After parting ways with Adrian and Nora, I figured it was about time I head home. It had felt like another long day, but at least it was over.

The halls always usually emptied out around this time, as most people were done for the day. Not everyone had clubs or activities to do. It was nice, it felt peaceful.

I had just gone through the main entrance, when my gaze landed on a person leaning against a nearby tree. They wore a gray classic fedora covering half their face, though despite that, I recognized the person behind it very well.

She lifted the tip of her fedora up. “Well well well, look what the cat dragged in.” Irene smirked.

I sighed. Guess again. The day wasn't over *just* yet.

 

---

 

Irene lightly slammed her hand on the desk. “Penelope Bridges, high school girl, friend of many, pretty as a flower, just what did you do to land yourself in a dreary little place like this…?”

I blinked, a minor confusion fixed on my face. What was she doing? Was this a bit?

“You’re the one who dragged me here.” I pointed out.

I wasn’t sure what exactly Irene was getting at here, but it’s not like overextending a bit was unusual for her. After I encountered her in front of the school, she’d asked me to come with her, leading me to one of the empty classrooms. There, she shut off the lights, turned on a lamp, and asked me to grab a chair and sit in front of the teacher’s desk.

“That’s what they all say…” Irene mused, leaning back into the rolling teacher’s chair she’d snagged. “‘The cops made me do it, you’re all corrupt’, well those kinda accusations make me sick!” She pretended to spit into a corner.

“Okay, seriously, where are you going with this?” I ask, gesturing with my hand at the table. “If you want to talk then we can talk, you don’t have to start roleplaying.”

Irene grimaced, “Hey, come on, I’m trying to lighten things up here!” She picked her fedora up, pointing at it. “This thing cost me ten dollars, I’ve been prepping for this!”

“Okay, but… why? You don’t have to go that far.”

My friend rolled her eyes, putting the hat back on. “Come on, Penny, I’ve been telling you this was coming.” She explained. “A *whole week*, remember?”

Suddenly, the dots started connecting in my head. Shit, that’s right. She mentioned it at lunch too… She hadn't made that promise until after biology class last Monday. A whole week didn’t just mean Monday, but after school on Monday. I groaned, laying my hand over my forehead. “...And after that, you wanted to get the deets.” I muttered in recollection.

“Yeah, you remember.” She replied.

“So what?” I continued. “This is about Bryce? You’re finally gonna start prying it out of me, the things we did alone together and why we broke up? Stuff like that’s private, you don’t need to know it.”

Irene cast a wide smirk, “Oh, I know. Figures that might be a touchy topic, actually I’m more interested in the *other* thing…” She said cryptically.

What other thing? Wait, no, please don't tell me…

“Exhibit A!” My friend declared. She pulled out her phone, opened an app and swiped to a picture. “Thursday, last week, end of biology. Who else are you talking to but this suspicious individual?” 

…It was a picture of me talking to Adrian. Based on my outfit, I recalled that it should indeed have been taken last Thursday. This was when we were planning when to meet up for our assignment, I’d expect.

I can’t believe I’d forgotten that detail. It wasn’t just Bryce she promised to stop bugging me about, but whatever was going on with Adrian too. 

A chill ran through my entire body.

This was an interrogation.

And Irene had no idea just how much I needed to keep the answers to it secret.

But still, I could find a way out, there were still plausible excuses for this. Although first, “Wh-Why were you taking pictures?!” I asked.

“Well, you see, I was just hoping to back up this friend of mine in case she got pestered by an ex of hers again,” She explained. “But that’s when I came across this little meeting…”

“We’re just lab partners.” I quickly answered. “We had to plan an assignment we were doing. What’s that got to do with anything?”

Irene nodded, “Uh-huh… And that has nothing to do with the fact that this is the same guy you were making googly eyes at way back?” She added in. “I know how that crone Gale handles seats, you being partners isn’t random or anything. You chose to sit there…”

“Look, I got to the class late and I was trying to avoid Bryce! I just happened to end up sitting with him!” I told her. “It’s a coincidence! Heck, I already told you this last week!”

But Irene only cocked an eyebrow. Shit, it was the truth, but she probably didn’t believe it. This is exactly why I’ve been trying to not mention Adrian! She’d get the wrong idea!

“Look, can’t we drop this? There’s nothing actually going on, you don’t seriously believe I have a thing for this random guy, do you?” That’s right, the old me knew him, but Penny didn’t at all beyond being lab partners. There was no reason there’d be anything weird going on there, or for anyone to expect there to be. We were practically strangers!

My friend thought for a second, then nodded. “Alright, but then… Exhibit B!” Irene proclaimed, swiping to another picture.

It was me in the hallway, near biology. With… Adrian again. It was my current outfit, so this was just today. Shit, this was when I was inviting him to the Art club! How did she-?!

“That Gale sure is cruel, making you work together on an assignment right after you finished the last one? Tough break.” She was obviously being sarcastic, she was accusing me of talking to him for non-class related reasons. Fuck, fuck, how did I explain that?

I looked away, “I just… thought he could use some friends. That he should get to know more people. Bryce was dragging me to the Art club, and I figured he might get along with that group.”

Yeah, yeah that worked. Just be honest, while leaving out the key details. Really, I’m just a saint, helping out this poor guy I have no connection to. Irene didn’t need to know any potential reasons why.

My friend nodded, “Alright, alright, that explains Exhibit C, then…” She flips to another pic, showing us walking to the Art club together. Okay, yep, it was a good thing I threw in the details that I did. 

“See?” I look back at her. “What did I tell you?”

“Well, you got me there…” Irene mused. …But she was still smirking. “I really thought I had something with this last one, you know. When I realized I had so much dirt to dig, I took a quick trip to a store while you were busy doing whatever you were up to. Had to get this cool hat, and all.” Irene took the fedora off and flipped it.

…Where was she going with this?

“But then I came back, and wanted to wait for you…” She continued.

Oh no, please no…

“EXHIBIT D!” She yelled, swiping yet again.

It was me and Adrian sitting on the stairwell. It must have been just a short while ago, after I’d stormed off. I’m not sure which part of the conversation this was, but…

I was smiling in the picture. 

Oh, this one looked bad, really bad.

“A sweet moment between lab partners, sharing their dreams about frog brains, and how the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell…” Irene laid a hand to her heart. “How touching…”

“...” This wasn’t funny to me. 

It felt like the end. If Irene knew that we were in any way close, what would I even say? I can’t feed her the same story I told Adrian about 'knowing someone,' it'd be the first Irene's heard of something like it and she'd drag more details out of me.

But if I didn’t explain things, that could be even worse. Irene would have no choice but to assume I actually had a thing for him. That I had something as absurd as a crush on him or something! Even if the girls would show me mercy with any future teasing, I could only pray that it wouldn't find its way to him eventually through some rumor. How would Adrian react to someone telling him that Penny had a crush on him? Things could spiral out of control so fast, we wouldn’t be involved for just this semester anymore, and the risk of him somehow figuring me out becomes even greater.

And the actual full truth was out of the question. Never. Irene must not know. Even if she'd respect my identity, I just couldn’t bear the thought. No one can know the horrible truth behind Penelope Bridges...

I’d been entertaining this for long enough. I crossed my arms. “Okay, we can stop this. I get it, you’re trying to be annoying. I told Bryce off and left the Art club, then the guy came to thank me for inviting him. Can we move on?”

Irene looked at me confused, dropping her jokey smirk. “Come on, Penny, be serious for a moment.” She zoomed in on the pic, it made it look blurrier, but I suppose she was trying to make some point. “You don’t smile like that when someone’s *thanking* you. I’ve known you long enough that you’d think I could tell the difference.”

“Irene,” I began, trying to look serious. “Does this really have to be any of your business? Interrogating me about every guy I talk to? What, is this because I just broke up with Bryce?"

Irene raises her hands and furrows her brows. “Huh? I’m just trying to get my girl to spill the beans on what's been going on with her life.”

“Yeah, well there’s nothing to spill.” I stand up.

“Wait, come on Penny-”

“I’m done.” I told her, grabbing my bag. “I thought I made it clear last week, I don’t want to be bugged about this type of stuff."

Irene stood up, “Penny, this isn’t that serious-”

“Then you can just kindly stop.” I interrupt again. “If it’s not that serious, then you can stop doing it.”

I started walking.

“...The hell is with you?” Irene questioned after a second. “All I’m doing is asking you about what your deal with this guy is. And you suddenly start acting so defensive! If you don't wanna talk then fine, but why does this matter so much to you?”

I turn around and snap, “Why’s it so important for you to know about these kinds of things anyway?!”

“BECAUSE YOU DON'T TELL US THINGS!” Irene suddenly snapped back. 

I froze.

“Shit, sorry, I mean…” Irene paused to compose herself. “Look, I dunno, you’re like my best friend. I just thought we might be on good terms with this type of thing…”

“...” I looked to the side, not wanting to meet her eyes. That wasn't true, was it? “...I tell you things.”

“Well not *everything*.” Irene shrugged. “Not even just recently. I’ve always gotten the vibe.”

“...”

I’m… not that obvious, am I?

“Within a week of knowing Abby, I’d learned that the poor girl has had 12 different crushes since kindergarten, and that three of them were guys named Jordan.” She explained. “But sometimes when any of us ask you things, it feels like you just avoid it.”

“...What things?”

Irene scratched her forehead. “I dunno, back when we met, I remember you completely dodged the topic of what middle school you went to. Thought it was weird at the time, but not like I think much of it. That’s the first one at the top of my head.”

“...” Made sense, I wouldn’t want to risk anything. Especially not when I was still that early...

“You’ve never invited any of us over to your place too, even when we try bringing it up. You've mentioned before that you only live there with your mom, but even then, I don’t think you ever mentioned what happened there.”

“...” I was still very worried about old pictures being found, or any little hints in my room that might imply I'd lived a boy's childhood. I wanted to be safe. And naturally, explaining *why* Dad wasn't in the picture anymore would also bring up questions.

“I get it if that could be a sensitive subject or whatever, but we’d have been willing to listen and be there if any of that’s been hard for you.”

I nodded, biting my lip. “I know…” I said. They would have, it’s just… not the type of thing I *can* share…

“It’s not like you’re quiet, or shy about things or whatever. Just… sometimes it feels like you really don't want to talk about yourself."

“I… do talk about *some* things, don’t I?”

Irene shrugged. “Sure. Just… like really, how many hobbies do you got?”

“...”

“I know you like going shopping sometimes, and that you like working on your makeup game. There’s also some of the shows we watch. But really? Nothing else?”

“...To be fair, it does take time to work on myself.” I point out. It was true, there was also skincare, shaving, various things. The life of a teenage girl who wanted to look pretty could be busy.

But Irene was right, it’d probably be weird if I told her I just did nothing else. If I wasn’t hanging out with my friends, studying, watching something, checking social media or working on any care routine, I’d just mindlessly play one of the few video games I had. It wasn’t an interest I’d ever cared to mention as Penny. It just felt... like something that was still a part of the old me. I didn't want to tie it into my current identity.

“...And I know I’m not the biggest fan of Bryce, but at least when that whole thing happened, it felt like you were being more open with us.” Irene continued. “I was actually really rooting for you two, even if things got annoying once you actually started dating.” She shrugged. “I dunno, I like hearing you actually talk about the guy you liked, and how your little dates went.”

“...”

“But then summer ends, and next thing I know back at school you’ve broken up? And I get that you don’t gotta tell us why, but it felt weird that suddenly you're just so tightlipped about what goes on between you two.” 

“Is it so hard to believe we just had our differences?” I asked with an awkward smile.

“I mean you haven’t exactly given us any more details, and it’s pretty obvious Bryce doesn’t agree with you about whatever made you wanna split.” She pointed out.

Irene let out a long sigh, “And then, right after I hear about that, you do this weird thing when this nobody shows up!” She taps at her phone. She’s talking about Adrian. “I thought, y’know, if you didn’t wanna talk about that, then maybe I could get you to blab about this new guy you’re interested in and whatever’s going on there. Cuz you definitely loved talking about your last crush back in the day.”

“I’m not interested in him.” I made sure to quickly remind her.

“But you still act so weird about him!” Irene calls out. “You get defensive the moment I bring him up, every time! And then there was that thing at lunch today-”

I interrupt. “I thought we cleared that up.”

Irene frowned, “No, you just… dismissed me. I was worried about what was going through your mind, but then you just pretended nothing was wrong and lied to my face!”

“You can’t read my mind...” I try to refute.

“No, but as your best friend,” Irene emphasized. “You’d think I’d be able to tell when my friend is thinking about something, right?”

“...”

“Or, I dunno, that’s what I thought I was…”

“Irene-”

“No, I get it.” She interrupts. “You don’t have to tell me everything. I might hate it, but I get that. What sucks is…” She paused. “...It feels like instead of just asking for some privacy like a normal person, most of the time you pretend that there's just nothing going on at all. You act like I’m stupid.”

“...” That part stung…

“I’m not stupid, Penny!” My friend repeated. “You can tell me you don’t want to talk about what happened with Bryce, your thing with the new guy, or… whatever else is going on with you. But sometimes... It feels like you barely even respect me.”

“...” Her words continued to hurt, like a knife being twisted. I've been really desperate not to tell her things, to the point where I don't even want to *imply* that there's ever anything wrong. This has been especially true recently, I can see why she'd feel bothered. But… I can’t. I know I won’t ever be able to be fully honest with her, some things aren’t meant to be shared. 

“...” Irene crossed her arms, looking to the side and thinking to herself. 

I sat on one of the classroom tables, looking down. I didn’t want to tell her about everything, but maybe just… If some things aren’t meant to be shared, then there can at least be some things that *can* be, right…? M-Maybe if I played it right…

“...Look, I’m sorry,” Irene finally said. “I was too harsh there, I shouldn't get worked up over you having pri-”

“I knew him back in middle school.”

“...What?”

I looked at her, “Adrian. We used to be friends.”