What would Sophie think when Eve didn’t text back? It was too hard to explain to her.

“So are you two new friends?” her mom asked.

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Eve bolted up to get it.

Sophie Kane stood in the doorway with what Eve was beginning to see was her typical pose: hand on a hip, head tilted slightly to the side, long hair resting behind her shoulders.

But what wasn’t typical of Sophie Kane, at least the tiny bit of Sophie Kane that Eve knew, was that she was accompanied by a little girl.

“This is Bella, my sister.”

“Bella Marie Kane!” the girl announced, in this kind of grande dame voice that old British ladies used in TV shows.

Sophie nudged Bella with a shoulder. “I had to bring her.”

“It’s okay.” Eve opened the door and let them in.

Her mom shook both their hands and asked them if they wanted anything to eat. Sophie declined. Bella jumped up and down and said yes, and Eve’s mom and Bella made up a plate of snacks and brought them to the TV room.

“I found you a friend,” Eve heard her mom say to Hannah.

“Hi! Bella Marie Kane,” Eve heard.

“She’s in fourth grade.” Sophie looked around their hallway and living room, and Eve couldn’t begin to guess at what she was thinking.

“I get it. Mine’s in fifth.”

When they got up to Eve’s room, Sophie circled around it slowly. She reminded Eve of a lioness stalking out the perimeter of her territory.

Sophie stopped in front of Eve’s music box. She lifted it up and ballet music began to play.

“My bubbe got that for me when I was, like, five,” Eve said apologetically.

Sophie looked back at her as if she’d forgotten Eve was in the room. “It’s really pretty.”

“Thanks.”

Sophie pulled a bag off her shoulder and sat down. “Let’s get to work.”

Out of that bag came concealers, foundations, blush, mascara, eye shadow, eyeliner, a lot of little plastic baggies the size of quarters filled with what looked like lip colors, and a whole sack of bobby pins.

“What are you going to do to me?” Eve asked.

“Teach you to make yourself as cute as you can be.” Sophie arranged the makeup along the side of the bed.

Eve glanced toward her bedroom door. If her mom walked in, she’d be in shock.

“That’s a little much,” Eve demurred.

Sophie gave her a narrow-eyed glare. “What did you think we were doing? Hanging out? I’m going to teach you how to do a morning routine to get you looking a little less background dancer and a little more front-and-center.”

Eve felt her face flush even though she didn’t feel particularly embarrassed … why did her face do this? “But if Brody did put me on the list to make it okay to go out with me or something, then why would I need to change? Wouldn’t that mean he likes me the way I look now?”