𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒂

Chapter 2

Guys I forgot to write a chapter name for the last chapter and it was saved as 'Untitled Part 2'. I'm sorry for the mistake :(

Cashmere POV

 Cashmere Sanders sat up straighter in her chair. The objects of her attention were walking into her classroom. This year, it was Clove Kentwell and Johanna Mason. Cashmere knew that her group, the Populars had played pranks and stuff like that for the last year, and judging from their retaliations, they were completely devious.

Sure, Cashmere had some history with Johanna Mason. But Clove Kentwell was still considered new by the Populars' standards. Clove had been living in this town ever since Cashmere could remember, but Clove had transferred to Panem High about three years ago, and since there hadn't been any new kids, Clove was still the new kid.

Gloss had had a weird fixation with Clove, but that had soon passed, when Gloss found out Clove and Cato were completely inseparable. Gloss had given up on trying to conquer Clove, and didn't have a crush after her. Cashmere sometimes wondered if he still liked her.

Cashmere smiled to herself as she remembered that Cato and Clove had had a falling out in seventh grade, when they were both twelve. They had fought over something really small that she couldn't really remember. She made a mental note to ask Gloss later, he knew most of the gossip that whirled around here.

Clove was checking the seating chart now, and her face fell. Cashmere observed Clove walking slowly over to a desk where... Cato Hadley was sitting. This year was going to be fun. With the icy tension between those two, how could a project go smoothly? She was too preoccupied to notice a boy sliding into the seat next to her.

Cashmere turned around to find Marvel Sanford sitting next to her. She internally groaned. What was this, match the Populars with their victims day? Since the seats were permanent for the rest of the semester, Cashmere decided to make good use of it. "Hello," she said in a small voice.

Marvel twisted his head to look at her. His expression fell, but he did a good job of hiding it. If it wasn't for fifteen whole years of learning to read her parents' stony faces which were always devoid of expression, Cashmere wouldn't have noticed it. Marvel merely nodded in acknowledgement.

From what Cashmere had seen, Marvel was the joker in his group of friends, always teasing Clove along with Finnick Odair. Finnick. The only one in Panem High who had refused an invitation from the Populars to join them.

If Finnick had accepted their invitation, her attention wouldn't have shifted to Clove and Johanna anyway, so Cashmere took this as a good sign. It was pretty clear that Finnick had rejected the Populars for Annie Cresta, his psycho of a girlfriend. Gloss had once had a crush on her, but Cashmere and Glimmer had quickly discouraged him to choose someone else. Huh. As she thought about it, the number of people Gloss had liked wasn't small.

CRASH. Suddenly, a sound like something exploded came from Clove's direction. Already anticipating what she was about to see, Cashmere looked that way. Indeed, Clove and Cato were facing each other, glaring daggers. Mr. Abernathy didn't even stir, he probably had drunk his alcohol again.

The two stood like that for a moment, then noticing the stares from around them, quickly sat back down, never breaking eye contact. Cashmere laughed and turned back to Marvel. He wouldn't be a bad recruit. It would help to have another boy in there. Besides, Finnick and Annie could survive well enough on their own.

"Let's play twenty questions," she said, twirling her hair around her finger. "Uh, no," said Marvel, giving her a look that clearly meant that he thought she was crazy. "Please?" begged Cashmere. "Are you going to leave me alone if I do so?" asked Marvel. "Sure," agreed Cashmere. It felt weird, Panem High's queen bee Cashmere pleading with a boy because she couldn't get him to agree with her.

"Me first!" cried Cashmere. "I'll just ask twenty questions, and you have to answer," she said. Marvel nodded. "Hmm... What do you think of Hadley and Kentwell?" she asked. "What do you mean?" frowned Marvel. "I mean, Hadley used to be part of your group," said Cashmere. "Now they've gone their separate ways."

"Oh," said Marvel. "I don't know. Ever since they fought, nothing's been the same," he replied. "Next question. Why did they fight?" asked Cashmere. Might as well use her chance. Marvel stared at her. "Glimmer and Gloss is the reason," he said indignantly.

"WHAT?" shrieked Cashmere. "Who was that? Girl Sanders, it you?" demanded Mr. Abernathy. Cashmere rolled her eyes. Of all of the names, he called her Girl Sanders. "Yes," she replied meekly. "Detention today!" declared Mr. Abernathy.

As Cashmere gaped, another sound came from Clove and Cato's direction. BOOM. Were they making dynamite over there? She craned her head to look. Cato had slammed his fist down on the table that he and Clove shared. Clove was clenching her fists so hard that her veins showed, even from a long distance.

Cashmere poked Marvel's arm. "Let's continue," she said. "What do you mean by Glimmer and Gloss?" she asked. "Duh, he's your brother. You should know," said Marvel. "Was that why Gloss didn't tell me about it before?" Cashmere wondered out loud. "Probably," said Marvel.

"Fourth question," said Marvel. "Wait, why third? I asked one question," protested Cashmere. "You asked 'What do you mean by Glimmer and Gloss?' as a second question, and you wondered if that was the reason that Gloss didn't tell you about it before," said Marvel patiently, as if she were an incompetent child. "Fine," grumbled Cashmere. "Tell me about it," said Cashmere.

"Well, do you even know that Gloss had a crush on Clove?" asked Marvel. Cashmere pressed her lips together, afraid that it would come out as a question, and shook her head. "Anyway, Clove and Cato were best friends then, and Gloss and Cato were pretty close, too," said Marvel. "Clove got annoyed that Gloss kept bothering her, and complained to Cato, and he snapped at her for insulting his friend. Then Glimmer came into the picture, since she was Clove's close friend, maybe even her best friend, Cato started going out with her just to get back at Clove."

"Oh," said Cashmere. So that was why they fought. The bell rang, and Marvel jumped out of his seat and dashed off, colliding with Clove, who was apparently doing the same thing. "You owe me sixteen questions!" yelled Cashmere as Marvel exited with Clove. She gathered her stuff, and headed over to Cato.

"What did you do?" she shouted angrily. Cato scowled at her. "She insulted me," he said stubbornly. Cashmere sighed. "What are we going to do with you?" said Cashmere hopelessly. Cato growled. "If you're annoyed with me, then I don't need to be in your stupid Career pack anymore!" he snapped, then stalked out of the classroom.

A new chapter! Is Cato going to leave the Careers? I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

-Claudia :)