After her rebirth by Cici

Chapter 35

Katniss hit up the library to cram, sticking around till after six. She finally ditched her books, stood up, stretched, and got ready to bounce. But just as she stepped out of the school gate, Juniper popped up outta nowhere, dragging her to a dessert shop on campus.

With a cheeky grin, Juniper handed Katniss a cute little cake.

"This one's for you. Way prettier than Clara's," Juniper said. Katniss was stunned, holding the cake, her eyes wide with surprise and gratitude. "Thanks, Juniper," Katniss said.

Juniper laughed, "Whatever Clara's got, you should have too, Katniss!"

Katniss stared at the cake, tears welling up in her eyes.

She took a deep breath and said seriously, "Juniper, you gotta crush it. You have to beat Clara in this speech contest!"

Juniper rolled her eyes. Even with all the feels, Katniss was still nagging her to study.

What Juniper didn't know was that Katniss was thinking way beyond just this contest. If Juniper beat Clara, she'd get to go abroad as an exchange student. Juniper would have no regrets, taking a different path from her past life. When Katniss got home, the place was empty. She plopped the cake on the table and decided to whip up a fancy dinner for Wesley and the crew. Just as she stepped into the kitchen, she heard the door creak. She turned around and saw Anna.

"Cooking?" Anna asked, peeking in. Katniss smiled and nodded.

and

saying, "If you wait till your twenties, it'll be too late. Guys

chopping, saying coolly, "Anna, don't you know? The girl next door hooked up with a guy in his forties who's already married. She's a side chick. We Manners

face twisted, and she left in a huff. Katniss sighed,

key turning in the door. Wesley, Daphne, and Anna were back. Daphne said, "Katniss is so on top of things, dinner's

"Dig in, guys." She realized she'd never cooked for Wesley's family before and

as he walked over, and Katniss smiled,

care, every detail showing off her cooking skills and

once naive Katniss had grown up, not

Anna was quiet in the back and casually asked, "Grandma Anna, did you see the

cake? The neighbor's kid loves sweets, and I thought you didn't

thought I misplaced it," Katniss smiled slightly, acting like it was no

shot glances at Anna but didn't say anything, though their

'What's Katniss getting at? It's just a cake. If it's gone, someone in the house must've eaten it. Is it worth making a scene? This Katniss, after a few years, has gotten pretty crafty.' To break

she was eating faster than anyone else, like she was afraid

is so good, we're lucky to have her," Wesley said proudly. "Someone even asked her to

smiled, soaking in the