TPS *(original version)*

Chapter Nineteen

"We'd like to thank you all for coming, especially in such short notice." Alex said, after he tapped the microphone on the small stage set up in a corner of the backyard. "To all of our Asodorian friends, welcome, and to all of Sophie's American guests, we both hope you're having a great time and if there's anything we can do these next few days to make you feel more welcome, don't hesitate to ask." A few people started cheering. "Obviously, you've all been invited here tonight to celebrate the fact that Sophie and I are engaged and will be married April 8th." A group of girls I'd spent my time with at my boarding school let out loud catcalls. I laughed and shook my head at them. "And, we're so happy to announce that all of you are invited to our wedding in England at the Canterbury Cathedral. The travel expenses and hotel arrangements will be taken care of by us, so there's no need to worry. For now, thank you again for coming, and please, have a nice night." Alex stepped off the stage and helped me down. He kissed me on the lips and everyone cooed. The DJ started playing music, and suddenly, people were dancing around us.

"Sofie!" A few of my girls from school exclaimed, bombarding me in a huge hug.

"Oh my gosh, we've missed you so much!" Becca exclaimed. Out of all my friends back home, she was the closest to me. She was a senior now at Jane Austen Academy. I hugged her tightly and kissed both her cheeks.

"You're so cultured now!" Another friend and senior, Spencer cried, hugging me.

"And so much tanner!" Lorie, the last senior explained, thrusting her pale white arm next to mine.

"Well no wonder, she's living on a private island and we all live in Maine." Leah said, rolling her eyes. She hugged me from the side, gently. She'd always been like that with me. She was the only one who had graduated early with me. She didn't really know me as well as she knew the others girls though.

I smiled excitedly at my four best friends from home. They'd each changed, but they all still look relatively the same.

Becca was still as skinny as always. She towered above me at five foot seven. She was a dancer, with blonde hair she always wore in a ponytail and pretty blue eyes. She was wearing makeup (something she rarely did) and a dress I'd bought her for Christmas, a pretty red strapless dress that went to her knees.

Spencer was still wearing the same cloth necklace that she'd been wearing for the past three years. Ever the drama queen, she was wearing a sparkly silver one-shouldered dress that came down to mid-thigh. She was wearing her bikini underneath too. Her eyes were heavily made up with cat-eye eyeliner, false lashes, and bright red lipstick. Her dark hair was set in tight curls that bounced off her shoulders classily. While she sounded like she shouldn't have worked together, she made herself come together in her own Spencer way.

Lorie was still as pale as someone who'd spent their whole life indoors, even though she tried desperately to tan. She actually succeeded in getting a shade tanner last summer – but once summer was over, she seemed even paler in the winter. Her long blonde hair normally reached below the small of her back in effortless waves, but she'd brought it up in a classy ponytail. Her brown eyes were behind her thick-framed glasses, like always. She'd never get contacts. She had on a simple white sundress and her bikini underneath as well.

Leah was Irish and had grown up in Ireland until she was five, when she moved to Maine. She had massive red hair in curls that seemed to spring out from all over her head, and pretty green eyes. We'd tried straightening it once for one of our formal dances back home, and it had turned into a disaster. Her hair was so thick, it seemed to stand straight up when we were done. She had on a green strapless dress that went to her feet. She was barefoot, and had her bikini on as well.

"Well, I'm really glad everyone wore their bathing suits!" I exclaimed, pulling at my own strap, under a bohemian styled coral dress that went to my thighs. "I was afraid everyone would ignore what I wrote on the invitations and go all black-tie formal on me." I giggled.