𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗶𝗮 ♛ ꜱᴇᴊᴀɴᴜꜱ ᴘʟɪɴᴛʜ

♛𝘀𝗶𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻♛

Sejanus pulled her from the classroom as soon as the bell rang, almost dragging her behind him as they walked.  Aurelia had to ask him to slow down a few times, so she could focus on not limping, but he kept moving swiftly along until they reached an empty classroom.  Sejanus entered, the girl in tow.  He shut the door behind him, before turning to her, a concerned look in his eyes, those deep brown eyes she had known since they were kids.

"Lia, what happened in there?"

The blonde girl sighed.  "I think... well, Tigris said it's called an anxiety attack.  They just started happening recently, right after the media came after us.  I don't know why it happened just now, it was just something about Dr. Gaul.  Theres something in the way that she looks at me that just seems so off, and it just... happened, I guess."

Sejanus didn't say anything for a moment, just tilted his head and looked at her.  Aurelia wondered if she had said too much, and she began to backtrack.  "I mean, I'm sure it's nothing, I'm just overreacting-"

"Hey, stop.  I wasn't ignoring you, I was just thinking about all the past encounters with her, and something does feel weird whenever she sees you.  I can't put my finger on it, but she almost seems... gleeful?  It's hard to explain."

Aurelia nodded, understanding his meaning.  "I decided what we're going to do for Jessup's interview," she added, after a silence.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah.  He always talks about his family, and how he wishes he could talk with them one more time.  So, I ran it past him, and he wants to give a message to his family.  Just in case.  I told him to say whatever felt right, I'm not giving him a script," Aurelia said.  She had talked with Jessup after he made the remark about her and Sejanus being 'just friends.'  He had nodded and said he'd work on something.  The blonde girl had no idea what her tribute was planning to say, but she knew it would be heartfelt.

At this point, she thought she would do anything to get Jessup out alive, home to his family.

♛

"And next up, we have Jessup Diggs, representing District Twelve, and his mentor, Aurelia Snow!"

Aurelia's heart beat faster as she stepped out onto the stage alongside Jessup.  Academy uniforms were required at this event, but her hair had been styled in a crown braid that accented her face nicely.  His shirt had been mended in the places that needed it most, and wiped clean of any dirt acquired from the past few days.  It was all Tigris's doing, sensing that her cousin had needed a confidence boost for this.

"Good evening, citizens of Panem.  For those of you who don't know me, my name is Aurelia, and this is Jessup, the male tribute from District Twelve.  However, now that introductions are done with, I'm going to let him have the floor, as he has something he wants to say."

Aurelia stepped to the side with a quick squeeze of Jessup's hand.  He smiled down at her, and moved to center stage to speak into the microphone.  He unraveled the small scrap of paper he clutched so tightly in his hand, glanced at it, and let it fall to the floor.

"Um, hi.  As you know now, I'm Jessup.  And I don't know how to say any of this as eloquently as my mentor just did, but I'm going to try.

"I have a little brother, AJ, which is short for Adam Junior.  He's just a kid, almost ten, and he was forced to grow up way too fast in a society that took his older brother away from him.  He's named after my dad, who is the most hardworking, bravest, and yet the kindest man I know.  And my mom, Ruby, had to see me leave for here when she's just about to have my little sister in a few weeks.  And I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, or the day after that, so I just want to talk to you guys one last time.