Sophie the Daredevil Read online

  SOPHIE the

  DAREDEVIL

  by Lara Bergen

  illustrated by Laura Tallardy

  For the daredevil in everyone!

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Dedication

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  Preview

  Also Available

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Sophie looked down at the cup in front of her. It was full. Very full. And what it was full of did not look very good.

  “Drink it!” said Jack. He leaned across the lunch table.

  Sophie sighed and waited for it….

  “Go ahead. I dare you!”

  The other kids from her class were all gathered around. “Drink it! Drink it!” they chanted.

  “I will, I will,” Sophie said at last. “You dared me. And there’s not a dare that I won’t do.”

  But she also couldn’t help leaning back in her chair. Whew! That cup did not smell very good!

  It pretty much smelled like the things that were in it. And by themselves, those things were okay. Sophie liked milk. And fruit punch. And chocolate pudding. And ketchup. And applesauce. And ranch dressing. And chicken noodle soup.

  But together?

  Not so much.

  But Sophie had asked for it. Well … she had asked for a dare. Anything to help her prove her great new name.

  Sophie the Daredevil! How good did that sound?! Sophie had been looking for a name that would make her stand out. She was tired of feeling average in every single way. She was sure the right name could change that. And here it was, at last!

  It had come to her when she had put that hat on—the one that Archie Dolan had licked.

  “I dare you to put it on,” he told her.

  “Oh, yeah?” she said.

  And she did!

  No one thought she would do it. (Who knew what kind of germs Archie had?) But Sophie stared Archie in the eyeball and totally showed them.

  Of course, as soon as Sophie got the hat home, she washed it really, really well.

  Sophie knew if she could do that dare, she could do any dare in the world. And she made sure to tell her friends the next day: “Dare me! Bring it on!”

  She had lots of ideas about what some extrafun dares would be. Dares like climbing up the big oak tree. Or jumping off the swing. Or holding her breath for a whole minute. (She even started practicing that one.)

  But so far, her friends’ dares had been … different. In a word, they had been GROSS.

  So far, Sophie had licked the blacktop and the school bus window. She had smelled Dean’s sneakers (both of them!) and sat on a mysterious wet spot.

  Then there was the lunchroom. That was getting to be too much. This “Drink of Doom” was Sophie’s second one.

  Sophie looked down at the lumpy liquid. A noodle floated to the top.

  “Drink it! Drink it! Drink it!” her friends chanted.

  She swallowed hard to keep the pizza she’d just eaten from coming up.

  Sophie’s best friend, Kate, patted her back. “Close your eyes and pretend it’s a smoothie. Just like the last time,” she said.

  “Right.” Sophie made a face. She wondered if she’d ever drink a smoothie again. She guessed she would if someone dared her. Ugh. That thought made her feel worse!

  At last, she sat up straight. She took a deep breath and grabbed the cup. She pinched her nose with her other hand and squeezed her eyes shut.

  Gulp … gulp … gulp. She let the liquid slosh down her throat.

  Then she put the cup down and covered her mouth. Uh-oh. She did not feel good.

  For a second she thought, Was it worth it?

  Then a cheer rang out: “Yay, Sophie!”

  She grinned. Yep! It was worth it. She had shown everyone that she was a daredevil again.

  Plus her friends had to be tired of gross dares now. She turned to Kate, and they high-fived.

  That was when Eve slid a plate in front of Sophie. “Hey, Sophie. I dare you to eat this!” she said.

  Oh, boy.

  Sophie looked down. It was a sandwich. She slowly lifted the top piece of bread. Sure enough, it looked like everyone in the lunchroom had added something to it. Though thanks to the chocolate pudding on top, it was kind of hard to tell.

  “Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!” Quickly, a new chant started up.

  “It’s going to be hard to pretend this is a smoothie, isn’t it?” Kate said, giggling.

  Sophie sighed. She rolled her eyes. Was this the best they could do? Sophie was ready and willing to do anything — not only swallow disgusting food.

  Where were the “ride your bike with no hands” dares? Or the “knock on mean old Mrs. Corrigan’s door” dares? Where were the “skateboard blindfolded” dares? Not that she really wanted one of those.

  She crossed her arms. “I am Sophie the Daredevil. Not Sophie the Garbage Disposal,” she declared. “Doesn’t somebody want to dare me to do something just plain daring?” she asked.

  Eve frowned and looked down at the sandwich. Some other kids shrugged. Some other kids nodded and seemed to try to think of stuff.

  Good, Sophie thought. Now maybe her stomach could take a break.

  She rubbed her hands together. “Somebody dare me! Go ahead.”

  “I have a dare for you,” somebody said. Sophie turned to see the somebody. It was Toby Myers! Uh-oh.

  Sophie tried to tell herself not to worry. What was the worst thing Toby could say? But as soon as she thought about that, she got even more afraid.

  That was the whole problem with Toby — you never knew what you would get. Just when Sophie thought he was the worst boy ever, he’d do something nice. Then when she thought he was maybe okay, he’d do something super-slimy, like give Archie her hat to lick!

  And to think that back in first grade he had been her very best friend!

  Anyway, that had been a long time ago. Now she tried her best not to think about him. But he had a dare. And Sophie had asked for it.

  “Okay,” she said. “There’s not a dare that I won’t do.”

  Toby grinned. Double uh-oh, thought Sophie. That couldn’t be good.

  Everyone at the lunch table leaned forward.

  “I dare you … to go into the boys’ bathroom!” Toby said.

  “Oooh!” The sound rolled around the table. Sophie felt a tingle shoot straight to her toes.

  Go into the boys’ room! That was a terrible, horrible dare! So terrible and horrible it was by far the best one yet!

  Sophie almost wanted to thank Toby. But of course, she couldn’t do that. Instead, she turned to Kate.

  Kate looked as thrilled as Sophie felt. “Are you going to do it?”

  “You bet!” Sophie’s eyes said.

  Then she turned back to Toby. She looked him square in his beady blue eyes. “I accept your dare,” she told him.

  “You do?” He looked surprised.

  The rest of the class all looked different. Some looked happy. Some did not.

  Grace looked worried. “But that’s against the rules.”

  Sydney looked horrified. “Ew! Think of all the germs!”

  Jack looked confused. “How will we know if you went in? We can only leave class to go to the bathroom one at a time,” he said.

  “What? You mean you don’t trust me? I am insulted!” Sophie cried. “Remember, I was Sophie the Honest not too long ago!”

  “It’s not that …,” Eve assured her.

&nb
sp; “But some proof would be nice,” Dean added.

  Hmm. Well … Sophie could bring in a camera from home, she guessed.

  But Toby had another idea. “How about I go in first? I’ll write a note on toilet paper, and you’ll have to bring it back.”

  Archie slapped him on the shoulder. “I like it!” he said. “That means she has to go into the stall! Ha!” He laughed.

  Ugh! Sophie’s tingles felt pricklier. She squirmed to shake them down. She was up for popping into the boys’ room. And for popping right back out. But a whole tour of the place? That was a lot….

  “What’s wrong, Sophster?” Toby asked. “Are you chickening out?”

  Archie flapped his elbows. “Bwock! Bwock! Bwock!” he squawked.

  But Kate put her arm around Sophie. “Oh, shut your beak, Archie. Sophie’s not chickening out.”

  Right, thought Sophie. She would never chicken out! After all, dares weren’t supposed to be easy. They were supposed to give you tingles. That’s what doing them was all about.

  Sophie crossed her arms and shot Toby her most daring “I’ll show you!” glare.

  Just then, their teacher, Ms. Moffly, walked up.

  “Clean your trays,” she told the class.

  Then she stopped by Sophie’s place and looked down at the sandwich Eve had made. “Is that your lunch, Sophie M.?” she asked.

  Sophie shrugged. “It’s more like everyone’s lunch,” she said.

  Like any true daredevil, Sophie couldn’t wait to do Toby’s dare!

  But she had to wait for Toby to go to the boys’ room first and leave the note. And almost an hour passed before he did that.

  First, at recess after lunch, he had to play basketball. Of course.

  Then, back in the classroom, he had to wait for Mia’s birthday cupcakes to be served.

  Sure, Sophie liked cupcakes, too. And classroom birthdays were always fun (even though they reminded her that her birthday — June 30 — never got a real one). It was just that, for the first time, Sophie wished her friend’s birthday was some other day. A day when her mind wasn’t full of dares, and her stomach wasn’t full of Drink of Doom.

  Sophie watched Mia pass out her cupcakes. “Hurry up,” she almost said. Why did Mia have to be so careful? In a few minutes, they’d be eaten all up, anyway.

  Sophie took hers. It was vanilla, in a shiny foil cup. She wished that it were chocolate. But she knew why it was not. Ben was allergic to chocolate, and he was Mia’s best friend in the whole world.

  Sophie wondered if Mia might change her mind now that she was eight. Ben was fun to play with. And he had a real air hockey table, too. But between the chocolate thing and the being-a-boy thing … Well, that was a lot to overlook.

  When everyone had a cupcake, it was time to sing the birthday song. Ms. Moffly got it started, and soon the whole class was singing along. Well, most of the class was singing. Toby and Archie were barking like dogs. And Sophie’s mouth was just moving. There wasn’t much sound. Sometimes when she sang, she made funny noises, so she tried not to let too many out.

  At last, the celebration was over — even the “Are you one! Are you two! …” part.

  Sophie looked across the room at Toby. Was he finally ready to go?

  No. He had chewed up his cupcake wrapper into a little spitty ball. Now he was showing it to Archie. Gross!

  What are you waiting for, Toby? Sophie wondered. Go to the bathroom already! Please!

  Just then, Toby raised his hand. “Ms. Moffly, can I go to the boys’ room?” he asked.

  Yes! Sophie’s heart beat faster.

  Ms. Moffly nodded. “Of course, Toby,” she said. “But try not to take as long as you sometimes do. We’re going to begin our unit on fractions, and I’d hate for you to miss a fraction of it!”

  Sophie and the rest of the class watched Toby get up and go. He waved as he walked out. He didn’t look at Sophie, though.

  “Okay,” said Ms. Moffly. “Let’s start by talking about half.” Of course, since only half of Sophie was paying attention, she wasn’t 100 percent sure that was what Ms. Moffly said.

  The rest of her was thinking about Toby, and about how she couldn’t wait for him to get back. It was hard to sit there calmly and listen while inside she was all fizzed up.

  Did every daredevil feel this way? Probably so. Sophie guessed she would have to get used to feeling that way from now on.

  It seemed to take forever. Ms. Moffly finished halves and went on to fourths.

  Then, finally, the door creaked open. Toby walked in. He looked straight at her.

  Sophie took a deep breath. She raised her hand. High.

  At last! It was her turn!

  Boys.

  Sophie had seen the sign a zillion times. Maybe more. But she had never seen it this way. So big. Right in front of her nose.

  “Come in. I dare you,” it seemed to say. This was the first time a door had talked to her.

  Sophie looked up at it. “Oh, yeah?” she said back. “Go ahead and dare me. I’m Sophie the Daredevil, you know!”

  Then she quickly looked around. She had to make sure she was alone. She was very happy to do the dare. But getting in trouble for it? Not so much.

  The hall was empty. The coast was all clear. Sophie took a deep breath, reached for the handle …

  … and jumped back as the door swung out!

  A tall boy looked down at her.

  Oh, no!

  Sophie froze. It was Sam, a fifth grader. He was in the same class as her big sister, Hayley. Hayley had even liked him for a week. He was also Dean’s big brother. They had the same big head and bright pink cheeks.

  It took him a second to recognize Sophie. But she could tell as soon as he did.

  “Aren’t you in third grade?” he asked. She nodded, and he pointed to the sign on the bathroom door. “Then you should know how to read.”

  “Oops.” Sophie shrugged and tried very hard not to say, “I do.”

  Sam walked away. She heard him mutter, “I can’t wait till I get to middle school.”

  Me too! she thought as he turned the corner. What had Hayley seen in him?

  Then more thoughts suddenly hit her. Thoughts like: Phew! That was close.

  And: What if another boy is still in the bathroom?

  Sophie guessed she should wait outside to see. So she did.

  She counted to three. Then she reached for the door again. And this time, she slipped in.

  Sophie held her breath as she looked around. Then she let it out. She was alone!

  So. This was the boys’ room. She let her eyes take it in.

  There were two sinks. And two stalls. And that was about it.

  Oh. There were also two mirrors. Well, that’s a waste, Sophie thought.

  Basically, the boys’ bathroom looked a lot like the girls’. It was weird.

  But something had to be different….

  Sophie sniffed. Oh! The smell. That was it.

  Well, there was no reason for Sophie to hang out there for too long. It was time to find Toby’s note. So she checked the first stall.

  Crreeeak.

  Sophie froze.

  Help!!! she thought.

  Somebody else had come into the bathroom. She wasn’t alone!

  Sophie didn’t know what to do. And she didn’t stop to think. Her hand flew out all by itself and closed the stall door. BANG!

  Then she looked down. Her shoes were sneakers. That was okay. But her socks? They were rainbow striped and polka-dotted. Would a boy ever wear those? No way!

  She should have jumped up onto the toilet seat. But she guessed it was too late.

  So she just stood there, very, very still. She held her breath and waited for the boy to finish up and go.

  Then she suddenly heard humming. Sophie was sure she knew that tune. She listened even harder? Was it the ABC song? Hmm …

  Sophie couldn’t help it: She had to see who the boy was. She put her eye to the space between the stall and the do
or.

  What?

  It wasn’t a boy! It was the grown-up principal!

  He was washing his hands at the sink. Okay, don’t panic, Sophie told herself. But what if he saw her? And she had to go to his office? That would be two trips to the principal’s office … that week!

  At last, she heard the water turn off. The hand dryer came on with a whrrrrr! The ABC humming stopped. And — crrreak — Principal Tate opened the door.

  He had just come in to wash his hands! Phew! Sophie let out her breath.

  Now that’s what being a daredevil’s all about! she told herself.

  She couldn’t wait to get back and tell Kate. And everyone else!

  But — oh, right — she still had to find Toby’s note. She reached for the toilet paper and pulled. But there wasn’t any note on it. And there wasn’t any note in the next stall.

  Had Toby forgotten?

  Or was he trying to play some dirty trick?

  Or maybe Sam had used the toilet paper. Ew. Sophie guessed that could be it.

  It didn’t matter, really. What mattered was that she had nothing to show. She had nothing to prove that she had done the dare!

  Sophie was so mad she stomped her foot.

  That was when she saw it: a piece of toilet paper on the floor. Were there words on it? Yes!

  Sophie bent down to read what they were.

  I dare you to pick this up.

  Yuck! The paper was wet!

  Sophie sighed. She should have known that Toby would make this an extra-hard dare.

  Is touching it worth it? she asked herself. Of course it is!

  After all, she was Sophie the Daredevil! The harder the dare, the better! Right?

  She stuck out her tongue and picked up the paper with two fingers. Then she hurried to the door. But at the very same time, a kindergartner walked in. He looked up at her and the sign on the door.

  “If you’re wondering, I can read,” she said, running past him. “I’m just a daredevil. Get used to it!”

  Sophie had some explaining to do when she got back to room 10.

  “What took you so long?” Ms. Moffly asked.

  Sophie could feel a huge smile busting out. She bit her lip to keep it in.