This is so not her year.
Maybe it's her own fault for taking on so many AP classes, but she wasn't exactly expecting five hours' worth of homework on the first day of school.
"Dude, screw Abernathy's homework. It's AP physics, not fucking NASA," she groans at lunch, dropping her forehead onto her folded arms, salad forgotten.
Glimmer pats her shoulder sympathetically. "There, there, Clo. It must be hard being so smart."
Clove looks up and narrows her eyes at her friend. "I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not."
Glimmer only shrugs, turning back to her own salad. Clove huffs and glances up to see a smirking Cato. She pokes her tongue out at him. He didn't bother with AP physics this year, apparently too worried that taking so many AP classes would run too much interference with football, or whatever. Clove loves the kid, but seriously? He's one of the smartest people she knows. He could have handled it.
Maybe she just doesn't want to suffer alone.
"On the bright side," pipes Finnick from beside Cato, "he'll probably be too hung over tomorrow morning to even remember assigning it. You've got an extra day, minimum."
Clove snorts, because it's true. It's common knowledge around the school that Mr. Abernathy is a certified drunk. There are rumors about it—some say he lost his entire family in a house fire, others say his wife died. No matter the reason though, he never fails to show up to class hungover, or at least slightly buzzed. It's sad, really.
"I guess you're right," Clove muses.
"Of course I am," says Finnick, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. "I'm a goddamn genius."
"Keep telling yourself that, bud," says Thresh, his massive shoulders shaking with quiet laughter. Clove grins as Annie rolls her eyes.
"Nice ego, Odair," comes a voice, and Johanna Mason slides into the seat beside him. Swiftly, she snags a French fry from Finnick's tray, much to his annoyance.
"Always a pleasure, Johanna," he mumbles.
Clove thinks she might be one of the only people who actually likes Johanna. The other girl is known around school for being, well, a bitch. But Clove can respect it—Johanna just doesn't care. She's always honest, and in Clove's eyes, the people who can't handle honesty are a bit weak. Sure, Johanna can be a bit much sometimes, but overall Clove finds her brutal honesty and carefree nature hilarious.
"So, anyway," says Johanna, learning forward and ignoring Finnick's comment. "I heard that the Everdeen girl, the junior, is in some kind of tragic, summer-love triangle with Gale Hawthorne and that new kid, Peter or something. Who's got money on who?"
"There's a new kid?" asks Marvel. "Since when?"
"Since this year, dipshit."
Glimmer hums. "Yeah, I've seen him. He's adorable. I think she'll go for him. They're the same age, first of all, and he's got that whole 'innocent' vibe that totally offsets Katniss's 'mysterious' thing."
Clove shakes her head. "I don't know, I always thought she'd end up with Gale. Who cares that he's a senior? They've been best friends since they were born, practically. They know each other, you know?"
"Doesn't Gale like that Madge girl, though?" asks Cato.
"Other way around, I think," says Clove with a frown. She's caught the mayor's daughter watching Gale Hawthorne many a time.
"No, I heard she's a lesbian," says Glimmer.
"How would you know that?" asks Finnick, waggling his eyebrows.
Glimmer shrugs. "Rumor mill?"
"Well, I think they'd be awkward together," says Finnick. "Katniss and what's-his-name. Gale's way more suave."
"You did not just use the word 'suave,'" says Clove. Finnick winks.
"My money's on Peeta," says Annie. "That's his name, by the way, not Peter. I've got study hall with him, he seems sweet."
Thresh chimes in with a vote for Gale, Marvel for Peeta, Cato for Gale, and Johanna for Gale.
"So, what's that then?" asks Johanna. "Three for Peeta and four for Gale? This is like a Twilight situation. Team Gale versus Team Peeta. Should I make t-shirts?"
The drive home from school is only slightly quieter, as they're down one because Cato has football practice every day after school for the entire season. Marvel likes to complain about it from his spot in the back seat, but his whining falls on deaf ears. "You could totally just take the bus, if you want," says Glimmer every time. That usually shuts him up.
Once Marvel has been dropped off at his swanky mansion, Glimmer turns to Clove. "Okay, so we need to go homecoming dress shopping, like, immediately."
Clove's eyes widen as Glimmer backs out of Marvel's driveway and tears down the street. "Glim, seriously? It's literally the first day of school."
"Yeah, but I want to start early! And dress shopping is so fun! Do you think Cato would be okay with pink?"
Clove sighs in exasperation. Honestly, she isn't even surprised. Glimmer is totally the glitz-and-glam type, a true testament to her name, and loves anything that requires formal attire. Especially school dances.
"I mean, I'm sure he'll be okay with anything since it's you," says Clove honestly. "His masculinity isn't that fragile, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind wearing a pink tie or dress shirt or something. Why, is that the color you want this year?"
Glimmer nods. "I've already started a Pinterest board. Don't judge."
"Glim, I'm saying this because I love you, but I am judging so hard."
"Oh, shut up," says Glimmer, and they laugh. "Seriously, though, will you come with me this weekend? Even if you don't know what you want yet. I just love shopping, you know that. And obviously I love hanging out with my best friend, too."
Clove shakes her head, still smiling. "Fine. We can go after I get out of gymnastics on Saturday."
Glimmer squeals. "Yes! I'm so excited."
Clove laughs and reaches to turn the music up. The rest of the car ride consists of an AJR singalong with the windows down and a pit stop for iced coffee, until finally Glimmer is turning into Clove's driveway and Clove is hopping out of the car. She sighs when she sees her father's car in the driveway, meaning he's still home—his third day in a row missing work—but turns to Glimmer with a smile.
"Alright, I'll text you later."
"Looking forward to it!"
She watches as her friend's BMW disappears down the street before heading inside, climbing the worn wooden steps of the porch and unlocking the door. When she steps inside, she's unsurprisingly met with the smell of liquor that hangs in the air. Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, she enters the living room to see her father passed out on the couch, some cop show playing out on the television. She doesn't really feel like waking the bear, so she settles for switching off the TV and collecting a few of the empty, discarded bottles to recycle.
With a sigh, she wonders when she stopped becoming surprised.
"Nice job, Clove, awesome dismount!"
Clove drops her arms and smiles at Enobaria, her coach. She's been practicing her new bars routine for over a month now, trying to prepare for the upcoming meet. She's been on her game today, letting herself twist and soar from bar to bar. She still has to practice her beam and floor routines, but she isn't as worried about those.
"Alright ladies, take five," Enobaria calls, and the group of girls move to the wall where their bags are lined up. Clove is the first one there, immediately sitting down and beginning to stretch.
"Hey, you're on fire today," says Delly, sitting beside Clove.
"Oh, thanks, you too," says Clove, taking a sip of her water. "Your vault is killer, Dell. There's no way you aren't getting first at the meet."
Delly beams before speaking again. "I actually wanted to talk to you about something. Someone, really."
Clove shrugs. "Yeah, go for it."
"Peeta Mellark."
Clove frowns. Peeta? "Sorry, Dell, who—"
"He goes to your school now! Panem Prep, right? Junior?"
"Oh, right!" says Clove, suddenly remembering the conversation with her friends at lunch. "Yeah, I've heard about him. Haven't met him yet, though. Why?"
"He used to go to my school," says Delly. "We're good friends. I just figured I'd ask if you've seen him around or know how he's doing."
Clove nods, tucking a flyaway strand of hair behind one ear. "Yeah, I'm not really sure. Different grades and all, you know? But I've got this friend, Annie, who's got a class with him. Says he's sweet."
Delly nods, still grinning. "Yeah, he's the sweetest. We grew up together. I used to tell people that he was my brother, because we've both got the blonde hair and blue eyes."
Clove has never seen Peeta before, but she's suddenly picturing a miniature Cato running around the halls of Panem Prep. Blond hair and blue eyes are usually what she associates with Cato, and where she's never met Peeta, it's all she can think of now. She has to fight a laugh at the thought of it. "That's cute," she tells Delly. "I'll keep an eye out for him, yeah?"
Delly nods. "I'd like that. I just worry, you know?"
"I understand."
The air is suddenly split by Enobaria's whistle, and they're up and moving.
Still not a whole lot going on here, but it's early. I'm just setting the stage a bit, you know? There'll be more fun drama later on, I swear.
Ugh, I've had the longest past few days. Lots of fun and lots of friends, though, so I'm really not complaining. Can you believe it's already almost February?
Anyway, what did you think of the latest chapter? What would you like to see more of in the future? Leave a review and let me know what you thought! I'll see you guys next time :)