CHAPTER 5: THE BREAKUP
After the announcement of Clover quitting the team, Clover had serious reputation makeover. She never responded to any of the jokes pulled by the English teacher (which really shocked him because she was always the first one to laugh and enjoy his jokes) during his class. She didn’t show a single disgusted reaction towards dissecting a rat during biology class (except Alex, who fainted in the spot). She didn’t even blinked at any of the cute guys in school even though they were just right under her noses and she didn’t even respond in usual emotional way when A.J., the science whiz, asked her out on drive-in movie. She practically just shrugged him off coldly, leaving A.J. drowning in emotional scars.
The most surprising thing (although Sam and Alex have half-expected this to happen) was that when the dream guy David they were attracted to at the same time passed by and said his good mornings to the girls, Clover didn’t even twitched an eyebrow. She just watched him pass by coldly while Sam and Alex practically swooned as he disappeared out of sight. Even when a really cute guy from Science class or a charismatic guy from Literature or a handsome jock from gym class asked her out on a date, her eyes would just bore at their coldly and replied just briefly, “Not interested.”
Within weeks, Clover was automatically crowned as the Ice Queen of Beverly Hills High and became even more popular for her cold attitude than Mandy was at her so-called talented charisma. Practically she was even more popular than the time she was voted Homecoming Queen with the help of A.J.! Sam and Alex were beginning to worry about her sudden change of attitude.
Slowly, Clover began to spend lesser and lesser time with Sam and Alex and more with herself. Before she would at least accompany them wherever they go with limited conversation and stand there and watch while Sam and Alex get sucked into one of Jerry’s devices leading to WOOHPS. Soon, she started to become apart from them and became much of a loner. She sat alone when she had her lunch in the cafeteria, she sat alone during classes nowhere near Sam and Alex and she doesn’t even go out shopping nor do her favourite things anymore with her girlfriends.
Finally Sam and Alex thought that enough was enough. It was OK for her to finally succeeding in controlling her emotions but this was too much. One day after school, they rushed up to Clover who was walking towards the bus station on her way home.
“Hey, Clover!” Sam exclaimed cheerfully as possible, just to try and get Clover into the mood. “Long time no see! So how’s life?”
“Everything’s just fine,” Clover replied coldly as usual, her eyes not looking directly at them.
“Hey, Clover,” Alex joined in the conversation. “We’re thinking about going to that new boutique down at our favourite mall. They have a new stream of clothes for the new season. Besides, you still haven’t got that dress for the Spring Season Dance, and it’s about time you get one before that Mandy starts outdoing herself.”
“Nope. Not interested. I probably won’t be going to the lame dance after all,” Clover said, her voice showing a very convincing trace of boredom.
“Lame? But this is the season you’ve been looking forward to all day!” Sam said desperately. “You can’t be missing this event, can you? I mean you’ll be meeting so many guys there and you’re gonna…”
“Guess I was mistaken.”
“Come on, Clover,” Alex was also getting desperate. “Cheer up a little. You’re not thinking straight! I’ve just rented a great movie and if you could just come over to my house and watch it and give a little thought about the dance, you might change your mind.”
“Sorry. Got literature paperwork to be done.”
“David might be asking the three of us out for clubbing night at that recently built barhouse,” Sam said. “Wanna head to my house and wait for the call and get ready? I’ll lend you my dress.”
“No, thanks.”
“How about we skip that movie I rented and go out on a real movie instead? I heard there’s a new movie called ‘Gattaca: Replay’ on,” Alex suggested.
“No can do.”
Sam and Alex groaned. They got so frustrated that when the bus came and Clover was going to get on it, they just slammed the bus door shut, stopping Clover from getting on and they went straight to the point. They kept holding Clover back until the bus driver got sick of waiting and rode off. Clover gave them her famous piercing cold glare and said icily, “What is it that you really want, girls?”
“We want you back, Clover!” Sam practically wanted to yell at her. “We want the old Clover back! The ol’ Clover whom we know would jump at the sight of a bug, who would swoon over the latest cute guy in school, who would flip her gourd over Mandy’s notorious antics, who would go out shopping and do the normal things we do together, who we know would never give up WOOHPS for the world! The ol’ Clover we used to know is not standing in front of us right now!”
“Yeah, Clover,” Alex was in the verge of going down on all fours and beg. “The Clover we know would never abandon the team and would never abandon our friendship, no matter what the circumstances. We’re all glad that you’ve finally learned how to control your emotions but this is too much! You have gone too far! You’re not the Clover we used to know anymore! You’re turning into that virus’s pawn. The Ice Queen, remember? That virus is really making you live up to its name!!”
“Then you’ll just have to live with it because I have,” Clover replied, not looking at them. Her cold face made Sam so pissed off that she reached out her hand and wanted to slap her. But Clover had the upper hand. She grabbed Sam’s hand without a single expression on her face, glare at her icily before slapping Sam instead. She then pushed both Sam and Alex away onto the bench, well, actually hitting the bench and sent flying about a foot or two away from Clover. Clover’s strength sure hasn’t changed one bit and she was using it against them. And all the while, she did it without even as much as twitch an eyebrow.
“Sorry, girls,” Clover said coldly. “But I got loads of work to do and have no time to waste them on dates or movies or of any kind of entertainment. You know what those things can do to my life and you’re trying to snuff it out of me, don’t you? It’s not gonna work, because I have a life to live. So if you can’t take it, then beat it.”
Before Sam and Alex could get up to stop her, Clover has already gotten up on the next bus. The thunder rolled and drops of rain came pouring down. As the girls remained on the floor not knowing what to do, the rain continued to fall and got heavier and heavier, drenching them from head to toe.
“What are we gonna do, Sam? We…We can’t let her be like this forever!” Alex moaned, her tears mixing with the rain on her face. “We need her! The team needs her! WOOHPS need her!”
“I don’t know…I just…don’t…know…” Sam said as she began to cry too.
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