Stand by my side
Chapter 1
Sophia woke to the smell of burnt bacon wafting from the kitchen, and the sound of the smoke detectors going off. She groaned and tried to block the sound out with her pillow, but she knew she would have to get up eventually. Pushing her long hair out of her eyes, she sat up, and, not for the first time, thought, Why does this happen?
She hopped up, and trudged down the stairs, still in her pyjamas, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. She could here Colin yelling, and Dennis running around. Dad was probably not home, and they knew Sophia liked to sleep in, so they probably tried to take matters into their own hands. She knew she should be grateful for them trying, but it was still frustrating.
The kitchen was a mess. Piles of pans were stacked on the table. Flour was spilt on the bench. There were half a dozen broken eggs on the floor. And in the middle of it all was Colin and Dennis, trying their best to cook bacon.
Sophia sighed. "Guys, I told you to leave the cooking to me. This is the fourth time this has happened." She saw Dennis's crestfallen face, and added, "But thanks for trying. Now, let's get this mess cleaned up."
It took a long time to clean up and make breakfast. By the time they were done, Sophia felt like her face was on fire. Dennis looked exhausted, but was grinning as if he just won the lottery. Colin's hair was plastered to his face with sweat.
Sophia didn't look like the rest of her family. While Colin, Dennis, and their father all had straight, mousy brown hair, Sophia's was dark brown and wavy. They had brown eyes, hers were hazel. While she was considered an average height, Colin and Dennis were both quite small for their age. She always got strange looks from people when they saw her walking around with her family, because she didn't look anything like them. One of the disadvantages of being adopted.
They didn't treat her as if she was adopted. Her dad treated her exactly the same as Colin and Dennis. However, she knew they weren't her blood family.
But she still loved Colin and Dennis with all of her heart, even if they were annoying, and clumsy, and couldn't think logically. They cared for her, and looked up to her, and Sophia was constantly working to be a good role model for them. She didn't do a very good job, though. She was always getting herself into some kind of mess. Her detention rate was high, and got bad marks in all of her classes. And yet they still asked her for advice, and tried to please her, despite her protests.
The three of them sat down at the table and started eating. Despite being under Sophia's supervision, Colin had still burnt the toast, but apart from that, it was delicious. Sophia scoffed her's, and was just standing up to rinse her plate, when her dad came in.
Her dad, Adrian Creevey, was a milkman. He was usually a fun, caring person, but on some days, he was distant and sad. Colin had told her it was because he was thinking about Mom.
Brianna Creevey had passed away just after Dennis was born. Adrian had mourned for a long time. But he still had the tough job of looking after three kids while doing his job in the mornings. Sophia had learnt to look after her younger brothers from a young age.
Today, Adrian was in a sad mood. He smiled half-heartedly at them, before coming and sitting down at the table. Sophia set down his plate in front of him, and he muttered something, probably 'thanks', before digging in.
"I'm going to go and get ready." Sophia said, after a minute of awkward silence. She was going to her best friend Lizzie's house today.
"NO!" Colin and Dennis yelled at the same time. Sophia raised her eyebrows.
"Why not?" she asked. The boys looked at each other, and then at Dad. He shrugged. The boys looked back at her. Then they grinned.
"Because you've got to open your presents first!" Colin exclaimed. Sophia stared at him blankly, and he rolled his eyes. "It's your birthday, silly!"
Sophia looked at the calendar hanging on the wall, and realised that, indeed, it was the 30th of July, her birthday.
"Oh." She mumbled, embarrassed. How could she have forgotten her birthday? It was one of the only pieces of information that she had from her life before she was sent to the orphanage, as well as her first name. It was one of the most important days of her life, every year.
"Come on!" Dennis cried, grabbing her hand. He pulled her into their small living room, and Sophia gasped.
The Creevey's weren't rich. In fact, they were poor. They couldn't afford much for entertainment. Birthdays were never extravagant. Money was always being saved for birthday's and Christmas. So, thought and care was always put into the presents. And this year was no exception.
Three gifts were sitting next to the armchair; one from each of them. Sophia could immediately tell which one came from who. Dennis's was badly wrapped and brightly coloured. Colin's was the biggest. And Dad's was the smallest, with perfect wrapping and a ribbon tying it together.
"Mine first!" Dennis sat her down on the armchair, and passed her his present. She took the card off the top, and ripped open the envelope. Inside was a hand-drawn card. It was crayon, with a big yellow smiley face on the front. She opened it. Inside was a drawing of four people; Dennis, Colin, Dad, and her. The card read, Dear Sophia, You're the bestest big sister in the whole world! Love from Dennis.
Sophia smiled and hugged Dennis. Then she proceeded to open the present. He had made a big book full of pictures she had drawn. She flipped through the book, looking at her artwork, being careful not to rip the pages.
"Thanks, Dennis!" she said, and Dennis grinned. She then picked up Colin's gift. He hadn't made a card, but she didn't really mind. She opened the gift carefully, and gasped. Inside was a collection of paints, plus paint brushes. They didn't have any paint, because it was too expensive, but Sophia loved painting at school. Sophia usually just used pencils for her artworks. But paint…
"Colin! This must have been super expensive!"
Colin shrugged. "Used my pocket money, and borrowed a bit from Dennis. But I know you like painting, so I thought I would give you something else to do apart from just drawing." Sophia gave him a big hug, and he grinned. "Happy Birthday."
"I'm not sure my gift can live up to those two!" Dad laughed.
Sophia smiled. "Don't worry Dad, it'll be great." She picked up the final gift, and unwrapped it carefully. She lifted it up.
"A pocket knife!" she cried in excitement.
Dad smiled. "I'm glad you like it."
Sophia gave him the biggest hug she could. "You're the best dad in the world!" And then she whispered. "And I'm glad you're mine."