3 Earning Money for Mary

The absolute best part of Penelope's day was going to work. For eight hours, she did not have to deal with the dysfunctional life she lived at home. These eight hours were usually short lived. Yet, she still cherished every moment she got.

At Sub Haven, Penelope was probably the best employee. While she didn't interact with her co-workers much, her managers loved her work ethics. She was polite to everybody, no matter how they acted in the store. She also made a pretty good sandwich. More customers came to her shift than the others.

She sprinted through the doors and clocked in. Just on time for her shift, she said good morning to everybody and washed her hands. The lunch rush was just starting and there was already a line reaching towards the door.

"Penelope, can you take the meat station?" Her manager, Terry asked.

"Of course." Penelope replied. She donned a pair of gloves and got to work, greeting her first customer of the day. Every customer that came through the line was greeted with a smile. She always made sure to repeat their order to acknowledge understanding. There were a few customers who ordered the same thing every time they came in. She had their orders started before they walked through the door.

There were some kids from her class that came in. As soon as they saw her, they started whispering and laughing. "Hey Butch! Make us a sandwich!" one of them sneered.

"What can I get for you?" She asked, ignoring his name calling.

"Give me the Italian Bombshell on crazy cheesy bread." He demanded.

Penelope set to work making the kid's sandwich and took orders from his jeering friends, who made similar comments. "I want cheddar, Butch! No, I said American! What about Swiss did you not understand? Are you deaf, you stupid lesbian!?" A girl in the group said.

"I am not a lesbian, and I would appreciate it if you didn't make inappropriate comments towards me while I am trying to serve you." Penelope said coldly.

"Hey! did you see that? The lesbian just spat in my food!" The girl accused. "I think she's trying to mark me! Remake my sandwich! It should be free, you nasty little twerp!"

"What's the problem over here?" Terry demanded.

"This girl spit in my sandwich and tried to come onto me!"

Terry narrowed her eyes at the girl. She had watched the entire exchange. "You and your friends may leave my store. You do not disrespect my employees like that. Moreover, it's the twenty-first century. We don't make fun of people's sexualities. Nor do we assume them. Do not come back here if you think you are going to get away with mistreating my people."

The girl huffed before gesturing for the rest of the group to follow her. "We're never coming back to this disgusting place with that disgusting pig again. My daddy owns a car dealership. I will make sure he contacts his lawyer!"

"I ain't afraid of no lawyer. I got video footage, honey!" Terry said as the group turned around to leave. She shook her head and turned to Penelope "I appreciate your professionalism, but you shouldn't let people walk all over you like that. You are stronger and better than them, Penelope!"

Penelope smiled. "I know. But if I mouth off too much, it'll be worse later."

"I think she handled herself well." Came a male voice from the corner.

"Well good afternoon, Mr. Filmore! It's lovely to see you in our store today. What can we get for you?" Terry asked in the most polite, most professional manner Penelope had ever seen.

The boy stepped out from the corner and put his fingers on his chin, pondering with a hum. "I don't really know." He admitted. "I don't really come into these shops very often. What's good?" he asked.

"What do you like?" Penelope asked.

The boy shrugged and approached the counter, looking around. Penelope immediately noticed his piercing green eyes. He was so hot! He was wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. She could see the muscles in his arms stretching out the sleeves. His blonde hair was cut in a manner that accentuated his face.

"How about I make you something awesome? Are you a spicy kind of guy? Do you have any food allergies or things you don't like?" Penelope asked.

"I can do a little bit, but not really. No allergies. I hate raw onions."

Penelope nodded and got to work. She was good at creating things that were off the normal menu. She could pick up on his eyes landing on certain ingredients, and used them in his sandwich.

"The cheese on this bread pairs very well with the ham and turkey. And our awesome sauce ties everything together." She passed the sandwich to Kyla, who was standing at the register and she handed the sandwich to the boy, sending him on his way.

Confused, Penelope looked at Terry. "Mr. Filmore gets all his food here for free." she said.

Penelope nodded in understanding, although she really didn't know why anybody would get a free meal. She had never seen this Mr. Filmore in the store before. "Well, let me know how you like it. Have a nice day!" she said, smiling at him.

He took his sandwich to a table and sat down to eat it. The rush was pretty much over, so Terry told Penelope to sit down and eat lunch. She was getting ready to take her first bite when in walked Mary.

"Penelope! I want lunch! Make a sandwich for me and the boys!"

Terry came out from the back and saw Mary. She knew that Penelope's step mother wasn't very kind to Penelope, but didn't know the extent of how things were at home. "Kyla can make your sandwiches, Mrs. Marks. Penelope is on her mandatory break. Child labor laws, you know." Mary huffed, but didn't argue.

Penelope quietly ate her sandwich and watched from the corner of her eye as Kyla served Mary. Kyla was a college girl and didn't require a break, although she had been about to take one as well.

As Mary paid, Penelope looked back down at her sandwich. "Really, you don't even want to say goodbye to your own mother who came in to support you at work?"

Penelope faked a smile. "Have a good afternoon, Mary. I will see you at home."

Mary looked down at her and gritted her teeth. "You lazy brat. Can't even get up to make me a meal. Don't think you are going to get away with undermining my authority over you." She growled, turning to walk out the door. As she walked past Mr. Filmore, he heard her mumbling "Spoiled rotten little brat."

Terry walked over to Penelope and sat down. You OK, kiddo? What did she say to you?" She asked out of concern.

"She wished I had gotten up to make her sandwich." Penelope said simply. She didn't dare say anything else.

"Well, if you ever need to talk about anything, you know you can talk to me." Terry promised.

Penelope smiled at her. "It's really alright. There is nothing to talk about." It was better to lie, than to risk Mary's wrath.

When Terry walked away, Penelope suddenly found Mr. Filmore sitting in front of her with his half eaten sandwich. "Hi." he said.

"Um, hi." Penelope nervously replied. "Is your lunch OK?" She inquired.

"Oh, it's fine! Very delicious, actually. But I don't think you are doing good so good, are you?"

"I am." Penelope said plainly, trying get not to look at him.

"I heard what that lady said about you on the way out the door. She doesn't like having you in your house, does she?"

"I don't know what you mean."

Mr. Filmore concentrated on her. Looking into his eyes, Penelope wanted to melt. This guy was so sexy! She wished she could leave with him and never go home. "I think you do. You just don't want to say. I can help you, you know. "

Nobody could help her. She already knew that. So she stayed silent and took another bite of her sandwich.

"I'm Derek." He said.

"Penelope." She replied.

Derek extended his hand to her, and she didn't know if she really wanted to take it. After a few moments of leaving him hanging, she slowly reached her hand out. He firmly grasped hers. Electricity surged through her body. It brought an excitement that Penelope had never experienced before. She felt her breath escaping her and had no clue how to react. Her handshake was weak. All she could do was stare at him.

When he let go she immediately came back to her senses. "N-nice... to meet you, Derek..." Penelope mustered. Somehow, she didn't feel like calling him by his first name was appropriate.

"Nice to meet you, Penelope." Derek said with a smile.

Penelope responded with a light nod. She tried her best to concentrate on her sandwich but found that it was very difficult. She just had to keep looking at his eyes!

"I saw that group of kids earlier. Do you know who they are?" he asked.

"Yeah, they're in my class. They don't like my haircut." she shrugged.

"You get picked on a lot? What grade are you in?"

"I'm about to be a Senior. So I only have to deal with it for another year. I don't let them bother me. I'm used to it."

Derek looked a little sad. "You shouldn't be used to people picking on you like that. It's not right."

Penelope shrugged again. "Life isn't fair. But it is what it is. We all get dealt different decks of cards. How we play them determines how we survive."

Derek took a moment to ponder her words. "Very wise. So you're like, what, seventeen?"

Penelope nodded. "I'll be eighteen, soon."

"I see..." he trailed off.

Penelope finished her sandwich, and noticed that he had really not made any progress on his. It appeared he was concentrating on her, too. Why did someone as hot as him have any interest in an ugly girl like her? "Well, I need to get back to work. I hope you have a good afternoon, Derek." For a moment, she hesitated. Then, she cleaned up her mess and headed towards the back of the line. There were no new customers, so she went back to start on dishes.

Several minutes later, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Startled, she gasped and jumped. Turning around, she saw Derek standing right behind her. "You can't be back here!" She exclaimed.

Derek chuckled. "Sure I can. I own this place."

Not believing him, Penelope rolled her eyes. "Sure you do. You can't be much older than I am."

"I'll be nineteen soon. But yes, I do own this place." He grinned a devilish grin. "Mr. Filmore. And I didn't pay for my food. C'mon, I know you're smart." He teased.

Penelope's jaw suddenly dropped. "Filmore Industries. Oh my goodness my dad works for you! I didn't know you owned this, too! I'm sorry..." Oh, no. She was going to lose the only job she had for being disrespectful!

Derek laughed. "You're cute." he said. "Let me see your phone."

"I don't have one."

Shocked, Derek studied her yet again. Surely she had to be pulling his leg. "Really?" He asked. "Well, what do you do with the money you earn?"

Well, her brothers both had phones. But she wasn't allowed to have one. She said nothing and went back to washing the dishes.

Derek disappeared without saying anything. About a minute later, he grabbed her hand and slipped a piece of paper into it. "My phone number. If you ever need anything, you can call me anytime. I'll come visit again, soon."

Dumbfounded, Penelope nodded. "I'll... make you a sandwich that tastes like a Pizza next time..."

"Sounds good. Caio!" He waved as he turned and walked away.