Sophia by Marisa Redhead16 (accelerated reader books .txt) 📖

and keys and left.

"Sorry you had to see that, Tobias." "That's okay." l headed upstairs. "This is all my fault. l shouldn't have hurt him. If l could go back now, l would." Dad said. "He needs time to calm down. He'll come back in a few hours." Mom told him. Actually Tony came back in exactly seven minutes. l was brushing Girlfriend while she tried to play with Jazz. Dad was frying rice and carrots. "Dad?" Dad turned around. "Tony." "l'm so sorry!" Tony wrapped his arms around Dad and broke down. "l'm so sorry. l'm so sorry. l'm so..." "Shhh. Calm down, son. l'm sorry too." Mom was at the foot of the stairs. She smiled and wiped a tear away. But Tony was still sobbing. Dad tried to calm him down. "l'm to blame for this." Tony whispered."l'm such a..." "Don't say it. This is not your fault, Tony. Don't ever say you're to blame for this." Dad told him. "l'm in therapy. l'll find a job." When they stopped hugging, l noticed Tony's eyes were red, as if he'd put bleach in them.(Ouch!) "l wish l was never born." "Don't ever say that,Tony." "But l said..." "l know what you said."

Logan and l had been paired up for a history assignment. l love Logan,but he's such a slacker. He just studied my room as l tried to finish the details for the poster l'd been making. "What if l got all the credit for your work? Would you be ticked off?" "Heck yeah." He chuckled."Why is your room so clean?" he asked. "Because l'm a nerd and l like it that way." l told him. " Where's your dad?" "Job interview." "Oh." Where's your brother?" "He's with his girlfriend and a bunch of friends." "Now l'm back." Tony said. "We almost got kicked out for the day. My friend kept hooting at every hot girl that passed, even if she was with her boyfriend or sister or friend. He accidentally hooted at a blond teenage mom. Her brother almost lost his temper." Logan just shrugged. "Was was she a ten?" "Lookwise. But being a teenage mom, that brought her down a few. Her boyfriend was also there. He looked just like you, Logan. Red hair and everything. But boy, was he pissed. He told me that his son did not need to hear his mom being yelled at. Spring was really embarassed. l thought l was going to lose her. Then l promised her that l would not hang out with her and Zack in the same building except school or home ever again." l finished the assignment. "Spring and Sophia. Sophia and Spring." Logan said. He grinned at me. "Do you know Sophia, Nina's sister? Tobias? You should totally ask her out." My stomach dropped. "Uh, why?" "Because Maureen is telling the universe about how you two would be perfect for each other." "Really?" "Yeah. Will you?" l looked at Tony. He grinned. "l'll bet you fifty bucks she's hot." he offered. "Oh man. She's gorgeous. An eleven. A twenty, on a scale of one to ten. She deserves a thousand bucks." Logan told him. "Then l'll bet you Tobias doesn't ask her out at all this year." Tony said. Logan agreed, and they shook on it. But their bet broke my heart. l love Sophia, l love Logan, l love Tony.

I looked around the next day. School hadn't even begun yet. Cliques gossiped. Flirty people flirted. Boyfriends and girlfriends kissed. Nerds prepared to go to class. Maureen and Nina were talking. Michael and Logan argued about who's better, KU or Giants. Billy and Sophia were kissing. I suddenly heard a loud shout. It was Ruth. "NO! I'll shave my armpits and legs and brush my hair and teeth when Tobias Shane Grass loves me again!" A boy named Seth looked at me with a question in his eyes. He casually ran his hand over his long blond hair and walked up to me."Sup?" he asked. l told him everything. He nodded."Big mistake, dude. l've dated her before. She won't leave you alone until someone else asks her on a date. Which will be in six million years." He walked away to tell his girlfriend. Chloe walked up to me."What's wrong? Girlfriend upset?" She put her hand on my chest. "Listen, I've got to go. l promised somebody l'd help her with something." l told her. Chloe wrinkled her nose. "Her?" she asked. "Yeah." l don't know why, but as soon as Billy walked up to another girl, l approached Sophia. "Hi.What's up Tobias?" she said. l gazed into her piercing brown eyes for a second. l wanted to feel her brown hair, kiss her plump lips. "l...uh...what would you do if you had two guys chasing you but you didn't like either one of them and was in love with someone else but he has a girlfriend?" She pressed her lips together. "If the guy l'm in love with has a girlfriend, l'd either find somebody else or wait until they break up. The longest teenage relationship l know of was with my brother and his current girlfriend. They've been together for three years. As for the other one, l'd tell him l'm not interested." "You have a brother?" l asked her. "Yeah. l thought Nina told you that. But l think l know why not. He's really talkative and embarassing." "Thanks for the tip." l told her. She grinned. "You're welcome. Since you asked me for help l'll ask you for help. What should you do if you're unsure about the current boyfriend?" Jackpot! "You should do whatever your heart tells you to." l told her. "Thanks." she said. l glanced at the clock. Five more minutes. Sophia and l talked about our lives. My new dog. Her bata fish. Girlfriend's pregnancy scare. Nina's cat. l glanced at Ruth a couple of times. She was glaring at Sophia. "She's just mad because l'm talking to you." l told her. "l heard you're dating her." Sophia told me. l smirked. l told her the truth. "l'm not dating her. That was one time. l'd rather date an airhead." Now l knew a little more about Sophia. Perfect.

Ruth kept glaring at Sophia. l felt horrible. l'd brought this on her. l felt ugly and fat. "Tobias, is something wrong?" Mr. Reed's question interrupted my thoughts. His hazel eyes looked worried through his glasses. "Yeah, l'm fine." l told him. He straightened up and walked on. After science l saw him whispering in Mr. Kurl's ear. Mr.Kurl glanced at me then nodded and said something back. l overheard Mr. Johnson talking to Glen about me. "Mr. Reed is worried about Tobias. He's not himself lately. He's quieter and hasn't answered any question in more than a week. l saw him talking to Chloe then Sophia this morning. It was clear he did not want Chloe near him but was fine with Sophia. His math grade dropped a few points. Not a whole letter grade, but enough to affect him. Mr. Kurl said he hasn't read one sentence since they read a story about a young man who nearly died of cancer. He's worried that that story scared him. l don't think he's scared, it's something deeper." l walked out of the locker room with my water bottle in hand. Glen took roll. "l just want all of you to know that if there's something wrong you can always tell me." he said, and looked right at me when he said "tell me." l sweated like l was running for my life five minutes later. My hair would not stay out of my face, my stomach jiggled, and l hate running. The song was good at least. After l'd run a mile l collapsed on the floor. "Tobias, are you okay?" Mr. Crow asked, standing over me. "l...don't...know..." l breathed. He nodded. "Quick tip. And this applies to anyone who's listening!" he called. Several people stopped. "Don't over extend yourself. Go to your limit. Don't go any farther. That's the secret to a great workout."

In history, we watched Mary Poppins. We'd already watched three Shirley Temple movies. "What's the similarity?" Mr. Reed asked. l raised my hand. My history teacher looked a little surprised. "Tobias?" "There's children in both movies." "He's right, there's children in both movies. What else?" Other people named every single similarity. The bell rang. "Uh...Tobias, l need to talk to you." Mr. Reed said. l walked up to him. "What's up?" "I've been talking to your other teachers, including my brother." He moved a lock of his wild curly hair out of his face. "It seems you haven't been yourself lately. Is something going on? You haven't answered any of my questions for three weeks until today. Apparently that's happened in other classes. Are you hurting? Are your friends still nice to you? Mr.Johnson said he saw you talking to Ruth Wets in a mall where his sister's boyfriend works. He also saw you talking to Chloe Keen and Sophia Martinez. We're worried about you Tobias. We really are. You're one of my personal favorite students. You're smart, hardworking, and quiet. Please tell me if anything's wrong." He tried keep a straight face, but his eyes were big and pleading. l sighed. "You'll be the first person l tell when and if l'm ready." l told him.


After school l saw Sophia sitting by herself. "Hey." She turned around. "Hi." "Are you lonely?" "Not really. Nina had to help with something." l noticed she was wearing a white tank top, shorts, and skateboarding sneakers. Somebody turned a radio on. "Are you two helping?" That was the principal. Sophia said sure, and l found myself cleaning a hall somebody pelted with lunch meat with Sophia, and listening to "Pocketful of Sunshine". Sophia spent some of the extra time organizing her locker with my help. l didn't even see Tony until we finished. "Thanks for helping," Sophia said. Without warning, she gave me a kiss on my cheek. "That's for helping and being a good friend." she said. Behind her, Billy gritted his teeth.

"Who was that?" Tony asked. "My best friend's sister." "Oh. She like you?" "As a friend." We were listening to "If I Had You" by Adam Lambert. Tony cranked up the volume. "This is for you, Spring." he said. l noticed that he had a picture of Spring in his wallet, car, and a big one in his room. Her dark hair certainly complemented Tony's long blond hair. But does brown complement blond? Will she ever be mine? "A girl kissed Tobias." Tony loudly announced. "Oh Tobias, that's wonderful! What did she look like?" Mom asked. "He said she's Nina's sister. She had long brown hair, brown eyes, a narrowish wideish nose, plump lips, perfect ears, hoop earrings, and she was wearing a tank top, mini-shorts that covered a great butt and a little leg and skateboarding sneakers. And she had a giraffe purse." Tony said. "She sounds attractive." Dad said without looking up. "Oh yeah, she was hot. On a scale of one to ten, she's an eleven." He looked at me."You're red, bubby. You know, you should ask her out." My parents looked at me. l told the truth. "l probably would, but she has a boyfriend." l told them. "Who?" Tony asked. "Did you see the guy behind her?" "The redheaded one, blond one or the one wearing a leather jacket?" "Leather jacket." "Yeah. Is it him?" "Yeah." "What did he look like?" Dad asked. Tony described Billy, right down to his nails.

l kept seeing things. Like, green spots on the ceiling. Yellow spots on Jazz's stomach. Red spots in Mom's hair. Blue spots on Dad's shirt. Purple spots on Tony's chest. l decided to call it coloration hallucination.