Hey, guys! Pebblemist here with a new story! I am in no way abandoning my other stories, don't worry. Fight To Survive is being put on hiatus, and I will be working on this and Girl Meets Bullying at the same time. But because of school and stuff, I might not be updating as fast. I just got the idea for this fic and felt the need to start it as soon as I could! This is also an attempt to write in the first person POV! I'm excited! So, please enjoy! :)

Riley's Point Of View

"The Triangle Factory Fire. March 25th, 1911," Daddy said as he wrote it on the chalkboard. "One of the most devastating tragedies in New York history."

The whole class seemed to be falling asleep, and yet class hadn't even been in session for five minutes. Of the few that didn't have their heads on their desks, almost all of them had confused looks on their face, as if they had no idea what he was talking about.

I was used to people giving my father those looks. I gave him those looks often enough. This was one of those times. I had never heard of the Triangle Factory Fire. I don't think anyone in class had. Even Farkle looked confused, and that's not something that happens very often. I promptly raised my hand, my head slightly tilted to the side.

"Yes, Riley?" My father asked.

"What's that?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. I probably should have said something like 'What's the Triangle Factory Fire?' or 'I've never heard of that,' or pretty much anything, other than 'What's that?' but, you can't change the past. So what if everyone giggled? I embarrass myself enough, one more time won't hurt.

My father tried not to laugh at my very vague question. "Before I answer that, why don't I ask you all a question. Do any of you know why doors open out instead of in? Why it's against the law to have anything too close to the ceiling?"

No one raised their hand. Not even Farkle.

Then, out of the corner of my eyes, I see the girl next to me raise her hand. Maya knows all of these things? I thought. Who is that girl and what has she done with Maya?

"Yes, Maya?" Dad said, looking just as surprised as I am. This can't be possible. She's just gonna say something sarcastic. She knows nothing about these laws, I'm sure of it.

"Because of. . . something. Something that has to do with a triangle-shaped factory on fire."

I rolled my eyes and leaned over to whisper in Maya's ear. "Are you serious?"

She shrugged, smirking. I turned to see my father's reaction.

"Well, that's. . . one way of looking at it," he said. "But it's absolutely incorrect. Yes, Farkle?"

"I may not know anything about it," Farkle said from behind me, "But I'm pretty sure that the Triangle Factory was not shaped like a triangle."

"No, it wasn't," my dad said, smiling. Then his face grew serious. "We have these laws so that nothing like the events of the Fire ever happens again."

I raise my hand. "Then what happened, Dad?"

"Okay, imagine this. There's this building," he began. "People are tightly packed together in horrible conditions, for hours with little pay.

"That's horrible!" I blurt out. Me and my big mouth.

Dad continued as if I had never said anything, which was perfectly fine by me. "The people, mostly women, are cutting fabric- highly flammable fabric, may I add- and making shirts. The fabric left over just gets shoved into boxes under the tables, to get picked up every few months. There are two month's worth of fabric, just sitting in the boxes."

"You're hinting at something, aren't you?" Maya asked without raising her hand. "Can we just get on with it?"

I rolled my eyes. Typical Maya.

"A man on the eighth floor lights a cigarette, and and ash gets flicked into one of the boxes. KABLAM!"-everyone in class, including me, jumped (I may or may not have squealed a little)-"The fire that changed America."

The whole class was silent. No one said a word, or even raised their hand, letting the feeling sink in. No one had known about something that had affected their every day lives. I don't know about anyone else, but I sure felt ashamed.

"Sheets of fabric hung from the ceilings," Dad continued. "They lit on fire and fell on top of people, lighting their hair and clothes on fire. The sheets of fabric on the table caught on fire. Doors opened inward instead of out, and the panicking workers crowded around the doors."

"So they couldn't open the doors," I said, my voice coming out at barely over a whisper. "Did people. . . die?"

He nodded. "One-Hundred and Forty-Six people died that day. Some from smoke inhalation, but most panicked and jumped out the windows."

"But if they were eight stories up, why did they jump? There's no way anyone could have survived the jump," my heart melted when I heard Lucas' voice. I wasn't sure if we were a 'thing' now, even if he'd had his moment. "That's plain stupid, if you ask me."

"Well, nobody's asking you, Bucky McBoingBoing," Maya muttered.

"Think about what you would do," Dad said, and the room grew quiet again, everyone thinking about what they would have done if they were put in a situation like this. Finally, after a long, awkward silence, I raised my hand.

"If I couldn't escape, I'd jump."

Everyone looked at me like I'd grown a second head. I could feel my face grow hot, my cheeks probably turning pink.

"What?" I asked defensively.

"Think about it," Farkle piped up. "You could choose to suffocate and die slowly and painfully, or jump, die instantly, and feel no pain."

"Farkle and Riley are right," Dad agreed. "What do you think was going through the minds of the people who jumped?"

I looked back at Lucas, and could see the understanding is his green eyes. "If I stayed, my family wouldn't have a body to identify and bury, either," he said.

"But if you jumped, they would," I added. "And there would still be a slight chance of survival."

"Now that we've cleared that up," Dad said. "How many of you can figure out why we have these laws?"

Everyone raised their hand. Daddy gave a satisfied smile.

"You see? Even the most tragic events can have a positive affect on history. If this hadn't happened, what would stop something similar from happening at this very school? And you said history has nothing to do with us!"

"That was a long time ago, Dad," I said. "I think we learned that history has a lot to do with us when we did that 1960s assignment."

Before he could say anything, the bell rang. I grabbed my bag and waited for Maya before heading to my next class.

Even the most tragic events can have a positive affect on history.

Those words stuck with for the rest of the school day. No joke. I'd never known my dad was so. . . wise. Mr. Feeny taught him so well.

I'd heard the stories of Mr. Feeny. I'd heard the stories of pretty much my parent's entire childhood, really. About Shawn and Feeny and Mom and Dad. The stories got a little old sometimes, but they were still interesting. A particular favorite of mine is about Mom and Dad's first kiss. . .

"Riley. . . Riley. . . Earth to Riley!"

I blinked and found myself sitting with my friends at out usual booth at Svorski's. I blushed.

"Guess I zoned out a little," I said, pulling myself into reality.

It was Maya who'd yelled in my ear. I glared at her, trying to be mad, but the grin on her face was way too hard to stay mad at. I'm such a softie.

"Are you okay, Riles?" Maya asked. "You seem a little. . . off, today."

"Yeah, I've noticed, to," Lucas agreed. My stomach did a flip. "Ever since the history lesson this morning."

I shrugged. "I don't know guys. . . Just. . . thinking, I guess."

"You think too much, you know that?" Maya nudged me in the ribs. I rolled my eyes.

"I can't believe none of us knew about something so important," Farkle piped up.

"I know, right? I feel so bad right now!" Lucas said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, some people died in a fire. So important," Maya muttered. She then turned to me. "Hey, Riles, am I sleeping over tonight?"

"Oh my God, it's Friday, isn't it?" I suddenly realized, feeling stupid. "Yeah, my parents said yes."

"Great," Maya said, smiling. "What should we do?"

She didn't even have to ask. We locked eyes and grinned. "Shopping," we said in unison.

"What is it with girls and shopping?" Lucas asked. I shrugged.

"I dunno. Shopping's fun."

"You mean staring at stuff you know you can never afford until Riley offers to buy it for me, yeah, pretty fun," Maya said.

"Stop over-exaggerating!" I lightly hit her in the head with the menu. She smiled at me, and I knew she was joking.

"Whatever," she said with a smirk.

"You two are too much," Lucas said, with that smile that always melted my heart. He was so cute!

"Alright, you guys," Maya interrupted what could have been a sweet moment with Lucas. She looked at me and grabbed my wrist. "We should go get ready so we can be out shopping for as long as we want. Bye!" she proceeded to drag me away from the table.

I looked up at Lucas with what I hoped was a 'help me' look. He grabbed my other wrist and easily pulled me away from Maya.

"She knows how to walk, Maya," he pointed out. Maya rolled her eyes. "But she's right, you should go and get ready," he said with a smile, leaning down and-

My heart stopped.

He kissed me on the cheek!

"Alright, come on," Maya said. But my legs felt frozen. I couldn't move.

Maya dragged me away, snapping my brain out of dreamland.

So, what'd you think? The story's only just beginning!

If ya don't mind my asking, please leave a review on your way out! :)