Chapter 11 The Girl Whose Name Pronounces Like Sofia

Elena Romano's POV:

"Maybe when my mom got me that etiquette tutor, she should've signed them up too." I glanced up at the crowd mocking me.

Compared to them, I felt pretty polite. At least I wouldn't laugh at someone else's outfit.

They weren't my family or my teachers. I didn't feel like putting up with them, and I didn't think it was wrong to push back when they were trashing my clothes.

Plus, I was pretty sure they were using me to take jabs at Sofia.

"Elena, you can't do that. They're guests of the Garcia family; you can't talk to guests like that." Sofia looked embarrassed, trying to calm me down, then gave those jerks a troubled look.

I heard someone say, "What a troublesome sister Sofia has."

"Sofia, didn't your sister have an etiquette tutor?"

"Stop it, Sofia's already embarrassed enough."

I could tell these people were split into two groups.

Some seemed worried for Sofia, while others were just mocking, clearly already unhappy with her.

But now they were all united in their annoyance with me.

I said, "Does your etiquette tutor think it's cool to mock the host family's clothes at an event like this?

Your manners are so great, you all sound like a bunch of clucking hens."

The crap I dealt with at work was way tougher than what these ladies were throwing at me.

A few comebacks, and their faces turned even redder than mine.

I bet they never thought they'd get a taste of their own medicine.

Sofia's smile got strained as she secretly tugged at my sleeve.

"I'm sorry, Sofia, but I can't let them talk about me like that. This represents the Garcia family, right?"

"Don't worry about me."

"I just... well, Elena, I think we should move to another spot." Sofia bit her lip and led me to a quieter area.

I gave up trying to fit into the social scene at the party.

It was just too hard for me.

I watched Sofia rejoin them, flitting around like a butterfly, looking all composed.

If putting up with mockery was a required skill for socializing, I'd get a big fat zero.

After I calmed down, I felt bad for putting Sofia in a tough spot, but I didn't regret standing up for myself.

Sitting alone on the sofa with a glass of champagne, a young girl sat down next to me.

She wore a plain dress, no jewelry, and had big, nerdy glasses. "Hey, are you Elena Garcia?"

"Hey. Yeah, that's me." I was really surprised.

After messing up my intro with my peers, I didn't think anyone would still want to talk to me.

"I'm Sophia, Sophia Wood."

"Sofia?"

"No, it's S-O-P-H-I-A. My name's spelled differently from your sister's." Sophia looked serious. She didn't mock my outfit, didn't even glance at my dress.

I checked out her outfit, thinking she probably didn't care about that stuff.

It made our conversation easy.

Sophia was the daughter of a lumber company owner. My dad had helped her family get a loan for a big order.

I introduced myself too, but just the basics. When she found out I grew up in a rough, poor neighborhood, she didn't mock me. Instead, after thinking for a bit, she said seriously, "You're amazing."

"That's not amazing at all; it's my most painful memory."

"But you stuck it out for a long time, didn't you? That makes you pretty awesome."

Sophia made me laugh. "Why'd you come find me? I thought you'd be with the others."

"I'm not great at fitting in with them. I guess you aren't either."

We clinked our champagne glasses, and Sophia's expression relaxed. "I just wanted to see if I could find someone as lonely as I am. Honestly, I hesitated before coming over. Luckily, you seemed different with..."

"What?" I didn't catch the name she mentioned.

She glanced over at where Sofia was still smiling and chatting. "Your sister, are you close with her?"

"Pretty close. Everyone says Sofia is amazing and super considerate. When I came home, she was the first to be kind to me. She's really gentle and kind, isn't she?"

I noticed Sophia didn't seem to want to talk about this. When I praised Sofia, she gave a mocking smile.

It was like she thought I was joking. "Yeah, gentle and kind Sofia."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, she is indeed very gentle and kind, at least in everyone's eyes. She's always good at that."

Sophia seemed to lose interest in talking to me after I praised Sofia.

She put her glass on my table and finally showed some interest in my dress. "I think you should be a bit careful of your sister if you're smart enough."

"What are you talking about?"

But Sophia didn't answer me. She just stood up and left. I sat on the sofa, lost in thought.

Why would she tell me to be careful? Was my sister not as I described? Why did Sophia seem so dissatisfied with Sofia? What happened between them?

As I was pondering, Sofia finally finished her socializing and came back to me.

She saw the second glass of wine in front of me. "Were you chatting with someone just now, Elena?"

"Yeah, a girl with a name similar to yours."

I turned around, ready to point out Sophia to Sofia, but she had already disappeared into the party.

When I looked at Sofia, she had a wary expression. "Oh my. That must be Sophia. What did she say to you?"

I should have told Sofia what Sophia said, but I hesitated.

I chose to keep it a secret.

Maybe I shouldn't have done that, but thinking of Sophia's warning, I shook my head. "She didn't say much. After we introduced ourselves, she left when she heard I was a Garcia, your sister." Then I pretended to be confused and looked at Sofia. "Do you know why?"

"I think it's probably because of me.

I used to be friends with Sophia, hoping to help her gain others' favor, but she eventually gave up on changing and blamed me for some problems she encountered, thinking I was hurting her." As Sofia spoke, she looked like she was about to cry.

I thought I should comfort her, but for some reason, I couldn't find the words.

Was it because of what Sophia said?

I took a handkerchief from a waiter and handed it to Sofia. She thanked me.

Most of the guests had arrived, and the formal part of the party was about to begin.

I started preparing for my father to call me.