chance (n.)
possibility of something happening.
CHECKMATE #2
"am i supposed to be happy that i lived and won? because technically i could never be."
The victor's crown sits upon Gwyneth Anderson's head.
She can't process the horrors she went throug...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
— GWYNETH —
MY FOOTSTEPS take me backstage after the buzzer goes off and Eunice, Zoey and Kunboss exit.
I wait for them to come back from their interview when I suddenly feel a tap on my shoulder.
"Hey, Gwyneth?" I hear a soft voice behind me, and I turn to see a young girl standing behind me wearing a stunning beige gown.
I see her face and I recognize her from school and the reaping.
School. Another 24 people from school are here.
Cadence. Her name is Cadence di Angelo.
I remember her picture on the screen, a small gold 7 under it. She no longer looks scrawny and weak; but instead holds herself together in such a mature way that she seems older than I am.
I say hi to her before she timidly asks, "I saw you in the Hunger Games, may I ask what it was like?"
"It..it's painful, honestly. To see people die, knowing that you couldn't save them.." I reply, trailing off thinking of all the people I've killed and what I've caused.
Suddenly, a bell rings. "Next up, we have Miss Cadence di Angelo!"
Cadence looks between the stage and me hesitantly, seemingly as if she wants to tell me something, but before she can open her mouth, she is whisked away by someone wearing a humongous headpiece.
She gives me a faint wave as she rushes onstage, and I look in the other direction to see Eunice, Zoey and Kunboss finally rushing up to me.
"Sorry we took so long," says Eunice, panting. "Sophie and Marius kept us for some time."
"Can we go back to our rooms now?" asks Zoey, piping up.
I glance up at the stage, where Cadence is making her way up.
I shake my head. "I want to see a certain someone's interview first," I say, leading them into the crowd.
— CADENCE —
'I thought there was more time left before my turn,' I think to myself as I'm pushed closer to the steps by the operator.
I wanted to tell Gwyneth about Ophelia. I want to trust her, to tell her what's going on in Byrok; how everything changed when Hannah died, how we are all just trying to struggle out of this check that Byrok's keeping us in.
I remember how we first met at school, how she proved to be a really reliable and nice senior.
And now that all of us are going into the arena, she's the only one that can help. No matter it be stop the Games; show Byrok; or just... show them what we've got.
