Free Falling Into You by Lauren Abrams

in. That’s why I wanted you to come. I thought you could add an extra something. The je ne sais quoi, the Midwestern fabulousness and the lack of caring about your humble roots, ” she says .
    T he moment is gone and the twinkle had come back in to her eye .
    “My humble roots?” I repeat , punching her lightly on the arm. “Wow. You are such a brat .”
    “It was meant to be a compliment,” she manages to get out, before tossing the pillow at my head . “You know, that approachable, girl-next-door thing.”
    “You mean the fact that everyone thought I was the maid? I think that girl in the kitchen even thought that I was a homeless person brought in for a little entertainment. ” But I ’m laugh ing with her . In the light of the morning, particularly given the coffee shop conversation with a jaw-droppingly handsome boy, those moments of isolation on the balcony didn’t seem so bad anymore.
    I was in New York, in a beautiful apartment , with an unlimited food and booze budget, and we were sans any parental figures. A ll the people at the party who thought I was a total loser didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things; I would never see them again after my little jaunt to the city was over .
    “They did not!” Sophia is mock-outraged. Then she starts laughing. “Wow. What a bunch of dicks.”
    I look at her mischievously. “They definitely did. But this could be fun. We could pass it off like I’m some long-lost princess who wears Target jeans and we would need a super-sensitive timer to count the numbe r of seconds before they start fawning all over me.”
    A devious look comes into the corner of her eyes. “ Or you’re actually the illegitimate daughter of the Crown Prince of Bahrain or something.”
    I laugh at that one. Sophia ’s scheming co uld get out of hand, so I nip it in the bud. “It doesn’t matter anyways,” I tell her. “We’ll have a good trip.”
    She smiles, at ease now. She looks me up and down. “We can certainly do that. Now, dear, I know that you don ’t ever give two shits about what you wear , but if you’re going to be with me , in my city, for the next two weeks, we are definitely going to have to do something about your wardrobe. Particularly if the plan is to pass you off as a princess. So, the first item on the agenda is shopping. Lots of shopping.”
    Her words still teased, but in a flash, s he had become the other Sophia , the New York Sophia , and I sigh . Lots of shopping was the absolute last thing I wanted to do.
    Money meant nothing to her. It meant everything to me. I almost had a nervous breakdown over the whole plane ticket thing. After I had spoken to my mom and agreed to join Sophia in the city, her father had paid for our plane tickets to New York before I had the opportunity to offer. I had clicked on the link that her stepmother’s secretary had sent, hoping to find out exactly how much it had cost, so I could write her a check. My salary for my lifeguarding job at school was a measly eight dollars an hour, but I worked almost 30 hours a week, so I had built up a little savings fund that I thought I could use in New York.
    Four thousand dollars.
    I had given an involuntary shudder when I saw that number on my computer screen. I immediately checked my bank balance. It would almost totally wipe me out. I sent an e-mail to the secretary who had arranged our flights, asking her if I should just send a check or try to pay with my debit card.
    I only got a six word response. The flights are already paid for .
    The gnawing feeling in my stomach only intensified when we stepped into the first- class cabin on the plane. I should have realized, since I would bet that Sophia had never fl own coach in her life . Of course, the closest I had ever come to the first-class cabin was at the beginning of flights when they make you pass all of the people sitting comfortably in their plush chairs, enjoying their cocktails and appetizers.
    It should have been fun to be