Panem High: Freshman Year

Chapter 23

"Finch, let's go!" Kiona yelled up the stairs.

"Almost done!" Finch hollered back. She knew that she should've been packed by yesterday evening, but whose fault was it that she had to finish her term paper? Not hers, that's for sure. If Kiona hadn't been running circles around her blabbing about some squishy makeover video, maybe she'd been able to concentrate and get it done.

But that had not been the case, and she had been up until one in the morning finishing it before submitting it to her teacher. So she was packing now.

It was only five, and their flight didn't leave until seven, so she wasn't sure why her mom wanted to get out the door so early, especially because Finch was running on less that four hours of sleep, but she was trying her best.

"FINCH, MOMMY WANTS TO GO TO THE GROCERY STORE NOW!" Kiona screamed.

"I'm busy right now, Kiki! Tell her to go and come back for me. I'm not finished."

"MOMMYYYYYYYY!" FInch heard Kiona screaming to their mother. "FINCH ISN'T READY AND SHE SAYS TO GO WITHOUT HER AND THEN COME BACK!"

There was a minute of silence before Kiona started yelling again.

"FINCH, MOMMY SAYS JESUS CHRIST KIONA WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS RIGHT NOW I NEED TO GET A MOVE ON I WON'T HAVE TIME TO COME BACK." (Finch heard her mom scolding Kiona for that.)

"I'll get a ride to the airport with Mrs. Quinn then," Finch said.

Kiona seemed satisfied with that answer, as did her mom, evidently, because a minute later Finch heard the car starting up.

Finally, she thought. Some peace and quiet. She looked around her room. Clothes everywhere. She hadn't even started to put anything in her suitcase. She grabbed a pair of grey and black plaid pajama pants and two pairs of pajama shorts, one blue with little ducks and one pink with red hearts, and folded them neatly. She grabbed a few tank tops, two black, two white, and one yellow, and packed them next to the pajama bottoms. On top of those two piles went several pairs of underwear and a few bras, and then her swimsuit - a green bikini, since Glimmer had been the one to take her shopping. On the other side of the suitcase, she crammed in three pairs of light-wash jean shorts and a pair of navy blue cotton ones, a few t-shirts, a light and oversized green plaid button-up, a light blue cardigan, her Panem hoodie, a pair of low black Converse, a pair of white flip flops, and a few pairs of ankle socks. She put her toiletries in the mesh pocket at the top, leaving out a pouch of tiny rubber bands, added several books and then had to sit on it to close it.

She threw off her pajamas and slipped into a pair of black jean shorts and a black t-shirt and rushed through her getting ready routine, accidentally spitting toothpaste all over the mirror in the bathroom, squirting moisturizer all over the floor, and dropping several elastics down the drain of the sink before successfully getting two in her mouth. After brushing and braiding her hair and cleaning everything up, she grabbed her suitcase and ran down the stairs with it thudding along behind her. She slipped into her green Keds, grabbed her wallet off the shelf, and locked the door behind her.

Mrs. Quinn was more than happy to drive Finch to the Savannah International Airport. Finch liked driving with her. She was sweet and widowed, and even though she was only forty years old, she had all the stories of someone twice her age. Today, she was telling Finch about the first time she ever left Georgia, and the half-hour passed quicker than either of them would've liked.

"KAITLIN!" Finch yelled out the window of her uncle Manny's car, seeing her cousin's blond head bobbing towards her down the driveway. She wrenched the door open and jumped out before the car was even stopped, running into Kaitlin's open arms.