The first day of school is always the hardest on a new student. Especially when it's the middle of the year and everyone has already made their group of friends. Sitting on a maroon plastic chair in the main office, a young boy kicks his feet back and forth, trying to distract himself while he waits patiently. A tall woman with silver hair that falls over her shoulders like a curtain approaches him. In her finely pressed black suit, she looks important. The boy looks up at her expectantly, his baby blue eyes catching her dark brown ones.
"You must be Peeta Mellark. Welcome to Venica Falls High School." She reaches her hand out and they shake in introduction. Her hands feel cold and dry unlike Peeta's hands, which are soft and warm. They give him an uncomfortable feeling. "I'm the Vice Principal here. You may call me Ms. Coin." Ah, that's why.
"Yeah. Nice to meet you, Ms. Coin." Peeta says. He wonders how she gets her hair so perfectly straight. It looks almost unnatural, but it's hard to tell.
"Tell me, Mr. Mellark, where are you from?" She asks with interest.
"Barkley County, ma'am. My family just moved here." He hopes she doesn't ask why they decided to move so far away. It always embarrassed him thinking about his past, despite not being so long ago. It was a part of his history that he wanted to leave behind and never mention again. She doesn't ask.
"That is quite the distance. I hope you enjoy it here. Come with me, please." She turns around and heads into another room, Peeta following close behind. He flings a black and blue backpack over his shoulders, and observes the small room. The walls are a flat white. It's boring and dull. The carpet is a light tan that matches a single vase of purple orchids sitting on a white desk. Behind the desk is a hall with more rooms. This was probably the counseling appointment room. Ms. Coin dials a number in the phone that's sitting on the desk. "Yes, this is Ms. Coin. Please send Finnick Odair to the Counseling Office. We have a new student. Thank you." She looks back at Peeta, whose shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably. Almost immediately, someone walks into the room. He's tall with a muscular build and green eyes that could melt the heart of any figure.
"Mr. Odair, this is Peeta Mellark. He's a new student and as part of the student council, I'd like you to be his guide. Peeta, do you have your class schedule?" She looks from Finnick to Peeta, her eyebrow slightly cocked. The woman was intimidating without trying to be.
Peeta tears his yearning eyes from the man in front of him, snapping his direction back at the Vice Principal. "Yes ma'am." He reaches into his jean pocket and pulls out the scruffily folded piece of paper. Shoving it into his pocket probably wasn't the best of ideas. Having the Vice Principal watch you pull out a messy paper gave a slightly bad impression.
"Very good. Mr. Odair, I will leave you to it." She nods at the auburn haired teenager.
"No problem, Mrs. C." He flashes an absurdly charming beam. She rolls her eyes at the nickname, but leaves without another word. Finnick's attention goes to the blonde haired boy in front of him.
"Nice to meet ya, Peeta. I am the Finnick Odair." He shakes the younger adolescent's hand with a wink. Boy, this guy sure was cocky. But then, who wouldn't be when you were so attractive?
"You too, Finnick." Peeta slightly blushes. Man, this guy was good looking. Finnick smirks at his shy demeanor. Noticing the folded paper, he seizes it from Peeta's hand.
"Let's see what you've got." He stuffs his nose into the note, scanning each of the classes. "Ha ha, you have Ms. Trinket for English. Let's skip that one for now. Hmm… what else? Boring… boring… Hey, look at that! You have Mr. Beetee with me during fourth! But that's a senior math class, and your record says you're a junior. Come to think of it, Ms. Trinket's class is a senior class, too. Are you some kind of whiz kid?" Finnick scrunches his nose as he asks this, making Peeta giggle softly at his comical and animated features.
"Not really. I guess I'm just good with numbers." Peeta has to look down at his own feet, tearing his gaze from Finnick's blatant smirk.
"Alright, Einstein." Finnick looks back down at the paper. "Looks like you've got P.E. with me too. It must be my lucky day." Wait… what? "Follow me, handsome!" He grabs Peeta's hand and leads him out of the office into the breezy hallway. They walk down the corridor into the west wing when they stop in front of a shimmery pink door. It's an odd sight. "Here's your English class! Shouldn't be hard to find with the pink door and all. And just so you know…" Finnick whispers into Peeta's ear, "She likes to hear herself talk. Anyway," he pulls Peeta away and down another corridor, talking in his normal seductive purr. "I've never had Mr. Boggs before. I hear he's kinda military style, but you'll figure that out soon enough. He's in this door," he points at a gray entry to his left. It reminds Peeta of a prison.
"The art teacher, Cinna, is fuckin amazing. I have him for second." Just looking at it, you could tell Cinna was just about everybody's favorite teacher. The trims were painted a beautiful gold, and the door had the most amazing mural. The abstract painting was colorful and full of life. Peeta looked forward to taking this class. Finnick snaps him out of his trance, grabbing his hand again and leading him to another strange entrance. At least it would be easy finding all of these classes. All he would have to do is look at the doors. This one was painted black with strange blue streaks. It reminded him of lightning or electricity. "Our math class," Finnick explains. "Gym is in the opposite direction, but I'll take you there after lunch. Let's get you back to your English class." He gently drives Peeta back, pushing his hand against the small of his back, letting it drop and lightly stroke his rear end. Peeta blushes at this, suspecting Finnick had done it on purpose.
The walk back doesn't take very long, but it's obvious that neither of them wants to be separated just yet. "Well, we're back."
"Thanks for showing me around, Finnick." Peeta nods.
"Anytime." Finnick leans in close to Peeta's ear. "I'll be seeing you again real soon," he purrs, causing Peeta's cheeks to grow hot and red. The taller man smirks at him, opening the door. "Ms. Trinket! I've got fresh meat for you." The announcement is loud and confident. Everyone looks in their direction, Peeta walking in slowly. He smiles at the eccentric, pink haired woman before him.
"You must be Peeta Mellark. Welcome!" Ms. Trinket's grin is so wide and pearly; you could swear her teeth would blind you. Finnick has already left. "Why don't you take a seat next to Gale?" Ms. Trinket inquires. Peeta looks around the classroom confused. He doesn't know who he's supposed to be sitting next to. "Gale, raise your hand so Peeta can see you."
A tall young man with dark hair and gray eyes halfheartedly lifts his hand near his face. He looks angry, not even looking up to see who the new student was. Peeta's not sure he wants to sit next to him. But he trots over, dropping his backpack next to the desk, taking a seat in the wooden chair. Ms. Trinket starts talking away again.
"Her voice is so fucking obnoxious." Peeta looks over at his irritated neighbor, whose clenching his teeth, scratching his paper with a pencil back and forth. Her voice is very bubbly, but it doesn't bother Peeta any. His mother talks the same way to customers at the bakery shop. They moved their old family business over here when they moved. It was downstairs from their living quarters, the best place a bakery shop could possibly be. The rooms always smelled like fresh bread, pastries, and sweets.
A crumbled paper hits Peeta in the back of the head. He turns around to see who threw it at him. Two girls are giggling, whispering to one another. Another tall, blonde haired boy has a smug look on his face. "What's your name, new kid?"
"Peeta. Did you just throw that paper at me?" he asks, his brows furrowed in irritation.
"I was just trying to catch your attention, Peeta. I'm Cato." The boy smirks. Peeta's unsure whether or he wants to smile or punch the guy in the face. From his muscular physique, laid back clothes, charisma, and posse standing behind him, he assumes Cato is the high school jock.
"Nice to meet you, Cato." Peeta says before turning back around, watching Ms. Trinket blabber away about something completely unrelated to the book they're reading. He's noticed he doesn't hear the scratching of Gale's pencil tearing at the paper anymore. He looks to his right to see the pencil is grasped so firmly in Gale's hand that his fingers are white, face void of emotion or color. The bell rings, alarming the students that class is over and it's time to get to second period. Gale is the first out the door, his things hastily shoved in his backpack before nearly sprinting out. Did he really hate Ms. Trinket's voice that much? Peeta shakes his head, picking up his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder.
Cato approaches him shortly after, his group of friends already at the door. "Watch out for that one. He's got a bit of a temper. Probably took it up the ass one too many times," he laughs.
The joke makes Peeta uncomfortable, he doesn't want to repeat his history from his old school, so he just replies with a "yeah."
"See you later, Peeta." Cato says before exiting the classroom. Peeta shrugs and walks to the gray door across the hall that Finnick had shown him earlier. A militant man sits at his desk in the front of the class, his expression stern and serious. Peeta hesitates before approaching the man.
"H-hi. I'm Peeta Mellark? I'm new here…" his voice trails off. The man offers him a surprisingly warm smile, shaking his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Peeta Mellark. I'm Mr. Boggs. Have a seat wherever you'd like. And welcome." To Peeta's amazement, Mr. Boggs seems genuinely friendly and nice, despite his hard exterior. He looks like a general, or some other sort of important official. Peeta decides to stay a little closer to the front of the classroom for this one. He was interested in making a good impression. Students begin to make their way in. A girl with dark hair and gray eyes stares at him unexpectedly before taking a seat next to him.
"I'm sorry. Did I take your seat?" Peeta asks her.
"It's okay. Seats aren't assigned here." She offers a soft smile.
Peeta feels bad, and proposes, "I can move. Or we can switch, if you like?" She laughs.
"It's really okay. But thanks. You're new, aren't you? I'm Katniss, by the way," she says. Katniss seems like a mellow, down-to-earth person. Peeta instantly likes her.
"Peeta. Nice to meet you, Katniss. Hey wait, isn't that a plant of some sort?" he asks, puzzled.
Katniss suddenly reddens in embarrassment. "Uh-yeah… kind of silly, isn't it?"
"What? No! It's pretty. Besides, if you want to talk about silly names, keep in mind I was named after the bread." He smiles. Katniss laughs at this. Yes, this is one girl whose company he actually enjoys. Not much like Cato or Gale.
Peeta learns that Mr. Boggs served in the military for twenty years before becoming a high school history teacher. Of course, the information isn't exactly surprising. He also notes that Mr. Boggs doesn't like a disruptive student, but he'll go out of his way to help those that pay attention and look like they want to learn. He talks about history as if it were an ever-growing, changing topic that correlates to daily life. Overall, it's an interesting enough class. When the class is over, Peeta and Katniss share another smile before they leave and he goes searching for his locker. Might as well do something useful while on break, right?
It takes several minutes before he can find locker number 1217. Luckily, it's at eye-level, not on the ground or high in the sky like some of his past lockers have been. He tosses his English and History books inside. He won't need them for the rest of the day. With just minutes to spare, he heads back in the direction of the art class, excited to see what sort of mediums Cinna likes to teach.
The classroom is huge and is adorned with different mediums to choose from. In one section, he has a traditional art center for drawing and painting. In another corner, musical instruments of every kind. And in the last area, a section dedicated to ceramics. He'd never heard of any class ever having so many different choices. It was exhilarating.
"Hello. You must be Peeta." A man in jeans and a black sweater top stands in front of Peeta, both his hands behind his back in a posture of respect. His voice is smooth and soft, like velvet.
"Yes, sir. Are you Mr. Cinna?" Peeta asks.
"Just Cinna, it's my first name." The man smiles kindly.
"Oh! Sorry Mr.- I mean… Cinna." Peeta mentally kicks himself. What a great first impression. But Cinna just laughs softly. It doesn't bother him.
He guides his hand around the room. "As you can see, I like to provide an assortment of creative outlets for my students. You're welcome to anything that speaks to you. I only ask that you keep yourself busy. You are free to socialize with the other students, of course. Just keep in mind that we like to present our projects on a weekly basis. I don't expect a single project to be completed every week, but I do require some sort of progress. Please… feel free to walk around the room and try whatever you'd like. And do not hesitate to come to me or the other students for assistance or help. A lot of them are very skilled with their crafts. Some of them are even better than I can teach." Yes, this was definitely going to be Peeta's favorite class and teacher.
"Thank you, Cinna." He grins in enthusiasm and begins to walk around the room. He notices the two girls from his first class sitting by the drawing section and immediately decides to steer clear of it. He didn't trust those girls in the least bit. The music area looks exciting, but seeing Cato fooling around with a guitar in the furthest corner with a small group makes him hesitate. Looking around to see what other spots there were, he sees Gale also strumming his guitar in a spot far away from Cato, staring at something behind him. Katniss is in the room as well, but she's busy with a slab of clay in the ceramics section. Almost as if on cue, she looks up and sees him, offering a kind smile. He decides to make his way over to her.
"Hi, Katniss," he smiles a little uncomfortably. He hopes he's not invading her space or coming across as a major loser.
"Hey, Peeta, take a seat next to me. I'm making a coil vase." Phew. He knew he liked Katniss for a reason. He takes a seat next to her, grabbing some of the wet, red clay on the side of the table, trying to replicate her actions. It was a lot harder than it looked. "How's your first day going so far?" she asks.
Peeta thinks this over. "Well, Ms. Trinket is… interesting." He laughs.
Katniss smiles at this. "Oh! You're a senior?"
"No." he answers honestly. "I'm a junior, but I was able to skip a grade at my last school."
"That's cool," she responds. "Have you met anyone interesting yet?"
"Well, I like you a lot. The guys in my English class are kinda hard to read. And this other guy, Finnick, he's been showing me around."
Katniss bursts out with laughter. "Uh oh! You've met the infamous Finnick Odair. Don't get me wrong, he's a nice guy. Just a little on the flirtatious side." Well that was a disappointment. He thought Finnick had actually kind of liked him. But it made sense. Nobody that good looking wanted to be with any single person when they had the whole world to choose from. Katniss notices his discouragement. "Well, I like you too. You know you're more than welcome to sit with me and my friends at lunch." Oh yeah, lunch.
"That would be great. Thanks." He's beyond grateful for the offer, happy that he won't have to brand himself a loser with no one to talk to.
Cato is staring in his direction, watching the new boy talking with Katniss. There's a look of distaste evident on his face. The boy next to him bumps his shoulder into Cato's.
"Hey man. What's up?" Marvel, Cato's best and longest time friend, asks. He noticed Cato's aversion.
"Nothing," he growls, goes back to strumming on his guitar, "Absolutely nothing."
When the bell rings, signaling it's time to head to fourth period, Peeta groans in frustration. This was the best period he's had, and coming from such a lively art class into a math class was definitely going to be boring. Especially knowing that Finnick would be in the class, it was a huge disappointment. Peeta was beginning to like the guy. Now the very thought of him made him a little angry. What a fucking tease.
"I'll catch you later, Peeta!" Katniss beams before they head their separate ways. At least he has Katniss to keep him company. He wonders what her group of friends are like, probably just like her. That being the case, he has no problem accepting the idea of being part of the group.
Peeta drags his feet to fourth period. He's the last to enter the classroom, noticing he doesn't recognize anyone. Even Finnick isn't here at the moment. Peeta finds himself wondering where he was, and if he really didn't want to see him anymore. He takes a seat by a window towards the back of the class. The teacher was last to show.
Mr. Beetee looked a bit older than the rest of Peeta's teachers. He didn't have a whole lot of gray hair, but way he carried himself was definitely more on the mature side. He rubbed his glasses up his nose constantly with his middle and index fingers. They were probably due to be tightened. He smiled at Peeta, but saved the verbal welcoming and introduction, going straight into a lecture. "To understand quantum mechanics, we must first begin by understanding its root form. For example, we know that quantum mechanics is a part of physics, and so we can safely assume that it is a way of explaining physical phenomena from subatomic particles. We know this from the word 'quantum,' and its meaning, 'the smallest unit from which all matter is composed.'"
It's an interesting enough class. Mr. Beetee is able to explain the dynamics of his lessons in a way that all the students can grasp. Peeta takes down notes from the lecture in a blue notebook, since it reminded him of the black and blue lightning door. The lecture lasts for forty-five minutes before Mr. Beetee excuses the class to work on the homework in class where they can get help with any particular questions they can't solve, or do whatever else they decide. Peeta opts to start on the assignment so that he'd have less homework tonight. The bell rings and it's suddenly time for lunch.
Lunch time, right, here it goes…