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❛ ʟᴇᴀᴛʜᴇʀ & ʟᴀᴄᴇ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐎𝐍𝐄 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴡᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ɴᴇᴡ
ʏᴏʀᴋ ꒱


❝ YOU'RE MY CANADA ❞

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School had let out for the summer, which was a relief for Miya as she had a brief respite from enduring interactions with her classmates. Jonah was a little less happy as school had always come easily for him, but he'd promised to help her with her summer homework. They had just passed their one-year anniversary as boyfriend/girlfriend and nothing was really different from being friends. They still weren't big on PDA even when they were alone. Sometimes Miya would hold Jonah's hand while they watched a movie or she would kiss him on the cheek as they parted, but she was still the only one initiating the contact. She didn't mind, but it would've been nice if he thought to do it once in a while.

Juliet was busier with work than usual but the Asian girl didn't really mind— she could accept that as a reason for absence more than her mom going out on a date with a different guy every night. The truth was, Juliet's late nights weren't just due to work. She was also wrestling with the idea of sending her daughter abroad to do her last year of middle school in America.

Miya had seemed to like John Quincy Adams and going to class with Farkle more than she ever had her British school. But that could've been the newness of the setting or the novelty of seeing her other best friend in person, which had been solely relegated to holidays for most of their friendship. And then there was Juliet herself. There was no way she was ready to move back to the same country that Shawn lived in. Sure, she was in a better state than she had been thirteen years ago, but seeing him this past Christmas had rattled her to her core.

If she moved to New York— as that was where Miya's friends were— she'd be seeing Cory a lot more, which was fine; she'd missed him. But with Cory came Shawn, as it always had, and she couldn't do that. She could move to another state or even another part of the city, but that would defeat the purpose of Miya seeing her American friends more often. So she spent many nights drawing up lists of pros and cons as well as researching subjects related to the potential move.

She didn't want to talk to Miya about it until she was more certain, so her usual line of discussion was closed. She could talk to Cory, Topanga or Stuart to see what they thought, but they were biased— they'd only said a hundred times that she should move back to the U.S. That left the one pair of friends who'd always stood by her: Celeste and Kendrick. The only problem with talking to them was that their jobs provided a lot of flexibility for travel and they were hardly ever home. But, luckily, she was able to pin them down when they returned home for a few weeks in June.

They scheduled an evening for the three of them to get together in Kendrick and Celeste's airy apartments— Juliet teased them for having a bigger home when they were both never there and didn't have any children. Miya went over to Jonah's under the pretense of Juliet working late again. While she didn't like lying to her daughter, she just didn't want Miya to get her hopes up until a plan was in place.

The trio settled on the Johnsons' balcony, which overlooked a quiet street. Juliet slowly turned the stem of her wine glass between her fingers, watching the red liquid spin with the same motion. The couple had caught her up on their most recent travels— pictures included— and she was looking for the best way to bring up what she wanted to talk about.

"So, you've heard all about us; what's new with you?" Kendrick asked, and she felt a surge of gratitude towards her friend. Even if he hadn't known it, he'd given her the perfect lead-in.

"Well, there's not much going on with me— I already told you guys all about Christmas."

The dark-skinned man grimaced. "I'm sorry that was such as disaster. I wish we could've been there to support you."

"I still can't believe you punched Hunter!" Celeste countered, giving her a pleased smile.

Juliet, however, frowned, blushing a little from embarrassment. "Not my finest moment. I'd like to chalk it up to alcohol and shock, but that doesn't excuse what I did. I really should apologize to him. . ."

"Nah," Celeste said, shaking her head. "He had it coming. Maybe if you accidentally punch him again, then you should apologize. After all that shit he put you through? I would've helped you hide the body."

Her blush darkened. "Really, Celeste! He doesn't deserve that. I mean, he was— is— a jerk, but physical violence was a little far. . ." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, he isn't what I wanted to talk about. I. . . actually need some advice about Miya. She is your biological niece, after all."

"Alright, shoot. You know I'm no good with kids but I'll try my best."

"You are good with kids— Miya loves you!" Juliet pointed out. "But it's this idea I've been entertaining since I let her shadow Farkle for the week after Christmas when the kids returned to school. She seemed to really love it and I know she's always wanted to be closer to Farkle. I thought that she might like to study abroad for eighth grade; a change of scenery and classmates might help her enjoy school more."

The couple exchanged a look as they silently argued who should be the first to respond. As usual, Celeste won and Kendrick turned back to their friend, studying her thoughtfully. "Well, why don't we talk about what would hold you back from sending her? If we can alleviate those concerns then you might be convinced one way or the other."

She nodded, seeing the logic behind the suggestion. "Well, the hardest part for me will be how far away she is. We've shared a one-bedroom apartment ever since she was a baby; we haven't been separated for long periods of time. Besides, she is kind of young to be travelling alone. I mean, I'll go with her to get settled and everything, but she'll spend most of the semester virtually alone. What if she needs me and I'm not there?"

"Well, you can video call her every day if you need to. Plus, Farkle will be there so she won't be completely alone. I'm guessing you're gonna have her stay with the Minkuses?" Kendrick asked.

"That makes the most sense," Juliet replied. "Stuart is always inviting us to stay with them; maybe he'll get off my back if he at least has Miya. But then there's also the curriculum— she really seemed to like having Cory as a teacher, but it won't be the same every year." She paused, frowning as a thought crossed her mind. "Unless it turns into a Mr. Feeny situation— but that's impossible for it to happen twice, right?"

"It might be more likely than you think," Celeste countered, "I guess it just depends on how much work the writers want to put into the show."

Juliet blinked at her. "What?"

Celeste stared back at the dark-haired woman, not understanding her confusion. "What?"

"Never mind," Juliet said quickly. "If I knew for sure that Cory would be her teacher this year then I'd be a lot more comfortable sending her abroad."

"But he'll still be around if she needs help," Kendrick pointed out. "And she'll have Farkle, especially if she stays with the Minkuses. He's a genius too, right? They'll be able to give her extra aid if she needs it. If you want my two cents, I think a new school environment would be good for her. She has too much history with— what does call them? The Terror Trio?"

"Triple A," she supplied with a grin. "Although 'Terror Trio' would be an apt description as well. That is a good point— one I've considered. But even if Miya does go abroad, there are girls— and boys— like that everywhere; I wouldn't want her to treat New York as an escape from that."

"That's true," he allowed. "On the flip side, though, she'll have more friends to act as a better buffer than just Jonah— not to downplay the support he's already given her."

"What do you think, Celeste?" Juliet directed the question towards the Asian woman pointedly. "You're her blood relation; I think your vote has more weight than Kendrick's."

"Hey!" the dark-skinned man protested with faux-offense.

Juliet smirked at him and stuck her tongue out in a very childish gesture but didn't give him a verbal reply. Celeste was quiet for a moment as she considered what had been said before she gave her opinion. She took a sip from her wine glass, her gaze focused thoughtfully on the street below them. At last, she decided: "I think it would be good for Miya to go. It doesn't have to be a very long commitment— she could always come back and do high school in England. But if she doesn't go, then she might miss out on a wonderful opportunity. You might even find yourself willing to move back to America because of how much she loves it. Of course, you should still see what she thinks and come to a verdict together."

"Alright; I'll think about it a little more and then I'll talk to her," she declared. "But I don't think a move is in my future. I mean, you guys came across the pond as the Brits say just for me. I'd feel guilty if I moved back to America."

"Don't worry about us," Celeste said, shaking her head. "Yes, initially we did come out here to make sure you wouldn't do anything reckless while in the throes of heartbreak—" (Here, Juliet interrupted her with a sarcastic 'gee, thanks.') "—but we've built a life for ourselves that we love. And besides, with all the travelling that we do, we'd have to make it a point to come back to America if you were living there."

"Sorry, but you can't get rid of us that easily," Kendrick teased her lightly. Juliet laughed, feeling more reassured than she had been earlier that day. 

🌎🌎🌎

"'Miya,'" came Farkle's traditional greeting, in the same tone he used to say 'ladies.'

"Farkle," Miya tried to mimic him, but then she wrinkled her nose. "Nope, I'm still not as good as the master." Then, she sobered and gave him a sympathetic smile, which he could see as they were video chatting. "Hey— I'm sorry you lost the Buggies again. I know you'll win one of these years."

"'Did you really have to add 'again?'" he complained lightheartedly. "'That's just salt in the wound, 'Nacci. Salt in the wound.'" He brightened a little as he added, "'but the night wasn't a total loss. I got Maya and Riley to fight over me and they realized that I'm their Canada.'"

That same, inexplicable bitter feeling welled up inside of her at his excitement about Maya and Riley. She felt guilty; she should be happy for him— them fighting over him was something he'd always wanted! But all she could think about was how she wished they could go one conversation without him mentioning the two girls. She didn't blame them of course; they couldn't help Farkle's affections for them. It would just be nice if. . . if Jonah could get that excited about her.

The realization hit her like a truck and Miya stared blankly ahead for a moment as she processed the thought. What really stung was that neither Riley nor Maya were interested in Farkle romantically, but he was being more attentive and caring towards them than Jonah ever had as her boyfriend. (However, this still wasn't quite the truth— what Miya really wanted was for Farkle to treat her the same way he did Riley and Maya. They'd known each other longer, after all, so why didn't he like her like that? But now wasn't the time for her to have this realization; it would come later in the school year, once she had spent more time consecutively with Farkle than she ever had before.)

"'Miya?'" the boy questioned her, frowning a bit in concern as her expression took on a zoned-out appearance.

She shook her head to clear it. "Sorry, just thinking. That's great! But, uh, what's 'being someone's Canada?'"

'"Oh, right. You know how Canada is America's greatest ally but it's never the first country to come to mind? Mr. Matthews was making a point about how we take them for granted because we know they'll always be there for us— just like how I'm a little taken for granted with Maya and Riley but I'll always be there for them," he explained. "'And while it was cool to have them fighting over me, I didn't like being the reason for their disagreement. So I decided not to take either of them. But then they both showed up for me anyway!'"

"That's great!" the Asian girl said, forcing enthusiasm into her tone. Luckily the insincere emotion went right over Farkle's head. "I wish I could've gone with you."

The statement seemed to give him pause. His expression became thoughtful as he watched her through his side of the computer screen. "'Do you know why you'd even want to go with me to the Buggie Awards?'"

"Of course!" Miya exclaimed, this time not needing to feign the offended emotion in her tone. "You're my best friend and I want to be there to support you in the things that are important you."

That had been the answer he'd been looking for when he had asked Riley and Maya the same question. But, as much as he loved them, he knew that the two girls could be self-centered and he'd seen that they had only started to want to go with him to the Buggies to one up each other— once he'd become interesting to them. He'd never had to try with Miya, though. She was always just a phone call away, ready to stay up with him all night if he needed company when his parents were fighting. She was a great listener, too; willing to stay on the phone while he openly admired Riley and Maya— anyone else would have gotten bored and hung up within the first ten calls. While she may not be his physically closest ally, he began to understand that he had always. . . taken her a little. . . for granted.

"'You're my Canada!'" he said suddenly, shaking his head to get his long bangs out of his eyes as he leaned closer to the camera.

Miya felt a flutter in her chest at his words; she hadn't expected him to come to the same conclusion that she had— but then again, he was a genius. His acknowledgment of her role in their friendship helped dissipate some of the bitterness. The events surrounding the Buggie Awards seemed to have hit him a little close to home. His blue eyes looked at her with more sincerity than usual as he told her firmly, "'you know, Miya, I really appreciate you always being there for me. I don't think I say it enough.'"

Although his words pleased her— and even made her face heat with a bit of warmth— she waved her hand dismissively. "You don't have to. That's what friends are for, right?"

"'Yeah, but still,'" Farkle insisted. "'You're always supporting me and I want you to know that I'm here for you, too. Anytime you need me.'"

Miya's heart swelled at his words and she found herself wishing again that Jonah could be more like Farkle. But she knew it wasn't fair to compare the two.

"Thanks, Farkle," she said softly. "That means a lot."

"'Maybe next year you could go to the Buggies with me,'" he suggested abruptly, as if the thought had just occurred to him. "'If we plan enough in advance I'm sure your mom wouldn't mind if you came to visit at the end of the school year.'"

"I'd love that," Miya told him happily. She was about to share the good news— her actual reason for the call— but as usual, Farkle was already rushing on in his customary quick-speaking way.

"'Great!'" he replied. "'It's a date, then. Well, not a date-date, but you know what I mean.'"

"I know what you mean." The brunette scoffed, as if finding the literal meaning of his words absurd. "Cause it would be weird if you meant it any other way."

"'Yeah, weird,'" Farkle echoed, his laughter a bit more genuine.

She moved on quickly, not wanting to linger over an idea that was completely crazy. "Anyway, I actually called to tell you something exciting! It even makes it easier for me to go with you to the Buggies next year!"

Farkle's eyes lit up with curiosity. "'Oh? What is it?'"

She beamed at him as she finally shared the news she'd been so excited about. "My mom said I could study abroad this year— I'll be going to John Quincy Adams for the eighth grade!"

🌎🌎🌎

"I can't believe my mom's finally letting me go to school with Farkle and his friends," Miya enthused to Jonah while they had dinner together one night. "I've wanted to go to school with them for so long. I mean, I'm sorry to be leaving you to endure Triple A by yourself, but I won't have to deal with them anymore! Not to mention how awesome mom's friend Cory is as a teacher. Even though I was only in his class for a little while, he was way more patient than any of our teachers here have ever been. . ."

Jonah listened quietly to his girlfriend's excited rant. She'd been talking about going to school in New York for weeks now and hardly spoke about anything else. He was happy for her, of course; he thought she would do better in class without Triple A breathing down her neck. However, he couldn't help but feel a little niggle of doubt every time she mentioned being away for a year. He knew long distance relationships were hard to maintain and their romantic status already wasn't that strong.

In all honesty, he'd been less and less interested in their dating life. It wasn't that he didn't care about her; he'd just never been truly invested in the first place. Not only that, but the thought of dating Miya for years— through high school, then college— and eventually marrying her made him feel queasy and lightheaded. And while he knew that his opinion of such things might change as he got older, gut instinct told him otherwise.

He tried not to think about it too much because it was kind of a scary notion— that he wasn't just not into Miya, but that he didn't like girls. He was supposed to like girls, though, and Miya was his best friend, so he was tolerating the situation as well as he could. But the thought of having to put up with distance was well as the romantic stuff he didn't really like? The prospect made him shudder. Miya's moving away gave him the perfect excuse to discontinue their romantic relationship even if it made him feel a little. . . . sleezy. He didn't want to ruin her excitement about the change but he truly saw no other way to go about it.

Jonah had thought long and hard about the best way to go about breaking up with her— he'd even used Google as a resource since his mom was too busy to help as usual— and decided that he would at least do the right thing and tell her sooner rather than later. Even if it ruined the last few weeks he had with her, he'd prefer to come clean than spend time with her while feeling guilty about it. He waited until they'd finished dinner— including dessert— and were about to move on to their next activity.

"So, what movie should we watch?" Miya asked, finally breaking from the hypothetical situations she'd been laying out before him about what New York could hold for her.

"Um, before we do that, there's. . . something I wanted to talk to you about," Jonah told her, his voice quiet with uncertainty.

"Okay," she replied. Her expression was open and she appeared ready to listen; he hoped by the end of the night she would still regard him with the same, easy fondness that her brown eyes currently held.

Jonah fidgeted with his spoon, feeling the weight of his decision press down on him. "I've been thinking a lot about us and everything that's happening. I know you're really excited about starting fresh in New York and I'm really glad for you. But. . . it's also made me realize some things."

The brunette's smile faltered at his serious tone. "Like what?"

"I. . ." He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. His hand that held the spoon clenched tighter around the handle. "You may have noticed that I'm not the best boyfriend in the world. A part of that is because I've been feeling like I'm not really into this whole relationship thing as much as I thought I was."

"That's okay," Miya said. Her heart picked up speed as she guessed where the conversation was going. While being Jonah's girlfriend hadn't been everything she'd hoped it would be, she didn't want to break up with him. "We've only been together for a year; there's lots of things that you can learn with time."

He sighed, wishing that this was easier than it was. "That's the thing. We don't have a lot of time, especially with you going to America. Again, I'm really happy for you," he added hastily. "It's not that I'm blaming you for leaving or anything. Your going away has actually helped me realize that I'm not as excited about us as. . . well, you are."

Miya felt her throat tighten as she began to understand that Jonah couldn't be swayed from his position. "So. . . you don't want to be together anymore? I know long distance is hard but. . . you don't even want to try? Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Maybe. . ."

But Jonah shook his head and her words trailed off. "I'm really sorry, Miya. I thought it would be better to tell you now so maybe you won't be mad at me when you leave."

Her smile became sad. "I'm not mad. I think I kinda saw this coming. Maybe not so soon, but eventually. I. . . understand. We're still best friends, right?"

"Of course!" he agreed vehemently. "That will never change— not even if you moved all the way to the moon."

She managed a little grin then, which is what he'd been hoping for. "I. . . think I need a little space, but I promise I'm not mad at you. I definitely want to do something fun together before I leave, like we used to. Okay?"

He agreed, and they parted ways for the evening. Miya went down the hall to her apartment. She was glad that her mom wasn't home— Juliet was probably making the most of Kendrick and Celeste being in town— and left the lights off as she went over to flop down on the couch. Like she'd said before, she'd seen this coming. It was even kind of a relief to no longer have the expectations of being a girlfriend. But that didn't mean it hurt any less.

She reached behind her and pulled a throw pillow out from under her back. She hugged it to herself and squeezed her eyes tight, feeling an ache in her chest. Burying her face in the pillow, she let out soft sobs as tears began to fall. As excited as she was about New York, there were things she'd miss about England— her mom and Jonah's closeness being the main two points.

🌎🌎🌎

Miya was buzzing with excitement when she stepped off the plane that had taken her from England to America. It was now a few weeks since her breakup with Jonah and she had bounced back pretty well— better than Juliet had after her breakup with Shawn. The older woman in question was following behind her daughter at a more sedate pace while the teen skipped on ahead. Since she was quite a bit ahead of her mother, she noticed the Minkuses first. Stuart and Farkle were waiting in the meet and greet line

The Asian girl made a beeline for her best friend. As she neared, she called out his name excitedly, as if he didn't see her rapid approach. She beamed at him, stopping just in front of the boy. She bounced on her toes with her excess energy as she rushed out her usual question: "can I give you a hug?"

Farkle appreciated that Miya always asked him before going through with the action. In the beginning of their friendship, she must have sensed that unexpected touch made him anxious and so had taken to asking any time she wanted to hug him or hold his hand. Eventually, he'd told her that she didn't need to ask every time, just when he wasn't expecting it. He nodded and she wasted no time in throwing her arms around him.

She noted that he'd grown a bit more since she'd seen him at Christmas. They'd always been relatively close in height but he definitely had a few inches on her now. Her head rested comfortably on his shoulder instead of where it usually did, with her cheek pressed against his. The embrace felt particularly comforting after everything that happened with Jonah— a sense of belonging she hadn't quite felt, even with her now-ex-boyfriend.

They pulled apart as Juliet and Stuart were finishing up greeting each other. The dark-haired woman noticed the absence of the third Minkus (which she still couldn't believe Stuart had managed to marry.) Quietly, she observed, "good ol' Zathrak the Undead didn't feel like scaring the children with her horrifying visage?"

Although he laughed good-naturedly at her question, she didn't miss the way Stuart tensed slightly at the mention of his wife. "Ah, no. She had some work to get done at the office. It'll just be the four of us for dinner tonight."

Juliet shook her head in mock disapproval— though she knew the truth about the difficulties the two Minkuses had with their marriage, even more than what their own son had figured out. "You really know how to pick 'em, Stuart. I've gotta question your taste in women."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," he countered, his tone becoming light as he teased her. "I'd say my crush on you was one of the best choices I've ever made."

She blushed despite herself (not in a way that implied attraction to the man who was now one of her closest friends— good lord no!— but sometimes he did come out with a silly pickup line that caught her off guard.) Chidingly, she reminded him, "Stuart! Farkle is right here."

"Don't worry, Aunt Jules," the boy reassured her. "I've heard it all before. Where else do you think I've learned my ways with women?"

"What 'ways with women?'" Miya asked, genuinely dumbfounded. "You've been trying to get Riley and Maya to like-like you for almost a decade and all you've gotten to do was kiss Maya's hand!"

"And what a kiss it was," he breathed out, his mind immediately taking him to the memory.

The brunette shook her head exasperatedly. "You're hopeless. Well, it's a good thing I'll be here to help you this year. Maybe I can get your pace from glacial to something. . . a little more successful."

"Just promise me you won't ruin my eight year plan!" Farkle exclaimed, sounding truly concerned that her aid would mess it up.

She gave him a sympathetic— if not condescending— smile as she patted him on the shoulder. "Oh, I don't think you have to worry about that."

🌎🌎🌎

For the first time since she could remember, Miya was excited to go to school. She tried to be realistic: just because she was in a different place didn't mean that her classes would be any easier or the people would be nicer. But that didn't stop the little bubble inside of her from filling up with joy as she bounced her legs to quietly express her enthusiasm while she sat next to Farkle in the car.

She was going to get to go to school with him all year— maybe even longer if she could convince her mom to move back to the States! Of course, it was kind of bittersweet without Jonah there, but he'd also gotten to be with her for the first twelve years of her life. She hoped that Farkle would get the next twelve (or more, if she was lucky.) The one thing that did kind of tamp down her excitement was the worry that her friendship with Jonah would fade with the distance. Maybe he'd been right to break up with her— maybe they should've gone farther and called quits on their friendship altogether. But no, she told herself sternly. You've been friends with Farkle for just as long and now look where you are!

So, she decided that the best thing to do was the reverse of what she'd been doing. During the school year, she'd be in New York full time, but during the holidays she'd go back to England and hang out with Jonah. That way she'd also get to see her mom and not have to wait all the way until summer unless. . . she became so caught up in life here that she didn't want to leave. Miya tried to convince herself she'd worry about that when the time came and not a moment sooner.

Farkle smiled in amusement at his best friend's eagerness, pleased to finally have someone as thrilled to go to school as he was. He knew that wasn't the full reason, but he could pretend. Miya had pestered him with questions all week about what it was like to be in class with Riley, Maya and Lucas. He'd willingly answered all of them and she'd even asked the trio herself once they'd gotten together before school started. He knew she was a bit nervous about how the workload and teaching style would go along with her dyslexia, but he'd made copious promises and reassurances that he'd help her stay ahead.

Now, they were walking through the halls of John Quincy Adams for real this time. Miya couldn't keep the elated smile off her face and worried that it was making her look a little crazy. (She was just so excited!) Their attention was soon drawn to Riley and Maya, who had stopped at the top of the stairs as if to take in the view. The brunette spread her arms wide like she was greeting her subjects. "Hello! It is us, the kings."

The pair approached them, though Farkle's gaze was on the ground. He pointed towards their toes and laughed. "Hey, look at your feet. They're naked!"

Maya rolled her eyes. "Eyes up here, buddy."

"Miya!" Riley cheered as she saw the Asian girl.

Miya stumbled a bit as Riley threw her arms around her, but quickly regained her footing and hugged the other girl back. Once she let go, Maya gave her a nod of acknowledgement. "'Sup, name-twin."

"Almost name-twin," she reminded the blonde as she often did.

"Hey, I'm just sayin' that if you want to pronounce it Mi-ya instead of Mee-ya, I'd be cool with that. I'd be Maya one and you could be Maya two."

She frowned, going for the bait lightheartedly. "Why would I be Maya two?"

"Because I was here first. Duh." But the blonde made sure to say it in such a way that clearly indicated she was going along with the joke.

"Oh, right, of course. My bad," Miya teased her back.

"Sure thing," Maya replied as if the mistake were obvious. Then, her face took on a thoughtful look. "Maybe I should just start calling you Mi-ya. It might catch on. Then you could be a stand-in and go to detention for me."

The Asian girl gave her an amused smile. "Just because our names would hypothetically be the same doesn't mean that we look the same."

Maya scoffed. "Do you really think the teachers look up from their phones during detention? As long as someone answers for Mi-ya, they don't care."

"My dad does detention sometimes," Riley chimed in, "he definitely pays attention."

"Drat."

The mention of the curly-haired man prompted Farkle to ask, "hey, Riley, your dad gonna be our teacher again this year?"

She grimaced. "He said he's not."

"I'll believe it when I don't see it," Maya agreed.

Miya sighed. "I guess I really should've gone to school with you guys last year. I liked having your dad as a teacher."

"You're the only one, Mi-ya," the blonde told her matter-of-factly.

Their conversation came to an abrupt halt as Riley caught sight of Lucas walking towards them from the opposite direction. He paused before them and her expression softened into breathless admiration. "Oh, hi."

"Hey. . . Hi. . ." The brunette continued to smile at him in an awestruck sort of way. "Hey. . ."

She swallowed, gathering her courage. "Hi."

"All summer," Maya commented dryly. "I envy you, Mi-ya; you only had to suffer through a week of this."

"Hey," Lucas said again.

"You have to talk about it," the blonde insisted.

Lucas sighed. "She's right."

Riley could only burst out another: "hi!"

He laughed awkwardly. "Oh, hey."

The bell rang and the brunette let out a relieved sigh. "Glad we talked about it."

"Yeah, me too."

"Bye!"

They stared at each other for a moment longer before Lucas turned and headed into the classroom first. Taking inspiration from the awkward exchange (as only he could), Farkle gave Maya a hopeful look. "Hey. . ."

She made a face at him and walked into class without glancing back. Once she was sure that she was the last one in the hallway, Miya facepalmed at her friends' behavior. If this was going to be how the year was, she was pretty sure that she was going to die early from secondhand embarrassment.

The Asian girl was prevented from entering the room as Maya and Riley had stopped in the middle of the doorway. Their eyes were squeezed shut, their heads slightly bent to avoid looking in the teacher's direction. Riley stood tensely next to her best friend. "I know it's gonna be my father."

"I can't look."

"Scared," she agreed.

They lifted their hands to cover their already closed eyes. "Okay, ready?"

"Quick peek. One, two, three. . ." The blonde counted down to prepare themselves. Then, they both dropped their hands and glanced over to the teacher's desk.

The instructor was not, in fact, Riley's father. He was a slightly younger, good-looking man with dark skin and short, curly hair. He raised his eyebrow at the girl's antics. After taking him in briefly, the pair went back to covering their eyes.

"Did you see what I saw?" Riley asked eagerly.

"Oh yeah."

"Then why are we covering our eyes?"

Miya sighed from her place still trapped behind them. "Uh. . . guys?"

Maya apparently didn't hear her. "Because it's gonna go away. I don't want it to go away, and it's gonna go away."

They finally dropped their hands from in front of their faces entirely, turning to look at the new teacher. Riley beamed at him. Her entire body started to shake from the force of her excitement that built within her, bursting out in a joyful exclamation of: "yay!"

"Thank you," the man said, though he didn't sound grateful in the slightest. He nodded to the empty desks. "Girls, take a seat."

That made the pair leave the doorway at last, though instead of following the directions they both hopped onto his desk and slid closer to him. "Your seats."

As they conceded, Miya attempted to head for an available desk in the back— any available desk as long as it got everyone's eyes off of her. But before she could get very far, the teacher snapped his fingers in her direction to get her attention. "Yeah, not you— yet. You're the transfer student, right? What's your name?"

The brunette turned around slowly to face him, her face heating up from the prolonged unwanted attention of her peers. If he made her do an introduction in front of the class. . . She approached his desk and spoke quietly, hoping none of the other students could hear her. "Miya Caplewood."

"That's right," he confirmed, scanning the roster that he held. He found her name and made a checkmark next to it. "You're the one with the testing accommodations. I'm gonna want you to sit up here— that way I can see when you need help."

He pointed to a desk next to Riley. While she didn't mind her seatmate, Miya felt a knot form in her stomach. She wished she'd worn a hoodie so she could hide herself in the hood. Instead, she ducked her head and allowed her hair to hide her face from the rest of the class. She hated how this teacher was drawing attention to her learning differences. He was talking loudly enough for everyone to hear and it felt like the other students were already coming to the conclusion that she was stupid, like they always did.

Her hopes were falling fast that New York would be any different than England— the teachers had treated her the same way there, too. It had only been Cory who was different and now he wouldn't be her teacher this year. Miya nodded, feeling her words get stuck in her throat as she shrank in on herself.

The teacher waved her off and she gratefully took her seat. Even though no one made a comment outright about the interaction, Miya knew that it was only because the instructor was present. Once someone caught her alone it would be a different story. That was how it always went and it wouldn't be any different now. She seemed to be the only person to be unhappy with their new teacher— even Farkle started to like him as the older man announced: "okay, let's get started. Belgium, 1831."

Her best friend had a similar reaction as Riley; he began to vibrate with happiness as he exclaimed: "yay!"

"This is gonna be our best year ever," the Matthews girl told Maya.

This was supposed to be my best year ever, Miya thought miserably, hunching down in her seat to avoid being noticed. The blonde had an uncharacteristically bright smile on her face as she replied, "let's just get up, go over, and look at him up close."

They approached him slowly as if they were predators stalking a target. He watched them with an obviously wary expression on his face. He lifted a brow as they came to stand inches away from him. "Yes?"

"He said yes," Riley murmured to her best friend.

"What do we do now, Whackjob?"

"I'm gonna touch him on the face," the brunette declared. She began to lift a hand towards him, her pointer finger extended.

Oh, god, Miya thought, slumping further in her seat— though she was relieved to be experiencing someone else's embarrassment rather than her own. But even as their teacher watched them, stony-faced, they didn't seem to have any concept of self-consciousness. Before Riley's finger could poke at him, the man snapped, "sit down! You two strike me as a couple of girls who are used to special treatment. I don't know who your last teacher was but I don't do that."

Farkle raised his hand. "Farkle time, sir?"

The Asian girl perked up a bit at his question; he'd often told her of the rants that Cory allowed him to go on but had never seen them in person. He was smart enough to teach the class, so she'd always been curious as to what happened during that time. Unfortunately, the new teacher didn't have the same knowledge of the concept and he shrugged carelessly. "Go ahead, kid. You gotta Farkle, you gotta Farkle."

The boy put his hand down slowly, looking disappointed. Always one to stand up for his friends, Lucas offered, "no, this is where he takes over the class."

Their teacher was understandably stunned by this prospect. "Oh. He takes over the class, you just talk without raising your hand and these two just do whatever they want?" Lucas hesitantly raised his hand once he'd been scolded. "Yes?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

That was a better run down than what I got, Miya realized.

That was the last straw for their instructor. "You know what? I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to shape young minds. I wanted to dedicate my entire life to being an influential person who commands respect!" Miya quickly shut her eyes so she wouldn't have to see Riley embarrass herself as the brunette stood up, her pointer finger extended once more. During the older man's rant, she wiggled it closer to his face until she booped him on the nose. Fed up with their behavior, he threw up his arms and strode out of the room, exclaiming, "I quit!"

Riley sat back in her seat heavily. "What happens now?"

To Miya's delight, Cory stalked into the room. He glared at his daughter, pointing to her harshly as he insisted, "you did this!"

Despite the other students being disappointed in the change of circumstances, Miya beamed. As she scooped up her things to sit in the back, behind Farkle— her preferred seating location— she couldn't help but think that maybe this would be the best year ever, after all.

A/n: we finally made it to act 2! Buckle up because there's gonna be a lot of Farkle/Miya this season (of course, with some Shawn/Juliet sprinkled in.) The next most exciting chapter that I'm looking forward to (and I hope you are, too) is the time capsule episode! 

Just as a reminder, I'll be rearranging the order of some of the episodes so they fit better into my plot, even if that's not the way they're supposed to go canonically.