Free Spirit: Penny

By Andrew Walker

A teenage girl discovers she has an extraordinary ability - to have an out of body experience and interact with the world. This soon leads to trouble on a scale she could never imagine. A coming of age tale with supernatural abilities!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrew Walker
• Release date: Jul 2, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452339849

Andrew Walker

 Andrew T. Walker (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate professor of Christian ethics and public theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and an associate dean in the School of Theology. He is a fellow with the Ethics and Public Policy Center and managing editor of WORLD Opinions. He resides with his wife and three daughters in Louisville, Kentucky. 

Book preview

Free Spirit - Penny

By Andrew Walker

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2010 Andrew Walker

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

****

For Brad, who showed me what friendship means

****

I. Daisy

Nobody knew how she got to the roof, but she did. Nobody saw her as she walked to the edge with her dark curls fluttering in the breeze. The girl spread her arms and threw her head back, as if she were expecting something divine to come down from the heavens and strike her. It was just as people began to notice her, gasping and pointing, when she leaned forward and fell.

Penny Lockhart, a sixteen-year-old girl with blue eyes and dirty blonde hair which fell just past her shoulders, hadn’t noticed her yet, and nearly got landed on. Something made her stop suddenly, though later she could not say what it might have been. She just suddenly stopped, and a second later the falling girl hit the sidewalk in front of her.

The fall was a three story drop, and the girl covered the distance unnaturally fast. The girl stopped, as if frozen in time, about a foot above the pavement. She turned her head and looked up at Penny.

You’re next, the girl whispered. Her odd action and whisper took place in the blink of an eye.

The girl turned her head back to the pavement and then motion resumed. She smacked into it, but made almost no noise. A smile played on her face, and then she was still.

Nobody noticed the sound the girl made on impact was relatively quiet, especially given how flatly she landed. Even Penny, as close as she was, failed to notice the girl did not start bleeding right away.

Penny looked down at the girl, wide-eyed with shock. She let out a little gasp and took an unsteady step back. It was then the blood finally began to seep out, as if it were an afterthought and nothing more. Its appearance put Penny over the edge; her eyes rolled up and she fainted.

A crowd gathered, staring at the two girls. Rumor began to fly immediately, most saying the two were lovers and had committed suicide rather than face angry parents. The paramedics arrived and awoke Penny, who was gently guided away from the scene while the medics gathered up the other girl’s body.

*

Penny missed school the next day—Thursday—prompting the rumors to grow with speculation she was either dead or staying at home grieving for her lost love. When she showed up for school on Friday, still looking strung out, Penny was mostly avoided by the rest of the school. Before, the school’s population mostly ignored her, but now they whispered as she walked by.

The young woman didn’t care much. She went to her classes as she always did, not caring who spoke to her—or about her—until lunch. At lunch, she sat at her usual spot and waited for her friends. Today her four best friends showed up unusually quick. Normally, Penny was quickest to lunch, coming from gym class, but today her friends were at her table right behind her.

Dark-haired, gray-eyed Gia Tomlinson spoke first. Is any of it true? Penny’s friend asked. The other three girls gave Gia a dirty look for being so direct but, as always, Gia ignored it.

Is what true?

You haven’t heard the rumors? asked Tammy, a lightly-freckled redheaded girl who Penny had known since first grade.

No, what are they saying?

That you and Daisy were lesbians! But you wanted to break up, so she killed herself.

Lesbian? Me? I don’t think so. Who’s Daisy?

The girl that went splat! right front of you, dumbass! Gia said.

Oh, her. I didn’t even know her name, Penny said.

Told ya! said the third friend, blonde-haired, blue-eyed Roxanne Winton. Bobby owes me big for this one.

Well, said the last friend, the somewhat reserved Evie Garton, it’s not like she really goes out at all, so how could anybody call her gay or straight? The dark-skinned girl was the only one who was usually quieter girl even than Penny. But sometimes, like this, her quiet little comments got the best laughs.

So, what was it like? Gia asked between giggles. I mean, that must have been freaky, having her fall right in front of you like that.

I…I kinda passed out after it happened. I don’t remember much.

I heard there was a lot of blood! Gia exclaimed.

Gia! Tammy exclaimed.

What? It’s a legit question. Besides, they’ve already cleaned it up.

Yeah, Roxanne said. I went by there just a couple of hours after it happened, and it was like it was never there.

Weird, Tammy said.

Look, Penny said, can we…can we talk about something else?

Sure, Tammy said with a glare at Gia, who looked about to say something more.

Gia hesitated, then shrugged and said to Tammy, Okay. How about we drag the truth out of you about what happened with you and Bobby Saturday night?

The conversation was thus steered towards boys, though Penny wasn’t really a part of it. Penny wasn’t really a part of much that day, and was very relieved when the final bell rang and she was able to head for home.

*

Penny usually walked to and from school, even though home was almost a mile away. Today she took the walk slowly, or at least she felt she did. In spite of this, she got home quicker than usual, according to her watch.

She was just past the gate which led into the front yard of her family’s home when she realized she hadn’t heard it close. She looked back and saw it was securely shut, however, so she just shook her head and went into the house.

Not wanting to deal with her family just yet, she went upstairs to her room and plopped on her bed. Suddenly, she was standing just inside the gate to the front yard again, hearing it go bang! as it shut.

Penny looked back at it, and then looked at the house. What the heck is happening? she wondered to herself.

However, there was nothing to do, she decided, but to go in the house again. She walked up to the door a little slower this time, and tried to turn the knob. It was locked. She shook her head, trying desperately to understand what was going on.

Not knowing what else to do, Penny got out her house key and unlocked the front door. She opened it and stepped in just as her mother was coming up from the other side.

Sorry about the locked door, Penny, her mother said. I just got back from the store and hadn’t had a chance to unlock it yet. Meant to be a little quicker at the store, but…you know how it goes, kiddo!

No problem, Mom, Penny replied quietly.

Are you all right, Penny? her mother asked.

Well, you know. I am still pretty freaked out about…you know.

I can only imagine. Well, we have an appointment lined up for you on Monday with somebody who can help you deal with it.

Thanks, Mom. I’m sure it’ll help.

No problem, kiddo, her mother replied, and gave her a hug. Now get upstairs and get your homework done. You’ve got two days worth, don’t you?

Worse: two weekdays’ worth and a weekend’s worth.

Better get to it, then, Penny’s mother said.

Penny headed up the stairs for what she was sure the second time in five minutes, more slowly this time, and went to her room. The door was slightly ajar, not closed as she left it that morning or—as it strongly seemed to her—a few minutes ago.

Weird, she commented as she went in, wondering briefly at how much that word seemed to pop in her head lately.

Penny closed the door behind her and dropped her book-bag by her desk. With a sigh, she sat down and began to do her homework. Soon, the odd incident of coming into the house twice was behind her as school work required a bit of extra attention.

*

That night, sleep did not come easy for Penny. The past two nights had been restless ones as well, but she didn’t feel nearly as tired as she was sure she ought to. Sleep finally came, and with it a strange dream.

In the dream, she got out of bed and went to the window. She looked back to the bed and saw herself there. She was laying so still she briefly thought she was dead. Penny didn’t want to dwell on that, so she turned and looked out the window. There, just past the gate, stood a girl who Penny did not recognize but who nonetheless looked familiar.

The girl stared at Penny for a moment, and then gestured for Penny to come join her. The odd girl—who seemed almost to be glowing—turned and started to walk away up the sidewalk.

Penny knew she was dreaming; she had to be. She gently pushed her hand through the window and felt no resistance. Definitely dreaming, but since she knew it, she decided to do something with it. After all, she thought, I can define my own reality in my dreams, right?

Gently she fell forward through the window, but only part way. Her feet left the floor and she drifted out of the house and across the lawn, landing gently on the sidewalk. Looking to her right, she saw the girl had stopped at the corner and was waiting for her. Somehow she knew, she just knew, there were elements of her dream she had no control over, and this girl was one of them.

Curious now, Penny walked up the sidewalk to the girl. The girl smiled at Penny and said, Fun, isn’t it?

What?

Dreaming in the real world, the girl answered.

Penny couldn’t make sense of this statement. Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to sort it out for a moment before she gave up. Who are you? she finally asked.

I guess you don’t recognize me, the girl said with a strange laugh. I’m Daisy.

Daisy? Penny asked, suddenly very frightened. The girl who…who…

Seemed to kill herself in front of you?

Y-yes, Penny answered. The world around her was beginning to swim a little, and she couldn’t seem to control it. It seemed both dreamy and very un-dreamlike at the same time.

If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t really do it. I am very much alive. I am living…well, I probably shouldn’t tell you where I’m living, at least not yet. Suffice to say that I’m okay.

But…the blood. You killed yourself.

Daisy laughed again, and the laugh echoed strangely in Penny’s ears.

No I didn’t, Daisy said. I just made it look that way. My spirit threw itself off the roof. My physical body was miles away at the time. I almost forgot to do the blood thing.

I…I don’t believe you. I don’t believe this. This is just a dream! Penny cried, and turned to go back home.

But Daisy still stood in front of her, although now she was on the sidewalk between Penny and the gate to the front yard. Daisy shook her head.

I know, I know, she said. I understand. I went through the same thing myself. But I am very much alive. Check the news tomorrow, they’ve already filed a report on how my body has mysteriously disappeared.

And…and you’re saying it was never really there?

Right.

This…this is all so darn strange, Penny said, putting her face in her hands. Not so much to cry, but to hide everything. It all seemed so real!

And I’m sorry about the rumors, but I suppose it couldn’t’ve been helped. Not once you fainted, and most people thought we’d jumped together.

Penny felt warm hands touching hers, gently pulling them away from her face.

There now, Daisy said. You’ve got such a pretty face. Please don’t hide it.

There was a strange warmth to the girl’s touch. Penny’s eyes went wide. Are you…? Penny started to ask, but found herself unable to finish the question.

A lesbian? Well, let’s just say I am not as picky about my partners as I used to be. So technically, no, I’m not a lesbian; I’m bi.

Penny didn’t understand what happened next at all. All her life, she’d been raised to believe women only shared the most platonic or familial kisses with each other. She’d never had any desire to kiss a girl, but Daisy leaned forward and gave her a kiss. A real kiss.

There. Now you’ve seen what that’s like. Think on it the rest of the night, Daisy said. She let loose from Penny’s hands and faded away to nothing.

The rest of Penny’s dream was as strange as it had begun. She walked about, seeing things she’d seen before, but everything looked so different. Nobody paid her the least bit of attention. Of course, she kept telling herself, it’s just a dream.

But Penny found she had no control in this dream outside of her own actions. She’d had lucid dreams before, but none like this. In all the other dreams, she’d been able to change the landscape and what was going on with just a thought. But not tonight. It all seemed so real.

She had to do something, she decided, to prove to herself it was a dream. Taking to the air as she could only do in a dream, she flew over to where Gia lived. Penny flew straight into Gia’s room and was surprised to find Gia’s bed empty. While trying to figure out where her friend might be, she heard the window open up behind her.

Gia climbed in the window. Penny’s friend turned around once she was in and kissed somebody goodbye on the other side of the window. She climbed into bed, snuggling under the covers with a big smile on her face.

Penny looked at Gia’s clock, which said it was 12:09am. It seemed like it should be later than that, but the clock said otherwise. The dream girl decided not to worry about it further, and flew out through the wall to see who it was Gia kissed. To her shock, it was Bobby, the boy Tammy went out with last weekend!

Penny drifted beside Bobby for a short distance. It was obvious he couldn’t see her, for he took no notice of her. The boy pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and took out a smoke. He glanced at the front of the pack and smiled. Penny angled herself so she could see better. The front had m33t me at 23 written on it with a big red heart drawn around the message.

Bobby put the smokes away and pulled a lighter out to light his cigarette. As he continued down the street, he put the lighter in his pocket, puffing away. Penny found herself unable to pull away. She was just too curious to see what would happen next.

The boy reached into a different pocket and pulled something out. Penny was shocked when she realized what it was—a pair of girl’s panties! Bobby took his cigarette from his mouth and then gave the panties a good sniff. As he smiled and went to stuff the panties back in his pocket, Penny caught something written on the waistband, something she knew was there before she saw it: Gia Marie Tomlinson.

Penny followed Bobby all the way back to his house. Bobby went in the front door carefully so as not to wake anyone, and then went to his room. There he pulled out the panties, sniffed them again, and tossed them on his bed.

Bobby went into his closet and pulled out a small strongbox. He carried it over to his bed, worked the combination, and opened it. Within were a couple of porn magazines. The top one caught Penny’s eye. It featured a woman identified as Talia Carson. She had dirty blonde hair which framed her face with tight curls. She wore a pink thong and a wet half-T-shirt.

The young man lifted the magazines out of the way to reveal several plastic bags. Each bag was labeled with a girl’s name and a date, and each contained a pair of panties. Penny’s eyes were already as wide as they could get with disbelief as she watched Bobby carefully add his latest acquisition to his collection. Then the lockbox was shut, the dials for the combination spun, and finally put back into his closet.

Penny didn’t want to hang around anymore; she decided she’d seen more than enough. She flew from Bobby’s room and went straight home. Back into her room and straight into her sleeping body.

The young girl awoke, bouncing on her bed. She looked around, feeling more real now, but convinced she had not had an ordinary dream. Penny sat up and confirmed she was no longer dreaming by trying to levitate and failing.

Penny shook her head and lay back down. Soon she was asleep again, but with dreams far less realistic and, as such, far more comforting.

*

Throughout the morning of the next day, Penny could not decide what she should do. On the one hand, she needed to know whether she was dreaming or somehow really moving about the real world while she slept. The only real proof she could get would have to come from Gia. Although her friend could be a little harsh at times, Penny didn’t want to hurt her feelings if she was just imagining things. Not to mention the complications if what she saw really happened.

Finally, though, she couldn’t stand the mystery and gave Gia a call on her cell phone. Her friend was reluctant at first, but when Penny said she’d treat her to lunch, Gia agreed to meet her at the mall.

The mall’s food court was crowded and noisy as it usually was on a Saturday, so Penny felt pretty sure they would not be overheard. After they got some food and sat at a table, Gia started in on Penny, asking her all sorts of questions about Daisy’s suicide. Penny answered the questions quietly, her memories of the previous night making the questions seem inconsequential until her friend asked a question she felt she should have expected.

Did you hear about Daisy’s body? Gia asked between bites of her sandwich.

No…um, maybe, Penny replied, suddenly interested in Gia’s questioning. Did it mysteriously disappear?

Yeah! Gia said. And it’s really weird! According to the radio this morning, it was gone without a trace from a locked drawer at the morgue. I guess they were gonna do an autopsy or something, but now they can’t ‘cause the body’s vanished!

That reminds me, Gia, Penny said, deciding that she might as well plunge into why she’d invited Gia for lunch. Were you out with Bobby last night?

Gia suddenly lost her enthusiasm. I’m grounded, didn’t you know?

No, I didn’t.

My mom caught me smoking, sorta. Well, she smelled it on my breath.

So you snuck out, didn’t you?

Gia looked at Penny coolly. How did you know? Wait—you must’ve been out last night as well. Gia looked at Penny coolly. Who did you go out with?

Nobody, I…I can’t explain it. You wouldn’t believe me.

Try me. Gia ignored her food, sitting back and crossing her arms.

Penny thought about it for a moment, and decided to try something else. Did you give him a message on a pack of cigarettes? With a red heart around it? And threes for the E’s?

You saw me do that? How the hell did you see it? Gia’s eyes flared with rage as she added, You’d better not tell anybody! Especially not Tammy, okay?

I won’t tell anybody. But…you know Bobby goes out with a lot of girls, don’t you?

Yeah, I know. I ain’t nothin’ special to him, but so what? It’s all about the fun, isn’t it? Gia acknowledged.

Sorry, I just…I don’t want you to get hurt.

Then why are you spying on me? Did you go out with him, too?

No. He asked me a couple of months ago, but I said no.

Your loss. Maybe you are a lesbian.

Gia was looking hard at her food, still ticked off, and did not see Penny turn a little pale. The memory of the ghostly kiss from the previous night came back to her, and she still wasn’t sure what to think of it.

No, she finally said. I’m just shy. You know that.

That doesn’t explain how you knew about Bobby and me. What is it you don’t think I’ll believe?

Penny didn’t really want to tell Gia, but she wasn’t sure she had a choice. It’d be all over the school Monday what a lunatic she was if she told Gia now, she was sure of that. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, I had a weird dream.

A weird dream? You’re gonna tell me you dreamt about Bobby and I?

Not exactly. I…I walked all over the place. Well, it was a dream, so I flew around some too. But I knew it was a dream. And then I decided to go see what you were doing, because it was so weird.

Penny went quiet for a moment, not sure if she wanted to continue.

Go on, Gia urged with wide eyes.

Well, you weren’t in your bed. I looked at your clock and it was 12:09, if I remember right. You climbed in the window and kissed Bobby goodnight, then went to bed.

"I don’t believe you," Gia said.

I’m knew you wouldn’t. I told you it was a weird dream.

You don’t understand, Gia said. I glanced at the clock as I got into bed, and it said 12:09. How could you have known that? I’m almost ready to believe you, but it seems so…so…impossible. What happened next in your dream?

Well, I didn’t really see who you’d been kissing, so I went out the window and chased after him. That’s when I saw it was Bobby. And he pulled out his cigarettes, and looked at your little message, so I did, too.

This is so weird, Gia said. You sound like…well…it just doesn’t sound possible.

It’s what I saw, Gia. I’m not lying. I know that it sounds impossible, but it’s what happened.

How far did you follow him?

All the way back to his house. He…I saw him take your panties out of his pocket a couple of times, including at his house. I saw your name on the waistband.

Gia’s eyes went wide. No way! You saw that?

Yeah, I did.

Which pocket were they in?

Uh, the right front one, I think.

This is too creepy. I am pretty sure he doesn’t know I know, but I saw him take them. I pretended like I didn’t know what had happened. I saw him put them in that pocket.

I’m telling you, Gia, it was weird. And creepy! He added them to this weird collection of panties at his house!

What?! That creep!

Tell me about it! I left after that.

Did you see Tammy’s panties in his collection? Gia had lost her unhappy attitude, her nosey self taking over.

I…I didn’t look that close. He had them all in little plastic bags with names on them, but I didn’t really look at the names.

Gia swallowed down the last bit of her food and sat back, thinking. This is great, she said, her mouth beginning to twitch. This is great. You could do so much with this, you know.

I don’t know if I can do it again.

You gotta try! I believe you now, I think. But I want a test. I’ll do something in my room tonight, and you gotta tell me what in the morning. If you call me up and tell it right, I’ll treat you to lunch tomorrow.

Okay, Penny said, not sure if she liked this idea.

But you gotta do something else, too. You gotta see who else is in Bobby’s collection.

I don’t know, Penny said, sounding really uncertain now.

C’mon, I know you can do it. If you can do what you’ve told me, and like I said I am starting to believe you, then it should be easy.

But he keeps it in a locked box with some porno. If it’s as real as it seems, I might be able to stick my head in the box, but there won’t be any light to read the names with.

I suppose you’re right. Okay, leave that to me. I’ll get him to open the box, you look at the other names.

How are you gonna do that?

I have an idea. So you go to bed early tonight, and dream your way over to my place. At about ten I’ll do my secret thing. At ten-thirty I’ll call Bobby, and you go over there. I’ll get him to open the box, and you look at the other names.

I really don’t know, Gia, Penny said.

Look, I’m already promising you lunch, what else do you want?

It’s not that, Penny told her.

Okay, final offer: I’ll buy you that outfit you’ve been checking out at J.C.’s when you thought nobody was looking.

Penny looked at Gia, surprised. There was an outfit she had eyed in J.C. Penny, but she really didn’t think anybody saw her looking. It was not really her style, but she knew a large part of its attraction could be how far off from her style it was.

Well… Penny said, not sure how to answer.

C’mon, Gia said, anxious. I know you want it, and you know I’ve got the money for it.

Fine, Penny said. I’ll do it. But don’t blame me if you don’t like what I have to tell you.

No problem there. I’m already unhappy with Bobby if he’s such a creep to keep all that underwear like that.

So…ten o’clock tonight? I will have to go to bed early. But not by much, I guess.

Gia just smiled.

*

At nine-thirty that night, Penny crawled into bed. She was a little tired, but it was still early for her. Nonetheless, she faded off to sleep quickly. She felt herself go into the same dream state she was in the previous night, where she knew she was dreaming, but also somehow in the real world. It suddenly seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

Penny drifted out of bed and then through the wall. She was not surprised to find Daisy waiting on the sidewalk outside. Penny drifted down to her and landed lightly in front of her.

Okay, I’m beginning to see things are…different. What’s going on?

I can’t really tell you, Daisy replied. It’s hard to explain, really. You told one of your friends, didn’t you?

How do you know?

Just a guess. I didn’t follow you, or anything. But I did something similar when I first found this! Daisy answered, lifting up into the air and twirling about.

Penny watched her drift back down. Um, I’m not sure how to ask this, but…are there rules for this?

Rules? Daisy asked with a laugh. How could there be rules? How would anybody enforce them? No rules, just do what you like!

I have so many things I want to ask, Penny thought, but I don’t know if I really want to ask them. I don’t know if I want the answers, and…I don’t know if Daisy is the right person to ask, even.

Well, okay, Penny finally said. I’m…I’m going to explore a bit then. There’s so much to see.

Enjoy yourself! Daisy said with a wink. Then, quick as a wink, the spirit girl grabbed Penny’s head and kissed her soundly. Laughing, Daisy floated away.

Penny felt as dazed as she did the previous night. She’d always figured it would be disgusting, but it wasn’t. After a moment’s thought, she drifted away, slowly heading for Gia’s house. Some part of her said the kiss was almost nice.

She shook that idea out of her mind. I am not a lesbian! she thought.

Penny arrived at Gia’s house a little before ten and found Gia writing at her desk, glancing occasionally at the clock. Her friend’s note seemed a little shocking:

Penny, if you’ve come here in your dreams and are reading this, well…it’s just amazing. It’s fr3aky, but that’s okie with me. Now, you don’t need to memorize this whole thing, cuz that would be too much. Instead, just memorize this:

?lrig a gnissik deirt uoy evah tub ,tey yug a dessik t’nevah uoy wonk I

You’ll figure it out quickly enough, and probably—no, definitely, knowing you—be shocked as hell. But hey, that’s kinda the idea. Now for another shocker or two. Stuff to really convince me tomorrow, enough that I’ll buy you that outfit.

Gia glanced at the clock. Unseen, Penny looked over and watched it change from 9:59 to 10:00. Gia went back to her writing.

Okay, you should be watching now. You should try doing something. You know, move something around, like the ghosts in Ghost. But, failing that, look at this.

Gia put her pen down and opened up a desk drawer. Carefully, she reached in and revealed to Penny the drawer had a false bottom by pulling the bottom up and out and setting it on the desk. She waited a moment to give Penny to see what was inside.

Penny looked in and saw a porn magazine, something for women, she guessed, as there was an almost-naked guy on the front. Penny made a mental note of the magazine title, and the name of the guy written on the cover. Gia replaced the false bottom, not once spilling any of the things which sat on top of it.

Okay, Gia wrote, hopefully you noted a detail or two. Now for the big shocker. Hell, I’m not even sure I should show you this, but…well, you’ve already seen some of my darker secrets, so if you’re here it doesn’t matter. I won’t write anymore, so just watch what I show you. When I give an okie sign, head for Bobby’s house.

Gia sat back for a moment, then got up from her chair and went over to her bed. She reached under the mattress and felt around. After a moment, she found what she was looking for and pulled it out. To Penny’s horror, it was vibrator! She couldn’t believe it. Gia even turned the thing on and off a couple of times before putting it back.

Gia went back to the desk and tore the note into little pieces and dropped it into a paper cup. This she crumpled and tossed into the trash. She stood there for a moment, considering. Then she sat down and tapped on her phone. Finally, she made an okay sign with her right hand, and picked up the phone.

Not knowing what else to do, Penny flew out of Gia’s room. At high speed, she zipped over to where she’d followed Bobby the previous night and into his room. Sure enough, he was on the phone when she arrived.

Penny got somewhat uncomfortable listening to Bobby’s half of the conversation and decided she was glad she didn’t have to hear Gia’s half. Her opinion of her friend was already uncertain.

It seemed Gia knew what she was doing, too. After a few minutes, Bobby got up and walked to the closet and pulled the strongbox out. He took it over to the bed, still talking to Gia, and opened it up. This time, Penny made a mental note of the combination, hoping she could remember it.

Bobby dumped the strongbox out this time, scattering its contents all over the bed. Penny did a quick count and noted some names—Tammy’s was there and, interestingly enough, one was labeled Daisy. Based on what Bobby was saying to Gia, he was supposed to be looking for Gia’s underwear. Although it was right in front of him, he was claiming it was taking him a moment to get to its secret location.

The boy then began putting the plastic bags back in the box, one at a time. To Penny’s disgusted surprise, the only one he left out was not Gia’s, but Tammy’s. Bobby set the box and the magazines he’d dumped out of it aside before he climbed onto his bed and took the panties out of Tammy’s bag.

Got ‘em! Bobby told Gia on the phone.

Bobby began to unzip his pants, and Penny decided she did not want to stay around, certain she knew what he was about to do. Penny flew upwards out of the room and out of Bobby’s house, soaring high into the air until Bobby’s house was no more than a tiny dot.

Penny felt dizzy, though not from the height. She had seen more than she wanted to see, and she was very concerned Gia was going to ask for more. I will deal with it tomorrow, she decided. For now, she wanted to be back in her bed, sleeping normally.

With that desire, as strong as it was when she felt it, she was suddenly bouncing in her bed. A moment later, she fell into a normal sleep.

*

No way!! Gia said to Penny at lunch the next day as Penny finished her tale of the night.

I’m not kidding, Penny said. He was gonna…I mean, I could just tell that…

Not that part, silly! I know what he was going to do. It’s what I wanted him to do, but not with Tammy’s panties! Boy, am I gonna cook him now!

Gia, you’re so…

What?

I don’t know, but you seem almost as creepy as he is when you say stuff like that.

"Hey, you’ll grow up someday, too. No offense, or nothin’, but this stuff isn’t really that far outside the norm. Well,