1 Penelope

Saturday night. The sound of raindrops could be heard hitting the ground as the wind hummed through the trees. Swaying back and forth, they offered a mesmerizing dance. Smells of the rainforest filled the night air as they were stirred up by the large droplets. The splashes of footsteps slowly hitting the ground added to the ambience of the night sounds.

It was after 10 PM. Penelope Marks was making her way home from a long day of work. Summer was supposed to bring fun and happiness. But not for Penelope. From the time she got up, to the time she went to bed, Penelope worked. In the morning, it was chores. In the afternoon, it was work. She never got a day off. Always, Penelope was expected to stay busy and out of her step-mother's sight.

Except for payday. Whenever Penelope got paid, she was expected to give her check over to her step-mother. Today was Payday. Penelope wanted to hold onto her hard earned money for as long as she could. So she endured the large droplets and walked home slowly. Soaked, she breathed in the night air. As much as she disliked the rain, she loved the smells that came from it. The wet pavement. The trees. The moss. The dirt. They were perfect to her. They were peaceful. They were nothing like what she was going to return home to.

Sighing, Penelope had reached her doorstep. It was time to go inside. There was a light on. No doubt, her step-mother was waiting for her. Opening the door, she went inside where sure enough, there was the person she secretly referred to as The Witch. This was a name she kept to herself and never said aloud.

A screeching voice pierced her ears as the putrid smell of cigarette smoke filled Penelope's sinuses. "Penelope!" Her step-mother snapped. "What took you so long to get home tonight?" she demanded.

"I had to close by myself tonight, Mary." She said calmly and quietly.

The excuse was met with a powerfully painful slap. It wasn't enough to leave a lingering mark, but it would still add to the scars that festered within. "You know better than to come home late on payday! You shouldn't have been so lazy in your closing tasks! Give me your paycheck. Then, you may go wash the dishes from tonight's dinner and go straight to bed. Don't even think about taking a shower, either. I don't want your soaked clothes messing up my bathroom floor."

"Yes Ma'am." was all Penelope could say. Anything else, and she would be struck again. Reluctantly, she handed over the coveted check and went to work washing the dishes. Mary forged her signature and deposited it using her phone. Even though it wasn't a lot of money, it was enough for Mary to blow on whatever she wanted. Penelope would never see a cent. She didn't care, though. At least working got her out of this horrid home. Even if it was only for a few hours.

Not hesitating, Penelope started on the dishes. Mary went on to bed, not paying anymore attention to the girl. Humming quietly to herself, Penelope worked contently, imagining what life would be like if she wasn't a part of this family. Oh, the things she could do! Hang out with friends, go see movie, go shopping... Maybe even have a boyfriend! She smiled at the prospect of being swept off her feet. Rescued by some hunk who was actually attracted to her.

Penelope was a beautiful girl. Yet, her step-mother did her best to keep her ugly. Her beautiful auburn was kept short in a butch-like haircut that did not in any way flatter Penelope. Her clothes were second hand. Thrift store finds that we're too baggy on her frame. Even though she was very skinny-almost to the point of malnourishment- the clothes Mary made her wear made her look outdated and fat. She despised them, but showed appreciation whenever she got a new, hideous outfit. Not showing appreciation would get her slapped. The less she could get slapped, the better.

Penelope had to keep enduring for at least another year. At seventeen, she was about to be a senior in high school and she just needed to finish. She worked at getting the highest grades in the class so that as soon as she graduated, she could leave her home and start college. She had no clue how she was going to get away, but somehow, she knew she was going to. Saving herself was the only option. Nobody at school or work interacted with her unless they were making fun of her. So Penelope kept to herself.

Finishing up the dishes, she started the dishwasher and turned to the rest of the kitchen. Even though she had cleaned it spotless that morning, it was trashed. Juice dried on the counter and floor. Trash overflowing. The stove had food burnt to it. She took out the trash and filled the sink with mop water, continuing to hum to herself as she cleaned the messes up. It was past eleven when she finally finished.

Satisfied with her work, Penelope crept past Mary's room. She was snoring loudly. "Goodnight, Witch." She thought to herself. Smiling, she went to her room and dug out a set of pajamas. Tiptoeing to the bathroom, she listened for hints of anybody else being awake and quietly shut the door. Turning on the shower, Penelope deposited her wet clothes on the floor and stepped in. She was so cold from her wet clothes!

Mary couldn't slap her for taking a shower if everyone was asleep and couldn't tell on her. Still, though, she had to be quick. If anyone woke up, she was dead. So the invigorating feelings that she felt from the hot water warming her up had to be ignored. Penelope quickly washed her hair and her body, taking care to air dry. She wiped the tub with a small hand towel from the kitchen and wrapped it in her wet clothes. No evidence of her shower was left behind. Confident, Penelope crept out of the bathroom and down the hall.

That confidence was shattered when a quiet male voice sounded out from the shadows. "Pretty sure my mom told you that you couldn't take a shower."

Penelope froze. "I suppose you're going to tell on me." She said coldly.

"Well, that depends. What will you do to keep me from telling?" Penelope could sense a devilish smirk.

"What do you want, Greg?"

"I think you know what I want. Give them to me!"

Penelope grimaced. Yes, she knew exactly what her step-brother wanted. Fishing through her clothes, she found her undergarments. They were still dry.

"Thanks, loosie goosie!" He snatched them from her and disappeared into his room.

Penelope retreated to her room. She was a couple months older than Greg was. He was a jerk, but he was not as bad as her younger step-brother, who wouldn't have hesitated to make her trip to the shower the first announcement of the day, had he caught her.

Throwing her remaining clothes in the laundry basket, Penelope turned on her lamp and grabbed a book she had gotten from the library on her lunch break. It was a romance novel about a billionaire who took in a poor girl and gave her lavish gifts.

She wished she could meet a guy who gave her lavish gifts. Penelope had almost nothing. Her bed. a nightstand and a dresser was all the furniture she had. She had a few sketchpads her father had given her to draw with and a notebook leftover from school to write in. That was it.

Everything else in her room belonged to her younger step-brother. It was his play room. There was a toybox, a TV with parental controls turned on to block her from watching, and posters of monster trucks which were beginning to be replaced with girls... He had just turned 13, and his interests were changing.

Penelope tried not to think about what she didn't have. Instead, she indulged her imagination in the book she was reading. The billionaire had surprised the poor girl with a new car after taking her out for a night on the town. It ended with a passionate scene of the couple kissing and touching. Oh, how Penelope wished she could be embraced like that!

She fell asleep that night, dreaming of the guy who would one day be her Prince Charming. He would sweep her off her feet, saving her from Mary on her eighteenth birthday. They would find a home together and have children. She would grow out her hair and wear clothes that she liked. Clothes that flattered her. There was no way that this could ever come true. But the beauty of dreaming was that the cost was nothing, and it helped Penelope to escape from the reality in which she actually lived. Even if it was only a short distraction.