Passionate Exchange

Chapter Twelve

I pull the white snowdrop out of my hair and stuff it into my bedside drawer, slamming it shut after. Penny eyes me suspiciously but I plaster a smile on my face to distract her.

"I start on Tuesday," I tell her. My voice comes out lower than expected causing me to clear my throat.

"Wait," she blurts out. I raise my eyebrows. "You're not working Friday, are you?" She nibbles on her lip as she waits for my answer.

"Do you really think I'd do that to you?"

She gives me an incredulous look and I stifle a laugh. I'm not that bad.

"Don't worry, I'm still going to the party," She sighs in relief. "If I was, I would have taken the day off anyway."

She can't keep the smile off her face as she pulls me into a tight embrace. "We're going to have so much fun." She squeals into my hair, almost crushing my ribs in the process. I try to appear eager by letting out a small yay, but my attempt fails miserably.

She lets me go and looks at me as if she were a proud parent before leaving my room and shutting the door behind her. I hear her footsteps as she pads along the hallway. The hum of her music tells me that she's back in her room.

I pull the drawer open again and cradle the little flower in my hands. Adrian told me his name despite not wanting me to write it down. Why would he do that? Why would I need to know his name? It's not like we're going to see each other again, right? Unless he wants to buy more flowers for his next boss which raises the odds.

Not to mention, he put a flower in my hair before he left! I've only ever seen people do that in movies as a sign of affection, not to a florist who has helped them buy flowers for their boss. It makes no sense.

I know I should be overjoyed by the idea of him doing that and treating me like the main star of a movie but I'm not. At this moment, I can't keep Archer from entering my mind. I try to wipe the thought of him away, but it's no use.

Archer's obnoxious and arrogant, not to mention ignorant and rude. I shouldn't be thinking about him, I should be thinking about Adrian. Adrian, from what I can tell, is successful and smart. He definitely has a sense of humour; you need one to buy your boss flowers when you're quitting.

But I'm not thinking of him. I'm thinking of the boy whose room is across the hall from mine.

*

Penny should have been down here five minutes ago. We usually both mope downstairs to the kitchen for our morning coffee at the same time. How else would we function during school? I made us one each but drank mine already because I couldn't wait.

Penny's is starting to go cold.

I hop off the stool and climb the stairs until I get to her room, knocking on the door gently but getting no answer. I try again slightly harder this time but still get no answer. Finally, I lift my foot to kick the door, but a groan lets me know that I don't need to do that.

I open it and peek my head through, my eyebrows raising once I see her. I'm met with a lifeless Penny who's wrapped in a mountain of blankets. Her hair is sprawled out on her pillow, her feet poking out the bottom of her duvet.

I push the door open fully so I can come inside. "Are you okay?" I question, inching closer towards her.

"Do I look okay?" She rolls over onto her stomach with a groan into her pillow. "I shouldn't have eaten that chicken." She states, wiping her hand across her face.

Penny and Brody went out to eat last night. They wanted me to go with them, but I chose to stay here to finish the endless amount of homework that's been piling up on my to-do list. Plus, I'd only eaten a few hours prior, so I wasn't that hungry.