The Stones On Your Window

Her blue eyes travelled around the room, taking in the ball gowns and tuxedos. The soft sound of the piano could be heard through the buzz of conversation in the room. Sophia took a sip of her champagne as she continued to observe. She watched her father and his friends discuss their jobs, whilst her mother and the other wives gossiped. It was always the same at these events. The men would discuss money and who was getting fired next week, and the women would talk about fashion and who was cheating on who. Then there was Sophia Rose. She was always the observer, never bothering to interact with her parent's guests. She never wanted to be here. She never wanted to wear these fancy gowns and eat tiny portions of fancy foods. She wanted to be normal.

She continued to watch as her mother glanced around the room. Her eyes landed on her daughter, who was perched in the corner, and she waved her over. A sigh left Sophia's lips as she stood from her seat, straightening out her dress. She made her way through the crowd to her mother and her group of friends.
"Sophia, I have a question for you!" Her mom said as she approached the group of women. "Is it true that Abigail Burns had a nose job?" She stared blankly at the woman. Was she serious?
"Uh, I don't know, sorry." Esther Conrad frowned at her daughter.
"What do you mean you don't know? Aren't you friends with her?" Sophia shrugged as her eyes found the table that Abigail was sitting at. She was surrounded by the children of other successful businessmen, like her father. Sophia wasn't friends with her, in fact she was far from it. Abigail saw Sophia as competition and Sophia was unsure why. She had never really bothered with these parties or anything to do with them. Abigail, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Her life revolved around wealth and material things, which is one of the reasons why she and Sophia weren't friends. It was one of the reasons why Sophia didn't have many friends at all.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday than having all of my favorite people in the same room!" Sophia rolled her eyes, her father didn't know half of these people.
"Thank you especially to my beautiful wife and daughters for throwing me this wonderful bash!" Sophia's mom and her older sister Amelia rose from their seats, soaking up the attention while Sophia slumped back in her chair and crossed her arms. Her dad finished his speech and returned to the table, fluffing his youngest daughter's hair as he passed.
"Cheer up princess, aren't you having fun?" he asked. She plastered a huge fake grin on her face.
"Oh, I'm having the best time."

---

Sophia's deep blue eyes fluttered open at 8:45 the next morning. Sunshine streamed through the gap in her drapes, illuminating the room. She rolled out of bed, pulling a sweater over her body and pyjamas over her thin legs. She could hear conversation going on outside of her window. She pulled open her expensive drapes and spotted the gardners her father had hired on the grass under her bedroom window. The two men stood bickering and Sophia chuckled as she pushed open the window.
"Will you two shut up? Some of us need our beauty sleep!" She teased. Both men grinned at the girl and one stepped forward.
"Sorry, Ms. Conrad. You know Toby, doesn't know how to do anything right!" Sophia giggled before replying.
"i told you before Nick, call me Sophia! And Toby, if you don't step up your game, my daddy's gonna have to fire you!" She winked at the younger man. He rolled his eyes, but kept a soft smirk on his face.
"You sound just like your sister." Sophia crinkled her nose at the statement before bidding the boys farewell. She was nothing like her sister. Sophia made sure she said 'hello' to all staff at her home everyday, where as Amelia completely ignored them, which irritated Sophia. They were people just like them.

The girl made her way downstairs in search of some breakfast, which their maid, Delia, had probably already prepared. Entering the kitchen, Sophia found the older woman in front of the stove.
"Morning sweet pea, breakfast is almost done!" Sophia thanked Delia as she sat at the breakfast bar.
"Where is everyone?" She asked, noticing that she was the only Conrad present.
"Your daddy's got a meeting downtown, your momma's out with her gal pals for the day and Amelia's down at the stable." Delia replied in her Southern drawl, placing a plate of eggs in front of Sophia, who nodded her head.
"You should join your sister, when was the last time you went riding?" Sophia shrugged, pushing her eggs around her plate. She had given up on horse riding when her sister decided that she too must own a horse. Riding was Sophia's thing, and now that Amelia was also riding, it didn't feel special anymore. She missed it more than anything. She missed the feeling of the wind in her hair. She missed being able to escape whenever she wanted to.
"You know what, I think I will go out there for a bit." Delia smiled at the girl as she stood up.
"Good for you, girl. I know you miss it." Sophia nodded, smiled and left the room, going to get ready for the day ahead.