PENNY’s STORY

Penny was the first and only child of Trevor and Darla Blackmer, born as Penelope Eden. They arrived to this planet in the late hours of the night on July 4th, as the fireworks were sounding outside. The couple had never planned to have kids, so Penny was definitely a surprise. But, they were still very grateful and she was no less loved.

Trevor, who had spent years in the military prior to Penny’s birth, ran a very orderly household with rigorous rules. Their apartment was always very clean and the days were very structured. Darla was a nurse and worked long shifts, resulting in Trevor taking care of Penny a majority of the time.

Penny was raised to be a stereotypical tomboy by their dad (who would have much preferred a boy). She was put in sports and encouraged to rough house play. He’d take Penny on hikes, mess around in the dirt, go-kart, and they’d skateboard together. 

Trevor ran the Blackmer Family’s small motor garage and go-kart raceway that was passed down to him by his father. Penny would often tag along with him to work as a youngster. The raceway held go-karting tournaments every summer and Penny, plus their best friends, Milo and Zane would always race together in the kid circuit! The raceway was Penny’s second home at points in their life, and they loved spending the day with their dad running it.

Although Penny was closer with their dad than their mom, they never felt they could be emotionally open with him. This was rooted in subconscious misogyny being raised by an all American military veteran and treated like a boy their whole life. Penny never wanted to be considered “girly”, and to them, feelings felt girly. This led to a lot of stock piled emotions which resulted in frequent emotional outbursts.

In middle school, Penny would take out their frustrations from home life out at school. They would yell at other students for minute inconveniences, push people, steal from classrooms or other students, just anything to be a nuisance. Penny took out most of their frustration on Zane, always roughhousing with him when he annoyed her (which was always). Penny would hit him and push him, try to bite him, pull his ear or hair, and Milo was the one that had to keep them in check.

Penny was never mean to Milo, in fact, Penny found Milo to be the only person they could open up to. He was really easy to talk to and always knew what to say. For a long time, Penny was clingy to Milo, and they were closer than ever in middle school.

Penny always felt confident in themselves but when high school came around everything changed. They became a lot more insecure, as other girls often picked on them about their baggy clothes and frigid disposition. They also found themselves crying a lot more, being unable to control and make sense of their emotions. Penny found that Milo was a great outlet. They spent a lot of time together as Zane was busier with sports and made a lot of other friends. They would talk for hours in Milo’s room about emotions and high school, gossip, drama, crushes, etc.

Although Penny can struggle at times with regulating emotions and self identity, they are still the most sure of themselves extraterrestrial to ever roam this planet. However blunt and harsh they get at times, they are the most loyal friend, who will always stick up for the underdog. She may not wear her heart out on her sleeve, but Penny will forever stick beside her friends, morals, and sharp black eyeliner.