Electric Heart (Coriolanus Snow)

2

Sally's favorite teacher at the academy was Professor Demigloss, who was an old but exciting history teacher. He'd always been the one to show Sally kindness, and he even made her his student aide.

It was the reason she was never late for his class, in fact, she was always early.

"Sally, what is this I hear about your tardiness to Professor Blackwood's' class?"
Demigloss tilted his glasses at her when she walked inside the empty classroom.

"It's just difficult to climb all those stairs." She lied. It wasn't difficult. She made it that way by climbing them as slow as humanly possible.

He chuckled, seeing through her fib. "We're starting a new project today. The yearly one. The history of Panem."

It took everything Sally had in her not to groan. Every year they were forced to do the same project on the history of panem, and every year Sally stuttered her way through the presentation, earning a grade way below her normal average.

It didn't help that everyone else seemed to be the most skilled public speakers on the continent.

Before the rest of the students arrived, Sally helped Professor Demigloss prepare his lesson, which she enjoyed doing, because it helped her stay ahead of everyone else.

Sally sat in the back as other people began to arrive, she never liked to sit in the front row. She didn't like feeling eyes on her back, and she hated feeling blind to everything behind her.

In the back of the classroom, Sally could see everything going on. It was safer.

Sejanus came in and smiled at her, before taking his seat beside Coriolanus, who was next to Clemensia.

He sat beside Coriolanus most of the time. They were friends. Sally wasn't bothered by this, since she preferred sitting alone anyways.

The class went by relatively fast, and at lunch Sally avoided the rest of her peers. Her stomach was grumbling.

Unfortunately as she was collecting her food from the food bar, Felix Ravinstill came up behind her, knocking her food to the ground. Sally was used to this kind of treatment, especially from Felix and his friends.

She was not in a playful mood and fought herself from turning and slapping him across the face. Sally ignored the jokes he and his friends made loudly at her expense, and watched as the rest of the students held in their laughs around her.

The only ones who didn't were Sejanus and Coriolanus. However, Sejanus looked genuinely concerned for her feelings. Coriolanus just look amused, like he was waiting for her to have an outburst and stab Felix with the fork in her hand.

But his curious stare soon stiffened as Felix approached their table. He pointed at Sally, obviously saying something horrid about her, and she watched as Coriolanus and Clemensia laughed coherently.

Sejanus didn't seem to find it funny, shaking his head and walking away. She picked a new tray and began stacking it again with food.

Sally didn't care. She didn't care because she had been listening to Felix boast about his new watch, which cost a fortune, all day.

This was important because he'd left it hanging out of his left pocket carelessly.

Sally imagined giving it to one of the many homeless kids she saw roaming the streets. Maybe then they could finally eat.