Let's Hear it

 Penny awoke suddenly, air caught in her lungs as she tries to force more in, trying to get her system up and running again. Her fear of the voices is bad today. Taking over every fiber of her being as if they own her, as if they should be heard above her. She had hopped they'd be at least, somewhat more quiet then normal today, of all days. For today, was her fifteenth birthday. Not that it really mattered to anyone else besides her, because to her, it means that she has survived another year of this harsh waste land that used to be, for some reason, called the "united states" odd name for it, especially now, considering the fact that it seems like nothing can or has ever been, "united". She thought about asking her parents about it a few times, but it had always been one of those forbidden topics. It's not against the law to speak about them, but people are to afraid of being punished, it seems. The voices became louder and louder, rambling on about how the government can't do this to people, and how Penny should do something about it now, before it becomes to late. She shook her head hard, bring to get them to stop, it was time to go eat and get ready for school anyway. When she has a plan, she can normally get the voices to leave her alone, at least, for a time. She hopped out of bed and went to her closet. which was boring, for she only had black, white, and grey dresses to choose from, just like everyone else around here. She knew that Oliver, who was a boy at school, would be looking for her today, as he does everyday. Why is he so interested in me? He can have any and every girl at his finger tips if he wanted her, she thought as she pulled out a while lace dress, supposed to be only worn for special occasions, but she figured this would be special enough. She hunted around her closet, but the voices became louder when she found her white shoes, telling her how her people were in pain, and starving. She shook her head again and thought out loud, "My people? what does that even mean?" Of course, no one answered her. She rolled her eyes and finished getting ready before she headed downstairs.

Penny slowly walked into the kitchen, which is not very big, just big enough to hold a tiny fridge, a sink, and a really small table with four chairs around it, all made from rough wood. the last bit of sleep clinging onto her for dear life, she shook it off and smiled at her mother and father. "Good morning!" Her father exclaimed, raising his steaming mug in her direction, She doesn't have much in common with her parents. Her mother and father having dark brown her, and her having thick red hair that almost went to her waist. "Good morning" she said quietly, her throat sore from lack of water during the night. Her mom had placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of her, no cream or sugar. Coffee was extremely bitter of course, but they couldn't afford luxuries like sugar. Way to expensive. Coffee however, was alway available, otherwise no one would be able to function in the mornings. "So, what is your plan today?" Her mother asked as she pulled a chair up to her daughter, sipping her coffee every once in a while. "Same plan as everyday. Oliver will pick me up in about an hour, then school, then I'll be their with him till tonight practicing while he watches, they technically are not allowed to be around school without super vision, especially Penny, but the music teacher loves her, and knows that they aren't going to hurt anything. It's hard to contain her excitement through it all, she'd never admit it, but she loves spending time with him, he keeps her happy, and the voices aren't so loud whenever he's around. He makes life bearable for the time being. The voices in her head always ramble on and on when he's mentioned, she shakes her head to get them to stop. "So, what special thing should we do for your birthday today?" Dad asked, smiling, they both were, bright and shiny because she knew they never thought she would make it this far. To be honest she never thought she would either, but no one would say anything.

Before she could say anything in response, the doorbell rang. "I got it," she said already halfway to the door. A smile slowly crept onto my face. Everyone knew who was at the door, My parents smiled, and mom said, "Hmm, he's early today. I guess he wants to see you for your birthday." The smile on her face grew larger and larger as she walked towards the door, it was hard not to run to the door though. When she opened it, Oliver was standing their, dressed in a white button down shirt, long black pants, and shiny black shoes, which of course were long and narrow, just like his feet. His hair was dark brown, darker then normal, but only because he had just washed it. He smiled at her, his white, straight teeth glowing at her, along with his eyes. They don't light up often, but they do when she's around. Her mother had pointed it out to her one day, a little while after he had gone home. "You know I only see him light up like that when he's with you." After that, Penny couldn't stop smiling the rest of the night. The Voices talked and talked, but she couldn't have cared less about what they said. 'ready to go?" He asked, scooping up her backpack with his other hand, his right was already full with his bag. She always tried to argue in the beginning that he didn't need to carry it, but it got her no where, so she let him. She ran to the hallway, grabbed her saxophone case, said goodbye to her parents, and they began their long walk to school.

In order to get to school, they had to cut through their favorite place in all of Shadowville, which is the name of their small town, the woods. The woods were a forbidden place to every citizen, the government tries to scare people away from them, telling stories of poisonous snakes and berries, and evil creatures with glowing red eyes called tiger-bears, which is exactly what it sounds like, the power, speed, and color of a tiger with a mixture roar of both animals, and the claws and teeth of a bear. It's said that it can survive all kinds of weather and in any environment, and it won't hesitate to rip people to shreds when it catches a scent. It's twice as fast as any other animal out their. and eats only meat, such as the deer and rabbits that also inhabit the woods. It's the most dangerous predator in their, but never leaves the woods, it;s home, so the townspeople are only afraid to cross over the large fence that towers above the woods, keeping curious eyes and minds at bay. But they are not afraid of some, made up creature that they've never heard, much less seen before. They never believed in those old stories,in fact, they climbed and hopped the fence with smiles on shier faces, just as they always do, Oliver said, as he always does, "You think it'll be out today?" Penny smiled as they took off for the woods, then as they reached their favorite entrance and he held the branch back for her, like the gentlemen he always is, she responded, with a wicked grin on her face, "Theirs only one way to find out."

They entered the woods and easily found the path that they have been creating for years, running their feet roughly against the rest of the path. Making it easy to find no matter where they come from. They walk along the path until they find this old, large bush that towers to the right of the pathway. The bush is the perfect hiding spot for their weapons, they don't believe the town about this mythical creature that roams freely, however that doesn't mean that their are not other things, like poisonous snakes and spiders hidden in the long grass. For Oliver, his weapon his an old sling shot he made from rubber bands and a branch, with a bag of rocks tied to the end. For Penny, she has something else in mind. Her weapon of choice is a spear, sharpened to a point at one end which is so sharp now it can easily draw blood from it's victim. It may not be much for the woods, but it's better then nothing. They walked along their make shift path, listening to the birds chirp and fly pass them, singing their own songs. Flowers were beginning to bloom once again, a sign that spring was finally here. The winter was long and hard, as they always are. But sing means farming, gardening and more food on the table at the end of the days. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Oliver asked, turning to her, the biggest smile plastered on his face, Penny laughed, then nodded. Spring also meant that their were more things to do, which meant more distractions from the voices in her head. They didn't talk and yell as much in the warmer months. She smiled as the woods came to an end, they dropped of their weapons in their second home, another hollow tree at the other end of the forest. "Here we go." She said as they entered the front doors together.

School was as it always is. Loud and busy, what with people pushing their way through the hallways, making their way to class before the first bell rings. But they slowly pushed through it, making way for her alto saxophone case as it banged and clanged against her body and back pack. You always get to pick your classes here.