Only Through Pain [Collab with kayfiles]

Chapter Ten [kayfiles]

Sophia brushed past Eric easily. If she'd met him years ago, before Roy took her, she probably would've tried to befriend him. Back then, she had been the definition of a social butterfly. Even when she was a toddler, she always waddled over to the sandbox and struck up a baby-talk conversation with the other little kids. As she got older, she flitted between cliques at school, fitting in with almost anybody. She could talk about celeb gossip, or sports, or school work. It was all the same to her, just a gateway to friendship.

But now, Sophia had a hard time imagining herself gossiping and having sleep overs or going on dates. Eric reminded her that she wasn't that sociable young girl anymore. She was harder now, more distant than she'd ever been. A simple introduction wasn't going to break through to her. 

She only took a few more strides before she heard something similar to a squeak behind her. She slowed down and turned her head. A girl was standing next to her, one she'd seen before. She was small, almost sickly small, but she was pretty in a simple way. 

"Uhm, hey," Sophia said, unsure. She'd blown Eric off so easily, but with this girl in front of her, she couldn't find it in herself to be completely cold. She slowed down enough for the other girl to fall into step beside her. Sophia felt like the girl's eyes were watching every move she made, and she suddenly felt too aware of her body and movements. She crossed her arms, taking her usual defensive stance.

"I'm Kitra," the girl said, her voice so small it was almost a whisper. If Sophia hadn't been listening so hard, Kitra's voice would've gotten lost in the other conversations going on around them.

Sophia gave the girl her best attempt at a smile, although it appears more like a slight upturn of her lips. "I'm Sophia," she told Kitra, not sure if she'd heard her squabble with Eric just moments previous. 

Kitra, however, remained silent. Sophia gave her a sideways glance, waiting for her to speak. That time didn't come, though. Sophia continued following the mass of teenagers towards what she assumed to be a cafeteria. She noticed that no matter where she went, Kitra followed. If Sophia weaved through a group of girls, Kitra did the same. If she picked up her speed, so did Kitra. Sophia would've been a little shaken under different circumstances. But since she'd already been convinced she had some sort of magical abilities, she couldn't really bring herself to care.

A few minutes later found the pair of girls in a large room with half a dozen long tables. She remembered seeing a Harry Potter movie once, and the room resembled it a little. The tables were piled with food, the whole length of it. Kids were already sitting down and diving into their meals, clearly starving. Sophia glanced around and found the emptiest table to sit at, Kitra tagging along.

Once they were both seated, alone, Sophia stared across at Kitra. "Sorry if this seems rude, but is there a reason you're following me around?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow. She started to pile her plate with green beans, only half expecting an answer.

"I just, uhm, I thought you did really well on the tests before. And the way you talked to Eric was really amazing and you seemed really tough," the small girl across from her said, all in one breath. Before exhaling, she added, "You're fascinating."

Sophia barked out a laugh, returning the serving spoon to the bowl of green beans. "Fascinating? I'd call myself more fucked up," she laughed. Then, she noted the embarrassed look on Kitra's face and suddenly felt bad. She didn't know why she felt so guilty. She hadn't done anything wrong. But the girl seemed so small, so scared. Sophia sighed, cursing under her breath. "Look, I'm sorry. That was really nice of you to say."

Before either of them could say anything more, Eric plopped down beside Kitra. Sophia sent him a hard glare, her mouth closing into a tight line.

"Hey, ladies," the pierced boy said casually. He reached passed Kitra and grabbed the plate of pork chops. "Those tests were really something, eh?" He put the plate back and pulled the salad bowl towards himself.