𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 — 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏

❝ 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡 ( 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 2 ) ❞

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗿𝘆,
      𝗪𝗼𝘄. 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲. 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.

      𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆. 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗵. 𝗔 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿. 𝗔 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵.

      𝗡𝗼𝘄, 𝗜'𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘀, 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗜 𝗱𝗼. 𝗕𝘂𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘀' 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺. 𝗛𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜'𝗺 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗶𝗱, 𝗳𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀. 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗜'𝗺 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀... 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆,
𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗥. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄𝘀

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

Riley and Maya were back in the hole the next day. Amanda didn't know what happened after she left her friends and she didn't know if she wanted to. All she knew was that every time she would pass a friend, they would turn the other way, like they didn't want to look at her. In reality, the group was avoiding Mandy because they were ashamed of their actions and thought she wouldn't want to talk to them, when really, it was the complete opposite.

All of them knew Amanda's biggest fear was to be alone in high school, and their actions of not taking action, wasn't helping.

When Amanda stepped into her history class, the friends were already seated. They all looked tense with solemn expressions. Amanda sighed softly as she took her seat, not bothering to try any interaction with her friends.

As Matthews started writing on the board, Marley commented, "why 'massacre'? Why you got 'massacre' up there? Why can't you just teach us names and dates?"

Matthews chuckled, "Marley Evans and what she learns today! That's the name and date I care about. All of you, right now," he pointed to the rest of the class, "you listening to me," he asked, earning nods, "good. It was patriots who founded our new land and it was patriots who fought for it. Why do we remember the Alamo? Farkle, Smackle, a duet! Go!"

Farkle stood excitedly, "the Alamo was a small isolated fortress with a handful of patriots inside who felt it was important to stick together and fight for what they believed in."

"They were surrounded by a much larger number of people, coming at them from all different directions, who believed this place belonged to them," Smackle finished as she motioned for Matthews to continue.

"The patriots desperately wanted reinforcements, but reinforcements never came," he paused, seeing his favorite group of kids glance at each other, he noticed the only person who didn't look up from her desk was Amanda, "what happened to 'em?"

"They stayed in their fortress and gave everybody a friendly smile and eventually, they walked upstairs," Riley smiled, though there was a sass behind her words.

"They were massacred."

"...Then they walked upstairs?"

"No," Matthews shook his head, "but that battle gave birth to a slogan. What was the slogan?"

"Remember the Alamo."

"Remember the Alamo," Matthews repeated Lucas' answer, "and why do we remember the Alamo? Lucas, Zay, a duet."

The two stood as Lucas answered first, "because the patriots gave their lives to the greater good."

Zay continued, "that battle had only just begun, and some years later that land became ours, and the name of that land was—"

"Texas!"

"Stop it!"

"Right. Texas. Your home," Matthews nodded, "so, guys, that's why we remember the Alamo, and why we remember all the battles that we fight in an effort to make a new place our home. Now, you can stay massacred or you can realize that battle has just begun."

"We were kings, Matthews," Maya spoke in class for the first time.

"Kingdoms fall. Everyone who believes they're gonna rule the world, falls. Everyone who believes they're strong, eventually comes up against someone that's stronger. And every patriot fighting for a cause, they're only as strong as the cause they're fighting for."

Marley nodded, "even I know, next thing he says, real important."

"What's the cause your fighting for?"

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

Riley and Maya dragged their friends to Topanga's later that night to settle everything between them. The only person missing was Amanda.

Riley tilted their chins, "look at us."

Maya did the same, "look at us."

"We're sorry," Riley announced.

"You're sorry," Andrew scoffed in disbelief.

"What are you sorry for?"

"We're the ones who left."

Maya shook her head, "we should've realized something had happened to you."

Zay sat up straight, "nothing happened to us."

"Why do you think something happened to us," Farkle asked.

"We found out we're stupid and they got beat up like pipsqueaks," Smackle blurted.

Andrew sighed in defeat, "don't look at me."

Maya grabbed his shirt, "I'll look at you whenever I want to look at you, Canada."

"Everybody's stronger than me!"

Riley got everyone back on track, "none of this matters."

"Guys, the only way we're gonna get through our one year of high school is together like we always have."

"Maya, there are four years of high school."

"I'm out."

Farkle shuffled in his seat, "can someone please explain to me what's going on here? Because I guess I really don't know anything anymore."

"I think they're forgiving us for behaving badly."

"Smackle, you didn't behave badly."

"When you left, we should've gone with you."

"No, when you stayed, we should've stayed with you," Lucas shook his head, "I don't know what's the matter with me."

"Lucas, you left because you don't think you can protect us here," Riley said, "we all need to protect each other here. And the first thing we do together is get Amanda back."

"You think she'll talk to us after yesterday," Lucas asked.

"Do you remember what you did last time she tried to shut us out," Farkle raised his brow, "Lucas, you know what to do."

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

"Amanda! Open this door or it's coming down!"

"Go away, Lucas," Amanda exclaimed from inside her room. She had been practicing for her choir class when she heard multiple footsteps and soon, banging on her door.

Riley stepped forward from outside her cousin's room, "Amanda, please? We all want to talk."

Amanda leaned her head on her door, her hand on the door knob, "how do I know you guys won't just start fighting again?"

"We won't," Lucas assured softly, "please, open the door, darlin'."

Amanda took her a breath as she opened the door, seeing all of her friends. After letting them in, she sat on her bay window, everyone moving to sit around her. It was quiet until Amanda spoke to everyone, "how was everyone's day?"

Riley, who was sitting next to Amanda, smiled slightly, "how was your day, Amanda?"

"It was fine. I was picked to audition for a solo in choir," she shrugged, "which was surprising because there are a lot of talented people in my class."

"That's so cool," Maya smiled, "when's the audition?"

"Next week," Amanda paused, "what are you guys doing here?"

"We wanted to apologize for yesterday," Farkle said, "we never wanted to put you in that position and we all know how important high school is to you, and we're sorry for ruining your first day."

"I'm sorry too," Amanda said, surprising everyone.

Andrew scoffed, "why are you sorry?"

"Because, I shouldn't've walked out. I should've stayed and helped everyone instead of walking away," Amanda explained, "if I'm being honest, my life is pretty boring without you guys. I had no one to share my thoughts with, or say 'hi' to in the hall ways. Guys, this is not how I want high school to be for any of us. Let's never have this happen again, ever."

"Agreed," everyone spoke together, sharing smiles and nods.

The friends started to make their way towards her door but she called one person back, "Lucas?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I talk to you?"

Lucas came back to his seat next to his girlfriend, "of course."

Amanda took his hand, "you know how much I like you. And I trust you. But, there was something that happened yesterday that I can't shake from my head."

"What is it?"

"The look on your face when Riley said you couldn't make it on the football team," Amanda glanced down, not wanting to meet his eyes, "I was just wondering why you looked devastated. I mean, it could just be because you wanted a friend to believe in you, but I just wanted to ask... do you still have feelings for Riley?"

"Amanda, what? No," Lucas shook his head with a chuckle, "are you nuts? Darlin', the second I laid eyes on you the day you arrived last year, I was hooked. It's been you since that day, and it will always be you. I made that face because in my head, I was thinking if you felt the same way about me making the football team."

"Lucas, I believe you could do anything you set your mind to. If you want to try out for football, go for it!"

Luca sighed in relief, "that makes me feel so much better, you have no idea," he brought his girlfriend into an embrace where he squeezed around her hips in appreciation.

Amanda chuckled from his shoulder, "glad I could help."

Lucas placed a kiss on her cheek after the two pulled away, "we good now?"

"We're more than good."

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

The kids walked into Matthews classroom to find out it was empty. No chairs or desks were present, even their teachers', "our classroom is empty," Marley announced, "oh, come on! Who does this?"

"Me," Matthews smiled.

Marley scoffed, "okay, so what I want to know now is why?"

"Everybody take a seat. Go on, go on, have a seat," the students took a seat on the floor, "what have we learned in high school so far?"

"We're not kings anymore," Lucas answered.

"We're Abigail Adams Patriots."

"Abigail Adams once said, 'to be good and to do good is the whole duty of man'."

"'Do good'? Don't you mean 'do well'?"

"Do you know what the funny thing is about history, Miss Evans? It repeats. I mean 'do good.' That right there," he pointed to the board.

DREAM. TRY. DO GOOD.

"That's always going to be my lesson plan. Now, when the patriots looked out at this new undiscovered land, it was what?"

"Rough and undeveloped, like us," Amanda answered, glancing at her friends.

"Very good, Ms. Matthews. But, they stuck together and made it their new home. So will we. Let's fill this room. Let's fill this room with knowledge. What do you know?"

"I have faith that in a new place you can learn from the people who have already been there," Riley answered.

"Very good," Matthews smiled, "go get your desk," both Riley and Maya stood, "woah, woah, woah, where are you going?"

Maya shrugged, "in any new place, or old place, or any place at all, I stay with her," she motioned to Riley, "I'm always with her. But, I knew that a long time ago."

"Lucas, what do you know?"

"There are people stronger than us here."

"And what do you do?"

"Get stronger," Zay and Andrew answered, causing all three boys to get their desks.

"Farkle? Smackle?"

"There are people smarter than us here."

"So, what do you do?"

Farkle smiled, "I think you already know that answer."

Matthews smiled before turning towards his niece, "wise niece of mine? What do you know?"

"I know that sticking together no matter what is the most important thing we should all do in this place. And it's something I should add to my list of reminders for high school," she and her classmates chuckled at her response as she got up to get her desk.

"Alright, everyone, go get your desks," Matthews told the rest of the class, once everyone was settled, he continued his lesson, "in this room, we find out how history relates to the present and how you can't get by on the successes of your past. This is your new school, guys. Stick together. Do good. That's how your gonna have your best future. In this room, I'm your teacher—but we are going to discover this new land together."

Marley turned towards Riley, "this is how he teaches?"

"Every day."

Marley then proceeded to walk out the classroom, "where are you going," Matthews asked.

"I'm getting your desk."

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

The group of friends were back in the dreaded hole, looking out at all the free walking students. Riley turned to her cousin, "ready?"

Amanda smiled, "ready."

Walking out of the hole, they came face to face with the seniors who put them down there in the first place, Riley spoke first, "Im glad you guys picked me and my friends."

"We wish someone would've done it for us," the brunette senior said.

"You really put us through it," Lucas told the seniors. Soon, the senior boy that Amanda named 'Thor' in her head, went back and forth with her boyfriend.

"I know."

"You messed with our heads."

"I did."

"We'll be better friends because of it."

"You will."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," 'Thor' continued, "we'll be there for you guys anytime," he turned to Zay, Lucas, and Andrew, "you trying out for the football team?"

The boys shook their heads timidly, "nah."

'Thor' crossed his arms with a smirk, "are you trying out for the football team?"

All three boys looked at each other, "yeah!"

The teens laughed at the boy's excitement as 'Thor' spoke again, "good."

"Now that we're seniors and we've learned so much in this place—"

"We wanted to leave somebody a—"

"Legacy," Amanda asked.

"Yeah," 'Thor' smiled, "a legacy. Pass it on someday," with that, the seniors left the freshmen alone.

Amanda looked around at her friends, "we will."

The bell rang, causing the friends to huddle and hold onto each other tightly. When the halls were clear, they were all still together, like it's always going to be.

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

edited: 28 feb 2021