Sofia dropped deeper into her seat to avoid the deadly glares aimed at her. Ignoring the circling whispers, she pretended to show interest in the guest speaker’s presentation.
“As I have explained, at AeroSpace Force, we often look to nature whenever we improve technology. We observe large-winged birds when we design our aircraft. Their structure, form, and shape influence flight design capabilities and their roles in battle. When you seek inspiration, I urge each of you to look at the flora and fauna around you, as nature tends to have endless secrets hidden in plain sight.
I hope my words have been enlightening, and I invite everyone to submit an aircraft design for the Junior Aeronautic Engineer contest at AeroSpace Force. Thank you.”
A smattering of applause echoed in the auditorium. The principal strode onto the stage to grab the microphone from the guest speaker. Sofia continued to hunch into her seat to hide from the presenter’s eyes.
“Come on, mighty Eagles!” the principal addressed his students. “We can do better than that! Let’s give Mrs. Luana a huge round of applause for taking time out of her schedule to speak with you all.”
The smattering turned into a respectable roar, forcing a smile out of Mrs. Luana. As the applause tapered, the principal gave his final announcements and dismissed the students. Sofia sighed, grateful it was over, and stood with her class.
“Sit down, Groot.” Someone shoved her back into her seat. Other classmates giggled behind their hands as they pushed their way past her.
“Thanks for nothing.”
“Such a waste.”
Sofia sat quietly and waited for everyone to walk by. She grimaced at each slight thrown her way and shuffled her feet to avoid their arrant attempts to step on her.
She never understood why her classmates treated her this way. She never fought back when they teased her about her height, eyes, or darker skin. Instead, she would tune out their insults of going back to her country or disappearing off the face of the earth.
Hoping to brighten her mood, Sofia searched the auditorium for the friendliest face in school. But her best friend, Cara, was nowhere to be seen.
It reminded Sofia when she went home crying because the kids laughed at her or wouldn’t let her play with them when she was younger. Her mom told her to grin and bear it because it would make her stronger—that she had to rise above it because being different was a privilege. Sofia disagreed with all of it, so she stopped saying anything and held it in. She’d lose herself in schoolwork and dream of a place where she would be accepted for who she was.
With the last classmate passing her by, Sofia stood to leave the auditorium when she heard someone shout her name. Gritting her teeth, she braced herself for more embarrassment.
“Sofia! Didn’t you hear me calling you?” Mrs. Luana stepped up to her daughter, winded from the sprint to catch up to her while simultaneously smiling and thanking each teacher she passed by. “I thought I could sign you out early, and we can spend the afternoon together. What do you think?”
Sofia stared at her feet, knowing her mom wasn’t really asking her opinion. There she goes again, making decisions for me.
“I guess so,” Sofia shrugged her shoulders. “But I need to get my—”
“Great, great, great! I’ll head to the office and sign…” Mrs. Luana stopped abruptly, distracted by a buzzing on her side. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.
Mrs. Luana often held multiple conversations at once and somehow always kept each one straight. It was a common ritual whereby Sofia would wait for her mom to return to their conversation after conducting an entirely different one on her multiple devices and picking up right where she left off.
But this time felt different. Sofia watched her mom weave through the empty chairs, tapping on the screen and scrunching up her face to formulate her next thought.
And the more Sofia waited, the more she wanted to inch her way toward the exit away from her mom.
Sofia hesitated before interrupting her mom’s intense typing.
“Um, Mom? Should I go grab my stuff?”
The awkward pause lingered, and her mom continued typing, oblivious to Sofia's presence. Sofia waited for a response, unsure of what else to do.
When the bell rang for the next period to begin, Mrs. Luana finally looked up from her phone.
“I need to cancel, Sofia. Let me walk you to your next class and explain to the teacher how I kept you over after the presentation.”
“You don’t need to do that, Mom,” Sofia said quickly. “I’ll just let the teacher know. I’ll see you at home later, okay?”
“Right. I’ll see you.” Mrs. Luana briefly hugged her daughter and rushed out of the auditorium.
Sofia hurried back to class. It was very out of character for her mom to be frazzled, but Sofia assumed it had to be work-related. Although she didn’t entirely understand what her mom’s job entailed, any of her infamous “projects” could require her immediate attention.
Walking into her math class, Sofia remembered that her backpack was still in the science room. A thud on the door window startled her just as she turned around to head down the hall. Sofia peered in to see her best friend gesturing wildly at her desk and pointing to Sofia’s backpack. She smiled at the only bright spot in her school and opened the door as quietly as she could.
“Nice of you to join us, Miss Luana. Please sit so Miss Felicity can stop dancing in her seat,” her math teacher droned without turning around from the whiteboard.
Sofia’s face burned. “Sorry, Ms. Graff. I can get a note from my mom—”
“That won’t be necessary. Just open your book to page 326 and follow along.”
Ignoring the eye rolls aimed in her direction, Sofia sat at her desk and looked at her friend. Cara laughed silently and then shrugged. Clearly, her best friend had already told their teacher that Sofia was held up after the assembly and would probably be late. The thought made her smile.
“What did Mrs. L. need to talk to you about?” Cara whispered as she pretended to take notes on the lesson.
“Nothing. She got a call and just took off,” Sofia replied. “You know she’s always on point, and this time she just seemed...nervous?”
“What?” Cara shouted.
“Miss Felicity, I will not ask you again. Please stop interrupting the lesson,” Ms. Graff said.
“Sorry, Ms. G. But um, you made a mistake on the third line. It should be 139, not 129.”
Cara smiled and returned to her fake notepaper while Ms. Graff reviewed her work on the board. She corrected the mistake and continued her lesson as if nothing had happened.
Sofia stifled a chuckle and shook her head. Her loud, unpredictable best friend was brilliant, too. If there was anyone she could count on in this world, it was Cara. Without a doubt, Sofia would travel to the ends of the world and back with her. They had been friends since kindergarten and grew closer over the last few years. Sofia would be lost without her and loved her best friend more than life itself.
“I’ll tell you later,” Sofia quietly mouthed before opening her book to follow along with the lesson.
With a week left before the end of the school year, Sofia figured it was best to focus on finishing the seventh grade on a good note so she could enjoy her summer break. Whatever had bothered her mom was nothing Sofia should worry about.