ｃｌｅｍｅｎｔｉｎｅ ａｖｅｎｕｅ
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ＷＯＮＤＥＲＦＵＬＬＹ ＩＮＳＡＮＥ
- it was surprisingly refreshing for clementine to be out and about. even a simple stroll down main st. would have been a nice change of scenery from the supposedly comforting confines of her room at the lavender, a hospital for people like her, but a lot more subtle about it. they were not referred to be insane, but rather, confused. it made clementine laugh, how hard the workers pretended not to know about her condition. however, in the real world, being 'crazy' was not a great conversation starter, so the girl decided to keep it to herself- a little secret. she smiled, biting at her lower lip to keep from grinning manically. every day, she'd get a designated half hour to use the computer, and ten minutes to make a phone call. almost every day, clementine spent her time watching youtube videos. they made her feel connected, and planted her feet on the ground instead of letting them, along with her mind, drift off into the sky. when she first heard of vidcon, clementine immediately knew she had to go. instead of asking her father, who was busy with work and managing her other siblings, clemmy begged her favorite nurse, juliane, to take her. juliane was in her older years, and had a soft spot for clementine. naturally, it was expected that the woman was to remain at clementine's side at all times, but the girl had other ideas. "i'm going to use the bathroom, okay? meet me..." she scanned the area for a far-off booth. "...there." she pointed. juliane nodded, tottering away on short legs. phase one- complete.
out of all the youtubers clementine blissfully wasted her time watching, casper lee was one of her favorites. he had this happy-go-lucky charm, and it was natural. sometimes, people would try too hard to act cute, or funny, but for him, it just came naturally. it was the first time in several years that clemmy had been out in public with so many people on her own. although her head started to feel a bit dizzy from being jostled by excited fans, she ignored it, thinking that sometimes you've just got to bear with pain to get to the rainbow at the end of the gold pot... hm. that wasn't exactly the right comparison. not now, clem. she spoke to herself sometimes, although she tried to keep it in her mind instead of saying anything out loud. knowing that soon, juliane would begin to suspect something, the girl made her way through the crowd, remembering her 'pardon me's' and 'sorry's. clementine wondered if she'd make a good impression. she was wearing a simple, dark green dress with tights and oxfords, a bit old fashioned, but that was her taste. it was plain, but compared to most girls she saw, she'd be quite the stand out. it was just like one of her nightmares- a crowded room filled with strangers, and no way out. soon, she felt the crowd spreading out, and she began to smile when she heard the friendly voice of her favorite youtuber. it was exciting and exhilarating. pulling out a pocket sized notebook from her bag, clementine scrawled the words on a blank sheet of paper- her feelings book that the psychologist told her to keep. the words were spelled wrong- 'eksiting, eksilerating.'
"hi, hello." clementine said as she came face to face with the blond boy himself. he looked just the way she envisioned him. she beamed, feeling satisfied with herself for outsmarting juliane and actually meeting casper. "i'm clementine..." she stuck her hand out for a shake the way her father always told her to greet people. a good, firm handshake ensures trust, he always said- her father, mr. avenue, was a businessman. "are you having a nice day? i am. it's kind of big here. and there are lots of people. lots." oh god. it was a bad habit of hers, talking too much when it was completely unnecessary. she began to tap her feet, another tic. it was something about the noise that made her head ring and her hands shake.
