A week later, my family comes to visit me on campus. I give my younger brother Aquilo the stash of energy drinks that I was storing up in my closet, just so I can spend up as much of my student meal plan as possible. Hey look, we paid for it, I'm gonna use it!

"How does sushi sound for lunch?" my mom asks me, wrapping me in a tight hug. I breathe in the scent of her bright pink hair; she always smells like milkweed, and it's a warm comfort in a way that I can't really explain.

"Sushi sounds great," I tell her. I've been dying to eat anywhere that isn't on campus. Granted, I could just order the food to be delivered to my dorm, but that costs money and I don't really like spending more than is necessary. Not like the food on campus is too bad, but it gets boring after a while.

Just like how spending all my free time cooped up alone in my room gets boring. Just like how everything is boring. I decide not to dwell on that thought. My family took this time to come visit me and I'm supposed to be grateful for that and happy to see them.

Dad comes up behind my mom and I and wraps us both in a giant bear hug. I find myself blinking back tears. God, I've missed them so much, even though it's only been a few weeks since I last saw everyone. But they're my parents, and I can tell them things that I can't tell anyone else. That I don't want to tell anyone else.

Mom suddenly cups my face in her hands. "Are you remembering to take your meds in the morning?"
"Yes, Mom."
"And after you eat, correct?"
"Yes, Mom."

"Good," she says, her voice finally losing that sternness that always puts me on edge a little. I know she and Dad mean well, and God do I love them both to death, but I'm not sure they fully understand the extent of what's wrong with me. That depression isn't just a problem that can be solved in a snap. Even though I wish it could. I'm tired of feeling this way all the time, like I never have the energy to do the things I want, and it's something that two people as logical minded as my parents would never comprehend.

I force a smile to finally get this uncomfortable conversation over with. "Let's go eat! I'm starving!"

My family thankfully seems to agree. The drive to the restaurant is decently short, and I'm glad my mom called ahead in advance to get us a private room where we can't be disturbed. Her being the Head Gamemaker means that the paparazzi are always dying to follow her around and catch the scoop on the latest Games and arena news.

She never gives them anything though, always keeps her lips nice and sealed despite the knowing look she always has in her searing brown eyes. God, I don't think I could do that if I were here. I always buckle under the weight of pressure and give my emotions away too easily.

Thankfully, Gaius Snow College is full of kids who are the children of influential people, so my status as Tatiana Tremblay has never really garnered much attention. Or it could be just the fact I'm super quiet. History majors are known for being a pretty solitary bunch anyway. Granted, when you hang around arts kids, everyone is quiet compared to them.

"Tati, honey." My mom's voice snaps me back to attention. Aquilo orders a bunch of sushi platters off the tablet, but before he can pass it to the waitress, my dad intercepts it and passes the tablet back to me. What we have so far looks good enough, so I don't add to the order. Besides, I haven't really had much of an appetite lately.

As the food comes, my family begins talking. I can't help but feel a bit disconnected from the conversation. After all, I don't live at home anymore, and I've never really been able to keep track of my brother's sport happenings. I feel swallowed up by all this talk that I'll never truly be able to contribute to, and it's oddly reminiscent of whenever I go to meet with my friends. I get that me being in a different major than them means we don't have a lot of overlapping classes, but still…

I just try to focus on the food in front of me. My right leg begins to shake, causing the whole table to vibrate slightly. Mom gives me a warning look, and I press my free hand down on my leg to try and prevent the shaking. It's always been prevalent with me, but the side effects of my medicine just make the jitters worse. And go figure said jitters always have to come at the worst times.

"Anyways," Mom says when the conversation comes to a lull. "I have a really special birthday gift planned for you, Tati!"
"You do?" I don't know why that shocks me. Maybe it's because I didn't really expect anyone outside of my family to remember my special 18, mostly because it's going to happen during winter breaks when all my friends will be scattered across the Capitol. That makes celebrating a little hard.

It's fine, though. It's totally fine. It's not like I even would want a huge party anyways, not like it matters if anyone forgets, I'm totally not feeling jealous or whatever-

Mom continues to talk. "As you know, President Glacier will be announcing the Quell twist the week after. I talked to him about our plans for the twist, and he agreed that we're going to make it all about you."

I almost drop my chopsticks in shock. "Wait, how's it gonna be all about me?" I get having a bit party or whatever makes sense, but a whole Quarter Quell!? That seems like way too much attention. It puts a pit in my stomach. Oh God. What does Mom have planned?

"The original twist called for an increase in the age bracket," Mom explains. "Instead of ages 12 to 18, it was ages 16 to 21 instead. And since you'll be turning 18 just before, it's the perfect time for you to be looking at getting a spouse."

Oh.

The pit in my stomach only worsens. Right. Even today, in the age of the sixth Quarter Quell, parents still meddling in the love affairs of their children has always been a Capitolite staple. I suppose I'm lucky that despite my parents being in an arranged marriage, they actually love and care for each other, unlike the parents of most of my friends. And it's not like they've had a suitor lined up for me ever since I was born anyway.

As much as I know that I'll end up having limited say in my future spouse (and how I feel like I don't really like that), this seems…strange. What does getting married have to do with the Quarter Quell?

Do I even want to get married?

"I don't get it," I flatly say, unsure of how to feel. My leg jitters begin to kick up again and require me to press both hands down on my calf to try and stop it. "Am I marrying a tribute or something?" The very audacity of the idea would make me laugh if not for the look on my mom's face. She's 100% serious about this.

"Of course not, silly!" Mom laughs. "Your future spouse would be the Victor instead! Granted, we would make sure it's one of the tributes you do actually have a bond with instead of a random winner, but think about it. There's historically been a very small group of Victors who have married Capitolites over the years. You'd be part of an elite number, sweetheart."

"But I don't know if I wanna get married," I mumble into my glass of water. Yeesh, for crying out loud, I'm not even 18 yet! "Isn't it way too early for me to be thinking about marriage?"
"We were engaged at 16," Dad reminds me.
"Yeah, but that's different."

"How so?" Mom asks and now my stomach hurts so much, I might actually lose my lunch at this rate. It is different, but I don't know how to convey it in words. God, I'm so tired. I want to go back to bed. I just want to sleep this day off.

"...I dunno…" is all I can finally say. "It just is. I mean, it was a different time back then and arranged marriages were more normal and…I don't know. It is different, okay? I don't know if I want to get married yet, let alone even start dating someone!"

"You never know," Dad says gently. "You may change your mind eventually."

But what if I never do?

So, here's the official reveal of the Quell twist and what Artemisia Tremblay has cooked up for Tati. Next chapter will be the official reveal of the tribute list so stay tuned for that!

See you all next chapter,

-Vr