and arms crossed over her chest. It was as if there was a bigger deal at play here, like they were simply in a game. She hoped it'd make her new friend feel better about the situation. To treat it simply.
Now Smackle couldn't help but smile. They were all such silly people, and there was something in her that made her love all of them. Holding on tighter to the pole as the subway seemed to take a turn, she nodded. "There will be no getting into trouble?"
The five glanced at each other, eyes squinted, just before laughing.
"There is no way of that happening." Lucas told her, quite apparently nodding toward Maya. Her face beamed with pride at being known as the troublemaker.
"Oh. I see. Riley, I'm surprised that your father didn't hate this one." Smackle shot a teasing look.
The blonde narrowed her light eyes, before they widened. "Ahhh." She let out in understanding, a grin toying at her lips again.
"How soon until we get here, dearest?" Smackle now turned to Farkle, dropping her and Maya's playful argument on the spot, her smile still cheeky.
But he seemed to swallow, break his gaze of what he was previously focused on, and nodded. "We'll be there in a minute."
"Yeah," Riley now said. "it's not too far." Her tone of voice had something in it. Excitement? That must be it.
"Good. I think I am nervous."
"Why do you say that?"
"My stomach feels like it is being impaled. This is not normal."
"You are nervous."
Then Smackle smiled, finding herself quite fond of feelings. Even if this one wasn't her favorite, the feeling of feelings itself was a thrill, just in the words themselves. "I am human."
"We've always known you are." Maya mentioned with a nod. Well, for the most part they always knew.
The brunette smiled, bowing her head in appreciation.
The next minutes had gone by much in silence, aside from a few stray conversations or taps on cellphones. It seemed that after most of the conversations had passed, everything had gone quiet. Likely due to the stress of the first day of new school. It hadn't worried any of them, except for Riley. Usually they all had such endless things to talk about. She hoped that high school wouldn't bring them into a stage of awkwardness.
Upon feeling the train abruptly stop, they waited until the rush from this stop had exited first- knowing better than to put any faith into the kindness of grumpy, tired New Yorkers- before they, too, left the groggy station. Which was a good decision, considering how remarkably full both the subway and it's station stood. There is no such thing as an empty station in the morning. Apparently especially not 8:15 morning.
Stepping onto the sunny ground outside of the station, they knew that there would be a walk to arrive, finally, at the school. Riley, especially, had remembered the way there from the day that her family and the Minkuses had agreed to find the fastest route to their homes to school. With Riley and Farkle being, as they put them, the head geniuses, they'd surely find the fastest way first. And, in entire honesty, they had. And she kept that memory in her mind as well as she could. The last thing she really wanted was to be lost.
Smiling over at her group of friends, she held her hands together by her waist. She was confident that her and Farkle would find their way to the school the fastest, so of course there was the idea of them running up ahead of them, to start a race. But she knew that likely wouldn't be the nicest thing to do.
"You look pretty confident in yourself there, Riles." Maya told her, who was currently trudging behind the majority of the six, although with Lucas by her side, who seemed to give her a look as if he was ready to carry her on his back. They all knew that the short blonde wasn't the fondest of exercise.
"I am!" She replied to her, grinning proudly. "You all can consider me your official tour guide."
"Does a tour guide walk for you?"
"No, Maya, you have to do the walking yourself."
"Why? We already have to go to school at eight o'clock in the morning. Stupid school, stupid morning." Maya's feet shuffled against the pavement, and Lucas sighed, bending down on his knees. Her hands dramatically laid against her chest. "For me? Aw," she hopped up on his back, then climbing to wrap her arms loosely around his neck. "shucks. Ya shouldn't've." Her fake Southern accent had kicked in, and he pursed his lips.
"I could always put you down..." And he bent down again, though still walking, as if to prove what he said.
"No, no, no!" She laid her head against the back of his, closing her eyes. "You're comfy." Then snuggling into him, as if he was her bed.
Riley glanced at Farkle and made a squished face, then the two looked toward Maya and Lucas. She laughed, nudging him in the arm.
Farkle had just furrowed his eyebrows, as if not understanding what she had been trying to point out, before seeing Maya, nearly asleep on Lucas' back. He then nodded. "Ohhh." He raised his eyebrows, picking up on what his friend was telling him. Maya and Lucas were once again out of the awkward stage in their relation-friendship. And that was adorable.
Riley nodded repetitively, giggling quietly. "Take a picture." She had whispered to him, trying her hardest to make sure the other two hadn't heard them.
He snickered, before tilting her head at her. "Why?"
"That way we can show them later, when they're married."
"Married? They're fifteen."
"He's sixteen."
"Fine, but why do I-"
Puppy dog eyes. Riley was pulling the puppy dog eyes. And her big, brown, bright eyes were staring into the very depths of Farkle's soul. And he couldn't say no to that. Reluctantly, he pulled out his phone from his pocket. "You win." He said, mostly in a grumble, although his smile played away from the fact that he was irritated.
"Make sure you do it before she wakes up!"
"I doubt she's really asleep." He told her, before directing the phone's camera at the couple, squinting one of his eyes, and taking a picture, startling him and Riley back when the phone's volume was found to be turned on.
Lucas turned his head toward them. "What was that?"
Riley's hand was quick to jump to Farkle's mouth, stopping him from telling him what happened, then glancing back at Zay and Smackle, hoping they would stay quiet too. "Nothing!" She stood in front of his hand and phone, which was quite difficult, considering they were walking while doing this.
"It was his phone?" Lucas had pointed out.
Farkle moved her hand, nodding. "Yes! Yes, I was taking a"
"selfie! He was taking a selfie." Riley had finished, and they nodded their head in innocence.
Lucas, unbelieving in what his friends had said, also took a look back at Smackle and Zay, who were having a quiet conversation. When the noticed that he was hoping for an explanation, they only shrugged, although they really had seen what occurred, but they, or rather, Zay wanted to keep that a secret. You could tell in Smackle's eyes, however, that she wanted to tell the truth. But instead, she stayed quiet and tried her best honest face.
Finally, the blond sighed. He gave up, gently bouncing Maya back up on his back, his arms supporting her knees. She quietly breathed, her eyes staying shut.
Riley had tried not to smile at them not getting caught( or, not in trouble for it, that is ). And yet, she did. And grabbed Farkle's arm, her feet stomping at the ground. "We're rebellious!" She whispered.
Farkle grinned and nodded his head. "Sure we are. Next thing you know, we'll be taking pictures of bunnies at the pet store."
She rolled her eyes, now smacking his shoulder. Although, maybe she was rebellious all along.. She did have the tendency to take pictures of rabbits. Especially ones that she doesn't have. Which, for now, is all of them.
The two looked forward, noticing the school which approached on the corner, the roof grey, the sunlight bouncing off of it. Riley was nervous and her stomach twisted and turned in knots, but she smiled. She smiled as bright as she could, just like the sunlight. Because the sunlight kept her the happiest she could be.
Farkle glanced at her. She was radiant. He took a deep breath, looking at his feet. She was beautiful. Always, endlessly, impossibly beautiful.
His girlfriend had noticed how intently he looked at her and she couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows. It didn't matter, did it? He couldn't help the light in his eyes whenever he looks at her. But he has a light in his eyes for a lot of things. No, it doesn't matter. Smackle was very content on keeping it that way. Shaking her head to herself with her eyes on the building, she kept on behind them.
The six arrived on the pavement of the schoolgrounds, and Riley was quick to poke Maya on the shoulder. "Good morning, sleepyhead."
Maya groaned, then yawning and opening her eyes. "We're there already?" She replied to her, with her voice whining.
"We are. You can get up now." She told her gently, stepping back as Lucas had bent down once more, letting Maya hop and stumble off his back. Riley helped keep her up, just before she could steady herself.
"Thank you, sundance."
"I'm still sundance?" Lucas then straightened himself out, sighing quietly.
"You'll always be sundance."
"I'll always be sundance." He repeated, as if keeping the words engraved in his mind.
Riley shot them both a look, just before skipping up the marble steps of the building. She couldn't help but notice how beautiful the school was, although it had some air of terror within it, she knew. Something was bound to happen on their first day, because how could it not? It was them, and this was this. They were never so great at going through a day without something happening. Her hands brushed over the windows on the door, taking a deep breath. They were ready for this, at least the most that they could be. With silence drifting through the air, she finally worked up the courage to push open the heavy doors.
A gust of cool air was what greeted them first as they stepped through the doorway, and their eyes were met with rows of lockers and doors, all seemingly color coordinated. It reminded Riley of John Quincy Adams, with the bright colors that were on the verge of clashing, yet somehow they worked. Her eyes looked up, fixed on the lights for a bit longer than they should have. She didn't know quite why she had made that decision. Breaking her gaze on the lights, she turned her head to focus on her friends. "New school, huh? What do you guys think?"
"Goodnight!" Maya called out, but lucky for her, Lucas had been standing behind her, catching her quickly.
"We're having pancakes."
"You're lying to me." She batted at his chest, standing herself up and folding her arms.
"How different do you think this place will be?" Farkle asked Riley, a twinge of nervousness in his eyes too.
She only smiled, and shrugged her shoulders, eventually stating how unsure she was. "Maybe it won't... be so bad. Besides, it's the first few minutes here and nothing has gone wrong y-"
"You four," A woman had approached them. Head held high and fingers pointed out toward them. "the principal wants to see you."
Smackle and Zay furrowed their eyebrows, before he had said "We always miss out on the fun.." and then they had walked away.
And after that, Lucas, Farkle and Riley had looked at Maya, as if assuming she'd done something to already have gotten them in trouble.
"I swear you guys, I didn't do anything." Hands raised in surrender, the blonde eyed the three.
"This way." The woman told them, her finger in the air, motioning for their following. And, without reason, they followed. Hesitantly, maybe. Definitely.
The four walked behind her, shuffling awkwardly in their spots. Getting in trouble wasn't exactly a new thing for them, but this soon? That was new. Although they were unsure if they were actually in trouble, or if it was something else. Perhaps it was, but the top thing on their minds was that they were in trouble. Riley and Farkle, especially. They'd rarely been even in detention, and in the rare case that they had, they put themselves there.
Looking at her friend, Riley tugged on Farkle's arm again. "What do you think we did?"
"Nothing."
"You don't think or you don't know if?"
"No, I mean we've done nothing." His head turned to face her, as he furrowed his eyebrows. "Do you think someone else said something about us?"
"Who would have done that?!" Riley asked, nearly in a shriek. And at that moment, the redheaded woman guiding them turned back, looking them up and down, raising a finger to her lips, and continuing with them forward through the hall. However Riley couldn't stand not knowing what happened.
She stood up the tallest that she could. "Are we in trouble?"
Once again, the woman stayed silent, which only made the young brunette behind her squirm more than she was already.
Finally, the five arrived in front of the door, a door that was darkly colored, making the scene feel just the more like a crime scene investigation.
"Sir," the woman said, poking her head inside the door. "they're here."
"Bring them in." An seemingly familiar voice told them, just as the door swung open. The redhead looked at them and nodded, holding the door for them as they arrived in the room.
Everything seemed like a normal office, with normal paintings and awards hanging on the walls. A normal room with a normal man sitting in a normal chair. But when that chair spun around, the normalness broke off, revealing the curly-haired man that sat in front of them, a wide smile written all across his face.
"Welcome to high school."
