Val Meets Mr. Squirrels
I don't own Girl Meets World!
"I apologized!" Riley shouted.
"I don't care!" Maya screamed.
"I apologized like 50 times."
"You don't do that to me."
"How many times are you gonna make me say I'm sorry?"
"Are you actually sorry?"
"No!"
"Oh, this one's bad." Topanga said.
She, Cory, Auggie, and Val were all outside Riley's room, listening to the fight going on between the two girls. It had been going on for hours.
"Really bad." Val nodded.
"It's Riley and Maya." Cory said, nonchalantly.
"They love each other." Auggie mimicked his father's tone.
From inside they heard Maya say "Fine, you don't want to sit by me? Fabulous."
"I will not stink up the integrity of our bay window with this ridiculous argument." Riley complained.
"You come here and stink it up right now."
"No, this one's really bad." Topanga shook her head.
"Really, really bad." Val agreed.
"It'll go away." Cory shrugged.
"They're gonna marry each other." Auggie copied.
"You stood up for Lucas and not me!" Maya cried.
It was the next day and they were at school. Val trailed behind the two fighting girls, rolling her eyes and rubbing her temples.
"I'm not standing up for him." Riley argued.
"You didn't disagree with him." Maya pointed out.
"Well, when you really think about it, he wasn't wrong." Riley said angrily.
"Who cares?" Maya shouted.
"Oh, right and wrong don't matter now?"
"The only thing that matters is you and me. When have I ever not stood up for you?" Maya asked.
"When I'm wrong!"
"You're always wrong!"
Riley gasped.
Or you're always right. Who cares? I don't listen, I just stick up for you automatically."
"Please stop." Val begged "This is ridiculous."
Zay walked up to the girls "Chick fight right here, ladies and gentlemen. One dollar to see the shocker by the lockers. Brought to you by Zay Babineaux enterprises."
"Zay, please trust me, just don't get involved." Val pleaded.
"I'm not gonna be the cause of this." Lucas said, joining the group.
"Too late, huckleberry." Maya said menacingly.
Zay chuckled "Huckleberry."
"You know why it happened, Maya?" Lucas asked "All you do is call me names. I finally struck back once."
"This has nothing to do with you, who I will deal with later." Maya glared.
"Yee." Val, Lucas, Farkle, and Zay all took a quick step back, away from the angry girl.
"This happened because she stuck up for you." Maya jabbed her finger at Riley.
"I didn't stick up for him." Riley protested.
"You didn't disagree with him." Maya yelled.
"How could she disagree with him, he's right?" Farkle asked.
"You're next!" Maya warned.
"I wanna be first."
"Yee." Riley and Maya stepped back.
"He is right, you know." Zay pointed out.
"What did I say about not getting involved?" Val sighed "Does no one hear me?"
"Why does that mean so much to everybody?" Maya asked "When being right is more important than being friends... Then that's the end of being friends."
The bell rang and they walked into Cory's classroom. On the board was "Belgium, 1831."
Farkle took one look at it and said "Yeah, no chance."
He erased the board and took his seat.
"Is this still going on?" Cory asked.
"Look at 'em!" Farkle yelled.
Riley and Maya were glaring in opposite directions, angrily gritting their teeth.
"Yowzas!"
"I'm moving my seat." Maya announced.
"Yeah, you just do that." Riley grumbled.
"Mr. Friar?" Cory asked, turning to Lucas.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't take it anymore. I finally called her a name. She's called me a thousand names. I called her one name." Lucas explained.
Maya walked up to Zay's desk "Move."
"Do it." Zay smirked.
"He's under my protection." Lucas said.
"And mine." Val warned.
"You want to tangle with us?" Lucas asked.
"Not yet." Maya went over to Yogi's desk "Move."
Yogi started to do a silly dance and Maya's face broke into a small smile. She went back to her seat.
"Why didn't you disagree with him, Riley?" Maya sighed.
"Maya, how can I disagree with what he said if what he said was true?"
"In life, no matter what happens sometimes all you need is someone who will be there for you no matter what." Maya said.
"What he said is true!" Riley protested.
"I'm not talking to you!" Maya shouted.
"Then I'm not talking to you!" Riley yelled.
"Well, that's the way it would work, wouldn't it?" Maya snarked.
"Not the way we're doing it." Riley pointed out.
"Dad?" Val pleaded "Do something, please."
"Okay, darlings. If everyone will focus their attention to the front of the room... war. World wars can begin with a single gunshot. And wars between friends can also begin with an isolated event. One time in college, all my friends had a war, and it was great... until it wasn't." Cory told the class.
"I won't let it come to that, Mr. Matthews." Lucas assured him.
"Neither will I." Farkle and Val said together.
"Maya?" Riley asked.
"What?"
"Let me tell you how much I am not going to talk to you."
"You're pathetic at this."
"Well, we've never done this before."
"Sorry, guys, but I think this is gonna take someone a little better at this than us. This is gonna take someone with a very unique set of skills. This is gonna take..."
Val was visiting Annie who had just gotten her tonsils out.
"...And then Lucas called Maya a name and Riley didn't defend her and now they're in this huge fight, which I find completely ridiculous and silly." Val took a deep breath "I think this could be it if they're not careful."
"It?" Annie asked "It can't be it. They're Riley and Maya. There's nothing that can break them apart."
"This might."
"Look," Annie sighed "You know I don't like your sister very much. She treats you terribly, is completely self-centered, and doesn't know the meaning of the word no."
"I get it, Annie." Val groaned "But she's really not that bad. I love her, she's my sister and my twin. I love her and I can't change that."
"I know." Annie assured her friend "But you can't just give her everything she wants and let her walk all over you."
"She doesn't!"
"She kinda does."
"Look, I gotta go start dinner, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Val, wait." Annie tried to stop her "I'm just saying that your family all kind of revolves around Riley and her problems. You are the best at living your own life but you still let her get away with a lot."
"I know." Val smiled lightly "I know we do it because she feels Mom and Dad didn't give her enough attention when we were young because of my being sick, and I get that it's hard for an outsider to understand, but that's how it is. I wish it could change sometimes, but it can't right now." Val sighed deeply "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay, bye, Val. Have a good night." Annie waved as Val left.
Val went into the hall and saw her Uncle Eric standing at the door.
It opened and he said "I have been summoned."
"STRANGER!" Riley's voice screamed from the apartment as she slammed the door.
"Hi, Uncle Eric." Val greeted.
"Niche Valentina!" Her Uncle swept her up in a tight hug.
The door opened again and Cory, Topanga, and Riley smiled.
"Ah, you missed the whole parade." Uncle Eric said, pulling out a ballon.
"My brother!" Cory shouted.
"My brother!" Eric repeated.
The two men hugged then broke apart.
"Hey, Eric." Topanga smiled.
"'Pangers! You're still here?" Eric asked, astonished.
"Yeah."
"Hey. Hello, niche." Eric greeted Riley.
"Uncle Eric." Riley said, nervously.
"Little 'Pangers!" They hugged.
Auggie ran into the living room "Uncle Eric!" He shouted.
"Oh! Oh! It's cousin Auggie!" Eric shrieked "Hey! How you doin', buddy?"
Auggie took in his Uncle's appearance. He wore a long whiteish robe, a long beard, and his hair was a rats-nest.
"Uncle Eric, how come you look like this?"
"Because they elected him mayor." Cory explained.
"Who would do that?" Riley questioned.
"The good people of Stupid Town." Topanga told them.
"Wow." Val giggled.
"It's not pronounced Stupid town!" Eric protested.
"How is it pronounced?"
"St. Upid Town." Eric smiled triumphantly.
"Oh. How St. Upid of me." Topanga joked.
"I don't get it!" Eric cried.
"And you're the mayor of St. Upid Town?" Riley asked skeptically.
"Yes! I was elected in a landslide. See, after the landslide, everybody that wasn't killed voted for me. It's a lovely little village right on the border of New York and France." Eric said happily.
"New York doesn't even border France. It borders Canada." Riley pointed out.
"Well, then why do they speak French? Why don't they speak Canadahoo?" Eric asked.
"It's Quebec." Topanga sighed.
"The jeopardy guy?"
"No."
"Who is the jeopardy guy?"
"No." Topanga groaned.
Eric chuckled "You have a stupid name. No, see I look like this because they look like this. When they elected me mayor of them, I wanted them to know that I was one of them. I mean, people go nuts for the way I look. Do people go nuts for the way you look?"
"I wore high-heels once. People have responded." Riley said slowly.
"You're too young. It takes away your vulnerability."
"Well, we know that now."
"Anyhoo, I've been summoned. Why have I been brought to here?" Eric asked, turning to Cory.
"Because Cory thinks when it comes to helping people, you somehow turn into a genius." Topanga sighed.
"I'm in a fight with my best friend." Riley explained.
"There will be no losing friends. Lose one friend, lose all friends. Lose yourself." Eric said sagely.
Auggie gasped "That's genius!"
"I told you. Have faith in him. They didn't elect you just because you look like that." Cory smiled.
"No, they elected me because people trust me on their issues. I don't have to look like this. Everybody look at me! Ow!" Eric ripped off his fake beard and wig and screamed.
They all sat in Riley's bedroom. Eric sat between Riley and Maya, Val sat on the bed, and her parents and Auggie stood in the doorway.
"I called in my brother to help because no one here wants to see your battle become a war." Cory explained.
"And Eric's really good at this, because you wanna believe that everybody has to be good at something." Topanga laughed lightly.
"Thank you, tuba." Eric said, completely serious.
"Eric's also good at this because he completely knows how to talk to people." Cory said.
"Right. Now..." Eric looked around "Which one of you is Riley's friend, Moesha?"
Val sighed and hid a giggle.
"It's Maya." Maya corrected.
"Oh, okay. So, what are you fighting about?"
"She didn't take my side." Maya accused.
"I couldn't take her side based on what was said, which is the problem with this whole thing, because Maya is making too big of a deal of what was said." Riley argued.
"Uh-huh, okay. Okay. Now, which one was she?" Eric asked.
"She's the one who used to be my best friend." Riley glared.
"Oh, I'm sorry, but your best friend is supposed to be the person you stand up for in front of people." Maya ground out.
"Okay..." Uncle Eric said something in gibberish " Look... listen, Riley. Look, in Margie's point of view... Right and wrong don't matter. There's nothing more important than the friendship."
"I just can't side with her this time. This time we just can't go into candy cane world. We can't just go skipping over the rainbow bridge with our underwear on our head." Riley sighed.
Eric nodded "Yeah. Yeah, I'm not doing that again. When a real friend comes into your life, I mean... if one true friend comes through this window, then sometimes to protect the friendship, then right and wrong, they have to go out the window. Do you understand?"
"No." Riley, Topanga, and Val all exclaimed.
"Honey, I think Eric's employing a broad-based concept of value of friendship taking priority..." Cory tried to explain.
Topanga turned to her husband, anger flashing in her eyes "I'm sorry, are you explaining something to me?"
"No." Cory said quickly.
"Smart choice, Dad." Val laughed.
"Yo, bozo." Topanga got Uncle Eric's attention.
"Yes?"
"A true friend always lets her friend know what she is really thinking. That is the definition of friendship. Is there anybody here who could possibly disagree with that?"
Cory started again "Well, I think what Eric's trying..."
"Are you kidding me?" Auggie grabbed his father's arm to shut him up.
"Yeah, okay, you know what no one can argue with there, tomato? Um, when I finally hear what this argument is about, and I fix it all up in like one second." Eric grinned "Yeah, okay, Malala, come here. Now, I need you to tell us what this fight is about, so I can fix it."
"Lucas called me short." Maya sighed.
"Fix it." Cory ordered.
Uncle Eric shook his head "Yeah, I can't fix that."
"Eric, I brought you in because you're the only one I know who can do the impossible. You're my big brother. Fix it."
Eric sighed and got up. He started pulling on Maya's ears, trying to stretch her and make her taller.
When it didn't work he grunted "Okay, you know what? Fine. Stay a hobbit. I'll just fix this one."
Eric moved to Riley and started pushing on her head to make her shrink.
"I don't think it works like that." Val smiled at her Uncle's silliness.
"Okay, you know, I can't do anything if no one's gonna help." Eric complained.
"Lucas called me a short little stack of pancakes, and Riley didn't say I wasn't. And I don't want to be a short little stack of pancakes." Maya cried.
"Oh, boy." Topanga whispered.
"I don't think I'm gonna grow anymore." Maya said sadly.
Eric hugged her "I might be done, too." He wiped his tears on Maya's long blonde hair.
"What are the primary causes of war?" Cory asked his class the next day.
"You may be wondering why I'm-" Eric began.
Cory cut him off "Not now."
"Freedom." Riley suggested.
"Honesty." Val tried.
"Religion." Lucas offered.
"Pancakes." Maya growled.
"You may be wondering why-"
"Not now."
"Ah..." Eric grumbled.
"Can't we be friends again?" Riley begged.
"We're at war, Riley." Maya said, glaring straight ahead.
"Why?" Riley questioned.
"Because when I knew I could count on you to defend me, I felt at peace. Now, I'm not at peace." Maya explained.
"Maya, what's the difference what anybody says?" Riley sighed.
"Because even if I am short, I never felt like I was until you didn't disagree."
"In any war, the immediate danger is escalation to other countries." Cory continued the lesson.
"It seems like this is about Riley and Maya. How could it escal..." Riley and Maya both turned to glare at Farkle "I get it now."
"Right. So, in order to avoid that, the next step would be to bring in a mediating body, like the United Nations. But, unfortunately, they said no, so I've decided to bring in a respected intellect from the North." Cory gestured to his brother.
Eric had tape all over his face.
Val sighed deeply "Now, Uncle Eric."
Quickly, Eric ripped the tape off his face "Oww!" He cried "Now, what was I going to say?"
"You may wonder what it is?" The class prompted.
"Yeah?"
"I'm doing here."
"Uh-huh." Eric asked, still lost.
"Who is this guy?" Zay finally asked.
"Well, this guy is my brother Eric, and, to be honest, there's no one that I trust more when it comes to the art of mediation." Cory explained.
"Mediation. Sitting cross-legged going ohm...my legs are killing me." Eric defined incorrectly.
"That guy's your Uncle?" Zay asked Val.
"Yep."
"Right," Cory took a deep breath "so, it's certainly no secret that war has broken out among us. I thought it might be an interesting lesson for you guys to see how rational and caring people can bring war to an end."
"Dad, are you sure?" Riley asked skeptically.
"Yeah. He's got this." Cory confirmed then turned to Eric "Uh, Eric, Eric? You do have this, right? I mean... I know we mess around a lot, but the stakes are kind of high on this one."
"Look, I just wanna thank you for believing in me." Eric patted Cory's shoulder.
"My brother."
"My brother. Okay, I need there to be as many people around as possible for this." Eric clapped his hands together.
"Why?" Cory asked.
"Well, as mayor, I'm around other people all the time. When you begin to understand them, you get that everybody has the same thing in common." Eric explained "Now, here we have two friends at war. Why? Who fired the first shot?"
Lucas raised his hand "I called Maya a short stack of pancakes."
"Okay, now was that really the first shot, or did Maya call you anything to make you say that to her?" Eric asked.
"She called me 'huckleberry.'" Lucas said.
"There's also a possibility I may have called him 'Ranger Rick' once." Maya admitted.
"Once?" Lucas raised his eyebrows.
"Oh, yeah, 'Ranger Roy' once, 'Ranger Rick' is every day." Maya corrected.
"Oh, don't forget about 'Bucky McBoingBoing.'" Lucas reminded her.
"Oh, that was a fun day." Maya smiled.
"Oh, and she comes up to my face and goes, ha..."
"Hurrr!" Maya finished.
"Like it's the way I talk."
"Oh. Okay, now why do you do that?" Eric asked.
"Because he lets me." Maya shrugged.
"Oh. Well, why do you let her?"
"Yeah, I'd like to know that myself." Zay turned to Lucas "And all he do is call you a short stack of pancakes, and you're mad at him?"
"I'm not mad at him. I'm mad at her." Maya pointed to Riley.
"I'm sorry, Maya, but how can I possibly defend you from how tall you are?" Riley protested.
Maya stood up "The same way I defend you from how tall you are."
"What?" Riley asked, confused.
"Let's say somebody here called you...I don't know, 'Riley Superklutz.'"
"What?"
"It's okay, Riley. You know, maybe you got these big old gawky legs and arms that you're not really in such good control of yet. So, maybe sometimes you don't walk around so good." Maya demonstrated, mimicking Riley's goofy walk and tripping over her own feet.
"Do I do that a lot?" Riley asked.
"No, but sometimes you do this." Maya fell over.
The class laughed.
"Hey! Nobody laughs at her but me." Maya threatened, getting up.
"I've never once heard anybody call me 'Riley Superklutz'." Riley crossed her arms in disbelief.
"Because I've always had your back."
"Ahem!" Val cleared her throat loudly.
"Okay, because Val and I always have your back." Maya amended.
"That's how you all see me?" Riley asked the class at large.
"Yeah." the kids chorused.
"Okay, well, that kind of hurts." Riley frowned "Why does it hurt?"
"Because it's true, Riley. Some of these things are true about us." Farkle explained.
"But, you guys defended me?" Riley asked, looking between Val and Maya.
"You're my twin sister, even when we were fighting, I wasn't about to let anyone make fun of you." Val told her.
"Of course I defended you." Maya said.
"Even when it was true?" Riley asked.
"It doesn't matter." Maya insisted.
"Why?" Eric asked.
"Why what?" Maya rolled her eyes.
"Why doesn't it matter?" Eric asked.
"'Cause we're best friends." Maya muttered.
Eric leaned in "I can't hear you."
"Because we're best friends!" Maya said louder.
"I still can't hear you. Something's wrong!"
"They're best friends, Eric. They realize that. You did it." Cory said, pulling Uncle Eric aside.
"No." Eric shook his head.
"No?"
"No, we knew that already. That's not it. This goes deeper."
"Do you think I'm a superklutz?" Riley asked.
"Yeah. Do you think I'm super short?" Maya asked.
"I think you're regular short." Riley shrugged.
"Thanks." Maya rolled her eyes.
"So, you knew that everybody was calling me this, but you didn't tell me?"
"I didn't want to hurt your feelings."
"Well, that didn't work." Riley sat down on the ground.
"I'd join you, but I'm already down here." Maya joked.
"What do you mean it goes deeper than that?" Cory asked.
Val sat down next to Maya "Do you ever feel so insignificant that if you disappeared nobody would notice?"
"Not really." Maya shook her head "Do you feel that way?"
"Sometimes." Val shrugged.
"What do you do when you feel like that?" Riley asked.
"I go to my friends and they remind me that if I vanished they'd miss me. And I remember that you and Mom and Dad and Auggie would be sad and I'd never get to see you guys again. And it's not like I'd ever do anything, but sometimes I think about what would happen if I did."
Farkle joined the girls on the floor "You know, I've never admitted this before, but sometimes I wonder if my desire for world domination actually comes from deep down feeling like I'm squeaky the mouse."
"What makes you feel like that?" Lucas asked, joining his friends not the floor.
"You do."
"How?"
"Just by being alive, ya freak!"
"I'm a freak?" Lucas chuckled.
"Look at you! Look at your freak face, and your freak hair. You make me sick!" Farkle exclaimed.
"Hey, you think this is easy? You think it's easy being me every day?" Lucas asked.
"Shut up!" Maya, Riley, and Farkle said together, Val just smiled at him.
"Yeah, okay." Lucas sighed.
"One dollar to look at the freak." Zay said, sitting down next to Lucas.
"Oh, be quiet, flat butt." Lucas laughed.
"What? Really? I had no idea." Zay started to twist and turn, trying to get a look at his backside.
"You got this?" Cory asked.
"Yeah, the people elected me mayor because they trust me with their issues." Uncle Eric nodded.
"You mean political issues?" Riley questioned.
Eric shook his head "Nope. Don't know anything about those. No, they trust me with their people issues, which, it turns out everybody has, and they all seem to show up right about now. The enemy's not each other, guys. You're all going through the same thing. It's part of growing up."
"I'm a klutz." Riley said.
"I'm a pancake." Maya sighed.
"I'm depressed." Val smiled sadly.
"Squeak." Farkle smiled.
"Freak." Lucas grinned.
"That's why it hurts to sit." Zay realized.
"Well, what a bunch of weirdos we are."
That afternoon, Maya, Topanga, and Val sat in the bay window, Riley stood next to them.
"Guess I'm just gonna have to get used to going through life looking up at people, and people looking down at me." Maya sighed.
"And I'm just going to sit here and never move." Riley said, sitting down next to Maya.
"I think it's about going through life with the right attitude, girls. I mean, I think we need to recognize people for who they are, not what they look like. Because it's only our contribution to the world and to each other that gives us any real stature." Topanga smiled.
Maya stood up "That's easy for you to say. Everybody looks up to you. Because you're this brilliant, strong, Amazon warrior."
"Oh, really?" Topanga stood up pulling Val with her.
They were both shorter than Maya.
"Woah, you guys are shrimps." Maya gasped.
"Yeah." Topanga nodded.
"Got it in one." Val smirked.
"You've always been like this?" Maya asked.
"Yeah." Topanga confirmed.
"Always." Val agreed.
"You're not just doing this for me?"
"No, Maya, this is us." Topanga laughed.
"But, you're the fiercest woman I know." Maya protested.
"And so are you. Honey, a couple of short stacks of pancakes like us can do just fine." Topanga told the blonde.
"And a super klutz!" Riley said, throwing her arms around the group.
"Woah!" Topanga, Maya, and Val all said as they toppled over.
"You feeling any better about yourself?" Topanga asked Maya from the floor.
"Yeah."
"How about you, Riley?"
When Riley didn't answer Maya giggled "Yeah, she's unconscious."
Val laughed, stood up, and went downstairs. Cory was waiting for her.
"Val, honey, I wanted to talk to you about what you said in class today." He said, slowly.
"Yeah, I knew I hadn't heard the last of that." Val sighed
"Why wouldn't you tell us if you're feeling depressed?" Cory asked.
"It's not that I didn't want to tell you, I just didn't know how. I'm okay though, Dad, really. I said I'd never do anything and I meant it. I've got my friends, and I know I've got you and Mom if it ever comes to that."
"You do." Cory nodded.
"I know, Dad. Trust me. I'm okay. I promise, if I'm ever not, I'll come to you." Val vowed "But that hasn't happened yet, and I don't think it'll ever come to that."
"Okay, sweetie." Cory nodded "I'm trusting you to come to us if it ever gets bad. Don't try to handle its yourself."
"I won't be handling it by myself ever. I've got Annie and Lucas and Farkle and Zay and Eric." Val smiled "I've even got Riley and Maya if it comes to that."
"I love you, sweetheart." Cory reminded her "Don't ever forget that."
"I won't, Dad, I promise."
Word count: 4270 words
Please don't forget to comment, vote, and add to your reading lists! And please wash your hands and stay healthy! I want everyone to be safe!
Love,
The Author