Waking up on time, or even at all, was never Maya's strong suit. She would set at least five alarms and still manage to sleep through them all. So, it shouldn't come as a surprise when she found herself racing around her quaint little apartment trying to gather up everything so she wouldn't be too late for class. Glancing at her phone, she saw two unread text messages – one from Lucas and one from Riley. She already knew that Riley's text would be filled with annoying reminders about her being on time so there was no point in looking at it now. Lucas' text was another story, however.

Lucas: Hey Maya. Thanks for helping me out last night with my piece! I really appreciate it. Anyways, I know this may be a bit weird, but my mom gave me a ride to school today and I was wondering if you wanted a ride? You're on the way and it could give us more time to work on the art? (Sent: 7:30 am)

This was not how this was supposed to go. Maya knew that she needed that ride, but she remembered that she had told Lucas about the decoy building. Luckily for her, the decoy building was only a few blocks away from her apartment. Picking up the phone, she hoped he wouldn't notice her breathing too hard as she would try and run to her decoy before he pulled up.

"Hey, Quick Draw… Maya said into the phone, are you still able to give me a ride?"

One thing about Maya… she's always been somewhat quick on her feet. Making it to the decoy building in what could be considered a new personal best, Maya grabbed her compact mirror and checked her face quickly to make sure she wasn't sweating too much. While examining her features, she noticed that she didn't have time to put in her contacts.

Groaning to herself, Maya reaches in her purse and pulls out a set of stylish glasses that she hardly wears. Her glasses constantly messed with her flow as they would always slide down the bridge of her nose and she thought they made her look nerdy. Granted, she was somewhat nerdy, but that still didn't justify her wearing the glasses.

As Lucas' mom pulled up to the building, Maya took a moment to appreciate the Ford Explorer that she was driving.

Must be nice having money… Maya pondered before she hopped in the back seat. Lucas, being the gentleman that he was, moved into the back seat so he could keep Maya occupied on the way to school.

"Maya! I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you're so pretty! Right Lukie?"

"Mama! You promised you wouldn't use that name in front of my friends!"

Giving Lucas an apologetic face, she whispered a quick sorry in his direction before turning his attention back to Maya.

"Hey Leslie. Always a pleasure. Seems like Huckleberry over here doesn't like sharing about his friends, huh?"

"Oh no! Quite the contrary! Lucas has actually talked ab-"

"And look at that! We're pulling up to the school! Thanks for the ride, mama. Let's go, Maya."

Saying their goodbyes to one another, Maya made a mental note to get rides from Lucas' mom more often, especially for the new material that she could use on him.

As they were walking to their class, Maya felt Lucas' eyes on her so she turned to face him with one eyebrow raised.

"Uh… your glasses… they look nice."

"Oh… uh thanks Lucas. Or should I say… Lukie!"

Rolling his eyes, Lucas nudged Maya's shoulder lightly before heading towards their first class of the day – Mr. Matthews' history class.

Sauntering in just before the bell rang, Maya and Lucas took their seats right as the bell was ringing.

"Good morning class! Today we are going to learn about a very important lesson. Arguably, one of the most important lessons I will ever teach you! Farkle, what's the point of this class?"

"How our past relates to our present."

"Exactly. And what does that mean to you? Riley."

"It means that you teach us about people we don't care about so you can kill time until we go to our other classes… where we actually learn stuff."

Putting on his stern face, Riley knew not to push her father anymore. Lately, Riley has dialed up the sass in her responses, and while she always enjoyed the little back and forth they had – it seemed as if today was not the day to be playing around.

"Or… It means that as we grow, we change. And we shouldn't forget what we learned in the past because it can help us in the present, or the future."

"Right, Ms. Matthews. Can someone read the quote on the blackboard for me?"

"Change is the end result of all true learning." – Leo Buscagila

"Thank you, Zay. Do you believe this to be true, Mr. Friar?"

Lucas meditated on the quote for a minute before speaking. He thought about everything that he had went through before he came to New York. It was like night and day. In Texas, Lucas was constantly fighting, which was one of the reasons why he had moved to New York in the first place.

That, and his father's new job. The topic of his father had always been one that invoked all kinds of emotions from Lucas. While Lucas was taught to have a great deal of respect for his father and mother, he can't help but feel frustrated at the man his father became. Mr. Friar was a very tough man. Your typical emotionally challenged alpha-male. And, as a result of this, his relationship with his father became somewhat strained.

"Mr. Friar? It seems like you were in deep thought there."

"Oh, sorry Mr. Matthews. I think that's the case. Change has always been a very big part of any learning process. If we learn something, and we apply it, the end result is that we've changed. I used to be a much different person when I lived in Texas, but I've learned a lot of things here in New York that have changed me significantly."

"Glad to hear it, Mr. Friar."