The next morning as Clove rolls around her bed she skims at her clock which read 9:15. Ugh, it's still that early? Clove says complaining to herself, lately she had been able to sleep past 10:30 but with a rough day from yesterday that night had kept her up for quite sometime. Rolling up into a sitting position Clove takes a look at her arm in what the damage had been done from yesterday. The once then red marks had vanished but was replaced with the colors of blue and purple. Slightly Clove goes to simply touch it but with a shooting of pain that ran through she had to quickly release her hand. She hated the fact of what happened yesterday for she should have known never to make contact with him. But she did and that is what happened. Clove wondered what her mom was up to since she knew she must be up by that time. Kicking through her bed sheets she climbs out and retrieves her plaid robe that laid across her cherry wood chest that her great, great grandfather had made and passed it down to generation to generation.
Clove suspected her mother would say something if she saw the bruises on her arms but hopefully with the robe she wouldn't notice. After wrapping it around carefully she heads downstairs to fix herself some cereal. The sound and smell of fresh coffee still in the pot made her feel at ease. How she hated the taste of coffee which she attempted many times to keep awake with her studies, it just never clicked in but the smell was something different and delightful. "Morning sweet heart, how are you?" Said Grace as she came up to her daughters chair kissing the back of her head. Clove wanted to admit about her throbbing bruise that stayed hidden but instead she just decided to not bring it up.
"Good, and you?" Talking with her mouth full of Life cereal. Clove skims her mother down as she looked to be all dressed to go somewhere. "Are you heading out somewhere?"
Her mom turns around with another fresh cup of coffee in hand. "Yeah I have to run some errands, care to join me?" Clove looks down to her cereal.
"No thank you, I only have like three days left to be off for spring break so I'd rather just stay here."
Her mother nods at her daughter with a satisfied look. "Ok well if you change your mind just call me, I should be back no later then 4 o'clock. With that she takes one last sip of her coffee and hugs her daughter from the side. "Love you Clove."
Clove smiles slightly at her as she walks away. "Love you too."
When the students returned it was within days where everyone had to turn in their papers in for Powering Your Community. Where Cato and Clove had all theirs in order one about a boy named Gavin...who hated school, and his family. But the one thing he loved was traveling. Whenever his family took trips over the summer he would find it easy to pack up and leave and love the moments of what it held. When we, meaning Cato asked what he thought of the Mockingjay pin he found it a mystical yet not impossible miracle. "They roam this earth whenever and whatever they want to. You can't always expect yourself to find them, for they find you." Was what his answer was.
Then there was a elderly man named Blythe, a man who was a widow in his late 50's. A man who studied birds and how Mockingjays was the ONLY one he could not find. But yet he said: "All birds have reasons to be seen and how they want to express themselves, but I hope one day to experience why that is."
Dylan a young women in her twenties said she encountered one a couple years ago but only for a split second. "Once I saw that bird I was in a daze and when the time came to finally understand what that was it was too late for me to do anything." Trinity a girl about two and half years old. Her and her family where on a picnic one day and saw this little bird next to Trinity not feared by her at all for it just stood beside her.
"I saw bird, and it talked to me." Clove had asked the little girl what she thought of it. "I like bird, it pretty!" Then finally on their last person was Macie Greenwood. The girl who was dying and who had never experienced the bird either, yet she was understandable that it held important things. Both Cato and Clove agreed they had strong people for their project and each one left a imprint on what the Mockingjay bird held.
In the final result of her paper as Clove reads her overview all she could think of was, was it really possible for her to find one herself.
Cloves overall response.
As I relieved the experiences of my interviews for Blythe, Trinity and Macie it all came down to feeling the overall emotion of what these people either believed in, or the impact it had made when they came across theses "possible miracle birds." And though I have not yet seen for myself I feel a sense of closeness and strength as I carry this symbol around me. How there is this sense of knowledge that these birds are here on this earth for reasons we may never understand. It's like the feeling when you see a rainbow you always dream of reaching the end of it and and collecting it's treasures. The thought of it so close to reach yet so far too. But it's believing that it's true and how you can't lose hope whenever you hear or see one. I have yet to understand too why this pin came to me so long ago. For was it meant to be, was it faith to lead me into a direction I'm not aware of. Am I to pass it on so others can be aware of this creature? All these answer swirl into me as I wonder. I guess it's like what Maice had told me before: "It's not done with you yet." So maybe I should hold onto it...or not. I guess only my faith and or time will tell."
Clove printed out her final papers of her overview and scanned it with the others she had done. She was relieved it was completed but questions still were not answered for her part and with that it made it incomplete. Just then as she sat by her desk her phone beeped and it was a text....a text from her father saying he was sorry about what had happened the last time he saw her. But instead of replying she just turned off her phone and pushed it aside. Clove had learned he was not to be trusted and anger built in herself that if one day she saw him again, she would be ready for when ever that maybe.
"Hey Clove can I talk to you for a second?" Peeta said after school that day as he saw Clove heading home to her car.
"Oh, hey Peeta what's up?" Peeta tries to catch his breath as he had ran a ways to catch up with her. "I just need a second opinion and I could really use yours if you don't mind." Clove holds tightly to her books as one was slowly trying to drift underneath her. Little did she know her bruise was exposing out where Peeta got curious. "Well...wait, what happened to your arm? As he takes it to get a better look at it. The bruise was alot better then it had been but it was enough to be noticed.
"Oh that's nothing...I just ran into something." Yeah something by the name of dad! She mumbled to herself.
Peeta lets go of her arm slowly as she draws it back to her chest. "Oh...okay." He said not quite satisfied but didn't press it for he only had so much time before he had to be home.
"So what can I help you with?" She says trying to quickly get the thought out of his head.
Peeta and Clove started to make way into the parking lot. "Well what would you think if I asked Katniss to the prom, I mean you don't think it's silly do you?" Clove was surprised he would ask such a question because she always thought they made a perfect match and they really complimented the other.
"Of course it's not silly, why would that even be a question. I mean you guys make a great match anyhow." Clove stops short. "Are you afraid she would turn you down, you the baker boy?"
The two laugh hard which made Peeta blush. "Yeah okay maybe your right....so I'm guessing you think it wouldn't be a problem."
Clove places her right hand softly on Peeta's shoulder. "Peeta, I know Katniss very well and I know what kind of people she likes and you are one of those people who makes her feel special. So yes of course I agree."
Peeta hugs his friend as he thanks her for the encouragement. "Thanks Clove that means a lot to me. But what about you, has anyone asked you yet?"
Cloves smile tries to stay on but she had to admit no one had asked her. "Not yet, but it's still early I mean tickets aren't going on sale yet for until what Thursday so that's like three days from now."
Peeta hadn't liked the fact that Cato and her weren't talking still. For that was over almost two months now. "Well you better come."
Clove tries to hold her painful smile and holds her chin up. "Don't worry Peeta, I'm sure I'll find someone besides worse comes to worse I come by myself and dance with you and Katniss."
Again Peeta smiles as he slaps hands with Clove. "Alright then you better! Thanks again Clove, I'll see you later." Peeta turns around and moves to the far right of the lot and heads to his car.
Waving back. "No problem Peeta, anytime."
On the day of the tickets were being sold all the junior and seniors were lining up to purchase their tickets. As it looked to be some new amusement park that had just opened up and visitors was just crawling to get in. "Yikes this is crazy!" Said Katniss as her and Clove stood by watching.
"Yeah tell me about it, it's a zoo." Katniss looks at Clove kindly as the two start walking away from the ticket booth.
"I really hope you come with us Clove. It's just not going to be right if you don't." The day after Peeta got Clove's approval to ask Katniss he surprised her at her door step the next day in a tuxedo with a dozen roses. To Katniss it was the most simplest yet meaningful way of asking her out.
"I'll do what I can but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. Life doesn't always work in everyones favor." Clove says as they reach a bench that stood in front of the schools library.
"But your a senior too and this is our final year together. If you don't come this will be the worse thing that happens to me on my senior year."
Clove cocks her head at Katniss. "Don't be so dramatic, it's just a dance." But Katniss cocks her head back to her. "Whatever....you still should come." As the two waited for Peeta to get his and Katniss's tickets they noticed Marvel was just sitting around alone reading a teen magazine.
"Do you know if Marvel is going with anyone?" Clove says curiously.
"I'm not sure, he hasn't said anything to me about it." Katniss says looking from Clove to Marvel.
Clove thinks off to the side for a minute and gets up. "I'll be right back. Hey Marvel what are you doing?" But she got no response from him. "Marvel?" Clove says to him as she now starts to wave in his face.
A bit startled from the shadow of her hands he jumps. "Oh hey Clove sorry I didn't see you there." Marvel says as he pulls out his head phones out of his ears. "What are you up to?"
Clove squats down on her two knees to see him better. "Not much just waiting for Peeta to get his prom tickets for him and Katniss." Marvel nods softly.
"Are you going to go to the prom Marvel?" But as it turned out Marvel shakes his head slowly to Clove. Not in a sad way just in a way where it was nothing to be bothered about.
"Nah, I mean I would like to go but I doubt anyone would go with me." Clove gets up to where she is slightly taller then his head.
"Don't tell me your still thinking your not worth going out with someone. Marvel I thought I told you before your a great person with a good heart."
Marvel nods. "Yeah, I know, I know but other then you, who sees that?"
Clove looks around as the soft breeze of wind pulls her hair into her face where she had to shake it off.
"Marvel, will you go to prom with me?"
Marvel looks shocked and almost in disbelief. "You, you want me to go with you? But what about Cato, or anyone else?"
Clove stands firmly still. "Cato is going with Glimmer and besides I want to go with you, I mean I can't see one of my good friends going alone now can I?"
Marvel is still speechless and opens his mouth a bit wide. "Are you sure you want to do this Clove?"
Brightly she beams as she knew this was the right thing to do. "Yes I am!"