Chapter Fourteen
Arguments?
Lunch time came quickly after that. I missed Johanna deeply because she's my only source of entertainment for my classes. That and I love her. I decide to grab a salad when I walk into the cafeteria. I don't want to have the daily discussion about my eating habits, so I will appease to the crowd just for today.
Greasy Sae is what they call the head lunch lady. She's always overseeing the different stations making sure that students aren't too greedy with their portions. She's not a rude woman, but she has a bark when teenagers test her. She's near the salad station when I jump into line.
"Ya name Katniss, say?" She says to me as I grab a plate.
I nod my head. "Yes, ma'am. How are you?" I ask her, wanting to show her respect.
She gives me a toothy smile, which is ironic since she's missing a few. "Good, girl. You enjoy ya food naw." She says, walking away from the station and towards the main dish.
It's the little things that matter to people.
Once I'm finished applying the ranch dressing on my lettuce, I head on towards the usual lunch table and find Madge already waiting for me eating a sandwich. I set my plate down across from her and take my seat. "What's with the plain sandwich?" I joke with her. She finishes chewing, and grabs a napkin next to her kit. She wipes the corner of her mouth carefully and then places the napkin down to the side of her. I raise my eyebrow at her, and she just shakes her head.
"I'm practicing my table manners for this gala. My mom has been insistent on me being perfect this time," She explains to me. She breaks character by putting her elbows on the table and putting her face into her hands. She looks up again at the sandwich suddenly remembering my original question. "I wasn't in the mood for much either, so I went with the classic PB&J."
I use my fork and move my salad around with it. "Could never go wrong with peanut butter. Now the real question: smooth or crunchy?" I ask her.
"Obviously smooth," She scoffs, grabbing the sandwich to take another bite.
"Filthy. Just plain filthy," Clove puts her plate on the table, looking at us in disgust. "Crunchy is always the way to go and if you say otherwise, you're just invalid as a person." She shrugs her shoulders.
"That's a bit harsh," Thresh says sitting down next to Madge. "Invalidating a whole person's existence over peanut butter?"
"You simply do not understand how important peanut butter is." Clove argues with him. It's really not that serious, but Clove's face gets red, so I know she's getting into it. She likes to be right, even if it's just an opinion.
Madge and I watch as they duke it out over peanut butter. She shakes her head with a firm smile. "Look at what you started."
I feel hands on my shoulders. I tense up a bit, turning around quickly to see who the culprit is. It's none other than Peeta Mellark. "Wow, you didn't even give me the chance to say 'Guess who?'"
"You'll be okay," I tell him, pulling out the chair next to me. He sits down next to me and places a brown bag in front of us. "What's this?" I ask, putting my hands on the bag.
He places his hands on top of mine and opens it with me. "None other than my famous cheese buns." He announces, taking out two of them.
Clove redirects her attention from Thresh and lands her eyes on the buns. "Are you kidding me? How many did you even bring?"
"Don't worry Clove, I brought enough for everyone," Peeta reassures her, which in return he gets a bright smile from her. Clove and Johanna are very similar, especially when it comes to food. They're serious about it. "Have you ever had one, Katniss?" Peeta asks, handing me one on a napkin.
I shake my head, picking up the bun. I take a small bite, and my mouth is instantly satisfied with the creamy sensation filling me. I let out a soft moan, and Clove laughs at me.
"Ohhhh, Peeta brought cheese buns!" Delly says, sliding her tray on the table. She leans in and takes one while I keep shoving bits and pieces into my mouth.
"I take it that you like them?" Peeta says, smiling at my satisfaction.
"I'll pay you to bring me more." I say, seriously, reaching into my bag to grab my wallet.
He puts his hand up to grab mine. He takes the wallet out of my hand, and reaches over me to place it back in my bag. "You know I would gladly provide this to you for free." He says to me, making sure I understands that.
"What about us Peeta?" Clove chimes into our conversation. "A girl has to eat somehow!" She throws her hands in the air dramatically.
He shakes his head and I roll my eyes at her, slumping back into my seat. Clove just shrugs her shoulders, and turns her head towards Thresh again, remembering their previous argument earlier.
The rest of lunch is the usual mess, minus Johanna. She better show up at school tomorrow or else I will go insane.
I get out of my seat and throw my bag over my shoulder when the last bell rings. Kids pour out of the classroom, and into the hallway, rushing towards the parking lot. I take my time, not wanting to be lost into the crowd. I know Peeta will be waiting for me at my car. He did want to go to the mall today.
As the crowd starts to thin out in the hallway, I pick up my pace, moving from a walk to a shuffle. I don't want Peeta to stand out in the heat, waiting for me.
I open the exit door, and leave the building. I got to school early, so my car was parked closer to the building. I not only see Peeta waiting, but I also see Clove with him. I squint my eyes and put my hand over them so I can block the sun. My other hand reaches to get my keys out of my bag's pocket and press the button that unlocks it.
"You coming to the mall?" I ask Clove. I pop open the trunk, and put my bag inside of it. She nods her head, repeating my actions, placing her bag into the trunk.
"I need a dress, and Cato isn't going to come with me," She shrugs as if she's fine with it. Her eyes tell a different story. "I call shotgun!" She pushes past Peeta, and hops into the front seat. Peeta looks confused, probably because Clove just ran at the speed of light past him. He places his bag in the trunk as well, and closes it with a big thump.
"It's cool if she hops along, right?" I ask Peeta, leaning against the trunk. I know he doesn't care that much. Clove is one of his close friends, so it shouldn't be a problem.
He nods his head, placing his hand on the car. "I'm more mad that I lost the best seat in the car." He says jokingly. I laugh it off, knowing that he meant it romantically. The way he flirts, most of the time, is very subtle and hard to catch, but I think I've finally come to understand it.
I open the car door, sliding into the seat, and swiftly put my seat belt on. I pull out of the school's parking lot, and start heading down to the main highway.
"Madge is lucky I love her," Clove mumbles, staring at her phone. "If I had the choice, I would've gone to this gala alone."
"What's Cato doing this time?" Peeta questions her, concerned. I don't know much about the history of Clove and Cato, but there is clearly some tension about the subject.
She shakes her head. "He's just...well, really dense and isn't the least bit clear on what he wants," She starts to text on her phone, but stops and locks the screen. "It's the only reason why I don't try to make things official." She explains to Peeta with a dejected look.
"Don't let him hurt you Clove," I tell her, giving her my own input. "If he isn't clear on what he wants, then it's not worth it." But as I said that, the voice in the back of my head called me a hypocrite. I shake the thought out of my head.
"Trust me, if he hurt me, he wouldn't be alive." She flashes one of her pocket knives at me.
"You're actually crazy Clove," I laugh. "Plus I don't think you're supposed to carry that at school." I refer to her knives.
She just smirks, and looks out the window. "It doesn't really matter now, does it?"
Hey guys! First, I would like to apologize for the late as hell chapter. I recently started working, so I haven't been focused on getting these chapters out. I am really sorry for the wait. I will still try to do chapters at least once a week, and it will most likely be posted on Saturday or Sunday. I wanted to get this chapter out because I had already completed the first half of it like a week ago, but I had to at least get to the after school portion to make it a bit longer. Thank you for baring with me, and enjoying this story! Really love reading the reviews, it gives me motivation. Anyway, I will see you guys next weekend, with a hopefully longer chapter. Enjoy!