Clove POV

We get here, and it's not exactly looking nice. I'm separated from Glowy, who would probably be my only friend here, and go into the volunteer barn. It's nicer in this barn, but there's still no privacy anywhere.

I look at my name on the door (stapled on, so other people don't.. steal this room?) and go inside. I take off my green Converse and sit on my bed. I overhear the volunteers (mostly guys, but I can tell there's a girl) complaining about redheads. All the usual things, like how they shouldn't have rights and shit.

I sigh, put my shoes back on, and say, "Nope, I'm outta here."

Apparently I said that audibly, because everyone started to follow me, it was news that there was another girl apparently. Heaven forbid girls exist in peace here. I continue to run, and suddenly a guy grabs my shirt.

I grit my teeth and say, "Let. Go."

He says, "No. You have to stay in here."

I calmly hiss, "No, I don't."

I free myself from his grasp on me and sprint out of there. Okay. So far, I had already almost been attacked by a crazy guy. Wow. That's amazing. I want to leave. I almost regret coming here, but I'm interrupted by the SAME guy grabbing me.

I say, "Stop it, you fucker! I'm sorry I'm a female? Is that a crime to you?"

He says, "Nah. I want you to date me."

I'm so grossed out by the idea of dating this sociopathic man, I literally almost barf all over him. No normal people act like this. Plus.. why would he take advantage on someone being separated from society anyway? Is he separated from society too? Perhaps demented? Maybe mentally challenged?

I reply, "Ew, that's disgusting. No."

He says, "Why, babygirl?"

I reply, "I don't even know your name! You don't even know mine! We literally haven't met. Go."

He says, "I'm Chase. And your name's Hannah."

I say, "Geez, you're not even close! Go away."

Okay. So. I'd not only been followed by a random boy, I'd also been an attempt for fucking seduction. That's great, especially because I was gay. Suddenly, if matters were worse, here comes the stuck up, pick me volunteer girl.

She says, "I need your name."

I say, "And I need you to shut the fuck up and go away."

I hate her already. Really, I hate everyone already. I just want to go home. I shouldn't have came here. Maybe this was a mistake.

But somewhere, out there, I knew Glowy had it worse.. so I stayed.

Layla POV

Well, this girl was feisty, but I wasn't backing down that easily. She wasn't even a redhead, what did she have this shell for?

I say, "You can write it down."

She sighs, "Fine." She fills out all the information.

Clove, I notice, is her name. So we needed to give her a name tag. Chase thought her name was Hannah. Luca thought her name was Emily. I laughed at that. Emily, seriously? That's a name for redheads. I walk back up to Father's house.

He says, "Layla, dear, did you get the new volunteer's information?"

I reply, "Yes father. She was a little hard to get it off of, so that's why it's not in my handwriting."

He marvels, impressed, "This girl has amazing handwriting. We need to hire her for letters. Or even the news."

I sigh. He was always obsessed with people with good handwriting. Well, he seemed to be focused on everyone.. except for me. Mine was OK, but I did agree, hers was way better.

All of a sudden I hear a scream. This scream seemed drowned out by water. Somebody was in the lake. I rush over, not wanting to help the redhead that it probably was, but to my surprise dark brown hair laid on the surface.

I immediately pull her out, I assume this is a girl because of the hair length, and am very shocked when I realize it's Clove, the new volunteer. She's barely breathing. Damn, she'd already found a way to almost die.

Then, suddenly, she's sputtering. Coughing, but awake. I didn't care that there was water all over my face, and asked if she was OK.

She said, "Yeah. Chase 'asked me out' earlier, and when I said no, I thought nothing of it. Then he pushed me in right after you got my information. I wasn't able to get into swimming lessons since by the time I was ready, my sister got cancer. I can't swim."

Oh. Nobody says no to Chase, or at least that's what he thinks. And her sister has cancer? No wonder she's so quiet.

I ask, "Your sister.. does she still have cancer?"

She replies, "She's dead, if that's what you mean."

Oh! For the love of Christ, what was it with people trauma dumping on me? Although.. I did ask, so I suppose I have to be nice.

I say, "I'm Layla. And we should probably get you into swimming lessons."

She laughs and says, "Yeah. I guess that's true. Free shower though!"

Glowy POV

I'd noticed Clove was drowning, but I couldn't do anything about it because:

1. I would have got beaten for not doing my work instead.

2. I also can't swim.

I did, however, punch the guy who pushed, well, more like threw Clove in. I may have gotten beat after, but it was fine. I've heard rumors that I broke his nose. So that's good.

I've also had boy problems today. There's this guy, Daniel, and he's been bothering me all day. He introduced himself 1,000 times and has just been flat out annoying. Like, I heard you the first time.

Desperate for distractions on my break, I walk to the barn. But suddenly, as I get nearer  to the barn, a girl, also a redhead, pulls me over. She explains to me, "Hello, I'm Juli, and you're headed to the wrong barn."

I smack my face and say, "Oh, shoot. Thanks. I'm Glowy by the way."

I follow her to the correct barn. My name is put on a sign signaling my stall. The doors didn't even go up all the way. I bet Clove got more privacy, even if she still had to sleep in a barn.

I take off my crusty work shoes and sigh, daydreaming of Converse like Clove had on. They were green, and they were so cute. But my parents could have never afforded it, let alone my grandparents. Pay rates were way low for redheads. We wouldn't even still have my house if it wasn't in my great grandmother's will.

Now is break time, which I want to enjoy but I can't, Daniel is right next to me. He's talking, and talking, and talking. Geez, dude! Simmer down a little would you? That's what my grandfather would have said if I acted like that. He had a temper. I think that was the only part my dad got from him, and I got that from him too.

I already wish I wasn't here anymore. Unpaid labor sucks. But I have to find my mother, I know they haven't deemed her worthless yet. Even if she's missing, I will find her. No matter how long it takes me.

Clove POV

Literally half the day is break time, which I enjoy blissfully as I look at my walls and my actual door. The paint was chipping a little, but I didn't care. At least my walls went up all the way, even if they were thin. My door also went up all the way, and it was a real door. I appreciated that. Nobody in the redheads section had a full door.

I also had a summer and winter outfit. From Glowy's reports, (I may or may not have snuck out to see her during break time), they only had a summer outfit. Did they want their workers to die of hypothermia? Oh. Right. I forget, they don't really care if they die.

There were so many things I was grateful for that most of the volunteers hadn't even realized. None of them cared the way I did. Maybe it was my aggressive empathy talking. Maybe it was because I knew a redhead. Or maybe it was just because I was a human.

Suddenly I'm thinking about my cat, Tickles. Poor Tickles really loved Tyra. He was always in her room. He hated how Daniele was busy, so he was almost never in her room. After Tyra died, helpless Tickles kept leading me to her room. He meowed at pictures of us. As if to say, "She is still here". That cat is the only reason I'm coping right now, I can't help to realize.

I continue to enjoy my break and the silence, reading one of the many books I took with me. (You never know when you need to read.) This book was #2 of the famous trilogy The Hunger Games, the specific book known as Catching Fire. I'd been fortunate to read it. When it came out in 2009, I was 11 but fought my way to the library. Well, actually, the bookstore was nearly empty. So nobody actually fought me for the first copy. The only thing that fought me was Daniele's bank account.

I'm 14 and still remember that. How deranged I looked. My mother had recently passed away. We would have been at risk for getting sent back to our adoptive centers (Even I would have, even if I was the only one who wasn't adopted) if Daniele hadn't just turned 18. She was our mother figure now. We were all we had. I had matted pigtails because I'd just learned how to do them.

Soon, the redheads are dismissed. I still continue to read. All of a sudden, the volunteers are called. "Volunteers, you make dinner. Clove Hardich, we have your nametag."

That was me. I went over to the "office" which really looked like a whole mansion. To me, anyway. The "farmer" was LOADED, he honestly didn't need to be on a farm. Bitch was loaded just because he could be.

Me, well, us, we were not well off. The only house that wasn't red headed that was close to living below the poverty line was our house. Daniele had to work 5 jobs. Realistically, she wouldn't notice I was gone for 2 weeks. Or more.

I begin to make dinner. In the back of my mind, Chase still bothers me. In somehow 1 day, I've been almost killed and asked out by the same guy. Suddenly a guy knocks into me. I quietly mutter "ow", because I already had a headache. And he knocked straight into my head.

He turns around and goes, "Oh, I'm sorry. Wow. New volunteer and I'm already knocking into them. I'm Levi."

Levi seemed nice, so I reply, "Hi. It's OK, I already had a headache, and I'm Clove. Clove Hardich."

Somehow I was being talked to? Maybe this camp wasn't too bad. I still would protest, though. No matter how easy it was.

Glowy POV

While the volunteers are making dinner, us redheads have to tend to the crops. AGAIN. We seriously don't get a break from crops, like ever. We tend to them 4 times a day! That's 28 times per week.

Most redheads would be shocked I knew multiplication and was good at math. Most redheads were either one or the other. Because all the schools taught us was escape. No math, no reading. Most redheads would stare in awe at a multiplication problem. They didn't know algebra existed, even.

Me, I was determined to teach myself all I could know. I bought 7th grade math books at 11. I mastered multiplication and everything quickly. I was above standard and could even go to a regular school now. But I wouldn't be allowed to, no matter how hard I did study. All that hard work, for nothing.

I put the crops into my wheelbarrow. My wheelbarrow was an ugly bright yellow, the yellow on school busses I always saw go by the richer neighborhoods. Not once did they ever stop at my house, 5963 Nord Avenue. They never would, either. But I quickly put my crops in the barn and move to the dinner quarters, which was in our directions. I see Clove is in charge of cake. I'd be taking a piece.

Until I realize I forgot a lot of stuff was for volunteers only. So I couldn't have the cake. I sit down glumly next to nobody. The injustices had already made me upset.

Clove sits down across from me just as Juli was about to. She didn't sit cause she was afraid of Clove. But Clove motions for her to sit down, which she follows. Clove says, "Hey, Glowy, were your chores alright?"

I sigh, "No. But we have to deal with them."

She replies, "I'm gonna get all of you out of here. I'm Clove, by the way, girl next to her. What's your name?"

Juli says, "I'm Juli.. I trust you. I trust you now."

Clove hugs her. I knew she was trustworthy now. We all did. She would be our guardian angel. And heaven knows we needed one.

Hell, everyone knew we needed one.