Lara Bergen: Sophie the Sweetheart

“Hi, Mr. Hurley!” said Sophie as she skipped into the gym later that morning. “I don’t know what fun game you have planned for us. But I can’t wait, whatever it is! See? I’ve got my shoelaces tied and everything. Nice shorts, by the way!”

“Er … thanks,” said Mr. Hurley in a strange, normal voice. He almost even smiled as Sophie plopped down right in front of him, sitting crisscross applesauce.

Then he shook that look off and blew his whistle.

FWEEEEEEEEEEE!

“Okay, today we’re starting a new unit! Everybody sit down and listen up!” This time, he hollered. That was mostly how he talked.

What kind of unit? Sophie wondered. Maybe gymnastics? That would be fun! Or soccer? Even better! Now that she was on a rec team, she could actually kick the ball!

Sophie was game for anything. (Just as long as it wasn’t volleyball. The ball always seemed to fall on her head.)

Sophie listened, very sweetly, to what the gym teacher hollered next.

“Today we start square dancing!”

No! Not that!

“Ew!”

“Cooties!”

“Gross!”

All around her, kids started to gag. Sophie worked hard to keep smiling, though. She sat up nice and straight. And she didn’t let out even a tiny groan.

FWEEEEEEEEEEE!

“Okay! That’s enough!” Mr. Hurley hollered. “Not another word about germs!” He held up a pump bottle full of bright green gel. “I’ve got plenty of hand sanitizer for you all when you’re done! Now I need two volunteers to demonstrate. Don’t be shy! Hands up!”

Sophie looked around. Every hand was behind every back.

“If there aren’t any volunteers, I’ll pick!” Mr. Hurley warned.

Sophie looked around again. Now every head was looking at the floor.

Hey! Sophie suddenly thought of something sweet she could do right then. What did her mom always say? Something about turning lemons into lemonade? Well, Sophie thought, maybe I can make some square-dance-ade today!

She looked up, took a deep breath, and slowly raised her hand.

A giant “Whuh!” of surprise sucked half the air out of the gym.

“Okay, Sophie M. Get up here!” Mr. Hurley hollered.

Sophie got up and stood by his side. The girls in front of her sighed with relief. Kate was shaking her head in total disbelief.

“Now we need a boy!” Mr. Hurley hollered. “Who wants to join Sophie M.?”

Sophie bit her lip, and her eyes wandered. They landed hopefully on Ben. He was the nicest boy in her class, by far. Maybe he would be a sweetheart and raise his hand.

But no. He did not.

In fact, he didn’t even look up. Instead, he picked at his jeans where there was already a hole.

Nobody else looked at Sophie, either. She was starting to feel sour instead of sweet. Why didn’t anyone want to dance with her? What was so wrong? Did she stink?

“Okay! Looks like I’m picking. Let’s see … Toby!” Mr. Hurley hollered. “Get up here!”

Sophie couldn’t believe her ears.

Toby? No way!

Way.

Toby Myers was crossing his eyes and sticking out his tongue. “This is torture! Don’t make me!” he moaned.

“On the double!” Mr. Hurley hollered.

Toby staggered to his feet, whining, “Why me?”

No, no, thought Sophie. Why me?

Why did Mr. Hurley have to pick the yuckiest boy in the whole school? Well, one of the yuckiest boys. There was also Yucky Boy Number Two — Archie Dolan, Toby’s new best friend.

No one would ever know it now, but for a long time Sophie and Toby had been best friends. Toby would play at Sophie’s house almost every day, or she would play at his. They had shared toys and costumes and everything. Even potties and juice boxes. Blegh!

But then something happened. When they got to second grade, all of a sudden Toby started playing with Archie and calling Sophie names.

Luckily for Sophie, Kate moved to a house just down the street that year. It was like Sophie had written a letter to Santa asking for the perfect best friend. And Santa had decided she was so good that he gave her an early gift. Good old Kate!

At the front of the gym, Toby finally made his way to Sophie, but he leaned away as far as he could. Sophie started to lean away, too. Then she stopped herself.

Wait. No!

She wasn’t going to let dumb Toby stop her from living up to her name. She was going to be Sophie the Sweetheart no matter what. No pain, no gain! (Just like her dad said when he went to the gym.)

She stood up very straight and smiled very, very big. “So, Mr. Hurley. What can we demonstrate for you today?” she asked sweetly.

Mr. Hurley got that funny look again — like his mouth was itching to grin. “Er … You can start by facing each other. No, Toby. The other way. Now ‘honor your partner’ with a big bow from the waist. Good, Sophie. Toby, try that again.”

“Ow!”

Sophie grabbed the top of her head. Toby had bowed right into it! She stood up and almost, almost glared her maddest glare at him.

But then she remembered. She had to stay sweet, no matter what.

So instead, she rubbed her head and said, “Are you okay? How clumsy of me.”

Boy, being sweet was hard! Especially when Toby do-si-doed all over her toes. And then when he swung her so hard by the arm that it almost came off!

She did get back at him, though. (In a sweet way, of course.) She grabbed his hands and held them— tight! — so he couldn’t wriggle them away.

Take that, Toby!

“Okay, good job!” Mr. Hurley hollered at last.

Phew!

Sophie sighed and rubbed her worn-out hands.

Mr. Hurley looked around the room. “Everyone else, stand up!”

After that, things began to get better. (They couldn’t get much worse.) The whole class lined up to dance the Virginia reel. And it was actually kind of fun!

Sophie loved the sashay part. And the part where everybody ducked under the bridge. In fact, the only part she didn’t like was the part where Mindy kept telling her what she was doing wrong.

“Sophie! Hold your hands higher!”

“Sophie! You’re swinging wrong!”

“Sophie! You’re sashaying too fast!”

“Sophie! Now you’re sashaying too slow!”

Finally, Sophie turned to Mindy. She put her hands on her hips. “Stop telling me what to do!” she snapped. “Mind your own beeswax, bossy-pants!”

“Oooooh …”

The eyes all around them got big. Mindy’s got bitter and small.

“I’m telling Mr. Hurley you called me a name!” she said.

A very un-sweet name, Sophie realized. Uh-oh!

“I’m sorry!” Sophie said quickly. “I didn’t mean it! I take it back!”

Deep down, she didn’t want to. But she knew a sweetheart could not talk like that. She hadn’t let Toby ruin her name before. And she wasn’t going to let Mindy ruin it now.

“I don’t know what came over me,” she told Mindy (and everybody else, since they were all listening, too). “It must be the square dancing. It brings out the worst in everyone.”

She focused hard on smiling sweetly. There. Her cheeks hurt, so it must have worked.

“Please forgive me,” she went on. “What I really meant to say was thank you so much for all your helpful advice, Mindy. Those were very useful tips.”