𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑨𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒂

Chapter 3

JOHANNA POV

As the bell rang, Johanna Mason jumped out of her seat and made a beeline towards the exit. She couldn't wait to get out of the classroom. Through the entire fifteen minutes, she had to endure Glimmer Belcourt's endless rambling about nail polish and clothes. Honestly, if she wouldn't get in trouble, she would punch Glimmer so that she could never speak again.

In the hallway at last, Johanna looked around for her best friend, Clove. She and Clove were always in sync, often getting crazy ideas for dares, and getting in trouble because they were too loud. This time, Clove was nowhere to be seen. Johanna wondered where she could be, then remembered Clove and Cato fighting.

Whenever Clove had a fight, there was a special place that she always went to. Johanna walked an entire two minutes(her free time disappearing), and opened the janitor's closet, expecting to see Clove. Instead, she found Marvel and Gloss, whispering to each other in hushed voices. Wow. She did not want to know what was happening there.

"Have you seen Clove?" she asked, trying to avoid the stares she got from the passing students. "No, I was, um- asking Marvel about it," said Gloss, averting her eyes. "Yeah," agreed Marvel. "And why would you want to see Clove?" asked Johanna. "Um, because she's Marvel's best friend?" mumbled Gloss.

"Gloss Sanders!" Great, Queen bee of Panem High, aka Cashmere Sanders was rushing towards them. She reached the closet in a matter of seconds, then grabbed Gloss by the collar and literally dragged him out. Gloss made a noise of protest, which went ignored by Cashmere.

"What were you doing?" demanded Cashmere with her hands on her hips. Gloss frowned. "None of your business," he snapped. Johanna saw Cashmere's face turn completely red, and snorted. "What are you laughing at?" said Cashmere. "You," grinned Johanna.

"Johanna!" she heard a voice call her name. "Where were you?" Johanna frowned at Clove. "I was... getting stuff from my locker," said Clove, tucking her hair behind her ears. "You aren't holding anything," said Johanna. "Uh-," said Clove. "Nice to see you," said Cashmere suddenly.

"Okay?" said Clove, but it came out more like a question. "Oh, there you are, Garlic!" said Marvel. Clove looked at Marvel. "What do you mean, Garlic?" she screamed. "How does Clove relate to Garlic?" "Duh, Clove of Garlic," said Marvel. "At least I wasn't named after a comic book," mumbled Clove.

"Or makeup products," she said, looking at Gloss. "Why are you even here? Does your sister always have to get you?" said Clove. "Obviously," said Johanna with a smirk. "I came to tell you to vote for me for homecoming queen," said Cashmere, with a smile so fake that it couldn't possibly be made.

"Really?" snorted Johanna. "You for homecoming queen?" "I heard there's a new student, maybe she'll get picked, instead of you." "New girl?" Cashmere's eyes lit up. "She'll be delicious. I call first bite!" she squealed. "Uh, Cashmere-," said Gloss, obviously embarrassed by his sister's words.

"How are you even the reigning queen of Panem if you act that way?" said Johanna in a disapproving tone. "Cash likes to play with her food before she eats it," mumbled Gloss, trying to drag Cashmere away. She didn't budge. "If you don't mind, Clove, may I have a word with you?" asked Cashmere.

"Actually, I do mind," said Clove. "We're late for um.. Art! Let's go, Johanna!" she cried, and Johanna found herself being dragged by Clove once again. "What was all that with Marvel and Gloss?" wondered Johanna.

"Do you think that something's going on between those two?" asked Johanna. Clove laughed. "Cashmere would kick Gloss out of the Careers first," she snickered. "And you know she can't do that because Gloss is her brother," countered Johanna. "Then Cashmere won't care," finished Clove.

They walked to the art room in comfortable silence. The girls saw another seating chart when they entered. "We're next to each other!" cried Clove joyfully. Johanna smiled. "Art," she said through clenched teeth.

"Class, we're going to visualize ideas for a project," said the teacher. "It's due next Monday, so you guys have to focus." "Hey Jo," whispered Cressida Dormer, captain of the photography club. Johanna turned her head. "Party at my house today, at 7:00 pm. Make sure to spread the word."

Johanna grinned. "Sure," she replied. Although Cressida was popular and known for throwing the best parties in Panem, she wasn't one of the Populars. Rumor had it that she and Enobaria had a falling out last year. Still, the Populars came to her parties and livened them up.

"Miss Dormer, Miss Mason, be quiet, or it'll be detention for you two," warned the teacher. Clove let out a snort. "Who was that?" "Me, duh," whispered Clove with a smirk. "Mr. Hadley? Was that you?" asked the teacher. Cato sighed. "No, Mrs. Hernandez. It was probably Clove Kentwell over there," he replied.

"Is that true?" asked the teacher. Clove nodded meekly. "One more time and it'll be detention for you too, Miss Kentwell," said the teacher. "Yes," mumbled Clove. "I'll kill him," she muttered with a dark look in her eyes. "Sure you will," answered Johanna with a smirk. "You haven't spoken to him for three years," she said.

"I didn't," said Clove. "Yes, you did," argued Johanna. The teacher's heat jolted up. "Detention, Miss Kentwell, Miss Mason," she said. "Oof, sorry, guess you're going to be late?" asked Cressida. The girls both nodded.

"Be there as soon as you can," said Cressida. "Let's start," said the teacher. Everybody pulled out some canvases. "What's the topic?" hissed Johanna to Gale, a boy who sat behind them. Meanwhile, Clove was doing the same to Trevor, who sat in front of them.

"You have to draw your partner," sighed Trevor and Gale. "Hey, JINX!" They both cried at the same time. Clove and Johanna laughed, and turned their canvases to face each other. They began to draw. After a moment, they realized that none of the others were facing each other.

"What are you guys doing?" whispered Gloss, sitting on their left. "The topic is to draw what's most precious to you," he half-whispered, half-laughed. Clove hissed. Johanna glared at Gale, who was whisper-laughing his head off. "I'll get you back," she said.

"Thanks," said Clove. Gloss nodded. "Anytime," he chuckled. Johanna and Clove erased their sketches, then started to draw an axe charm for Johanna and a small silver pocket knife for Clove.

AN UPDATE! I got about an hour to write today, so I'm making the best use of it. I can't think of any more ideas for Fragments, so if you have any, PLEASE TELL ME either on here, or on Instagram with the username c1at0_.

How was the chapter? Btw Trevor is the boy from District 9.

Next chapter is going to be Cressida's party!

-Claudia :)