A/N: My first attempt at an AU fanfic. Apologies if I stray away from important plot points and character traits—it's new for me as a writer. I hope you'll stick with me anyway.

…

"Well?" Prim demands, her voice so crackly over the line that I have to cup a hand around my phone to hear her better. "How is it?"

"How's what?" I'm fighting to hear her, but the cell reception around here is spotty at best, and I'm squinting at the squat brick buildings around me instead of devoting my full attention to my sister. My sudden lack of direction is alarming, particularly because I'm already running late on the first day.

A laugh bubbles up from Prim's end, and I smile at the familiar sound even though my heart is racing anxiously. "College life, Katniss. Tell me everything."

I sigh, pausing for much needed shade under a sprawling oak on the quad. "I've been here for three days, Prim," I say, raising an eyebrow before realizing that she can't see me. The ache in my chest returns with full force. "And I've only got about six minutes before my first class starts, and maybe thirty seconds of stories."

Prim just laughs. "All right. Then just tell me really quickly. How's the roommate?"

The thought of Madge brings a sour taste to my mouth. When I dragged my bags up three flights of stairs to Carlisle 316, I expected my roommate to be the shy, bookish blonde that she described herself as on her residential education profile. But as soon as I set foot in our 12x12 cell, she turned to me with this wide, fake smile and I knew that my expectations were wrong. By the second night, she was already holed up in a dorm room with four other girls, passing around a handle of raspberry vodka. Disappointing, but I've dealt with disappointment before. "Binge-drinking bimbo. Next question."

"Any friends on your floor?"

As far as I can tell, the girls in the honors dorm put on a damn good act. By day, they're sweet and coy and bragging to anyone who will listen about their AP credits, and by night, they're no better than Madge. Crop tops and skintight black jeans and thick eyeliner comprise their uniforms; reality television and boys and gossip gleaned from social networking sites inform their inane conversation topics. These are not girls I relate to easily. "Ha. Good one."

"Oh, come on, Katniss. You're very capable of making friends," Prim insists. I can't help but scoff at that.

"Okay." There's no way that Prim, the bubbliest and brightest kid in her class, could ever understand me, her reserved and reticent older sister. While Prim could manage to strike up a meaningful conversation with a brick wall, I tend to assume the personality of said wall when faced with such undesirable prospects.

"Cute guys?"

"Prim." Now I have to roll my eyes, lean back against the tree trunk for support. "God, how many times do I have to tell you that college isn't about guys?"

She giggles. I can almost picture her dimples, the way her cheeks flush pink at the very notion of boys. It's so sweet, so innocent for a girl in her junior year of high school, that I relent for a moment and laugh with her. "Shouldn't it be?"

"No, of course not. I have four years ahead of me, and an English degree to work towards…" I trail off, turning my gaze to the cobbled pathway just beyond me that weaves its way into the center of campus. "There's plenty of time to waste on boys later. When I'm retired."

Prim huffs, but I can hear amusement in her voice. "Aw, lighten up, Katniss. It's your freshman year of college. You don't get this time back, you know."

Yeah, I've heard that countless times over the last three days. Enjoy it, guys, the resident advisors told us with wistful looks in their eyes. Have experiences. Get involved. Make memories, the president of Capitol City College, Coriolanus Snow, admonished in his convocation address. Even the dining hall workers repeat the same mantra whenever we swipe in. Freshman year, it's something you'll never get back. Blink and you'll miss it. "I know." Then I bite down hard on my bottom lip as I watch the swarms of raucous college students funneling into the academic buildings down the way. My anxiety peaks. "Unless I flunk out."

"You're not going to flunk out," Prim says, her voice suddenly grave. "Katniss. You got into the top liberal arts college in the state, made it into the honors program, and got merit money on top of it." She pauses. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're incredibly vain and seeking attention by making me repeat this to you on a daily basis. But I'll keep reminding you until you believe that you deserve this."

I want to believe Prim, but there's just so much at stake. I've been working towards this goal for as long as I can remember. Going to CCC has always been part of the plan; I'd earn a masters' degree in English in five years, find work at a publishing house and figure out a way to support Mom and Prim along the way. I didn't sacrifice the last four years of my life forcing myself to take practice SATs in my room on Saturday nights and spending every afternoon at the public library for nothing. The notion that I'm smart and privileged enough to attend a prestigious local school doesn't make a difference to me. I'm here for investment purposes, not an ego boost.

"I miss you, Prim," I say quietly. I hear the smile in her voice as she returns the sentiment. "But I really have to go now. Wouldn't want to miss the first Mathematics for Liberal Arts session."

"Sounds right up your alley," Prim says with a laugh. "I'll let you go. Call me later when you get the chance, okay?"

I step out from under the tree and start speed-walking down the path towards the still-elusive science and mathematics complex. "Okay, will do."

"Oh, and Katniss? Try to have a little fun, just for me." The line clicks off before I can protest.