The Victor from District 10

Chapter 11 - A talk with Finnick

I'm still upset with Johanna, but the conversation with Cora makes me a little less worried and hurt about her.

The Victory Tour of the District 2 male tribute that won the 73rd year of the Games is just around the corner. Time passes so quickly, it seems like yesterday that I was doing my tour.

I'm leaving the house in the Victors' Village when I see Anastasia doing the same. I call out to her and walk towards her.

"Good morning, Daphne." she greets me and I greet her back.

"I wanted to talk to you about one of the victors." I say. Anastasia won the Games longer than me, Johanna, Finnick and many of the other victors, she must surely know them better than almost anyone.

We leave the village, walking without a specific destination.

"Who do you want to talk about?" Anastasia asks.

I sigh. Since the last Games it's always hard to talk about Johanna, to think about her, because it reminds me that I've possibly lost a friendship that was important to me, especially in the Capitol. "About Johanna."

I'm completely honest with my mentor, not afraid to mention even the prostitution parts. I even tell her about the conversation I had with Cora yesterday.

"Your sister is probably right." she says. "When I first met Johanna, at her victor party at the president's mansion, even though she was already a bit of a grumpy girl, she wasn't exactly a cold person."

I understand why she has become such a cold and distant person. But I can't help feeling upset about the way she treated me during my last few days in the Capitol.

"Did Snow talk with her during her party? Offering her to prostitute herself in the Capitol?" I ask.

Anastasia nods. "He did. I remember that moment. Her storming out of one of the rooms in the mansion. That was the only day I got to know her as a different person than she is today."

"How long afterwards did he have her family killed?" I ask out of curiosity, but at the same time because I care about Johanna.

Anastasia seems to think about the question. "I don't know exactly, but I think it wasn't long after that day. It was when I returned to the Capitol for your Games that I met her again, and it was there that I saw that she had changed."

I think there's only one person in the world who could tell me more about what happened: Johanna. But we haven't spoken since the Games, so I'm thinking of turning to the second person who might know her best: Finnick.

I go straight home and call Finnick, it is my only option. When he answers I hear voices in the background of the call, one of the voices sounds like his, but the other I don't recognize, I just know it's a woman's voice. I put my curiosity aside to deal with the matter that is my top priority at the moment: Johanna.

"Hello?" Finnick answers.

"Hi, Finnick." I say.

He seems to recognize my voice. "Daphne. What a surprise to get a call from you."

"I need to talk to you." I get straight to the point without making small talk.

"Go ahead." he speaks.

We remain silent for a few seconds.

"It's about her, isn't it?" I don't even need to ask who he means by 'her'.

"Yes." I reply. I think about how to start. "I've been talking to some people."

He gives a typical chuckle. "Some people who?"