The Lie

Chapter Six

Agatha just stood there for a long moment, staring at her hand where the note used to be.

She didn't seem to have noticed that the letter was now on the ground.

Sophie...

She had to be imagining this.

But Agatha had always known what Sophie was thinking, whether they were speaking or just writing in letters.

Sophie knew her just as well.

Sophie...

She couldn't believe this.

It couldn't be possible, right?!

Sophie had been dreaming of boys all her life (quite literally) and so this was insane.

She shouldn't even be having this thought.

She was probably just upset that Nicola was dating Hort.

But she didn't sound jealous of her.

In fact she was saying that Nicola could be doing better.

"Agatha, are you okay?" Tedros asked, hurrying down the hall.

Agatha didn't acknowledge him.

Because Agatha could tell what was happening with Sophie even if she couldn't.

"Agatha, what's wrong?"

Tedros was holding her arms and shaking her gently.

"Sophie."

"What about Sophie?" he asked.

"Sophie... likes... Nicola."

~

Sophie ignored Nicola's arm around her shoulders.

Well, she tried to ignore it.

It was hard to do that when she could feel Nicola's warmth and, oddly, smell her.

Nicola was like a little furnace. She was like the opposite of Rafal.

She smelled like old books and vaguely like violets.

Of course Nicola smelled like books.

She spent so much time with those old tomes that she permanently smelled like them.