Chapter 1: Acceptance
Gale went outside to find her. She was always running off and getting into trouble. He walked around the yard once before calling out to her.
"Victoria! Get over here now!" He waited, standing silently as he listened for the approach of his daughter. After a minute of waiting, he saw her dark brown hair stick out of a nearby bush. He glared sternly at her and she walked slowly and quietly over to her father. He looked down at his seven-year-old daughter and sighed quietly. She had inherited his olive skin tone and dark hair, but her eyes were hazel, the same color and shape as her mother's.
"Get in the house. Now." She ran off to the front door with Gale following behind her,
12 years later
Victoria ran out of the fabric store, glad that it was the weekend. She loved her job, but she loved the weekend even more. She grabbed her hover board, the only thing she owned from the Capitol, and raced on home. The only thing she hated about the weekend was the fact that her father was always home. She pulled up in front of her house and jumped off of her board. She pulled her long, windswept hair into a messy ponytail and went into the house.
Not much had changed in the house in twelve years. The same dark wood table was in the hall and on it, sat the same old photograph of her and her parents a few days after her second birthday. The hall led to the same small kitchen that her mother had pain-stakingly remodeled when they had first moved in. On the kitchen table was a small pile of mail. When she looked through the pile of envelopes, Victoria saw one that was addressed to her…from the Capitol? She held the envelope tightly to her chest and ran up to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She frantically opened the envelope and pulled out the first piece of paper, which turned out to be a letter. She began to read.
Dear Victoria Hawthorne,
It is my great pleasure to inform you that you have been accepted to the Capitol University. Based on the grades you received at your district school, you are also the recipient of a full scholarship to the University. Included in this envelope is also a list of courses that you may take in your first year. We expect your return letter with your list of chosen courses within 3 weeks of your receiving this letter or you may visit the University yourself. Again, congratulations and I hope to see you soon.
Your Dear Friend,
Effie Trinket
Victoria was in shock. She had sent her application in, without her father's permission, and had been accepted! She was still sitting on her bed holding the letter when she heard the front door open. Her father, Gale Hawthorne, was home from the weapons factory and was not going to be happy when she showed him the letter.
