When the Mockingjay Sings - Coriolanus Snow/Treech

Chapter Fifteen

Athena and the family had taken a few weeks to get into the swing of things at District 4.

Finley was out by the docs learning how to fish with the boys his age. Gracie had made friends from school, and Athena continued tutoring in the district with new clients. This time, she charged far more than she did in District 9.

It was only a short time before she had gathered enough money to build a house down by the beach. The Wilsons wanted her to stay, but she insisted it was time for her to become more independent. Despite her age, she felt like she deserved to be on her own, but the mayor and her agreed to keep the fact she was moving out from the Peacekeepers. She promised the family to have dinners with them every second day to keep their relationship strong.

"I don't understand," Her student, Mags, groaned out in frustration. The two have been sitting down at the desk for hours trying to learn math, but Mags is finding it hard to understand. Like Gracie, she struggled to read, but instead of words getting mixed up, it was numbers.

Athena found it very challenging to help her as math was a practice subject rather than comprehension. It takes nearly three times longer for her to solve an equation compared to her classmates  who could do it easily. Athena could tell how discouraging she found it.

Mags was 16, a few months younger than Athena was. She had short brown hair that curled at her chin. She dreamed of being an educator which is why she was seeing Athena every second day, determined to acheive her dream.

"I think you need to get a good night's rest, Mags!" Athena encouraged her, giving her shoulder a slight pat as she stood up.

"I'm going to fail this test, Athena," Mags groaned, collecting her papers.

"The information is in there; you just really need to really focus when you look at the numbers as if you are trying to uncover a mirage." Athena put the math book on her bookshelf before sitting on the desk, watching the girl put her books in her bag. Her and Mag got a long very well and she was noe bwginning to see Mags more as a friend then anything. Her first friend since Sejanus.

"I'll keep you updated on it," she could hear the eye roll in her voice.

"Yeah, yeah. You got this," Athena assured with pure confidence lacing each word.

"Thank you, Athena," Mags hugged her before leaving the room.

Athena massaged her head the minute the door shut, showing her exhaustion. The parents in District 4 are far more concerned and pushy about their child's education than those in District 9. She is constantly being pressured to create amazing outcomes for their children when half og them don't even want to focus. They much rather be out with their friends swimming or fishing. 

Athena packed away all her papers and locked the shop before returning home.

The journey was nearly a 20-minute walk, but she didn't mind it so much. The pathway home was heavily populated with peacekeepers, making her feel  surprisingly safe. It wasn't until the last 5 minutes of her walk that she was entirely engulfed with darkness.

She was used to tree roots that popped out of the ground by that point and no longer crashed into the trees. Soon enough, the soft glow of her house came into view. She stopped in her tracks, startled. She doesn't remember leaving the light on.

She grabbed a large stick that was on the ground and slowly crept towards her house. She peeked through the window, but nothing could be seen. Everything remained the same when she left, but she didn't let that fool her.

She made it to her front door and tugged at the door. It was unlocked.

"Whoever you are, I suggest you come out now," the door snapped open, and Athena swung the stick without a single thought.