shall we rise? - the hunger games

(022) we are not kids anymore

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SHALL WE RISE?

act two. 

(chapter twenty-two, we are not kids anymore)

victor's village, 2313.

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"I SWEAR TO GOD, if you don't wake your ass up." A voice echoed in Valencia's head. "Get up, Lennie!"

Valencia was knocked out cold on her wooden floors, snores echoing around her house as liquor bottles surrounded her. Saliva ran down her chin and onto the floor panels as she groaned and moved around. Her eyes were still clamped shut as she felt someone prodding her with their toe.

"I swear, is this how you feel when I'm hungover?" The voice asked. "This is awful... Lennie, if you don't get up, I'm going to pour water on you."

"What do you want?" Valencia groaned as she peeled her eyes open, rubbing the back of her neck.

Towering over her, hands on hips, was Commie. He wore a red crimson sweater with brown slacks and his hair was surprisingly combed back that Valencia wondered if something important was happening today. Commie's eyes were harsh as he squinted down at her.

"Have you forgotten?" Commie asked her. "Have you seriously forgotten? I told you just yesterday!"

"Forgotten what?" Valencia scoffed as she pulled herself up from the floor, rubbing her eyes as she stood up in-front of Commie. "Is it your birthday? Or Nova's? Is that why you're dressed up so nicely?"

"No, Lennie." The older man sighed as he patted her on the shoulder. "It's Anita's dinner today, remember? In the evening?"

"Oh." Valencia gasped. "Wait, evening? That's ages away, it's only morning."

"It's evening now, Lennie."

Valencia's eyebrows furrowed as she looked out the window, wincing when she saw that the sun was disappearing behind the tip of the trees. She groaned as she wiped her face free of any saliva and ran a hand through her hair. 

"Are you sure I have to go?"

"Every Victor is going," Commie told her as he watched her pace around her house, picking up any rubbish that was laying around. Most of it was liquor bottles. "Even Terry is going."

"If Antares is going then I'm not," Valencia told her mentor as she walked to the kitchen and placed the bottles in the trash. 

"Are you serious?" Commie scoffed. "Seriously, you're both acting like children. You're twenty-four now, Lennie. Terry is thirty-one."

"And you're fifty-eight, what are you trying to prove?"

"I'm trying to prove that you aren't a kid anymore," said Commie. "So, you two could act like adults and figure this whole situation out."

"First off, he didn't want to see me after I got out of the arena and kinda chose Silas over me," Valencia started, casing Commie to groan. "Secondly, I tried to kill him—"

"— with a butter knife—"

"And thirdly, we haven't had a proper conversation in nine years," Valencia said as she narrowed her eyes at Commie for his interruption. "And I've tried, he just closes the door in my face."