Fallin' For You

FIFTEEN

"Did you have fun with Keefe?" Edaline asked as Sophie hopped into the car.

Sophie nodded. "Yeah, it was fun," Then Sophie looked at her mom. "So...how'd you get Keefe's number?"

Edaline smirked as she pulled out of the drive-way. "I have my ways—but a mother never reveals her secrets."

Sophie sighed, but she still had a smile on her face. "Alright then—what store are we headed to?"

"We're not going to a 'store' technically," Edaline suspended with a smirk. "We're going to the mall."

Sophie groaned. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because," Edaline said with a guilty smile. "I knew that if I did, you wouldn't want to go—but honestly, malls aren't that bad."

"Gordy the Clown, Edaline." Sophie said with a shiver. "Do you remember Gordy the Clown?"

Edaline bit her lip. "I do," She said. "But it's been ten years since you saw him—and I doubt they have him in California."

Ever since the day when she was four, Sophie had only gone to the mall twice, and both times she'd seen Gordy the Clown.

Sophie sighed. "Fine, but if I see him, I'm going to slap him across the face."

Edaline laughed, and only a few minutes later they arrived at the mall. "Here we are," Edaline said, getting out of the car and walking toward the entrance.

Sophie followed, and she surveyed every store they entered just to make sure Gordy the Clown wasn't there. He could've been anywhere...

"So..." Sophie said after a minute of walking through five shops. "What are we looking for exactly?"

"A few things," Edaline answered with a sly smile. "Mr. Kenric called me the other day and told me you agreed to go to a Theater Recognition Ceremony in January. He told me what kind of clothes you needed to wear—so that's the first thing we're getting."

Sophie groaned, figuring this meant she'd have to wear a dress. "This is terrible,"

Edaline laughed. "Sophie, you can't spend your whole life wrapped up in hoodies, jeans and sneakers."

"Yes I can," Sophie argued. "It's comfortable—and that's the way I like my life."

"Well," Edaline said as they entered a shop filled with sparkly and frilly dresses. "Life isn't all about comfort. If you want to get somewhere in life, sometimes you have to try harder."

Sophie sighed. "Why don't I look over here, and you look over there—then we can regroup, I guess."

Edaline nodded. "Sounds like a plan—we'll meet at the dressing rooms."

Sophie gave her mom a strained smile before moving to the right of the shop and looking through all of the dresses. Some of them were low-key, but too frilly. Then some of them were the perfect amount of frill, but they were too sparkly. Sophie just couldn't find a good dress.

As she looked through another rack—still unsuccessful—she heard a voice behind her say, "Sophie?"

Sophie turned around and saw Biana with five both sparkly and frilly dresses in her hands.

"Biana?" Sophie asked, a little shocked. Of course, it wouldn't be shocking to find Biana in a store like this, but Sophie was just surprised Biana had called her out.

"What are you doing here?" Biana asked as she hung the dresses on the closest rack. "I thought you hated anything with frills."

Sophie let out a half-hearted laugh. "Um, my teacher has this drama event going on and he wants us to look nice. My mom and I are here together." Sophie explained to her. "What about you?"