Disclaimer: I do not own Girl Meets World but I wish I did
A/N: Hello there ladies and gentlemen! I'm back with a brand new chapter of 'Girl Meets High School' and this one is called 'Girl Meets Talent Show'. Uncle Josh (or as Maya calls him 'Uncle Boing') is in this chapter and I also brought in Zay since I really enjoy his character on the show. I don't know if he'll appear as frequent as the others, but he will stick around. Without further ado, here's Part 1 of 'Girl Meets Talent Show'. Enjoy!
If there was one thing Maya was fortunate about, it was she was beginning to get into the swing of things regarding High School. Sure, there were still tests she had to study for and she still got into mischief every now and again during some of her classes, but she knew she was getting the hang of being a freshman. In fact, Maya wasn't stressing over how different High School was from middle school. She was enjoying her life right here, right now, especially since she got to share High School life with her friends. On that particular morning, Maya walked towards the atrium with her sketchbook in hand, making her way towards the art room when she spotted Lucas, Riley, Farkle and their friend Zay staring at a sheet of paper, and she had to wonder what it said that had them so intrigued.
"What up, weirdoes!" Maya waved, but she was surprised when Farkle shushed her, which caused her to raise an eyebrow and glance back at the sheet of paper. "Okay...why is Farkle shushing me? I don't like being shushed."
"The school's holding a talent show." Zay explained before his eyebrows creased. "And shush, woman. We're observing the paper in all it's glory." Lucas couldn't help but chuckle at his friends comedic attitude, but Maya was mudded. She didn't understand what had everyone fussing over a talent show sign-up sheet.
"What glory does a piece of paper have? It's just a piece of paper." Maya couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle, but Lucas stared at her with an incredulous look. Did Maya say something wrong?
"Maya? This here is not just a sheet of paper." Lucas huffed, causing Maya to become confused. "This allows the entire student body to show off our talents with the consequence of being ridiculed until we're seniors."
"And you're okay with that?" Maya still didn't understand, but Lucas simply nodded his head.
"Yeah, I'm okay with that." Lucas answered. Maya stared at the sheet of paper and thought for a moment, finally deciding that maybe joining the talent show would do her some good. Maybe she could show off a painting, or maybe even do some choreographed dance. Maya grabbed a pen and wrote her name on the sheet of paper, finally turning towards her friends and capping the pen with gusto.
"I'm in." Maya said. "How about you guys?" Lucas thought for a moment before he walked over and wrote on the sheet of paper, only for Zay and Farkle to join suit. "You guys are all signing up, but what are you going to showcase to the entire school?"
"I'm going to showcase the art of ballet." Zay answered, but it earned him looks from his friends. "What? You don't believe guys can do ballet? Tights can be very manly, you know."
"Dancing is overrated." Farkle waved his hand before his smile curled into a devilish smirk. "Science is where it's at. I'm going to debut an invention I've been working on for a long time. Farkle presents...Crazy super glue..."
"So you're going to invent something that's already been invented?" Lucas asked, but Farkle didn't seem pleased that Lucas was questioning him.
"This one will actually work, unlike every other bogus crazy glue on the market." Farkle pointed a finger at him, which caused Lucas to smirk. "You're judging what I'm doing. How about you tell us what you're doing for the school talent show?"
"I'm glad you asked." Lucas focused his attention on Maya as she raised an eyebrow, wondering what it was Lucas wanted. "I'm going to imitate Maya for the talent show. Consider this payback from when you embarrassed me in the eighth grade talent show."
"Okay, one...making fun of you was priceless and that was good comedy. You were the talk of eighth grade. Two, there is no way you can imitate me." Maya chuckled, but Lucas thought otherwise.
"You're not that hard." Lucas stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"All right. Come at me cowboy." Maya motioned for Lucas to do his worst, and it caused Lucas to slowly walk over to her and lean his forehead on hers. Maya simply gave him a smile as Lucas cleared his throat, mustering everything he had before he said...
"HEE-HAW!" Lucas's words caused Maya to raise an eyebrow, and it even caused Riley, Farkle and Zay to stare at one another with confusion.
"Lucas? What was that?" Maya asked, crossing her arms in the process.
"I was imitating you..." Lucas answered, but Maya didn't appear amused.
"It's not hee-haw, Ranger Rick." Maya sighed before she put her hands on his cheeks and shook him. "It's Hurr-HURR!" Maya eventually let Lucas go and rolled her eyes, going towards her phone and glancing down at the screen. "If you're gonna make fun of me, do it right."
'Yeah, I need to practice." Lucas revealed, Maya clearing her throat in the process.
"Oh, I need to go." Maya said while pointing to her phone. "There's a gallery meeting in five minutes. We're trying to decide what artwork we're going to put up in the cafeteria." Maya started to walk past Lucas, but she gave a devilish grin, taking a step back and once again glancing into his eyes. "Oh, Lucas...I'm going to give you some advice on how to act just like me."
"Really? How?" Lucas wondered, Maya tapping her fingers on her pant leg as she took a step towards him.
"Well, the first step you do is you lean close." Maya pulled Lucas close to her so they were staring in each other's eyes. "You pretend you're going to say something endearing...and then..." Lucas appeared as if he was studying Maya until she went...
"HURR-HURR!" Maya shouting her signature catchphrase caused Lucas jump in fear, and he happened to jump right into Zay's arms. "Now that's how you do it." Maya clapped her hands with glee before skipping to the art room, but Zay simply stared at Lucas while slowly putting his friend down.
"Dude, no girl is gonna think you're manly if you jump into someone's arms like that." Zay adjusted his collar. "It's not cool."
"Riley, you don't think any less of me, do you?" Lucas directed his attention to Riley, noticing she was shaking her head and giving him a small smile.
"Not at all." Riley replied, Lucas pointing a finger at Zay as if Riley furthered his point. Farkle stared back at the sign up sheet before his eyes met with Riley's, noticing she wasn't going towards the paper to sign it.
"Riley, aren't you going to sign up for the talent show?" Farkle wondered, Riley slowly shaking her head.
"No, I don't think I am." Riley responded, heading towards her locker so she could put some of her books away. Lucas, Zay and Farkle appeared surprised before they followed Riley to her locker, Lucas slowly closing her locker and giving her a softened look.
"And why aren't you joining the talent show?" Lucas pondered, Riley shrugging her shoulders as if she didn't really have an answer.
"I think my place would be on the sidelines, cheering all my friends on." Riley said. "Besides, I don't really have a talent that's worthy of showcasing."
"Bubbly girl who always sees the good in everyone but can't see the good in herself said what now?" Farkle said quickly which caused Riley to give a defeated smile.
"I don't have a talent that's good enough for the show." Riley shrugged her shoulders. "Not everyone has talent like you guys. I don't...and I've accepted that." Riley heard the bell ring before she gave the guys a rushed look. "I have to get to English. See you later." Riley gave Zay and Farkle a wave and Lucas a kiss on his cheek before she proceeded to her English class, but she left the three boys dumbfounded. What did Riley mean when she said she didn't have a talent? Everyone had a talent, and they didn't want Riley to sit on the sidelines while her talent was waiting to shine through.
"We need to find out what Riley's talent is." Lucas stuffed his hands in his pockets before facing Zay and Farkle. "I'm not gonna do the talent show if she's not gonna do it with us."
"You're right." Farkle added.
"I'm sure we can find the girl a talent." Zay said, which caused Lucas to smile at his friends. "I mean, she's a 14-year-old girl. How hard could it be?" Lucas nodded his head and followed Farkle and Zay to their History class, but in the back of Lucas's mind, he was hoping that he was able to convince Riley the talent show wouldn't be the same without her, and that she would make it more memorable experience if she had joined them.
News that Riley wasn't going to do the school talent show spread like wildfire, and that meant once Maya got a hold of the news, she wasn't going to let Riley accept she was talentless without a fight. Currently the two girls were standing on the Bleecker Street Subway station after getting off the 6 train, Maya glancing at Riley as if she was slightly frustrated.
"Riley, I don't understand why you don't want to do the talent show." Maya shook her head. "You're saying that it's because you don't have a talent, but we all know that you do."
"Maya, I am extremely talentless." Riley said, although Maya was surprised she was hearing Riley talk like this. "I don't have any exciting talents like you do, or Lucas...or even Zay or Farkle. I can't compare and I'm not going to try. It just wouldn't be right to take away a spot that belongs to a more deserving person." Maya was perplexed by what Riley was saying, and she had to admit it was beginning to bother her. Riley decided to change the subject as she and Maya walked out of the station and made the way towards Riley's house. "So what talent are you going to show off to the student body?"
"Me?" Maya sounded confused that Riley had suddenly changed the subject, but she decided she was going to play along. "Um...maybe show a drawing or something."
"See, people would love to look at that." Riley said while the two of them entered the brownstone and made their way towards Riley's apartment. "You have such a way with watercolors and rainbows..."
"Riley, will you please explain to me what's wrong with you?" Maya questioned after they reached Riley's door. "You sound so...sad, and it's beginning to worry me."
"I'm not sad." Riley said although Maya felt that she wasn't as convincing. "I just think that maybe I need to start accepting who I am. And who I am...isn't someone with talent." Maya still didn't understand why Riley was acting odd, but she didn't get a chance to elaborate when Riley opened the door and they saw Riley's uncle Josh sitting on the couch in the living room. Maya stared at him for a moment which caused her smile to go wide and her hands to clap together, although Josh realized that Maya was on the verge of tackling him like she always did when she saw him.
"There's no fighting this, is there?" Josh asked Riley when he saw Maya beaming at him.
"Nope." Riley shook her head. "Just take it like a man."
"UNCLE BOING!" Maya exclaimed before she ran towards him and jumped on him, Josh trying his hardest to get Maya off him.
"I'm not your uncle!" Josh reminded her before he placed her down on the floor.
"And boy am I lucky that's not the case." Maya grinned at him, but Josh decided to smile at her, hoping that if he was polite, Maya wouldn't freak out. "So Joshy McBoing Boing, what are you doing here for all places? Are you here to see colleges, your family...are you here to proclaim your underlying love for me?" Maya batted her eyelashes which caused Josh to clear his throat.
"Actually, no...um...I'm here because I needed Cory's help with an essay for my midterm." Josh said. "I mean, there's no one better at history than Cory, am I right?"
"Oh you are so right..." Maya dreamily answered, but it caused Riley to walk over and grab her friend by the shoulders.
"Gee Maya, aren't you tired from all the talking you've been doing? We should probably go do our homework if we want to pass school." Riley asked, but Maya turned towards her, shaking her head with confusion.
"No, I'm not tired at all. And homework is boring." Maya said, but it simply caused Riley to motion for Maya to walk away before someone got hurt. Maya heard Josh's phone ring, which caused him to go into his pocket and stare at the phone number, and the fact someone called Josh had Maya stop in her tracks. "So who's texting you? A teacher? A friend? An ex girlfriend because you've madly fallen into the arms of someone else?" Riley slapped her forehead with her hand, but Josh decided to shake off what Maya was trying to imply.
"Actually, it was my band." Josh chuckled. "I'm supposed to meet them after I finish working on my essay so we can rehearse."
"Wait, you...you have a band?" Maya sounded impressed before she got out of Riley's grasp and made her way to Josh again. "That's really neat...and I'm not just saying that."
"Well yeah. And...I know." Josh nodded his head. "You see, we're working on something for the NYU Open Jam, and we're one of the bands everyone can't stop talking about. Especially after our impromptu show the beginning of the year that earned us rave reviews and a risk of expulsion."
"That's actually really funny that you mention that you're in a band." Maya smirked before leaning her hand on the couch. "I'm sort of in a band too." Riley stared at Maya as she wondered why Maya was making something up to impress Josh.
"Oh really?" Josh questioned, with Maya giving a smile.
"Oh yeah." Maya replied. "Actually...we're going to perform at the talent show that we're holding on Friday. And...if you're not busy, I'd really like you to come and see it..."
"Well...I think that I don't have any other plans." Josh said, Maya clapping her hands and Riley heading towards the bay window. Maya gave Josh a wink before she followed Riley but the smile Josh had on his face immediately fell. He wasn't sure if he actually liked Maya the way she liked him. It mostly had to do with the whole age difference thing, but he also felt Maya didn't truly understand the complexity of relationships. He just didn't know how to voice his concerns without hurting her feelings.
Once Riley and Maya made their way to the bay window, Riley closed the door to her room, and gave Maya an incredulous look. Surely, Maya didn't have a band. And there was no way Zay, Lucas and Farkle were going to help her just so Maya could impress Josh.
"Maya, what are you thinking?" Riley asked while sitting down at the bay window. "You don't really have a band and you just said that so you could identify with Josh."
"Oh Riley, love makes you do crazy things." Maya waved her hand dismissively. "I thought you already knew that."
"I don't have to lie to Lucas in order for him to identify with me." Riley brought up. "Maya, I just don't want you to get in over your head. I think you love the idea of you and Josh together. I don't think you really love Josh."
"I'm pretty sure I do love Josh." Maya answered. "I've been crushing on him since I was in the seventh grade."
"Yes, and while you're in the ninth grade, Josh is a freshman in college." Riley reminded her. "I just don't want you to get hurt because he thinks that you're too young for him. It's been a recurring theme for the last two years and I don't think that you're going to be as old as him anytime soon."
"I know he thinks I'm young." Maya got up from her seat. "But I thought of the perfect plan that is going to have Josh fall putty right into my hands. I'm going to use my music skills at the talent show, and when Josh sees my musical talent...we'll live happily ever after in a dorm in NYU." Riley wasn't sure if she was going to be able to snap Maya out of her fantasy land, but she simply decided against it, getting up from the bay window and sitting down on her bed. But she noticed that Farkle and Lucas were knocking on the bay window, which forced Maya to open it. "Hello there Farkle, Ranger Rick."
"HEH-HEH!" Lucas tried to imitate Maya but she once again wasn't impressed. She shook her head and glanced at Farkle, pointing towards Lucas with slight annoyance.
"How long has this been going on for?" Maya questioned.
"He's been practicing for the last four hours." Farkle answered, although Maya stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Riley, it's a good thing you're here..."
"Where else would I be?" Riley asked, but before anyone had a chance to answer, the door to the room opened and in came Zay with a sandwich. Riley raised an eyebrow while Farkle and Lucas glanced at their friend with confusion. The only one that wasn't perplexed was Maya, and it was mostly because she was staring at the sandwich in Zay's hand.
"Wait, you guys just go through the window and you think it's okay?" Zay asked incredulously. "That's messed up." Zay took another bite of his sandwich before motioning to Riley, seeing that she was giving him a confused look. "By the way Riley, you're out of pastrami." Zay took another bite of his sandwich which cause Riley to glance back at Farkle and Lucas, wondering what it was they were here for.
"Guys, what's this about?" Riley became curious and that caused Lucas to walk over to her with a small smile.
"You think you have no talent that's worthy of the talent show." Lucas explained.
"That's right." Riley nodded her head at his statement.
"You're wrong." Lucas added, which forced Riley to cross her arms. "Riley, you're talented, you just need to embrace it. And we'd be willing to help you find a talent so you can be in the show with us." Riley couldn't help but give a small smile before she placed her hand on Lucas's cheek, seeing he was softly staring back at her.
"I love that you guys care about me so much that you want me to enter the talent show." Riley said before her face turned sad. "But all of my 'talents' are quirky and goofy and weird...it's something that people wouldn't want to see."
"Wait, who told you that your talents were quirky, goofy and weird?" Lucas wondered, seeing Riley was shrugging her shoulders.
"Everyone in school." Riley answered before removing her hand from Lucas's cheek and making her way towards the bay window. "You all have talents that you aren't ashamed of. I am. So I'd rather not share them with anyone else because I know someone at school will find someway to make my life miserable." Riley opened the bay window and hopped out, but everyone appeared shocked that Riley was the one that had left the room. A few seconds later, Riley popped her head back in, glancing at her friends with a confused look. "Wait a minute...this is my house." Everyone nodded their heads towards her while Riley re-entered the bay window. But she was extremely upset with the fact that she wasn't able to express her feelings like everyone else. She wished she wasn't so self-conscious, but the truth is she was...and she absolutely hated it.
"I don't get who would tell Riley that her talents are quirky, goofy and weird." Lucas said as he sat in Farkle's bedroom laboratory, Farkle putting together his invention for the talent show. "Riley is one of a kind, and that's what makes people want to fall in love with her. I know if Riley wasn't quirky or herself, I wouldn't be into her."
"Riley has an open mind, and that's great, especially for you...but some people aren't as open minded." Farkle answered, looking at the test tube that was there. "I wish I could help you cheer your girlfriend up but I'm more concerned about Maya at the moment..."
"You're concerned about Maya? Why are you concerned about Maya out of all people?" Lucas became intrigued. "I don't get it."
"On the way down to Riley's bedroom, I heard her talking and she's planning on singing a song to Josh during the talent show." Farkle sounded a little jealous which Lucas picked up. "I mean, look at him. If I really didn't have a chance two years ago, I never really have a chance now."
"Farkle, trust me. Maya and Josh are never going to be a thing." Lucas gave a light chuckle. "For one thing, Josh is Riley's uncle and if somewhere along the line Josh and Maya get married...Maya would be Riley's aunt, and that'd be incredibly awkward for all of us."
"I can't let Josh and Maya fall putty into each others hands." Farkle said before he looked down at his invention. "Which is ironic because I'm making glue...which could stick two people together. Anyway, do you want to see my newest invention?"
"Is this the crazy super glue that you've been working on?" Lucas asked, Farkle showing the bottle to Lucas. "It looks like every other crazy glue that works in the store."
"But this one is guaranteed to work." Farkle reminded him. "Every other crazy glue wears off after a while. This one is guaranteed to never wear off."
"Gee, that sounds promising." Lucas smirked, although Farkle showed Lucas a broken doll house.
"Let me demonstrate." Farkle opened the serum and started dabbing a bit along the broken corners of the dollhouse before ultimately placing it back together with a smile. Lucas had to admit he was impressed, and it caused him to walk closer and observe the dollhouse. "Goes on quickly, and you'd never know that it was broken in the first place."
"Wow, Farkle." Lucas became amazed. "This is incredible. Up top." Lucas held his hand up for Farkle to high-five him, but when Farkle did, Lucas automatically realized that their hands were stuck together. "Oh...um...this is...funny. We're stuck together..."
"Yeah, it appears so." Farkle spoke as nonchalantly as he could while Lucas appeared nervous.
"Farkle, you...did create something that would reverse the effects of the crazy glue, right?" Lucas wondered. Farkle winced slightly as he shook his head, and that caused Lucas to panic. "WHAT?!"
"I didn't create one right now, but...I'm sure in the meantime I can create one." Farkle added, but Lucas wasn't having it.
"Farkle, we have to be at school tomorrow." Lucas sighed. "How are we going to go to school with our hands stuck together?"
"I don't know...making the serum is going to take a day at most." Farkle replied. "But in the meantime, we don't really have a choice buddy...we're stuck like this." Lucas let out a groan which caused Farkle to look back at the dollhouse. "But look on the bright side."
"What bright side?" Lucas questioned before Farkle motioned towards the dollhouse.
"At least my mom's dollhouse is fixed." Farkle said although it caused Lucas to glare at him. How on earth was Lucas going to explain to everyone why his hands were glued with Farkle's. Worst off...how was he going to explain it to Riley when she saw him at school tomorrow?
The next morning, Riley got out of bed and let out a yawn, scratching the top of her head before she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She had to wonder who that could have been, which caused her to open it with a confused look. There standing in front of her was Zay as he was all ready for school, and it caused Riley to become perplexed. Why was Zay here at 6:30 in the morning and why did he come when she wasn't ready for school yet?
"Zay, what are you doing here?" Riley yawned. "Don't you sleep? Wait...how did you get in here."
"Your mom let me in." Zay replied. "She finds it odd that I don't go through your bay window like everyone else." Riley looked towards the bay window before Zay shook his head, deciding to get back on track as to what he was doing here. "Anyway, I thought a lot about what you told us yesterday and I decided that I want to help you find your talent for the talent show."
"Zay...that's sweet." Riley smiled softly before her face turned serious. "But I don't have a talent worth showcasing."
"And that's why I'm going to help you find it." Zay responded, although Riley seemed skeptical. "Look, you're always sticking your neck out for everybody. The least we can do as your friends is help you. You want to be in that talent show, right?" Riley considered Zay's question before she ultimately nodded her head.
"I want to be in the school talent show." Riley admitted. "I just don't want to be laughed at by everyone. Kids can be cruel and they're going to think that I'm weird, just because I don't do the things that every other kid does. Being goofy and silly causes kids to make fun of you."
"And that's what we're here for." Zay told her. 'We're gonna find you a talent...and if some kid messes with you after the show, I can't make any promises that Lucas is going to keep his temper." Riley chuckled softly at the last part before nodding her head.
"Okay, I'll let you guys help me find a talent." Riley relented. "Just let me get ready for school first."
"Awesome." Zay smiled before he cleared his throat. "Oh, by the way Riley..." Zay held up an empty box of cereal which caused Riley to widen her eyes. "You ran out of Fruity Pebbles." Riley incredulously stared at him before she smiled softly and went towards her closet to get her clothes. She was going to find her talent, and she was going to compete in the school talent show. She just hoped she didn't make a fool of herself on stage.
Maya rang the doorbell to Riley's apartment as she waited for Riley to open the door, but she heard something catch her attention when she saw Josh talking with someone in the hallway. It was a girl, and from the way she was acting around Josh, it seemed a little flirty. Josh never mentioned anything about a girl yesterday, and that's what piqued Maya's curiosity. Maya walked over towards them and cleared her throat, Josh turning towards Maya and widening his eyes.
"Maya, hey...um, what are you doing here?" Josh asked, which caused Maya to stuff her hands in her pockets.
"I was here to walk Riley to school, and...I see I found you here with a friend." Maya tried to let out a chuckle but instead it sounded forced. "So, who is she?"
"Oh, Maya this is Melissa...my girlfriend from NYU." Maya stared at Melissa as she held her hand out, but Maya didn't seem interested.
"You...you have a girlfriend." Maya said above a whisper before trying to process everything she was told. "You have a girlfriend and you didn't tell me. Why?"
"Maya, because you wouldn't understand." Josh replied, although Maya seemed taken aback. "Look, I'm not going to lie, the crush you have on me is really cute and I'm flattered that you like me. But..., you're too young to understand the concept of relationships...or even fall in love. You don't really know me, Maya. You just like the thought of possibly being with me." Maya gave a saddened face while Josh appeared apologetic, him turning towards Melissa and giving her a smile. 'We should get to class before the professor freaks."
"Yeah, it was nice meeting you Maya." Melissa waved as she and Josh headed towards the stairs hand in hand, only to leave Maya in the dust. Maya stuffed her hands in her pockets before she noticed the door opened and Riley was staring at her, almost confused as to what her friend was doing there all by herself.
"Hey Maya, aren't you going to come inside for breakfast?" Riley asked. "Oh, but you can't have Fruity Pebbles. Zay ate the last of it." Maya continued staring out into space and that was when Riley knew something was wrong. "Maya? Is everything okay?" Maya turned towards Riley and shook her head, slowly walking in her direction and feeling tears well up in her eyes.
"Well, you'll be happy to know that Josh has a girlfriend." Maya said, which caused Riley to raise an eyebrow. "Her name is Melissa..., and...Josh thinks that I'm too young to understand the concept of relationships."
"Oh Maya..." Riley softly said before hugging her friend. "I know it's hard right now, but you'll understand that Josh is only trying to protect you..."
"I don't need protection." Maya strongly said. "I need him to understand that three years isn't that much of a difference. Yes, he's a freshman in college, and I'm a freshman in High School...but it doesn't mean that I don't understand the world like he does. I'm going to show him that I'm not too young to understand the concept of love."
"And how are you going to do that?" Riley asked with Maya going towards the door.
"I'm going to use the talent show as a way to get Josh to see that I'm not a little kid anymore." Maya declared. "I'm going to write a song for the talent show and I'm going to sing it to him."
"You're going to sing Josh a song?" Riley innocently blinked. "What if he brings his girlfriend to the talent show since he said he was already going?"
"I don't care if he brings her." Maya scoffed. "I need to get my feelings out in the open, and since talking to Josh doesn't help...maybe singing to him will." Maya entered the house and closed the door, leaving Riley in the middle of the hallway while in thought. She was afraid that Maya was getting herself into some uncharity territory and she didn't want Maya to get hurt. Riley slowly walked towards the door and knocked on it, but her eyes widened with realization as she stared at the apartment number.
"Wait a minute..." Riley said before she furrowed her eyebrows. "This is my house!" Riley banged on the door hoping that someone inside would let her in. But she also wondered how a simple talent show was able to create all of this chaos.