Haven

The parking area was a barren land of rectangular concrete, devoid of the usual red BMW and black Lamborghini. I safely deduced that my creators, or to put it in more boring terms, my parents, were not home. A wave of relief overcame me. The time before my impending punishment was longer than I expected it to be. I, with suspended worry, entered my home on 2349 Applewood Lane.

But something caught me off guard as I closed my front door. In my peripheral vision, I saw a large man in a black suit, obviously glaring at me. His black shoes tapped on the floor with a sense of annoyance.

"Clover," he said with a voice, deep and dormant with lava coursing through his veins. 

With reluctance, my head rotated slowly to see the man standing with a stern expression.

"Hi, Daddy," I said, smiling weakly.

"Can you tell me what this is?" He held up a sheet of paper with "Test Results" clearly printed on it. 

My body turned into pure stone. I had to think quick.

"Daddy, look there!" I pointed at something, but his attention was not diverted. 

He frowned. Deeply. 

Listening to my primary instinct, I decided to run- no, sprint to my room. My legs pounded the floor and swung at a pace I'd never expect my lanky body to achieve. 

I slammed the door shut. A quick rotation between my index finger and thumb twisted the metal knob to a securing lock. I was in danger, extreme danger. Sweat trickled down my forehead. Where was his Lamborghini?! It was an essential clue to my safety!

 "CLOVER! You get back here THIS INSTANT! What- No, HOW is this possible?" My furious father's intonation increased with certain words.

 I froze. Shame confined my cells from further movement as a chilling sensation ran down my spinal cord.

 To be fair, my father was only looking out for my well being; for the sake of my future happiness, he told me that college was necessary. I believed him so I strived for the best one out there. In fact, I worked so hard, read every page of every book, first word to the last, but I still managed to get a stinking 4% on my college entrance exam. My now impossible dream of attending Rellik University, a school currently ranked number one in the world, was cruelly destroyed by life’s evil desire to make me completely miserable. Regret grasped my heart and squeezed it tightly. Why didn't I apply for any lesser universities? Relying on one sole place with so much arrogance was the stupidest mistake I've ever made.

Well, life, you got what you wanted! Why must you torment me further and involve my stinking dad?!

95% or higher was the mandatory score to be qualified. Needless to say, my score was a long and sad distance from it…

"Open this door, Clover!  Talk to me like a man! At this rate, YOU HAVE NO FUTURE!"

The image of me living on the cold, dirty streets consumed me slowly. I whimpered as anguish and hopelessness lacerated my heart deeply. Eyes stinging and nose solidifying, I sniffed as my back slid down the door but this only made me produce tears at a faster rate. The very motion of me sliding down was a horrid reminder of my terrible score.

“CLOVER!” My dad knocked on the door with rage. “I don’t give a shit if you’re crying! Someone needs to cry for your shit score!”

Overwhelming emotions of my dad's disappointment and my own apprehension caused me to weep loudly. My hands cupped my wet and shameful face. It wasn’t even my fault that I was a failure. I had an excuse but I couldn’t tell anyone because no one would believe me.

The hard, angry knocks began to die down. I could feel my father’s face transition from anger to regret.

“Aww…” My dad’s voice increased in pitch. “Clover, don’t cry. I’m sorry, hon. Tears don’t suit you, baby...” 

My dad has his moments of fury but it was always short-termed. On the other hand, my mother was a raging, untouchable storm that was impossible to quell when riled up. Trust me, my father and I tried but she was just uncooperative in every single way. Sometimes, we swear that we can see visible lightening strike the floor in the background; it was a scary effect behind her beautiful and convival buisness mask. I thanked the gods for sending her away on an “important” business trip.