Love or Hate || Modern Clato Fanfiction

THREE

     CLOVE'S EYES FLUTTERED OPEN as sunlight peeked through the open blinds. Her warm hand immediately moved to rub her eyes, cursing herself for not closing the blinds before going to bed. Attempting to fall back asleep, Clove rolled onto her stomach and buried her face into the soft pillow. This could have proved to be a clever idea had it not been extremely uncomfortable for Clove.

     With a sigh of defeat, Clove rolled onto her back and reached for her phone. Careful not to drop it on her face — as she had done many times before — she held her phone above her head and checked the time. She was shocked to see that it had only been 12PM and thought that it would have been later, but Clove knew it would be impossible to fall back asleep now.

     Untangling herself from her sheets, she stumbled into her bathroom. As sleep tried to engulf her once more, a cold splash of water hit her face like a punch, effectively waking her up. Now fully awake, she continued on with her usual morning routine, but decided against any makeup like she often did.

     The time to leave the Gunn's home and head to Panem Academy was nearing, and as it did, her worry grew. She had never been the type to be extremely outgoing, and this had definitely affected her ability to make friends. Back in Australia, she had stuck with the same friends as she had when she first started school, so there was never any reason to worry about making new ones, but now, she didn't have any friends and no one would be able to make them for her. What worried her the most, was the fact that everyone had already attended the school for years, making her an outcast. She would be seen as a strange foreigner that had no friends and that would be the last thing she wanted. Of course, she never shared these fears with anyone; too prideful to let others think she was insecure and childish.

     Looking into the mirror, she wondered whether Marvel and Jack would invite her into their small groups of friends. The thought of relying on them to make friends for her made her mentally slap herself, knowing how pathetic she was being.

     Clove exited the bathroom and retrieved the phone that had been discarded on her unmade dead before turning to exit the room. She was glad to see that no one had been walking through the hallway at the time as it would welcome unwanted small talk that she would rather deal with once her hunger had diminished.

     Walking down the cold marble stairs, Clove wished that she had chosen to wear socks or slippers instead of going barefoot. Not bothered to head back, she made her way down the cold stairs as fast as possible and headed towards the kitchen. After opening a few cupboards, she finally found the stash of cereal. She randomly pulled one off of the shelf before searching for a bowl and spoon.

     After finding these items, she poured the cereal into the bowl and began eating. Unlike most, she preferred her cereal dry and thought that the milk just made it soft and mushy. The crunch of cereal seemed to echo throughout the empty kitchen. Taking a seat at the bench, she continued eating her mundane breakfast.

     "Good morning," Clove started at the sudden sound, unaware that she had company, earning a small chuckle from the tall intruder. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

     "My fault. I should have realised you were there." She said quietly before continuing with her meal.

     "Missed breakfast?" Marvel asked as he nodded toward the bowl of cereal. As she nodded, he walked closer towards her and immediately noticed the lack of milk in her bowl. "Did the milk expire?"

     "No, I prefer my cereal dry." She replied, extremely aware of his judgemental stare.

     "Is that like an Australian thing?" He asked, clearly confused.