Social Casualty

Chapter 23

Finnick tells me that Annie is somewhat upset with me. Apparently, she's been growing extremely close to Katniss, the person I've been trying to avoid, since I was suspended. I guess I sort of understand that, Finch lost her scholarship, and she was one of Annie's closest friends, and Katniss, of course, didn't have such a big list of friends at the time. And now Annie has been avoiding me, because I've been avoiding Katniss, and, consequently, Finnick had been avoiding me. I guess I understand that aswell, he's crazy for Annie and, from what I know, him and Annie haven't been doing great as off lately. And then Finnick feels guilty, and texts me apologies for not sitting with me at lunch or not waving enthusiastically when he sees me in the hallway. And then I feel guilty for making Finnick feel guilty and Annie hate me, all because I'm afraid to exhange eye contact with Katniss Everdeen. Summing up, it's all a pretty miserable cycle caused by me. This is probably something I would complain about to Haymitch, if he was even here anymore. Again, my fault.

At least I still haven't let down every single person I know. At least, I managed to save Gale from the Principal's wrath, were he to think that it was Gale who was vandalizing the school. Surely, if that had been the case, Gale would've been expelled at the moment, unlike me. But I still can't talk to him at school, becuse we have to pretend we don't know each other, in order to keep things quiet. But he still sends quite a few thankful glances when we cross in the hallway.

So now I have lunch by myself in the cafeteria. Not that it bothers me, although sometimes I wish I weren't alone, in order to get myself not to think too much on how on earth am I going to do my SAT's in the end of this semester. Again, this is something I should be working on with Haymitch. I thought of calling him, or tracking him down, but I realize he probably wouldn't want to see the kid who's to blame for the destruction of his career. Instead, I think of way to help him get his job back, but every single idea I have involves kicking Snow's ass out of the schoo. So I decide to take the risks.

I probably should've talked to Plutarch or even Gale about this, but I feel it'd just put everyone in a little bit more of an hassle. To them, the Breadioactive Man is probably dead anyway.

Snow did everything in his powers to make everyone forget about the Breadioactive Man, expelling me, erasing all the murals on the walls, everything. Somehow, the times when I used to put a mask on and sneak in school with Gale seem to be entirely gone, as if they weren't even real in the first place.

Still, When I put my Breadioactive Mansuit back on this Monday morning, it doesn't feel foreign to me. Nordoes it feel that way when I walk in the hallways, crowded withstudents, dressed like that, and the stares, that have stoppedentirely after I arrived from my suspension, almost make me feelgood. I'm real, and I'm right here. And now everyone knows that.

When, after the Monday, I'm not calledto the Principal's office for not following the wardrobe rules or for bad conduct, I realize Snow doesn't want me to think that I'm affecting him. That some ridiculous kid is standing up against him constantly, and he's actually suffering some sort of consequences because of that. So I decide to push him a little more on the following days.

"So you just want to hand flyers around school promoting Snow's downfall from his position as Principal?" Plutarch had been impressed, when I asked him to just print flyers and posters promoting our cause. Although he was adamant about it at first, he eventually gave in, just like I expected him to, knowing Plutarch to be such an enthusiast about everything that can be in some way dramatic. Truthfully, all it got me for him to agree was saying 'We could be making history right here, on the spot. Someday, they might even make a movie about this.'

I hand all the flyers, hang all the posters around the school, get quite a few signatures for the petition, some of them even are from some of the jocks, the ones that I actually don't despise entirely. Still, no call from the principal's office.