Post by mac on Apr 19, 2017 3:25:33 GMT
Cliff knew that his grades were starting to fail. But he honestly couldn’t find it in himself to care anymore.
It started when he was home for the weekend, just chilling in his room with Elvis. Because of his grounding situation, his video game consuls were taken away and his laptop was under lock and key. Literally. In order to do schoolwork, he was subjected to coming over to his mother’s house and use the laptop with her breathing down his neck. Either that, or he had to use the stupid slow computers at the library. It was so dumb. Fortunately for Cliff, since he paid his own phone bill, he at least was safe from his mother nosing through his texts. Though he did disguise the names of Cleo and Sylvan, just in case she got nosy and leafed through his phone. Which he didn’t doubt she did.
He had been sitting on his bed, texting ‘Daisy’ – AKA Cleo – with Elvis beside him when he heard a knock at the door. It was followed by a comment that there was an ‘open door policy’ in the house now. Cliff rolled his eyes and told whoever it was to just come in. Johnathan entered and Cliff didn’t even look up. He couldn’t be damned. The guy started to talk but Cliff tuned him out, just nodding and muttering mmhms, hoping that he’d be done soon and leave. Eventually, the guy didn’t leave, and Cliff rolled his eyes and finally looked at the guy, then realized he had in his hand a transcript. Cliff’s transcript. With his below average grade in Chemistry shining like a fucking diamond. His lips twisted down to a scowl, and Elvis began to growl at Johnathan when he felt Cliff begin to tense.
The following argument was a pain in the ass. Johnathan was trying to convince Cliff to see the importance of grades and he just wasn’t feeling it. Why should he try in class? Why should he give a fuck about what Ms. Summers said, about certain chemicals mixing and making results? And why should he care if his sculpting project received a C minus? So what, that was the reason he was enrolled in the school! Cliff never wanted to be at this stupid school in the first place!
Natalie was out for a trip with Annabelle, which meant it was just Cliff and Johnathan for a while. Cliff wound up storming out of the house without even eating anything, Elvis trotting behind him. Despite Johnathan’s insistences that grades were important, Cliff ignored him. He and Elvis went on a long walk that day, but by the end of the night Elvis was clearly tired. Cliff tried not to think about how Elvis was getting older by the day, and about how he wouldn’t be around forever. He returned Elvis to the house but ignored Johnathan, and turned around without looking back, jogging to his dormitory. He didn’t talk to Noah or Pippa at all the day, and just went to bed.
The next day he told his mother and step-father he had work. That was a lie – he didn’t work on Sundays but instead took the day off to go and spend the day with Sylvan or Cleo. And since his family had church they rarely bothered him about it. Currently, Cliff wasn’t at work and was instead in his house on campus. He had talked to Sylvan earlier and he was going to hook him up with something to smoke later. In the meantime, Cliff was playing on the PS2 one of his suitemates had. Hey, he couldn’t play at home, but his mom couldn’t control what he had on campus!–
Meanwhile, at Cliff’s workplace in the mall, his manager was stocking things out in the back while one of his coworkers took customer orders. It was a slow Sunday, around 2 in the afternoon, and their last rush had just ended. She was cleaning the shelves, clad in the uniform of the ice cream shop that Cliff worked at.
When she heard the little bell at the door ring, she looked up to see Johnathan Hall entering. Not recognizing him at all, she gave the man a warm smile. ”Hello sir! How can I help you today?” she asked, putting her rag down, washing her hands, and preparing to grab one of the ice cream containers.
