Fine Line

Chapter Two

☆☆☆

Clover sighed as he walked down the street. Why did these things always have to happen to him?

It had rained earlier that day, so the sidewalk was wet and the air was humid and damp. His platform loafers clomped along as he walked towards the local 7-Eleven on his way home. Buki was perched on his shoulder, holding onto his hair for dear life as he walked in. The familiar jingle of the door released a sense of calm within him, and he happily walked over to the shelves, grabbed a few cans of Monster Energy, some chips, and a bag of sour candy. He took his haul up to the counter, where the kind lady who worked there greeted him.

"Hello Clover!" she waved, a cheerful smile on her face. "Have a good day at school?"

"Nope." he sighed, putting his items on the counter. "Same old thing."

"Aww, poor kid." She quickly scanned the items for him and rang them up. "Receipt?"

"No thanks," he took the bag she handed him.

"Hopefully tomorrow, then." she tousled his hair, a sympathetic smile on her face. "Chin up, kid! Things are going to look up eventually, I just know it."

"Thanks, ma'am." Clover whispered softly, a small smile curved on his lips.

"No problem, love."

Clover and Buki said their goodbyes and left, continuing home. As they walked, Clover's mind wandered back to the day's events. His head still hurts, and most of it was a blur. But the one thing that stuck in his brain was that moment in the classroom. He put his hands in front of his face in embarrassment. Oh my god, why did that happen?! Why did I do that?! While Clover was caught up in his own thoughts, he didn't notice the height change in the sidewalk, and tripped, nearly falling over before Buki enlarged itself and caught him.

"Whew," Clover gasped, steadying himself. "Thanks, Buki."

Buki nodded and returned to its original size, climbing back onto Clover's shoulder and hugging his neck tightly with a smile.

☆☆☆

Soon, they arrived in front of a large apartment building. Clover climbed the stairs, took out the key, and opened the door to unit 169.

The apartment was small, but cozy. To the right, it had a small kitchen with an island, where he set down his school bag and walked through a door to his left. As he entered his room, he was greeted by four other dolls who swarmed him, grabbing onto his leg and tugging onto his socks. He laughed, picking them up and giving them a big but gentle hug.

"I missed you guys!" he cooed, smiling. "I'm glad to be home."

The dolls returned their appreciation, and started working as soon as Clover put them down. Buki joined them as they took out the snacks from the bag and set it on the desk as Clover changed out of his school clothes. When he was done, he flopped down into his chair and took a sip of his energy drink, lost in thought. He went over in his head what he was going to do that night. I'll work on my homework, after that I might play some video games. At 7, I'll start cooking dinner, and when I'm done, I'll work on the dress 'till bedtime. He paused. I'm so tired, though. I'm so fucking overwhelmed with everything, I don't wanna do anything at all. But I have to eat. He sighed and put down his drink, making his way to the kitchen, grabbed his backpack, and headed back to his room, taking out his homework and getting to work. He put in his earbuds, turning on his favorite playlist. As he did his daily routine, he let his mind wander for a bit.

Clover had always been a relatively shy child. He was never as extroverted as the other kids his age; he didn't have very good social skills, he wasn't good at making friends, he couldn't even make eye contact with other kids, especially adults. His only 'friend' was his grandmother, who taught him how to sew. He spent most of his time with her, making things together, like quilts or scarves or clothes, anything really. Clover mastered the craft, honing his skills, until one day, his oddity came. Everyone is gifted an oddity, a superpower of sorts, at age five. No one knows how these oddities come about, nor how they are given. But on that one Sunday morning, Clover was given his.