Chapter 31 Sophia's POV

I got a surprise when I got in the limo, Laura was there. She asked me about my day. Normally, when I had been asked about my day previously, it was just to check than nothing major had happened and that everything was alright. Laura wanted to know details, with good, obviously interested questions, she drew my entire day from me. Not just the facts, but how I felt and why I did what I did.

I love my original parents and thought they were great. They were always supportive and, although they both worked and led busy lives, I never felt neglected. At the same time, Laura was showing far more interest in my life than they had ever shown. She was also excited because Gem's legal guardianship had been finalised and on Friday, just two days time, Laura had arranged a meeting with a judge for us to sign adoption papers. She had come with the limo not just to pick me up, but to arrange with the school for me to leave early on Friday to be there.

There was a real sparkle to her today. Which fed an inner happiness to me, as it showed that Laura really wanted to adopt me. I know the logic behind the act, yet, it is almost like that was just a good excuse to do what she wanted to do anyway.

She teased me about Chelle and suggested inviting her to a movie night, but not this Sunday one, as we had other plans. She did have a few suggestions regarding catching up, which was mainly, studying and having tutoring sessions. Since I was having gym everyday, my joint personal training with Eve could be missed whenever I wanted. US history just required reading time, Spanish might require a tutor and she offered her own services for English Literature. She suggested we read to each other and discuss. Once I had less stress from a studying point of view, she knew Eve wanted to arrange Piano lessons if it hadn't worked with school and there were also the deportment lessons.

She said she was proud of me for my courage at lunch time and told me that there were cameras everywhere, so physical bullying on school grounds was unlikely. They included audio so it was possible that even the whispering that I had commented on would have been picked up. She was glad that it hadn't bothered me. Even so she was going to mention it to the principal to see if there was any evidence that he could use. I think she thought I was going to object to her telling the principal, but I knew, even if I wasn't bothered, such behaviour could really hurt someone else. All kids in high school were old enough to be responsible for what they said and needed to learn what was appropriate.

The next few days passed at a lightning pace. At home, I thought it was OK to call it that considering everything, my head was either buried in a book, I was attending one of the sessions or I was sleeping. I attended my singing lessons and my gym training with Eve. Spending that hour in the gym with Eve was pretty much the only time I spent with her, besides mealtimes. If I got bored reading about US history, there were various documentaries that Laura had found. Maria, our housekeeper, spoke fluent Spanish, so now our breakfasts and dinners were held in Spanish only. Initially, this was extremely frustrating, since I started off knowing almost nothing. It did drive me to learn as much vocabulary as quickly as possible. Gem, Eve and Laura all spoke some Spanish and did their best to help. Maria spoke to them in English and me in Spanish and I was only allowed to reply in Spanish. By speaking to them first, I had a good idea of what she was going to say to me and if one of them replied in Spanish, it helped me with my replies.

Each night I read my English literature book with Laura. She had completely taken over the night time duties. Her argument was that she would wake up regardless of whether Gem was taking a turn, so it made no sense for anyone else to do it. I did go to bed earlier than her, so she stayed with Eve and then slipped into my bed later, then went back to Eve in the morning. Whether it was because of her care and attention, my before school appointments with Dr Barn or time being a great healer, I was having less waking up in the middle of the night episodes.

At school the whispers continued, lunch was great with Chelle and I managed to invite her for a movie night the next Sunday. She agreed and thought I was taking her out on a date, so I had to explain what I meant which led her to think I had invited her to a sleepover. I loved the idea of her staying for a sleepover, but stressed about having a night episode. I decided to discuss it with Laura later. Laura suggested that we have the sleepover, but I should tell Chelle before about my sleeping issues.

The Friday meeting was both anticlimactic and emotional at the same time. Everyone involved turned up, signed in front of the judge who was a witness and that was it. We then went to a fancy salon, were pampered and polished. Dressed to the nines and had a gorgeous meal at an amazing restaurant. I was now officially Laura's daughter. To make a clean break with my past I decided that I would take on her surname. I was Sophia Kind. It was so different to my original name that it was going to take some getting used to. When Eve and Laura got married, I would become Eve's daughter in law. Since their surname was a good part of their career they weren't going to change them. Laura also presented me with the latest iphone, in a pink cover with sparkles on it, which made me laugh. Certain numbers were already programmed in. One of which almost made me cry. I had Gem and the limo driver, but I also had Mum and step mum for Laura and Eve.

I did keep contact with Jen, but only by email. I was swamped with work and so was she, still it was a highlight whenever I received anything from her. I told her about Chelle, hoping that it would prompt her to be honest about anyone she met, but she claimed that wasn't happening until after her finals. She did give her opinion as to why Chelle had been having so much trouble. Jen thought it was less about being a lesbian and more about not revealing it to friends. Close girl friends talk about everything, so by not revealing her secret, they may have felt betrayed, and reacted badly.

Sunday movie night went pretty much how I was expecting. The food was a bit better this time, since it was more planned. On Saturday, Maria prepared various dips and cut vegetables. There was a cold platter of various meats and cheeses, with grapes and apple slices. Then for the main movie, we made up some salted popcorn.

Laura chose a movie called 'The Swap', where a boy and a girl swap places. It was a comedy and we all laughed, even if some of it did hit quite close to home on a few occasions. At the end Laura and I went with a general script that we had rehearsed. We discussed between us about whether anything like that could happen in real life. Laura mentioning a documentary about a man who could remember a previous life. Eve interrupted to call it all rubbish. I then talked about my weird bus trip and the idea that I had swapped my male soul for a female one. Eve just laughed, not being nasty, but just completely not taking it seriously.

I looked at Laura who had a sad, resigned smile and knew it was time to change the subject and accept that Eve was never going to know or believe the truth about me. I had, sort of, told her. Not exactly or in detail, but the idea and that was too much for her conventional thinking. I didn't think there was any evidence to prove my story and until there was, Eve would never know or believe if she was told.

The next day the house was going to be swept for bugs by somebody that Eve knew, so everyone was going to be out of the house from early in the morning. I was going to school, so it wasn't going to affect me. I don't think I really said or did anything the MIB would be interested in anymore. Still, it was good to think that I could talk freely if I wanted to. Not that that was why Eve organised the sweep. That was related to the press impinging on her privacy. Mostly the tabloids publish gossip and rumours. At one point, secrets about her previous relationship were published that were too close to the truth, which prompted her first sweep. Since she found evidence that she was being spied on and listened to, this had become a regular precaution. I wondered if Laura had suggested it to her, to try and keep me safe.

In two weeks time there was a movie premiere that Laura and Eve would be attending. This was also going to be my first appearance in their company and where she would announce to the world that she was now my mother. After that I should be a lot safer, although from that point onwards, I would have to be very careful about my image. On that basis, for the next two weeks, in place of my training session with Eve, I was going to be having deportment and grace lessons. After the premiere I would continue them but only for one hour a week rather than every day. Laura mentioned other things I was going to need to learn like dancing and communicating with the press. They weren't immediate worries though. Of more urgent concern was finding the right dress for the occasion. There was only one answer to that though, shopping! Laura suggested that Chelle join us for a shopping trip on Saturday, potentially staying until we take her to school on Monday. Which meant I needed to talk to her today about my sleeping issues and ask if she wanted to join me for a shopping trip.