Penny & OTA
This was... scary. Only because it had made her think about her mom more than she'd thought about the woman in a while, but still. Scary anyway. And she hadn't known what to bring, which had made her feel bad -- but then she'd realized that it didn't need to be something connected to Alex in order to really matter to her mother. Who else had mattered to the woman more than her husband and children?
So after thinking a lot, she'd printed out a picture of herself -- the most recent one possible -- and was holding it now. "Hi, Mom," she whispered. "I miss you. Leo and Daddy do, too. But... they're doing okay, I promise. We're all looking out for each other."
A frown of confusion. "Well, I'm here, too, but... that's what the adults tell me, anyway. And... you'd like it here. Madison Valley's nice. The kids at school are nice, and I get to be normal again. And you'd love my guardian, too. She's super nice. Her name's Penelope, just like mine. We thought that was funny and kind of a sign."
Penny was fighting back tears as she stood there, even as she fell silent, because no. Just no. She wasn't going to cry. Not now.