'Message'

I meet with Nick for a coffee during my lunch break. Although we live together, I see him rarely. He's working late at the pub near our flat and when he comes back I usually sleep and when I get out for uni he's already out so I'm glad we have a moment to talk longer than three minutes.

'Here you go, a latte.'

'Thanks. How much do I owe you?'

'You're paying me with the pleasure of your company.' Nick winks at me.

'Yeah yeah right.' I smile broadly. 'Don't play that card with me. You work too hard to spend your money like that. If you really don't want the money, I'll cook you something during the weekend. Deal?' He sips his coffee observing people walking by. We're at a small café on the campus which is nonchalantly named 'BISTRO' and is owned by a short Italian woman and her husband. They make a great coffee and huge sandwiches which sell fantastically when hungry students go for morning classes.

'Sounds fair. How are you doing Katniss? Have you finished your sketch?'

'Smith's project? No, I'm still working on it.' The air is chilly as the autumn is setting in for good although leaves in the nearby park stubbornly hold on the branches. 'Today's Friday. I'm going to rest. No sketches.' I sip my coffee while straightening my legs. I turn my face into the sun. It's good to sit like that with Nick – no rushing or forced small talk.

'Sounds like a great plan – relaxing. I'm planning to do some of that during the weekend.' He finishes his coffee. 'Could you do me a favor?'

'It depends. What kind of favor is that?' I smile at him.

'My battery is dead, and I have to go to my classes ASAP and they won't finish till the evening. I don't have time to …'

'Say it quickly then.' I put my empty mug on the table.

'Could you go to building C.' I wince. I think I know where that is going. '…and find Johanna. She should be in the lab. Please tell her that today's rehearsal is put off an hour.'

'She hates me.' I growl and add. 'She hates everybody. Don't you really have no time?'

'No, she doesn't hate everybody. She's just had a tough life.'

'And that definitely transformed her into a jerk.' I sigh.

'Katniss, please. Can you do it for me? The rehearsal starts at 8pm. If there's no one when she comes, she'll be pissed and dealing with pissed Johanna is not my favorite pastime.' Nick is getting up and gathering his things, glancing at his wrist watch.

'All right. But it will be on you when she throws at me one of her precious microscopes and kills me accidently.' He rolls his eyes and ruffles my hair on his way to his bicycle which is leaning on the café's fence.

'I owe you one.'

'Oh you do.' I look at him jumping on his bike. I see a girl looking around to glance at Nick when he passes her. I sigh and get up. I have my classes in building B and I still have half an hour to kill. I go for the lab – I stroll rather slowly through the park leading to the building C. The perspective of seeing Mason ahead of me. She rarely scares me but mostly annoys me with those sarky comments of hers. I must admit that most of them are spot-on and witty, which sometimes makes me chuckle, but I'm constantly thrown back by her lack of respect for other people's feelings. I wonder if she knows about the negative effect those comments might have on other people. Such an attractive person which such a repelling character. I sigh.

I finally get to the lab, I take my hands out of the pockets of my jacket and sigh before opening the door. I can see her leaning over the microscope manipulating its handle, noting something on the side. She is the only one in the lab, other students still enjoying their break. She must love what she's doing if she is willing to resign from her break to solitarily work in here. She seems so lost in her work that she doesn't look up when I enter. I try to be quiet as I suspect that being too loud in her working sacred place might give her the reason for a particularly harsh remark. I come really close to her but she doesn't seem to see me. I notice dark rimmed smart looking glasses on her nose which surprises me – somehow the big fierce Johanna Mason in my mind doesn't need the help of such trivial tools like glasses.

'I didn't know you wear glasses.' Sometimes, I regret that my mind-mouth filter doesn't work as well as I'd wish. She doesn't look up from her microscope so I clear my throat. 'Yeah anyway, Nick's battery is dead and he asked me to tell you that today's rehearsal is postponed to 8pm.' Still nothing. Gosh this girl is unbearable. 'Hey!' I raise my voice. She raises her head enough to see my stomach.

'Hi Everdeen. Thanks for the information.' I roll my eyes and turn around.

'You're unbelievable Mason.' I walk quickly to the door and just when my hand is on the knob I hear her speaking.

'Hey! Sorry, I needed to finish that and you distract me.' I turn around sharply intending to tell something witty and equally cutting as she usually does but she throws me off my balance. I distract her? Right. When I turn around I'm surprised to see her leaning back comfortably in her chair, her glasses no longer on her nose while her eyes are carefully scanning me. I don't know why but my frustration grows – when I was talking to her she didn't even grant me a proper glance but now I seem to transform into most fascinating laboratory object. She doesn't hide the fact that she's looking at me, although I can see that she tenses a bit.

'Do I look more attractive from the back that you're finally honoring me with your glance?' I spit and she raises an eyebrow and one of corners of her mouth.

'You might.' I see that she's taken my unintentional bait. 'Do you know that your hips move nicely when you walk fast?'

'Don't you dare looking at my …?'She doesn't let me finish.

'Or what?' She's smiling broadly now leaning on the desk. I've seen her enjoying such banter before – the goal of it to intimidate the person she's talking to. I won't let her the satisfaction so I growl and head for the door. I totally don't know how to handle her. She's like a hot piece of coal which got out of the fireplace. When it's out, it burns with red and crimson and you might be captivated by its colors but at the same time you know that you need to do something with it and this will inevitably burn your skin.