CPS. Rose. The apartment. The rent. School. My art.
"WOAH!"
"Morning!"
"Dana! What the hell?!" I screamed. Dana laughed and said, "Hey, Penney. Why are you on the floor?"
And that's when it hit me. I had totally forgotten to tell Dana about my AFOs. Curse me and my lack of common sense.
"Can you pass me those purple things?"
"Purple...what?!" Dana asked, looking around the bland and empty guest room.
"My splints." I said. Dana seemed to realize what I was talking about and handed me my splints. I smiled at her and put them on.
"If you feel comfortable telling me, why do you need these?" Dana asked. I sighed and said, "I've had trouble walking and balance issues ever since the day I was born. These things help keep my feet and ankles in the right place."
"Oh." Dana said. I giggled and said, "Let me get my sketchbook, and then you can drop me off at school!"
"You're not going to school just yet, Penney. You're coming to work with me. I withdrew you from the school you went to yesterday." Dana said.
"What- huh?"
"Yeah! You're going to go to work with me for a few days, and then we'll find a school for you to go to! The school year's coming to a close pretty soon anyway, so what's the point of going for these last few weeks?"
"You do have a point." I said. "Anyway, can I bring my sketchbook with me? I still...kinda need to make some more money if I want to stay here, nothing ever comes for free."
"Penney, when did I ever ask or expect you to pay the rent?" Dana said.
"Um...you didn't explicitly ask, but..."
"Exactly. Now, use that money you saved up on things you actually want. Like new art supplies and stuff."
I looked in my briefcase, which was full of broken colored pencils, dried up paint tubes and crumbled pieces of paper. "I mean, some new supplies would be nice..."
_________
"Ahh. The smell of nice new colored pencils!"
"Boo."
"ALEX!" I yelled. "Hey, what's up?"
"Nothing much. Wait, Penney...I have a question for you. Is Penney your real name?" Alex asked. "Is it short for Penelope or something?"
"Well, it's a long story. And if I tell you this, you have to promise not to tell Dana."
"Okay then?" Alex said. I sighed and decided to tell him the whole story.
"My full name is Millicent Thyme Van Aller. I know, it's a weird name. My mom was Patricia Van Aller, Chief of Medicine at a hospital here. That was before she died. When she died, my dad walked out and left for another woman. And when I became homeless and was looking for a place to live, that's when I realized the only solution. Changing my name. That was the only thing that didn't get me turned in to CPS. I didn't give out my last name, just my first. Penney."
"Interesting story. Do you want us to call you Penney or would you prefer Millicent?" Alex questioned.
"Penney. The name Millicent has some...weird memories attached to it. Since I'm not homeless anymore, at least for now, I want to get a new start. And that starts with stripping my old name away from me."
"What's going on?" Dana asked.
"Oh, nothing. Penney was just showing me her new colored pencils she bought." Alex said, giving me a wink.
I smiled and said, "I think I'm gonna like this place."