HEART OF GOLD | CORIOLANUS SNOW

𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 17

Mr. Dolittle had not specified the time the results would be posted. Lilith had accompanied Athena to check once in the morning, but his noticeboard had been empty. So, after their Espionage: The Art of Secrecy lecture, they headed to the third floor again, now with Olympia, Archie, and Regulus in tow.

Almost noon, the school buzzed with its usual lunch crowd. Weaving through a throng of sophomores who'd spilled out from the Kelvin Theatre, they arrived in the passage leading up to Mr. Dolittle's office. By the looks of it, they were the last to do so. A gathering of their classmates could be seen outside his door, and Athena quickened her pace. As if by the forces of nature, the cluster automatically parted to let her through.

"Is it up? Is it up?" she asked no one in particular.

Nobody answered her. People merely scattered into their respective cliques, whispering in agitation. The energy in the hallway was palpable. Even their gang received attention as they approached. The watchful gazes were unsettling, but the real sense that something had gone awry hit when Lilith regained sight of Athena, whose profile exposed her simply staring at the board. Lilith and Olympia exchanged dubious glances.

"Thena?" said Olympia uncertainly.

She turned, as though set to slow motion. There was definitely no glee. Her face was expressionless, her eyes vacant as they landed on Lilith and stayed there. Lilith was poised to ask what was wrong when she glimpsed the bold letters in her peripheral vision and had to do a double take. On the sheet of paper tacked to Mr. Dolittle's clover green felt was printed:

A collaboration between GM 401 Road to The Arena and the 21st Hunger Games

The position of Head Gamemaker's Apprentice has been awarded to

LILITH GOLD

Lilith's jaw went slack. She blinked. She ran her eyes over and over the alphabets, but they failed to change. She read the memo again and again, but still it made no sense.

It can't be, she thought. There's been a mistake. A huge mistake.

A huge, terrible mistake.

Shaking her head uncomprehendingly, Lilith caught the stares and felt as if a thousand spotlights had just been aimed at her. All at once, she understood: The weird looks had not been for them—they had been for her. Everyone was still here, waiting for the drama, the showdown.

Struggling to filter out their negative aura, Lilith focused on Olympia to Athena. The ginger was just as baffled, but there had been a shift in the blonde's gaze. Hurt had penetrated her blue eyes, and the cold manner about them was alien but plain all the same:

It belonged to someone who felt betrayed.

That made Lilith the traitor, and it made her want to cry.

"The—" Lilith had hardly choked out the syllable when Athena recoiled as if she had been struck. Lilith froze, her arm, which had been reaching towards her best friend, stopping dead in midair.

Athena didn't utter a word—she didn't have to. She shook her head too, but in disgust and disappointment, every move a dagger to Lilith's heart. It might as well have been her who had been slapped. Athena began to back away, small steps at first, then she spun on her heel and ran. Lilith made to pursue but Olympia thwarted her efforts.

"I'll get her," she promised, and dashed off.

"You don't deserve it," spat Jason. He peeled off from the assembly after Olympia but Archie seized his collar.