P L E N I L U N E

Chapter One - "The First Moon"

    Penelope huffs a sigh as her forest green eyes lazily drift around the cramped isles of the gas station, chin resting upon the palm of her hand. Usually, Penny would find the rain coming down outside to be quite relaxing, but its soothing noise is dampened by the tinny music quietly playing from the speakers behind the counter and the crinkling of chip bags as her coworker, Mia, restocks a nearby shelf. It's not exactly how she's pictured the evening of her eighteenth birthday, but there's nothing she can do about that now.

    Her gaze shifts to the rain-blurred windows as a set of headlights pull up to one of the gas pumps. Having been scolded one too many times by her boss for not upholding a cheery enough facade, Penelope straightens her posture as the driver of the car outside emerges, shuts the door behind them, and makes their way to the front entrance.

    "Welcome!" She greets, but her friendly tone is mismatched to the mood that befalls her at seeing who the person is. The customer is a regular visitor of the gas station convenience store, Jerry, recognizable immediately by his portly figure and the camouflage hat he wears seemingly every day. He looks her way and gives a yellowed smile, scratching his stubbly chin with one hand as he turns towards the liquor cabinets at the back of the store.

    "Hey, sweet thing." Jerry raspily replies, back now turned to her. From Penelope's vantage point at the front of the store, she can see him crane his neck to get a look at Mia's backside as she stands on her toes to shove some candy bars in their displays. Penny schools the look of disgust from her face as he glances back over his shoulder at her. "Ain't you a sight for sore eyes."

    Penelope gives a tight-lipped smile back at him, but ignores the comment in favor of rerouting the conversation to something less uncomfortable. "Haven't seen you around lately. Did you go on another hunting trip?"

    "Nah." He swipes a bag of jerky from the shelf as he turns up one of the isles towards the register, boots leaving faint traces of dirt in his wake. "I'm heading out for one now, though. Spend a few nights at the cabin, get away from the wife for a while before the snow hits," he grins as he reaches the front counter and drops his items there. "Why? You miss me, red?"

    Penelope begins scanning his items and laughs humorlessly. "Well, it's just that I'm pretty sure we'd go out of business if it weren't for your regular visits."

    She takes the money from his pudgy hands when it is held out for her and avoids meeting his eyes as he continues on.

     "Tell me: you old enough for me to take you out yet?" He asks. Penelope glances up at him and swears that making her uncomfortable must be entertaining for him, based on the pleased expression on his aged face.

    "I'm gonna have to give you the same answer I've been giving you since high-school, Jerry." She says dryly, punching in the code for the register to open and stowing his money away there. He chuckles and shrugs his shoulders.

    "Eh, you'll come around," He says, glancing back over his shoulder at Mia as Penny loads his things into a plastic bag. Mia quickly averts her gaze and feigns a casual demeanor as she sidesteps out of view. "That, or I'll start asking doll-face over there."

    Penelope nearly cringes at the implication given that Mia is younger than she is, but won't give Jerry the satisfaction. Instead, she rips his receipt from the register and shoves it unceremoniously into the plastic bag holding his items, dropping it on the counter between them alongside his twenty-four pack of beer,  her expression unamused.

    "You have a good hunting trip, Jerry."

    He laughs, seeming proud of himself, and collects his items. "That I will, red."