Fallin' For You

ONE

 "Sophie! Are you ready!?"

"Almost!" Sophie called back, holding up the two pairs of shoes in front of her mirror. "Which one...?" She muttered to herself.

Today was the first day of ninth grade—but it wasn't going to be easy. Sophie had moved from New York to California last month, and she didn't know anyone.

Sophie finally decided on the black converses before running into her bathroom and brushing out her blond hair.

She grabbed her blue and white book bag and raced down the stairs. Then she walked into the kitchen where Edaline, her adoptive mom, handed her a plate of bacon and grits.

"How do I look?" Sophie asked, sitting down at the breakfast table.

Edaline laughed. "Beautiful, Sophie—now hurry and eat, the bus will be here in a few minutes."

The food Sophie just swallowed dropped to the bottom of her stomach.

That was another thing Sophie wasn't happy about. Her parents had gotten a job at an animal shelter and had to leave early. Therefore, Sophie had to ride the bus.

Sophie sighed, finishing her breakfast and putting her plate in the sink. She poured herself some orange juice before hugging Edaline bye and sitting out on the porch.

Soon, the bus was stopped in front of her driveway with its doors wide open. Sophie sighed before getting up and walking to the bus.

It wasn't what she'd been expecting. She thought it'd be old and rickety, but this was clean and pristine. Shocker!

Sophie walked up the steps, smiling at the bus driver, before looking at the rows of seats.

The kids on the bus—there were a lot of them—had been talking but stopped and stared when Sophie was trying to find a seat.

It was silent and then heard someone say, "Move over," and then a boy with strawberry blond hair and periwinkle eyes stood. "You can sit by me," He said just as the bus took off.

Sophie jerked forward, grabbing onto the seats to keep her from falling on her face. "Thanks,"

She muttered as a few people laughed. She walked to the seat with the boy in it and sat down, letting out a deep breath.

"Are you alright?" The boy asked.

Sophie nodded.

The boy nodded slowly before saying, "Um...my name's Dex—it's nice to meet you."

Sophie smiled. "Uh, I'm Sophie Foster—I just moved here."

Dex's eyes widened. "Really?" He asked.

Sophie nodded slowly. "Is that a bad thing?"

Dex shook his head furiously. "No—it's a great thing. We haven't had a new kid in this town for years now. What grade are you in?"

Sophie bit her lip. "I'm in ninth grade,"

"Me too!"

Sophie smiled. She had no idea if she was going to be good friends with Dex—they'd just met—but so far, she thought Dex was a nice person.

§§§

"This is a school?" Sophie asked, getting off the bus, and trying to understand the complex structure in front of them.