"Penelope!" Phillip spotted her first and waved her over. They ended up a little closer to the front of the coffee line, so she joined them. (All's fair in Love and War and the Coffee Line before 8 am.)
"Did you guys bring a fun mug?" Penelope said as she walked up and showed off her cake piece mug.
"That's awesome!" Colin burst out as he looked over from where he was chatting with Eloise.
Penelope was startled. Who was this handsome man? He wasn't wearing a shirt? Well, that was mostly acceptable at Saturday Morning Jump Club, but she was still surprised. Penelope did her best not to bite her lip or give him the super obvious "body scan" as Prudence called it.
"Penelope, this oaf is my brother, Colin," Eloise introduced him.
"It's nice to meet you," Penelope said as she stuck out her hand holding the floaty for a handshake.
"Any friend of Eloise is a friend of mine," Colin said, stepping in close and giving her a hug instead.
"That's an incredible mug. If only my sister had thought to grab me one," Colin said looking longingly at Eloise.
"You don't even like coffee!" Eloise said.
"Maybe I acquired a taste for it while I was gone." Colin joked.
"Well … actually, I did grab you one," Eloise said, pulling out the tiny mug from where it was hiding inside of her mug. Phillip and Penelope were trying to hide their chuckles.
Colin immediately barked out a laugh. "Only you, Eloise." He said, shaking his head, then he took the mug for her. He tried to fit his pinky finger in the little handle which didn't work. The attempt pushed Penelope and Phillip into full-blown laughter.
Wiping a tear from her eye, "Oh man, I thought I had a chance this week to win but that mug has to be a winner if not a top contender."
"Winner? How do you win?" Colin asked. Penelope turned to him to explain the contest.
"I'm glad they're getting along," Eloise said to Phillip.
"Called it," Phillip said in a sing-songy voice.
"If anything, Eloise should win because it's her mug," Penelope said with her voice rising slightly, she didn't seem angry, just vaguely annoyed.
"You think so," Colin dropped his voice and stepped closer to her. "I think that I should grab your mug too and see if I can't get credit for both." He said, playfully reaching for the cake piece mug.
"Nope!" Penelope laughed, stepping back into the coffee table. "Oof," She let out.
"Are you okay?" Colin immediately shifted to worried.
"A small bump against a table?" Penelope looked confused. "Yeah, I'll live." She chuckled.