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Surprising as it may be, Penelope Park has feelings. I mean yes, most 15 year old girls do, but most of them don’t mask it as well as she does. She’s currently walking through the library trying to avoid any feelings, trying desperately to find a place to hide before the study hall professor does a walkthrough for students who aren’t supposed to be here when she runs into a warm body.
“What the- oh hey Penelope!” A bubbly voice says from her right.
Penelope sighs, stepping back from the collision ad rubbing her head slightly. She raises her head to see Josie Saltzman, in all of her cheerful glory standing in front of her.
“Josie hi, I didn’t see you there”
Josie giggles and Penelope hasn’t heard a better sound in her entire life. “Yeah obviously, but why are you running through the library? I haven’t seen you in this study hall before.”
Penelope runs her fingers through her hair quickly, formulating a lie before she decides that she doesn’t really want to lie to Josie “I was trying to find a place to hide for a while, but-”
Dorian’s voice booms out from the center of the library “If you’re not in here for study hall or with a professor’s note, get on outta here!”
Josie’s eyes light up, before grabbing Penelope’s arm quickly “Trust me okay?”
Penelope never had a choice, but if she did decide, it was to trust Josie every time.
Josie pulls her through the stacks, down a winding pathway, and under a ladder leaning on a shelf.
“Uh Josie? Where are we going?”
“Don’t worry, we’re almost there.”
“Where exactly is ‘there’?”
Josie practically skids to a stop in front of a normal looking shelf in a corner, perpendicular to a window that overlooks the front yard.
She turns to Penelope, smiles, and arches an eyebrow playfully “Alright now I really need you to trust me.”
Behind them they can hear Dorian walking through and checking the stacks for stragglers.
“Do I really have a choice?” Penelope looks back to the source of the sound and back to Josie.
“Of course, you always have a choice, silly.”
Penelope takes a moment, looking at Josie’s playful demeanor and the hand still holding her arm “Yeah. I trust you”
Josie finally lets go of her arm to clap excitedly “okay, now see this gap between the window and the shelf?” she gestures and as Penelope steps closer she can see that there is, in fact, a slim opening between the window and the shelf. Faint light from the window filters into what she now sees is a small space.
“Okay and you just expect me to fit through that gap into your weird library hovel?”
Josie giggles again “No silly, I haven't fit in that gap since I was 8. I’d be seriously impressed if you could contort yourself in there that way”
Penelope raises an eyebrow “You think a lot about how I can contort my body, Saltzman?”
Josie scoffs and doesn’t answer, intent on looking on the side of the shelf, giving out a small noise of success as she manages to pull the shelf so it swings towards them. She looks back towards Penelope and grabs her arm again.
“Come on, I wanna show you something.”
Penelope curses her weakness for pretty girls as she follows Josie through the makeshift doorway.
As they pass through the threshold Josie turns and secures the shelf again, the sounds of the outside world are muted and everything seems to fade away.
“You know Jo, that doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence that I’m not going to get murdered today.”
Josie giggles “I wouldn’t murder a pretty girl, don’t worry about it.”
When Penelope finally looks around her breath is stolen from her lungs. It’s a small nook, with books piled up high and pillows between the stacks of books. One side shelf is cleared off and has a few books, a stack of paper, and some colored pencils on it. There’s a soft light filtering in from the window, half obscured by the shelf, which effectively closes them off from the outside world.
Penelope does a slow turn around the room while Josie goes and situates herself on a stack of pillows near the shelf-turned-desk.
“Josie… what is this place?”
“This is… my place I guess? When I was little dad hauled in a bunch of pillows and gave me a place to go when Lizzie was acting out. Officially... I think it’s a janitor's closet?”
“So you take all of your boyfriends here to make out during study hall? Classy.”
Josie laughs, actually laughs, out loud at that one. “Oh yeah all the boys and girls I’m clearly reeling in.”
Penelope jerks her head up to look at Josie, arching an eyebrow with the unspoken question.
Josie makes eye contact and blushes “Don’t get any ideas Park.” She pulls out a book from her bag and settles down with some paper to start on notes.
“So is this the part where you ignore me and all of the absolutely burning questions I have about this new, rebellious Josie Saltzman?” Penelope settles down against a shelf, taking a piece of paper out of her bag and starting to fold it.
Josie doesn’t answer, instead just opening her book to where she left off and starting to scribble notes on the paper next to her.
She’s working and writing in comfortable silence for a few minutes when a paper airplane lands gracefully on the page she’s reading. She looks over at Penelope who gestures to the plane with a smirk.
Josie unfolds the plane to see Penelope’s looping handwriting scrawled across the page ‘You may not be reeling in all the boys but you’re certainly wooing me’
She looks up at Penelope who shoots a finger gun at her and winks. Josie rolls her eyes at the other girl’s antics and a small smile graces her face.
It’s a week later when Penelope runs into Josie. She’s in the library, trying to find a specific book on the alchemical applications of silver when she feels a small form collide with her back. She stumbles forward, dropping the 3 books in her arms and turns quickly, ready to chew out whoever was clumsy and dumb enough to run into her when she sees Josie Saltzman, tears running down her face.
Josie sniffles quickly, wiping the tears from her face and grabbing the books Penelope dropped.
“Josie, are you okay?”
Josie doesn’t answer, just sniffles a bit and turns to head off in the other direction.
“Wait Josie” Penelope grabs her arm, steers her down an aisle to a more secluded part of the library. Before either of them knows it they’re back in front of the bookshelf that leads to Josie’s spot. Penelope drops her arm, starts feeling for the latch she assumes is on the side of the bookcase that Josie triggered last time. After a bit of struggling she hears Josie mumble something behind her.
“What was that Jo?”
“It’s not a latch, it’s a button, try pushing around.”
Penelope shrugs and pushes her hand on the shelf, a faint click sounds, and the shelf releases and swings outward. Josie shuffles past her, heading into the room and plopping down on some pillows.
Penelope closes the shelf behind her and goes over to sit next to Josie, who has started crying softly. She doesn’t move to comfort Josie, unsure of their boundaries still.
Josie doesn’t move immediately, but after a moment she snuggles in to Penelope’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry I’m just-just-” Josie attempts to speak but can’t break through the tears.
“Hey shush, don’t try to talk, just let it out sweetheart.” Penelope snakes her arm around Josie’s shoulders, holding her close while sobs wrack the girls body.
They stay in the same position for nearly an hour, with Penelope rubbing Josie’s back and talking about nothing of importance. She talks about her chemistry of magic homework, her somewhat failed alchemy quiz, and even her roommate Becca, who is apparently on a redecorating kick and making their dorm room look like a rustic farmhouse. While she’s talking about her alchemy project on silver Josie speaks up.
“I did that project last semester, I think I still have the silver book actually”
Penelope looks over at Josie incredulously “Josie middle-name Saltzman, do you have an overdue library book?”
Josie smiles and laughs a little bit “I’m sorry! I think it’s under my bed somewhere I honestly forgot about it!”
Josie sits up as Penelope shifts around in their makeshift pillow bed.
“Feeling better Jojo?”
“Yeah… I think so”
“Wanna talk about it”
“Not really. It’s just sister stuff.”
Penelope’s eyebrows raise “Well no offense from what you’ve said about your sister she seems kinda like a bitch. And that’s coming from me, who is definitely a bitch.”
Josie stands up abruptly, pulling a mirror from her bag and starting to redo her hair, pulling it into a ponytail “Lizzie can be a lot, but I’m not all that great either.”
There’s no answer but another paper airplane flies and lands perfectly on Josie’s shoulder. Josie laughs and grabs it, reading ‘I think you’re pretty great’
She turns around to look at Penelope who shrugs and smiles “You still owe me that library book though.”
“I’ll give it to you on… saturday morning, IF you come get coffee with me.” Josie says, nervously playing with her ponytail.
Penelope’s smile widens as she stands up “I would love that. Both the coffee and the library book, because this project is due on Tuesday”
“It’s a date then!”
“It’s a date.”