Panem College

Chapter Fourteen

Peeta's Pov

"Now, kiss!"

"Huh?" We were practicing the play, and Finnick/ Joper had just lost Hapshetsut. Blight was dressed up in a priest suit.

"Kiss!" Miss Trinket says again. "You're getting married to Hatshepsut!"

Clove and I gave each other nervous glances. It wasn't that she was ugly, she looked cute in the Egyptian wedding dress, golden and skinny with little weird diamonds. I could see Gloss eying her.

"Umm..." I say. We lean in and give each other a short peck, earning a boo from Miss Trinket. "Peeta, Clove, your characters are getting married!" She cries. "Act like it!"

This time we give each other a three second peck, and Miss Trinket sighs. "I give up," she says, shaking her head. "You two both just failed my class."

That got me a bit worried. I needed to have good grades, and I don't want an F to ruin my grades.

I nervously looked at Katniss and she mouths, 'Go on.'

Cato didn't look to happy. I shared another glance with Clove and nodded at Blight. "Well," he says in the best accent he could muster. "You may kiss the bride."

"Just pretend I'm Cato," I whisper at Clove. She nods. "Pretend I'm Kat."

Katniss nods me and I pretend that my beautiful Katniss in her Pharaoh dress is in front of me. I awkwardly and stiffly put my arms around her waist and she awkwardly puts her arms around my neck.

We're doing this very slow like Gale on a Monday morning and Miss Trinket lets out a sigh of exasperation. "Peeta, Clove," she says, giving us a reason to step away for each other. "This is you"- she puts to hands in front of us and smashes them together passionately.- " And you are kissing like this. You joined my class and these lovely hands of mine are you guys. Don't act and I'll have the dead mummies come back to haunt you."

Clove and I watch in horror as her hands continue to 'kiss' each other.

"Well..." I say. "Here we go..."
Please bell, ring, I think. Please, please, please.

We kiss and it feels so wrong. Her lips are too thin and I'm not used to bending down a little but when I kiss Katniss. She senses the same, probably because I'm shorter than Cato and she's shorter thank Katniss. It's so weird kissing one of your best friends.

Marvel whistles and I feel a blush in my neck as we break apart. Blight continues the speech and we are now pronounced two pharaohs as one.

Clove's parents, Kat and Cato, congratulate us, yet I see some stiffness in Cato's spine. We all do the weirdest Egyptian dance - I'm pretty sure nobody did this in Egypt except when the spirit snakes crawled up their pants- and Johanna, Hatshepsut's sister, pours holy water drops on our heads.

We finish rehearsals and go out to lunch.

Madge's Pov

Well that was a bit weird. Actually, a lot. I think Cato and Katniss aren't too happy, and Clove and Peeta aren't to happy kissing each other every day at sixth period.

Gale and I went out to the park, where we had lemonade. "Here," he says, putting a flower in my hair. "A beautiful flower for a beautiful girl."

"Aww, Gale," I say. Who knew he could be so sweet? I only thought he had a sweet spot for fresh squirrel meat.

Cato's Pov

I sit in my apartment, not my dorm, clearly upset. I lock myself in my room and take a nap, which doesn't help.

It starts off by us practicing the play, then the kiss. Clove then dumps me for Peeta and Peeta dumps poor Katniss.

Then Peeta is Gloss, and Gloss and her are all over each other.

I wake up, sweating like crazy. I pant, reminding myself it isn't real, that they just did that for the play, Katniss and Peeta are still the most popular couple at school, and that Clove still hates Gloss.

I sniff and smell and amazing smell. I walk out to see Clove at my kitchen, making Vietnamese. She sniffs and stirs constantly.

"Hey," I say, pulling out some bowls. "Hi, Cato," she says, not looking at me. "What's wrong?" I ask.

"You yelled at her,that wrong," I jump and see Marvel and Thresh and Johanna and Blight all watching football, on my couch. "TOUCHDOWN!" they roar.

Oh. So that's why I came back in an angry mood. "I'm sorry," I apologize. From three years of! dating I've learned that it's always right for the guys to apologize first.

"Really, Clove," I say. "I got to worked up even though it's just acting. I'm sorry."

"Mmhhm,"she says, stirring the pot. "C'mon," I say, tickling her. She giggles. "Stop, Cato!" "Forgive?" I ask. She nods. "Okay, okay!"

*************************************

"TOUCHDOWN!" we scream again. We're gobbling up the delicious Vietnamese and the door opens. "Swiggity Swinnick, it's me, FINNICK!"

Finnick allows himself in and grabs some of the soup and noodles. He grabs a spring roll, yet stuffs it with sugar cubes. I'm a hundred percent positive you don't out sugar cubes in spring rolls.

We watch football and slurp the warm soup. It's almost the end of January and we go out to the snow. We build snowmans and I make a snow angel with Clove, holding her hand. I'm still worried that one day Gloss could possibly take her, but I vanish that from my mind. Gloss is a moron. Even President Snow wrinkles his wrinkly nose at the sight of Gloss's wrinkly old man skin.

Katniss's Pov

It's so weird watching Clove and Peeta kiss. It's not Clove I'm mad at, not Peeta, but Miss Trinket. I walk up on stage as I sit in the "waiting room" as Hatshepsut gives birth to Neferure, a doll. It will portray Glimmer as she gets older. Clo- Hatshepsut cries out in loud, loud pain.

Peeta squeezes her hand and she cries.

She cries, some of it defiantly fake. When she runs out of tears she laughs, but tries to make it like crying. But it sounds too funny. The three doctors, Finch, Marvel, and Annie are trying not to laugh.

When we finish rehearsal off with the kiss, my least favorite part, I leave with Peeta, hand in hand. I