Sweet Sofie (2 page)

Sofia pulled hard, glaring at him before she saw Alex ride up behind him and jump off his bike.

“Get away from my sister.” He pushed Brandon hard, nearly knocking him off his feet.

“She was gonna lend me her bike.”

“No, I wasn’t!” Sofia squealed. “He was trying to take it.”

Alex glared at him and pushed him again even harder. “You gonna take my sisters bike?”

“No!” Brandon stumbled back, but managed to stay on his feet. The other guys rode up on their bikes. Angel and Sal jumped off their bikes immediately.

“What’s going on?” Sal asked, walking up behind Alex.

“He was trying to take my bike,” Sofia answered.

At Sal’s glare, Brandon turned around and ran up the steps of his porch. “Yeah, you better run, Billings!” Angel yelled.

Brandon hurried in his house and closed the screen door behind him. “I wasn’t trying to take no girl bike.”

“You gotta come out sometime,” Sal smirked.

“And when you do,” Alex cracked his knuckles, “I’m gonna kick your ass.”

Brandon closed the wooden door. Sal turned to Sofia. “Are you okay?”

“Did he touch you?” Angel asked.

“I’m okay,” Sofia said, and then glanced at Angel. “No, he didn’t touch me.”

Romero picked up a rock and threw it at the screen door. “Asshole!”

They all got back on their bikes and started toward the house. “You shouldn’t have been over here, Sof.” Alex said, and started peddling. “We told you to stay.”

Sofia rolled her eyes. “I wanted to see. So what happened?”

“The guy that was trying to get away crashed into a parked car and they arrested him,” Eric said, riding next to Sofia.

Sofia opened her eyes wide. “Was he hurt?”

“Nah. The crash sounded a lot worse than it aworse tt looked.”

Alex rode over to the broken ramp. “You had to get stupid about it.” He looked at Romero. The guys started laughing again, remembering Romero’s spill.

Romero frowned and rubbed his crotch. “I think I bruised my nuts.”

“Easy.” Sal frowned at him and then glanced back at Sofia.

Sofia didn’t say anything, but felt a little awkward. She got off her bike, leaving it on the driveway and walked in the house. They could talk about bruised nuts or whatever they wanted to now. She was thirsty.

Pouring the juice in her cup, she thought of her brothers. Brandon had it coming. It had been building for some time now. She could hardly believe how stupid he was to continue to be a jerk. She cringed at the thought of what would happen if her brothers ever got hold of him.

***

A few days later at school, Mrs. Sanders tapped the pointer she had in her hand against her desk loudly. “Mr. Diego, can you come back to earth?”

Eric turned to his sixth grade teacher, feeling his face redden as some of the other kids giggled. He’d been busy staring out the window. Sofia and a couple of girls were on the playground. He’d seen Brandon hanging around, not too far from them. Brandon looked like he was up to no good.

“I asked you to read the next paragraph,” Mrs. Sanders snapped.

Eric glanced down at his book. He hadn’t the slightest idea what page they were on, much less which paragraph. He glanced up at Romero, who sat across from him, for help.

“Page eight,” Romero whispered.

Eric turned the page quickly. He’d been way off, in the twenties, and then looked at Romero again. “Third paragraph.”

“Mr. Romero, are you talking again?” Mrs. Sanders raised her voice.

“No, Ma’am.”

He turned back and shot Eric a look. Eric struggled not to smile.

“Am I hearing things, then?” Mrs. Sanders pressed.

Romero shook his head and glared at Eric, who was shaking his head disapprovingly.

Eric started reading and quickly realized he’d been had. He was on the wrong page. Romero chuckled when the teacher told Eric he wasn’t even on the right chapter.

“Is something funny, Mr. Romero?”

Romero had a bad case of the giggles by now, and couldn’t even answer her. He looked down at his book, biting his lip, and shook his head. When Eric saw Romero was unable to control his laughter, he started chuckling also.

“Alright, I’ve had enough of you two,” she snapped. “You can both go see Mrs. Powell, right now!”

Even then, Romero was still laugh bi still ing. Eric didn’t even want to look at him. He’d managed to stop laughing. Making the mistake of glancing up at Romero’s stupid face, he cracked up again.

“Take your things with you, because I’m asking her to keep you for the rest of the day.”

When they walked out the door, Eric frowned at Romero and pushed him. “You’re stupid.”

Romero laughed. “You’re the one.”

“Man, I’m gonna be so busted when I get home.” Eric shook his head.

“Not as busted as Angel.”

Eric looked at him, confused, and then turned in the direction Romero was staring. There were two teachers trying to pull Angel off of Brandon on the playground. Angel was furious and continued to try to kick Brandon. Brandon lay there on the ground with his hands over his face.

Sofia stood off to the side, close to tears. Eric and Romero ran toward the crowd. “I told you not to mess with my sister,” Angel yelled.

“That’s enough!” Mr. Manning, the playground proctor, warned. He was finally able to pull Angel away.

Brandon had a bloody nose and a fat lip.

Eric turned to Sofia. “What happened?

“He pulled my skirt up.”

Eric frowned, suddenly glad Angel had kicked Brandon’s ass. He glared at Brandon, wishing he could have a shot at him, too.

They walked Angel away. Eric and Romero followed; they’d been sent to the principal’s office and knew that’s where Angel was headed. Eric looked back at Brandon who was now on his feet, crying, as the other teacher checked his face. He glanced over at Sofia, who stood there and watched as they took Angel away. Something tugged at his heart when he noticed her quivering lip.

*

The walk home could not have been any more somber. Angel didn’t walk with them like he usually did. He’d been suspended and sent home. Eric and Romero were both looking at an entire week of detention. Sofia was the only one not in trouble, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at her. The look on her face said it all. She felt terrible about Angel getting in trouble because of her.

They reached Romero’s house first, and he went in. Sofia and Eric continued down the sidewalk. Eric looked at her. Her eyes red rimmed and welled up with tears. Suddenly he felt panicked. He wasn’t used to dealing with girls crying. And something about seeing Sofia cry made it worse.

“Don’t cry, Sofie,” he almost begged. “Angel’s gonna be okay.”

“My dad’s gonna be so mad, this is the second fight he’s gotten into.”

“Yeah, but the first one wasn’t his fault, remember? Even the principal said so.” Though with their school’s zero-tolerance policy, he’d been he’d suspended anyway.

They reached Eric’s house, but he kept walking with Sofia. “You coming over?” she asked. “’Cause I’m pretty sure Angel’s not gonna be able to come out today.”

“I know. I just wanna walk you all the way home.”

Sofia smiled weakly, and wiped her eyes. She looked so sad—her cheeks all flushed and wet. Eric felt like hugging her. He pressed his lips together hard.
That damn Brandon
.

He didn’t quite understand it at the time. He’d always seen Sofia as his best friend’s chubby little sister. He’d felt just as protective as her brothers did when anyone messed with her. But lately, he’d felt a different connection with her. She seemed to turn to him a lot now, to help her out when her brothers were being too domineering, and for some reason, he liked it.

The Wonder Years

Age 13

Ever since the boys had moved on to high school, things had been different. Sofia finally had some freedom. A good thing too, because now that she’d lost a few pounds, boys were beginning to notice her. She could actually have a conversation with them during lunch without worrying about one of her brothers breathing down their necks. Even Romero, but mostly Eric, had gotten in on the big brother act. As if three brothers weren’t enough.

Everything at home remained the same. Her brothers’ overbearing natures hadn’t changed at all. With them feeding off her dad’s
old
school mentality about the importance of the older brother role, their interferences began to reach new heights.

Sofia waited for Angel to leave the kitchen before asking her mom about the after-school dance that Friday. Her mom chopped onions while Sofia helped with the guacamole. She glanced back to make sure Angel had walked out.

“They’re having a Valentine’s dance this Friday after school. It’s just a two hour thing. I was thinking of going. Is that okay?”

Her mom turned to her and smiled. “Did someone ask you to the dance?”

Sofia shook her head. They weren’t noticing her that much yet, but someone had asked if she would be there. “No. It’s just going to be me and Tricia and some of the other girls from the running team.”

“I don’t see why not.” Her mom rinsed her hands in the sink.

Alex walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Sofia pressed her lips together, willing her mom not to say anything about the dance in front of him. But all her mental efforts were in vain.

“Are you going to wear anything special to the dance, or is it just casual?”

Sofia kept her eyes on the avocado she mashed in the bowl, but from the corner of her eye, she saw they n ahad Alex’s attention. “What dance?”

“The Valentine’s dance at Sofia’s school,” her mother said matter-of-factly.

Alex made a face. “You going to the dance, Sof? With who?”

Trying her hardest to hide the attitude, Sofia didn’t bother looking at him. “With my friends.”

“What friends?” Alex pressed.

She turned around, no longer able to conceal her agitation. “Tricia and some of the other girls,
Alex
.”

Alex frowned. “School dances are lame, Sof.”

Sofia rolled her eyes, adding salt to the guacamole. “Well, I’ve never been to one. I just want to try it. Do you mind?”

“Maybe I do.”

“Alex, go throw the trash out and tell your brothers it’s time for dinner,” her mother said, dumping the onion she’d been chopping into the guacamole.

Alex grabbed the trashcan and headed out the kitchen door.

“Sofia, never mind your brother, let me know if we need to get you anything to wear. You go and have a good time.” She kissed Sofia on the head. “Just be sure you come straight home after.”

Sofia smiled.
Finally
, her chance to mingle with boys, and her brothers wouldn’t be anywhere around.

*

Eric waited with Alex, Angel, and Romero outside Kennedy middle school. He wasn’t sure what to expect when Sofia walked out, but he was glad Alex and Angel were there. Any guy she might be with wouldn’t stick around for long after seeing them. Everyone knew about her older brothers, part of the reason he’d never had to worry about seeing Sofie with a boy.

Over the years, Eric’s affection for Sofia had taken a bit of a scary turn. It had gone from being brotherly, to thinking of her in ways he knew he shouldn’t. It didn’t help that she was blossoming at an alarming rate. Most of her baby fat was gone, but she had more curves now than most of the girls Eric’s age. The nerves he’d begun to feel around her now were partly due his attraction, and partly for the fear of one of her brothers, especially Alex, noticing the way his eyes would involuntarily wander.

Kids began spilling out of the front gate. Angel circled around in the street on his bike.

Something caught Alex’s attention. “Is that Asia?”

Eric followed Alex’s stare. “Yeah, that’s her.”

“Damn,” Alex smiled, “hard to believe she’s only in the eighth grade.”

Asia, one of the girls who had grown up with them on the same street, had moved several blocks away last year. She wore a mini skirt with boots es with bthat went to her knees. Her tight blouse and low neckline showed just how much she’d
grown up
in just one year.

Angel stopped his bike and watched as she crossed the street. “That’s Asia?”