finished a few problems for me. It's our thing. What happened to that?" Jenny's voice was hitting high C. "Huh?"
"Mornings don't work for me now. And was that all our meets were for? To get some free answers?" Penny's voice wobbled.
"Chill, Pen. I admit I got caught up in the college thing. Having fun. Partying. Not anything you'd understand." Seems the bitch was back. "Damn it. I wish we looked more alike. You could go in there and ace those tests. But . . ." A long pause. "Maybe if you could tutor me? Just this week? The math and science. Stuff you could do in your sleep."
Nice. Treat your sister like dirt, then ask for a favor. If Penny said yes, I was going to shake her till her new fangs rattled.
"Sorry. No can do." Yes! I wanted to hug Penny and see Jenny's face.
"But, Pen . . ." Bet Jen was getting ready to try some serious tears. Or a guilt trip. Penny must have seen it coming.
"Don't even. I'm starting a new job, might even get to go to California. I was going to tell the family tonight after dinner. It's a chance to do cutting-edge research in a new field." Penny kept going, throwing out technical words that I'm sure Jenny understood about as well as I did. "Bottom line: I'm not missing this opportunity. Certainly not because you spent more time having fun than hitting the books."
"Thanks for nothing. As usual, it's all about you. The big brain. Doing something important. Forget me. I'll just stay here and fall into the abyss." The way Jenny's voice cracked on that last word was pure drama.
"You want to talk about an abyss?" Penny's voice rose and I jumped up. Oh, she was not going there. "Let me show you an abyss."
Jenny shrieked. "What the hell is that?"
I got to Penny's door in time to see my fledgling giving her sister the full-fang treatment. I shook my head but Penny ignored me.
"It's my fangs, sister dear. I'm a vampire, a bloodsucker. I'll never see daylight again thanks to Josh and his Ugly Chick caper."
"No, I don't believe you. Get rid of them. You're creeping me out with your stupid Halloween teeth." Jenny backed up and bumped into me. "Glory, what's the matter with my sister?"
"Penny, quit playing games now. Can't you see how upset Jenny is?" I gave Penny a stern look.
"Yeah? Funny thing. Since I can read her mind, I'm not so sad that she's 'upset.' " Penny marched closer, until she was nose to nose with Jenny. "Why do you hate me? I'm the fat sister, the one who never got to be cheerleader. Who went to her senior prom with cousin Ollie, who spent the whole time in the men's room smoking weed. Weed he bought with the money Daddy paid him to take me there."
"Boo hoo. You went to that prom at twelve. Didn't even have boobs yet. You made me look like the village idiot since I could only do what normal kids could do." Jenny put a hand in the middle of Penny's chest and shoved. It didn't do any good. Penny had vamp strength and didn't budge. "Lose the pointy teeth, pinhead. Hate to tell you, but they don't make you look any thinner."
I kept my mouth shut. I had a feeling this showdown was long overdue. And if Jenny didn't believe Penny about the vampire thing, we were still okay here. Of course Mom and Dad could arrive any minute. Not cool if they landed in the middle of a catfight. Or had this happened before? Penny glanced at me.
"No, Glory, we've never had this out. And, yes, I peeked under your bangs for that thought. Sorry." She didn't look sorry. "Okay, Jen, so I'm smart. I never rubbed your nose in it. Even helped you whenever you asked for those free answers. But did you help me? Not on your life. Glory here has acted more like a sister in the week I've known her than you have in nineteen years."
"How was I supposed to help you? All you did was sit on your lumpy ass in front of a computer all the time. You never wanted to do anything I liked. Play sports and games like a normal person. Or even look like a normal person. Hell, your brain is totally warped." Jenny turned and flounced out of the room. She stopped next to the coffee table and