Panem High School {COMPLETED}

Chapter 12 - Madge

(Madge's POV)

Annie and I are in the library after school on Friday. I'm helping explain some of the harder problems on our math homework.

"Ok, so if the points are (10,2) and (5,7), we can find the slope by doing this," I say as I write.

She nods. "Ok... But what is the d?"

"You mean b?" I ask.

"Um... yes, the b?"

"The b is the y intercept. So it's y=-x+b. You can substitute either of the points for the x and y, then solve for b." I watch as she tries to do it on her own.

She looks up to ask me a question when Gale walks up. More like gets pushed up, really, because Peeta is behind him, propelling him along. "Just ask," I hear him hiss.

Gale awkwardly glances between me and the floor. "Um... I... Uh..."

"Gale has something to ask you," Peeta says, pointedly.

Gale takes a deep breath. "Ok. Um... Madge? I was wondering... I was wondering if maybe you wanted to... Um... Hang out? Sometime?"

"Like a date?" Peeta says, rolling his eyes and smiling.

"Yeah, like that," Gale says, still awkward.

I blink. Is this really happening? "Of course! I mean... That sounds great!" I smile. Gale looks relieved. He and Peeta sit down next to us. Annie closes her math book.

"So where're you guys going?" Annie asks.

"Will you need a chaperone?" Peeta asks.

"When?" Annie asks.

"Ugh! Guys, can't we have a minute alone? A guys asks me out, and you can't give me three minutes?" I say, laughing.

Annie and Peeta glance at each other, then get up at the same time. "Three minutes. That's it," Peeta says, firmly.

"And you have to tell me everything," Annie says, just as firmly.

They move over to a table where they can watch us "discreetly." I watch them for a minute, then smile at Gale. "We have some weird friends."

"Some good, weird friends," he says, then smiles. "You know, if you don't actually want to, I understand."

"No, no! I do!" I freeze. That sounded too desperate. "I mean, that really does sound fun. If you really want to..."

"I wouldn't have asked otherwise," Gale says, laughing. When Gale laughs, it's hard not to join in. He has that kind of personality. When he's happy, you want to be happy. When he's upset, you want to be upset too.

"So, I was thinking maybe dinner and a movie?" he asks.

"Sure, that sounds good," I say. "One thing, though. Maybe run it by my father... He's kind of old-fashioned that way. He wants to talk to any boy I go on a date with."

Gale nods. "All right." We spend a few awkward moments trying to think of something to say before Peeta and Annie come back. "Now hurry, you have football practice today, right?" Peeta says.

Gale's eyes widen. "Shoot! I'm going to be late!" Peeta and Annie laugh as Gale jumps up and runs off.

After a while, I head home. My mother is feeling pretty good today, so I play a few songs on our piano. Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin. My mother lives classical music. I do too, actually. I guess I'm weird, too. Though in a way, everyone is. Everyone has little quirks that make them different. One of mine is classical music.