Penny mumbled, “Hot Kissing Machine. Ignore her.”
“Well, ladies, I think this is where I leave you. Have fun at the party. Hey Ling, you have my number, right? From the experiment?”
“I prefer to call it a study, but yes, I do. Why, what’s up?”
“Give me a call if our girl Penny needs a ride, or starts a girl fight.”
They both chuckled. I grabbed Penny’s hand and swung her around to face me. I bent, kissed her on the cheek, and said, “Bye, friend, have fun.”
11.Fourteen Years Ago
PENNY
“Oh Ling, I’m so screwed.”
She turned around and grinned at me. “I can see that. I mean, that blind kiss... it was like he was trying to put a baby in you. You guys stole the show. Like, you two need to bone, for sure.”
“No, I actually like him.”
“Precisely.”
We were in Ling’s bedroom, in her apartment, drinking Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill from the bottle, which felt like a crime, even back then. She was trying on different variations of the same outfit. I was thinking about why I was stopping myself from kissing Gavin a million times. I’d fall in love with him and end up pregnant at twenty-one, with no future and no hope of pursuing dance. He was a bad boy, good boy, bad boy, good boy. I was so confused.
Why, God? Why bring this guy into my life right now?
Ling finally chose an outfit, which was the first outfit she had tried on. I was wearing an off-the-shoulder T-shirt, jeans, and boots. Nothing fancy. I wasn’t planning to see anyone I knew, anyway; I just wanted to hang out with Ling and blow off some steam.
As we headed to the party in the building’s courtyard, the first person we ran into was Lance, the microbiology major.
“You waiting for me, Lance?” I said teasingly.
“Hey Penny, didn’t expect to see you here! You look pretty.” He held out a full beer in a red Solo cup for me to take.
“You sure?”
He waved me off, like it was no problem.
“Thanks. You look nice, too, by the way. What are you up to?” Ling raised an eyebrow at me as she walked away.
“Actually, I’ve been creating a biosphere. I think your dad would flip out over it.”
I smiled. “That’s exciting.”Damn it, is he going to talk about science-y stuff now? Maybe I should’ve stuck with Ling.
“So I created this really unstable environment and introduced these microorganisms, just to see if I could sustain them for any length of time. I mean, of course I had to provide energy sources....”
I quietly chugged the beer as he went on. “I was shocked when I discovered an organism I hadn’t introduced myself, and I...”
During Lance’s lengthy explanation of his project, I got my hands on something stronger: a bottle of tequila. Thirty minutes, and several shots later, I was fully drunk. My eyes roamed around the party, looking for a way out.
Oh yes! Here comes Ling to save me!
“Ling! This is my friend, Lance! Have you two met?”
She gave me a weird look. “Why are you shouting?”
“I’m just excited to seeeee you! Meet Lance!”
She cocked her head to the side and appraised him, then fully turned to me. “So this is your type?”
