"No! No! No! Hmm maybe, oh wait No!"
"What's gotten your panties in a twist?" Penelope turned, confused to who the hell was in her rented room. Upon looking down to the frowning man's attire she seemingly remembered last night; sighing at its crude intimacy. Her hearing aids were turned down low and she adjusted them as he spoke.
"You're still here, thought you left an hour ago." The man - Tony - smirked at her while reaching down to kiss her shoulder lightly.
"Couldn't leave somebody as cute as you behind now could I." Her body turned rigid and immediately her uninterested visage was shown, bored with his presence.
"No I guess not." The words were muttered distractedly as she scrolled down, tapping the laptop's scroller like it was an enemy.
"There are no nice places in London at all, ugh it's shameful!" With a slam of her hand against the keys she knocked her head down to the table and sighed.
"Well what about that?"Hearing the question in his voice the girl looked up.
"About what?"
"This." Tony pointed and immediately the girl shot up and clicked on the link he suggested.
"Hmm 221c baker Street, flats being rented out looking for any possible taker. Looks like there's a landlady, apparently there was another flat being rented but it's occupied now." Scrolling down the bio further she saw the name Mrs Hudson and smiled at the phone number.
"Genius." The distracted girl muttered under her breath aiming the compliment at Tony who smiled and tried to kiss the girl.
"No, no, no, no you have to leave. I have a date with destiny!"Getting up to further accentuate her point she kicked his shoes over to him and picked up her phone. Dialing in the number she'd been retracing in her brain since the moment she saw it.
"But i-"
"No you don't need breakfast, cafes not too far from here. Goodbye!"
Slam!
She thanks the God's that's over and done with. Sure sex is needed for her sanity but God the emotional ties to it were so depressing. Instantly she adjusted her earpiece to suit the phones frequency and pressed the call button.
The phones ringing now.
"Hello?" The sounds of a polite voice echoes in her ear and she forces a smile to meet her voice.
"Ah Hello, Mrs Hudson is it?"
"Yes, who's calling?" The woman's voice has become riddled with curiosity now a factor Penny takes advantage of.
"Um well hi I'm Penelope Sharpe, I was actually calling to find out about that empty basement flat you have in your building. Is it still up for grabs?" There was no reply for a short while and Penelope thought the woman had hung up.
"Mrs Hudson?"
"Oh I'm sorry dear, you see I'm actually surprised. Are you sure you want that flat?"
"Very much so. When will it be most convenient for me to move in?" On the other side of the line the landlady of the building frowned puzzled completely with the girl who already wanted to move in.
"You haven't even seen it yet deary, I absolutely won't allow you to rent the place without seeing it." Out of frustration Penelope twitched her nose, only stopping to exhale silently. She had to be nice of course, she was after all talking to an elder. The woman reminded her strangely of nanny. She would never disrespect nanny.
"Very well Mrs Hudson I'll be there within the hour." On her statement she jumped out of the seat she was perched in and went to rummage in her wardrobe. Luckily she managed to find her black platform ankle boots and easily slid them on without falling on her ass; curse you hangovers.
"Um-oh alright I'll be waiting dear, ring the buzzer twice so I know it's you."
"Will do, see you shortly." Penny hung up quickly now realising the small stain she had on the baseball top she wore.
"Hmm, go commando or try find a top? " To think she considered the options for a solid 3 minutes.
"Oh for God sakes!" Efficiently she yanked off the top and dug through the hangers.
"Aha, found you!" The black skater dress she found would do wonders for not only her temperature but also her quite impressive rack. She slid it on and found herself mildly liking the match between it, her black boots and socks.
"Right time to go then." The last thing she did was step over the new mess she had made going to the coat stand. Picking up her grey exaggerated collar coat she slung it on, picking up her keys before shutting the door tightly behind her.
Looks like she was off to baker Street.
?¿~Penelope Sharpe ~¿?
From the outside Penelope thought the place was quite... quaint. It was right next to a cafe named 'speedy's sandwich bar and café'.
With a purse of her lips the woman strolled simply to the buzzer. She recalled the buzz twice instruction and did just that. Her phone had buzzed inside her coat pocket causing her to fumble a bit, waiting for it to stop.
It was probably just Nanny anyway, she'd call her back if needs be.
"Oh Hello deary." Instant reaction to the women's friendly voice was a bright and cheery smile, the one she only reserved for people she knew were pure at heart.
"Hi there, Mrs Hudson I presume." Said woman smiled back nicely, she hadn't pictured the girl to be so beautiful, the long straight hair ran down either side of her cheeks and stopped just below her...well you know what's. The smile on the girls face was mesmerising as were her soft brown eyes. She spotted the girls small silver device occupying her ear, which was slightly hidden and smiled with sympathy hidden behind it. Oddly enough Mrs Hudson found herself instantly liking her.
"Oh of course, come in, come in!" Grabbing her hand the lady was surprisingly gentle, it didn't stop the flinch which crossed Penelope's face in a millisecond, she forced herself to calm down. As the landlady shut the door behind them with a smile aimed at her.
"Alright dear, do excuse the noise. The boys are having a domestic again." The girl smiled with a right brow raised at Mrs Hudson clear upset with the situation.
"The boys?" She asked watching Mrs Hudson pop in to 221a and come out producing a key.
"Yes dear the-" Mrs Hudson was suddenly interrupted by a bellow which came up from the stairs behind Penelope. She frowned at the man's booming tone bringing her hand up to touch her ear gingerly at the words he'd yelled.
"I need a case!"
Mrs Hudson tutted then petted Penelope's arm in a friendly reassuring gesture, when the girl reached up to pet the device in her ear.
"I swear those two, you'll have to get used to it, if you do go through with this place of course. Anyway love, let's go take a look shall we?" A quick flash of the pearly whites and Mrs Hudson was beaming at her. Obviously the smile was dropped when the woman turned her back to lead the girl into the flat, but it didn't stop the weird nagging feeling inside of Penelope. It was unusual to think that the old lady had triggered such a reaction out of the girl.
It didn't matter, she'd fix those problems later.
"You're lucky dear, I did a clean up not so long back. So the place should look pretty much all right." Penelope nodded as Mrs Hudson got the door open and lead her through the place.
The walls of course were crumbling nicely, the absent thought of redecorating immediately popped through Penny's head. She would replace the creaky floor boards in the hall with new ones of course. They'd be wooden a fine oak finish will be nice if she painted the two walls black and hung some pictures along them. Not personal pictures of course more like artistic pictures or of puppies and kittens. She held back a snort. God no.
"Now this here is the bedroom, it's quite small but I promise it gets very cosy, especially during the winter." With a quick peek she managed to set a quick plan to what she'd do with this room. The dull green paint which was on the walls currently was boring. She'd personally paint this room and paint the scene of space on the walls. Her favourite stars would be depicted on the ceiling, plus she might even add in some of the ones that glow in the dark. Overall it would all be very personal. She took a picture of the place with her phone.
'No one would be allowed in there, it'd be far too revealing'
After the thought she left the room joining Mrs Hudson again in the hallway.
"The bathrooms here, it needs to be cleaned again I believe, it wouldn't take much to get that mould of the bath and sink. I could lend a hand if you'd like." Smiling Penelope responded kindly to the generous woman.
"Thank you for the offer Mrs Hudson but I'd bring someone in to do that. The whole place in fact it'd only take an afternoon as I'd prefer to move in as soon as possible and get settled." Mrs Hudson looked at the girl with an easy grin.
"You sound very set on this place." Penelope frowned slightly not knowing how to respond, the woman was staring at her almost... Fondly. Only her nanny did that.
"Yes...I am. It's very quaint and exactly what I'm looking for. Plus everywhere else in central London is positively awful." Both women laughed easily and Penny felt settled for a short while before the feeling of cold swept over her.
If she could act, maybe Mrs Hudson was acting as well. Maybe she hated Penelope and was only smiling and laughing with her so she could finally rent the flat to someone. Anxiety fell onto Penelope's shoulders making her feel heavier. She hated her moods, one moment she could feel oddly peaceful then her mind protruded her with doubt.
"Oh dear, let's go down the hall to the final set of rooms." Doing just that Mrs Hudson walked to the end and opened a door, inside was the living room with a door off to its side indicating that was the kitchen. Wallpaper was peeling, carpet rotting, curtains dusty but had oddly enough good lighting. Inside the room she would paint on the wall around the fire place. Flowers she imagined, roses and daisy. Daffodils and... Tulips. Yes she would definitely need to paint a lot of tulips. Put down a new black carpet, one which would hug her feet. The remaining walls would be painted in a warm lilac and she'd get more lace curtains to replace the old ones. Fix the light and add a small chandelier, get a two seater seat add a TV put in an leather arm chair, also had to make sure to get them in grey of course. Oh did she have plans for this place. With a quick look in the kitchen she had decided.
"I'll take it!" she declared making Mrs Hudson jump in surprise; a hand to her chest. "Sorry."
"Oh that's fine dear, in fact it's great!"
"I'll be calling some people to renovate the place, so it's done for tomorrow Saturday. I'll move in my stuff the day after so I should be all settled in about two-three days basically Monday. Work for you?" The old lady's blinked in pleasant surprise.
"Yes, just glad I've finally gotten someone to take interest in this place. It's even better seeing that you're so lovely." Penelope felt her eyes widened a little after Mrs Hudson gave her the... compliment.
She was bad at these, very bad. She never knew how to respond to them, sometimes her disorder caused her to question the motives behind the compliment. Then when she did that she'd get frustrated because she was over thinking it.
"Don't worry dear it was only a compliment." Mrs Hudson smiled in a kind gesture to the girl and then gave her the key.
"I'll also pay the months rent in advance." She guessed it'd be better to do it now so she wouldn't forget.
"Yes that's fine dear." The familiar faint buzz sounded in the distance and Mrs Hudson frowned slightly.
"Excellent then, it was nice meeting you Mrs. H but for now I'll see you Sunday."Both women headed for the main door just as a Mr John Watson appeared at the top of the stairs wanting to get the door. He realised Mrs Hudson waving off a girl who had opened the door and muttered a quick hello to the new 'case' then left.
He hadn't managed to see her face, only the image of her pulling up the hood on her coat and bending over to do the same with the right black and white striped sock which had fallen down her leg. His brow lifted as she bended and respectfully he turned away toward the man who was shutting the door blocking his view of the girl.
Sherlock Holmes, who was aching for a case - and a cigarette - had also seen the girl coming out of the building his frown was mirrored in his eyes. Who was she? He'd never seen her before.
This mystery woman picked up her coats hood and pulled it over her head. Briefly she bent over and lifted up a... white and black stripy sock! back up to her knee. His brow lifted sharply at the action, whoever she was she had no intention of sticking around for much longer.
Her phone obviously must have buzzed in her pocket as she was now retrieving it from her coat.
He couldn't hear what she was saying unfortunately but he did hear the loud whistle she'd conjured from her being.
She is used to the city life he deduced then went to go get changed out of his comfy robe, with a tinge of excitement. Hopefully he would finally get a good case.
? ¿~Sherlock Holmes ~¿?
"Hi nanny." Penelope was in the comfort of a taxi. Feeling a bit too snug.
"Love, do you have your hearing aid in?" What a stupid question.
"Why would I call you back if I didn't have my hearing aid in nanny?"
"Oh I don't know, I'm just being a concerned grandparent. Silly me right."The woman sounded offended and Penny immediately fixed that.
"I got a nice place. In central London nanny, small and... Cosy as you normals would put it." Her nanny hummed In acknowledgement but Penelope could tell she wasn't one hundred percent involved in the conversation.
"Are you with Sebastian?" The faint whispering and giggling in the back ground was enough to confirm her suspicions.
"Sorry sweetheart, what were you saying? " A small sigh left her lips as she turned to face the window and watch London as it passed her by. A question answered with another question. Typical.
"It doesn't matter, why did you call me earlier?" The woman had begun to cackle uncontrollably. Penelope recalled hearing that sound being produced a handful of times before. Sebastian was biting her.
"I-" giggle "I wanted to let you know that I love you sweetheart and the house we bought over here is lovely." Trying to feel happy for her nanny was going to take too much effort so she simply shrugged inwardly.
"Fabulous, hope you have fun." Straight after the comment the girl hung up and called another number on her list.
"Hey! There she is my little ballerina!" The base tones of Kevin's voice were loud and Penelope remembered the hearing aids in time to pull the phone away from her ear.
"Hey Kevin, you still offering me one of those disabled home renovations right? " The man on the other line huffed.
"You're not disabled don't call yourself that." With a roll of her eyes the girl apologises and presses the question once again.
"Yeah I still do things like that. What do you need?"
"Walls done repaired and painted, flooring and carpet put down, new kitchen equipment with light indicators as well (for when I'm cooking without my hearing aids). Also you need to reroute the buzzers ring to multiple lights in every room so I know someone's at the door. Again when my hearing aids aren't in." Briefly the cab drivers eyes met hers and she glared at him until his eyes focused once again on the road.
"Yeah got it, anything else?"
"New bathroom bath and sink and basically everything, I want the floor to be blue tiled. The kitchen floors should be black slate tiles, the wood in the hallway should be oak, real of course and brilliant. I need the door from the living room taken out and new doors preferably wooden for the bedroom and bathroom. Finally I need you to clean the main door, get new locks and repaint it. You get all that kev?"
"Of course, I was writing it all down I'm pretty sure you want me to accomplish this all by tomorrow."
"You'd be correct."
"Alright I'll call some people, but only because it's you!" a triumphant grin stretched across her face and she fiddled with her coats belt.
"Once again you never fail to please me Kevin. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye." she hung up with a small smile on her face, she would never admit it but Kevin had to be one of the few people she enjoyed the presence of.
"We're here luv." The woman forced a tight smile.
"Thank you, here keep the change." Handing him the fair price with a little extra Penelope got out running the rest of the way up to her flat room.
Once inside she threw off her clothes - leaving the socks - slipping Into her furry robe afterwards. Her first duty was to pack, so the boxes which had been crammed into a closet made a reappearance. For the remaining hours of that day she was putting all of her items in boxes.
Only choosing to throw something away when it was either unimportant or just plain stupid. For example, a tiny blue thong was not something she'd be needing, at least not anymore.
She was mature now, she had to stop messing around.
Get her life on track.
It was the big thought running around in her head. The one which had governed it, nawed away at her. Made her feel absolutely useless.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed. Pills would make those annoying thoughts go away in no time... would help her sleep. And as she lay back on her bed after taking exactly two of the small circle pills, her body began to relax into the soft sheets beneath her. All her worries soon drifted until she was floating amongst peaceful things, drifting into a content full and well needed slumber.
Tomorrow was going to be vaguely interesting.
Thank you so much for all the follows on the story, it's nice to see people want to read my work. xx