A Better World

Chapter 8

        Clem had her supplies and was all ready for school, well in terms of her supplies that is. She wasn't ready mentally. She hated school, even though she was extremely good at it. She groaned as she placed her new backpack on the couch. She slumped on the cushion, hoping that time would just stop entirely, and that she wouldn't have to go to school ever again. Carley had watched Clem from the kitchen as her and Lee prepared dinner. She walked over to Clem, hoping that she could give some encouragement.

        "Clem, sweetie? What's wrong?" asked Carley as she placed a hand softly on her daughter's shoulder. Clem sighed.

        "I'm just not looking forward to tomorrow," said Clem, looking over at her mother. Carley looked at the girl in front of her with concern. What was there to be worried about?

        "How come?" asked Carley, sitting closer to her daughter. Clem sighed, resting her head on her mother's shoulder. Lee glanced over at them with a worried look as he stirred a pot.

        "I just don't want to be made fun of. When I was in first grade, I got made fun of a lot for being so smart. I didn't understand it. I'm just worried that kids will be mean to me again." said Clem as she looked down with a frown. Lee looked at her worriedly. He really hoped that she wouldn't have to go through being bullied again. But in reality, he wouldn't be able to control what would happen to her at school. He placed the pot on the table, resting it on a hot pad. He placed down the plates, cups, and forks, trying to make it look as appetizing as possible. He walked over to Clem with a smile on his face.

        "Hey sweet pea?" asked Lee. Clem looked over at him curiously.

        "Yeah?"

        "Are you hungry?"

        Clem beamed at Lee, trying to get free of Carley's hug as she ran over to the table. Carley let go as she stood up. She chuckled at her daughter.

        "I'll take that as a yes then," said Lee. They walked over to the table and started eating. Carley decided to bring up Clem's concern over school.

        "Hey Clem?" asked Carley. Clementine stopped eating and looked over at her.

        "Yeah mom?"

        "If it helps your anxiety, would you want me to help you prepare for tomorrow? We can go through your supplies and make sure that you have everything that you need." said Carley, hoping that it calmed her a bit. It seemed to work, because Clementine gave an immediate smile in response.

        "I would really like that, it would make things easier for tomorrow," said Clem, smiling. Carley smiled back.

        "Well, that's why I'm helping you, I love you Clem, and I want things to be as easy as possible for you," said Carley, leaning over to give Clem a side hug. Lee smiled as he watched Clem lean into Carley's embrace. His smile soon fell into a serious looking expression. How were they going to pay for her schooling? An idea popped into his head, and he thought it was a good one.

        "I've got my own work cut out for me too, as I also have to prepare for school. While you guys are getting Clem ready for tomorrow, I'll be looking for any history teaching position that I can get my hands on," said Lee, thinking about his days at UGA. He was really hoping that the cleared charges would give him an advantage. The sooner he found a job, the better.

        After about an hour, the Everett family cleaned up their dinner mess, washed the dishes, and decided it would be best to make some brownies. Carley and Lee helped Clem mix the batter, but not without some fun family pranking, as Lee's shirt now had some batter stains on it. Lee went to retrieve his laptop, while Carley and Clementine placed the brownie pan inside the oven. Lee sat down at the table and started searching for jobs. His first choice, UGA. That was his closest option. He looked into others as well, just in case. He looked for jobs in colleges like: Albany, Emory University, and Georgia State. His search was momentarily stopped as he was interrupted by Carley and Clem's talk over her school supplies.

        "Alright sweetheart, let's see what you have on your list. Do you have your pencils?"

        "Uhh, Yep,"

        "Colored pencils?"

        "Uh-huh,"

        "Erasers?"

        "Yep,"

        Lee smiled at their moment together. He was going to do whatever it took to keep his family supported in whatever way he possibly could. But he knew it wouldn't be easy. After what felt like an hour, he had all his applications submitted. Awesome, great. As he looked over at the clock while closing his laptop, he read 2:30am. He definitely felt tired right now. He got up from his seat, his muscles sore from the hardwood chair that he sat in the entire time. He stretched and yawned, making sure to turn off all the lights that were still on throughout the house. He went over to Clementine's room and cracked the door open to see her sound asleep. He smiled at her sleeping figure, buried in a mountain of blankets. He knew she needed her rest, especially since she had to get up at around seven o'clock tomorrow. He thought about closing the door and going back to his and Carley's room, but he figured saying goodnight would be a good thing to do, seeing as he didn't get to say it to her while working on his applications.

        He walked into the bedroom, careful not to wake her on his way there. He reached her bed and watched her sleep for a little while longer. He bent down, and kissed her forehead softly. Clem's eyes slowly opened and she smiled tiredly upon seeing her father.

        "Hi, dad. Me and mom got all my supplies ready for tomorrow," said Clem, smiling. Lee chuckled softly.

        "Yeah, I saw that. I just came in to say goodnight. I didn't get to tell you earlier," said Lee, as he softly stroked some strands of hair out of his daughter's tired face.

        "Oh, I'm sorry. I should have told you that. I just didn't want to bother you since you were busy," said Clem, a little worried that he would have been annoyed if she had told him.

        "You wouldn't have bothered me, Sweet Pea. You can come to me and mom about anything. We won't be mad at you for saying goodnight, just because we're busy. We love you so much and we won't ever be mad about you wanting to spend time with us, you know that right?" Lee said, hoping that what he was saying was the right thing to say right now, he sure hoped it was. Clem smiled at him and reached up to him for a hug, which he obliged to. He hugged her back, not wanting to let go of her at all. He wished he could stay like this. He was reminded of the time when he heard Clementine yawn during their embrace.

        "Let's get you back to bed, Sweet Pea. You got school tomorrow," said Lee, pulling out of the hug. Clementine nodded and laid back down as Lee pulled the covers back over her. She fell back asleep as Lee stood up. He started to walk over to the door when he heard Clementine.

        "Dad?" she asked. Lee turned to face her.

        "Yeah?" Lee responded, lovingly.

        "I love you," said Clem, melting Lee's heart, making him smile.

        "I love you too, Sweet Pea, goodnight," said Lee, as he closed the door. Even though he was beyond tired, he had a smile on his face, knowing that everything was going to be okay. He walked to his room to join Carley in bed, hoping that he could get a decent amount of sleep.