I probably should tell you about the people that used to make up Panem School District’s 74th Edition of “Top 24 Graduating Students Of Panem Central Elementary”. Clove, my best friend, was 6th on the list. Urchin came 11th, and not surprisingly, yours truly came 1st. But the other 22 kids do share a connection to me and Urchin in their own unique way.
Glimmer Belcourt was 15th on the list, and for a time, my next door neighbor during 7th Grade. She came from a rich family, that fortunately for the rest of us, didn’t embrace her with a snotty rich girl attitude. Instead, she was one of the kindest kids in school.
Marvel Sanford and I got along well in 4th and 5th Grade. Due to his rather lanky height (He was already 5’ 5” by the time we graduated), the other graduates called him “Beanstalk Marvel”, a name that I still call him by every once in a while. He was a natural at spear throwing when I first met him, due to his dad being a hunter. He was 13th.
Noah Stanford was just as much of a nerd as I was, which is typical since he came from District 3, but he was more into engineering. In contrast, I would focus my attentions more to chemistry, history of a lot of things, and math, which would come into play during the friendship games. Noah built a lot of crazy machines throughout the years, from what I heard in middle and high school, leading him to earn the nickname “Noah_duz_machines”. He came 20th.
Amber Ludwig was a shy girl, but with a brilliant mind. Also being from District 3, her family worked in computer science, but her real interest, as she told me, was that she wanted to work as a newspaper editor. Being the supportive guy that I am, I told her to go for it and also protected her from bullies. She came 10th.
Marina Waters was Urchin’s best friend during middle and high school, and according to Urchin, she was his crush before he met Adagio. She was good with a sword, though not good as me. Her dad was friends with my dad, so our families would have dinner at a fancy place every once in a while. She came 23rd.
Marissa Finch “Foxface” Silvers was one of the fun girls in the group, coming in on the list at 5th. She and Rue had a habit for pranks that more often than not, Marvel would find himself on the receiving end. She ended up falling in love with him by the time graduation rolled around, and they’ve been steady all this time from then to now.
Brent Mathers was a rather anti-social kid, as until he met the rest of us. Coming from District 5 like Finch, he had a taste for mythology. He ranked 14th.
Tamora Sinclair was more interested in music than working on the railroads as that was what her parents’ jobs were, and yet, she still had to convince them a lot to let her get a violin. They were so stubborn that it took one of my rants to get them to buy her the violin. She was 12th.
Jason Roberts was an oddball, that much I can say. He and Marvel competed for the spot of “Class Jock”, since both of them were in sports. But, despite Marvel having the height advantage, Jason’s determination and resolve to persevere eventually won out in the end. He was 8th.
Nettle Sinclair, Tamora’s sister, wanted to be in woodworking, since her mother, who is Tamora’s father’s second wife (Tamora’s mother have passed away from Cancer), was from District 7. She got along well with the others, and prospered. She ranked 24th.
Brian “Wood” Simmons got his nickname due to his knowledge about woodworking, since his family were master woodworkers. He and Nettle became best friends, and have been that way since. He came 21st.
Lacey Smithers was, like Noah and me, a nerd. In her case, she specialized in music history, which meant that she became close friends with Tamora. She also wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty when it came to bullies, as some of those that picked on Amber found out the hard way. She was 4th.
Ryan Jones was about as tall as Marvel by graduation, and possibly the most physically intimidating kid beside Thresh at graduation. He was the reason I put on all that muscle and weight in middle school, because my head had been an arm rest for his arm too many times in 5th Grade. He was 18th.
Juliet Pierce was a quiet girl, usually not saying much. But she was as kind as Glimmer, and got along well with the others. Boy, was she scary when you got her angry. The girl practically scared one of the people bullying Amber so hard that he fainted. She placed 21st.
Rye Morgan came from a farming family in District 9, who themselves had moved there from District 10. Skilled with a sickle and scythe, he was one of the best farmhands I had ever seen. He got along well with the rest of us, even showing me how to use a scythe. He ranked 16th.
August Smith was about as quiet as Juliet, and alongside Rue and Urchin, was the smallest of our group. But she could give you a death stare that made you shit your pants if you messed with her friends, particularly Amber. She was like a safety zone for the girl. She placed 2nd.
Thaddeus Thorax had a crippled leg that had him permanently on crutches, yet it didn’t stop him from effectively using said crutches as a weapon. He placed 22nd.
Rue and Thresh Simpson were siblings. Thresh was the physically intimidating one that watched out for Rue. Rue was the angel that was best pranking friends with Finch. They respectively had 17th and 7th.
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark from District 12 were like polar opposites that somehow got along. Peeta was from a baking family, and he wished to follow in his family’s profession. Katniss, like Marvel, had a dad that taught her how to hunt. Both of them made fast friends with the rest of us and until graduation, the 24 of us were all very close, near inseparable. I’ll let you guess as to where they placed.