Round and Round|| Ride The Cyclone

Chapter 2: September 15

Penny
In all honesty, Penny thought that Constance and Mischa were going to die. She didn't want to go back to the hell that was being Jane Doe, and as long as she didn't ride she'd be safe. It's not like she wanted Constance or Mischa to die, but she couldn't stop them.

Last night, when the parents arrived, Constance's parents were hugging her and sobbing. The father said something like, "Why didn't you answer our calls, Constance? We thought you were dead!"

Constance replied, "My phone died, I-I'm sorry."

Penny wondered if Constance had the same realization she had in the dream. Would Constance become a whole new person? Ocean had already started to change, but she remembered.

Penny walked away from the rest of the choir and their parents and over to Karnak. "Why didn't you tell me?" Penny asked the machine.

In the dream, he was vivid and alive, but in the real world, you have to feed him quarters for a response. "You could've told me that we'd all be spared. Why not? Who died in our place?"

Penny sighed and fed the machine two quarters. "Your lucky number is 7. What good are wings, without the courage to fly? Make sure to ride the cyclone."

Penny sighed and blew a strand of hair out of her face. No one came to pick Penny up, so she had to walk back to the foster home.

—

The next morning at school, Penny tried to sneak glances at the rest of the choir members whenever she could. Mischa looked traumatized, he probably realized that it could've been him. Penny wonders if he told Talia about the almost accident.

Ocean looked scared. Maybe she's seen Final Destination, Penny thinks to herself, maybe she thinks we're all going to die horrible deaths. Penny is pretty sure that Ocean is the kind of person that hates horror movies with a passion, but she's learned not to judge a book by its cover.

Constance had a small smile on her face and was humming to herself. That made Penny happy, the realization she had in the other timeline transferred to this one. 

Noel looked upset almost, probably because the chance of dying a tragic death was stripped away from him. He was spending a lot of time with Mischa, Penny has no clue why.

Ricky looked about the same. In the other timeline, he said that he accepted his death. Ricky didn't look bothered by the disaster at all.

A couple of the more popular girls walked up to Penny. They were asking her about seeing the disaster, if she was traumatized, and if they could take a picture with her for their Instagram. It was exhausting, Penny never wanted to be popular.

After English, Ocean walked up to Penny and grabbed her arm. "What now?" Ocean asks.

Penny shrugged. "What do you mean what now?" she asks, "We survived. Let's just get on with our life."

"No!" Ocean says, in her usual tone, "Ja- Penny, someone died in our place! What about them? We need to talk to their families-"

"And say what Ocean?" Penny snaps, "'Sorry your kid died! In another universe, we died in their place if it makes you feel better!'"

Ocean pouts. "That's not what I meant and you know it," She says, "Whatever, I'm sitting with Constance at Lunch if you wanna make a game plan-"

"Your 'game plan' is the plan you had before the accident. Graduate valedictorian, go to Harvard, and become a lawyer," Penny says, sick of this conversation. Penny walks away from Ocean, who was sitting there with her mouth agape.

—

Penny shouldn't have been so mean to Ocean. She could've sucked it up, that way she'd have someone to sit with at lunch. She sat near the doors like she usually did eating the shitty cold sandwich she made this morning.

When she woke up from the dream, it was strange. She woke up a blank slate, she woke up Jane Doe. Then all the memories flooded her brain. It gave her a headache so bad it almost made her throw up. Ever since, Penny has felt almost empty. At least she knew who she is, she had that much.

Penny looked up to see Ricky. "Can I sit with you?" He signed. Penny appreciated how he signed slowly for her. He's so considerate, even in the dream he spoke to her like she was normal. Penny nodded and smiled as he sat down.

Penny was happy to have some company. "I didn't see you after the accident," Penny says before biting into her sandwich.

"Yeah, I snuck off to go home," Ricky signs. He smiles and adds, "It was time to feed my cats."

Penny knew he had cats, but still asked, "You have cats?"

Ricky nodded and signed, "Yeah, do you like cats?"

Penny's never been around a cat long enough to say for sure, but she nods. Ricky blushed and signs, "After school, do you want to come to my house? I can help you with sign."

"Yeah!" Penny says, face going red, "I'd love that!"

Penny was about to say something else, but the bell rang and Ricky went to his next class.

—

Penny hoped that she was at the right address and knocked on the door. A woman that looked a lot like Ricky opened the door and smiled warmly. "You're Penny right?" she signed, Ricky must have told her that Penny didn't know a lot of sign language because she was going slow and mouthing the words. "Ricky told us about you!"

"Y-yeah," Penny said. She self-consciously patted her hair down and tugged on her skirt, hoping she looked alright.

"He's in the kitchen, do you need a snack?" Ricky's mother signs.

Penny shakes her head. "I'm fine," Penny says.

She walked into the house feeling worried and self-conscious, but when she saw Ricky it all faded away.