Dreamwatcher | KOTLC

Chapter Eleven: Shopping Trip (Part One)

Sophie sat on her bed, studying the mysterious note that Calla, her gnome friend, left behind. Aside from that, still seeing Calla in her most recent dreams were still hard to believe. Sophie had last seen Calla in person before she sacrificed her own life to save the lives of many. 

Sophie got out of her bed and went to the bathroom to continue her morning routine: Wake up. Fall back asleep. Wake up. Brush hair. Brush teeth. Put on clothes. Get scolded by Vertina for having bad fashion knowledge. Get scolded even more for not trying on any makeup. Ignore and go eat breakfast. 

After Sophie finished brushing her hair and brushing her teeth, she wasn't as drowsy as before, but still tired. She threw on a simple white tunic and black pants, went down to the kitchen to find Edaline sitting on the couch and reading a book called "Conjurers Guide 101: Money Does Grow On Trees."

"Hey," Sophie said, plopping down beside her adoptive mother on the silky cream-colored couch. 

"Oh, good morning, Sophie," Edaline put down her book and patted Sophie's shoulder. "What's your plan for today? You have school tomorrow."

Oh, shoot. I forgot. 

"Right," Sophie answered. "Um, yeah, later, like, at around noon, Biana and I are going, uh, shopping. 

"Ooh! Sounds fun. Mind if I tag along?" 

Oh boy. "Um, actually, since I haven't, uh, talked with Biana in quite a while, we were hoping to spend some, um, girl time together. Like makeup and stuff."

"Uh, Sophie? You saw Biana yesterday. Remember when we went to look for Dex? She, Fitz, Tam, Linh, and that other girl came to help.

"Her name is Mabel." Sophie corrected. 

"Not the point."

Noon finally came around, which meant that Sophie had to go leave to see Calla, who was supposed to explain more about her new ability. 

Sophie was eating lunch while talking to Grady, her adoptive father. But recently, talking to anyone else besides herself had been really stressful and difficult. Who knew when she could accidentally spill any information . . . 

"Oh! Look at the time. I have to go now. I'm, um, meeting Biana today to go, uh, shopping," Sophie hadn't meant to mess up so many words. She already told her Mom about it. But she was just so nervous; she couldn't let him know where she was actually going. 

" . . . Okay," Grady said slowly. "Well, make sure you spend some time searching for Dex, too, you know. It's been two days. Something bad could've happened to him."

"Oh my gosh! I completely forgot about that!" Sophie immediately regretted what she said. And Grady did not look happy about it. 

"Sophie," he said sternly. "I know you like to go out and do whatever, but your best friend is out there. We haven't seen him in two. Days. Who knows what he could be going through right now as we speak?"

Sophie realized how important the situation was. Not that Dex went missing. It was how much Dex meant to her. He was her friend, her best friend. He was the person who had shown her around the school, the person who was always there with his weird gadgets. Especially the Crush Cuffs. He was the first person who had confessed his feelings for her. Even though Sophie rejected him, that one moment made their friendship last forever. 

"You're right," Sophie said. "I should be looking for Dex. And I will. I promise. But not right now. I know it will never be as important as Dex, but I need to."

"Ah, I see," Grady replied. "You really love shopping with Biana, don't you?" That made Sophie's face turn redder than a tomato. 

"Um, yeah. Biana's my B.F.F!"

"Whatever that means," Grady said as he stood up to put his plate away. 

Sophie stood up as well. "Well, I'm off!" she said cheerily. Sophie sprinted back up to her room to grab the envelope. 

"Where did they want to meet again?" Sophie said, opening it up. 

Dear Sophie Elizabeth Foster,

Come to Foxfire today at noon. I have sent one of your acquaintances to meet with you and explain the concept of your new power. (The point of having the history of it, and other effects it has to you and your body).
—Calla

"Oh . . . Foxfire," Sophie said grudgingly. Why have to go back to school a day early? Sophie folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. 

Sophie took the LeapMaster to Foxfire. It was the only way she could make it on time. Once she got there, she saw a suspicious pair of chairs facing each other. And there was a table in between them with a note on it. 

Sophie slowly sauntered over to the table. There was a note in front of each chair. One of them read SOPHIE FOSTER but nothing else. But the other note looked much more interesting. It read KING for some reason. But that meant it was a guy. 

The rest of the note was just a bunch of questions that didn't make sense at all. 

• How does she know Calla?

• What are her abilities?

• Names of friends?

• Friends' Abilities? 

• Ask for any leads on Dex.

Reading that list made no sense, and it got more confusing the more she looked it over. A rustling of leaves nearby made Sophie's heart skip a beat. "Who's there?" she called. "If you're the person who I'm supposed to be meeting with, I'm right here."

A figure then emerged from the bushes. And Sophie had no idea who he was. He had dark skin, which made Sophie wonder why he had lime green eyes. Sophie noted everything about him, starting with his black hair and his formal clothing. He wore a dark blue suit, with black derby shoes.

"Who are you?" Sophie asked.

"A distraction."

What? But when Sophie struggled to ask what he meant, a brown dusty sack came over her and swallowed her inside. 

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