Chapter 3
Sofya
Los Angeles, California
The next morning I woke up early so I could get ready and still have a decent breakfast for once in my life. But I'd fail yet again. I stood up making my way into the bathroom. Once I was done freshening up. I decided on some dark blue skinny jeans and a forest green pullover with a few holes in it, for fashion. I liked to call it my holy sweater, for obvious reasons, but also because it tended to be lucky and I considered it truly blessed.
One time when I was wearing it I had gotten an A+ on my highly important AP Lang research paper. That was honestly one of the best days of my life. I may or may not have flung my phone across the room when I saw my grade. I grabbed my backpack I had brought from my old home, packed with all my school stuff, off the chair and slung it over my back before making my way to the kitchen.
Sam was seated at one of the bar stools eating some cereal. He smiled at me as I entered, his eyes crinkling at the sides. "Morning, Sofya. Want some breakfast?" He asked. I shook my head picking up an apple from the centerpiece. So much for a decent breakfast. Told ya.
"Well, my son has already left, so here," Sam said, tossing me something. I barely caught it with my free hand and looked down to discover they were car keys. I frowned, then looked at Sam. He was going to let me borrow his car? "A car, for you, it's out front. Think of it as a welcome present." He said.
I gaped at him, he got me a car? "Thank you so much!" I exclaimed. Sam brushed it off, shaking his head slightly.
"No problem." I nodded, grateful that I had my own ride to school, finally.
"Thanks, Sam, I'm going to head out now. See ya." I said, walking out of the kitchen. Maybe this time was going to be different. I tried not to get my hopes up too high, I usually was let down. I had well learned that over the years.
"Have a good day," Sam called out.
"You too,"
I made my way to the front door and slipped on my trusty black combat boots I had left there yesterday. I was grateful no one had moved them. I quickly laced them up, then took a bite of the apple. I swung the front door open to find a brand new white Maserati. My mouth fell open, holy cow that was a nice car. I unlocked the car and stepped into the driver's seat. I dragged my hand across the top of one of the seats, the black leather was so soft. I could get used to this.
I started the car up and headed down the driveway, the huge gates opening to let me out. I pulled out my phone and got the GPS going because I had no clue where I was. Which I should have figured out earlier, but hadn't.
As I pulled into the school's parking lot, a bunch of students glanced in my direction. I rolled my eyes. Oh great, some unwanted attention. I got out of the car slinging my backpack over my shoulder and slipping my phone into my back pocket. As I closed the door I turned to find three girls standing in front of me, I internally groaned. Sorina, Jenna, and Emily, the most popular girls in school. They were all seniors and all snobs as well. They practically "ruled" the school. The sad thing was in ninth grade Sorina had been my best friend, up until she ditched me like last season's clothes. I couldn't even remember the last time one of them had talked to me. They normally avoided me like I had the flu. I crossed my arms over my chest.
"What do you want, Sorina?" I asked, my tone flat. Sorina and her lackeys beamed at me with their abnormally white smiles.
"We just came to see how you were doing, you know. Since you moved and all. We also wanted to see if you wanted to come to my party Friday." Sorina said, her voice sickeningly sweet. Since when did Sorina Van Barren invite social rejects like me to her famous parties? I plastered a big fake smile on my face and tried to keep the sarcasm out of my voice as I replied.
"I'm doing great, thanks for asking. I'm not sure about the party though." I replied. Sorina draped an arm around my shoulder, leading me towards the school. I internally groaned. What was she doing?
"Well, you just have to come. It'll be the best party ever!" She exclaimed as we entered the crowded hallway. I pulled my schedule out of my pocket. I had AP Lit in room 234 first hour. Sorina snatched the paper from my hands. "Oh! We have the same first hour." She said grinning. Good lord, what have I done to deserve this? Sorina glanced back at Jenna and Emily. "See you two later." She said waving them off, then grabbed my hand and dragged me off to class. I pulled Sorina to a stop, giving her a look that said, what the heck?
"Sorina why are you being nice to me?" I asked, getting the question out. Sorina's perfectly styled eyebrows scrunched together.
"What do you mean Sofya?" I sighed, was she seriously that clueless?
"For the past few years, you completely avoided me," I stared blankly. Sorina's smile fell from her face.
"I know. I treated you like dirt, worse than dirt like you didn't exist but this summer my parents sent me to a reform camp, for reasons we won't discuss, but moving on I realize now how awful I was. I want to make amends if you'll let me. I'm so sorry for how I treated you, you used to be my best friend. I ditched you because I was jealous. You became friends with Sara and I felt like you liked her more than me. So I started avoiding you. I'm not proud of my past actions and I'm ready to make much-needed amends even if you can't forgive me." She said, her voice sincere. My mouth dropped open for the second time today. I had no idea she had felt that way, she could have told me. I had always thought she had gotten sick of me. A real smile pulled at my lips if she was willing to make amends so was I. I wasn't one to hold grudges, or at least not this one. I stuck my hand out.
"Friends?" I asked. A smile beamed across her face, and she launched herself at me. A laugh burst from my throat.
"Thank you, Sofya." She said. I pulled away and dragged her into the classroom.
"Come on, let's go find a seat," I said. We settled into two seats at the front of the room, Sorina practically begged me to. She was one of the popular kids, but she was smart. It was a bit surprising since some of her actions would say otherwise. Sorina turned to me, spilling all the "hottest" new gossip.
"You know I heard we are getting a new student, and it's a guy. I wonder if he's hot. I also heard that he's foreign, oh I wonder if he'll have an accent." Sorina rambled. I decided to listen to this part, we hardly ever got new students.
"Do you know his name?" I asked, curious. Sorina shook her head.
"No, but I heard people say he was ethereally gorgeous. But I guess we'll see soon, I also heard he's in this class. " She said. Just as she was finished speaking, the final bell rang and a hoard of kids came rushing in. The teacher still stood outside of the room as one last student came striding in.
My mouth almost fell open for a third time today. The new student was stunning, he wasn't perfect in a model way but that sort of made him more gorgeous. His eyes met mine, a beautiful blue. It was almost as if someone took a part of the sky and ocean and placed the pieces into his eyes. It almost felt familiar. I couldn't place it though.
Under his eyes were scattered freckles that crossed over his nose and over to the other side of his face. He walked past me and took the seat behind me. A blush rose to my cheeks, and I focused on keeping my eyes forward. Oh, but I wanted to look back so bad. Get a grip child. My inner voice chided me.
Sorina glanced at me and mouthed, "He is smoking". I kept in a giggle and tried to listen to what the teacher was going over. The teacher who soon introduced herself as Mrs. Gretchen went over the itinerary. Once she was done she gave us the rest of the time to socialize. Sorina immediately turned to me, whispering frantically in my ear.
"The new kid is beyond beauty standards, but don't worry I saw the way you looked at him. I'll stay away, he's all yours girl." She said with a smirk.
My eyes went wide. "I did not look at him in a way." I hissed back. Nuh, uh. I did not.
"Hmmm, sure you didn't, I saw him looking at you too. You'll be a perfect match. You'll see, I'm always right about these things. I told you Bella and Rion were going to get together, and well look who was right."
I shook my head in disbelief. I did not like him, nope not at all. That's a lie if I ever heard one. I slumped back into my seat, scrolling through my texts. Sara was pissed because I hadn't met her this morning because I had been occupied with Sorina. I'd have to find her once this class was over.
Sorina turned around in her chair facing the guys behind us. She batted her eyelashes. "Hey guys, are you all coming to my party Thursday?"
Kyle, one of the most popular guys at school, gave her a brilliant smile that belonged in one of those toothpaste commercials. "Of course." He said, lowering his voice a ridiculous amount.
Sorina beamed, then turned to the new kid. "Hey, new kid what's your name? You should come to my party too. Don't you think so too Sofya?" I glared at Sorina for putting the spotlight on me.
"Sure," I said, leaning further back in my chair, trying to not make a fool out of myself.
The new guy looked up from his phone a neutral expression on his face, not sparing a glance at me. "I'm Ash." He said with an Australian accent. Sorina had been right, he was foreign. I wondered what part of Australia he was from, maybe he had lived near me and that's why he felt familiar. Maybe I had seen him before.
"So, are you coming to my party?" Sorina pestered. Ash merely shrugged, before going back on his phone. Sorina shot me a look mouthing "I tried." I shook my head, she was being ridiculous. Soon enough the bell rang and we got up to go to our next class. I pulled my backpack off the floor and followed Sorina out into the hall. I said bye to her and headed out to go find Sara.
I maneuvered through the crowded halls, slightly pissed at the people who stood in clumps or straight lines across the hall. I shoved my way past them. I finally reached my locker to find Sara waiting there, leaning against the door. I smiled brightly as she came rushing at me, enveloping me in a hug, her bright red hair whipping me in my face.
"Sofya!" She called out.
"Hey, Sara," I said, pulling away to grab my textbook from the locker.
"You ditched me this morning." She pouted. I shook my head.
"You can't believe what happened. Sorina apologized to me. I-" Sara interrupted me.
"What? Sorina?"
"I know right? It was totally weird but she was sincere and you know me. I seriously can't hold a grudge for my life. So, now we are friends." I explained. Sara looked shocked, her grassy green eyes wide.
"Wow, that's unexpected, but I heard there's a new student in your class. What are they like?" She asked, bouncing on her toes. I laughed, Sara always wanted to know every bit of gossip at the school. In many ways, she reminded me of Sorina, but Sara would never admit to that.
"He just moved here from Australia, his name is Ash," I told her.
Sara rolled her eyes and scoffed. "What I meant was, is he hot? What does he look like? What are his secrets?"
"I don't know! I just met him, and he is hot. Tousled ebony hair, ocean blue eyes, cute freckles." I said fanning myself dramatically. He was, not that I'd ever tell anyone besides Sara but no point in lying about it.
Sara grinned a wicked grin. Shit, that was her planning face. I was in deep trouble. "You like him." She stated.
I shook my head. "No. I don't. Plus there's no point I'm leaving for Hungary in a few months, I need to focus on my grades and work on my art till I leave." I said. I had been accepted to the Hungarian University of Art in Budapest on a full-ride scholarship, so that's where I was going. Why I had chosen that particular university out of all the others, well it was prestigious and all but mostly because it was far away from here. I would miss California and my friends, but I couldn't wait to live my own life and get out of the foster care system. I had also chosen it because I had done research over the past few years and found out that I have biological relatives still living there. I hadn't told anyone about it because I hadn't been so sure I'd go anyway but I couldn't let this slip by. I knew I'd regret it if I didn't go just to spite my parents. I had first thought about going to Hawaii since that's where my dad was from but I quickly shot that idea down. It'd probably be best to get away from the ocean for a while too. The memories were painful and maybe some distance could help.
"Sure, Sofya. Whatever you say but then I will go after him." She said. Before I could hide it a grimace flickered across my face at the thought of Ash dating Sara. "Ha! I knew it! You can't lie to me Sofya. I know you too well." She said grinning triumphantly. I sighed in defeat, so much for forgetting boys this year. If Sorina and Sara kept on like this, I didn't even want to think about what would happen.
As we walked to our next class Sara started rambling about plans on how to get Ash and me together. I simply just tuned her out. Once inside our next class, Sara finally shut up about Ash but moved into talking about Enzo. "You should see Enzo now, Sofya. He changed over the summer." Sara said. Enzo was one of my best friends along with Sara. I had known Enzo since I was ten. The problem was I sort of liked Enzo, a lot but I didn't want to ruin our friendship if things ended badly. I couldn't lose him. Since my real parents left, I hadn't let myself love anyone. No attachments. If I didn't care about anyone then there would be no pain in losing them but somehow Enzo had won a small piece of my heart. If I lost him, I'd have a very hard time recovering. If ever I could. He was there for me when no one else was. I'd never forgotten that. He'd helped me remember what it was like to not be alone. Unknowingly, he saved me from myself. From walking down a seriously wrong path.
"How's he doing? I haven't seen him in so long." I asked, twirling a strand of my hair, gazing out the window looking at the sandy hills.
"Well, actually when I saw him this morning he was asking about you. You two are so stupid sometimes. It's hilarious how you don't see it." Sara giggled. My head snapped over, my brow scrunching together.
"What do you mean?" I asked, hesitantly. My lungs froze as I waited for her response.
Sara sighed. "Never mind." I bit my lip to keep from demanding answers, better to just let it go. I went back to staring out the window.
Soon class started and the teacher handed out a pretest. I grabbed a pencil from my case, quickly completing it. Horribly, might I add. The class was over before I knew it, then another, and then it was time for lunch.
I walked with Sara to the lunchroom, my homemade lunch in hand. I had vowed since tenth grade to never buy lunch. I had seen a mouse run into where they keep the food. Which was completely disgusting and concerning since I heard one of the teachers running after the mouse who was apparently named Mickey. That was West LA High for you.
The bright fluorescent lights briefly blinded me as we headed in. I spotted Sorina waving us over. She was sitting with Jenna, Emily, Kyle, Ash, and Adrien. I guess Ash had made some friends. I walked over with Sara and sat down, avoiding eye contact with him. He was on the opposite end of the table anyway.
"Hey, Sofya," Sorina said with a bright grin.
"Hey," I said back. Adrien shot a brilliant smile at me, his pretty brown eyes sparkling. I smiled back. I wondered what that was about. I didn't know him that well. He was one of those people who you've known for a long time but were just half-friends with. We practiced together sometimes because of swim but other than that I didn't see him much. He was one of the popular boys, the best swimmer in the school. He had placed at nationals and was probably getting recruited by top schools. That reminded me of how not excited I was to practice after school. Coach Sean was an interesting character, but a moderately okay coach after overlooking some of his issues with social decency.
One time he had the nerve to put me in the five hundred free and right after I had done a hundred. I had no rest in between, I hopped out of the pool and dove back in. I was over it now, and probably shouldn't have acted so immature then, but still, it was embarrassing since I had added so much time. Twenty seconds to be exact, and for you non-swimmers, that's bad, extremely bad.
Adrian ran a hand through his curly brown hair. "So you have practice after school, right Sofya?" He asked.
"Yes," I replied. I must have not looked so joyful because Adrian laughed at me.
"You seem thrilled. I'm sure Sean will go easy on you girls." I rolled my eyes.
"That's hilarious, I bet he'll make us go running in the 97-degree weather again," I said groaning. I hated running, the water was my friend. The land, my enemy. Honestly, I'd rather swim a mile or two than run, unless it was a short distance. For example a maximum of 400 meters. Any more and my lungs decide that it's time to call quits. My asthma was no joke.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'll be there to suffer with you. My club practice got canceled for maintenance, so Sean said I could practice with you guys. Enzo's joining as well." He said. Excitement blossomed inside me. Maybe today would be a good day, after all. Things were looking up till Sara decided to yell across the table at Ash.
"Ash!" Ash looked over, his eyebrows raised. I internally grimaced, he's going to think my friends were insane. "Are you going to try out for any sports?" She asked.
"I don't know," Ash replied, shrugging his shoulders. Adrien turned towards him. "Well, you should join the swim team, we're always looking for more people." He said. That was true. Sean had done a pretty good job scaring a good chunk of people away.
Sara pitched in again. "You definitely should!" She said, with a wink in my direction.
"Maybe," Ash said nonchalantly.
Once lunch was over Adrian walked with me and Sara to our next class since it was his next class too. "How was your summer Sofya?" Adrian asked.
"Oh, it was fine. I went to Italy to visit my old foster parents' relatives," I said, it was nice going to Italy. Annie and Jack's relatives had been nicer to me than they were, which was a pleasant change. "How was your break?" I asked back.
"I just stayed here. Practiced and surfed." He replied. I nodded that sounded relaxing, well apart from practicing, that sounded horrible. We entered the class and took our seats. I pulled out my astronomy textbook, setting it on the desk. I leaned back in my seat and sighed.
After school was over I headed over to my locker to grab my swim stuff. I yanked my bag out after a few hard tugs and slung it over my back. Suddenly, I felt arms snake around my shoulders. Scaring the heck out of me.
"Hey gorgeous, you miss me?" A voice purred in my ear. I whipped around to find Enzo beaming at me. I scowled, but I couldn't hold it for long and a smile crept through. I had missed him, I hadn't seen him all summer.
"Enzo!" I said with mock irritation.
"I know you missed me Sofi." He said, pulling me into a hug. I leaned into him, inhaling the cinnamony scent. Sara had been right, he had changed over the summer. He had grown a few inches and he was more muscular, his skin a deep golden brown from the sun. To be honest he looked hot. No, not hot. He's your friend, fool, that's all. Off-limits. I pulled away and started down the hall, my heart racing. He quickly caught up.
"You excited for practice? Adrian said you were coming." I said, joking. No one was ever excited about Coach Sean's practices. Enzo rolled his eyes.
"Pumped." He said sarcastically. I laughed as I pulled the pool doors open, the strong scent of chlorine filling my nose. I spotted Coach Sean sitting in a chair across the pool on his phone, as usual. He looked up for a brief moment and I waved in greeting. Enzo chose to yell out a greeting instead.
"Hey, Coach Sean!" Coach Sean rolled his eyes and went back to his phone. I wondered what he was looking at, I mean he was always on his phone. I went off in the direction of the girl's locker room and disappeared inside. Sorina and Jenna were already getting changed into dryland clothes. Sorina smiled at me as I went to the other side of the room, joining Sara.
"Hey,"
"Hi, Sofya," Sara replied. "You can't believe what Coach Sean posted for practice! We're running on the beach again!" She shouted angrily. I shushed her before Coach Sean could hear her complaints. Which would surely make practice worse.
"Sara, shut up. He's going to hear you." I said. I honestly didn't mind running on the beach, it was nice and peaceful. Also, when we ran on the beach it was usually for a very short distance, so all the better for me. I certainly liked it better than the actual dryland or running around the track for a few miles in front of the entire football team. Which had been mortifying by the way. Actually, running up and down the bleachers in front of the football and soccer teams and then running around the track was probably the most embarrassing dryland Coach Sean had us do since I couldn't complete it. My lungs had failed me greatly that day. "What else are we doing?" I asked.
"So this is what we are doing for three hours. Run for about 400m then do a 500 in the pool. Then repeat over and over again." Sara groaned. I was a bit excited, this was one of my favorite practices. Minimal running and minimal swimming, perfect for my weak lungs.
"Cool," I said pulling my suit on, trying not to let the excitement creep into my voice, but Sara caught it anyway.
"And of course you being you, you're actually excited about this." I laughed and finished getting ready, pulling on shorts and tennis shoes. I grabbed my water bottle, then dragged Sara out of the locker room. The other girls soon followed. We all crowded around Coach Sean. Adrian and Enzo were already out, dressed in shorts and tennis shoes. I couldn't help but admire their deliciously toned abs, I was a teenage girl after all. I noticed some of the other girls doing the same and held in a laugh.
"Alright, let's get the practice started half start in the pool, the other half on the beach." Coach Sean said then divided us up. Sara, me, Sorina, Jenna, Emily, Adrian, Enzo, and a few others were grouped to start on the beach. We walked out of the school and over the white dunes to the beach. Coach Sean had already placed the markers.
"Who's ready to start?" I shouted. I was captain of the swim team and technically responsible to get everyone moving. What I got was a bunch of groans. I started at a slow jog, Sara on my right and Enzo on my left. Adrian ran next to Enzo and the others were a bit behind.
Once we finished the 400m we raced back to the pool and pulled our clothes off, pulling our caps and goggles on then hopped into the pool. The water was cool and refreshing. I swam freestyle building up into a steady pace, my arms gliding through the water. Nothing was more relaxing than the silence and concentration of swimming. I loved it when I wasn't competing. No stress, no comparing myself to others, no competition. The water accepted me and I accepted it. Harmony. Yes, I am aware of how stupid that does sound.
When I finished Adrian and Enzo were waiting, they were a lot faster than me, and Sara was done soon after me. We all ran back to the beach together.
We repeated the process a various amount of times, of which I didn't keep track of before the three hours were up. Once practice was over we all headed to the beach to goof around for a bit.
We all ran into the salty water, splashing each other in the face as we went. The waves rolled by crashing into the shoar. Enzo picked me up and threw me.
"Hey!" I yelled when I surfaced, sending a wave of water into his eyes. He grinned back at me, a playful smile on his face. He tugged me closer and I tried not to think about how my mostly bare body was pressed to his naked torso. My cheeks flushed and I wriggled out of his grip and sunk underwater. He's just a friend. Just a friend. I said repeating the mantra over and over in my head. I couldn't let myself get close to him, not anyone. If my own parents hadn't loved me, how could anyone else?
After about an hour or so, we all grabbed our towels and layed out on the beach to dry off. Thirty minutes later Enzo left and I was debating whether to go. I didn't want to but I didn't want Sam to be worried. I sat up stretching my arms.
"I'm going to head out guys, see ya tomorrow," I said, gathering my bags. Adrian scrambled to his feet, grabbing his bags as well.
"I should get going as well, I'll go with you." He said. I looked at Sara who gave me a wink. I narrowed my eyes, if she had anything to do with this I swear to god.
"I'm going to stay here for a bit you two go on without me." She said stretching out on the sand. I rolled my eyes, waved bye, and started walking to the parking lot. Once we reached my car, I threw my bags in and turned to Adrien who had stopped beside me.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," I said, a small smile on my face.
"Sofya, I was wondering if you would want to hang out sometime, maybe go to the movies?" Adrien asked, running a hand through his hair. My eyes widened. Was he asking me out?
"Alone?" I asked.
"Yeah, I mean if you want to." He said with a slightly crooked smile. I beamed, he was asking me out.
"Sure," I replied, it would be fun. I hadn't actually been on a date before but I knew Adrian was a nice guy. A smile blossomed on his handsome face.
"Cool, I'll text you." He said. Before he walked away he placed a small kiss on my cheek, then went to his car.
I climbed into my car and sighed. I couldn't believe that had happened. I never could have guessed that Adrien liked me. I started the ignition and drove home, a silly smile still plastered on my face.
On the way home I picked up some food, a healthy wrap, and water. Lier. Oh, fine. That's not what I picked up, screw healthy. I got a plain hamburger and fries. And yes, I was a picky eater.
I parked the car on the driveway then went inside. I walked past the kitchen, saying hi to Sam and then I made my way to my room. I quickly changed and got ready for bed. Once I was done flopped down on my mattress. I looked at my phone. Sara and Adrien had texted me.
What happened with Adrien? I laughed at Sara's text.
He asked me out. I replied.
Are u kidding me! That's awesome! Sara was so dramatic.
It's great, but good night. I'll tell you more tomorrow. Bye. I texted back. Then I went over to Adrien's contact.
Is tomorrow good? I was thinking we could go to the movies then go out for dinner. At 6:00, I'll pick u up. I smiled. He was so sweet.
Sure. Sounds great. My address is 45788 Stonebrook Court. I replied. He texted back almost right away.
Great! Can't wait. I glanced at the time and it was almost ten o'clock. I set my alarm and put my phone on the nightstand. Then I shut the light off and pulled the covers on, still smiling.