An Ear to Lend

five

Sophie arrived back from school to find that Aunt Bev wasn't home yet. She was grateful for the time to herself after such a grueling day.

Being the new girl wasn't easy, especially as a senior. Her day had quickly turned from a simple morning to a more complicated and trying afternoon.

Sophie rested back onto her bed and let all of her thoughts from the day wash over her.

Firstly, she'd gotten her schedule change, so that was good. Now she wouldn't have class with that Kurt guy anymore. She was truly puzzled after his outburst at her. But it didn't matter how cute he was if he was going to act like that.

Sophie had landed in quite a few classes where the teacher asked her to introduce herself. After a minute of mumbling about being from New York and enjoying piano and playing tennis, Sophie would fall silent until she was dismissed to her seat. She hated every minute of it.

Lunch had presented its own challenge. Sophie had no idea where she would sit. She gripped her lunch tray tightly as she began to wander through the cafeteria tables, unsure where to sit.

"Hey!" a cheery voice rang out behind her. She turned around. A stunning blonde-haired girl with gorgeous curls and aqua eyes trotted up to her—no doubt a feat in her three inch heels. She looked like a model. "You're, like, new here, right?" she asked.

"Yeah," Sophie answered lamely, wondering why this girl was speaking to her.

"I'm Lydia," the girl introduced herself. "And I think you should sit with me and my friends at lunch today."

"Oh, okay," Sophie agreed.  "Thank you." She was just grateful to have a place to sit. She followed the girl back to her table, where several other very pretty girls were also sitting. These were the most popular kids, Sophie realized. Her old school had been to small to really have cliques, but Sophie had always wondered where she'd fit in if she'd gone to a bigger school. She'd never have predicted that it would be with the popular kids!

She tried to play it cool as she took a seat at the table.

"I love your sweater!" a girl with cropped brown hair told her. "I'm Allison, by the way."

"Thank you," answered Sophie. The other four girls at the table introduced themselves but Sophie hadn't retained all of their names on her busy first day.

Sophie quietly ate her food while the other girls chatted, mostly about boys.

Sophie's mind shuffled back to that morning and she suddenly pictured Kurt. She wondered if he had lunch now. She took a quick sweeping glance around the cafeteria.

She spotted him, finally, at a table near the windows, sitting with a few other misfit-looking kids. They all had shabby clothes and unkept hair. Sophie made sure not to stare. She didn't want him to notice her—he might yell at her again.

She wasn't sure how she felt about that group of kids. She hadn't been raised to be judgmental, but she also had never been around kids like that. Sophie had a certain amount of curiosity, despite her hesitation.

"Sophie?" Lydia interrupted Sophie's thoughts. "Where did you move here from?"

"New York," Sophie answered.

"Oh my God, like, New York City?" Lydia demanded.

"No, no," Sophie chuckled. Everyone always thought that. "I'm from upstate New York. I lived in a little town like this."

"Oh," Lydia answered. "Aberdeen sucks. I can't wait to get out of here and go to college."

"Yeah," Sophie answered. She wasn't sure she liked Aberdeen, and she certainly had no idea what she was doing about college yet.

"So, why'd you move?" Allison asked. Sophie froze. She couldn't speak the words out loud without crying. She swallowed.

"I—um—I moved in with my aunt who lives out here," she answered vaguely. "My aunt is awesome," she added. It was true.

"Cool," answered Allison, without asking anymore questions. Sophie was grateful.  The lunch period was nearing its end.

"Well, Sophie," said Lydia, turning to her and placing her hand on her arm. "We really liked having you sit with us, and so we'd like to invite you to sit with us every day."

"Okay, thanks," answered Sophie, relieved that she'd at least have some acquaintances. The bell rang and Sophie tossed her trash before heading off to her chemistry class.

Back at home, on her bed, Sophie let out a sigh. She wasn't sure what to make of being included with the popular kids. She wasn't sure she fit in with them. What if she really fit in with Kurt and his weird friends? That couldn't be, she figured.

School had been so exhausting she nearly felt that she could fall asleep. She had just about dozed off when the phone rang, causing her to jump. She reached for the phone that was on her bedside table.

"Hello?"

"Hi sweetheart. How was your first day?" Aunt Bev's kind voice filled Sophie's ear.

"It was alright," Sophie answered honestly. "I made a few friends," she added, knowing it would make her aunt feel better.

"Well that's great," answered Aunt Bev. "I'm just about to leave the office now. I thought I'd swing by the house and pick you up, and we can go have dinner to celebrate your first day."

"Okay, that sounds good," agreed Sophie. Her stomach suddenly growled and dinner sounded excellent.

"Great. It's your choice where we go. Think about it while I drive home."

"Okay," answered Sophie.

"Alright. See you soon. Love you."

"Love you too." Sophie hung up the phone and forced herself to get up from her comfy bed. She needed to be ready for when Aunt Bev got home and she didn't want to look like the exhausted mess she felt like.

Touching up the light makeup on her face, she stared in the mirror. Her eyes had dark circles and her skin looked sallow in the harsh bathroom light. Whatever Lydia and the popular girls saw in her, she surely didn't see it in herself. It would probably only be a matter of time before they realized she wasn't one of them.

Then she'd probably end up with those weird misfit kids that kept popping up in her mind.