Chapter Twenty- three, Memories, Part 1

Maya awoke earlier than she had intended. She arrived home with Shawn from the hospital around 3am and ended up chatting with Riley for an hour about the emotional roller-coaster she had just experienced- "Can you believe Shawn tried to get Josh to break up with me? Like he couldn't do it himself?! Luckily, I convinced Josh not to do it...I mean...really messed up, right? Not cool at all what Shawn tried to do..."

Her dreams had been strange as well. She couldn't remember much of it, except for an odd, scary one where she and Josh had been traveling somewhere...she couldn't quite remember where...but then they got separated and she was frantically searching for him in the airport until she finally found him with another girl...she was a tall, blonde...she looked like Selena...Maya called out to Josh several times but he glanced at her once and then simply ignored her. Desperate, Maya kept calling and calling his name to no avail. Josh walked away with the new girl and left her behind...

Sighing, she glanced at her phone. It was 6am in the morning. She had only had two hours of sleep. Ugh...I feel like crap...she thought as her head pounded in pain. She noticed a message from Farkle sent about an hour earlier. Curious as to why he would be messaging her so early, she quickly read the message.

Farkly: Hi Maya, I know it's a bit early but just wanted to send this. I'm sorry for Smackle's messages last night on the group chat...I know they must have hurt you which is probably why you left the chat...I just wanted to let you know that I'm here if you ever want to talk. You and Riley will always be my girls and I'll always be here for you. I'll see you on Monday. Hope you guys enjoy your weekend in Philly :) Bring me a pumpkin! Seriously!

She felt warm tears in her eyes, and a wide grin on her face, as she reread the message. "We don't deserve you, Farkle," She murmured as she typed up a quick response.

Maya: Thanks Farkle. You're so sweet :) And no need to apologize...Smackle was just expressing her opinion. She has a right to do that. I just wasn't in the right mood to discuss so that's why I left...but we can chat on Monday. Tell Smackle if she has any questions, I can answer them as well. Have a gr8 weekend Farkly. Love u.

You and Riley will always be my girls...how did she get so incredibly lucky to have best friends like Riley Matthews and Farkle Minkus? They were loyal no matter what...she didn't know what she would have done without those two by her side all these years...

As she laid down on the bed, unable to fall back asleep and staring blankly at the ceiling, she couldn't help but think about her boyfriend. Was he still at the hospital with his Mom? She wasn't surprised that Josh had chosen to stay overnight by his mother's side. She knew he wouldn't have been able to sleep unless he was certain that she was fine. She also couldn't imagine how being back in the same hospital where his father had passed away just a few months prior must have felt for him...poor Boing...as her mind raced aimlessly, she thought about her ominous dream...Josh walking away from her with someone else and ignoring her frantic calls...she felt a chill run down her spine and her headache getting worse the more she contemplated the dream...in an attempt to distract herself, she grabbed her phone and texted him.

Ferret: Hey :) Are you still at the hospital? How's your Mom? Hope everything's fine... [Sat 6:17am. SMS]

She ended up drifting off to sleep as she awaited his response. She awoke- suddenly- about an hour later and instinctively checked her phone. Seeing a message from him, she read it right away.

Boyfriend Boing: Hey. We just got home. Mom's fine. Just a little weak and tired. I'm gonna get some sleep. Will see you later. [Sat 6:50am. SMS]

Maya smiled warmly at the message. She turned to her side on the bed and gazed at her best friend who was still deep in sleep. She stared at Riley Matthews' beautiful, peaceful face for a moment before slowly rolling off the bed so as not to wake her. She put on her soft, Kung-fu Panda slippers that Riley had given her for Christmas the year prior because of Maya's obsession with the Kung-fu Panda movie series.

"A panda who kicks ass?! What could be better than this Riles?!"

"Uh...Snow White? Cinderella? Beauty and the Beast? I honestly prefer those to this violent panda..."

"Are you kidding me?! This is awesome. All those other movies are so cheesy Riles...except for the beast. I LOVE the beast. He's badass too."

"Of course you would." Riley shook her head in amusement at her best friend.

Maya left the room and quickly made her way towards the bathroom. The house was completely silent. Everyone was still sleeping. Normally, Josh's Mom would be awake by now setting up her kitchen for breakfast...and Mr. Matthews would be reading the newspaper with a cup of warm coffee as he made small talk with his wife. Maya remembered the first time she had awoken earlier than usual- as a child- and stumbled across them in the kitchen happily chatting away. She had stood quietly, observing their interaction, before they noticed her presence.

"Maya, Sweetheart, you're awake!" Amy called out to her. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Yeah, we got uh...water or juice if you want..." Alan offered her with a soft smile.

Maya wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want anything to drink. She just wanted to keep looking at them. She didn't have parents who interacted like that...not even when they had lived together...before her father disappeared...she had seen Riley's parents interact the same way...and in that moment, she was fascinated to see that her grandparents were no different...it warmed her heart to see them like that...it made her happy...but it also made her sad...

After exiting the bathroom, she found herself standing in front of Joshua Matthews' room. He had a humorous sign on his door- one which had been there for as long as Maya could remember..."No annoying siblings allowed! But this doesn't really matter because I'm kind of an only child. Yay me!"

Maya chuckled every time she passed by his room and saw the sign. He had made it when he was around seven years old and realized that he was basically an only child even though he had a few older siblings. None of them lived at home anymore...except for Morgan...who was still around but was practically living her own life at that point. He was feeling bored and lonely one afternoon so he made the sign to "insert some humor and sarcasm into my lonesome existence...hey, you know what they say Ferret, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade right?"

"Ok. I get what you're saying Boing, but just keep in mind that you living in a big, comfy house in the suburbs with loving parents and having all the toys, food and attention to yourself is NOT life giving you lemons. Trust me..."

"I know. I didn't know that when I was seven but I know that now. I have been pretty lucky..."

"Yes, you have. So stop whining, Matthews."

"I wasn't whining-"

"You privileged, white boy-"

"Woah. We gonna make this racial now?!"

Maya giggled. "Yes. Yes we are."

"Well, can I say something about you being a white, city girl?"

"No. No you cannot."

"Ugh...Ok."

Maya laughed.

She debated for a moment whether to enter his room. He was sleeping and she certainly didn't want to disturb him. He had had a much longer night than her. She glanced around the dark hallway. There was no sign of a single soul stirring about...except for her. They were supposed to go to the pumpkin patch that afternoon, but she wasn't even sure whether that was happening anymore. Josh's Mom would probably need to rest...and there was no way they would do an activity like that without her...

She wanted to see him...she wanted to know how he was doing...she wanted to be near him...Screw it. We're going in, Maya, she murmured before slowly opening his door.

It was dim inside his room. It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust to everything within. The various photos on his wall...the large poster of his high-school and his Adams baseball teammates...his numerous academic and sports trophies...a large poster of the band Coldplay, which was adjacent to another poster of The Phillies baseball team...and then, last but not least, a large map of the world where he had placed a pin next to all the countries that he wanted to visit before he died...

"Boing, you know you got pins all over this freaking map, right? How are you going to visit all these places before you die? When are you gonna get the time when you're a doctor and saving old ladies?"

"I'll take vacations and then I'll travel then..."

"You're not gonna get a lot of vacation time as a doctor."

"That's ok. I'll figure it out. But I am going to visit all these places...someway...somehow...I'm gonna make it happen...would you like to come with me?"

Maya grinned. "Depends...where would you want to take me?"

"Mmm...I dunno...where would like to go, Senorita?"

"Riley has always wanted to go to Paris. She kinda convinced me to go too. Said it's romantic blah blah blah."

"Eh...I'm not too crazy about Paris, even though it's on my list...I'd much rather go to Spain..."

"Oh really? How come?"

"I wanna become completely fluent in Spanish. Plus, I love Spanish culture. Haven't you noticed? Sometimes I listen to Spanish music."

"Oh. Interesante. No I didn't notice, Boing. I just know that you're pretty good at speaking Spanish. That's all."

"Yeah. I had a huge crush on my Spanish teacher in 9th grade. Ms. Jara. She was from Barcelona. She would play music in class, she would show us videos, she would bring us food...anyway, that's what started my obsession with Spain I guess."

Maya giggled."You pervert. How old was Ms Jara?"

"She was young! She was like in her early 20s. I think she had just graduated from college."

"It's still a much bigger age difference than three years Boing. You're a perv!"

"Oh my gosh! A lot of people have crushes on their teachers. It was nothing serious! It's not like we had a relationship or anything. You've never had a crush on any of your teachers?"

"Well, I've never had a crush on your brother if that's what you're asking! You're the pervert. Not me!"

Josh burst out laughing. "Wow...this convo just got really interesting...and super awkward at the same time..."

"Yeah, let's change the topic. So, where are you taking me for our first date? Spain?"

Josh chuckled. "Nice try, Ferret. It's a surprise. You're not gonna get me to tell you that easily."

"Darn it!"

Josh laughed. "Patience girl. You'll find out soon. Now let's get to this barbecue before your Dad catches us in here and freaks out again."

Maya giggled. "Alright. I'm looking forward to watching you grill some burgers Senor Boing."

Josh grinned. "Gurl, you're in for a treat," He winked flirtatiously at her before grabbing her hand and leading her towards the Matthews backyard for the annual July 4th family barbecue.

Maya smiled warmly at the memory as a tear slowly rolled down her cheek. She stood quietly for a moment gazing at the numerous brightly colored pins on the map. It had been a bittersweet day for her...a fun-filled family picnic...their first date...the first time he told her he loved her...the day of his father's death...when everything changed for him...and for his family...

If she could turn back time...if only, she had the power to do that...she would prevent all the bad memories from happening and preserve all the good ones...if only...