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❛ ʟᴇᴀᴛʜᴇʀ & ʟᴀᴄᴇ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴍʀ. ᴛᴜʀɴᴇʀ
ᴡᴀɴɴᴀʙᴇ ꒱


❝ DOESN'T YANCY LOOK
 A LITTLE LIKE KINGPIN? ❞

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Contrary to her mother's inclination, Miya was not a fan of English class. While she had learned to work with her dyslexia rather than against it over time, she still preferred to listen to an audiobook than read one— and even that was few and far between. To her, reading was a reminder of what she couldn't do and the hardships she had faced because of her struggle. Needless to say, Mr. Garaboski's by-the-book (literally) teaching method was not her favorite. She dreaded his class each time she saw it on the schedule. Her only comfort was that her friends were also there and none of their peers were quite brave enough to get on Maya's bad side when she glared at them every time Miya stuttered over her portion of the read-aloud passages.

She couldn't help but think that it was because of her difficulties that her friends 'misbehaved' more than usual in his class, often forgoing any classroom etiquette, such as raising their hands and talking when he did. The rest of the class jumped on the bandwagon mostly because of how boring he was and they needed something to keep it interesting, otherwise his droning voice would put them all to sleep. No matter how many times he yelled at them to shut up or griped about ancient rules that he wished had never gone out of style, they acted as if he'd never spoken. In the two years he'd taught them, he never missed a day. . . until he did.

"Where's Garaboski?" Maya wondered, though there was more hope than concern in her voice.

"Did we do it?" Riley asked eagerly.

Farkle glanced behind him to share a triumphant look with Miya, who had cautiously lifted her head to look around at the absence of their teacher. "Did we finally break him?"

Cory walked into the room with a piece of paper in his hand. "You broke him."

They burst into cheers and the brunette felt a wash of relief at the thought of never seeing their strict teacher again. Anybody was better than Garaboski. Cory pursed his lips at their reaction. "Quiet! Mr. Garaboski retired yesterday."

That hardly dimmed their enthusiasm as they applauded again. "Quiet!" he snapped over their noise. "The guy survives Vietnam and Mrs. Garaboski, and he can't get past you. Now, he left a letter here that expressed his feelings." He unfolded the paper and began to share with them: "'dear you little. . .' okay, I can't read this." He laughed nervously and scrunched it up in a ball to hide the words.

"He always talked about the good old days before 1985," Lucas recalled.

Riley looked over at her father. "What happened in 1985?"

Farkle, of course, knew the answer. "That was the year the New York board of education said you couldn't hit a kid with a ruler."

"I'm glad I'm born after 1985," Miya commented softly.

Maya smirked in amusement. "Bored of education? I do believe I am."

Cory merely sighed at her joke. "Well, now you're gonna need a new English teacher."

The blonde shook her head. "That's okay, thanks."

Movement outside the window caught his eye and Lucas looked over to see who was walking down the hall. A woman whose dark hair was piled on top of her head messily smiled back at him. She wore a leather jacket and was carrying a bike helmet in one hand. "Uh, I don't know, Maya. You may want to consider this one."

Miya followed his gaze and couldn't help but feel intimidated by their new teacher's appearance. Maybe Garaboski hadn't been so bad. At least he didn't make her think of the bad-boy, I'm-going-to-steal-your-lunch-money stereotype. Cory grinned at their reactions as she entered the classroom. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Ms. Harper Burgess."

"You got a bike that goes with that outfit?" Lucas questioned her.

She didn't hesitate as she replied, "1800 cc twin cam fat Bob fuel tank wide glide. What do you ride?"

Riley poked her head around their new teacher and put in cheerfully, "he rode a sheep."

Mimicking the woman's spiel about her bike, Maya added, "62-pound quad hoof white fleece, kind you count before you fall asleep. Baa, baa."

The dark-haired woman leaned forward challengingly. "Wanna race?"

"No," Lucas stated quickly.

"Ms. Burgess is here to teach you about great books and great ideas," Cory told them as she returned to the front of the class. "Please give her the same respect that you give me."

Riley smiled at their cool, new teacher. "Oh, we could do better than that."

After Cory left, Ms. Burgess began handing out their reading material. At first, Miya was anxious that it was going to be another Shakespeare play— or worse, Mark Twain. Everyone was surprised to see that it was nothing like they'd seen so far in this classroom: "Frank Miller, The Dark Knight Returns."

The brunette stared at the cover in disbelief. "This is Batman."

"A future Batman," their teacher corrected her.

"What's the difference?" Lucas inquired.

"This story is the continuation based on an original series of characters," she told them. "Do you guys know what that means?"

They gave a collective, positive answer of yes. Riley raised her hand hesitantly to get her attention. "Um, aren't you supposed to be teaching us the important books?"

"This graphic novel was as important to its style of literature as any book you can think of," Ms. Burgess replied.

"What's it about?" Farkle asked.

"It's about a world that's become so tough that Batman fights Superman," she explained as she paced in front of them. "You will tell me why he does that."

Lucas arched a brow. "You're gonna start by teaching us a comic book, Miss Motorcycle?"

She pointed her book at him sternly. "Yeah, and you're gonna start by not calling me miss anything. You can call me Harper."

Farkle's hand shot up in the air. "Harper?"

The brunette turned to address him. "Yes?"

"I just wanted to see if it would work."

"Farkle," she stated in response.

His eyes widened in amazement. "You know my name, Harper?"

Harper smiled at his awe. "I know all of your names. Mr. Matthews told me all about you."

Riley raised her hand next. (Miya was surprised that her friends were actually being more polite to their new teacher than to Mr. Matthews.) "When is this due, please?"

"Hi, Riley," Harper greeted her.

"Hi."

"How do you like having him here?"

She shook her head. "It's terrible."

"It's wonderful," the older woman disagreed, before adding, "my father gave me my love of books."

"He did?"

"He's why I became a teacher," she remarked. "It's why he named me Harper." At the teen's confused look, she simply smiled knowingly. "You'll figure it out."

Harper continued down the row to stop beside Miya's desk. She noted how the younger girl kept her head down and stared steadfastly at her book even though she knew her teacher was standing next to her. "And you're Miya," Harper continued. "Mr. Matthews told me you don't talk in English class if you can help it. We're going to change that. What would you say if I told you that, by the end of the year, I could make you love reading?"

The brunette slowly lifted her gaze to hesitantly meet the other woman's. In a quiet voice that made Harper strain to hear her, she answered, "I'd say you were mistaking me for my mother."

Maya reached out her hand to place it one her best friend's arm. "Riley, stop me right now."

"From what?"

"I can't like a teacher, I'm Maya," she protested.

"It's a good day, Maya," Riley insisted. "School got better and now nothing bad is ever going to happen again."

Naturally, her words had to be immediately disproven. Unbeknownst to the teens, their principal had stopped outside their class to watch the new teacher at work. He frowned when he noticed one of the texts that a student had. Unable to pass up the opportunity to scold someone, he stalked through the door.

Heedless of whether anyone had actually been speaking already, he burst out: "so, I'm passing by your classroom on this, your first day, and I can't help noticing that somebody has a comic book. . ." He then looked around at all their desks. ". . .that everybody has a comic book."

"They're graphic novels," Farkle countered.

"Pipe down, Farkle," the principal shot back.

He ignored the demand. "I think Harper's trying to teach us something important."

"Oh, Harper is?" the principal sneered. "Hm? Well, she's not. It isn't literature, it's comic books. Which are against school policy, Miss Burgess. And so is calling Miss Burgess by her first name. You will gather these up, and you will teach something important." As he slammed down the book he'd snatched off of Maya's desk, his gaze fell on the other novels that were stacked up on her table. "To Kill A Mockingbird? Are you familiar with this?"

"I know this book," she admitted.

"Then teach it, Miss Burgess." He threw it back on the pile before he stomped out of the room.

There was a long pause as everyone waited for her to reclaim their reading material. Then, she smirked at them mischievously and picked up the novel again. "So. . . The Dark Knight Returns. Read it tonight, and tomorrow we will learn something important."

The class clapped enthusiastically as she defied Yancy's order. She grinned as Maya joined in. "Ah, stop it. You're not supposed to like a teacher. You're Maya."

She froze as she realized what was happening. "Oh, no, what are you doing to me?"

When the bell rang for their next class, Miya made to follow her friends out to the hall only to be stopped by their new teacher. She anxiously approached the large desk while Maya and Riley backtracked from the doorway to stand next to her, linking her arms with theirs.

"If you wanna talk to Miya, you have to talk to all of us," Maya announced firmly, remembering how much shier her friend got in the presence of Mr. Garaboski.

The girls thought that Harper would send the latter two away, but she just smiled at the blonde's defensive words. "If Miya's okay with that, then so am I." The trio exchanged intrigued looks but no one moved. Harper continued, "I meant what I said, Miya. I'd really like to change your view on reading—"

"Miya has dyslexia, Harper," Riley interrupted, trying to help the brunette out by explaining it herself. "It's not that she doesn't like to read—"

"—I actually don't," the Asian girl cut in.

"—it's just hard for her," Riley finished as if she hadn't spoken.

Harper's expression remained understanding. "I know; that's one of the things Mr. Matthews told me about you." She turned her gaze on Miya. "He told me that you've really opened up in his class, so I know it's possible for you to do the same in mine. Can I let you in on a little secret?" When Miya nodded, the older woman leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially, "I have dyslexia, too."

All three girls' eyes went wide. The brunette stared at her in disbelief. "But. . . but you love books so much! How can you love them if it's hard for you read them?"

"Well, I'd be happy to teach you the tricks of our trade that I've discovered if you'd like to come see me during your lunch break. We can take a crack at The Dark Knight Returns together," she proposed. "What do you say?"

"Can I come?" Maya blurted out hopefully.

"And me?" Riley added.

Harper gave the girls an amused look. "I'd be happy to have you girls join us, but for our first session I'd like it to just be Miya and me, just to see if anything I have to offer will work for her. How does that sound?"

As the pair nodded, Miya quietly gave her own agreement, "I. . . okay. Is it alright if nothing works, though?"

"Of course," their teacher reassured her gently. "We'll just have to figure out what does."

🌎🌎🌎

That day during lunchtime, Miya parted ways with her friends and went back to the English classroom. She approached it with tentative steps, her old nervousness something she was sure would never fully disappear. She hesitated at the door, clutching her lunch tray, debating whether she should knock or just turn back to the cafeteria. Before she could decide, Harper noticed her and waved her in.

"Come on, Miya. You're just in time," Harper greeted her warmly, gesturing toward a seat near her desk.

Miya entered slowly, setting her tray on the desk. The copy of The Dark Knight Returns was already there next to a notebook and a set of highlighters.

"Alright," Harper began, sliding the comic toward Miya, "let's see how you feel about starting with this panel here." She pointed to a large illustration of Batman overlooking Gotham City.

Miya stared at the text, her brow furrowing. "Now I tend to be okay when I'm reading on my own, but in class with all the pressure, the words. . . they get jumbled," she confessed softly.

"I know. That's why we're going to try something different," Harper explained, sliding a yellow overlay sheet over the page. "Sometimes, colored filters can help make the text clearer. Try it."

Miya hesitated before leaning closer to the page. With the overlay in place, the letters seemed less overwhelming. She squinted, tracing the words with her finger as she began to read aloud, haltingly but steadily.

"'This. . . isn't. . . a m. . . memorial. It's the. . .'" She broke off and squinted at the word, the letters beginning to 'dance' in front of her as they always had. Deciding that it wasn't going to sort itself out, she skipped over it and continued, "'Batman's. . . taken back—'"

"—'the city,'" Harper finished encouragingly. "You're doing great. How does the yellow feel?"

"It's. . . easier. I've never tried putting colors over the pages," she stated. "The words don't jump around as much."

"Good! That's the first trick," Harper coached her. She pulled out a ruler. "Now try reading with this. Cover up the lines below so your eyes don't get distracted. Focus on just one line at a time."

Miya obeyed, using the ruler to isolate the text. It helped even more. Her confidence grew slightly with each sentence she managed to read. Just as she was starting to relax, the sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway. The brunette stiffened and Harper glanced toward the door as Principal Yancy appeared, his expression stern.

"Ms. Burgess," Yancy addressed her, though it came out as more of a warning. "Why isn't this student in the cafeteria with the others?"

Harper rose from her seat, her demeanor calm but firm. "Miya and I are working together to address her reading challenges. Lunch is the only time we could fit this in."

Yancy's frown deepened. "All students are supposed to be in the cafeteria during lunch. This is a clear violation of school policy."

Harper didn't waver. "I understand the rule, Mr. Yancy, but Miya's needs require a little flexibility. I'm helping her engage with the material in a way that works for her. If you'd like, I'm happy to discuss this further in a meeting."

"And is this still a comic book I see?" the older man pressed, his tone sharp. "Didn't I tell you to get rid of this trash?"

"The Dark Knight Returns is a recognized literary work," Harper replied evenly. "It has complex themes, advanced vocabulary, and plenty of critical analysis opportunities. It's an excellent tool for teaching, especially for a student like Miya who needs a more visual and engaging approach."

Yancy's mouth tightened, but before he could respond, the bell rang. Miya quickly stood, clutching her tray as though it were a shield.

"Thank you, Miss Harper," she mumbled. She recalled Yancy's scolding about using her teacher's first name but also didn't want Harper to be uncomfortable with the formality, so she tried to come up with a happy medium between the two (it felt too casual to just use 'Burgess.') She slipped out the door before Yancy could say anything else to her.

Harper turned back to Yancy, her voice still steady. "If this is going to be a problem, we can discuss alternative solutions, but I'm not going to stop helping my students just because it's unconventional."

Yancy stared at her for a moment before nodding curtly. "Oh, that's something you can count on, Miss Burgess."

He left, and Harper sank into her chair with a sigh, shaking her head.

🌎🌎🌎

The next day, the students were actually excited to go to English class this time. Miya would've been (or, at least, marginally more so than usual), but she was worried about the fact that she'd gotten Harper in trouble (again) yesterday. She wondered if their teacher would hold that against her or if Yancy had done anything about Harper's misdemeanors yet. Thankfully, the former, at least, seemed to be for naught as Harper greeted her as warmly as the first day.

After everyone had taken their seats, she began the lesson. "Can good change?"

"Good is good," Riley declared.

Harper acknowledged her response with a wave of her hand. "Can evil change?"

"It seems like just when we think we've seen the worst that there can be, somebody comes up with something," Lucas commented.

"Why do you suppose that is?" their teacher asked Maya.

"Because it's evil that fascinates us."

Lucas' brows furrowed. "But doesn't good have to win in the end?"

Harper shrugged. "Does it?"

Before she could continue, the door opened once more to reveal their principal. He looked just as displeased as the day before. "So I'm passing by your classroom on this, your second day, and I see no Mockingbird. But I still see comic books. This is now your third warning, Miss Burgess."

"Yes, we're studying the nature of good and evil," she replied evenly.

The principal gasped mockingly. "I don't care. Class dismissed."

"Excuse me?"

"Study hall, all of you!" he barked at them. He pointed at their resident genius. "Except Farkle. You. . . go sit in a garbage can."

"Yay," he retorted dryly.

Yancy's glare intensified when no one moved. "Leave. Now."

It was only at Harper's invitation that they finally rose from their seats and filed out of the classroom. Riley and Maya wasted no time in running off to fetch Mr. Matthews while Lucas, Miya and Farkle watched the proceedings anxiously through the classroom window.

"Do you think he's going to fire her?" Miya asked worriedly.

"It'll work out," Lucas stated confidently. "Good always wins. That's what she was trying to teach us with the graphic novel."

"Well, it is true that Batman defeats Superman in The Dark Knight Returns. Just because Principal Yancy has a lot of power doesn't mean there's no way for Harper to win," Farkle reasoned.

The other two teens turned to him in exasperation. "Farkle!"

"What?"

Miya gave her best friend a fond look. "You spoiled it again."

"Well how was I supposed to know that you didn't read the whole book in one sitting!" he exclaimed, though they could tell it was in good nature.

The two girls came back with Mr. Matthews in tow and as he entered the classroom, the teens quieted to eavesdrop through the glass. "What's going on here?"

Harper looked at the curly-haired man regretfully. "I've been fired. I want to thank you for believing in me."

"You're welcome." He paused. "Oh, wait. That hasn't changed. How can you possibly fire someone like her, Yancy?"

The principal remained unmoved. "Go back to your class, Matthews."

"You're right," he agreed, "this isn't history, this is English, but. . . you know what history has in common with the great books? It turns out there are heroes and villains. All through them. And the villains will always cause trouble. But there's always gonna be heroes to fight back."

Harper nudged him conspiratorially. "You ruined my entire lesson."

"She was hired to teach literature, but she's not," Yancy argued. "She rides a motorcycle and she teaches comic books. How is that a teacher?"

"That can be a great teacher. A passionate teacher who doesn't believe that kids just come and go. And if you let her go, then. . . you have to be prepared to let me go as well," Cory finished firmly.

"Let you go?" Yancy repeated, shocked. "Well, I wasn't prepared for that at all. Just give me a second. . ." He recovered quickly from that surprise. "Okay, I'm good. You're fired, too."

Outside, the students watched on in stunned silence until Lucas muttered, "doesn't Yancy look a little like Kingpin?"

"And Harper wears all black, like Batman," Miya added.

Farkle just shook his head. "They aren't even in the same universe, guys."

🌎🌎🌎

Riley and Maya were quick to find their friends early the next morning so they could tell the other three about the firing process having to go through the Superintendent of Schools.

"Mom and dad didn't even seem worried about it," the brunette shared with them as they walked to Harper's class. They tried to figure out why that might be until they got there. Then, Riley smiled, feeling as confident as her parents had when she saw who was standing in the back of the classroom. She bounced up to him happily. "Hi."

Jon smiled warmly at her. "Hi."

"We love Harper. Do you understand, Uncle Jon?" she asked, tacking on the 'Uncle' pointedly.

Yancy looked noticeably ill. "Real uncle, or do you just call him that?"

Riley beamed at him. "He comes over like a million times a week. . ."

"I withdraw my complaint," the principal reiterated quickly.

"You got them calling you by your first name?" Jon asked the brunette.

"Yes, I wanted them to put together the Mockingbird thing to see how much I care about what I'll be teaching," she replied.

"Alright, does anybody understand the significance of Harper's name in regard to the author of To Kill a Mockingbird?" Jon questioned the class.

"Harper's first name is Charles Twain!" Maya announced.

"You're doing a bang-up job with her, Matthews," the Superintendent remarked. Then he noticed a hand in the air. "Yes you, Miss—?"

"Capelwood," Miya offered, her voice quiet but louder than she'd ever spoken in English class.

Jon's eyes widened. "Capelwood? You don't happen to be related to Juliet Capelwood, are you?"

"Yes, sir," Miya concurred. "Or— well, not blood related; she adopted me, you see. She's my mom."

"You don't say," he murmured. "And Hunter. . . did those two ever get married?"

"No, sir."

Now he stared at her incredulously. "Why the hell not? With how many hours I had to listen to that boy pine over her, I thought for sure. . ."

The brunette shifted in her seat, her eyes dropping to her desk. "He left her before I was born."

Jon shook his head reproachfully. "What an idiot."

"How do you know my mom?" Miya wanted to know.

The older man's expression became reminiscent. "I was her English teacher. I taught her, Matthews and Shawn Hunter when they were in high school."

"I withdraw my complaint!" Yancy repeated, the request sounding almost panicked this time.

Jon waved him off. "Sorry, Miss Capelwood. You wanted to tell us about Harper's connection to To Kill A Mockingbird?"

"Oh, yes," Miya recalled, having remembered seeing the book on Harper's desk during their lunchtime study session. "Harper Lee is the author."

"Yes. Yes," he exclaimed. "Very good. Now, may I see what else you've learned?"

Her best friend shot out of his seat with his hand raised. "Farkle goes first, Farkle always goes first!"

Jon walked closer to the boy to look him up and down. "Stuart Minkus' kid?"

"Yeah."

"Super genius?"

Mr. Matthews nodded. "Out of this world."

"Real human boy?"

"We're not sure yet."

The Superintendent looked back at the teen. "Sit down."

"I'll make the presentation," Lucas volunteered, standing up as he spoke.

"You like this teacher?"

Lucas glanced between the two. "I like both of these teachers."

"Are you familiar with the material?" Jon inquired.

"Me? No, I never saw this thing before," he tried to deny. "I never saw this thing before in my life." Then, he sighed and admitted, "yeah, I read it. I read it, actually, a lot."

"Thanks for telling the truth," Jon quipped.

He returned to his seat, dejected. "Yeah, I can't help myself."

"Now, I prefer someone who is unfamiliar with the material." The older man told them as he paced around the room, stopping in front of Maya's desk. "Someone who is notoriously unteachable."

She looked up from where she'd been playing with the ends of her hair. "How you doin'?"

He gestured for her to come up to the front of the room. Riley hopped to her feet to follow her but was stopped by her father. "Not you, Riley."

Before the brunette could protest, Harper spoke up: "if I may make a suggestion of my own, Mr. Turner?" He nodded at her to continue. "Miya, would you aid Maya in her explanation?"

Although the Asian girl agreed, that didn't keep Riley from joining them. Harper didn't object and merely stated, "I hope you learned something, girls."

"I learn something all the time," Riley answered.

"I come here because my apartment leaks," Maya explained with false brightness in her tone.

"I come here because my friends are here," Miya added, earning an 'aw' from the Matthews girl.

"C'mere." Harper wiggled her finger at the blonde.

"Yes?"

Their teacher spoke in a low voice as she whispered, "I know you just say this stuff. I know you're a lot smarter than you want us to know."

Maya looked around at the other students, whose gazes were on them. Then she turned back to the older woman and put a finger to her lips. "Shhh!"

"We got this."

"I hope so," Cory told his daughter. "Our future's in your hands."

Riley spoke first: "in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns the keyword is dark. He doesn't write heroes or villains that you are used to. You have to really think about what's right and what's wrong."

"The pictures make you work, too," Maya continued. "You have to look up, down, across, and sideways, but I believe he's trying to get us to look at what our own world has become. Up, down, across, and sideways."

"The story asks us to question what's fair and what's not, no matter how hard it is to face," Miya went next. "It forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about our world. It's not just about black-and-white thinking with straightforward heroes and villains; it's about right and wrong in people's hearts. It asks us to think about the decisions we make and how they impact others, even when it's hard to admit we might be wrong."

"Heroes that should be friends with a common goal, fight each other instead," Riley picked up their narrative again.

Farkle stood so he could include his own thoughts. "One hero was trying to inspire his old friend to take a look at the world and realized that it's changed. So, he needed to change, too."

Once he returned to his seat, Lucas chimed in: "but he wouldn't, so he fought against him. Which was hard to look at, because the world is dark enough and heroes are supposed to bring light."

Riley smiled at him for his contribution. "Everyone in this room knows that someone with real power doesn't need to hit a kid with a ruler to get the kid to want to learn."

"Because this is a new world, and we don't do that here. Frank Miller turned a comic book into. . . what's the word?" Maya trailed off, feigning ignorance.

Harper gave her a stern look. "You know the word."

"Literature," Maya finished. "And Harper here, like Miya told us, is named after someone who gave us a great story."

"Which her father taught her to appreciate, and it means everything to her that her father taught her," Riley concluded as she walked towards her own father. "She's taught me so much already."

Jon looked impressed. "You did that in two days?"

Harper laughed at his reaction. "They're smarter than they want us to know."

The Superintendent pointed at her in awe. "She did that in two days! Shape up, Matthews."

"Yes, sir."

"Jon, comic books are against school policy," Yancy restated insistently.

Jon simply arched a brow at him. "Yeah, and you can hit a kid with a ruler in nineteen states." His tone became friendlier as he walked over to his old student. "Hey, Matthews, I know it was you that chose Harper for these kids. Is that because maybe she, uh. . . reminded you of someone?"

"No," Mr. Matthews responded flatly.

"Okay."

🌎🌎🌎

To celebrate their victory over keeping Harper as their English teacher, Riley invited Maya and Miya over for dinner with her Uncle Jon. As the Asian girl sat at the Matthews' table, she couldn't help but smile at the friends she'd grown closer to in just her first few months of going to an American school; she had more friends here than she'd ever made in England, and the best part was that they cared about her— even their parents.

Next to her, Auggie was looking curiously at the Superintendent. "He was one of your teachers, mommy?"

"Yeah, Mr. Turner helped me learn everything I know," she told him.

Auggie's eyes widened. "She knows everything."

"I know."

Then the younger boy glanced over at his father. "Was my daddy a good student?"

Unwilling to break the news to the kid, Jon answered tactfully, "he was a wonderful student."

Topanga's eyes narrowed. "Why would you lie to my kid?"

"He tried his best," he amended.

She pointed her fork at him threateningly and repeated, "why would you lie to my kid?"

Mr. Turner sighed and finally spoke the truth: "he was so bad, he became a teacher so he could go back to school again."

"And you really taught my mom, too?" Miya asked interestedly.

"Yep. At the risk of my own wellbeing, she gave your mom a run for her money," Jon directed the last part in Auggie's direction.

"Don't lie to my kid, Jon," the brunette warned him again. "I'll rethink your visitation rights."

The Superintendent merely shook his head. "You can't deny that truth, Topanga."

Topanga didn't protest, but she pouted into her mashed potatoes. Miya spoke up once more, asking the question she really wanted to know the answer to: "and were my mom and Shawn as close as everyone says they were?"

"Oh, yeah," Jon replied with a nod. "She was the only reason he passed high school; they were thick as thieves, those two. They even got into fights together."

Miya's brows furrowed. "They fought a lot?" That would explain their eventual break-up, she reasoned.

But Jon corrected her: "not with each other. If Shawn got in a fight with someone, your mom would be there to back him up."

That made the younger girl even more confused, unable to picture her mom beating someone up. "That doesn't seem like her."

"Trust me, it happened. She hit a kid with a book when he was ragging on Shawn's dad," Jon explained.

Miya's eyes lit up with the realization as she chuckled. "Now that sounds like her." Her amusement faded as she thought about how it was between her mom and Shawn now. "If their friendship was as good as everyone said it was, how did things get so messed up? Shouldn't their friendship have been strong enough to withstand anything?"

"Well," Topanga remarked in a deceptively gentle voice, "they're idiots." Then, her tone took on a triumphant note as she added: "and that's why I'm smarter than Juliet!"

"Topanga," Cory reprimanded his wife.

Topanga gave her husband a pointed look, jabbing her fork in the air for emphasis. "What? It's true! Juliet's brilliant, sure, but she's got the emotional awareness of a rock when it comes to Shawn."

"It's not her fault," Miya felt the need to defend her mother. "Shawn was the one who hurt her. But. . . I think she's finally moving past that. I just want her to be happy."

Jon softened as Miya spoke. He leaned forward slightly, his tone steady but kind. "Your mom and Shawn— they've both been through a lot. Sometimes, people let their pasts get in the way of what they really want."

"But the past has a funny thing of coming back around to show you how much you've grown since you last encountered it," Cory noted. "That's what helps us keep from repeating the same mistakes."

A/n: I know there wasn't much of a romance focus in this chapter, but I included it to show character building and come back around to Miya's dyslexia, which I want to be a prevalent part of her story. So I'm sorry if it wasn't super interesting, but I can promise the next chapter will be! There's going to be some real movement on the Miya/Farkle front. :)