Hey guys :)! After way too long of a hiatus, I am back with another chapter. This actually has been sitting for a long time, and it took a while to build up the courage to actually post it, lol. But now here it is! I am sorry it's been a while; life is truly super busy and my writing is very "few and far between". But I'd rather have rare stories I feel proud of than frequent stories that feel rushed to me. Ok, rambling over, lol.
This chapter can be part of this story or its own independent story, whatever you want to see it as. This covers a sort of serious issue, one that I've always wondered how it could be tackled by the GMW writers; so this is my idea of how it could be tackled in an episode. I think it would be interesting to have something like this come up and have Lucas have a severe reaction to it perhaps because of where he grew up...
And that's where my major disclaimer comes in. I in no way intend to claim a stereotype on Texas or the South. I know there are stereotypes for each region of the States, but I also know they are just stereotypes, and not everyone or every city or every state in these regions hold the same values as the stereotype I use. I just feel that maybe the specific community/neighborhood Lucas and Zay grew up in was a bit conservative and not as tolerant of some views as other places, and I'm getting the impression that the school in GMW is kind of idealistic, where it's possible for the students to not be aware of prejudice that still goes on. I know not everyone will agree with the ideas in this story, and that's perfectly fine. I still stand by my views, and I also respect you for yours. And if there is something that seems inaccurate or there's something I've been ignorant of, let me know, help me understand :).
Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'm glad to post this now in hype for the string of triangle-centered episodes. Part of me hopes my headcanon will actually come true, though I dunno if the writers are actually considering that as an idea, lol. But despite that I'm very much looking forward to seeing how this all goes down and how these great and wonderful kids will grow and learn about the world and themselves :D. Thank you so much for those who've reviewed so far, and enjoy this next chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World, nor How to Read Literature Like a Professor, which is where this following quote comes from ;).
"Never feel dumb. Not knowing who or what is ignorance, which is no sin; ignorance is simply the measure of what you haven't got to yet." – Dr. Thomas Foster
It was just another day in gym class. The girls were learning about possible components of cardio drills, and the guys actually got to learn about some wrestling techniques. All was smooth sailing, or so it would seem. Most of the boys were quite enthusiastic about today's lesson, but Farkle Minkus was instead quite wary. Just because he was growing up and was starting to accept the idea of sports didn't mean he was comfortable at all participating in them. Nevertheless, his best friend Lucas Friar continued to be encouraging.
"Come on, you can totally do it! We wrestled some a while back, didn't we?" he reminded.
"Yeah, and you pinned me EVERY TIME," Farkle retorted.
A well-built classmate named Zach spoke up, "Dude, it's really not that bad; you know we're not going to beat you up or anything like that. This is gym class; we're supposed to use our physical strengths here."
Farkle was stubborn though and persisted in defense. "I am a man of science, which means my strength lies with my brain, NOT my brawn."
Lucas chuckled at that, but Zach was getting lightly aggravated at the young boy's resistance. "Oh come ON, Farkle; don't be such a fruitcake…" he chided.
And at that Lucas suddenly sobered up. He slowly turned to his classmate, and Zach became instantly nervous seeing the Texan's eyes narrow and mouth form a dark frown. Before anyone could do anything about it, Lucas had shoved the kid across the gym, slamming him back against the royal blue wall cushions.
"What the heck, dude?" Zach exclaimed, horrified that the kid "most likely to be ok with anything" would do something like this.
"Don't. Say. That. Again. EVER!" growled Lucas, his palm still pushing against Zach's chest, pinning him to the wall.
Farkle finally came to his senses and rushed over to his friend. "Lucas! It's fine! He's not wrong; I am kind of a fruitcake…"
Lucas then became so overcome with incredulity that he let go of Zach, who quickly stumbled away massaging his chest with an expression of terror and confusion. "FARKLE! You're not! HOW could you let him call you something like that?"
"WHAT are you talking about? It's true! I don't have muscles like you guys; I'm fragile. That's why I don't want to wrestle; I'll break bone after bone. I'll crumble like a fruitcake-"
"STOP SAYING THAT WORD!" Lucas roared out, causing his best friend to stumble back as well, eyes widened in sudden fear. Hearing this outburst, and having noticed the altercation prior, the coach quickly came over to see what the trouble was.
"Hey hey, what's going on here?" the coach inquired.
Lucas looked directly at him, hoping against hope he'd be on his side. "This guy just called MY best friend…a fruitcake." The last word was almost spat out in an effort to get through to the adult. The boy could see a change in the man's expression; finally, someone who understood the gravity of the situation. But the response completely shocked him. "Minkus, does this nickname bother you?"
Farkle glared at Lucas, frustration and stubbornness in his eyes as he spoke, "No, Coach, it doesn't bother me at all; it's quite an accurate nickname, actually."
"That's settled then; there's no beef between you guys, so you're good," the coach stated, nodding at Zach who sighed with relief. "As for you," the coach continued, turning to Lucas, "you physically assaulted another student. Detention, Friar."
Lucas spun around, bewildered, "Coach!" he exclaimed.
But the coach disregarded the protest. "I will inform Mr. Matthews that you will be in his classroom after school today." He, among pretty much the entire faculty and staff, knew any time a student had with teacher Cory Matthews would be productive regardless.
Lucas didn't know what to say. His expression became extremely crestfallen as he realized he couldn't do anything about this…at all. Sadness turned to anger as he gave a silent huff and forcefully started walking towards the doors. When he reached Zach he paused, slowly turning to face the towering boy. "You were calling him a lot more than weak and you know it," he growled, his voice dark and threatening, "Farkle Minkus is a great person, he does NOT deserve to be called that. NO ONE deserves to EVER be called that…" And with that, Lucas stormed out of the gym, leaving the two boys and one adult frozen, each terrified for the young cowboy they now could hardly recognize.
Farkle shook himself out of his reverie and turned to the coach. "Coach, may I…?"
It took a second for the coach to realize what Farkle was implying. He raised his eyebrows. "Really? You expect to fix this by just talking to him?"
Farkle shrugged, "That's what we do, and usually it eventually works its way out."
The coach shook his head skeptically, but permissively. "Go; look out for your teammate," he said with resignation.
"Thanks, Coach," replied Farkle, and he proceeded to walk out the doors of the gym. After a few minutes of searching, he finally found his best friend and caught up with him in the hallway. "Lucas, what in the world was that all about?"
Lucas turned around at the voice. "Farkle…he called you a-"
"I KNOW WHAT HE CALLED ME!" Farkle yelled, having enough of this. "What I don't get is why it's so bad! Seriously, WHAT is so wrong with the word fruitcake?" Lucas visibly cringed, but Farkle continued anyway, "I don't get how a piece of food is such a terrible name! What about all those times Maya calls you Huckleberry; how is THAT any different?"
Lucas was close to becoming Texas Lucas again, but his demeanor immediately softened when he heard this, realizing with overwhelming despair that his best friend really did not understand the underlying context of it all. "Farkle…he…he was…" He faltered, staring at the perfect little genius in front of him and wanting to cry his eyes out. "He was calling you…" Gosh, he couldn't even say it, let alone its poisonous alternative that he had heard a hundred times before. He absolutely could not understand how ANYONE could say something so cruel to someone as wonderful as Farkle.
"Calling me…what, Lucas?" Farkle demanded, anxious to understand why his best friend had to go all Texas a few minutes ago.
But Lucas took just one look into those innocent brown eyes, and his heart broke. He didn't want to say anything, wishing Farkle would never get to be exposed to such horridness and stay perfect forever.
"Farkle…" was all he managed to say, his voice dangerously cracking, and unable to take it anymore, he simply rushed forward and wrapped his arms around his best friend in a tight embrace, taking the scientist by surprise. "You're amazing, Farkle, no matter what. Please, don't EVER forget that, ok?" he mumbled into his shoulder.
After only a moment of confusion, Farkle returned the hug, settling with gently rubbing the cowboy's back in comfort. "Don't worry, I won't." he assured, face slightly scrunched in worry, wondering what the heck made his best friend so affected. But his expression also showed determination. If this was part of Lucas's growth, he was going to figure out what the trouble was, no matter what terrifying truths lay ahead.
"""
Later that day, the students began to settle in their seats for history class. As Lucas took his seat, he gave just a small smile to his friends, still a bit shaken from the events of gym class. The final bell rang as Cory Matthews organized his desk, finishing up his preparations for today's lesson. Before he started teaching, he addressed Lucas, "Mr. Friar, I've been told you went back to your roots today."
Lucas sighed; he almost forgot he had detention with Mr. Matthews. Almost. "I'm sorry sir, I was in a rough mood. It won't happen again."
"Lucas…?" Cory asked in worry, anxious that all the hard work that the boy had put in would be completely erased by one little slip-up.
"I'm ok, sir," assured Lucas, though it was only half-convincing.
"Lucas," the teacher stressed.
Lucas paused, deciding to resign to some of the truth. "I'll be fine, Mr. Matthews," he admitted.
Riley Matthews perked up, sensing something was off with her friend. "What happened?"
Lucas looked at her and started to melt inside. Riley was so sweet and innocent; how could he spoil her idealistic personality with something like this? "Nothing happened, don't worry about it."
Riley's eyes grew slightly bigger in alarm. "Lucas, what did you do?" she half-demanded. If he reverted back to his past ways…
"Nothing, ok? We were just wrestling, and I got carried away. None of us got hurt; it's ok."
Maya Hart turned around. "You don't sound ok. Something happened. Tell us." When she got no response, her voice became excited, "TALK to us, Huckleberry-"
"Stop it!" he cried out involuntarily. He froze for a moment, realizing Maya's nickname had hurt him a lot more this time than it usually did (which honestly was never). He was frustrated; he didn't want this to be an issue. It shouldn't be an issue at all. "Can we just…let it go? This is a class. We're supposed to be learning about history and not arguing over stupid things from the present, so let's just learn, ok?" he pleaded. After silent deliberation, the class complied and recomposed themselves, waiting politely for Mr. Matthews to begin his lecture.
Cory sighed; he admired Lucas's dedication to the class, but knew there was more to his attitude than what was shown. For now though he pushed the issue aside; perhaps during detention he could get some sort of explanation out of the boy. "Ok," he began, "Today we're going to discuss-" He stopped, noticing a hand was raised. "Yes, Farkle?" he acknowledged.
"What's a fruitcake?" the boy asked bluntly. Lucas whipped around, his eyes widened in panic, and Zay Babineaux noticed, narrowing his eyes in confusion. It seemed an innocent question, yet something was off about it, something oddly…familiar.
Cory's eyebrows contorted comically, wondering what on Earth could make a genius like Farkle ask a question like that. "You're kidding me, right?" he asked incredulously.
"Farkle, don't. Don't worry about this," Lucas begged, but his friend ignored him.
"I'm not. I want to know what a fruitcake is," he stated.
Cory answered slowly, sure that there was some crucial context he was oblivious to. "Last I checked, a fruitcake was a baked dessert with pieces of various fruit in it, which some people have an aversion to."
Farkle crossed his arms. "So if you call someone a fruitcake, are you calling them…gross?"
"Farkle! Just drop it, ok? It's not a big deal," Lucas said helplessly.
"Well, considering how riled up you've gotten over a silly little word, I say it IS a big deal, and I want to know WHY."
Cory turned his gaze to the Texan whose face looked pained and sad, and the puzzle pieces started to fall together in his mind.
"Oh boy," he said. He didn't think this day would come so soon, and he had begun to think it never would have to come. He wished he didn't have to explain anything; he shouldn't have to explain anything. This was a new generation that he hoped would never have to be exposed to misappropriations like this. His family was not too religious and hardly political; issues weren't issues at all to them. They and their friends were all different and lived different lives, and that bothered no one. But he knew times changed, and issues were projected and handled on a bigger scale now. Perhaps he couldn't avoid this discussion for much longer.
"Sir," Lucas attempted one last time, "Please, it's really not that important."
But Cory sighed, and the young cowboy realized with defeat that yes, they were on the same page, but the former had the maturity to know that you can't shield the ones you love forever. With all the current events that happened in the last year, Cory realized that years in the future teachers would still be discussing this important year in history, including the struggle it took to get there, so he might as well start teaching it now.
"Actually, Mr. Friar, it is important. Very important," the history teacher responded. As his gaze landed on Maya, an idea came to him. "Miss Hart, what is a huckleberry?" he asked her.
Maya raised an eyebrow at him. "Is this a trick question?" she asked apprehensively.
"No, Maya, I'm just asking you to tell me the actual definition of a huckleberry."
Lucas placed his head in his hands; he didn't want to hear what the blonde had to say. However, much to his surprise, she answered quite seriously, "A huckleberry is a type of plant. The fruit tastes a lot like a blueberry I think."
Cory nodded. "Interesting. So then why do you call Mr. Friar a huckleberry?"
Maya froze, a little startled. She didn't think about Mr. Matthews of all people asking her this question. "Umm…" was all she could mumble; she really didn't want to disclose her personal feelings to the entire class.
Cory rushed to clarify, realizing that the question came off wrong. "I mean, when you call him Huckleberry, would you say you're complimenting him?"
Maya frowned, thinking about the question. "No…I'm making fun of him. I mean, I'm not being mean; it's all in good fun. But it's still teasing him."
"Oh it is, is it? Well, a huckleberry is not necessarily a bad or disgusting fruit. So how is calling Lucas that making fun of him?"
Maya wasn't quite sure what to make of this. "Because…he is a huckleberry; he's a Ranger Rick, he's Bucky McBoingBoing…"
"Maya…"
"He's from the South, ok?" she finally admitted. "I make fun of his country lifestyle because it's so different from ours." She was starting to feel like she was forced to put herself in a trap.
Cory continued to interrogate her though. "So let me get this straight; you take a term that means something quite innocent, and you use it to describe Lucas negatively."
"No! Mr. Matthews, I don't do it to be negative to him! There's nothing wrong with Texas; in fact, after going there, I actually like the state."
Lucas perked up. "You really do?"
Maya shrugged. "Farkle was right; it is a pretty peaceful place. After living in a big city so long, you crave some quiet once in a while." She had calmed down a little and looked back at her teacher. "Mr. Matthews, I'm not being mean; I swear I'm not."
"I know you're not, Maya," Cory assured. Maya relaxed a little, realizing this was only part of Mr. Matthews's lesson.
Cory resumed teaching. "Some teasing is done all in good fun. But not all of it is. Throughout history, our use of the English language has altered from the original dictionary definitions. Which, unfortunately, has led to the use of innocent words for…not so innocent contexts." He turned to Lucas. "Mr. Friar, if you called someone dumb, what would you mean by that?"
Lucas wore a questioning look. "Doesn't dumb just mean stupid? You say someone was being dumb if they weren't thinking properly, right?"
"Now, yes. But when the word was first used, it didn't exactly mean that."
"Oh no," Lucas groaned, knowing guilt was about to arrive.
"Did you know that "dumb" is officially defined as not being able to speak, to be mute?" Cory inquired.
Lucas paused, surprised by the revelation. "No, sir, I did not," he answered in wonder.
"Usually it was used as just that, to describe someone who physically cannot talk. If someone cannot talk, does that mean they're stupid?"
"Of course not! Anyone can have intelligent thoughts and ideas, even if they can't say them."
"Yet still, people use the term "dumb" to call people stupid, to say that they're not smart."
Lucas slumped in his seat. He didn't think about how something that wasn't meant to be an insult turned into something so offensive. How many other innocent words became mutated like this?
Inferring that he was making good progress, Cory decided to finally direct the conversation to the elephant in the room. "Riley?"
"Yes, Daddy?" she responded, her eyes wide, anticipating.
Her father couldn't help but hesitate; he hated that he had to broach such a serious topic with his sun-shining daughter. But he knew it was important for her to learn about this, so he pushed on. "What is a fairy to you?"
Both Lucas and Zay perked up at that, realizing with uneasiness where this was heading now. However, Riley was completely oblivious to the intention of the question, and she answered cheerfully, "A fairy is a mythical creature that has magical powers and can fly. It looks like a human with wings."
Cory couldn't help but smile. "Sounds like a wonderful creature."
"Of course. Fairies are supposed to represent light and joy and hope." Riley was confused as to how this was related.
Cory took a deep breath before he spoke. "However, some people use that word negatively, as an insult towards people…just because they're different." He nodded to Maya, referring to her earlier "huckleberry" example.
Riley frowned. "I don't get that. Who would you possibly insult by calling them something as beautiful as that?"
At this, Zay slowly raised his hand and was acknowledged by Mr. Matthews with a small nod. For the first time in class that day, he spoke up.
"Someone who's gay," he said. The usually goofy child had never looked so serious before.
Riley's face fell. "That doesn't make any sense…" she whispered, utterly bewildered.
"Mr. Babineaux, what does it mean when someone is gay?" Cory asked.
"It means they like people of the same gender. Romantically that is."
Cory pointed at him with a small smirk. "You're wrong."
Zay shook his head in disbelief. "Come on! Can't I be right at least ONCE in this class?"
"You are right," Cory stated.
Zay was confused. "Come again?"
Cory began to explain. "In today's time, the word "gay" is used to describe people who are attracted to others of the same gender. But that's not actually the original meaning of the word."
"You've gotta be kidding me," Zay muttered, slumping in his seat. Meanwhile, Lucas was staring at Mr. Matthews curiously, wondering what else this word could possibly refer to.
The teacher turned to Farkle, who had been quite quiet for a while. "Farkle, what is the original definition of "gay"?"
Farkle looked directly at him and answered without hesitation. "Happy," he stated simply.
Cory nodded in approval. "Interesting," he commented, "Even the root of this discussion has a double meaning."
"But sir," Lucas piped up, ""Gay" isn't an insult; it SHOULDN'T be no matter which definition you look at." He didn't quite understand why he felt so strongly about it, but he knew what was being implied wasn't right. "Who you like has nothing to do with the quality of your character; HOW could it be considered so negatively? Especially if the initial definition is literally "happy"!"
"It's nice that you feel that way, Lucas," Cory stated calmly, "But not everyone does. Some people do think it's wrong for someone to feel attracted to someone of the same gender. Which is fine; everyone's entitled to their opinion. But some take it too far; they say people like that are disgusting, worthless-"
"A nothing," mumbled Lucas, his voice slightly darkened. Farkle looked up at him, then looked down at his lap.
Cory agreed. "So in addition to that, those people started using innocent words to mock those who were gay, words that in context could mean delicate, weak, small, vulnerable, and unfortunately, feminine," he looked at his daughter with a sad expression, knowing how much that frustrated her. He continued, "Words, like fairy, pansy-"
"-fruitcake," Farkle finished; the wheels in his mind had started whirring as he assembled together the puzzle of information, and he seemed to be reaching an epiphany. "He wasn't calling me gay." He was half whispering to himself.
Lucas looked up at that. "Farkle…?"
The scientist looked back at his best friend and spoke up this time, loud enough for the whole class to hear. "Zach called me a fruitcake in gym class, because I was being weak, because I was afraid to get hurt. That was it. He wasn't calling me gay…"
Lucas became incredulous. "Did you not hear the lesson just now? That word was more than just an insult; he said it out of disgust and hatred. Why are you trying to defend him and say he wasn't?"
"Lucas…Zach has two dads."
The Texan's face went completely blank. "What?" he whispered, a deer in headlights.
"Zach has two dads," Farkle stated again.
Zay wore a comical expression, as though he was re-evaluating his entire life. "And I thought I just kept forgetting what his dad looked like…" He then shrugged, looking mildly intrigued. "Huh, you learn something new every day!"
Farkle ignored him and kept going. "He loves them very much; he wouldn't do or say anything negative towards them or anyone like them." He looked intently at Lucas again. "When he called me that name, he wasn't implying anything at all; to him, that word didn't mean anything." He paused, not taking his eyes off his best friend, "But apparently, it means something to you." He waited for a response. But all Lucas did was stare at the ground, refusing to speak as though doing so was revealing a terrible government secret. Farkle decided to press that issue later. He took a deep breath, almost afraid to ask the question on his mind. Almost. "Lucas…do you…do you think I'm…"
Lucas sighed. "Farkle, I don't think anything. I don't care what makes up who you are; I just want you to be Farkle. Nothing else matters. I, I just don't want you to feel worthless again, to feel like you're a nothing, because you're NOT."
Farkle gave a small smile, touched by his best friend's affection. "I know I'm not; you don't have to worry about that. You all have helped me see that." His smile grew as he looked around at all of his friends.
Lucas smiled back with relief. "I'm glad to hear that," he said. His grin faded a little though as he remembered how he lost his temper earlier. "I guess I overreacted earlier," he said shamefully.
Farkle gave a sympathetic look. "Nah, you just didn't know what he meant just as much as he didn't know what he could've meant."
Lucas chuckled in spite of himself. "Life would be much simpler if words weren't used to mean different things, huh?"
Mr. Matthews sighed with a sad smile. "That it would be, Lucas," he responded. Deciding that the class had exhausted the topic for the time being, he moved forward with his actual lecture for the day, and the conversation was brushed aside. After some time, the bell rang, and the students jumped up from their seats and hurried out the door. Lucas had just walked into the hallway when Zay grabbed hold of him and gently pulled him around to a stop in front of him.
"So, do you wanna tell me what did happen in gym class?" Zay inquired.
Lucas sighed. "I shoved him against the wall and growled in his face," he muttered with shame.
Zay's eyes widened. "Man, he really ticked you off…"
Lucas grumbled. "Zay, I don't want to worry about it anymore, ok? There was a misunderstanding; it's fine now. I'm fine now."
"I don't think you really are; I think you're still stuck-"
"Zay, I told you, I'm fine. I made a mistake. We all do."
"Lucas, we're not in T-"
"Zay." He paused for a moment to calm down. "I know; I know that now. Look, I gotta get to class. Plus I have detention after school because of my stupidity, so I guess I'll talk to you later then." Before Zay could respond, Lucas had rushed off to his next class. Zay stood for a moment, pondering, a rarity.
"Detention…" he mused, and he reached a new sense of determination. Perhaps he and the gang could break a few rules today as well.
"""
The last bell had rung, signaling the end of school for the day. However, Lucas was still there, for he wasn't getting out of detention anytime soon. He somberly walked into Mr. Matthews's classroom yet again and paused in front of the block of desks. He had planned to sit in his usual seat, but there was one other desk that seemed to stand out to him, one that seemed a little "out of place" compared to the rest. He decided for a change to sit there and proceeded to do just that. A few minutes later, Cory Matthews walked in as well. He briefly stopped in his tracks when he saw his student in his altered seat.
"Lucas? You're sitting in-"
"I know," the young boy stated simply.
Cory nodded in acceptance. "Ok then." He pondered for a moment, deliberating on how he would broach the subject he wanted to discuss. "Lucas," he began carefully, "you're not really one to get detention, so this is pretty new. Therefore, I'm going to give you the low down on what goes on. Do you know why you got detention?"
Lucas sighed, "I started a fight with another student without consent." He scrunched his face, noting how weirdly that came out.
"I don't mean that. I mean, do you know why you were put in detention with me?"
Lucas looked up in surprise; he assumed Mr. Matthews was always the supervisor of detention. Was he some sort of special case then? "No one else wants to stay after school?" he guessed.
Cory gave a sympathetic smile. "No, it's because apparently the faculty mixes me up with the guidance counselor." Getting no response, he continued. "Some students do get detention as only punishment to teach them the right thing to do. However, some people have reasons for their actions, and usually I end up watching the kids that have deeper issues to face."
Lucas shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Sir, I really am fine. I just misunderstood the context of what Zach said. Now I know, and I won't jump to conclusions anymore."
"Lucas, Zach had no idea what that word could've meant. In fact, NO ONE in class knew that context of the word…except you and Zay. Why is that?"
"Mr. Matthews, please, can I just sit in silence like people do in detention?"
"Lucas," Cory pressed, "I know you don't want to talk about this, but we have to. You said you've changed here, that you've become a better person. But this morning you almost slipped back into your old self, and just because of one word. A word that apparently means something serious in Texas." Lucas began to protest, but Cory stopped him and continued. "I think you're an incredibly bright student, and you're going to do great things one day. But as your teacher, I cannot help guide you towards your future if I do not understand your past."
"Sir," Lucas started, incredibly conflicted now. However, he was saved from responding when the classroom door opened, and without warning, his whole circle of friends had marched in.
Lucas perked up. "What are you guys doing here?" Seeing that Zay seemed to be leading the group, he narrowed his eyes. "Zay, what did you do?"
Zay was quick to explain himself. "Ok, I DID consider getting myself into detention, but I thought better of it and decided to just show up anyway without doing something stupid. Besides," he turned to Mr. Matthews, "You can keep us from getting out of detention, but can you really keep people from staying in detention?"
Cory wore a gentle smirk on his face; he knew exactly what was going on. "It appears I cannot. Take your seats, guys," he said, gesturing to the entire group. They proceeded to sit down, and Farkle was quick to notice where his best friend was sitting, filing the moment away for a future discussion. They surrounded Lucas, who was still confounded as ever.
"Guys," the young boy started, "why are you here?"
"Because we're your friends, Lucas," Farkle stated, "We're your friends no matter what. And if this is bothering you that much, we want to help you figure it out."
Realizing what this was about now, Lucas released an exasperated sigh. "Seriously! It's not a big deal! I messed up, I got detention for it, and now I'm here. That's it. Don't worry, I won't turn into Texas Lucas again…"
"Clearly there's something that's a big deal if Mr. Matthews derived a whole lecture from what happened," Maya declared, surprising herself with her vocabulary.
"It's just a stupid word!" Lucas cried out, "Can we just LET IT GO already?"
"You didn't seem to want to 'let it go' this morning," Farkle pointed out, and all Lucas could do was stare at him. They maintained eye contact for a while as Lucas considered the statement his best friend had just made. Several conflicting thoughts tangled in his brain.
Farkle spoke up again, this time in a softer, gentler tone. "Lucas, what's going on? You can talk to us, you really can," he said kindly.
Lucas finally sighed, realizing there was no avoiding this anymore. Glancing briefly at Zay, he began his explanation:
"Back in Texas…" He looked at Zay again, nervous and having second thoughts. But his Texan friend only nodded back with encouragement, and that eased a little bit of his discomfort and anxiety. He continued, "Back in Texas, some of the other kids didn't exactly practice "Southern hospitality". They…would call other kids names… Bad names."
"You mean like 'fruitcake', or 'fairy'," said Farkle. Riley tensed; she still couldn't wrap her head around the concept.
Lucas took in a shaky breath. "Worse," he said, his voice so low it was almost a whisper.
Cory's eyes widened in realization, and so did Farkle's. Riley and Maya were utterly confused.
"I don't get it. What could be possibly worse than the names we already heard?" Maya asked.
But Farkle knew; they may not have heard it in their school so far, but he did read the news, he did see it in movies. He spoke sympathetically, "Lucas…that's terrible. How could that happen? I thought things have changed…"
"Things have changed, Farkle," Cory spoke up, deciding to step into the conversation again. "But there are still some places that are a little more conservative, often in the South. People still use words like that in a negative way."
"So when Zach called me a 'fruitcake'," Farkle continued, "You really did think he was calling me a…" He couldn't even say the word.
"I hated that my own classmates would use that word to call someone a freak, even more so because by doing so they claimed that what the word implies is something disgusting, when it shouldn't be…"
"Was that what made you act out, back home?" the little scientist questioned. "Is that why you got expelled?"
Zay was slightly thrown off; he never realized how strongly Lucas felt about this. He piped up, "Look, that word was thrown around a lot, but that's people being stupid. Lucas didn't beat people up for it, right?" He turned to his friend for confirmation. Upon receiving none, he got a little anxious, "Lucas, you got expelled for defending me only because I said stupid stuff that got me in trouble all the time, right?"
Lucas looked up at his Texan friend with a grave expression. "Zay, they were calling you that name." He stated simply. Before Zay could comment, he continued. "Not to your face, I know. But behind your back, whenever I tried to confront them, they'd insult you; they'd call you a f-" His voice started cracking, and he had to stop himself; even the start of the word tasted foul in his mouth.
Zay was shocked by this revelation, he could hardly find the words to speak. "You know I wouldn't have cared one bit. Whatever names people call me; they're just names. I know they don't define me, so they don't bother me."
"But they bothered me," said Lucas, his voice getting a little stronger by his insistence. "You were one of my best friends, and it ticked me off that our own classmates would call you disgusting and freakish and worthless when I KNOW you're NOT! …I got angry…" he finished, calming down a little.
Riley continued trying to process this. "Lucas, this whole time I've known you; you've never cared what people thought. You always said labels don't matter; they don't define who you are." She paused for a moment as she formed the right words. "Why did this bother you so much?"
Lucas was startled by the question; in all honesty he hadn't really considered the reasons for his stance. "I…I don't know," he finally answered, now just as befuddled as the rest of them.
No one knew what to say; this seemed to be a question only Lucas could answer on his own time. So they let it go for the time being.
After a moment that felt like forever, Farkle thought of a consoling statement. "Lucas, New York isn't like Texas. People aren't as ignorant here. Well, you do have some people here and there, but that's everywhere. It's just here there aren't so many." With a little more confidence now, he leaned forward to look his best friend directly in the eye. "You don't have to protect us from those kinds of people here."
Lucas sighed. "I know things are different here, and I guess part of me didn't realize that yet. But bullying still happens; it happened to Riley."
"But I got through it," the brunette responded. "I got through it without anyone getting beaten up. You know why? Because when I was told that I was disgusting and freakish and worthless, I had my friends, my best friends, constantly tell me that I'm not." She smiled. "Just like you said, labels do not define who we are as people."
Lucas was speechless, touched by Riley's words. Farkle let out a soft sigh and turned to his teacher. "Life would be a lot easier if people didn't call each other names at all, wouldn't it?"
Cory couldn't help but smile at the boy in spite of everything. "Yeah, it would. But the fact is that name-calling, bullying, is still a thing, even today. But what we can do is respond to it nobly, showing them kindness even when they don't show it to us."
Lucas smiled for the first time in a while. "Like Gandhi," he said, recalling that lesson from last year.
Mr. Matthews grinned back. "Yes, Mr. Friar, just like Gandhi."
Lucas's smile faded a little as he realized something. "I need to apologize to Zach."
"Don't," a voice sounded from the doorway. The kids looked up to see Zach himself walk into the classroom.
"Zach, what are you doing here? You didn't get detention," stated Cory.
Zach ignored the question and turned straight to Lucas. "I did a little bit of research, so I could find out why you got so upset at me calling Farkle a 'fruitcake'."
"Zach," Lucas started; he didn't need to hear an explanation. But before he could continue, the young athlete had turned to Farkle.
"I'm sorry," he said simply.
Farkle had to shake his head. "Wait, what?"
"I'm sorry I called you a 'fruitcake'; that was not cool on my part. And," he turned to Lucas again, "I'm sorry that you probably used to hear that name a lot in a much more negative context."
"Zach, it's ok; I know now that's not what you meant."
"But it's not ok. No, I didn't call him gay, let alone meant it as an insult. But I still called him a name. I still made fun of him for not liking sports and called him weak for it. And what makes it worse is that he agreed. You shouldn't agree." He turned back to Farkle. "You are strong, Farkle. You're strong and super smart. And I do respect your decision to not want to do sports, but I also know you'd be good at them if you did choose to try it out."
Now Farkle didn't know what to say to this. "Th- Thank you. I really appreciate that."
Zach then addressed the room. "No one should use words negatively, no matter how innocent the context."
Lucas thought for a moment, then finally spoke. "Zach, I'm sorry I threatened you; I didn't realize you didn't mean to hurt anyone."
Zach smiled. "It's ok; I forgive you. Forgive me for not realizing that I was hurting someone with my words?"
The cowboy smiled back. "Of course I forgive you. We are human after all."
Zach's grin grew wider. "Yeah, we are all human."
"You know what's funny," Mr. Matthews spoke up, getting back into teacher mode, "is that this fight broke out out of ignorance."
Lucas looked up, interest piqued. "Ignorance?"
Cory nodded. "When Zach called Farkle a name, he was ignorant of the negative context of the name. And when you threatened Zach for it, you were ignorant of his innocence. But here you are with your conflict resolved because you both understand what you were ignorant of before."
Lucas and Zach briefly looked at each other and smiled before turning back to face their teacher, who continued with his lesson.
"People talk a lot about ignorance, how it leads to discrimination and mistreatment. But what some don't realize is that ignorance is not a sin. Ignorance is just a state of not knowing. Once you know, you begin to understand, and once you understand, you begin to have respect." He took a moment to breathe before finishing his lecture. "As you grow, you're going to meet a lot of people who believe different things than you and have different passions than you. Even if you don't agree with their views, you should still try to understand them and respect them. It may not be important to you, but it is important enough to them, so it does deserve respect."
After the kids took time to process this, Zay spoke to Lucas. "Lucas?"
"Yeah, Zay?"
A smile formed on Zay's face. "I'm really glad we moved here."
Lucas looked around at all of his friends and smiled as well. "I'm really glad too. We've made some pretty great friends here." His smile grew even brighter. "And I have a lot of respect for all of them."
As all the kids smiled at each other, the clock struck the hour. "Hey," Cory spoke up, "looks like detention's over." He looked at his students with a warm smile. "Go on home, guys," he said with a nod.
Without hesitation, all the kids jumped from their seats and one by one walked out of the classroom. Lucas was the last to leave, but before he did, he turned back to Mr. Matthews.
"Thank you," he said, "for helping us understand."
Cory nodded, still smiling. "Always." He was about to let him leave but was struck with another thought. "Mr. Friar?"
Lucas turned back around.
"If there's anything that bothers you, ANYTHING, talk to me, ok? I'll always be here."
Lucas was slightly surprised by the request, yet something in the back of his head told him it was much more important than he realized. "I know," he replied, "and I will." And with that, he walked out of the classroom and into the hallways of the school he had never felt safer in.
"""
As the kids walked through the hallway, Lucas inquired, "So, Zach, you have two dads?"
Zach let a slight snicker slip. "Yeah, I do; is that such a big deal though?"
Lucas stopped; that question surprised him for some reason. "Huh, I guess not," he conceded, realizing that he really was in a more progressive place.
Despite his earlier snicker, Zach let out a gentle chuckle. "Actually though, my dads were the ones I asked about the bad names and stuff. Turns out they really got bullied in high school."
Lucas's eyes widened. "Really? They were called…"
"Yeah, they were, and sometimes even worse. And I didn't think that was possible." The young athlete shook his head. "I never even thought of what my parents had to go through to get to where they are. I already loved them tenfold, but I think now I love them even ten times more!"
"How…how did they do it?" Lucas asked cautiously, wondering why in the world the question made him nervous.
"Apparently they just ignored it; they just let all these rumors spread without doing anything. They didn't even bother to confirm or deny their sexuality for the longest time."
The others were bewildered. "So they were in the closet the whole time? They didn't want to come out?" Lucas questioned further.
Zach couldn't contain his smile; he was so proud of his dads and was very happy to tell this story. "To them it wasn't a big deal; labels didn't matter to them. They both knew that they were still growing and finding themselves. All that mattered, in that time, was that both were beautiful in each other's eyes."
A bittersweet smile crept on Maya's face. "You're very lucky, Zach, to have two parents who love you and each other so much."
The boy smiled back. "I try to soak in every moment of it I can, cause I know not everyone is as lucky." His voice was touched with sympathy, but not pity, towards the blonde.
Maya paused in contemplation, then spoke. "You know what? We're all lucky. I mean, look around. We all have each other, and we're all in a safe place where we can be as unique as we want to be."
Riley beamed at her best friend. "Yeah, our uniqueness is pretty awesome."
Farkle smiled as well, but it turned into a slight frown of confusion when he noticed his best friend staring into space. "Lucas, you ok?"
It took the Texan a second to realize the younger boy was talking to him. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking."
"Bout what, buddy?" inquired Zay.
Lucas took a moment before responding. "How grateful I am." He smiled, a genuine smile, and the others smiled back.
"Sooo, hang out at Topanga's?" Zay suggested.
"Sounds like a perfect plan!" said Farkle enthusiastically.
Lucas turned to Zach. "Wanna join us, Zach?"
A moment of surprise flashed across his face. "Really? I don't want to impose on you guys…"
"You're not imposing anything," assured Riley.
"We always love spending time with our friends," stated Maya.
"No matter who, or what, they are," added Farkle.
"Or where they come from, or what's their story," continued Zay.
Lucas looked around at all of his friends, his best friends, before finishing with a grin, "Because honestly the only important thing is that we're with people we love who love us…and remind us that we'll always be safe with them." For some reason his gaze landed on Farkle, and they held eye contact for a minute. There was something, something in the back of his head that his mind could not quite reach. He figured he'd push it aside for the time being and figure it out later; honestly they all had all the time in the world to figure stuff out.
Zach wore a silly smirk on his face. "You guys are such goobers," he kidded. Realizing that he did the exact thing that sparked the original debacle in the first place, he added, "And I mean that in the most loving way."
Lucas chuckled, "We know," and together all kids started heading down the hallways to exit the school. The young cowboy momentarily paused and took one last look at the school before leaving.
This really is a safe place, he thought to himself. And we can literally be anyone we want to be. I can be…ANYONE. He had no idea what that would mean, for him or for anybody, and honestly it was a slightly scary thought. But a part of him knew deep in his heart that an adventure was on its way, and Lucas was very much looking forward to seeing where it would take him into the world.