venus₁ [treech]

x v i i i

I step onto the virtually empty platform. The only other people getting off the train are a handful of Peacekeepers at the other end of the station. I take a deep in an attempt to calm my nerves. I've finally arrived at District 7, after four years of studying at the University.

I'm not sure why I'm here. I wrote to Treech as often as I could. I never received a response. For a while, I thought maybe the letters were taking a while to show up, but they never came. Maybe he moved on and forgot about me. Maybe he's-

I can't even finish thinking about the last thought. He's still alive. He has to be.

I pull the strap of my bag over my shoulder and set off for the ticket booth, hoping to figure out where I need to go. As I walk, I'm in awe of how blue the sky is. Little white clouds dot the otherwise perfect blue. The air feels so much cleaner. I wonder if it's because of the tall trees rising in the distance. Treech was right. Everything really is more beautiful in District 7.

"Excuse me," I say to the man at the ticket booth. "I'm looking for the boarding house. Could you please tell me where to go?"

"Capitol scum," the man huffs before closing the shutters to the booth.

I stare at the closed window, mouth parted slightly in shock. I've always had the impression that people were kinder in the districts. Is this how Sejanus felt while he lived at the Capitol?

After asking a few people near the train station, I finally get some directions to the boarding house I'm staying in until I can find somewhere to live more permanently. My room there is quite small, with only a bed, a table, and a chair. I have to share a bathroom and shower with the other people on my floor.

Everything is so new here. I surprisingly enjoy the simplicity. It's nice to finally get away from the everlasting hustle and bustle of the Capitol. Once I get settled in my room, I decide to take a walk around the town, so I can get familiar with my new home. As I walk, passersby eye me cautiously, some with looks of disdain on their faces. I wish I was wearing a jacket to pull tighter over my pressed blouse and dress pants. I make a mental note to find more suitable clothing for walking around. Though I'm here to work, I want to blend in as best I can.

Once it starts to get dark, I walk back to the boarding house to eat dinner and get some rest. In the morning, I think I'll try to find Treech. Even if he's over me, I still think I should see him. I promised I would join him, so he should at least know I fulfilled my end.

...

The next morning, after a small breakfast of porridge with raisins, I get ready to find Treech.

"Do you know where I can find Treech Bradshaw?" I ask the house mistress.

"Who?" asks the middle-aged woman.

"Treech Bradshaw," I repeat. "He won the Hunger Games about four years ago."

"District 7 has no Victors," says the woman.

"Surely you do," I say. "He won, I saw with my own eyes. I was his mentor. He got on the train to come back here. He's a lumberjack," I add, as if that narrows it down.

"You're in District 7, Hun. All the men are lumberjacks," says the woman.

I'm beginning to lose my patience. "Is there a marketplace or something in town?" I ask, thinking I can find help while I'm there.

"It's just down the street. You can't miss it," says the house mistress. She looks thrilled that I'm leaving her alone.

"Thank you so much," I say sweetly.

I quickly leave the building and attempt to find the marketplace. By the time I arrive, there are already quite a few people in the covered square, selling goods or purchasing items. The controlled chaos is quite reminiscent of the Capitol, but the energy is so much warmer and kinder here. All of these people just want to go about with their day, not bothering to judge the others around them.