Phoenix: The Fallen

Chapter Seven

Penelope stood awkwardly in the corner of the sorority house as all of the other girls mingled and chatted amongst one another. She usually wasn't this antisocial, but maybe it was the fact that she was much too aware of everyone's striking beauty, and that made her far too insecure of her own.

Everyone acted so confident and sure of themselves, as iid they already knew that had been accepted into the sorority and this wasn't the last round where the majority of us would be cut. Penelope remembered when she used to have such confidence, but now, in a new and foreign environment, she didn't quite feel the same.

And to make matters worse, she wasn't very happy with Olivia at the moment.

Green eyes watched her blonde friend as she laughed and gestured animatedly, no doubt telling an engaging story that had many gathering around her, earnestly waiting to hear more.

Those same eyes trailed down her body, analyzing the pretty pink romper she was clad in. It was the complete opposite of what Penelope was told the others would be wearing, and now she stood there, sticking out like a sore thumb with her navy-blue dress, in a crowd full of pastels and pinks.

She hated to think negatively but she couldn't be naïve to the fact that her friend did not have good intentions when suggesting her outfit for the night. They had shown up together as well, but as soon as she laid her eyes on a few of the sisters she left Penelope in the dust, leaving her to drift over to one of the corners in her lonesome.

The optimistic part of her wanted to shine a light through her darkened thoughts and point out that Olivia wasn't fully sober, as they had taken two shots before hand to calm their nerves. Also, she couldn't blame her for wanting to float around and impress as many people as possible while she still could. Olivia did want it more than she did...

Penelope's cheeks grew warm as the slight buzz started to wear off and she became uncomfortably aware of how embarrassing it was being in her current situation.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Penelope's eyes widened in surprise as someone seemingly spoke to her, and she looked to her right to see that there was a girl, maybe a few inches taller than her, looking at her with slight concern.

The girl was gorgeous of course, with flawless dark skin and waist length braids, if she told Penelope she worked as a part-time model, she would believe her.

Penelope's pout morphed into a barely-there smile as she attempted to reassure this girl that she was in fact alright, when it was actually not the case.

"I wasn't a big fan of these things either. It's even worse when you're a freshman." The girl's eyes widened as if she realized she misspoke. "Oops, sorry, I just assumed that. You are a freshman, right?"

"O-oh, um," Penelope stammered as she tried to collect herself and remember how to form words so that she could respond to the girl who seemed to be part of the sorority.

"Yeah, I'm a freshman. I usually like talking to people but this is just really..."

"Intimidating?"

Penelope smiled, the word a perfect fit for how she was feeling.

"Yeah, exactly.

Her smile was returned, and the girl's eyes softened empathetically.

"We just want to get to know you, no pressure. From there it's easy to tell who's genuine and who's just putting on a show."

The girl's eyes wandered over to Olivia, who was still stood in a circle of several girls as she continued her storytelling.

Penelope bit her lip as she withheld a smile and a small giggle, although she did feel guilty for having the inclination to do so.