Chapter 9: Strength and Unity
I woke up the next morning and I thought it was a dream, that I really witnessed what happened during the attack. I couldn't believe that the 12-year-old New York girl gets attacked news thing, happened again and I was a witness. I remembered Lucas risking his life for me, and risking Riley's too. I risked Riley's life, I shouldn't of listened to him. It couldn't of been a dream because when I walked by Brooklyn's house on the way to school, I recognized everything in it when I looked in the window. Once I got to school, I felt like I was going to throw up, like I shouldn't be keeping this a secret. But if I tell someone, I just might be Connor and Brooklyn's next target.
"Hey, Maya. You okay about what happened last night?" Lucas asked me at my locker. "So it wasn't a dream?" I asked, knowing it, but I was making sure. "No, no it wasn't. I thought that for a second too this morning" Lucas replied. Farkle approached us as soon as he saw us. "Hey guys, what we talkin' about?" Farkle said. "Nothing!" Lucas cried. "Socks" I sais seconds later. "Maya....socks?" Farkle said. "Yeah, I'm wearing two different ones today" I said, suspiciously walking into class. "Oh...I get it!" Farkle said to Lucas. "You do?" Lucas asked disappointedly. "Yeah, you and Maya are secretly dating!" Farkle said. "Okay, fine but--What!? Dating!? Me and her!? Ewww, no! She's gross!" Lucas cried. "Oh, then what were you talking about?" Farkle asked. "Uh....socks!" Lucas cried and followed into class. "Hey, maybe if I start talking about socks, I'll become popular too!" Farkle whispered to himself and went to class.
When we got to class, Ms. Fernfelt was there for homeroom. "I hate this teacher" "Ms Fernfelt is annoying" "I feel bad for the fern that felt her wrath" "Her teeth remind me of my baby sister's puke" I heard people whispering around me about Ms. Fernfelt. "Okay, class let's get started!" Ms. Fernfelt cried. Class went by real slow today. Every minute felt like an hour. I couldn't stop thinking of Riley and what happened. All the lines and words that Connor, Brooklyn, Lucas and Riley said that night, repeated in my head like a re-run show. So by the end of the day, I felt my own wrath and decided I needed to go back, without Lucas, so nobody can stop me.
I walked down Bleecker Street, trying to look regular. It was the middle of the day after all and the sky was bluer than what I imagined Riley's face looked like when Connor and Brooklyn had their hands all over her. I stopped in front of Brooklyn's house. I looked up at it, standing on the sidewalk. It looked bigger than it did last night, but that may just be because Lucas was there protecting me, and everything looked alot bigger now that I was alone. Which meant that Brooklyn and Connor were gonna look alot bigger and my fears will be alot bigger. I gulped in my mouth, "Here it goes...for Riley" I said. I approached Brooklyn's house, I was on the porch, was like grosser and dirtier in the middle of the day. I was about to ring the doorbell, when I suddenly felt a pull on my arm and I was being dragged down the driveway and to the side of the house. I forgot to scream for help. I was slammed, but not too hard up against the side of the house. "What are you doing!? Are you crazy!?" the person said. My head was dangling, I had a sudden headache and could hardly hold up my own head. I randomly ganged my strength back and lifted my head to see a familiar face. It was none other than Spike. Spike used to be in Connor and Brooklyn's gang, before he went back to his sister and decided to smarten up. He used to be like them, but he changed, I helped with that. "Spike!?" I asked confused. "Listen to me, go back home, do not come back here" Spike said. "No, they have my friend, they are holding her hostage and beating her to blood and tears!" I cried. "I know they do. Just do me and yourself a favor and do not risk your life like that" he said. "My life? What about Riley's life?!" I cried.
"Don't worry, they can't do that to her forever" Spike said. "No they can't because they'll adventually kill her!" I was getting harsher and harsher every word I said.
"No, you just need to trust me right now. You cannot be here. Your friend would be very upset if he knew you were here right now" he said. "My friend? You-You mean Lucas?" I asked. "Yeah, him. I know he's very protective of you and he would be crushed if you were to get hurt, not to mention mad at you knowing you came back here" he said. "H-How do you know about that?" I asked. "I saw it all happen" he said. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Last night, I was here. I saw it all. I want to help little girls get out of situations like this and I do not want you to be the next little girl, like your best friend was" he said. "So, you spy on them?" I asked joking and confused. "Not spy, just watch what they do from a reasonable distance, somewhere they cannot see me" he said. I raised my eye brows at him. "Okay, maybe I spy on them. But it's for a good cause, you know that Maya" he said. "Maya? You know my name?" I asked. "Well, of course I do. Riley was always crying for you, hoping you'd hear her and come and save her when I was still with them" Spike explained. "Oh...well in that case...I'm Maya, pleased to meet you!" I smiled holding out my hand. Spike shook my hand and held it down. "Maya, you cannot get yourself here. This is how Riley got herself here. She walked up to where they were, when it was a bad idea. They didn't come to her, she went to them and you cannot go to them" he remarked.
"O-Okay, but how do I save Riley then?" I asked. "Well, leave that to me for now, I know where you live, so I'll let you know when something happens and if I need you for anything to do with this, I'll just ask" he said. "How do you know where I live?" I asked. "Riley told us way back in the beginning, when I was still with them. We got your address outta her" he said. "Ohh" I said drifting off. "Don't worry, Maya. I watch them very closely and try and help kids get out how I did, thanks for that by the way" he said. "Your welcome, I just wanted you to help Riley out, the first time" I said. "Haha, I know. You'd better run along before she sees you, she will be coming outside to go to Gracie's around this time" he said. "Oh, okay" I said getting up. Spike pulled me back down onto the ground. "Do me a favor and go around the other street, if she sees you anywhere near here, your toast" he said. "Oh, yeah sure" I said, getting up again. Spike pulled me back down. "One more thing" he said. "Sorry about this, but I have something for you" he said. I was confused, watching him dig in his pocket. He pulled out a pin with a charm on it. The charm was shaped like a star, kinda like the one that the wise kings followed to find Jesus. On the edges of the star, it had a golden ring, and on it, it had white diamonds engraved on it that said "Strength and Unity" across it. "With this, you will be strong and undefeatable. When Brooklyn and Connor see it, they'll know" he said, pinning the pin to my jacket. "They'll know what?" I asked. "They'll know where it came from and whose side your really on" he said. I looked down at it and adjusted it. "I'll wear it with pride!" I said. I stood up, finally and waved to Spike and headed down the street he instructed me to. I felt better knowing Spike was on my side and justice will arise.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Girl Meet's Maya's World: Chapter 8
Chapter 8: The Hardest Battering
NOTE: This chapter contains scenes of violence, near the end. I would rate it PG 14+ this chapter, and if you get scared easily of abuse and violence, I would not reccomend reading the end of this chapter. Thanks.
I woke up the next morning and the first thing I thought of is Riley. I couldn't remember if it were a dream, that is was for sure revealed to be Riley. I walked downstairs and saw the marshmallows on the ground and my big blanket spread on half the couch. "It was not a dream, it was real" I realized. I did my normal school routine and got ready to go. I walked to school and then onto the subway I went. It was nothing out of the ordinary.
I got to school and went to my locker. Lucas and Farkle both came up to me. "Hey, Maya" they both said. "Hi" I said. "I still can't believe what happened" Farkle said. "Yeah, me too" I said. "Are we going to do anything?" Farkle asked. "Of course not, what can--" Lucas said before I inturupted him. "Yes" I said. "What? Maya!" Lucas said. "I am going to do something" I said. "What?" Farkle asked. "Class is about to start, hurry up or your tardiness is gonna show off" I said walking into class. "What's that girl up to now?" Farkle asked. "I don't know" Lucas said. Farkle walked into class. "But I intend to find out" Lucas added after Farkle was gone.
I took my seat in my desk, as did everyone else. Mr. Matthews was still absent and Ms. Fernfelt was back once again. "Oh, great, not her" I heard some kids around me saying. "Oh believe me, I'm with ya" I thought, but didn't say anything. School went by fairly fast. Every class was regular. At the end of the day, Lucas came up to me at my locker. "So, what'cha gonna do about Riley?" he asked. "Ahh!" I screamed, I didn't know he was there. "You!" I laughed and slapped him. "Oh, what am I gonna do?" I asked. "Uh huh" he replied. "Nothing you should get involved in" I said slamming my locker and walking away. Lucas ran back up to me. "Okay, if your not gonna tell me what your doing, just tell me when you are gonna do it" he said. "You really think I'm that stupid. I know you'll just try to stop me before I do...and tonight at 8pm" I said walking away. "Sucker" Lucas whispered and walked away. I took a few steps out the school door and suddenly I stopped. "Wait, I just...Aww, darn it!" I cried stomping away from the school.
Later that day, I got into my blue leapord print pyjamas and put my hair up into a ponytail. I took my marshmallows and sat on the couch and turned on the TV. My mom came downstairs, she was headed off to her evening shift at the diner. It was 7:45pm. "I'm going to be leaving for my 8 o'clock shift" she said. "Okay, take as long as you need" I said stuffing a marshmallow in my mouth. She made her way out the door. Seconds after she left, I looked at my watch. 7:53pm. I had 7 minutes until go time. I waited 6 minutes until 7:59pm. At 7:59pm, I jumped off the couch and jumped behind it. I popped out seconds later with my hair down and I was wearing my tall black boots, my leather jacket (from Girl Meets Popular) my dark black leggings and my long sleeved black shirt. "It's go time" I said and spun my bat in the air. I looked at my watch and watched it strike 8:00pm. I opened my back door and snuck out of it. "Okay, I made it out" I said. I turned around. "Going somewhere?" Lucas said. "Ahh!" I screamed and fell flat on the ground. "Lucas! What are you doing here?!" I cried standing up. "Figuring out what your up to" he said. "Ugh! Don't scare me like that" I said. "Okay, okay" he laughed. "Now, shoe, beat it, I've got something to do" I said. "What might that be? Going to the store to buy mom some milk?" he asked. "Sure, why not?" I said. "No, tell me" he said. I looked around to hear if anyone was listening. "Okay, if I tell you, your PROMISE you will not stop me" I said. He sighed, "I promise" he said. "Okay, I am going to go to that house and check out the people there and give them a piece of my mind" I said. "No, your not" he said. "But, you said--" I stopped. "Fine, wanna come to Riley's with me?" I asked. "Sure" he said. "Great!" I cried and skipped along ahead.
We got to Riley's apartment building. I didn't bother buzzing in, I just went straight to the door and knocked on it. Auggie answered the door, holding Kiwi in his h nds. He stared at me in shock. "What?" I said. "Mommy!" he cried and ran away. Me and Lucas both looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. Mrs. Matthews came to the door. "Oh! Maya, hi" she said. "Hey, is Riley here?" she asked. "Well, if you wanna see her, just go through the bay window, she'll be happy to see you" she said. "Kay, come with me" I said to Lucas. He followed me around the building. We went to the bay window. "Hey, why's this open?" I asked. I peeped my head in. "Hello? Riley? It's me, Maya" I said. No answer. The room was pitch black. I was kinda getting scared, I don't really know why. I stepped inside and Lucas followed me. I heard squeeking and I walked over to Kiwi's cage. "Hey, buddy" I cried, petting Kiwi. "I really need to bring Ginger over here soon, so you two can play" I said. I walked over to Riley's bed and Lucas followed close behind me. "Riley?" I whispered, patting the lump on her bed. She didn't move. "Riley" I repeated. I opened the covers and she wasn't there, a bunch of stuffed animals were in her place. "Lucas!" I screamed and clinged onto him. "What?" he asked. "She's not there, she's not there!" I screamed. "Okay, okay. What do we do?" he asked. "I don't know!" I panicked. Lucax covered my mouth so her parents wouldn't hear us. We stepped out of Riley's room and into the kitchen. "Thanks for the visit, Mrs. Matthews, we will see you tomorrow maybe!" I cried. "Okay, you wanna come out the front door?" she asked. "Nah, were good" I cried. Lucas quickly dragged me back into Riley's room.
Then we walked over to the bay window. Lucas stepped out of it. I was about to, when I saw something on the ledge. "Lucas!" I screamed. "What?!" he asked annoyed. "Look, look. Look at that!" I panicked pointing to the side of the window, which had a tiny pool of blood on it. "Okay, okay. Let's not freak out" he said. "I am freaking out!" I cried. I was about to scream, when Lucas dragged me out and held my mouth shut, to stop her parents from hearing anything suspicious. We shut the bay window and left the building. "Let go of me!" I screamed. Lucas quickly let me go.
"Okay, now I am doing what I came for" I said walking down the street. I went to the end of Bleecker Street, to house number 105. "There it is" I said. "Maya, don't" he said. "Maya, do" I said walking up. The lights were off in the house. No sound, no smell. I looked at my clock, 8:32pm. It was silent in the house, quiet as a mouse. I was about to knock when I heard the screams of a little girl in the house. "Riley!" I screamed and jammed the door open. "Maya!" Lucas whispered and pulled me out. "Riley, she's in there!" I screamed. "No, Maya. They heard us, someone's coming, we have to go now!" Lucas panicked, trying to pull me out. "No, I'm not leaving Riley!" I said forcing away from Lucas. "No, Maya!" he screamed. "What are you doing!? Are you crazy!?" he yelled. "No, I'm her best friend!" I cried. Footsteps came down the stairs of the house, the door was still open. "Maya! Let's go!" Lucas yelled. A girl and a boy came downstairs and saw us on her porch. "Hey! Who are you!?" she screeched. "Nobody, we have the wrong house, let's go Maya" Lucas said pulling on my shirt. "No, I'm Maya" I said. "Okay, blondie. What the hell do you want?" she said. "You-You...You have my friend!" I screamed. "Your friend?" she asked confused. "Hey, who's this?" the boy asked. "Blondie here claims we have her friend" she explained. "Your friend? You mean Riley?" he asked. "Yes, let her go!" I screamed. "You wanna see your friend?" they asked. "No, Maya!" Lucas screamed. He walked up behind me and put his arms around me from the back. "Maya" he said. "No Lucas, Yeah, I wanna see her" I said. "Oh, really?" she asked making an evil eye and the boy.
"And you are?" I asked. "Huh?" she replied. "Who are you?" she asked. "Oh, I'm so sorry, sweetheart" she said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and Lucas pulled me tighter. "I'm Brooklyn and this is my friend Connor" she said. "That is Lucas" I said pointing behind me with my thumb. "Oh, cute names you've kittens got there" she said. "Where is Riley!?" I screamed. "Ahhhh!!" I heard upstairs in Riley's voice. "Riley!" I screamed forcing away from Lucas and trying to get into the house. "Maya, no..." Lucas said softly, pulling me back. "They'll get you too and we don't need both you and Riley hurt" he said. "I need to save Riley, I don't care what happens to me" I said. "Maya, no" he said. I could tell he was really worried about me and really didn't want me getting hurt. I suddenly felt sympathy for him. I pulled up to him and hugged him. He rubbed my back gently and slowly. "I need to save her, you need to understand that she is the most important person in the world to me and I cannot be one of the people to do nothing for her" I said. "Hey, kiddies!" Connor called. I let go of Lucas slightly and looked back at them. Lucas just looked straight over my head, I'm so short. I stepped forward up to Connor and Brooklyn. "Let's talk it out, shall we?" I asked sassily. "Ooh, okay sweetie, if you really think you've got a shot at winning this" Brooklyn said stepping inside so I could come in. "Give me a second" I said to Lucas setting one foot in the house. "Maya, no!" he cried. "Let me" I said. "Hotski, stay out here" she said to Lucas, shutting the door with me inside. I went and sat on her couch. Connor and Brooklyn stood in front of me. "So, you wanna help your little friend?" she asked. "She's my best friend, why are you doing this?" I asked.
"Why are we doing this?" she asked. "Well because we love it, little girls pain brings us joy" she said. "That just might be the stupidest thing I've ever heard" I said. She stepped forward, closer to me. I put my hands in front of me, like I did with the muffins in that episode. "I said might" I said. She backed off. "I just want my best friend back and for you to stop hurting her" I said. "Aww! Blondie thinks were going to stop hurting Riley! How cute?" Brooklyn cooed to Coonor. "Hey, Ethan! Hit her harder, I don't hear screaming!" Connor cried upstairs. "No!" I cried. "Ahhh!" I heard Riley screaming. "Don't do that!" I heard her cry. I heard coughing and gagging. "Don't hurt her, I'll do anything!" I cried. I heard Riley crying upstairs. Tears started rushing down my face. I heard something upstairs. Riley threw up. They beat her until she threw up. Lucas came inside the house. "Maya!" he cried and hugged me tightly. "I thought they hurt you!" he cried. "No, I'm fine. They hurt Riley!" I cried. "Get them" Connor said to Brooklyn. "No, you don't hurt her!" Lucas cried and stepped in front of me. "Aww, 12 year old, so scared" Brooklyn said. "Lucas!" I cried. He held onto me tightly and got me out of the house. "And don't come back!" Brooklyn yelled and shut the door. "We need to help her!" I cried. I stopped and started crying. Lucas put me on his back and started walking down back to my house. "No! No! We need to help her!" I cried. I was crying my eyes out, soaking Lucas's shirt. "We will, Maya. We will get someone else to help her" he said. He took me home and I changed into my pyjamas. I laid myself on the couch and turned on the TV. Lucas sat beside me and rubbed my back. "It's okay, we will get help" he said. I fell asleep and Lucas left shortly after that.
Meanwhile, at Brooklyn's house, Riley was still there. They were beating her up pretty bad. "Don't hurt me, please!" she cried. Brooklyn and Connor made their way back upstairs. "Hey, guys stop hurting her!" Connor called. Ethan, Jasper, Gracie and Connor's cousin backed off Riley. "Hey, Riley. Your little friend was just here, trying to save your little life" Connor cooed in her face. "W-Who?" she asked shivering. "Does the name Maya ring a bell?" he asked. "We've got her trapped" Connor said. "No, Maya!" Riley cried. "Let her go!" she screamed. "Haha! Were just punking you, she got out baby" Brooklyn laughed. They all started beating her everywhere and punching her in places you should never get punched. They kept punching her in the stomach until she threw up 3 times. They slapped her in the head until she was continuously coughing up blood. Connor picked her up and slammed her into the dresser. "Ouch!" she cried. He slammed her back onto the bed. She kept coughing up blood and throwing up. "Please stop hurting me!" Riley cried. "Oh, she wants us to stop hurting her" Ethan said. "Should we?" Gracie asked. (PS. Gracie's voice is like an 80's cheerleader). "Yeah, sure" Jasper replied. "R-Really?" Riley asked surprised. "Really" Ethan said. They sat down beside her and started rubbing her and touching her, making her feel uncomfortable. "Please stop it" Riley cried. She was bleeding and still coughing up blood. "You want us to hit you again?" Jasper asked. "No!" Riley cried. Then adventually, they left her to cough up blood and throw up on her own. That night, Riley will never forget.
NOTE: This chapter contains scenes of violence, near the end. I would rate it PG 14+ this chapter, and if you get scared easily of abuse and violence, I would not reccomend reading the end of this chapter. Thanks.
I woke up the next morning and the first thing I thought of is Riley. I couldn't remember if it were a dream, that is was for sure revealed to be Riley. I walked downstairs and saw the marshmallows on the ground and my big blanket spread on half the couch. "It was not a dream, it was real" I realized. I did my normal school routine and got ready to go. I walked to school and then onto the subway I went. It was nothing out of the ordinary.
I got to school and went to my locker. Lucas and Farkle both came up to me. "Hey, Maya" they both said. "Hi" I said. "I still can't believe what happened" Farkle said. "Yeah, me too" I said. "Are we going to do anything?" Farkle asked. "Of course not, what can--" Lucas said before I inturupted him. "Yes" I said. "What? Maya!" Lucas said. "I am going to do something" I said. "What?" Farkle asked. "Class is about to start, hurry up or your tardiness is gonna show off" I said walking into class. "What's that girl up to now?" Farkle asked. "I don't know" Lucas said. Farkle walked into class. "But I intend to find out" Lucas added after Farkle was gone.
I took my seat in my desk, as did everyone else. Mr. Matthews was still absent and Ms. Fernfelt was back once again. "Oh, great, not her" I heard some kids around me saying. "Oh believe me, I'm with ya" I thought, but didn't say anything. School went by fairly fast. Every class was regular. At the end of the day, Lucas came up to me at my locker. "So, what'cha gonna do about Riley?" he asked. "Ahh!" I screamed, I didn't know he was there. "You!" I laughed and slapped him. "Oh, what am I gonna do?" I asked. "Uh huh" he replied. "Nothing you should get involved in" I said slamming my locker and walking away. Lucas ran back up to me. "Okay, if your not gonna tell me what your doing, just tell me when you are gonna do it" he said. "You really think I'm that stupid. I know you'll just try to stop me before I do...and tonight at 8pm" I said walking away. "Sucker" Lucas whispered and walked away. I took a few steps out the school door and suddenly I stopped. "Wait, I just...Aww, darn it!" I cried stomping away from the school.
Later that day, I got into my blue leapord print pyjamas and put my hair up into a ponytail. I took my marshmallows and sat on the couch and turned on the TV. My mom came downstairs, she was headed off to her evening shift at the diner. It was 7:45pm. "I'm going to be leaving for my 8 o'clock shift" she said. "Okay, take as long as you need" I said stuffing a marshmallow in my mouth. She made her way out the door. Seconds after she left, I looked at my watch. 7:53pm. I had 7 minutes until go time. I waited 6 minutes until 7:59pm. At 7:59pm, I jumped off the couch and jumped behind it. I popped out seconds later with my hair down and I was wearing my tall black boots, my leather jacket (from Girl Meets Popular) my dark black leggings and my long sleeved black shirt. "It's go time" I said and spun my bat in the air. I looked at my watch and watched it strike 8:00pm. I opened my back door and snuck out of it. "Okay, I made it out" I said. I turned around. "Going somewhere?" Lucas said. "Ahh!" I screamed and fell flat on the ground. "Lucas! What are you doing here?!" I cried standing up. "Figuring out what your up to" he said. "Ugh! Don't scare me like that" I said. "Okay, okay" he laughed. "Now, shoe, beat it, I've got something to do" I said. "What might that be? Going to the store to buy mom some milk?" he asked. "Sure, why not?" I said. "No, tell me" he said. I looked around to hear if anyone was listening. "Okay, if I tell you, your PROMISE you will not stop me" I said. He sighed, "I promise" he said. "Okay, I am going to go to that house and check out the people there and give them a piece of my mind" I said. "No, your not" he said. "But, you said--" I stopped. "Fine, wanna come to Riley's with me?" I asked. "Sure" he said. "Great!" I cried and skipped along ahead.
We got to Riley's apartment building. I didn't bother buzzing in, I just went straight to the door and knocked on it. Auggie answered the door, holding Kiwi in his h nds. He stared at me in shock. "What?" I said. "Mommy!" he cried and ran away. Me and Lucas both looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. Mrs. Matthews came to the door. "Oh! Maya, hi" she said. "Hey, is Riley here?" she asked. "Well, if you wanna see her, just go through the bay window, she'll be happy to see you" she said. "Kay, come with me" I said to Lucas. He followed me around the building. We went to the bay window. "Hey, why's this open?" I asked. I peeped my head in. "Hello? Riley? It's me, Maya" I said. No answer. The room was pitch black. I was kinda getting scared, I don't really know why. I stepped inside and Lucas followed me. I heard squeeking and I walked over to Kiwi's cage. "Hey, buddy" I cried, petting Kiwi. "I really need to bring Ginger over here soon, so you two can play" I said. I walked over to Riley's bed and Lucas followed close behind me. "Riley?" I whispered, patting the lump on her bed. She didn't move. "Riley" I repeated. I opened the covers and she wasn't there, a bunch of stuffed animals were in her place. "Lucas!" I screamed and clinged onto him. "What?" he asked. "She's not there, she's not there!" I screamed. "Okay, okay. What do we do?" he asked. "I don't know!" I panicked. Lucax covered my mouth so her parents wouldn't hear us. We stepped out of Riley's room and into the kitchen. "Thanks for the visit, Mrs. Matthews, we will see you tomorrow maybe!" I cried. "Okay, you wanna come out the front door?" she asked. "Nah, were good" I cried. Lucas quickly dragged me back into Riley's room.
Then we walked over to the bay window. Lucas stepped out of it. I was about to, when I saw something on the ledge. "Lucas!" I screamed. "What?!" he asked annoyed. "Look, look. Look at that!" I panicked pointing to the side of the window, which had a tiny pool of blood on it. "Okay, okay. Let's not freak out" he said. "I am freaking out!" I cried. I was about to scream, when Lucas dragged me out and held my mouth shut, to stop her parents from hearing anything suspicious. We shut the bay window and left the building. "Let go of me!" I screamed. Lucas quickly let me go.
"Okay, now I am doing what I came for" I said walking down the street. I went to the end of Bleecker Street, to house number 105. "There it is" I said. "Maya, don't" he said. "Maya, do" I said walking up. The lights were off in the house. No sound, no smell. I looked at my clock, 8:32pm. It was silent in the house, quiet as a mouse. I was about to knock when I heard the screams of a little girl in the house. "Riley!" I screamed and jammed the door open. "Maya!" Lucas whispered and pulled me out. "Riley, she's in there!" I screamed. "No, Maya. They heard us, someone's coming, we have to go now!" Lucas panicked, trying to pull me out. "No, I'm not leaving Riley!" I said forcing away from Lucas. "No, Maya!" he screamed. "What are you doing!? Are you crazy!?" he yelled. "No, I'm her best friend!" I cried. Footsteps came down the stairs of the house, the door was still open. "Maya! Let's go!" Lucas yelled. A girl and a boy came downstairs and saw us on her porch. "Hey! Who are you!?" she screeched. "Nobody, we have the wrong house, let's go Maya" Lucas said pulling on my shirt. "No, I'm Maya" I said. "Okay, blondie. What the hell do you want?" she said. "You-You...You have my friend!" I screamed. "Your friend?" she asked confused. "Hey, who's this?" the boy asked. "Blondie here claims we have her friend" she explained. "Your friend? You mean Riley?" he asked. "Yes, let her go!" I screamed. "You wanna see your friend?" they asked. "No, Maya!" Lucas screamed. He walked up behind me and put his arms around me from the back. "Maya" he said. "No Lucas, Yeah, I wanna see her" I said. "Oh, really?" she asked making an evil eye and the boy.
"And you are?" I asked. "Huh?" she replied. "Who are you?" she asked. "Oh, I'm so sorry, sweetheart" she said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and Lucas pulled me tighter. "I'm Brooklyn and this is my friend Connor" she said. "That is Lucas" I said pointing behind me with my thumb. "Oh, cute names you've kittens got there" she said. "Where is Riley!?" I screamed. "Ahhhh!!" I heard upstairs in Riley's voice. "Riley!" I screamed forcing away from Lucas and trying to get into the house. "Maya, no..." Lucas said softly, pulling me back. "They'll get you too and we don't need both you and Riley hurt" he said. "I need to save Riley, I don't care what happens to me" I said. "Maya, no" he said. I could tell he was really worried about me and really didn't want me getting hurt. I suddenly felt sympathy for him. I pulled up to him and hugged him. He rubbed my back gently and slowly. "I need to save her, you need to understand that she is the most important person in the world to me and I cannot be one of the people to do nothing for her" I said. "Hey, kiddies!" Connor called. I let go of Lucas slightly and looked back at them. Lucas just looked straight over my head, I'm so short. I stepped forward up to Connor and Brooklyn. "Let's talk it out, shall we?" I asked sassily. "Ooh, okay sweetie, if you really think you've got a shot at winning this" Brooklyn said stepping inside so I could come in. "Give me a second" I said to Lucas setting one foot in the house. "Maya, no!" he cried. "Let me" I said. "Hotski, stay out here" she said to Lucas, shutting the door with me inside. I went and sat on her couch. Connor and Brooklyn stood in front of me. "So, you wanna help your little friend?" she asked. "She's my best friend, why are you doing this?" I asked.
"Why are we doing this?" she asked. "Well because we love it, little girls pain brings us joy" she said. "That just might be the stupidest thing I've ever heard" I said. She stepped forward, closer to me. I put my hands in front of me, like I did with the muffins in that episode. "I said might" I said. She backed off. "I just want my best friend back and for you to stop hurting her" I said. "Aww! Blondie thinks were going to stop hurting Riley! How cute?" Brooklyn cooed to Coonor. "Hey, Ethan! Hit her harder, I don't hear screaming!" Connor cried upstairs. "No!" I cried. "Ahhh!" I heard Riley screaming. "Don't do that!" I heard her cry. I heard coughing and gagging. "Don't hurt her, I'll do anything!" I cried. I heard Riley crying upstairs. Tears started rushing down my face. I heard something upstairs. Riley threw up. They beat her until she threw up. Lucas came inside the house. "Maya!" he cried and hugged me tightly. "I thought they hurt you!" he cried. "No, I'm fine. They hurt Riley!" I cried. "Get them" Connor said to Brooklyn. "No, you don't hurt her!" Lucas cried and stepped in front of me. "Aww, 12 year old, so scared" Brooklyn said. "Lucas!" I cried. He held onto me tightly and got me out of the house. "And don't come back!" Brooklyn yelled and shut the door. "We need to help her!" I cried. I stopped and started crying. Lucas put me on his back and started walking down back to my house. "No! No! We need to help her!" I cried. I was crying my eyes out, soaking Lucas's shirt. "We will, Maya. We will get someone else to help her" he said. He took me home and I changed into my pyjamas. I laid myself on the couch and turned on the TV. Lucas sat beside me and rubbed my back. "It's okay, we will get help" he said. I fell asleep and Lucas left shortly after that.
Meanwhile, at Brooklyn's house, Riley was still there. They were beating her up pretty bad. "Don't hurt me, please!" she cried. Brooklyn and Connor made their way back upstairs. "Hey, guys stop hurting her!" Connor called. Ethan, Jasper, Gracie and Connor's cousin backed off Riley. "Hey, Riley. Your little friend was just here, trying to save your little life" Connor cooed in her face. "W-Who?" she asked shivering. "Does the name Maya ring a bell?" he asked. "We've got her trapped" Connor said. "No, Maya!" Riley cried. "Let her go!" she screamed. "Haha! Were just punking you, she got out baby" Brooklyn laughed. They all started beating her everywhere and punching her in places you should never get punched. They kept punching her in the stomach until she threw up 3 times. They slapped her in the head until she was continuously coughing up blood. Connor picked her up and slammed her into the dresser. "Ouch!" she cried. He slammed her back onto the bed. She kept coughing up blood and throwing up. "Please stop hurting me!" Riley cried. "Oh, she wants us to stop hurting her" Ethan said. "Should we?" Gracie asked. (PS. Gracie's voice is like an 80's cheerleader). "Yeah, sure" Jasper replied. "R-Really?" Riley asked surprised. "Really" Ethan said. They sat down beside her and started rubbing her and touching her, making her feel uncomfortable. "Please stop it" Riley cried. She was bleeding and still coughing up blood. "You want us to hit you again?" Jasper asked. "No!" Riley cried. Then adventually, they left her to cough up blood and throw up on her own. That night, Riley will never forget.
Girl Meets Maya's World: Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Gossip Put to End
"It couldn't be" Lucas said. "Who else would it be?" I asked. We both looked around, nobody said anything. Lucas finally released Farkle. "That couldn't happen guys, think about it" Farkle said. "You think about it, Farkle. It's a 7th grade girl at our school, who else would it be?" I asked. "I-I guess your right, it's the only thing that makes sense" Farkle sadly agreed. We all went to Mr. Matthews history class.
When we all walked in, no teacher was there, not even a sub. Every student was there, no desk was empty except for one. Riley Matthews. She was still gone. If it was not Riley who got attacked, than it was someone in another grade 7 class because every girl in our class was here today, besides Riley and every girl was healthy and completely normal. "It could be someone from the other class" Farkle tried to keep his hopes up. Both me and Lucas looked at him, we doubted it. "Good Morning, can I have your attention for the morning announcements" the intercom said. "Girls basketball tryouts will be today after school. Donations for the 'Feed a Child This Christmas' food drive will be accepted until Friday. And after the bell can all Grade 7 homeroom's please remain in their homeroom classes instead of proceeding to Period 1, thank you" the intercom announced. "Why are we staying here?" Farkle asked Lucas. "I don't know, buddy" Lucas replied. "Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding!" went the bell. All Grade 8 and 9 classes proceeded to Period 1 while Grade 7 classes stayed where they were.
Right away, the principal came down into our classroom and everything went silent. We had no teacher with us during homeroom, yet nobody fooled around during the time, even though there was no teacher and it was basically a free-for-all. "Good Morning, Grade 7's" the principal said. "Morning" we all said in unison. "So, some of you might have heard that someone in our school, in your grade was the young student on the news who got attacked" she said. It was silent, nobody said anything. "You may have heard the rumors, you may have not. But I am going to put an end to these rumors and tell you who it really was" the principal said. Everyone sat there in silence. This was the big moment, the moment we find out who it really was. The next while of our future depends on this here moment, right here, right now. "The student who was attacked, was somebody in our school" the principal said. Some students started whispering amongst themselves. "Quiet! This is a serious matter, Grade 7" she said. It was silent as the principal waited for everyone to calm down once again. "It was somebody in Grade 7" she explained. My heart was pounding out of my chest, I felt like throwing up, I was afraid to here the name. I have always been dying to know who it was, and now that it is the moment I find out, I kinda got that feeling like I didn't wanna know anymore.
"There is a reason I came to your homeroom first" the principal said. "It was someone in this homeroom class" she said. That set it off. Nobody else was absent in this homeroom, except...."Mr. Matthews, your usual teacher is not here today because it was his daughter and your classmate who was in this accident" she said. The room went silent. Several students glanced at Riley's desk. "No, no, no! This can't be! W-Why didn't I do something sooner!" I thought to myself. "I will now go and tell the other homeroom classes, and you guys head off to your first period" she said. Everyone got up from their desks and walked out of the classroom. I ran into the bathroom and threw my stuff on the floor of my stall. I sat down on the closed toilet seat and started softly crying to myself. How could that happen? To my best friend? Who would every do such a thing? What did she ever do to those stupid teenagers!? I was crying and crying and I couldn't stop. At this point, my face was as red as it is after I run the beep test and my face was soaked in tears. I finally decided to wipe myself off and go to class. I grabbed a piece of toilet paper and wiped my eyes.
I grabbed my stuff and walked out of the bathroom. Farkle and Lucas were sitting on the bench in the hallway. I dropped my books on the floor and sat in the middle of them. Nobody said anything, we all just hugged each other and tried to not cry. A few minutes later, the principal came out to us. We all looked up at her, neither of us were up for this talk right now. She sat down beside us, but a reasonable distance away from us. We all sat so close to each other, our arms around each other. "I know this is hard for you three" she said to us. I was starting to tear up, but I didn't want to cry in front of our principal. Lucas pulled my head down onto his shoulder and rubbed my hair so I wouldn't cry. That would've been embarrasing, but either way, it wouldn't have mattered. "I know she is a very good friend to you guys and you all look out for each other" she said. "I know that was hard for you to hear and it is going to take some time to heal" she said. "But she is not dead. She is recovering with her family right now. Mr. Matthews is not at school and won't be for a fair amount of time" she said. "It is hard for her family, like it is hard for you guys too" she added. "I know you guys are going through a rough time, trying to even process what has happened" she said. I couldn't help it anymore, tears rushed down my face, talking about it wasn't making it easier. Farkle had his hand on my back, but he was thinking of Riley too much to huddle up to me. I tried to stop crying, but tears just kept falling. Lucas gently wiped them away, and hugged me tight. He knows that Riley is my best friend and it is hardest for me right now. "If you guys are really feeling like you cannot focus, it would be okay if you wanted to just go home for today. I understand you are going through a rough time" she said. I lifted my head up and looked at Lucas. He looked down at me and Farkle looked over at us. We were each looking for an answer as of what to do. "Would you guys like me to call your parents?" she asked. Lucas pulled my head back down and nodded to the principal. "Very well, pack you bags and don't forget to bring all your homework" she said. She stood up tall and walked away to her office. I started crying harder and harder. Farkle gently let go of me, startled by that. Lucas hugged me tightly and told me it would be okay. "N-No I-It won't" I stuttered through my tears. "Shh, it's okay" Lucas said rubbing my hair. We all got up and went to our lockers. We grabbed our bags and went down to the office.
I told the principal that I had the key and I was to just go home. Farkle and Lucas called their parents and they came and picked them up. I walked home in the freezing cold weather. I was relieved when I got onto the subway. I was sitting by a 30-year-old woman on the subway and I wad still red in the face from crying. "Are you okay, dear?" the woman asked. I nodded my head. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Yeah" I said with a crying-like voice. It came to my stop and I got off. I ran to my house and tried to open it with the key. The door was once again, frozen shut. I ran to the back of the house and filled the bucket with boiling water. I was crying my eyes out, not silently at all. I was a mess, a huge mess. When I finally got it open I threw my stuff onto the ground and ran into my room. I flopped onto my bed and started crying my eyes out. I wanted nothing to do with nobody at the moment. I was crying so hard, harder than I ever have.
Later that day, my mom came home. "Hey, Maya" she said. "Hi" I said sadly, sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a big blanket eating marshmallows. "What's the matter?" she asked sitting beside me. "I left school this morning, before even first period and you didn't even know" I said. "Oh, I was at work" she said. "Why did you come home?" she asked. "You were right" I said. "What do you mean?" she asked. "About the girl on the news, it was someone I know" I said. "Oh, someone from your school?" she asked. "Yeah, but not just someone I know" I said. "What do you mean?" she asked again. "It was someone I care about, it was my best friend" I cried. My eyes started watering up. "Riley?" she asked. I nodded my head and tears rushed down my face. "Oh, Maya. I'm so sorry" she said. "I just wanna be alone" I said. My mom was disappointed. She didn't like it that I was always embarrased of her. "O-Okay" she said getting up and heading upstairs.
Later that night in bed, I was thinking about Riley, worrying. I just knew that at that moment, she was home with her family. Her dad had her safe and probably was doing everything to help her feel better. The image of the teenagers abusing her was what was keeping me down, know that it happened. "What can I do?" I kept asking myself. I was thinking of what to do, I couldn't just be a guilty bystander. Then I had an idea. I knew exactly what I was going to do. I laid in my bed and looked up at the roof. I had no other choice at this point. Nobody gets to do that to my best friend. I knew exactly what I was going to do.
"It couldn't be" Lucas said. "Who else would it be?" I asked. We both looked around, nobody said anything. Lucas finally released Farkle. "That couldn't happen guys, think about it" Farkle said. "You think about it, Farkle. It's a 7th grade girl at our school, who else would it be?" I asked. "I-I guess your right, it's the only thing that makes sense" Farkle sadly agreed. We all went to Mr. Matthews history class.
When we all walked in, no teacher was there, not even a sub. Every student was there, no desk was empty except for one. Riley Matthews. She was still gone. If it was not Riley who got attacked, than it was someone in another grade 7 class because every girl in our class was here today, besides Riley and every girl was healthy and completely normal. "It could be someone from the other class" Farkle tried to keep his hopes up. Both me and Lucas looked at him, we doubted it. "Good Morning, can I have your attention for the morning announcements" the intercom said. "Girls basketball tryouts will be today after school. Donations for the 'Feed a Child This Christmas' food drive will be accepted until Friday. And after the bell can all Grade 7 homeroom's please remain in their homeroom classes instead of proceeding to Period 1, thank you" the intercom announced. "Why are we staying here?" Farkle asked Lucas. "I don't know, buddy" Lucas replied. "Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding!" went the bell. All Grade 8 and 9 classes proceeded to Period 1 while Grade 7 classes stayed where they were.
Right away, the principal came down into our classroom and everything went silent. We had no teacher with us during homeroom, yet nobody fooled around during the time, even though there was no teacher and it was basically a free-for-all. "Good Morning, Grade 7's" the principal said. "Morning" we all said in unison. "So, some of you might have heard that someone in our school, in your grade was the young student on the news who got attacked" she said. It was silent, nobody said anything. "You may have heard the rumors, you may have not. But I am going to put an end to these rumors and tell you who it really was" the principal said. Everyone sat there in silence. This was the big moment, the moment we find out who it really was. The next while of our future depends on this here moment, right here, right now. "The student who was attacked, was somebody in our school" the principal said. Some students started whispering amongst themselves. "Quiet! This is a serious matter, Grade 7" she said. It was silent as the principal waited for everyone to calm down once again. "It was somebody in Grade 7" she explained. My heart was pounding out of my chest, I felt like throwing up, I was afraid to here the name. I have always been dying to know who it was, and now that it is the moment I find out, I kinda got that feeling like I didn't wanna know anymore.
"There is a reason I came to your homeroom first" the principal said. "It was someone in this homeroom class" she said. That set it off. Nobody else was absent in this homeroom, except...."Mr. Matthews, your usual teacher is not here today because it was his daughter and your classmate who was in this accident" she said. The room went silent. Several students glanced at Riley's desk. "No, no, no! This can't be! W-Why didn't I do something sooner!" I thought to myself. "I will now go and tell the other homeroom classes, and you guys head off to your first period" she said. Everyone got up from their desks and walked out of the classroom. I ran into the bathroom and threw my stuff on the floor of my stall. I sat down on the closed toilet seat and started softly crying to myself. How could that happen? To my best friend? Who would every do such a thing? What did she ever do to those stupid teenagers!? I was crying and crying and I couldn't stop. At this point, my face was as red as it is after I run the beep test and my face was soaked in tears. I finally decided to wipe myself off and go to class. I grabbed a piece of toilet paper and wiped my eyes.
I grabbed my stuff and walked out of the bathroom. Farkle and Lucas were sitting on the bench in the hallway. I dropped my books on the floor and sat in the middle of them. Nobody said anything, we all just hugged each other and tried to not cry. A few minutes later, the principal came out to us. We all looked up at her, neither of us were up for this talk right now. She sat down beside us, but a reasonable distance away from us. We all sat so close to each other, our arms around each other. "I know this is hard for you three" she said to us. I was starting to tear up, but I didn't want to cry in front of our principal. Lucas pulled my head down onto his shoulder and rubbed my hair so I wouldn't cry. That would've been embarrasing, but either way, it wouldn't have mattered. "I know she is a very good friend to you guys and you all look out for each other" she said. "I know that was hard for you to hear and it is going to take some time to heal" she said. "But she is not dead. She is recovering with her family right now. Mr. Matthews is not at school and won't be for a fair amount of time" she said. "It is hard for her family, like it is hard for you guys too" she added. "I know you guys are going through a rough time, trying to even process what has happened" she said. I couldn't help it anymore, tears rushed down my face, talking about it wasn't making it easier. Farkle had his hand on my back, but he was thinking of Riley too much to huddle up to me. I tried to stop crying, but tears just kept falling. Lucas gently wiped them away, and hugged me tight. He knows that Riley is my best friend and it is hardest for me right now. "If you guys are really feeling like you cannot focus, it would be okay if you wanted to just go home for today. I understand you are going through a rough time" she said. I lifted my head up and looked at Lucas. He looked down at me and Farkle looked over at us. We were each looking for an answer as of what to do. "Would you guys like me to call your parents?" she asked. Lucas pulled my head back down and nodded to the principal. "Very well, pack you bags and don't forget to bring all your homework" she said. She stood up tall and walked away to her office. I started crying harder and harder. Farkle gently let go of me, startled by that. Lucas hugged me tightly and told me it would be okay. "N-No I-It won't" I stuttered through my tears. "Shh, it's okay" Lucas said rubbing my hair. We all got up and went to our lockers. We grabbed our bags and went down to the office.
I told the principal that I had the key and I was to just go home. Farkle and Lucas called their parents and they came and picked them up. I walked home in the freezing cold weather. I was relieved when I got onto the subway. I was sitting by a 30-year-old woman on the subway and I wad still red in the face from crying. "Are you okay, dear?" the woman asked. I nodded my head. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Yeah" I said with a crying-like voice. It came to my stop and I got off. I ran to my house and tried to open it with the key. The door was once again, frozen shut. I ran to the back of the house and filled the bucket with boiling water. I was crying my eyes out, not silently at all. I was a mess, a huge mess. When I finally got it open I threw my stuff onto the ground and ran into my room. I flopped onto my bed and started crying my eyes out. I wanted nothing to do with nobody at the moment. I was crying so hard, harder than I ever have.
Later that day, my mom came home. "Hey, Maya" she said. "Hi" I said sadly, sitting on the couch, wrapped up in a big blanket eating marshmallows. "What's the matter?" she asked sitting beside me. "I left school this morning, before even first period and you didn't even know" I said. "Oh, I was at work" she said. "Why did you come home?" she asked. "You were right" I said. "What do you mean?" she asked. "About the girl on the news, it was someone I know" I said. "Oh, someone from your school?" she asked. "Yeah, but not just someone I know" I said. "What do you mean?" she asked again. "It was someone I care about, it was my best friend" I cried. My eyes started watering up. "Riley?" she asked. I nodded my head and tears rushed down my face. "Oh, Maya. I'm so sorry" she said. "I just wanna be alone" I said. My mom was disappointed. She didn't like it that I was always embarrased of her. "O-Okay" she said getting up and heading upstairs.
Later that night in bed, I was thinking about Riley, worrying. I just knew that at that moment, she was home with her family. Her dad had her safe and probably was doing everything to help her feel better. The image of the teenagers abusing her was what was keeping me down, know that it happened. "What can I do?" I kept asking myself. I was thinking of what to do, I couldn't just be a guilty bystander. Then I had an idea. I knew exactly what I was going to do. I laid in my bed and looked up at the roof. I had no other choice at this point. Nobody gets to do that to my best friend. I knew exactly what I was going to do.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Girl Meet's Maya's World: Chapter 6
Chapter 6: The Secret Article
"That Riley was absent and the bruise she had on her arm and then that 12-year-old girl got attacked in New York and everyone says it was someone in our school and she was the only one absent today?" Farkle asked. I didn't reply, but my mind wasn't blank. It was ironic, wasn't it? It really was. But those were just rumors. There was no real proof it was someone from our school. It could be that Riley is absent for some other family reason and the girl was a girl who went to a different local middle school in New York, far, far far away from here. I hoped. "Maya? Hello?" Farkle said waving his hand in front of me. "Oh! Yeah..." I said, responding to Farkle. "Uh, I said do you want me to walk home with you?" he asked. I must've been thinking and I completely blocked him out. "Uh, no that's okay. I have something to do" I said. I didn't even look back at Farkle. I ran to the school doors and once again, banged into Lucas. We smashed heads and fell flat onto the floor. The principal and a couple other teachers were there, making sure we were okay. "Are you two okay? You banged into each other pretty hard" the principal said. I looked up at all the teachers, I was laying on the ground. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine" I said sitting half way up. The teachers all started to walk away. "You okay?" Lucas said holding his hand out to me, already standing up. "Sh-yeah. I'm okay" I said taking his hand. He pulled me to my feet pretty fast, I almost missed it. "Uhh, I gotta go" I said and ran out of the school.
Lucas walked up to Farkle. "What's going on with Maya?" Lucas asked Farkle. "I dunno" Farkle said smiling, lost in himself. Lucas looked down at him, confused and elbowed him. Farkle came back down to Earth and the two stood there together.
I ran as fast as I could back to my house. For once, the door wasn't frozen shut and I got in on the second try. No time to waste. I ran upstairs to my room and pulled out my laptop. I opened it up and went to google. I googled the accident of last night and tried to find out who the litte girl was. I did all the research I could. The incident was so recent, they didn't have all the information up yet. On no articles did it display the girl's identity. "12-year-old girl of New York City assaulted by 6 teens" titled one of the articles. It basically told the story that was on the news last night, exactly what everyone already knows. I think Canada knows it. Then I went onto the 6th page of articles. "12-year-old assault victim attacked by teens" the article titled. I clicked many articles like it, I was there for over an hour just going through pages and pages of articles. Then one came to my surprise. "Identity of 12-year-old New York assault victim Released" it titled. "No way" I thought and clicked it. My computer was running slow and I was clicking like a psycho path who's chances of getting out of a mental institution counted on it. It finally loaded and I was so relieved.
"The identity of the 12-year-old assault victim was finally released. The parents of the victim agreed to let the TV news broadcasts, newspapers and online news websites all publish the school and grade of the victim. The 12-year-old victim of abuse and assault attends New York City's John Quincy Adams Middle School in 7th grade. The 7th grade student was willing to put her name out on the news broadcasts as well as her picture, but the parents disagreed and did not allow it. More information on this case will be released soon." the article said. "Gosh...what-what if it really is Riley?" I asked myself. "No! That couldn't be! Not Riley Matthews. Not my best friend" I told myself. It was only hope, but I still wanted to count on it, I didn't wanna believe any differently.
The next day, I got to school and arrived even a bit early. I went searching long and hard for that article and I don't think anyone was as desperate to find out who it is, as much as I was. I don't think anyone else I know found that article, or any article that said the same. "Hey, Maya, are you alright? You seemed pretty out of it yesterday" Farkle said as he and Lucas approached me. "Yeah, I'm fine. But you guys wouldn't believe what I found" I said. "What?" Lucas asked. All 3 of us sat down on the bench and both boys faced me. "I was googling the accident, the one that happened a couple nights ago, about the 12-year-old girl from here" I said. "And I found an article that reveled her school and grade" I said. "So...what school is it?" Farkle asked. I was about to throw up, I covered my mouth with the back of my hand. Lucas grabbed my arm and pulled my hand down. "What school?" he asked. "What school did she go to?" he added. "John Quincy Adams Middle School" I said. "What! There's another John Quincy Adams Middle School in New York!?" Farkle asked in shock. Lucas looked at Farkle, disappointed, shaking his head. "This, John Quincy Adams Middle School?" Farkle asked sadly. I nodded my head. "And our Grade, 7th Grade" I said. "There's ANOTHER 7th grade!?" Farkle asked again. Lucas covered Farkle's head and looked over at me. "You don't think..." he drifted off. I nodded my head.
"That Riley was absent and the bruise she had on her arm and then that 12-year-old girl got attacked in New York and everyone says it was someone in our school and she was the only one absent today?" Farkle asked. I didn't reply, but my mind wasn't blank. It was ironic, wasn't it? It really was. But those were just rumors. There was no real proof it was someone from our school. It could be that Riley is absent for some other family reason and the girl was a girl who went to a different local middle school in New York, far, far far away from here. I hoped. "Maya? Hello?" Farkle said waving his hand in front of me. "Oh! Yeah..." I said, responding to Farkle. "Uh, I said do you want me to walk home with you?" he asked. I must've been thinking and I completely blocked him out. "Uh, no that's okay. I have something to do" I said. I didn't even look back at Farkle. I ran to the school doors and once again, banged into Lucas. We smashed heads and fell flat onto the floor. The principal and a couple other teachers were there, making sure we were okay. "Are you two okay? You banged into each other pretty hard" the principal said. I looked up at all the teachers, I was laying on the ground. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine" I said sitting half way up. The teachers all started to walk away. "You okay?" Lucas said holding his hand out to me, already standing up. "Sh-yeah. I'm okay" I said taking his hand. He pulled me to my feet pretty fast, I almost missed it. "Uhh, I gotta go" I said and ran out of the school.
Lucas walked up to Farkle. "What's going on with Maya?" Lucas asked Farkle. "I dunno" Farkle said smiling, lost in himself. Lucas looked down at him, confused and elbowed him. Farkle came back down to Earth and the two stood there together.
I ran as fast as I could back to my house. For once, the door wasn't frozen shut and I got in on the second try. No time to waste. I ran upstairs to my room and pulled out my laptop. I opened it up and went to google. I googled the accident of last night and tried to find out who the litte girl was. I did all the research I could. The incident was so recent, they didn't have all the information up yet. On no articles did it display the girl's identity. "12-year-old girl of New York City assaulted by 6 teens" titled one of the articles. It basically told the story that was on the news last night, exactly what everyone already knows. I think Canada knows it. Then I went onto the 6th page of articles. "12-year-old assault victim attacked by teens" the article titled. I clicked many articles like it, I was there for over an hour just going through pages and pages of articles. Then one came to my surprise. "Identity of 12-year-old New York assault victim Released" it titled. "No way" I thought and clicked it. My computer was running slow and I was clicking like a psycho path who's chances of getting out of a mental institution counted on it. It finally loaded and I was so relieved.
"The identity of the 12-year-old assault victim was finally released. The parents of the victim agreed to let the TV news broadcasts, newspapers and online news websites all publish the school and grade of the victim. The 12-year-old victim of abuse and assault attends New York City's John Quincy Adams Middle School in 7th grade. The 7th grade student was willing to put her name out on the news broadcasts as well as her picture, but the parents disagreed and did not allow it. More information on this case will be released soon." the article said. "Gosh...what-what if it really is Riley?" I asked myself. "No! That couldn't be! Not Riley Matthews. Not my best friend" I told myself. It was only hope, but I still wanted to count on it, I didn't wanna believe any differently.
The next day, I got to school and arrived even a bit early. I went searching long and hard for that article and I don't think anyone was as desperate to find out who it is, as much as I was. I don't think anyone else I know found that article, or any article that said the same. "Hey, Maya, are you alright? You seemed pretty out of it yesterday" Farkle said as he and Lucas approached me. "Yeah, I'm fine. But you guys wouldn't believe what I found" I said. "What?" Lucas asked. All 3 of us sat down on the bench and both boys faced me. "I was googling the accident, the one that happened a couple nights ago, about the 12-year-old girl from here" I said. "And I found an article that reveled her school and grade" I said. "So...what school is it?" Farkle asked. I was about to throw up, I covered my mouth with the back of my hand. Lucas grabbed my arm and pulled my hand down. "What school?" he asked. "What school did she go to?" he added. "John Quincy Adams Middle School" I said. "What! There's another John Quincy Adams Middle School in New York!?" Farkle asked in shock. Lucas looked at Farkle, disappointed, shaking his head. "This, John Quincy Adams Middle School?" Farkle asked sadly. I nodded my head. "And our Grade, 7th Grade" I said. "There's ANOTHER 7th grade!?" Farkle asked again. Lucas covered Farkle's head and looked over at me. "You don't think..." he drifted off. I nodded my head.
Girl Meets Maya's World: Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Rumors vs. The Truth
I decided to take Crazy Hat's advice. It seems like the right thing to do for now, anyways. So, I decided to head home and make myself some more hot cocoa. I got into my Christmas pyjamas, since it was like 2 weeks 'til Christmas. I was watching the Christmas Movie Marathon, thinking. "I need a Christmas miracle" I thought. That boy in the movie, really got those bandits bad, the kids pretty smart, I thought. "Too bad I'm not that smart, than I would know what to do" I thought. I was over half way through the movie, when my mom came rushing down the stairs. "Maya, turn it to the local news" she said sitting on the other chair. "Ugh, why?" I asked "I'm kinda watching something" I added.
"Just hurry, I want you to see this" she said. I flipped the channel to Channel 7, the news. The time was 10:07pm on the clock. "Breaking News, earlier this evening at around 9pm, there was a brutal assault at a local house in downtown New York City. A young 12-year-old girl was brutally beaten and sexually assaulted by 6 teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19. The neighbours to one of the teens heard screaming and crying and saw a blood stain in their window and immediately called the police. When the house was surrounded by police, the teenagers all managed to escape and left the young girl beaten inside the house. Police still look for the teens, the parents were not home at the time and it is unknown who they are. If you have any information, than please call the abuse hotline immediately. We will talk more on this story later tonight. Now, grocery stores and going bankrupt in Seattle...." the News Casting lady said. "So, grocery stores go bankrupt all the time, especially in Seattle" I said disappointedly to my mom. "No, Maya. I mean the story about the little girl, she was your age you know" she said. "Well, things like that happen all the time, it has nothing to do with me" I replied. "It was right here in New York, hun. It could've been some girl in your school even, you never know" My mom explained. "Come on, mom, really?" I said with disbelief. "You never know" she said getting up and making her way back upstairs. "Huh" I thought.
The next morning, I found myself passed out on the couch, full with cups and cups of hot cocoa and Christmas chocolate. School was still in for another week or so. The time on the clock was 5:52am. I had like 8 minutes to sleep, I'd better get a head start on the morning anyway. I stood up and wobbled on my feet. "Whoa, way to much cocoa" I said finding my balance. "I almost feel sick" I thought. I did my every morning routine, getting ready for school. Then at 7:00pm, I made my way to Riley's house. "Maya" I buzzed in. Nobody buzzed back. "Maya" I buzzed in again, still nothing, not even Mr. Matthews. "Hello!?" I buzzed in again. The man running the lobby looked at me. "What number are you trying to get to?" he asked. "26" I responded. "26? The Matthews?" he asked. "Yes, sir" I responded. "They are not home, they haven't been all night" he said and returned to behind his desk. "Hmm" I thought confused. "Hopefully, she hasn't turned into a Harajuku girl again" I thought, leaving the building.
I got on the subway and made my ride to school. The subway was quiet, I wasn't used to riding it alone every morning, Riley's usually with me. But it was weird, everyone on the subway was quiet, like someone they loved just died or something. It gave me a weird feeling in my stomach, like I just wanted to get off. Finally, it reached my stop and I got myself off as soon as I could. I felt much better as I made my way to class. "Hey Maya!" Farkle called in the hallways. "Hey, Farkle" I said in a disappointed tone. "What's wrong? Did you hear what happened last night?" he asked me. "You mean the girl on the news?" I asked. He nodded his head. "Yeah, do you know who it was?" I asked, thinking maybe my mom was right about her going to JQA. "Nobody does, they didn't reveal her identity. Rumors have it that it is someone in our grade, at our school" Farkle said. "Huh" I replied. "Well, we'd better get to class" he said, walking into Mr. Matthews' history class. Lucas was already in class as well. The bell went seconds later and I forced myself to class, once again.
I took my seat in front of Lucas, when I felt someone tap my back. I turned around and saw Lucas lookin' all Lucas, but concerned. "What?" I asked. "Did you hear the--" "Yes, I heard the story!" I inturrupted and faced front again. Then a teacher came into the classroom, a teacher who was not Mr. Matthews. "Good morning, class. I'm Ms. Fernfelt and I will be your substitute teacher for today" she said. Ms. Fernfelt was old. Like 60 or 70 or somethin'. Her name was "Ms Fernfelt, not Mrs. which means she was not married. She was probably unattractive as a mid-aged adult. And on a substitute teacher sallary, she must've lived in Central Park in a cardboard box or something, I assumed. "So, today Mr. Matthews told me to give you this sheet to fill out and you must fill it all out by the end of class, or else it's homework" she said. I looked over at Farkle, going straight to work and then at Lucas who was doing the same. I looked over at Riley's seat, which was empty. No sight, no smell, nothing. "She's gone, Mr. Matthews is gone and they weren't home this morning. Must be some kinda family thing" I thought.
I didn't get much work done that class, I had homework, which I obviously wasn't doing, especially with so much on my mind. The bell wrang and the day went by super fast. Usually, it would go by slower, with so much on my mind, but it went faster. At the end of the day, Farkle approached me. "Maya, do you know where Riley was today?" he asked. "No, not a clue. Nobody was at their apartment this morning" I explained to him. "Oh, weird. Isn't it such a coincadence?" Farkle asked. "What do you mean?" I asked, slamming my locker and facing him. "Well, I did get some information from Lucas, but that's not the point. he said. "Than what is?" I asked. "That Riley was absent and the bruise she had on her arm and then that 12-year-old girl got attacked in New York and everyone says it was someone in our school and she was the only one absent today?" Farkle asked.
I decided to take Crazy Hat's advice. It seems like the right thing to do for now, anyways. So, I decided to head home and make myself some more hot cocoa. I got into my Christmas pyjamas, since it was like 2 weeks 'til Christmas. I was watching the Christmas Movie Marathon, thinking. "I need a Christmas miracle" I thought. That boy in the movie, really got those bandits bad, the kids pretty smart, I thought. "Too bad I'm not that smart, than I would know what to do" I thought. I was over half way through the movie, when my mom came rushing down the stairs. "Maya, turn it to the local news" she said sitting on the other chair. "Ugh, why?" I asked "I'm kinda watching something" I added.
"Just hurry, I want you to see this" she said. I flipped the channel to Channel 7, the news. The time was 10:07pm on the clock. "Breaking News, earlier this evening at around 9pm, there was a brutal assault at a local house in downtown New York City. A young 12-year-old girl was brutally beaten and sexually assaulted by 6 teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19. The neighbours to one of the teens heard screaming and crying and saw a blood stain in their window and immediately called the police. When the house was surrounded by police, the teenagers all managed to escape and left the young girl beaten inside the house. Police still look for the teens, the parents were not home at the time and it is unknown who they are. If you have any information, than please call the abuse hotline immediately. We will talk more on this story later tonight. Now, grocery stores and going bankrupt in Seattle...." the News Casting lady said. "So, grocery stores go bankrupt all the time, especially in Seattle" I said disappointedly to my mom. "No, Maya. I mean the story about the little girl, she was your age you know" she said. "Well, things like that happen all the time, it has nothing to do with me" I replied. "It was right here in New York, hun. It could've been some girl in your school even, you never know" My mom explained. "Come on, mom, really?" I said with disbelief. "You never know" she said getting up and making her way back upstairs. "Huh" I thought.
The next morning, I found myself passed out on the couch, full with cups and cups of hot cocoa and Christmas chocolate. School was still in for another week or so. The time on the clock was 5:52am. I had like 8 minutes to sleep, I'd better get a head start on the morning anyway. I stood up and wobbled on my feet. "Whoa, way to much cocoa" I said finding my balance. "I almost feel sick" I thought. I did my every morning routine, getting ready for school. Then at 7:00pm, I made my way to Riley's house. "Maya" I buzzed in. Nobody buzzed back. "Maya" I buzzed in again, still nothing, not even Mr. Matthews. "Hello!?" I buzzed in again. The man running the lobby looked at me. "What number are you trying to get to?" he asked. "26" I responded. "26? The Matthews?" he asked. "Yes, sir" I responded. "They are not home, they haven't been all night" he said and returned to behind his desk. "Hmm" I thought confused. "Hopefully, she hasn't turned into a Harajuku girl again" I thought, leaving the building.
I got on the subway and made my ride to school. The subway was quiet, I wasn't used to riding it alone every morning, Riley's usually with me. But it was weird, everyone on the subway was quiet, like someone they loved just died or something. It gave me a weird feeling in my stomach, like I just wanted to get off. Finally, it reached my stop and I got myself off as soon as I could. I felt much better as I made my way to class. "Hey Maya!" Farkle called in the hallways. "Hey, Farkle" I said in a disappointed tone. "What's wrong? Did you hear what happened last night?" he asked me. "You mean the girl on the news?" I asked. He nodded his head. "Yeah, do you know who it was?" I asked, thinking maybe my mom was right about her going to JQA. "Nobody does, they didn't reveal her identity. Rumors have it that it is someone in our grade, at our school" Farkle said. "Huh" I replied. "Well, we'd better get to class" he said, walking into Mr. Matthews' history class. Lucas was already in class as well. The bell went seconds later and I forced myself to class, once again.
I took my seat in front of Lucas, when I felt someone tap my back. I turned around and saw Lucas lookin' all Lucas, but concerned. "What?" I asked. "Did you hear the--" "Yes, I heard the story!" I inturrupted and faced front again. Then a teacher came into the classroom, a teacher who was not Mr. Matthews. "Good morning, class. I'm Ms. Fernfelt and I will be your substitute teacher for today" she said. Ms. Fernfelt was old. Like 60 or 70 or somethin'. Her name was "Ms Fernfelt, not Mrs. which means she was not married. She was probably unattractive as a mid-aged adult. And on a substitute teacher sallary, she must've lived in Central Park in a cardboard box or something, I assumed. "So, today Mr. Matthews told me to give you this sheet to fill out and you must fill it all out by the end of class, or else it's homework" she said. I looked over at Farkle, going straight to work and then at Lucas who was doing the same. I looked over at Riley's seat, which was empty. No sight, no smell, nothing. "She's gone, Mr. Matthews is gone and they weren't home this morning. Must be some kinda family thing" I thought.
I didn't get much work done that class, I had homework, which I obviously wasn't doing, especially with so much on my mind. The bell wrang and the day went by super fast. Usually, it would go by slower, with so much on my mind, but it went faster. At the end of the day, Farkle approached me. "Maya, do you know where Riley was today?" he asked. "No, not a clue. Nobody was at their apartment this morning" I explained to him. "Oh, weird. Isn't it such a coincadence?" Farkle asked. "What do you mean?" I asked, slamming my locker and facing him. "Well, I did get some information from Lucas, but that's not the point. he said. "Than what is?" I asked. "That Riley was absent and the bruise she had on her arm and then that 12-year-old girl got attacked in New York and everyone says it was someone in our school and she was the only one absent today?" Farkle asked.
Girl Meets Maya's World: Chapter 4
Chapter 4: The Crazy Advice
When I got to Riley's house, I buzzed in and Mr. Matthews buzzed me up. I ran up and tracked like gallons of snow into their house. Okay, that was an exageration, but it seemed like that. "Umm, Maya. Do you mind?" Mrs. Matthews said, setting the table for dinner. "Um, sorry" I said throwing off my boots and jacket. "Is Riley here?" I asked in a hurry. "No, we thought she was with you" Mr. Matthews answered. "With me?" I questioned like they were stupid. "Yeah" Mr. Matthews replied. Yeah, okay. "Oh, yeah. I'll go get her and be back in like some amount of time" I said pulling on my boots and rushing outside. "That was weird" Mrs. Matthews said. "Yeah, she made it sound like Riley was in danger or something" Mr. Matthews remarked. "Hahahaha!" Auggie and Mr. and Mrs. Matthews laughed.
I made my way down Bleecker Street and down into the subway stop to keep from getting wet and snowy. I sat down on the bench and waited. Soon, Crazy Hat arrived. "My little dolly" she said. "Where's the other dolly?" she asked me, looking around. "That's what I'm here about" I said. "Tell me more" she said, looking interested in my situation. "Well, she sent me this text" I said showing Crazy Hat Riley's text. "Oooh! So you think your friend's in danger?" she asked. "I don't know, maybe" I said. "Well, she had a black bruise on her arm today, it was big and looked unusual" I added. "What should I do?" I asked. "Well, you can't do much right now, dolly. But keep your eyes open, you may be able to become a big help later" she said. "Now, I've gotta run to a meeting, but I'll see you around, dolly" she said getting up. "With squirels" I said to myself in a sad tone. "Huh..." I sighed.
When I got to Riley's house, I buzzed in and Mr. Matthews buzzed me up. I ran up and tracked like gallons of snow into their house. Okay, that was an exageration, but it seemed like that. "Umm, Maya. Do you mind?" Mrs. Matthews said, setting the table for dinner. "Um, sorry" I said throwing off my boots and jacket. "Is Riley here?" I asked in a hurry. "No, we thought she was with you" Mr. Matthews answered. "With me?" I questioned like they were stupid. "Yeah" Mr. Matthews replied. Yeah, okay. "Oh, yeah. I'll go get her and be back in like some amount of time" I said pulling on my boots and rushing outside. "That was weird" Mrs. Matthews said. "Yeah, she made it sound like Riley was in danger or something" Mr. Matthews remarked. "Hahahaha!" Auggie and Mr. and Mrs. Matthews laughed.
I made my way down Bleecker Street and down into the subway stop to keep from getting wet and snowy. I sat down on the bench and waited. Soon, Crazy Hat arrived. "My little dolly" she said. "Where's the other dolly?" she asked me, looking around. "That's what I'm here about" I said. "Tell me more" she said, looking interested in my situation. "Well, she sent me this text" I said showing Crazy Hat Riley's text. "Oooh! So you think your friend's in danger?" she asked. "I don't know, maybe" I said. "Well, she had a black bruise on her arm today, it was big and looked unusual" I added. "What should I do?" I asked. "Well, you can't do much right now, dolly. But keep your eyes open, you may be able to become a big help later" she said. "Now, I've gotta run to a meeting, but I'll see you around, dolly" she said getting up. "With squirels" I said to myself in a sad tone. "Huh..." I sighed.
Girl Meets Maya's World: Chapter 3
Chapter 3: His Frozen Vision
I looked back at my best friend and I knew something was definently wrong. "Okay, Maya. You must still be half asleep" I thought, not believing what I was seeing. Riley was wearing her layered clothing as she was before. Her left sleeve was rolled up and she had a bruise bigger than Russia, darker and crueler too, all across her arm. It was almost as black as my mother's heart. Riley still hadn't noticed I was there. She was looking straight down into her lap, like she was looking at something in specific, but what is so interesting about that? I thought these things, everything, so unlogical to me.
Finally Riley looked up and saw me sitting there staring at her. "Maya! Why are you still here? The bell went 5 minutes ago!" she shouted, startled. I didn't know what to say. What should I say? "I was staring at you because I feel something is wrong and I am wondering why there is a huge bruise across your arm and what is so interesting about your lap?" I thought that, it was the stupidest response I could come up with. "I-I-I don't know. I was just waiting for you, t-to go to our next class together" I said stuttering, I sounded like I was repeating something someone was whispering to me, but not getting the right words out. "Why didn't you say something?" she asked mad, but calming down. "I don't know, I am now" I said. Riley glared at me and got up from her desk. She was struggling, I was assuming it was because of the incredible amount of clothing she was wearing. I watched her getting up, what could be going through her head?
I thought to myself, hopeless. I took both my hands and reached for the edge of my desk and plopped my head slowly onto the face of the desk. What else could go wrong? I wondered.
Once the Period 8 bell wrang and it was time to go home, I tried to get out of that school as fast as I can. I was on my way out the door, I was almost there, when Lucas ran into me. "Hey, Maya" he said walking along beside me. "Hey" I said taking a deep breath. "So, did you go looking for a solution?" he asked me, talking about Riley. "No, but something else came to me" I said. "W-What do you mean?" he asked. We were walking in the deep snow, on the way to my house, frozen like popsicles. "Well, I saw something today, like...it was weird" I explained as best as I could. "Okay, like what?" he asked. "Too much, way too much. We're moving way too fast" I remarked. "Okay, so what are you going to tell me?" he asked. We reached my house and I pulled out the key and tried to unlock the frozen door. "No! It's frozen shut. Why does this happen everytime she's out!" I cried. "Here, let me try" Lucas said ripping the key out of my hand. "Ouch" I whispered to myself, very quietly, rubbing my hand. He was jamming the key into my door. "Okay, okay. That's not gonna work" I said snatching it back. "We will have to revert to this" I said walking down the 2 steps up to my house and trampling into my backyard. Lucas followed with no concern. I grabbed a metal bucket in my backyard and walked up to the hose. Lucas placed himself beside me, we were so cold, I could feel him shivering beside me. I turned on the hose and waited until warm water came out. I filled the bucket with steaming water and carried the heavy bucket back around to my front door. "This oughta do it" I said dumping the water all over the door. "Thawing it out?" Lucas asked. "Yeah, this happens at least 10 times every winter" I said.
I re-jammed the key into the lock and it finally opened. "Brrr! I'm freezing" I said trembling, walking into the house. Lucas stood outside it, glaring inside of it. "What? Waiting for a written invatation?" I asked, hanging up my coat on the railing. Lucas stepped inside and examined the house. I put on my slippers and housecoat and walked into the kitchen. "What are you wearing that for?" he asked. "What? I own the place, I can do what I want" I said making hot cocoa and sitting on the couch. Lucas grabbed a cup and sat down beside me. "So what are we gonna do about..." he drifted off. "Riley?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him. "Uh, yeah" he said. I went channel surfing, looking for the Christmas Movie Marathon. I finally found it and switched to the channel. I didn't pay attention, I looked over at Lucas. He didn't look at me, he was looking at the TV, but I could tell he wasn't watching it. He was thinking of something. "Maya?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the TV. I nodded in response, he didn't see that, but continued anyway. "What happened today? Why are you all worked up and won't tell me what is going on and what you saw?" he asked, now looking directly at me. "Okay, because maybe you and your child-like cowboy senese wouldn't get that things happen in New York that Texians couldn't even think of" I responded, truthfully.
"Can't you trust me?" he asked. "You think I can trust you?" I responded. "I don't know, I asked you" he replied. I went and took a package of rasberries out of the fridge and started eating them, placing myself back on the other side of the couch. "Why can't you tell me? Is it about Riley? She's my friend too you know, you can't hide this forever" he said. I chucked a rasberry down my throat and swallowed it without chewing, I nearly coughed it up, but I didn't. "You want me to get a doctor?" he asked, laughing. Lucas looked at my bin of rasberries and read the side of it. "Oh and by the way, those rasberries of yours are 2 weeks overdue" he said. "Eww!" I screamed spitting one onto the floor. "Haha!" Lucas laughed. "Haha...You really wanna know what's going on?" I asked. "Yeah, I do actually" he said."I saw after History class today, Riley was still in class after the bell and her sleeve was rolled up and she...she..." I drifted off, can I really trust anyone at this point? I wasn't sure. "Maya" Lucas moved up beside me and looked me dead in the eyes. "You can tell me, you shouldn't keep something this huge to yourself" he said. "It was there. But why?" I asked. "Huh? What was there?" he asked confused. "The bruise" I said. "Bruise?" he questioned. "Her arm, it had a huge black bruise on it, and it wasn't there 2 days ago" I said. We sat there in silence, Lucas trying to process what I was blabbing about. "Well, maybe she just got fell or something, you never know" Lucas finally said. "Then why was she wearing so much clothing? Why was she so dull looking this morning? Why was she not talking this morning?!" I asked painfully. "Maya, honestly I--" I cut him off right away. "Why was she looking down!?" I added and flopped back into the couch. "Looking down?" Lucas questioned. "What do you mean, looking down?" he asked worried.
"She was looking down after class today, like she was looking at something, something not good" I said. "But what is so interesting in her own lap?" Lucas asked. "I don't know, Sundance, you tell me!" I yelled. "Maya, calm down" he said. "No, I can't. I don't understand!" I screamed. "I'd better go" Lucas said. "Yeah, when you get the concept, call me" I said madly. He nodded his head and walked right out the door. "Uggh!" I sighed and fell back down onto the couch. "What am I ever gonna do?" I asked myself. Then my phone started blinking. I picked it up and it was a text from Riley. "MsyAs, HWLP i;M trapdhd" it said. "What?" I quietly whispered to myself. "This can't be good!" I thought. I grabbed my jacket and ran out the door as fast as I could. I slipped on the sidewalk and I was covered in ice and snow. I didn't bother to dust it off, instead I ran all the way to the subway and made my way to Riley's house.
I looked back at my best friend and I knew something was definently wrong. "Okay, Maya. You must still be half asleep" I thought, not believing what I was seeing. Riley was wearing her layered clothing as she was before. Her left sleeve was rolled up and she had a bruise bigger than Russia, darker and crueler too, all across her arm. It was almost as black as my mother's heart. Riley still hadn't noticed I was there. She was looking straight down into her lap, like she was looking at something in specific, but what is so interesting about that? I thought these things, everything, so unlogical to me.
Finally Riley looked up and saw me sitting there staring at her. "Maya! Why are you still here? The bell went 5 minutes ago!" she shouted, startled. I didn't know what to say. What should I say? "I was staring at you because I feel something is wrong and I am wondering why there is a huge bruise across your arm and what is so interesting about your lap?" I thought that, it was the stupidest response I could come up with. "I-I-I don't know. I was just waiting for you, t-to go to our next class together" I said stuttering, I sounded like I was repeating something someone was whispering to me, but not getting the right words out. "Why didn't you say something?" she asked mad, but calming down. "I don't know, I am now" I said. Riley glared at me and got up from her desk. She was struggling, I was assuming it was because of the incredible amount of clothing she was wearing. I watched her getting up, what could be going through her head?
I thought to myself, hopeless. I took both my hands and reached for the edge of my desk and plopped my head slowly onto the face of the desk. What else could go wrong? I wondered.
Once the Period 8 bell wrang and it was time to go home, I tried to get out of that school as fast as I can. I was on my way out the door, I was almost there, when Lucas ran into me. "Hey, Maya" he said walking along beside me. "Hey" I said taking a deep breath. "So, did you go looking for a solution?" he asked me, talking about Riley. "No, but something else came to me" I said. "W-What do you mean?" he asked. We were walking in the deep snow, on the way to my house, frozen like popsicles. "Well, I saw something today, like...it was weird" I explained as best as I could. "Okay, like what?" he asked. "Too much, way too much. We're moving way too fast" I remarked. "Okay, so what are you going to tell me?" he asked. We reached my house and I pulled out the key and tried to unlock the frozen door. "No! It's frozen shut. Why does this happen everytime she's out!" I cried. "Here, let me try" Lucas said ripping the key out of my hand. "Ouch" I whispered to myself, very quietly, rubbing my hand. He was jamming the key into my door. "Okay, okay. That's not gonna work" I said snatching it back. "We will have to revert to this" I said walking down the 2 steps up to my house and trampling into my backyard. Lucas followed with no concern. I grabbed a metal bucket in my backyard and walked up to the hose. Lucas placed himself beside me, we were so cold, I could feel him shivering beside me. I turned on the hose and waited until warm water came out. I filled the bucket with steaming water and carried the heavy bucket back around to my front door. "This oughta do it" I said dumping the water all over the door. "Thawing it out?" Lucas asked. "Yeah, this happens at least 10 times every winter" I said.
I re-jammed the key into the lock and it finally opened. "Brrr! I'm freezing" I said trembling, walking into the house. Lucas stood outside it, glaring inside of it. "What? Waiting for a written invatation?" I asked, hanging up my coat on the railing. Lucas stepped inside and examined the house. I put on my slippers and housecoat and walked into the kitchen. "What are you wearing that for?" he asked. "What? I own the place, I can do what I want" I said making hot cocoa and sitting on the couch. Lucas grabbed a cup and sat down beside me. "So what are we gonna do about..." he drifted off. "Riley?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him. "Uh, yeah" he said. I went channel surfing, looking for the Christmas Movie Marathon. I finally found it and switched to the channel. I didn't pay attention, I looked over at Lucas. He didn't look at me, he was looking at the TV, but I could tell he wasn't watching it. He was thinking of something. "Maya?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the TV. I nodded in response, he didn't see that, but continued anyway. "What happened today? Why are you all worked up and won't tell me what is going on and what you saw?" he asked, now looking directly at me. "Okay, because maybe you and your child-like cowboy senese wouldn't get that things happen in New York that Texians couldn't even think of" I responded, truthfully.
"Can't you trust me?" he asked. "You think I can trust you?" I responded. "I don't know, I asked you" he replied. I went and took a package of rasberries out of the fridge and started eating them, placing myself back on the other side of the couch. "Why can't you tell me? Is it about Riley? She's my friend too you know, you can't hide this forever" he said. I chucked a rasberry down my throat and swallowed it without chewing, I nearly coughed it up, but I didn't. "You want me to get a doctor?" he asked, laughing. Lucas looked at my bin of rasberries and read the side of it. "Oh and by the way, those rasberries of yours are 2 weeks overdue" he said. "Eww!" I screamed spitting one onto the floor. "Haha!" Lucas laughed. "Haha...You really wanna know what's going on?" I asked. "Yeah, I do actually" he said."I saw after History class today, Riley was still in class after the bell and her sleeve was rolled up and she...she..." I drifted off, can I really trust anyone at this point? I wasn't sure. "Maya" Lucas moved up beside me and looked me dead in the eyes. "You can tell me, you shouldn't keep something this huge to yourself" he said. "It was there. But why?" I asked. "Huh? What was there?" he asked confused. "The bruise" I said. "Bruise?" he questioned. "Her arm, it had a huge black bruise on it, and it wasn't there 2 days ago" I said. We sat there in silence, Lucas trying to process what I was blabbing about. "Well, maybe she just got fell or something, you never know" Lucas finally said. "Then why was she wearing so much clothing? Why was she so dull looking this morning? Why was she not talking this morning?!" I asked painfully. "Maya, honestly I--" I cut him off right away. "Why was she looking down!?" I added and flopped back into the couch. "Looking down?" Lucas questioned. "What do you mean, looking down?" he asked worried.
"She was looking down after class today, like she was looking at something, something not good" I said. "But what is so interesting in her own lap?" Lucas asked. "I don't know, Sundance, you tell me!" I yelled. "Maya, calm down" he said. "No, I can't. I don't understand!" I screamed. "I'd better go" Lucas said. "Yeah, when you get the concept, call me" I said madly. He nodded his head and walked right out the door. "Uggh!" I sighed and fell back down onto the couch. "What am I ever gonna do?" I asked myself. Then my phone started blinking. I picked it up and it was a text from Riley. "MsyAs, HWLP i;M trapdhd" it said. "What?" I quietly whispered to myself. "This can't be good!" I thought. I grabbed my jacket and ran out the door as fast as I could. I slipped on the sidewalk and I was covered in ice and snow. I didn't bother to dust it off, instead I ran all the way to the subway and made my way to Riley's house.
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