Broken Winged Birds that Cannot Fly

Chapter Eight

A/N: I feel like my college is purposely keeping me in late on my updating days so these chapters go up late -_-

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Chapter Eight

There's a park situated between the Merchant and Seam sectors of District 12. It doesn't have an age range. In fact, you could probably find all types of people roaming around pretty much all day. The kids would play on the swings, roundabout, climbing frame and such, while the older teenagers usually clustered on the fields, playing football or soccer or gossiping.

I used to go to this park a lot when I was a kid. My mum and dad used to take Prim and myself down to play when the weather was good. They'd push us on the swings and turn the roundabout for us, have picnics in the grass and draw chalk pictures together in the gravel. When my dad died and my mum was put on medication for her depression all that sort of stopped. The park was been refurbished since then but I still feel a tug of fondness when I'm around it.

This is where we meet again after school. Well . . . I say 'we'. Just myself, Peeta, Clove and Annie. The others are busy. We sit on the middle level of the climbing frame, out of sight of Gale and his posse who have claimed the playing fields as their own. After the disaster at Halloween, we don't want to be attracting their attention any more than usual. I especially know that if Gale goes for me again, Peeta will get in between and maybe won't be as lucky as he was last time.

"I called Alma Coin during our lunch break," Annie explains in a hushed voice. "We've agreed on an appointment time that suits all of us-including Mr Abernathy and Ms Trinket-so we can all attend and show her how many of us there are."

"When's the appointment?" Clove asks.

"Thursday evening," Annie answers. "Since Mr Abernathy and Ms Trinket legally can't drive us because of teacher student health and safety laws we're going to meet them at 4:30 at the Square and head to the Board Building from there."

"Have we heard anything from Delly and Madge?" I ask.

Annie shakes her head. "Not that I know of."

Damn. I was hoping that they'd have gotten in contact with us by now, to at least tell us if they're in or out.

Clove claps her hands and rubs them together. "This is good. We have a foothold now. All we have to do is follow it through," she grins. "Here's hoping Miss Coin will be able to help us or else we're snookered. I don't think there's another way of going about this."

"I think we should still try to come up with a backup plan of some description," I say uncertainly. "Just in case."

"Maybe that should be our homework," Peeta grins.

Clove's brown eyes widen. "Homework?!" she exclaims. "I didn't join this shit to get homework!"

"Hey, at least you don't get it every night on top of your ordinary homework," I say. "I have extra maths questions to do every blooming evening. Be thankful, Jettison!"

Clove shakes her head. "But I'm not boning the tutor!" she whines.

I roll my eyes and lightly tap her face. "Neither am I," I remind her.

"This is unacceptable," Clove declares.

"Have you any ideas you'd like to share with the group right now?" asks Annie. "Would save you the bother of having to do it at home."

Clove's mouth quickly shuts. She sticks her nose up in a snooty fashion and mumbles, "No."

I laugh and pat her shoulder comfortingly. "Then there you go. I'm interested in what you're going to come up with now."