Trigger warning: mentions of misgendering and hints at abuse. Please proceed with caution.

Cora Buchanan, 15
District 11 Female

One week before the Reaping

I really hate coming here. As a matter of fact, I don't even know why I'm here. I specifically told my mom I was done showing up at this terrible place and I never wanted to see his mug again. She insisted and she wouldn't stop insisting. I didn't want to give in, but she wouldn't stop and it was the only way to get her to shut up. Stuff about how it's been almost a year since I last showed up, how nice it would be for me to see him, stuff like that.

At least Jonquil agreed to go with me, so I wouldn't have to face him alone. God, I don't know what I'd do without Jonquil.

I hold up Zenobia on my hip as she makes a small whining noise before turning to face my mom. "You go in first. This was your idea. Zebe, get your fingers out of your mouth."
Mom gives me a sad smile. "You don't have to hide behind me like that. I think he'd like to meet his first grandchild."

"No. Meeting Zebe is a privilege, not a right. After what he's done, he's lucky she's even in the same building as him."
"Cora, please. This is your father we're talking about."
"I don't care."

Mom turns to Jonquil, silently begging him to agree with me. He's not going to. He'll always be on my side no matter what. It makes me so happy to know I have him.

"Sorry, Mrs. Buchanan. I have to agree with Cora on this one and their word is final. I don't feel safe leaving my daughter with someone who would willingly hurt his own family and I don't blame Cora for feeling that way either. We're just trying to look out for her."

"Fine," Mom sighs, trying to get a reaction of pity out of me. When it doesn't work, she fixes her best forced smile. "Let's go together then. I promise, he'll be on his best behaviour."

I know what my dad's best behaviour is like. It's cruel and manipulative and it hurts.

Zenobia whines again. I gently shush her and kiss her on the forehead. The prison guards let us into the room, then stand at the door in case they feel the need to intervene. I know a lot of people in 11 don't like authority figures like the guards, but I'm actually grateful for their presence today. My dad knows better than to do anything sketchy when there's witnesses around. And it shows to me that there are still people out there who won't tolerate his shit.

And there's the man of the hour in his ugly prison jumpsuit, staring at me through a pane of glass. Jonquil pulls out a chair for me to sit down in, Zenobia on my lap. He stands behind me, a strong and steady hand on my shoulder.

"Coreopsis," Dad says in a low growl. Hearing my full name come out of his mouth makes me cringe a little and he seems to take a bit of pleasure in that. "How come you never visit? I see your brothers and your sisters and your mother, but never you. I will admit, I'm a little disappointed. You, my eldest daughter, kept me waiting for months!"

I open my mouth to argue, but Dad cuts me off. "And who's that lovely little girl sitting on your lap? She is not another baby sister, is she? I'd hope your mother would never cheat on me. I haven't even been here a year!"

He glares at my mother while saying this and she shrinks back in embarrassment. Oh hell no. I may not get along with my mom, but that kind of attack just isn't right.

"Her name is Zenobia," I say, refusing to break away from staring my dad in the eye. "She is my daughter. And Jonquil here is the father. He is helping me raise her."

"You have a grandchild, Flax." Mom's back to trying to lighten the mood, albeit in a pretty weak and pathetic attempt. "Cora is a loving parent now! Isn't that some wonderful news?"

"And I thought you and I were young when we started our family, dear. I also thought that Coreopsis would know better than this. A teen parent? Why she can barely-"
"They," Jonquil gently reminds him.
"They? Whatever. Coreopsis, you of all my children should be more responsible instead of whoring around like that. How can you be expected to help out your mother when you now have your own bastard child to raise? I taught you better than to be so selfish and unthoughtful!"

"It's not selfish," I insist, reaching out to grab Jonquil's hand. "And I have help. By the way, Zebe has a lovely set of grandparents on Jonquil's side. Who actually love and care about her. And treat her with...respect."

I let the last word slowly roll off my tongue. My dad's gaze feels cold and icy, and I wonder if I've gone too far. No, I don't care anymore. He's behind bars and he can't hurt me, my family, my boyfriend, or my daughter. Nothing he says or does has an effect anymore. I suppose I shouldn't be stooping down to his level, but it's about time words pierced through his skin for once, instead of being the daggers he used to beat me down.

"It's okay, Flax." Mom's sounding strained now, but she's still trying to keep the nonexistent peace. "Don't worry about us. We're doing very well. We are all healthy and happy. How are you? Are you being treated okay?"
Dad sighs. "You know how it is. Couldn't even get a reduced sentence. I keep on asking them, but not a response. The nerve of the people in charge here."

Good. But I do my best to keep my glee from showing on my face. This asshole deserves to rot in here until he dies, if I had my way. But a refusal for a reduced sentence will have to suffice for now. I'll take it as a silent victory for my side.

Zenobia starts squirming. She's hungry, but we didn't bring any food with us. I silently hope this visit will be over soon so I can take her home.

"Are you okay?" Jonquil asks me while my parents continue to talk about prison life. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize he'd be this bad. I never would've let us bring her if I knew."
"It's alright, my mom would've worn me down eventually." I shift Zenobia in my lap. "Let's just wrap this up and get out."

Jonquil leans down and kisses me on the forehead, then Zenobia. "Of course. And you two are both doing so strong, by the way. I am such a proud man."
"Thanks, babe. You old flirt."
"Who are you calling old? You're a month older than me."

Zenobia's fussing gets even louder, and not even Mom can ignore it. "Oh, oh dear. Well, it looks like we have to take Zebe home. I'm sorry, Flax. She's just not used to outings like these. At least you got to meet her."

"I hope you'll come visit sooner next time," Dad growls. Then he turns to me with a slimy, ugly look, and I'm ready to shield Zenobia from him with my body. "And bring one of the kids that actually wants to cooperate and see their father. I feel guilty for wasting the time of the whore who didn't want to be here."

I just purse my lips together. I'm not going to let him get to me. He wants me upset, he wants me riled up, he wants my family to hate my guts for going against him. He wants to play the victim because he got caught and nobody gave him his way. The thing is, my siblings are too young to know any better. They're good kids, but whatever my parents tell them to do, they'll just blindly follow. If my father, God forbid, managed to twist them all against me, they might not know what to do. And I want to keep them safe from this horrible man's cruel hands.

But at least he isn't around to torment them anymore. He isn't around to torment me anymore. And Zenobia will never grow up with a grandfather like him.

Jonquil makes a face to me once we're on our way out of the prison. "Yeesh, what's his problem?"
Mom laughs nervously. "I'm so sorry, Jonquil. But he's been having a really tough time as of late. Prison hasn't been treating him very kindly. I mean, with no reduced sentence and-"
"That's no excuse for him to attack his eldest child like that! And even my daughter too! He doesn't even know the whole story and he just goes out making nasty accusations!"

Zenobia's fallen asleep so I let her rest against my shoulder. Man, do I feel the urge to yawn all of a sudden. The visit wasn't that long, but it's been an exhausting day and Mom always gets worried about leaving the rest of my siblings alone at home for too long.

Right now, she just sounds pained. "We can try again next week, when I take Disa and Verbena to see him-"

"Mom, just drop it. I don't want him to see them anymore. Or even you. And I don't want to argue with you right now. Let's just go home."
"Right. I'm sorry, Cora."

Huh. She's sorry about the visit. Maybe Mom understands more than I realize?

The first thing I do upon getting through the front door is carry Zenobia to her makeshift crib. The crib sits in the corner of my bedroom, which I now share with Jonquil. It's just convenient to keep her close to me, especially since she's so young too. Plus, it saves room in what is already a really crowded house.

From the living room, it sounds quite rough. Jonquil must be goofing off with my brothers again. Astilbe, Succory, and Larkspur have all really enjoyed having him around. I remember Larkspur took a while to warm up to him, but now he seems to act like Jonquil's his big brother or something. He's always wanted one.

"Go to sleep, baby." I carefully sit Zenobia down, then cover her in a blanket. It doesn't take long before she's sound asleep. I tiptoe out and close the door behind me. Sure, enough there's a four person pileup in the living room, with Jonquil in the middle of it all.

Jonquil peels Astilbe off his back. "Hey babe! Finally get her to sleep? Ow! Succory, that's my foot!"
"It was easy, she was really tuckered out." I give Jonquil a hand by picking up Succory off the floor. "Come on, guys. Jonquil is not a playground. And I have a baby who's trying to nap next door."

Larkspur sticks out his tongue. "Coraaaaa! Why do you always gotta ruin the fun?"
"Because you're ruining my daughter's sleep schedule. If you're gonna roughhouse, do it outside. Come on now, move!"

Shooing all the boys outside, I can finally collapse against Jonquil, which makes him laugh. "Woah there! Trying to tango? Need a dance partner or something?"
"I'm sorry. It's been a really, really difficult day and I'm just so tired."
"I know. You've been through a lot today. Why don't you go lie down?"

Mmmmmm. Tempting offer. But as always, there's work to be done around the house. It's just me, my mom, and Jonquil, all in charge of five younger siblings and a baby. Needless to say, we're completely outnumbered. I've got to stay on my feet all the time, prepared for anything that happens.

"Can't lie down," I mutter into Jonquil's arms. "Gotta get dinner started. Need to check on Zebe. Clean up the house a little…"
"You can afford to take a break."
"I can't."

Jonquil kisses me on the forehead before taking my hand. My eyes flutter open and close, just enough to see the old couch he's leading me to and helping me lie across. I try to sit back up. "No. Got stuff to do."

"You've earned this break. Dinner can be made without you, alright? Just lie down."
"But...but...Zebe-"
"Is still fast asleep and has her dad to check up on her," Jonquil insists. "Cora. Please don't exhaust yourself, alright? Get some rest."

I squeeze my eyes shut and roll onto my side, before feeling a blanket being carefully draped on top of me. I suppose I could give in a little. Maybe I can relax for a little bit...just for a few minutes. It wouldn't hurt anybody and I'd love to get a little bit of extra shut-eye…

The next thing that I'm aware of, Verbena is shaking me awake to the sound of faint voices arguing and the smell of spicy meat is drifting from the kitchen up my nose. Dinner is ready. Already, I can hear Jonquil telling Astilbe and Succory to shush whatever argument they're having, and Disa is asking Mom for something, and Larkspur is talking over everyone-

I make my way into my bedroom, where Zenobia appears to have just woken up. Gently, I pick her up and hold her in my arms for a few moments.

If I could control my fate, would I have chosen to become a teen parent at the age of fifteen? Probably not. It was a total accident and nowhere in my plans. But Zenobia might just be one of the greatest things to ever happen to me. It's impossible for me not to love her, not to want to cuddle her every night and tickle her stomach as she beams back at me. It's not easy playing caretaker to her and my younger siblings in this part of 11, but I have help. That's the important thing to remember: I don't have to do this alone. I have my mom, and my boyfriend.

Besides, things could always be worse.

Verity Circus, 25
District 11 Escort

She was going to have to accept the fact that 11's mentors weren't a particularly chatty pair.

Which did kind of suck because this was her first year on the job and she absolutely needed someone to talk to about it! Escorting was just so exciting and fresh and new! She couldn't wait to rise up in the ranks and travel across the districts as she did so, making brand new friends and adventures along the way. Soon, she'd get to see all of Panem.

And she'd get to be closely involved with the Games the whole time. The best spectacle in the world, and Verity had a front row seat towards it.

Oregano was gone after five minutes and the only thing Paprika ever said to Verity was some kind of reassurance that Oregano wasn't going to show up late and ruin everything. Then the older Victor seemed more comfortable resting in an armchair. At this point, Verity barely noticed. She was just too busy chatting away to anyone and everyone nearby. It didn't matter if they were listening or not, they just had to be within her field of vision.

Was 11 Verity's first choice? Not like she really had much of a first choice because all escorts had to start somewhere and she'd probably get moved around sooner or later. And 11 went really well with the deep purple flowers woven into her hair and tattooed on her arms.

Ah, purple. Purple, purple, purple.

How she absolutely loved the colour.

One just had to take a look at her brand new lilac jumpsuit and sparkly makeup to know that. It helped Verity stand out a little as she strode out happily onto the stage and waved hello at the crowd. There was no response. Well, once she started drawing the names and everything then people would start to perk up a little. Who would ever sleep on such an exciting event?

She loved it. Loved everything about it. Almost as much as she loved purple.

Her fingers twitched with excitement as she drew the first name out. It took verity a few seconds as she stared at the name trying to figure out how to pronounce it. "Um...is it Coreopsis Buchanan?"

In the crowd, a young girl began to scream. A second voice joined in and it sounded like a small group of children wailing. In the 15 year-old section, a small teenager with brown skin and long wavy brown hair slowly stumbled toward the stage as if in a daze. They kept their brown eyes to the ground, hands clenched to the sides of their torso. Coreopsis kept glancing behind them as they walked, at the crowd of children crying out and desperately trying to reach for them.

As the new tribute got up on the stage, they muttered something under their breath that Verity just barely caught. "It's Cora, please."

Verity agreed to keep that in mind as she drew a second name. Thankfully, she could easily figure out how to pronounce this one. "Kerkylas Andros!"

Kerkylas appeared to be about the same height as Cora, but with darker skin and darker hair in a buzz cut. He was clearly shaking at first, with tears in his brown eyes, but he wiped them away and strode forward with a look of utter confidence, his arms and shoulders swinging as he did. Up on the stage, he folded his arms together.

"I will not fear the Games. No man should."

Kerkylas's voice cracked ever so slightly. But Verity herself barely noticed. It didn't look like either tribute was going to be replaced with a volunteer, so it was now time to conclude the Reapings. "I give you your tributes, Kerkylas Andros and Cora Buchanan!"

The tributes shook hands with each other, Cora wincing a little under Kerkylas's grasp. To Verity, it looked like 11 had a really strong chance at victory this year. Who knew, maybe they'd actually win!

A Victor brought home, in Verity's very first year of mentoring. Wouldn't that be something.

Another day, another Reaping. At least we're now a third of the way in. Summer has been a lot busier than expected but I'll still maintain my upload speed.

Please be respectful of Cora and Kerkylas's pronouns and identities in the reviews please.

See you all next chapter,

-Vr