Maya couldn't sleep and it wasn't because of how lumpy the mattress was (she'd forgotten the quality of them, evidently they didn't change with the merging of the two schools) or because she could hear Isadora giggling softly from across the room (she sincerely hoped her bespectacled friend was on her phone), it was for the most irrational, ridiculous reason and it went by the name of Lucas. She managed to make some sort of peace in Europe with her father but being around him was bringing up all the feelings she thought she left in her freshman year, back up. She knew him, she knew what he was like and that cruel boy could never pursue a genuine friendship with Riley and Isadora...right?

She slammed her palm against her pillow in an attempt to fluff it and turned over on her side for the umpteenth time. Another sound came from beneath Isadora's duvet and Maya exhaled deeply. It was going to be a long night.

[*]

On the other side of the quad, Lucas Friar was having trouble getting some shut-eye as well. Not for the same reason as Maya but because of the phone call he received just moments after their conversation outside. It had been his mom who usually called around this time of the year to ask him how he was or if he needed anything and to let him know in advance that she and his father would probably miss family weekend again because they're 'really busy'.

If these weren't his parents, he would believe it was solely because of his father's health condition which didn't give much leeway for air travel. Family weekend wasn't for another month but Lucas didn't expect them to come ever. Not just because of his father's health condition but because of everything that happened in Texas.

Stop, he warned his mind before stepping into the mental space that usually took residence at the very back of his brain. Those phone calls never ended well, he knew this but it never stopped him from picking up anyway just to hear his mother's voice. He bit down on his bottom lip with his front teeth to keep from screaming and his frustration didn't leave.

His warm blankets suddenly felt as constricting as a straight jacket. He threw them off before slipping on some slides to go take another walk outside, needing air desperately.

The sunrose and shined hues of deep orange and magenta into their dorm room, Maya knew this because she wasn't able to sleep all night and watched the moon slip away to be replaced by the sun. It would be one thing if she spent the night planning or scheming to find a way to reveal Lucas' true intentions faster but instead, her mind decided to dance between memories of their talk the night before and the night freshman year she wishes she could forget.

The creaking of the springs in Riley's mattress beside hers made Maya shut her eyes quickly, hoping that she wasn't caught. A loud yawn emitted from Riley's bed and then, "Good morning!" she sang and Maya stayed still. Isadora, however, groaned and did something to make Riley scream. Maya peeked open one eye and saw Riley rubbing the back of her head and holding a royal blue pillow that didn't match the rest of her purple bed set from freshman year.

"Isadora! What was that for?" she whined. Maya peaked open the other eye and saw Isadora sit up and squint at Riley without her glasses and say, "It's the morning, Riley, some of us want to finish sleeping."

"It's 7, we always get up at 7 because we need to get dressed and head to the dining hall. Jeez, what is up with you anyway? You're usually awake before me." she muttered as Isadora laid back down. If Maya's head wasn't constantly regurgitating memories she'd like to forget, she could've sworn all that giggling coming from Isadora's bed didn't stop until a few hours ago. Was she up almost the entire night?

"C'mon peaches, we gotta get her up," Riley said to her and Maya realized that her eyes were still open. Well, she thought, there goes trying to get some sort of semblance of sleep.

"Mhm, okay, just gimme a second, Riles," Maya said before mentally cursing Lucas for being an asshole and not leaving her head before she threw the blankets off her and stood up. Riley was already at Isadora's bed shaking her to get up but to no avail. "Riley," Maya called and walked to the foot of Isadora's bed. She gestured to Isadora's feet. Understanding what she meant, Riley walked over to her and they both grabbed Isadora's ankles and pulled.

[*]

Despite not having enough rest, Maya got through most of her day without failure. Art was still weird without Ms. Kossal but ever since her first day, Mr. Jackson seemed to be purposely calling on her to answer questions or ask her opinion when he proposes something to the class, she didn't mind it as she was never a quiet person but it felt like he was targeting her not maliciously but Maya didn't know what else to think of it. Ms. Kossal would pay attention to her or draw attention to her very rarely in class as art was more of an individual activity and she didn't want to look like she had a favorite (she did, Maya thought happily) or single anyone out.

He definitely wasn't on the level of wretchedness that was Mrs. Hurtley, not even close. Anytime Maya thought about going to English, she was filled with dread. It was never her best subject and the teacher already got on her last nerve by doing what Mr. Jackson was doing only in her case it was to make Maya look stupid. The rest of Maya's uneventful day serves as a perfect example.

Maya found her seat behind Charlie, reluctantly walking past Riley and past yeehaw all the way to her assigned seat. Mrs. Hurtley was already at her desk, marking something down in a book Maya wished would suck her in.

The bell rang signaling Maya that her only way out was to go to the bathroom or wait forty minutes until the bell rang again and she could leave. Mrs. Hurtley got up and seemed in a bad mood from Maya could tell from her deep frown that accentuated the wrinkles by her mouth. She couldn't imagine what would get her down, her gray hair was perfectly pinned into a tight bun and her skirt suit seemed freshly ironed, unlike Maya's own uniform.

"So, I know it's only the first two days of classes with there being a pep rally later today and curriculum doesn't fully begin until Monday but I wanted to introduce you to some of the material we'll be going over in the first few weeks or so. We'll be reading a play called The Crucible which is essentially a theatrical retelling of the events of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Now, does anyone know what started the Salem Witch Trials?" Mrs. Hurtley asked the class in was what supposed to be a question open for anyone to speak up and answer. However, if Maya didn't know better (though she did) Mrs. Hurtley's icy blue eyes were staring at her, expecting an answer from her. And for a moment, Maya thought she was maybe being paranoid.

"Maya? Why don't you tell the class?" Yep. Definitely not paranoid. The worst part was that even though she was aware of the fact that Mrs. Hurtley was gonna call on her she still didn't have an answer prepared. She looked at Riley who was trying to mouth the answer discreetly to her but Maya couldn't understand anything. A scoop of calls? She shook her head and looked away from her friend in order to better think of her history. Who started the Salem Witch Trials?

"Uh, paranoid colonists?" she guessed though judging by Mrs. Hurtley rolling her eyes and Farkle shooting his hand up to answer, hers wasn't the right one.

"Wrong, it was a group of irresponsible young girls that ended up causing so much mayhem that people were killed because of their willingness to cause trouble. A lesson that people should take away from that is that causing trouble will bring you unwanted attention. Of course, the whole idea of witchcraft and its connection to the devil began in Europe and made its way to the United States with the colonists. Disappointed that you don't know your basic history, Ms. Hart." The older teacher clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth in a tut-tut sort of way. Never had she wanted to throw her desk at a teacher before. The woman was basically calling her dumb in front of the entire class.

"Or maybe the lesson was that older people don't have as much authority and power as they wish they had. Seeing as those girls could so easily claim anybody to be a witch and get away with it. Isn't that also important? To not abuse power, Mrs. Hurtley?" Maya responded with a wry smile. Two could play at that game.

"It isn't so much power but just shows how flawed our justice system was in the early stages of this country." Farkle chimed in, completely oblivious to Maya and Mrs. Hurtley mental tug of war.

"Thank you, Farkle for your input. Our justice system was not the best and still isn't to this day, it's clear as day if you watch the news but nevertheless, reading this play will give us a clearer look at the witch trials and a little refresher that will benefit some students." another jab at Maya's intelligence and she knew that the woman was going to hold a grudge for the rest of the school year. But even with Maya having comebacks to whatever way Mrs. Hurtley wanted to offend her, her wit alone wouldn't be enough.

And even though Maya has other stuff going on with adjusting to school life and exposing Lucas, a little trip to the library to jog her memory on some Salem Witch history will at least give her a proper answer to any questions Mrs. Hurtley wanted to direct at her.

[*]

Once Cory's class was a few minutes away from being over, Maya tried to write down some keywords to look up at the library after class like Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible, author of the Crucible, etc. While deep in thought, an announcement came over the intercom about which floors in the main building could make their way to the football field for the pep rally.

Shit, the pep rally, Maya thought and was going over ways she could leave early because school spirit wasn't really her thing especially when its a school she didn't know existed until four days ago.

A hand landing on her head pulled her back to the present where her classmates were lining up to leave rather than making their way down with the teacher behind them like they did at Abigail Adams where everyone didn't have a stick up their ass.

"C'mon, Maya. We gotta go," Riley said brightly.

"Do we have to though?"

"Maya," Riley sighed, "we have to go to cheer Lucas on. He's part of the football team, remember?"

How could she forget? He was a walking cliche.

"Of course he is," she rolled her eyes, "but what does that have to do with me?"

"How about the promise you made four days ago? Or did you forget about that too?" Riley lifted a brow in question and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Obviously not but when did sitting in dumb pep rallies become part of the deal?" Maya argued and shot up from her desk.

"Since one, they became a requirement to attend and two because supporting people is a good way to becoming their friend!"

"You forget that I never said I wanted to be his friend, last time I checked he only treated you and Isadora different. Hanging out with him does not mean that I have to go out of my way to see him do stupid sports stuff."

"Hey!" Cory interjected from the doorway where the rest of the class was lined up watching them argue, "Cut it out you two, we're already gonna be the last class to leave the third floor. Get it together so we can leave already!"

"Yes, Mr. Matthews," Maya grumbled and Riley nodded waiting until Maya stepped forward before walking behind her.

[*]

Maya was sweating. Even with her navy blue blazer and necktie off, the September sun felt like it was hovering directly over her. It didn't help that she was surrounded by the entire student body on the bleachers and that their entertainment consisted of amateur athletes and overly preppy cheerleaders. As she fanned herself and tossed her blonde hair up in a ponytail tying it with her tie.

She was grateful for one thing though and it was that Riley didn't make her sit in the middle so now she was closer to the exit, on the edge and only Riley was beside her. Their bickering resolved as soon as Riley shot her a grateful smile once they wandered away from the class to join Isadora, Farkle, and Zay. On their way over to where Zay was waving them over excitedly.

"Thanks, peaches. I know how school spirit isn't really your thing and we usually ditch these but last year Lucas asked Isadora and me to stay and cheer for him so that's kinda what we've been doing for each pep rally he's in. And I know you're not gonna be screaming his name or anything like that but it really means a lot that you're here..." she said tentatively, trying to gage Maya's emotions, "And I love ya', you're the best friend ever." Riley grinned and nudged her lightly, making Maya's strong resolve crack.

"Yeah, yeah. I love you too, pain in the ass." Maya said, shaking her head and looking towards Zay.

Now, she was sweating and felt like it was going to be an eternity until the football team was announced and the individual members were called. Each member resembled the other not in terms of physical appearance but the overall way they carried themselves. Even though Maya hated the boys at John Quincy Adams Prep, she knew that their football team was one of the best in the state and rather than being humble about it, they gave into the usual stereotype of popular athletes and wore a smug smirk on their faces as their names were called and the entire school was cheering for them.

Riley's hand shot out to smack her arm and get her attention, "He's next, he's next," she hissed as if Maya wasn't aware. He wasn't hard to spot, another thing Maya was aware of no matter how much she hated it. Lucas was never difficult for her to spot and she blames her fourteen-year-old self for that.

"Junior, Lucas Friar," the football coach, Roger Calhoun called enthusiastically. He looked over his shoulder to watch Lucas walk to his spot next to a sophomore boy that lacked in height when standing next to him but not in confidence. He pats the sophomore boy on the back before shooting the crowd, specifically, the section her, Riley, Isadora, Farkle, and Zay were in not only because he saw them but because Riley and Zay seemed to be competing on who could hype him up more.

Maya doesn't look over to where Zay is standing up on the bleachers but she assumes he does something extra which makes Lucas' shoulders bounce in light laughter. For a moment, he looks like a normal high school boy to her. He's standing with his hands behind his back and head held high while the rest of the team is called, a small smile playing on his lips. It's obvious that he wears his bright cobalt blue jersey with pride, shoulder pads and all and Maya almost finds herself wanting to believe that he's just a regular high schoolboy.

Then the memory from freshman year pops into her mind and she's pulling on the hem of Riley's white button-down to ask her when they're leaving.

"We have to wait until he changes out of his uniform so then we can head to Shake Shack." her bubbly best friend says with her hands still together as if she's prepared to clap again.

"Shake Shack?"

"Yeah, it's tradition." she responds and misses Maya's face fall. Tradition?!