Chapter 4 Penny
Penny
THEN
Nan will be so mad if she finds out we hung out at the park instead of going straight home, especially because the park isn’t even on the way home from school.
We’re in sixth grade now, which means no more after-school babysitters for us.
I was excited about it—a chance to show Nan how responsible and grown I am.
But Danny sees it as an opportunity to mess around.
It’s not like I hate when we goof off; my brother is the funniest kid at school, but I like to have fun at the appropriate times.
And we’re supposed to be going home right now.
But there’s a new kid in Danny’s class this year, and my brother must be trying to impress him or something, because he told him he’d show him the park after school today. Magnolia Street Park—where all the cool older middle schoolers hang out.
As we pass the street we’re supposed to turn down to go home, I grab the handle of my brother’s backpack and yank him back, interrupting their riveting conversation about skateboards.
I remind him that the instructions were pretty clear: During the week when Nan works day shifts, we go home, do homework, and no later than 4:15 p.m., go three houses down to collect our sister from the babysitter’s house. Then we watch Fia until Nan gets home at six.
“Relax, Penny, she won’t even know. We’ll get Fia by four.”
“What about homework?” I utter, burning under the hot September sun as I walk beside them on the sidewalk. My jean shorts with embroidered daisies were a good choice, but the yellow cardigan I paired with them is starting to stick to my back.
“Homework is for losers.” He snickers and nudges his new friend, Jesse, but he glances back at me.
He’s really tall for a sixth grader. His hair is almost black, and his eyes are super green. He smiles at me, and I peel my eyes away. Staring isn’t kind.
We pass a house with a noisy lawnmower, and Jesse’s mouth moves, but I don’t hear him.
“What did you say?” I ask, brushing annoying grass clippings off my ankles.
“What homework do you have?” Jesse repeats himself, kinda shyly. “It’s the first week of school.”
I pull on my backpack straps and shrug. “I have a report to write on one of the books I read over the summer.”
Danny flips his long blond hair—Nan’s been threatening to buzz it off if he doesn’t stop twitching his head to the side. She said his neck will get stuck like that.
“My sister is in the advanced classes,” he taunts, rolling his eyes. “She read, like, all of the books on the summer reading list.”
“Shut up, Danny.” I shove him out of the way so I can walk between him and Jesse on the sidewalk. “I did it for the gift card prize, which I used for my new backpack. So who’s the loser now?” I stick out my tongue at Danny.
“I actually read them all, too,” Jesse chimes in, and I gape at him. “Well, all the ones the library had.”
Danny starts to laugh, but I elbow him.
I glance up at Jesse. He’s got to be a foot taller than me.
“Really?” I narrow my eyes at him. He’s probably messing with me like Danny does.
He nods, shoving his hands in his pockets, looking down at the sidewalk.
“Do you have siblings, like a sister?” I ask, hoping maybe he has a twin. Danny would have a friend, and so would I.
Wishful thinking, but my best friend Julia moved to Pennsylvania over the summer, and I’m desperately searching for a new BFF.
“Nope, only child.” He shifts his backpack from one shoulder to the other. It’s duct taped together on the top.
When we get to the park, it’s full of kids in the grade above us—at least twenty of them—and even some high schoolers. They’re obnoxious, swinging from the monkey bars and yelling stupid things to each other.
I roll my eyes, groaning. I knew this would happen, but my brother never listens to me.
“Let’s just go back to our house. We can make snow cones,” I offer, crossing my fingers that my brother takes the bait.
Someone screams near the swings, and a car of way older kids pulls up. Yeah, Nan would kill us if she knew we were here.
Luckily, after a second of looking around, seeing there’s really nowhere for us to hang out, Danny gives in to my idea.
Jesse murmurs a goodbye before he waves and turns in the opposite direction, but I skip toward him, grabbing his arm.
“Wait!” I yell, and he looks down at me, his cheeks growing pink. “You could come over, too,” I offer.
Danny gives me a weird look. “Oh, so you’re okay with breaking the rules now?”
I kick the mulch and shrug coolly. “I mean, technically, I’m not breaking the rules. I’ll be doing my homework.”
Jesse lets out a breath. “You sure your grandma would be okay with it?
“Totally, she won’t mind,” I lie straight through my teeth, which isn’t easy. Lying makes my stomach tight, but I like Jesse. Not like like, I just think he’s nice. Nicer than most of my brother’s friends. And he’s new in town. Nan would be proud of me for making him feel welcome.
Danny smiles at me. “Well, gee, sis, thanks for finally being cool.” He flicks my shoulder, and I roll my eyes.
“Whatever, let’s just get out of here.” I pause and spin to look them both directly in the eye. “But I am getting the first snow cone. This report isn’t going to write itself.”
Danny and Jesse play video games in the living room with a bag of chips open between them while I do my homework on my bed. Though I can hear their conversation all the way up here. Why do boys talk about such stupid stuff?
When four o’clock rolls around, my watch beeps, and I know Danny’s not going to notice, so I slip on my sandals and trudge downstairs, making lots of noise with every step so he can’t ignore me.
There are snack wrappers all over the coffee table, and Jesse’s sitting back on the tan sofa, but Danny’s up near the TV on his knees. He gets sucked into the screen, as Nan says.
“Danny, we have to get Fia now.” I wave my arms from the other side of the living room.
He nods like he hears me, but doesn’t take his eyes off the TV. Jesse quickly sets down his controller, though.
“I should get going anyway. My dad will be home soon.” He puts his snow cone cup in the sink and thanks us for the snacks. At least he has manners.
Nan would like him, I think to myself.
“See you at school tomorrow!” He waves to my brother while I stand in the kitchen, arms crossed.
“Nice to meet you, Penny.”
I smile politely. “You, too.” My stomach feels weird, like there are butterflies in it or something.
“Danny!” I hiss at him, and he drops his controller and stands in a zombie-like state.
As Jesse’s walking to the foyer, I whisper to my brother, “You should invite him to the beach on Saturday.”
He looks at me with a blank stare.
“It’s the nice thing to do. He’s the new kid.”
Danny races to the front door, and I stay put, straining my ear to hear their conversation.
“Hey, on Saturday we’re going to Wrightsville Beach, want to come with us? I’ll check with our Nan, but I don’t think she’d care.”
Jesse doesn’t reply right away. Maybe he thinks we’re weird. But then his voice cracks like Danny’s does sometimes.
“Yeah, totally. I just have to check with my stepmom.”
The front door opens and shuts moments later, and Danny comes back into the kitchen with his shoes slipped on.
“Julia’s been gone like a month, and you’re already trying to steal my new friend?”
I exhale dramatically and shuffle past Danny, grabbing his arm to pull him toward the door. “We can share friends, idiot. Jesse’s cool.”
He doesn’t object, because he knows I’m right.
We walk to the neighbors’ house to get our little sister, whose face is pressed against the front window. Her red pigtails look very messy. Maybe she’ll let me practice my braiding on her if I bribe her with a snow cone.
We don’t talk about Jesse on the walk there or back.
And I definitely don’t mention that he is kinda cute…
When we get home, Fia lets me braid her hair, then she plays with her dollhouse in my bedroom while I sit on my bed and make three friendship bracelets. One for me, one for Danny, and one for Jesse.
I hope he likes blue and green.