Leah Rockwell, 66 years old

Three days after the 66th Hunger Games

I know, deep down, that I shouldn't be doing this. I can get in real trouble if I'm caught. But fuck it. I want Hermes to know just how fucking selfish and useless he is.

I fucking lost my bet because the tribute he mentored died in the most stupid fucking way possible!

And even worse is that I'd taken some of Adora's money for my bet, and now it's gone. She's gonna kill me when she finds out!

We were so close. The Two boy was in the final two. We were so close to winning!

But no. That weirdo from Six had to ruin it all by climbing out the fucking window!

I spot Hermes across the street from me and dash over to him. Panic cements itself on his face as he tries to scurry away, but the streets are jam-packed with people celebrating, and he can't get away.

"You stupid fuck!" I scream at him. "You're so fucking useless!"

"Leave me alone!" he shouts, scared.

"You fucking lost everyone their bets because you're such a useless mentor! You lost to fucking Six of all places, and it wasn't even the smart tribute who won!"

"Hey!" a voice shouts from the near distance that I know belongs to Gearshift. "No one insults my tributes but me!"

Hermes looks horrified. "You'd rather have a cannibal as a Victor than-"

"I'd much rather have that Two boy alive, but sure! I'd rather have the cannibal that fucking what's-her-face!"

Hermes stares at me like I've just insulted the President. I glare back at him, doing my best to make my displeasure known, and making sure he knows that he's the cause of it.

"You really shouldn't be here, Leah," he says. "You're in violation of the restraining order! You're going to get arrested once the authorities find out."

"You will tell them no such thing," I firmly instruct him. "I was never here. And even if I was, we just passed each other on the street. Nothing happened."

"I'll come forward as a witness and tell them otherwise," Gearshift shows up then, walking stick in hand. "I'm not letting you get away with breaking the law!"

"Why don't you take that walking stick of yours and shove it up your ass, you old dried-up piece of shit?" I'm so fucking sick of Gearshift thinking he can get away with being a judgmental loser just because he's old.

A group of people overhears our exchange and stops and stares at us. Great. This is just what I need right now. An audience. Normally I love being the center of attention, but now isn't really the best time. Like, excuse me, I'm trying to put some assholes in their place, thank you very much!

Gearshift's face darkens. "I've got a right mind to shove this up your ass if you don't fuck off and leave us alone!"

"Try me, bitch."

But before I can even react, Gearshift raises his arms up lightning-fast and clocks me over the head with his old antique walking stick. Geez. For an old man who can't even fucking walk properly, he sure can move fast.

"You bastard!" I yell. Without even thinking about it, I snatch some random lady's purse and throw it at his head. He dodges it easily.

Now the people around us are chanting, "fight, fight, fight!" Even the woman whose purse I took doesn't seem too upset about it.

Hermes moves between us, his hands held out to prevent us from getting too close to each other. "Please stop fighting, the both of you!" His face is twisted, pleading. "Leah, please just go home! You're not even supposed to be here!"

Now the crowd is confused. Of course. They don't know about the restraining order, or about anything, really.

I glare at Hermes. Gearshift glares back at me but I ignore him. I clench my teeth and fists. I'm so angry that I feel I might explode.

But then I catch sight of people with their phones out. Fuck me. They're recording everything!

And knowing how hungry the Capitol is for drama, the videos are gonna be all over social media within minutes!

Just when I thought my life couldn't get any worse, it got fucking worse!

I take a deep breath, the deepest breath I've ever taken, then turn around and walk away. Fuck it. I'd better end this whole thing now before it gets even more worse.

I walk off the sidewalk and step onto the street.

Then there's the screeching of tires, then suddenly I'm being catapulted into the air and I become dimly aware of how much my right side hurts and all I can think of is fuck it fuck it all what the fuck is the matter with the universe why does it hate me so much and everything instantly cuts to black.