Be Fire Smart

Penelope looked out the window of her dad's truck as they sped down the highway on the way home.

...or at least that's where Penelope thought they were headed. Until they pulled into the parking lot of a funeral home. "Why are we here?" she asked her dad. "Oh, I just have a funeral to go to quick" was her father's reply as he slid out of the truck. "Who died?" Penelope asked. Her dad answered, but she didn't know the guy and the name slipped from her mind almost as soon as he said it. "Want to come with to the funeral?" her dad asked. "No...I don't even know the person who died..." Penelope replied. "Ok. Bye then" her dad said as he slammed the door.

Penelope pulled out her blue Gameboy and started playing a game as her dad walked up to the doors of the funeral home. Just as he entered the building, Penelope heard a knock on the truck window and looked up to see her grandparents and one of her aunts standing outside. Penelope rolled down the window and said "what are you guys doing here?" They looked at her confusedly and asked "Aren't you coming to the funeral?!?" Penelope said "Uhhh...I don't know they guy...I think I'll stay here until it's over..." Her family shrugged and walked away without saying anything.

When Penelope's dad got back to the truck, they headed home. As they pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building where they were living, Penelope thought to herself You know, all this talk about funerals and death has got me worried. I'd hate for my family and neighbors to die because of a preventable cause...I wonder if everyone in the building has a good fire escape plan...I'll have to test how prepared they'd be to exit the building in the event of a fire.


As soon as Penelope had a chance, she went into the hallway and pulled the red fire alarm switch that stuck out of the wall a few feet from her apartment door. She then ran into her apartment and hid in the bathroom so no one would know it was she who had pulled the alarm, locking the bathroom door behind her. She thought to herself Well...this could be a long wait. I know there's not really a fire, but no one else does. They'll probably call the fire department and everything. What should I do while I wait?


Just then, she heard screaming and a stampede of residents rushing toward the stairwells. She DEFINITELY had to stay in the bathroom now that she knew how much the alarm had, well, ALARMED people in the building. They'd hate her for sure if they found out it was her fault. Well, I guess now would be a good time to take a shower since I have some time to waste. She turned on the bathtub faucet, ignoring the chaos which had ensued due to a mass rush for the exits.

She heard a piercing scream just outside the apartment door, and that's when she realized....

There were no clean towels in her bathroom.

Mystery Meeting

Penelope yawned as she sat at the large square table in the meeting room. She blinked under the brightness of the fluorescent lights. Why am I here?she wondered. She looked around. Gill was there. So were Ann and Jo. For some reason, Jo was crouching down on the floor, looking at something. Penelope had a distinct feeling of being unprepared, and tried to imagine what she would do if she were called on. I hope Gill doesn't ask me to say anything. I'm SO not ready for this...

Just then Ann got up and said "I really need to use the bathroom, but I don't know where it is..." Gill looked at her and said in an exasperated manner "You can just use the RA bathroom on second floor." Ann walked hurriedly out of the room. Why doesn't Ann know where the bathroom is? She's been here many times. And why is there a special RA bathroom? What is this, Hogwarts?

Gill, who was apparently running the meeting, passed out a piece of paper and said "This is something I think you should all be aware of." When Penelope's copy was in her hands, she looked down at it. There was a picture of a girl...she looked familiar, but who was she? Penelope was sure this girl went to her school. On the paper was a description of a learning disorder that this girl apparently had. What was the name of it again? Penelope couldn't remember. Secondary Somethingrather, I think. But why do WE need to be aware of this disorder? What IS this meeting? Why in the world are we spending so much time learning about this girl and her disorder? Penelope wondered. This meeting felt familiar, like she'd been to these meetings before. She just couldn't quite put her finger on why, exactly, she was there.

A Dream within a Dream

Penelope awoke to hazy light streaming through her blinds. She rolled over slowly, remembering that she was sleeping on her futon because Petunia had spent the night. Petunia was next to Penelope on the futon, already awake and looking at her, smiling brightly. Penelope wondered why Petunia was awake already...the sun was still dim and had probably barely risen above the horizon, so it must still be early. Penelope opened her mouth to speak, but just as she did...

She woke up. "What an odd dream..." mused Penelope as she opened her eyes. She turned her head and saw that Petunia was, in fact, awake and grinning at her. Penelope thought to herself "Huh. Well, we might as well eat some breakfast..." But just as she thought this, and before she had a chance to suggest this to Petunia...

...she woke up again.