A Dandelion in the Spring - Chapter 3
Peeta smiles. "Can you arrange for Catherine to come visit me too?" He asks, looking at me now instead of Delly.
Delly smiles. "Sure." She says, and then she closes the door.
Delly and I walk away from Peeta's room, talking about little things. Friends, hobbies, favorite colors, and talents. We stay off the topic of home, though, for good reason. I show her my sketchbook, pointing out my friends who I know to still be alive, my family, who I hope are still alive, and places. I also tell her about how my father died in a "factory accident." That wasn't entirely a lie. My father died in 9/11. I don't try to think about it much.
I learn a lot about Delly. She grew up with her parents and brother in the town, and always felt bad for those who lived in the Seam. Her favorite color is red, and she knows how to be serious when needed. She's 17, so she, Peeta, Katniss and I are the same age. She also tells me things I already know, things about her and Peeta's friendship, and she shows me the schedule on her arm. She is almost an exact replica of Kayly, my friend. They have the same blonde hair, the same brown eyes.
"So, what other hidden talents do you have?" She asks as we board the elevator.
"Um. I sing, act and I can play the guitar, piano, and chello." I say, scratching the back of my head. "Oh!" I say, tapping my chin in thought. "And I can whistle."
"Well then, I am officially jealous." Delly says. "You can afford all those instruments, and you have all these talents, and I can't do anything."
"Well, I don't really buy the instruments." I say, frowning. "My company gives them to me as gifts. I've tried to sell them for more money to provide for my mother and sister, but whenever I do, my mother has a fit. Her parents owned a music shop when she was younger." I murmur as we stop on our floor.
Delly leaves the elevator, and I follow right behind her. "You're really are a lot like Katniss." She says.
I tilt my head slightly. "How so?" I ask.
Delly smiles. "Well, except for the fact that you look exactly alike," I snort at that. "Your stories are alike. Signing up for loads of tesserae, illegally hunting in the outskirts of your district, taking care of you mother and sister. It's weird." She says.
I shrug. "Small similarities." I murmur, walking alongside her.
"Small? Let me guess, when you hunt, you hunt with a bow and arrow." She says, rolling her eyes.
I pout in defeat. "Yes." I say. Once again, not a total lie. I used to hunt with my Dad, with a bow and arrow. I'm pretty good at it. Kept practicing after he was gone.
Delly grins. "I thought so." She says, pushing open the door to a room labeled "Compartment 305. Occupants: Delly Cartwright, Nathan Cartwright, Catherine Montgomery."
"Don't worry, those similarities may get you called to Command some day for a super secret mission." She says, smiling. "Now, welcome to cozy old room 305."
I walk in, trying to absorb this new found information. The entire room is painted plain white, and the beds are the same boring brown color. It's obvious that Delly had tried to make the room more colorful, by adding dark blue sheets on the beds, but it was in vain. The room still looks boring as ever.
"Cozy..." I mutter.
Delly smiles, and points to the bed on the far left. "That's your bed. I sleep on the middle one, and Nathan sleeps on the other one." She says. "Make yourself at home."
I place my bag on my bed, and fall, face-down, onto it. "I'm SO TIRED." I groan.
Delly laughs, and sits on her bed. "Your uniforms should be here by the time we get back from dinner later." She says.
Ugh. That's right. I have to wear those ugly uniforms now. I think, frowning as I roll over onto my back. "Ew, uniforms. Gross." I say, staring at the ceiling.
I sit up, and look at Delly, who's smiling. She smiles a lot. I think. "It's not that bad here." She says. "You'll get used to it."
I smile back weakly. "I hope so."
Delly and I spend the rest of our time talking. She think's I'm funny, I think she's kind, and we both think that we get along pretty well. About twenty minutes later, she leaves the room to get Nathan from the school floor.
I finally manage to get a good look at myself in the mirror in our small bathroom. My face looks awful, and my makeup is all smudged, so I wash it off, feeling a bit cleaner. Until I shower later, I don't feel very comfortable in my clothes. They are still a bit damp from the rain back in New York, and I suddenly realize that district thirteen could possibly lie under the ruins of my old city.
Suddenly feeling sick, I leave the bathroom to organize the small amount of belongings I have. I carefully wrap my jacket around the Hunger Games Trilogy. These books are more important than ever before. They'll tell me what will happen in the next few months. I place the books in the dresser that Delly had assigned to me, along with the rest of my things.
I shove the drawer closed with my hip just as the door opens. I turn around, and Delly walks in. A boy with her features, who must be about twelve, trails in behind her.
Delly pulls the boy from behind her. "Catherine, this is Nathan, my brother. Nathan, this is Catherine. She's living with us now." She says.
"Hi." He says, looking up at me, and then down, blushing.
I smile. "Hi, it's nice to meet you." I say, holding out my hand.
He shakes my hand shyly, whispers something to Delly, and shuffles of to his bed.
I shrug, and plop down onto my bed.
Delly sits next to me, and we stay quiet for a moment.
I break the silence. "Hey, Finnick Odair is here, right? I remember that he got picked up during the Quell, too." I say, looking up at her.
She smiles. "Yeah, why?" She asks.
I blush furiously. "Um, no reason." I murmur, but I can't keep a grin from sneaking onto my features.
Delly gasps and nudges me. "I won't believe it! Nope! Nuh-uh! You're not a fangirl, are you?"
I shake my head, though slightly shocked that the people here know the word "fangirl."
Grinning, she pulls me up, then pulls up her sleeve and checks her schedule. "It's almost 7:30! Let's go!" She skips over to Nathans bed and pulls him up as well.
"Where are we going, exactly?" I ask as she drags us out of the room.
Delly's grin gets bigger, if possible. "Dinner, of course! I sit with Finnick and Katniss and everyone. It'll be a perfect time to introduce you!" She exclaims.
"Uhm..." I murmur, biting my lip.
She just rolls her eyes and drags me to the elevator. By the time we get to the cafeteria, there are more than a few people there, and Nathan leaves to go sit with his friends.
"Ah, no! He's abandoning me! Delly! Make him stay! I don't want to be the only awkward person sitting there!" I say, shaking Delly frantically. It's too loud in the room for anyone else to hear me, so I'm glad I can be as loud as I want.
Delly just laughs, brushes me off, and leads me to the line so that we can get our food. I have to tell the woman at the counter that I haven't gotten a schedule yet, and she asks me for my age and weight, and then places small portions on my tray. I'm not hungry, anyway.
"Come on." Delly says. She walks ahead of me and I trail slowly behind her.
When we get to the table, I get a clear view of everyone. I am immediately able to place them by their features.
A woman with long brown hair who looks a bit distracted. Annie Cresta.
A muscular man with bronze hair sitting next to Annie. Finnick Odair.
A boy around my age with the Seam look sitting next to Katniss. Gale Hawthorne.
A middle-aged man sitting next to Finnick. Haymitch Abernanthy.
The others at the table are a mix. Some are easy to place, like Posy Hawthorne, Octavia, Flavius, and Venia. The others seem like a blur of various characters who aren't mentioned very much in the trilogy.
Dellly immediately leads me to the head of the table, and I groan inwardly. She's going to introduce me, isn't she?
I was right. When we reach the head, she clears her throat and says in a clear voice, "Everyone, this is Catherine Montgomery, from District Eight."
I awkwardly poke my head out from behind Delly, and say, "Uh, hi, nice to meet you all." Smooth one. I think.
I expect to have everyone just go back to their meals, but people start introducing themselves to me. Most of the people at the table are survivors from twelve.
Delly seats me next to little Posy, who is smiling at me. "Hi!" She says enthusiastically. "I'm Posy! This is my brother Gale!" She says, nudging Gale, who is sitting next to her.
"It's nice to meet you, Posy." I say, grinning. I lift my eyes to Gale, who's eyeing me as if he doesn't know what to think of me.
Eventually, he lifts his hand. "Nice to meet you, Catherine. I'm Gale Hawthorne." He says. I shake his hand calmly. I never really trusted Gale, and the bombing of the Capitol children and the murder of Prim just installed a bit of anger towards his character. "I found you in the woods while I was with Katniss. You know, you don't look so bad. You would've died in the forest if you didn't have that bow of yours." He says.
My eyes widen. "Bow? I have a-" I gather my words when his eyes flash with suspicion. "M- my bow is here? I didn't see it when I woke up."
"Yes, well, only soldiers are allowed weapons." He says, shrugging. "They confiscated it."
I frown. That's right! Katniss' bow was confiscated as well. "Oh." I murmur, and begin poking at my food.
"You look a lot like Katniss." Posy says, grinning up at me.
I smile. "Yes, I've heard that before." I say.
Posy motions for me to lean down, so I do, my right ear in her direction. She cups my ear in her hands and whispers, "But I think you're a little prettier that her."
I giggle, and lift my head up from Posy's tiny hands. "Nah, I don't think so." I say.
Posy yawns, and looks up at Hazelle, whose sitting across from her. "Mommy, I'm tired." She says sleepily.
Hazelle smiles gently at her. "Just wait a moment sweetheart, your brothers aren't finished eating yet." She says.
Posy pouts. "But can Catherine bring me back?" She asks, clinging onto my sleeve.
"No, no. Catherine can't bring you back. Just wait a little." Hazelle says, smiling at me.
I shake my head. "It's fine, Mrs. Hawthorne. I can bring Posy back, no problem." I say.
"Really? Because you don't have to. I can-"
I cut her off. "Really, Mrs. Hawthorne. It's fine." I stand up from my seat, and lift Posy so that she's balanced on my hip.
"Alright then." She says. "We're compartment 326. Thank you, Catherine."
I smile. "Again, it's no problem, Mrs. Hawthorne. And please, call me Cat." I say, placing Posy's tray on top of mine.