The Atrophy of Clementine Darlington

XLIV | Feelings

⤠ ≻ ◈ ≺ ⤟

Seven Ravenblood remained.

          Clementine wiped the black bile from his lips, watching as the rest he'd thrown up was washed down the sink. Despite taking his medicine, his condition was still declining. He cleaned his hands, switched the tap off, and made sure his hair was tidy. He hadn't seen Sebastien in five days, and he suspected the kid was avoiding him. Of course he was. Clementine still had no idea why he'd freaked out after they'd kissed, but he wasn't going to waste his time thinking about it anymore.

          He left his bathroom and grabbed his backpack. When he stepped out into the lounge, he looked over at Elliot, who was waiting by the door. "You good to go?"

          Elliot nodded. "Just two more days until winter break, huh? You excited?"

          "I suppose," he answered as they left their dorm. He locked the door behind them, and as Mathew and Mavis joined them, they headed for the stairs. "I'm looking forward to seeing Ripperton."

          "Me too!" Mavis said, clapping her hands.

          "There are many things to do there," Mathew added. "I'd like to visit the old monument, if possible. I hear the views are stunning."

          "I just hope we find Carmichael," Elliot said with a sigh. "Even if he is mad like you said and doesn't want to be my friend anymore, I just want to find out if he's okay."

          "I'm sure he's fine," Clementine said as they headed downstairs. "What's this Serenity Week all about anyway? I only ever really heard a few things about it floating around in the orphanage."

          "It's a sort of week-long festival. People give gifts to each other and share feasts—it's sort of a time to come together."

          "For friends and family," Mathew added.

          "It sounds fun," Mavis said. "Another interesting celebration."

          Clementine nodded, leading the way to history. "Do you have to dress up for it?"

          Elliot shrugged. "You can if you want—like if you're going to a party, you can wear the traditional Serenity Week colours, which are usually white or this strawberry-blonde sort of shade. My mom had the prettiest strawberry-blonde dress. She used to do her hair up all nice too, and then we'd have a little family party."

          "Just you, your mom and dad?"

          "Yeah. I think my auntie came at some point—and my friend, too."

          Clementine nodded, but as they turned the corner, he set his eyes on the crowd of students waiting outside their class. He immediately spotted three kids pushing the rest around and searching the crowd, and when he saw the trio were people he'd seen in the Ravenblood files, panic struck him. He gripped Elliot's backpack and pulled him back behind the wall, bumping into Mathew, who had been walking behind him.