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1. a change in plans

The noisy clicking of heels echoed through the Capitol Academy as three girls strutted around the halls, giggling loudly.

"I hope today goes by fast. I can't stand to watch Coriolanus get presented the Plinth Prize and the whole student body have to watch him bask in his own pride." Etta scoffed. Coriolanus Snow was a nightmare; he always had something to say, just something to make her and her friends dislike him even more.

"Ugh!" Livia exclaimed. "Don't even bring him up. If he speaks up at the reaping ceremony today, I swear I'll-" her voice grew louder and louder until she was cut off by another voice.

"Liv, Etta, he really isn't that bad..." Persephone muttered. "You two overexaggerate everything. It's quite draining, really."

Etta and Livia gave each other a look. Persephone was always like this. She stuck up for everyone she and Livia gossiped about.

"Whatever!" Livia rolled her eyes and linked arms with Etta, dragging her down the hallway. "We'll see you at the reaping, Persephone!" Etta gave the girl a small wave before breaking off into a run, Livia at her side.

Livia continued to drone on about Coriolanus, then Persephone, then countless others. Etta was silent for once, a rare occurrence when she was with Livia. She had too much on her mind; Festus.

Lots of girls liked him, unfortunately. She could tell Persephone did, though she knew she would never admit it. Etta didn't just like, but she loved him. She loved his perfect, curly locks of hair. She loved his perfect, seafoam green eyes. She loved how he would smirk when he caught her staring at him. She was most definitely head over heels.

She wasn't sure if he liked her, however. They were close friends; not as close as her and Livia, or even Persephone. But they were close. He would occasionally flirt with her, but he did it with a couple other girls in the class as well.

Thinking on a deeper level, she could have her pick of a boy in the grade. Etta was very pretty, gorgeous even. Her long, brunette hair lightened by the sun, her piercing green eyes and long lashes, her sun-kissed skin, a sprinkle of freckles.

Any boy in the grade who wasn't insane would be happy with her, but she only had eyes for Festus. She started to daydream about scenarios that could happen throughout the day but was snapped back to reality shortly after.

"Finally, Etta! I thought you'd gone mad; you didn't respond to me for like... five minutes!" Livia breathed. "Are you thinking about Festus or something?"

Etta felt her face heat up and gave Livia a gentle shove. "Maybe..." she giggled, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly.

Livia gave her a knowing smirk. "You are so weird. Boys are disgusting, especially Festus!"

Etta flashed Livia a dirty look before walking faster, turning into the bustling room full of students, all clustered in groups chatting loudly.

She jutted her hip out to one side as she scanned the room for someone else to talk to, a desperate attempt to escape from Livia's teasing. She noticed someone waving to her from across the room. Arachne Crane. Accompanied by Felix Ravinstill and Festus Creed.

Arachne was quite annoying. They had grown up together, with their families being close friends. It didn't matter though, because Festus was with her. Ignore Arachne, talk to Festus.

She strode over, sending smiles to familiar faces as she passed them. "Good morning, Etta." Festus was the first to greet her, per usual. "Good morning, Festus." she smiled her prettiest smile, hoping it would catch his eye.

Arachne looked Etta up and down, her face twisted in a small scowl. "New clothes?" Arachne glared at her.

Etta beamed and gave a twirl, ignoring the lace of venom in Arachne's tone. "Yes! Daddy just bought them for me yesterday."

Felix chuckled dryly. "You and your fashion, Rivers." he muttered. She narrowed her eyes at him. "You and your remarks, Ravinstill." she retorted, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Arachne pursed her lips, hiding a smile. Festus, however, chuckled loudly. "About time you get snapped at, Felix." he snickered, making Felix roll his eyes.

Etta felt a presence behind her and almost knew exactly who it was. Coriolanus Snow.

"Look who it is, the star pupil."

Arachne wasn't wrong. Coriolanus had never skipped class, and his grades were immaculate. Never late, never called out, always perfect. The thought of it disgusted her. He was quite ambitious, always talking about becoming president and other things, none important to her.

"That's a snazzy shirt, what are those buttons? Tesserae?" Arachne asked, seemingly wanting a big reaction.

Coriolanus picked at a button on his shirt and looked back at Arachne with a smile. "Hm, that's why they remind me of the maid's bathroom." he shrugged nonchalantly.

Felix, either wanting to change the topic, or just being himself decided he wanted to talk about the lamb on his plate. "This lamb is scandalous!" he exclaimed, earning an expected eyeroll from Arachne.

"Only the vulgar eat with their fingers, Felix. Didn't daddy teach you table manners?" the corners of his mouth creeping up into a smirk, making Etta cover her mouth as she giggled, blushing slightly.

"Maybe he would have, if he wasn't so busy running the country." Felix retorted, closing off any other attempts to humiliate him. The group looked at each other with surprised faces while Felix carried on calmly eat his lamb.

The friends started to talk about Sejanus Plinth, a district boy. Etta shuddered; why would they let a boy, let alone his whole family, into the capitol? It was outrageous! They were from the districts; they should stay there.

She zoned out into her thoughts about the differences between district and capitol, until she realized Sejanus was standing right next to her, causing her to flinch. "Ugh, Sejanus. Ever heard of personal space?" she snapped.

Sejanus glanced down at her with wide eyes. "Sorry, Etta." he mumbled. Sejanus speaking up earned him the attention of Festus who 'welcomed' him with another remark.

"Sejanus, you made it to the reaping for once." he nodded his head slowly, grinning slightly.

Sejanus glanced at him, unamused. "And you made it to graduation, Festus. We're both shocked." Festus scoffed and looked down at the ground, his cheeks flushed.

"Spill it, who won the prize?" Arachne stared at Sejanus, a glare in her eyes.

"Oh no, I'm not going to ruin my father's big day. No one actually likes him, but they do love his money." Sejanus sighed before glancing at Arachne. "You know what that's like, don't you Arachne?" Etta didn't even try to stifle her giggles anymore, giving Arachne an apologetic glance as she muttered "Funny."

The students started to notice Dean Highbottom making his way towards the podium, signaling for everyone to head to their seats. She found Livia and linked her arm through hers, making her way to two very good seats in the front row. She had a perfect view of the screens, good for checking out each tribute.

Livia tapped on Etta and started to talk but was immediately silent once she saw Dr. Gaul almost appear out of nowhere at the podium. Everyone shut up and nervously stared at the scary woman, her heterochromic gaze looking over every student.

"How tantalizing to see all of your shining young faces on this auspicious day." she smiled eerily, her voice loud and smooth. "I am Dr. Volumnia Gaul, your humble head gamemaker, in charge of the war department and all of its affiliated concerns. I've broken free of my laboratory today to examine you, the leaders of the next generation. I won't be around forever, after all." she ended the last sentence with a head tilt and a terrifying smile, causing her and her classmates to look at each other uneasily. "And now to end, I am honored to introduce to you the creator of the Hunger Games themselves, Dean Casca Highbottom."

Etta was relieved once the woman stopped talking. Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard. She really knew how to ruin someone's day. For the first time in forever, she was delighted to hear the dean start to speak.

"Select students, faculty, and of course Dr. Gaul" he muttered, giving nods towards the 24 students in front of him. "I have summoned you all here today for the 10th annual reaping ceremony, in which we choose two children from each district to throw into the Capitol arena to fight to the death in the Hunger Games."

"Well, he's mentally insane.." Etta mumbled to Livia, causing Livia to nod rapidly.

"Our own twenty-four top prospects, all waiting to hear the results of hard work in this prestigious institution, eager to learn who's won that Plinth Prize, no doubt. However, I am here to tell you that there has been a... change this year. One final assignment to prove your worth, because the esteemed citizens of the Capitol have grown bored of the games and simply aren't watching anymore. And if the games continue at all, there must be an audience." he chuckled, eyebrows raised.

Though the games seemed a bit... harsh in her opinion, she didn't have anything against them. It was what the Capitol thought was best after all, a way to punish the districts, which they deserve. Surprisingly, the dean didn't seem so happy to talk about them.

"So, head gamemaker Dr. Gaul has stepped in to incentivize patriotic values with her own unique flair, starting with you. The Plinth Prize will no longer be determined by who has the best grades, but by who is the best mentor in the Hunger Games."

Etta gasped loudly, as did the rest of the students. This didn't affect her much in a bad way; she wouldn't have gotten the prize even if they kept the original plan. But this change in rules... this could earn her the prize no doubt, she just needed a good tribute. She looked over at Coriolanus, who sat there stone-faced, nostrils flaring. He was obviously outraged.

"This is a brand-new role. As the reaping progresses live, I will allocate each district tribute to a Capitol mentor behind the scenes, one who must... persuade them to preform for a camera." the dean carried on.

"Obviously, the best mentor will be the one who's tribute wins the games." Festus muttered, breaking the awkward silence. This urged others to speak up.

"What if I get a pathetic runt girl from one of the poor districts like eight or twelve?" Arachne pouted. "They're just gonna die in two minutes like they did last year and the year before." Etta nodded along with Arachne. "Some mentors will have an unfair advantage because they have a stronger tribute than the rest of us!" she whined.

"Your role is to turn the children into spectacles, Ms. Crane, Ms. Rivers. Not survivors. Victory in the games is only one of our considerations. Your entire future rests on this last project. Oh, and I must tell you that anyone caught... cheating to give their tributes an unfair advantage, well, they'll just have no future at all." Dean Highbottom finished, leaving the students with disbelief, confusion, even anger on their faces.

Etta sat in her chair deep in thought. This change in plans was perfect. Could she really have a chance at winning? She crossed her fingers in hope for a good tribute, watching closely as the dean sat on the ground, pulling out a piece of paper. Feeling her heart beat faster with anticipation as the district numbers started to appear on the screens, hope surging throughout her body.

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hey guyss!! first actual chapter completed. i am so excited to write about treech next chapter, oh my goshhh.

sorry if she seems like really bratty this chapter, i broke my own heart when i had to make her agree with arachne about the districts, but it goes along with her mindset and backstory so...

anyway, thank you for reading and have the best day/night!

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- julia !! (ettarivers), july 6th 2024

- published, july 12th 2024