Relationships
"Where do babies come from?"
The question was so unexpected the group of five all froze. Clementine looked over at AJ, he'd shown himself to be a fast learner, considering that children usually asked that question around four years and older, not the three years that AJ had.
"Well, there's multiple places," Said Becca, making everyone look at her, "There's the gooseberry bush, and the cabbage patch, sometimes the stork brings them…"
AJ, despite being three and a half years old, gave her a flat look, "Then why did Clem's book say something about into courses?"
Duck snorted, followed Gill and the three girls. AJ stared at them, confused.
"I think," Laughed Clementine, "I think we should leave that here, goofball."
"Why?"
"Because it's a very complicated thing."
"Why?"
"Because it's complicated."
"Why?"
"It's something grown-ups do."
"Why?"
"Because."
"Why?"
"Just because, alright?" Clementine fixed AJ with a look, "Why don't you ask Alvin or Rebecca?"
"Because they're having secks you all into courses." Replied AJ, looking up at Clementine, who's face went red.
"Oh, okay… how about we watch a movie?"
R
Clementine and the rest of the group tried to do their homework, while AJ was watching Thomas the Tank Engine. Emphasis on tried. Over the past three years since Clementine re-entered Alvin and Rebecca's care, she'd grown close to them and the friends she made. Of course, she was still private and didn't like to talk about her past very much, which was still a point of contention with Becca and Rebecca at times.
"Why do they have to make it so hard?" Whined Gill, dropping his head onto the table.
Clementine, ignoring Becca's "That's what she said.", looked at Gill's French homework.
"…Gill," Asked Clementine, giving him a sideways look, "you do know the sheet's upside down, right?"
Gill frowned, before rotating the sheet, "Oh."
"Yeah." Grumbled Clementine, looking at her geography homework, "Fuck it, it's not like they're expecting us to do the homework anyway."
The rest of the group quietly agreed and discarded their attempts at their assignments. Duck looked over at AJ and the TV, "Hey, I remember this one."
R
"There's a new guy." Said Becca, getting everyone's attention, "He looks like an asshole."
Clementine cast a look over at the guy, wincing at the sight of an orange hat. He looked to be Latino and had a face that just begged to be smacked.
"Isn't he the guy with that baseball player uncle who ran off with his step-mother?" Asked Gill, getting a look from Duck, "What? I keep up with celebrities. I don't make fun of your hobbies."
"He's got a point." Said Sarah, adjusting her glasses.
"So," Interrupted Becca, "Who's going to greet the new guy?"
Everyone was silent, making Sarah groan, "Don't all get up at once."
Sarah made her way over to the guy, Clementine watching her like a hawk, before following her. The rest of their group slowly started smirking.
"Okay, how're we getting into a fight today?" Asked Becca, as she and the boys watched on.
Clementine frowned, the new guy seemed to be talking with Michelle, a dark-skinned girl with deadlocks, someone that Clementine didn't get on well with, but both tended to avoid each other and if they had to talk, they were at least civil.
"Hey." Said Sarah, getting the guy's attention.
He looked at her, before blatantly looking her up and down, "Sorry, I don't sleep with strangers."
Michelle spotted Clementine and moved away from the guy, just as Clementine drew level with Sarah, "Who's this cunt?"
The guy looked at Clementine, losing all interest in Sarah, "Gabriel. Gabriel García."
"The guy who's step-mom ran away with his uncle." Said Gill, joining them, "I saw Clem's shoulder tense up, what happened?"
"He implied that Sarah followed the profession of his mother." Growled Clementine, glaring at Gabriel.
"Er, she's wearing tight clothes, what else would she be?" Snapped Gabriel, before his head rocked back as Clementine punched him, "What the fuck!? You crazy bitch!"
Clementine went to advance on Gabriel, before a pair of arms hooked under her arms and lifted her up.
"Clem," Grunted Duck, as Becca joined them, "calm down."
"I'm perfectly calm, he's just an asshole." Snarled Clementine, ineffectively kicking her legs out at Gabriel.
"Sorry." Said Becca, looking at Gabriel, "She's protective. Who're you again?"
Gabriel looked at the group, before he settled his eyes on Clementine, "What the actual fuck?"
"Okay," Said Sarah, abruptly, "I'm Sarah, the tall guy is Duck, she's Becca, he's Gill, and the tiny feral monster in Clementine."
Clementine let out a frustrated scream, before going deadweight in Duck's arms.
"Oh shit."
Within moments, Duck and on the floor and Clementine was scrambling to her feet.
Gabriel looked at them, Duck was wincing and rubbing his arms, Sarah had a blindly optimistic smile on her face, Becca had a mixture of a smirk and a scowl, Gill looked disinterested and Clementine was hurriedly adjusting her clothes.
"Okay," Said Clementine, "One, I'm not tiny, nor am I feral, and two, you still haven't apologised to Sarah for saying she was a slut."
Gabriel blinked, confused at the rag tag group in front of him.
"What the fuck?"
"That's not an apology."
"You just punched me."
"Because you called Sarah a slut."
"All I said was 'I don't sleep with strangers'."
"That's implies someone wants to sleep with you."
"Are you seriously choosing to act like a bitch?"
"I dunno, you tell me, asshole."
Sarah leaned over towards Duck, "Is, is Clem flirting?" She whispered.
Duck shrugged.
R
Rebecca frowned at AJ, "Sweetie, where'd you hear that?"
"It was in Clem's school book, Daddy had it." Said AJ, looking up at Rebecca.
"Of course, he would." Muttered Rebecca, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Mommy?" Asked AJ, getting Rebecca's attention, "Why does Clem call you Rebecca?"
"Because it's my name."
"Should I call you Rebecca?"
"No, calling me mom is more than alright." Reassured Rebecca, wondering where AJ was going.
"Why doesn't Clem call you mom?" Asked AJ, tilting his head in confusion.
"That, that's a very long and complicated story," Answered Rebecca, after a moment, "and it's best to have Clem here if we're going to talk about it."
"Why?" Asked AJ, as Rebecca picked him up.
"Because it's very personal to Clem and if we talk about it without her knowledge, it could hurt her feelings." Explained Rebecca, carefully adjusting the toddler, "Now, what would you like for lunch?"
"Nuggies!" Cried AJ, throwing his arms up.
"Okay," Laughed Rebecca, adjusting her grip, "'nuggies' it is."
R
"When's the new teacher supposed to get here?" Asked Duck, his face pressed against the table.
"Don't know, don't care." Dismissed Clementine, drawing on the back of Duck's neck.
"Hey, uh, Clem," Said Duck, as the rest of their little friend group stifled giggles, "I, uh, I know I'm not the brightest person in the room, but, uh, are you sure a tattoo is just a biro drawing?"
"Of course," Clementine lied, "don't you trust me?"
"Given that you put a dung beetle on my pillow and said it was the tooth fairy, no. I don't." Retorted Duck, looking up.
"Fine." Sighed Clementine, dropping the pen.
"Guys, what did she write?" Asked Duck, trying to find something to see his reflection in.
"She drew a horse's head." Said Becca, glancing at it, "Like the one you gave her a few months ago."
"But, I didn't give her a horses…head…" Duck trailed off, "Seriously, you drew a penis on the back of my neck?"
"Payback's a bitch, Kenneth." Snarked Clementine, leaning against the desk.
"I'm going to eat all your popcorn."
"Do that, and you're a dead man."
"I'm already dead, remember? You bit me on the ass."
"I bit your arm, stop trying to force your ass fetish on me."
"The teacher's here." Said Sarah, making the two stop.
"Sorry, I'm late." Said their teacher, "I got lost. My name's Omid Saul. You can call me Omid, or Mr Saul, whichever you prefer."
Duck froze, before glancing at Clementine, who stiffened and stared straight ahead of her.
"Okay," Said Omid, cheerfully, "There's thirty of you on the register and there's thirty of you here, so we'll skip roll call."
"Yay." Muttered Clementine, her face becoming impassive.
"So, who can tell me about the civil war?" Asked Omid, looking around the classroom, "Anyone?"
Becca suddenly stood up.
"The civil war happened because two gay guys couldn't talk to each other, it ended with Captain America being assassinated and Ironman becoming an alcoholic."
There was a smattering of laughter, Omid smiling, "That's nice, but no."
"The American Civil war occurred between 1861 and 1865, between the North, called the Union, headed by Abraham Lincoln, and the South, called the Confederacy, headed by Jefferson Davis, the main boiling point of the war came down to abolition of slavery." Said Clementine, getting everyone's attention, "The first battle fought was called the First Battle of Bull Run. The war ended with the dissolution of the Confederate States of America and the abolition of legal slavery in the US. Lincoln was assassinated and Davis was made President of the United States."
"Thank you…" Omid froze, "Clementine?"
"Sir, don't you have a lesson to teach?" Asked Clementine, look at the board.
R
"So, I take it you know Mr Saul?" Asked Becca, as they sat down for lunch.
"Foster Parent number…three, I think." Answered Clementine, after chewing.
"That's the one that dumped you after deciding to have a kid of their own, right?" Said Becca, around a mouthful of food.
"I really wish you wouldn't do that." Shuddered Sarah, prompting Becca to loudly chew with her mouth open.
Across the hall, Gabe stared at Clementine's group. Michelle, and a couple of her friends, watched as he stared.
"I get the whole, I need to be a dark mysterious loner while also being a badass schtick," Said Michelle, getting Gabriel's attention, "but I wouldn't recommend it when it comes to Clementine or any of her friends."
"Why?" Asked Gabe, looking at her.
"Because," Said Ida, "when it comes to Clementine, it's not an act. She shot a coyote while standing on the school roof. The coyote was on the outskirts of the forest."
"But, that's, what, a kilometre?"
"Then there's that biology lesson where the teacher took everyone out to the forest to look at the insect life, and she beat a cougars head in." Muttered Greg, getting flat looks from everyone.
"Fairbanks, everyone knows you made that up." Said Michelle, before looking back at Gabe, "Long story short, Clementine isn't someone you want to mess with. She's beaten the shit out of people for looking at her friends the wrong way. Hell, she knocked a guy's teeth out and broke his jaw because he called Gill a 'fag'."
"Is, is that all?" Asked Gabe, looking around.
"No, when one of them gets into a fight, they all get into a fight." Warned Danielle, "I saw Becca punch a guy and the next thing everyone knew, they were all fighting with someone, and Clementine was practically wiping the floor with a guy."
"Apparently, she was taught how to fight by a Marine or something." Muttered Greg, glancing towards the group.
"Those guys are talking about us again." Muttered Duck, glancing at the rest of their group, "I think they're trying to warn the new guy off."
"Why did you hold me back, anyway?" Asked Clementine, looking up at Duck.
"It was almost nine in the morning and none of us wanted to explain to Crawford why there was a dead body in the halls." Responded Duck, glancing at Clementine.
"I would've given him a broken nose, tops."
"No, you wouldn't."
"No, I wouldn't." Agreed Clementine, going back to her lunch.
R
"So…"
Clementine looked at Sarah, "So, what?"
"That thing you had with that Gabriel guy…" Sarah ran her finger over a spot on the table, "It seemed… I don't know… a bit charged."
Clementine frowned and looked up from her schoolwork, "He insulted you, of course it was a bit charged."
"T-that's not what I meant." Sarah glanced up, "Y'know…l-like flirting."
There was a moment of silence.
"What the fuck?!" Clementine jumped up, for a moment, Sarah thought it was in response to what she said, before she saw Clementine pull a spit ball out of her hair, "Who shot that?!"
"Miss. Marsh," Sighed Mrs Rhee, not looking at Clementine, "Please, sit down."
Another ball hit Clementine, alerting her to the origin of the spit balls. Clementine's eyes fell on Gabriel.
"Oh, you son of a bitch!" Clementine launched herself at Gabriel and tackled him to the floor.
Within moments, a fight broke out amongst the class and, at the centre of it, Clementine and Gabe were rolling around on the floor. Gabe grabbed Clementine's face, only to get a punch in the gut. Suddenly, the fighting around them stopped and Clementine and Gabe were pulled apart. Almost instinctively, Clementine tried to bite Nick's arm, while Daryl hauled Gabe to his feet. Gabe struggled to contain a laugh, Nick had his arms wrapped around Clementine, raising her a foot from the floor.
"What the fuck was that about?" Grumbled Daryl, as Clementine stopped struggling and went limp.
"Why don't you ask mr. spit balls." Growled Clementine, glaring at Gabe.
Daryl glowered at Gabe, who looked at the floor and shrugged.
"Do you know who threw the first punch?" Asked Nick, turning and looking at Mrs Rhee.
"No, I was writing on the board." Answered Mrs Rhee, resting herself against her desk.
Daryl hummed, before looking at the pair, "Askin' around y'all'll be a waste of time."
Gabe glanced around, noticing everyone was keeping quiet.
"C'mon, shorty." Muttered Nick, hauling Clementine out of the classroom.
"I can walk!" Protested Clementine, as she and Nick vanished from view.
"Yeah, in the wrong direction."
Daryl then dragged Gabe out of the classroom and followed Nick towards Oberson's office.
R
Alvin sat across from Oberson, the man had gotten used to having Clementine appear in his office at the start of term, and Alvin likewise for being called away from work to the office, with Clementine sat next to Alvin and glaring at the floor. Meanwhile Gabe and his dad were sat on the other side of the room.
Oberson ran his hand down his face, "So, this fight broke out because Mr. García thought it would be funny to… 'spit ball' Miss. Marsh?"
"Technically." Muttered Clementine, still trying to burn holes into the floor.
"Pardon?"
"It technically started when he called Sarah a slut."
Oberson sighed, "Wonderful. Mr. García, if you'd like to explain?"
"She just looked like one." Mumbled Gabe, getting a swat on the back of the head.
"I thought we raised you better." Growled Gabriel's dad, "Did you at least apologise?"
Gabe was silent, getting another growl from his father. Oberson sighed again, "Right, both of you will be serving detention for a month. Mr. García, you are to apologise to Miss. Ramirez."
Gabe shrugged, a muttered something.
"Mr. García."
"Okay."
"Good, so, unless there're any other incidents that need addressing, get back to class." Dismissed Oberson, sending the two out of his office, "Mr. Brooke, Mr. García, if I may have a word."
Alvin and Gabe's father looked at him, "While I'm used to Miss Marsh appearing in my office, considering her record, I am concerned about this incident. It's not like Miss Marsh to have such a light trigger. As for your son, Mr. García, his previous school said he was a model student, but his blatant disrespect of his peers paints an unflattering picture about him. If he continues to exhibit such behaviour, his future at this school will be in question."
Gabe's father set his jaw and nodded, before leaving the office.
"How's Miss Marsh at home?" Asked Oberson, looking at Alvin.
"It's a tender time, right now," Answered Alvin, "it's approaching the anniversary of an upsetting time for her."
"I thought as much, though, this is the first time she's gotten into a fight over spit balls." Murmured Oberson, leaning back in his chair, "Hopefully, this will just be a one off."
R
"Do we seriously have to do this?" Asked Gabe, looking at Clementine.
"Yep."
"Don't they have janitors for this?"
"Nope."
"Then why do they have this place?"
"Less whining, more shovelling." Said Becca, passing shovels to Gill and Sarah.
"What did you guys do to get here?" Asked Clementine, looking around at them.
"Nothing, apparently you can volunteer to do this." Answered Becca, driving the shovel into the pile of manure.
"Okay, that makes sense." Muttered Clementine, jabbing the shovel into the floor, "Careful, the floorboards over here are rotten."
"Right, thanks."
"How's the arm?" Asked Duck, making Clementine look down.
"Which one?"
"The coyote."
"Still get some pains from it, mostly from the cold." Answered Clementine, "Still a bit stiff though."
"What are you guys talking about?" Asked Gabe, getting everyone's attention.
"A couple years ago, Clementine got attacked by a coyote, the thing took a chunk out of her arm and it had rabies." Answered Sarah, pushing her sleeves up, "She was in a coma for a week, blood loss and all that."
"I don't think you needed to add the coma part." Objected Clementine, as she pushed her own sleeve up.
"Oh, please," Scoffed Becca, "we all know that getting detention with someone is how you make friends."
Clementine gave her a flat look, "Seriously?"
"Yep, by the end of the month, Gabey here is going to hanging around us like he's known us for years."
"Besides," Chimed Duck, "it'll be nice to have another guy around."
"Why?" Asked Gabe, frowning at them.
"Then, when it comes to a boy vs girls vote, it'll be a stalemate instead of a landslide."
"You're just jealous that we had a better idea than you." Smirked Becca.
The group chatted amongst themselves, letting Gabe in on inside jokes and sharing stories.
"Wait, you're really allergic to morphine?" Asked Gabe, leaning on his shovel.
"Yep, they think that was the reason I was in a coma for a week." Smirked Clementine, wiping her hand across her forehead.
"Did you really shoot a coyote from the roof of the school?"
"It was from the roof of the cabin near the school grounds, and I was trying to fire a warning shot." Answered Clementine, "I was a bit out of practice with my shooting."
"How can you be 'out of practice'?" Asked Gabe, frowning at Clementine.
"The last time I fired a gun…didn't end well."
"How so?"
"Yeah, she's not going to answer that." Warned Gill, hefting his shovel up, "She's very private when she wants to be."
Gabe frowned, but nodded, "How long are we supposed to do this for?"
Clementine checked her watch, "We'll be done in about ten minutes."
"Whoopee."
R
"Well, I'm glad that's over." Said Gabe, a month later.
A lot had changed between them in the past month, after Gabe apologised to Sarah, he confided in Clementine that he'd acted repulsive to stop forming any attachments in case he had to move again.
"Don't worry, after a certain point, it stops feeling like a punishment." Said Clementine, looking at him, "Are you still free next Friday?"
"Yep, I'm looking forward to it." Smiled Gabe, reaching out for Clementine's hand.
"Me too." Smiled Clementine, grasping Gabe's hand.
A lot had changed between them.