Sophie the Chatterbox (3 page)

S
ophie waited for Kate to tell her the big news. But it was not easy.

Sophie waited through the field trip.

She waited on the bus back to school
and
the bus home.

She waited until she got to Kate’s house.

Then she could not wait anymore.

“You have to tell me now!” she cried as they walked into Kate’s kitchen. “Honestly! I can’t wait anymore!”

“I will, I will. In a second,” Kate told her. She
had a giant smile on her face. “Hi, Mrs. Belle! We’re home!” she called out.

A cheerful voice called back to them.
“Hellooo!
I’ll be right there!”

Mrs. Belle lived in their neighborhood. She had three kids, but they were all grown up. She came over to Kate’s in the afternoon and stayed until Kate’s mom got home from work.

Kate’s mom worked in a doctor’s office, but she was not a doctor or a nurse. Sophie was pretty sure her job was to keep people quiet in the waiting room.

Sophie liked Mrs. Belle. She knew a million card games. And she let Sophie and Kate watch TV game shows with her.

She also made stuffed cabbage. It smelled pretty bad. But it actually tasted good.

Mrs. Belle walked into the kitchen. She was wearing her favorite tracksuit. It was bright yellow, like her hair. Sophie knew that it had to be her favorite, since she’d dyed her hair to match.

Mrs. Belle gave Kate and Sophie a hug. “So, how was school today, girls? What did you do?” she asked them.

Kate shrugged. She said the usual: “Okay,” and “Not much.”

Sophie usually said the same thing. But now that she was Sophie the Honest, “Okay” and “Not much” were not enough.

Sophie took a breath. She cleared her throat.

“To be honest, Mrs. Belle, school was hard today. Before we went on a field trip, we had a spelling quiz first thing. And I thought I knew all the words. But guess what? I studied the words from last week by accident. But then the day got better, because we got to go on our trip. That meant we got to miss meat loaf for lunch. So that was very good. Then I scared Toby and Archie away, and Kate and I got the back seat of the bus. But then I opened my lunch bag. And my mom packed me egg salad. And it stunk up the whole bus….”

Sophie stopped and took another breath. Then she went on.

“Anyway, we walked all over the place where George Washington was born. And I guess we learned some stuff. Stuff like if you ever go on a field trip, do not wear fancy shoes. And that George Washington’s teeth probably fell out because he ate hoecakes that tasted like wood. And that he did not have a TV. But even if he did, I bet it would have gotten burned. And that even presidents can have the most boring jobs in the world.”

Mrs. Belle’s eyes were wide. She looked surprised. So did Kate.

“My goodness! Sophie, you’re a little chatterbox today!” Mrs. Belle exclaimed.

Chatterbox?
Again?

Sophie stood up very straight. She proudly raised her chin.

“I’m just being
honest,
Mrs. Belle. From now on, that is who I am,” Sophie said. She tugged on
her shirt so her
H
showed better. “Sophie the Honest, at your service!”

“I see! So tell me, and be
honest!
What can I get you girls to eat?” Mrs. Belle said.

That was when Kate spoke up. “Cookies, please!”

Mrs. Belle got out a box of cookies with fudge stripes on top. She poured two cups of milk and let the girls squeeze chocolate into them.

“Whoa!” Mrs. Belle said. “I think that’s enough.”

Sophie stopped squeezing and licked her fingers. Then she remembered what she had been waiting for all day.

“Kate! You have to tell me your big news!” she said.

“Oh, right!” Kate said. She took a sip of chocolate milk and grinned. “But first, do I have a mustache?”

Sophie rolled her eyes. “Yes,” she said. She sipped her milk so she had one, too. “Now go on!” she told Kate.

Kate turned to Mrs. Belle. “Mrs. Belle, tell Sophie about your daughter!”

Mrs. Belle winked. “Well, she’s moved back to town. Finally!” she told Sophie.

“Oh …, “ Sophie said. She guessed that was exciting … for Mrs. Belle.

Kate leaned over. “That’s not all,” she said.

Then Mrs. Belle told Sophie that her daughter had bought a horse farm.

“Oh,” Sophie said. That was more exciting.

Then Mrs. Belle told Sophie that her daughter had invited Kate to come ride horses. And that Kate could bring two friends. And sleep over.
And
they could do it all that weekend!

“Oh!” Sophie said. That was not just exciting … it was the most fantastic, amazing, awesome thing ever, in the whole world!

“Have you ever ridden a horse before?” Mrs. Belle asked.

“No. Never.” Sophie shook her head. “But it has always been my lifelong dream,” she said very seriously.

Kate looked at her funny. “It has?”

“Yes, honest!” Sophie said. “I just didn’t know it until now.”

Then Sophie looked at Kate. And Kate looked at Sophie.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Kate asked.

“I think so!” Sophie said.

They gulped down their milk and each grabbed a handful of cookies.

“Thanks a lot, Mrs. Belle!” they said. “We have to go outside and practice!”

Sophie and Kate ran straight to Kate’s swing set. They straddled the swings like they were horses. They grabbed the chains and rocked and yelled, “Giddyup!” as loudly as they could.

“Whoa!” Kate said at last. She patted the air where her horse’s head would be. “Easy now, Lightning. Not too fast.”

Sophie pretended to pat her horse, too. “Good girl, Buttercup. Nice jumping!” she told her.

Then Sophie suddenly thought of something. Something that made her horse stop. Was
pretending
to ride a horse
honest
?

“What’s wrong, Sophie?” Kate asked. “You look like your horse threw you off.”

Sophie sighed. She swung her leg over the swing so that she was facing forward.

“What’s wrong is that I forgot to be honest. No more pretending for me,” Sophie said.

“Huh?” Kate said. “But we
like
pretending.”

“I know. But pretending isn’t honest,” Sophie said. “At least, I don’t think so.”

Sophie sighed again. This time, Kate sighed with her.

They were both quiet for a minute.

“Can
I
still pretend?” Kate asked.

Sophie nodded. “Sure. Why not?”

Kate started to gallop on her horse. Then she stopped. “It’s not the same by myself.”

“Sorry,” Sophie said glumly. She didn’t want to ruin Kate’s fun, but she had to be true to her new name!

“That’s okay,” Kate said. “The only problem is that we pretend a lot.”

They were both quiet again.

“I know! Let’s talk instead,” Sophie said, swinging back and forth. “Tell me. Who else are you going to ask to come to the horse farm?”

Sophie knew that was a tough question, since Kate could only bring two friends. Sophie was Kate’s number one best friend. But there was a four-way tie for number two. Grace and Sydney sat at their table in room 10. And Eve and Mia played the most with them at recess.

Kate shrugged. “Grace is nice,” she said. “But she can be a little bossy. And Eve and Mia are fun. But Eve still can’t sleep over. She always has to call her mom. And Mia laughs really, really loud. She could scare the horses. So I guess I’ll ask Sydney. What do you think?” Kate asked.

Sophie nodded. “I think that sounds good,” she said honestly.

Then Kate chewed her hair. Sophie knew she did that when she was nervous.

“But what if Grace and Eve and Mia find out?” Kate went on. “I don’t want them to be mad. Or feel bad.”

Sophie waved her hand.

“Don’t worry,” she told Kate. “Sydney is good at keeping secrets. How could anyone find out?”

S
ophie could not wait to get home and tell her mom the big news.

But her mom asked her a question first: “Sophie, how was school?”

Sophie had to be honest!

By the time Sophie got to the butter-churning part, her mom had to stop her.

“I’m sorry, Sophie,” her mom said. “I want to hear more. I really do. But you’re such a chatterbox today. And I have so much to do.”

Chatterbox!
Again?

Sophie was just trying to be honest! Why did
grown-ups ask questions if they didn’t want to hear the truth?

Still, honestly, she was glad to stop talking about her day. She spotted Tiptoe, her kitten, near her feet. She bent down and scooped her up. Then she tickled Tiptoe’s chin. Tiptoe liked that, Sophie knew.

Sophie looked at the stove. A pot of red sauce was bubbling. It smelled very, very yummy. “What are you making, Mom?”

“Lasagna. Dad’s favorite. I want to surprise him,” her mom said.

“Can I help?” Sophie asked.

Her mom smiled but shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I have to do this fast so I can clean the house,” she said. “Aunt Maggie called. She invited herself over for dinner. Again.”

Sophie’s mom’s smile was gone. She looked at the clock and let out a groan. “What is Aunt Maggie’s problem?” she asked.

Sophie shrugged and told the truth: “I do not know.”

Sophie’s mom smiled again. “I don’t, either. I just hope she doesn’t bring any more junk with her. If only she knew we throw most of it out,” she said, shaking her head.

Brring- brring- brring!

“Could you answer the phone, Sophie?” her mom asked. Her hands were covered with cheese. “If it’s for me, just say I’m not here, please.”

Sophie ran for the phone. She was happy to get it. Almost always, her mom or her dad or her older sister, Hayley, answered it first.

Sophie punched the “talk” button. “Hello?”

“Hello!” said a very loud voice on the other end. “Aunt Maggie here! Who is this?”

“Hi, Aunt Maggie. This is Sophie.” She cleared her throat. “Sophie the Honest!”

She couldn’t help smiling. What a good name she had picked!

“Sophie the
who
?” said Aunt Maggie. “Sophie the
Olive
?”

Sometimes Sophie forgot that Aunt Maggie didn’t hear well.

“No, Aunt Maggie.” Sophie sighed. “It’s just me. Sophie,” she said.

She would wait until Aunt Maggie got there to make her new name clear.

“Ah, Sophie. How are you, dear?” Aunt Maggie asked.

“Well …,” Sophie began.

“That’s nice, dear,” said Aunt Maggie. “Is your mother there?”

Sophie thought about that for a second.

“Yes,” she said finally. “And no.”

“What’s that?” said Aunt Maggie. “I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t get that. Was that a yes? Or a no?”

“Both,” Sophie said, as loudly as she could, into the phone. “Yes, because my mom is here. And no, because she told me to say she’s not. But I can’t lie. Because I am honest!”

Sophie turned to smile at her mom. Her mom did not smile back.

Oops.

“Um, I don’t think you want to talk to my mom, anyway,” Sophie went on. “She looks a little mad.
And her hands are in the lasagna. And the house is a big mess. And she still has to clean it before you get here. And —”

Just then, Sophie’s mom took the phone.

“Are you going to ask Aunt Maggie what her problem is?” Sophie asked.

Quickly, Sophie’s mom put her hand over the phone. “Why don’t you go do your homework, Sophie?” she said.

“Do I have to?” Sophie asked. Honestly, she did not want to. Her homework was a word find. Those were almost as boring as surveying.

“Yes!” her mom said.

Sophie sighed. She headed to her room. On the way, her sister, Hayley, stopped her. She was in the playroom with Max, their little brother.

Hayley was in fifth grade. But she acted like she was grown up.

Max was two. And he acted like that, pretty much.

Just then, he was running a toy front loader over Hayley’s foot.

“Sophie! There you are! I’ve been waiting for you. Mom asked me to watch Max for her. But now it’s your turn,” Hayley said.

Sophie shrugged. “I can’t,” she said. She was happy to be honest this time! “Mom told me to do my homework.”

Hayley rolled her eyes. “You can do both, like I did,” she said. “I have to call Sam right now and ask him what to do for homework.”

Sophie frowned. She was confused. She knew who Sam was. He was Dean’s big brother. And he was the boy Hayley
like
-liked.

Sophie knew this because Hayley wrote Sam’s name all over her notebooks. And she tried to walk by him all the time in school.

“But you just said you already did your homework,” Sophie said.

Hayley made a face. “That’s not
really
why I’m calling him,” she said. And with that, she lifted Max’s truck off her foot and left the room.

Sophie sat down and tried to do her word find. But doing homework with Max was hard.

It was not because he talked a lot. In fact, he did not talk at all. (Which was weird, Sophie thought.) But he made a lot of other noises. Noises like
BANG!
and
CRASH!
and
BOOM!
and
WHOMP!

Sophie was glad when she finally heard another sound.

BEEP-BEEP!
Aunt Maggie’s car horn!

“Come on, Max,” Sophie said. “Aunt Maggie’s here. Let’s see what she brought.”

Sophie’s Great-aunt Maggie never came empty-handed. She always came with stuff. It was all stuff from her big, old house. And it was all stuff that Sophie’s mom called junk.

That day, she had two bags when she walked in the door. Sophie could see them under her shawl. The shawl was as big as Sophie’s bedspread. Aunt Maggie always wore it instead of a coat.

Aunt Maggie set down the bags. “Hello, darling children!” She wrapped Sophie and Max up in a hug in her shawl.

Her shawl smelled a lot like perfume. And a little like wet dog.

Then Aunt Maggie reached into a bag and pulled out a glass bowl. It was full of match-books.

Wow!
Sophie hoped it was for her. She had never had matches before!

But Aunt Maggie handed it to Max.

“Maximilian, dear! Look what I have for you!” she said.

Sophie stepped back. Matches? And a glass bowl? For Max? She did not think that was a very good idea.

Max reached up to grab the bowl, but Sophie’s mom swooped in.

“Maybe
I
should take that, Aunt Maggie,” she said.

Aunt Maggie grinned and nodded. “If you like it that much, it’s yours!” she said.

Then she pulled out a plant. It looked pretty dead.

“Here, Maxy. Give this a little water. It will grow like wild,” Aunt Maggie said.

Max grabbed it happily and dumped it onto the
floor. He sat down in the dirt. Then he scooped some up and ate it.

Sophie looked at her mom. She had put the glass bowl on a table. Now her head was in her hands.

Aunt Maggie was already reaching back into her bags. Two more things came out.

One was a big book. It looked old and had two words, “LATIN GRAMMAR,” on the cover.

The other was a pin. It was shaped like a big bug. And it was covered, almost, with jewels. (Some had fallen off the bottom.)

Still, it was the best thing Aunt Maggie had ever brought, by far!

Sophie was glad she had not gotten the matches. She wanted the bug pin very, very much.

But Aunt Maggie handed the book to Sophie.

“Sophie-Olive, darling, what do you think?” she asked.

Sophie thought hard for a minute. She was Sophie the Honest. She had to tell the truth.

“I think … I would like that bug pin a lot more,” Sophie said.

Sophie hoped Aunt Maggie’s feelings were not hurt. But Aunt Maggie didn’t look hurt. She looked like she hadn’t heard Sophie.

“What’s that?” she asked with one hand behind her ear.

“I said, I think I would like that bug pin!” Sophie said again, a little more loudly.

“You mean this
broach?”
said Aunt Maggie.

Broach? Was that like a roach? Sophie wondered.

“I guess so,” Sophie said. “But it looks like a ladybug to me.”

Aunt Maggie smiled. “Well, if there’s one thing I like, it’s a girl who’s honest. It’s yours!” she said.

She pinned the broach to Sophie’s shirt.

“Thank you!” Sophie said. She felt as sparkly as the ladybug … or broach … or whatever.

“I guess I’ll be giving this book to Hayley,” said Aunt Maggie. “I wonder where she is….”

She shrugged and put the book down. Then she pulled out something else. It was orange and
shaped like a pumpkin. Sophie was pretty sure it was a lamp. And she was very sure it was broken.

Aunt Maggie gave it a pat. “This is for your dad. He can fix it up. It will be fun! I hate to throw things out, don’t you?” she said.

Sophie looked up from her pin.

“Oh, we like to throw stuff out,” she told Aunt Maggie. “Mom throws out most of the stuff you give us. And my dad can’t fix anything. And Hayley is in her room. She’s trying to get a boyfriend by telling him lies about her homework.”

“Sophie!” her mom said. She was shaking her head.

“Sophie!” said Hayley. She had just walked in.

Why did everyone look so mad?

“Aunt Maggie!” said Sophie’s dad. He had just walked in, too. “I didn’t know you were coming. This is a surprise! And mmm … smells good! What’s for dinner?” he asked.

“Don’t ask, Dad,” Sophie told him. “It’s lasagna. And it’s a surprise, too.”