The Ecstatic Life Of Sofia

Chapter Twelve: School

Sofia thanked Brad for taking her to the store, but he insisted on making sure she got home alright. He walked her to her apartment and asked if she needed anything, she said no and said he could leave comfortably, that she was alive and would stay alive. Sofia sat down and marvelled at how far Brad had come. Literally a couple of months ago he had hit on every girl he saw, he thought being the mayors son made him better than everyone, and thought no one deserved any of his attention, much less his friendship. Now he had friends, waited in lines, paid for things, and hardly hit on girls and when he did, he did it fully intending to start a real relationship.

Sofia got up and began to straighten things up in the apartment. After awhile she regretted asking Brad to go, but she'd be damned if she would ask him over now. Instead Sofia decided to go for a walk. She found herself near the park and wanting to visit the bench to think. She turned towards it, but her phone buzzed before she could take a step. She looked down at the screen that read Mom. She looked at it for a moment before she turned it on silent, she wasn't ready for this conversation. She walked on past the park and soon found herself in the town center, the sun was beginning to set. She looked at the fountain in the very center. She walked to it and took a seat on one of the surrounding benches. She leaned back and fell into a sort of dream like state, she was in deep thought and wasn't quite sure what she was thinking about. Eventually she snapped back to reality and realized where her thoughts had been.

Sofia glanced around, it was dark and she had been sitting there staring at the fountain for awhile. She got up and yawned, she began the walk back to her house. She felt oddly uncomfortable like she was being followed, she hurried herself along and by the time she arrived home, she was in a full sprint. She raced up the stairs to the third floor and slammed her apartment door behind her. She locked it and sat on her bed breathing hard. She was sure someone had been following her, but now that seemed ridiculous to her.

The next month or so were the same for Sofia, she explored town and made friends. Anthony remained indifferent to her, everytime he began to grow closer to her, Brad showed up and all of a sudden it was fighting and arguing, so eventually Sofia just gave up. Sofia continued to believe that someone was following her, but she could never find enough evidence to talk to anyone about it.

Sofia arrived early at the inn and helped Mrs. Sala in the garden. She was expecting her schedule of classes for her first semester at the University soon.

After a few minutes Anthony appeared in the back doorway. "Miss Evans, can I see you for a moment?"

Sofia stared at him. "Yeah." She rubbed her hands together to get rid of excess dirt. She walked into the house where Anthony was waiting for her. "What can I do for you Mr. Sala?" She emphasized the formality he had used earlier with her.

He glared at her. "I have your schedule." He held out an envelope. "I'll see you next week. Do not be late."

Sofia looked down at the envelope then at Anthony who had already turned to face his laptop. "Well I'll be seeing you around here too."

He sighed and looked up at her. "No, you will not. I'm leaving tonight I only spent part of the summer here because my parents asked me, but when school starts up I need my full attention on that."

Sofia frowned at him. "See you Monday." She turned back to the backyard and left him staring after her.

When classes begun Sofia still came to see Mr. and Mrs. Sala a lot, but she saw that while she was making them happy for the company she also made them sad by showing Anthony probably did have time to see them. She couldn't decide whether she should keep making time for them or act like she had none. She decided to keep spending time with them. After her mornings there, Brad would pick her, Sara, and Sydney up and they'd drive to school together despite the fact that Sofia told them she could drive herself and save time. She and Brad had Psychology together Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It was obvious that Anthony, the professor, disliked Sofia, but he disliked Brad much much more.

Sofia looked at Brad with pity as he scrambled through his notes looking for an answer to the Professor's question.

"Crap." Brad mumbled under his breath.

Sala glared at him. "Mr. Garnett your notes do you no good if you are not organized." Sala continued to lecture, but Sofia was more worried with the look on Brad's face. Brad's hands balled into fists. He gathered his stuff and began to head for the door. Sofia's arm went out. "If you leave I don't think he'll want you to come back."

Brad turned to look at her, then at Sala who kept his eyes on him, almost challenging him as he lectured. Brad looked once again at Sofia's imploring face, then sighed and sat back down. He opened his notebook and began to take notes again. Sala paused in his lecture as though surprised, but almost immediately continued.

"Class you're dismissed, except Miss Evans."

Sofia gathered her stuff and walked to Anthony's desk. "Yes Mr. Sala?"

Anthony sighed. "Miss Evans I've noticed you seem to have an acceptable attention span and magically know answers to my questions despite you weren't listening." Sofia's smile faded. "Don't think I don't notice you and that boy back there chatting it up! And, let me tell you this... if it doesn't stop I will not put up with your presence in my class."

Sofia was completely caught off guard, her mind raced for something to say. "I'm sorry Mr. Sala." Sofia wasn't even sure what she was saying at this point she listened to herself as you listen to a stranger.

Sala glared at her. "Your apologies don't mean anything to me. Don't let it happen again."

Sofia turned and walked out.

Outside Brad was waiting along with Sara and Sydney. They all gave her a questioning look, but it disappeared with the face she had.

Brad laughed uneasily. "So what did the professor from hell want?"

Sofia looked at him and her expression was replaced with a smile. "Nothing."

The twins gave her a worried expression while Brad just looked curious. "Nothing? Are you sure?"

Sofia continued to smile. "What's not to be sure about? He told me he thought I was doing good and to make sure I paid attention in class."

Brad raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Sofia nodded. "So what do you guys want to do tomorrow?"

Sara and Sydney seemed satisfied by the answers Sofia had given. "I thought we could go to lunch then shopping." Sara smiled.

Sofia smiled. "Okay, I'll see you then." She walked off.

Later the next day, after shopping and dinner, Sofia told Brad. "Don't worry, I live right down the street I can walk."

Brad looked uneasy. "We could drop you off."

"No." Sofia stated firmly. "I can get there on my own."

Brad still looked uneasy, but consented. "Fine, but call me when you get home."

"Yeah." Sofia watched them pull away. She began the walk to her apartment. She got an uneasy feeling and sped up. She heard footsteps behind her and turned. No one was back there. She took a deep breath and turned around. She was almost home when she heard the footsteps again. This time she turned and a man was behind her. He ran up and swung a metal pipe at her head. Sofia ducked and dropped her bags. She dodged the swings at her. She glanced around quickly looking for something to help her. The assailant swung for her stomach, but before the bar hit, Sofia had turned and caught it. She forced it forward and jabbed it into his stomach. The man stumbled back, but soon was pushing Sofia against the wall. The metal bar was pushed against her throat. Sofia prepared to kick him, but before she could she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She lost consciousness.