Innocence Lost On the Gamble of Love

Innocence Lost On the Gamble of Love: Chapter 12

Derrick had decided that he should make an effort to invite Penelope into his little clique. That way she would see what he's really like. Maybe he could he even hang out with her friends too. He had always wondered what they were always laughing about.

Penelope was the first one out of class since her desk was conveniently placed right beside the door. The feeling of freedom sang to her. There were no more worries now. That is... until she got home to annotate some piece of crap article that held no relevance to any teenager's life.

I'll go on Tumblr first, she told herself, trying to keep herself relaxed.

She noticed Derrick walking over to the bench after leaving behind Ritchie at their usual hangout spot which meant that it would take about three more minutes for the rest of her friends to show up.

Couldn't they walk a little faster? she seethed to herself, as she took her seat and checked her phone for any messages.

"I see you survived class," Derrick noted, taking a seat beside Penelope.

"Huh. Yeah."

"So I was thinking..."

"Oh, no," Penelope whined.

Derrick glanced at his girlfriend with a concerned look adorning his usually brightened face. "What? What's wrong?"

"Whenever someone says, 'so I was thinking' it sounds like bad news." Penelope replied.

Derrick gave a soft chuckle. "How about... I was hoping?"

Penelope gave him an intrigued look by raising her eyebrows, the edges of her lips raising slightly.

He continued, "Maybe I could hang out here some days, and sometimes you can hang out with me and my friends too. Kind of like a trade-off. Just to be fair, you know?"

"And your friends are okay with that?" she prosed with a fearful tone.

"They won't care," he promised with a smile. "Besides, Haley will like having another girl around."

"I guess," Penelope said thoughtfully.

"What?"

"Well, how about we do that, and on Fridays-"

"We have space?"

"Oh," Penelope's face fell. "I was thinking of having both groups together. Like, you guys can have that bench," she gestured to the empty bench beside them. "But if you want to ignore me on Fridays, that's okay too."

"We both know that you're better at the cold shoulder thing than I am," Derrick complimented swiftly. At least, to Penelope, it was a compliment. "And I like your idea better."

"Then it's settled."

"So, for today, my bench or yours?"

"Technically, you don't have a bench."

Derrick sent her a dumbfounded look by slumping over and drooping his face.

"4-5-6 days, my friends. 1-2-3 days, your friends."

"Sounds good to me," Derrick said, putting his hands on top of his knees as if he had just finished making a deal with a high business corporate.

"So are you going to tell Ritchie about this little arrangement?" Penelope inquired with a cock of her eyebrow. She knew better than anyone that best friends couldn't keep anything from each other for a short amount of time.

"Yeah, right now since your friends are here," Derrick said, standing back up. "I'll be right back."

When he walked off, Penelope heard Liz say in outburst, "He gave us a quiz, that jerk!" She threw her backpack down next to Penelope's feet with an aggravated look on her usually warm, peaceful face.