Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
A FAMILY OF THREE SAT AROUND THE DINNER TABLE, SILENCE HEAVY. The two adults ate slowly and methodically, appreciating every bite; the girl barely touched her food. Her feet dangled over the floor, tattered hand-me-down shoes kicking back and forth as she pushed the peas around her plate in circles, hair falling in her eyes.
"Please, Araucaria, eat." Her mother spoke, voice stern but tired. "Your father and I would like to get back to work."
Work was a generous word. Araucaria's parents were amongst the richer folks in District Four, their family money from before the dark days having been hidden away. Her father spent his days tinkering, hoping for some breakthrough that would make him rich enough to buy themselves a ticket into the Capitol. Neither had to actually devote time to the fishing boats or markets of Four, nor the other jobs less focused on Panem's success.
The girl stayed silent, hoping for longer with her parents. They weren't too strict, only when it came to their work. She suspected they knew she was lonely, but more than anything they wanted to get her out of Four. She had few friends, if any, most resented her for the wealth of her family, and those she did talk to never visited. Their home was passed down from her grandfather, and was in the woodier part of the District, nearing the border of the lumber district. Some claimed her family was more fit for Seven than Four.
She couldn't fight that one, most days her free time was spent in the woods, drawing the nature she saw, climbing trees, and trying to catch animals. She managed to grab a raccoon one time, though her mother nearly fainted at the sight and had her put him back, she cried for hours afterward.
"Araucaria, listen to your mother." Her father was covered in dust and grease, a result of his experiments. He claimed he was on the verge of a big break through, and his eyes narrowed, "I'd like to get back to my work."
The child nodded, though her fork stayed on the plate. "What if we don't get out?" It was a topic her parents steadily avoided, despite the very real possibility. They were safe from the Reaping, even if they were the ones to actually see the war. "The kids at school stay away from me and don't even know why...and I qualify in three years for the Reaping."
"We will get out, dear." Her father sipped his juice, peering over his glasses at her, "Do you doubt me?" She had little reason to, he had sold some of his inventions in District Four, and word traveled quickly. Cari shook her head. "Good."
She finished her food quickly after that, eager to get out in the woods before it became dark. She would stay in view of her house, just in case she was needed - not that she ever was.
≘
Mrs. Finch died at the age of 34 from disease spread through her body by a rat bite. She never made it out of District Four, yet ironically it was her death that ultimately led to Araucaria and her father being able to relocate to the Capitol, free of hunger, sickness, and the risk of reaping.
Araucaria's father was distraught at his wife's death, and funneled that anger into creating better forms of pest control. The rats had adapted since the Dark Days and were harder to kill not only in the Districts, but the Capitol. Within a month, her father had buyers all over the Capitol, eager to get their hands on his self designed poison that could kill most unwanted visitors. Her father, greedy with success and in mourning of his wife, devoted himself to his work, itching to maintain the status he secured in the Capitol. His inventions were revered and his place in society cemented.
Life in the Capitol was not what Araucaria had hoped. In Four she was outcast for her wealth, silently resented by adults and their children who knew only that they were supposed to be jealous. In the Capitol, Araucaria was resented because she was an outsider. 'District' they called her, knowing full well she could hear. It mattered not that her father contributed greatly to Panem, nor that she quickly rose in the ranks at school, she would always be an outlier.
Perhaps she had two friends in the Capitol, though history would disagree. One was a young Sejanus Plinth. He, like her, came from the Districts, his father able to buy the family into the Capitol, wealth and status rivaling those of his colleague's families, without the time spent getting there.
Sejanus was a kind boy, a bigger fish out of water than her. He was very outspoken about the separation between his new home and the Districts, about The Hunger Games themselves. He seldom held his tongue, perhaps knowing his father would buy his way out of any consequence. Araucaria had no need for bail, she had held her tongue from a young age, though her disapproval of the matters was known.
Coriolanus Snow was opposite to Sejanus. While he was born into a good family, his wealth was all but gone - his life was easy compared to those in the Districts. Where Sejanus held sympathy for the others, Snow still saw them as inferior. He took a liking to the Finch girl.
Araucaria couldn't be sure if he genuinely liked being around her or if he merely found pleasure in having someone else around that he outranked socially. She didn't mind enough to take his company for granted, and instead followed him and Clemensia Dovecote around like a lost puppy; they were the most palatable amongst her classmates.
"Interesting business your father is in, Finch," Felix Ravinstill had remarked the day she was announced to be in the top 24 of students, "Wherever did he get the inspiration for such a poison?" He had never quite accepted her presence, but to be roped in with her was the first time he had ever felt the need to diminish her. "The district is crawling with rats, I presume? Please enlighten us on the conditions of Four."
Sejanus had tensed beside her, hand clutched in a fist. Coriolanus leant across him, hissing for her to not take the bait.
Araucaria merely smiled at Felix, looking him up and down, "No more rats than here, Ravinstill."
Coriolanus stared silently. He was unsure whether he approved of her jest, or if she had gone too far by insinuating she was better than some of them.
His confliction went unnoticed by Araucaria, she looked back at Coriolanus with a proud smile, hoping he would be proud, little idea as to the extent of his indifference.
She couldn't stay unaware forever.
≘
A/N next chapter will get into the actual TBOSAS timeline so, much to look forward to! as with most of my books, here are some memes for your enjoyment
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
