Chapter 1

The blaring of the bell indicated the end of yet another boring day at school. Electra barely spared anyone a second thought or glance as she strode out of her chemistry class, with apparently no care in the world which would reflect in her features. She had spent the last class of the day staring out of the window, but she knew that it wouldn't harm her overall performance in the subject, for she already understood what was being taught. Now, all she wanted to do was go back home and squeeze a small nap into her airtight schedule; hearing a voice call to her from behind caused her to internally groan in defeat; there was no way she would make it home in time.

"Hey, Elec, keep up with the staring out of the window routine, and soon, someone else will be taking up your spot as the undisputed high achiever."

"Don't call me 'Elec'." Was the way Electra chose to respond to the fellow student who stood in front of her, effectively blocking the door of her locker.

He raised an eyebrow in amusement; he knew that she hated the pet name he used on her. "And what would you rather I call you? 'Tra? 'Lectra? 'Ect?" Jesse scrunched up his nose in disgust and shook his head. "Now, I'm of the opinion that Elec is the best name to call you… but, if you want to sound like a total freak, I'd be more than happy to call you one of those much more suitable and retarded names."

Electra looked at him with a guarded wariness. Jesse Jamison was a Junior in his third year of high school just like her, but that was pretty much where their similarities ended. Whilst she was a recluse who excelled in studies whether she focused on them or not, he was the shooting guard of the basketball team. Whilst she pushed most people away and ruled the intellectual crowd, he made the jokes and was one of the popular kids. How, despite all of that, he found time to annoy her, was beyond even her.

Changing the subject, Electra smirked, "Oh, at least I can sleep peacefully, knowing that even if I DO slip, you won't be taking my place."

Taking the intended burn in stride as he usually did, Jesse merely leaned against the locker wall and shrugged good-naturedly, "Oh, don't worry; I wouldn't want to become a know-it-all buzz kill anyway. It's no fun. Like you."

"Then why do you insist on making my day unpleasant?"

"Uh, because it's FUN?", he answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Looking around at the growing crowds in the school hallway, he spoke once more. "Well, I think I've made you late for whatever you were so obviously trying to accomplish on time, so for now, my work here is done. See you on Monday." He flashed a grin and ruffled her already messy auburn hair before disappearing into the throng of students.

Electra merely rolled her eyes in exasperation before pulling open her locker in order to take out her belongings. She could feel someone approaching and she decided that there really was no need for her to hurry anymore; there was no way she would be able to lay down once she got home. Just as she had suspected, it was Madison this time; she always came by her locker in order to walk her home.

"The Jock bothering you again?" she coolly inquired as the auburn-haired teen shut the door of her locker.

"Don't you know it." Electra smiled a genuine smile that was gone in a moment, and let her features settle back into a mask of indifference.

Madison Nikolas was Electra's best friend, or at least, that's what everyone in their year termed them as. In reality, they were just closest to each other; apparently, no one understood the difference. Both were high achievers, with a dislike towards socialization; that, combined with the fact that they respected one another's privacy and kept their distance, was enough to qualify them as two people who spent a lot of their time together. "So," began the former, all the while pulling her unruly hair into a messy bun at the nape of her neck, "The Reaping's coming up… think you have a bigger chance of being picked than last year?"

Electra just shrugged in answer, before turning towards her friend and smirking. "I DO know that I have a bigger chance of winning The Bet than Jesse does."

The Reaping was pretty much the hot topic at that time of the year; no one was particularly looking forward to having their acquaintances and friends, or themselves being chosen to compete in the Annual Hunger Games, but that didn't mean that they were going to lose their sense of self over it. The Capitol ruled all of Panem, and they LOVED the idea of children conducting a live manhunt on television. District 3 had never been their "darlings" as were Districts 1 and 2, and they didn't mind either. They took pride in the fact that they had taken a big part in the Rebellion some 60-odd years ago, and the old sentiments still remained. Tributes from their district went into the Hunger Games every year with pride in their expressions and dignity in their gait. They knew that they were nothing more than abused play toys for the crazy people of the Capitol and President Snow, and their very movements suggested that they understood that for now, both were in power, but some day, they would have to fall as every empire does. The Bet was but one of the ways to dissipate the tension between the teenagers who were going to have their names put into the bowl of potential tributes.

Every year, District 3's high school students came together the night before the Reaping and placed bets on who they thought was going to be picked or saved. It kept the impending horror light-hearted, and they felt, for a little while, that they had some margin of control over their destinies; it was always a refreshing experience. It also made the aftermath of the Reaping easier to bear.

Electra had been winning against Jesse and his posse for 4 years straight, and with only one more year to go, she hoped that the odds would be in her favor. The brunette's next words brought her out of her reverie.

"Here's where I leave you Electra; see you on Sunday then."

The auburn-haired girl looked around, only to realize that they had reached the intersection where they parted daily. "Yep, see you then." Was her goodbye to Madison, which was answered with a nod as both began to walk their separate ways.

Electra Espionage lived in the better part of town; her father, Levi Espionage, was the Head of the research and invention department of District 3, where all the latest ideas were realized and inventions were tested, before being sent out to the factories to be mass produced for the Capitol; it really was of no surprise where their hard work ended up. And one day, they were going to do something about it. But Electra knew better than to voice her opinions, even though many of her fellow district members would agree with her if she did. Kendra Espionage worked with the Peacekeepers, and as her daughter, Electra had an image to uphold, whether she liked it or not. With such influencial parents working in such different fields, naturally both rubbed off on their off spring, but in no one way.

Scott was the oldest child; being 21 years of age, not a child any longer. He was a certified genius and worked in the weaponry division of research and development, right under Beetee, who was the head of said department, and also a victor of the Hunger Games. Grant was the black sheep of the family; 19 years old and fresh out of school, smart and skilled but not interested in either of his abilities. He was the only outgoing one of the Espionages, and his charming personality was very well known amongst the other civilians, particularly the female ones; Electra was constantly annoyed by many of her schoolmates as they consistently asked after Grant on a regular basis, despite her glares and warning glances. Marie was one of these girls and was also Jesse's older sister; it was through her they had initially met. Then came Electra, the middle child who was unfortunate enough to also be the only girl. Living with her family, she had become calculating and wary of most things in life; they either did not interest her, or posed a threat to her safety and comfort in some way or the other. The last was little Keegan, the baby of the house. Barely 6 years of age, his existence had come as a surprise to everyone, including their parents. Keegan was a quiet child, who spent more time drawing and playing football than taking an active interest in anything the rest of his family did.

One would think that with such a seemingly disconnected and aloof family as the Espionages, Electra would be able to slip in and out of the house undetected, but sadly, that was not the case. As she checked in and carried her back pack upstairs to her room, Keegan followed her up, requesting her to give him his lunch. Seeing as it was Scott's turn to look after the youngest child, the auburn haired girl tried to get her oldest brother to show a bit of compassion and help her out, but when he refused to remove himself from his laptop for even a moment, she was forced to abandon the beckoning of her shower and serve Keegan his food.

Even then, after she had showered and changed and grabbed a change of clothes— ready to head out, Scott handed her a ton of chores to do around the house, and by the time she left for her daily afternoon run, it was almost evening. Nonetheless, Electra managed to cover a few kilometers before she had to head on to her mother's office as she did every day. And just like every day, Kendra greeted her with a smile and inquired after her school day as they walked over to one of the many abandoned warehouses that stood on the outskirts of town; they never worked in the same one for two days in a row; her mother reasoned that this arrangement was much safer, and Electra had to agree. What they did every day could earn them a life time of imprisonment or even execution if found out.

Kendra was a peacekeeper retired from field work; instead, she worked in the office, managing the safety and protection of her district's people. This obviously meant that she had a lot of experience in armed defense and offense. But what most people didn't know was that aside from the training she had received in District 2, the blonde woman had discovered, explored and taught herself many of the ancient styles of fighting, that originated from a time before the nuclear wars had taken place; it had been her passion to battle, but she had to give it up because of an accident that had robbed her of her agility and flexibility. This passion still persisted and manifested in the form of daily training given to Electra.

Kendra knew that the chances of Electra ending up as a tribute were fairly high, despite the fact that she didn't have to resort to –, and she wanted her only daughter to always be prepared. And so, every evening until 9 pm, Electra was trained by her mother in the various arts and styles of combat, as her brothers had more or less been before her, all of which increased her agility, stamina and flexibility. The training also kept her mind occupied; it was the one thing she really looked forward to at the end of the day. As they were wrapping up after another day of teaching and learning, Kendra spoke up in her naturally soft tone.

"The Reaping is coming up." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

Electra refrained from rolling her eyes; there had been too much talk about the topic at school that day and she was sick and tired of hearing about it. "I know, mom, it's this Monday." She supplied warily as she stuffed her training gear back into her bag.

Kendra was not one to be dissuaded. "There's always that small chance that you're name will be chosen; you need to be prepared."

"Funny," smirked Electra, zipping the bag shut and swinging it over her shoulder. "And here I thought that all these years spent training were just for the fun of it."

Her mother was not in the mood for her characteristic sarcasm. "You're a comedian, love. But right now, I'm serious. I know you're 17, and that might make it seem like this Reaping isn't that big of a deal, seeing that you have only one more year to go, but it is. I just want you to be prepared for any situation or surprise. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Was the mechanical reply Electra gave; Kendra gave her this "talk" every year, and every year it made no difference as she wasn't chosen. But, she knew when to keep her mouth shut, and the times when her mother talked like this were one of them; the teenager understood that her mother's life was not an easy one, and that she deserved what little opportunities in regards to helping her children out came her way.