Riley Matthews never asked to be an adult. Growing up was just thrust upon her by fate. She had fought the inevitable with every fiber of her being for four years. Still, she was moving out and going to college now, like the grown-up she had known she would eventually have to become. It had been several years since Riley and her childhood best friend Maya talked about their college dreams.
The way Riley remembered, Maya was an amazing artist and she had been doing her best to encourage the shorter blonde to continue to pursue her talent. Even at only twelve years old, Riley had given some amazing motivational speeches. Both of them were crushed when the Matthews family had moved to London for Topanga's work as a lawyer. Riley had done her best to stay in touch but eventually, the distance proved too great.
Riley's dad; Cory, her Uncle Josh, and Auggie helped her to finish moving the remainder of her belongings into her dorm. Her little brother did his best to put on a brave face, but he didn't like spending too much time away from the elder Matthews sibling. Josh and Cory were incredibly proud of Riley, following in her father's footsteps to be a teacher. She wanted to be able to inspire children the way his class had inspired herself and all her friends. Riley liked to think Maya would be proud of her as well.
"This is just the next step in you meeting the world, Riley. Your mom and I are only a phone call away if you ever need us." Cory told her when every box and every book had been delivered up the stairs. Josh ruffled her hair and Auggie steadfastly refused to look at her for fear of crying. He felt too old and proud to hug her but gave in as soon as they were left alone.
"Now August, you take care of Mom and Dad for me. You're the kid of the house now." Riley said as though it were an actual household position. She kissed his forehead and booped his nose for good luck. "It's up to you to keep them young for me."
Auggie laughed at that and gave her a sad smile before reluctantly following his father, leaving Riley alone in her new home. For a while, she did her best to keep herself busy with unpacking or decorating. When she hung up her favorite photo of herself and Maya, she made a mental note to hunt around the NYU campus for a bay window somewhere. When she could no longer come up with more work to be done in her dorm room, Riley decided to introduce herself to her neighbors.
Not everyone was receptive to Riley's introductions but at this point, she was beyond needing to be liked by everyone. It felt like the polite thing to do anyway. When she came to the door across the hall from hers, she recognized the girl from somewhere. She was nearly an entire foot shorter than Riley and blonde with blue eyes that glittered with a witty sort of intelligence.
"Riley?" The girl asked. "Riley Matthews... is that you?"
It all came together for her then. Riley's heart jumped into her throat and tears sprang to her eyes. Without saying a word she stepped into Maya's room and wrapped her arms around the other girl.
"Maya..." Riley mumbled into her hair.
"How are you even here?" Maya asked. "You are so tall."
"That's the thing... I just kept growing. I definitely don't remember you being this small." Riley chuckled, holding Maya out at arm's length.
"When you kept growing... I did not." Maya replied. "Aren't you supposed to be in London?"
"Well, I always remembered the two of us talking about going to school here and couldn't imagine being anywhere else." Riley shrugged. "I only got in two days ago, went school shopping yesterday, and only just finished moving in. I missed you more than I ever thought possible Peaches." Riley blushed sheepishly as Maya led her into the room to sit on her bed.
"What are you majoring in?" Maya asked. She had never imagined finding Riley here, but now that she had, she wanted to know everything.
"Education. I want to do for other children what my dad did for us. What about you? Where did everyone else end up? Did you and you-know-who end up together?" Riley had questions as well, more questions than she could ask at once.
"That sounds perfect for you, Riley." Maya said earnestly. "I'm in graphic design, that way I will still be able to make art... and get paid for it." Maya chuckled and noticeably did not answer the other questions.
Riley let it go. She would have plenty of time to get details later on. She spent the next few hours catching up with Maya. Riley fought to listen more than she spoke. She realized she missed out on things when she talked over others, and she wanted to know everything Maya was willing to share.
"Grown-up looks good on you, Maya Hart." Riley said when they parted for the night. She had given her best friend the grand tour of her own dorm room and determined next semester they would share one.
"I have yet to decide if adulthood suits you or not." Maya teased. "I might would rather you be a naive string-bean forever."
"I tried my hardest, honestly. Adulthood had to catch up with me eventually." Riley shrugged with a laugh. On a whim, she leaned down to kiss Maya's cheek before crossing the hall to her own room.
Riley fell back into her own bed with a tired smile. College seemed to be getting better by the minute. Grabbing her journal from her night-stand, Riley made notes of her day so she might remember this day forever.
