Prologue 1:

All her life, Lisia has imagined hundreds of scenarios of what it would be like the first time she stepped into the Games Headquarters. Thoughts ranged from her getting to create a muttation – she even has some sketches tucked away in her purse – to her giving an idea on the current arena design. Even if they differed wildly, they all included her getting a warm welcome and the Gamemakers being friendly to her, even if she is just an intern.

But never did she imagine the train wreck that is today.

"Girl, are you deaf?"

A hand snaps inches from her face, bringing Lisia back to the sad reality of the Games Headquarters. She turns her attention back to the man in front of her, questioning her opinion on the Head Gamemaker. He scrunches up his face in disgust as he looks at her. "They told me you wouldn't end up like the girl from two years ago. But so far, you're not doing very much to make me believe that."

Lisia straightens up, refusing to let this opportunity slip through her fingers, even if she's discovering more and more that Akakios Salome is a terrible and disgusting person. She shakes her head at the man she's been placed to work with, wishing he was the charming person he appeared to be on TV. The one she idolized for years. "I won't, sir. I'm just a little overwhelmed by everything amazing happening here because it's my first day!"

"Well stop that or you'll never last here," Akakios says with disgust and turns back to the papers on the desk in front of him. "Now go get me some more damn coffee."

"Yes, sir," Lisia answers quietly before turning swiftly to exit the cluttered office. Once her back is facing him, she lets her face show the disgust at the state he keeps his office in. She doesn't understand how he manages to get any work done. She never would let her office reach this much disarray.

She hears a grunt from Akakios as she's about to walk through the door, and nearly freezes in her tracks at the comment she wishes she never heard from him. "Nice ass."

Once she's in the hallway outside of the office, she leans against the wall and closes her eyes, feeling her stomach twist in disgust and overwhelming disappointment. This wasn't how today was supposed to be. She was supposed to meet the amazing Akakios and start working as his intern for the next two years. Not get bossed around and get told she has a nice ass. If she's already feeling this disgruntled after not even one full day, how is she supposed to last two years? And if Akakios treated Sabina like this, well, it's no wonder she didn't make it the full two years of the internship.

Lisia pushes herself from the wall and shakes her head before opening her eyes. She can't afford to quit, no matter how terrible Akakios is. Only three students each year get offered an internship with the Gamemakers, and it's even more rare for someone to be picked to work with the Head Gamemaker. And they picked her. Surely that must mean something about her abilities. The academy saw her skills. She just needs to make sure that Akakios can see that and not just her ass.

She sets off on her task, heels clicking as she makes her way to the break room for the third time today. As she adjusts her pencil skirt, she shakes her head at the outfit choice. Tomorrow, she's wearing dress pants. And she'll get through this. This is just one more challenge she has to face on her way to becoming a Gamemaker. And now that she's seen the reality of the Games Headquarters, it's even more motivation to succeed and change things.

"Back again?" Fabio calls out to her as she enters the break room. She glances over to see him leaning against the counter, drinking his own cup of coffee. She shrugs at him as she goes to the coffee pot to starts pouring Akakios's third cup. Fabio chuckles at her, "I know, I certainly didn't expect to be a glorified coffee server."

Lisia turns to face him at this comment, holding the now filled mug tightly to warm her hands. "We can't view it that way. We're lucky to have been chosen for this internship."

"Says the one working with the Head Gamemaker," Mara grumpily says as she joins them, arms crossed as she heads towards the coffee pot next to Lisia. "At least you're not working with fat smelly Gord."

Fabio makes a face at this and Lisia presses her lips together, knowing she does have the more favorable boss. She thinks about telling them about the comment Akakios made, but keeps it to herself. She doesn't want to take their pity. Instead, she looks at the two people stuck with her in this whole ordeal. "We can't let ourselves keep viewing the negatives of this. We're lucky to have gotten these jobs. So yeah, it might suck at times but we've got each other to rant to over some wine at the end of the day." She slams her fist down onto the counter, more to motivate herself about what she's saying. "And damn it, we are going to get through these two years and become fucking awesome Gamemakers."

The two stare at her for a few seconds before Fabio starts laughing and raises his cup in acknowledgement. "Spoken like you're already Head Gamemaker."

His comment makes Lisia smile proudly. She can only hope that someday she can become Head Gamemaker. If she does, she sure as hell will be a better Head Gamemaker than Akakios. She turns her attention to Mara and she soon nods her head, still looking down about today. She sighs at them, "You two better not quit on me or else I'm not making it through Gord and his heavy breathing for two years."

Lisia chuckles at this and gives Mara an encouraging smile, hoping to give her some comfort. But in reality, Mara's words have made Lisia more determined to get through this. Because now she has one more person that she can't let down.

Welcome to my very first partial SYOT! I'm really excited to get this started and really focus on a small group of tributes! More information about submissions and how I'm going to write the POVs is up on my profile. Spots are already filling up and I really hope you'll be interested in sending in a tribute!

Here's just a little taste of my writing style and what I have planned for the Gamemakers (because if you're reading Overlooked, you know I love developing the Gamemakers). If you want to see some more about how I write, you can check out Overlooked.

While we wait for the full tribute list, the next two prologues will give us a look at the eleven mentors that will be featured in this story! I'm really excited to get started on this story and I hope you're as excited as I am!