by Lara Bergen
Still, it was Toby who had gotten those cheers. And that wasn’t fair. It was giving Sophie a feeling. The feeling of losing her name. There was only one thing to do, she knew: climb back up and jump again.
And this time, she should do it backward. Or maybe add a flip.
But what if she climbed back up and was afraid to jump again?
She looked at the diving board high above her. Yeah. That could happen, she guessed.
Plus she really wanted to slide down the waterslide and do handstands in the shallow end.
Being a daredevil was so hard! Sophie sighed. She had to choose. Then she sighed again. Nope, she didn’t have to choose — because Mia’s mom was calling them.
“Time to get out of the pool, kids! There’s pizza and cake in the party room!”
Great, Sophie thought. This should have been the best party ever. Now it was the worst. And all because of Toby. Mia should never have invited boys!
The girls went to their locker room, while the boys all went to theirs. The girls showered and changed out of their bathing suits.
“That was so much fun!” Sydney said.
“I’m totally having my birthday party here, too!” Grace declared.
“I kind of wish I’d tried the high dive…. Hey, did you ever do it, Sophie?” Mia asked.
What?
“Yes! Didn’t you see me? You’re the one who dared me!” Sophie said.
Mia shrugged. “Sorry. I started to watch. But you took so long, I gave up, I guess.”
No!
“Yeah,” said Sophie A. (She was the other Sophie in Sophie’s class.) “I thought you changed your mind. I thought you were going to climb down.”
Sophie frowned. How could she say that? (And how could she tell that climbing down was exactly what had been in Sophie’s mind?)
“But you dared me,” Sophie argued. “And there’s never been a dare I wouldn’t do.”
“Sorry,” Mia told her. “That’s right. I almost forgot.”
Almost forgot?
Sophie looked around. “Didn’t anybody see me jump?”
Kate waved. “I did.”
“So did I,” Sydney said.
Phew.
Then Sydney went on. “But I thought you fell in. Did it hurt?”
“Uh … yes. A little.” Sophie nodded. “That was the extra-daring part.”
Then Eve spoke up. “I did see Toby jump!”
“Yeah, me too,” said Sophie A.
“He was so funny.” Mia laughed.
Sophie couldn’t help it. Grrrrr! Her hands balled into fists again.
“You know he only did it because I dared to do it first,” she said.
“Totally.” Kate nodded.
“Yeah.” A few other girls did, too.
“You’re probably right,” Mia said. “Hey, I’m starving. Let’s go to the party room!”
All the girls followed her, even Sophie. But Sophie was slow. She was mad at Toby for spoiling her dare. But she was worried, too. She hoped her friends weren’t starting to think that she wasn’t much of a daredevil after all. At the same time, deep inside, she was starting to think it might be true.
She might have climbed down from the high dive if she hadn’t fallen in.
But Sophie the Daredevil was such a perfect name … or it had been.
By the time Sophie got to the party room, she knew what she needed to do. She had to prove that she was a real daredevil. That she was brave enough to do any dare, no matter what. And that was why — for the first time ever — Sophie was happy when Mindy walked up.
“Remember when you asked me for a dare, Sophie?” Mindy smiled. “Well, if you really think you’re so daring, I have one for you.”
Mindy had a dare? This was perfect!
“Bring it on!” Sophie said.
“Shhh,” Mindy told her. “Not so loud.” She looked around.
Sophie’s shoulders sank. “Hang on. The dare isn’t that I have to go into the boys’ locker room, is it?” she asked.
Mindy slowly grinned. “Oh, don’t worry. It’s nothing like that.”
“Good,” Sophie said. Then she noticed something odd. “Hey, where’s Lily?”
“I left my mermaid towel by the pool. So she went back to get it.” Mindy shrugged.
Sophie rolled her eyes. How did Mindy get Lily to do things like that?
She leaned in toward Mindy. “So what is your dare?”
Mindy wrapped some hair around her finger. Her eyes cut away. Sophie turned to see what Mindy was looking at. The present table?
“I dare you to take one of Mia’s gifts from there,” Mindy said in a low voice.
Sophie didn’t get it. “Why?”
“Because I dare you.” Mindy’s eyes narrowed. “Or are you afraid?”
Afraid? Sophie the Daredevil? Of course she was not! She just thought taking other people’s presents was kind of … stealing. And that it was kind of … wrong.
But what if Sophie took her own gift? It wasn’t really Mia’s yet, after all. Then Sophie could give it to Mia later, like she’d meant to do that all along.
“Well?” Mindy said. She let go of her hair and it bounced up.
Sophie crossed her arms and nodded. “Okay. Consider it done.” Then she turned toward the other table, where everyone was sitting down for lunch.
“Hang on,” said Mindy quickly. “I didn’t tell you which one.”
Oh. Sophie turned back. So Mindy had a special present in mind….
Mindy nodded to one with shiny silver paper. “I dare you to take that one, with the purple bow.”
That purple-bow gift was Kate’s. Sophie had seen her carry it in.
“Okay?” Mindy’s grin looked just a little mean. “Is it still a deal?”
“I said I’d do your dare,” Sophie told her. “And I will.”
She didn’t want to — at all. But what else could a daredevil do? Besides, Sophie only had to take the present. She didn’t have to keep it. Right?
She’d take it and show Mindy. And right away, she’d put it back.
But first it was time to eat. Mia’s parents were passing out the pizza. And Kate was waving to Sophie and calling, “Over here! I saved you a place.”
Sophie waved back and hurried over. She slipped into a seat between Sydney and Kate.
“So what was Mindy talking to you about?” Kate asked.
“Uh …,” Sophie mumbled. She really didn’t want to say.
She wasn’t surprised that Kate had asked. Mindy hardly ever talked to them. And Sophie always told Kate everything. After all, Kate was her best friend. Still, there was something about Mindy’s dare that made her want to keep it in.
“Hmmm?” Kate was waiting for Sophie’s answer.
Sophie looked at her pizza instead.
“Hey, look!” she said finally. “The plates all look like different kinds of balls.” She pointed to Kate’s soccer ball plate. “Want to trade?”
“No, thanks.” Kate grinned and shook her head. “You can keep your football plate. You know I like soccer more! Hey, did you know Mia was going to have a sports theme?”
“I didn’t,” said Sydney. “As if inviting boys wasn’t bad enough!”
They laughed, and Sophie sighed. The subject had been changed! She picked up her pizza and took a bite.
“So … what about Mindy?” Kate asked again. Ugh.
Sophie chewed as slowly as she could. Then she spotted Mia’s mom with the birthday cake. She pointed. “Look!”
Kate turned to see a bright orange mound on a silver tray.
Sydney leaned over. “Is that supposed to be a ball cake?”
“Well, I guess it could be a basketball,” Sophie said with a shrug.
Kate nodded. “Or maybe Mia’s having a space theme, too, and it’s the sun.”
They watched Mia’s mom light the candles. After that, Mia’s dad cut the lights. Then the birthday song started. Sophie quietly moved her mouth, as usual, so no funny sounds c
ame out. If only she could have stopped the sounds from Toby’s and Archie’s mouths, too. They squawked like chickens this time. Sophie couldn’t wait for the song to be done.
Mia blew out the candles, and her mom cut the cake. This was usually when people called out for a special piece — like a corner, or a flower, or a piece with the name on it. But it was pretty quiet, since this cake didn’t have those things.
Sophie looked down at the piece she got. It was on a baseball plate. But before she took a bite, her eyes and Mindy’s met.
“So what are you waiting for?” Mindy’s eyes asked.
“Good question,” Sophie’s said back.
She took a lick of icing. Mmm. Butterscotch. Then she pushed her chair back, took a deep breath, and stood up.
“Where are you going?” Kate asked.
“Uh … to the bathroom,” Sophie said.
Kate nodded to Sophie’s plate. “Aren’t you going to finish that?” she asked.
Sophie slid her piece of cake toward Kate. “No, you can have it.” She grinned. Then she walked toward the gift table, making a plan as she did.
Kate’s gift was still on the table, between Sophie’s tote bag and the door. All Sophie had to do was get her bag, walk by the table, and let the gift fall in. Then she’d walk out and into the bathroom.
A few minutes later, she’d return. She’d put the gift back on the table. And the dare would be done.
Sophie picked up her tote bag and walked slowly past the gifts. She got to the silver present, held her tote open and nudged it in.
Yes! She’d done it! But had Mindy seen? Sophie quickly checked. Oh, yeah! Mindy’s eyes were locked on her. She’d definitely seen.
Nobody else was watching. Phew! Not even Kate. She was way too busy licking Sophie’s baseball plate. And Mia’s parents were busy taking pictures. It was all going just great!
Well, all except one thing: Sophie’s heart was beating pretty fast. She even felt a little sweaty. She hadn’t planned on that.
So she hurried to the bathroom. She hoped she’d feel better when she got there. And she did, a little. Until she peeked into her bag. Then her heart started to thump. Like on the high dive, only worse!
She knew she’d had to take Mia’s gift. Mindy had dared her, and daredevils had to do things they didn’t want to sometimes … right? Right!
Still, it felt really weird. It didn’t feel right at all. Where were all those daring tingles? Why wasn’t this dare fun?
She needed to get that gift back on the table as fast as she could. She washed her hands and her face with cold water and headed back to the party room.
She got to the door and reached for the doorknob of the party room. But before she could turn it, the door opened in. Mia’s mom smiled down at her. “Oh, Sophie!” she said. “There you are!” She held out a goody bag. “I hope you had fun.” Then she called over her shoulder, “Mia, come thank your guests as they go!”
Hold on. The party was over?
Sophie peered into the room and saw the kids gathering their stuff. Mia’s dad was by the gift table … packing all the presents up.
How could she put Kate’s gift back now?
The answer was: She could not!
“Here, let me carry your tote bag for you,” Sophie’s dad said as they walked out to the car.
“No!” Sophie said quickly. “I’ve got it!” She held her bag close.
As Sophie walked across the rec center parking lot, her legs felt heavy and slow. At the same time, she couldn’t wait to get home.
Ugh! A big part of Sophie wished she’d just put the gift back. But how could she have done that? In front of everyone? There was no way. Sophie was a daredevil. But she was not crazy.
She had thought keeping the gift would be easier, so it was still in her bag. But maybe she had thought wrong.
“So how was the party?” her dad asked. “How was the new pool? And did I hear something about a high dive? That must be pretty cool!”
Sophie shrugged. “It was fine,” she said. She knew her dad was waiting for her to go on. But she couldn’t. It was like her words were stuck in her tote bag with Mia’s gift, deep under her towel.
“What’s in the goody bag?” her dad asked as they got to the car. He nodded toward the sack in her other hand. “Any good loot?”
Goody bag? Oh, yeah. Sophie had almost forgotten about that.
She shrugged again and said, “Don’t know. I’ll look when I get home.”
“Really?” Her dad’s eyebrows went crooked. “That’s not like the Sophie Miller I know.”
He opened the car door for Sophie. “Is something wrong?” he asked. “I hope it’s not your hair. Looks like all that blue stuff washed out.”
“No.” Sophie shook her head. That wasn’t it at all. She kept her eyes down as she fastened her seat belt. “I’m just ready to go home.”
Getting home wouldn’t fix things. But at least at home she could hide that dumb present somewhere … until she figured out what to do next.
That was why what her dad said then almost made her groan.
“Well, guess what. I have a whole list of errands I have to do. And I thought we could do them together. A little Sophie-and-Daddy time, finally! Won’t that be fun?”
He gave her a huge smile. Sophie knew he was waiting for an extra-large “Yes!” So she tried to give him one. But it came out more like a medium “Yeah.”
Her dad went on. “I need to get a haircut, and I know how you love going with me to do that. And then I thought we could go to the library to take back some books, and the post office. Then some ice cream. Unless you’re too full of cake, of course!” He laughed at that.
Then he climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car. At the same time, Sophie slunk down in her own seat as far as she could go.
She let her tote bag slide to the floor. She tried to cover it with her feet. But she could almost hear the present in it taunting her: “You never should have taken me!”
“But I had to,” Sophie wanted to tell it. “It wasn’t my idea. It was a dare!”
Still, something told her that the present didn’t care.
Sophie’s dad was right. She did love going with him to the barbershop — most of the time.
Most of the time she liked seeing the barbers, Mr. Charlie and Mr. Luis. They gave her lollipops and let her twirl around in their barber chairs. Sometimes they even gave her a broom so she could sweep up hair!
But today all Sophie could think was, There are way too many mirrors in this place!
Everywhere she looked, she saw a mirror. And in every mirror, she saw herself. And that would have been just fine … if it had been a daring self.
But it wasn’t daring. It was guilty. Guilty and sad and quiet and worried and even almost scared.
“So? How do I look?” Sophie’s dad asked her, as always, when Mr. Charlie was done.
“Great, Dad,” she told him, as always (even though his hair always looked the same to her).
And as always, Mr. Charlie took a mug of lollipops down off his shelf.
As always, he held it out to her. “Take as many as you want!” he said.
But for the first time, Sophie kept her hand down. For some reason, it didn’t seem right. Treats were for girls who deserved them. And Sophie wasn’t sure that she did.
Mr. Charlie turned to the other barber. “Who is this shy girl, Luis?” he asked.
Mr. Luis, who was shorter and rounder, held up his short, round hands. “It can’t be our Sophie, Charlie,” he told him. “She hasn’t even asked to sweep!”
Who was she? Good question. Sophie was starting to wonder the same thing. She had thought she was Sophie the Daredevil. But now that didn’t seem like quite the right name.
Right now, she felt a lot more like Sophie the Girl with Mia’s Gift in Her Bag in the Car.
Or Sophie the Girl Who Didn’t Know How to Give It Back to Her.
Or maybe just plain old Sophie the Miserable.
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And the nicer anyone was to her, the more miserable she felt!
Still, Sophie didn’t want to be rude. So she picked out a brown lollipop. Yuck. Root beer, her least favorite flavor. She guessed she deserved that.
Next Sophie and her dad walked to the library. Most of the time, Sophie loved going there, too. No matter how many books she took home to read, she could always go back and find something new.
But today the library was also different. Today every book she found made her feel worse!
The Birthday Bandit
A Daring Disaster
I’ve Got a Secret
Growing Pains
(This last book didn’t remind her about Mia’s present, actually. It reminded her that her bathing suit was tight and she needed a new one ASAP.)
And then, down at the post office, what did she see? “Wanted” posters, that’s what!
Sophie looked at the wall of criminals and suddenly thought, That could be me!
And she was still thinking that later, as she and her dad walked down the street.
Her dad stopped outside her favorite ice cream store and said, “So, what’ll it be?”
Sophie loved ice cream as much as anything. Especially cookie dough ice cream. With hot fudge. And whipped cream. But ice cream was for kids who didn’t take other kids’ gifts. It was bad enough that she had taken a lollipop (even if it was brown). No way did she deserve ice cream. Or any other treat.
She looked down at the sidewalk. “I don’t want anything, Dad.”
“Mr. Charlie was right,” her dad said. “You are not yourself today.” He put his hand on her forehead. “Hmm. Feels okay to me. But let’s go home and let your mom check.”
Back at the car, Sophie climbed in. Her tote bag was still there. She tried hard not to think about it. But not hard enough.
Because Mia’s gift was all she could think about, no matter what.
Sophie bet Mia had opened her other gifts by now. She was probably thinking, Where’s Kate’s?
In fact, she’d probably even called Kate to ask where it was. And Kate had probably said, “I don’t know! Someone stole it, I think!”
And Mia had probably told her parents. And they’d probably checked all the pictures they’d taken. And they probably had one that showed Sophie by the table with the gifts. And another one, just after that, showing that Kate’s gift had disappeared.
