Hit, hit, hit, hit, split.
"Ah" Penelope exclaimed, she had been struggling to open rocks that may have been a fossils for around forty minutes now.
Penelope now had a hard hat on, goggles, gloves and knee pads. She carefully put her priced Estwing geological hammer down her father gifted her and slowly opened the rock...
"Are you taking the piss?!" She saids loudly, causing Fiona to turn round.
"Pen?" Fiona shouts over to her, "What's wrong?".
Not hearing Fiona, Penelope throws the rock, not fossil, back onto the ground in anger, this is the first time she has not found a single fossil, not even an ammonite, in a location suggested to be teeming with specimens, normally finding one within the first ten minutes.
"FUCK" Penelope screams, causing Eric to shout up at her.
"WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE PENELOPE".
"HOW ABOUT YOU FUCK OFF ERIC!" Penelope screams down at Eric, causing everyone to stop excavating.
Eric stares up at Penelope in shock. Even Fiona's eyes widened at the realisation that Penelope just swore at a senior/expierenced member of their team. Realising what she just said, Penelope's face slowly turned from an angry red to pale pale white. Everyone was standing still, in silence to the point you could hear a pin drop, even the wind seemed to stop blowing upon the hill.
Everyone was staring up at her, not knowing what to do, Penelope's eyes start glimmering with tears welling in her eyes, this was not a good day... The one to break the painfully awkward silence with Henry, if it wasn't for him, Penelope would have started crying on the spot.
"Think it is time now to take a lunch break".
Henry was a very well spoken individual, his parents come from money Penelope presumed, however he was always pleasant towards her, he knew what to say in the moment.
Everyone then quickly diverted their gazes and broke off for lunch, muttering to themselves, Penelope being the one left standing still. She stood for other thirty full seconds before moving an inch to pick up her hammer, Fiona approached slowly and quietly.
"Um Pen..." Fiona saids cautiously.
Penelope just stares at the hammer in her hands in silence.
"I've got cookies in my tub if you'd like some?" Fiona said sweetly.
Penelope and Fiona, without fail, would always sit together at lunch and share chocolate chip cookies, talking about Fiona's love life, which seemed to amuse Penelope not make her sad. Fiona had a funny way of putting things, and her love life was a whirlwind, a different man every few months, Fiona refusing to settle down, the complete opposite to Penelope, who wanted a husband, but saw the funny complicated side of Fiona's love life, Fiona had a shock reply to her offer however...
"Not today Fi, I want to be alone", Penelope threw her bag over her shoulder and started to walk to the peak of the hill, silently looking at the floor as she walked.
Fiona looked up at her and sighed...
"I guess I'll eat alone then" she mumbled to herself, almost defeated.
Penelope walked slowly for a good five minutes before she reached the lone oak tree on top of the hill, taking her safety equipment off and putting her items down gently, the hammer back in her bag, she took out her lunch silently and sat down.
She normally enjoyed eating lunch with Fi, but today was not her day. Ever since that strange car journey, Penelope realised today was going to be a hard one, she thought she was going mad, hearing voices in her head, and now she swore at a senior team member! Yes she hated him to her bones, but she couldn't believe she was so unprofessional. She knew it was natural to have her off days, due to the circumstances, but she now concluded every day was going to be a bad day, due to the fact her brain had stopped working normally, or so she thought...
Penelope eventually finished her lunch, putting the tub back in her bag, taking her hammer out and holding it, she spoke quietly...
"Oh Dad what am I going to do? I'm going mad, you would know what to do".
She stares at the hammer with teary eyes, but she eventually stands up and looks out to the view, taking a slow breath in, the breeze seemingly starting to blow again. Penelope eventually moves to put her protective equipment back on when she suddenly hears a mans voice...
"Are you ok Miss?"