Penny For Your Thoughts? [unedited]

c h a p t e r • o n e

Fortunately, before she died, she somehow by the grace of God convinced my prick of a father to send me to SCAD.
Seeing me get the education and experience she got was her dying wish, and I was forever grateful for it.

And now, here I am.
In my dorm room (at SCAD), packing to go to that unnecessarily humongous house on the hill filled with blood relatives that I have nothing in common with.
It was our fall break and my flight for Tampa leaves in 5 hours.
My siblings, flying in from Wadlington Private Business University in Manhattan, were coming home too.

Ferb, we're getting the band back together.

***

"I don't understand why we couldn't just stay here for the break," I complain while throwing clothes into my suitcase.

My best friend/dorm mate, Jaylen, sat across from me on her bed, folding clothes that she preferred to neatly pack.

"Girl, you haven't seen your family in months. Don't you miss them?" She chuckled.

"Sure I do, it's just—," I murmured. "They're all smarty pants with serious degrees. And when my mother asked my father to send me to here instead of some business school that churns out stuck-ups, none of them would let me live it down. Sure, I love my brothers and sisters but...we're just nothing alike."

"Oh, come on, Penn! They can't be that bad." She chuckled.

I ignored her, knowing there'd be no use in arguing. She's too optimistic for her own good.
Throwing one last shirt in my bag, and zipping it up, I finally sat on my bed and breathed.

"This is going to be dreadful. I'll have to see my father again." I murmured.

"Well, at least I get to come with you," Jay smiled before bouncing over to my bed.
"You and me, living large in Tampa for 2 weeks? Hell yeah!"

I gave her a small smile.
"True, at least I won't die of complete boredom."

***
Five hours, 16 bags of peanuts, and a short plane ride later, and here we are.
Tampa, Florida.
Business center of the United States.
The place I had the fortune of called "home".

Jay and I decided to Uber home, since we couldn't get a car rental until tomorrow, and I refused to ride in the car my father sent for me. It was a sleek, unmarked black SUV. I'm a 19 year old, not the president. I didn't need a chauffeur. Well, technically, Uber is a chau— you get what I'm saying!

To say I was nervous was an understatement.
My father, who last time I checked was still pissed at me for wanting to go to art school, was at home right now. I could only imagine what he was going to use to guilt trip me about not following his "plan".

"Selfie!" Jay smiled as she snapped a picture of the two of us. I smiled a little, but it quickly faded.

"Seriously, P? Now is not the time to be all Grumpelstiltskins." She pouted.

"Did you just compare me to a gold-spinning fairytale midget?"

"A.) it was his daughter that spun gold, and B.) he wasn't a midget. And C.) all that's besides the point. Lighten up, P! I'm sure your family is great."

"You obviously haven't met my family." I snickered.

The car turned a corner and pulled into a gated community. Instantly, my heart sunk. A wave a sudden regret washed over me as my all-too-familiar childhood home came into view.

'Theres no place like home!' my ass.