A Part to Play // Hunger Games

27 // Snow is an Utterly Complete Bitch

"I'll kick him in the balls so hard he's never going to be able to do anything to anyone again"
- Love me? Like you do (SandCrystal)

***

Aria was waiting with Dania and Josh in her house, sitting in front of the TV for the Quarter Quell announcement. Every twenty-five years, the Games got a little 'fun' twist, directly brought to you by the 'amazing' Capitol. Those special Games were called Quarter Quells and they were especially horrible to anyone who was chosen to go in. For the first one - the 25th Games - the tributes had to be voted upon by their own Districts, for the second - the 50th Games - double the tributes were sent into the Arena, two boys and two girls from each District, that was the year that Haymitch won. And Aria could only imagine what the absolute prick - that was the president - would muster up for this edition of the Games. They said that the twists were already written down when the Games were invented, but the youngest Victor called a bluff, not buying that story.

The scenery on the TV finally changed, showcasing the incredibly unattractive face of the monarch, and the attention of all three Victors present went to it, curious about what he would do. Caesar was okay, but he was way too excited and over the top, neither one of the Victors having payed attention to anything he had said before introducing the president.

Behind him was a boy wearing white clothes and holding a box. In that box were the supposed papers of the Quells, or in Aria's opinion, a bunch of blank papers waiting for the monarch reigning in that time to write down the change they wished to add to the Games, depending on their own needs or wants, with the goal of keeping the Districts under their control.

The old man started his boring speech on the dark days and all of that over dramatic stuff the Capitol always made sure to include in every speech, which the young girl drowned out, instead, taking to trying to guess what the twist would be this time around. But nothing could've prepared her for what the president read out of the envelope. Nothing could've prepared any of the Victors all around the country.

Snow called the boy over and opened the box, pulling out the envelope marked with the number seventy-five - for the 75th Games - opening it and pulling out a piece of paper.

"On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the male and female tributes will be reaped from the existing pool of Victors." The white-haired man read, his voice booming through the TV speakers on every house of Panem, confident, and with a spark of evil to it, at least to the youngest Victor, that was.

She looked around, trying to process what she'd just heard, suddenly feeling the urge to laugh, at the monarch's intelligence. He was trying to get rid of two birds with one stone - or, better yet, lots of birds. If he could kill both Katniss and Aria, the rebellion would be at big loss. And he knew it. The president might have been an ass, but he wasn't dumb.

Josh just couldn't believe it. He was in denial, not wanting it to be true. The young man was just wishing he could blink and make it all become but a bad dream. Sadly, it didn't. He was thinking about the possibility of going back into the Arena, and with the ones he was friends with, on top of that. All he could do was intensify his training and try to be as ready as he could be, whether it was to enter the nightmare all over again, or train his friends to do so, helping them from the outside.

Dania was just plain sad. If she were to go back in, the woman was sure she wouldn't come out, and that sucked. And if Aria would go back... she just didn't know. The president hated the young girl, and would for sure try his best to kill her in that Arena, besides, she would not kill her friends and family. The teen would rather die, and the older Victor knew it. District Five wasn't well up on the list of Victors, but they weren't the worse ones off either, having seven of them currently living, five males and two females.