Just a quick question... (Heidi)

[PENNY WOESSNER]

Really, how difficult was it to track someone down? Especially in a school like this, where everything having to do with the campus was so very regulated. Had to be in by this time, out in the morning by that time, breakfast served now, dinner served then, lunch somewhere in between. Really, finding this Heidi girl should have been easy. Penny was good at finding things—people—same difference, really. They always ended up in the last place she looked. There was just one problem with this particular girl, however. Well, really, it was more of a problem with Penny herself than anything: procrastination. The truth of the matter was, she was supposed to have this interview finished and typed by yearbook’s meeting tomorrow afternoon, so they could slap it on the page and call it finished just in time for editing and finalization. But then, deadlines weren’t really her thing. She’d get it done eventually, and she knew it, so why bother starting the project from the beginning? Doing it in the nick of time didn’t necessarily mean doing it wrong.

Of course, on this particular occasion and with this particular assignment, doing it in the nick of time meant running. Lots of running. In the past half hour alone, Penny had already run from the dining hall to the library (and walked through its entirety at a very brisk walk), from the library to the dorms, asked around for hints there, and then, finally, wound up in the courtyard on her way to the auditorium, which really wasn’t where she’d been planning on looking at all, but figured might be someone’s favorite hangout or something. At least if she’d found her in there, that would have been a good interview question.

Not that she’d even made it that far. Penny stopped just as she entered the enclosed stretch of lawn, biting her lip as she scanned the sparsely populated area. It was a brisk day, and only those dressed for the weather were bothering to do any more than pass through. She of course, had been thoroughly prepared, scarf and hat and all. It was a fact she congratulated herself for upon sight of a girl, not more than twelve feet off to her left. She’d looked at the yearbook picture enough to be able to recognize her—not any more than necessary, of course—the instant she laid eyes on her. It was necessary. No wasted time, and all that. A small smile spread across Penny’s face as she approached her, offering a friendly handshake to go along with the casual tone.

“Hi. Um, it’s Heidi, right? I’m Penny, from the school yearbook, and I was wondering if maybe I could ask you a few questions? We’re interviewing three people from each class, and your name got picked! So, here I am. Well, I mean, that is, if you want to be interviewed…” she paused after speaking a mile a minute, brow knitting as her lips worked their way over one another, trying to sort out this puzzle. Shifting her weight to one side, she swung her backpack around her shoulder and unzipped it the remainder of the way, sticking her right hand inside in order to fish around for a notebook and pen. After procuring both, she shook a stray curl out of her face before continuing, flipping through the notebook for an empty page as she spoke. “Because if you don’t, I could just go. It’s no problem, really. No one will be offended.”
She certainly wouldn’t be. Just one less last-minute job to do, really. After all, this girl couldn’t possibly be that interesting, right? It wasn’t like Penny’d volunteered to interview her or anything. Before now, she’d never even heard of Heidi Mansfield.



outfit here

[HEIDI MANSFIELD]

Heidi had one amazing talent. Only one really. She was excellent at being invisible. As she sat on the bench in the courtyard, she blended in her surroundings, seeming to be one with the rectangle of nature around her. It was peaceful. Just her, her book, and her bag of sour patch kids. No kids calling her Hidey Mouse Mansfield, no struggling with school work she hates anyway. The only thing that would make this perfect was Jakey- but he was off at some study group or club or something--

“Hi. Um, it’s Heidi, right?" Heidi looked up, a surprised flush creeping over her face. This girl knew her name? How? Heidi had never spoken to her before. I’m Penny, from the school yearbook, and I was wondering if maybe I could ask you a few questions?" Heidi didn't respond. What could she say? What sort of questions could this girl- Penny- possibly have to ask her? Her lips parted slightly to respond, but closed, making no noise but a very quiet squeak. "We’re interviewing three people from each class, and your name got picked! So, here I am. Well, I mean, that is, if you want to be interviewed…" She spoke very fast, and very excitedly. Heidi wasn't really sure how to respond. Did she have a choice? Should she say no? No, the girl looked hopeful! That would be cross. Though, if she said yes, what could simple Heidi Mansfield come up with? “Because if you don’t, I could just go. It’s no problem, really. No one will be offended.”

Penny absently set a sourpatch kid on her tongue, forgetting the squished face she made when the zing tickled her tongue. It was involuntary, as was the red blush that followed. When she spoke, the voice was so quiet and wispy, she instinctively leaned forward so that Penny could better hear. She was, after all, quite use to being told to speak up, please. Jakey said she needed to talk with confidence, and it'd make her less of a target to bullies. Not that anyone bullied long. He made sure of that. "I don't know how much help I'll be. But I could give it a try..."

Contrary to Jake's advice, she did not speak with confidence. Her narrow shoulders folded in on themselves, and her little fingers fidgeted in her lap. Her voice shook a little, more surprised than frightened; her blueish-green eyes watched the ground closely. And her red hair- the color suggesting it had once been white and had absorbed it's color from a red velvet cake- fell into her pixie freckled face.

Her thumb went to her hand, as she gnawed on the nail, daring to meet her interviewers eyes. "Do you want one?" Heidi asked, shoving the bag of candies to Penny, a weak smile touching her face. "A-and then you can ask your questions."

OUTFIT OF SUCH A LITTLE AWKWARD TURTLE

[PENNY WOESSNER]

Biting her lip nervously, Penny watched Heidi with wide eyes, hoping she’d accept the offer. Who wouldn’t want to be interviewed for the yearbook? Well, then, Penny supposed she wouldn’t really want it—she talked far too much even for interviews, and there was too much potential for spilling secrets—but that was why she was on the other side of the metaphorical microphone, so it all worked out anyhow. And besides, she really couldn’t afford for this Heidi to say no. She simply didn’t have time to pick another name and construct a whole other interview. That would require page re-working and approvals and time she simply didn’t have. So really, she’d just have to get something out of her whether she liked it or not. Well, not that she’d be mean about it. Sometimes it just took a bit of talking to get what you wanted, she’d discovered, and Penny was quite good at talking. Therefore, she was often quite good at getting what she wanted. When she put her mind to it, and it wasn’t completely out of her control. So, only sometimes, really. Enough.

Offering Heidi a small, encouraging smile, Penny watched as she popped a candy into her mouth while waiting for the girl’s response. She held the notebook tight to her chest, sharing in Heidi’s blush a bit. Had she embarrassed her? Or even worse, startled her? Hopefully not. She needed these quotes.

“What do you mean?” There, she’d gone and done it. Piped up mere seconds after swearing silence until Heidi was completely finished. Penny leaned back a bit, having noticed the slight shrinking of space between she and Heidi and deciding, obviously, that her own voice was better suited for larger distances. “It’s your help I need! I’m sure you’ll be great,” she nodded, doing a sort of half shake of her head midway through to stop yet another curl from shrouding her glasses.

Biting her lip again, Penny watched the way Heidi seemed to slump into herself, as though she’d rather be a part of the bench than just plain sitting on it. It was a bit disheartening, really, in a way she couldn’t quite put her finger on. But then, maybe some conversation would cheer her up. She could just be lonely, after all; Penny looked very much the same when she felt she was on her own. In fact, she’d looked very similar just yesterday, when she hadn’t had busy work to do, come to think of it…not that it mattered, now.

Sure!” Upon Heidi’s offering of candy, Penny nodded, reaching her hand into the bag and picking one at random. Yellow. Her least favorite. Still, she couldn’t exactly put it back, could she? “Thanks,” she placed the gummy on her tongue, face scrunching quite a bit as the sour tang made its way over her taste buds.

“Do you care if I sit? It’s just, I’ve been running around all day trying to hunt you down…” she nodded at the spot on the bench beside Heidi, blushing a bit. “I think I was supposed to let you know about this all beforeahand, but…” she shrugged. Really, she hadn’t needed to tell her any of that…now the poor girl would probably be even more frightened about the whole process, or at least more reluctant. As a not at all thought out afterthought, Penny added, “And besides, it’s a bit easier to write that way.”

Clicking the C-3PO pen she’d found in the yearbook room just last week, Penny took a seat on the side of the bench that left more space between them, just in case Heidi happened to be uncomfortable with it all. Glancing down, she couldn’t help but notice the book lying next to her. Instantly, being the ever-curious little speck she was, Penny piped up, genuine interest written all over her face, “What are you reading?”

[HEIDI MANSFIELD]

This girl was very strange to Heidi. She had a fluttery way of speaking, like a person who talks with their hands hand's. Here and there, and eyes darting around, and voice rushed. There was no business to her tone, which Heidi was personally grateful for. It would have been far too much pressure. Obviously, this was something Penny was passionate about, but it was one of those heartly passions. Even with her awkward nature, Heidi could not bring herself to deny her. Still, she had to be honest. "I just..." Heidi considered, her wispy surprised voice rising a little so that Penny could hear her properly. "I'm just not really involved with anything. So, I'm not really sure what I could tell you that would be good for the year book." There was a certain embarrassment to her tone.

She didn't do extracurricular activities. Even if there was one that had caught her eye, her poor gpa would hardly allow it. She was not a particularly smart girl in the sense of math or sentence structure. Jake often poked fun at her poor grammar, which always prompted a red blush that clashed awfully with her hair. She was creative, but lacked any real skills on channeling said creativity. Her drawings wouldn't be earning any scholarships.

When Penny set the candy on her tongue, Heidi couldn't help an amused but shy grin that crossed her face. It was a rare smile, not strained in the corners in fear that this was an inappropriate time to smile. There was a note of surprise in her large, owlish, eyes. "There only sour for a moment. It's actually my favorite part." Oh, wait, that was stupid to say. Heidi blushed, smile falling, hiding behind a curtain of her red hair to try and conceal a bit of the shame. Why would Penny care what Heidi's favorite part of eating a candy was. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

She nodded as Penny asked if she could sit, scooting a bit to give her ample room. Even if she was being nice to Heidi- very nice in fact, which was very kind of her given that Penny was so pretty and probably popular- she would certainly not want her in her bubble. "I'm sorry you had to go through so much trouble." Penny was most certainly going to find that her day was wasted looking for someone like Heidi. She couldn't help but wonder if she had meant to look for Jake. He would be much better for this. Popular, smart, involved. Not like meek and dim Heidi. Not at all.

Looking at the book in her hand, she gave a little startled laugh at Penny's questioning of it. Oh, dear, no she wouldn't want that in the year book. "It's nothing. Just a dime store love story." She explained, putting the book away in her bag. "I like love stories. Even if the ending is sad, it's left with a little bit of hope at the end. Like it might get better after the book, you know?" Chewing her thumb nail a little, she offered an amused smile at herself, telling Penny it was okay to laugh. Heidi was use to it. Chewing on her nail gently, not even hard enough to break it, she explained shyly. "I know it sounds naive and stupid. But I still like them." There was an almost defiant pitch to her tone, though her voice remained soft- like a loud whisper.

[PENNY WOESSNER]

Upon hearing the girl’s completely ludicrous statement, Penny dismissed the words with a wave of her hand. She stuck the pen sideways in her mouth before she responded, biting down very lightly on the plastic so as not to get any of those gross teeth marks on it. Truth be told, she probably shouldn’t have had it anywhere near her mouth, as she’d only found the thing lying on a table in the publications room just a bit ago and honestly had no idea where it had previously been, but nervousness and twisted logic (it’d been sitting in her own backpack for long enough—any germs on it now were obviously just hers) had pushed that particular thought out of her mind.

But all that aside, it was really just far easier to deal with her mane of hair when she had both hands free. Moving with a sort of deftness that proudly proclaimed she’d been doing this for years now, Penny proceeded to stick any particularly long, unruly curls back beneath her hat, offering Heidi an apologetic (albeit wordless) glance and shrug as she did so. Still, better to get it over and done with now than to have to keep doing that obnoxious hair flip all throughout the interview. Heidi would probably think her painfully annoying halfway in, if she didn’t already.

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” she responded plainly once both C3-PO and her unruly hair had been returned to their rightful places. “This isn’t one of those stupid ‘activities make you worth knowing’ sorts of things—that’s for the jocks who, to be honest, haven’t got much else going for them—I like to think of it more as…like, a survey.”

She nodded, tapping the pen against her closed lips as she contemplated, pleased with where she was going with this. “You know, a questionnaire, but better and much more fun, because it’s not fill in the blank and you can talk about whatever you like, once I ask the questions I’m supposed to!” she inhaled deeply once finished, as she’d spoken most of her last spiel in just one breath.

Really, maybe she should tone it down a bit. Not everyone was as talkative as her, after all, and this girl most certainly seemed to be more than a bit on the shy side. So, when Heidi offered her opinion on the candy, Penny merely nodded politely, eyes wide as her lips pursed in combat with the sour tang. She was usually one for sweet candy, herself. Starbursts and the like—she couldn’t do hard candy, as it took far too long to get to the middle.

“Really? I’ve always liked the sweet bit, afterwards…” Her attempt at silence was very nearly successful until she noticed just how much Heidi happened to be blushing. That wouldn’t do. Penny hated when people blushed around her, as it only ever made her wonder what on earth she’d done to turn their faces so red and then brought up the very same color in her own cheeks, dark as they were, because she always began to assume the worst. It was a horrible habit and she knew it, but not one she’d ever quite been able to shake.

Again, Penny made a small, dismissive face at Heidi’s comment, unable to believe this girl truly thought she’d be of no use. Well, maybe she could believe it a bit…but it was still a bit disheartening. “If it was trouble, I wouldn’t have offered to interview you! I’m glad I got the job,” she grinned broadly and then, just as quickly, let the smile fall. That hadn’t come out quite how she’d meant it…or wanted to mean it, anyway. Biting her lip, Penny fidgeted a bit in her seat, glancing down at the grass beneath their feet.

Grateful for the subject change, Penny listened eagerly, a small lift returning to her lips as she glanced several times between the paperback and the girl holding it. She shook her head. “I don’t think it’s stupid. That’s as good a reason to love them as any.”

Pen pressed to the slightly crinkled paper, she paused for a moment before actually writing anything, looking back up at Heidi with very genuinely curious eyes. “What’s your favorite? Book, I mean,” she nodded in the direction of the novel, “If you don’t mind me writing it down, that is. It’s just that sometimes it’s nice, the more you know about a person for these sorts of things, anyway…”