“Don’t leave Aaron waiting for too long,” I spat back. Oh. My. God. Why would I ever say that to Mollie Castro? I don’t know what has gotten over me, but hearing Mollie blame me for her and Milo’s friendship being different now made me angry; furious even. I don’t know Mollie well enough to judge her, but I can only say what I see with my two eyes, and something told me to say it because it was the only way I could ever hurt someone like Mollie Castro the same way she wanted me to hurt.
Mollie turned around and looked me dead in the face. She looked paler in the face; ghostly even. Something tells me I opened the biggest can of worms I could possibly open. Mollie walks to me without ever breaking eye contact; I can feel my fight or flight response kick in, and all I want to do is run away.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mollie calmly said, which was scary since her face expressed the total opposite of it. “So I suggest you mind your business, Sophie.”
“Does Milo know what I’m talking about?” I asked. I was more curious than being catty at this point. Mollie seemed to be angered at my question.
“Fuck off, Sophie–“
“You can’t blame me for your friendship being rocky with Milo when really it’s because you’re dating someone that contributed to Milo losing his dual major status in the first place,” I confessed.
“You’re just mad at Milo hasn’t even asked you out yet,” Mollie snapped back. I know Mollie is known for saying anything in order to protect herself; Milo told me that much about her. But, this caught me off-guard. Ask me out? Why would Mollie think Milo and I would be anything more than friends? Has Milo mentioned something to her? I mean, they’re best friends and best friends tell each other everything in secret. Does she know more about Milo’s feelings than I do? Why would it hurt so much to hear her say that Milo still hasn’t asked me to be more than just friends? “At least I have a boy that doesn’t play with my heart as much as Milo has played with yours.” Mollie laughed before ending the conversation. She stands there and looks me in the eyes.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I simply answered Mollie’s accusations. The truth was that I didn’t know if she knew the truth or not, and I think she knows that I’m doubting everything coming out of my mouth at this point.
“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t,” Mollie started. “But remember that Milo used to tell me everything before he got blindsided by you. He was my best friend and if he can just ditch his best friend since birth for a girl, imagine what he’ll do when someone prettier and smarter comes along and grabs his attention.” Mollie turned around and walked down the hall. The last warning bell rings and all of the other students go to their next class.
…
I walk into our band rehearsal in the auditorium and watch everyone set and tune their instruments. I walk to the strings section and begin to take my violin out of the case. I was still so angry at the conversation I had with Mollie. Why would I let her get to me like that? Why would I allow someone that barely knows me get the best of me in the way that she did today? Only I know my friendship with Milo, and I enjoy it very much. But Mollie knows Milo best, which bothers me. Someone as cynical and catty as Mollie Castro, knowing someone as sweet and kind as Milo Kamalani bothers me. Doesn’t it worry you, Sophie, that you are the company that you keep? What makes Milo any different?
“Has anyone seen Aaron?” Mr. Harrison asks the class before beginning the rehearsal. No one answers back, or they simply shake their heads no. I scoffed under my breath, not surprised in the slightest.
“Some star student,” I said under my breath as I walked toward the stage with the rest of the ensemble. I took a quick glance at the percussion section and see Milo there. He looks at me and smiles as we make eye contact. I quickly looked away; not only did I need to stay focused since the showcase is in 2 days, but it simply hurt too much to dwell on what I was feeling.
I remember when Milo first kissed me back in middle school. Milo was writing music in his treehouse at his grandparents’ house; the one where he shared that it was his biological mum’s when she was a teenager before she passed away. I was the only other person that ever saw the inside of the treehouse. He was having a hard time with the last group of friends I had and I went to check on him. We spoke about our goals for Waverly and all of the fun things we would do in band class together. Milo made me feel comfortable when he kissed me like it was supposed to happen that night. I thought about that night many times afterward, hoping that one day it could happen again. But, something changed when we got to Waverly. It’s like everything about our friendship changed like all of what happened in middle school was gone forever. We never spoke about the kiss, and we never had conversations about the future after graduation. We never went back to the treehouse together.
Maybe I was so hurt by Mollie’s words because maybe deep down, I knew some of it was true.
…
The bell rings and it’s finally the end of the day. I packed my violin back in its case quickly, hoping that I am out of the auditorium before Milo can come up to me and talk. I didn’t want to talk. I wanted to go home and do my homework and practice for the showcase and hide in my room until I had to come back here tomorrow. Once I closed my violin case and picked it up, I scanned the auditorium to see if Milo was still in there. To my surprise, he wasn’t. While I was relieved that I didn’t have to talk to him, I was a little hurt that he didn’t come to check on me. Milo was always good at knowing something was wrong. I know he’s probably running to the dual major rehearsal for the showcase, but it’s something that I’m used to at this point. Milo was going to be a dual major this whole time Sophie, what did you expect?
I walked out of the auditorium towards the exit of the school before I hear someone call out my name. It caught me by surprise considering no one ever calls for me unless it’s a teacher or Milo. I turned around and see Aaron walking toward me. Aaron?
“Yo, Sophie,” Aaron said coldly. “We need to talk.”
“About what?” I asked, scrunching my eyebrows together. What was there to possibly talk about with Aaron Serrano?
“What the hell did you do to Mollie?” Aaron asked, visibly angry. I was confused; I didn’t do anything to Mollie besides–
Oh.
I swallowed hard because I was nervous. Was Aaron talking about me knowing he and Mollie were dating? Why would he be upset at the fact that I knew that? It was pretty obvious to anyone that saw them together that they were very couple-like.
“I didn’t do anything to her,” I answered back. “Now if you excuse me–” Before I can walk away from Aaron, he steps in front of me. I look up at him, getting annoyed now.
“Mollie is upset,” Aaron started to say. “Ronnie told me you were the last person to talk to her. Why is she so upset?”
“What?” I scoffed; it was the only reaction I had to this situation. “I don’t know why Mollie is upset or what Ronnie told you, but I didn’t tell her anything that wasn’t obvious already.”
“Stay out of my business and focus on your stupid little violin solo,” Aaron mocked. I was sick and tired of people talking to me in any way that they wanted to at this point, especially when it comes to me being a violinist. I despised Aaron when he spoke poorly about my section in the ensemble; any dual major that talks badly about anyone and their talent shouldn’t be a dual major in my opinion. Your role as a dual major means that you help others in their craft and showcase leadership and professionalism. Milo always made me feel like I mattered in the ensemble whenever no one else did. He encouraged me to always be better than my last performance and no matter what, he was always there to listen and give constructive criticism when needed. it’s a shame that Milo wasted a month without his dual major status when it really should’ve been Aaron.
“Stay out of my business and go focus on your stupid little girlfriend,” I snapped back. I hate that I just called Mollie “stupid”; it wasn’t like me to belittle another girl but for her to say that I was the reason for not only ruining her friendship with Milo but now her relationship with Aaron, I was really irritated at this point.
“Don’t you ever talk about Mollie like that!” Aaron aggressively spat back. My heart stopped as I listened to Aaron yell at me like that. “Stop putting your nose in people’s business before it gets you hurt in the end.” Aaron walked away and toward the exit of the door. I finally exhale the breath I kept in, trying to catch my breath in the process. I wanted to cry. This isn’t something I ever wanted to get in the middle of all of this. I wanted nothing more than to just go back to my own little world where I didn’t know Mollie or Aaron or Milo at this point. Milo. I began to wipe away tears that instantly fell down my face once I was alone. I run towards the corner of the hall to exit the school until I bumped into Davy by accident.
“Hey, Sophie–” Davy nervously said to me. I didn’t say anything back; I ran past him and exited the school. I need to leave now.
I need to breathe.
Letters From Liz. 
This is a very interesting blog. Keep going and enjoy. Have a great day.
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