Sophie’s World Read online

  “That you’re still my best friend?” Sophie said.

  Fiona’s face crumpled. All she could do was nod.

  “And I’m yours,” Sophie said. “That’s all I care about, Henriette.”

  “Me too, Antoinette.”

  Then they hugged and did the secret handshake. And then they promised to share it with Kitty the first chance they got, since she obviously needed the Corn Flakes as much as they did.

  By the time Fiona left school in the SUV and Sophie went to call Mama, she was very tired—maybe too tired for everything that was still ahead of her, even after this victory.

  There would be Daddy’s reaction to Dr. Peter’s talk with him. That probably wasn’t going to be fun. And then explaining all of this to Mama and Daddy—and maybe hearing Daddy say Sophie had gone too far.

  Plus trying to adjust to having Kitty and her spacey-ness around. And figuring out how to stop Maggie from hating them.

  Antoinette reached out her hand and smiled from within the folds of her black velvet hood. “Why don’t you go to Jesus?” she said. “He’ll show you—”

  And so, of course, Sophie did. And there was no need for anyone to cough him away.

  Glossary

  amie {AH-mee} French word that means “female friend”

  contempt {kuhn-TEMPT} the act of being hateful

  countenance {KOWN-tuhn-nuhnce} old-fashioned word that means face or facial expression; usually means your mood can be seen on your face

  deplorable {dih-PLORE-uh-buhl} so bad that has to be fixed or changed

  feasible {FEE-zuh-buhl} can be done; is doable

  heinous {HAY-nuhss} unbelievably mean and cruel, or beyond rude

  hors d’oeuvres {or-DURVS} French words that aren’t pronounced the French way, but it means fancy little snacks

  immense {IH-mentz} great or big, or enormously huge

  imperious {ihm-PEER-ee-uhss} snooty, like someone who thinks he or she is better than everybody else

  intimidating {ihn-TIH-muh-date-ing} making somebody scared with threats or making someone feel like he or she isn’t as good as you are

  intrigued {ihn-TREEGD} very interested in something; really curious

  ma {mah} French word that means “my”

  manipulating {muh-NIP-you-late-ing} when someone is turning things around to get what he or she wants, often in a sneaky, unfair, or not truthful way

  manipulator {muh-NIP-you-later} somebody who is manipulating

  mundane {muhn-DAYN} ordinary, commonplace, bo-orrring

  pantomime {PANT-uh-mime} the art of telling or acting out a story without speaking, using just body movements instead

  pathetic {puh-THEH-tick} really pitiful, or kind of sad

  pessimistic {PEH-suh-MISS-tick} really negative or letting gloomy thoughts take over good thoughts; always seeing the bad side

  privy {PRIH-vee} when somebody knows a secret

  recognizance {rih-CAHG-nuh-zuntz} promising to appear in court; the court says it trusts you will come back. If you forfeit it (disobey), you have to pay a bunch of money.

  serviette {serve-YET} French word that means “napkin”

  thoracic {thuh-RAA-sick} of, about, or inside the thorax, which is the part of your body between your neck and stomach; it’s like your chest cavity where your heart and lungs are

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