John Adams High School was known for it's social hour-like atmosphere set by it's students who had a fast paced outlook on life as teenagers trying to make a difference for better or worse. Everyone had their place. The jocks were jocks, the nerds were nerds, the bullies were bullies, and some students were fairly average. The differences were so apparent, one would think they were worlds apart completely at all times, but the truth is the variety would come together as a unit now and again, thus unlikely pairings would even emerge, as perceived average seventh grade students like Cory Matthews was able to date outside of the comfort zone of his dream girl, fellow classmate and former elementary school nemesis Topanga Lawrence, by dating someone like Theresa Keiner who happened to be the younger sister of the baddest bully in school, Harley Keiner. She bared a striking resemblance to him, sporting a leather jacket and an attitude to boot, except her approach to the main object of his daily bullyings Cory Matthews, was the complete opposite, which actually earned him some respect from her brother, while Theresa practically worshipped the ground he walked on, and tried to spoil him with love. It wasn't long before she got vulnerable enough with him on a date one night, and she ended up telling him about her upbringing, on top of telling him her brother's secret real name, which was Harvey. So she wondered, what could've possibly gone wrong with the relationship when it was all said and done? From her recollection she had done everything just right, making sure Cory wasn't treated like anything less than the gentleman he really was, and to match his standards more, she even tried to dress more lady-like to fit in with he and his family. Obviously she was giving it her all to make the relationship work but somehow she still fell short of his expectations, and was left feeling like she put more work in than he did.
So there was young Cory Matthews, back on the dating market again, but not without his heart set back on the girl of his dreams Topanga Lawrence, who was a breath of fresh air from his last relationship and really hit home for him, since he was drawn to her from the time they were barely kids up to this point in their lives. As of late, he had a strong feeling she was reciprocating how he felt as the school year went on, and sooner or later he was gonna have to make his move and pursue her as more than just a friend. The very thought of them together gave him butterflies and a doofy smile, in which his fellow classmate and best friend Shawn Hunter, had to snap him out of, only to tease him for his feelings. He would also try to push him to just make his move but Cory preferred to not be so sudden, and just play hard to get for the time being. He would sucker Topanga in, making her believe he was going to return her feelings and then he would joke his way out of the situation, which kept her coming back for more each time. Whether she knew how he really felt or not though, the whole seventh grade seemed to know, and like Shawn, everyone would take note and tease them. It was all fun and games at least until a certain leather jacket wearing, attitude having brunette by the name of Theresa Keiner caught wind of the seventh grade dating scene anyway.
Almost as soon as Topanga was getting harmless, tongue-in-cheek feedback from her fellow seventh graders for her not-so secretive crush on Cory, she was now getting looks of worry particularly among her female peers, which she ignored as a statement of self empowerment at first, but as the days went by she began to notice the other girls' stares, whispers, and avoidance of her more and more, and as resilient as she was, she couldn't help feeling like she had the "cooties" all of a sudden, as if she was in the sixth grade all over again, and thought of as weird by nearly everyone including Cory. On her way to the girls bathroom, she was seeking time to herself, but a couple other girls were in there preening and chatting when they suddenly were at a loss for words when they saw her. Topanga was confused of course, but also saddened by their reaction or lack thereof towards her, even though they didn't just up and leave like others have done. Instead, they actually spoke up to her with a curious yet rhetorical question about her infamy, basically letting her know she was in trouble like other girls who "crossed the line". Topanga didn't know what they were talking about though, as her suspicions as to why her reputation was falling had to do with her attraction to Cory, and she was partially right, she just didn't know she wasn't being laughed at about it. The other two girls took the conversation to a halt when they showed Topanga words written in bold all across the bathroom stall doors. They were written in black marker and the initials read "T.K. HATES T.L." with a little stick figure drawing attached of a girl beating up another girl. At this point, Topanga still didn't get it. She was too distracted the minute she arrived in the girls bathroom and didn't really make the connection here either. The other two girls had to bring her up to speed again reluctantly, specifying to her how her name was being used in the initials, and the other girl who was apparently beating her up in the drawings was none other than Harley Keiner's sister, Theresa Keiner. Suddenly it all made sense to Topanga now, in regards to how the other seventh grade girls have been acting towards her. They were scared for her, saw her as a dead girl walking, and didn't wanna be in the way, in fear for their own safety, all the while Topanag was walking around like a complete fool, unaware of the fact another girl wanted to beat her up, as what happened to other girls at the hands of the same one who was after her, and not without them first seeing the result plastered in writing apparently. Once this was finally out in the open for Topanga to know about, she regretted hearing it, as she started to get chills. She's never been in a situation like this before and never intended to, given she took great pride in her reputation for being a sweet, drama-free girl. She just wanted to blow through High School with a high ranking credential no problem, and maybe set an example for the other girls, and now she's being targeted by one, and had no idea why she was on their hit list.
The suspense of Topanga's current situation grew increasingly worse for her, whilst she went from losing track of her surroundings to not performing well inside class, much to the surprise of her English Literature teacher Jonathan Turner and her History teacher George Feeny, both of whom were complete opposites of each other, yet they still shared a commonality in Topanga, who they were used to seeing raise her hand and give them all the answers to their questions. Her lack of participation raised questions which she politely rejected to address, meanwhile Cory and Shawn who were in her classes, couldn't help but press more for answers out of concern for her, though they didn't get anywhere either since they were hassled by the teachers to pay attention to the teachings and allow Topanga some space. A little relief came over her in turn, because even though she got along with them, and thought Cory in particular was easy to talk to, she didn't want any more attention about her little problem and was hoping it would all just blow over. When the bells rang, and the classes were over, Topanga made a quick exit, leaving the other kids behind followed by a concerned look on Cory's face as well as on their English Teacher's face. Once the class cleared out, Cory stayed behind to have a discussion with him on what could possibly be bothering Topanga, and as usual Jonathan Turner proved to be a great catch for being open and as down to earth as possible. He was a teacher, but he was able to relate to his students since he was one himself not too far into the past, and he knew High School was never smooth sailing in his experience, even for girls like Topanga who appeared to be flawless. He knew of girls who were just like her who had a good head on their shoulders but they were still found to not be immune to the pressures of High School, and with any luck, their grades were as bad as it got for them, which so far didn't seem to be the problem with Topanga according to her teacher, Jonathan Turner. So if the work wasn't bothering her, then something else was, and whatever was bothering Topanga was starting to bother Cory too.
After Topanga departed from her English class so abruptly, she headed for the school cafeteria to have lunch with the hopes of maybe getting herself together, but it was no use with the other girls staring in her direction like they've literally seen a ghost again, and it was only a matter of time before Cory made his way into the lunchroom and took notice. Topanga skedaddled again before such a reality came true, however she didn't necessarily do herself any favors because the worst of her fears finally appeared right before her very eyes. On her journey of escape through the halls of John Adams High, she moved along at a rather unsteady pace, timid of others while also being unsure of where she could possibly go to find some peace besides the girls bathroom which turned out to be not-so peaceful. She looked lost, as if the walls were closing in on her, when she was suddenly stopped by a girl her age giving her a death stare. Topanga froze without a words notice, and her eyes were now widened, making her look like a deer caught in the headlights, unlike the girl in front of her who looked completely remorseless in her standing and smelled blood. She made no formal introductions and just cut right to the chase, revealing herself to be T.K. a.k.a Theresa Keiner, the sister of Harley Keiner, and the ex girlfriend of their mutual acquaintance Cory Matthews. Topanga had no knowledge of this, and she was sure it wasn't going to matter anyway since Theresa didn't really give her a chance to even speak up, moving towards her rapidly, thus making her back up against the school lockers in her shaken state of being. Theresa had Topanga right where she wanted her, scared, helpless, and soon to be "dead". It was perhaps a little too good to be true seeing as this was the alleged dream girl for Cory Matthews, and she was expecting less of an easy target. She really didn't get what Cory saw in her, in the little time she spent trying to provoke her, delivering to her those exact thoughts, as well as ruffle her hair, and even threatening the possibility of unloading bubblegum on to it, which did in turn earn Theresa a slight look of disapproval. Theresa raised her voice at her, demanding she do something about it, calling her Cory's "sloppy seconds", thus pushing Topanga's look of disapproval even further, however still not enough for her to respond with violence. Theresa then raised her hand up at her, making Topanga flinch, before pulling her hand back, amused over the power she had over her. She clearly had no respect for her, or no reason to continue playing with her. She decided she was through with intimidation in favor of actually doing what she wanted to do to Topanga all along which was beat her up, even though the idea was starting to lose it's value moments earlier. Theresa changed her mind as a favor to herself, and as a "thank me later" favor to Cory quite frankly. Unfortunately for Theresa though, a teacher was passing through the halls and walking towards the two girls, so she had to let Topanga off with a warning before making a quick departure, telling her their time together wasn't over, and she'd be seeing her around. Topanga luckily survived her first ever quarrel, not without feeling like she just had the worst day of her life however. She stood about not making a move, dumbfounded and saddened with tears in her eyes, contemplating crawling under a rock for her whole life.
In essence of wanting to self-exile from the rest of the world, Topanga missed a day of school seeing as there was no place like home for her right now. She would of course have to do make up work, but she just needed some air and time to recuperate. She would spend the day thinking of her parents Jedidiah and Chloe, and their loving, harmonious ways of uplifting her spirit in her darkest hour, through the use of soothing, high vibration music, mantras, and poems, with a little meditation to top it off. It had been a little while since Topanga engaged in such activities, but they still came as a natural gift to her. She thought she was moving on from this portion of her life, remembering only the negative part about it up until this point, when she also started to remember instances such as the time she had to stand her ground against kids opposite of her right in the school hallways while handcuffed. It was Cory's idea, but she took initiation nonetheless and stuck it out much better than how she's handling herself currently. She now felt the loss of her own dignity and was being tended to for mending, all the while her day off is probably setting the seventh grade on fire at John Adams High School. She didn't want to worry about what awaited her at school though. Instead she just laid back in the comfort of her own home, and continued to reminisce about her past while listening to the nice soothing sounds of mother nature on her audio cassette player.
Meanwhile at John Adams High, the events of the day prior proved to have a lasting effect on the youngest set of students attending, with rumors circulating heavy among the females again, about the cause of Topanga's absence from school. Some of them were saying she got beat up, others were saying she was threatened to never come back to the school, and the third act of the rumor was she got scared and left on her own. Whatever was going around in regards to these rumors, sure wasn't up for discussion when Cory Matthews tried to find out about them though. He knew they had to do with Topanga but he didn't know the truth, and the girls spreading the rumors made sure to keep to themselves and not tell anything to the ex of a one dangerous Theresa Keiner. This left Cory no choice but to rely on his best friend Shawn for help, since he had better luck with girls, and had a way of getting their utmost approval. Shawn was happy to oblige, turning on the charm when he got the chance, with a hint of sneakiness to his smile, and a flip of his hair as his forté. Many of the girls of course couldn't resist the "boom", and in an instant they were offering themselves up to him free of charge and ready to speak up in exchange for a date with him. Shawn couldn't resist either and managed to get at least three phone numbers, one of which he would ultimately be calling back for a night out, and by the next day he would have some information to give to Cory. In turn, Cory was a little reluctant for having to wait another day, but he knew the answers to his questions were in good hands. For the time being though, he would just have to sit tight and distract himself with the homework assigned to him by his good ol' fashioned history teacher and acting Principal Mr. Feeny, as hard as it was for Cory to be bothered with education.
The next day finally arrived after a night's worth of hard work for Cory, and a rather blissful night for Shawn on the other hand. What a contrast, for which Shawn couldn't help but playfully rub into Cory's face, while he was desperate to hear what news Shawn had to give him in regards to Topanga. In the kitchen of his best friend's home where he was in the company of his parents Amy and Alan Matthews, his older brother Eric, and little sister Morgan, Shawn waited until they headed for school to break Cory the news, though not without some form of tender acknowledgement from Cory's parents, and a wisecrack from Eric about how "cute" their drama was for seventh graders. The three of them headed off to school, with Eric parting with them to go with his best friend Jason, leaving Cory and Shawn time to talk about the latest gossip in their grade. As soon as Shawn stopped daydreaming about his date night out at the restaurant "Chubbies" and lost the dopey look on his face, he gave Cory the 4-1-1, hoping he would maintain a sense of control after telling him the rumors going around about Topanga were about her potentially being on the wrong side of his ex, Theresa Keiner. Cory was taken aback, and confused, not really seeing the issue between these two girls and wondered how they crossed paths. It just didn't make sense. Shawn on the other hand decided to take a shot in the dark and traced their drama back to him, while speaking from a little experience. He knew girls fought over boys they were interested in, as the girls he attracted in exchange for information were now at odds and side eyeing each other. Cory tried to make the comparison, but he couldn't since Topanga wasn't like other girls, unless...Theresa was the problem all along. He didn't know what to think, because he thought he ended his relationship with Theresa on a good note, but maybe he was wrong, and he had to set the record straight with her. He also wanted to check on Topanga, if she happened to be at school. He couldn't imagine what she was going through, but then again, maybe he could, seeing as he was always on the wrong end of Theresa's brother Harley Keiner and his two goons Joey The "Rat" who was scrawny, and the much larger Frankie The "Enforcer". Cory was sure the day ahead would be no different from any other day, but he was at least still hoping to fix everything else if he survived another day of bullying.
As per usual, the least of what Cory wanted to deal with became his reality anyway, and he and Shawn found themselves coughing up their own lunch money to Harley and his goons first thing in the morning and stuffed into the school lockers as well. It was the same old routine at this point, except now Cory was starting to miss briefly having the privilege of Harley leaving him alone when he was dating Theresa . He finally had some peace then, and wished he could've maintained it post-Theresa if nothing else. For now though, he was just happy to still be alive. hoping he could go about his day the way he planned on doing. He and Shawn headed for their History class when they both spotted Topanga, also heading for class and making her return after being absent for a day. She appeared to be gleaming with positivity in a way in which Cory and Shawn hadn't seen in quite a while too, looking as though she had found a peace of mind during her time away, with her focus sharpened and unphased by all the concerned looks she was getting from her peers again, her wrists occupied by what looked to be colorful chakra energy bracelets, and to top it off she greeted both Cory and Shawn with a smile basically showing she felt refreshed and was as good as new. This sure put Cory in a better mood than he was in before, thus he returned Topanga's happiness with a very telling smile of his own, making him feel warm inside. As the three of them entered the classroom, Topanga spread the same positive vibe over towards her History teacher Mr. Feeny, who was more than happy she was back and doing alright. After she promised him make-up work and settled in nonchalantly, at the expense of all the confused faces of her classmates, Cory's difference of reaction towards her carried on, for which he remembered just how full she was of inner harmony and enlightenment. He could tell she was going to be alright, and no harm would come to her, as much as he wanted to make sure of it. She was just so magnetic and untouchable, nobody would truly be able to break her spirit.
Topanga's return back to school went so smoothly, she didn't even realize how fast the time passed. Throughout the day she just focused on catching up on her school work, when she wasn't exercising her skills to remain centered whenever her peers tried snapping her out of what they deemed to be "Wonderland", because she wasn't showing any signs of fear after her incident from the other day. People thought she was weird and crazy again, just as they did in the past, but she didn't care as long as she was still comfortable within herself. She would have to attest to those standards as much as possible and as soon as possible even, because the day wasn't over just yet as she would find out the hard way when she would come across Theresa Keiner again. The brunette with a leather jacket and attitude bumped into Topanga when she was on her way to see Mr. Feeny in the Principal's Office about an uplifting idea she had as Student Body President, and within seconds of the collision, Topanga apologized and began to pick up her belongings until she noticed Theresa, giving her the same death stare she gave her the last time their paths crossed. In an instant, history was looking to repeat itself, with Topanga suddenly in a state of nervousness, and Theresa once again looking like she smelled blood. Theresa was on her way to leave for the day like everyone else, but she just simply couldn't miss this opportunity to make up for not doing what she thought she should've done in the first place, beating up Cory's "sloppy seconds". She had even more of a reason to want to do so, after their collision with each other. Theresa felt provoked and demanded answers, startling Topanga by getting in her face, relaying to her what nerve she must have for showing her face in the school again after the other day. If Theresa didn't know any better, she would say Topanga had a death wish, and man was she ever going to grant it to her. Once Theresa was gonna press the attack on her, pushing her up against the lockers with her fist raised at her, Topanga finally found it within her to speak up, instantly breaking the tension when she made mention of Cory's name, which was apparently the magic word for Theresa to pause for a moment. Topanga remembered Theresa's mention of Cory the other day, and was currently a witness to her sudden change in demeanor, which Theresa tried to keep her cool about and resume the drama, but Topanga was able to see into her heart, and knew she had to have been dealing with a girl going through heartbreak. She also had to watch her words though, knowing a simple slip up could set Theresa right off the deep end, and just when Topanga was starting to make progress. Slowly but surely she loosened Theresa up, encouraging her from one girl to another to talk over her feelings with Cory about their unfinished business for better closure. She also assured he would understand, not to Theresa's disbelief though. She didn't have Topanga's length of quality time with him, but she knew he was an easy guy to talk to about her personal feelings. She still wasn't quite sold on Topanga, but she offered good advice as much as she hated to admit it. She was gonna have to cool off again for the time being and let her go, however Theresa warned she would be back if her conversation with Cory didn't go over well. She left without hesitancy or a goodbye, meanwhile Topanga just felt relieved and happy to know she faced her fears and survived her return to school. Her home practices really came in handy thanks to her parents, and her chakra bracelets she wore to protect her from negative energy.
Topanga also had Cory to thank for her successful return back to school because his talk with Theresa went smooth. At first he expressed his disappointment in her for taking her frustrations out on Topanga and causing her to miss a day, but then he started to take some responsibility for opting out of their relationship without any real explanation. He apologized to her, feeling even worse knowing what he knew about Theresa's past experiences with people she cared about leaving her hanging. He didn't mean to repeat the cycle of disloyalty, deciding to be more upfront with her instead. He let her know the truth, which was he simply thought she just came on too strong, no matter how hard she tried to maintain herself. Theresa understood him as much as she didn't want to do so, and finally made peace with his decision to move on with his life. At the same time, she felt bad about the way she's been acting and also decided to let Topanga off the hook for good, and all the school rumors about their beef went away. It was a long time coming, but maybe now their schooling experience could go back to the way it was before, except better. Theresa was now at peace with the past, and decided she wanted to be less aggressive in her pursuit of others, Topanga was back in touch with her higher self, and Cory and Shawn were trying to learn from her as Student Body President on how to keep their sense of inner peace when dealing with hardships such as school bullies.