Capitol Sweetheart

Chapter 1: Twenty-five years earlier

Haymitch slumped down in his seat. His hair was messy and his clothes were unkempt. His mother had tried to tidy him up, but he didn’t, no she, had the energy. For it was the first day of upper school. 

Many kids shuffled into the one room school, saddened by the official end of summer vacation. Although there wasn’t much to do in District 12 for a kid, it was still summer. It also was a cloudy Monday morning, and there was nothing pleasant about this time. 

But one girl caught his eye. 

She, too, didn’t look thrilled to be at school, but she was nothing like any girl that Haymitch had ever seen before. She wore a plain, modest, faded blue dress, and her curly blond hair fell right above her shoulders. He even noticed some light makeup on her eyelids. He wondered where she had had any access to makeup, for it wasn’t a common product in District 12. She, like Haymitch, was an outcast, seen as the snotty rich girl who always took vacations in the Capitol.   

He quickly sat up in his seat. Suddenly, he recognized her. Effie Trinket, the daughter of Phillip Trinket, the District 12 representative for the Hunger Games. She would probably follow in his footsteps, Haymitch assumed. 

His eyes followed her as she found a seat near the front of the room, set her books on the desk, sat down, and straightened them. A look of nervousness sat in her bright blue eyes.   

Moments later, a middle-aged woman stalked to the front of the room. 

“Hello, children,” she said quietly. Haymitch’s eyes turned to the front. “My name is Mrs. Hawthorne. I will be the Grade 9 teacher this year. We will be focusing on the following subjects...” Her voice droned on and on. The day dragged on forever as the boring Mrs. Hawthorne introduced each subject to them. 

“Now we’re going to do a partner activity. I’ll let you pick partners, but they MUST be boy-girl pairs. And, please, pick someone you don’t really know.” Groans floated around the room. A scold formed on the young woman’s face. 

“Find your partners, please, and I’ll explain what to do. Find an area to sit with them. Go on, now.”

No one seemed to rush towards Haymitch, or Effie, either. She turned to face everyone else as they grabbed partners. Mostly everyone had one now. Haymitch caught her gaze, and mouthed ‘Partners?’ She nodded, a grateful look setting in her eyes. Haymitch stood up with his belongings and slid into the seat next to her. 

Mrs. Hawthorne cleared her throat to gather everyone’s attention. 

“Introduce yourself before we begin.” 

Haymitch glanced at Effie. He turned to face her. 

“Hi,” he said quietly. “My name is Haymitch.”

“What? I can’t hear you,” Effie leaned forward.

“Hi,” he tried again, a little louder. “My name is Haymitch. Haymitch Abernathy.”

“Oh!” she gasped. “I remember you. From primary school, am I correct?”

“Yes,” he nodded, a smile began on his face.

“And I assume you probably know me,” Effie said. 

“Effie Trinket."

“Uh-huh.” 

Mrs. Hawthorne’s voice made them face the front now. 

“I want all of you to learn as much as you can about your partner, take notes, and come back Wednesday with a full, organized paragraph written, in chronological order of events. You are welcome to do this in a private setting, if it feels necessary between you and your partner. Okay? Start, please.”

They turned back to face each other. Their eyes met directly at the pupil, and they stared there for a moment. Haymitch blinked. They shook it off.

“Umm,” Haymitch began. 

“Could we do this in a private setting? I mean, I’d just rather do that,” Effie stated.

“Uh, yeah, of course. It’s probably a good idea for me,” Haymitch stuttered. He couldn’t help but be enchanted by her eyes, those bright blue eyes always staring into his, holding their gaze. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times.

“So, uh, when do you want to meet to do this?” he asked.

“I was thinking immediately after school? At my house?”

“Oh! Okay. I-I’ll just check with my mother and make sure that’s okay,” he blushed. Effie giggled. 

“Cool,” she smiled.

“Okay, class,” began Mrs. Hawthorne. “Great first day, today. I’ll see you all tomorrow, have a great day.” A wave of her hand dismissed the students, eager to be done with school. 

Effie and Haymitch moved slowly as they packed their things up and started out the door. They walked and talked until they reached Haymitch’s house. 

“I’ll be right back, you wait here,” Haymitch said. “I won’t be long.”

“Okay,” Effie nodded. “I’ll be here, right where you left me.” She flashed Haymitch a smile. His heart skipped. He stopped looking at her and turned into the house.

He opened the door and slipped inside. He went to his mother’s bedroom, where she spent most of her days now. He creaked the door open and peered inside. She was awake, so he entered.

“Hey, Momma,” Haymitch said gently. “You awake?”

“Haymitch. How was your day?” she whispered. Her pale, skeletal figure laid in the bed, somewhat conscious. The scarce amount of hair she still had was covered in a thin rag tied like a bandana. 

“It was good. Is it okay that I spend some time out? My teacher gave us an assignment that we have partners on, and we’re going to work on it. Is that okay?”

“Of course, ‘mitch. Have fun,” she whispered again, and a sharp cough followed. He looked back at his mother with a pained look in his eyes.

“I’ll see you later. I won’t be home too late.” She nodded. Haymitch hated having to leave his terminally ill mother, but he had a life to live, which was what his mother said quite frequently. He was going to have to move on once she’s passed.

 He made his way through the house and back to the door where Effie waited.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yep." Effie led him back to the Victors' Village, for her father had been a victor.

"Wow," Haymitch gasped. "I've never been back here." Effie nodded and looked around.

"I hope you're ready to see my past," she said, staring at the ground. She softly kicked a pebble across the path. "It's not as pretty as everything else seems."