After her rebirth
Chapter 54

Katniss was stoked to have one less exam to worry about.

Now she could whip up something tasty for Maximilian.

After saying goodbye to Brent, Katniss headed back to her old classroom to grab her books and let the teacher know.

The moment she walked in, she saw a bunch of people crowding around Juniper, grilling her about her upcoming exchange student trip abroad.

The Davis family wasn't about to let Juniper miss out on such a sweet gig. The school she was headed to was top-notch, and you couldn't just buy your way in.

This meant Juniper and Katniss were about to go their separate ways.

Seeing Katniss, Juniper broke away from the group and came over, saying, "Katniss, I'm about to head abroad."

Katniss gave her a playful pinch on the cheek and smirked, "You better go. If you bail because of some dumb emotional stuff, I'll kick your butt."

Life ain't all about feelings.

Juniper's eyes got all watery, "But I'm gonna miss you."

"Hey, if you miss me, send me a ton of postcards! And don't forget to hook me up when you get back!" Katniss said, grinning. "Oh, and guess what? I passed my transfer exam, and Professor Jenkins said I can skip tomorrow's test." Juniper's eyes lit up. She'd been so caught up with everyone else's questions that she forgot today was Katniss's big exam day!

"Katniss, that's awesome! Did Professor Jenkins think you were so smart he just passed you on the spot?"

"Totally," Katniss said with a big grin. "Come on, coffee's on me."

"Let's go! I should be the one treating you!"

They walked out arm in arm, leaving the students who were waiting for Katniss to bomb her exam totally stunned. Did Brent really think Katniss was that great? Maybe Brent hadn't heard about Katniss's rep?

Yeah, that had to be it. Brent must not know about Katniss's sketchy past, which is why he passed her!

"Man, the universe must be blind to let someone like Katniss win."

"Professor Jenkins must've been duped by Katniss's looks. If he knew what she was really like, he'd probably kick her out. Character's key for being a doctor!"

Some students grumbled, but since it wasn't their problem, they quickly scattered, not wanting to stir up trouble for Katniss.

"I feel the same. Katniss must've pulled some strings to fool Professor Jenkins. No way she transferred without taking the department's exam," Clara's deskmate griped.

Clara shook her head, "If Katniss passed, it's 'cause she's got skills. I'm happy for her."

Just as she finished talking, she noticed Simon standing in the aisle next to her.

She was about to call out to him but froze when she saw what he was holding.

"Clara, come out. We need to talk," Simon said, taking a deep breath before walking out of the classroom.

Clara's face went pale, but she still got up and followed him out.

Once they found a quiet spot, Simon spun around. "Why'd you swipe Katniss's pencil case?" he demanded.

"Simon, I didn't," Clara said, biting her lip, her eyes welling up with tears.

Normally, seeing Clara like this would make Simon's heart melt, but this time he steeled himself. "Didn't you? Clara, are you seriously lying to me? We're the only ones here. Do I need to pull the surveillance footage?"

"No!" Clara cried softly, tears streaming down her face. "Simon, I was mad. Mad that on the day of my competition, Katniss messed with me before I went on stage, screwing up my performance. So I didn't want her to do well either."

Hearing Clara's confession made Simon feel let down. "Clara, are you seriously blaming others for you not winning? I talked to the judges, and they showed me your competition footage. And Juniper almost got hit by a banner. Did that mess her up? In the end, it was you who weren't ready for the competition."

"Plus, you knew Professor Jenkins was personally overseeing the exam today. Katniss could've been blacklisted by him and not even allowed to take the test. Did you take her pencil because you didn't want her to do well or because you didn't want her to take the exam at all?"

Clara was trembling, shaking her head desperately, saying, "Simon, I didn't know Professor Jenkins was supervising today. Simon, I really didn't think it through. I'll go apologize to Katniss right now."

Seeing Clara cry so pitifully, Simon's heart softened. "I'll cover for you this time, but Katniss is transferring to the medical department and will be far away from us. You need to stay away from her and not get involved in anything related to her, got it?"

Hearing his stern tone, Clara looked up with tearful eyes, nodded, and cautiously asked, "Do you not like me anymore? Do you like Katniss now?"

Simon instinctively frowned and said with anxiety, "How could I like her? You're my only sister."

Clara finally smiled through her tears. "Okay."

Simon's frown relaxed, but something still bugged him.

He looked down at the pencil case in his hand and couldn't help but grip it tightly.

At the most popular coffee shop near the school, Katniss and Juniper had a long chat. Juniper learned that Katniss not only had a strong backing but also had a share of the coffee shop's income. This made her feel totally at ease about going abroad.

Before this, her biggest worry was Katniss, fearing that Clara would find ways to bully her once she was gone.

A few days later, Juniper boarded a flight to Skylandia. Katniss saw her off, watching the plane disappear into the vast sky, and sincerely wished her well.

The next day, Katniss got home and started prepping ingredients to make medicinal food for Maximilian.

But when she opened the small bucket containing the herbs, she was stunned.

The bucket, which had been more than half full the last time she used it, was now almost empty.

She ate at home every day and knew that Wesley and Daphne hadn't touched the herbs she brought back for medicinal food, and Saskia and Micah hadn't been home recently. It was clear who had messed with them.