Time Warp: Heavy Hitter (Penny)

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

February, 2013

There was this assignment, right.

Or homework. Whatever.

No, not whatever. Lucy was pretty sure it was the latter.

At any rate, it required reading. The problem was, there was a particular amount of books - the number was far less than the amount of students who required it.

What made it worse was that because of the shortage, they weren't actually allowed to take the books out of the library. It was a sort of two-to-a-person type thing. Rowan sure wasn't going to get off his ass and read it, so Lucy figured if she procured a book for herself, he could be her cover. The guy was doing a little poorly on his English homework anyway, so she'd help any way she could. If it meant doing it for him, she would. No problem. They were friends, and she was smart.

Trick was, Lucy wasn't even using it. She'd secured the last available copy for herself, and it was just sitting there on the table - unopened, untouched - like it was on display. She was too busy fiddling with the pencil in her hand, tapping it to the page of the open book in front of her. Her feet were securely comfortable on the chair beside her. The table was hers.

So she didn't bother looking up until she realised someone was standing in front of her table. In her direction. Lucy raised her eyes, immediately scrutinising her. She couldn't say she really recognised her. Lucy didn't speak as she tugged the earphones out of her ears. Rather, she raised her eyebrows, as if the act alone asked the question on her tongue.

What.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Assignments like this were the bane of Penelope’s life. Why on earth would a teacher assign a reading when there clearly weren’t enough books for the entire class? Penelope had a strict schedule to follow for the day and this assignment was putting a stopper on it.

Unacceptable.

She tried not to sound completely annoyed with the librarian as he informed her that the last book was already taken out. It wasn’t his fault that this school had no reasonable system for such things.

She gave a polite thank you as he informed her that the books were all in the library, and that she could probably share with a student. Yes. That was precisely what she wanted.

But she didn’t really have a choice, now did she? Penelope headed off deeper into the library, hoping to find the book in question. There were a few of her classmates who were sharing a book, but they were all relatively chatty and she was not about to deal with that for the next forty-six minutes.

Penelope scanned the tables until her eyes eventually found the textbook. It wasn’t even being used! Immediately, Penelope approached the table, and it wasn’t long before the girl sitting at it noticed her.

She raised her eyebrows as she pulled her ear buds out. “Those headphones are more likely to give you hearing problems.” She stated, “Over-the-earphones are less damaging.” But that wasn’t why she was here, so she didn’t explain further.

“I need that book.”

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

"Oh, really?" Lucy asked, feigning interest in a little story about headphones. Until her eyes narrowed, "Fuck off."

She turned her attention back down to the book in front of her. The girl didn't exist to her after that.

That was, until she opened her mouth again.

Lucy's jaw tensed.

"Ah," Lucy started, shifting the book above it and bringing the full title into view. She reached forward and tapped the end of her pencil against it. "Well, next time you better get off your ass and come get it before everyone else does."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Really? Was that how this conversation was going to go? Penelope’s lips formed a thin line at the curse word. She briefly considered going and trying to find another textbook, but the girl’s rude demeanor sparked a certain stubbornness in the Brit.

“I had prior engagements.” Penelope explained shortly, she placed a hand out, as if expecting the other to hand over the book. “You’re not even using it.”

Penelope straightened her back, now determined that she was not going to leave that spot until she got that book. She realized that although she didn’t personally know the girl, she did recognize her in class. She got moved away from her equally obnoxious counterpart within the first week.

She tried reasoning with her, wondering if it would be a failed attempt to get through her apparently thick skull. “I’ll return it to you once I’m done.”

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy stared back at her, her expression unamused. Yes, this was how this was going to go.

"No you didn't." Lucy replied with an obnoxious laugh, shaking her head at the idea that the weird girl who loved sitting at the front of the class would have a prior engagement. "Yeah, I am." She tapped on it again with her pencil. Periodically. Every. Few. Seconds.

"No you won't." Lucy retorted definitively.

She lifted her feet off the chair beside her, kicking it out. She looked at her. Then the chair. Then her. Her hand pressed down on the book. "You can wait."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penelope folded her arms over her chest, understanding perfectly well the meaning behind Lucy’s statement. “How would you know? You seem to be so caught up in your own little world – I’m surprised you’d notice such a thing as my schedule.” She was getting impatient with this girl.

Her fingers twitched as the pencil hit the book, and her expression grew more annoyed with every tap.

Penelope’s gaze followed the Australian’s to the chair. She paused a moment before brushing it off with her hand and taking a seat, bringing her eyes back up to the other. “Fine.”

If the girl was going to be stubborn, so was she. “Get reading.”

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy just scoffed. Look at her. She was that girl. No one wanted to spend a damn minute in her company.

Of course, she had every intention of just going back to what she was doing. She'd get to the assigned work when she bloody well felt like it. She never expected her offer to actually be taken up. Lucy grumbled a series of unattainable words and sounds.

"I'll do it when I fucking want to." Lucy snapped, not even bothering to look over at her. Instead, she made the move to pull out the identical worksheets. One hers, one Rowan's.

When she actually went to reach for the book in question, she started to move painfully slowly, dragging the thing primarily towards herself.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penelope crossed her legs as she pulled out her own worksheet along with a notebook that was filled with neatly written notes. She knew her presence was not appreciated, and hoped that it motivated the other to get her work done faster. Penelope had a schedule, and sitting around waiting for a book was not part of it.

Her eyes glanced over at the two work sheets on the table. Wait, she was doing someone's homework along with her own? Penelope had no tolerance for that. If someone was going to be a jerk, fine, she could (somewhat) deal with that, but a student not doing their own work?

“That's against school policy.” Penelope nodded towards the two papers. She doubted the Australian cared, but it was worth an attempt before Penelope flat out scolded the girl.

Her eyes followed Lucy's hands for the book, and her jaw clenched at how painstakingly slow the girl was being. She wasn't sure if it was because of her attitude, the fact that she was doing homework for someone else, or both, but her irritation grew dramatically within those few seconds.

She reached out and snatched the book. “I'll give this back when you learn to have some academic integrity.”

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

"No shit." Lucy replied with a frown. It didn't matter that it was against the rules to help him, she was doing it anyway. The beauty of being an ink manipulator meant his answers would never look like she wrote them.

When the book was snatched from her hand, Lucy stared at where it once was. The looked at the girl beside her, her eyes narrow.

"Fuck no." She interjected deftly, reaching back out and slamming her hand down on the book's cover. "It's against school rules to take shit that doesn't belong to you. Ponder that fucking paradox while you're waiting."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

The book hit the table with force as it was slammed down, and Penelope shot a glare at the Australian, jaw clenched in frustration. “It doesn't belong to you, either.” Penelope countered, her fingers gripping onto the spine of the book. She wasn't letting go.

Penelope tugged at the book in an attempt to get the girl's hand to budge, but it was useless. “Why does it matter? How often do you even do your homework in the first place?” She knew she was being quick to judge based on what she had seen of the other in class and her attitude now, but it didn't matter. She needed that book.

“Why don't you just pop off and paint on some cave walls.” Penelope snapped. She pursed her lips the moment the words came out. Something about this girl just angered her.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

"I got it first." Lucy shot back. Ergo, it was hers to the boundaries of the library. Was that not clear?

The Australian responded to the question regarding her homework schedule with a dry laugh. That was all it was worth, and even then, it didn't deserve it.

She felt something flare up in her when she took the insult about painting. It didn't surprise her that a stranger knew she had a penchant for flinging paint and ink around. It was the best prank available to a person with her skills. "I was here first." She said, dumbing down her tone as if the words weren't going to get through to this girl any other way.

"So while you're waiting, it'd be great if you could find someone willing to yank that stick our of your ass." She retorted, her sharpened words working in tandem with the overtly unamused expression on her face; "And hey, if they fuck you while they're at it and you might come back as a decent fucking person. You got enough charm to handle that?"

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penelope’s jaw dropped at the girl’s final comment. She wasn’t exactly sure how to process such crudeness. Her fingers lightened on the grip of the book just slightly.

“What is wrong with you?” she finally blurted out after a few moments of silence. She was thrown off guard, and it was the best she could reply with. Honestly, who on earth even speaks like that?

It was like she was arguing with a brick wall. An insulting brick wall.

“I think you have enough charm for the both of us,” Penelope shot back defensively. She had never heard someone use such explicit wording before, and she had no idea how to handle it. “You’re clearly a people person, after all.”

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

The stunned silence was - in a word - awesome.

Honestly, it was how Lucy was hoping she'd react. What was wrong with her?

"You." Lucy replied, her voice low. She was doing her best not to laugh.

But she did laugh. Obnoxiously so when she told her she had charm. It was obviously sarcasm, but the point that held her was the fact that that was all she could say as a comeback. "You hanging around for the company?" She asked, unable to hide the overly amused smirk on her face.

"Fuck off, Redcoat. I've got shit to do." Lucy took the opportunity to yank the book away from her.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penelope’s eyes narrowed as the other laughed, and her grin just made the situation worse. Penelope felt the book slip from her fingertips, and she pressed her lips into a thin line at the action.

Without a word, the Brit pushed the chair out and stood. She grabbed her belongings and quickly walked off with irritation.

But instead of attempting to find another textbook, or even leave, Penelope headed towards a section she was quite familiar with. Her dark eyes scanned the titles for a few moments before she reached out and grabbed one.

She had only been gone a minute or two at tops, but she returned quietly to the table, setting the book in her hands right on top of Lucy’s work. The title revealed it was a book on Australian history.

“Next time you call me a ‘Redcoat’, check your facts.”

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy had turned her attention away, never wavering as the girl decided to get up. The only thing she did was look up when she knew her back was turned, watching as she walked away.

Once she was out of sight, Lucy shook her head and finally bothered to open the book in question.

The last thing she expected was to have her return, drop a book, and have another go at her. Lucy did look up, her eyes narrowing again. What'd she want to do, swap? Lucy learned enough about her country from the classes back home. It was all they ever talked about.

"Fuck you too." She said sarcastically, raising both hands and offering duel middle fingers.