“This is stupid,” Penelope announced.
Sierra barely spared her a glance. “You think everything is stupid.”
“This is especially stupid,” Penelope argued, kicking her heels against the leg of the table she was currently perched on. “Don’t you think this is especially stupid?”
Hermione raised a brow. “How exactly is testing brownie recipes for our bake sale stupid?”
“That’s not the stupid part,” Penelope said. “The fact that we’re having a bake sale is stupid.”
Gladys laughed. “Do you actually want to have to share equipment with the boys? Don’t you want our own balls?”
“That’s just it, though,” Penelope said, and the fact that she didn’t rise to Gladys’ pointedly dangled bait shows the depth of her irritation. “We’re trying to raise money so we don’t have to work with the boys. How is a joint bake sale helping us achieve that?!”
Hermione smiled. “It’s not our fault,” she said mildly, measuring out neat tablespoons of sugar. “It’s school policy.”
“Yeah, unless you wanna wait till next month so we can have our own fundraiser,” Sierra said, stirring a large bowl of cake batter.
Penelope rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Did you hear the news? The fake princess said that if Jones tries to talk to her, she will punch him in the face. The same thing goes for Cooper. Do you believe that?”
“Is Alice threatening to hit Cooper again?”
Everyone glanced up at the sound of FP’s voice, its owner trailing after Alice as she entered the room.
When nobody talked, he turned towards her with a boyish grin. “Are you?”
“Always,” Alice said with a scoff. “I’d say he deserves it, too.”
FP grinned. “Who would have said that the princess had teeth?”
Alice shot him a look but didn’t say anything. Then he added more seriously. “But if he annoys you again, I’ll punch him.”
“Isn’t there a clause in the captaincy code that requires you to defend his honour or at least pretend to?” Sierra asked him with a smile on her lips.
“Oh Sierra, he doesn’t care aha. He would do anything for Alice, even lose his role as captain-“
“Isn’t it romantic? The other day I saw him brushing a strand of Alice’s hair behind her ear.” Mary had the heart-eyes while she was talking.
“Don’t say that Penelope, I found it rather cute.”
“You find everything cute, bloody mary.”
“But you should have seen the look in her eyes. She also blushed and-“
“Can you all stop talking about me and Forsythe Pendleton Second in the third person like we aren’t even here?” Spat a furious Alice. Then she turned towards FP, who had stayed silent while watching the whole exchange with a boyish grin on his face.
Alice saw it and she became angrier. She knew he was wearing that look because he was so proud of himself and she didn’t like being described as a virgin schoolgirl with no experience that blushed in front of FP Jones. “Don’t flatter yourself, Jones. I wasn’t blushing and the two of us aren’t even together.”
For an instant, she fought that she had seen hurt in his face, but that moment didn’t last long since the playboy started to laugh. “Don’t be so dramatic, Smith.”
“Anyway, I don’t believe that the fake princess and the failed playboy are together,” Penelope said while straighten herself up to validate her point. “Plus, didn’t you say that you’ll punch him in the face too? Or was that code for ‘banging him’ like a slut, indeed you used it even for Cooper. Do you open your legs so fast or-“
“Hey. Quit it.“ FP said gritting his teeth.
He had seen Alice tensed and he knew that if he didn’t intervene there would have been a fight between girls and he didn’t have time for that. He told himself that that was the reason why he had stopped Penelope in the first place, and not because in his mind there were starting to form images of Alice and Hal in a bed while he was kissing his Alice. No, she wasn’t his. And he wasn’t hers.
Yes, he did that only because a fight between girls was annoying. Maybe if he continued to tell himself that, he will start to believe it.
“Jones is right, Penelope. A joke is a joke when it doesn’t last long.” Hermione said with a smile on her lips. “We should go back to our tasking, that is baking.” She added quickly when she saw Penelope and Alice sharing angry looks.
There were a few minutes of silence while the girls turned to their task. FP was watching Alice silently, while she gave him slide glances that didn’t escape to Penelope. Annoyed by them she started to complain again.
“What’s he doing here?” she asked Alice while pointing her finger at FP. “The two of you came here together.” She added just to be more bitchy.
Alice rolled her eyes, but before she could have the chance to answer Mary left a giggle causing her to stop from talking.
“What now?” She asked Mary. The redhead looked at Hermione and then back to the blondie. She looked embarrassed and she was red in the face like a child who was caught by her parents doing something that she shouldn’t have to.
“Emh. Hermione and I were saying that it could be cute if the two of you wear the same t-shirt during the day of the competition so you won’t look only like the captains but also like a coup-“
[ continue to read it here ]
jacobvanloon
dailybridgerton
turnnoffyourmind
