Jenebra and I are working on this story together.
We do not own the Hunger Games story or characters, Susan Collins does.
If you don't like the Katniss/Finnick pairing, don't read.
"Let's go, Bitch!"
That's Johanna, my roommate and, I guess, friend. This is my third year living with her and I'm still not sure she even knows my name.
Today, we're late. Swimming lessons start in two minutes and I am currently wasting that precious time by stopping to tie my shoe. Johanna paces back and forth in front of me as I pull the rabbit ear through the hole.
"If we get in trouble, I'm blaming you. I don't care if we're room-mates – if a bus comes, I'm throwing you under it." She's ceased her pacing and is now tapping her foot impatiently.
Usually, Johanna wouldn't care about being late to a class, but when the famous Finnick Odair is teaching it, of course she wants to be the teacher's pet. For the past week, all I've heard is "Finnick Odair's abs" and "Finnick Odair's hair" and "Finnick Odair's smile." Apparently, he's some hot-shot former Olympian who only agreed to start teaching at this god-forsaken university because he knew Headmaster Snow. And because he's here, I now, like everyone else, have to take swimming lessons. Kill. Me. Now.
Shoes tied, Johanna grabs my hand and drags me to the pool. On the way to the locker rooms, I catch a glimpse of a handsome, bronze-haired young man wearing nothing but a pair of candy-apple red swim trunks. He's turned away from me, but I can see water and sweat glistening off the muscles on his back. He's talking to Haymitch, the head of Panem University's athletic department, and the two of them are laughing together. Good, I think, Haymitch could use a friend…He's been the athletic director here for years, going home every night and drinking himself into oblivion.
Before the door to the locker room closes, Johanna unashamedly rips off t-shirt and bra, tripping out of her jeans as she does so. I blush. While I'm accustomed to Johanna's brazen nature, I've never been particularly with nudity, mine or anyone else's. The way I saw it, clothes were made for a reason.
I set my bag down in my locker and began to dig through its contents. Water bottle, car keys, wallet, cell phone, goggles…where was my swimsuit? I know I grabbed it this morning right before Gale, one of my best friends, called. I must have set it down on the bed while we were talking!
Mumbling a quick excuse to Johanna, I ran out of the room and barreled across the tiles lining the sides of the pools. A whistle caught my attention.
"No running on the side of the pool!" It didn't register in my mind that the voice could be speaking to me.
Another whistle. "I said no running!"
The world started to move in slow motion. My foot slipped on a patch of wet tile and suddenly I was falling headfirst into the pool. I could faintly hear screams of horror coming around me before a rush of water overtook my senses and I began to sink.