I step out of the locker room, my hair still wet. I swing my backpack over my shoulder and I walk down the halls, trying to blend in with everyone else. I know that Glimmer, Cato, Clove, and the new guy Marvel are watching me right now.
I open my locker, stuff my books in, and I close it. Just then, a piece of crumpled paper with writing on it catches my attention. I open it, and inside I see: LOSER! printed on it. I know Glimmer wrote it, because under the exclamation is a heart, not a period.
I turn around and bump right into Gale.
"Easy there, Catnip," Gale says.
"Shh! I don't want the whole school to know your embarasing nickname for me," I say.
"Oh, you love it!" Gale teases.
"Okay, let's go for lunch," I say.
Gale and I walk into the cafeteria, and we head straight to the counter. The angry lunch lady, Jenette, scoops a piece of red meat on the plate- or at least I think it's meat. Jenette scoops up some spaghetti and throws it on my plate.
Gale and I wander through the cafeteria, looking for a place to sit. I notice Cato's table, and I hide behind Gale, hoping they won't see me. I am almost past them when I trip on something in front of me- Glimmer's leg.
I fall to the ground and my face lands in a pile of my spaghetti. I look up, but I can't see anything, because the red tomato sauce is covering my eyes. I can hear the cries of people laughing hysterically, and I can hear people taunting: "Spaghetti Face!"
"Let's go," Gale says.
I cover my face with my hands, and I follow Gale out of the cafeteria.
About ten minutes later, I stand by the bathroom sink and I wash the spaghetti out of my face and out of my hair. I knew I shouldn't have thrown that ball in gym class. I should have just let Cato throw the ball at me and knock me down. I made the biggest mistake of my life. I just keep wishing that this day never happened.
I finish up in the bathroom, and I am about to get out, when Glimmer walks in.
"What do you want?" I ask grumpily.
"Eww, why are you talking to me, freak?" Glimmer says.
"You should apologize," I say.
"For what? Tripping you? As if," Glimmer laughs.
She applies more makeup under her eye, and I try to get out of there.
She steps in my way, and blocks the door.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"You're not leaving until you apologize to me," Glimmer says.
"To you? You should apologize to me!" I yell.
"You humiliated me in front of the whole gym class!"
"You humiliated me in front of the whole cafeteria!"
"I hate you," Glimmer says.
"Same to you," I say.
I push her out of the way, and I get out of the bathroom. I run down the hall, tears in my eyes. Everybody is still on lunch break, including Gale. I decide to head to one place where it peaceful and quiet, and there is no drama.
I climb up the stairs that lead to the top of the school roof, and I open the door. The sweet smell of nature fills my nose, and I sigh. The roof is the only place I can escape when things are going bad. Sometimes, not even hunting with Gale solves my problems.
I sit on a wooden chair that has been up on the roof for years, and I look at all of the town. I think about things I regret, things I wish I can change, and things that might happen in the future.
"Rough day, huh?" asks a deep voice from behind me.
I turn around, and I realize it is is Peeta Mellark. He sits on the ground, his hands balled into fists.
"You have no idea," I say.
"Actually, I do," Peeta says, " I'm bullied by Cato's group all day, every day."
"This is the only place I can get away from all that," I say.
"Exactly."
"So, did you see?" I ask.
"See what?" He says.
"The spaghetti accident," I say.
"Yes, but I didn't laugh," Peeta says.
"Why not?" I question him.
"Because I know how it feels. Clove did the same thing to me about two years ago. She tripped me, and my hot bowl of soup spilled all over me."
"That's terrible! Were you okay?" I say.
"Yeah, just some minor burns," He says.
"They've been torturing me since the first grade," I say.
"They've been torturing me since kindergarten," Peeta says.
"They used to call me CantKiss," I tell him.
"They used to call me fat and pinch the fat on my stomach," He tells me.
"When my dad died in the mine explosion, they made fun of it and they cracked jokes about hiw he didn't get out of the mines fast enough," I say.
"They're terrible."
"They're bullies," I add.
"No kidding," He says.
"This is kind of weird, but would you like to hang out her tomorrow at lunch again?" I ask.
"Sure," Peeta agrees.
Then, the bell rings. We say goodbye, and we head to class. I realize that I made a friend. Someone who I can talk to about stuff other than hunting. But, I wonder how Gale is going to take this news.