typical | rilaya au

t h r e e

"Riles!" My dad greeted, "How was your race? Are you starting this year off with a gold?" nudging me in the process.

Now that Maya was gone, suddenly the cute, shy girl that I was talking to earlier was replaced with a ferocious runner that would do anything to win.

I shook my head and responded "No, Maya won it."

He continued driving down the road while looking straight ahead. My father tried to offer me brief condolences that I could tell weren't genuine.

I was still completely puzzled about her sudden change in behaviour. Had she always been only mildly annoying but I was too busy being upset about losing to her to notice?

I thought back to some of the things she's said to me in the past and decided evaluate them.

"Matthews, be ready to eat dirt when I blast past you!"

"Thanks for going easy on me and letting me win by a landslide, I appreciate it."

I mean, they were more ego inflating comments than direct insults..

"You look like a rat."

Never mind, she really was a horrible person.

~

Farkle and I sat on opposite sides of my living room couch. We faced each other as our legs stretched out onto the old couch.

I was updating my best friend since childhood on today's events.

I told him about everything, from the bus ride to the awards ceremony. Except I decided it was best to leave out all details related to Maya Hart.

The boy nodded and hummed while I told my story, primarily looking down at his phone.

"Farkle!" I said, kicking him to get his attention. "You could as least pretend to listen."

"Okay fine." he replied, "Aren't you going to complain about Hart? That's my favourite part." Farkle grinned.

I gave him a glare that said 'Don't go there' but he refused to take the hint.

"Come onn, what'd she do this time? Trip you? Strangle an infant?" He urged.

I choked on my water when he said the last suggestion because something about it was so indescribably her.

He became increasingly interested as I stayed silent. It was clear that I didn't want to cover the topic but he pushed for it regardless. Raising an eyebrow? he continued, "What, did you fall in love with her overnight or something?"

My eyes widened as I slapped his arm. "No!"

"You know, I heard she's into girls, you'd have a chance." Farkle winked.

"No! Ugh! I'm not.. gay"

Deciding I had enough of this, I told him everything without leaving out a single detail.

~

"Oh my god she totally likes you!" He teased.

"Farkle, seriously." I warned.

He sat up and pulled his legs into his chest. My best friend hummed briefly while he pretended to stroke an imaginary beard. "I think.." I nodded. "That she's changed and that you should give her a chance."

He sipped some iced tea before continuing, "I mean, it sounds like she genuinely wants to get to know you. Where's the harm in being nice? You two are so similar I'm sure you'll hit it off."

I cut him off before this became a typical lecture I'd get from my mom about friendship. "Okay, okay"

"We'll see how this goes."

~

Farkle and I were still sitting in our same positions in the couch, having it moved all afternoon. Every couple of seconds, one of us would go to grab popcorn, just as a jump scare happened in the movie we were watching. This continued through your the whole movie making a complete mess of popcorn everywhere.

"Kids! Riley's going to be on the local news turn off this junk." said my mom She pushed Farkle and I apart, sitting in between us.

She changed the channel and there I was! Who would've thought my television debut would happen so soon.

I groaned loudly when I realized what was about to happen.

This was the interview that Maya interrupted.

My mom, dad and best friend all sat on the couch, pushing me to the side as they grabbed a handful of popcorn. "Hey that's Maya Hart!" said my dad.

My mother, Farkle and I were quick to respond with a "WE KNOW"

The scene plays out and you can see everything from my clear irritation to Maya's sweet talking.

This time, I was on the receiving end as the three of them turned to look at me and awww'ed at Maya standing up for me. I grabbed a pillow from the side and used it to cover my face as it reddened from embarrassment.

~

Farkle went home thirty minutes ago so I was left with my little brother and nosey parents at the dinner table.

I sighed, poking pasta around the plate with my fork as I answered their questions about her.

"I didn't know you guys are friends!"

"We're not"

"Why don't you like her? She seems like such a sweetie"

"She's not"

Even Auggie decided to join in. "I bet playing tag with her is a blast"

"It's not"

I frowned and tried finished my food quickly seeing as my dining room suddenly became the meeting spot for Maya Hart's fan club.