5/2/14
Hi, thanks for checking out my story- it means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy reading it!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or anything else I may mention.
…..
Chapter 1: Suspicion (Johanna's POV)
"Mom, can I please go to Maple's house? I promise I'll be back by 5!" I whine. Begging is not something I'd normally resort to- I have pride, thank you very much- but desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Johanna sweetie, I already told you. Your father could be here any minute, and we don't know when he'll have to leave. I just don't want you missing out on any time with him," Mom says, trying to sound sympathetic.
Because it's July 3rd, the day before the Reaping, everyone gets the day off from school or the forests. In other words, I've been bored all day because my mom won't let me hang out with my friends. She claims it's because she doesn't want me staying out too late, but I know it's because she thinks Maple is a bad influence.
Maple is that girl who skips classes, smokes, stays out past her curfew (even the one the Head Peacekeeper has set), and nearly every word that comes from her mouth is foul. No wonder Mom doesn't want me hanging out with her. But in truth, my father isn't much better. We rarely talk, but when we do the subject of rebellion always manages to come up. I've picked up quite a few things from these talks, and I've nearly gotten expelled from school a few times for saying things I shouldn't. With influences like these, I'll be lucky if I have a couple morals left by the time I'm an adult.
"Well what can I do- other than chores," I add, seeing the look on my mother's face.
"Have patience Johanna, it's not as if someone can die from boredom."
"Yeah well, I'm about to change that," I grumble.
Just then, someone conveniently knocks on the door.
"I'll get it," I deadpan.
I cross my arms and walk over to the door. I let out a sigh, knowing who it is. I open the door anyways.
"Hello Blight," I say with a hint of loathing in my voice.
"Well, it's good to see you too Johanna," my father laughs.
Yes, you heard me right. The Blight Mason, Victor of the 44th Hunger Games, is my father.
And I hate it.
He's never around. He's always busy with some kind of Capitol business, and he rarely acknowledges us. I don't think anyone outside of District 7 knows he has a family. Although I'm not bothered by the lack of fame, it does bother me that he doesn't find us important enough to talk about. I mean, it's not like he can't have a family- several Victors do- Angus Bradford, Cecelia Sanchez, Barley Oakheart, and Slate Fuhrman (who even has grandkids!) just to name a few.
You'd think that having a Victor for a father would make me instantly popular, but honestly it just makes kids scared of me, and the fact that he's never home resulted in some teasing when I was younger. I mean, it wasn't the whole class or anything, because that's just unrealistic, but it did hurt my feelings.
But, despite all of this, he's still my dad. Even though we have our differences, it's not like I avoid all interaction with him… just… most of it.
I ignore my parents' overly sappy reunion ("let's keep it kid friendly guys. Seriously, it should be illegal to make out in front of your child.") and plop onto the couch. I briefly wonder if anything good is on TV, but then decide against turning it on. I really don't wanna see a 15 year old getting molested by Capitolites, and that seems to be the only thing on TV these days.
Blight (it feels weird to call him Dad, since he's a Victor and all) sits down next to me. Apparently, we don't have the same opinion about TV, so he turns the freaking thing on.
"No Caesar, I will not be mentoring this year."
"Well, that's too bad Mr. Odair. Will you be coming to the Capitol anyways?"
"Of course, Caesar! I wouldn't dream of staying in a boring place like District 4 when I could go somewhere as magnificent as the Capitol!"
Kill me now.
"Dude, stay in District 4. You're gonna get molested, kid!" I growl at the TV.
"Johanna Ivette Mason!" Mom shouts from the kitchen. I roll my eyes. That's not a bad word, for crying out loud!
"I'm sure he'd stay if he could," Blight says.
"You mean they're making him go?" I ask in shock.
"They kinda gloss over that," he says, shaking his head.
"No, what do you mean by that? Why does he have to go?" I ask, still surprised.
Blight scratches his head as if he's thinking about the best way to say it. I cross my arms, still waiting for an answer.
"Well Jo, I think your mother would prefer it to stay unsaid…"
"So it's for a completely and totally inappropriate reason?"
"Yes, to put it lightly. But Finnick's a good kid. It's not like he'd do this unless he had a good reason," Blight says, before adding in a whisper, "I'll tell you later, when your mother isn't listening."
I nod my head, "So what is his reason?"
Blight looks around the room for a bit, before answering, "I don't think this is the place to tell you."
I sigh. This is how almost all of our conversations end. He once told me that it's because you never know where the President has cameras hidden. It doesn't make any sense though. Why would the President want to spy on us? Sure, we're saying a few rebellious statements, but it's not like we're acting on them.
"Now, a message from our beloved President!"
"Now, a message from our beloved tyrant!" I say mockingly, causing Blight to start laughing his head off.
"Greetings, citizens of Panem!"
"Greetings, prisoners of Panem!"
"I hope all of you are ready for the 66th annual Hunger Games!"
"I hope all of you are ready for the 66th annual Murder Games!"
"Okay Jo-Jo, that's enough," Mom laughs.
"What could they do? I'm only 15, they can't arrest me," I scoff. "And don't call me Jo-Jo."
"Just watch the show," Blight says, shaking his head.
I cross my arms and sink into the couch. President Snow continues his little speech, as normal. I tune out the rest until he says something about District 7. I jump in my seat a bit, and lean forward. President Snow usually talks about the Career Districts in his speech, but never an outlying District such as 7.
"It seems that this year, Blight Mason is taking the year off from mentoring."
"How did he even know about that?" Blight asks, leaning forwards as well.
"So it's up to the Victors who mentors?" I ask curiously. Blight nods his head.
"It's normally me and Ivy, but this year Pine's taking my place. But… how would Snow know about this?"
Upon hearing this, Mom comes in from the kitchen, watching the screen with interest. This only confirms my suspicions that something is wrong. I nervously squirm around on the couch and stare at the screen, listening intently to the President's every word.
"It is my hope that he uses his time off well. I know I do."
I don't like the sound of where this is going. There's something… informal about this whole thing. It's almost as if he's giving the speech for the sole purpose of giving Blight some dark message.
"It's always nice to… catch up with my family. I know I would feel awful if something happened to them. And… I'm sure Blight feels the same.
I hear my mother gasp from behind me. I look at Blight in confusion. He just sits there, his eyes wide with shock.
"What does that mean?" I ask nervously. My parents are fairly easy-going, so it must be awful if they're getting this worried.
There's a long, nerve-wracking pause before Blight finally answers,
"It means we're in trouble."
…..
Sorry about the cliffhanger, I couldn't think of a better way to end the chapter. I know Johanna seems a little OOC, but you have to remember that she's a lot younger here, and the things that have made her so bitter (her Games, the death of everyone she loves, the Quarter Quell announcement, etc.) haven't happened yet. Also, Blight being Johanna's father was my sister's idea. I made her be slightly resentful towards him because "he wasn't much, but he was from home".
Any feedback would be appreciated. I can't make the story better if I don't know there's a problem :)
With all my old stories I had a daily quote, so I think I'll continue the tradition:
"Do I sound like a Rosalinda to you?" iCarly, Spencer
Since I deleted my first story I think I'm going to reuse all the old quotes, so there's probably going to be a lot of iCarly and Victorious. I was really into those shows back then.
And just for the heck of it I'll keep using my old ending signature.
Iku Ze, and may titan clan light your path,
Jeenathespectrobesprincess
