Penny Brightwell's Arc

Chapter 4 of 5

The woman in the suit walked Penny back to the main building and stopped at a desk near the entrance. She picked up a phone, pressed three numbers, and waited. "We need to discuss enrollment status," she said into the receiver. Then she hung up and looked at Penny. "Someone will be here in a minute." Penny didn't wait. She turned and walked out the front doors. The woman called after her, but Penny kept moving. Outside, a weathered building stood across the gravel lot with a bell tower and peeling paint. A sign above the doors read "School of Hard Knocks." Next to the entrance, a tall pole held a bright yellow flag with a happy face on it. The flag snapped in the wind like it was waving goodbye. Penny stopped and stared at it. That face was supposed to mean everything was fine, that she should smile and follow the rules and let people circle her answers in red. She'd carried that face for years, pretending it didn't hurt when they said "unclear." She picked up a rock from the gravel and threw it at the pole. It hit with a crack. The flag kept smiling. Penny turned away from the building and saw a wooden sign pointing down a dirt path. "Good Times Ahead," it said in hand-carved letters. She didn't know where it led, but it wasn't back to desks and clipboards and people who needed her to prove things over and over. She'd already taught twenty adults to see what she saw. That was enough. Penny followed the arrow. Behind her, the school bell rang for a class she wouldn't attend. She didn't look back. The woman in the suit could discuss enrollment status all she wanted. Penny had just unenrolled herself.