Fallin' For You

TWENTY-ONE

"I'm so nervous, though," She told Dex as they got their stuff out of their lockers. "What if I fail and have to stay back next year?"

Dex rolled his eyes. "Do you even know who you're talking about? You're Sophie Freaking Elizabeth Foster! You've got this."

Sophie smiled. "Thank you, Dex," She gave him a hug. "You've got this too,"

"I know," He said with a grin. "Because I'm Dexter Freaking Alvin Dizznee!"

Sophie laughed before turning around and walking to her Algebra class, now totally ready to pass her EOC test.

§§§

"I think I failed," Sophie grumbled as she sat down at lunch.

"You did not," Both Dex and Biana said at the same time, then they glared at each other.

"Yes I did," She said. "Algebra was fine—except for the fact that those stupid word problems were worded in the weirdest way possible. Then in Art we had to make a stupid realistic painting of ourselves—and mine looked as realistic as black and white Mickey Mouse,"

Sophie saw Keefe and Tam look like they were about to laugh their heads off. "Just because you're a great artist," She looked at Keefe. "And you think everything's so funny," She turned to Tam. "Doesn't mean you should laugh at me—it's not nice."

"You're an artist?" Marella asked, totally ignoring Sophie.

"I wouldn't say that," Keefe said, biting his lip.

Fitz rolled his eyes, turning to Marella. "Don't listen to him—his art is so good it looks realistic."

"Unlike Sophie's," Tam joked.

Sophie glared at him as everyone else chuckled. "It's not funny," She complained, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It kind of is," Wylie mumbled loud enough for Sophie to hear him.

"You all are impossible," She grumbled, pushing her tray and laying her head down.

"But you see, Foster, that's why you stuck around us." Keefe said. "We may be impossible, but you love us all the same."

"Yes, but my love is growing thinner and thinner," Sophie said back, a smile twitching onto her lips.

"Eh, I don't buy it," Keefe said. "Do you guys?"

Everyone at the table shook their head and said, "No,"

"There's your answer Foster—you love us, and we love you. And there's no getting rid of us!"

Thankfully the bell rang, releasing Sophie from her love-trap-of-doom. But there was something positive that came out of it.

Everyone had agreed on something—and that was a big improvement.

"For your EOC test in my class you have to recite that monologue I gave to you a couple of months ago." Mr. K told them. "It's a really simple assignment and I hope you all do wonderful on it. I'll give you five minutes to prep, and then we'll begin."

Thanks to Sophie's photographic memory, she'd memorized the monologue she'd come up with quickly. It was about a girl that had to come into a new world and it turned out that she had a ton of problems and differences that made it hard to her to fit in.