I'm gonna take on the world

Disconnect to reconnect

Today (outfit 27) was a new day, we start everyday at Riley's house after I leave my own as Maya and I crawl in through Riley's window.

Now, we're at school. Lucas sits down at a bench nearby. Please go over there and talk to him. Maya begs her. No, why would I go over there when we have a perfectly good texting relationship? She questions. Because if you don't go over there and do it, I will.

I inform her. Don't Maya warns me putting a hand up to stop me. Riley can do this. I can? Yes you can? No, it's too complicated over there there's lots that can go wrong over there, in fact the only thing that can go wrong over is if I go over there.

After much encouragement and a literal little push Riley attempts horribly to talk to Lucas but smells his neck instead, I'm surprised he hadn't looked up from that. I stifle a laugh, and Maya nudges me. We motion for her to come back. How'd I do? Smelled him, smelled him is what you did. I go through life the way I go through life. Riley tells her.

Are we gonna talk about this? Maya asks her. Riley texts her the word nope. Inside her dad's classroom he holds up a phone and tells us that we can't exist without them and that we're unfeeling generation zombies and then Riley, Maya and I pretend to start eating each other like zombies. Stop eating each other. He scolds us while we try not to laugh.

One girl comes in late to class and flatly announces her goldfish dies he says that she had a loss but isn't in touch with her emotions, she flatly takes offense to that and says she has to leave early from class that day, and actually is surprised when she actually makes it out the door. As is the rest of the class.

Cory goes and draws a timeline of everything before phones and that at the end is where we came in and that's when we had gone and destroyed all that. Way to go you. He tells us. Riley believes he's living in the past and that he had to get with the times. Lucas then raises his hand and tells him he sees things in a different way, where he respects what he's getting at but that he reminds him that he stays connected with his friends in Texas and all the events going on there.

When Maya teases him about Texas, and Riley scolds her, but Lucas says he's unaffected by it, and it kills Maya that she can't get to him. Where's your cell phone Ms. Jack? In my pocket, I only use it to contact my legal guardian. Why else should I use it? All the people I talk to are in this room aside from my caregiver. I must admit I don't like getting into trouble, and neither does my guardian, however it is encouraged when I stand up for something I believe in or if my friends are also getting into trouble.

Farkle time sir? Farkle asks him. Oh, I love Farkle time proceed Farkle. Where Farkle respects the history he then draws a line after us and that the only part of the timeline that is any use to us is when himself and his technology take over and then he can clone Riley, Maya and even myself as he pulls a strand of hair from our heads. Hold up.... I stop him. Just take a piece from here, I say pulling but hairbrush.

You're actually gonna encourage this? Why not, he's very fascinating. I'd like to see what he does with the world. Right on, Farkle encourages. So, let me get this straight, 6 of us and 1 of you. That's awesome that's the future you can not escape it! I am Farkle. Then Cory proceeds to give us an assignment that we had to do it without technology at the public library and we had to give him our phones.

Then he splits us up into groups for the project leaving Riley, Maya, myself, Farkle and Lucas in a group together. That Farkle and Maya would be partners as would Riley and Lucas. Which would leave me to do my project on my own. Since I asked to. Since we had an odd number of students. Fine, but since we're heading to the library tonight can I at least text my legal guardian and tell him I'll be coming home late tonight?

No, I don't trust you. Fair enough. Fine here's his card with his number on it. On the phone....
Cory: Hello? Is this the legal guardian of Ms. Farrah Jack?
Shawn: (with a disguised voice) This is he whose this calling?
Cory: Hi, my name is Cory Mathew's and I just wanted to call and tell you that your daughter or whatever it is that you call her will be home late tonight, our class is working on a tech free project tonight at the public library and she will therefore not have her phone on her.
Shawn: Oh yes I've heard much about you.
Cory: All good things I hope.
Shawn: Sure, sure.
Cory: BTW, what is your name? What may I call you?
Shawn: Just call me Mr. Jack, whether that is my real last name or not I'll take the last name of my "child" whom I'm looking over and give care to as her legal guardian.
Cory: Got a first name Mr. Jack?
Shawn: Send her my affections, I'll have dinner waiting for her when she comes home, bye.

So? I ask. You're caregiver is just as mysterious as you Ms. Jack. That's not necessarily a bad thing I shrug. Out in the hallway.... So, Lucas are you walking with us to the library? Maya asks him. He wants to know if we're ok with that. Seeing as your Riley's partner you'll have to ask her that?

Well Riley any thoughts on this? I start. Of course not Buttercup cause Riley is without her phone. Isn't that right Riley? So, Riley how will you be commutating with each other I wonder? She gives him two thumbs up and then a smile. Oh look at that, two thumbs up.... I start. And a smile. Maya finishes, as I pat her (Riley) head.

At Riley's house she believes that she can't do this and that's when her mother says that's what her father thinks too, and her father thinks she can't do it but that it's his job to throw little tests at us like this and that we may even learn something about ourselves. That he hopes that by doing this he'll turn us into humans.

Then the intercom buzzes. Hey losers it's Maya. Except her. Cory says. And Farrah, I call into the intercom. I still have hope for her as long as she doesn't turn into another Maya. You know what Riley tells him. I can do this I can go one day without making a call or a text. Come on up she tells us. That's great Riley because you can't prove your father right if you do it's bad for all of us. She's right Cory says.

Like I've learned that I'm really ok with this. Maya says, yeah me too. Farrah, Maya you don't miss your phones? Nah, we were the only kids in class without one anyways it was just my choice not to have one. Hey, it's Farkle. The intercom beeps. Be ready in a min. And Lucas, it buzzes again. I'm ready now. She says as the 3 of us leave.

After we leave.... You know what that was? That was boys, I'm not ready for boys, too soon for boys, I don't want boys. Cory tells Topanga. But they still always have Auggie, and he just wants to color cause you know coloring is life and it would be fun to just color forever. When we get to the library we are in awe by what we see.

I basically live out in nature in the middle of nowhere most of the time so this was new to me also. We looked around at all the books, and we'd get yelled at for talking and Farkle seemed to know al about these places. Once we got yelled at enough times to shh we took books off of shelves and opened them sitting down at tables near each other.

In one of the books it read Disconnect To Connect as its chapter title. And if you look up there at the title of this chapter you'll see that's also our chapter of our story. Inside it reads.... "Not until we put down our phones, switch off our computers and look in each other's eyes we won't be able to touch each other's hearts." Maya thinks it won't work on anyone until she sees Riley and Lucas.

And then turns back to me, whose trying to focus on the assignment but I pull my locket off and look at it with a frown. Farkle says that all he needed to know now was on his phone but Maya says that she didn't have things like that just the sky.

When Farkle asks to see her notes she wasn't taking any. She was drawing, and she never even knew that she could. With Lucas and Riley it's different they don't say anything and then the librarian calls her over to give her advice about starting her own story. And this is the beginning. "Because it's not until you really looked at each other and made a human connection that you can even begin to know each other."

When Farkle wants Maya to look into her eyes she tells him no. But then she turns to me and we lock eyes. Meanwhile while this happening Lucas and Riley have really started talking. Maya gets up from her table and comes to sit across from me. Whatcha got there Buttercup?

It's a locket from my biological family. Are these the Jack's? No, that's my new last name but it's not his last name he actually made that last name up. Why? Because he didn't want people asking questions. Maya we're a lot alike I think. This is a picture of me and my family before we got separated, I was only 5 years old. What separated you from them? A bear, they got killed by one.

I'm sorry she tells me. Can I ask you something? Sure. I shrug. I want you to be 100% honest with me. Of course Maya. What's your legal guardian's name and how did he find you? I seemed to realize from the beginning that's where that was going. No one can know what I'm going to tell you. Promise me. Promise me or I won't answer your question.

I promise she says reaching for my hand. Not even Riley can know, this is between us. I promise. His name is Shawn Hunter and he found me by my screams on his walk in the forest, he shot the bear that killed them, he gave me the biker jacket I always wear, he took me to the hospital, and he went to file a police report and to the court to find out if I had any other known or alive family, I did not. So, he's legally my guardian, but without the best father figure he didn't want me to call him dad, he's more of a fun uncle or a big brother. He used the last name Jack because it's his brother's name. Cory and Topanga especially can't find out because he's Cory's best friend he was the Maya to his Riley.

Maya, Shawn and I we travel a lot, we're never in one place for very long which is why this my first time having friends. That's why because of my past and Shawn's why all the mystery and the lies and secrets. It's my story and my story alone to tell when I'm ready, and because I feel that I am similar to you you're the first and as of now the only person I trust with this secret. And until you feel like you can trust the others with it, I will take it to my grave.

She squeezes my hand and smiles at me. While Maya and I were talking Riley and Lucas had been too. But you already know about that. "There is no connection you can make with any screen that compares to the moment you understand only human beings have souls." When we're done for the night, I go home, and as does everyone else, when Riley gets home she tells her dad she can keep her phone that she doesn't need it.

She and Lucas had really connected, and that they told each other things that were harder to say over texting. That she learned Maya could draw, and that I'm a good friend, I think Maya even got Farrah to open up to her. Well congrats Cory, I daughter has feelings now. I did that? Yes you did?

I didn't mean to do that, how many does she have? All of them. Well, I need to put them back. You can't. I can, and I'll prove it. The next day (outfit 35) at school, Cory gives back all our phones he tells us to take them stop talking to each other and stop feeing things.

We give our report, and Farkle and Maya go first. He says that where his phone used to be is the picture that Maya drew of the night sky and that he keeps looing at it, and that he's fine. Maya pulls me closer to her. I'm not the only artist. This is Farrah Jack, and she opened up to me last night, nothing I can tell you. Because I promised a friend.

But, she showed me this book, it's her own, it's got drawings and paintings, and photos and even song lyrics in it. She's been to a lot of places and most of those places involve nature. She let me take home her prized possessions with me last night, she says slipping my necklace back around my neck and my jacket over my shoulders, there's more to her that meets the eye, but she's still just a mystery, and there's nothing wrong with that, and I am proud to call her my friend.

Riley Lucas your turn. When they talk they know now that they don't need a phone to make real connects with real friends. They show us by saying hi to each other. At the library Maya and I go back. Cory is looking for us. He wants us to keep an eye on Riley and Lucas and give him text alerts. That he wants us to look out for each other as well.

But Maya and I don't have the technology for that. But then he says even by his own selfish reasons that he got us our own smartphones with the technology and that if we see something beautiful to paint him a picture. We tell him that we promise now that we have the materials to do such things.