𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 (𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏)

Chapter 5

Isadora Coral Baird (Beffery)

"Fine, come along, the train is already waiting for you!" Janine Restelo pushed Isa and Lecan off the stage."I can't leave here now. My dad must be here somewhere!" Isa tried to free herself from Janine's arms, but the unfriendly men immediately returned."Yes, sweetie, of course your father is here in 12. You live here.""No, I'm just looking for him! Oh by the way, where are we going?"Janine Restelo laughed as bright as a bell. Her reddish curls bounced along."Darling, I don't know what rock you've spent the last few years under, but we have to-" "We have to go to the damn Hunger Games!" Lecan interrupted her angrily.Janine gave him a reproachful look.

"What are the Hunger Games? Are we playing something while we're hungry?"Now she was getting strange looks from the man, Janine and Lecan."You don't know what the-" Janine took a stunned breath. "The Hunger Games take place once a year. One girl and one boy between the ages of 12 and 18 are picked from each district of Panem to fight to the death in an arena. 23 deaths. One male or female winner. Maybe you should have your memory checked."

"Oh, that's not really a good time, because I have to find my father. Can I come back later?" Janine shook her head in bewilderment. That was probably a no.

Coriolanus Snow

"I'm sure they'll both die in the first few minutes," Shane said dismissively. "Don't say that. District 12 may not have much of a chance, but the boy is strong." Coriolanus somehow felt obliged to say that. "We should give Dr Gaul the plans for the arena. She doesn't like to wait." Shane nodded.

"What's that?" asked Dr Gaul. Shane answered directly: "The sketches and plans-" " Silence! Mr Snow, what is it?" Coriolanus gave Shane a triumphant look. "These are the finished plans and sketches for this year's arena, Dr Gaul." She looked at him with satisfaction. "You both have a good chance of taking my place later."

"Oh, Coriolanus, before I forget: My family would like to meet you. Tonight." "Excuse me?" "Please, you heard me perfectly." "Shane, you may not realise it, but you're being very hasty. We've been together since yesterday. Besides, I have a dinner plan with my cousin tonight. Let's do it after the games, please, I'm certainly not going to put myself through the stress." "All right, then let's try it during the games. My parents think it's a romantic relationship, so please get used to holding hands and romance!" "This relationship isn't romantic, get over it!"

Shane tossed her wavy hair over her shoulder and mingled with the crowd in a huff. "Mr Snow, can I speak to you alone for a moment?" Gaul. "Of course, Dr Gaul." She walked slowly ahead, he walked slowly behind her. After all, she wasn't fast. They left the room."Mr Snow, I certainly see potential in you as the Head Gamemaker. However, Ms Ralkio is competing with you. Therefore, you will both hand over certain tasks to me, which I will then use to appoint a later successor. Your first task is to give me a full report on the following situations by the day after tomorrow. I expect you to write at least a four-page solution for each situation.""Dr Gaul, excuse me, but there are 10 different situations here, it's impossible to write forty pages by hand within two days.""If you see a problem with that, I'll give the job to Ms Ralkio." "You will receive the pages by the day after tomorrow.""I didn't expect anything else from you."

Isadora Coral Baird (Beffery)

"No, for the last time, I can't get on the train now. I have to stay here!" "I don't care, you're a tribute now. Your only chance of getting home is to win the games." "And if I don't win?" "Then you're dead. Now get on the train." "Oh, you weren't joking earlier?" The peacekeeper, by now she knew what it was after he kindly explained it to her, grabbed her and lifted her onto the train. Isa decided not to fight it at first, her knees still hurt.The train was wooden, with a table and several chairs in the entrance hall. "Your beds are further back there, we're travelling to the Capitol for two days."Evening was slowly approaching and Janine fetched Isa and Lecan from the room next door. "Dinner is ready."

Tigris Snow

"Tigris! Nice to see you here. How are you?", "Good, you too?""Yeah, what are you looking so strange about?" "Must be because you're wearing your shirt the wrong way round and all that ink on your cheek doesn't make it any better.""Oh thanks, I'll be right back, just go on through." Tigris looked after him in confusion. "What are you doing in the kitchen?" "Oh, I just wanted to go to the bathroom." Coriolanus went into the bathroom on the opposite side. "Are you sure everything's all right?" Tigris asked through the door. No answer. She went into the living room. The dining table was a complete mess, leaves were scattered around and there were several ink stains on the white tablecloth. In general, the whole flat seemed untidy. Strange, she didn't know him like this. Coriolanus was normally a person who couldn't stand clutter.

"So, here I am again." Tigris wheeled round. "Sorry, I didn't mean to rummage around. It's such a mess here." Coriolanus didn't react. "Coriolanus! Hello?" He seemed to pull himself out of another world. At least now he wasn't looking at her so absently."Are you really sure that everything is all right? Because this doesn't exactly give that impression." Coriolanus nodded. "Yes, everything's fine, I just have to get something ready for Gaul." "And you need all this for her?" He nodded. "I have to write forty pages by the day after tomorrow, four per scenario." "What scenarios?" He heaved a sigh. "Possible scenarios in the Hunger Games. She just wants to test my reactions. If I do well, I'll be promoted."

"Coriolanus, I'll be honest, I'm not thrilled about it. Sure, it's great that you might get promoted to top playmaker, but you have a slight urge to overwork yourself. You also need to look after yourself a bit." "That's not so important right now," muttered Coriolanus. "Listen to me, every year the games become more important to you. You want them to be perfect. But you have to stop worrying about things you can't influence. You can't tell the tributes where to go. Besides, you visit us less and less. You do realise that Grandma's dementia isn't getting any worse. Come while it's not too late."Coriolanus looked at her blankly for a moment. "Tigris, I know we were going to eat together, but I think it would be better if you left now. I'm under a bit of pressure at the moment, but I'll try to visit you more often after the games." "Coriolanus, you've already stood me up three times this week." "There won't be a fourth time, I promise."When Tigris left Coriolanus' flat, she knew what he would do. He would just carry on regardless. Neither for himself, nor for her and the grand madam. Lucy Gray had definitely done him good, even if he wouldn't admit it.