Steele. She swallowed. Two times. And she handed the sub her self-portrait. “For me?” Ms. Steele asked. She gently took it. And something happened to her eyes. They got crinkly at the corners. Sophie got a little worried. Then she saw that it was part of a big smile. The sub looked down at Sophie’s picture and read the words: I am sorry I snooped in your stuff.I hope you sub for us again.I have a message for you, too:“Good luck, Sophie Steele.” Ms. Steele’s eyes moved to Sophie. “Thank you so much, Sophie. This means a lot.” Sophie sighed. She felt much better. It was good to have those feelings out. But she was still feeling other things. They quickly filled her insides up. She still felt sorry that her snooping had gone so wrong. She had thought she was a natural snoop. Now she guessed that she was not. And she felt mixed up about Toby. Was he really being mean? Had he been trying to make her look silly when he’d faked those mysteries? Or maybe he didn’t hate her as much as she thought.
