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Penny looked down at the offered cowboy hat, then up at Mariah, and then back down at the hat. Her eyes betrayed the mental arithmetic that was running through her head as she tried to determine how she’d look in it, the chances that it might contain lice, and the likelihood that Kimberly would ridicule her for performing a hatswap with a complete stranger. She settled on the fact that she’d look absolutely awesome in it, Kim could easily delouse it in a snap with her abstraction, and that her friend wouldn’t dare pass up a chance to knock Penny down a peg or two. Plus, her hat was just a skosh cuter. With a click of her tongue and apologetic smile she shook her head no. 

[color=goldenrod]“You pull it off better,”[/color] she said, politely lying as if she had intentions for running for office someday. She glanced across the pool, trying to eavesdrop on the other group while playing the part of the handshaker and the baby kisser. She was only able to pick up bits and pieces. 

[color=f26522]“Welllll… You know, I don’t have a passport or anything that identifies me so I get the feeling they’ll take one look at me and throw me to a random country. I’d rather stick around America with some company than be thrown out elsewhere, you know?”[/color]

[color=goldenrod]“I’d say it would depend on the company,”[/color] said Penny, folding her arms as she side-eyed the rest of the Coven. [color=goldenrod]“Now I ain’t much of a gambler, but I think the odds are that you’d get deported somewhere better than fricking Florida.”[/color] Although, considering they had a nice beach house, perhaps not. It sparked Penny’s curiosity. [color=goldenrod]“Hey, how’d y’all even afford a place like—”[/color]

[color=f26522]“I’m gonna join that!”[/color] blurted out Isla before vanishing, reappearing on the other side of the pool to get in on the daisy chain.

Unable to control the roll of her eyes she hid them behind her shades instead. Penny turned to restate her question to Mariah...who had drifted off towards the deep-end of the pool. On further assessment, she had drifted off in the deep-end as well. Frowning, Penny pulled out a cigarette from her fanny pack and lit it, watching as the Coven crowded around Kimberly to join in on the Recollection. She noticed the girl who’d caused a ruckus was now sitting silently away from the others, sulking. It appeared like she didn’t want to partake. Penny drifted over to the main group, sidling up to Rowan. 

[color=goldenrod]“What’d I miss?”[/color] 

By the time the others were done with their Recollection, Rowan had caught Penny up to speed on the matter at hand. Ashing her cigarette, Penny tilted her chin up and glared down at the Coven, as if she was calculating how capable they actually were of doing what Kimberly had asked of them. Penny took a drag. Really, it was on par with going to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. If it was something truly daunting, Kimberly would’ve trusted her to do it. They couldn’t possibly cock it all u—a cloud of smoke exploded out of Penny’s mouth as she failed to prevent the bark of laughter that she let loose as one of the girls fell on her ass. She pulled down her hat and bit her lip, thankful that her sunglasses had hidden the twinkle in her eyes.

Yeah, no.

Penny pulled herself together in time for Kimberly to make her statement of intent and her promise to the Coven. There was nothing there that Penny could disagree with in her words. She flicked her cigarette.  As her friend finished her spiel, Penny clasped a hand on her shoulder. It was a show of deep respect and unbreakable support. But more importantly, it allowed her to get close enough to whisper into Kimberly’s ear without seeming suspicious. 

[color=goldenrod]“I’m going to join them. Make sure they don’t fuck this up,”[/color] she said in a low voice so that only Kimberly could hear her. She even turned her head to hide her lips from the others.

It wasn’t just incompetence Penny was concerned about. One of them had voiced her belief that Annabelle was beyond saving. Honestly, Penny felt the same. However, if Kimberly meant to save the girl, then Penny would see to it that it got done. That meant making sure the Coven picked up the correct cure, instead of something that would make the Hunger easier to take out. She cast one final uncertain stare at Lyss before changing her expression and removing her sunglasses. Smiling, she stepped forward to join Kimberly at her side. 

[color=goldenrod]“Think of it like we’re saving [i]all[/i] of the people,”[/color] said Penny lightly, correcting Quinn’s statement to Isla. Obviously, she wasn’t serious; she waved her words off with the back of her hand. Besides, one girl had for certain survived the alleged end of the world. [color=goldenrod]“It sounds more important that way.”

“Oh, I’m coming too,”[/color] said Penny. It wasn’t an offer. Snickering, she added, [color=goldenrod]“Honestly, I just need to see what helping the living shit out of someone looks like.”[/color]