'Cause it's on again, off again
Love you like oxygen
I don't know what to say or do
𝗜𝗡 𝗪𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗛 A lost girl desperately
tries to find herself and finds out that Festus Creed isn't so bad
hunger games │the ballad of songbirds and snakes
Festus Cr...
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one. proving your worth
[ Yall, I feel like i don't need to say this but I obviously don't agree with some things Maia says lmao. She's just a bit confused and brainwashed. ]
THIS MORNING WAS uncharacteristically loud for the Thorn household. Usually, Maia would wake up three hours before school, shower, get ready, and stand in front of the mirror to carefully fix any imperfections. But even if she missed any her mother or brother would point it out, refusing to let her leave with any hair sticking out or her skin looking paler than the day before.
It was helpful. But every time they fixed something Maia felt a flicker of embarrassment and every time that happened she made sure to wake up even earlier to save them the trouble.
But perfection was never the goal. The goal was to be perfect enough.
Perfect enough for the Academy and the teachers. Perfect enough to avoid any unnecessary attention. And perfect enough to avoid any impressions about Maia flaunting her money. After all, everyone knew that the Thorns weren't nearly as wealthy as the older families of the Academy students and it would be foolish of her to try proving otherwise.
Today was different though, the Reaping Ceremony was special. It was a day for everyone to smile, nod, and pretend that the dark days never happened, unlike the rest of the year. Since the war ended, a part of the Capitol was fixed, mostly the city center. It distracts the citizens from the past but once someone wanders away, the impact of the rebels is obvious.
The Hunger Games on the other hand broke that bubble but instead of making everyone remember all the pain, it's a celebration of victory and an end to a painful era and a memorial to everyone they lost to the war.
Maia didn't lose anyone in the war, at least someone she remembered. Maybe except for her father... She doesn't remember him all that well. His likes, his dislikes, his routine or his jobthe only thing she remembers is his trembling figure disappearing into the wheat field.
Maia was extra careful today. Her makeup and clothing were as glamorous as needed without forgetting the seriousness that the occasion demanded.
"Breakfast is ready, dear." She could hear her mother's call from the dining room.
She glanced one last time at her reflection in the mirror and fixed the collar of her dress before heading to meet her family.
"Good morning." Maia greeted as she sat across from her older brother.
They were already ready for the Ceremony. Her mother wore her most formal dress, a pale blue color, and her brother had his best suit on, deep blue, almost as dark as his fiance's hair. His own hair was carefully slicked back.
