The little girl's silver eyes were wide and round, darting back and forth, taking in the sights of the large brick building in front of her.
It was her first day of school, and both her parents had done everything in their power to make sure this day was a special one for Katniss. Her father had packed a small lunch of crackers and cheese for her, nervously reminding her not to be shy and to listen to her teachers. Her mother had plaited her hair carefully; making sure no strand was out of place, and had presented her that morning with a brand new dress. The dress itself wasn't new, just an outgrown dress given to the Everdeen's by a neighbor, but it was new to Katniss.
Katniss idly fingered the red plaid material, tracing the intersecting lines with her index finger. She kept her eyes down, gulping audibly, doing her best to swallow the nerves that had climbed their way up her spine.
She felt her mother's hand on her shoulder, soft and comforting, and turned into her warm embrace. She wished she could go home, back where nerves didn't grab her and where she could spend the day playing with baby Prim on the braided rug in the front room.
"Can't I just go home with you?" Katniss pleaded, a slight tremor to her voice.
Her mother smiled and bent down to face her daughter, holding her at an arm's length. Brushing aside a strand of hair that had somehow managed to come undone from Katniss' braid, she looked her daughter in the eye.
"Where's my brave Katniss, hmm? The girl that's not afraid of anything?"
Katniss shrugged, her lower lip pushing out in a slight pout.
"Maybe I left her at home… maybe we should go get her."
Her mother laughed, a real laugh that reached her eyes and made Katniss smile too; already she could feel some of her fear seeping out of her.
"We don't have to," her mother said matter-of-factly.
"You know why?"
Again, Katniss shrugged and shook her head.
"I don't know." She said.
Her mother smiled, bringing her hand up to caress Katniss' cheek fondly.
"Because she's right here inside of you – she always is."
Katniss' eyes flickered to the ground, still slightly unsure as she traced the outline of a circle in the dirt beneath her feet.
"Katniss," Her mother said guiding her daughter's face up with her finger.
"You trust me, don't you Katniss?"
The little girl nodded quickly, never even stopping to think.
Her mother smiled.
"Good, because I would never lie to you Katniss, so you must believe me when I tell you that everything is going to be okay."
Taking a deep breath Katniss steadied herself, looking her mother straight in the eyes again.
"I believe you Mommy."
Nodding in approval, her mother stood then, pulling Katniss to her for a quick but loving hug before pushing her towards the school building.
"Go on," she said.
"Go play with the other children, you'll be alright – I promise."
Katniss watched her go, and saw as her mother turned quickly, wiping away a single tear before heading back to the Seam.
Clutching her brown paper lunch bag in one hand and her school bag in the other Katniss took her first steps forward.
The front school yard was swarmed with children, most of them older and taller than Katniss. She was quickly losing her nerve and before she could convince herself otherwise she hurried up to the front of the building, away from the other children and sat down on the front steps. Placing her bags atop of her plaid clad lap Katniss resigned herself to watching as the children in the yard made the most of the moments before the bell rang and they were summoned to class.
Katniss let her eyes wander, and she quickly caught the gaze of a blond haired boy looking at her. He looked startled for a moment, and his eyes quickly darted away. Katniss tilted her head to the side, she felt like she'd seen him before.
On the far right side of the yard she could see a little girl, still clinging to her baby fat with blond ringlets. She had a happy, round face, and it wasn't long before she noticed Katniss looking at her. The girl smiled brightly and motioned for Katniss to join her and the other girls, but Katniss couldn't move – she'd never played with a Town girl before.
Noticing Katniss' hesitance, the bright eyed little girl bounded over and extended her hand as she'd no doubt been taught.
"I'm Delly - wanna come play?"
Her voice was so cheery, so friendly that Katniss nodded in reply.
Delly never wasted a moment, taking Katniss' hand in hers and leading her towards where the other little girls were playing a rope skipping game.
"What's your name?" Delly questioned suddenly as they neared the rope circle.
"Katniss." She said timidly.
Delly only smiled brighter, nodding as they reached the circle.
"This is Katniss everybody, she's going to play with us!"
One little girl, a small, dainty girl with pale blue eyes and wavy blond hair smiled, waving at Katniss.
"That's Madge – she's nice." Insisted Delly fondly.
She quickly introduced Katniss to the three other girls, two more with blond hair and blue eyes and one with brown hair and grey eyes.
"This is Jemma, Ivy and Winter," she said, gesturing to each girl in turn.
None of them smiled, and one of them, the second blond girl, scowled harshly at Katniss, wrinkling her nose as if she smelled something bad.
"My mother says I'm not allowed to play with Seam brats." Her tone was vicious, even for a five year old and Katniss stiffened immediately.
Delly frowned, putting her hands on her hips.
"Ivy! That's nasty – you shouldn't say that!"
The girl, Ivy, only huffed in response.
"I can say whatever I want, plus it is true."
The two other girls cowered behind, not daring to speak out for one side of the other.
Delly remained with her hands on her hips, scowling at Ivy.
"If you like her so much Delly why don't you just leave and play with the Seam brat?"
Katniss had seen enough, and before Delly could open her mouth to respond, Katniss had turned and was quickly walking back towards the school steps.
"Katniss wait!" Delly called after her, but it was no use, Katniss ignored her, trying to swallow past the lump in her throat.
She sat there on the steps, wishing the bell would ring so she could leave, wishing she could go home. Despite her best efforts, several tears escaped her eyes, rolling down her cheeks before Katniss could swipe them away.
The bell rang then, but Katniss couldn't make herself get up. Instead she hugged her knees to her chest, breathing deeply to try and stop the tears before she really lost it. Countless children filed past her, but Katniss didn't even notice until one stopped in front of her.
Looking up, Katniss found she didn't have to look far, he looked to be about her age – he was the blond haired boy that she'd seen before.
He held his hand out to her and she took it, although she wasn't sure why. He helped her to her feet carefully, and once she was standing looked her in the eyes with all seriousness.
"I don't think you're a Seam brat."
It was all he said; he smiled slightly, a half smile before walking past her and into the school building.
Katniss stood where she was, unsure of what to make of the boy. She wondered who was he and why he'd said what he'd said – she wondered why she felt like she's seen him before.
She pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind, steeling herself as she walked through the large black doors and into the school.
By that afternoon, when she was finally able to go home, Katniss let the blond boy slip from her memory.
And before long, she began to forget him completely.
One-shot number two! Any thoughts, suggestions? Let me know! Reviews are my bread and water ;) Also, if you'd like to read more about Katniss' parent's romance, I'm writing a story about how they met - so read it if you'd like to know more! Enjoy!