A Girl Who Does Bad Things

Chapter Twenty-Four

(Sophie POV)
Her fork glinted under the Neverseen's dim fluorescent lights before stabbing into a surprisingly tasteful pile of gray bean-looking paste. Sophie's strands of gently straight hair fell down easily from her low ponytail and she didn't bother brushing them away.
Stab.
Stab.
Stab.
"Hey, let's not murder the mysterious gray stuff" Gethen joked kindly.
Sophie glanced up, flustered, and nodded. "Yeah sorry"
Gethen took one more look at Sophie's slouched figure and sighed, taking a seat across from her. "We don't have to talk out loud if you don't want to"
Sophie dropped the fork, relieved, and slipped quickly into Gethen's mind.
Hey.
Wow- I didn't even feel you that time. Have you been practicing those exercises?
Stop with the praising. I know you have some..... questions.
Fine, straight to the point. I want to know what happened while you were gone.
Sophie glanced up to see Gethen's hopeful face. She remember how she had heard years ago about his Talentless son who had committed suicide. It was one of the reasons Gethen joined the Neverseen. And ever since she was young, Gethen had let Sophie feel like a daughter to him.
Her face softened and she responded, Nothing really. They kept me knocked out most of the time. I tried once to finish Washing, but they locked up before I could erase it all.
Oh.
And....
And what?
There was this one thing. The Sencen boy, Keefe I think, he talked about this girl.
What girl?
He said it was me, but I think he was delusional. They all were.
This girl, what did he say about her?
He told me everything like he had been there. Most of her life at least. And I just kept hearing how amazing she was-
You're amazing-
And how talented-
You're talented-
But it's not the SAME!!
Sophie drew back as Gethen flinched from her powerful mind shout.
"Sorry" she said meekly.
He shook his head, "It's fine. I just wanted you to know that you shouldn't spend your whole life wishing you were someone else"
Sophie looked down and mumbled, "I never said I wanted to be her"
"You didn't need to. Look at me Sophie"
She met his gaze.
"You are perfect just the way you are. Don't forget how unique you are. Trust me, it's easy to get caught up wishing for something else"
Sophie looked into his eyes, soft and wise as flashes of his son reflected through his watering irises. She didn't want to make him any more sorrowful, so Sophie lifted herself as happily as she could from her chair.
"Thanks, really. I'll see you around"
Her words were way too optimist and cookie cutter, but it was enough. Gethen nodded and Sophie skipped sarcastically off from the table to make the point she was better.
But she couldn't get the idea of the girl Keefe had spoken so lovingly about. Why couldn't she be like her? That girl had a father, she had Gethen. She had friends, she had Ruy and Umber(at times). But Sophie had done things that girl would never had done.
Sophie distractedly walked right into the door of her room and cursed softly. She clutched her head and peeked nervously around for a frowning Gethen ready to lecture her on "unkind" words. Luckily, he hadn't followed her.
Chuckling at her own clumsiness, Sophie entered her room. Locking the door behind her, Sophie peeled off her outer shirt and flopped onto the bed in her thick tank top.
She shut her eyes slowly and breathed in the peace. Sophie could already feel her consciousness slipping away, but a crackling sound stopped her cold.
Sophie popped up and grabbed for the goblin star in her boot. She spun around to see the air shaft in the back of her room used to transport oxygen to her deeply underground room sprinkling dust onto the floor. She closed in and watched as a single boot dropped from the shaft. Sophie bent her knees and peeked carefully up the shaft.
With a mess of strawberry hair and a single bare foot, Sophie and her attacker collapsed to the floor.
"Get off me!!!" Sophie yelled.
The boy jumped up and placed a finger to his lips. Sophie recognized him from the Black Swan hideout and a name rung out in her mind.
"Dex?"