Girl Meets True Strength

His Concerns

Hi guys

Hope you all liked the last chapter.

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Previously:

Cory and Topanga give their blessings to Lucas when he asks for Riley's hand in marriage.

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Cory sees that Lucas still looks troubled.

He turns to Topanga and they have a silent conversation through their eyes.

Topanga then turns to Lucas and asks, "Is there anything else you wanted to talk to us about? Is there something else that's bothering you?"

After a few moments, Lucas says, "There's another thing that's been bothering me. I couldn't bring it up with the others around and cause unnecessary arguments."

Cory nods and gestures to him to continue.

Lucas takes a deep breath and continues, "You know the debate teacher we have this semester. Professor Simon Johnson. He's very different compared to the other professors we have, like he prefers to have verbal discussions in class, which is great and all but I don't feel comfortable with him asking us to call him by his first name only. I don't think he should be this friendly with us because at the end of the day, he's our professor. I feel like there should be some limit on how friendly he is with us. We're in college now and I really don't think he should be this friendly."

Cory replies, "I'll be honest with you Lucas. I share these concerns of yours because it does sound a bit weird that your professor is so friendly with you all. I mean him randomly talking to Zay like that and giving suggestions sounds a bit odd especially since they haven't really known each other very long. A student and professor talking about their passions which has nothing to do with the subject that the professor takes sounds extremely weird to me."

Lucas nods and says, "The others seem to be impressed with him, even Farkle and Smackle, regardless of whether they admit it openly. What I found most uncomfortable was that he was giving Riley a lot of attention. Like he kept calling on Riley again and again during the class discussion. That's not all because he kept glancing at her during the class. I'm not sure if Riley noticed this herself but I found it really unnecessary and weird. Like when he made us introduce ourselves to the class one by one. He gave a rather generic reply to everyone but when it was Riley's turn he gave her a compliment saying she would make a lovely teacher making her blush."

Topanga says, "How did none of the others notice? I expected at least Farkle to have similar concerns in a situation like this. What happened to the Riley Protection Committee? This clearly sounds concerning"

Lucas replies, "I'm not sure but if Farkle noticed anything he didn't mention anything to me. Hearing the others sing praises of Professor Johnson, I didn't bring up my concerns. Farkle also seemed slightly impressed by the professor so I doubt he shares my concerns. As far as the Riley Protection Committee goes, I'm the only active member right now. Maya and Farkle are completely spellbound by the new teacher."

Lucas turns to Cory and asks, "What should I do now, Mr. Matthews? Do you have any advice for me?"

Cory looks deep in thought before he says, "I wouldn't bring it up myself right now. Wait for someone to bring it up first. If you say anything now, I doubt they'll take your warning seriously and it'll only create unnecessary tension between you and the others. I hate to say this but even Riley might not take your side at first because you and I both know that she always tries to see the best in people. Until any of your friends notice, you can definitely talk to us about this. For everyone's sake I hope this is nothing major."

Lucas replies, "I'll keep an eye on things in class and wait for one of the others to bring it up before I say anything. I'll keep you both in the loop with everything that happens."

Cory and Topanga nod in agreement.

Lucas says "Good Night" to both of the adults before he leaves the room.

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Once Lucas leaves, Topanga turns to Cory and says, "Cory I think we should tell the kids about what happened with Stuart. I want them to be prepared for that kind of a situation as well. Especially Riley."

Cory shakes his head and replies, "Not yet Topanga. You heard Lucas, none of the kids have noticed this yet so they won't understand why we are telling them about that story. We'll have to wait before we bring that up. I understand you wanting Riley to be prepared but they'll ignore this story if they don't understand the point."

Topanga tries to argue and says, "Cory you hit the teacher and you've always been a calm person. Lucas has a really bad temper and he's fiercely protective of Riley. You saw how he tore off those towel racks in the bakery when Riley was being bullied back in the eighth grade. This case will be a lot worse than that and I don't even want to imagine what Lucas might possibly do."

Cory replies, "I understand all of your concerns but the answer is still no for now. We have to time this correctly for them to really understand the just telling them won't help if they're all oblivious. For this lesson to be effective, they need to understand it properly. Lucas has come a long way from eighth grade when he tore off those towel racks. You have to trust him to control his temper now."

Topanga says, "I really hope you're right about all this. It will be rather difficult to help Lucas if he did anything because his record isn't as clean as yours was."

Cory smiles tightly and turns back to the papers that were left to grade.

Cory was worried about Lucas' reaction himself but he wouldn't dare voice it in front of Topanga.

He really hoped that his faith in Lucas wouldn't prove to be misplaced.

He knew that if Lucas did anything rash then with his record he would end up in major trouble. The Dean would not even think to give Lucas a chance if he did the same as Cory had all those years ago.

Mr. Feeny had managed to save him from being thrown out of school but Cory couldn't do the same. Cory didn't have a record indicating that he had a bad temper and violent tendencies.

If Riley was hurt, Cory himself wouldn't be able to control his temper.

He just prayed that if the worst were to happen, Lucas would be able to control himself.

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