Chapter Text
***Clarke’s POV***
Clarke cannot afford to make many more mistakes like this.
It isn’t so much that Abby will scold her for wasting so much paper, but it’s the guilt that she’s consuming limited resources because sometimes she can’t draw a straight line to save her life. Drawing is hard, and she hates that she chose a hobby that’s so wasteful. Why can’t she just be content playing board games with Wells for hours on end?
Clarke crumples up the paper, worn down from the amount of erasing she’s done. It’s so worn down, every time Clarke touches her pencil to the paper, it tears. She reaches for another sheet form her dwindling supply, and tries to concentrate. It shouldn’t be this hard to sketch a building. A majestic skyscraper, like the ones she sees in her old books. But straight lines are hard, and using a ruler feels like cheating.
Jake interrupts her before she can drive herself crazy for too long. “If you stare at that paper any harder, lasers will shoot out of your eyes and vaporize it,” He teases, the ever-present smile wide on his face.
Clarke leans back in her chair, matching his grin. “If I intimidate it long enough, maybe it’ll do what I want.”
“Wells was looking for you. He was hanging around the dining hall last I saw him.”
“Did he mention what he wanted?”
“Nope. You should go find him though. Give that piece of paper a break.”
“I was probably just going to see what’s on TV. I thought you’d want to see which soccer game is on.”
“I have to get back to work. I only stopped by for a shower and change of clothes. It looks like it’ll be another all-nighter.”
“I’ll tell mom not to wait up.”
“Be good. Spend some time with Wells. I think he feels neglected.”
Clarke rolls her eyes. “This place isn’t that big. He can find me himself.”
Jake rolls his eyes in return, and disappears into the bathroom. Once Clarke hears the water running, she sighs and stands, stretching. She hadn’t realized how long she had been sitting at the desk.She slips her bit of chalk into her pocket, where it belongs. Clarke isn't one to lose things, but she won’t even risk it with her art supplies.
She finds her way to the dining hall, albeit slowly. Wells can wait. He probably just wanted to ask if she needs help with their math homework. He usually did it for her, and she’d do his literature homework in return. They’d usually struggle through Earth Studies and history together, since they were universally accepted as the most interesting.
Clarke finds Wells sitting at a table in the dining hall, playing chess with Raven Reyes, of all people. Abby had mentioned the mechanic prodigy a few times in passing, but Clarke and Wells didn’t really go out of their way to associate with her. The only mechanic Clarke could listen to was Jake, and even that was out of a sense of duty.
Clarke sits in between Raven and Wells, who are seated across from each other at the small table. Wells breaks into a grin as soon as he looks up.
“Hey! Where have you been?” He says. Raven gives her a tight lipped smile in greeting, which Clarke returns out of politeness.
“Around,” She answers vaguely. There’s no need to keep any secrets from Wells, but he doesn’t have to know her every move. He’s too overprotective.
“Raven was just asking if my dad had gotten around to signing all of the mechanic applications, and I invited her to play chess with me until you showed,” Wells explained quickly, before Clarke could ask.
“Are you any good?” Clarke addresses Raven.
“I’m not dumb enough to beat the Chancellor’s son. Wouldn’t want to get floated,” She shoots a coy smile at Wells, who flushes.
“Take the risk. I’m playing winner, and playing me is a lot worse than getting floated.”
Somehow Raven fits well into the dynamic Wells and Clarke had established. She’s snarky and vaguely hostile, which Wells enjoys. Clarke finds her unnecessarily abrasive, but it’s change of pace that she doesn’t mind.
They play and chat all through dinner, right up until curfew.
“I can walk you home,” Wells offers to Raven once the clock starts getting close to curfew.
Raven purses her lips. “I have a boyfriend.”
Wells rolls his eyes. “It’s not like that. But your place is probably further away from here, and you won’t make it in time for curfew. And you won’t get in trouble if I’m with you.”
“What about Princess Griffin over here?” Raven nudges Clarke, who sneers.
“Oh, please. All the night guards are pretty familiar with me.”
Raven stands, and Wells and Clarke copy. “Well then I guess we should get going.” She nods to Clarke. “Good night.”
Clarke nods in return, and starts the opposite way. Unsurprisingly, the halls are deserted. Curfew must be a lot closer than Clarke had thought. Or maybe it’s already past curfew. At any rate, Clark enjoys walking through the empty halls. She shoves her hands in her pockets, and feels the chalk against her fingers. She had almost forgotten it was there.She continues on, looking at the blank walls.
And then she gets an idea.
The walls are so bare. And chalk isn’t really permanent. The worst that could happen is that some janitor could be burdened to actually do their job for five minutes. If Clarke could make this place feel less like a jail cell…
She rolls the chalk around once in her hand, thinking. And then she gets to work.