𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 — 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚-𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆

❝ 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙚? ❞

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

Amanda Matthews loved Choir class. It was the highlight of her school day. She loved to sing and bond with her fellow singers over choir kid things no one else could understand. For the most part, everyone was super supportive of one another. For the most part. Ever since Mandy was given a solo at the beginning of the year, she could tell someone in her class had a problem with her. Whenever Mandy made a suggestion or raised her hand, the other girl would talk over her or steal her idea. At first, it didn't bother her so much, but the more it happened, the more it started to bother the girl. From the times the girl clearly talked about Amanda with her friends, The Matthews girl thought it was time she asked the girl directly what her problem was.

"Um, excuse me? Ashley?"

Ashley Stone. A junior at Abigail Adams High School. Choir veteran who is very involved and very passionate about the program. She's known as the it-girl of the program. She always get the best solos, she's featured in group numbers in Show Choir. She's the person in choir everyone wanted to be. Everyone except for Mandy.

Ashley shut her locker and turned, face dropping at the sight of the Matthews girl, "oh, hi, Amanda. What's up?"

Mandy blanched. She didn't really know how to say what she wanted to say and blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "do you not like me?"

The junior let out a short laugh, "what?"

"I-I don't know," Mandy stuttered, slightly intimidated, "I just have a feeling you don't like me. I just wanna know—"

"Listen, Amanda," Ashley interrupted, a small mocking smile on her face, "contrary to what you believe, you aren't special and not everything is about you. No one is worried about you like you think they are."

"I—"

"But if you must ask, no. I don't like you."

Mandy was gobsmacked as she watched Ashley walk away from her. Well, she thought, that went well, didn't it?

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

Amanda Matthews found her cousin and blonde best friend laying against the lockers, the halls empty. She didn't have time to talk about what she was seeing before the rest of her friends came up the stairs. Lucas, who was first up, looked in between his girlfriend and the two girls on the ground.

"Anyone care to explain this," Mandy called with furrowed brows, motioning to the two girls on the ground.

Andrew stepped up next to Lucas, "how's it goin'?"

"Someone doesn't like Riley, my legs are asleep, we have Health class."

Mandy perked at Maya saying that someone doesn't like Riley. Because coincidentally, Mandy was going through the same thing. She knew her cousin wouldn't be able to handle the situation better than her because, well, Riley was on the floor sad while Mandy was standing and doing just fine.

"Okay. Come on," Andrew reached for his girlfriend and lifted her over his shoulder and Zay did the same for Maya.

Mandy watched their friends leave with a thoughtful expression before she felt Lucas come up next to her.

"You okay, darlin'?"

"With you? Always."

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

Health class was a mandatory course for the freshmen class. Their teacher, Mr. Fanucci, was the gym coach, naturally, and the subjects made everyone a little uncomfortable. But that's a given for a room full of fifteen year olds talking about their bodies.

Mandy took her seat next to her cousin as the latter spoke to Maya, who sat behind Riley, "maybe you're right. Maybe I can't control who likes me or not, but there's more to life, like Health class. I am so excited for today's Health class."

Maya looked at the board in front of her, "'our bodies, our friends.' Yikes."

"Oh, I'm sure that the teacher's sensitive take on life will be a lovely way to learn how our bodies work."

There stood their teacher at the front of the class, hands on his hips with a firm expression.

"All right, all you creepy little child-adults," he started, "settle down. Let's get this over with, huh," seeing Riley's hand up, he spoke back, "ugh. Put your hand down, Sunshine. You'll all pass no matter what. You know why? 'Cause if I fail ya, I gotta meet your parents. I don't want to meet your parents. I don't want to meet you. All right. Let's talk about your bodies," Farkle falls to the floor, "yeah, I don't blame him."

Riley got her chance to speak up with a smile, "are you sure that you're the right person to teach us this?"

"Why don't you give me a chance? I may surprise ya."

"I want this to be taught to me in a delicate and sensitive manner."

"Yeah? Well, surprise."

Maya smirked at the teacher's answer, "you can't control this either, Riles."

As Farkle sat in his chair once more, their teacher spoke again, "all right, everybody open your Health textbooks to page 73."

It didn't take long for Farkle to hit the floor again.

Their teacher points to the fallen boy, "he is the only one here that knows what he's doing."

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

That night, family dinner commenced at the Matthews household. And Matthews chose family dinner to ask how Health class went. Let's just say, he got his answer.

"And that's what they taught us in Health class about our bodies..."

Mandy stifled a laugh at the faces of her youngest relative. Auggie's mouth was wide open in shock.

"You okay, Bubba," Matthews asked his son.

"I'm telling everybody."

"You're not tellin' anybody. Concentrate on something else."

"I can't."

Riley put the conversation back on track, "he's a gym teacher," she scoffed, "why would they have a gym teacher teach us about our bodies?"

"This is another thing you can't control," Maya added and turned to Mathews, "could you please tell Riley that there's nobody in this world who can control everything?"

The front door unlocks.

"That oughta do it."

They all turn and watch Topanga Matthews come through the door, smiling, "hi! It's me."

"Oh, good," Matthews said, "your daughter wants to control what happens to her in life, and she needs someone to tell her she can't, and you are the worst person in the world for the job. Out of all the houses in the world she could have walked into, she walks into ours."

Topanga chuckled, "well, I did used to be a little bit of a control freak."

Matthews burst out with laughter, ignoring the look his wife gave him, "'used to be'," seeing as he was the only one laughing, he quickly backtracked, "I just thought of something funny I just heard right now... from me."

"In school, aim supposed to write a big report about what life means to me," Auggie contributed.

"Oh, great," Riley smiled, "I'll help you."

"Why?"

"Because I can't control who likes me or who teaches me or my own life, but I can sure control yours."

Mandy watched the interaction and leaned into Maya, whispering, "we've got a lot of work to do."

"Oh, yeah..."

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

The next day, something unexpected happened. Mr. Matthews was made the new Health teacher. This was mortifying for not only Riley, but Mandy as well. Nobody wanted their Uncle to talk to them about their bodies... that's just weird.

The class was... educational to say the least. After Matthews pretty much had a breakdown about being appointed the new teacher, Smackle took control and started to talk a lot about their bodies. It was very bizarre and something Mandy didn't want to experience ever again.

Amanda and her boyfriend, Lucas, went to Topanga's after school before their friends got there. She was asked to stop home with her cousin and Maya, but she declined. She needed some Lucas time. She also needed his advise on something, something she had almost forgotten about due to helping Riley with her ordeal.

"Hey, Bubba?"

Lucas looked up from his homework with a smile, "I love it when you call me that."

"Be serious, please," Mandy chuckled, her cheeks turning a shade of pink, "I need your advise on something."

"It doesn't have to do with breaking into someone's office again, does it?"

Mandy sensed his tease right away, "hey," she hit him with her homework, "stop with the teasing."

"Okay, okay. What's up?"

"You know how Riley said someone doesn't like her?"

"...Yeah."

"Well," she picked at her finger nails, "the same is happening to me."

Lucas perked in his seat, "what? Is someone harassing you again? 'Cause Mandy, I'll—"

"No! No," the girl grabbed his hand in reassurance, "it's this girl in my Choir class. I had a feeling she didn't like me for a while and when I asked her about it, she said she didn't like me and walked away. It just caught me off guard, is all."

"Okay," Lucas wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was relieved she wasn't going through another incident of bullying, and he was glad she was taking it so well, "and how does that make you feel? For someone to say that they don't like you?"

Mandy furrowed her brows, "more confused than anything. She said that I'm not special and to stop thinking that everything is about me, which I know don't do. It all just happened so fast for me to process. I'm not mad or sad about it, I just want to know why."

"I can give you an answer to that."

It was Mandy's turn to perk up, "you can?"

"I can," Lucas nodded with a smile, "she's jealous of you."

"Lucas—"

"She is! Look at you! You're beautiful, you're kind, you have an amazing voice," he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "you're everything she will never be. She's jealous, baby. That's all."

"You're just saying that because you're my boyfriend."

"Hey, I was your friend before I was your boyfriend, remember? And I thought all those things before and after I asked you to be my girlfriend."

She reached to caress his cheek lovingly, "I love you, you know?"

"I love you, too."

"Moment ruined, love birds!"

Moment ruined, indeed. Just then, all their friends came and sat around the couple in the cafe. The group discussion had begun.

"Andrew, what would you do if there was somebody in your life who didn't like you," Riley asked her boyfriend as she grabbed some pastries from the back room.

"I'd go like this," he smiled. That's it. That's what he'd do; smile.

"That would work for you? Zay?"

"Riley?"

"What would you do if there was somebody in your life who didn't like you?"

"Oof. I'd move to New York."

The group laughed dryly, causing Zay to mock them in response.

"Maya, what would you do?"

The blonde girl shrugged, "I just don't care as much."

"Well, you cared when you used to be me."

"Yeah, and it was exhausting, but I'm better now, Riles. You wanna feel better? Don't care as much."

"I don't know how to do that."

"Can I give some advise now?"

The group turned to Amanda and Lucas who sat on the lovers seat, name very appropriate. The ladder had an arm around her shoulder casually.

Riley sat up straighter, "yes, cousin, give me your wisdom."

Mandy sat up in her seat and grabbed Riley's hand, "Riles, I can tell you in full confidence that there isn't a person out there that wouldn't like you if they got to know you. But Maya's right. I know it's hard but you shouldn't care. I talked to this girl in my Choir class today, and asked if she didn't like me. And you know what she said? She said she didn't like me at all. And you know what I did? Nothing. Riley, there will be those little thoughts in the back of your mind wondering why or how, and they're hard to get them to go away. The key is to not let them consume you," she smiled before letting go of her hand, "well, that's all my advise I can give you today. Now, you all will excuse us, we will take out leave."

With that, Mandy and Lucas left the cafe hand and hand, the boy giving the girl a discreet high five in praise on the way.

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

"One of the most intricate parts of the human body is... No!"

It was the next day and Matthews was still their Health teacher, as you can see, it's going well.

Matthews continued his lesson after throwing a textbook over his shoulder, "I want to talk to you guys today about the human foot. Uh-huh," he grabbed a piece of chalk and started to attempt to draw a foot, "questions?"

Zay spoke from the back of the class, "see, what we have here is a man with nothing to say. Sad."

Suddenly, Mr. Fanucci appeared from the doorway, "give up, Matthews?"

"Okay."

The gym teacher stepped further into the room, "it's not so easy to explain the wonders of the human body to the freshmen class, huh?"

"Or anyone."

"So," Mr. Fanucci addressed the class, "did he teach it to you in the delicate and sensitive manner you requested, sunshine?"

Riley sincerely smiled at the man, "not quite, but it's out of my control. Everything is."

"Mhm," he blew a raspberry, "wrongo!"

"Wrongo?"

"I've been doing this for 20 years. It is never graceful. But it's always important," Fanucci expressed, "'cause after you get past all your laughter and your embarrassment, we all arrive at one thing: you get this one mind and you get this one body. That's what's completely yours to control. How you take care of it, how you treat it, how you nourish it, what becomes of it. It's completely up to you. Especially when it seems like nothing else is."

Matthews smiled, "boy, do you have the right teacher here. Does life know what it's doing or huh? Uh, you know what else there is about the human foots? They do..."

Matthews didn't finish, running out the classroom and down the hall.

"Yeah, they all do that," Fanucci clapped, "all right, here is the thing about Health. This is what makes you healthy: whenever it seems like everything else is just out of control, you need to be able to rely on your own minds and your own bodies to be whoever you are. 'Cause knowing who you are, that's the best control you could possibly have. So, make good decisions about yourselves. That's the best thing I can teach you."

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

Riley Matthews made her cousin and her friends wake up at the crack of dawn the next morning. The group of friends met at Topanga's only to be met with a smiling Riley and a bunch of balloons. The group stood in a circle, Mandy under Lucas' arm.

"Why did you make us set our alarms for so early," Smackle groaned, "I had such a good dream. You know what I was dreaming of," she turned to Lucas and smirked, "how you doin'?"

Mandy furrowed her brow, "Smackle, do we need to have a talk?"

"We're holding balloons, Riley," Zay cut in.

Andrew spoke next, "why're we holding balloons?"

"I know that sometimes I can be a handful..."

"No!"

"Yes, yes you are."

"... But I leaned something and I want to share it with you guys," Riley continued, "this is our letting go ceremony. We will let go of all of the things that we think we can't control but we really don't."

Zay passed back his balloon, "well, I'm not doing it."

"You don't control that," Farkle smiled.

"Except each other. We will never let go of each other."

Riley's statement seemed to work on the boy and took back his balloon.

Riley turned to all of her friends with a smile, "okay, everybody. Let go of your balloons."

The group watched their balloons float into the sky, craning their necks to do so.

"What happens now," Farkle asked after a few moments.

"Well, whatever life does to us, maybe we can't control it, but we can be who we are and... control how we react to it."

Mandy smiled at her cousin, "good girl, Riley."

"Couldn't have done it without you, Mands."

──︒✿ཾ∘∗✽ᜒࠬ. ──

edited: 2 march 2021