Free Sophie the Chatterbox by Lara Bergen

S ophie was so happy! And not just because she was going on a field trip. (She really, really,
really
loved those.) Sophie was also happy because she had a perfect new name. A name that made her special. A name that said it all!
    “Don’t call me Sophie M. anymore. Just call me Sophie the Honest!” she told her best friend, Kate Barry, as they climbed onto the field trip bus.
    Ms. Moffly’s third-grade class was going to see where George Washington was born! It was nice to know that something special had happened close to Ordinary, Virginia, where Sophie lived.Sometimes Sophie thought it was the most boring place in the whole wide world.
    Sophie used to also think she was the most boring girl in the whole world.
    But not anymore!
    Not since she told Ms. Moffly the truth about stealing the fifth graders’ snake. Now she was sure that she was the most honest kid in her whole class. Maybe the whole school!
    “By the way, Kate,” Sophie went on. “Have I told you,
honestly,
that you’re my very best friend ever?”
    Kate grinned. “Right back at you!”
    Sophie smiled and grabbed Kate’s hand. Then she pulled her down the aisle to the last row of the bus. That was their favorite row to sit in, mostly because it bumped so much.
    But there was a problem when they got there.
    The very back seats were already full. And what they were full of was Toby and Archie.
    Toby Myers and Archie Dolan were the worst boys in their class. Sophie knew that for a fact.They were very loud and very Yucky (with a capital “Yuck”). And they were taking up both back seats, even though they knew that Sophie and Kate liked to sit there.
    That made them even worse!
    Sophie was used to this, of course. Toby was always bugging her somehow. Usually she acted like she did not care, but today she could not do that. She was Sophie the Honest, after all!
    “I have to be honest,” she said to Toby. “This disappoints me very much.”
    Toby smiled a big smile. “Good!” he said. Then he stuck out his tongue.
    Archie laughed.
    But Sophie was not done being honest yet.
    “This also makes me want to pinch you,” she said.
    Toby frowned and crossed his arms.
    “But I won’t,” Sophie went on. “Because I don’t want to get in trouble like I did last time. So instead, I’m going to sit down next to you. And Kate is going to sit down next to Archie.”

    “I
am
?” Kate said.
    “You
are
?” said Toby and Archie.
    “Yes,” Sophie said to Kate, ignoring the boys. “Even though we don’t want to. Because there’s room. And because I know that they will hate that. And because if they don’t let us, I’ll tell Ms. Moffly.” Sophie smiled. “And she will make them.”
    With that, Sophie sat down next to Toby. And she stuck out
her
tongue.
    “Ew, gross! Girl cooties!” Toby cried. He jumped up on the seat and looked at Archie. “Come on. Let’s move!” he said. “As far away from
them
as possible!”
    A minute later, Sophie and Kate had not just one very back seat, but two! Still, they sat together. They were best friends, after all.
    “I like you being Sophie the Honest!” Kate said.
    They shared a high five.
    Then Kate twisted her mouth. “Can I be honest?” she asked.
    “Of course!” That seemed like a funny question to Sophie.
    Kate shrugged. “It’s just that ‘Sophie the Honest’ … I don’t know … It’s kind of a dull name. Don’t you think?”
    “Well, no …,” Sophie said. Then she sighed. “Okay. Yes. Maybe.”
    To be honest, Sophie thought Kate was right. This name was not as exciting as “Sophie the Awesome” or “Sophie the Hero.” Those were the two names Sophie had tried before. (Too bad they had not worked out as well as she’d hoped.)
    But “Sophie the Honest” was still a good name. It made her special. And that was the point!
    Plus it meant she could still wear the shirt she had on. She had made it when she was Sophie the Hero. It had a big
H
on the front. But
H
could be for