"No. No no no. Not happening. Never going to happen. I'm not coming and you can't make me."
Sophie Foster tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, adjusted the phone sandwiched between her ear and shoulder, and started scrubbing another plate.
"Come on! Don't do this to me! You haaave to come", said her best friend Marella from the other end of the line.
"You just don't want to go alone with Biana, do you?"
"Uhh, duh! I can't handle Miss Sparkles all alone! I need you to stop her from dragging me to some stupid shoe sale!"
"Enjoy the sale then, because there is no way I'm coming to see a voodoo fortune teller"
"Why not? It'll be fun! Don't tell me you're not even a tiny bit curious about what she'll say!"
"Uhh, no, because it's all nonsense."
"Fine, we won't make you get a reading. Just come with us!"
"All right, fiiine. I'll be there. Your house at 9 tomorrow."
"Thanks a ton, Sophie."
"You owe me, Rell."
"Yeah, right"
"Bye."
"Bye."
Sophie put the phone down, dried her hands and went into the living room.
Her mom smiled at her as she came in, and Sophie flopped down beside her on the faded blue couch.
Her mom's wavy amber hair was up in a bun, and her turquoise eyes looked tired. She was wearing flowery pajama pants and a t-shirt that read Save the Pangolin, which was a souvenir from the zoo where she worked.
Both of Sophie's parents worked at the zoo, and it was common for them to come home covered in feathers, mud, and on one hilarious occasion, llama spit.
Sophie looked around the room. It had a homely, lived-in feel to it, painted a cheerful yellow, with everyday clutter scattered all around. A stack of books teetered on the coffee table, with a half-drunk cup of tea on top.
A pair of headphones was lying on the armchair, on top of a rumpled green blanket with little white ducks on it. CDs were stacked haphazardly under the TV, which was playing Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.
"Nobody blows up Pennsylvania, Jack." Sophie said the line exactly in time with Harper.
"How do you even know that?", her mom asked in awe.
Sophie tapped the side of her head. "Photographic memory, remember?"
She sighed. "You remember random lines from random movies, but you still forget your keys when you leave the house."
"It was one time! And I was running late."
"But you did have to wait on the porch for two hours till I came home."
Sophie groaned. "Anyway", she said, changing the subject. "Can you drop me off at Marella's tomorrow morning? We're going to see some fortune teller."
"What fortune teller?"
"I don't know, it's some voodoo nonsense. Biana says she's really good, and you know how she gets when she wants something to happen."
"But you better not buy whatever she says. No sticking pins in dolls, no burning incense, no spirit masks. You're not bringing any of it home."
"You forgot kissing frogs", Sophie pointed out dryly.
"What?"
"Like that Disney movie, you know. The voodoo guy turns a prince into a frog, and the prince persuades a girl to kiss him, and then she turns into a frog."
"When do you watch all these movies?"
"Ughh mom, you're missing the point. You don't need to worry about me believing in voodoo. I'll be fine. Unless I turn into a frog, of course. Then you can keep me at the zoo."
Soooo...That was that. My first attempt. As you've probably guessed, I watch too many movies, and I did actually watch Jack Ryan today. Hoping for your support till the end of this story, and best of luck with life in general.
-A
