drapetomonia - the overwhelming urge to run away.
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When Junia Beaumont, her brother and their classmates get a last assignment before the end of the school year, she doesn't know just how quickly things will change for her.
Who would have thought t...
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00. prologue
It’s the same thing every single year. After the Treaty of Treason was signed following the events of the war and the Dark Days, children aged twelve to eighteen are forcibly gathered like cattle, only for two per district to be selected at random.
While this isn’t the first time Junia is getting ready to watch the reaping, she doesn’t think she’ll ever dread anything more than this.
July 4th usually means being one step closer to summer break for the Academy students in the Capitol, it also means being one step closer to death for whoever gets reaped in the districts. Junia remembers being forced to watch the past reapings at the Academy, and while her classmates are usually more or less interested in the process itself, she can barely stomach it.
It’s one thing knowing this is happening every year, but it’s another thing seeing the faces of the children that are being sent off to an almost inevitable death. She feels unwell just thinking about it. Knowing that the oldest among them are around her age and are currently doing what she’s doing — getting dressed for the ceremony — only makes it worse. She has tried understanding it, the reasons behind it all, but it’s futile.
She’d never think to say it out loud in public, however, she thinks it’s awful. It’s almost horrifying how admitting she believes children shouldn’t be fighting to death in an arena could be like social suicide. Junia is grateful for her life, her privileged life here in the Capitol, but whenever she thinks too much about it, the guilt starts eating away at her.
Those in the districts are also just children. They could be her, one of her brothers, or even one of her classmates. And while she doesn’t get along with all of them, it doesn’t mean she wants anything bad to happen to them either.
She sighs and fixes her bangs one last time, taking a proper look at herself. Her mother has truly outdone herself this time, giving Junia’s long hair a trim and helping with her makeup. The Academy has asked its students to dress according to the occasion which means nothing too flashy, but they’re still allowed to be fashionable.
Her mother even bought her a new dress just for today. It’s tight and dark blue with a plaid pattern, reaching all the way below her knees. The sleeves are long, and honestly, it’s the one saving grace of the day. She feels comfortable in it even if she’s not too sure how to feel about the black heels just yet. Her mother has even lent her some of her jewelry, such as her pearl earrings and a few rings that Junia knows she’ll be playing with to get her mind off things.
