Clover Madden and the Order of Ivan

4) The Disappearing Children

The following morning, Clover is woken up by the sound of the heavy locks clicking open. She notices that Jane is keeping a close watch on everything around them because her once limp body springs up on her mattress at the rattling sound of the locks being messed with. Clover has never been that heavy of a sleeper to begin with, having been resting with her eyes closed and ears open for as long as she could remember. Even before her mother was murdered in front of her, she'd been told to keep her sleep light in case of wild animals or any other encroaching danger. She supposes that her mother raised her to be paranoid on purpose, always telling her stories of the monsters that lurked within their world; how they were after certain people and the methods used to avoid becoming a target.

She could tell that her mother meant well in her actions, trying to keep them safe for as long as she could, but she'd be ignorant to deny the lasting damage this lifestyle has left on her mind. Long before she even had a reason to fear the world, she thought that people were after her. It was told to her as a warning, at first. It was meant to make her cautious of her actions, but for a while, she was too scared to go anywhere without someone else closely behind.

Her father always seemed to think that her mother was crazy; he'd never admitted it to anyone, but she could tell that he was suspicious about what exactly it was that was hunting them down. From a young age, Clover was taught how to keep her head held low, the right things to say to get out of trouble, and was forced to not only be homeschooled, but also participate in training for the day the monsters came to get them.

She feels lucky that her mother didn't hold the belief that women aren't supposed to go to school or get an education—that she taught her the same as she did for Malcolm. It was a massive shock to her when Mary told her that she'd be pulled out of school by the time she turned fourteen, despite the fact that Alex is expected to go to college. Apparently, the only thing that women are good for is baring children and becoming a good wife for her husband.

At least she was given enough of an education when she was younger; her mother taught Clover how to do complicated math in her head by the age of five and by eleven, she could scan an entire book with her eyes in a matter of seconds, like her mind was a camera, capturing all of the information within the pages, able to consume everything in a flash.

When she was first sent to public school, everything seemed way too easy. Most of the time, she'd just sit there and do nothing throughout most of the lessons, having already known everything that they were learning. At first, all of her teachers assumed that she was a goof-off, ignoring the classes and having no ambition. They didn't care if she did well, though, because mothers don't need to be clever, they need to be nurturing. Wives don't have to retain knowledge, they just have to know how to do the dishes and cook meals.

But when Clover took her first exam and got everything perfect, they thought that she might have found a way to cheat. Suddenly, they were much more concerned about her grades.

It took her reciting the textbook for them to leave her alone, and even then, she still wasn't well-liked by her teachers. They stopped harassing her, yes, but they also ignored her cries for help when the bullying got to a point that she began to hate school almost as much as staying with Mary.

The torment started after a boy by the name of Nicolas Laughty, who was only a year older than her, had found out about her mother's death from Alex — they were childhood friends. Somehow, her stupid cousin convinced him to get the entire school to start calling her the "Grim Reaper" because she apparently brought death upon everyone she met. It was a living hell; every time she'd hear somebody call her that, Clover would try her best not to burst into tears. And she couldn't even be angry at them. She couldn't bring herself to scream at them and tell them how wrong it was to poke fun at something so serious.