The Rich and the Poor

  • So many newbies lately! Here is a very important PSA about one of our most vital content policies! Read it even if you are an ancient member!
Derek was about to speak until he felt Penelope's grasp leave his hand. He turned to the young girl and knelt, "Hey, hey... It's okay. He didn't mean it like that." He blinked and thought for a second, trying to find a good way to change up Ethan's words. "He's just... Uh... Scared of kids." Derek gave a smile that would hopefully keep Penelope in a mood to stay with him. He glanced back to Ethan and mouthed the words, "Dude, c'mon!" He understood the other boy's point, but Derek figured that stepping out of his comfort zone could prove better than he thought. Hopefully...

By now, a number of Poors had been interviewed, and most of them were denied. There was about 3 families still willing to hire, including Penelope's most likely. The secretary called into the crowd, but it wasn't a name. "Hey! I've got word that there's a little girl lost here. Her name's Penelope Pure! If you see her, bring her to her parents. They might even be willing to accept you into their home for your deed." The last part the man added was a mumble as he searched through the crowd.

After listening in on the man's words, Derek looked to Penelope. This was pretty much it. He was going to take Penelope to her parents, and he was guessing that it was up to her for him to stay or go with them. "Are... You ready?"

(I'll try to introduce Penelope's parents if that's cool. And... Maybe a family if no one else will. :3)
 
Penelope's nose wrinkled at the statement. People could be afraid of kids? Was she scary? She brushed the thoughts aside and looked at the floor, wiggling her feet within the rubber boots. She didn't like this feeling, but she couldn't put a proper name to it other than 'sad'. The child rubbed at her eyes with both her hands while listening to someone shout, the sound of her name making her pay attention to the last half of the announcement.
She tried to look over Derek's shoulder for her parents, but they weren't in the same room. Penelope didn't want to get in trouble with her parents for coming inside by herself even though it was inevitable, so she shook her head. "Do we have to go right now?" Her head tilted to the left as she referred to Derek's earlier claim about his second friend being afraid of kids. "Does that mean he wouldn't want to play either?" She had attempted to whisper the words, but they were only a fraction quieter than her normal speaking volume.
 
There was a soft sigh that escaped Derek's mouth as he shook his head softly, "I... I don't think we can stay any longer. You don't want your mom and dad to be angry, do you?" He looked up to Ethan and then back to Penelope with a mischievous smirk, "We're gonna make him play when we get home, okay? We're gonna seem him around. Trust me." It was making Derek a little weary when he said when they got home... What if he didn't get accepted into the home? He shook the rather depressing thought out of his head as he stood onto his feet and looked to Ethan, patting his shoulder gently. "It's been what? Five minutes? Yet, I guess I could call you 'pal'. I'll see you around in the Rich part of town." Then, Derek turned to Zendaya and sighed softly as he looked her in the eyes. It was pretty cool that both their eyes were blue; it made Derek feel like he could connect with someone. A small smile grew on his face as he spoke softly, "I'll... See 'ya later, right?"

From yet another door of the center, there was a woman who burst into the room, her clothing of great elegance and her aura of a Rich person. Her hair was short and brown, her eyes brown and full of worried fury. This was no doubt Penelope's mother. "Where is my child?!" The voice silenced the conversations between the Poors as the woman's eyes scanned the room for Penelope.
 
Penelope watched Derek, Zendaya, and the second friend she didn't know the name of. That bothered her a bit, but she wasn't going to ask since he was afraid of children. The child noticed herself staring and looked away, amusing herself with the odd furniture in the room. It didn't look like the stuff at home, but nothing here looked familiar to her in any way. It was all different, new, and exciting to her. She even got to pick out a playmate! Though, it was him who spoke to her first, so did he pick her as a playmate? Her eyebrows furrowed. No, she was definitely the one to pick him out.
The situation was similar to the time she almost got to pick out a puppy, but it would be nicer to have a companion who could speak even if it was odd to 'pick out' another human being.
Penelope cringed against Derek's leg at the sound of her mother's voice. She was sure she was going to be in trouble and that made her feet stick to the floor.
 
Like a hawk looking for its prey, the mother's eyes fell directly on Penelope, glancing to the three teens who had surrounded her quickly. Taking no note of Penelope's fear, she prepared to lunge at them to get her child back until a man came from behind and calmed her. This must've been the father. He was wearing an expensive-looking suit and carried a briefcase, the typical Rich father in Derek's eyes. "Calm down, honey," he said as he gently pulled her back.

The woman huffed and pointed at Derek, "Get him away from my daughter." Derek sighed softly and looked to the ground; he should've expected something like that would happen. He was just a Poor, after all.

Once again, her husband told her to calm down. He stepped in front of the teens and looked directly into Derek's eyes. "You had my daughter with you?" This question sent fear down the teen's spine.

Nodding hesitantly, Derek answered with fear in his tone. "Y-Yes, sir."

Penelope's father smirked and nodded, "I see. You've kept her safe, too. I think we've found our guy, dear." From behind him, the woman could be heard scoffing. "Do you want to bring this young man home with us, Penelope?" He looked down to his daughter with a soft smile.

Derek was surprised. In truth, he thought he'd be discriminated against, but the girl's father was more accepting than he'd expected. He looked down to Penelope with a soft smile; it was pretty much all up to her now.
 
Zendaya patted Derek's shoulder. "C'mon, don't be so sad." She offered him a smile before the sound of a door slamming against the wall echoed, quieting the whole room. A woman's angry voice boomed out and it was obvious she was searching for Penelope.
As soon as the woman's gaze landed on Derek with anger, Zendaya moved in front of the pair with a glare to rival the woman's in expensive clothes.
"That him has a name and you can use it." Zendaya nearly growled out crossing her arms over her chest.
The situation was quickly diffused by the young girls father. Zendaya glanced at Derek before stepping aside. Her glare landed on the mother as she scoffed once more. "Could be a benefit considering you can't even keep an eye on your own daughter." Zendaya rolled her eyes as she mumbled angrily to herself. This was why she loathed this program. The rich were so self absorbed and arrogant. Always thinking their above poor being just because they had more things. Zendaya hated being talked down to and this woman was making her temper flare.
"I'll see you later Derek." Zendaya said reluctantly tearing her glare off of the elegantly dressed woman and sent a soft smile to him. Kneeling down, she patted Penelope's head. "And you," Zendaya's smiled widened, "don't forget our promise. You can't break pinky promises or else you get bad luck." Zendaya winked and stood.
"Well, I've stayed too long. I'll see you guys around." Zendaya waved obviously only speaking to Derek and Ethan. She had no interest in even acknowledging the rich families that wanted to "take in" a poor. Pulling her hood over her hair, Zendaya stepped out of the community center and onto the sidewalk. It would be another night of wandering and sneaking into a small building just to stay warm and get a few hours of sleep before repeating the process. Maybe she would even snag a temp job unloading boxes like before. Who knows.
Zendaya tucked her hands into her pockets as she walked. The rain had eased up and the beginnings of a rainbow glowed in the sky.
 
She watched Zendaya argue with her mother, it was amusing and frightening to say the least. Penelope smiled when her head was patted and the promise was brought up. There was no way she would forget about the promise she made with her brave new friend, the Hide and Seek Champion.
She was leaning against Derek's leg when her father had asked her the question: "Do you want to bring this young man home with us, Penelope?" The child gave a slow nod in response, reaching up for Derek's hand again. "He said we could play Hide and Seek together, but he needs shoes first so he doesn't hurt his feet." With her free hand she pulled at the bow falling out of her hair. It was easy to see which parent she liked the most between the two since one was always more calm than the other.
 
Derek gave a soft smile to Zendaya as she left, "See 'ya." He hid the sadness that fell over him as he watched his friend leave the center, hoping that he'd really see her again one day. Looking down to Penelope, he took a hold of her hand, chuckling softly at her comment about his lack of shoes.

"We'll take care of all that when we get home, okay?" The father spoke to both Derek and Penelipe with a hearty laugh, though he looked at his daughter. He looked back to the secretary and asked, "Is it alright if we leave now? My wife and I will have sent the paperwork back by tomorrow." The other man nodded and went back to calling names. "Alright now, what's your name, son?" Penelope's father asked, looking back to the teenage boy.

"Derek... Derek Jackson," he replied as he softly scratched the back of his head. Yeah; it was about time he'd gotten a bath.

Looking to Ethan, the father gave a nod as a quick greeting. He didn't plan on offering anymore spots in the home; they'd only need one caretaker. For now, at least... The parents always seemed a bit too busy, which is exactly why they came to find someone to care for Penelope. It was free, too, so that was a plus. Not that it mattered, they were rich. Penelope's mother, who was still infuriated by Zendaya's words, turned and stormed out of the center, directly to their car. "Well, let's get going," the father said as he turned and followed behind his wife.

Derek took a deep breath, mumbling to himself, "I hope I don't regret this." Walking with Penelope at his side, he followed behind the man. Glancing back to Ethan he gave a quick wave and smirked. "See 'ya later."
 
Ethan looked around, his face dulling as everyone around him gradually vanished. As Derek walked away, he saw the smirk and put his middle finger up at him jealously but in a joking way. He couldn't help but return a sad smile. "Yeah, see 'ya." he mumbled, a bit sad that he was all alone again. He looked out of the window as the rain stopped, watching Zendaya walk along.
He stood up then scrambled to the door and sped down the sidewalk, slowing as he neared Zendaya. "Hey, where you going? You didn't even fill in a form." he said, desperate for a conversation.
((If no-one else wants to introduce a new character, I'll happily introduce one myself. I think we need to freshen this roleplay up.))
 
Penelope skipped at Derek's side, jumping into shallow puddles they passed as they walked to the car. She was happy she had made a few new friends today, even if one didn't volunteer to be so. The little girl would have turned and waved good-bye to Derek's other friend, but she thought it would be better to not scare him. She looked up from the wet ground and watched someone rush past them into the center. It was a woman in a little black dress with bright pink lipstick on. Penelope almost giggled at the stranger who was yelling furiously into the phone at her ear. "You're going to like it at home!" Her gaze turned up to Derek. "There's a lot of neat things, but I'm not allowed to touch any of it..." A pout filtered onto her face.

"Don't you tell me what to do with my money, Johnson! I'll shred it and take a shower in it if I want to!" The woman didn't even glance at the family she strutted pass as she went into the center, bumping into Ethan without care as he walked out. "Oh, yeah, like a Poor is going to do anything without fear of getting thrown back out into the streets." Her sarcastic tone was masked by the truth that rung within it. "You're my lawyer, not my father!" With that, the nineteen year old named Julie Spheres snapped the phone shut. With her parents recently deceased and no other family, the Rich had more than enough money to last a lifetime and then some. She was too busy living her life to take care of the chores around the house and cook for herself, so she decided to take in a Poor or two for just that purpose.
 
"Oh, I just stepped in for a sec. No way in hell am I letting some self absorbed prick force me to do chores he or she is too lazy to do." Zendaya snorted not missing a step as she continued walking.
As Ethan walked with her, a loud mouth teen around her age bumped into harshly. "Hey watch where you're going!" Zendaya yelled at the girl talking, yelling, into her phone, clearly over reacting. She was obviously a Rich and obviously a snob. "You really want to work for that?" Zendaya turned to Ethan with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms as if to say 'you're an idiot.'
 
"C'mon. Listen, most Riches are snobby pricks. But if you're interested in starting to make things equal, this is the start of something. Trust me." he said in a soothing voice. "We might get in the same home and we can work on a plan. Deal?" he smiled, holding out his hand.
 
Zendaya eyed Ethan warily. He seemed trustworthy enough. Slowly she thought over his words. It sort of made sense, making things equal at least. That would be nice but Zendaya loathed the idea of signing away her freedom. "I'll think about it. I'm not fond of someone owning me." Zendaya huffed but shook Ethan's hand. "Deal."
 
"Neither am I. But it might just be the only way..." he mumbled as his words trailed off, setting off back into the center, expecting Zendaya to follow him. He sat down and stared at Zendaya for a moment. "I think you've got the whole being owned by the Rich thing over the top in your head. They aren't really expecting much. Just everyday chores. I'm actually curious to see how they live, I could probably pull a couple pranks," he grinned, as more lists of names were called out by the secretary.
 
Julie was yelling at the person behind the dark in the welcoming room. "What do you mean you don't have two ready for me yet? I called thirty minutes ago and you expect me to wait longer?" She smacked her palm against the desk before they had a chance to reply. "I need them now; I refuse to stand around here while you sort through the paperwork." Her glare was menacing. She turned, extending her arm and gesturing to the Poors still waiting. "How many do you think would come with me if I told them I didn't care about any stupid form, huh?" The person in the desk chair squirmed uncomfortably as she waited for an answer. Julie scanned the crowd, her lips set in a firm line. She was going to get Poors one way or another, even if it was illegal.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Derek felt a little regret in leaving Ethan, but his thoughts were cut off by the woman who was clearly angry. He blinked as he watched her walk past, thinking to himself, "I hope Penelope's mom doesn't go off on me like that..." Then he heard Penelope speak to him, which caused him to look down to her. He didn't know what to say, to be truthful; rules were rules, and he didn't know how to explain that to the little girl. Hell, he hated them himself.

It wasn't long until the family had made it to their vehicle, which was an extremely expensive-looking SUV. The parents had entered, and Derek opened the door for Penelope, helping her inside. As he prepared to get in, the mother stopped him with a voice of pure poison. "Listen here, you aren't getting in this SUV if you aren't clean."

"Marie, don't be like that," the husband said as he looked back to Derek. Though he new he was dirty, he was willing to let him in. After all, they were going to let him in their hone.

Going to help Penelope in her booster seat, Marie scoffed, "Look at it! It's wet! And filthy!" Derek said nothing, looking to the ground. Ouch. The wet and filthy part he accepted; he could live with the truth, but she had called him an 'it'. That hurt him to a point where he knew from then on, he probably was going to regret signing up.

Sighing, the husband shook his head, "Don't worry; after we've got him bathed and clothed, I'll have him clean it up." He got nothing but a huff from his wife as she turned and buckled her seatbelt. With a slightly apologetic smile, he gestured for Derek to get in.

Hesitantly entering, he slipped on his seatbelt with a little struggle; he'd never used one before. Derek looked down, seeing his wet filth seep onto the beige leather of the seats. He bit his lip in nervousness; did he really want to do this? It still wasn't too late; the parents had yet to sign the papers. Only time would tell...
 
Penelope frowned at her mother and interjected, "How else will Derek get home?" He was going to live with them, so it was his home now too, wasn't it? She was being mean to her new friend and that might make him want to leave her before they even played! The little girl was thankful for her father's input and her sudden worrying ceased just as quickly. When the situation was settled, she turned her head and grinned. "When we get home, I get to give you a present! It's rea-ally big and it has more stuff inside of it!" Penelope wiggled off her boots because they were heavy hanging on her feet. "Papa?" She began while amusing herself with the polka dot print on her socks. "Is it alright to eat after Derek gets all his gifts?" As if on cue, her stomach rumbled a little and it made her giggle.
 
"Please wait a moment." the secretary said rather shakily to Julie as he left the room. He returned shortly afterwards and scanned through paperwork until he came to Ethan's file. "Ah ha. Ethan Robinson, 16 years old. It's noted here he's got quite a rebellious attitude though." the secretary frowned as he looked up at Julie from the paperwork. "He's pretty much your only option as most of the other Poor's have already been interviewed and we're on strict rules about multiple interviews in a day." the secretary said. "I'll go fetch him, yes?" the secretary said, as he stood up and left the room. "Ethan Robinson!" he called.
*
Ethan stood up as he heard his name called out and walked over with Zendaya.
"There's a lady who would like to interview you." the secretary said, rather dully.
Ethan looked at the secretary carefully. "I come as a package. This is Zendaya. Unless she comes with me, I'm not going anywhere." Ethan said firmly.
"This is great." the secretary thought, as he remembered the woman saying she needed to. He might get in trouble since this Zendaya girl didn't fill in the forms but he didn't want to piss off Julie anymore.
"Very well." the secretary said, masking his excitement and perhaps fright. He led them into the room and sat them both down.
"This is Zendaya, Ms. Spheres. She will also be joining you with Ethan if you please." he smiled, proud of himself.
 
"Your optimism is kind of frightening." Zendaya sighed shaking her head. Not bad? They were literally slaves to Riches.
Zendaya groaned softly as she made her way towards the front next to the bratty Rich.
Zendaya heard Ethan's name. She was going to wait for him but he made sure she followed. 'Fantastic' she mentally sighed standing beside him with a sour look on her face. It lightened when Ethan said they were a package deal. It was nice knowing someone had your back.
Zendaya followed the two males into the interview room. She was wary of who may be interested. The secretary seemed all too excited to have them together.
 
Julie briefly studied the two, her gaze disapproving. "Tsk." The secretary wasn't kidding about the age thing. The boy was only three years younger than herself and had that air of 'I'll do what I want.' Even if she knew their names, she went ahead and started asking questions to test their personalities. "Both of you, state your full name and your age. Either of you have a criminal record? Know anything about cleanliness?" She nearly scoffed the last question as she was interviewing them. There was little chance they were taught about good hygiene. She doubted they even knew how to properly scrub a floor. Julie looked over the female, getting the sense she didn't particularly want to be there. Her heel clicked repeatedly against the floor as she tapped her foot, taking the time they took to answer into account.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back