Sophie the Chatterbox (4 page)

B
y the next day, Sophie had learned a lot about being honest.

In some ways it was easy—hear a question, say the truth. But in some ways it was hard. Sometimes some people did not want to hear the truth.

And sometimes some people, like Aunt Maggie, could not hear the truth (or anything else, really).

Still, Sophie had a name, and she had to live up to it. She was Sophie the Honest!

Or was she?

When Sophie got to school the next day, that was
not what she was called. Not at all. No, everyone was calling her Sophie the Chatterbox!

It happened almost as soon as she walked into the classroom.

“Good morning, Sophie,” said Ms. Moffly. “What a pretty ladybug pin. Where did it come from?”

Sophie grinned.

“Actually, Ms. Moffly, this is a
broach.
And it came from my Aunt Maggie. She invited herself over yesterday. She likes to do that a lot. And she likes to bring us junk, like the can opener she gave me last time. But this is much better. And much, much better than —”

Just then, Toby walked by. His hands were clapped over his ears.

“Look out! Chatterbox alert!” he called.

Of course, Archie had to say something, too.

“Help, she’s still a chatterbox! We’re doomed!” he yelled.

Sophie glared at them both. Honestly, they were the worst!

“Boys!” said Ms. Moffly. “That is quite enough. There will be no name-calling in this classroom.”

Unless it’s a really great name … like Sophie the Honest,
Sophie thought.

Then Ms. Moffly turned back to Sophie. “Well, Sophie, I like your
broach
very much. And I would love to hear more about it. But it’s time for class to start.”

Ms. Moffly reached for the light switch. She flashed the lights three times.

“Has everyone put their homework in the basket?” she asked the class.

There were a few nods. Some “Not yet”s. A few “Yeah”s. And one “Mine was the first.” That was Mindy. Of course.

Sophie sighed. Oh, yeah. Her homework. She had kind of hoped that Ms. Moffly would forget about that.

She raised her hand slowly. “I don’t have my homework, Ms. Moffly,” she said.

“Oh? Why not?” Ms. Moffly asked.

Sophie sighed a big, loud sigh. “My brother ate it.”

Right away, the whole class started laughing … but Ms. Moffly didn’t. She frowned.

“Your brother
ate
it? I find that very hard to believe, Sophie,” she said.

What? Her? Hard to believe? But she was Sophie the Honest!

“It’s true!” Sophie said, talking faster and faster. “Honest! I started to do the homework. But then Aunt Maggie showed up and I had to stop. When I went back to get it, it was all chewed up and on the floor. And it had to be my brother who did it. We don’t have a dog. Just a kitten. And she never eats paper. But she does eat plants. And Jell-O. Once.”

Sophie took a gulp of air.

“You have to believe me, Ms. Moffly. You have to!” she finished.

Ms. Moffly’s frown went away. A calm smile took its place.

“I do believe you, Sophie. You can do another word find tonight,” she said.

“T
hat was close,” Sophie told Kate a little while later. They were walking around the classroom,
surveying
it with a measuring tape — just like they’d learned about at George Washington’s house.

Kate held her measuring tape up to Sophie’s bug broach. “What was close?” she asked.

“When Ms. Moffly thought that I was lying,” said Sophie. “Can you believe it? Me? I’m Sophie the Honest!”

“Oh, right!” Kate nodded.

“And what about all this ‘chatterbox’ stuff?” Sophie went on. “Honestly, that has to stop.”

“Well …” Kate shrugged. She held her measuring tape up to a ruler. “Twelve inches. Exactly.” Then she looked at Sophie. “Maybe you’re both.”

Sophie had to frown.
Both?
She didn’t think so.

“But I’m not a chatterbox!” she protested. “I’m honest. I tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That’s all.”

“I know. But maybe you could tell the whole truth without talking so much,” Kate said.

Sophie thought about that for a second. It was a pretty good idea. She was getting tired of talking so much, anyway.

“I’ll see what I can do,” she said.

With that, she took one end of the measuring tape. Kate stretched it across their table.

“Four feet,” Kate said.

Then Sophie pointed to Sydney’s empty chair.

“Have you asked Sydney about riding horses this weekend yet?” she asked.

Kate shook her head. “Not yet,” she said. “I think I will after school.” She put her thumb and finger together and pulled them like a zipper across her lips. “Remember,” she said, “this is a secret.”

Sophie zipped her lips back. “Got it!”

Just then, Dean walked up with his measuring
tape. He said he wanted to ask Sophie something. And he wanted an honest answer.

“You’ve come to the right girl!” Sophie said. Yes! Her name was working!

“I was just wondering. How come your sister calls my brother about homework every night?” Dean asked.

Sophie cleared her throat. She could answer this question, no problem. And she did not need to be a chatterbox to do it!

“Because my sister has a great big crush on him,” she said simply.

Dean nodded. “I knew it. I saw the same thing happen on TV.”

As he walked away, Sophie grinned. “You’re welcome, Dean!” she called after him. Then she turned to Kate. “Better?”

Kate nodded. “Much.”

Sophie was ready for her next question. But it did not come right away. Instead, it came just before lunch. She and Grace were at the classroom sink, washing their hands.

“I hope your mom’s shoes are okay,” Sophie said. She still felt a little bad when she thought about spilling the butter.

“They’re not. But it’s fine,” Grace told her. “My mom is happy. Now she has a reason to buy new ones. Pass me the soap. Oh, and guess what!”

“What?” asked Sophie.

“We set up our trampoline in the backyard,” Grace said. “Want to come over this weekend and jump?”

A trampoline! Sophie loved those!

She was all ready to say, “Yes!” But then she remembered Kate and the horses.

“Yes. I do want to. But I can’t,” she said carefully.

“Aw, too bad. Why not?” Grace asked.

Why not?

“Um …” Sophie froze.

She wished she could say, “Oh, no reason.” Or “Because my sister has a very important ballet recital. And I don’t want to go. They’re always so boring. But I
have
to.”

She was Sophie the Honest. She couldn’t say those things. But maybe she could change the subject.

Sophie pulled her hands out from under the water. “Paper towel, please?” she asked.

Grace tore one off and passed it.

“Thank you,” Sophie said.
That was easy !
she thought, grinning.

“So what are you doing this weekend? Tell me!” Grace said.

Oh, no.

Sophie crumpled her paper towel. She thought of Kate zipping her lips. But Sophie had to tell the truth. She couldn’t be Sophie the Honest if she lied!

She took a deep breath.

“I’m doing something with Kate,” she said.

“What?” Grace asked.

“Um … riding horses …,” Sophie mumbled. “Boy, am I hungry! Aren’t you?” she asked.

“That sounds fun!” Grace said. “Where are you riding horses?”

“Um …” Sophie looked up at the clock. Why wasn’t it time for lunch yet? “Kate’s babysitter, Mrs. Belle … her daughter has a horse farm … and we’re going there … and sleeping over …,” she said.

Grace smiled a very big smile. “Wow! Can I come, too?” she asked.

Sophie bit her lip. She was feeling hot. “Um, no. You can’t.”

Now Grace frowned a very big frown. She crossed her arms. “Why not?” she asked.

Sophie took another deep breath. “I’m sorry. I can’t tell you,” she said.

Then she turned around. But Grace turned with her. Her hands were on her hips.

“I thought you were Sophie the
Honest.
Or are you just a chatterbox?” Grace said.

“I am not a chatterbox!” Sophie said.

She was Sophie the Honest! But then she thought about what that meant. It meant telling the truth … no matter what the consequences were.

“Okay,” Sophie said, standing up straight and tall. “The truth is, Kate can only invite two
friends. And she’s inviting me and Sydney. She would have picked you, Grace. But you are too bossy sometimes. But don’t feel bad. Mia laughs too loud. And Eve gets scared at sleepovers.”

“Bossy?” Grace repeated when Sophie stopped for air.

Then Ms. Moffly flashed the lights. It was time for lunch. At last!

S
ome days, Sophie liked school lunch. Like pizza days — those were good. And some days, she did not. Like this day. Chili day. Blech!

“No, thank you,” she told the lunch lady when she offered Sophie a scoop of chili. “To be honest, it reminds me of mud.” Sophie took two rolls instead. And four pats of butter.

Then she turned to see Kate in line behind her. Kate did not look happy at all.

“I know,” Sophie said. “Chili. Blech!”

But Kate didn’t nod or smile. What she did do was shout, “How could you, Sophie?!”

Then she turned and stomped off.

H
ow could she?

How could she
what?

How could she take two rolls? But she had done that before.

How could she take four butters? Okay. Maybe that was too much.

Or how could she have gotten into the lunch line without Kate? Maybe that was it. Sophie should have waited. But Kate had gone to the bathroom, so Sophie thought it was okay.

She paid for her lunch, grabbed her tray, and hurried to catch up with Kate. Sophie wasn’t sure
where Kate was going. She didn’t even have her lunch yet.

“I’m sorry! Honest! I’ll wait for you next time. I promise!” she said.

But Kate didn’t look any happier. In fact, she looked even more mad. “That’s not what I’m mad about,” she said.

“Then what is it?” Sophie asked.

“I’m mad because you told everyone about my horse-riding sleepover!” Kate cried. “And now they’re all mad at me!”

Oh.

Sophie felt like her feet were starting to sink into the floor.

“I’m sorry, Kate. Really, really sorry! But I didn’t tell everyone!” Sophie crossed her heart. “Honest!”

Kate gave her a look. It was a look she gave to Toby sometimes. “Don’t lie!” she said.

“I’m not lying,” said Sophie. “I only told Grace. But I had to. She made me.”

“How did she make you?” Kate asked, putting her hands on her hips.

“Well … she asked me,” Sophie said.

Kate shook her head. “And did she make you tell her I said she was bossy? And that Mia laughs too loud? And that Eve gets scared?” Kate asked. “Because that’s what they said!”

Oh, no!

Grace isn’t just bossy,
thought Sophie.
She’s bad at keeping secrets, too!

“I didn’t want to tell Grace all of that. I just had to,” Sophie said to Kate. “I was being honest. That’s who I am! Remember?”

Sophie smiled at Kate. She had to understand. She just had to!

But Kate did not smile back. She crossed her arms instead.

“You know what?” Kate said. “Your name shouldn’t be Sophie the Honest. And it shouldn’t be Sophie the Chatterbox, either.” She glared so hard at Sophie, Sophie had to look away. “It should be Sophie the Big Mouth, if you ask me!”

Ouch!
Kate’s words hurt more than any pinch from Toby ever had.

“I’m sorry, Kate,” said Sophie, looking down at her shoes. “Don’t be mad. I’m your best friend.”

Kate shook her head slowly.
“Honestly,
Sophie, I don’t think you are. I just can’t trust you.”

And with that, Kate walked off to get her own rolls and butter.

Sophie looked around. One whole lunch table was staring at her. But Sophie felt so bad, she didn’t even care.

I
t was Sophie’s worst lunch. Ever. Worse than the one where she dropped the meatball sandwich in her lap.

For one thing, there was no one to sit with.

Not Kate, of course. She was too mad. She sat with Sydney.

And not Grace or Eve or Mia. They were too mad to sit with Sophie
or
Kate.

Plus Grace had told more girls about Kate’s horse-riding party. And now they were mad, too.

That left only the boys to sit with. But who wanted to sit with them?

Toby walked up to Sophie as she sat all alone. “Why aren’t you sitting with Kate, Chatterbox?” he asked.

Sophie wanted to say, “Mind your own beeswax!” But she was Sophie the Honest. She had to tell the truth … even to Toby.

She lifted her chin. “Because I don’t think we’re friends anymore,” she said.

She was glad that Toby kept on walking. She was pretty sure that if he had stayed, her “no crying in school” rule would have been broken.

Sophie picked up a roll off her tray.

It had raisins in it. Gross!

T
he rest of the day went by slowly. (And staying inside for recess — Sophie’s consequence from yesterday—didn’t help.)

Finally, it was three o’clock. But for Sophie, that just meant sitting by herself on the bus home.

Or even worse, sitting next to Ella.

Ella Fitzgibbon was in kindergarten. She lived next door to Sophie. She had always been a pest. But then Sophie had saved her life. She’d stopped Ella from running into the street in front of a car, and had become Ella’s hero. Since then, Ella had been worse than ever!

“Sophie!” Ella squeaked. She pointed to the empty seat next to Sophie. “Is Kate sitting here?”

Sophie looked across the bus. Kate was in a seat already. She had to be honest. “No.”

“Oh, goody!” Ella said. She plopped down.

She smelled like crayons and glue and … rotten fruit? Sophie sniffed. What
was
that?

“Ooh! I like your bug pin!” Ella said. “Hey! Want to see my shrunken head?”

Before Sophie could say yes or no, Ella held up something small and wrinkly. “I made it with an apple! Do you like it?” she asked.

Sophie looked at it closely. It was shrunken, yeah. But a head? Sophie didn’t think so.

She sighed and turned to the window. Suddenly, a hand was on Sophie’s shoulder. Someone was leaning over the seat.

Kate? Sophie looked up hopefully. Did Kate want to talk to her again?

No.

It was just Sophie’s big sister, Hayley.

“How could you?!” she cried.