drapetomonia - the overwhelming urge to run away.
━
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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ
08. the questionnaire
"What do you think, June?"
It's Lysistrata's voice that snaps the girl out of her thoughts. Junia lifts her head in surprise, looking to her left where her friend is walking alongside her.
Sensing she wasn't listening, Lyssie elaborates. "I was wondering what you thought about the things we discussed earlier," she says, "about what Festus suggested specifically."
Junia grimaces. They spent the last seminar brainstorming ideas on how to raise viewership for the Hunger Games again. Apparently, even though Coriolanus and Clemensia are expected to hand in their own thoughts soon, the faculty deemed the topic so important they wanted all of the mentors to discuss it.
She doesn't think she'll be able to forget that smug look on Coriolanus' face when Professor Demigloss announced the topic of discussion either.
Junia thinks it's sickening but hasn't made an effort to participate. That also explains why Lyssie is questioning her now, especially as both girls have silently shared their discomfort regarding the Games before.
And now that they're on the way to the first official meeting with the tributes in the Academy, everyone is talking. Most of her classmates seem nervous, she notes, and she can't help but feel a bit of anxiety as well.
"What, executing people if they don't want to watch?" Junia repeats Festus' idea from the seminar. "I don't know, I think that's impossible to keep track of. And besides, it's like Clemmie said: no one wants to watch it anymore because it's horrible."
"I know that," Lyssie says in the same quiet tone. It's not that she's afraid to voice her opinion, it's just that she doesn't want to risk starting the discussion all over again. More quietly, she adds, "Perhaps the dean is right and the Games are dying out. But maybe that's for the better."
With the ideas Coriolanus pitched, she's not so sure anymore. It all seems too complicated to implement at the very last minute, however, the Games are still a few days away. There's no telling how quickly the Capitol is willing to act if it means more people will be tuning in.
Junia nods. She looks over again, seeing how the girl plays with her fingers. "Are you nervous to meet Jessup?" she asks. "I don't think you have to be. I thought he seemed rather timid."
"How about my tribute?" Junia is surprised when Clemmie appears on her right, walking slightly faster since she previously left her discussion with Gaius Breen. "Reaper, right? Is there anything you can tell me about him?"
