Free Sophie Hartley and the Facts of Life by Stephanie Greene

off!” John coached. “Say, ‘Back off!’ real loud.”
    â€œWhat’s going on?” Mr. Hartley asked as they all clustered around Maura’s highchair.
    â€œThat’s the longest sentence Maura has ever said,” Nora told him.
    â€œWonderful. Just what this family needs,” her dad said. “Another talker.”
    Maura was pleased by all the attention. Thad and John high-fived her a few times, and then Nora lifted her out of her highchair and carried her upstairs to put her to bed. Mr. Hartley took John upstairs to show him his surprise, while Sophie swiped halfheartedly at the table with a sponge and Thad finished loading the dishwasher. When Sophie went into the family room to use the computer, she could hear John shouting and laughing in the bathroom.
    â€œWhat’s John doing?” Sophie asked when Nora came down.
    â€œDad’s letting him brush his teeth in the bathtub,” said Nora.
    â€œIn the same water that he washed in? That was his surprise?”
    â€œJohn thinks it’s great.”
    â€œI wonder how he got to be such a wacko,” Sophie said. She stood up. “I’m finished, if you want to use this.”
    â€œGood.” Nora sat down in front of the computer.
    â€œI think being Mr. Mom is getting to Dad, don’t you?” said Sophie. “I mean, having to be nice at dinner and everything.”
    â€œYa think?” Nora said cheerfully. Sophie could tell she was still happy that Thad had said Ian was a good guy and that their dad had called it a date.
    â€œOr, to follow Dad’s rule,” Nora said. She stopped typing and looked at Sophie. “Maybe I should say, ‘My, what an interesting observation, sister dear.’”
    â€œI like that.”
    â€œWell, don’t get too used to it.”
    â€œHey, Nora.” Thad stuck his head in the doorway on his way upstairs. “Tell Ian that if he tries any moves on Friday night, he’ll have to answer to me.”
    â€œThad!” Nora cried.
    Sophie had never heard her sister sound so happy to say their brother’s name.
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    Luckily, Nora was in the shower later when Mr. Hartley shouted, “Who took the pile of Maura’s clean clothes I left on the stairs?” Sophie ran up to the attic in her bare feet and brought them back down.
    â€œI probably shouldn’t ask why they were up there,” her dad said when she handed them to him.
    â€œProbably not,” Sophie said.
    â€œI should probably just be thankful none of you has done away with one of the others, at this point.”
    â€œDefinitely.”
    â€œYou know, Sophie,” Mr. Hartley said thoughtfully, “there’s a lot more to this motherhood business than meets the eye. Don’t rush into anything.”
    â€œDad, I’m only ten.”
    â€œRight. Right.” Her dad turned and walked slowly down the hall. “Well, good night.”

eight
    On Thursday, the fifth-grade girls filed past Mrs. Stearns’s room in the middle of the morning. Mrs. Stearns’s class were writing in their journals. The door was open, but there wasn’t a sound coming from the hall. Most of the girls walking past were looking straight ahead, as if they were going to something very serious. There was a kind of nervous, hushed feeling in the air.
    Sophie looked across the aisle to see if Jenna had noticed them. Jenna pinched her nose, making Sophie giggle.
    â€œHow are you two coming with your stories?” Mrs. Stearns called.
    â€œGood.” They both hunched over their journals again.
    â€œDid you see them?” Alice said hurriedly when their class lined up for lunch. “How long do you think the movie will last?”
    â€œWho cares?” said Sophie.
    They were almost finished eating when the cafeteria doors flew open and the fifth-grade girls came in. They were making much more noise now, giggling and squealing, falling against one another