A/N: Phew!! This chapter took a LOT of time and effort, because it is soooo close to my heart. Penny's story needed to be told and I did it the best way I know how. Do you have any idea how hard it was to set ages and dates?? Oh, and don't even think about whining about the length. This chapter is actually half of the original!! I know, I know, I went overboard. But I HAD to…if only you knew…then you would understand. Get a blanket and some caffeine, because this is hella long. I had to drink a crap load of Starbucks™ Frappuccinos™ just to write it.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own HAIRSPRAY but it surely owns me! XD

Chapter 3: As I'm Leaving

With only the crumpled clothes on her back, Penny walked sort of aimlessly through the dim streets of Baltimore. She figured that it was maybe around 4 in the morning, so the sun would be coming up soon and it would be time to go to school shortly thereafter. While she walked she debated whether or not to go back to Seaweed. At three different times she had actually turned around and walked back the way she came, but then an extreme sense of guilt would overcome her and she would restart her forlorn journey back to that wretched dwelling that she called home.

As the sky above her weary head became brighter, Penny tried to decide what she would do when she arrived to her destination. She definitely knew that she would have to brace herself for a beating-that was routine- but Penny had a feeling that her mother would really hurt her this time…maybe even kill her. She had been anticipating this for a while now. It's not as if Penny was suicidal, although she had been once before. In reality, she was really far from it. It's just that she was tired of living in fear, wondering when her mother would actually go through with it, for she had been threatening her for quite some time now. Her perception of the whole situation was a bit distorted and twisted. The way she saw it, Prudy killing her was her obligation to God, for in her mother's eyes, Penny was a sinner filled with demonic spirits. And as it says in the Bible: demons must be bound, even if it does kill the person in the end. Prudy had always told her that she followed The Word down to the letter, and was not afraid to go to the extremes nor did she give a rat's ass Penny's protests and reasoning. Penny was an unclean heathen. Why would she listen to the protests of the devil?

What the root of her mother's religious extremity and enthusiasm was, Penny did not know. If she remembered correctly, it started some time after Prudy's miscarriage with Penny's third brother Tommy, the death of her mother, Linda, and also her long brutal battle with pneumonia. Not many people knew of these things. And only Tracy knew about Penny's brothers and sister. To everyone else, Penny was an only child with a psychotic mother.

Penny had a sister named Cynthia who was ten years old and also five brothers: Zachary, 8, Gavin, 8, Tommy, stillborn, Terry, 2, and Colin, 1. Cynthia, Zachary, Terry and Penny all shared the same father. But Gavin and Colin were the product of her mother and stepfather's brief marriage. Before CPS (A/N: child protective services, for those who don't know) got involved and her father got incarcerated, Zachary and Terry lived with Penny's father and stepmother and Penny, Cynthia, Gavin and Colin used to stay with her mother.

To even give anyone the whole story takes a long trip back in time, way before any of the chaos set in. It all started back when Prudy, Wilbur, Edna, Link's father, John, and Penny's father, James were attending Patterson Park High School. Wilbur and Edna were high school sweethearts, well to Edna they were (it took Wilbur a while to figure out what she was getting at). Edna was Prudy's best friend. Prudy was an abused impoverished little wretch who was on the brink of desperation. That's where James comes in. He was wealthy and madly in love with Prudy. When they finally went steady, he treated her like a queen, bought her anything she wanted, submitted to her every demand. Prudy never really loved James but hey, he was her extremely handsome ticket out of poverty.

Time and time again, Edna warned Prudy of what she was getting herself into. She was sure sooner or later Prudy was going to break James' heart. However, fourteen-year old Prudy was too self-concerned to listen and so four years later on her 18th birthday she married twenty-two-year-old James Pingleton. They quickly moved in together and started their life as husband and wife. Unbeknownst to her, James' wealth had diminished since 1928. Even though he and his family seemed untouchable even after the stock market crash in 1929, he too had to bow down to the wrath of the Great Depression of the 1930s. He was forced to drop out of Brown University and work odd jobs for meager wages. Sometimes he worked three jobs at a time, for he loved Prudy with all his heart and he wanted to give her the best that he could. However, Prudy withdrew from him, mainly because he really didn't have anything to offer her. Of course they made love occasionally, but besides that their relationship was cold, platonic and impassionate. For a great deal of their marriage, Prudy was resentful and brooding because she married this man to get out, but it seemed like a wasted effort because she ended up right back where she started from. As time progressed, James realized that Prudy didn't exactly return his affections and he started to retreat, and just let the relationship run its course. Divorce was not an option, for the 1930s were a time of great suffering and desolation; no one could afford to get divorced. So the two distanced lovers stayed and fought their way out of the Depression as well as their relationship.

While James toiled at work, Prudy stayed at home and did absolutely nothing but drink, and they followed this routine up until one drunken night. The result was born on April 22, 1946. Penelope Pingleton was the little bundle of joy that ameliorated their bitter union. However, their peace period was absurdly brief, and then they resumed their routine. However, this time James worked and Prudy's slightly excessive drinking got heavier. She would go out on a whim and go to the clubs and stay out until the wee hours of the morning. It got so bad to where James' last resort was to lock her and Penny both in the house until he returned home. Nonetheless, Prudy would find a way out and leave young Penny slowly drifting off to sleep.

'Mama will be back before you open your eyes in the morning, I promise' she would whisper in her ear before she stole away in the night. Penny had to admit that she did indeed miss her mother coming in at 4:30 a.m., dress soaked with the scent of wine, giving her a kiss on the cheek, telling her that she was her own little miracle. The night crawler mother she once had was a whole lot better to live with than the religious fanatic mother she had now. The one who sent Penny through hell and back, throwing around accusations of rape, molestation and incest with her dad (which got him incarcerated), of hypocrisy, of condemnation. The one who robbed Penny of her will to live. The one robbed her of her identity, of her relationship with God. The one who still had the living room light on. Penny could see that the light was on despite the scarcely illuminated sky. Penny slowly approached her house, praying that her death be quick and not in vain. Then she remembered that she left her key at Seaweed's house. She knocked on the door and was not surprised to see that the TV shop owner answered it.

The shop owner had been frequenting their house early in the mornings so that he and Prudy could hold their Morning Prayer meetings. To Penny he was nothing but her mother's minion, keeping an eye out for her while he was working, so that if he saw anything he could call and report.

"O, my Lord! Penny where have you been? " Mr. Thomas asked with mock concern.

Penny grumbled under her breath

"Where is my mother?"

"She went somewhere, she should be returning shortly' he said nonchalantly, apparently losing interest in her.

At this Penny quickly sprung into action, she raced to her room and ripped her clothes off and scrambled to find more. She got dressed and groomed and raced out of the door, ignoring Mr. Thomas's phony goodbye.

She ran until she reached her bus stop. God had mercy on her and let the bus come quickly. She hopped on and sat in one of the seats near the back of bus, body shaking at how close she was to not making it. Before she knew it, she was at school. She walked off the bus and was not surprised see Tracy, Link and Seaweed waiting for her.

A/N: Since the chapter titles are the lyrics to the song, I thought it would be kinda retarded to have an As I'm Leaving Pt.I and Pt.II. So what ever penweed action you see in The One I Want To Take are the leftovers from this one.

P.S: This is just a random thought, you know, I'm just throwing it out there. Am I the only one who thinks that the movie has some degree of symbolism? For example, Link could represent Abe Lincoln. Since both men started out as indifferent towards race relations, but as time progressed, they began to support equal rights. Like I said…just a thought.