Before leaving school, she called Kate with Mariah's phone and said she would be home late. She used to have a phone but it was destroyed in the car accident. As she hadn't made any money recently and Kate had only just got her job back, she didn't intend to buy one until she had succeeded in making some money. After all, mobile phones were not cheap. She can't bear to ask her Mom to buy a new phone for her as she knows that she doesn't have enough savings after spending a lot of money during her entire time of coma.
Kate was still at work. When she got the call, she told Sophia to come back early, not to stay out too late, and hung up. She could not be too strict with her daughter, especially after the car accident: she couldn't bear to make demands of her.
"Boss, what do you want to eat?" Carol asked Sophia first.
"Whatever, anything…" Sophia was not fussy about food and had no special dietary requirements. "There used to be a night market in front of the school, right? It'll be opening any minute now. We can buy any food that tastes good,"
Because of her physical disability, she had never been to the night market. Although the previous Sophia had memories of the night market, there were just memories, and she wanted to experience it for herself.
Carol thought it was a good idea, and neither Mariah or Melissa had an opinion, so the four rode their bikes and soon arrived at the night market.
It was not yet dark, and most of the night market vendors had only just set up. Carol came here often. She picked a barbecue booth and ordered some food. She just got some money from her Mom earlier as her weekly allowance, so she dares to invite Sophia after she won as a class monitor.
"Two six-packs of beer." Carol shouted to the owner as she sat down.
Sophia frowned and her eyes furrowed towards Carol, "Minors are not allowed to drink alcohol. Why are you ordering a beer?"
Carol laughed, "I've got a fake ID boss; after all, I'm nearly an adult, only two years till twenty-one. Don't you like drinking anymore, boss? You used to drink the most! Then Mariah…"
Sophia felt that this was a battle she would not win, and it was just beer. She thought silently and would give in. So she turned to Melissa and asked, "Do you drink?"
"No, I don't," said Melissa immediately. "I am afraid my parents will discover, and they beat me up!" She sounded fearful upon uttering her words.
"Okay, we'll not give you a beer, only the three of us will have it," Carol said.
"Boss, I hope you will understand my reason and won't get mad at me," Melissa said apologetically.
"Why would I get mad? I respect your decision for not having alcohol as you said, your parents restrict you from drinking," Sophia said in a soft voice.
The three girls look at her in shock. They can't believe what they heard right straight from her mouth.
The food was quickly delivered to their table.
"Boss, are you okay?" Carol couldn't help but ask.
"Of course, I am okay. Let's have our food now since it looks as good, I guess!" She changed the topic immediately. The three went silent even though they wondered why she suddenly changed recently.
After dinner, it had grown dark. There was a karaoke bar near the night market. The four girls went in and ordered a private room.
When Sophia got into the room, she purposely sat in a corner. Carol, Mariah, and Melissa scrambled to order songs. When they had finished, they realized that Sophia hadn't even ordered one.
"Just order one, Boss!" Carol looked mischievous.
"No! I can't sing," She refused abruptly and shook her head.
"Then, I'll order for you!" Carol insists.
"There's no need." She refused again. Factly, she doesn't have talent in singing.
The girls were singing and making fun of Sophia, but she sat firmly in the corner of the sofa and refused to move. Carol had bought some more beer and was more daring than usual. She ran over and pestered Sophia to sing a song.
Sophia regretted that she had not stopped Carol from drinking. Finally, to get Carol to leave her in peace, she had no choice but to pick up the microphone.
As soon as she started singing, the other three girls cowered back immediately. Her voice had a penetrating power that seemed like it could destroy the earth, and all three of them had covered their ears.
But Sophia didn't stop. They had forced her to sing, it was their fault, and she would torture their ears to see who would dare pester her to sing next time!
"Boss, I have to go to the bathroom!" Carol suddenly exclaimed, "I drank too much!"
She quickly slipped away, and obviously, she is just making an excuse.
Mariah immediately followed, "Me too! Boss, I have to pee!"
Melissa glared after these two unfaithful companions, and turned around and said, "Ah, Boss, the barbecue didn't seem very well cooked, oooh. I have to go to the bathroom too." Without waiting for her response, Melissa flew away.
And she rushed out of the private room before she had even finished speaking.
Suddenly, Sophia was left alone in the whole room.
She continued singing her song. Although she knew she was not good at singing, it was just for the fun of it. The three girls had ordered lots of songs. Having heard them once, she was able to remember them, though when she sang, they sounded totally different. As she was singing, she heard someone push the door open behind her and come in. She couldn't help laughing, "You're brave. You want to hear this?!"
But when she turned around and saw the person coming in, she was stunned into silence.
It was from Albert Pearson.