Shoes: A Clique Fanfic
All credit due to Tinker-Bell-Greenleaf's "Plants".
Disclaimer: I do not own The Clique. Sadder still, I do not own the Shoes song.
"Happy Birthday, Claire!" Judi and Jay Lyons were beaming down at their eldest child, and only daughter. Claire smiled bravely: what would it be this year? A phone? An iPod? A PalmPilot, like the rest of her friends had? Maybe even some decent shoes? Jimmy Choo? Valentino? No, probably not. As Claire well knew, her parents were not the best of gift-givers, and she was still recovering from the horror of last year's gift, a cutlery set.
Claire read her card politely and began to open the square, heavy package. "iPhone!" she thought, ecstatic. "Thanks Mom and Dad," she said, smiling, before realising what lay before her. "A...book?"
"Not just any book, honey!" exclaimed Judi, excitedly. "It's Paradise Lost!"
Claire felt like dying. She looked at her parents with a new frustration. Don't you understand?" she shouted. "Do you pay any attention to me at all? What am I doing all day, reading books the size of a tree? No! I'm going out with my friends, who had to give me a phone because I didn't have one! I'm talking to them on my clapped-out computer! I'm listening to music, but on a walkman because you think iPods are antisocial!" Claire took a deep breath, trying not to look at her parents' shocked, hurt faces. "I've had enough of it!" she continued, making her way to the door. "I mean, do you ever think about what I want?"
"Of course we do, honey, we're family!" said Judi. "We all have the same hopes!"
"Cam." thought Claire.
"Massie." thought Todd.
"Normal children." thought Judi.
"A hot dog." thought Jay.
Claire sighed, deeply annoyed, and stormed out. "Where are you going, Claire?" asked Jay, confused.
"I'm going," shouted an emotional Claire, "To get what I want."