The narrative revolves around the life of Sophia, a teenager living with her older sister Ava and their mother. Their mother is a strict disciplinarian who often compares the two daughters, favoring Ava due to her beauty. Sophia, on the other hand, is seen as the "babysitter" and "princess" by her mother.
Sophia develops a crush on her biology teacher, Mr. Johnson, and they start dating secretly. However, Ava also develops a crush on Mr. Johnson, leading to a series of conflicts and misunderstandings. Sophia discovers their secret and confronts Mr. Johnson, leading to his dismissal from the school.
Ava and Sophia's mother, who had been dating Mr. Johnson, is devastated by his departure. She then starts dating him again, leading to a series of revelations about their past. Sophia learns that her mother had been in love with Mr. Johnson, who had stolen from her grandparents and left her.
Sophia's parents divorce, and her mother moves in with Mr. Johnson. Ava becomes pregnant and accuses Mr. Johnson of being the father. However, a pregnancy test reveals that Mr. Johnson is not the father. Ava is kicked out of the house, and Sophia takes her in.
Despite the chaos and drama, Sophia finds solace in her relationship with Scott, a boy from school. They start dating, and Sophia feels loved and accepted for the first time in her life. The narrative ends with Sophia reflecting on her life, stating that despite the challenges, she has her own "knight in shining armor" in Scott.
1. The narrator's mother was a basketball coach at her older sister's college and always carried a whistle.
2. The narrator and her older sister, Ava, were frequently woken up by their mother's countdown from 30 minutes, indicating they had to be ready to leave soon.
3. The mother regularly inspected the girls from top to bottom every day.
4. The mother gave Ava an A minus on her literature paper, which was unacceptable to her.
5. The mother demanded memorization of 10 Shakespearean sonnets at the end of the day.
6. The mother and Ava attended a birthday party for Sophia, but the party was cut short when Ava had a test and a project due the next day.
7. The mother made Sophia stay home and look after Ava the next day because Ava was feeling unwell.
8. The mother made Sophia cancel a forest trip to look after Ava, despite Sophia's pleas.
9. The mother sometimes made Sophia feel like she was her babysitter, while Ava was treated like a princess because she was beautiful.
10. The mother thought that because Sophia was the brainy one, she didn't have to worry or care about her.
11. The mother kicked Ava out of the house when she found a positive pregnancy test in her room.
12. The mother found a negative pregnancy test kit under Ava's bed, indicating that the positive test was fake.
13. The mother kicked Ava out of the house, and Sophia felt sorry for her.
14. Scott, a classmate, offered to help Sophia by providing a spare bedroom in his mansion for Ava.
15. Ava moved into Scott's room, much to Sophia's surprise.
16. Scott kicked Ava out of their mansion, labeling her as "crazy."
17. Sophia stopped talking to Ava because she decided to keep things the way they were.
18. Despite the troubles with her family, Sophia had her own "knight in shining armor" in Scott.