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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15. arachne's funeral
At the Academy, the twins separate from their parents and head to the homeroom before anything else. There, they join their fellow classmates and mentors before heading outside to the front steps of the Academy, sorted by alphabet.
Junia’s dread grows tenfold when she realizes Cas (and Coriolanus) are to be separated from the rest of the class due to their extra assignment at the funeral. Cas’ face is composed but hardened as he stands next to Coriolanus, the latter showing subtle signs of being nervous but having an admirable ability to conceal it almost completely. They’re both in the front row among the Academy’s faculty and other distinguished guests such as President Ravinstill himself, Dr. Gaul and even the Beaumont family.
Now more than ever, she feels alone. With Castiel so far away and her right side empty, she briefly locks eyes with Max who only shoots her a sheepish grin before being reprimanded by their mother with a gentle tap on the arm. She frowns. Gaius Breen is on her left and for once in her life, she wishes he’d open his mouth and tell a joke. But he doesn’t. Even he adapts to the day’s theme and looks stone-faced.
Even across the avenue, people are beginning to gather. It’s an endless swarm of people dressed in black and even though Junia tells herself it’s best not to, she can’t help but look for Arachne’s family. When she can’t find them anywhere, she decides it’s for the better. She doesn’t think she’d be able to handle it.
She never liked Arachne much but when she puts herself into her brother’s shoes, she feels even more unwell than she already does. She could never imagine losing Castiel, or even Max. Losing either one of them would shatter her beyond repair.
Cameras are everywhere, too, as expected. Funeral banners and Capitol flags are everywhere she looks and truthfully, despite the fact that she feels horrible for those thoughts, she wonders if perhaps all of this isn’t a bit exaggerated. Arachne’s death had been gruesome for sure but she doubts that it would have gotten the same attention if she had died of natural causes. It’s oddly laughable but she doesn’t feel like laughing at all.
It doesn’t feel fair. There’s a small part in the back of her head that reminds her of how many people had died during the war, her grandfather and grandmother among them. She hadn’t been close with either one but still, seeing Arachne get such a farewell seems unfitting. It’s all a giant shitshow and she’s in the middle of it with nowhere else to go.
At nine sharp, the crowd falls silent. Coriolanus swallows and steps ahead towards the Podium, Castiel trailing behind him with his head raised high — but not too high to seem arrogant either, simply to look composed and not like he wants to rip his slicked back hair out — and his hands at his sides. Coriolanus is first, taking deep breaths to calm himself before he steps in front of the microphone. Through the speakers, a tinny version of the anthem begins to play.
