Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for the late posting, a lot has been going on, I am entering my very last semester in Law School, I'll be graduating in January, which is so exciting! Anyway, I have been thinking a lot and writing this story, I kinda don't want this story to move forward so fast because well... we kinda, sorta, might be getting close to the end and it makes me sad. Well, when we reach the end of the story, I'll ask you guys a question and I hope you'll let me know what you think.
When the morning of December 8th came, Sophie woke her entire family by screaming in the hallways that she was 11 years old. Chloe came out of her room and hugged the little pre-teen, then Beca, then Leslie, then Charlotte.
The entire family went downstairs, the two redheads were perky and happy as ever, while the others were half asleep.
"So mamma, my birthday will be epic," Sophie said. Although it was a Thursday, Sophie knew she'd get at least a birthday dinner. "I want Aunt Bree and Aunt Stacie here, Nat and Joel."
"You got it," Chloe said, placing two strips of bacon and an egg on her plate.
"Any dress code, ma'am?" Charlotte asked sarcastically.
"No, that's okay," Sophie said.
"So So, Char was being sarcastic," Leslie said before looking at Charlotte, "because she is a grumpy teenager."
Charlotte glared at the little one.
"Girls, seriously? You're gonna fight before 9 a.m.?" Beca asked, looking between the three.
"No, we're not," Leslie said.
"It's okay, mommy. I'm not mad at Char, she can say what she wants, nothing will ruin my birthday," Sophie smiled.
"I think Sophie is one third ma, one third mom and one third endless perkiness," Charlotte said.
"I just like to have a positive outlook on life," Sophie said, simply.
"Why? Life sucks sometimes, y'know," Charlotte said.
"No, it doesn't," Sophie said.
"Yes, it does, it's not all cupcakes and rainbows," Charlotte said.
"No, not all time but it's not thunder and storms either," Sophie said. "I mean, come on Char, you're 15, you have a wonderful family, you don't have bills to pay, how is life tough for you?"
Charlotte just stared at her, then at her family, before her eyes filled with tears and she got up.
"Forget it," she said before leaving.
"What the heck was that?" Sophie asked no one in particular.
"I'll go talk to her," Beca started to get up.
"Let me go, mommy," Leslie said before getting up and going after her older sister. She knocked on the door and got in after Charlotte told her to. "Char?"
"What?" Charlotte was crying sitting against the window, looking out.
"What's wrong?" Leslie came in and sat in front of her in the window seat.
"Callie broke up with me," Charlotte said before crying harder.
"She is such an ignoramus," Leslie said, earning a look of doubt from Charlotte. "That means ignorant or stupid person and she is both."
Charlotte chuckled lightly.
"Thanks Leslie," Charlotte said.
"I mean it, Char. Everyone knows you rarely end up with your first love," Leslie said. "And you're only 15, you'll find other people."
"I know I will, I just.." Charlotte sighed and looked down.
"It hurts," Leslie said, knowingly. "It's okay. You can be hurt, you can be sad all you want. It's what's expected of you. Just remember, your family will always be there for you."
The little one smiled and Charlotte smiled back. She hugged her younger sister tight.
"You're awesome, Leslie," she said.
"Thanks!" Leslie smiled. "Wanna come finish your breakfast?"
"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute, just let me wash my face," Charlotte said.
Leslie nodded and went down to the kitchen.
"Is everything okay with Char, Les?" Chloe asked.
"Kinda, Callie broke up with her," Leslie said, making everyone gasp.
"Why didn't she tell us?" Beca asked.
"Probably because she was embarrassed, shy.. or both," Leslie said. "You know how teenagers are. She'll come to you eventually."
Beca sighed.
"Was she sad?" Beca asked.
"Duh," Leslie said. "She just needs time, mom."
"Yeah, she'll be okay," Chloe said.
"I'll be right back, mamma," Sophie said before going upstairs. She found her older sister coming out of her room. "Char?"
Charlotte offered Sophie a small, sad smile.
"I'm sorry Callie broke up with you," Sophie said. "You don't have to come to my party if you don't want to. You can stay in your room and cry. I understand."
"Are you kidding?" Charlotte said. "Why would I want to cry about someone who doesn't want me? I can be with my family."
"Who loves you to death," Sophie said. "And who will never break up with you. Because family is forever."
"Exactly. Now let's go, I need to finish eating breakfast or I'll be late for school," Charlotte said.
Sophie followed Charlotte downstairs to the kitchen.
"By the way, mommy. I want to invite Aydan for my birthday dinner," Sophie said.
"Aydan? From school?" Beca asked.
"Yeah," Sophie said.
"But honey, this is a family dinner," Chloe said. "If you want, you can have a birthday party for all your classmates."
"But Aydan is my boyfriend, mama," Sophie said. "I want him to come, too."
Both women were surprised by hearing that. Sophie made puppy dog eyes.
"You have a boyfriend?" Beca asked.
"Yeah," Sophie said.
"How come we didn't know about this?" Chloe said.
"I only asked him to be my boyfriend this week," Sophie said.
"That's nice, baby," Chloe said. "What do you guys do?"
"Well, we hold hands during recess, he even brought me a candy bar one day," Sophie said. "And he kissed me on the cheek."
Sophie blushed and giggled.
Beca and Chloe smiled.
"But don't worry, I told him no kissing on the lips, only adults can do that," Sophie said. "And teenagers."
"That's right," Chloe said.
"Sophie, if you want, you can invite Aydan over for your birthday," Beca said.
"Thanks, mommy!" Sophie said and ran off upstairs to get changed.
The family's day was full, Sophie, of course, was the last to get home, she was in ballet until 8 p.m., so when Nikki went to pick her up, everyone was already there and dinner was halfway done.
The little redhead took a shower, got ready and went downstairs to greet her guests. She hugged her aunts and cousins and grinned widely when she noticed Aydan was there. The boy had a dress shirt on, jeans and boots. He had blonde hair and brown eyes and he truly was a beautiful kid.
"Aydan!" Sophie said and hugged him.
"Happy birthday, Sophie," the boy said timidly. Sophie blushed.
"Thanks. Wanna come see my room?" Sophie said.
"Sure," Aydan said.
Sophie took his hand and brought him upstairs. Beca showed up in the living room drying her hands in a washcloth and chuckled, shaking her head.
"Who's that?" Aubrey asked.
"Sophie's boyfriend," Beca said.
"No way!" Stacie said.
"Sucks that I'm single and my little sister is not," Charlotte said.
"Language," Beca said. "That's got me thinking. We should have a bad words jar," Beca said.
"Why?" Charlotte said.
"Because Sophie and Leslie can't go out saying bad words, they have to learn not to say them," Beca said. "We should set an example."
"Mommy, Sophie would never say bad words and I, well, I'm smart enough to know the meaning of them, so I know not to use them in family, academic or formal conversation," Leslie said.
Aubrey was quite shocked to hear that come out of a 6-year-old's mouth. Beca, however, only seemed to consider what Leslie said.
"You're right. So Char, you, Ma and me are joining in the jar," Beca said.
"What? Why?" Charlotte said.
"Because we say more bad words," Beca said. "Besides, I need to lose the habit of saying bad words, anyway."
Charlotte rolled her eyes.
"How much is going to cost me?" Charlotte said.
"Well not for now, but we'll say a nickel for you and a quarter for Ma and I," Beca said.
"Mom, you should pay a quarter, me and Ma should pay a nickel," Charlotte said. "We say a lot less bad words than you do."
"Good point," Beca said. "Alright, that's it."
Charlotte nodded.
"Mom, it's Sophie's birthday, shouldn't she hang out with us?" Charlotte asked.
"She's showing Aydan her room, let's wait until she gets back. If she doesn't, then you can go get her," Beca said.
"Okay," Charlotte said.
"Char, Chloe told me you have plans to go to Barden after high school," Aubrey said.
"Yeah, I do. My dream is being a Barden Bella," Charlotte smiled.
"That's so cool," Aubrey said. "I never thought you would actually want to. I mean, we did always call you Mini Bella but, you know."
"Yeah, well I was dead serious," Charlotte said.
"Well good luck, Char," Stacie said.
"Char doesn't need luck, she's a legacy! She's the daughter of Beca Mitchell and Chloe Beale! And the goddaughter of Aubrey Posen and Stacie Conrad!" Aubrey said.
"I know but I don't wanna be known because of who you all were, I wanna be known for myself. I want to be a Bella, make a change for them," Charlotte said.
"That's great to hear, Char. And you will," Beca said, putting her arm around her oldest daughter.
"Mommy, can we stop celebrating Char? I'm the star today," Sophie said, holding her boyfriend's hand and guiding him back into the living room.
Charlotte rolled her eyes.
"Well, great to have you guys back, dinner is almost ready," Beca said.
"Actually, it's on the table," Chloe said. "Come on, guys, let's eat."
After eating dinner, the family and guests sang Happy Birthday to Sophie, which made the 11-year-old very happy, before Aydan's mom was there to pick him up. Beca and Chloe got a chance to chat with her a little more before she left.
Sophie fell asleep before anybody in the house, of course, she was really tired. The next day, which was a Saturday, she woke up, Chloe took her to ballet, then both were back home by noon.
"Alright, what are we going to watch today?" Chloe asked her family as everyone cleaned up the kitchen after lunch.
"Please, let it be educational," Leslie said.
"We can watch a documentary," Beca suggested.
Before Sophie had a chance to speak, the doorbell rang. She frowned in confusion and looked at her family.
"Who's coming today?" Sophie asked.
Beca and Chloe looked at each other and shrugged.
"Can you go see who it is, So So?" Chloe asked.
Sophie got up and went to the door. She looked in the peephole and saw a tall, red haired man standing outside and she opened slowly to reveal her all time favorite photographer, Jordan Matter.
The little redhead started jumping and screaming as the man outside laughed at her reaction. She immediately ran and hugged him, which took him by surprise.
"Hi Sophie!" Jordan said.
"Did you like the surprise, So So?" Chloe asked knowingly.
"Yes, I love it! I get Jordan for my birthday?" Sophie asked, which made everyone laugh.
"No, honey. But you do get a photoshoot with Jordan for your birthday," Beca said.
"Yaaay!" Sophie said. "Thank you, Mr. Jordan!"
"You're welcome. I read your letter and it really moved me because I know exactly how you feel. I was bullied as a kid for being a redhead myself. I had a lot of freckles, I was very tall, kids loved picking on me. But what actually made me get better is realizing that I should love myself the way I was, there is no one out there exactly like me, besides, redheads are about 2% of the world population, so we really have to celebrate," Jordan said.
Sophie nodded.
"Yeah," Sophie said.
"I liked your letter so much, I read it and decided to come in person and ask you to be the timer in my next 10 minute photo challenge, which, in fact, is about to happen right now," Jordan said.
Sophie's jaw dropped and she grinned widely, looking back at her moms. She hugged them tight before tears actually started falling from her face.
"Thanks mommy, thanks mamma," Sophie said.
"You deserve it, sweetie," Chloe said.
"So come on, let's go!" Jordan said.
"Yaay, let's go!" Sophie said.
Beca, Chloe, Charlotte, Leslie and Sophie followed Jordan to the Santa Monica pier, where the challenge would happen.
Once Jordan's camera guy was ready, Jordan explained to Sophie how everything was going to happen so she wouldn't be taken by surprise.
"Mr. Jordan, when you introduce me, can I be doing a dance pose?" Sophie asked.
"Sure," Jordan said.
The person doing the 10 minute photo challenge was Lilliana Ketchman. As a kid, she was in Dance Moms, which Sophie watched sometimes, so she knew who Lily was. The two talked and Lily gave some advice to Sophie about dance and the bullying she went through. The little redhead was having the time of her life.
"Hello everyone, I'm here at the Santa Monica pier, about to do a 10 minute photo challenge," Jordan said. "Doing the challenge today is Lilly K!"
Lily was shown doing a needle and she waved at the camera.
"The timer today is a very special little girl, Sophie Beale!"
Sophie was in a middle split sitting in front of Jordan and she held the phone and waved happily at the camera.
"Lily, Sophie and I want to send the message out there: stop bullying. It is never okay and it really marks a child for life," Jordan said. "Okay, Sophie, when I say 'go', we go. Okay? Go!"
Sophie started the timer and got up, following Jordan all through the pier. Her family followed along. She didn't have a hard time keeping up with Jordan and Lily and she watched in amazement every pose Lily hit.
"How much time?" Jordan asked.
"10 seconds!" Sophie said.
"Okay, Sophie I want you in there for the last shot!" Jordan said. By now, they were at the beach. "Go with Lily and do something!"
"Let's be sunbathing!" Sophie immediately said, getting into a floor needle next to Lily. Jordan took the picture and Sophie grabbed the phone again.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Time!" Sophie counted with Jordan.
Jordan high fived Lily and then Sophie.
"Great thinking for the last shot, Soph!" Jordan said, catching his breath.
"Thanks! You can call me So So," Sophie said.
"So So? Funny, my daughter's Say Say," Jordan chuckled.
"Yeah," Sophie said. "Thanks again for inviting me to be in your video, Mr. Jordan."
"You're welcome," Jordan said. "I'll see you tomorrow for your photoshoot, remember?"
"Oh great!" Sophie said. "Can my sisters be in some of the pictures too? They're both dancers. Of course, they're not as good as I am."
Jordan laughed.
"You think so?" Jordan asked and Sophie nodded. "Do they?"
"Actually, she's telling the truth," Charlotte jumped in.
"Yeah, So So spends more time in dance than any of us," Leslie said. "She wants to go pro."
"Yeah, so she actually is the best dancer among us," Charlotte said.
"Oh really?" Jordan said and the three sisters nodded. "Good for you, Soph, I hope your dreams come true."
"They will for sure. Meeting you was my dream and it came true," Sophie said. Jordan smiled and hugged her.
"Thanks for writing to me, Sophie," Jordan said. "See you tomorrow."
"Thanks for meeting me, see you tomorrow, Mr. Jordan!" Sophie smiled and waved before meeting her family.
Chloe and Beca were having a mental conversation. They had heard their middle daughter was bullied but they didn't know about this, Sophie had never mentioned that before and she didn't look like she was being bullied.
"Sophie?" Chloe came into the redhead's room later that night. "Can I talk to you?"
"Sure, mamma," Sophie said, sitting on her bed, combing her long, curly red hair.
"Honey, mommy and I were talking and we wanted to ask you about what Jordan talked about today during the challenge," Chloe said.
"Yeah?" Sophie said.
"Are you really bullied?" Chloe asked, just as Beca walked into the room and closed the door behind her.
"Sometimes," Sophie said quietly, playing with her sheets.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Chloe asked.
Sophie shrugged.
"We could've helped you," Beca jumped in, sitting on the bed next to Chloe.
"I was embarrassed," Sophie said.
"Sophie," Beca grabbed her hand and the little one looked up at her. "You shouldn't be embarrassed to talk to us about anything, especially about you being bullied. It is never okay to bully someone and if kids are doing that to you, we are going to take action."
Sophie smiled and nodded.
"Sophie, you know I'm also a redhead so I was your age once, I went through what you went through, too," Chloe said. "Kids also picked on me for being a redhead, they said I was the Devil and had fire hair."
"Such assholes," Beca said.
"A quarter in the jar!" Sophie pointed at Beca.
"That's right," Chloe eyed Beca, who smiled sheepishly. "Anyway, So So. I talked to my parents, they talked to the school and things stopped. I felt so much better! And what Jordan said it's true! Us redheads are 2% of the world population, we need to celebrate!"
"I know," Sophie said. "But mamma, I didn't tell you guys about the bullying because I don't really care. Other people can say whatever they want, I'm just gonna do what I think is right."
"That is so right, Soph," Beca said. "You are an awesome kid, very smart."
"Yes," Chloe said. "We are so proud of you."
Sophie smiled wider and her mothers hugged her tight.
"We love you, Sophie," Beca said, kissing the side of her head.
"I love you, too," Sophie said.
The two women got up and out of the room. They sighed once they were out of the room and looked at each other.
"We have amazing children," Beca said.
"Oh we for sure do," Chloe agreed.