Chaos Theorem

Chapter 7: Penny

On our search for somewhere to hide for the night, we'd gotten distracted and ended up looking for ways out of this place instead. We had done that all day tirelessly before we'd given up and went back to our original search - getting somewhere safe.
  Our safe spot, ironically, was the roof we'd left that morning at the mall. The climb back up the ivy seemingly wasn't as fun for the others as it was for me (I liked climbing, ok?) but we all made it up quickly enough and well before sundown.
  Something bugged me about the whole robots thing, though. I didn't like that the little creeps could come for us at any point whilst we were sleeping. We wouldn't even be able to go out fighting, we'd just have our throats slit where we lay.
  So I stayed up. It was called 'taking one for the team'. I knew a person or two who should've tried it some time.
  Unfortunately, being a little helpful gal didn't make the world treat me any nicer, and the biting cold of the night thrashed me like a rugby player, making my messy hair messy in a bad way and making me close my eyes to avoid them drying out.
  I sighed, and decided that now wouldn't be a bad time to boot up Netflix and watch something I'd downloaded. I could keep an eye out and watch a thriller at the same time. Maybe I could even take a leaf out of their book. And I put my earbuds in and slumped down to watch my phone instead of the inky void.
  I originally went to put on Stranger Things, but I changed my mind and watched Alice in Borderland instead. I didn't have the second season downloaded, but I hadn't even finished the first one yet so that was fine. Maybe they'd even have wi-fi here? That'd be nice.
  As Karube messaged Arisu, I let my feet dangle over the side of the building. My stomach grumbled; I was hungry. I liked embodying the vibe of an ancient ruler in the sense that I loved eating whilst I saw my entertainment, and I had no snacks to chew on.
  But none of us had eaten in days.
  The hunger had to be getting to the others too, surely? Tomorrow, we'd find somewhere to eat but tonight was nowhere near safe enough to go out spelunking. Safety was still top priority.
  "I love Alice in Borderland."
  I turned around and saw Penny standing there ecstatically.
  This is just like Alice in Borderland! I love that show!
  I remembered that Penny had said that in that room where we had first met. I had a feeling that she'd said what she'd said for a reason, and so I smiled at her invitingly and took out one of my earbuds, handing it to her.
  "You've not missed much yet. Come on, watch it with me!" I moved the earbud towards her again when she didn't move. I really wanted her to sit with me - it had been a long day and it would've been nice to unwind.
  Penny squealed giddily and ran speedily over to where I was sat, putting in the earbud and sitting on the edge of the building at a speed which made my heart skip a beat.
  "Careful! Polite reminder that we're sat on the edge of a building." I chuckled, relieved.
  "If I fall off the building, it'll just be character development." Penny grinned, patting her hands quickly on her legs excitedly, "Now play it."
  Wow. Ok, then. Wasn't expecting that today.
  "'I have spoken.'" Penny quoted.
  "Oh, so you've seen The Mandalorian too? So, you're an action queen then?"
  Yeah, I know that it was a pathetic attempt at socialising. But I didn't know her... I needed to make all of the relationships I could. We were a team. She was an ally.
  And I guess I wanted her to be my friend, too.
  "Of course I'm an action queen. Now play it." Penny grinned, and then tapped her fingers together like a supervillain.
  I looked at her ecstatic expression for a moment, and then shrugged, clicking the screen to get the characters moving on their perilous journey again. Me and Penny watched, silently as the three young men texted and walked to the tune of the catchy J-pop song. Penny tapped her fingers on her leg to the tune of the beat as well.
  She seemed happy - genuinely happy - for the first time since I'd met her. I'd been told in my past that I was a natural protector and helper. I'd never been able to prove it, but that buzz I got from making someone smile was undeniable.
  "...you know?" Penny finished.
  I blinked and then looked at her, having missed the start, "What?"
  Penny laughed, smiled and shook her head all at once, "It's smart that you chose a death game to watch! It's like watching a tutorial."
  I thought for a moment, and then noted, "I never thought of this like a video game."
  "Yeah. Just one with one life, like an arcade game or something." Penny shrugged, not taking her eyes off of the screen although I looked at her to see if she still had that sunshine on her face, "You don't happen to have a quarter, do you?"
  "No. Do you have any pounds?"
  "Nah."
  It was a half hearted conversation; Penny's heart was set on binge watching this show. But I didn't need a full conversation.
  All I needed was for this moment to last forever.