Sofia couldn't believe it. She just couldn't. 

Tracy was hugging her, crying and apologizing. She kept saying that she was just jealous that Sofia was so smart and good at school, and that she just wanted a good friend.

Sofia didn't believe that Tracy of all people needed a friend. All of the kids liked her, and she had Fire-Haired girl (Sofia had heard Mr. Williams call her Angelina, so Sofia guessed that was her name). Tracy let go of Sofia, and smiled at her. Sofia turned to Angelina. She was definitely not as pleased as Tracy was. In fact, she was scowling at Sofia like Sofia had been the one who had done wrong. She forced out an apology, and Sofia nodded. 

Earlier that day, after recess, Mr. Williams had noticed that Sofia had been crying. He asked her why, and she said that some people weren't being nice to her. Sofia didn't say who, because she didn't want Tracy and Angelina to like her even less. But then lunch came, and the two girls made fun of her as she played alone. Mr. Williams still didn't find out until Angelina said something mean to Sofia during the time when the class was doing seat work (Which Sofia didn't particularly like, but she figured that it would be easier when she learned how to read and write). Then, after school, Mr. Williams pulled Sofia, Tracy, and Angelina aside and had a talk about rule number five: Be kind to your fellow students. He had Tracy and Angelina say sorry to Sofia, and that was when Tracy hugged Sofia. After Angelina had "apologized," Sofia's mother had come to pick her up. Her mother had said hello to Mr. Williams and introduced herself when Sofia took her hand. 

"Can we go home now Momma?" Sofia asked.

"Yes." her mother said. And as they walked to the car, Sofia told her all about Tracy and Angelina, and how they weren't very nice to her at first, and that was why she was sad on the first day of school. And she told her mother about what had happened that day, and how Tracy had said sorry and became Sofia's friend, and how Angelina didn't look like she was actually sorry. Sofia talked and talked all the way home. When they got inside, the two of them sat in the kitchen, eating snacks. 

When she had finished talking about how her day went, she decided to ask her mother, so her mom wouldn't fell left out.

"How was your job, Momma?" she asked

"I had an excellent first day."

"What did you do?"

"Well, I organized books and put new ones on the shelves, and I was a cashier for a little bit as well."

"That sound fun. Do you like books, Momma?"

"Yes, I love books."

"When I learn to read, I am going to buy a book from your store."

"Do you have any money?"

"Well, that's what I was wondering about. I was kind of hoping that you could let me borrow some dollars so I could get a book because I don't have any."

"That could be arranged."

"What is your favorite color, Momma?" Sofia asked. 

"Blue," Her mother replied.

"Mine is green. Like the grass." They talked for a while about colors, and which ones they liked and didn't like. They moved into the living room and sat on the couch. It was then when Sofia noticed a picture on the fireplace. A picture of a man she didn't know. 

"Who is that guy in the picture, Momma?" Sofia inquired. Her mother was silent for a while and Sofia was afraid that she had fallen asleep, but after a while she answered Sofia's question, a sad look on her face.

"That was your father."

"That's cool. How come I never seen him? Where did he go?" Sofia's mother's eyes were shining and wet. Maybe something bad had happened to her dad.

"He wanted to be in the army-"

"Like war?" Sofia interrupted.

"Yes, like war. One day, while he was on a mission, he got caught in an explosion, and-" Her mother stopped, and took a deep breath in. "He didn't make it." She choked out.

"Did he die?" Sofia asked

"Yes," Sofia's mother was crying. Not sobbing with lots of tears, but crying. Soft tears rolled down her cheeks, taking a while to drip down her chin.

"What was he like?" Sofia asked, going up to her mom and snuggling with her.

"He loved to talk. He was funny and smart, and he had a lot of friends. We met in a coffee shop, when I was trying to study. He accidentally knocked over my book." Sofia looked at her mom. She had a look of wistfulness on her face, as if she were reliving her time with Sofia's dad. "Then we became best friends and I found out that he liked to read just like me. We would talk about books for a long time."

"And then you got married?"

"Yes, we got married. And we went camping for our honeymoon."

"I want to go camping."

"Maybe we can go over the summer."

"What was daddy's favorite color?" Sofia's mom smiled.

"He liked yellow, because it reminded him of the day we met. I was reading about the sun when he knocked my book off of the table."

"Did he always knock things over?" Sofia asked.

"Occasionally. But he was not a very clumsy person at all."

"What did he look like?"

"He was tall, he had dark black hair, and bright blue eyes. He was always smiling. You have his eyes." Sofia's mother said.

"Really?"

"Yes." Sofia felt happy knowing that she had something of the father that she wished she could meet. 

"Daddy sounds like a cool person."

"He was."

                     ~                     ~                     ~                     ~                     ~                     ~                     ~                     ~

"Sofia! Come over and play!" 

Sofia looked over her shoulder. It was Tracy. Sofia smiled. Today would be the first day that she wouldn't have to play alone at lunch. 

Sofia raced over to Tracy and smiled. They both pretended that they were superheros who were going to save the world from monsters. They ran around the city (which was actually the playground, they just pretended that it was a city) saving helpless people and destroying monsters. They were right in the middle of saving a baby when Angelina came, and caused Sofia and Tracy to zap back into reality.

"Hi guys." She said quietly. Her body was stiff, and she didn't really look like she was enjoying herself.

"Hi." Said Sofia. 

"Can I play with you?" Sofia thought that maybe she didn't have anybody to play with now that Tracy was with Sofia. 

Sofia's face erupted into a grin. She knew how it felt to be alone.

"Yes." She said, and Angelina smiled back.

The three of them played for the rest of lunch, and played together for Free Play time during class. They laughed and talked and had fun. It was the best day of school Sofia ever had. And she was happy. 

                     ~                      ~                      ~                      ~                      ~                      ~                      ~                      ~

Ms. Martin had thought that the day she talked about Denver would be the worst day of her life. But talking to Sofi about him had left her feeling content, like a weight was lifted off of her shoulders. She was still sad about his death, but it didn't drag her down anymore. 

She was much more cheerful at work today, and enjoyed the company of her co-workers a lot more than she had yesterday. The only thing that kept a hold on her heart was that Sofi would never be able to meet her father, and Denver would never meet Sofia. 

But then again, Ms. Martin was filled with joy that her daughter had found a friend. Ms. Martin had been so worried that Sofia wouldn't pluck up the courage to talk to someone, and Sofia so desperately needed social interaction, just like Denver. Sofia was so similar to Denver in so many ways. 

Ms. Martin worked with a contentment she hadn't felt in years. She smiled as she greeted customers, and even tried making small talk, although that hadn't really gone well. When it came time to pick up Sofia, Ms. Martin couldn't believe how fast time had passed. 

Ms. Martin parked her car outside of the school, and got out, closing the door behind her. She walked to Sofia's classroom, and her heart was warmed by the sight she saw. 

Sofia was standing with two other girls. The same two girls who she had seen Mr. Williams talking to yesterday. And they were laughing together. Smiling, having fun. 

Sofia had gotten what she wanted. She had gotten her friend. And she was lucky, because she found another one as well. She had two friends to laugh with, two friends to cry with. Four helping hands. 

Sofia looked up, seeing Ms. Martin standing there, and smiled. And Ms. Martin smiled back