β°πͺππ₯π‘ππ‘π: ππ’π‘π§πππ‘π¦ π¦π£π’ππππ₯π¦ ππ₯π’π π§ππ ππ’π’πβ±
1κ±α΄ α΄α΄Κκ±α΄Ι΄'κ± α΄α΄α΄
β²ππΌπππππΌπ π½ππππππππ, ππ, πΎππ½π πΎπππ, 11:45 πΌπβ³
"That would be 545.00, please." I blink multiple times in shock as the cashier tells me the price, but I grab my wallet from my pocket, take out the right amount of cash, and hand it to the cashier.
I rarely buy books. I usually read them online on Wattpad, , Quotev, etc. But a friend of mine strongly recommended this book. I don't get the fuss about this story. This book is supposed to be the prequel to The Hunger Games. I am not a fan of The Hunger Games. I vaguely remember watching the first movie and I don't remember what the plot was about, but the action and gore were cool, I guess. After I told my friend that, he told me about the things I missed and blah, blah, blah, so here I am.
'545.00 for a book?! I mean, I understand that this book is thick and all, but that is just expensive! ...Or maybe I'm just poor and broke. I haven't bought an actual book in a really long time.'
This just proves what a good friend I am, buying an expensive book just to satisfy my beloved friend's persuasions... and to stop him from annoying me. If I don't enjoy this book, I'm gonna kill him or make him pay me back. Is that too much? Maybe I'll find some alternative ways for him to repay me.
The cashier hands me the paper bag containing my item, and I thank the cashier. As I exit National Bookstore, I let out a sigh and navigate my way to the exit.
'There goes some of my savings. School has not even started yet, and that means no lunch money from my beloved parents. No lunch money means I cannot save half of it in my savings. This book better be worth wasting my money. I was thinking of having lunch here, but it seems like I'm gonna have to eat lunch at the dorms.'
When I exit the building, I wait for a taxi or jeepney to arrive-whichever of the two stops first-to take me home. I may have spent a lot of money on this book, but I still have a bit of money for a ride back to the dorms. My train of thought is interrupted when I see an empty taxi coming my way. I quickly signal the taxi for a ride, hoping the driver will not drive past me. Fortunately, the driver stops right in front of me, and I get into the taxi. The driver then asks where to, and I tell him my address.
β²πΏππππππππ, πΎππ½π πΎπππ, 12:21 ππβ³
When I arrive at my address, I thank the driver and hand him my payment. As the driver drives off, I enter the dormitory and head into my room. "Louis! I'm home! The room better be clean just like I asked you-" As I walk forward, I notice Louis in the corner, in the posture of trying to get the broom and dustpan, his expression like a deer caught in headlights.
Louis is my only roommate in this dorm of ours. He has black hair styled in a buzz cut. He has an average frame and an average height.
"..."
"..."
"...You didn't clean the room, did you?"
"I didn't clean the room."
"Dang it, Louis! I left you for 1 hour or around 30 minutes and you didn't at least start cleaning a bit?!" I say, pinching the bridge of my nose in annoyance and putting the paper bag on the nearby table. I can feel a headache coming.
"I was doing something important, mind you!" he says as he takes the broom and dustpan and starts sweeping the floor.
"You were playing ML." I say with a blank look on my face. Louis looks at me with a dramatic shock expression and lets out a gasp.
"Y/N L/N! How dare you accuse me of such a thing?! I would never-"
Welcome to Mobile Legends!
A familiar voice from his phone on the top portion of the bunk bed reverberates through the whole room.
"..."
"..."
"Ok, maybe I was playing ML, but it was only for a minute!" Louis exclaims with a nervous smile as he continues to sweep the floor.
"Uh-huh," I say blankly at him.
"Says the guy who wears a hoodie in a very hot summer," he also says blankly at me.
"Well, it's not my fault I'm the only one with style here!" I say with a smug smile as I dramatically flip my imaginary long, beautiful hair.
"OA," he says blankly, looking at me whilst sweeping the floor.
"You're saying that to me as if you ain't one."
β²πΏππππππππ, πΎππ½π πΎπππ, 12:39 ππβ³
Louis finishes cleaning after a few minutes and is currently admiring the book I bought with stars in his eyes while sitting at the corner of my bed. Yes, Louis is the friend who strongly recommended this book and is a HUGE Hunger Games fanatic.
"Ambition will fuel him. Competition will drive him. But power has its price. Man! The short description never fails to get me curious," Louis says with stars in his eyes as he holds the book up to me. "How much did this cost?" he asks.
"545.00. Super expensive and above my budget," I say with a sigh as I lay on my bed on the bottom side of the bunk bed.
"Expensive? That's cheap, actually," Louis says casually.
I look at him bewildered and shocked, my mouth agape as I quickly sit up on the bed. "Cheap?! CHEAP?!" I ask him calmly, perfectly masking the tone of disbelief in my voice.
It doesn't help that he looks GENUINELY surprised at my calm outburst.
"What? It's a cheap book. There are some books that aren't as thick as the one you bought that cost around 700.00 or above," he says casually with a shrug.
Ugh, rich people. "You know, I would have saved some money if you let me borrow your book instead of buying one," I say, looking at him blankly, and he just playfully rolls his eyes with a smile.
"And I told you, that was my cousin's book and it took a LONG time for me to persuade her to let me borrow it." he says with a chuckle, then checks the time on his phone.
"I gotta go now. My girlfriend's probably waiting for me." he says as he stands up. That's when I notice his get-up. Something fancy that makes my whole existence feel poor.
"A date with your beloved?" I joke with a smirk on my face, and he just chuckles.
"Yes, at this new restaurant that just recently opened. How do I look?" he asks as he checks his outfit in the mirror. Still cannot believe that he's the same age as me. Rich people have some taste that I can't understand.
"You look old." I say with an unimpressed look. He dramatically gasps and turns to me, his mouth agape.
"How dare you?! I'm a fine-looking 18-year-old boy, thank you very much!" I just shrug at him. "Still old to me."
He playfully glares at me. "You're lucky you're only a few months younger than me. Anyway, I gotta go now! She doesn't like waiting! Have fun reading your book, Y/N!" he says as he leaves the room, leaving me to my lonesome.
"Relationships." I say as I stand up and grab the paper bag containing the book from the table where I put it. I take the book out and read the title out loud.
"The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Interesting title and animals. Wonder what's the special meaning of it." I say as I gently tear the plastic covering the book.
"Let's begin, shall we? Geez, how many pages does this book have?" I say as I sit down at my study table and flip the book open, marking the beginning of my journey of reading this prequel.
β²πΏππππππππ, πΎππ½π πΎπππ, 3:09 ππβ³
"I am not even halfway through this story and I already hate this guy." I say as I crinkle my nose in disgust. The character I'm referring to is named Coriolanus Snow and his obsession with maintaining the image of the prestigious Snow family. I actually feel sorry for him and his family. Pretending to be rich, maintaining an image, but the more I read about this guy's thoughts, the more disgusted I get. I'm kinda neutral about their Grandma'am-clever nickname, by the way-but let's see in the story.
Though, Tigris, Coriolanus's older cousin, is nice. She's the only good one in the Snow family so far.
I flip to the next page and read the contents. I'm at the part where they now have to mentor the District tributes. Disgusting, in my opinion. Though I can't hide the satisfaction of Coriolanus's inner turmoil at having to mentor a District 12 tribute. Nothing wrong with that, but the temporary mental humiliation on his part is satisfying.
"Huh, her name is actually pretty, Lucy Gray Baird." That's the name of the female tribute whom Coriolanus must mentor.
As I continue to read the story, I get more engaged with it. The character, Lucy Gray, captures my attention. Like how she's already captivating the crowd of District 12 as she sings her song. So that's why there's a songbird in the title. Coriolanus must be the snake then, fitting for him. But wait, didn't Lucy Gray put a snake in the dress of the Mayor's daughter? So she's the songbird AND the snake? I must read more, and after finishing the book, I'm gonna watch the movie that recently came out, as Louis said.
I let out a yawn and rub my eyes. No, I must not fall asleep, not when things are getting interesting. Just one more chapter and I'll sleep. It's not even nighttime yet. Is my sleep schedule so chaotic that I'm sleepy in the afternoon? Unless I have boring classes, but school recently finished though. Must be the sleepless nights catching up with me.
I can't handle it. I lean my head down on the table as my eyes close due to drowsiness. Curse you, sleep, you won this round. Fine, I'll sleep this time and when I wake up, I will continue this story.
3Κα΄ α΄α΄Κκ±α΄Ι΄'κ± α΄α΄α΄
β²πΏππππππππ, πΎππ½π πΎπππ, 5:00 ππβ³
As the boy slept on his study table, he didn't notice the wind blowing in his room, and it wasn't because of the aircon in the room nor was there a window open in their dorm room. The wind became harsher as the pages of the book started to flip frantically, and a light came from the book.
The boy didn't know that this would probably be the last time he would sleep at this cozy dorm room or in this world. Because when he wakes up, he will be one PECULIAR STRANGER in a fictional world.
NOTES
Hello! Author here! Thank you for giving your time to reading this story. It has been a while since I wrote a story but I fell in love with TBOSAS and decided to give writing a try again. The story will mostly be lighthearted and a bit comedic, if I can call it that.
I never thought this prologue would be long, but I hope you guys enjoy it! I'm also open to criticism and looking forward to improving myself. That will be all, I hope you'll be there for the next chapter. Bye!
1959 WORDS, EDITED.