Small Town Girl (Farkle Minkus)

Chapter Two: Girl Meets Pointy Boots

I was staying with Lucas's family, not that he knew that. I walked into the house, dropping my back-pack by the front door and walked into the kitchen. Mrs. Friar stood in the kitchen, eating cereal.

"Oh, hey Skipper? How was your first day?"

"It was ok. Lucas didn't seem particularly excited to see me." I told her.

"He's ashamed. Give him time. He'll come around." I nodded. "How's your mom?"

"She's ok, I think. I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to her." She smiled.

"She's a fighter. She's gonna do just fine."

"Yeah, I know." The door opened and Lucas came in.

"So Riley's mad at me now." I nodded.

"That tends to happen when you keep secrets from people." I told him. "They're your friends. You just need to tell them the truth."

"I can't." He said. "I won't."

"Then suck it up, buttercup." I added.

~~~

When we got to school the next day, the tension in the air was obvious.

"Al washes a car in six minutes. Fred washes the same car in Eight minutes. How long does it take Al and Fred to wash the same car together?"

"How is this anything?"

"Three minutes twenty-five point seven seconds." Farkle replied.

"Wrong."

"I'm sorry, What did you just say?"

"You're wrong."

"I'm wrong? You're a history teacher teaching English, science, whatever you've got going on at home; You waltz your wife in here on career day-"

"She's a respected attorney."

"My father says she should've been my mother!"

"If she was your mother you wouldn't exist." I told him.

"What do you want from me?" Mr. Matthews asked.

"Mr. Matthews teaches us about a lot of things. He's open-minded that way." Lucas said, looking at Riley.

"He can be open minded because he knows who we are."

"Oh. She took us both out."

"I teach this way because in my old school, I had a very strict teacher."

"He teach History, English, or Math?" Zay asked.

"I don't know. But in his class, there was no talking. No interruptions."

"So you didn't like him."

"I loved him."

"Then why don't you teach like him?" Questioned Farkle.

"Because I could never try and be like him. I could only fail. I only succeed with you guys if I get my teaching across as effectively as he did."

"You do. He does." Maya agreed. "Thank you, Maya. And I will, now. Al washes a car in six minutes. Fred washes the same car in eight minutes."

"He thinks it's math class. Somebody stop him! You, what's your name?"

"Farkle."

"What'd you call me?"

"My name is Farkle."

"Who would do that to you?"

"I like it." I told him.