The Positively Private Pandemonium Of Penelope Parker

Oh Fuck.

Oh fuck was my only thought as I locked eyes with Avery's calm blue sea ones. He was an inch or so taller than me and his hair was lighter. And it was in a cute little quiff fashiony style that the cool kids had. You know the boy that all the girls have a crush on? That was Avery. And best of all: he had his ears pierced. But not in a rap boy gangsta way but in a hipster way. He had the cool hipster style.

I must've looked ghastly. Me, a back row girl from a group full of weirdos puking outside assembly. "I- uh,"

"Hey, it's ok. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm- Uh, I mean-" Avery smiled and sat down next to me on the dirty ground. Oh fuck, his smile was like the sun and his freckles like stars.

"I'm Avery. But I guess you already know that."

"Yes. Yes, I do." I do. I do. - Pennie, could you be any less obvious? Come on. Make real conversation now. "Why did you come out after me?" Go on, bother him. He'll love that.

"Ms Davis thought you might bucket so I volunteered to help." He was forced. I had no chance with him. Not a loser girl like me with four studs in each ear, a body that resembled a pear and hair that looks worse than my cooking (and let me tell you my cooking is absolutely shite.)

"I couldn't stand that assembly anyway. Eva and me were... well I guess you've heard..." They had dated for about a year before splitting. No one knew why they split but there was no way in shit he'd was gonna tell me why. "Well it was messed up. It should've never happened."

"Why? What split you two up? It can't be that bad." Avery wouldn't look at me. "Can it?" He looked onto the field. It looked bright and eager but if you looked closer you could see the mess. Paint chipped on the goalposts from heads being smashed on them. The druggies smoking in the corners. Charming place.

"If I tell you, do you swear not to tell anyone? Like, anyone?" He was oddly sincere. Not the fun loving, cheeky chappy that everyone saw him as.

"I swear it on... on..." I thought poetically, after all Avery was a songwriter. "The moon."

"Swear not by the moon, the inconsistent moon. Swear on me."

"I swear." Avery took a deep breath.

"I told her I was bi and she got angry because she told me to pick a side because I couldn't have both and I was being greedy and inconsiderate and then she said she only dated me to prove to her parents that she wasn't gay when she totally was." Avery said that in all one go. He couldn't look me in the eye.

"That's... that's..."

"That's what?" He says cautious.

"That's ok. You shouldn't be embarrassed. I was frightened for years about telling someone too," Avery caught on to what I meant. "But my friends were ok. I haven't got round to telling my family yet but the little shits can piss off to be honest." He looked into my eyes. "Just because you have one bad thing happen, you shouldn't stop doing that something."

"Like drinking expired milk?" I felt my face go red.

"Fuck you." We laughed together. It was nice to laugh. I guess he'd somehow heard that I'd drank expired milk as a dare (I never back out of dares) and been off school for three days. Embarrassing much?

"You know... there's a party going on at Jessica Finch's house tonight. Everyone's allowed a +1. Do you wanna be mine?" I imagined I was as red as a Rose on Valentine's Day.

"Why me?"

"Why not?"

The bell rang. Avery took out a pen from his pocket and scribbled something on my hand. "Just incase you need a lift, ok?" Holy fuck. I'd just got Avery Willis' number by regurgitating my 2 for £1 drink from B&M. "See you soon Penelope Parker." He walked towards the field. Before I could say goodbye, a hoard of students burst out of the assembly hall like a stampede of rhinoceros.

"Oh fuck."