Panem High: Freshman Year

Chapter 26

"Clove," Glimmer grinned. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare," Clove replied instantly.

"You always pick dare," her best friend whined.

"Sucks to suck," Clove taunted.

"Bitch."

"Asshole."

"Guys," Johanna interjected. "While I don't resent the obscenities, can we get back to the game?"

"Right," Glimmer laughed. "Sorry."

"And give me a good dare," Clove demanded. "None of that pansy shit you were giving Katniss. 'Eat a spoonful of mayonnaise.' 'Send an ugly Snap to all your recents.' 'Do ten push-ups'," she said mockingly.

"Katniss is a pansy," Glimmer reasoned.

"Fair, but still."

"Fine," Glimmer said with a smirk. "I dare you to sneak into Cato's bedroom and steal a pair of his boxers."

"How do you know he doesn't wear tightie-whities?" she replied.

"Clove. Take it from me. It's a very complex algorithm that my friends from California and I spent months trying to decipher, but I figured it out eventually, I can tell you this- Cato Hadley does not wear tightie-whities. He conforms to every trait of a boxer boy."

Clove bent over howling with laughter.

"Am I right?" Glimmer asked.

"Well... yeah, but -"

"Wait, how would you know?" Madge asked.

"Cottage, remember?"

"Oh, right."

"What, exactly, happened at the cottage?" Delly said suggestively with an exaggerated wink.

"Delly!" Clove exclaimed. "No, nothing like that! I just meant that I've been going to Cato's cottage every summer for almost ten years. We've caught each other in our underwear every now and then, and yes, Glimmer, Cato is a boxer boy."

"I knew it," Glimmer said. "Now, it's a bit of a long walk to Cato's, but you should just be able to-"

"I can make my own goddamn plan," Clove snapped.

"Well, well, well, aren't you a little ray of sunshine?"

"Piss off."

"Just go."

"Aren't you gonna come with me to make sure I do it?" Clove asked.

"You just want someone to take pictures," Glimmer scoffed.

"So? Come on. And bring my camera, I want to download and print them and the camera take better photos than either of our phones."

Glimmer huffed and followed Clove out the window and the two scaled down the tree in their pajamas.

"Glim, call your brother," Clove said.

"No, ew, why?"

"I have my learner's but I need an adult in the car, and also I'm a terrible driver."

"Gabe has only has his general for a year," Glimmer reminded her. "He isn't allowed to be the 'adult' that supervises you. Hell, he's a large child."

"Yes, I know. He's driving us."

"No."

"Fine. Then you'd better be prepared for Nora."

Clove ran next door and knocked. Nora answered and pulled Clove into a bone-crushing hug, which Clove barely escaped from alive.