Penny Takes the Stage

Chapter 11: Character Building

Cameron had been drunk many times before in his life, but he was pretty sure he'd never been drunk with a girl like this one. Up tight, full of anger and hatred, both for herself and the world around her, with a lack of confidence that she masked as haughtiness.

How sad.

And no wonder, if she'd spent the last few years of her life with that horrid mess of a man, that awful Frederick. And to think that he, Cameron, had admired him from afar, his acting ability, his intellect, his humanity. Who knew that up close he would be nothing but a blowhard, an infant with a paunch, a pathetic, tin-throne despot ruling over his kingdom of one, trying to manipulate poor Penny, who only wanted someone to love?

Cam looked over the rim of his glass at the girl in question as she sat in the easy chair vacated a few hours before by her pitiful ex boyfriend. She was pouring herself another drink with great concentration and precision, green eyes narrowed, knowing that she was impaired and not wanting to spill any. C-chan sat on the arm of the chair and supervised.

"Penelope?"

"Yes, Cameron."

"Do you really think I'm stupid and shallow?"

Penny sighed with exasperation as she put the bottle to the side and carefully took a sip. "No. I never said you were stupid. Only shallow." She shook her head as she took another sip of her drink. "You're one of the smartest people I've ever met. In fact, I'd love to play Scrabble or Cranium with you one day when I'm not totally sloshed, okay?"

Cam considered her words while he finished off his drink. Then he, too, poured himself another drink, being as careful as she'd been, not wanting to spill any when she hadn't.

"Does 'sloshed' mean 'pissed,' then?"

Penny stared at him, then nodded. "Yeah, you know. Drunk. Bombed. Polluted."

Cam nodded seriously. He thought for a moment, trying to remember what they'd been talking about. "So, erm, you do think I'm shallow, then?" He looked at her as he look a long drink from his glass, swallowing slowly.

Penny shrugged. "Well, yeah. How could you not be? Look at you. You never had to work for anything in your whole life." She raised a finger to stop Cam as he took a deep breath to speak. "And don't you fucking say 'modeling,' because that's not work! I'm sorry, but being beautiful, having a perfect body and face and getting paid for it, getting money to have your picture taken, that's not fucking work."

Penny blinked, affronted, as her nostrils flared. "I'm talking about having character, about doing the right thing because it's the right thing, about being friends with someone because they're a good person, not because they're pretty or rich or popular, have you ever done that? Have you ever had to really work, like at a job that wasn't glamorous, a job you hated, for minimum wage? Have you ever been picked on in school because of the way you look, the way you dress? You ever not been invited somewhere because you weren't one of the cool kids?" Penny took another sip of her drink, mentally patting herself on the back for sounding relatively sober. "You have no idea what it's like to live like a regular person, so don't shovel that shit to me, Prince Cameron Aldobrandeschi. Character comes from suffering, from pain, which I don't think you've ever experienced. How could you have, with that perfect face and perfect body?" Penny sniffed.

Cam sat up and set his glass down, maybe a little bit harder than he had to. He'd put his hair up in a bun because it kept getting getting in his drink as the afternoon wore on, and now the bun quivered indignantly. "Wait just a minute. Are you saying that the only way to not be shallow, the only way to build character, is to experience the things you just listed?"