By the time I’m done, it’s still early so I start to unload all of my new CDs. I pick out one of my favorites and boot up my new computer. Now in my happy place, I spend the next hour listening to music and downloading all of the discs so I can listen without the actual CD.
A quiet knock on my door has me turning around to see Sophia poking her head in before opening it the rest of the way. Instead of the pajamas she had on at breakfast, she’s now dressed more casually, in dark jeans and a pretty silk top. I’m half convinced she’d look good in everything.
“Are you ready to go soon? I’m getting a bit hungry,” she says as she rubs her stomach. I chuckle quietly, appreciating her quiet sense of humor. It lightens the mood without being over the top.
Grabbing my wallet, I follow her downstairs. She leads me through the house to a door off the side of the kitchen that I hadn’t noticed before, which leads to the garage. I take one look at her car and do an internal squeal. It’s a gorgeous, bright blue convertible bug. I’m not exactly a car buff, but it’s perfect. She gives me a wink when she notices me appreciating it.
“She’s adorable, isn’t she?” Sophia stares at her car with pride before glancing around the clean garage. “The backyard is through that door if you ever want to study or read outside. I have a pretty nice patio. There are also sliding doors in my office that lead straight to the patio. Don’t be afraid to use them either,” she explains as we get into the car. “Nothing in the house is off limits except my work.”
There would never be a reason for me to mess with her work so I just nod and climb into the car. Instead of driving in silence, she quickly puts on a pop station and sings along as we drive through town.
The mall is really busy today, which I should have realized since it’s Saturday night. When we try to get into the restaurant, the hostess says our wait will be almost an hour. Sophia seems annoyed, but probably because she’s hungry. I can’t judge. If I don’t eat regularly, I turn into a hangry bitch. She just makes a reservation for an hour and leads me farther into the mall.
“We can do some shopping after I hit up the cookie store. I’m
too hungry to wait an hour and who doesn’t love cookies?” She gives me a wink and makes a beeline for the cookie place. I practically drool as I take in the display. Their cookies are the size of my face. Whoever decided to make a business off of cookies this freaking big deserves an award.
“Can I help you, ladies?” a nice, middle aged woman asks.
“I want a chocolate chunk. Charlie, what about you?”
I point to the peanut butter cookie, and Sophia orders that for me without even missing a beat. I appreciate that she doesn’t fuss or try to make me talk like all of the other foster families. Honestly not drawing attention to it is the biggest relief. My last foster mom would have ordered for herself, and if I didn’t say what I wanted, I wouldn’t have gotten anything. I clearly didn’t cave, so she used that tactic fairly often. I think she thought I was just being a rebellious teen and didn’t care that the doctors told her how painful it is for me to speak. And it’s not even just about the pain, it’s quite a bit deeper than that.
I’m about to take a bite when my phone dings.
Abby: Adam didn’t believe me that we had a hot new girl, but I may have to let him think that so I can keep you for myself.
Abby: Anyway, what are you up to tonight?
Me: Dinner at the mall with my foster mom. You?
Abby: I hope she takes you to Dominic’s! It’s sooooo good!
Abby: It’s family game night at my house and I dragged Adam to suffer through it with me. My dad always makes these awful jokes and mom makes more food than anyone actually needs to eat in a night.
Me: It sounds fun.
Abby: You say that now, just wait until I drag you to one. Then you’ll be subjected to terrible puns and the mother inquisition.
Before I can respond to that, Sophia's footsteps pause and I stop too. Looking up I notice she’s watching me and smiling.
“Did you make a friend today?” she asks enthusiastically. When I grin and nod, she gives me an unexpected hug that I’m not ready for. But I force myself to relax and attempt to hug her back.
“I’m proud of you,” she whispers in my ear before pulling away. Heat creeps into my cheeks at her words. I don’t handle compliments or kind words very well, the rhetoric in my head telling me the opposite most days.
As if she can sense my rising awkwardness, she chuckles and glances around. “I need to check out the beauty store. You mind joining me? That should be just enough time to get what we need then head back to the restaurant.” She waits for my response, so I give my signature nod and I follow as she heads off again.
As soon as we walk in, she claps her hands excitedly. I swear she’s like a kid in a candy store in this place, eyes lighting up as she stares at the displays. It has everything from makeup to hair dye and accessories. The door greeter smiles and hands over a little basket.
“Welcome! Let me know if I can help with anything.”
“I know exactly what I need, but thanks!” Sophia says before rushing for the back of the store. Her basket quickly fills as she spots one thing after another. After what feels like her first lap around the store, I stop trying to keep up.
I’m barely paying attention as I wander aimlessly, until I hit the dye section. They have normal colors, but at the end is a display of rainbow dyes. I’ve always wanted colorful highlights, but my last school was super strict on dress codes and that included unnatural hair colors.
“Do you want to dye your hair?” Sophia asks, startling me. I give a questioning look that she quickly interprets. It’s impressive how rapidly she’s picked up my nuances. “I don’t care, and I doubt Danielle will. It won’t violate school rules either. This school is really laid-back, and their only dress code rules pertain to gym. Speaking of which, we need to hit the sports store for your gym uniforms.” I turn back to the hair colors but quickly give up, realizing I can’t dye my own hair and going to a salon doesn’t sound like my kind of thing.
Sophia’s apparently a mind reader and stops me with a light hand on my shoulder. “I know how to highlight and dye hair if you want the help?” she asks gently. My eyes widen at her offer, and she beams, clearly happy I’m giving her a chance. I really think she braced herself for the worst.