Friend Power

by Disney Book Group

  “I’m out. I’m out like a light,” Riley swore, even though failure was not an option.

  “Okay.” Maya nodded wearily and looked at Mr. Matthews, who was pointing at his plate and counting. “What’s he doin’?”

  “He loves his tots,” Riley whispered.

  “Eight, nine, ten.” Mr. Matthews’s face clouded over with confusion. “Ten tots. Auggie, how many you got?”

  “Twelve!” Auggie declared, holding one up like a tiny trophy.

  “Gimme.” Mr. Matthews reached out for the golden morsel.

  “Do I have to?” Auggie complained, hesitating before finally agreeing to pass it down the table to his father.

  Riley knew the whole thing must have looked weird to an outside observer, but it had been a completely normal part of the potato tot dining experience for as long as she could remember. “He counts the tots on everybody’s plate to make sure nobody gets more than him,” she explained to Maya.

  “That’s not what I do!” Mr. Matthews insisted, then launched into a lecture that made sense to nobody but him. “I know one thing for sure about life. Ten tots are one tot too little, and twelve tots are one tot too much.”

  Maya elbowed her best friend. “Watch this, Riley,” she whispered before turning to Riley’s dad. “Mr. Matthews, you’re lookin’ good. Are you wearing your hair different?”

  Mrs. Matthews wrinkled her nose as she looked at her husband. “How would that be possible?”

  “Thank you, Maya.” Mr. Matthews beamed with pride, ignoring his wife’s question and laughing with a hint of false modesty as he pretended to pat down his dark curls without actually touching them. “Lotta work. This doesn’t just happen.”

  As Mr. Matthews spoke, Maya’s hand darted over and snagged a tot from his plate, then swiftly plunked it down in front of Riley. Nobody at the table seemed to notice the crime that had occurred—nobody, that is, except Riley, whose eyes grew wide with horror as she stared down at the pilfered potato. The longer Riley stared at it, the more the tot seemed to take on a life of its own. Then she would have sworn she could hear the sound of creepy organ music playing as the tot appeared to sprout a pair of eyes!

  “What’s the matter with Riley?” Auggie asked when he heard his sister gasp and caught the look of terror on her face.

  “I don’t know, Auggie,” Maya replied innocently, turning to look at her friend. “Riley, is there something wrong?”

  “Yuh-huh.” Riley nodded dizzily while staring at the tater face.

  Suddenly, the tot grew, until it was almost as big as Riley’s head! Her guilty conscience had taken on the form of a giant talking potato tot. Sure, it was crazy, but it seemed very real to Riley.

  “Boom boom,” the giant tot jeered, echoing the sound of her frantic heartbeat.

  Riley recoiled in fear, nearly falling backward off the bench. “You know what? I’m not really hungry,” she announced, motioning to the freakish food on her plate. “Does anybody else want this?”

  “No, Riley. It’s yours. Eat it,” Maya said tersely, then lowered her voice to a growl and repeated with a menacing grin, “Eaaat iiiit.” To her, it just looked like a normal tot.

  Riley couldn’t possibly eat that…that…thing! But she knew she had to. This was her trial run. She had to pass the test!

  “What happens if I eat you?” Riley whispered so only the giant tot could hear her.

  “Oh. I become part of your soul and haunt you forever…ever…ever.…” The scary spud’s words echoed loudly in Riley’s ears as it quickly, and kindly, added, “Enjoy me. They tell me I’m delicious!”

  Riley’s stomach was in knots. This wasn’t going well at all.

  “Riley, are you going to eat this, or are you not going?” Maya demanded.

  “I’m going!” Riley insisted as Maya picked up the tot—which had miraculously returned to its former size—and shoved it into Riley’s mouth.

  “Swallow it,” Maya commanded, holding Riley’s head to make sure the whole thing went down.

  But as soon as the tot began its descent, Riley was certain she heard it calling out to her: “Here I go. Wheeeee!”

  Well, at least the tot sounded happy about the situation. That had to count for something, didn’t it? Maybe it was just a matter of Riley’s controlling her conscience rather than her conscience’s controlling her!

  Although her stomach wasn’t feeling completely settled, Riley was proud of herself for triumphing in the potato tot trial run. The taste of victory was so sweet that it almost completely masked the guilt she expected to feel. Sitting there next to Maya in the bay window of her bedroom, she was certain she could pass the next test, too.

  “So I’m in, right?” Riley asked eagerly.

  “Yes,” Maya grumbled.

  “Squeee!” Riley cheered.

  “All right, first thing we’re gonna need is another Riley.” Maya jumped up and marched to Riley’s bed.

  “Why?” Riley asked.

  “Your parents are going to open the door to check on you, and it needs to look like you’re in here,” Maya explained as she pulled back the comforter and arranged the big purple pillows in a line before covering them back up.

  Seriously? That was Maya’s master plan for getting away with the major stunt they were about to attempt?

  “Maya! How could it possibly happen where anyone would ever believe that was actually me under the covers? I mean, who would be dumb enough to fall for—” Riley stopped short, stunned by what Maya had just done. There was definitely somebody in Riley’s bed now. It was incredible. So lifelike. It really was another Riley! “How did I get over there?”

  Maya shrugged with a self-congratulatory grin. “’Cause I’m the best there is at what I do.”

  Riley stepped a bit closer to the bed, still marveling at Maya’s convincing work. “Night night, fake Riley,” she said softly to the line of pillows. “I was once as innocent as you. But now all I have to do is climb out that window and then I am just like this wicked woman over here.” Riley flung an arm around Maya’s shoulders and gave her a giant guilt-free hug.

  “Riley, if you just let it happen, there’s a chance we can actually get away with this,” Maya informed her.

  “Right. Sure. I’m letting it happen.” Riley rubbed her hands together, feeling more confident with each passing second. “First time I ever tried something like this and I am going to get away with it. Y’know why? Because I, like you, have no conscience!”

  “Great. Let’s go.” Maya turned away from Riley and headed out the window.

  But before Riley could follow, the giant tot was back. It was sitting right there on the window ledge, staring at her with those creepy eyes!

  “Boom boom,” declared the tot, sounding less like a heart beating and more like a heart…bleating.

  This time, however, it was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared. Was it possible that Riley’s conscience had disappeared with it? Could she really be exactly like Maya?

  “Okay. This is going to be an interesting night,” Riley noted as she switched off the light and climbed out the window. It was time for the real test—no more trial runs—and she was determined to pass.

  Before she knew it, Riley was following Maya through the halls of a giant building at NYU. New York University! She felt so tiny—like Alice in Wonderland after swallowing the “Drink Me” potion—as she looked at all the big college students milling around in their big clothes with their big backpacks and big lives. She became positively dizzy as she and Maya wandered past the walls plastered with flyers advertising lectures and tutoring and parties and fund-raisers.

  “I can’t believe I snuck out the window,” Riley marveled. “I’ve never been to a college. They’re gonna know I don’t belong here.”

  “Don’t talk,” Maya scolded her. “Just act like you fit in.”

  Riley pressed her lips together, eager to obey Maya’s orders. But telling Riley not to talk was like telling her not to breathe. “I wanna ta
lk so bad!” she finally blurted out.

  “You don’t know what to say,” Maya reminded her. “You’ve never been to a college before.”

  Oh. Right. Riley nodded and tried to focus on the letters of a poster but impulsively shouted out, “Beat Notre Dame!”

  “Yeeeeaaaahhhh!” roared a group of giant guys in NYU sweatshirts and jackets as they rushed over and hoisted Riley onto their shoulders. Then they whooped and carried her down the hall like a championship trophy.

  For a fleeting moment, Riley felt like she actually did fit in! But that sense of belonging promptly turned into a sense of terror. “Mayyyaaaaa!” she screamed.

  “Give her back,” Maya called after them.

  Fortunately, the NYU jocks were good listeners. They turned right around and set Riley down in the same spot where they’d found her, then cheered and hollered as they raced out of the building.

  “See you at the game, boys!” Riley shouted, beaming with pride and waving a newly acquired NYU pennant.

  “Riley—” Maya sighed.

  “If you talk here, they pick you up and they carry you!” Riley exclaimed, noticing a sudden shift taking place, almost like she and Maya were swapping identities.

  “That’s ridiculous,” Maya replied sensibly.

  “Oh, yeah?” Riley knew what she was talking about. She knew exactly how this whole college thing worked now. Because she was letting it happen. To prove it to Maya, she looked at another sign stuck to a bulletin board and proclaimed, “Gamma Gamma Nu!”

  A group of girls in bright pink tees and sweatshirts emblazoned with Greek letters raced over, then squealed as they picked up Riley and carried her off.

  “Give her back,” Maya called after them wearily.

  The sorority girls were good listeners, too.

  “I just pledged!” Riley told Maya, tugging at the collar of her bright yellow sweater to show her friend the shiny star-shaped pin she’d just received. “I don’t want to wait for college to be real. I’m staying!”

  Maya rolled her eyes and stared down the hall but then quickly looked back at Riley. “We’re leaving,” she said softly.

  “Why?” Riley asked. How could Maya want to leave? College was the most magical place ever!

  “I got here too late,” Maya explained, glancing back down the hall, where laughter could be heard coming from an open doorway.

  Right inside the door, Riley saw her uncle Josh sitting on a bed next to a girl with rosy cheeks and long, wavy brown hair. She wore a red hooded sweater. Straining to hear their conversation, Riley could just make out what Josh was saying.

  “So, how long did it take for you guys to feel comfortable here?” he asked the girl.

  “It’s about the people you meet, really,” she replied with a confident smile.

  Josh smiled back and extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “You too.” The girl grinned, taking his hand and shaking it.

  Out in the hall, Riley could practically hear Maya’s heart breaking.

  “How did I think I could ever compete with them?” Maya frowned.

  But Riley knew exactly what to do. “Maya, a Gamma Gamma girl does not let her sister give up at the first sign of trouble.”

  “You’re not a Gamma Gamma girl!” Maya fired back as a perky brunette in a tight pink shirt and an extremely short miniskirt rushed over.

  “Ri-Ri, you totally ditched us!” The girl pouted.

  “I’m dealing with some stuff, Harriet,” Riley replied firmly.

  The girl was undeterred. Her whole face lit up as she looked at Riley and said, “I shouldn’t tell you this, but you were already voted best friend to have.”

  What?! Riley could hardly believe her ears. “I thought Gretchen had that!”

  “Nope! You!” Harriet pointed at Riley and then flung open her arms. “Gamma song?”

  “Of course Gamma song!” Riley agreed—and with that, she and Harriet launched into the routine her new sisters had been amazed to see her pick up so quickly, singing:

  We are the sisters of Gamma Gamma Nu.

  We are humble but we’re better than you.

  We help people everywhere

  But we still love our hair, ’cause we’re Gamma Gamma Nu!

  Then, for the grand finale—Riley’s favorite part—she and Harriet both flipped their hair, extended their arms, and insisted, with exaggerated humility, “Stop it!”

  “That’s ours!” Maya yelled when she saw the familiar hair-flip-stop-it move.

  “Grow up,” Riley shot back without skipping a beat. This whole take-charge, girl-in-control thing was kind of exhilarating.

  “I’m leaving.” Maya scowled and tried to dart away.

  “You’re not.” Riley grabbed Maya’s shoulders in an attempt to both stop her and shake some sense into her.

  “Riley, how do I even begin to compete with those girls in there?” Maya whimpered, motioning to the dorm room where Josh was hanging out with his new friends.

  Inside, Riley could hear another guy saying, “See, Josh? Nothing to worry about at all. You’re gonna fit right in here.”

  “Yeah, you’ve got new friends already, and a new life waiting as soon as you get here,” agreed the rosy-cheeked girl.

  Each happy word they said about Josh’s future life with them seemed to send a tiny dagger into Maya’s heart. “Yeah, he’s gone,” she told Riley. “Please take me home.”

  But Riley wasn’t going to let her best friend give up that easily. “Bold women make bold choices,” she insisted.

  Maya shook her head at Riley, her blue eyes tearing up. “What does that even mean?”

  “It’s a Gamma thing,” Riley explained. “It’s what we say right before we shove a sister into a bold choice.”

  With that, Riley grabbed Maya by the shoulders again, spun her around, and pushed her directly into the dorm room. Even the look of utter shock that flashed across Josh’s face couldn’t discourage Riley. Not only was she letting things happen and getting away with it, as Maya had advised her; she was making things happen and getting away with it. So long, conscience—hello, college!

  Back at the Matthews apartment, Auggie couldn’t fall asleep—and anytime that happened, all he wanted to do was snuggle up in bed with his big sister.

  “Riley,” he whispered, tiptoeing into her bedroom and softly closing the door behind him. “Can I sleep with you tonight?”

  Auggie continued to creep to the bed. “You’re not saying no?” he whispered with hopeful glee. “Does that mean yes?”

  Finally, he climbed up and smiled at the figure in the bed. “Good night.”

  Reaching over to give Riley a hug, Auggie immediately sensed that something was very, very wrong. That wasn’t Riley! She was too soft. Too fluffy. He pounced on the figure in the bed and pulled back the covers to discover nothing but a giant line of pillows.

  “Uh-oh, Riley’s being a bad girl,” he said, clucking, as someone knocked on the door.

  Auggie put the covers back over fake Riley just in time.

  “Auggie, what are you doing in here?” asked Mrs. Matthews when she saw her little boy, still awake, sitting on the bed.

  “I’m sleeping over at Riley’s,” he explained sweetly. “We love each other.”

  “Is that okay with Riley?” Mrs. Matthews asked, leaning into the room and looking at the figure in the bed. “Riley?”

  “Shhh, Mommy,” Auggie whispered, holding a finger up to his lips. “She’s really sleepy.”

  Mrs. Matthews smiled proudly at her son. “Aren’t you just the best little brother?”

  “You have no idea,” Auggie replied with a wide Cheshire cat grin. “G’night.”

  “Good night,” Mrs. Matthews replied, waving to her little boy and gently closing the door.

  With his mom safely out of earshot, Auggie turned back to look down at fake Riley. “I own you now!” he proclaimed before leaping onto the pile of pillows and rolling around giddily.

  Of
course, falling asleep was going to be even more impossible now. Auggie could hardly contain his excitement, thinking about all the things he might do to make his sister repay him for the secret he’d kept for her. The way he saw it, Riley’s being bad was going to equal a whole lot of good—for him, anyway.

  As Riley and Maya stood in the doorway of the dorm room, Riley’s eyes widened in amazement. It was kind of like her room, but even cooler—with a big round green rug on the floor, strings of little fairy lights stretching across the ceiling, and artsy posters and family photos adorning the walls.

  But Josh’s eyes were wide with a different kind of amazement. “Maya? Riley?” he said, getting up from the bed.

  “You know these girls, Josh?” asked a big muscular guy who was on the other bed across the room. He stood up and smiled warmly at Maya and Riley. “How ya doin’?”

  Before Riley could respond, Maya blurted out, “We’re in middle school.”

  The guy leapt backward. “Ho! They can’t be here, Josh!”

  “No kidding,” Josh agreed, taking a step toward the girls. He addressed his niece. “Riley. What are you thinking? You have to go.”

  But once again, Maya spoke up first. “You’re right, Josh,” she said solemnly. “We’re sorry. This was a bad idea.”

  Maya grabbed Riley by the arm and tried to lead her out of the room, but before they could make it to the door, the girl with the wavy brown hair stopped them. “Wait. Intrigued.” She pushed Josh out of the way so he fell back onto the bed. “Maya? What was your bad idea?”

  Maya looked at the girl and tried to explain. “He’s her uncle Josh. I call him Uncle Boing, because look at him.”

  “She made me sneak out a window to come here,” Riley said, continuing the story. “That’s how much she likes him. Because she was afraid that you guys were witches and you would steal him from her.”

  On the bed, poor Josh, who was clearly mortified, planted his face in his palms.

  “They’re not witches, Riley,” Maya acknowledged softly. “They’re girls who don’t live at home anymore and know a lot more than we do.”