Sophia, Marisa Redhead16 [phonics reader txt] 📗

day l was in science. " ls something wrong Tobias ?" l turned around. It was Mr. Reed. "No, nothing's wrong." l told him. He raised one eyebrow. That day, l was working on homework, when my favorite love song started to play. l imagined myself in a better body, dancing with Sophia, smelling her rose scented perfume.

"TONY!" Dad's angry voice raged through the house. l paused GirlsGreatestDream's video.It was pretty stupid anyway. All he was doing was trying to get a girl to change her personality so she could be with him. She was smarter than he thought. He wanted her to go tanning and change her pretty red hair to a different shade. She evantually walked away. "Tobias, where's your brother?" l looked. Dad. " In his room the last time l checked." My dog gave me a look like "Huh? What are you talking about?" l gave her a gentle scratch, but l couldn't go very far because of the size of my stomach.

At school the next day, l went to the nurse simply because she ordered me to. Who'd l see? Sophia, holding a heating pad over her waist. She glanced at me. Her bright eyeshadow really brought out her beautiful eyes. She offered me a smile. l could not tell whether it was flirty or nice. l smiled back. The next thing l knew l was in gym, sweating hard. Coach blew the whistle. " You worthless pudgy idiot, Tobias!" l blushed, Billy snickered. " Tobias isn't worthless," said a familiar voice. It was Mr. Johnson. He was frowning. " He's sweatin', you numbskull!" "He's supposed to sweat!" "What are you doing anyway?" "I'm heading toward the office. l need to copy these off. Imbelic idiot." He turned to leave, but Coach jumped him. Soon, Mr. Kurl and both Mr.Reeds were trying to separate them. It was a pretty nasty fight. Blood, fists, and even teeth were everywhere. Several more teachers and students came in, including my friends and crush. Micheal edged toward me. "What's happening?" he asked. l told him everything. Sophia got really close to me. My stomach lurched. What is she doing? What should l do? l thought. l got to go home early.Dad looked really unhappy. " l tried to position for a job in a grocery store, Tobias. l didn't get it." l glanced at him. " I'm sorry." " lt was my fault, son."


When we were home,Mom and Tony were already home. "Joseph, we need to talk to Tony." "What's wrong, honey?" Mom looked at me. "Why is he home? ls he sick?" She felt my forehead. " He's fine. Something happened in one of his classes. l'll tell you later. Tobias,go upstairs with your dog." l obeyed him. l read a book about a boy with several health problems. Pretty soon, l heard yelling and slamming doors. Then l heard soft crying and talking. l heard Dad's voice. "l didn't mean to hurt him like that. l only meant to lecture him. But what if Tobias heard us?" "If he did, he probably won't bring it up, Joseph." "l'm so sorry, Anna. This is my fault." "Not completely." l heard a knock then a door open. " Tony?" " What do you want?" " l'm so sorry.l'm just so stressed out. Can you ever forgive me?" " Okay, Dad." " Are we friends again?" "Yeah." My door opened.It was Dad. He and Tony both looked like they'd been crying.


"Tobias, did you hear anything?" l nodded. A tear fell out of Dad's eye. "It's time for lunch. Mom bought McDonald's." Even though l knew how many calories my belly would take in,l marked the page and went downstairs.


The next day,school was canceled. l asked Nina to come over. Her job was find clothes that look good, or better yet, make me look slimmer. But when she arrived, Tony started to flirt with her. " Nice perfume." he said, sniffing her and putting his hand on her back. "Thanks!" l glared at him. Her perfume did smell good, but l knew Tony just wanted to annoy me. l also did not want Nina to get hurt. Tony had broken plenty of hearts already. Tony glanced at me and got the message. We both knew his new girlfriend, Spring, was set to be torn apart. Spring has a lot of friends, both girls and guys. But Tony can cause a lot of pain. Mom smiled at Nina when she came in from the kitchen, carrying a plateful of brownies topped with cashews and almonds. I glared at her also. She was not supposed to do anything. Mom likes Nina, they get along perfectly,but Nina was supposed to be here for me only. l also thought about asking her for dating advice. l took her upstairs after she bubbled on about my grades and she even said some girls think my face looks interesting.Tony asked her if that was a good thing. She said yes, which surprised me. When Girlfriend saw Nina, she wagged her tail and sniffed her. They'd met before. Nina set her purse on my bed and sat down. "So, what's up?" she asked. l told her what l wanted. She smiled. "This will be fun." "How's Sophia doing?" l asked while she took off my shirt and held a brown one against my pudgy gut. " She's great. Hmmm. This one makes you look super skinny." She picked out another one." This shirt looks good, but it also makes you look chubby." She put it in the Keep pile. We got through the closet quickly. We kept everything. I thought about Sophia. l realized l was in love. l loved her.


At school the next school day, I headed into the boys locker room and dressed out. We had a substitute gym teacher. He was very handsome, with a slim figure and long wavyish, curly hair. His hair reached his shoulders. He seemed to be part Hispanic.l watched as he counted us off. l could already see he had a great upper torso. His white tank top was stretched tight against his sexy body. He spoke. " Guess what guys? l'm eighteen years old." We stared at him. "My name is Glen Crow. Since Coach got fired, l'm going to be your sub." You could see he was nervous. Twenty five students against one eighteen year old, we could bring him down. " We'll stop by the Aerobics room to get steps, then go to the boys gym." He took us to the Aerobics room. Sophia was in the Aerobics room on a treadmill. Sophia is a few inches shorter than me, but you could literally barely see her feet. She ran so unbelievedly fast. She looked at us. My stomach flipped. Billy whistled. "Kiss-worthy legs, honey!" All the girls in the room glared at him. "Sophia is not a prize!" Maureen, the most popular girl in the school, said. Maureen has blond hair,wears so much makeup you can barely see the rest of her body, and has super-rich parents. She is also as hard as nails, and a little boy crazy. However, if a boy says an inappropiate comment to one of her friends or sisters, she'll rush to her defense. She was doing a weight lifting exercise.

That night, l was getting ready for bed. l happened to look down,and noticed that l had bigger belly rolls than anyone in my family. l tried to take off my jeans, but they seemed to be glued to my waist. l remembered that Glen Crow took off his shirt. He had the abs l wanted! l forced my jeans off my waist, and studied myself in the full length mirror. Girlfriend was already on my bed. l flicked off the light and laid down. l covered myself up to my chest. Thoughts of Sophia flooded my mind. l love you,Sophia. l thought.

On Saturday,l was reading one of Tony's magazines that he didn't want anymore. l read something new: Don't Believe That Skinny Guys don't get belly rolls,we do! That surprised me. l realized that l knew l had to lose weight, l just wasn't sure how. l stepped on the scale in the bathroom, and gasped. l had reached over 200 pounds! l was now considered obese. l was more than 20 pounds overweight. Luckily, we had Italian for dinner. l decided that l needed a change. After dinner l made .
a list of the changes l needed: Sophia had to give me a sign that she loved me,(unless she already had), l needed to lose weight, especially in my belly, life at home needed updating, and Billy had to stop hassling me. l hadn't really thought about he hurt me at least twice a week. Did he truly hate me? Probably. l looked at Girlfriend. She was trying to get the flea collar off. We do give her medicine, but Mom bought the collar for extra protection. "Stop that," l ordered. She gave me a guilty look. l found myself thinking about Sophia. Would her long brown hair match my long blond hair? Who could l tell about her? Logan? No way! He'd tell everybody he knew. Nina? She'd probably tell Sophia herself. Michael? He'd tell Nina. l don't know if l've said this, but Michael really likes Nina. He'd literally die to be with her. Mom? She'd give me flirting tips. Dad? He can't keep a secret. Tony? He'd either laugh and tell his girlfriend, or grunt and pretend l didn't tell him. He's done both. l love Tony, but he can be a pest.


Spring came over for dinner Sunday. She was nice and pretty, and everyone liked her. Mom made a really delicious dish. It was a French dish. Monday? Not okay. Mr. Kurl caught Billy trying dump soda mixed with tea and milk and coconut meat on my hair. Sophia didn't spare me a glance. Look at me! Talk to me! Say you love me! l begged her. When l got home,things went weird. " TOBIAS SHANE GRASS!!!" I walked into the kitchen. " Did you call me?" l asked Dad. " l think Tony is playing a prank." he said. Then he turned back to to the newspaper. " Anything new?" l asked him. He smiled, then turned serious. "A major car accident. There was a pregnant woman in it. Her fiance was to blame. He's okay, but she isn't. Don't you know this girl?" He pointed to a picture of an African American girl holding a cat with three legs. "Sure. That's Kila. l went to Burkhard Elementary with her." Dad nodded. "l thought she looked familiar." Girlfriend tried to sniff me. l sat down on the couch and pushed her nose away from my stomach. She persisted. l picked up a Doggie Root Beer and squeezed it. She sat down.

l took a good book that had to be read for English out. Dad went outside and brought everything in. Literally. "Tobias, grab some food and a book and go downstairs." l obeyed him. There was good weather for a tornado. When l got downstairs l settled on the couch. l eventually fell asleep reading. When l woke up l went upstairs and showered and brushed my teeth. "Good morning, son." Dad said. "You are not going to school today. You overslept. Mom's in a bad mood, so be careful." But Mom was not in a bad mood at all. She was wearing a collared buttoned empire waist khaki dress. l really liked it. So did Dad. "Sexy dress," he said. Mom tousled his hair. l nibbled the blueberry pancake. Mom felt my forehead. "Those are your favorite," she said. "l'm feeling chubby today." Partial truth. "l know the feeling," Dad said under his breath.