When Pluto Met Mars | Riarkle

Girl Meets Breaking

I wake up to the sound of my alarm. I immediately shut it off, groaning. I really don't wanna go to school today. The strong sunlight streaming through the window irritates me and almost mocks me. The weather reflects the opposite of my mood right now.

Halfway through brushing my teeth, something strikes me as a little odd. Something's missing. Maya isn't here.
She hasn't been here the last few days to wake me up for school.

I change into a maroon hoodie, blue jeans and add a few curls into my hair with a curling iron.

"Good morning babe!" My mom hands me a bowl of oatmeal as I walk into the kitchen.
"Hey, mom!" I try to smile, but it feels so hard considering how bad I feel.
"Uh- I'm gunna eat breakfast at school!" I lightly push the oatmeal away.
"Are you sure? She put blueberries in it today!" Auggie enthusiastically smiles and stuffs a spoonful into his mouth. He is so cute and seeing him actually makes the ends of my mouth twitch into a small smile.
"Yeah I'm sure little bro!" I run my fingers through his messy brown curls. My little brother is so cute.
"Okay, I'm out!" I make my way out the door when my mom stops me.
"Wait, where's Maya?"
I have the same question.
I bite my lip. "I don't know, but I can handle the subway on my own!" I assure my mom.
I make it to school, without my best friend by my side.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Welcome class!" My dad greets everyone as they file into history class.
"Hey Riles!" Maya chirps.
"Hey." I reply with a fake smile, trying to look as nonchalant as possible.
I immediately look down and pretend not to notice Lucas walking in.
I turn around and try to greet Farkle instead. 
"Hey Fark-" I immediately shut up because he is too immersed in a conversation with Smackle.
I sigh and bring my attention to my dad. Apparently all of my friends are acting distant today.
"How are you all today?" My dad asks as he writes something on the chalkboard.
I take out my marble notebook and a pen. As I open my notebook I cringe at the pages and immediately flip them to a blank page, hoping that no one saw the awfulness of my notebook.
Lucas+Riley = Rucas 4Ever<3
Riley Friar and Lucas Matthews
Riley Friar of RileyFriarTown is scrawled in messy cursive all over the pages.
I am overcome with a feeling of irritation and embarrassment at my stupid self.
"So Abraham Lincoln-"
"Enough!" I blurt out.
My dad stops speaking and looks at me.
Everyone looks at me and the room is so silent you can hear a pin drop.
I can especially feel Maya's eyes boring into me.
"What?!" I say, somewhat aggressively. "Stop staring at me! Leave me alone!"
I try to calm down.
I raise my hand. "Can I be excused?"
"Sure, Riley." My dad says quietly.
I leave the uncomfortable silence of the history classroom and head to the nurse. I have a headache, and my throat suddenly hurts as well. There is a new worry I just added to my mental list: I should definitely get new notebooks.
I push open the heavy wooden door to the health center.
"Hey, it's Riley!" I plaster a smile and greet the school nurse, Ms. Colette.
She's a nice old lady, with smooth chocolate skin and wirey glasses.
"Well hello young lady!" Ms. Colette smiles. "How are you today?"

"Well," I touch the back of my neck, " I have an enormous headache and my throat kinda hurts."

Ms. Colette immediately looks concerned.

"Oh, why do you think that is? Are you getting enough sleep?"

"Well," I debate the things I could say in my head. If I tell her the truth, that I have hardly been able to sleep at night lately, she might tell my parents. I might cry in front of her and that is something I definitely cannot do. But if I lie, then I would be kinda safe for now. I need everyone to think that I'm okay.
"I have been getting enough sleep, but maybe this is just a random headache!" I smile, extra big. Ouch that hurts.