Ā āAlright! Shotgun this time!ā
As if claiming the seat meant winning some grand prize, Penny launched herself at the over-ripened banana Rippen called a car.
The sight alone made him stiffen mid-step, inched off the curb. Admittedly, the car wasnāt as valuable as gold, despite itās color. The appearance alone would tell you that. But the only thing he could focus on was the loose steel hinge trembling like a freezing animal as the youthful redhead rattled the door handle with not a lick of patience in her eyes.
That shitty metal box already had a number of problems, and a missing handle was soon to be another if he didnāt unlock the door faster.Ā
And the second it was, Penny threw herself onto the passenger seat. The inside was nose-wrinkling, if not ghostly familiar; the air smelled vaguely of old plastic, despair, and whatever air freshener Rippen had bought five years ago and simply never replaced.
āYou really do drive this thing everywhere..?ā she muttered, her white sole adjusting a crooked vent that snapped back out of place immediately.
āYes,ā Rippen hissed through gritted teeth, sliding in himself. ā...Because, unlike some people, I donāt have the luxury of being chauffeured around like aā Hold on a tick! Should I even allow you in the front?ā he blurted, concerned less with human legalities, and more reluctant to deal with a teenager having full reins to his dashboard. āYouāre like a paper clip. I donāt want you flying out when the window decides to roll down on its own again.ā
Penny's eyes slid toward him, her head dropping sharply at tilt;Ā āOh, gee. Gee. Olā Rip, since when did you become a wet blanket, on top of being a stick shoved somewhere dark and undignified?ā She answered, noodle legs folding into awkward angles as she tried and failed to arrange herself comfortably among the questionable springs and the fossilized gum under the glove box; eventually, she resorted to kicking her legs up, only for her heels to be sourly swept off the dashboard posthaste. "It's probably fine!"
Ā ā...You know what?ā He jabbed an ombre claw to the car ceiling. āSit wherever you like! If you shoot out the front, itās no longer my problem!ā
āSure,ā With a breezy dismissal, it was obvious she wasn't going to move either way. Penny made herself as comfy as those lumpy cushions would let her. "...Uncle Chuckās car isnāt much better, fur in a lot of weird places actually.ā she added, picking at a frayed seat thread. āItās not that bad but theyāre just,ā Penny paused, fishing for something charitable or witty, but her comment landed flatly as her eyes escaped to the window.
āTheyāre them.ā
Rippen gave a curt, disinterested nod. He didnāt care about her domestic peculiarities, not really. But there was a faint tug somewhere under his ribs. Unwelcome, uninvited, characteristically itchy; A nasty, sickly warm hint of sympathy.
But before the thought could travel somewhere sentimental, he forced the key into the ignition.
And the car re-animated with a legally concerning noise; Somewhere between a dying 1900ās lawnmower and serious whooping cough, the death rattle was enough for both of them to buckle their seatbelts with a sudden, very integellient sense of urgency.
