TW: Mentions of inappropriate relationships, prostitution, blackmail, bullying, and hints of sexism.
"The world will love me, and the feeling is mutual…"
Leonie Everett, 17, District 5 Female
District 5 Secondary School
February 15, Year 78
Leonie Everett stepped out of her physics classroom, arm in arm with Jeremiah Finch, her "boyfriend," (as he likes to think of it). Other girls gave her filthy looks as she strode confidently down the old hallway. Leonie met those gazes with a smile. Those girls were jealous, simple as that. Jealous of her looks, her intelligence, her status, everything. She was honestly flattered.
"Do you want to hang out at my place tonight?" Jeremiah asked. "My father's going to a banquet. It'll just be us two."
Leonie gave a wry smile. She enjoyed spending time with Jeremiah, whispering in his ear and putting ideas in his head. Ironically, the mayor's son couldn't make heads or tails when it came to politics. He needed her help occasionally, and Leonie was more than willing to give it. However, as fun as an evening with Jeremiah sounded, Leonie had better things to do.
"I'm so sorry," she said, adding a little extra sweetness to her tone. "I have a test I have to study for, and I have to focus."
"You don't want a study buddy?" Jeremiah replied. "If this is about the history test coming up, I have the material down. We can make flashcards!"
Leonie withdrew her arm. Flashcards. How juvenile. Besides, she already had the test materials memorized forward and backward. History was such a boring topic compared to physics, but that made it that much easier to memorize. "Sorry, but I already promised Gen that I would study with her! Girls night and all." Leonie put on her best pouting face as she said this.
Jeremiah seemed disappointed but smiled understandingly. "I understand. How does tomorrow sound then?"
Leonie pretended to think about it. "Let me check my schedule. I'll let you know." Jeremiah nodded again and Leonie took the opportunity to scan the crowd ahead. She quickly picked out Genevieve Holden, Leonie's source of information and friend. "Oh! There she is! I have to go! Bye!" She leaned in for a kiss and Jeremiah obliged her. Then, Leonie quickly walked away from Jeremiah and towards Genevieve.
Genevieve slowed down as soon as she saw Leonie, allowing her to catch up. "What did he want this time?" Genevieve asked.
Leonie giggled and whispered in Genevieve's ear. "Desperate," she replied. "He wanted to 'study' tonight. With flashcards!"
"Not really?" Genevieve gasped.
"Really," Leonie replied, subtly wiping her mouth with her sleeve. "Enough about him though. Shall we head out?"
The two girls exited the school and started walking through the dusty streets of District Five toward the comparative castle that Leonie called home.
District Five was such a dull place. Dull, grey, and nine times out of ten, with no future to look forward to aside from a lowly job in one of the various power plants. Fives were fated to be nobodies, to fade into the background and be nothing more than drones, cogs in the machine. Nothing happened. Even when the Quell sent several districts into a frenzy, nothing happened. Leonie wouldn't have minded a little action, even though the near rebellion was doomed and thus she would have thrown her support to the Capitol just to be on the winning side.
The walk was starting to grow boring, so Leonie decided to spark a conversation. "Anything juicy come up recently?" she asked.
"I dug up some dirt on Bella Martin, like you asked me," Genevieve replied, "and Leonie, you won't believe how piping hot this tea is."
"Tell me more!" Leonie replied excitedly.
Bella Martin had made the mistake of creeping up behind Leonie in the class rankings. Leonie was on track to become valedictorian, which, combined with being the daughter of two prominent scientists, would open up so many doors. The world would be her oyster. She had worked hard to get to this point, and Bella Martin had no right to take it from her. There was no way Bella rose so high so fast without an explanation.
Naturally, Leonie decided to investigate, and who better to assist her than the best rumor mill the district had to offer? Genevieve's information was solid enough to be believable, juicy enough to spread, and most importantly, it was damning, damning enough to get the job done.
Leonie was on her way to the top, and no one could be allowed to stand in her way. "Tell me," she said with anticipation.
Genevieve proceeded to spend the rest of the walk to Leonie's house spilling all of Bella's dirty little secrets. Word in the halls was that Bella had been spending more and more time in other teachers' classrooms, as well as other students who were tutoring her. Bella's grades had gone up as a result.
At first, Leonie wanted to ask how that was piping hot tea, but then she remembered just how beautiful some boys considered Bella to be. Even Jeremiah had whiplash at one point, an infraction that resulted in a few days of silent treatment, that she only stopped when Jeremiah was practically groveling. She could easily spin those tutoring sessions into something else, something quite scandalous, something that would get her in trouble with the school, and possibly with the peacekeepers.
Then, Genevieve dropped the bomb.
"I heard her home life isn't great. Her mother had to sell her body to survive, and her father's begun drinking a lot. Apparently, he sometimes even comes home completely plastered."
"Really?" Leonie mused. She had to admit that the fact that Bella's grades had risen as high as they did despite her current situation was impressive. Perhaps the extended tutoring hours were a way to get away from home. Shame that it was about to all come crashing down. "Where did you learn this?"
Genevieve grinned. "Remember when I got sent to the guidance counselor last week?"
Leonie nodded. "For slapping that boy, right? When he asked you out?"
"Well, while I was waiting, I saw that her file cabinet was slightly open…"
Leonie gasped, a smile spreading over her face. "You did not!"
"What can I say?" Genevieve shrugged. "I'm nosy. As far as I know, me, you, and the counselor are the only ones who know. Anyway, that's the dirt on Bella. How are we going to use it?"
Leonie thought about it for a moment. The bombshell that her mother was selling her body and her father was drinking, possibly on the job, a capitol offense in District Five, could destroy lives, quite literally. As powerful as this information made Leonie, she knew she couldn't wield it lightly. She would have to keep this card close to her chest.
As for the tutoring sessions…
Leonie pulled out her keys as they approached her house. As expected, her parents weren't home, probably working late. "Yes," she said. "I think I do."
Over the next few days, rumors began to spread about the school about Bella Martin sleeping with teachers and students for better grades and tutoring sessions respectively, and was sometimes outright cheating by copying off of other students' work. The desired effect was almost immediate. Investigations were opened. Eventually, these rumors were disproven, but the damage to Bella's reputation was already done. Teachers stopped giving tutoring sessions to Bella out of fear of being implicated. Students stopped tutoring her, and some even outright ignored her.
Bella's support system had vanished overnight, and her high grades were being challenged at every turn until they began to drop. It wasn't until she started trying to clear her name that Leonie went in for the kill. Leonie invited Bella to her house with Genevieve as a "witness." She played up the sweet and supportive angle long enough for Bella to feel comfortable, then issued her ultimatum. If Bella didn't stop trying to clear her name, then the secret about her home life would be out. All that work Bella did to repair her reputation would be out the window. The rumors would get even more intense, and worst of all, her parents would be jailed. Her father could face execution.
Or Bella could cut her losses, keep her head down, and stay out of Leonie's way.
Bella agreed to the latter and within a few months, her grades dropped down back to where they belonged.
Occasionally, Leonie would start the rumors back up again, just to remind Bella who had all the power, but other than that, she left Bella alone. She wasn't worth her time.
After all, there was no time to worry about lesser folk when you were on your way to the top.
"I've been in plenty of fights before! I know how to win."
Vaughn Burchell, 17, District 5 Male
March 22, Year 78
Burchell Residence
Vaughn Burchell simply didn't understand.
He didn't understand how Oriane could have been so distant with him as of late.
Even now, as she dabbed the cut under his eye with a damp cloth, her mouth was pressed into a tight line, and she didn't look him in the eye.
Vaughn couldn't stop the hiss of pain that escaped him when the antiseptic from the cloth touched the cut, causing it to sting horribly. "Sorry," Oriane said, not unkindly but clearly annoyed, "but maybe you shouldn't go picking fights."
Vaughn groaned. "Look, someone had to teach that kid a lesson. It's not my fault he was a pussy and needed his friends to come save him."
"And what, exactly, did 'that kid' do to deserve you sucker punching him?" Vaughn could hear the anger begin to rise in Oriane's voice. That was awfully uncharacteristic of her. Oriane was always so sweet and kind. Vaughn couldn't help but wonder if she was sick or something. What else could have been wrong with her as of late?
Oriane was not impressed with Vaughn's silence. "Answer me, Vaughn," she said firmly. "Why did you think that was okay?"
In all honesty, the punk in question had talked crap about the wind turbine industry during a presentation earlier that day in school. He had the gall to say that it was "inefficient," "a thing of the past," and that nuclear energy was "the future."
The teacher could say whatever she wanted. Just because the presentation was "well put together" and "clearly had a lot of thought put into it" (it absolutely was not) doesn't mean the kid was correct. Not to mention it was more than just a slight against the industry, it was a slight against his family and dare he say, the Capitol. The Capitol relied on the wind power generated by District Five, and to even think otherwise would be absolutely blasphemous.
The kid seemed so pleased with himself after class. He was just asking to be hit. So, Vaughn approached the little idiot and tried to humble him. The kid simply rolled his eyes and walked away, so Vaughn gave him a little love tap from behind. He was asking for it, being so arrogant, and then not accepting constructive criticism.
Then, the kid's friends leaped in. Vaughn dished out a few punches and black eyes, but a one-on-four fight was hardly fair, and Vaughn wound up flat on his back with a black eye, several cuts and bruises, and a one-week suspension while those stupid punks got off scot-free.
Vaughn's father had praised him for standing his ground. He had done the right thing, defending his family and the industry his life revolved around.
That was why he couldn't understand why Oriane was so upset.
"Look, he was being a punk, okay?" Vaughn retorted. "Someone had to take him down a peg."
Oriane's face grew hard as she lowered the cloth. "Vaughn… I…" She seemed to struggle to find the right words.
Vaughn knew what she was about to say though. That she understood why he did it, that he had done the right thing, just like his father had told him earlier.
He knew she'd come around.
"Vaughn, I don't think this is working."
Vaughn's jaw hit the floor as her words bounced around in his head, but their meaning not sinking in.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean, you've changed. The guy I started dating a couple of years ago was sweet, charming, and kind. I don't see him anymore, Vaughn. I just see an arrogant bully, and I can't be with a guy like that."
Vaughn just blinked at her, his face twisting into indignation. "What, babe, I've just been standing up for myself and my family! I haven't been bullying anyone!"
"There's standing up for yourself, and there's being a bully!" Oriane replied, her voice rising. "I understand being upset about that poor kid's presentation, but he has the right to say what he wants."
"And I have the right not to like it!"
"But you don't have the right to hit him, and I know that he wasn't the first classmate you picked a fight with either. It wasn't all self-defense like you told me."
"Babe, come on, I would never-"
Oriane held her hand in the air to cut him off. "Don't. Don't say anything else. It'll just be another lie."
Vaughn hated resorting to pleading, he really did, but he knew his options were running low. "Oriane, please. We can work this out. I promise we can work this out. Just give me another chance."
Oriane reached for a nearby icepack and activated it before wrapping it in a towel and holding it over Vaughn's eye. "I gave you plenty of chances, Vaughn. I'm sorry, but it's over. Hold that ice pack over your eye until the swelling goes down, okay? I should get going."
"Oriane, wait, I…" Vaughn's voice trailed off for a moment. Then, he just shook his head defeatedly. "Fine. Walk away. Didn't need you anyway."
"That's fine," Oriane replied, a sudden hurt reflected in her eyes. "Goodbye, Vaughn. I hope you grow to be a better person."
Then, she was gone, leaving Vaughn alone.
Vaughn sat on the couch in shock, holding the ice pack over his eye, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Did Oriane just…leave him?
How could she have done that?
He didn't do anything wrong!
A few minutes passed, with Vaughn not moving an inch. The skin around his eye got colder and colder as it began to go numb as he wondered what to do now?
Did he try to win Oriane back? No, that would make him look desperate.
Did he try to find a new girlfriend? That would certainly show her but would only make her hate him more.
Did he just accept defeat and accept his fate as a bachelor? No, that wouldn't work either.
Vaughn's thoughts were broken by the sound of footsteps near the front door. "Oriane?" he breathed, hoping for one foolish moment that she had changed her mind and come running back to him.
He turned towards the sound and found his father standing in the doorway, a confused look on his face. "No, I saw Oriane leave though. She seemed upset about something. Did something happen?"
Vaughn looked down. "Yeah, she dumped me."
"She dumped you? Why? What doesn't she see in you?"
"She wasn't happy with what happened earlier, I guess. It's okay though. I can manage just fine without her."
His father hummed in agreement. "Well, that's her loss. If she really thinks you defending this family is wrong, then she doesn't deserve to be a part of it. Besides, she always struck me as too soft for this world. It'll crush her like a bug without you, and then she'll come crawling back, don't you worry."
The thought of Oriane running back to him, humbled by the world and begging for his forgiveness, made Vaughn smile. She'd come to her senses. She had to.
When the time came, Vaughn would accept Oriane back with open arms.
She needed him, just as much as he needed her.
He just had to give it time.
In the meantime, perhaps Vaughn could enjoy the freedom that came without her nagging him for a bit. Perhaps he could find the kid who talked all that trash earlier, and teach him a lesson. After all, Oriane leaving him stemmed from that fight. He needed to answer for that.
So, District Five is certainly shaping up to be interesting. Very interesting. Thank you to NostalgicPride for Leonie and FoliageFrog for Vaughn! Leonie's faceclaim is Cynthia Senek and Vaughn's faceclaim is Carson Cunningham (the actor). The playlist shall be updated with their theme songs shortly after this chapter goes up!
We are now a third of the way through the intros! What are your thoughts on the tributes introduced so far? Who is your favorite? I, for one, am excited for this cast. It's going to be tons of fun! Since this SYOT is now officially full, I will be removing the tribute list from my profile and using the cast list chapter as the master list, so be sure to refer to that.
Next week, we will be heading to District Four, where we will be meeting Becket and Luce! I decided to upload on Saturdays because Solstiverse Saturday! Also, it's easier to update on a weekend.
Until next time everyone!