Iɴ A Nᴇᴡ Wᴏʀʟᴅ| Gɪʀʟ Mᴇᴇᴛs Wᴏʀʟᴅ Fᴀɴғɪᴄ-ON HOLD

Girl Meets Master Plan

Riley and I were finishing up our presents for Maya. Riley refused to tell me what she got Maya so the big box in her hand was a surprise for both me and Maya when she opened it. I got Maya some painting supplies. It wasn't the best or anywhere near it, because I wasn't rich and I barely had enough to make rent, but it was still a nice present if you ask me.

We walked over to the bay window when we heard Maya's feet against the metal balcony. We both held out our perfectly wrapped (If I do say so myself) presents. Maya entered the room and eagerly took the presents from us.

"Happy 14, Maya!" I greeted her. My fourteenth birthday was spent in a jail cell, but Riley and Maya didn't need to know that.

Maya ripped off the top of Riley's present to reveal another wrapped box. She opened the top again to another wrapped box. She glared at Riley.

"How's 14? Tell me what it's like to be 14, but don't leave anything out." Riley asked as if she gained superpowers and not woke up like any other day.

"So far it's a lot of work." She sighed as she opened the box to... guess what? Reveal another box.

"Because you know I'll be there soon, and I want to know what I have to look forward to."

"Well, if you're like me, you can look forward to your mother forgetting your birthday." Maya warned Riley and me (mostly me).

"Thank you for the heads up." I thanked her jokingly.

"Oh, no she did not!" Riley tried to climb out the window but I grabbed on to her shirt before she could get anywhere.

"Where you goin', honey?" I asked.

"Must talk to Maya's mom."

"Must not get involved." I told her.

"Why do you tell me these things if you don't expect me to fix them?" She questioned Maya with the face of a sad puppy. She turned to me. "And you! Why don't you ever let me help her fix these problems?"

"Because Maya doesn't want you to get involved." I explained. "We must respect her wishes."

"When you're 14, you'll understand." Maya told Riley and we fist bumped.

"How could you mother forget your birthday, Maya?"

"I've stopped trying to figure it out. She was already gone when I woke up this morning. She probably just took an early shift at the diner."

"Rather than be there for your birthday? Unh-uh!" Riley tried to climb out the window again. And once again, I held her back.

"Riley, not everything is black and white-"

"Well duh there's colors all around us."

"It's a saying." I cut her off. "As I was saying it's not all black and white or right or wrong. You can't just storm into a diner and demand Katie to drop her shift or something like that. It's not as easy or right as it seems."

Maya opened the last box to find three rings. "Riles, a friendship ring."

"Yeah." She was still trying to escape against my grip.

"Three of them."

"Yeah!"

"In case I lose one."

Riley stopped struggling. "No."

"Well, anybody else would have just gotten me one."

"No."

"Oh, I get it."

"Yeah."

"One for each hand and my nose."

"No."