[hr] [center][img]https://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjY2LmJjYTgyZi5VR1Z1Ym5rZ1RHRjNjMjl1LjAA/fake-boss.regular.png[/img][/center] [hr] Penny had fucked up. When they had all piled into cars to head to Miami, Penny had fully intended to stick with Isla—until another girl took the front seat before Penny even had a chance to call shotgun. Socially awkward situations were uncomfortable, but sitting in the motion sickness of being stuck in the backseat was worse. So she had thought, anyway, as she climbed into the front of Maya’s car. Perhaps she’d find that she had plenty of things in common with the witches riding with her, or at the very least she’d get to learn a little more about their operation. None of that happened. Instead, Maya’s threat to blast any backseat drivers out of the car immediately set the tone, and her decision to just blare music as loud as possible cemented it. Penny squirmed and leaned her head against the window. She had faced axe-murdering school bullies, dimensional-travelling cultists, world-eating abominations, but none of them compared to the harrowing experience of being stuck in this car for several hours. The girl in the backseat did nothing to ease the pain as she popped in headphones and proceeded to practice with her abstraction. Penny watched the ball bonk her in the face and smiled. Amateurish control, but they all had to start somewhere. She remembered her afternoons spent hiding in a janitor’s closet blasting coins at makeshift targets. Right now, as they swerved in and out of traffic to an ear-shattering, utterly incomprehensible rap song, Penny kind of wish one of her coins had ricocheted off of the target, bounced off of the ceiling, and lodged itself in her brain, effectively rendering her comatose for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, she couldn’t go back in time and become brain dead, so she did the next best thing and pretended to be asleep. She pulled her hat down, slumped in her seat, and prayed that they hit the oil tanker next to them, gulfing them all in a fiery hellstorm to put an end to this torture. Life was cruel, however, and they passed by the truck without even a singe. [color=FireBrick]“We’re stopping for a break.”[/color] Penny let out an audible sigh of relief and had already unbuckled herself before they pulled into the gas station. She had to use every ounce of self-restraint not to just throw open her door and tuck and roll out of the still moving vehicle. The urge back even harder to deny as she overheard Emily’s jerkoff comment. Readjusting her hat, Penny sat up and turned to Maya. She was about to offer to get the girl something when Maya spoke up. [color=FireBrick]“You know what, it would be pretty great if one of you got me some coffee. I am [i]driving[/i] you all free of charge and it would be a shame if I fell asleep at the wheel.”[/color] [color=goldenrod]“I feel like we’ve already been made to pay,”[/color] muttered Penny, a look of disgust passing over her face. [color=firebrick]“And something to wash down painkillers,”[/color] continued Maya. "... And Trevor. You probably have a lot of him left in your throat, " added Emily. [color=goldenrod]“Oh god,”[/color] said Penny, stepping out of the car. She did not want to continue to be part of this conversation. [color=goldenrod]“You know what? I’ll get us some coffee.”[/color] Penny had never been happier to hear the jingling of bells as she crossed the threshold into the gas station, separating herself from Maya and Emily with an actual physical barrier. It was like a weight had been lifted from off of her shoulders. Unfortunately, the gas station didn’t have real coffee. Oh, sure, it had a few pots of drip coffee burning away next to some paper cups, sugar packets, and crusty looking syrup bottles, but that wasn’t coffee. She scoped out the coolers, hitting the jackpot as she came across the motherload of Starbucks frappuccinos. She grabbed enough for the girls in her car and hit the checkout. She bought herself an extra pack of cigarettes despite already having a full one, knowing that she’d need them before the end of the trip. As she left the store her phone buzzed. [quote][b][code]Kimberly Walton Please keep me posted on everything that's going on in Miami. If anything goes wrong, say the word and I'll be right there. I don't trust Dollhouse but I have no other options.[/code][/b][/quote] [right][quote][b][code]Me It’s already gone to shit. I just spent two hours listening K-Rap. K-RAP! They know it’s so bad they named their own genre of music crap! Me Anyway, I’ll keep you posted. Enjoying the beach house? [/code][/b][/quote][/right] Penny pocketed her phone, cracked open one of her shitty coffee drinks from the horde she had hiding in that little black plastic bag, and lit a cigarette...which meant she couldn’t possibly head back to the car without risking the lives of others. She’d have to stay her, a respectful, safe distance away, and away from the bickering girls. What a damn shame. She found herself a nice corner to duck behind, again, [i]just[/i] to respect the rules of the gas station, and leaned up against the wall. Penny locked eyes with Madison as she got out of her car. Surely, Madison would be able to find room for her, because Penny couldn’t go back to Maya’s car. They couldn’t make her. She could sit on somebody’s lap. She’d ride in the fucking trunk. Hell, tie her to the trunk. Anything! Staring at Madison like a shell shocked soldier returning home after the war, Penny pressed two fingers to her temple, mouthed “help me”, jerked her head to the side, and then shot an angry glare at Maya’s car.