Hoax | Finnick Odair

01

"Lavinia!"

My eyes flutter open slowly to see a pearly white sky above, delicate snowflakes flitting down to decorate my skin. I'm not fazed by my grandmother's screechy voice as I usually am; I know that, if l'm successful tonight, this will be the last time I am ever forced to hear it.

A slow grin forms on my dry lips at that thought, and I force myself to sit up, glancing to my right, where my grandmother has come out of the cottage and into the porch, her bright blue eyes wide with horror.

"Lavinia!" she shrieks again. "Have you lost your mind? What are you doing? You'll get sick! Get up!"

I'm reluctant to obey, but I do as she says anyway, getting up from where I was laying down on the snow-caked ground, dusting snowflakes off myself. I send a sweet smile to my grandmother, and for the first time in years, it feels genuine.

"Of course, Grams."

She shakes her head at me as I make my way to the porch, grumbling to herself about the idiocy of teenagers nowadays. I enter the house, and am instantly saluted with the sight of my grandmother's living room. The warmth coming from the crackling fireplace is a stark contrast to the frigid weather outside.

There is a deep blue couch standing in front of the fireplace, with small, matching armchairs standing by its side like bodyguards, all crowding a rectangular wooden table. Despite the balmy temperature and the coziness of the living room, however, it feels colder in here than it is outside.

"What was our Vivi doing this time, Ma?" my Uncle Ludo's voice booms through the living room from where he is sitting on the couch, a fond chuckle accompanying his words.

"Sleeping in the snow, like a madwoman!" my grandmother responds, her voice sounding both incredulous and reproaching.

At this, Uncle Ludo bursts into a fit of exaggerated guffaws.

"We're lucky she's not sleeping with Snow"

I feel my cheeks start burning from embarrassment knowing he was implying Coriolanus who was my age and just happened to be my boyfriend. Seeing this Uncle Ludo continues to laugh hysterically.

My Uncle Ludo is a friendly man, and he loves to laugh - he loves to gamble, too, which is the reason he is now on the run and hiding with us from a group of unfriendly capitol citizens, whose debt he failed to repay. At times, he irritates me, but it's partly thanks to him that I've managed to successfully steal a time-turner from the academy. He used to work there as the Head of the Department of War before he went on the run, and used to take me to the Academy with him on the weekends when I was a small child - so I know pretty much every crook and nanny of the place.

Some people compare me to him; we share the same light blue, grey-ish eyes, rosy cheeks and pale hair - but I'd say my resemblance to my late mother is much more remarkable. Apart from the fact that her hair was curly and mine is straight, we look (well, looked) nearly identical.

I force a smile, and turn away to head to my room, before my grandmother stops me. "Lavinia, bring me and your Uncle Ludovic a cup of tea before you go, will you?"

I roll my eyes, before turning around and forcing another smile at my grandma, who is now sitting on one of the armchairs, reading through the news.

"Yes, Grams," I say, trying my best to keep the exasperation out of my voice. "Coming right up."

I go to the kitchen and start to prepare tea for my grandmother and uncle, a million thoughts occupying my mind. The time turner is ready - completely ready.

After two weeks of improvising it to make it go back in time as far as l desire, it is finally ready.

My heart swells with pride, and I can't keep the grin off my face as I place the cups of tea and kettle on a tray and head to the living room, where my grandmother is discussing the recent news on the Prophet with my uncle.

"I sure do hope this Snow boy does something," she grumbles, as I place the tea on the wooden table in front of them. "He's the only one who seems to know how capital citizens should act. Good thing our Lavinia is smart enough to only associate with people like him. If you ask me, the Snow boy's has great potential."

"Now, now, Ma, let's not be too a head of our self," Uncle Ludo chuckles good-naturedly. "He's only a seventeen-year-old boy, after all. But he did show exceptional bravery during the 10th games. I still can't believe the boy was able to keep the games going."

The hunger games but specifically the 10th game seems so long ago, a part of an entirely different dimension. It was a time before everything went south - before the hunger games started to become a source of entertainment, before it was the dark age which killed my mother in the beginning of war when I was only one. Forcing me to become an orphan to live with my insufferable grandmother. I still remember the day I broke into the academy and stole the time turner as vividly as if it happened yesterday. How terrified I was, of being caught — but in the end, it was worth it. Originally I planned to go back in time to save my mother. But after thinking it though proper I came to the conclusion that I've survived years without her I can go a couple more. So instead I would go into the future. So I can get away from my toxic boyfriend Coriolanus who went absolutely psychotic after something happened when he went to 12 as a peace keeper. In addition I will never have to see my grandmother again.

Tonight, I will go forward in time