i should hate you

family affairs

cassi's eyes remained on coriolanus hand atop hers. she furrowed her eyebrows, questioning the sudden gesture of comfort. she turned to look at coriolanus. his gaze was firm as she searched his face. was this just another attempt to make her let her guard down? what game was he playing?

coriolanus' gaze along with his hand was pulled away by dr. gaul's laugh circulating around the room. cassi turned to the front of the hall, seeing the vibrant woman standing in front of the microphone. 

"how tantalizing to see all of your shining young faces on this auspicious day. i am dr. volumina gaul, your humble head gamemaker. in charge of the department of war and all of its affiliated consorts." cassi looked towards the other students, who all had puzzled looks on their faces, all unsure of what to think of the woman. the woman continues to speak, rambling until she finally introduces the dean. 

all of the students shift in their seats, attempting to see the creator of the games. "select students, faculty, and of course, dr. gaul." he spoke, finally turning to face the students. "i have summoned you all here to attend the 10th annual reaping ceremony. and here sit, our own top 24 prospects. all eager to learn who's won the plinth prize no doubt. however, there has been a change. one final assignment to prove your worth. the plinth prize will be determined by who is the best mentor in the hunger games." he explains. 

murmurs break out all throughout the room as students whisper amongst themselves. dean highbottom explained how he would assign the tributes as the reaping progressed. as the crowd waited for the ceremony to begin cassi questioned where this idea had come from. what made her and her classmates, simple teenagers, qualified to be mentors. however, she decided it didn't matter. she was going to be the best mentor and her tribute was going to win. in order to, like highbottom said, prove her worth.

music sounded on the speakers, announcing the beginning of the ceremony. "district 1. boy, goes to, cassiopia rivers!" the dean announced. cassi's eyes danced around the room as the students clapped for her. she looked up to the screen, seeing her tribute, facet, flash on the screen.

coriolanus watched as cassi's eyes remained centered on the tv. she had received possibly one of the best assignments. a boy from district 1, how much better could it get. coriolanus watched as cassi smiled at the screen, presumably realizing the odds. he couldn't help but clench his jaw, a spur of jealousy arising in his chest. how dare she look at a different boy like that? had she forgotten the comfort he'd just given her?

the rest of the ceremony dragged on slowly for both cassi and coriolanus. coriolanus had yet to receive his tribute and they were already on district 11. cassi suddenly realized what this meant. she was going to win. this idea was confirmed when coriolanus received his assignment, a small girl in a rainbow dress from district 12. 

cassi was confident up until she watched lucy gray drop a snake into a girl's dress, causing coriolanus to shoot up from his chair. she walked up the stairs onto the stage, only to recieve a strike on the face from the mayor. cassi flinched at the violence, watching as lucy gray fell to the floor. cassi's eyes widened as lucy started singing, causing gasps to erupt all around the room.

"singing? is she out of her mind?" arachne questioned. she clearly didn't realize what this meant for coriolanus. cassi remembered the qualifications for this assignment. it was not only about who won but who was the best mentor. with someone so peculiar the audience was bound to be intrigued. 

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mentions of abuse underneath, please skip if that's triggering.

cassi was slow to leave the hall. not ready to face her parents and deliver the news, or lack there of, of the plinth prize. she knew they would be disappointed that she did not come home with sums of cash. not even disappointed, they would be angry. 

as she arrived home it was as she could feel the tension seeping off their house. there was no noise coming from their small home. something that was never a good sign. she paused for a moment, standing in front of the door. she took a deep breath before reaching for the handle, pulling the door open carefully. 

as she entered the house she eyed the room, looking for the members of her family. it was when she walked into the kitchen that she found them. her father was sitting at the table, his head in his hands, a half-full glass pushed to the side. her heart sped up as she approached her parents. to her dismay a loose floorboard alerted them of her presence.

"cassiopia," her mother greeted with a smile, cassi could see the question on her face. did you win?

"there is no plinth prize." cassi spoke, trying to keep a stoic look on her face. her face dropped as her father sprung from his chair, causing the legs to screech against the wood floors. he only took 2 steps towards her but his strides were large enough to reach her. something she hated, it never allowed any time to get away. 

"jace, please, let her explain," cassi heard her mother speak from across the room as her father trapped her against the wall. her father's head snapped around to look at her mother, pausing for a moment, and then slowly turning to cassi.

"well, explain." he spoke, his tone lone enough to make cassi shiver. she could practically smell the alcohol on his breath.

"they added a new rule. we have to mentor the tributes, the best mentor wins." cassi explains, her voice shaky as she explained, hoping it would relieve her fathers anger. it didn't, like usual. her father raised his fist, causing cassi to flinch away. she was surprised when his fist flew into the wall instead of her. 

the commotion had caused her brother to enter the room, she knew as she heard hurried footsteps approaching. cassi thought that would be the end of her father's anger. she uncovered her face, turning her head upwards to look at her father but he was still fuming.

he grabbed her wrist with what she assumed was all of his strength and began to drag her towards the window above the sink, forcing her mother out of the way.

"father, please!" avian spoke from the corner of the room. hoping to snap some sense into him, make him realize what he was doing to his child. but it didn't work as his pleas fell on deaf ears. avian took a couple cautious steps towards where his mother was, closer to his sister.

"do you see this cassiopia! do you see where we live," he spoke, motioning to the run down exterior that surrounded them. "you could've changed that. but, you failed." he dropped her wrist, shoving her backwards. luckily, avian stood waiting, as he caught cassi. "our daughter, the failure." he spoke in a quieter tone. usually cassi would reason with herself that he was drunk. but, the way he looked directly into her eyes as he muttered the phrase made her realize he meant every word.

her father turned back towards the sink, leaning over it as he put his head down. cassi took this as her chance to escape. she heard her mother begin to attempt to comfort her father as she descended down the hallway to her room. she wished her mother would console her instead.

when cassi got into her room she threw her back onto the floor, sitting on her bed. she outstretched her wrist, brushing her fingers against the already forming bruise. she shook her head, finally allowing the tears to spill. she heard her door open and knew it was avian. she felt the bed dip besides her and leaned against her brother without hesitation. he remained silent for a moment, then spoke.

"cassi," she didn't look up, she instead kept her head on his shoulder. "cassi, look at me." he spoke again, pulling away slightly so she would be forced to look up. "what happened with the prize?"

"they changed the rules. the best mentor gets the prize now." cassi spoke quietly, keeping her eyes down.

"so?" avian responded. this caused cassi to look up, furrowing her eyebrows at her brother. had he not heard what she said. "what does it matter? you've proven to be the best at everything, this is just another thing for you to be the best at." he spoke, smiling at her. his words caused a chuckle to slip out of cassi, smiling as she wiped her eyes.

"you're right. i'm going to win." she spoke.

"damn right you are."