Chapter Twenty Six: Girl Meets the Secret of Life
Riley, Maya, and I were standing by our lockers. Riley put her book in her locker and closed it before looking at us. "You know what I like? Life. And I like it when it doesn't change. We should sing out happy song." Riley told us. "We don't have a happy song." I told her. "We should have a happy song." Riley replied. "We will never have a happy song." Maya told her. "Not with that attitude." Riley told her. The bell rang and we walked into our classroom.
"So you don't want anything to change?" Maya asked Riley. "No, I don't like change." Riley told Maya as we sat down. "Change fills my pocket with pennies of uncertainty." I felt someone kiss me on the cheek and looked up to see Lucas. "Hi." I greeted him. "Hi." He replied and I gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Sit down, Lucas. I do not need to see you two acting like a cute couple." Austin told Lucas. Lucas moved and sat back down and I turned to look at Austin. "You're just jealous." I told him. "Am not." He retorted. I didn't say anything, instead I turned back to the front.
"All right. So should we actually learn about what happened in Belgium in 1831?" dad asked. "NO!" Farkle shouted. "No?" dad questioned. "I always get my hopes up and then something happens to hurt my little Farkle heart. Well, this time I refuse to believe." Farkle explained. "In 1831…" dad started. "Yes? Wait!" Farkle exclaimed, he looked at me and Riley. "Anything going to suddenly happen to you?" "No changes, lovin' life." Riley answered. "Not that I know of." I told him. Farkle turned to Lucas and Austin. "Anything going to happen to you two?" he asked them. "Nothing ever happens to us." They answered. "Maya?" Farkle questioned. Maya didn't answer instead we heard snoring because Maya was asleep.
"Oh my gosh. This is it." Farkle squealed. "In 1831…Belgium-" Dad started, but he was cut off by the door opening. "What? Y'all started without me?" the boy asked. Farkle stood up from his seat. "Get out!" he shouted. "Someone in this room is going to be very surprised to see me." The boy stated. "Is it me?" Riley and I asked. "Don't know, sugars, but could you get any cuter?" he asked. "Well I can't answer that." Riley and I smiled. "You got a transcript, kid?" dad asked. The boy handed my dad a folder of papers. "I do. Check out them grades. Here, let me sing 'em to you. De, de, de, de, de, de… de, f." the boy sang. "Hey I know that song." Maya smiled while nodding.
"Isaiah Babineaux. From Austin, Texas." Dad said. Everyone in the class including me turned to look at Austin and Lucas. "What are you doing here, Zay?" Lucas and Austin questioned. "Well, the first thing I'm doing is waitin' for a better reaction from you guys." Zay explained to them. "Maya, Riley, something's changing." I told my best friends. "Okay, Mr. Teach, where do I sit? You know, usually I'm more of a back row kind of guy." Zay told my dad. I'm guessing that Zay saw Brenda because he said, "Whoa. That's unusual."
"Have a seat right there, Mr. Babineaux." Dad told him, motioning to the seat behind Lucas. Zay walked to the desk behind Lucas and sat on it. "Lucas, do you know this Isaiah?" I asked my boyfriend while Riley asked the same thin, but to Austin. "Yeah tell them you know me good." Zay commented. "How 'bout we talk later, okay?" Lucas suggested. "Well, Mr. Babineaux, if you work out as well as last year's new students," dad pointed to Lucas and Austin, "we're happy to have you here."
"Wait. What? Lucas, Austin, you're doing okay here?" Zay asked Austin and Lucas. "Why wouldn't they be okay here?" Riley and I questioned. "Not currently on probation? No disciplinary actions? They just let you wander free?" Zay questioned them. I did not like where this was going. What were Lucas and Austin hiding from us that Zay knew? "Sit down!" Farkle ordered in a mad voice and Zay sat down. "Okay, new guy's all settled in and there's still class time left so do it! Do it while I'm still tingly!" Farkle demanded. "So, in 1831, Belgium declared-." Once again dad was cut off.
"What is the secret of life?" Yogi asked. Cory and Farkle stared at him. "I'm sorry, Mr. Farkle." Yogi apologized before standing up. "I know I'm not your daughters, but I too have value in this world. What is the secret of life?" My dad chuckled and held up the eraser about to erase the board. "Don't do it! Put it down and no one gets hurt." Farkle told my dad. My dad smiled before he erased the chalkboard. Farkle started to scream then he pounded his head on his desk multiple times.
"Yogi has asked the primary riddle of the universe: What is the secret of life? People spend their whole lives trying to figure it out. I was lucky. I had a teacher who cared about me to make sure I knew. Lucas, Austin, either one of you got an opinion on this?" My dad asked. Maya turned around and looked at them. "Yeah, what do you got, Mr. Moral compasses?" Maya asked. "Did you just call Lucas Friar and Austin Michaels your moral compasses?" Zay asked. He hit Austin and Lucas on their shoulder. "Ha, they called you moral compasses!" Both Austin and Lucas turned around to look at Zay. "Okay." Zay said.
"Something bad is happening, Maya and Caroline." Riley pointed out. "Yeah. It occurs to me you're trying to tell us ranger Rick and ranger Roy were a little different back in Texas." Maya said looking back at Zay. "A little? What do they know, exactly? 'Cause I wouldn't wanna say anything wrong. They know you're a year older, right?" Zay questioned. Wait, is that why he never told me when his birthday was or why he would act weird when I asked him about how old he was. "Yeah." Austin and Lucas said. They turned around to look at Zay. "They do now." "Oh, yeah, it's my fault. Look at you!" he exclaimed.
"Okay, that's enough, Mr. Babineaux." Dad told him. "Oh, so you know about him?" Zay questioned. "I know all about Mr. Friar and Michaels." Dad replied. "Excuse me?" Riley and I questioned, shaking. "Riley, Caroline, you're shaking." Maya told us. "Dad, do you know something?" we asked him. "Back in Texas…" Austin and Lucas stated. "Austin, Lucas." Dad said. "You sure?" "Back in Texas we did something. We had to leave." They told us. I looked at Lucas and Austin is disbelief. "It was great. They threw them both out of the whole school." Zay commented.
"What?" Riley and I asked. "We came here to get a new start." Lucas said. "Nobody knew us here." Austin added. "I know him." Zay stated, raising his hand. "Do I know you?" I asked Lucas while Riley asked Austin.
Riley, Maya, and I were sitting in the cafeteria eating lunch. "Look, we don't know they story yet. Let's know the story before you go to Rilolinetown." Maya suggested. "We're not going to Rilolinetown. We're calm." We told her. "I like it worse when you're calm. C'mon. Be you." Maya told us. She lifts Riley's arm and swings it around. "Y-y-y-yay." Lucas and Austin come and sit down with us.
"Deny it." I told my boyfriend and his cousin. "Caroline." Lucas said. "Tell us that whoever this Zay kid is, that he can't just come and change you from the Lucas and Austin we know. Tell us nothing changes." Riley said to them. "That's all you got to do, Lucas and Austin. You hear me? I just called you by your actual names for the first time ever. That's how much it's important to me. Because it's important to them. Deny it." Maya told him.
"We can't." Austin replied. "I like you. I went on my first date with you." Riley said to Austin. "You're my first kiss and boyfriend." I told Lucas and they both smiled at us. "Do you think it's right to let me like you/ date you without telling me who you are?" Riley and I asked. "You know who we are. I'm ranger Rick and he's ranger Roy. I gave you a charm bracelet, Care. We asked your father's permission just to go out with you. Who does that?" Lucas asked.
"Were you thrown out of school?" I asked them. "Yes." Lucas and Austin answered. "For a whole year?" I asked Lucas. "Yes." He answered. "What about you?" Riley asked Austin. "Almost a whole year." Austin answered. Maya smiled and pointed at Lucas and Austin. "I finally like you." Maya told them. "You told me you wanted to be a veterinarian. You told me you gave birth to a horse." I said to Lucas. Right now it was just between me and Lucas. "That had to hurt." Maya said with a smile. "Maya, let's leave this between them." Riley told Maya.
"Why wouldn't you tell me about this? I told you about Jenna." I said to him. I looked over at Maya, Riley, and Austin and they all looked confused. "Nothing." I told them before looking at Lucas. "It's not something I'm proud of." Lucas told me. "And you think I'm proud of being a factor of why one of my friends died." I retorted. "What?" Riley and Maya questioned. Instead of answering them I just ignored them. "Austin and I both thought we could start over. I guess we were wrong. I guess you do something and that's the end of it." Lucas said.
"You think that's what we're upset about?" Riley questioned. "Whatever you guys did?" "Then you don't know us. And we don't know you." Riley and I told Austin and Lucas. "Why are you acting like this?" Austin and Lucas asked us. "Friends talk to each other and real friends listen, remember? I would have listened. I'm your friend. Whatever you did. Why wouldn't you trust me with it? People who care about you are supposed to trust you with stuff." Riley ranted. "And what about the promises we made to each other? Do you not trust me enough to tell me what you did? I thought we had a better relationship than that." I ranted also.
I paused and I realized something. "Wait a minute." Riley and I stood up and looked at each other before looking at Maya. "Our father knew about this?"
"You knew!" Riley and I shouted as we stormed into the apartment. I slammed the door behind us. "Well I'm not going to beat that." Auggie commented while getting off of the table. The apartment door opened which meant Maya was here. "Boy are you gonna get yelled at, Matthews! Oh, I already missed it?" She tapped me and Riley on our shoulder. "Do it again." "A normal people sanctuary. I'd like a fountain. Maybe a candle." Mom said. "How could you keep something like this away from us?" Riley and I asked. "Just some place where people don't get hysterical over every little thing." Mom added.
"Yes, I did know Lucas and Austin were expelled." Dad told us. "What?" mom questioned. She stood up and slammed her book closed. "Topanga, you knew, I told you all about this." Dad whispered to mom, but I could hear them. "Yes, I know you told me all about this, but I want nothing to do with that!" she stated looking at me and Riley.
"Why would you let me like Austin and let Caroline date Lucas if you knew something about them?" Riley asked. "Riley, honey, Caroline, sweetie, whatever this is about Lucas and Austin, that I know nothing about. I'm sure your father knows exactly what you need to learn from it." Mom told us. "Really?" I questioned. "Dad?" Riley asked. "You got anything?" we asked him together.
"Al washes a car in six minutes. Fred washes the same car in eight minutes. How long does it take Al and Fred to wash the same car together?" dad asked the next day in class. "How is this anything?" Riley and I asked. "Three minutes twenty-five point seven seconds." Farkle stated answering my dad's question. "Wrong!" dad declared. "I'm sorry what did you say?" Farkle asked him. "You're wrong." He told Farkle. "I'm wrong? You're a history teacher teaching English, science, whatever you got going on at home. You waltz your wife in here on career day." Farkle retorted. "She's a respected attorney." Dad told him. "My father said she should've been my mother!" Farkle retorted. "What do you want from me?" dad asked.
"Mr. Matthews teaches us about a lot of things. He's open-minded that way." Austin and Lucas said. I knew they were looking at me and Riley when they said that. "He can be open-minded because he knows who we are." Riley and I retorted. "Oh, they took all three of us out." Lucas commented. "I teach this way because in my old school I had a very strict teacher." Dad told us. "He teach history, English, or math?" Zay asked. "I don't know. But in his class there was no talking. No interruptions." Dad told us. "So you didn't like him?" Zay questioned. "I loved him." Dad said.
"Then why don't you teach like him?" Farkle asked. "Because I would never try and be like him. I could only fail. I only succeed with you guys if I get my teaching across as effectively as he did." Dad explained. "You do." Maya told my dad before looking at the class, "He does." "Thank you, Maya. And I will now. Al washes a car in six minutes. Fred washes the same car in eight minutes." Dad said. "He thinks it's math class! Somebody stop him!" Zay exclaimed before pointing at Farkle. "You, what's your name?" "Farkle." Farkle answered. "What'd you call me?" Zay asked, offended. "My name is Farkle." Farkle explained. "Who would do that to you?" Zay asked.
"So your assignment today is to wash a car, together." Dad told us. "With them?" Riley and I asked pointing at Lucas and Austin. "Especially with them." Dad answered. "If you do it correctly, you will find the answer is three minutes twenty0five point seven seconds." Farkle informed us. "If you do it correctly, you will find the secret of life." Dad corrected Farkle before walking out of the room.
We were outside of the gym doing our assignment that dad gave us. "Done." Maya announced once she finished washing the car. "Amazing." Farkle stated in disbelief. "How long?" Maya asked. "Nineteen minutes, forty—two seconds. You are the worst car washer in this class." Farkle told her. Maya threw down the rag and started walking towards us. "Oh, you mean no one will ever ask me to wash a car for them? Say it." "You're a genius." Riley and I told her. "Oh stop." She told us while she flipped her hair back.
"The only four who washed the car in six minutes and eight minutes were Riley, Caroline and-" Farkle started. "Lucas and Austin? Was it Lucas and Austin? Could've been Lucas and Austin? Lucas and Austin?" Maya guessed. "Yeah, Lucas and Austin." Farkle said proving that Maya was right. "We're not washing a car with them." I told Farkle. "Oh yes you are, in three minutes twenty-five point seven seconds and I will go back to your father and say, Ha!" he told me. "Now pick up that hose!" "Fine!" I snapped and I picked up the hose. "Now pick up that bucket." He ordered Lucas. "Yes, sir." Lucas replied.
"And… go!" Farkle told us. We started working on the car, but we were working on opposite sides of the car. "No, no. Work together. The equation doesn't work if you don't work together." "Uh, Caroline, I could use some water over here to rinse this off." My boyfriend told me. "Oh, water? You want some water?" I asked him before I turned around and walked so I was standing in front of him. "Yes, please." Lucas answered. Maya then walked towards Lucas. "Oh, Huckleberry, Huckleberry. Whatever bad, bad things you and Huckleberry #2 did at your school, you are still a Huckleberry." Maya told him.
"Why? You need water to rinse off-." Lucas was cut off by me spraying him with the hose. Luckily, Maya got out of the way before I used the hose on Lucas. Said boy jumped over the hood of the car to get to the other side and he hid. "Tell me what you did!" I ordered. I stopped spraying the hose since I couldn't see him. "Nothing this bad!" he said when he stood up. I sprayed him again, but he hide again after I started spraying him. "They threw you out of school!" I exclaimed. "Wash the car! You're supposed to washing the car! Why aren't you washing the car? Wash the car!" Farkle shouted. I turned around and almost sprayed Farkle with the hose. "Okay." Farkle said backing away from me. I turned back to look at Lucas.
"When are you going to tell me what you did?" I asked. "Fine! You want me to tell you what I did?" he asked. "Everything!" I demanded. "Okay." Lucas slowly walked towards me. "Good girl. Just give me the house and I'll tell you. Good girl." "Fine." I said and I handed him the house. "Thank you." "No, thank you." He told me and I realized the mistake I made. "Maya! Riley!" I screamed. Lucas started to spray me with the hose. I continued to scream and walk towards the fence and ended up getting sprayed even more. I will still getting sprayed when I came up with an idea.
"Wait a minute! Wait, wait! Lucas, I lost my contact lens." I told him. I bent down and started to look for them. Lucas got down to help me find them. "Oh my gosh. Caroline, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that." I walked away from him and grabbed the bucket full of water. Lucas started to stand up, "Wait, since when do you wear-" I cut him off by dumping the bucket of water on his head. I left the bucket on his head, grabbed his arms, and pinned him against the car. "Well, you… were my first kiss and first boyfriend! That's a big deal for me. Are you worth it? Tell me and I'll believe you. I want to believe you. Are you worth it?" I asked. "Yes." He answered. I sighed, "Okay." I took the bucket off of Lucas' head.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around me waist. He kissed me on the forehead and I laid my head against his chest. "You have completely ruined this experiment for me! You are significantly over three minutes." Farkle told us walking up to us. Lucas and I let go of each other and looked at Farkle. "By how much?" I questioned. "A day!" Farkle exclaimed then pointed towards the car. "And you haven't even dried the car yet." Lucas and I turned to look at each other and shared a smile before we picked Farkle up and used him to dry the car. "Okay, okay. I think it's dry!" Farkle laughed.
"Hey! Farkle's right! This is a serious assignment! Now line up right there!" Maya ordered us. We put Farkle down and lined up. I noticed that Riley and Austin joined us. "Stand up straight! Straighter! I'm gonna show you how you do this right! Open you mouths! Open 'em!" We all opened our mouths. "Amateurs." Maya then sprayed all of us with the hose.
Third Person POV*
"Al washes a care in six minutes. Fred washed the same car in eight minutes. How long does it take Al and Fred to wash the same car together? Farkle?" Cory asked in class. Everyone was in class except for Zay and Caroline. Caroline wasn't in class because she had to go speak with her guidance counselor. "They were snapping towels at each other! I said, "The car's not even dry yet!" and they went…" Farkle stood up and imitates the sound of a hose. "Whoa! She's a fountain!" Then he imitates a gurgling noise.
"So, not three minutes twenty-five point seven seconds?" Cory asked. "I was 'wruh'." Farkle mumbled. "Excuse me?" Cory questioned with a smile. "I was 'wruhh!'." Farkle said again. ""Well… it takes a big man to admit when he was 'wruhh!' There is no answer to this equation. Except on paper. Except in a math class. Which this isn't." Cory explained. "Is there an answer to life?" Lucas asked. "Ah, now we have arrived at the secret." Cory said.
"Lucas and Austin's secret?" Riley guessed. "Riley, sometimes thing come out when they're supposed to come out." Lucas and Austin told her. "As long as you're not different than Caroline and I think… because we think a lot of you." Riley told them, speaking for both her and Caroline, since she wasn't here. "We used to be different than we are now." Austin told her. "What happened?" Riley asked. "We came here." Lucas answered with a smile.
"And there's your answer, Yogi. There's the secret of life. People change people. No matter what I teach you in here, learning from the people you care about is more important than the words on any page. That's why I let you talk in here sometimes. That's why it's interesting. Mr. Babineaux might've appreciated that, if he was here. Where's your friend, Mr. Friar and Michaels?" Cory asked. "We don't know." Austin answered. "We can't always be responsible for him." Lucas added.
"Sure you can. But maybe in a different way." Cory told them. "Look! Zay's mouth is what gets him into trouble. He may act tougher than he is, maybe. But he's our friend. And we care about our friends. Riley, you should know more about that than everyone else. What were we supposed to do?!" Austin and Lucas shouted. "We're sorry, again. We're working on it, okay?"
Caroline was walking back from her talk with her guidance counselor when she noticed Zay was talking to Joey which meant that this was going to mean trouble. Caroline saw that Joey was about to grab Zay so she decided to step in. "Hey leave him alone." She said. Joey and Zay both looked to where the voice was coming from and they saw Caroline. She walked over to them. "Boy am I glad to see you, Caroline." Zay told her. "Well look if it isn't Miss perfect." Joey commented.
"Why don't you just leave Zay alone?" Caroline questioned. She moved to grab Zay, but instead she was grabbed by Joey. "No, what do you think you're doing?" he asked her. "I'm taking him with me so we can go to class." She snapped at him. "Yeah, why don't you just butt out?" Zay commented. Caroline shook her head because she knew he shouldn't have said anything.
Before Caroline knew it she was in the air against the lockers with Zay. "I'm up in the air. Lucas! Austin!" Zay shouted while Caroline screamed, "Let me go!"
"Lucas! Austin!" Lucas and Austin heard Zay scream. "Oh, not again." Lucas and Austin sighed. Lucas froze when he heard another voice. "Let me go!" the voice screamed. Lucas realized that it was Caroline. Everyone knew it was Caroline because Maya and Riley looked worried. "We'll be right back, sir." Lucas told Cory. They stood up and walked towards the door. "Lucas? Austin?" Cory questioned. "We're okay, sir." Austin told him. They were about to leave the room when Cory stopped them, "Lucas? Austin?" "We're okay, sir. If we manage not to come back expelled, you have all changed us." Lucas told the class before the left the classroom.
"Dad?" Riley questioned. She was worried about Austin and Lucas of course, but she was more worried about Caroline. Cory didn't answer her, instead he left the classroom. Riley, Maya, and Farkle followed after him.
"I did it again and I brought Caroline in to it. I'm sorry." Zay apologized. "It's okay, Zay." Lucas told him. "Get outta here." Austin added. Joey release Zay and Caroline and puts his back against Zay while holding on to Caroline's arm. Joey moved around before he clicked his tongue. Zay moved out of the way and took Caroline with him.
"Are you kidding me? I had a neck in my hand and little miss perfect. I liked it. I miss it. Are one of you my new neck?" Joey asked pointing at Austin and Lucas. "Are you the one?" Austin asked. "Because there's one in every school, isn't there? So, in this school you're the-" Joey cut Lucas off. "Yeah, it's me." "Daddy, are you going to stop this?" Riley asked her father. "Not yet." Cory answered. "We couldn't help but notice you pointy boots. Back in Texas we appreciate a nice pointy boot. They can end a fight real quick." Austin said. Both Austin and Lucas pinned Joey against the lockers. "Unless somebody knows how to out his heel on the soft part where all your toes are." Lucas added.
"Ow." Joey said. "Now I'm sure you'd like to throw a punch. Except Austin and I have both your wrist and we're as strong as a horse. We don't even work at it. We just are." Lucas told him. "The way I see it. All that matters is what happens after you two let go." Joey replied. "Yeah, I know it'd be simpler to just start takin' shots at each other. But we're going to tell you something, and you really need to hear this." Austin told him. "In the end, you're going to be the one on the floor. And we're going to be the ones who walk away." Austin and Lucas told him in unison.
"Ohhh." Maya shuddered. "He's going to be a veterinarian." Caroline said talking about Lucas while Riley said, "He's going to be a doctor." Obviously talking about Austin. Austin and Lucas let go of Joey. "So, we're going to do you a favor and let you keep your reputation. Now we'd like you to keep ours, otherwise we're gonna be twenty and still be in middle school." Lucas said. "You want that?" Austin asked. "I am twenty." Joey retorted before walking away.
"So, I could've taken him right?" Zay asked. "Sure." Austin answered. "Why do you keep finding yourself in these situations?" Lucas asked him. "Well, I like knowing you guys have my back." Zay answered. He sat down and turned his head waiting for Austin and Lucas to sit down next to him. Lucas and Austin sat down. "What are you doing here, Zay?" Austin asked. "Maybe I miss my best friends, okay? Maybe I had friends in Texas and they moved away and I miss hanging out with him and I convinced my entire family to-" Zay started, but Lucas cut him off. "Your dad got transferred?"
"Yeah, same as you guys." Zay answered. "Look, we're glad you're here, buddy, but… we don't want to keep being the same guys you knew in Texas." Austin told him. "Yeah, I'm not sure you are." Zay told them. "Go talk to Caroline." Austin and Zay put their arms around each other's shoulders and walked into the classroom. "People change people." Riley stated. "The secret of life." Cory said. He walked into the classroom and Riley, Maya, and Farkle followed them.
They stopped to look at Lucas and Caroline before walking into the classroom. "Hey, are you okay?" Lucas asked Caroline as they sat down on the bench. "Yeah, I'm fine." She told him. "Why did you get involved?" Lucas asked her. "Are you mad at me?" Caroline asked in shock. "Yes, because that's was not your fight to fight." Lucas told her. "Do you even know why I did what I did?" she asked him. "No, why?" he asked. "I did it because I can see how important Zay is to you. I could tell. So I wouldn't think it would be right if I just saw what was going on and ignored it." She explained to him before standing up.
"If you are mad at me because I was helping your friend then you are an idiot." She told him. "Have I told you how lucky I am to have you?" Lucas asked as he stood up and gave her a hug. "A few times." Caroline answered. "Well I'm lucky to have you." Lucas told her giving her a kiss on the forehead. "And I'm lucky to have you." She replied. Lucas wrapped an arm around her waist and they walked back into the classroom.
"Caroline and I can drive daddy crazy in eight seconds." Riley said as we sat at the table eating dinner with Maya. "I can drive mommy crazy in six seconds." Auggie said. "How long does it take for Riley, Auggie, and Caroline to drive mommy and daddy crazy together?" I questioned. "You feel like a movie?" dad asked mom. "Love to." She answered. They both got up and headed for the door.
"Mwo?" I questioned. "Hey!" Riley exclaimed. "What?" Auggie asked. "You can't just get up in the middle of dinner and walk out on them before they drive you crazy." Maya told our parents. "We can do whatever we want. See we couldn't when we were kids, so that's why we became parents." Mom explained to us. "Well what do you call that?" Riley and I asked. "Secret of life." Dad answered and we looked at him. "There's lots of them." Mom and dad ran out of the door and Auggie laughed. Riley, Maya, and I were in shock.