galaxies edge ☼ gmw [OH]

ii ; winking and peer pressure

[picture of nova above, from Helen Chin's Instagram]

FARKLE WALKS WITH HIS hands in the air toward his desk, a smug little smile on his face after his presentation.

"So, we were indeed trying to find out, who we were as a people," Corey Matthews says as he returns his name tag to its previous position, "who am I? What should I be? History shows that bad things happen when you don't know who you are."

A door clicks open, and my eyes immediately widen; my feet bounce up and down with excitement, and I anxiously wrung my hands.

"Who are you?" Mr. Matthews says, "I don't know who you are."

"Subways boy!" Riley exclaims.

"I'm Lucas Friar from Austin, Texas," he replies while all the girls ogle him. One girl was swooning so hard she fell from her desk.

"Oh, new student, Mr. Friar?"

"Yes sir."

"Great, you're just in time for today's assignment. Have a seat," and after that Riley's head shoots back to peer at Lucas from her seat in front of him... And my heart clenches at the sight of them making dopey eye contact. You didn't see him first, he's not yours, I tell myself. It just hurts knowing that I was always the second choice... Always picked after Riley or Maya.

"Okay, so we—" Mr. Matthews grabs Riley's head and makes her face the front of the classroom, her rosy cheeks and smile are so bright, "So, I'd like you guys to open your books to page forty eight. Now I'd like you to turn to page one. Now I'd like you to read from page one to forty eight."

Everyone one groans, and I look up from at Mr. Matthews in a questioning manner, my eyebrows scrunched together. Was he doing this to get back at Riley for staring? What was the purpose to this?

"Wh—"

"Oh, too bad on you," Mr. Matthews cuts me off, "okay, so for tonights assignment, I'd like you to write me a three page essay on anything-- anything at all that you guys believe in so strongly, you'd fight for it,"   the only topic that came to mind was feminism, and I was giddy to write something on it.

"That!" Maya interjects, "I'd fight for no homework. I come here everyday. Why can't you teach me everything I need to know while I'm here?" After that my heads falls into my hands, knowing Maya was pushing the boundaries way too far here.

"Whoo!" Riley yells, while smiling at her dad, "not whoo," she says again, quieter and shot down.

"He gets our days. Let's take back our nights. No homework, more freedom! Who's with me?"

"Maya, don't do this," I whisper to her, a pleading look in my eyes. The whole class starts chanting after that, "no homework, more freedom" over and over again. Mr. Matthews looks dumbfounded. And then the blonde whispers something to Riley, my little ray of sunshine, and pats her shoulder. This wasn't going to be good. Riley looks conflicted, but stands up anyway. "Don't be so lame Nova, live a little," she gibed at me, proving just how boring I was after my birth mom had left me. After my entire family evaporated.

"What're you doing?" Mr. Matthews queries.

"I'm making a choice about who I want to be, about whose world I want it to be," she answers confidently. My eyes close in annoyance, and I breathe deeply, opting to shut out the yell and instead read my book.

"You're just like me," I hear from Corey's mouth.

"Yeah. Would you do this?" And then Riley starts shouting too. I glance at Lucas for a second, seeing him just as confused as I am.

"Nova, Farkle, are you with us or not?" She asks before moving to leave the classroom with Maya and the other students. It was pathetic that they just did whatever seemed easiest and the coolest.

Farkle stood from his chair, a conflicting expression haunting his features. "My education? My women? My education? Or my women? Oh it's happening again sir," and with that, he fainted into Corey's arms.

"Well that was fun," I said as I tucked the place marker into its rightful spot in my novel, "Mr. Matthews, will feminism be an acceptable topic for my essay?"

He merely nods as he lies Farkle down on the ground, I hear Lucas laugh from behind me– a musical sound almost.

"What's so funny, Ranger Rick?" I ask him with a smirk.

"It was bad enough when you thought my name was cute," he rolled his eyes at me playfully.

"Okay no–"

"But that's okay, because you're even cuter," he finishes, and I die. I can feel my whole face heat up, and my throat immediately gets dry.

"Oh– um, thank you?"

"You're welcome," and then he winks. He winks at me and tips his head like he had a cowboy hat on. Internally I'm screaming, but externally I'm blushing and trying to get out of the room to see Maya and Riley as fast as I can. My heart is beating out of my chest by the time I reach the subway.

•••

"— Just kidding, come 'ere honey." I hear from the hallways leading to the Matthews' apartment. I see Topanga hugging Riley.

"My teacher followed me home. Can we keep him can we keep him?" Riley says with sarcasm, "please say no."

"She walked out of my class. She's trying to be Maya," Corey says, and I nod at Topanga as a confirmation that it was true.

"Why would you want to be Maya?" My adoptive mother questions.

"She cool, she has a wild side, she does what she wants."

"But you're such a good person," Topanga argues.

"Who cares about that?" Riley says, "do you really think I'm one of those girls who follows rules and never gets into trouble?"

"I was hoping," Corey confirms.

"You think I'm well raised."

"Half," Topanga says while looking at her husband.

"How important is it that your don't know me at all?" Riley counters with glazed eyes, and then speedily walks away to her room. I slump into the couch as Topanga and Corey share eye contact and smile at each other in understanding.

"Let's get married! Let have a kid, let's have another kid, let's adopt a kid!" The lawyer says funnily.

"Well you listened to me, you big stupid!" Corey jokes and hugs his wife. They both smile at me lovingly before I leave to go to my room, but I make sure to check on my sister first.

•••
[word count; 1117]
edited

so it was sort of boring but #novacas?
#lava  #luca   #novas  #nocas ?