Penny's potions

A very short story about a girl and a boy. Flash fiction.

Penny’s Potions

Danny wiped the sweat off his brow before consulting his map. Again. He was supposed to meet Jo and Carter at a little Italian place where Trip Advisor had boasted of a famous pizza and an impressive selection of local beer, but after half an hour of walking small cobbled streets that all looked exactly the same, he still had no idea how to get there. Probably he had walked off the edge of the map at some point. And he didn’t like asking for directions (it was a recurring fight between him and Becky: “Why can’t we just ask someone?”), but it seemed he had to bite the bullet.

Danny stuffed the useless map back into the lid of his backpack and sighed. There were fewer people out than just an hour before. The lull between afternoon shopping and dinnertime was starting, and most of the small tourist shops selling handmade knitted hats or crystal jewellery were closing up for the night.

Danny eyed the passers by for someone to approach, but they all looked equally clueless. It was probably better to ask someone in a shop. Maybe he should buy something for Becky. They had been fighting a lot lately, and she always said he never brought her back anything.

As he walked past an ally his eyes caught at a green sign with curly letters that read “Penny’s potions”. He stopped and took a hesitant step forward. The little sign didn’t fight for attention like the other ones. The ally had a faint aroma of something flowery. Perfume. Before he thought better of it, Danny strode down the alley and stepped inside. A bell announced his arrival as he opened the door, and a young woman with pretty blonde hair looked up from behind an old wooden counter.

“Hi,” Danny said.

The woman smiled at him before she looked down again, continuing to stir a mug containing something pink with ice cubes in it. “What are you looking for?”

“Just looking,” he said and started doing just that. He always felt he needed to buy something when asking for directions. Seemed rude not to.

There were several cabinets with glass shelves placed along the walls throughout the small room. Some held vases of assorted flowers, while most were occupied by glass vials of different shapes and sizes, but all quite feminine. The walls were painted a soft lavender colour, and the perfumes gave the room a sweet scent that could have been flowers, or candy or maybe some kind of exotic fruit. It was not the sort of place Danny usually went into, but the smell was very pleasant.

“Are you Penny?”

She nodded without looking up, just smiling slightly and brushing a lock of hair off her shoulder. “You want some tea?” She poured some in a plastic cup and set it on the counter. It looked very chilled, with condensation forming on the outside of the cup, and Danny suddenly realised how very hot it was in there.

“Thank you,” he said as he took the cup and inspected it more closely. It certainly was very pink. It made him a little uncomfortable: the place being so girly, with all the flowers and the elegant bottles, and Penny, who was looking at him expectantly.

“So, is it usually so warm this time of year?” he said and instantly regretted it. Why was he so nervous? He was just asking for directions for f**k’s sake.

Penny laughed. It was a short spontaneous laugh that came from her chest. “No, not usually.” She was smiling a slightly crooked smile and cocked her head. Was she flirting with him? Danny took a sip of the tea. It was refreshingly cool and very sweet.

“What do you think?” Penny asked.

“It’s good.” He took another sip. “Can’t figure out the taste though. Is it apricot? Or peach?”

Her smile widened. “Amongst other things. Apricot is my favourite, I put it in everything.”

Danny downed the rest in one big gulp and set the empty cup back on the counter. The taste lingered in his mouth, and he smiled at Penny. He felt a little lightheaded, probably because he hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

“There’s no alcohol in that, is there?” he asked and nodded towards the mug.

“No.”

“Oh, ok.”

“So are you sure I can’t interest you in anything? Some more tea, or a bouquet for a sweetheart maybe?” She smiled and refilled the cup. Her cheeks dimpled when she smiled. It was a shame Becky didn’t have any dimples. It was very cute. Penny’s dimples disappeared, and Danny realised she expected an answer.

He shook his head, partly to decline, partly to clear his head. It was time for business.

“Nah, I’m not really here to buy anything. Actually, this is a little embarrassing, but I kind of got lost.” He looked down at her and sent her a sheepish smile. She raised an eyebrow. It was just a little bit darker than her hair, and surprisingly fascinating to look at. Until Danny realised he was leaning towards her on the counter, and drew back.

“I suspected as much,” said Penny. “There are a lot of tourists here this time of year, and you don’t really fit into my regular customer group. Where are you trying to go?” She looked amused, but not in a mocking way. Just like he was yet another lost person in need of help, and she was the sort of person who always came to the rescue. It made him want to set himself apart. To show her he wasn’t some clueless tourist.

“To this Italian place. They have the best pizza, and really good beer,” he said, trying to sound as locally savvy as he possibly could.

“Oh, you mean Pete’s place?”

Pete who? “Yup, that’s the place.”

“Right. Well, that’s just two streets over. If you go left when you go out and then the first right it’s on the corner of Red hill street,” she answered and brushed a loose strand of golden hair out of her face. It was such a good colour on her. It was the perfect counterpoint to her warm blue eyes. Danny took a good look at them before looking away again. It was strange that her eyes could be blue and warm at the same time, but they were. Strange and wonderful.

He picked up the plastic cup again for something to do with his hands. They were getting sweaty.

“Is there some lavender in here too?”

She didn’t answer. She just stood behind the counter, looking relaxed and perfect, studying him.

“What do you like to eat?” he asked.

Penny looked at him a while longer before she answered. “I like most foods. Not so much Italian thought. At least not at Pete’s.”

Danny swallowed. His heart had begun to race, and he kept glancing at her mouth, which was pink and full and smiling again.

“Well, we could go some other place maybe? I know many good places around here, maybe I could show you something you haven’t seen before.” That was complete bullshit of course. He hadn’t the faintest idea where the good places were, but he could figure something out. If he only got her to come with him. He just had to know more about her.

“What? You were going to Pete’s alone?” she said.

“What?”

“I thought you might be meeting someone there, since you were asking for directions and all,” she said and took the cup from his hands. For just a moment their skin touched, and Danny felt heat rising to his cheeks.

“No… well, yeah, I was, but…” He had totally forgotten about Jo and Carter. What was the time anyway? They were probably waiting for him. He just couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Then I think you should get going. I have to close up here in a little while anyway.” Penny took a step back from the counter, but she might as well have slapped him in the face. Rejection. Ice cold and bitter.

He wanted to persuade her to come with him. Or to let him stay and talk, but her expression gave no room for bargaining. Instead he turned around and walked to the door on wooden legs. The bell rang when he opened it.

“It was nice meeting you Penny,” he said over his shoulder, “hope we meet again some day.” He turned before she could say goodbye.

It was painful, but as he walked out into the sunset he held on to a small hope. He could win her over. He had inside information now. She liked apricots, they were her favourite, and if he brought her enough of them… And maybe some roses.

As the door closed behind the boy, Penny stretched and let out a yawn. It had been a long day. There had been a lot of customers that day, and more complaints than usual. Why couldn’t people understand that she wasn’t responsible for what they did with her products once they left the store? She slapped a warning label on every frigging bottle for God’s sake.

At least she had been able to test the new batch of Instant Infatuation. She was about to give it up when the perfect candidate showed up an hour before closing time. It was a little odd. She was so sure that the mix was too strong, but it seemed to wear off surprisingly fast, and the boy had left without complaint, even without a drop of antidote.

She would have to revise that recipe: you could always thin out a strong potion, but if it was too weak to begin with… It wasn’t too bad anyhow. She could always sell it as a test to beginners. That way they could get a few compliments from their intended without getting overwhelmed by a full on obsession.

It always annoyed her how some people insisted on buying ‘Obsession’ or ‘Jealousy’ despite her warnings, and then came back a week later, angry about getting what they asked for.

Penny cleaned the counter before she closed the door and turned off the lights. All the little vials and bottles looked so innocent in the fading light of the evening. She sighed and went up the stairs to her small apartment on the second floor.

It really was a terrible business, love potions. All the drama, all the begrudged lovers, all the broken hearts. She’d find a more dignified occupation if only the money wasn’t so good.

At least her own love life was quiet and peaceful. Non-existent, in fact. Just the way she liked it.

When Danny reached Red hill street his mind was full at work planning the grandest of grand gestures. No longer hungry, he walked past Pete’s pizzeria without stopping. Halfway down the street his cellphone buzzed, and he drew it out. Two missed calls from Carter, and now Becky was calling. With a quick gesture he rejected the call and turned the phone off.

There was a smile on Danny’s face as he walked towards the the golden light of the setting sun. The sky had the colour of beautiful blond hair. And apricots.

Author's Note

General impressions. Is it engaging? Are the characters good?

Reviews

[Nissa Knows]

In general this was a very interesting piece. I would've liked to see a bit more into Danny and Becky's relationship in the beginning. Also, the stereotype of "male-never-wanting-to-ask-for-directions" would flow a bit better if you hid it with reasoning (maybe he doesn't trust the strangers, or he doesn't want to seem as if he weren't in control of the situation?). Other than those two nit-picky things, the writing style is beautiful. The story in itself is very captivating. :)

[Hannah]

Thank you, that is very helpful insight! You are absolutely right on the stereotype thing, I'll have to look into that.Great with some feedback!