Sophia walked into the classroom with a smile on her face, "We have changed the life of somebody in this room!"

"Oh, please not me." Zay said.

"I'm happy with my life. I got tall and my teeth came in nicely." Farkle said.

Maya smiled, "Yeah, we're not talking about you two."

"Oh no." Lucas said, "What'd you do?"

"Oh Lucas, in your whole history, we know what has always been your biggest regret." Sophia said.

"Baaaah..."

"What's that, why would you do that?!" He yelled.

"BAAAAAH, You used to be a champion sheep rider at the mutton bustin' rodeo, until you fell off of Judy the sheep." Maya said.

"And then you gave up, but you never got over it." Riley added.

"That is my deepest, darkest secret! No one knows I fell off Judy the sheep except-"

He stopped himself and looked at Zay.

"They, they made me Lucas, they, they made me!"

"How did they make you?" Thomas asked.

"I said, "Y'all wanna hear a great Lucas story?" They said yes."

"Okay it doesn't matter, I'm over it. I don't think about that day at all." He paused, "I fell off that sheep so fast. No one liked me!"

Sophia rested her head on his shoulder.

"Lucas, you can fix this! Get back on that sheep and be a sheep champion!" Riley said.

"We have made that possible." Maya added.

"How? How'd you make that possible?" He asked.

"Show it to him." Riley said.

Maya pulled out paper and handed it to Sophia.

"Ride Lucas. Ride Boy!" Riley shouted

"We have entered you in..." Maya started

"The Annual Mutton Busting Tournament!" Riley said.

Sophia smiled, "In Austin, Texas!!!"

"In front of everybody you know!!!" Maya said.

"Yay!"

"You can't enter me in Mutton Busters, you can't be over 8 years old or over 55 pounds." Lucas said.

"You are wrong, young Lucas. We entered you last week and your application's been accepted." Maya said.

"Congratulations, Lucas Friar! You are an official entry in this year's Austin Roundup Rodeo! You will be riding Tombstone the sheep." Sophia read.

"What?! Tombstone?!" Zay shouted, "Well that's the end of you."

"Why is it the end of him?" Sophia asked.

"What's the difference between riding Judy the sheep and Tombstone the sheep?" Riley asked.

"Read it again." Lucas said.

"Blah blah blah, over the age and weight limit for Mutton Busters, blah, you will be placed in the adult rodeo where you will, blah, ride Tombstone the sheep." Sophia read.

"Oh, you only got one word wrong!" He shouted.

"Let's see if they find that one word!" Zay said

"Blah blah blah blabady blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blady blah... Oh bull!" Maya read.

"She found it." Zay said.

"You signed me up to ride Tombstone the bull!" Lucas shouted.

"Are you excited?" Riley asked.

"What's the difference between riding a sheep and riding a bull?" Maya asked.

"Death! Death is the difference!" Lucas shouted.

"Okay, where's Thomas?" Riley asked.

"Why?" Farkle asked.

Just then Thomas walked into the room.

"We signed him up to go horseback riding." Riley said.

"Signed who up to horseback ride?"

"You." Maya said.

"Who told you I horseback ride."

"Well I asked Farkle." Sophia said.

"No."

"Yes, he said that when you to California your rode horses but you entered the compound and fell of the baby horse."

"I was six."

"That's why you have to do it again." Riley said.

Mr: Matthews walked into the room and then told the class to sit down.

"Alright. May we begin class?" He asked, ""The Railroad""

"I don't get it." Farkle said.

"What do you mean you don't get it Farkle?" Mr. Matthews asked.

"How does this relate to what's going on in our lives, Hambone?"

"You're just gonna let him call you 'Hambone' Matthews?" Maya asked.

"The railroad allowed us to travel great distances. The railroad allowed us to see how other people live. When you see how other people live, it changes you. And I like 'Hambone.' It's cool." Mr. Matthews said

"Sophia, rip it up before he finds out!" Lucas said.

"Who?" She asked.

"He's gonna find out and when he does, nothing will stop him!" Lucas said.

"Who?"

"Oh you'll know who. You'll hear a big boomin' voice. He'll say somethin'. He'll say somethin' like---" Zay said but was cut off.

"This country was built on railroads. I, myself just arrived on the noon train from Austin, Texarcanada and Arkadelphia. Guess why I'm here?" Someone said.

"Anybody?" Mr. Matthew asked.

"Haha! I'm here 'cause I could not be more proud of my grandboy, Lucas." The man said walking in.

"Pappy Joe. That's your Pappy Joe!That's Pappy Joe! Yes, more stuff!" Maya shouted.

"That right there's the first Friar that ever had the courage to ride the most ferocious creature in all of Creation." Pappy Joe said.

"Are we talking about Judy the sheep, Pappy Joe?" Riley asked.

"Haha! Judy the sheep! Remember when you fell off Judy the sheep for about two seconds, boy? Remember that? And we all said it was okay 'cause you were only five years old? So we said it was okay, but it wasn't okay because you were a disgrace to the community and you dragged your family name through the mud-hole right up to this day. You put us in the mud-hole, remember boy?!" Pappy Joe asked Lucas.

"Yes. There is one moment in every man's life that shapes who he is forever. My moment was Judy the sheep."

"Well you know what, Lucas Friar? Forgiven. You get on that bull for more than three seconds, and you will be the master of Tombstone the bull. And I'll tell you I love you. And that's something I never said to another human."

"Can we talk about this?" Mr. Matthews asked.

"Time for talkin's over. I got a permission slip. Babineaux, and Allen, I got one for you too. Come on boys! Let's go ride." Pappy Joe said.

"Yeehaw... That slipped out." Zay said.

"It's now or never." Thomas said walking out with Zay.

"YOU did this!" Lucas shouted walking out.

"Well, if I have to ride Tombstone the bull and die in front of everyone, at least it won't be in front of all my friends."

"Surprise!"

"Hey, it's all my friends."

Texas Pappy Joe's House

"Man, I look good in my "Welcome to Texas," Billy Buckaroo cowboy hat." Farkle said.

"That ain't a hat. That's teacup. This is a hat." Pappy Joe said throwing the hat on him.

"How's it look?"

"Not bad, Farkle. Welcome home."

After that Maya, Riley, and Sophia walked int the room.

"Well, look at you three little darlins." Pappy Joe said.

"Told you this was the best way to spend all of our allowance money on the first day." Riley said.

"Quit looking at us, huckleberry." Sophia said.

"I'm sorry, Sophia. You look good."

"Oh, thanks."

"Yeah, all three of y'all look good." Thomas said.

"You know what this place needs?" Riley asked.

"A bay window."

"Bay window, right now." She said picking up a chair.

Maya sat on the saddle and Sophia sat on a stool.

"What's a bay window? Pappy Joe asked.

"Oh, you know, a safe place where the girls have their private talks." Lucas said.

"Oh, well then I'll make sure those three stay right there, forever."

"Pappy Joe! Pappy Joe! Pappy Joe!" Someone said running in.

"Don't be alarmed. It's just Cletus." Pappy Joe said.

"Tombstone the bull gone crazy! He everywhere all over the place at the same time like one of them Houdini bulls."

"Use your words, Cletus."

"I am using my words, garducky. Tombstone the bull gone bananahooey!"

Maya smiled, "I love him."

"What did Tombstone the bull do?" Pappy Joe asked.

"He done tore up the China shop, ironically. It's true what them say." Cletus said.

"You mean he broke out of his pen?"

"Oh, he brammoed the pen!"

Cletus looked down at us and turned back to Pappy Joe.

"What's them, a bay winder?" Cletus asked.

"Ah, that's Riley, Maya, and SophiaAnn, Cletus." Lucas said.

"Oh, well how dee doo." Cletus said.

"Well how." Riley started.

"Dee."

"Do."

"Lukey. Thissar lukey! Gah! Oh!" Cletus said and hugged Lucas.

"Wait, did they get Tombstone back in his pen, Cletus?" Lucas asked.

"Yessir. We shot him fulla sleepy juice, but I seen the look in them red eyes just afore he went nighty night. And when he wake up, huh-huuurr!" Cletus said.

It went silent for a minute and Maya got up and walked over towards them, "What?" She asked

Cletus bent down towards her and shouted, "Huh-huuurr!"

"Oh." She said.

She turned Cletus around and put him to Lucas level. She walked towards Lucas and put his face up.

"What?"

"Huh-huuurrr!" Cletus said again.

"I know it's early, but my life is complete." Maya said.

"Well, thankee." Cletus said.

"No, thank-ee." Maya said.

"All I know is, I feel sorry for the po' fool gonna ride on Tombstone." Cletus said.

"Did I tell you what he done did today?" Cletus asked.

"Lucas is gonna ride old Tombstone in the rodeo, Cletus." Pappy Joe said.

"Oh."

"Oh."

"Oh no."

"Lukey Lukey Bye, lukey." Cletus said, crying as he left the room.

"Goodbye." Lucas said.

The Rodeo

Maya, Riley and Sophia were walking towards the tent when Lucas came up to them.

"Oh, hi. Hey. Uh, yeah. I just saw Tombstone the bull, and, uh, why do you hate me?" He asked.

"Come on, a bull is just a man cow." Riley said.

"You're a-scared of a man cow.
A-moooo." Maya said.

"You three have never actually seen a bull, have you?" Lucas asked.

"No."

"We're from New York you think we've seen a bull?" Sophia asked.

"What we'd like to see are some cold drinks inside an air conditioned refreshment tent." Riley said.

"Oh, lookee here." Maya said and the three of walked inside.

"I just think you may react differently when you actually see a man cow." Lucas said.

When they walked in Zay was watching something on the tv.

"Hey, Zay." Sophia greeted, "What are you watching?"

"Not anything you want to see."

"Hey there, rodeo fans.
Now, for your viewing pleasure, some of last year's greatest hits.
These, here, are what we call "love taps." The man announced.

It was a whole bunch of people falling off the bull. Thomas walked in and looked towards the others. He was dressed up to ride his horse.

"I don't want you going anywhere near that bull." Sophia said.

"Yeah, that makes two of us." Lucas said.

"I want you to take off that stupid outfit, and I wanna get outta here."

"Sophia."

"I saw the bull. I don't think the bull knows this is supposed to be fun."

"Okay, Sophia, let's not shake Lucas' confidence." Maya said.

"You can do this, right? You can just ride a bull for four seconds and win the master of Tombstone award?" Riley asked.

"Lucas is gonna need a Tombstone. There isn't gonna be any more Lucas."

"He's going to do great, Sophia." Maya said, trying to calm her down.

"Zay, tell him, he's going to do great." Riley said.

"You'll do great." Zay said.

"Truth."

"You're gonna die."

"We believe in you. We believe that you can do anything you want to." Riley said.

"Why do you want him to do this?" Sophia asked.

"Because this is better than riding Judy the sheep, and we don't want him to be a disgrace to his community anymore." Riley said.

"Well, I don't actually think that I'm a disgrace to the community." Lucas said.

"You are." Maya said.

"I've been talking to people. They have long memories around here." Riley said.

A woman walked past the group, "Baaaah." She teased.

"See? I have to do this."

"Okay, then go out there. Be the hero we know you are." Riley said.

"Thank you, Riley and Maya."

Sophia looked over at the tv and saw the horse on the screen, "Would you fee the same if you saw that horse buck Thomas off?" She asked.

They all turned around and looked at the tv and saw one one man and one horse. That horse bucked the man off pretty hard. They all turned back around and looked at Thomas.

Sophia added, "But we have full faith in him. We believe he can do this and not hurt himself."

"Don't ride the horse." Maya said.

"But we have full confidence in him Maya, he shouldn't be scared."

"This isn't funny Sophia."

"And I'm not laughing Maya."

"Maya, Thomas is going to be fine he's gonna ride the horse and not buck off." Riley said.

"What's the horses name?" Sophia asked.

"Wipeout." Thomas answered.

"Wipeout. What an interesting name for a horse."

"You have Tombstone and Wipeout. Interesting." Sophia said.

Farkle walked in, "The mutton busters are getting ready to ride, then it's you, Lucas and finally Thomas."

"Make us proud, boy." Pappy Joe said.

"Friar." Some man said walking towards Lucas.

"McCullough." Pappy Joe said.

"I'm talking to young Friar." McCullough said.

"So, you fixin' to ride again, huh?" McCullough asked.

"That's right." Lucas said.

"Well don't think about last time.
You don't want that in your head.
Let's watch my grandson, Timmy master Judy the sheep."

"Oh, you were about two seconds on Judy the sheep, as I recall. But don't let that be in your head."

"How come you ain't out there with your grandson?" Pappy Joe asked.

"Well, then I wouldn't have the pleasure of watching him right in front of your face." McCullough said.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it's mutton bustin' time! And here they come, the mutton busters! And now, everybody's favorite, Judy the sheep, who will be ridden this year by Timmy McCullough." The man announced.

"That's my grandson!" McCullough cheered.

"And the gate opens, and Timmy McCullough holding on! No, he's not." The announcer said.

"Ha ha! That's his grandson!" Pappy Joe said.

"Pappy Joe!" Riley said.

"Sorry, Riley. Stereotypical cultural reduction's all I have left."

"And now, for the event you've all been waiting for, bull ridin'! And this year, will we finally have a master of Tombstone? The record on Tombstone is three point seven seconds." The announcer said.

"Will someone finally beat it?"

"But first, riding buttercup, is, Eddie Callaway!"

They watched Eddie for a second or two before he was bucked off.

"Oh! Eddie, that had to hurt.
Looks like Eddie's gonna have himself a little lay down for a moment."

"Are you out of your mind?" Sophia asked.

"Lucas, you're serious, right?" Maya asked.

"You can seriously do this." Riley said.

"Yeah. I learned from the best, actually." He said.

Sophia sighed, "Who's the best?"

"Eddie Callaway." He answered.

"Coming up, our main event.
Lucas Friar tangles with Tombstone." The announcer said.

"Why you're here, boy." Pappy Joe said and him and Lucas started walking out.

"Lucas, look at me." Sophia. said

They both stopped and turned around.

"If you do this I will never speak to you again."

"Sophia." Maya said.

"Why are you for this?" Sophia asked, "What about Thomas? What if he wipes out?"

"Because I want them to succeed." Riley said, "I want Lucas to make his grandfather proud."

"You're not proud of him if he doesn't do this?"

"I think you have a fine grasp of the general situation, yeah. In my opinion, it's about facing life, which runs harder than any bull. You gotta face your fears. You ride them, or they ride you." Pappy Joe said

Sophia turned around and looked at Thomas, "Good luck Thomas."

"Thank you."

"As for you." She said looking at Lucas, "I'll never speak to you again."

"SophiaAnn." Lucas said but it's too late to turn around

Sophia sat down on the wood box further out from the others and the event.

Looking up she saw Maya. The blond taking a seat right beside her.

"Why'd you leave?" She asked.

"I should be asking you the same thing."

"But I asked you first."

"I really like Lucas and I don't want him to get hurt."

"I know you do I think everyone knows."

"Well I don't think Lucas does anymore."

"Why do you say that?"

"I haven't talked to him since he told me to believe in hope when I made the cheer team. Yes I talked to him but not full on conversations."

"It's gonna be okay."

"Are you sure about that?"

Before she could answer Lucas was on the bull.

"Here we go, folks. Time for the moment of truth. Whoo! And the gate opens! Oh!"

And with that he fell off and he fell off pretty hard. He laid there until Riley ran towards him. He soon got up and everyone started cheering.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that is an official time! He's done it!" The announcer cheered.

"Did you have faith in him?" Maya asked.

"Yeah."

"Did you have hope for him?"

She stayed silent but answered her anyway, "Yeah."

"Up next Thomas Allen riding Wipeout. The strongest horse here!" The announcer said.

"Do you have faith in him?" Sophia asked.

"Yeah."

"Do you have any hope for him?"

"Yeah."

Thomas got in the horse and Maya stood up.

This thing Thomas was doing was just for show it really wasn't anything and he had someone beside him so he seemed to be just as safe.

"So they're all right." Maya asked when Riley came over.

"They were wonderful."

"How are you?"

"She couldn't watch." Sophia answered.

"Why couldn't you watch?"

"You already know why."

"But I don't know why Maya couldn't watch."

"I don't know why, I just I couldn't watch." She said.

"I know why." Riley said, "I know that you think I love him like a brother."

"You know?"

"I know that you've thought that for a while." Riley said.

"Riles, whatever you feel, that's up to you." Maya said.

"Maya, it's up to you to tell me whatever you feel. For both of you to tell me how you feel. You shouldn't be afraid to tell me anything. We are sisters, and I've always wanted a sisters."

"Me too."

"Sisters should tell each other their secrets, don't you think?" Riley asked.

"You couldn't watch Thomas because you were afraid something would happen to him. Because you like him. You make fun of him, because you like him. And you've never told me that, either. Well, you're right. I love him like a brother. That's how I love him." Riley said, "Why do you make fun of Thomas?"

"The same reason why I used fun of Farkle, Thomas is a really nice guys and he's one of my best friends but I can't let him know that. That's why I make fun of him."

Pappy Joe's

"Hey Thomas, can I talk to you?" Riley asked.

"Actually, I have something to say to you, Riley."

"If it wasn't for you, I don't know if I would have got on that horse, and if it wasn't for you I don't know if I would have survived in New York. You're really important to me." He told her.

"You are really important to me too, Lucas. We've always been really good at talking to each other, but we've never been too good at holding hands. And then we tried being a couple and we couldn't even talk to each other. I don't want that. I want to know you're always there to talk to.
You're my brother, Thomas, and I'm your sister."

"That's what you think we are?" He asked.

"That's what I think we are. I love you, Thomas, and now I know how."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek and pulled away.

"How do you feel about him, Maya?" Riley asked and we all sat in a silence

Word Count:3578

this bitch is dramatic 😐 how are you wishing thomas good luck and not lucas 🤨 bitch where are your priorities 🤨

The long long long awaited wait is finally over after the constant "update" "hurry up and update" it's finally updated

bitch this episode is dramatic like relax

I typed this at 1:43am so I hope you enjoy and thanks for 51k reads

I'm also out of school and I can (hopefully) update faster

See ya soon