Saudade | CountryHumans RusAme

CHAPTER 1: Morning Scandals

We had something unmatched going. I'm sorry that I ruined it for us. 

I can't trust you anymore. History doesn't change. Especially when we're the ones making it.

[...]

AMERICA
No one had ever told America that being a Representative required waking up this early every day. 

His alarm clock blared in tune to the alarm on his phone, making it double the times annoying as he tried to block out the wake-up-calls with his hands. Seeing that there wasn't much success, he grabbed the corners of his bedsheet instead, whisking them above his head. Irritation knitted his brows into a frown and only softened when darkness enveloped his surroundings.

He let out a sigh of relief at the absence of the blinding sun rays. Maybe if he couldn't see that it was morning, he could convince his mind that it wasn't another dreary Monday. 

School was overrated. That's what he had always tried to say. The only perks of going to Global High were his friends, Japan, South Korea, and Poland. Canada and Ukraine, who always tagged along, were also good company. And he liked a few of the teachers  ⎯  namely UN and NATO. But that was just about it.

As the only titled Superpower on Neo Orbis, he was firstly, always pestered by the requests of either autographs or photos of adoring girls and starstruck boys. It had gotten better over the years, but when he was first made the Representative of the United States of America, he couldn't leave his house without a camera being shoved into his face and lights shattering the usual normalcy of his life, so France and Britain had to make him avoid the public eye for a long time. 

But that really only paled in comparison to the mere existence of a group of people; more specifically, Representatives, who seemed as if they lived only to bother him. The bane of his existence, if anything. They despised him no lesser than he did them. From the beginning it was —

No. He grimaced, trying to push the thoughts away and sink back into that rather heavenly, dreamless sleep. A Monday morning was only worse when it was soiled by a bad focus. He hurled a spare pillow at his alarm clock, which fell to the floor with a loud clatter.

A few meters away, in the kitchen, Canada frowned at the ruckus. "He's always like this on Mondays."

There was a yelp as New Zealand dropped the basket of fresh berries he was holding. Blue, purple, and pink blurs of color cascaded to the opulent tiled floors. He looked up sheepishly. "He's like this every day. And so am I, it seems." 

"You're hopeless," Australia scoffed, flipping a wisp of blue hair over her shoulder as she shoved her brother out of the way and began washing the berries near the sink. "Canada, you should go wake him up. Or don't. It's his fault for staying up all night watching movies yesterday."

"I'm not as devious as you guys," Canada sighed, waving a 'good morning' to his mother, France, who had just walked in, bundled up hair donning a signature beret. "I'll go wake him up."

He made the ascent up the marbled stairs up to his older brother's room and dealt three harsh knocks to his door. "Wake up, America. Third Monday this month," he called.

A muffled 'no' came from the inside, followed by a string of cuss words.

"I'm opening the door, then," Canada yelled back.

"No! I mean, I'm up, I'm up! Jesus, Canada." The door clicked open after a few moments, revealing a sleep-distressed America in the doorframe, eyes practically shooting daggers. "Happy now?"