After her rebirth

The storage room was a total dump, and Katniss had had it up to here with it. Unlike Clara, who was all about keeping up appearances, Katniss wasn't scared to wreck stuff if she had to. Juniper was floored when she heard about it. She always knew Katniss was tough, but she had no clue her living situation at The Manners Villa was such a nightmare. It was just too much. There was only one class in the afternoon, and as soon as it was over, Katniss bolted out of there with her backpack. She spotted a food truck by the road, and her eyes lit up like Christmas lights. Her stomach growled like a beast. When she lived at the Manners Villa, the Manners family barely kept her from starving and never gave her a dime. "How can this food only be a buck? It looks so good!" Katniss said, her eyes wide and practically drooling. The owner gave her a warm smile. "Want a hot dog?"

Katniss was tempted. She felt the few bucks in her pocket and hesitated, finally shaking her head. "Nah, I'm not hungry."

The owner saw right through her and said with a hint of pity, "Don't worry, this one's on me."

Katniss felt her eyes get all misty. A stranger cared more about her than her own family. She took the hot dog, tears in her eyes, and thanked the owner, quietly leaving a dollar on the table.

Sure, there are kind people out there, but she couldn't live off free meals forever. While waiting for the bus, she pulled out her phone, habitually looking for part-time gigs.

But her phone was ancient, only good for calls and texts, no internet.

Just then, it rang. She saw the caller ID and hung up right away.

A few seconds later, it rang again. Katniss turned it off, not in the mood for any more crap.

Back home, she pulled out the medicinal powder she bought earlier, ready to make some pills to sell for some cash.

She poured honey into a pot, cranked up the heat, then simmered it down, skimming off the yellow foam until it stopped.

Then she added the medicinal powder, stirring it into a thick paste, cooking it until it was done.

Once it cooled, she started rolling small pills. Her arm ached; it had been a while since she did this.

But she didn't make a ton, and after two hours, the pills were done. She looked at the perfectly sized pills with satisfaction. After cleaning up, she crashed on her bed, exhausted, and fell asleep.

The next day, she packed the pills into little bottles and tossed them in her bag for school.

She overslept and had to grab two pieces of bread at the school gate to fill her stomach.

Just as she walked in, someone grabbed her wrist. Before she could see who it was, she was yanked aside.

The bread slipped from her hand and hit the ground, and Katniss was fuming.

She had just bought that bread and barely had a few bites!

Glaring at the person, she yelled, "Desmond, are you out of your mind? What the hell are you grabbing me for?"

Desmond sneered, "Katniss, you still have the mood to eat bread!"

Katniss didn't want to deal with this nutjob and tried to walk away.

Seeing her trying to leave, Desmond grabbed her wrist tighter, his eyes blazing.

In the empty campus, his low voice echoed, "Katniss, where do you think you're going? Have you forgotten you still owe me an answer?" Desmond's sharp eyes bore into her. The pain in her wrist only fueled her anger. She gritted her teeth and snapped, "Get lost!"

"Katniss, don't you feel guilty? You didn't give the spot to Clara but to someone else. What does that mean?" Desmond spat out angrily. Yesterday, Desmond had gone to Caleb to ask about the speech spot and found out what Katniss had done.

He was so mad he almost lost it and wanted to beat her up.

The Davis family's status might not mean much to him, but their money was undeniable. He heard the Davis family had a good father-daughter relationship, and pissing them off wasn't worth it, but he wanted to settle this score with Katniss for Clara.

So that's the deal.

Katniss smiled coolly and said, "The spot is mine. I can do whatever I want with it. Stay out of it."

Desmond had always been like this. Seeing Clara cry made his heart ache. No matter how harsh he was to Katniss, he would turn into a softie at the sight of Clara's tears, all shaky and weak.

Clara's tears were his kryptonite. Even a hint of moisture in her eyes would make Desmond panic, completely at a loss.

Once, Clara was accidentally knocked down by a classmate on campus, her fragile body hitting the ground, tears streaming down her face.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" the classmate apologized frantically.

Desmond turned around and saw Clara's tearful, innocent, and pitiful face, his heart aching like it was stabbed.

"Don't cry, don't cry, it's okay." Desmond hurried over, gently patting Clara's shoulder, looking all concerned.

Clara, hearing this, raised her eyes, her tear-streaked face full of endless grievance, saying, "Desmond, I... I..."

"Don't say anything, I get it, don't cry." Desmond quickly pulled out a handkerchief, gently wiping away Clara's tears. The classmate who knocked Clara down naturally didn't have a good ending and got expelled. Desmond, backed by the Boleyn family, had done a lot of bad stuff for Clara. And Katniss was always the one who got the worst of it.

"Go find Caleb and change the spot to Clara's, or else you'll regret it!" Desmond's words were harsh and infuriating.