ROSE
"The John Quincy Adams honor board stands in session," Dad says.
"Why are we part of this?" Amelia whispers into my ear.
"It looks good on our permanent record," I whisper back.
lucas reads from the file that was placed in front of him. "Case number 42 Isaiah Babineaux stands accused of boosting somebody's lunch."
"Prove it," Zay tells us while eating said lunch in front of us.
Dad walks over to him."Uh, Zay?"
"Yo," he greets.
"Everybody else in your family seems so decent and kind," Dda tells him.
"Oh, thank you, Mr. Teach," Zay smiles. "They say nice things about you too."
"So what happened to you?" Dad asks him.
"We're waiting on a lot of results," Zay responds causing Amelia to snort beside me.
Dda turns to the rest of us."Punishment must serve a purpose. What do you guys think will teach Mr. Babineaux here a lesson?"
"Cafeteria duty," Riley says.
Zay shakes his head."I don't like it."
To my surprise, Riley stood firm. "Well, I like it. You took everybody's lunch away, and now you should give everybody their lunch."
"I do give everybody their lunch," Zay tells him.
"What?" Riley asks confused.
"You didn't read the file did you?" I ask her.
"He gives roast beef to the p-b and js. He gives meatball subs to the baloneys," Lucas explains to him.
Riley was still confused. "Huh?"
"Everybody has the right to a delicious lunch," Zay tells her. "All right, these are my beliefs. Would you attack me on my beliefs?"
"That's not your meatball sub," Riley reminds him.
"But I believe it's better than my p-b and j. So, I Robin hooded myself." Zay says, and beside me, Amelia's shoulders were shaking from how hard she was suppressing her laughter.
"You're Robin Hood?" Riley and I ask him in tandem. We blinked at each other. It's been a while since we did that.
"I'm Robin lunch," Zay corrects us.
Lucas points to the door. "Cafeteria."
"You can punish me. But the forest people love me," Zay says as he walked out of the room.
"Bailiff Yogi, will you stop eating the evidence and please open the door for the next case?" Dad tells Yogi who apparently was one of Zay's forest people. Yogi gets up. "Thank you."
Riley starts to snap her fingers. "I got this judgey thing down. I got the hang of punishing people, and I like it. I think the key to this whole thing is to consider the facts and not get emotionally involved."
Amelia elbows me and directs my attention back to the front. I turn back to Riley. "Oh yeah? What do you make of this then?"
Riley looks up. "Peaches!" she smiles before frowning at Maya and Farkle. "What have you done?" Maya and Farkle forward until they were directly in front of us. "My buds. Tell me you're just here to pick me up because you're my buds."
"Yeah. Buds," Maya says. "You want to know what we did or what?"
"Case number 43. Maya Hart stands accused of cheating off of Farkle Minkus on the last history exam," Lucas reads.
"Maya, is this true?" Riley asks her. I was surprised myself. Maya might be rebellious, but she's never cheated on a test before, she usually takes the F and goes on with her day.
Maya leans in closer to Farkle. "Farkle, how do I answer this?"
"I'm sorry, Riley," Dad says spreading his arm out. "She done did it."
"I learn better this way, Mr. Matthews. When I see the answers Farkle chooses it helps me circle the right thing," Maya tells me.
I titled my head back so I can slam it on the desk but Lucas stops me before my forehead hit the desk. "Thanks," I tell him.
"Anytime," he responds.
"You can't just steal his answers, Maya," Lucas tells her.
"Why not?" Maya asks him. "I'm finally learning what you've been trying to teach me. You've tried everything, and I'm really grateful, but I found a way."
Amelia tilts her head at her. "You have such a skewed moral compass."
"Farkle, how could you rat out Maya for cheating off of you?" Riley asks.
I turn to her. "Yeah, that's the issue here."
"I didn't rat her out," Farkle protests. "Maya can do whatever she wants with me."
Dad points at himself. "I ratted her out."
"Why isn't anybody talking about what matters?" Maya asks. "I got my first A."
"One that you didn't deserve," I tell her. "It was all Farkle. You didn't do anything except pick up your pencil and cheat!"
Lucas leans over to Riley. "Okay, judgey. You got a solution for this?"
"Yes, I do," Riley says. "I say we give our friends special treatment. And not just any special treatment, we let them completely off the hook. There's no lesson, and nobody learns nothing. How about we do one of those this time? See ya next week. Good night, everybody!" she takes a paper plane from inside the desk and throws.
"We can't just give our friends special treatment," Lucas tells her.
"We didn't do that for Zay," Amelia adds. "What makes Maya and Farkle so special?"
"I said good night, sir!" Riley yells at them.
"Riles, I accept my punishment. Don't spin out of control," Maya tells her.
"We're put under all of this pressure to earn the highest grades," Riley turns to Dad. "She did it. Maya learned, daddy."
"She didn't learn, Riley," Dad tells her.
Riley leans into the mic. "Maya, can you tell them what you learned?"
Maya's eyes widen. "I actually can. That's new."
"That's new. It doesn't matter how she learned. It's new," Riley continued to defend her.
"She cheated!" Lucas, Amelia, and I yelled at her.
"That was loud," Lucas adds as our word echoed around the room.
"Cheated is a word. You know what else is a word? Shared," Riley tells us.
"Riley this isn't a two being passed around by friends. Maya cheated. C-H-E-A-T-E-D. Cheated! She took the answer off of somebody else without any work," I tried to get through to her. "If she had cheated of off anybody besides you and Farkle, they would have reported her themselves."
"Read a question from the test," Riley orders Lucas.
"The transcontinental railroad was built from the west and the east in the same time. In which city did the tracks meet?" Lucas reads off the copy of the test we were all given.
"C," Maya answers.
"Riley, we're not on the same team this time," Lucas tells her.
"You can count me out too," Amelia tells her.
"I don't agree either," I add.
"Farkle, are we on the same team?" Riley asks him.
"Always," Farkle responds.
Riley looks over at Dad. "Dad?"
"No, I'm with Lucas, Amelia and your sister Riley," Dad tells her. "You can't compromise your values just because these are your friends."
"Watch me," Riley tells him.
"No. Wrong is wrong. She didn't learn anything. If she had learned something, you might have a point." Dad says.
"They drove in the golden spike when the tracks connected at Promontory, Utah," Maya says to everybody's surprise. That was the correct answer to the question Lucas asked from the test.
Dad turns to the honor board. "Quick, make a decision before she says other good stuff."
"Louisiana purchase. Manifest destiny. C, c, a, d, false, false, true!" Maya tells us.
"She's a stinking genius," Riley smiles. "Cheating works for her."
"No," Lucas says.
"Dad, it's Maya. You know I'm going to turn this world upside down until I make this right," Riley tells us.
Dad nods. "I know you'll try."
"Well, I stand with them," Riley says getting up and walking over to them. The three of them high. "Yay!"
Dad moans. "I don't need this."
"I've got this," I tell Dad. "Maya if you can answer five questions for me than you and Farkle can get away scotch free."
Maya shrugs. "Sure."
"What happened during the Boston Massacre of 1770?" I ask her causing her to blink profusely at me. "Reasons for Colonization? Name the first three colonies? Name three forms of self-government developed by the colonists that paved the way for today's constitution? Who founded and influenced the writing of the fundamental orders in Connecticut?"
"Huh?"
"None of those questions were on the test?" Riley protests.
"Yet most of us in this room can answer them," Amelia refutes. "She even made it easy for by sticking to one chapter and not jumping around."
"All of this questions where on the review of the test that we went over in class and could have been on the test," Dad adds.
"But we're all on the honor board for a reason, that's not fair," Riley says.
"Okay," I look over at Dad. "Dad can you call Zay back in here for me."
When Zay entered the classroom with Dad, I explained to him what was going on and asked him the same questions I asked Maya.
Maya scoffs. "There's no way Zay no the answers to those questions."
Zay glares at her before speaking. "In the Boston Massacre, British soldiers shot five colonists during a protest. The reasons for colonization was gold, God, glory, freedom and to expand boundaries. The first three colonies are Roanoke, North Carolina, 1585; Jamestown Virginia, 1607; and Plymouth Massachusetts, 1620. The three forms of self-government developed by the colonists that paved the way for today's constitution are Mayflower Compact, Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, and the Virginia House of Burgesses. Lastly, Thomas Hooker founded and influenced the writing of the fundamental orders in Connecticut."
Everybody looked at him in shock except for Dad and me.
"How did you know that?" Riley asks me.
"Because he got a 100 on his test," Dad answers for him.
"How?" Maya asks.
"Because he took the initiative and asked me to tutor him for the test," I answer. "He didn't take the easy way out and cheat. He listened to Dad and in class and remembered the information in the book. Basically, he studied. You should try it sometime."
Maya puts her hand on her chin. "Nah, too much work."
I groaned.
"Are you now or have you ever been a member of the communist party?" Dad asks the class.
"The cold war, sir. Democracy versus communism. You get what you earn versus everybody gets the same thing," Maya recites causing me to look at Amelia with wide eyes.
"Very good, Farkle. I didn't even see your lips move," Dad says.
"Because Maya answered herself, sir," Farkle tells Dad. "She remembered the information."
Maya shrugs. "It only makes sense to me when I can get in trouble for it."
"Wait, so you're telling me that in communism everybody shares with everybody else?"
"Yes, Riley. The communist philosophy is that everybody's the same and everybody gets the same thing," Farkle explains to her.
Riley grins. "And it's a party?"
"I want so desperately to be proud of you," Dad tells her.
I shake my head. "At this moment you shouldn't be."
Riley ignores the two of us."So, you mean when somebody doesn't know something on a test, and somebody does, you're supposed to share that information?"
"Yeah. That's communism," Dad deadpans. "But it's a little more complicated than that. You know the American dream?"
Riley nods. "Yeah."
"Well, this is the other thing," Dad tells her before focusing on the rest of the class. "What do you all want to be when you grow up?"
"I haven't decided yet," Riley says.
"I see you as a factory worker," Dad tells her.
"Well, what if I don't want to be..." Riley trails of as Maya butts in.
"I want to be a factory worker," Maya says.
Dad stands in front of Maya. "I see you as a potato farmer."
Riley waves her hand at Maya. "But I prefer the warmth of the factory."
"Can I still take over the world?" Farkle asks.
"You sure can," Dad tells him. "Just as long as everybody can take over the world with you."
"I'm not taking over the world with factory girl and potato head."
"Your individual goals don't matter. You're one of many. There are no social classes. Nobody is more or less successful than anybody else. That's communism," Dad lectures.
"Oh, that's communism," Zaya says. "I thought it was when they scared the demons out of you."
"That's exorcism," Farkle corrects.
"Oh, yeah. That's the one I had," Zay jokes causing most of the class to look at him horrified.
"He's kidding," Lucas assures.
"Yeah, I'm kidding," Zay says before his mouth opened and his tongue started twisting around. "Ahh!" he paused and looked at all of us. "Oh, it didn't work. Anyway, whoever I am, I'm not down with communism."
"Sure you are," Maya tells him. "You're Robin Hood. Take from the rich, give to the poor."
"Did you guys hear that?" Dad asks us. "Did you hear what Maya just said? I mean, she actually gets this stuff," Dad looks at Maya. "Maya. You really did learn something. Doesn't this make you want to study by yourself?"
"No, it makes me want to cheat off of everybody equally," Maya responds.
"Yeah," Riley says. "Why should we be in competition with each other? Why should we be motivated by report cards? Why shouldn't we all help each other out to know exactly the same thing?"
Dad walks over to where the American flag was. "Riley... Look at this. And choose your next words very carefully."
Riley stands from her seat. "Comrades!"
Dad tries to stop her. "I pledge allegiance..."
"Comrades of John Quincy Adams unite!" Riley screams over him.
Maya gets up. "Lightning!"
"Thunder!" Riley says.
"Darkness!"
"Bunny rabbits!"
"From each according to his ability."
"To each according to his need!"
The two of them turn to each other. "Whoa! We're commies. It worked!" they hug. "Yay!"
"I just want to say I'm disgusted by everything going on right now," Amelia says she had been quiet the whole class as soon as he learned we were discussing communism today.
Riley turns back to her. "Why?"
"Riley Amelia's Jewish," Lucas tells her.
Riley blinked at him. "So?"
My mouth drop as I stare at her. "You did not just say that?" I look at Dad to see his mouth was also wide open.
"AAAAHHHH!" I look behind me to see that Amelia was screaming into her school bag. "AAAAHHHH!"
After school, I walked into the apartment to the site of Auggie seating on the sofa groaning. I look over at Mom who was seating at the dining table. "What's wrong with him?"
"Auggie was bored, so I suggested he should take piano classes. He doesn't want to," Mom tells me.
"It's too hard," Auggie groans.
"Anything worth doing takes work.," I tell him. Auggie looks at me before looking at Mom before turning back to me. "What?"
Mom chuckles and gets up. "Don't worry about it," she tells me. "Wanna help me with dinner?"
"Sure," I say. "Let me just drop my bag off in my room." after dropping my bag of I returned back to the Mom. Together the two of us made five servings of sesame beef and green beans.
"Dinner's ready!" Mom yells out. Auggie gets up from the couch and walks over to the table while Dad and Riley walk out from the adjourning hallway. I almost dropped the plates at the sight of Riley. She was a red and black striped shirt, black shorts, black beret, and had a pin of John Lennon on her shirt.
"Anything interesting happens at school today?" Mom asks as we all sat down.
"Nothing out of the ordinary," Dad says.
"Want to explain Riley's outfit?" Mom asks him.
"Oh yeah, she's a commie now," Dad tells her. "Can you pass the potatoes?"
"Oh, thank goodness," Mom sighs. "I thought she was a mime."
"Maya cheated off of Farkle and all of a sudden, she knows stuff," Riley explains.
"So, you're a communist?" Mom asks her.
Riley nods. "Yeah."
"Do I need to know the middle of the story?" Mom asks Dad and me.
"You want to be proud of her?" I ask Mom.
"Yeah," Mom responds.
"Then no," I tell her.
"Honey, Maya doesn't know stuff if she cheated off of Farkle," Mom tells Riley.
"Give it up," I tell Mom. "I've been saying the same thing all day. She's not listening."
"Mom, you can't crush my hopes for her. In the words of the president of communism, "you may say, 'hey, hey I'm a dreamer,' but I'm not the... but I'm not the..."
Dad pat Riley on the arm Riley Mom and I look at him wide-eyed. "Shh. Go to sleep, Riley." Dad tells her.
Mom looks back at Riley. "Riley, John Lennon was a Beatle."
"Mom, just because his beliefs are different than yours, does not mean you get to call him a bug," Riley tells her.
Mom looks at Dad. "Teacher of the year!"
Dad gestures to Riley. "Look what I'm working with!"
"Does the rest of the honor board share your position on this?" Mom asks Riley.
"No, we do not," I answer.
"And Maya and Farkle are going on trial tomorrow," Riley says. "And they're going to need somebody really good to represent them because when something's this important, you need the best possible..."
"Piano player?" Auggies asks.
"Lawyer." Riley corrects.
Farkle throws his fork on his plate. "Well, that's it then."
"Riley, you're not going to find a lawyer to defeat democracy," Dad tells her. "I mean, not even if you found some hyper-competitive, freak of nature, super lawyer." Dad chuckles as Mom starts to crack her fingers before cracking her neck. "Okay," Dad says getting up. He walks over to the flag that he brought home from school. "I'm sorry you had to see this."
I placed my head on the table. I am the only normal one in this family.
AMELIA
"The purpose of this honor board hearing is to determine the guilt or innocence of Maya Hart and Farkle Minkus, who stand accused of sharing information during an exam," Mr. Matthews says.
"Cheating," I sneeze.
"We'll begin the questioning with Lucas Friar," continues.
"Thank you," Lucas says. "Ms. Hart. Mr. Minkus. Are you now or have you ever been a cheater?"
"Objection," Riley interrupts.
"You're on our side," Lucas reminds her.
"But who's on their side?" Riley asks. " What kind of system is it where people are... "
"Judged by?" Lucas asks her.
"Other people."
"Like a jury?"
"Who are students like them."
"A jury of their peers?"
"Yeah, what do you call that?" Riley asks him.
"The justice system," Lucas responds.
"You and your answers," Riley says. "Well. I guess I don't have any more moves, do I? By the way, defense calls my mommy."
Patriotic music plays as Mrs. Matthews enters the room. "I win," she says.
"Rose what is your Mom doing here?" I ask her.
Rose lets out an aggravated sigh. "Proving that I'm the only rational person in this family."
Mr. Matthews. "Topanga! Honey, you can't just come in here and interrupt our very formal procedure. I mean, this is the highest court of the John Quincy Adams middle school legal system. And we take our proceedings very seriously!" he slams his gavel on the desk, and it squeaks.
"All right. Everybody sit where you would normally sit," Mrs. Matthews orders. We all got up and sat where we all sat during the test. "What I'm interested in is how Maya could've cheated off of Farkle all by herself in the first place. Because as you can see by the configuration of the desks, it would be impossible for Maya to see Farkle's paper from that distance unless... She had some help." she walks over to her husband. "Mr. Matthews."
"Yes, darling?" he asks.
"What is it you do while they take their tests?" she asks him.
He points at himself. "Who? Me? I sit here, I get sad, I think about the way things could have been."
"Cory!" Mrs. Matthews reprimands.
"I'm up here! You know," he takes out a book. "I... I... I read a book because... You know, I... I trust them."
"That's the first problem," I speak up.
"Uh-huh," hums. "Interesting. What happens next?"
"Well, I look at the first question of the test, then I make this kind of face..." Maya says as she scrunches up her face. "Then I'll look at Riley who's all like..." Riley starts humming. "Then I look at Farkle who's all like..."
"Done!" Farkles says.
"But for the first time ever, I might have looked at Farkle like..." Maya pouts at Farkle. "And Farkle kind of might have went..."
Farkle mouths "I love you." at her while tilting his paper so that Maya could see it.
"Interesting," says. "But from this angle, there's still something blocking your view."
"Yes. So it's possible Riley might have went..." Maya says as Riley continues to hum and looks at Farkle before behind her head.
"Riley you didn't!" Rose gasps.
"Well, we knew that Farkle was an accomplice," Lucas starts.
"I'll do anything for my friends. I accept my punishment," Farkle states.
"But I think that Mrs. Matthews just proved that he was not alone," Lucas finishes.
"Yeah, uh, my work here is done," says quickly before trying to walk out of the room.
"Case number 44," Lucas says.
"Oh boy," Mrs. Matthews says as returns.
"Riley," demands.
"I was kind of an accomplice too," Riley admits.
"Riley, how could you?" asks her.
"Farkle put himself in jeopardy for Maya. How could I not?" Riley responds. "I thought maybe if Farkle shared his knowledge with Maya, and she got a good grade, she might want to keep on learning. And she does, so if that makes us communists, then I guess that's what we really are."
"Yeah? Well, you certainly look like you're all in the same little group now," Lucas tells her gesturing to the fact they were all wearing the same outfit.
"So what if maybe we dress a little bit alike?" Riley asks.
"And maybe some of my study methods have rubbed off on her," Farkle says.
"You know Farkle's methods?" Riley asks Maya who just smiles at her. "Dad, what's going on here?"
"It's just what you wanted, Riley. Communism. Farkle is sharing his knowledge with Maya." tells her.
"Karl Marx..." Maya says as she takes off her pin of Groucho Marx, and replaces it with one of Karl Marx. "The father of communism. Vladimir Lenin led the revolution." she replaces Riley's pin of John Lennon with one of Vladimir Lenin.
"These guys don't seem anywhere near as much fun as the other guys," Riley says.
"Yeah, well, maybe that's because the other guys... John Lennon and Groucho Marx... were two incredibly talented, what? Maya?" says.
"Individuals, sir. The point you're trying to make is that a free society breeds individuals," Maya answers, she sounded just like Farkle.
"And how do you feel you're developing as an individual?" asks her.
"Maya, why don't you sound like you?" Riley asks her.
"What do you mean? Who would I sound like besides me? I'm still me, Riley. I've always been me, and I'll never be anybody else but me," Maya says before letting out a laugh that sounded just like Farkle's. "Ha!"
"Ha!" Farkle laughs.
"Huh," Riley says as she looks to the front.
ROSE
"So can I get my hair cut?" I ask Dad.
"Rose you've been asking me that question for the past six months," Dad tells me. The two of us were walking to history class after going out for lunch together.
"You refused to answer for the past six months," I tell him.
"I like your hair long," Dad tells me.
"Extensions exist for a reason," I tell him. "Come on Dad. Mom said I could do it only if you agreed."
"Do you really want to cut your hair?" Dad asks me. "You've never had short hair before."
"Yes, I do."
He sighs. "Fine. But after graduation."
I gave a fist-pump. "Yes."
"Okay, what's this?" Dad asks as we walk into the classroom to the sight of Farkle, Maya, and Riley surrounded by a pink walk.
Zay points at the three of them. "We are putting up a wall to protect ourselves from them."
"Don't you think that's a little extreme?" Dad asks them.
"It's the judgment of the honor board to separate those who cheat..." Lucas starts.
"Share!" Farkle, Maya, and Riley said at the same time. The three of them look at each other. "Hey! We all said that at the same time! I'm hungry. What is happening to us? Whoa."
"We don't want to become like them. We'd rather remain a free society of individuals," Lucas says.
"Instead of whatever the heck that was," Zay adds.
"That was creepy," Amelia tells him. "Like some kind of hive-mind."
"But isn't the best part of a free society the fact that it allows its people to consider all beliefs?" Dad asks as he walks to his desk and opens his briefcase.
"Yeah, but I want my friends back, Mr. Matthews," Lucas says. "Can you fix this?"
"You know, I graded your recent exams," Dad says taking out the exams. "Mr. Friar. One hundred percent. You get an A," he passes Lucas back his exam. "Mr. Babineaux, one hundred percent. You get an A." Lucas and Zay fistbump. "Rose, Amelia 100 percent. You get an A." Amelia and I high-five. "Ms. Hart, Ms. Matthews, Farkle, one hundred percent. You get a C." Dad passes them there paper.
"What?" Riley asks.
Farkle looks up at Dad in shock. "We get a what's-that-you-say now?"
"How did we get a hundred percent and get a C?" Maya asks him.
"Because when you get everything right, but you don't do it yourselves, it makes you average," Dad explains to them. "A divided by three is a C. Look at you, you're all the same. You're average. You're common."
"Communism," Riley says. "This is why it fell? People didn't want to all be the same?"
"Without incentive, there's no motivation. Without motivation, there's no advancement. In a truly free society, we share the best parts of ourselves without cheating. Because we get to learn who we are individually," Dad lectures.
" Come on, guys. Separately, you're the best individuals I know. I miss you. Please come back," Lucas tells them.
"Maya?" Dad asks.
Maya nods. "Yeah. I think I'd like it better if I was doing well because I was doing well." she takes off her green army jacket and hat.
"But now you're not me," Farkle tells her.
"There's only one of you, Farkle," Maya tells him. Farkle smiles and gets up, also taking off his jacket and hat.
"There's only one of all of us," Riley says. "It's better that way, isn't it?"
"We were founded on the concept of welcoming all people from all different parts of the world," Dad says. "And encouraging each of them to find out who they are."
"Why?" Riley asks him.
"Because the individual is valued here," Dad responds.
"Yeah, that's pretty good," Riley says before standing up and taking off her own jacket and hat.
"There you are!" Lucas says.
"Welcome back, guys," Zay adds.
Riley looks at the flag and places her hand on her heart.
"Riley," Dad calls placing his hand on his heart. "I'm proud of you." he points at the pink wall. "Mr. Friar, tear down this wall."
Together the seven of us tore down the pink wall.
A/N: I was watching this and half wanted to not do this episode because from watching it I noticed it was filmed way before Girl Meets Texas. The cast all longed younger, and Farkle still wore turtlenecks, Auggie was shorter. I felt like if I did this chapter, I would be pushing the storyline back but decided to do it anyway. Hope you guys enjoyed it, don't forget to comment, review, and vote. Plus I have a little surprise for all of you in the next chapter.
