Sophie's Different (James Madison Series Book 3)

by Patrick Hodges

  I nodded, breaking into a small grin. “Mmm hmm,” I said, swallowing. “Turns out Simon's pretty cool. He's got some really awesome Iron Man and Incredible Hulk comics he's gonna loan me.”

  “That's nice.”

  Before I could say anything else, a loud groan emerged from the guest room and wafted into the kitchen. Ron was waking up from his nap. This was followed by a loud, obnoxious belch.

  He let himself off early today, and when I opened the front door of my house I was greeted by a blonde girl in her early twenties, doing up the buttons on her blouse while slipping her feet into her low-heeled shoes. We didn't exchange words, but I did notice a nametag tilting to one side with the words “SALES ASSOCIATE” above the word “Bambi” on it. Well, that clears up who the Bambi on Ron's phone is. Ron was dozing in his bed in the guest room, and I spent the next hour in my room trying not to imagine what just took place under my own roof.

  “Mom, seriously?” I asked, trying my best to look as disgusted as I felt.

  She just stared at her salad, avoiding my gaze. “I know, sweetheart, I know.”

  I leaned toward her. “Mom, let's just get an apartment, okay? I don't even care how small it is, anything's better than living with this a-hole.”

  She gave me a stern look. “Ayden, watch your language!”

  I leaned back, my face reddening, but I wasn't going to be deterred. “We don't need him, Mom. You make good tips, we can afford an apartment. It would be so much better than living in a half-empty house, where …” I trailed off, suddenly afraid of what was going to come out of my mouth next.

  Her stern look morphed into one of resigned sadness. “Where what? Go on, you can say it.” Before I could reply, she continued, “Where all the bad stuff happened.”

  I averted my gaze, staring at my plate again. “Yeah,” I said sheepishly.

  “Ayden,” she said softly, and I could hear her emotions churning their way to the surface. “This is your home. This is our home. We can't lose it.”

  I reached over and gently put my hand on hers. “Mom …” A tear formed at the corner of my own eye. This was not a conversation I wanted to have, but it had been coming for months. She needed to hear it, and there was no one left to say it but me. “Dad's gone. He's not coming back.”

  She dropped her fork on the table with a clang. “You don't know that!”

  “It's been two years, Mom,” I said, the tear slicing its way down my cheek. “He's gone. Kim's gone.”

  “Please, Ayden …”

  “This isn't a home, Mom,” I persisted, “it's just a house. We can live somewhere else, and not have to deal with …” I paused as yet another belch reverberated down the hall, “… that. All we need is you and me.”

  “Ayden,” Mom whispered, and I saw nothing but exhaustion and sadness in her eyes. “Ron's been good to us.”

  “Mom –”

  “No!” She pounded her fist on the table, making the plates rattle. After a second, she calmed down and picked up her fork again. “Eat your dinner, sweetheart. I don't want to hear another word about this.”

  Ron appeared in the doorway, his hair disheveled as usual. He was wearing only a pair of dirty cargo shorts, his gut hanging over the waistband.

  Fighting off a wave of nausea at the sight of him, I picked up my slice of Hawaiian again and took a bite, noticing how cold and tasteless it seemed now.

  Before he could speak or sit down, Ron's cell phone rang. Digging it out of his pocket, he checked the caller ID, answered it and put it up to his ear, turning his back on us like we weren't even there. “Yeah, Ray, what is it?”

  After a brief pause, he added, “Nah, it all went great. Right on schedule.” Another pause. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, Ray, I'll settle up with you in the morning. See ya then.” Then he ended the call and put the phone back in his pocket.

  Ron grabbed a clean plate from the dish-rack and plopped himself down in an empty chair with a self-satisfied thump. In one motion, he opened the pizza box and pulled the last three slices onto the plate. Looking at his dinner, he glanced at Mom with a disapproving sneer. “Jeez, Colleen, Hawaiian? Really?” One at a time, he plucked the small chunks of pineapple from his pizza and threw them back into the empty box. “It ain't American to put fruit on a pizza. Must have been some foreign dumbass who invented it.”

  My God, what an idiot. Feeling confident after my conversation with Sophie, I piped up, “Um … you do know that Hawaii is part of America, right?” I flashed a mischievous grin.

  “Yeah, whatever. It ain't a part I'm ever going to, that's for sure.” He opened his mouth and crammed a hunk of his now-fruitless pizza into it.

  I looked over at Mom, who didn't speak. She forked another bite of her salad into her mouth, determined not to get into another pointless discussion.

  After swallowing his first mouthful, Ron smiled at me, obviously in a better mood than usual. “So … how was school today, Hayden?”

  At that moment, I could only wonder if the rust-bucket's trunk was big enough to hide Ron's freshly-murdered corpse.

  Chapter 10

  ~ Day 19 (Fri.) ~

  SOPHIE

  I spent most of last night in my room. Dad asked me at dinner if my classmates were ready to nominate me for Miss Teen USA or something like that – Dad was so clueless sometimes – and Mom asked me if Drew had complimented me on my new look. I told her and Kirsten that Drew was all oohs and aahs when I sat down next to him. Which was the truth. But I left out all the other stuff I learned after school, and when I told them I needed to be in my room all night studying for a test, they didn't question it.

  Well, in truth, I actually did have a test today, but I didn't need the whole evening to study for it. I spent an hour in my closet, screaming into my pillow, having finally realized just how much boys suck.

  The next hour I spent in front of my bedroom mirror, staring at my reflection. I told myself repeatedly that I'd gotten a makeover for me and not for stupid, lying, horn-dog Drew, until I'd finally convinced myself of it. And the hour after that I spent lying on my bed, wondering what the hell I was going to do next.

  Mom told me this morning that the rainy season would be starting any day, so I should start wearing a rain jacket to school, just in case. I threw on an old, worn lavender hoodie Eve gave me before she started college, and a quick look in the mirror confirmed that my hair was still as perfect as it had been all week. Mission accomplished.

  I left the house with a steely resolve to do … well, something. I had no idea what, but there was no way I was going to be a pawn in Alexis and Drew's stupid, asinine game anymore. No way. This ends today.

  * * *

  First-period P.E. this week was five straight days of three-on-three. There were six basketball hoops in the gym, and both Coach Randall and the boys' P.E. teacher, Coach Weiss, stood on their respective ends of the building, scrutinizing the boys and the girls as we tried our best not to make fools of ourselves.

  We were allowed to pick our own teams, so Michelle and I teamed up with a girl named Siobhan. She was incredibly friendly, and had more energy than any three people I'd ever met. Born in Phoenix to Irish parents, she was always the first to sign up for whatever theatrical thing her class or the school was putting on. I'd seen her act a few times, since attending all school plays was mandatory, and she was really good, no matter who or what she was playing. She nailed her performance as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz last winter, and as Laurey in Oklahoma! this past spring. All week long, she'd gone on and on about how excited she was about trying out for this semester's big production, whatever it was. They were going to make the announcement today.

  “Guys, I'm telling you, you should totally try out!” she said as we changed back into our regular clothes. Her energy was so infectious, it was hard not to smile. “I'm telling you, there's just nothing like getting on a stage and performing!” Shell and I learned this week that Siobhan tended to say “I'm telling you” a lot more than the average person.


  I'd tried for days to politely inform her that I wasn't into acting – my life had more than enough drama already. And besides, acting usually meant singing, and I was so not going to do that. But at this point, I was seriously considering auditioning just to shut Siobhan up. Finally, I relented. “Fine, fine, I'll think about it, okay?!” I bellowed, throwing my hands up.

  “Great!” Siobhan squeaked, beaming. “Michelle?”

  “Um, sure …”

  “Super!” she said, pulling her sweatshirt on over her head. “As soon as I get a hold of the script, I'll come find you! OhmyGodit'sgonnabesoawesomeyou'regonnaloveit!” And then, just like that, she was out the door of the gym's locker room in a puff of excitement.

  Michelle turned to look at me. “That girl seriously needs to cut down on the five-hour energy drinks.”

  “No kidding,” I replied.

  “Do you really want to be in the school play?”

  I considered the question. Marissa confessed to both of us at lunch yesterday that she was going to try out after all. She really wanted to land a big role, but didn't want to put herself through the audition process unless we were there with her.

  “Not really, Shell, but Riss asked us to be there for her, so I will. Anyway, who knows? Even if we don't get a part, it might be fun to audition, depending on what play it is.”

  “Mmm hmm,” she murmured in assent, and then we both walked out of the locker room.

  As we emerged onto the gym floor, heading for the main exit, we heard a scuffle coming from our right. We turned and saw Zach Cavanaugh pushing someone up against the retractable bleachers, but we couldn't see who it was.

  I didn't really know Zach, and I'd never talked to him. All I knew about him was that he was one of Drew's jock buds, a bully, and one of the biggest jerks in our class. As we got closer, I could see that his current victim was Ayden's friend, Simon Kirby. It looked like Zach was pressing his arm into Simon's chest so hard, it was causing Simon to cough.

  “You got that, you little frog?” Zach was snarling. “You better keep your stupid mouth shut, or you won't live to see graduation, you hear me?”

  “Can't … breathe,” Simon choked out. “I have … asthma.”

  “That's right, so remember that the next time you think about narking on me.”

  I stopped about ten feet away, but Michelle just kept on walking. “Shell!” I whispered, but it was loud enough for Zach to hear.

  He turned around to face the two of us. “Get lost, losers.”

  Michelle took another step forward, stopping at arm's length. “Let him go, jerkface.”

  “Shell, what are you doing?” I whispered before realizing it was pointless keeping my voice down.

  But she wasn't listening. She just stared right into Zach's eyes. “I said, let him go.”

  Zach retracted his arms, and Simon slid to the ground, still coughing. Zach turned to face Michelle full-on. “I don't hit girls,” he said, clenching his fists. “But then, you're so ugly, you don't even qualify as a girl. So –”

  He reached out to Michelle, who, moving faster than I'd ever seen anyone move, grabbed Zach by the arm with both her hands, and gave it a violent twist. Within seconds, Zach was on his knees, his face contorted in pain as Michelle held him in an unbreakable vice-grip.

  “Owww! Let go, let go, let go!” he cried.

  “What's the matter, Zach? Something wrong with your arm?” She gave it another twist, causing Zach to whimper in pain.

  “Stop!” he yelled. “That hurts!”

  Michelle used her head to gesture at Simon. “Look at him.”

  He just stared up at her. “What?”

  “Look at him!”

  Reluctantly, he turned his head to look at Simon, who was gawking in amazement at this bizarre turn of events.

  “Now, say you're sorry,” Michelle instructed, twisting Zach's arm even more, her face sporting an almost imperceptible smile.

  “I'm sorry!” Zach whimpered. “I'm sorry!”

  “Good.” Michelle smiled, releasing Zach's arm. He cradled it against his body, staring in shock at her. “Make you a deal, sponge-brain: you be a good boy from now on, and we won't tell everyone in school you got your butt kicked by a girl. How's that sound?”

  Still wincing in pain, he looked at all three of us, one by one, before nodding and running full-speed out the exit.

  I just stood, shocked, staring at my best friend. I'd never seen this side of Michelle before. Not even close. She'd always struck me as someone who let all of life's bad stuff just slide off her, but apparently I was wrong. She was a badass.

  She reached her hand out to Simon, who was still sitting on the ground. His breathing had finally returned to normal. Taking her hand, he was able to get back on his feet. Looking Michelle in the eye, he could only croak out a soft, “Th-thank you.”

  “Are you okay?”

  He nodded. “I think so. That was … incredible.”

  “Thanks.” She flashed a toothy grin. “I've wanted to do that for a long time. If he bothers you again, let me know, okay? I'll put him in a body cast.” She gestured to me. “This is Sophie, by the way.”

  “Hi, Sophie,” he said, nodding his head in a very gentlemanly manner.

  “Hi, Simon.” To Michelle I said, “You've been holding out on me, girlfriend! That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life!”

  “Yeah,” she said, mock-innocently. “I've … um, been taking karate lessons.”

  I did my best to look annoyed. “And you were planning on telling me when?”

  Her face reddened. “Would you believe me if I said 'today'?”

  I cocked my eyebrow. “Not for a minute.”

  Then, she broke out laughing. I soon followed. Simon, not quite in on the conversation, simply smiled. “Um … do you girls mind if I walk with you to your next class?” He gave Michelle a puppy-dog look.

  “I don't mind.” Michelle smiled as well, and the three of us left the gym together.

  * * *

  It was hard to get my mind back on my own situation after witnessing Michelle's epic win, but when I walked into Science class to find Drew sitting at our table, my laser-focus returned. He gave me his most charming smile as I sat down, but I knew better now. I'm immune to that smile. Let him try to fool the next girl into thinking he's a good guy.

  I dug out my textbook, notebook and pens, preparing for the day's lecture without even so much as a glance at him. I knew he wasn't going to stand for being ignored by someone like me, and a few seconds later, he asked in his most soothing voice, “Sophie, what's wrong?”

  I didn't respond: I simply stared straight ahead of me, watching the spot where Mr. Tolliver would be giving his lecture in a matter of minutes, humming quietly to myself. Off to the left, I saw Kayla turn around to look at me, and we locked eyes. She saw the determined frown on my face, and gave an almost imperceptible nod, which I returned.

  “Sophie, what's going on?” Drew asked. I didn't answer. I just hummed a little bit louder.

  On the other side of the classroom, I saw Rhianna staring at me. In the past, I was always the first to look away when she gave me her gargoyle-like sneer, but this time, I stared right back at her, looking as pissed-off as possible, unwilling to be the one to break eye contact. After a staring contest that lasted about thirty seconds, she rolled her eyes and turned back to face front. Victory is mine, witch.

  Drew tried over and over to get me to talk to him during the lecture, and I could tell it was driving him crazy. He just didn't get it. But he would.

  Very soon.

  * * *

  Marissa's jaw dropped after I told her about Michelle's mad ninja skills, and Michelle had barely sat down at the lunch-table when Riss turned to her and said, “Okay, spill it.”

  “What?” she replied.

  “You beat up Zach Cavanaugh?” I'd never seen Marissa look so amazed.

  Michelle nodded. Her face reddened, as if she was embarrassed by the whol
e event, but her body language told me she was actually proud of what she'd done. So was I.

  “Wow,” Marissa said. “I always thought you were, like, all about communing with nature and world peace and stuff.”

  “Oh, I am. But sometimes even nature has its thorns.” Turning to me, she said, “Any news on the Drew front?”

  I nodded. “As a matter of fact, there is. You won't believe what I found out yesterday.”

  “What?” they said in unison.

  “Well,” I began, “first, let me tell you, this came from a very reliable source who has the inside track on this information. And I can't tell you who right now, so you're just going to have to trust me.”

  Riss and Michelle were almost on the edge of their seats, ready to sop up any information I was about to give them. But I had to make sure Ayden's part in this fiasco would remain a secret. I owed him that much.

  “I was a fool,” I continued. “Drew is not to be trusted under any circumstances. He's been using me the whole time, partly to get back at Alexis, and partly because he wanted to see how far he could 'get' with me. He's a total jerkwad, and he uses girls to impress his jerkwad friends. I was just the latest stupid girl to fall for his eyes and pretty face.”

  Michelle's face fell. “My God, Soph, I'm so sorry. You must feel awful.”

  “I did,” I said through gritted teeth. “Now I'm just really, really pissed off.”

  My friends' eyes went wide, as if they could read my mind. Marissa nodded her approval, but Michelle looked concerned. “What are you gonna do?”

  Glancing over at the Coven's table, I could see them cackling like the witches they were. I finished off my sandwich, and then stood up. “I'm ending this sick little game. Right now.”

  I walked purposefully toward Alexis's table. They hadn't noticed me yet. With every step, anger grew inside me as I replayed every disgusting rumor Janette told me about. I heard every horrible thing they said when Drew dumped Alexis. By the time I reached their table, I was sure my eyes were glowing red.

  As one, they all looked up and stared at me. I briefly locked eyes with Kayla, who was sitting on the end of the table, and, anticipating the oncoming storm, she stood and backed away a few paces.