Chapter Nine

"Boys and girls, we have a new head of Pastoral Care," Principal Snow announces the next day during Wednesday Assembly.

I used to be able to hide my disinterest in everything being said well because I used to hide at the back of my class' line but now I have to sit at the front, on a chair, to give my leg rest. I have to crane my head around to even see Snow, let alone have a chance to pretend that I'm interested in anything he's saying.

"Mrs. Lyme will be taking over next week while Ms. Trinket focuses on Controlled Assessment work with the students," Snow continues to explain. "She will be dealing with old and new cases over the on coming months before Christmas."

Christmas? Halloween hasn't even passed yet! I roll my eyes and turn away, knowing that the teachers won't blame me for staring at the students instead of breaking my neck to try and look at Snow. My eyes lock on Gale's and he winks at me. I smile back. I'm conflicted about how I feel about him now. I want to be angry with him, to blame him for what has happened to Peeta, but in doing that I'd have to also acknowledge my own hand in what happened him. And there's still a desperate part of him that craves the popularity that will come from going to Homecoming with Gale.

"In other news, the Past to Present ceremony will be taking place this Friday! Regular classes will be cancelled for the annual remembrance of our achievements," Snow explains.

I feel an unenthusiastic 'yay' bubble up in my throat but I simply swallow it, knowing that such a bland-and clearly sarcastic-response would get me slung in detention. I instead kept my mouth shut for the rest of the assembly and filed out with everyone else. I can't help thinking about how we all seem like sheep. Going where we are told to and acting as we are told to. It's kind of jarring, really.

Clove catches up with me at our lockers. "God that man can drone on can't he? Head of pastoral care, past to present to future blah blah blah." She rolls her eyes and spins her locker combination in a huff.

"No, 'hello, Katniss, how was your day'?" I ask.

"I know, your leg's broken, you're being forced to learn math, your life sucks," Clove mutters.

"Okay tetchy," I say. "What's gotten you so riled up?"

Clove rolls her eyes and throws her locker door open before dramatically throwing her head inside it. "Would it be completely inappropriate to rip every strand of fucking golden hair out of Glimmer's ugly head?" she asks rhetorically.

I sigh. "What has she done now?"

Clove pulls out of her locker and yanks out her copy of "Blood Brothers" and her English Literature book. "She told Cashmere that I have a crush on Cato!" she mutters angrily.

"What?" I frown. "You haven't had a crush on Cato since . . ."

"Elementary!" Clove explodes. "And I only liked him then because he shared his blackcurrant juice box and brushed my hair for me with the hair brush for the dolls! But noooooo Glimmer has to go and fucking say that I'm still pining after him. I never fucking pined after him in the first place!"

"And Cashmere believed her?" I ask. Who the hell believes Glimmer? It's like a notorious rule that Glimmer talks through her butt hole. For God's sake, she pretended to be pregnant in Middle School and only gave up on it when nine months were up and she hadn't gone into labour.

"Cashmere would believe any shit for gossip," Clove grumbles. She slams her locker door shut, so hard it makes my books rattle.

"I'm sorry, Clove," I say.

"It's not your fault," Clove mutters. "I'm beginning to think that that blond bitch started the rumours about Cato, too. You know the ones about him having a crush on Peeta?"

I nod. I wouldn't be surprised if Glimmer had started those rumours. She is a gossip whore. The prospect of going to prom with Gale grows more appealing again, even if it is just because I want to smack Glimmer down a few pegs. Then something occurs to me.

"Does Glimmer have anything on me?" I ask.

Clove shrugs. "I don't know," she replies. "Did you tell her anything?"

"I don't know, we've been friends since first grade! I could have told her anything!" I exclaim.

"I'm sure she doesn't know anything too bad," says Clove.

I try to think of anything I told Glimmer over the years that I've known her but my mind is too panicked to think straight. I try to focus but can't because the idea of having told her something embarrassing from yester-year like Clove had done is making me panic really badly. I'm reaching out for my own English Literature book when I freeze in realization.

"Clove?"

"Yeah?"

"Who told everyone that I tried to kill myself?"

There's a pause as realization hits Clove as well. "Glimmer," she finally says.

I slam my locker shut, my books still inside. "I'm going to kill that little whore."

"You better leave most of it to me, Katniss," Clove says. I can barely hear her over the blood pumping in my ears. I'm so angry right now I can't think straight. All I know is that I want to get to Glimmer as quick as I possibly can to smack her so hard her extensions fly off. "I mean, the angry look fits you well but you're not really in fighting shape."

I know Clove's right and I don't mind stepping back a little to let her do most of the beating. Clove is strong and has been since we were kids. If anyone could give Glimmer what she deserves, it's Clove. I just really need to get to the bitch so I can unleash all my anger on her.

We find her outside, sitting at a table with the football players. She's snuggled against Gale but it's like he barely sees her for all the attention he gives her. Clove marches right up behind Glimmer and grabs her by the hair. Glimmer immediately screeches her head off, panicked before anything has even happened, and continues to do so as Clove yanks her off the bench by her extensions. Glimmer lands on the gravel and Clove lets go, giving her head a hard push as she does so.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Glimmer roars.

"Our problem? Our problem?!" Clove yells back. "What the fuck is your problem?!"

"My problem?!" Glimmer shouts back. "I don't have a damn problem! I didn't attack you from behind!"

"Didn't you? What about the knife you've put in our backs?!" I snap at her. "Why have you been spreading shit about us? What the hell do you gain from it?!"

The footballers have stopped their conversation and are now watching the argument pan out before them. It wouldn't be long before others hear us and we'll have half the school watching us. "You girls are pathetic!" Glimmer hisses. She staggers to her feet and glares at us. "You're just jealous that I've climbed the food chain and you two haven't! I expected it from you, Katniss. Breaking a leg is so attention seeking it's just pitiful! But you Clove? I didn't expect you to hang around with her and sink too!"

"I didn't choose to break my leg, Glimmer!" I exclaim.

"Says you," Glimmer says, rolling her eyes.

"Yes says me!" I reply. "I was the only one there when it happened!"

"Committing suicide is so last year, Katniss," Glimmer says. "Not to mention you've gotten so sad since it happened. How much time do you spend with the Loser's End chumps, now?"

Clove lurches forward and shoves Glimmer back to the ground. She falls against the table and rebounds back so she lands flat on her back. "How about I break your fucking leg and you can be pitiful too?" Clove hisses.

Glimmer scrambles to her feet, knowing full well that Clove is capable of it. "You don't get it, do you? I'm a footballer's girlfriend now, I could get him to break all your legs!"

Gale snickers. It's so minute that only I see it. It's clear he won't be doing any leg breaking, especially at Glimmer's command.

"Get it? We can do nothing but get it!" Clove exclaims. "All you've done since you became a 'footballer's girlfriend' is wear the goddamn letterman jacket! You know it's not that special, someone from Loser's End was even given one!"

I look at Clove in alarm. I didn't tell her who had given Peeta the jacket. I didn't tell anyone in fact. There's still an underlying sense of worry that Peeta will somehow get in trouble if such a conversation arises. My eyes flick to Cato, who doesn't seem bothered. It wouldn't help his rep, but then his rep might just be solid enough to take a hit like that.

Glimmer's face drops like a stone. "What?" she scowls. "Who?"

"Fat"-Clove glances at me and coughs-"I mean Mellark." She has caught on that I don't like Peeta being called Fatboy anymore. I didn't think she would take to it without question but she has.

"WHAT?!" Glimmer explodes. "Someone gave Fatboy a jacket? And you took it seriously? Obviously it's a joke! Right?" She turns to the table again and everyone looks confused.

Gale looks at me, his eyes suddenly lit up with realization. My heart drops. Shit. He's caught on to why I was standing beside Peeta and his friends with a lettermen jacket in my hand. "Was it you, man?" Gale asks Cato.

Cato shrugs. "Eh. I'm failing Chem. Wanted to see if I could soften the freak up and get some answers out of him," he says.

"And he said no?" Gale frowns.

"What did you expect?" Clove butts in. "The whole point of the Loser's End kids is that they're smart. He probably saw right through you, Cato. Besides, since when have you ever showed interest in him before?"

"Cashmere's party," Glimmer declares.

"Which was a ploy to make him think I cared," Cato says slowly. How casual he is about his deception makes me sick. "The fact that someone started a rumour that I actually did like him was a risk I was willing to take. I can't stand the sight of him, really. All I can see is that fat blob he used to be and it makes me shudder."

Glimmer snorts and the other guys snicker.

"He's not fat," I say to them.

"Yeah, right, whatever Katniss," Gale replies.

"He's not."

"What? Have you gone soft on him or something?" Glimmer sneers. She laughs. "That's rich! Katniss Everdeen has fallen for Fatboy Mellark!"

"Shut up, Glimmer," Clove snaps.

"You know what I can't believe?" Glimmer declares.

"Life, the universe and everything?" Clove deadpans.

Glimmer scowls but doesn't take the bait. She spins to the table of footballers and says, "I can't believe that Fatboy had the gall to turn Cato down! Who does he think he is?" I immediately recognize what she's doing. She trying to diffuse the situation and redirect it away from her and onto something else.

"You have a point," says Gale.

"No, she doesn't," I say. "It's Glimmer! She never has a point!"

"This time, I do!" Glimmer says. "Fatboy Mellark is getting ahead of himself, I think!"

"Sit the fuck down Glimmer and shut your fucking piehole!" I scream at her. I'm trembling, I'm so angry. I can't take the idea of her rallying up the entire football team against Peeta. With everything he's going through right now, he doesn't need another beating added on top. His nose has just healed for God's sake! "You're just trying to move us away from the fact that you're the one who started the rumours about Cato and Peeta in the first place!"

"Am not!" Glimmer squeals.

"Yes, you are! Who else would it bloody be?" I raise my eyebrows at Cato. "Did you really think it was anyone else? Glimmer is the goddamn gossip queen and she's so full of shit it's unbelievable!" I glare at her. "You've been telling everyone that I tried to kill myself even though you weren't even fucking there when I fell which is, by the way, what happened. I F.E.L.L!"

"Chill Katniss, it's not that big a deal," says Gale, tugging Glimmer back onto the bench beside him and pulling her close. The dickhead really thinks this is a time for trying to make me jealous?! "It's not like anyone really thinks you tried to top yourself. It'd have been pretty selfish of you, especially with Homecoming just around the corner."

"You're so full of shit, Gale, I know you all believed it. You treated me like an emo when I came back to school. You could have just did what Clove did and-I don't know-asked me about it?!" Clove places her hand on my shoulder as I take a step forward, knowing that I don't stand a chance against them with my injury.

"Okay, we believed it, so what?" Gale challenges. "What do you expect of us? You're on meds, Katniss. You go to a counsellor. I think it's all getting too much for you. Maybe you should just sit out for the rest of the year . . ."

"Who do you think you are?" Clove intercepts. "How the hell do you know about her medication? You're not her doctor!"

"We've all seen her popping the pills at her locker," Cato explains in Gale's defence.

"Alright, I'm on mood stabilizers, so what?" I lie.

"They aren't working," Glimmer sings.

I lunge towards her but Clove drags me back. In the fray my satchel opens and my books slip out, along with my pill bottle which bounces against the ground and spills everywhere. Glimmer scrambles forward and before I can stop her, she's snatched the bottle up. "Antidepressants!" she declares. "I fucking knew it!"

Clove grabs the bottle from Glimmer and, to my surprise but immense pleasure, punches the bitch square in the face. Glimmer falls into Gale and screams, blood immediately gushing from her nose. "Oh my god, I think she's broken my nose!" she screams. Clove calmly picks my books up and gathers what pills she can back into my bottle.

"Now you know how Mellark feels," Clove mutters to herself. She hooks her arm through mine and we walk away.

I'm giddy now about what we've done to Glimmer but I know it will backfire dreadfully.

~xXx~

"The new head of pastoral care will be having a talk with the seniors about mental health later this afternoon," Ms. Trinket explains during form class the next day. Mental health? Why would she want to talk to us about mental health? I get enough of that from Dr. Aurelius every week! "Mandatory attendance. You'll only be missing careers class and study anyway so there is no excuse for missing it."

Well fantastic. Not only do I have to meet Dr Aurelius this afternoon but I also have to listen to the new head of pastoral ramble on about mental health! Is this because of the suicide rumours? I lean forward and try to catch Ms. Trinket's eye but she turns her back to the class to fill out some papers. I glance at Clove and she quirks an eyebrow, clearly having the same thought process as me.

"Oh, that's right," Ms. Trinket suddenly says. "Katniss, you're expected at Mr Snow's office after form class. Something about a fight with Glimmer?" A couple of snickers come from the back of the class and I clench my fists to resist the urge to spin around and flip them off. "Weird. I could have sworn you girls were friends."

"Times change, Ms. Trinket," Clove explains. She lifts her butt off her seat and tries to look at the sheet Ms. Trinket read the message off. "Anything on there about me?"

"No. For once you're in the clear Miss Jettison," Ms. Trinket smiles.

I scowl as Clove sits back down. Glimmer must have only complained about me, the little witch! I should have expected it, really, but I had honest to God thought that Glimmer had an equally displaced hatred towards myself and Clove. Glimmer, Clove and I were all friends at one point. Unless Glimmer had always hated me and just . . . didn't express it during our 'friendship'. Surely all the calling signs would have been there if she had? Glimmer is a spiteful bitch, surely if she did hate me, I'd have noticed during our friendship? Surely!

"Clove, answer me honestly," I whisper once Ms. Trinket has went off to do her own thing for the remainder of the period. Clove leans forward so her ear is closer to me and I repeat, "Answer me honestly. Does Glimmer hate me?"

Clove pulled a face and made an, "Ehhhhhh," noise before saying, "Probably maybe not so, uh, yeah. She did. I mean does. Like she never really liked you."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I exclaim.

"I was sworn to secrecy," Clove shrugs. "I'm sorry. If you had made me promise to do the same thing-which you have done-aren't you comforted by the fact that I do do what you tell me to do? Especially secrets wise."

Clove has a point. However, I can't help but feel annoyed by the fact that I never knew that Glimmer hated me. I thought I was susceptible to such things. I knew when Johanna started hating me. Bonnie made it completely obvious when she started hating me by throwing dirty looks in my direction and swinging Twill around so their backs are turned to me whenever I pass. I even knew when Madge started growing a dislike towards me, mainly because of my crush on Gale.

Madge's parents are from Spain originally and moved back when Freshman year began. Madge gets looked after by her Nanny who has practically raised her since she was a toddler anyway. The only time Madge goes back to Spain is when there is something up with her parents that makes it absolutely necessary for her to go back to Spain, which seems to have happened now. Every time she has gone away to Spain, I've jumped on the opportunity to drop hints with Gale. I've never had the chance to think about how guilty I should feel for doing that until now . . . I wonder if her parents are ok. She's been gone for weeks now.

Glimmer, however, mustn't be as conspicuous as I thought. Then again, maybe she can be sneaky when she wants to be. If she's been spreading lies about myself and Clove after we went separate ways, what's to have stopped her from doing so before then? Who knows how many rumours that have involved us came from her mouth. And, when I think about it, she has done her fair share of bitching about Clove as well. Although she must have bitched about me even more and said worse things because she's never sworn me to secrecy.

The bell rings and I yank myself up from my desk. Glimmer isn't even in the classroom. I bet she's whinging in Principal Snow's office already.

"Katniss, Glimmer even bitched about you when you came back to school," Clove says as we leave.

"About my 'suicide'?" I mutter despondently.

"I also couldn't tell you because for the first few days I wasn't entirely sure that you were . . ." Clove adjusts the strap of her backpack and bites her lip. "I wasn't sure if you were stable or not."

"You actually thought I'd tried to kill myself?" I frown.

"I didn't know, Katniss. I didn't know what to think, okay?" Clove says tiredly. "What would you have thought? If it had been me? Would you have believed what Glimmer said?"

What would I have thought? I, just like Clove, would have thought that Glimmer was a genuine friend at that point so . . . I guess I probably would have believed her. "I don't know," I say. "I don't blame you, I guess. You know now though. I didn't. I really need you to believe me on that, Clove."

"I do," Clove says. "Just be careful, okay? You know how manipulative Glimmer can be. Especially towards people who don't know her so well. Watch your back."

"Always do," I remind her.

We part ways at the link corridor so Clove goes to the left and I keep going straight ahead, in the direction of Principal Snow's office. When I arrive, Glimmer is sitting in the waiting room, sniffling like an annoying baby animal and wiping crocodile tears away from her eyes. If there wasn't Snow's reception lady tapping away on her computer, I know for a fact that Glimmer wouldn't even put in the effort to pretend to cry. The only thing that comforts me is that there's a bandage on her nose. Clove must really have broken it.

"Snow says to go on in," Glimmer whimpers. Oh my God, she's making me sick. I genuinely feel like I'm going to be sick because of this stupid act of hers.

Snow's receptionist pulls a face as well, clearly able to see through her as well and says, "I'm perfectly capable of delivering Master Snow's messages, thank you very much Ms. Sparkles. Katniss, go on in."

"Thank you." Not even giving Glimmer another glance, I go into Snow's office, hoping to God that he was able to see through Glimmer's act too.

Yeah, he wasn't.

I can immediately tell by the way that he looks at me that he is 100% on Glimmer's side. His snakelike eyes hold great distaste towards me and I feel like I'm walking into a death sentence as soon as I sit on the ugly yellow leather seat in front of his desk. Snow's office always stinks of blood and every time I enter his office the smell turns me. It's no secret that Snow has a medical condition that makes his breath smell this way and he takes medication to sate it. I feel bad for him, even if he is an asshole at best, that he has to deal with having blood breath all the time.

"Care to explain to me what happened, Miss Everdeen?" he asks me slowly.

I prop my crutches against his desk to prolong the period before I actually have to answer him. I lean back in my seat and shrug, "Glimmer and I had a spat." I leave Clove out of it, which is an unspoken rule. If someone manages to avoid being involved, then leave them out. Besides, if Snow finds out that Clove broke Glimmer's nose she could get expelled.

"About what?"

"Glimmer has been spreading rumours about myself and my friends," I tell him.

"What sort of rumours?" Snow prompts.

I sigh, trying not to let my agitation get the better of me. "She told everyone that I tried to kill myself when I broke my leg," I explain. "Now the whole school thinks I tried to top myself which is ridiculous because I have no reason to kill myself! Is it really so hard to believe that I slipped?"

Snow doesn't show any emotion on his wrinkled face. I wonder if he's even listening to me beneath that placid mask of his. "I don't mean to sound like I'm prying, Katniss, but your Doctor has explained your situation to the school. We know all about what really happened in your bathroom."

I roll my eyes. Of course Doctor Aurelius called the school. "Even if I had tried to commit suicide-which I didn't!-that doesn't give Glimmer the right to go around telling people when it's none of her business. In fact, if I had that would make it even worse!"

"Your story is completely different to Glimmer's," Snow informs me.

"And who are you going to believe?" I challenge.

Snow and I hold eye contact for a good minute. I know what his answer will be before he says it but I'm still determined to make him break first. Which he does. "Your current state of health makes me inclined to believe Glimmer," he tells me. "However, that doesn't explain her injuries. There's no way you could have inflicted such violence upon her, even if she does claim that you jumped her for no reason what-so-ever. Was there anyone else involved?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

It's clear Snow doesn't believe me but he isn't going to get anything else out of me. No way. "Have you even asked anyone else about what happened, sir?" I ask him. "The entire football team saw the fight, they'd tell you that Glimmer is lying to you."

"I'm not going to involve the football team, Katniss."

Urgh! Snow and his stupid football team! I bet he's too worried about letting them train and getting enough hours in before the next big game. I swallow the urge to scream at Snow and clench my hands into fists by my sides. I used to think this man was the best principal in the world. He always defended me when I did wrong!

When I did wrong . . .

"Is that all, sir?" I ask.

"You'll be serving a lunch time detention today, Katniss. You'll do more of your study rubbish with Mellark." Snow waves me off. I can't help smiling as I heave myself back up on my crutches and hop back to class. That really isn't a punishment at all.

I'm beginning to see the corruption, however, more and more.

A/N: I'd like to thank you all again for your continued support. I'm so grateful for every follow, fave, and read I receive. You're all amazing :)