Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2014 12:31:35 GMT -7
Open to anyone. You don't have to be D4. Though FINNICK is welcome to attend since she is "waiting for him."
Leetha waited at the coffee shop just a few blocks down from her apartment. She had received a game off for this games because President Snow had wanted the Capitol High School students to escort the tributes. It was an odd request, well in President Snow's case, command. But what he said went. Although Leetha was sad to be out of the spotlight, she had felt too much heartache from the previous games results. Her District 10 tributes both died, though to be very honest, she was more concerned for the District 10 female Ambrosia Asher. She was a nice girl, she had potential. And at first, she showed promise. That was, of course, until the careers from District 4 showed up. It was a harsh blow. Leetha had watched the entire thing in her living room sofa. And when the final strike landed, Leetha's handkerchief was dark and smudged from her makeup. Her face matched that of dirt as she cried for her District 10 girl. Of course, no one would know this. Not even the girl who probably thought Leetha didn't care. But in fact, she did. She never got the best Tributes, she never got the career districts. But that year, for that game, she got someone who was willing to fight to survive. She glowed with a fire inside her, blinding everyone with her radiance. But in the end, her fire turned into embers as she was snuffed out by those less deserving of life. Yes, Leetha was glad to have these games off. Perhaps it would do her some good. Get her back to how she was before Ambrosia Asher came into her life.
And so there she was, Leetha Merriten. Waiting at a coffee shop for District 4’s mentor. It had taken a lot of time. She had a lot of doubt. A lot of guilt that threatened to drown her. But she had breathed. Put one foot in front of the other. And sat down at the coffee shop. Leetha had chosen to sponsor District 4’s female tribute instead of District 10, her usual escort District. She felt that doing this would help her move on. Help her become the Leetha she once was before she was tainted with Ambrosia’s light and desire to live, and eventual darkness from her death. Leetha had watched all the trainings she could, watched the shows and interviews. And finally decided that she would sponsor the District 4 female, Seasrai. The girl had showed potential. She was a career and knew how to fish, which made her perfect for the game’s arena. She knew hand to hand combat and was actually pretty good at it. Unlike the other careers, it seemed that she stayed under the radar. Her personality was not so bold and loud that others would pay her attention and kill her. She thought that a perfect strategy for the girl would be to stay with the career pact and then once everyone else was dead, silently slip away and wait for the career pack to kill themselves until she was the last one left. Yes, that would be a good tactic for the girl. She wondered if that was what the girl would do. Or perhaps she had a better plan up her sleeves. Leetha could never tell with the careers. But she knew one thing, Reko, the District 2 career was a big problem for the District 4 female. And so was the District 1 female Esmeralda. Within the first few seconds of the game, the district 1 female Esmeralda had already killed her first victim. She was a ruthless killer with no morals, nothing held her back. Perhaps she would win, but Leetha did not like that. In fact, it seemed that the Escort did not like the obviously strong tributes. They were too much. Too obvious. Everyone rooted for them. Perhaps Leetha liked the underdogs after all.
The waiter brought out her hot caramel latte with whip cream and caramel drizzle. She smiled as she looked up at him. “Thank you,” she said brightly, “If it’s not too much trouble, can I also have one of your famous chocolate cakes with the coconut on top and French vanilla ice cream in the middle?” The waiter nodded and bowed slightly, “No trouble at all. I’ll bring it out as soon as it’s ready.” Leetha nodded and turned to her cup of latte. She stirred it lightly with a long thin spoon, watching the whip cream and caramel swirl in with the rest of the hot liquid. The caramel brown color reminded her of District 10. The mud in the rain. The dirt on the way to the train station. The plain unpainted wood of the buildings. Pulling the spoon out, she set it on top of a napkin. The caffeinated liquid seeped onto the cloth napkin, a wet brown spot settling between the tiny white fibers. The brown liquid spread out slightly on the cloth napkin like mud.
Pulling her wrist up, she stared down at her pink diamond watch with a ruby flower design in the middle of the face. Nine o’clock. Where was the district 4 mentor? His picture appeared on her face. Finnick Odaire. He had a kind face, though most people would just call him handsome. He had an air about him that people would label as arrogant, but Leetha thought it was well deserved. He’d won the games after all. She wondered if Annie Cresta would be with him. Leetha had called him to set up their little meeting, though at first she was hesitant to do so. Everyone wanted to sponsor District 4. Not just because it was a career district, but because of Finnick. He was a popular and likeable person, not to mention charming and very persuasive. Of course, Leetha didn’t need persuading. She was dead set on sponsoring District 4. Leetha had also considered sponsoring another tribute. Since District 4 was a popular district to sponsor, she was sure that the outer districts would need sponsoring. Though the thought of Ambrosia Asher popped back into her mind like a long lost memory. She sighed, pushing the girl away from her thoughts. Of all the tributes she’d escorted, Ambrosia Asher was the one that stuck. She haunted her memories and her dreams like a the guilty presence of a spirit that refused to be at peace. Maybe she wasn’t at peace. Leetha shook her head. The whole thing was abstruse. Life and death and after death. Was there even such a thing?
Leetha picked up the oversized ceramic cup hoping to solve the anhydrous state of her tongue. Leetha pursed her lips to the side. The latte had the opposite effect. It made her even more thirsty. Though she had to admit the latte had a sweet and decadent taste that left her wanting more. She set it down and picked up the tall glass of water had a slight fog of condensation on the outside. The ice clinked against the crystal clear glass. The cool water was refreshing, seemingly cleansing her palate.
She looked at her wrist watch once more. Two minutes past nine o’clock. Two whole minutes. She picked up another white cloth napkin and set it on top of her lap as she saw the waiter coming back towards her table carrying a saucer with a desert. The waiter bowed, settling the square white saucer in front of her. In the saucer sat a round mound of chocolate. There were fine coconut flakes scattered on top of the chocolate cake along with some chocolate shavings on and around the cake. She loved the beauty and presentation of the food at the Capitol. There was no other place that could make food so beautiful. Taking a small fork, she cut into the middle of it, and then another slice away from it, making a triangle. Her fork slid beneath the cake and pulled out the cut-out triangle, the liquid chocolate from inside oozing out. The frozen vanilla ice cream inside melted slowly out of the cake. As she put the cake in her mouth, it felt as if her tongue exploded with flavors. The warm chocolate, the cold ice cream—Leetha made an “mmmm” noise as she breathed in, eating the wonderfully delicious cake. The cake was about 5 inches all around, so she decided to take her time in eating it.
She set her fork down on the same white napkin that she had set her spoon down on. Wiping the corners of her mouth, she made sure that no lipstick came off on the napkin. Leetha looked up at the bright blue sky. It was getting colder, but the sky looked as light and blue as a bright sunny day. More and more people were now coming out and enjoying the day. Nine o’clock was pretty early for people at the Capitol since everyone usually stayed up late at night. But of course, there were always morning people, including her. She loved waking up early, even before everyone else was awake. Sometimes she got up early enough to watch the sunrise. It was a rare view for many Capitol citizens.
The first time she had seen it was a magical moment and something she would never forget. She was young, fairly young. She had already graduated from Capitol High School and served as an assistant to an Escort who had escorted in District 8. She wouldn’t say that the escort was lazy, but she liked things done for her. As an assistant, it was Leetha’s job to do everything that her Escort needed her to do. In other words, she was a glorified Avox. It was early in the morning and Leetha had to pick up some coffee from the very same shop she was in now. Her escort had stayed up late, and it was the day that they were supposed to leave for the Reaping in District 8. She wasn’t sure if the Escort was stupid or… well she was just stupid. While everyone else had gone to bed at around midnight, the Escort stayed up late to party. Not having gone to sleep yet, she needed Leetha to get her coffee and breakfast as well as some medicines that would help her avoid getting sick during the train ride. Although the trains moved smoothly and virtually feel like they weren’t moving at all, the Escort still got sick. So there Leetha was, walking to the coffee shop on a nice, cool summer morning. The sun had yet to rise and she was the only one in the streets. But she had called the coffee shop owner and asked him for a favor. He otherwise would not have answered and probably would have said no. But as Leetha was good friends with the shop owners son, he kindly obliged. She was surprised that he had even answered. But she found out that he had woken up because of their newborn’s crying. When she reached the shop, the shop owner had everything already for her. One cup of chocolate coffee for the Escort. One cup of caramel latte with whip cream and caramel drizzle for Leetha. A sweet roll with raspberry filling and chocolate shavings for the Escort. And a crescent roll, scrambled eggs, and two strips of bacon for Leetha. It was a good breakfast for her. The shop owner even had the medicine that the Escort needed. It was only five o’clock at the time, and so Leetha stayed to talk to him for a few minutes before heading over to the Escort’s flat. As she walked back, she could sense a change in the air. Leetha was passing through a small garden where beyond it, was an opening where buildings seemed to be non-existent. She was on the outside ring of the Capitol and the tall buildings lay behind her. Her eyes glimmered with the light from the horizon. Walking into the garden, she sat down on a bench at the park, surrounded by roses and a pond of lilies beside her. The sun rose over the horizon, tiny rays of light emitted from the darkness. The orange, yellow, and red colors of the sun painted the sky. The light of the sun warmed her cheeks. The inside of her body felt as if there was a warm ember glow of fire inside it. Like the dying coals of wood that were about to sleep, but then suddenly reawaked from a soft breeze. Golden flecks of light mirrored into the iris of her eyes as she watched her very first sunrise.
Leetha smiled at the memory. Yes, that was her first sunrise. And since then she had seen more. Perhaps hundreds. She had lost count over the years. But each time, the experience never lost its wonder. After taking another bite of the cake, she checked her pink watch once more. Six minutes past nine o’clock. Only 4 more minutes since she had checked it. She sighed, she really had to stop checking her watch. It seemed that the more she checked it, the slower time went. As the sun began to slowly creep up slightly higher into the sky, the umbrella’s shadow shifted slightly. Leetha looked at the different people walking around. Some stopped and went inside the shop. While others chose to sit at one of the wrought iron tables as Leetha had done. Yes, it was a nice day to visit a coffee shop. She drank her latte, and then followed it by eating some more of the chocolate cake, until both were gone. The waiter came back and took both saucer and cup from the table.
“Would you like more?” the waiter asked.
Leetha smiled, “Just some hot chocolate.” Leetha felt if she drank any more coffee she’d get jittery. And right now, she didn’t need that. She hated that jittery feeling.
WORDS: 2330
NOTE: YAY!!!
Leetha waited at the coffee shop just a few blocks down from her apartment. She had received a game off for this games because President Snow had wanted the Capitol High School students to escort the tributes. It was an odd request, well in President Snow's case, command. But what he said went. Although Leetha was sad to be out of the spotlight, she had felt too much heartache from the previous games results. Her District 10 tributes both died, though to be very honest, she was more concerned for the District 10 female Ambrosia Asher. She was a nice girl, she had potential. And at first, she showed promise. That was, of course, until the careers from District 4 showed up. It was a harsh blow. Leetha had watched the entire thing in her living room sofa. And when the final strike landed, Leetha's handkerchief was dark and smudged from her makeup. Her face matched that of dirt as she cried for her District 10 girl. Of course, no one would know this. Not even the girl who probably thought Leetha didn't care. But in fact, she did. She never got the best Tributes, she never got the career districts. But that year, for that game, she got someone who was willing to fight to survive. She glowed with a fire inside her, blinding everyone with her radiance. But in the end, her fire turned into embers as she was snuffed out by those less deserving of life. Yes, Leetha was glad to have these games off. Perhaps it would do her some good. Get her back to how she was before Ambrosia Asher came into her life.
And so there she was, Leetha Merriten. Waiting at a coffee shop for District 4’s mentor. It had taken a lot of time. She had a lot of doubt. A lot of guilt that threatened to drown her. But she had breathed. Put one foot in front of the other. And sat down at the coffee shop. Leetha had chosen to sponsor District 4’s female tribute instead of District 10, her usual escort District. She felt that doing this would help her move on. Help her become the Leetha she once was before she was tainted with Ambrosia’s light and desire to live, and eventual darkness from her death. Leetha had watched all the trainings she could, watched the shows and interviews. And finally decided that she would sponsor the District 4 female, Seasrai. The girl had showed potential. She was a career and knew how to fish, which made her perfect for the game’s arena. She knew hand to hand combat and was actually pretty good at it. Unlike the other careers, it seemed that she stayed under the radar. Her personality was not so bold and loud that others would pay her attention and kill her. She thought that a perfect strategy for the girl would be to stay with the career pact and then once everyone else was dead, silently slip away and wait for the career pack to kill themselves until she was the last one left. Yes, that would be a good tactic for the girl. She wondered if that was what the girl would do. Or perhaps she had a better plan up her sleeves. Leetha could never tell with the careers. But she knew one thing, Reko, the District 2 career was a big problem for the District 4 female. And so was the District 1 female Esmeralda. Within the first few seconds of the game, the district 1 female Esmeralda had already killed her first victim. She was a ruthless killer with no morals, nothing held her back. Perhaps she would win, but Leetha did not like that. In fact, it seemed that the Escort did not like the obviously strong tributes. They were too much. Too obvious. Everyone rooted for them. Perhaps Leetha liked the underdogs after all.
The waiter brought out her hot caramel latte with whip cream and caramel drizzle. She smiled as she looked up at him. “Thank you,” she said brightly, “If it’s not too much trouble, can I also have one of your famous chocolate cakes with the coconut on top and French vanilla ice cream in the middle?” The waiter nodded and bowed slightly, “No trouble at all. I’ll bring it out as soon as it’s ready.” Leetha nodded and turned to her cup of latte. She stirred it lightly with a long thin spoon, watching the whip cream and caramel swirl in with the rest of the hot liquid. The caramel brown color reminded her of District 10. The mud in the rain. The dirt on the way to the train station. The plain unpainted wood of the buildings. Pulling the spoon out, she set it on top of a napkin. The caffeinated liquid seeped onto the cloth napkin, a wet brown spot settling between the tiny white fibers. The brown liquid spread out slightly on the cloth napkin like mud.
Pulling her wrist up, she stared down at her pink diamond watch with a ruby flower design in the middle of the face. Nine o’clock. Where was the district 4 mentor? His picture appeared on her face. Finnick Odaire. He had a kind face, though most people would just call him handsome. He had an air about him that people would label as arrogant, but Leetha thought it was well deserved. He’d won the games after all. She wondered if Annie Cresta would be with him. Leetha had called him to set up their little meeting, though at first she was hesitant to do so. Everyone wanted to sponsor District 4. Not just because it was a career district, but because of Finnick. He was a popular and likeable person, not to mention charming and very persuasive. Of course, Leetha didn’t need persuading. She was dead set on sponsoring District 4. Leetha had also considered sponsoring another tribute. Since District 4 was a popular district to sponsor, she was sure that the outer districts would need sponsoring. Though the thought of Ambrosia Asher popped back into her mind like a long lost memory. She sighed, pushing the girl away from her thoughts. Of all the tributes she’d escorted, Ambrosia Asher was the one that stuck. She haunted her memories and her dreams like a the guilty presence of a spirit that refused to be at peace. Maybe she wasn’t at peace. Leetha shook her head. The whole thing was abstruse. Life and death and after death. Was there even such a thing?
Leetha picked up the oversized ceramic cup hoping to solve the anhydrous state of her tongue. Leetha pursed her lips to the side. The latte had the opposite effect. It made her even more thirsty. Though she had to admit the latte had a sweet and decadent taste that left her wanting more. She set it down and picked up the tall glass of water had a slight fog of condensation on the outside. The ice clinked against the crystal clear glass. The cool water was refreshing, seemingly cleansing her palate.
She looked at her wrist watch once more. Two minutes past nine o’clock. Two whole minutes. She picked up another white cloth napkin and set it on top of her lap as she saw the waiter coming back towards her table carrying a saucer with a desert. The waiter bowed, settling the square white saucer in front of her. In the saucer sat a round mound of chocolate. There were fine coconut flakes scattered on top of the chocolate cake along with some chocolate shavings on and around the cake. She loved the beauty and presentation of the food at the Capitol. There was no other place that could make food so beautiful. Taking a small fork, she cut into the middle of it, and then another slice away from it, making a triangle. Her fork slid beneath the cake and pulled out the cut-out triangle, the liquid chocolate from inside oozing out. The frozen vanilla ice cream inside melted slowly out of the cake. As she put the cake in her mouth, it felt as if her tongue exploded with flavors. The warm chocolate, the cold ice cream—Leetha made an “mmmm” noise as she breathed in, eating the wonderfully delicious cake. The cake was about 5 inches all around, so she decided to take her time in eating it.
She set her fork down on the same white napkin that she had set her spoon down on. Wiping the corners of her mouth, she made sure that no lipstick came off on the napkin. Leetha looked up at the bright blue sky. It was getting colder, but the sky looked as light and blue as a bright sunny day. More and more people were now coming out and enjoying the day. Nine o’clock was pretty early for people at the Capitol since everyone usually stayed up late at night. But of course, there were always morning people, including her. She loved waking up early, even before everyone else was awake. Sometimes she got up early enough to watch the sunrise. It was a rare view for many Capitol citizens.
The first time she had seen it was a magical moment and something she would never forget. She was young, fairly young. She had already graduated from Capitol High School and served as an assistant to an Escort who had escorted in District 8. She wouldn’t say that the escort was lazy, but she liked things done for her. As an assistant, it was Leetha’s job to do everything that her Escort needed her to do. In other words, she was a glorified Avox. It was early in the morning and Leetha had to pick up some coffee from the very same shop she was in now. Her escort had stayed up late, and it was the day that they were supposed to leave for the Reaping in District 8. She wasn’t sure if the Escort was stupid or… well she was just stupid. While everyone else had gone to bed at around midnight, the Escort stayed up late to party. Not having gone to sleep yet, she needed Leetha to get her coffee and breakfast as well as some medicines that would help her avoid getting sick during the train ride. Although the trains moved smoothly and virtually feel like they weren’t moving at all, the Escort still got sick. So there Leetha was, walking to the coffee shop on a nice, cool summer morning. The sun had yet to rise and she was the only one in the streets. But she had called the coffee shop owner and asked him for a favor. He otherwise would not have answered and probably would have said no. But as Leetha was good friends with the shop owners son, he kindly obliged. She was surprised that he had even answered. But she found out that he had woken up because of their newborn’s crying. When she reached the shop, the shop owner had everything already for her. One cup of chocolate coffee for the Escort. One cup of caramel latte with whip cream and caramel drizzle for Leetha. A sweet roll with raspberry filling and chocolate shavings for the Escort. And a crescent roll, scrambled eggs, and two strips of bacon for Leetha. It was a good breakfast for her. The shop owner even had the medicine that the Escort needed. It was only five o’clock at the time, and so Leetha stayed to talk to him for a few minutes before heading over to the Escort’s flat. As she walked back, she could sense a change in the air. Leetha was passing through a small garden where beyond it, was an opening where buildings seemed to be non-existent. She was on the outside ring of the Capitol and the tall buildings lay behind her. Her eyes glimmered with the light from the horizon. Walking into the garden, she sat down on a bench at the park, surrounded by roses and a pond of lilies beside her. The sun rose over the horizon, tiny rays of light emitted from the darkness. The orange, yellow, and red colors of the sun painted the sky. The light of the sun warmed her cheeks. The inside of her body felt as if there was a warm ember glow of fire inside it. Like the dying coals of wood that were about to sleep, but then suddenly reawaked from a soft breeze. Golden flecks of light mirrored into the iris of her eyes as she watched her very first sunrise.
Leetha smiled at the memory. Yes, that was her first sunrise. And since then she had seen more. Perhaps hundreds. She had lost count over the years. But each time, the experience never lost its wonder. After taking another bite of the cake, she checked her pink watch once more. Six minutes past nine o’clock. Only 4 more minutes since she had checked it. She sighed, she really had to stop checking her watch. It seemed that the more she checked it, the slower time went. As the sun began to slowly creep up slightly higher into the sky, the umbrella’s shadow shifted slightly. Leetha looked at the different people walking around. Some stopped and went inside the shop. While others chose to sit at one of the wrought iron tables as Leetha had done. Yes, it was a nice day to visit a coffee shop. She drank her latte, and then followed it by eating some more of the chocolate cake, until both were gone. The waiter came back and took both saucer and cup from the table.
“Would you like more?” the waiter asked.
Leetha smiled, “Just some hot chocolate.” Leetha felt if she drank any more coffee she’d get jittery. And right now, she didn’t need that. She hated that jittery feeling.
WORDS: 2330
NOTE: YAY!!!