Chapter Twenty Four: Girl Meets Gravity
"Caroline Matthews from Greenwich village, New York City, the United States of America, the continent of North America, Western hemisphere, the earth, the solar system, the universe. The mind of God. And in the middle of all of it, is John Quincy Adams Middle School, me and my friends, because we are the center of the universe. At least that's what I thought."
I slammed my hand down on my alarm to turn it off. I picked up my phone and looked at the date and realized that it was the first day of school. I quickly got out of bed and quickly got dressed, but I didn't put on my sandals. I ran out of my room and across the hall to my sister's room. I dropped my sandals and got in bed with her putting the cover back over our heads once I was all the way in.
The door to Riley's room opened. "Who's ready for a brand new year?" mom asked cheerily. "Why are you still in bed? And have you seen Caroline? She wasn't in her room." Riley and I pulled the blanket down. "Is he going to be our teacher?" Riley and I asked. "Oh there you are Caroline and no we are not doing that again. That was crazy. New year, new teacher, get excited because you and your friends are the kings of middle school now." Mom told us and we smiled. That was until dad walked into the room.
"First day of the new year." He said then he noticed that we were in the bed. "Why are you still in bed?" he asked. "Are you going to be our teacher?" we asked him. "No." he answered. "Your mother and I went through that with Mr. Feeny." "Yeah our teacher from sixth grade to college." Mom added. "How could that happen?" I asked. "In an unexpected," dad started. "But completely believable way." Mom added. "Every year." Dad finished.
"What up losers?" Maya greeted as she crawled through the window. She threw her shoes to the ground and Riley moved the blanket so she could get in the bed. Once she was in the bed we put the blanket over our heads again. "No, no, no. No doing that girls." Dad said and I felt him climb on to the bed. "School." We pushed the blanket back down. "Who's going to be my teacher?" Maya asked with narrowed eyes. "Your teacher, whoever loses." Dad told her. "I don't believe you." I told him. "I'm telling you girls, Imma be teaching your lives to a whole new group of students." Dad told us.
"Do you believe him?" Riley asked Maya. "I can't believe we're starting off the new year without first talking about how we were on the subway and you took Austin by the face-." Maya was interrupted by Riley kicking her out of the bed. "Ha-ha-ha!" I got of the bed too. "We are not talking about that." Riley said as she stood on her bed. "We're kings." "We're kings, Matthews. You can't tell us what to do." Maya said to dad. "Get out." He told her. "Okay, but that was the last one." Maya said. "Dad you have to let us walk through life on our own two feet." I told him.
I followed Riley and Maya out of the window. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." We said as we walked. "I think we should've gotten our shoes." I thought to myself.
Maya, Riley, and I walked into school barefoot because we didn't put our shoes on before we walked out of Riley's room. "Hello, it is us the kings." Riley announced as we walked down the stairs. "Hey look at your feet their naked." Farkle said as he walked up to us. "Eyes up here, buddy." Maya told him. "Hey Riley and Caroline, your dad going to be our teacher this year?" Farkle asked. "He said he's not." Riley and I answered. "I'll believe it when I don't see it." Maya said. I was walking backwards when I bumped into someone. Instead of telling me off like I thought they would, they wrapped their arms around me. "Hey." The person said. I titled my head to see Lucas, my boyfriend. "Hi." I said. I gave him a peck on the cheek. "So where's your cousin?" I asked when he let go of me.
Before he could say anything Austin walked past us, but stopped when he saw Riley and Riley saw him. They didn't say anything until Riley said, "Oh hi." "Hey, hi, hey." Austin said. "Hi." Riley said. "All summer." Maya and I commented. "Hey." Austin said. "You have to talk about it." Maya told them. "She's right-." Austin started to say before he was interrupted by Riley. "Hi." Riley said. "Oh hey." Austin said and the bell rang. "Glad we talked about it." Riley told him. "Yeah me too." Austin replied. "Bye." She said. "Hey." Austin said.
Lucas pushed Austin into the classroom and I walked in with Riley. "Hey." Farkle said from behind me to Maya. Maya, Riley, and I stopped in front of the door with our eyes closed because honestly I didn't want my dad as my teacher again. "I know it's going to be our father." I said. "I can't look." Maya said. "Scared." Riley stated. We put our hands in front of our eyes. "Okay, ready." I said. "Quick peak. 1, 2, 3, go." Maya said. We removed our hands from our eyes and we didn't see my dad standing there. Instead we saw a really cute guy. Then we covered our eyes.
"Did you see what I saw?" Riley asked. "Yes." I answered. "Oh yeah." Maya answered. "Then why are we covering our eyes?" Riley asked. "Because it's gonna go away and I don't want it to go away, and it's gonna go away." Maya answered. "Yeah." I agreed. We uncovered our eyes and he was still there. "Y-y-y-y-ay!" Riley exclaimed. "Thank you. Girls, take a seat." He told us. Riley, Maya, and I moved and sat on the desk with him. "Your seats." He told us. We got up and sat down at our desks.
"Yeah, okay, let's get started." He said and moved towards the chalkboard which had 'Belgium 1831' written on it. "Belgium, 1831." "Y-y-y-y-ay!" Farkle exclaimed. "This is gonna be our best year ever." I commented. "Let's just get up, go over, and look at him up close." Maya suggested. We got up and walked up close to him and stared at him. "Yes?" he asked. "He said yes." Riley stated. "What do we do now?" Maya asked. "I'm going to touch him on the face." Riley told us. Riley slowly moved her finger towards his face.
"Sit down." He ordered. We moved back and sat down at our desks. "You three strike me as a trio of girls who are used to special treatment. I don't know who your last teacher was, but I don't do that." "Farkle time, sir?" Farkle asked raising his hand. "Go ahead, kid. You gotta Farkle, you gotta Farkle." He told Farkle. Farkle slowly let his hand go down. "No this is where he takes over the class." Lucas and Austin told the teacher. "Oh, he takes over the class? And you two just talk without raising your hand? And these three just do whatever they want?" the teacher asked. Austin raised his hand. "Yes." The teacher said. "Pretty much yeah." Austin answered.
"You know what? I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to shape young minds. I wanted to dedicate my entire life to being an influential person who commands respect!" the teacher told us. Riley got up and pointed her finger. She slowly brought it towards his face in a swirling motion until it touched his nose. "I quit!" he announced. He walked out of the room and Riley sat back down. "What happens now?" Riley asked. Her questioned was answered by our dad walking into the room. He swirled his finger like Riley then pointed at her. "You did this." He told her.
"I can't believe you're going to be my father again." Riley said. Everyone looked at her and I decided I was going to be on her side for this one. "She said what she said." I said. "Seriously, Matthews, how is this possibly happening?" Maya asked. "I like that this is happening. The other guy didn't give me Farkle time." Farkle admitted. "Yeah, he didn't like it at all when we talked." Austin said. "It's true. It was like he wanted to talk all the time." Maya said. "I don't think he knew that history class is supposed to be about our lives." Riley added. "Galileo." Dad stated. He walked over to his desk and put his bag down. "Everyone believe that the sun revolved around the earth… except for him. Everyone thought they were the center of the universe and that everything else circled around them. "I know somebody who circles around me… a little too closely." Riley commented.
"Is that what you think's happening here, Riley?" dad asked standing in front of us. "We're in the eighth grade now." Riley said. "We're a year older." Maya said. "We should be able to head off and explore without you." I told him. "Okay and you guys think you're ready?" he asked. "Born ready." Maya answered. "We'll get there." Riley and I answered. "You know what we're gonna do, Matthews?" Maya asked. "We're gonna transfer out of here." "Yeah! Yeah?" Riley and I questioned. "Yeah!" Maya said. "Lucas." I said to my boyfriend. "Austin, Farkle." Riley said.
"I don't think so Care." Lucas told me. "I really like him." Farkle told us. "I like what he teaches us." Austin said. "And I like how we're talking right now and he doesn't stop us, when he could if he wanted to." Lucas added. "Wait why don't you stop us?" Austin asked. "Yeah, that's interesting isn't it?" dad questioned. Riley, Maya, and I got up. "Well we're done with you. Thanks for the lessons. Buy yourself something pretty." Maya told him while putting some money in his hand. "Thank you. Oh you're gonna need transfer slips." He told us.
"I knew it, he was going to keep us here on a technicality." Maya commented. We turned back around when he did and he had three green sheets of paper in his hands. "Go ahead, beat it." He told us. "Look at us, Riles and Care. Three young, independent women taking their own road, making their own way with their guts and their brains." Maya said as we walked out of the room. "Needing nothing from nobody for this moment on!" Riley and I said before I closed the door.
I opened the door and we stuck one foot out each because we still didn't have our shoes. We dropped them and dad threw our shoes at us. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow." We said in pain.
"We think we're the center of the universe. We think everything revolves around us. We depend on the sun for light, for warmth every morning, every day and when it's gone… we sleep… Trusting that in the morning, it will always come back again."
Riley, Maya, and I walked into our new class with our shoes on our feet. "Transfer slip. Poom!" Riley stated slamming her transfer slip on the desk. "Poom." I said doing the same as Riley. "And poom." Maya said repeating what we did. We turned and looked at the class. "Greeting new classmates. Riley Matthews ready to be your friend." Riley introduced herself. "Hi, Caroline Matthews, ready to be your helpful friend." I introduced myself. "Sup? I'm Maya. You don't look me in the eyes." Maya greeted.
"You three are late. You three don't talk. You three sit there, there, and there." The teacher told us pointing to two seats on the outside and one in the middle, they were all in the back. "There, there, and there?" I questioned. Maya chuckled, "No, no, we sit together." "In the middle of everything." Riley and I added. "Move!" the teacher shouted and Maya yelped. "Bye, bye." Riley and I sobbed hugging Maya.
"Excuse me." The teacher said pulling us apart. "Were you three trying to have a moment? You three don't get a moment. This is not the you three show." "We were told it was." Riley commented. Riley, Maya, and I walked towards the back, but we stopped and stood next to the three girls who sat where we usually sat in our old class. After that we went and sat in the back of the classroom. Once we sat down Riley and Maya leaned over to the girls who were sitting on each side of me. They moved back to their seats before they jumped on the girls who were sitting by me. The teacher slammed a book down on her desk and they moved back to their seats.
"During the Gold Rush, people left the comfort of their own surroundings in the hope of greater riches in an inhospitable land." The teacher said. I stood up with Riley and we both said, "Excuse me." "I will not warn you again side people." She told us. Riley and I looked at her in shock before we sat back down. "You tell her mom." Two girls said in the front. "You failed me." The other girl said. "Ha!" one boy said. "I saw a goat give birth." One of the other boys said. "Hi." The girl said. "Hi." The boy replied.
I looked at them and noticed that this looked all too familiar. "Wait a minute!" Maya exclaimed standing up. "Students number 6, 7, and 8." The teacher called out. "That's us?" I questioned. "I believe so." Maya answered. "Students number 6, 7, and 8." Riley said. "Hey, at least she's talking to us." Maya told us. "Yes." Riley and I answered. "Get out!" she ordered pointing towards the door. "Fine, well at least we get a dramatic exit." Riley said as we walked over to Maya. We flipped our hair and started to walk out of the room when we realized our exit wasn't so dramatic. We walked back and Riley shouted, "Oh come on!" Before we finally left the room.
"Here's what's funny. If you're standing on the moon, you'd think the earth was revolving around you, instead of the other way around. It's really all about perspective. It's hard not to believe that you're the center of everything. Until something shows you you're not."
"Our Town by Thornton Wilder, my favorite play." Dad said in his classroom. Riley, Maya, and I were standing outside of the room looking in. "You can't teach English." Farkle argued. "Yeah, that's why we have an English class for." Austin said agreeing with Farkle. "It's all about the history," dad started. "There you go." Lucas said. "Of people just like you and me. Mostly about not taking what we have for granted, and a girls who gets a chance to take one look at the life she life behind." Dad continued. We walked into the class and put on transfer slips on the desk before sitting down at our seats.
"Just for a moment now we're all together. Just for a moment we're happy. Let's really look at one another." Dad said quoting the play. We all looked at each other. "Hello girls, you're back?" he asked. "Yes." Maya answered. "As bad as this is," I started. "Everything else is worse." Maya continued. "Well welcome back ladies, you're just in time for today's lesson." He told us. "Did we miss anything?" Riley asked. "Nah. We're just putting everything back in place." He told us as he walked towards the chalkboard. "The real lesson begins right…" he snapped his finger. "Now."
"Face it we're never going to escape him." Riley said as we walked into the bakery. "He's everywhere. How are we going to be kings of anything if everywhere we go," Maya started. "We might run into my…" I turned around to see my mom. "Mom? What are you doing here?" "Is my-krainian bakery." She told me before turning to look at Auggie and Mrs. Svorski. "Still not funny." Auggie told her. "Not funny? I'll tell you what's not funny. This place loses $1.50 on every bulochki." mom stated. "I bake with love. How can you put a price on love?" Mrs. Svorski asked. "Watch me." Mom said. She pulled something out and place it in the bulochki. "$4.95." "Ooh. Ka-ching!" Mrs. Svorski exclaimed.
"Bakery window, bakery window right now." Riley told us pointing towards the window. We walked over to the window and sat down. "That's nice. So, your dad's at school, your mom's at our hangout. That's nice." Maya laughed. "You're laughing at me?" I questioned. "Inside I'm crying so hard." Maya admitted. "We can't escape them Maya. Our parents are constantly circling us. Like planets." Riley told Maya. We heard something slam against the window. "Hello." I heard dad say. He walked into the bakery. "Riley, Caroline, I haven't seen you in twenty minutes." He pulled us in for a hug. "Do you miss me? 'Cause I missed you. Auggie, come here. I miss you too, bud."
"Mrs. Svorski, I have someone who I think can be the perfect manager for when I can't be at the bakery." Mom told Mrs. Svorski. "This person know way around food game?" Mrs. Svorski asked. "Absolutely. She's also very colorful. She really gets into whatever she's doing." Mom told her. "Sounds like good woman." Mrs. Svorski replied. ""Oh! Sorry I'm late." I turned to see Maya's mom walking in. She was talking in a Ukrainian accent. "My donkey died on way here. Oh, smells like being back in kitchen in Ukraine." She said as she walked further into the bakery. "Waiting for Tato to come home, hoping he has not lost last finger in felid mower. Oh no, no, he did." "Poor Tato. You can never win at paper rock scissors. Always know rock is coming." Mrs. Svorski said.
"One." Maya's mom said. "Two, three, rock." Mrs. Svorski and Maya's mom said together. "I like her." Mrs. Svorski commented. Maya got up and walked towards her mom. "Mom." Maya said. "Ohh, Mayabushka." Maya's mom said before she stated talking in her normal voice. "I am gonna be here all the time bow, baby girl. How great is that?" she brought Maya in for a hug. "Mom, you can't be here." Maya told her mom. "Dad, mom, you're everywhere." "We just need some space." Maya said. "It's like you're circling around us." Riley told our parents. "I'm sorry. You think we're circling around you?" Dad asked. "Yes." Riley and I answered.
"Oh I see." Mom said before turning to look at dad. "So, I guess we're all done with the parenting?" "Yes it seems we're done with that part now. Good job, Topanga." Dad said to mom. "Good job, Cory." Mom replied. "Remember that whole potty-training we did for one of them and the watching the other when her other parents couldn't, and now they want to leave?" "Oh I loved every minute of that, good times." Dad commented. "So you're okay with this?" Riley asked. "Oh yeah, we understand. You're grownups. You know everything there is to know." Mom told her. "Yep, ready to move away." Dad added.
"Well I mean I want to stay in my own bedroom." Riley said. "Me too." I added. "Okay. You'll just drop us a line when you get married and have kids?" mom asked. I scoffed at this. "Mom, I just don't want you to be everywhere." I told her. "Okay. Well, when you need us, we'll be at home." Mom told us. "And I'll be back there, staying out of your way." Maya's mom told her. "Okay." Maya said. "Good." I said. "So, nobody feels bad about this?" Riley questioned. "Well let's see what happens." Dad told us.
Riley, Maya, and I sat down in a both. We watched everyone until our parents and Auggie left. "So." Riley said. "Here we are." Maya said. "Kings." I stated and we just sat there.
"The sun doesn't go around the earth. We're the ones moving. We orbit the sun, because we need it. We need its light and its heat, and if it wasn't there, we'd be dark and alone." I said. I walked over to the picture of Mrs. Svorski's picture. "I wasn't in Mrs. Svorski's orbit for very long and I missed out on someone wonderful. My brother knew better. He was her very good friend." I walked over to Maya and Riley and brought them back to the front with me.
"We think that we're the center of the universe, but the truth is we need to circle the ones we love for as long as they're here." I said. Maya walked over to her mom while Riley and I walked over to our family. "We need to hold them close because no matter how far we travel, they're the ones who hold us in place. It's gravity, and without it, we would just all float away from each other." I walked back to the front while saying, "We are not kings at all. We are just tiny little specks. My name is Caroline Matthews from Greenwich Village, New York City, the United States of America, the continent of North America, the Western hemisphere, the earth, the solar system, the universe, the mind of God."
"That's from Our Town, my father's favorite play. 'Just for a moment we're all together. Let's really look at one another.'." Everyone was quiet as we all looked at each other. I walked over to Mrs. Svorski's picture and said, "Good night, Mrs. Svorski." I walked over to Auggie and picked him up. I sat in his spot and sat him on my lap. "Good job, Care." Auggie told me. "I know you're gonna miss her, buddy." I replied. "She gave me her flour shaker." He told me holding a flour shaker. "That's really nice." I told him. I shook and heard something inside it rattle. "What's inside?" I opened it and took out a piece of paper and gave it to Auggie. "It's a note. Maybe she wrote you a note."
Auggie read whatever was on the paper then laughed. "I love you guys." He told us.