"I'm Sorry"
"Hey, Mr. Peabody! Hey, Sherman."
Penny walked up the steps to the school with Sherman by her side. Everything was finally back to normal. Well, as normal as it could get. She never dreamed that at one point she'd be walking to class with a (former) loser. Starting that day, her routine would change. First things first - she'd make sure that the cafeteria incident was erased from school history.
But something still wasn't right. Her pace slowed as she thought, realization hitting her like a pile of bricks.
"Sherman, wait! I forgot something!"
The redhead stopped, spinning around to face Penny.
"You're going to be late!"
"I'll be really quick!"
"Okay..."
"Go ahead without me," Penny urged.
Once she was sure that Sherman was on his way to class, Penny ran as fast as she could in the other direction, catching sight of Mr. Peabody leaving on his scooter. He was just close enough to reach, but not quite. The scooter was gaining speed - it was now or never.
"MR. PEABODY!"
The dog stopped almost immediately, jerking forward in his seat. Completely befuddled, he looked backwards and spotted Penny. She rushed up to him, nearly out of breath.
"Yes, Miss Peterson?" Mr. Peabody barely managed to ask, perplexed as he took off his driving helmet.
"I'm sorry!"
"Miss Peterson?"
"For everything! It wasn't Sherman's fault. I was the one who made him take the WABAC without permission."
Mr. Peabody could hardly believe his sensitive ears, blinking in bewilderment.
"Well, then," he began. "This was certainly...unexpected, but I digress. You might have been Sherman's 'inciting event,' so to speak, but—" Arms quickly wrapped around him.
"And I'm sorry for calling you a dog," she whispered.
Penny was more tentative with him than she'd been with Sherman, of course, but he returned the hug gently, his jaw dropping. He wasn't sure if he could handle two hugs in one day, let alone in such a short span of time. She broke contact, avoiding his bemused stare. He nudged her chin tenderly with a paw, unable to stop a smile from forming.
"You have nothing to be sorry about."
She glanced up at him again, bright eyes smiling back at his genuine words.
Penny was startled to see Sherman standing at the front door, wearing a bright grin that practically lit up the entire school. She glared at him, instantly rewarding the unsuspecting child with a punch to the shoulder. Sherman jumped in surprise, massaging the spot where he was hit.
"Ow!"
"That's for spying on me," she scolded.
The two kids started once more on their way to class, only to have Sherman receive another punch when the bell rang.
"And that's for making us late!"