I'm Home

Chapter 3

It is officially my first day back at school since we came home. I get out of bed and walk into the closet. About 15 minutes later, I come out wearing a royal purple sundress with a lilac sweater and pale purple sandals. I kept my makeup natural with my hair curled and pulled back. I grab my backpack and go into the kitchen. I smile one of my goofy Riley smiles when I see my family, Maya, and Farkle sitting around the breakfast table. However, I realize that there is an empty space besides me. I'm about to mention it when the intercom buzzes.

"Can I come up?"

Before my dad can interfere, I race over and buzz him in. I go back to the table, understanding the space next to me now.

"What's for breakfast, Princess?"

I jump up and run into his arms. I know I just saw him yesterday, but I can't help it. After a month apart, I don't want to spend a second away from him. He swings me around a little bit until we hear dad loudly clear his throat, followed by a slap from my mom (or Maya). He reluctantly puts me down and we walk over to the breakfast table. The rest of breakfast is spent catching me up on anything I missed at school. Because it's closer to the end of the year, I don't have too much work to make-up, and I still have the same class schedule which means I still have class with nearly all of my friends.

"Guys, if you don't want to be late, you better leave now. School starts in half an hour!" Mom says after she looks at the time. We all spring up from our seats, grab our backpacks, and race out the door. In a matter of seconds, the four of us are standing around waiting for the subway to show up. As soon as it comes, we walk on to our usual spots: Lucas sitting down, Farkle standing by the pole near the doors, and me and Maya standing by the pole next to his.

"So, how was London?" Maya asked me as soon as the train left the station.

"It was cool at the beginning. We did some sightseeing and tried a few restaurants. But once mom started working, all of that ended. We all just became depressed."

"Well, how's it been so far being back in New York?"

"As close to perfection as it could be."

"How about I make it perfect for you?" She said to me with a devious little grin on her lips. Before I could even respond, she pushed me just enough that I fell backwards and right onto Lucas' lap. Again. I was about to recreate the day we met, but I decided to recreate a different moment of ours.

"Hi, I'm Riley. We were just talking about you." He laughed a little as soon as he heard me say those iconic words.

"I'm Lucas."

"I love it. You know those moments you were talking about that we're gonna remember forever?" I could tell that he was starting to play along with me.

"Yeah?"

Just like I did in seventh grade, I cupped his face in my hands and gave him a kiss. The main difference was that this time, it wasn't just a peck. Back then, we were just two kids who liked each other more than friends. Now, we were two teenagers who better understood their feelings for one another, especially after suffering the heartbreak that London caused.

This kiss felt like we were in that moment for ages, but in reality, it was probably only a few seconds. After we broke apart for air, I moved to the empty seat next to him. For the next ten minutes, I just sat there, my left hand intertwined with his and my head resting on his shoulder. When we got to our stop, we got off and walked the two blocks to get to our school. As soon as we walked in, I was bombarded by various people in our class who wanted to welcome me back to the city.

After I made my way through my classmates (with Lucas by my side and Maya right behind me), we walked into my father's classroom. That felt like the most natural thing in the world for me. I was about to take my seat, when I noticed that we were back to our old seats from seventh grade: Maya on my right, Farkle behind her and then Smackle, Lucas behind me and Zay behind him. I sat down in my seat, trying to hide the fact that I was blushing about the fact that Lucas was right behind me.

As soon as my father saw the seating arrangement, he smiled, probably having flashbacks to his first few days of teaching us. As he got everything set up for the lesson, I noticed that a small piece of paper had made its way onto my desk. I smiled as I unfolded the note and read the message on it:

So glad your seat isn't empty anymore. I love the fact that, not only do I have my princess dancing sunshine back, but I can give her notes throughout the day to remind her how amazing she is. 🤍

I didn't realize that I was blushing, but I guess I must've been because no sooner had I finished reading the note then my dad started to freak out.

"Wait, no notes! Too soon for notes! Nothing good comes out of notes! Stop giving my daughter notes!" He reached for my note, which I quickly gave to Maya. I didn't care if she read it, but I knew that my dad would never try to fight her for anything. Just as I thought, he backed away from her, but kept giving Lucas a death glare.

"Dad, I have been away from my best friends and my boyfriend for an entire month. Give me a break!"

"Riley, he's a boy! He's the reason you have feelings and the reason for all of the craziness that happened in eighth grade!"

"Dad, if I recall, the whole triangle thing happened because Maya became me, which happened because Shawn got her clothes. And if you hadn't brought him into our lives, none of that would've ever happened." I kept strict eye contact with him the entire time as he tried to find an answer.

"Okay, you win this round. Remind me when we get home that I need to stop letting your mother spend time with you. I can't have two Topanga's!"

Satisfied with my victory, I sat down in my seat again and got a quick high-five from Maya. I then heard my dad clear his throat and knew that the lesson was about to begin.

"Alliances. A union formed for mutual benefit between countries. Alliances have played critical roles in how the countries win wars. Take the World Wars for example. In World War One, Britain's alliance with France and Belgium prompted them to come to their aid when Germany invaded both of them. America came to help Britain when they were in trouble. These alliances resulted in them defeating Germany and their alliances, and carried over into World War Two."

I was a little lost. Unlike previous lessons, I had no idea how this related to me or my friends. I quietly but sternly raised my hand.

"Ms. Matthews?"

"What does this have to do with our lives?"

"What do you mean?"

"Every lesson, I can pretty much figure out how the lesson is connected to me or my friends. But I can't with this one. How is it connected?"

My dad gave a light chuckle and motioned for me to go up and stand next to him in front of the class.

"Riley, if I'm correct, you were in trouble just about a week ago; lost in a new country, not knowing anyone, missing everything and everyone you left behind." I gave him a silent nod, trying not to cry after thinking back to that depressing time. "But when you came home, rather than have to start from scratch yet again, your alliances stayed true and helped guide you through all of the changes."

He was absolutely right. I looked out over the sea of students. Zay had one of his goofy smiles on. Smackle had the slightest bit of a smile, which was a huge improvement for her. Farkle had a soft yet serious look on his face. Maya gave me a smile while fiddling with her friendship ring. Lucas stared at me with those gorgeous green eyes and gave me a smile that just melted my heart.

"You're right Dad. I have the best alliances ever. And I'm so relieved I get to stay with them." I turned to him and gave my dad a tight hug, the kind that only a little girl can give her dad. "Thank you for letting me come back to them."