Hours later, Cyril, Sophia, and the Pigs returned to the Sneer mansion. Cedric was in the kitchen, looking through a cook book, and Forest was sitting in his highchair, making a mess as usual. Cedric had given him some Cheerios, and Forest was throwing them on the floor. Snag was eating them up as fast as Forest could throw them.

"Hi, Pop," Cedric said. "You know you guys missed breakfast."

"That's okay," Sophia said. "I decided to go on a diet."

"A diet? You don't need to go on a diet, Sophia."

"Yeah, she's skinny enough as it is," Boyd said.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt," Sophia said with a shrug. She took Forest out of his highchair and carried him out of the kitchen before he could make an even bigger mess than he was already making.

After Sophia put Forest in his crib for a nap, she began to stare at herself in the mirror. She kept thinking about all the things Carrie Anne had said to her about those jumps of hers. The skating contest wasn't all that far off. She didn't know if she could lose the weight she wanted in time. That, and she still needed to practice a better routine. Cyril really wanted her to win this contest.

Sophia walked down the stairs with her ice skates slung over her shoulder. She was about to leave the house when Cedric caught up with her.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To the lake," Sophia answered. "I have to work on my routine."

"Right now? Didn't you just come back from the lake?"

"Practice makes perfect, Cedric."

"But what about lunch?"

"I'm not really hungry right now. I'll eat later."

"Well . . . . okay."

And with that, Sophia left. Cedric stared after her, not really sure what to think.

Sophia spent the rest of the day at the lake. When she returned, it was well past dinner time.

"You missed dinner, Sophia," Cedric said.

"I was working," Sophia said. "I've got to get a perfect routine for the competition, especially if I want to win the contract."

"That's my girl!" Cyril shouted. "Thinking about the big bucks!"

"I thought you weren't interested in the movie contract," Cedric said.

Sophia shrugged, and started up the stairs. Cedric was a little confused about her behavior, but he didn't say anything.

The next day, Sophia was up at four in the morning, practicing on the lake. Cyril kept criticizing her moves, and the Pigs were all mooning over Dorothy Ham, not really paying any attention to anything else.

"Come on, Sofa Girl!" Cyril shouted. "Get it together! Keep going, keep going! I want you to jump so high, you'll reach the stars! I want you to do five of those axle things!"

Sophia skated her heart out. Cyril kept barking orders at her, and she carried them out. By the time the two of the returned to the mansion, Sophia was exhausted. But she didn't sit down to take a break. Instead, she just grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator, took a couple of sips, and was ready to hit the ice again.

"Sophia, aren't you going to stay for lunch?" Cedric asked.

"I can't," Sophia replied. "I need to practice."

"But Sophia . . . . ."

"Besides, I'm not very hungry, anyway."

"But . . . . ."

Sophia was already out the door before Cedric could say anything. He was beginning to feel a little suspicious about things. Sophia had given him the same excuse the day before.

For the next few days, Cedric was starting to get worried. Sophia was starting to get up at three in the morning, and she went jogging until four. Then she would go out to the lake and work on her routine, all with Cyril yelling at her to do better. He was determined to have her win this contest. Then Sophia would spend hours on the lake, missing breakfast. Then she, Cyril, and the Pigs returned to the mansion for lunch, but Sophia always went back to the lake to practice. Then she'd spend all afternoon and sometimes all evening practicing, and not coming back until eight at night. She was also starting to skip meals and do more and more exercising and practicing.

One day, Sophia returned to the mansion after her four-in-the-morning practice. Cedric was in the kitchen, fixing a sandwich.

"I'm glad you're back, Sophia," he said. "Lunch is almost ready."

"No thanks, Cedric," Sophia said. "I need to work on my routine."

"You're routine's perfect, Sophia. You don't need to work on it anymore. I think you need to sit down and relax a little. And you need to eat something, too. You haven't been eating much these last few days."

"I'm too excited about the contest to even think about eating."

"Just the same, Sophia, I'd feel better if you did eat something."

"All right, all right. If it'll make you happy, Cedric, I'll sit down and I'll eat a sandwich or something."

Cedric smiled, and gave Sophia the sandwich he was making. Sophia took a bite out of it and started chewing. It was at that moment that she and Cedric heard Forest crying from upstairs. Both of them started to go see what was wrong.

"You stay here and finish eating, Sophia," Cedric said. "I'll go check on the baby."

Sophia nodded, and Cedric was off. Sophia waited until he was gone. Then she picked up a napkin, and spit the bite of sandwich into it. She threw it away, sat down, and dropped the sandwich on the floor.

"Come and get it, Snag," she said.

Cyril's dog, Snag, raced for the sandwich and gobbled it up. Snag was never too fond of Sophia, but now he was starting to like her. She was beginning to throw her food on the floor for him, too, just like Forest did.

"Good boy," Sophia said. "I want to lose this weight in time for the contest. And I can't afford to gain any of it now."