A/N: Hi so I thought I'd try out Prim's POV for this chapter. I know it isn't about Everlark or Odesta, but they'll be back next chapter- I just thought it might be interesting to have Prim featured a bit more. Please let me know what you think, it would be really helpful :)

Prim's POV

I just had to stay calm. Totally calm. However, as hard as I tried to blend in, I couldn't help but notice that everyone was staring at me. Every girl looked at me, their eyes flicking from my face all the way down to my scuffed shoes, and I had never felt so judged in my life. It was like they were sizing me up, whispering to their friends as if guessing how long I would last in The Capitol School. Every boy I passed winked at me, nudging their friends and motioning to me like I was some prize to be won amongst them.

Not only that, but everyone looked so cool. All of the girls had perfect hair, and were fixing their lip gloss using the screens of their expensive phones as mirrors. As they looked me up and down I suddenly felt totally ridiculous in my knee high socks with my teddy bear shaped pencil case and second hand textbooks. I just wanted to disappear into the ground, but instead I settled for ducking into the closest bathroom to calm myself down.

I was followed into the bathroom by the only girl who actually smiled at me when we made eye contact. She introduced herself as Rue, and she spoke with a gentle voice that immediately made me feel better.

"You're not from around here, are you?" Rue asked me, looking at me kindly.

I shook my head. "Is it obvious?" I felt like I had some blinking red sign over my head or something. Everyone seemed to know that I didn't really belong there.

"Just a little." Rue laughed. "But don't worry, they'll stop staring eventually."

It wasn't very reassuring, but I was relieved when Rue offered to show me around for the day. I got the feeling she didn't really have any friends, and I think she was happy to have me too. Walking next to her, I felt myself relax a little, and it was nice to have found an ally amongst the crowd of judgemental people.

"So, do you have any tips for surviving this place?" I asked, as we walked to our first class.

"Hmmmm." Rue thought for a moment. "Try and blend in as much as possible- and don't go anywhere near Lumi and her clique."

"Who's Lumi?" I asked, curious.

"Lumi Snow. Her grandfather, Coriolanus Snow, owns like, half of New York City. He is seriously rich and seriously powerful, and so is she. Well, here anyway. She has a little group of followers- Clove, Glimmer, Cato and Marvel- and everyone wants to try and get into her group. But trust me, you do not want to have anything to do them."

"Why, what do they do?"

"They act like they own the place most of the time, and if you do something they don't like..." Rue stopped, as if remembering a horrible memory. "Well, last year there was another girl, Finch, in their group, a new girl like you. One day Lumi saw her with the guy Lumi liked, and she made Finch's life hell."

"Where is she now?" I asked, feeling frightened.

"She left." Rue said simply. "Now she gets home schooled by her mother because Lumi gave her such a bad reputation at all the schools nearby."

"Are you serious?" I asked with disbelief. It sounded way too extreme and I was starting to feel more and more sick about being at The Capitol School.

"Unfortunately." Rue sighed.

"That's awful!" Was all I could think to say.

"That's Lumi." Rue replied gravely.

Katniss was right about that place, it was seriously vicious. I was so out of my depth already, and I wished I could just go back to my old school where all I had to worry about was a nasty English teacher who wouldn't let Rory and I sit together. As Rue and I walked into our first class and every head turned to stare at me, I had no idea how I was going to survive at all.

I was at my locker at the beginning of lunch, sticking up a photo of Katniss, Gale, Rory and I from the summer, when I heard a group approach me. I had a bad feeling about whoever they were, but I took a deep breath and prepared myself to turn around. In front of me stood a girl with a mean expression on her face, with two girls and two boys standing behind her.

"Primrose, right?" The mean looking girl asked. "You're the girl on the scholarship."

"Umm yeah?" I gulped. I knew my hands were shaking, so I shoved them in my blazer pockets. I need to stay calm, so I shook myself together and met the girl's eye. "But everyone calls me Prim."

"Prim?" she asked, unimpressed. "I'm Lumi." She looked me up and down just like the other girls had, only this time it was one hundred times scarier. She raised her eyebrow when she looked me in the eye again. "Nice braids, by the way."

By the way the group behind her was sniggering, I could tell that it wasn't really a compliment. So far Lumi Snow was exactly like I imagined her to be- tall, gorgeous, with perfect dark hair and intense eyes. What Rue hadn't captured in her description of her was just how intimidating it was to be standing in front of her. She literally breathed confidence and money, from her shiny kitten heels to the diamond bracelet around her wrist. I was glad that the $1 mood ring on my finger was hidden inside my blazer pocket.

"Look, I saw you talking to Rue before." Lumi continued. " If you want my advice, stay away from her."

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"Because she's a total loser!" Lumi laughed. "Seriously, if you want to survive at this school, you have to make friends with the right people."

"And that would be you?" I guessed, my turn to sound unimpressed. While I didn't want to get on Lumi's bad side, I also didn't want her to tell me what to do, a stubbornness I shared with Katniss.

"Obviously." Lumi replied. "So are you going to sit with us or what?"

"Oh, I said I'd meet Rue for lunch…" I trailed off.

"Forget Rue!" Lumi exclaimed. "Look, you're not from around here, so I think I need to explain how things work. You're either cool, like us, or you're a nobody, like Rue. A new girl like you is lucky that we're even speaking to you- some girls have spent years sucking up to me to get into this group. Just ask Glimmer." A girl behind Lumi with curly blonde hair suddenly looked embarrassed, but Lumi continued. "Do you really want to be a nobody, and spend the rest of your life in the library at lunch?"

"Ummm..." I began, starting to panic.

"You want to be cool Prim!" Lumi answered for me. "Trust me, hanging out with Rue is like, social suicide." She looked at me, "So are you coming or what?"

I bit down on my lip- I had no idea what to do. On one hand I wanted to meet up with Rue, because I knew that Lumi was nothing but trouble. But all I wanted was to fit in, and maybe the way to do that and not get into trouble with Lumi's group was to actually become one of them. Brushing off Lumi was only going to make her angry, and I didn't need to spend the rest of my time at The Capitol School as her enemy. So, I found myself walking with Lumi and her friends into the middle school courtyard.

"So, Prim." Lumi asked. "What was your summer like?"

"It was okay." I shrugged as we sat down at a table in the centre of the courtyard. "I spent a lot of time volunteering at the animal shelter in my neighbourhood."

"Awww, cute." Lumi replied, but she didn't sound genuine.

"What did you all do?" I asked quickly. Asking questions was an easy way not to say anything wrong.

"My grandfather took me to Paris for a week." Lumi said smugly.

"You are so lucky, Lumi." Glimmer exclaimed. "My grandfather would never do something like that."

"Are you kidding?" Clove asked. "Your grandfather bought you a car- and you can't even drive yet!"

"Like you can talk, Clove." Cato laughed. "How much was that necklace you got for Christmas?"

"Shut it, Cato." Clove snapped.

"Make me." Cato crossed his arms, smug.

Clove just rolled her eyes, but when Cato looked away, I noticed a smile appear on her face. I guessed that even though they acted like they didn't like each other, she secretly had a crush on him.

When the conversation changed to gossip about the year level, I suddenly realised why everyone wanted to be Lumi's friend. Hearing the mean things Lumi was saying about our classmates, and knowing that the five of us weren't subject to her teasing, was like being a member of a special club. Even though I didn't like what she was saying, I found myself laughing along with her. It gave me a sense of superiority, and I noticed that the other girls in the courtyard were shooting me jealous glances. I knew it was dangerous, but I was actually enjoying the way they were looking at me with a little more respect now.

However, when the topic of new phones came up, I suddenly returned to reality.

"What kind of phone do you have, Prim?" Lumi asked.

"Oh..." I said, trailing off. "I don't have one."

There was an awkward silence, and my cheeks burned as I started to feel insecure about where I came from and how little money. Quickly, I looked over my shoulder to check if Katniss had found me yet, to save me from this situation.

"Who are you looking for?" Clove asked suddenly.

"My sister said she would come and find me at lunch."

"Awww, your sister is coming to check up on you?" Lumi mocked, "What are you, a baby?"

My cheeks went red instantly and I supposed it was a little silly to need Katniss to make sure I was alright on my first day. Before I could reply though, I saw Katniss appear in the courtyard. I tried to motion for her to go away, so I wouldn't further embarrass myself, but Glimmer spoke up.

"Wait, your sister is Katniss Everdeen?" Glimmer asked excitedly.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"She's dating Peeta Mellark, right? And she's friends with Finnick Odair, too! Oh my God, they're so hot."

Before I could say anything, Katniss appeared at our table. "Hey, Prim." she said cheerfully, "How's your day been so far?"

"Good." I replied, trying to get her to leave.

"Have you made some friends?" Katniss eyed each of them individually.

"Yeah, so I'm totally fine. You don't have to stay." I said quickly.

I felt horrible for acting that way to Katniss, but she got what I meant and looked at me suspiciously before turning to leave. "I'll see you after school then." she said before walking away.

"Your sister is like, an inspiration to Glimmer." Lumi explained with a smirk.

"I mean, Peeta must really love her- to give up his status here and everything. He went from like, the top to the bottom in a day." Glimmer gushed.

"I don't understand it, really." Lumi said, sounding bored. "No offence Prim, but it doesn't make sense why a guy like Peeta would go for a scholarship girl."

"It's love, Lumi. I mean, I'm totally jealous of Katniss, but they are seriously the cutest couple ever." Glimmer continued, "So are you and Peeta close?"

"I suppose?" I replied, taken aback by just how closely Glimmer had been watching my sister's relationship. It was like they were some celebrity couple or something.

"So do he and Finnick ever go to your apartment?" Lumi joined in, suddenly interested again.

"Yeah, all the time." I replied. Okay, so I may have exaggerated that, but it was the first time that she had looked at me like I was cool.

"Oh my God!" Glimmer looked like she was going to pass out, "Can you invite us over sometime when they're there?"

"Glimmer you are so desperate." Marvel joked. "Seriously, all you girls ever talk about is those seniors."

"Awww, is someone jealous?" Lumi mocked.

"No!" Marvel argued. "I'm just saying…"

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Just because you two can't compare to Finnick."

"He has a girlfriend, you know?" I said quietly. I felt bad about the way Lumi was treating Marvel and Cato, and wanted to draw her attention away from them.

"Details, detail." Lumi replied casually. "I heard she's a total nutcase any way."

"Apparently she spent a week on a psych ward!" Clove chimed in.

"Now that is a couple I don't understand." Glimmer said. "He can do so much better than some mad girl."

I opened my mouth to defend Annie, who was the sweetest person I had ever met. I hated how everyone judged Annie without knowing anything about her, and if Finnick was there I knew he would have totally lost it. However, Clove was looking at me like she wanted me dead, so I kept my mouth shut.

Finally the bell rang, and I quickly got up to leave.

"So, see you here tomorrow Prim?" Lumi asked.

"Sure?" I replied hesitantly.

"And if you want, I could bring you one of my old phones. I hardly used it, so it would be almost like new." Lumi added.

"Really?" I asked, "Wow, thank you."

I was confused. After realising just how uncool I was, I didn't think Lumi and her friends would ever want to speak to me again. It was actually a nice surprise that they wanted me to join them again. Maybe they weren't as bad as Rue had described to me.

On the way home, I didn't say much to Katniss. I was upset after seeing Lumi get into a limousine to take her home, while I had to stand on the subway between two old men who smelt gross.

"Are you okay, little duck?" Katniss asked when we got inside our apartment.

"Don't call me that." I replied, dumping my school bag on the floor and collapsing onto my bed. "I'm not a baby."

Katniss followed me into our room and sat down on her bed. "Hey, what happened today? I thought you had friends."

"Yeah, friends who have millions of dollars and cars and fancy phones and spend their summers in Europe not some animal shelter."

"Where is this coming from Prim?" Katniss asked, sounding alarmed. "You've never cared about money before."

"Yeah, but it's embarrassing Katniss- I had to tell them that I don't even own a mobile phone! I felt like a loser."

"You are not a loser." Katniss said strongly.

"I am at The Capitol School." I replied sadly.

I knew I was being ridiculous, and acting exactly like a baby even though I told Katniss I wasn't one. But it was just so unfair, that I had to feel like such an outsider in that place. Katniss was right, I'd never cared about money or where we lived or what we owned before now, but after seeing how amazing Lumi and her friend's lives were, I wanted nothing more than to be exactly like them.