Disclaimer: I just write this for fun. I don't own any rights what so ever; the hunger games and all its characters are the property of Suzanne Collins. Also, the idea of an exclusive high school with a gang of 4 boys ruling it, is from the manga Boys over Flowers, or Hana Yori Dango.
Time for yet another lousy day, on a very lousy school. Argh. Reluctant to go, but going nonetheless, Katniss swung her backpack onto her slim shoulder and closed the front door of her mother's condo behind her. As she walked to the school bus, watching a group of children on bikes passing by, she tried hard to block out all the images of the latest school events, knowing she would soon have to deal with them again. If only she could persuade her mother to transfer her to another school. But she had not the heart to ask for it, not after all the effort her mother had done to get her into Ryeland College in the first place.
Ryedale College was a prestigious private school, meant only for the rich and the privileged. Even though she didn't fit in either of those categories, being the daughter of a widowed woman who originated from a simple family, a generous scholarship had made the exception.
First, she had been thrilled. It was commonly known that a student from Ryeland College had a much brighter perspective than the ones that came from a regular College. After graduation, she would have a pick in any kind of profession, becoming whatever she wanted to be. Surely her mother wouldn't allow her to give up on that.
So basically she had no choice but to survive the rest of the two years she had to spend there. She sighed. You can do this, she encouraged herself. You can stand those arrogant bastards at school. Just hang low, and you'll be fine.
Thankfully, her thoughts got interrupted in the form of her best friend, Gale Hawthorne.
'Hey Catnip. Off to that fancy school of yours?' he yelled from the front porch of his parents' house, sending her a sunny smile as he waved for her attention.
'Gale?' She blinked in surprise, feeling a rush of joy coming up at the sound of his voice. Forgetting all about school for a moment, she crossed the lush grass of his yard and flung her arms around his neck in a warm embrace. 'You're back! Since when? And why haven't you ring me to say you were coming?'
Acting offhand, he just shrugged in reply. 'Sorry. It was a last minute call. I just arrived this morning; I had no time.'
'I'm so glad to see you. I've missed you. We all missed you.'
'I tried to stay in touch with you after I went to LA, but I've met so many people there and…well…things became a little busy lately.' He smiled at her apologetically when he saw her reproachful look. 'But I've missed you too, honestly. And I'm sorry for not being that much of a friend these last couple of months.'
She decided to give him a break. 'Well, you're here now. That's what matters. Rue and Marissa will be pleased as well. The band hasn't been complete without you.'
'Surely you didn't miss me only for that, did you?' he joked.
She blushed heavily; somehow his comment had taken her off guard. Seeing her uneasiness, he blinked for a moment, then quickly dropped the subject. 'Never mind. So, will you come in for a sec, or do you have to go? Mind you, I have a lot of stories to tell you.'
Resisting the puppy dog eyes look he gave her, she shook her head, already laughing again. 'I'm sorry, but I'm supposed to be at class in about an hour. But how about if I drop by after school, say three o'clock? Surely your stories can wait for a few more hours, can they?'
With an excessive sigh, he gave up on persuading her. 'Fine. Three then. I'll make sure there will be some lemonade and cookies ready for you.' He winked at her. 'But please, don't be late. I really have some good news to tell.'
'Can't wait to hear it.' Before he could say another word, she stumbled back to the sidewalk, fully aware of his eyes still following her as she clumsily made her retreat. Why was he making her feel so uncomfortable? Gale had always been the flirty type, and it never really bothered her. Maybe because he never did it so openly before, at least not to her. Mmm… awkward. That trip to LA definitely hadn't done much good to him.
Madge Undersee, one of the few friends she had in this school, was the first to greet as she walked into sight. 'Ah, there you are. Finally. I was already beginning to worry if you would show up today.'
'And a good morning to you too,' Katniss said dryly in reply, entering the combination of her locker to get her books. She wasn't really up for some chit chat at the moment. When she closed the metal door again, her eye fell on a blond, timid looking guy, standing not far from her. He was from her class; Brian O'Connor she believed his name was? She never paid much attention to him, though. He was a quiet boy, tall but slim, with barely any muscles on him. But he has a handsome face, she thought, as she allowed her eyes to roam over his features.
Catching her stare, he turned his head towards her.
She tensed. 'O, hi Brian… What's up?'
Instead of answering to her, he skewed away in a hurry as if he thought she was about to attack him. Stunned by this reaction, she knitted her brows. 'Hey, where are you going?' She cried after him, as he stormed out of the hallway. 'Ok, that was really weird,' she finally muttered. 'Any idea why he would react like this?'
But Madge only shook her head. 'You shouldn't have talked to him you know. He's a pariah.'
'A what?' Still startled by the boys' reaction, Katniss turned to her friend for an explanation.
'A pariah. An outcast.' Madge sighed. 'Poor kid. The whole school is after him now.'
'I…I don't understand. What happened?'
'Like always.' Madge's eyes became cold. 'He crossed paths with the Richies.'
The Richies; that's what the people at school used to call them. A group of four boys, all originated from an extremely wealthy family: Cato, Marvel, Finnick, and Peeta. Unfortunately, they were also very arrogant and easily offended; if you made the grave mistake of pissing them off, they would make sure you'll regret it. Argh! She should have known… Always when there was some sort of trouble, the Richies were involved. No wonder Brian was so jumpy. Poor guy probably had a lot of stress right now. Once the school was after you, it was hell on earth.
'What has he done to deserve this?'
'Does it matter?' Seeing the upcoming anger in Katniss eyes, Madge rolled hers as she took hold of her arm. 'Come on, best not linger around. Ms. Trinket doesn't like latecomers. And there is nothing you can do for him anyway.' Katniss meekly followed her to their classroom, though muttering something about stupid boys and their big ass egos.
'Ah, look who has decided to join our classes this morning…Miss Everdeen, miss Undersee, please take a seat. Quickly.'
Standing up from her chair, Ms. Trinket waved them in and closed the door behind them. 'Well, as I just mentioned to the class, Mr. O'Connor will no longer attend our facility, starting today. Sadly, his parents have decided to transfer him to another school.'
She sighed for a moment as if she was genuinely sorry for what had happened.
Some students began to snigger.
'Good riddance.'
'He didn't belong here in the first place.'
'Ever looked at his clothes? Not even a Gucci or Christian Dior!'
' Ah, what a loser!'
Katniss just rolled her eyes at all the mocking going on around her. She couldn't believe them. A member of their class had just been forced to transfer, and all these clowns could talk about was his appearance? Bloody idiots. Why must everyone in here be so shallow? As if clothes and money are the only things in life!
'Order people. Order.' Ms. Tricket raised her voice to regain control again, gesturing them to lower their volume. Gradually the noise ceased.
'Well,' she sighed when she had everyone's attention back. 'That's not a very nice thing to say about a former classmate. Some people just don't have such fortunes like most of you do, but that doesn't make them a lesser person.'
Bet your ass that doesn't, Katniss thought rebelliously. But she kept her mouth. No need to stand out. Just two year to go. Two years… Argh! These were going to be the toughest years of her life.
'I told you…I knew that boy wouldn't last long. Guess he won't be bothering us anymore. He was a real eyesore.'
A dirty smirk lingered around the blond boy's mouth as he circled the table. Chalking the cue, he looked up when no one responded. 'Hey, what's the matter with you guys? What's with all the gloomy faces?' He looked around as if he suddenly noticed someone was missing. 'And where the hell is Finnick?'
'Annie just broke up with him. Again.' A dark headed guy told him, as he pushed his cue forward with a short, quick thrust. The black ball dropped into the pocket with a satisfying clack. 'And I think I won. Again. Sorry.'
'What?' Cato gave him a grim look before he threw the chalked cue on the table. 'Whatever. I wasn't really in the mood to play anyway.' He turned his face to the other blond boy in the room. Peeta just sat by one of the tree windowsills, arms folded, staring at something outside. 'Hey, you're awfully quiet today. Something's bothering you?'
'Huh?' Taken out of his thoughts, Peeta ripped his eyes from the brunette in the gym field. Cato snorted at his weak respond. 'What? Had your thoughts on something else?' As he moved to his side, he took a curious look outside. 'What could be so interesting?' he teased before his eye fell on the girl as well. She'd just launched an arrow from her bow, thrashing the target in front of her with a perfect hit. His mouth dropped.
'Yeah, I know. She's good, isn't she?' Peeta remarked, a soft smirk curling his lips. 'She's been doing that for almost half an hour now. And so far, she hasn't missed one yet.'
'Amazing,' the dark haired boy agreed; he too had walked over to the window to see what was happening. '
'Rubbish,' Cato snorted haughty, though he had to confess he was impressed by the girl's skills. 'She's just lucky!'
'Thirty times in a row?' Peeta asked tauntingly, knitting his brows in question as he crossed his arms. 'I seriously doubt that.'
Just shrugging indifferently, Cato turned his back towards the window to return to the pool table, taking his cue back in hand. 'Come Marve. Let's go for another round. And this time, I will beat you.'
'Oh, we'll see about that,' Marvel grinned, also taking back his position.
As they laughingly started their game, Peeta continued to gaze at the girl outside. Although he didn't want to admit it to his friends, he really was impressed by her. And not only because of her extraordinary skills with the bow. There was just something about her…something… interesting. He couldn't quite explain what it was. But she enchanted him somehow, and he definitely wanted to know more about her.
After a while, Cato impatiently began to bellow: 'Peeta, just leave that stupid chick alone and get your butt over here!'
With a sigh, Peeta gave in to his request, turning his back towards the window after one last glance outside. A smile crept on his face again. Yup. He definitely wanted to meet her.
