Page 14 of Finding My Forever

I figured some of the west coast students would meet me during my layover, so I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was to look up from my laptop to see her walking directly toward me.

She plopped down into the seat next to me and dumped her backpack at her feet. “April.”

She didn’t state it as a question or introduce herself. Just said my name, so I followed her lead. “Sophia.”

She nodded once then twisted until she was facing me. I shut up my laptop and placed it back in my bag then faced her. She looked me up and down once, making me second guess wearing my cheer hoodie.

“You’re a cheerleader.”

Again, stating a fact.

“Yes.”

She seemed to think about it for a second before nodding.

“You’re not.”

She let out a huff. “Definitely not.”

I was used to this. People have strong opinions about cheerleading and those that participated. It’s something society and the entertainment industry has perpetuated for decades. I stopped trying to defend the sport and myself after my freshman year. There was no point wasting my energy. They believed whatever they wanted about the sport and thought of me only as a character meant to fit into their expectation of a cheerleader.

Sophia didn’t seem to be any different.

“I can’t even do a cartwheel. There’s no way I could balance on people’s hands or hold someone up.”

My eyebrows shot up. Or maybe she could be.

“No one can just do it. It takes a lot of practice and muscle,” I said.

She nodded again.

“You’re an artist.”

“Yeah. Oils.”

She was nothing like I expected, and I loved that I was wrong.

“I can’t paint, or draw. Despite trying for years.”

Her lips twitched, “Not everyone can. No matter the practice and muscles.”

I grinned, liking her immediately. “So, what did you write about?”

She looked around as if the answer was somewhere in the crowd of travelers. “Preserving art in school.”

“Makes sense.”

“You?”

“Maintaining femininity in feminism.”

She grunted then slowly started nodding. “Cool.”

We sat in silence for a few moments before I decided to just do it. Just make the jump and become friends.

“I really like your hair.”

She laughed. Like full-on, out loud laughter.