March 18, 2002
Sofia shrank further back into her corner of the couch. She watched Kara open yet another present, and wished she could just leave. She wouldn’t even be at this stupid birthday party if her mommy hadn’t made her go. Kara, the girl whose birthday party it was, had only invited her because they were in the same class. When you’re a second-grader, it’s very important that you include everyone. Sofia didn’t want to be there, and she knew Kara didn’t want her there. Which was why she was sitting on the couch, in a corner, as far away from everyone as possible.
She was very shy. Painfully shy, her mommy liked to call it. Sofia didn’t know where she’d inherited it—her mommy was probably the most outgoing person ever. Maybe from her daddy, but she’d never met him.
Sofia looked over at one of the other girls. In spite of having seen her every day since they started second grade, Sofia had never talked to her. However, the girl had the most beautiful hair she’d ever seen. Long, and the color of tangerines. The kind of hair she’d always thought a fairy princess might have. Sofia stared at the back of the girl’s head and self-consciously ran her fingers through her own short, dark hair. That girl’s hair was so compelling that she slipped out of the safety of the couch and sat down behind her. “Hi,” she whispered, surprising herself. She never talked to people unless they talked to her first. Even then, she usually wouldn’t talk to them. The girl turned around and smiled. “Hi. I’m Caitlin, but only my mommy calls me that. Everyone else calls me Caiti.”
Sofia smiled. “I’m Sofia. Are you friends with Kara?”
Caiti shook her head. “No. I’m only here because she invited every girl in our class. My mommy said I had to go because ‘Kara’s such a nice girl’.”
Sofia shifted positions on the floor, and tilted her head toward Caiti conspiratorially. “Do you think Kara only invited everyone so she could get lots of presents?” she asked, as Kara opened yet another present—something glittery. She couldn’t make out exactly what it was from the ten-foot distance.
Caiti giggled. “Probably. I didn’t even get her one.”
Now that shocked Sofia. That someone would go so against the grain of everything to the extent of not bringing someone a present at their own birthday party was a very new notion to her. Everyone brought presents to birthday parties. It was how things were done. “I got her one,” she admitted after a minute. “I got her a My Little Pony. The pink one.”
“I like those.” Caiti said, turning her head away from Sofia and looking at Kara.
“I have seven of them,” Sofia said, bragging. She knew seven was a lot of My Little Ponies. Most girls she knew didn’t have more than four. And they were always impressed by the sheer number of ponies she possessed. It was usually what made people like her. However, Caiti failed to be properly awed. “I have a real pony,” she said after a second.
Sofia was speechless for a second. “Could I see it sometime?” She asked finally. She had never seen a real pony, and she’d always, always wanted to.
Caiti smiled. “Yeah. You can come over after school on Monday. I’ll tell my mommy you’re my friend, and she’ll let you.” She paused for a second. “Will yours let you come?”
Sofia nodded. “She’ll just be happy I made a friend at all.”
Caiti pressed her hand into the thick carpet, twining her fingers through the fibers. “Good,” she said finally, just as Kara opened the last present, and called everyone out of her family room and into the back yard. In her sophisticated, bossy voice, she called out, “Everyone form a line. I have a little something for you to thank you all for coming to my party.” Her voice sounded like she expected everyone to think she’d done them a huge favor by inviting them to her party, and they ought to be thanking her. Everyone formed a line, like she said. The line moved forward, and before Sofia knew it, she was in front of Kara. Kara raised her eyebrows, and gave a disdainful sniff, but Sofia didn’t have enough time to be bothered by it before Kara lifted a pair of fairy wings off the picnic table and laid them in her hands. Sofia could barely hold back a gasp as she held them up to the sunlight. It streamed through the sheer purple cloth, lighting her face purple. Caiti came up behind her. “You know?I think this party was actually worth coming to,” she said, slipping the straps of the wings over her shoulders. Hers were green and yellow, and they perfectly complemented her orange hair. She hooked her hand around Sofia’s, and pulled her out onto the grass. “Come on, put your wings on!” She said, giggling. Sofia complied, pulling the elastic up over her arms. Caiti grabbed her hands and they started twirling around in a circle, and for a second, Caiti looked so magical Sofia thought she might actually take flight.
