Popular
My New Project
He was barely sitting astride his horse anymore, lifting himself out of the saddle as he urged his horse on, hoping against hope that he wasn’t too late. The skyline of the city was still distant, and as he and his horse grew damp with sweat, somehow he knew that he was too late. He heard something, distant yet clear. It was his name, raised in a scream -
“Pen.”
Penny looked up from her book, turning her attention from the prince’s hopeless plight to her bedroom door, where her older sister stood. Becky Durbin always reminded her of a violin: hers was a shapely body, with easy curves in the right places and a thin middle, all black eyes and hair and skin the color of wood stain, even and rich year round. Her ever present heels brought her to 5’3, but her height - or lack thereof - was no detriment to her beauty.
“What are you doing?” Becky clacked her way into her sister’s room, taking a seat beside her on the bed. “Summer’s just started. Don’t you have any kind of plans?”
“Don’t you?”
Becky sniffed. “Of course I do. I’m waiting for Lydia. But I expected that you might be doing something. It’s summer.”
“I am doing something.”
“Books are for school, Pen,” she sighed. “I meant going to interact with living, breathing human beings.”
“I’m perfectly content with my book.”
A loud car horn sounded several times in succession, prompting Becky to look to the window and stand, smoothing out her skirt and allowing Pen to get back to her book. As she was leaving, she called over her shoulder, “Seriously. Go get a life.”
Pen just went back to her book.
After she found out that the prince couldn’t get to the town in time and was overtaken by a band of thieves that he’d wronged in the past, she put down the book and stared out the window. When she noticed that some time had gone by without her doing much of anything, she supposed her sister might have had a point.
The door slammed open hours later, interrupting Pen’s viewing of the plight of the butterfly that had flown into the window, its ashy feathers still clinging to the window pane. The monarch had left some color behind as well, so if she looked long enough, she could imagine they were embers. She turned her gaze to her sister, who was waving back at the blue sedan that was driving away. Her white sunglasses made her look like some kind of insect, one with overly large eyes. As she shut the door, Becky turned a megawatt smile at her little sister, one that made her stomach clench with nerves for some reason.
“Pen, darling. C’mere, I’ve got to talk to you about something.”
They both sat on the couch, and as Pen wrapped the tassels of the blanket in her hands, Becky folded her hands and kept that same smile on her face.
“So Lyd and I were talking, and we decided that we need a plan. For you.”
When Pen didn’t react with anything but confusion and apathy, she continued.
“I’m gonna make you popular.”
“Pen.”
Penny looked up from her book, turning her attention from the prince’s hopeless plight to her bedroom door, where her older sister stood. Becky Durbin always reminded her of a violin: hers was a shapely body, with easy curves in the right places and a thin middle, all black eyes and hair and skin the color of wood stain, even and rich year round. Her ever present heels brought her to 5’3, but her height - or lack thereof - was no detriment to her beauty.
“What are you doing?” Becky clacked her way into her sister’s room, taking a seat beside her on the bed. “Summer’s just started. Don’t you have any kind of plans?”
“Don’t you?”
Becky sniffed. “Of course I do. I’m waiting for Lydia. But I expected that you might be doing something. It’s summer.”
“I am doing something.”
“Books are for school, Pen,” she sighed. “I meant going to interact with living, breathing human beings.”
“I’m perfectly content with my book.”
A loud car horn sounded several times in succession, prompting Becky to look to the window and stand, smoothing out her skirt and allowing Pen to get back to her book. As she was leaving, she called over her shoulder, “Seriously. Go get a life.”
Pen just went back to her book.
After she found out that the prince couldn’t get to the town in time and was overtaken by a band of thieves that he’d wronged in the past, she put down the book and stared out the window. When she noticed that some time had gone by without her doing much of anything, she supposed her sister might have had a point.
The door slammed open hours later, interrupting Pen’s viewing of the plight of the butterfly that had flown into the window, its ashy feathers still clinging to the window pane. The monarch had left some color behind as well, so if she looked long enough, she could imagine they were embers. She turned her gaze to her sister, who was waving back at the blue sedan that was driving away. Her white sunglasses made her look like some kind of insect, one with overly large eyes. As she shut the door, Becky turned a megawatt smile at her little sister, one that made her stomach clench with nerves for some reason.
“Pen, darling. C’mere, I’ve got to talk to you about something.”
They both sat on the couch, and as Pen wrapped the tassels of the blanket in her hands, Becky folded her hands and kept that same smile on her face.
“So Lyd and I were talking, and we decided that we need a plan. For you.”
When Pen didn’t react with anything but confusion and apathy, she continued.
“I’m gonna make you popular.”
♠ ♠ ♠
This'll be updated regularly.Let me know what you think - comments, yeah?