I woke up to the irritating sound of my alarm. I banged the button to turn it off. As I closed my eyes to catch a few more Zzz's, they forced themselves open by the screeching of my mother's voice. "Peeta! Breakfast is ready! Get your ass down here. You're gonna be late for school!" I laid on my bed for a couple more seconds. I remembered that today's my first day in High School, and I had to get up earlier than I did back in Middle School. I groaned and got up, stretched, and yawned, before heading downstairs. My two brothers were done with breakfast, and were probably fighting to be the first in the bathroom. I yawned again. Got a slice of toast, spread jelly on it and gobbled it up. I drank a glass of orange juice and headed up stairs again to brush my teeth. As I made my way up the stairs, my two brothers rushed down, got in their cars and drove to their universities. Two scholars. No wonder my mom liked them better than me. I brushed my teeth, got dressed, and grabbed my backpack. I walked out the door and to my bus stop. I was greeted by my two best friends, Katniss and Gale.
Katniss gave me a huge hug. I nearly suffocated because of how strong she was. "I… missed you too…" I said, nearly choking to get my words out. She finally let go of me and I stumbled on my feet when Gale gave me a hard pat on the back. These two are my greatest friends. We've been together through thick and thin, and we're always there for each other. Katniss is someone I can consider as a sister. She's great with advice, and helped me with problems I sometimes have with my mom. Gale is Katniss' childhood friend. They've been with each other even before I met them. I have a tiny crush on Gale, but I kept my mouth shut. That is of course, until Katniss found out. She's the only person that knows about my dirty little secret, and was actually the first person I came out too. She just gave me hug and playfully laughed about it with me.
We walked with each other to our bus stop. The three of us laughed and asked each other about our summers. My summer was obviously boring. I worked at the bakery all summer long, and I envied how my mother refused to let me go with Katniss and Gale to go camping in the forest. We waited for a few minutes or so when we reached the bus stop. The large yellow vehicle stopped in front of us. Bus 12 was its number. We were from neighborhood 12, so the high school had to send us a bus with the same number and rugged charms our sad little town had to offer.
The bus door swung open and the three of us got in. I walked down the aisle and sat in the third row of seats. Katniss and Gale sat next together behind me. We were the last bust stop, and after the bus picked us up, it made its way to school. The bus ride was dull and boring. Besides from the small chit-chat from Katniss and Gale, everybody else was quiet. They were also the only two that sat together. Every other kid in the bus sat alone, probably thinking about the problems they faced in our sad little town. Because of the silence, you can hear the creaking noises the bus made. Ugh, the high school could've at least sent us a bus that didn't look like it's going to break down on the side of the road.
I had time to think about the High School we were going to during the bus ride. Panem High. Interesting. It's the only public high school that accepted students from every town in Panem County. Towns 1-12 can go there, and I'm surprised my mother let me go there instead of the run down high school from Town 12. It was built just a couple of years ago. Each town finally agreed to have a public high school, out of all the private high schools that only students from their own town can go to. The high school is said to show the unity of every town in the county, when it was really just an excuse to get the money and supply from Capitol City.
I turned around and looked Gale, who despised Capitol City. He had a reason to. Capitol City houses the powerful government and business officials who controlled the entire county. He said the citizens there were ridiculously spoiled brats who get everything they want. He was right though. Back in Town 12, we nearly starve to death because of the lack of money and jobs. But in Capitol City, money grows on trees, and everyone who lives there can get it.
The bus finally arrived at the high school. It was huge! I wasn't surprised, considering it can hold almost every student in the entire county. I got off the bus and went to the administration's office. That's where Katniss, Gale and I got separated. There were so many students just crowding and trying to get their schedules. I finally got mine, getting away from the crowd in the administration's office, and a map of the high school so I wouldn't get lost. I headed to the Cafeteria. It was breakfast period, a half hour where students can either eat breakfast, hang out, or complete their assignments. I took a seat at a table all by myself, because Katniss and Gale were nowhere in sight. I opened my backpack to grab a book, and that's when I saw them…