Coriolanus Snow's Rise to Presidency

3 - One of the Tributes

So this was the real challenge, Coriolanus thought. It wasn't about taming these delinquents, it was about surviving them. In the eyes of the Capitol, this class was filled with tributes, only they were all united and shared one target. Him.

Before Coriolanus could respond, another boy stood. His tanned skin gave off the impression that he was always exposed to the sun. Long, messy, dirty blond hair framed his face, making him look like a wannabe surfer. His face was flushed with a shade of peach, as if he had just come from a marathon. "Demetrio Mellark, District 4. I smell disgusting 'cause I was just surfing, and they had to drag me out of the sea with the fishes to get me here. I don't really mind though, the food here's pretty dope." The boy reeked of passion, freedom, and a relaxed spirit. Coriolanus instantly hated him.

Coriolanus decided that he would keep quiet and analyze these students, letting them finish their introductions before he would speak. This would buy him some time to figure out his next move. Besides, how can one plan their scheme before knowing the enemy?

A girl stood, and the blood nearly flushed out of Coriolanus's face when he recognized her. "Maude Ivory, from the Covey. We meet again. I've been searching for Lucy Gray for quite some time, and my gut tells me you've kept her trapped in the Capitol. So I had to do what I could to get here."

"And what crime did you commit?" Coriolanus couldn't help himself. What could innocent Maude Ivory have done to get herself into his class? Unless the years have changed her. She was taller and looked a little worn out.

"Oh, I killed Mayor Lipp, that's all," Maude Ivory said a little too casually. "Anyway, it's nice to see you again."

Coriolanus realized that Maude Ivory had no idea of what had happened between him and Lucy Gray. The Covey still believed him to be the trustworthy Snow that Lucy Gray had sung about in her song. Different from the Capitol. Did he care enough to maintain that image with Maude Ivory? Wasn't scaring these delinquents more important? What personality would he be showing his class now that a Covey was in the picture?

"Debonair Houdini," a skinny boy declared, standing with his hand on his hip. He wore mint eyeshadow and a lilac wig, as if he was part of the Capitol, but his clothes were evidently just a makeshift black crop top that seemed to have been cut out of an old t-shirt. "District 2. I'm a cousin of Sejanus Plinth. What happened to him, anyway? I heard he stole guns or something. But who am I to judge? I literally came all the way here after stealing Mrs. Mayor's boyfriend. The price I pay for my charms, I guess. Anyway, I heard you were a good friend of Sejanus. My parents may have forced me to cut contact with him when his father bought their way into the Capitol, but he was a good guy. And a friend of Sejanus is a friend of mine. So I'm gonna give you something special." Debonair turned the classroom into a fashion show stage and made a catwalk towards the podium, swaying his hips in his ripped booty shorts. Then he planted a sloppy, wet kiss on Coriolanus's neck. "This where they hung him?"

Coriolanus huffed in aggravation as majority of the class laughed. The nerve of this boy to make a mockery of him! How dare the Capitol put him in a situation where he was reduced into a laughing stock teacher who had to deal with such disrespect? There was only one way to teach these kids a lesson.

"I have my very own version of the hunger games planned out for you," Coriolanus lied as Debonair sashayed back to his seat. He had just thought of the idea of pitting them all against each other so he wouldn't have to deal with their crassness and would have them suffer each other's nasty personalities. What better way to be the victor than to turn the tributes against each other? Now he was no longer the target. But he hadn't thought of the specifics of what this version of the hunger games would entail. "The rest of you better introduce yourselves appropriately, or you'll be eliminated before you can even join the games."