[rileyjsmith]

T I S H A . . .

Tisha didn’t exactly know why she was invited to the wedding; in fact it seemed very much like publicity of some kind for the Mayor. But she attended anyway. Any excuse really to be able to dress up and be out among people. Not that she was stuck at home and away from people often, she just liked to feel other’s energy. 

The ceremony had been beautiful and the Mayor and his new wife had looked so happy and in love. Tisha wanted that for herself one day. For now though, she was content to slip away from her table and head for the bar. She leant against it, giving the bartender a serene smile. “Mineral water, please,” she asked of him. She didn’t drink alcohol. She turned then, while she waited, smiling at the person next to her.

“It was a lovely wedding, don’t you think?”

( @mapleviewstarters​ )

         THE BAR WAS THE LAST PLACE RILEY EXPECTED TO END UP. the sheltered boy had never been much of a smoker or a drinker, but here he was, drinking some sort of concoction the bartender assured him would loosen him up enough to be social ( and eliminate the throbbing headache he’d acquired after five minutes of the reception playlist ). “it is lovely.” he hopes his lie isn’t obvious to the other, he doesn’t want them to know he’s having regret about showing up. “but whoever made the playlist deserves twenty five to life.” a joke. maybe.

[rileyjsmith]

         “FUCK.” there was way too many people maneuvering a path to the cocktail bar now that the reception had started. though the ceremony is without a doubt the most important part of a wedding, the afterparty is where the real fun is at. or so he’s been told. so far though? riley isn’t much of a fan. anything with a large crowd is enough to turn him off, but he’s been trying to be less of a hermit and more of a social guy. “am i the only one who’s actually surprised this many people showed up?” underestimated would be an understatement to describe riley’s expectations for how this wedding would turn out. ( @penabrams​ )

[rileyjsmith]

         “TELL ME — DO ALL MAPLEVIEW WEDDINGS INCLUDE THE CHICKEN DANCE?” if there was anything about mayor levi’s wedding that would stand out in riley’s memory as the years pass, it would have to be the disaster of a playlist for the reception. he can’t imagine anyone being eccentric enough ( and that’s putting it nicely ) other than mayor levi, who would willingly put their guests through such a chaotic experience. ( @ophliasfm​ )

[rileyjsmith]

          “THERE YOU ARE.” the sigh of relief country boy riley j lets out is more than satisfactory when scanning brown eyes finally land on his intended target. weddings weren’t really his scene, he’d never been to one, actually, and for his first to be mayor levi’s — he chalks it up to bad luck. “if i had to stand alone mysteriously in the back for another thirty minutes i just might have died.” though he’s joking, he knows savannah is aware of his obvious social anxieties and the trouble he has even just showing up to these kinds of events. truth be told, he’s only here because of her, the one person he can’t seem to stop stepping out of his comfort zone for. ( @savannahraes )

[rileyjsmith]

S A V A N N A H . . .

savannah can’t help but absolutely marvel at the truck. she knew how long and how hard he worked for it and she still couldn’t believe her eyes. “ri, oh my gosh, you didn’t. she’s a beauty.” the brunette gushed excitedly. “there’s no one more deserving, really. you earned this.”

           BESIDES HIS MA AND GRANDPARENTS, HE KNEW HE COULD COUNT ON SAVANNAH TO BE HAPPY FOR HIM. “i would’ve told you what i was up to but i wanted to see your reaction.” he laughs. “what do you think about the color? i wanted black but the dark blue was the only one left, i think it’s growing on me.”

[rileyjsmith]

Z O E Y . . .

THE  brunette  whistled  as  she  approached  riley,  eyeing  the  truck  in  front  of  them,  “it  looks  cool,  dude.”  she  nodded,  glancing  at  him  with  a  hand  on  her  hip,  “when  did  you  get  it?”

              “I LITERALLY JUST DROVE OFF THE LOT WITH IT.” riley says while hopping out of the front seat, the keys nestled in the palm of his hand. “you wanna go for a ride?”

[rileyjsmith]

T E D D Y . . .

lou knew JACKSHIT about cars, she’d tried the whole driving thing but after failing her test so many times, she gave up on it. nose wrinkled as she gave a shrug of her shoulders, “the real question is…how fast does it go?”

           RILEY CHUCKLES AT HER QUESTION, WONDERING ABOUT THE ANSWER BEFORE FLASHING HER A SMILE. “i dunno.” a pause as he holds up the keys in front of his face. “do you wanna find out?” he’d been racing cars in the back roads of mapleview since he was sixteen.   

[rileyjsmith]

N I C O L E . . .

      “she looks great, yeah.” nicole nodded towards the other with a smile on her face. “my car’s on it’s last leg, has been for the past two years, so this one blows him out of the park.” her sister had named her car herbie so it was too late to change it now. it had been her second car and she was still driving it. “

            RILEY HAD BEEN LONG OVERDUE FOR HIS OWN VEHICLE. he felt bad always going back and forth borrowing his grandfather’s ‘98 chevy, having something he could call his own after eight months of hard work and dedication to the cattle barn, felt amazing. “this’ll be my first truck, it took me a lot of hard work but i can finally afford to make payments on it.”  

[rileyjsmith]

J A S M I N E . . . 

          jasmine  was  no  expert  on  vehicles  ,  especially  when  she  had  a  six  year  old  car  of  her  own  which  she’d  bought  haphazardly  but  she  could  see  the  new  truck  .  and  it  was  clear  it  was  new  .  “  sure  ,  i  like  that  it’s  blue  ,  can’t  say  i’ve  seen  many  blue  pickup  trucks  .  bet  it  cost  a  fortune  though  .  does  it  have  that  new  smell  inside  ?  ”

            BEING THAT THE CAR WAS BRAND NEW, IT HAD COST HIM AN AWFUL LOT. he’d saved up just enough for a nice sized down payment, the rest he would pay off monthly. “at first i didn’t like the blue that much but, it’s starting to grow on me more by the minute.” he laughs, opening up the door of the truck closest to jasmine, inviting her to see for herself. “it smells like black ice air freshener because i hung up a bunch of those tree shaped scents that people hang on their mirrors, sorry.” 

[rileyjsmith]

O L I V I A . . . 

                critically eyeing up the sign she put up in front of her  pastry  shop just moments ago , the blonde sipped on her morning veggie smoothie  (  although disgusting , very healthy ) , her hand on her growing belly before her attention was stolen by riley’s new car.  “ wow , look at you , “  liv commented with an instant smile ,  g e n u i n e l y   happy for the male as she stepped forward .  “ it looks great , especially that dark blue color , it’s gorgeous , “  she continued , her blue orbs scanning over the car before it landed on her half-finished smoothie.  “ i need to throw this away before i throw up , “  her quick change of subject came unintentionally  random  , searching for the close by garbage can to dispose of it before turning to face him once more.  “ - now , where was i ?  oh , congrats on your new car ! “   

          THOUGH AT FIRST RILEY HAD HIS HEART SET ON A BLACK TRUCK, THE DARK BLUE WAS REALLY STARTING TO GROW ON HIM. “i was really bummed at first when they only had dark blue in stock down at the dealership but now that it’s been a few hours, i really am starting to like the blue more than i thought i would.” he’s never had much to call his own, growing up in mapleview taught him to truly enjoy the things he did have, never too picky, always grateful. riley watches as she gets rid of her smoothie, he wonders what flavor it must’ve been for her to have thrown it away without finishing it. “thank you! but i’m actually more interested in talking about what kind of pastry’s you have today?”

[rileyjsmith]

B R I E L L E . . . 

“Uh, sure?” Brielle had never really been much of a car person, she didn’t know much about them or what constituted a good one. “I mean, it’s a truck. It looks really nice.” She took a step closer, leaning over a little bit to really get a good look at it. “I don’t know if I really like the color but it’s not my opinion that matters. All that matters is that you like it.” She paused, straightening back up to look at him. “You do like it, right?”

           RILEY HAD ALWAYS PICTURED HIS FIRST TRUCK AS BLACK, MAYBE SILVER BUT, DARK BLUE WAS THE CLOSEST THE DEALERSHIP HAD IN STOCK AND RILEY WASN’T TOO PICKY. “i wanted black or silver but, dark blue is all they had and honestly i’m just happy i own it at all.” he’s always enjoyed having nice things but never been materialistic. “it just feels good to know i won’t have to use my grandpa’s to go back and forth through town.”

[rileyjsmith]

@mapleviewstarters​

            EIGHT MONTHS OF SAVINGS AND HERE WE ARE. a brand new dark blue pickup truck. if riley were being honest with himself, he thought he’d never save up enough on his own. at least not in the amount of time it took him. he’s impressed with himself and also over the moon with joy. “d’ya like it? it’s brand new.”

[rileyjsmith]

P E N E L O P E . . .

it  was  after  three  pm  ,  which  for  penelope  meant  that  her  day  at  the  preschool  was  over  and  the  little  boys  and  girls  had  been  returned  to  their  moms  and  dads  .  on  a  normal  day  ,  she’d  go  straight  home  and  check  on  the  pets  but  today  was  different  .  she  wanted  to  go  on  a  walk  ,  she  loved  walking  through  main  street  and  seeing  the  groups  of  people  leaving  shops  talking  .  it  felt  like  home  ,  one  of  the  things  she  first  noticed  when  moving  to  mapleview  .  there  was  no  way  she’d  go  by  herself  though  ,  with  cooper  on  his  leash  walking  along  side  her  and  ringo  in  her  purse  pocket  -  she  had  all  the  company  she  needed  . however  ,  she  decided  to  opt  out  of  bringing  john  lennon  in  her  water  bottle  this  time  .  ❝  hey  ,  i’m  sorry  about  cooper  he  still  thinks  he’s  a  puppy  .  probably  doesn’t  help  that  i  baby  him  .  ❞  penelope  remarked  in  reference  to  their  white  fluffy  contonese  dog  ,  who  was  getting  a  little  too  excited  at  almost  everyone  who  walked  by  . @mapleviewstarters​

             AFTER A LONG DAY AT THE CATTLE BARN, RILEY DECIDED TO TAKE A WALK AROUND TOWN. walks were something he did frequently. not only did he enjoy the fresh air and scenery, but it was also therapeutic, a way to let his mind wind down for the day, to let go of any anxieties he may be feeling. as he loops around the block, riley is intrigued by a white fluffy dog who has taken interest in him. a smile as he reaches down to pet him. riley has a full sized golden retrieve named buddy that’s been his grandpa’s dog since he first arrived in mapleview at the age of nine. “no worries here, i work with animals all day, he’s no bother.” he pauses for a moment “what kind of dog is he?” 

[rileyjsmith]

A D R I E N . . .

“it’s so funny meeting my old teachers at the health center,” says adrien. “i talked about a prophylactic salpingooophorectomy to my old language teacher and she looked so shocked when she realized i used to be the kid who apparently couldn’t spell ‘fascinating’ when i was ten.” he shrugged. adrien was always smarter than people assumed, just lazy. “try saying that five times fast, though. prophylactic salpingooophorectomy.” || @mapleviewstarters​

“so what exactly is a prophylactic salpingooophorectomy?”

[rileyjsmith]

A M A N I . . .

“You know, those so-called great minds like Plato and Socrates hated poetry. But now poetry is seen as the stuff of intellectuals and academics,” said Amani. “Books like ‘Pride and Prejudice’ were branded as frivolous. In modern times, they’re highbrow.” With a brilliant smile, the woman said, “All I’m saying is, anyone who thinks video games are ruining their kids will probably be eating their words in the decades to come. I know this is a small town with shoddy Internet, but I’ll always be pro-video games.” || @mapleviewstarters​

           RILEY TRIES TO RELATE TO WHAT AMANI IS SAYING, BUT HAS A BIT OF TROUBLE SINCE HE’S NOT MUCH OF A VIDEO GAME TYPE OF GUY. he’d much rather be doing something physical like, feeding the cattle, taking a walk in the park, even exercise, but video games? he wasn’t very experienced in those. mostly because his grandparent never had computers or fancy gaming systems around the house when he came to mapleview for the first time to live with them when he was twelve. “i totally get where you’re going with this but i have to admit i’ve never really played many video games.” he shrugs. “what kinds do you play? you seem into the topic.”

[rileyjsmith]

A T T I C U S . . .

it’s not until atticus has a jam-packed that he realises just how much he needs the time to recoup for the working week. the camping trip may have given him a chance to get back in touch with nature more than normal, see a couple of people maybe; however he now feels a tad out of whack. “ definitely not bad at all. ” he’s quick to respond, shaking his head to emphasise his words. “ i don’t think camping is for everyone, nor is the mass-social gathering so don’t feel bad about being relieved it’s over. i am certainly am. i could’ve done without the rendition of copacabana. ”

            AFTER THE CAMPING TRIP, RILEY STILL CAN’T STAND EVEN THE MENTION OF COPACABANA. a small chuckle escapes his lips as he tries not to let the sound of mayor levi’s singing voice echo through his mind yet again. “maybe i wouldn’t have been so opposed to it had he not sang that damn song every hour on the clock.” an over exaggeration of course but he’s sure anyone who was present, too felt like it was never ending. “mass social gatherings have never been my thing either, so, guess it’s not surprising i didn’t enjoy it all that much.”

[rileyjsmith]

M A T T H E W . . .

Matthew was pretty well acquainted with most of the other farms in the area.  Though he made his living as a carpenter and a handyman, he owned a small farm and raised and grew all the food he ate in an effort to be as self-sufficient as his family had been when he was growing up in the Amish community, and only sold off what he couldn’t finish himself.  Even so, a lot of the people in the field knew each other and Matthew found that he liked Riley.  “I don’t think so.  I didn’t go, I was going to but I got bitten by a raccoon the other day, long story, and I had to stay close to the hospital just incase I started foaming at the mouth, or whatever happens after raccoons bite you.  They said I could stay home, but I don’t think I’ll get out of whatever the next one is.  I’m sure some people  love them, but I need to be able to go home at night and recharge my batteries a little.” 

          THE OTHER FARMERS AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE NO STRANGERS TO RILEY AND HIS GRANDPARENTS. though riley hasn’t lived here his whole life, his grandfather was a mapleview native born and raised, so, when riley and his ma moved to mapleview and his grandpa took him under his wing, he met and learned a lot from the other farming families in town. he considered himself closer to them than he’s ever been with any of the other townsfolk. “a raccoon? wow, that sounds intense. did you have to get a shit ton of rabies shots for precaution? i always heard they have to give you like, ten shots in your stomach or something like that.” though he’s not sure if it’s just an old wives tail his grandma would say when he’d try to catch wild squirrels to feed as a young boy. “the next one?” riley hadn’t even thought about what the next kooky event the mayor would try to drum up. “doesn’’t he have something more important to do than plan town fieldtrips like we’re in the fifth grade again?”