There was a new girl in class. A girl that no one knew where she came from, but what everyone knew was that she was a very troubled girl.
Therefore, Ocean's first instinct was to get away from her to save herself trouble, since she already had enough of her own. Something that would be easy, since she had no reason to be with her.
Until that day.
That damn day when, since the mysterious girl hadn't gone to class, the teacher ordered Ocean to come to her house to give her the homework during recess. And she, since she did not wanted to look bad in front of all her classmates, agreed.
And that's how Ocean O'Connell Rosenberg, the most successful girl in the town, found herself at the door of the Uranium City orphanage because, as if that wasn't enough, the girl was so troublesome that even her parents had given her up for adoption. Or, at least, that's what the rumors said. After asking for the girl at the front desk, Ocean went to her door; dormitory number 7. Uranium was so small that the girl was the only inhabitant of the orphanage, allowing her to have the room she wanted and giving her the freedom to have any annoying companions.
At last, Ocean knocked on the door. Getting no response, she hit the wood again. She was about to leave when she remembered the humiliation that would be waiting for her to return to class the next day.
"Duck it" she said.
And opened the door.
Lying on the bed, with her eyes closed, was the girl. She had her uniform on despite not having gone to school that morning. Her dark, wavy hair had been carefully braided with two lengths of black thread.
Ocean walked over to her and shook her awake. She, with a lot of effort, opened her eyes but did not move. She looked at Ocean, then slowly said:
"You are the redhead who talks a lot in my class. What... are you doing here? I didn't know that you were also and orphan."
"Are you high?"
“No… Yes, at least I think so. I did not want to though. The psychiatrist gave me some pills.”
"I do not care. Look, here's what we've done today in class. You have to read page 37 and do exercises 2 and 13, have you understood?
Ocean, hearing no response, looked at the girl, who had her eyes closed again. She sighed and, with one of the notebooks, hit her in the face.
"I come to bring you the homework and you fall asleep! Do you really think that that is polite?"
“You only do it because the teacher asked you to. If it was up to you, you wouldn't be here; you don't even know my name anyway."
"Yes I do!"
"Say it."
Ocean said nothing to keep from admitting that the girl was right.
“Penny. My name is Penny Lamb." She muttered as she closed her eyes.
Penny ran her hands over her face, visibly exhausted.
"I hate these fucking pills."
"Then why do you take them?"
“Because they want me to be normal or something. Yesterday, they told me that if I don't take them before I go to class, they won't let me go. I took them this morning and they kicked in sooner than I thought so I didn't have the strength to go to class. My whole body is numb and it's like I have a hangover. All they want is to drug me so I can leave them alone. Why does everybody hate me?"
Ocean sensed the sadness in the girl's words, and though she would never say it out loud, she felt sorry for her. But if she stayed to comfort her, she would be late for class. So she packed up her things quickly.
"Close the cortain if you don't mind, the light hurts my eyes." Penny begged. And, as Ocean complied, she added: “Sorry to take it out on you, by the way. You are not to blame for my problems." Penny said, regretful.
"Don't worry."
Ocean said goodbye to her and was about to leave.
But she stopped at the door and said affectionately:
"If you want, we can meet one day so that I can help you with the classes."
Penny, almost limp, smiled with her eyes closed.
"That would be wonderful."
"Brilliant. Bye-bye Emily!”
She listened as the redhead, with quick steps, walked away down the hall.
Then, just before falling back asleep, she whispered, "Penny. My name is Penny."