Clover woke up to the sound of her alarm, which signaled six in the morning. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to bury herself under the covers and sink into the warmth of her bed.
Her father called herânot by shouting from downstairs, even though they lived in the same house, but by phone, as he preferred.
She hesitated for a moment, debating whether to answer. She already knew why he was calling this early, but ignoring the call and pretending to go back to sleep would only make her feel guilty.
With a sigh, she picked up. Before she could say anything, his groggy, morning-rough voice came through the speaker.
"Make breakfast for us. Your mother and I need to leave for work soon."
She paused for three seconds, wishing she could turn back time and just not answer. But she replied, as politely as ever, "Alright."
The call ended. Clover let out another sigh before dragging herself out of bed and heading to the kitchen.
As she prepared breakfast, she washed a few dishes left over from the night before.
In the past, she used to complain about house chores. But after graduating from university, she found herself with nothing to doâliterally. She used to excuse herself from housework by saying she had studying to do, but now? There were no more excuses. Cooking and washing dishes had become part of her daily routine. However, cleaning the house? That was another story. After preparing any meal, she would usually go back to sleep, so at least that task wasn't on her list.
She was the eldest of four siblingsâtwo brothers and a little sister.
Their ages were oddly spaced. Clover was the firstborn, followed by Alex, who was a year and five months younger. She got along with him best; they shared nearly all their interests and were more like best friends than siblings. Then came Leo, five years younger than her. They had their fair share of childhood fights, but now, she mostly ignored him to avoid unnecessary annoyance. And finally, the youngest of them allâAlice. The little menace was fifteen years younger than Clover and had a talent for destroying anything she touched. Clover had practically helped raise that tiny troublemaker.
Once breakfast was ready, she called everyone to eat.
Her father was an accountant. She had no idea how he managed his time so wellâhe worked in the government sector in the morning, then at a private company in the afternoon, and was still studying and acing his exams. He was practically a magician. What kind of human was he, really?
Her mother, on the other hand, was a lawyer. Every day, she would come home from work complaining about her colleagues. They were a bunch of lowlifes who tried to pressure her into doing things their wayâeven if it meant working unethically. They hated how competent she was and resented her for refusing to play dirty.
As for Alex, he was still in university, studying accounting. He was technically following in their father's footsteps, but in reality, his private tutor was none other than their father himself.
Then there was Leoâjust a typical annoying teenager. He had long since given up on picking fights with Clover, mainly because she ignored him most of the time. Instead, he had found a new target: Alice, the little preschooler.
Together, those two were a threat to the houseâand humanity.
Breakfast was a rushed affair. Everyone was running late, arguing over who got to use the bathroom first. They all insisted on showering in the morningâa good habit, except for one particular teenager in the house.
Leo sometimes took excessively long showersânot out of hygiene concerns, but as a way to waste time and avoid studying. The disgusting part? He would put on the same clothes he had been wearing before his shower.
No matter how many times they told him it was gross, he ignored them. And to top it off, all his friends were way younger than him. He was in high school, while they were still in elementary. It made no sense, but they all lived in the same neighborhood, so he somehow fit in.
Clover silently watched as they all left, one after another, until she was the only one left at home.
She had never felt emptiness like this before.
Graduating had been miserable.
Even the graduation ceremony itself had been miserable.
She had issues with her graduation sash and cap. And even after fixing them, barely anyone had been able to attend. The only one who showed up with her was Alex. Her father had work and an exam that afternoon, Leo had school, and her mother, who also had work that morning, only arrived in the final minutes of the ceremony. Alice had been at their grandfather's house.
Standing on that stage, Clover had seen no one in the crowdânot even Alex, who was lost among the sea of parents.
She hadn't even received a graduation gift.
What she did get, however, was her phone being taken away for a month.
Why? Because Alex had exams, and their parents decided that she would be a distraction to him.
Since they were so close, it was like forcing two best friends to stay in the same place without letting them talk. There was no way he could focus.
Clover always had a soft spot for Alex. They rarely fought. But she had never argued with him over the unfairness of her being punished along with him.
She had, however, argued with their parents.
Her father's response had stung.
"You're the eldest sibling."
Angry, she had snapped back, "And you're the eldest among your siblings too."
"You think I don't carry their burdens? Even now, they're grown, married, with kids, but whenever something goes wrong, they still come to me. I'm still playing the role of my father."
That had shut her up.
It was never really about the phone. It was about being forced to bear others' responsibilities simply because you cared about them.
It was exhausting to be treated like a child yet expected to act like an adult.
Besides, her phone was practically a piece of junk. It was her first-ever phone, given to her when she started university.
Her parents had strict rules about getting a phone, even though they had a shared family computer at home. But a phone wasn't the same. Still, they trusted her completely and never snooped through her things.
Eventually, the piece of junk was returned to herâbut only after Alex passed his exams. Their father had even threatened to break both their phones if he didn't.
Their parents never saw phones as a necessity. Even when Clover's phone acted up or lagged, her father's response was always the same:
"Restart it and treat it gently."
It had become an inside joke between Clover and Alexâ"Treat it gently."
She went back to her room, scrolling through her phone and watching videos, sending them to Alex while he did the same. It was practically an illnessâsending endless videos to each other.
Suddenly, her phone rang. It was her aunt.
Clover's heart skipped a beat. She wasn't used to getting calls from her.
Still, she answered.
"Hello, Auntie! How are you?"
"I'm fine, dear. And you?"
"I'm good too! What a surprise!" Clover replied with an awkward smile, her eyes darting around as she unconsciously paced the room.
"Oh, I wanted to talk to you about work. I've been looking for a good lawyer you could work with."
"Really? That's⊠wow. Thank you."
"Don't be silly, dear. No need for thanks between us, right?"
"Right."
"Good. I'll call you once they schedule an interview. I'll make sure they take care of youâso you gain experience and get a decent salary."
"Alright⊠Thanks, Auntie."
"You're welcome."
The call ended, and Clover finally exhaled.
"Wow⊠That was unexpected. I thought she had forgotten she even had nieces and nephews."
Her aunt was wealthy, intelligent, and single.
Clover and Alex used to be close to her, but at some point, they started keeping their distance. Whenever they called her, she assumed they wanted gifts or an outing, which made them uncomfortable. They never liked asking for anything.
With a sigh, Clover glanced at the clock and headed to the kitchen to prepare lunch before her parents got home.
As she worked, she silently wished she had sisters her age to help.
Then, suddenlyâshe heard a noise from her room.
That was strange. She was alone in the house.
She ignored it and finished cooking after two hours of work.
Going back upstairs, she checked her room. Nothing was there.
Guess she had imagined it.
Collapsing onto her bed, she thought, A nap after all that work sounds perfect.