Katniss' POV

It was Monday morning, and I'd gone downstairs to check the mailbox for the third time that morning. It was a good excuse to get out of the apartment while Prim was getting ready for school, because since she'd snuck out to that party we'd hardly spoken. I'd taken away her phone, and told her that she'd have to pay Finnick back for the dress, and she'd been in an awful mood ever since.

When I got down to the ground floor, I found Haymitch standing in front of the row of mailboxes attached to the wall.

"Back again, sweetheart?" he said with a crooked smile.

"I don't need this right now, Haymitch." I said, sighing. I tried to move him out of the way but he wouldn't budge.

"I'm not moving until you and your sister start speaking again."

"Yeah, well maybe you should be up there with her- I've been trying to talk to her since the weekend."

"Talking, as in yelling at her? From what she told me you were pretty harsh."

"It needed to be said." I defended myself. Since when was Haymitch allowed to lecture me on this kind of thing?

"She's fourteen, Katniss. Let her have some fun!"

"She tried to steal a dress!" I exclaimed.

"And now she's going to pay back that peacock boy- what's his name? The preener?" Haymitch looked confused for a moment.

"Finnick?" I answered. "But that still doesn't make up for the fact that she snuck out."

"It's what teenagers do!"

"I never did that." I shot back.

"That's because you were too busy trying to be her mother." Haymitch said, suddenly sounding wise. "You're her sister, you need to remember that."

"Well maybe you should remind our mother of that then." I snapped. "Can you move?"

Defeated, Haymitch stepped aside and I approached the mailbox. When I opened it, there was actually a letter inside, addressed to me. Immediately I recognised the Yale logo, and my heart nearly stopped. Staying where I was, I ripped open the envelope and took out the perfect, crisp letter. I could hardly read fast enough, but it was clear what it said.

"Oh my God." I said breathlessly. I felt like I was going to pass out.

"What's happened?" Haymitch asked, suddenly concerned.

"I've been invited for a tour of Yale with the dean of admissions!" I exclaimed.

"And that's a good thing?"

"Yes, Haymitch, it's a good thing. It means that I'm pretty much accepted into Yale, all I need to do is impress everyone on the tour and I'll get in!"

My mind was racing. Yale only offered tours to one student at The Capitol School a year, and I couldn't believe it was me. Finally, something good was happening.

"Congratulations, sweetheart." Haymitch grinned.

"You know, maybe you're right, Haymitch." I said, feeling a sudden urge of positivity. "I'll trying talking to Prim again."

Taking the stairs two at a time, I entered the apartment and called out to Prim. "Ready to go? We don't want to miss the train."

Prim appeared from our room, her bag already on her shoulders. "Actually, Lumi arranged for a car to pick me up today." she said cooly, pushing passed me to leave the apartment.

I moved to the window to see Prim getting into the back of a shiny black limousine, dark tinted windows hiding her from me. Sighing, I picked up my own school bag and headed to the subway, determined not to let Prim ruin my new good mood.

Peeta looked at me strangely as I took my books out of my locker.

"What are you staring at?" I asked, sticking my tongue out at him.

"You're smiling." Peeta observed. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much first thing in the morning in this place."

I laughed. "That is true." I told him. "I'll tell you everything at lunch."

Peeta was right about the smiling, and I could barely stop grinning all though class. Even Miss Trinket commented that I was my 'happier self' today. I was still smiling when I joined my friends in the courtyard for lunch.

"So Katniss, I hear you have a secret you wish to share with us." Finnick said, giving me a wink.

"It's not really that big of a deal." I shrugged, trying to play it down. I really didn't want the attention.

"Oh come on, Katniss." Johanna rolled her eyes. "Out with it."

"I've been invited for a tour of Yale!" I couldn't pretend I wasn't thrilled any longer.

"Oh my God." Johanna said, "You're like, 99% in then."

"I know!" I said, more excited then I had ever sounded. "I can't believe it."

"What? You deserve this, Katniss." Peeta said genuinely. He leant closer to kiss me, but we suddenly both remembered we were supposed to be 'just friends' and quickly jumped apart. Instead, we settled for a shy smile, as Peeta reached for my hand under the table.

Finnick pretended to clear his throat and be both looked up. "I would like to propose a toast." Finnick announced, holding up his water bottle. "To Katniss, the only one of us that might actually have a future."

"Speak for yourself." Johanna said, elbowing him.

While Finnick pretended that Johanna had actually hurt him, I noticed Cashmere walking towards the table. Suddenly, the bickering between Finnick and Johanna was blocked from my mind.

"So, what are you all toasting?" Cashmere said, appearing at the table.

"Katniss just got invited to a private tour of Yale." Madge boasted. Even though her intentions were good, I wished I could have stopped her. "Weren't you trying to get into Yale too, Cashemere?"

I could literally see Cashmere's eyes flash with rage as she realised what it meant. If only one student from The Capitol School was accepted into Yale, and I had already got my invitation… Cashmere's chances weren't looking good.

Great, I thought. Just another reason for her to hate me.

Cashmere pulled herself together quickly though, giving me a wide smile. "Congratulations, Katniss." she said in her smooth, high pitched voice. "You totally earned it."

"Thanks, Cashmere." I replied, trying not to let my voice shake.

I didn't realise how tense I was until she walked away, and I let myself relax a little.

"Are you okay, Katniss?" Finnick asked, looking at me with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said, trying to smile.

"Oh no, I know that face." Peeta said, "You're not fine."

I sighed. Of course Peeta knew me better than anyone else. "Cashmere just isn't my biggest fan, that's all." I said, trying to discount the situation. "Let's change the topic."

"Well, how's Prim." Finnick asked. "Following in her sister's footsteps I see."

"Ughhh, don't even joke about that." I groaned. "I told her she had to pay you back for the dress."

"Hey, don't worry about it. All in a days work, right?" Finnick replied.

"All in a days work?" Johanna questioned.

Finnick puffed out his chest, and I was suddenly reminded of Haymitch's 'peacock' remark. "What can I say? I'm a hero and totally saved the day."

"That kind of thing might work on Annie, but not around here." Johanna contended.

The bickering started up again, and I tried my best to join in with the conversation, until I saw Cashmere watching me out of the corner of her eye. I gulped. Things were not going to be good.

When I walked into school the next morning, everyone was staring at me. It was just like my first day at The Capitol School again, except instead of looking at me curiously, everyone was laughing.

I could feel myself blush even though I had no idea what was going on, but the sick feeling in my stomach was making me think that it had something to do with Cashmere.

I kept my eyes down as I walked to my locker, but before long I heard people start to shout things out to me:

"Hey everyone, make sure your things are locked away. Katniss might steal them!"

"Don't get too close to Katniss, she might steal your phone out of your pocket!"

"Nice outfit today, did you steal it just like your little sister tried to?"

"I can't believe they let someone like you into this school- wait until my parents find out!"

Oh God. They knew.

I could barely keep it together through the first classes of the day. Where ever I went, I heard people whispering and laughing at me, pointing as I walked by, passing me rude notes in class. I willed myself not to fight back against what they were saying, because I knew that it was only going to make things worse.

As I prepared myself to enter the courtyard at lunch, I suddenly felt someone yank my arm and pull me into a broom cupboard. My body tensed up, thinking it was another bully, until the light flickered on and Peeta was standing in front of me. There was hardly any room, and we were standing so close to each other I could see each one of his eye lashes. When he wrapped his arms around me, I didn't hesitate to fall into them, letting my guard down for the first time that day.

"Everyone knows." I said, still wrapped up in his arms.

"What, I hadn't noticed?" Peeta laughed.

I couldn't help but laugh too, at just how dismal the situation was. "What am I going to do?" I groaned.

"You'll get through this, just like you always do." Peeta sounded so sure, I wished I had as much faith as him.

"What a mess." I said, just wanting to feel sorry for myself for a little while. "At least you 'broke up with me'."

"Why?" Peeta questioned.

"If your mother knew we were still together now, she'd probably kill me. And you."

Peeta laughed. "That's true. Let's make sure that this secret-" Peeta leant in to kiss me, "Stays a secret from the rest of the school."

I wished we could have stayed in that cupboard forever, but I knew that I had to confront the school sooner or later. Peeta left the cupboard first, to make sure no one would see us together, and I followed after him.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, everyone stopped talking and stared at me as I sat down with my friends.

"Katniss, are you okay?" Madge asked softly.

"Looks like my secret's out." I replied, trying to muster up a smile.

"Who told?" Delly asked, shocked.

"Take a guess." Finnick replied, his eyes narrowing on Cashmere, who was smiling at me triumphantly.

"How about you and I give her what she deserves?" Johanna said to Finnick, rolling up her sleeves.

"Please- don't." I said, as Finnick stared to grin mischievously.

"Oh come Katniss, we need to get revenge." Johanna said.

"It will make things worse." I tried to reason with her.

"Fine, whatever." Johanna sighed. "But I'm not just going to sit back and let her win."She looked across the courtyard at all the people still staring at me. "What is your problem?" she yelled suddenly, her voice piercing the air. "So what Katniss had to steal to survive while you lot got given cars for your tenth birthdays? If you think what Katniss did was bad, then I think you should take a damn good look at yourselves. You all make me sick."

By the time Johanna was finished yelling, she was practically purple. Taking a deep breath she looked back to me, grinning. "Wow, I'd been needing to say that for years."

"Well, I'm glad I could help you out." I said, more pessimistically than I intended.

"Look Katniss, we're with you on this, okay?" Finnick said seriously. "It will be alright."

Peeta's hand found mine under the table, I almost believed Finnick's words. However, whatever hope my friends had given me was taken away when I got a call from one from the deans at Yale on my way home from school.

"Katniss Everdeen?" he said in a strict sounding voice.

"Yes?" I replied, starting to panic.

"We're sorry to inform you that due to ahhh…a sudden... change in circumstances, you will no longer be able to attend the private tour of the campus."

My heart dropped, but I had expected the call sooner or later. Cashmere really had done a good job spreading the news around. "I understand." I said eventually. "Thank you anyway."

What I really felt like was throwing something. Or crying. A lot. However, when I opened the door to our apartment, I heard the sound of Prim sobbing in our room.

"Prim, what happened?" I asked, even though I had a good idea of what she was crying about.

"Someone told the whole school about the dress!" Prim cried, hugging her pillow tight. "Lumi said I couldn't sit with her anymore. I'm humiliated."

"I'm sorry, Prim." I replied.

"No, I'm sorry." Prim sat up to look at me, her face blotchy and her eyes red. "I don't care about Lumi or any of them. When she said I couldn't sit with her, I guess I realised she was just using me… helping her with the party and everything." Prim looked down. "She didn't like me at all. And I fell for it, just like you warned me not too. I guess I just got too caught up in how great it felt… I'm really sorry, Katniss. For everything."

"Hey, it's okay, little duck." I said soothingly, reaching out to hug her. "You don't have to apologise."

"I just want things to go back to how they were before." Prim sniffed.

"Me too." I said, grimly.

"I heard about what happened to you too." Prim said. "Will you still get into Yale?"

"My tour was cancelled." I replied, trying not to cry myself.

"Maybe you'll still get in." Prim said, suddenly determined.

"Yeah, maybe." I sighed, hopelessly. "But in the meantime, we need ice cream and a supply of terrible movies."

Prim laughed. "Maybe some tissues too."

As the two of us settled down on the couch, I tried to tell myself things would be okay. While everything was pretty much a mess, at least Prim and I were back to normal.