Preacher's Daughter: A Modern Clato Fanfic

Chapter 2

Cato awoke to the sound of beeping. With a moan, he propped himself up on his elbows, rubbing his eyes with his hand. He turned to look at the clock on his bedside table, only to see that it was eleven o'clock in the morning. Cato rolled his eyes in annoyance. His mother must have set an alarm. 

"Mom!" he called out to the woman, laying back down as he did so. "Your stupid alarm clock is beeping!" Much to the blonde boy's dismay, no reply was given. Cato groaned again, burying his face in his pillow. "Mom!" Again, no answer. 

Cato sighed and pulled himself out of bed. He groggily walked down the hall and to his mom's room, and to the alarm clock. He slammed his palm down on the Off button, He let out a breath in relief and retreated back to his room. 

Cato was just about to pull the covers over himself when his cell phone rang. "You have got to be kidding me!" Cato hollered before snatching up the phone and pressing the Answer button. "What?" he snapped, venom laced with his tone. 

"Cato!" It was Mrs. Hadley. "Don't talk to me like that!" Cato rolled his crystal blue eyes for he umpteenth time that morning. "What do you want, mom?" He could just picture his mother's face. How she'd put her hands on her hips and scowl because he slept until eleven.

"Get up, please," she told her son. "Make yourself breakfast. I believe there is cereal in the pantry or waffles in the freezer. Get dressed, put on something nice. Comb your hair, fix up your room. Finish unpacking some of the boxes. We're going out for dinner tonight."

Cato was not amused. "Mom-" he tried to protest, but the blonde woman had already hung up the phone. 

***

Clove sat down for lunch at noon. Her mother was out at her book club meeting and her father was over at the church doing who knew what. So, it was just Clove in their home. She had spent the morning tiding things up for the meal that evening and sorting through her old things. She was told to do so every so often because she had more than she needed. Someone else could use whatever she didn't want anymore. 

The raven haired girl also read a great deal of a new novel as well. She continued to read while she ate, and when she was done, she made sure to slip her plate into the dishwasher. 

Clove was loathing the plans for that evening. It's not that she didn't like socializing or wasn't open to meeting new people and making them feel welcome. She was just tired of it all. She was tired of being set up at such a high standard and always having the pressure on her to do what was right. 

She had a few hours to go before the new blonde boy and his mother arrived. Cato was his name. Clove thought again of what Jackie had told her. Could he really be that bad? Perhaps someone started some rumors about him to get a good laugh in. 

But that couldn't be. People in Elmore City didn't start rumors. They were all close to one another and believed in God's will, and strayed far from sin. 

If that was true, he father would be sure to watch this new boy. He never wanted the town to be corrupt or influenced by a person who followed the path of the devil. 

Or maybe he wasn't that bad. Maybe Jackie had heard things incorrectly. Maybe Cato was a sweet and caring gentleman. 

There was only one way to find out. 

***

Cato glared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He didn't feel like himself at all. But according to his mom, this was how he should look for this dinner. That she didn't want him to look like a slob and give off a terrible first impression. 

The teen feared that this preacher and his family would be stuck up. That they would give the Hadleys a cold shoulder just because Cato didn't believe in God. He didn't believe that there was a Holy Spirit or that there was a Heaven and Hell after he died. To him, it was all bull shit. 

He tried to explain this to Mrs. Hadley, that he would feel extremely uncomfortable. She retaliated saying that they would be just fine, and that he might make a friend. That this family had a girl around his age. 

Cato didn't want to meet whoever this girl was. She was probably a mirror image of her parents. She was probably super religious and would disregard anything he had to say. 

Well, Cato smirked, we'll see how they really think of me. 

***

Happy New Year!!! I hope everyone is having a good 2015 so far! 

My aunt brought over this giant homemade Jenga set on New Year's Eve and it was just so cool. We played a lot of games and laughed until our sides ached. If you guys want a picture, maybe I'll put one up for the next chapter. 

This chapter sucks. You guys don't need to remind me.