Sophie's Different (James Madison Series Book 3)

by Patrick Hodges

  We stood outside his next classroom, our eyes locked on each other. Sensing my turmoil, he put his hand on my shoulder. “I'm sorry you had to hear that.”

  My body tingled at his touch, but all I could think about was what I'd just witnessed. “Thank you, Drew. No one's ever stuck up for me like that before.”

  He didn't reply; he just smiled his amazing smile. Finally, he released me. “Have a good weekend, Sophie. See you on Monday.”

  “Okay,” I said, an awkward smile appearing on my face. “See ya.”

  With a wink, he turned and walked into the classroom.

  * * *

  After sixth period ended, I practically sprinted down the stairs and into the girls' locker building. I had to get in and out of there before Alexis or any of her crew could ambush me. I was so nervous, however, my fingers were fumbling as I tried to remember my combination. I tried once, twice, three times, but no luck.

  “Dammit!” I cried. Finally, in frustration, I set my backpack down, opened the outer pocket, and dug out the piece of paper I wrote the combination on. Mentally kicking myself, I then proceeded to open my locker and get all the books I needed this weekend from it. I'd just replaced the lock and locked it when I heard a voice behind me.

  “You're either really brave or just plain crazy.”

  I whipped around, expecting to find the Coven lined up behind me, ready to cast whatever evil hex they'd cooked up over their cafeteria hamburgers on me. Instead, I found myself facing only one person. It was a girl, a couple inches taller than me, with really cool clothes and a very pretty round face. Kayla Fanning.

  With her short pixie-cut hairdo, she looked like the actress who played Alice in the Twilight movies, except her jet-black hair had some really cool-looking dark blue highlights in it. If I wasn't so afraid of the rest of her social circle, I probably would've taken the time to compliment her on her wardrobe. As it was, all I wanted was to run to the school bus as fast as I could.

  “What?” I frantically scanned the area for signs of Alexis or Rhianna, finding nothing.

  Sensing my terror, she took two steps forward until she was standing right in front of me. My eyes were drawn to her expression, which, again, was not one of hostility or contempt, but of concern. “It's okay, Sophie.”

  “What's okay?”

  “I'm not here to make trouble for you.”

  Huh? What is going ON here? “But you …”

  “Am not what I appear to be,” she said, finishing my sentence.

  Before I could respond, I heard Alexis's voice coming up the sidewalk. She was heading right for us.

  Kayla heard her too. “We'll talk later,” she said. She then put her hands on my shoulders, spun me around, and shoved me toward the opposite exit.

  My poor brain couldn't take anymore. Without another word, I booked it as fast as I could toward the ugly, ancient yellow chariot that would take me away from this madhouse.

  * * *

  Later that evening, I spent an hour in my room, trying to process everything that happened to me today. So many things had taken place that only a short time ago I would've thought were impossible.

  Taking care not to fluster myself, I set my train of thought in motion, walking in circles around my room as I worked it all out.

  Okay. So Drew broke up with Alexis. He did it in public, in front of everyone. There's no way they could both have been faking that. It was real. I don't know why he broke it off, but I'm sure he had his reasons, and it looks like I'm one of those reasons. He faced down the Coven, told Alexis off, and then walked away with ME, hand-in-hand.

  Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay now. We held hands. That does NOT mean we're boyfriend and girlfriend. We're barely even friends, if you think about it. All we've really done is talk science. That's it.

  But then there's Ayden's warning, which just refuses to stop nagging at me. Drew hadn't given me a reason not to trust him. But Ayden seemed so … insistent.

  Maybe Drew's not interested in me for anything but my ability to help him in Science class. I'm sure he's probably got another girl waiting in line for him. There's no way I could compete with them. I'm not in their league. I'm just plain Sophie.

  But he said I was pretty. Not once, but twice. He didn't have to say it at all, but he did.

  I removed my glasses. I had to get close to the mirror so I could see myself clearly enough. I moved even closer, taking notice of my own face, staring at it in a way I never had before.

  What does Drew see in me that I don't?

  Am I pretty?

  No, I'm not.

  But … maybe …

  I COULD be.

  I came to a decision.

  I descended the stairs to the kitchen, where Mom was just putting dinner into the oven. “Hey, sweetie,” she said as she closed the oven door.

  I didn't respond. I just stared at her until she finally straightened up and met my gaze.

  Seeing the resolute look on my face, her brow furrowed. “What is it, Sophie?”

  “Mom … can I get a makeover?”

  “A makeover?” she echoed, her eyebrows rising.

  “Yeah, you know … a new hairstyle, a facial, a manicure …”

  “I know what a makeover is, sweetheart.” She leaned on the kitchen counter, giving me a knowing look. “What's his name?”

  My stomach dropped. “What?” I averted my gaze, only to realize I'd just given myself away. I felt my face flush.

  “No girl asks for a makeover unless there's a boy involved.” She cracked a wry smile. “So what's his name?”

  Dang. She got me.

  I looked at my feet, my face now going so red I was afraid it would burst into flames. “Drew.”

  “So, you want all these things so you can look … pretty for Drew. Is that about right?” Her smile grew.

  I saw it, and I matched it with one of my own. “Uh huh.”

  “Anything else you need?”

  “Well, since you asked … how about contact lenses?”

  She studied my face for a few moments, and then nodded. She took a seat at the kitchen table, and motioned for me to take the one next to her, which I did. “Okay, sweetie. But I want you to ask yourself a serious question.”

  “I'm listening,” I said, trying to sound grown-up.

  “Why are you doing this?” She leaned forward. “Your life does not revolve around what boys think of you. I'm not saying you're not going to spend the rest of your life trying to look good for one boy or another, because you will, but I want you to be clear on something.”

  Suddenly I felt a little embarrassed, because it sounded like she was going to try to talk me out of it. “What's that?”

  Her gaze was serious as she looked at me, maybe for the first time, as an adult and not a little girl. “You need to make sure you're doing this for you, and not some boy who may or may not appreciate what you're about to do just to make him notice you. I'm looking at a girl who is beautiful just the way she is. And honestly, this guy Drew? If he doesn't think you're good enough for him as you are right now, then he's not good enough for you, ever. Understand?”

  I nodded. “I think so, Mom.”

  “If you still want a makeover, then I'll make us an appointment.” She leaned back in her chair.

  “'Us'?”

  A motherly grin broke out on her face. “Well, yeah, you don't think I'm going to let you have all the fun, do you? We'll do it right: hair, nails, facials, the whole shebang. Then we'll go see the optometrist about contacts. It's time you had your eyes checked, anyway.”

  Then she stood up, walking around the kitchen like a runway model … a runway model wearing an apron that bore the words “I'd tell you the recipe, but then I'd have to kill you.” She reached the far end of the room and whirled around with a flourish, striking a dramatic pose. I couldn't help but giggle a little.

  I love my mom.

  * * *

  Dad had a rare Friday off today, and he spent the day doing some much-needed yardwork.
Now he was dozing peacefully in front of the TV, while Mom was catching up on some paperwork in her office.

  I was heading for my room when I overheard Kirsten's voice coming from her bedroom. It sounded like she was on her cellphone. Her door was slightly ajar, and I was about to knock when I heard her say, “When can you get it?”

  I paused, my fist mere inches from the door. Who can she be talking to? I looked in, and saw her sitting at her desk, staring at her laptop.

  “Come on, Duncan! I really need it! Trigonometry is kicking my ass right now!” I was surprised by the stress lacing her voice.

  My God. She's struggling? She's never struggled before! And is this “Duncan” the same guy she told me about on the first day of school?

  “What?” she continued. “No, they don't know about it. That's why I need this from you. I need to get my grade up before they find out.” She paused briefly. “Thanks, D. I owe you one. What?” Another pause. “Yeah, tomorrow sounds great. Westridge at noon. You got it. See you there.” And then, through the crack in her door, I saw her end the call.

  I'm not liking the sound of this. At all. I rapped on the door, startling Kirsten.

  She turned around and saw me. “Soph, you scared me!”

  “Sorry. Can I come in?”

  “Sure.”

  I entered and sat down on her bed. I could see the worry on her face, and I could tell she was wondering how much I'd overheard.

  “So,” she said nonchalantly, “I hear you're getting a makeover tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, I am.”

  “Say no more. What's Mr. Perfect's name?”

  I did a double-take. “Not you too!”

  “Hey, it happens to every girl.” She notched her eyebrows. “Some guy comes along that makes her want to glamorize herself. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

  “I guess.” This was not what I wanted to talk about right now, though. “Kirsten … is everything okay? At school?”

  Her smile vanished, replaced by a look of fear. “Were you listening at the door?”

  “Only for a second. Are you having trouble?”

  She stood up quickly, crossing the room and sitting down next to me. “Soph, please don't tell Mom or Dad this, okay?”

  Her face bore so much stress that I suddenly became frightened. “Um, okay.”

  She sighed. “I … failed my first two trig tests. I'm just trying to get some help.”

  “From this Duncan guy? Who is he?”

  “He's … just a guy. We kinda … like each other.”

  “So how is he helping you?”

  She fidgeted nervously. “He, uh, has a friend who took the course last year. Duncan says he took lots of great notes. I told him to ask his friend if he could get his notebooks.”

  I stared into my sister's eyes. She was definitely struggling, but I got the sense she wasn't telling me the whole story. But we'd never hidden anything from each other our entire lives, so I accepted it. “Maybe I could borrow that notebook too. You know, just so I know what I'm getting into next year.”

  She smiled and nodded. “I'll see what I can do.”

  “Everything else okay, Kirsten?”

  “Yeah, Soph, everything's fine. I can't wait to see the 'new you'.”

  I exhaled. She'd deftly changed the subject, but I didn't want to push it. “Me too. Drew's gonna be so amazed.”

  A superior look crept over her face. “Drew, huh? Sounds like a cutie.”

  “Oh, he is. He's, like, the hottest guy in school. And he's my lab partner.”

  “Nice. Wouldn't it be something if two members of this family ended up with their Science-class lab partners?”

  I thought about Eve, and how, back when I was in second grade, she and Joshua turned their association as lab partners into a fairy-tale romance, a love story that was still going strong six years later.

  “Yeah,” I said, lost in yet another mental image of Drew's smile. “Wouldn't that be something?”

  Chapter 8

  ~ Day 16 (Tue.) ~

  SOPHIE

  Wow. Is that ME?

  On Saturday, Mom and I spent the entire morning at her favorite beauty salon. We got the royal treatment, which was exhausting, but definitely worth it. And Mom had also been lucky enough to get me an appointment with my optometrist right after school on Monday. The exam went smoothly, and the doctor just happened to have a pair of lenses in my prescription in stock.

  This morning, I put on just a touch of lipstick and some blush, a fashionable pink top and some new designer jeans, and now …

  Instead of being held together by clips, barrettes, or rubber bands, my blonde hair flowed in gorgeous layers like a hay-colored river down just past my shoulders. The unruliest of my eyebrow hairs had been unceremoniously plucked, and what remained now arched proudly over my ocean-blue eyes. Eyes no longer imprisoned behind eyeglasses for the first time since I was six.

  My God. That IS me. For the first time in my life, I'm … beautiful!

  Catching myself, I shook my head vigorously. “Jeez, get a hold of yourself. It's just a makeover. I'm still just plain Sophie on the inside.”

  * * *

  I sat on the curb, waiting for the bus, humming “Walking on Sunshine” to myself. I tried to imagine how Drew would react when he saw the new me for the first time, and I practiced what I would say when he complimented me on my new look. I wondered if he would ask me out on a date, and if I would actually have the courage to accept without fainting.

  The school bus appeared, groaning its way down the road. Before it pulled up to our stop, however, I noticed a boy on a bike, standing motionless, right across the street, staring at me. Ayden.

  Even from this distance, I could see the surprise on his face. He was clearly shocked by how I looked now. Before I could discern any more, however, the bus braked to a halt right between us. I climbed aboard and took my seat. By the time I looked out the window, scanning the street for him, he was gone. During that brief moment of eye contact, I couldn't help but think he looked … disappointed.

  * * *

  When I walked into Science class, I was disheartened to see Drew wasn't there. However, I'd gotten several compliments on my new look from random classmates, and yet another blistering glare from Alexis, which was a bonus. I'd actually had the nerve to smile back at her, which made her even angrier. Screw her.

  Pulling my science book out, I bent over to put my backpack under my chair. As I did, I felt someone walk by and heard the faint sound of something being placed on my work-table. Straightening up, I saw Kayla take her seat, three tables up from me. On my table was a small, folded note. I grabbed it and held it in my lap, looking around to make sure no one saw. I unfolded it, and read the brief message:

  WE NEED TO TALK. RECESS TODAY. LIBRARY. ALONE. KF

  * * *

  Marissa and Michelle had been very complimentary of the results of my makeover on Monday, and they'd gushed and fawned over me today when I sat down at the table in the cafeteria. I showed them Kayla's note, and they were as puzzled as I was. Marissa suggested that it could be a trap, but my instincts were telling me otherwise.

  It took me a while to locate Kayla in the library. She was sitting inconspicuously in the far corner, lounging on one of the beanbag chairs. As I approached, she guardedly waved for me to sit down on the floor, so I leaned back against the nearest bookcase, facing her.

  She made another furtive scan of the library, and then turned to me. “Thanks for coming. Love the new look, by the way.”

  Sharing her need for secrecy, I whispered, “Uh, thanks. What'd you want to see me about?”

  “Alexis.”

  I sighed. “Let me guess, she hates me. I already knew that.”

  She held her hands up. “Look, Sophie, I'm taking a big risk, meeting you here. But this is important.”

  “Yeah, I figured, that's why I came. So, what's so important? I've caught you staring at me from time to time. Why? You're Alexis's BFF, what do you even care what h
appens to me anyway? For all I know, you helped her spread all those horrible rumors about me.”

  She looked me dead in the eyes, and I could swear she looked hurt by the suggestion. “None of that was me, I swear. It was all Alexis and Rhianna and Lacey Ratface.”

  “Okay, I'm sorry. So what do you want from me, Kayla?”

  “To help you.” She sighed. “I've been trying to help you this whole time. Guess I've been doing a pretty crappy job so far.”

  “Help me? How?”

  “The rumors, for one thing,” she replied. “Every time Rhianna made up something new and nasty for Alexis to spread around, I tried telling people they weren't true.”

  “Rhianna?”

  “Yeah. She's the brains of the operation, didn't you know that? She's the puppet-master. Every horrible thing Alexis did came from Rhianna's twisted mind.”

  I blinked over and over again. “All of it?”

  “Every last one.”

  “I always thought it was Alexis …”

  She scoffed. “Alexis is an idiot. If that girl ever had an original thought, it would die of loneliness.”

  I gave a small chuckle, but immediately became serious again. “Why are you telling me this?”

  She pulled her knees up to her chin, and buried her head in them. I heard her take several deep breaths before replying. “Because I hate their guts, that's why. But I hate myself more than anything, what I became.”

  I sensed nothing but sincerity in Kayla's voice, and at that moment, I felt sorry for her. I picked myself up off the ground, moving over to sit right beside her. “You want to talk about it?”

  She looked up and faced me. “Why would you want to talk to me? I'm the enemy, right?”

  I smiled. “Not anymore, you're not. And besides, I think you're being honest with me.”

  A grin cracked through her sad expression. “Thanks, Sophie.”

  “I have to ask … if you hate them so much, why do you hang out with them?”