Panem High: Freshman Year

Chapter 30

Long chapter ahead - 6 pages of size 11 Arial  in Google Docs! I hope you guys like this one! I've missed writing from Annie's point of view.

Possible anxiety triggers but I don't think it should be too bad... thought I'd let you all know just in case.

Happy reading!

"Annie!" someone called. She turned around, right into the handsome, smiling face of Finnick Odair.

"Hi!" she said.

"Do you have a free period right now?" he asked.

"Yeah, I had my Social Sciences final yesterday," she replied. "You?"

"Yeah."

"So you did your Geography final?"

"Yep."

"How was it?" she asked him, stealing a glance at his entrancing eyes, taking note of how they crinkled at the corners and how the dark lashes framed the shimmery green irises.

"I'm sure it went fine," he shrugged.

"I bet you did a great job," she said, kissing his cheek as she juggled four binders at once.

"How's my girl today?" he asked, holding out his hands. It took a minute, but she realized it was to help her with her things, as her bag was already full of all the notebooks, textbooks and binders she'd been keeping in her locker. With her moderate OCD, Annie really needed an organization system to thrive, but unfortunately, her anxiety prevented her from establishing and maintaining any kind of effective order, and like her school books, her mind had been scattered since the first day of the school year.

"I'm not fantastic, but I'm glad it's our last day," she sighed. She handed him two pencil cases and a few books.

"What's this?" he asked, holding up one of the books. It was bound in worn black leather and held together with rubber bands, the torn edges of pages sticking out. It looked a hundred years old, even though she'd only bought it at the beginning of the school year.

"A sketchbook," she said shyly, smiling at him a bit.

"I didn't know you drew," he said, a puzzled expression on his face, which was tanner than ever.

"A bit," she said humbly. She managed to stuff a worn pair of light pink low-top Converse into one of the front pockets of her teal and white Roots backpack and barely shoved a wrinkled paperback into a side pocket. They may not have been "cool" anymore in ninth grade, but Roots backpacks sure were practical.

"Come on," Finnick smiled, sliding her books and pencil cases under his arm and taking her hand.

"Where are we going?"

"It's our last period of freshman year, and by some miracle of the gods, we both have it free. We're going to be alone."

That didn't really answer her question, but she knew it was as close as she would get from him. She followed him through the bustling halls, squeezing his hand every time someone got too close to her or a sound startled her. The bell rang, and students scattered into various classrooms. Finnick pulled Annie into the North Hall, stopping in front of a big set of double metal doors.

"Finnick, the auditorium is locked," Annie reminded him. "And it's closed until next fall."

"I know," he grinned, winking at her and sliding something out of the pocket of his jeans. An ID card. She recognized the picture immediately.

"Finnick Odair, you better not tell me you stole Effie's ID card," she said sternly.

"Fine, I won't tell you," he said, smirking as he pressed it to the keycard lock. The door clicked open.