"Look bird!" Maya shouts. Riley turns her head back and forth to look for the non-existing bird while the rest of the group talks about her.
Isadora Smackle rarely partakes in said discussion, instead she focuses on the brunette. To the untrained eye, it seemed like Riley was actually looking for a bird, but Isadora decided this simply was not plausible. All the evidence shows that Riley Matthews is one of the smartest kids in their grade. She had near perfect grades, a passion for science, and was extremely socially intelligent. Although a bit naive, she could not possibly believe there was a bird flying around.
Isadora had never been good at reading people, but she had gained some knowledge on social cues due to the time she spent with her newfound friends. Perhaps she was overconfident in her recently developed comprehension of human behavior, but as she watched her friend look for the imaginary bird, she saw her expressions change. Riley knew what they were saying about her.
She had been so wrapped up in observing Riley, that she didn't notice the rest of the group had parted ways to their next classes. Farkle lightly tugs her arm, "You coming?" She takes one last look at Riley, who is organizing her books at this point. "Coming honey," Isadora replies enthusiastically before intertwining her arm with his.
Weeks go by and Isadora continues observing her friend. She notices that she's much quieter, no longer the hyperactive girl she met in the seventh grade. She notices that the formerly goofy girl no longer sits with Lucas and Maya to symbolize their long lasting love triangle. However, Lucas still manages to split his time between the girls (though Isadora sees that he lingers next to Riley, almost as if it pains him to walk away, but Riley does not look at him). She sits alone at a table near the window with headphones on and barely speaks to the rest of the group.
"Hey, Cotton Candy Face!" Zay screams. Riley takes off her headphones and stares at the group, signaling Zay to continue, "We were thinking about seeing a movie, you in?"
Riley winces slightly. Isadora examines the rest of her friends to see if any of them realized that Riley had just displayed a signal of pain. They did not.
"Thanks!" she says, "But I really have to study for my biology test."
Isadora looks at the taller girl. Honors biology was the one class that the two of them shared without any others from the group. There was no test for this week, she was lying? But why? Riley begged her to keep quiet with her eyes, so she does.
"You sure you don't want to come?" Lucas says, walking slowly towards her. Riley scoots away from him.
"Yeah, I really want to study," she says before going back to her notes. Lucas stares at her for a moment before relenting, "Okay, I'll miss you."
Riley lets a tight-lipped smile grace her face, "Have fun guys!" Lucas touches her shoulder before heading towards the door, he looks for any sort of reaction, Riley stays still.
Isadora stares at Riley, something was wrong.
"Smackle, let's go!" Zay's voice interrupts her thoughts.
She glares at the boy. "Woah! Okay we'll wait. I'll be waiting. Right here. No need to burn holes into my head."
"Is everything okay?" Farkle says to her. "Yes my sweet," Isadora begins, "I want to help Riley with her studying."
Farkle turns his head to see Riley writing notes with her headphones back on, he can tell that his friend was going through something, but the last time he got involved, everything just became more complicated. He turns his head back to Smackle. He can tell she wants to talk to her. Although his Isadora was just beginning to learn how to have friends, he trusted her judgement, and her brain.
"Okay, I'll miss you," He kisses her cheek and leaves with the rest, hoping that things would work out.
Isadora stands in front of Riley, who has a puzzled expression on her face, wondering why Smackle was still here, "Yes?" she asks.
She had never been good at talking, but she was curious, and worried, about one of her closest friends, "I would like to speak with you."
Riley smiles at the genius, thinking that she wanted to talk about Farkle, "Of course!"
"Why do you display an excess amount of naivety?" she questions, watching the taller girl knit her eyebrows together in confusion.
"What?" Riley whispers.
Although she was well aware that Riley was smarter that she let on, perhaps she was not as smart as herself, "Sorry. Let me explain myself in simpler terms. Why do you act like a dumb-dumb?"
Riley looks down at her shoes, "It's just...easier."
This time Smackle knits her eyebrows in confusion, "Your explanation is illogical. Please elaborate."
Riley's eyes brown bore into hers, "I've always been the silly girl, my friends will always see me as the silly girl. I don't know how to be anyone else...and I don't want to lose anyone."
"But you are not losing anyone? We are all still here Riley."
Riley smiles sadly at the perplexed girl, "It feels like I already am. I can't hang out with Lucas or Maya anymore without feeling awkward. Besides, being goofy is my thing, what will I be if I let that go? Will you guys still like if I'm not goofy?"
Isadora still cannot comprehend her logic, "Of course we'll still like you. You do not have to pretend to be as naive. You can show people your intelligence."
"I don't know if I can, it's just…I'm so insecure. Even more so with this stupid triangle. I just don't think people will like the new, less weird, Riley Matthews. People don't even like me now. If I change they'll assume I'm trying too hard or that I was faking my personality in middle school for attention"
Her eyes are closed and tears are streaming down her face. Obviously Riley was struggling with a lot of issues, Isadora does not know how she can help. "I'm sorry," the young genius whispers, "If it makes you feel any better, I like you. I will forever want to be your friend"
Riley looks up with a slight grin, "Can we keep this between us?"
Isadora nods, "If you need anyone to talk to, I have been improving my ability to listen and interpret feelings."
The brunette lets out a small laugh, she gets up and hugs the shorter girl, "Thank you for being my friend."
Isadora pats her back, "Always."