Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
I can't stand her, the way she sits alone at her lunch table and stares constantly at the screen. Like she has something to hope for. Like she and Katniss were actually more than acquaintances. She's nothing but the mayor's daughter, nothing more than a shallow blonde.
She turns slightly and her eyes meet mine. She's the first to drop her gaze, of course. She's too proud to have a stare off. She wouldn't win anyway. I clench my teeth as she slides out of her seat, smoothing her dress across her thighs as she goes. Again she glances in my direction but it's only briefly. Something glistens in those blue eyes of hers. Then she scurries over to the tables filled with students from town and leans across them. Her lips move at a rapid pace and the people at the table nod, all reaching into the pockets and wallets to pull out cash. She accepts it with a grateful smile and moves on.
My eyes follow her as she skirts back and forth from table to table, collecting money in her hand and slipping it into her sweater pocket. It makes me sick. "Be right back," I mutter to Thom, shoving myself out of my chair.
Undersee makes one last lap around the cafeteria and thrusts her hands in her pockets, tightening them around her and pulling her sweater taut around her tiny waist. She glances my direction once again and I trail her as she leaves the room. Her blonde hair bubbles over her shoulders like whatever happening in life is a good thing. A happy thing. Like she has time to wake up in the morning and make it look nice before she comes to school. Like she has someone to impress.
When I get in the hallway she's sipping from the water fountain, dipped over just slightly. I take a moment to watch her as she pulls herself up, licking her damp lips and then wiping them with her wrist.
"What's that Undersee," I sneer, crossing my arms. "Daddy didn't give you enough money for a new golden pin so you're taking from the others now?"
"You caught me," she says gently, the subtle sarcasm deep in her voice. But then she reaches into her pocket and hands me the wad of cash. "Here,"
"What's this?" I snap, taking a step back. "I may not be as privileged as you are but I'm not going to take your money…"
"It's not for you!" she barks back at me. Her hands fall to her waist as she clutches the money tightly. "I heard about the collection jar at the Hob," she says quietly.
"What of it?"
"Well I've been collecting money all week," she tells me, her voice timid. "I'm too afraid to go there by myself so can you take it?" My eyes narrow in her direction and a soft pink appears on her cheeks.
"Listen, Undersee,"
"Madge," she says. "It's one less syllable for crying out loud, Gale." Her voice cracks and she thrusts the money at me again. "Please take it. A lot of people want to help."
Still, I stare at her. It doesn't feel right. This entire scene. This interaction between us. My arms make their way back across my chest and she sighs. Finally Madge walks over and shoves the money into my pocket while I watch with steady eyes, un-moving as her hand brushes against my skin. Her whole body shakes as she moves back in front of me.
"If you won't do it for me, at least do it for Katniss. Please." And then she nods curtly at me, a sad smile on her face, and returns back to the cafeteria. Like she had planned the whole thing, me following her. I played right into her trap.
In the halls I count the bills and it adds up to more money than I've ever held at one time in my life. Half of it is crisp, fresh off the printer, from no other than the mayor's house I'm sure. I could buy Rory new shoes with this, feed my family for a few months, maybe a year.
But with one last glance inside the cafeteria, Madge sitting at her table by herself, avoiding Katniss' chair, chewing her nails down to the core as she watches the screen nervously, I decide against it. I leave school right then and there to make my way to the Hob. And surprisingly enough, it isn't just for Katniss. It's for the blonde who might have been a true friend after all. The girl who I may have judged too quickly.