Chapter Text
Sejanus is eight years old when he starts his first day at the Academy.
He doesn’t like it here in the Capitol. His father seems to, so he’ll try.
But here, alone with his Ma, as she touches up his new, crisp Academy uniform, he just wants to go home , and says as much to his Ma.
“Oh, sweetie.” She strokes his dark curls. “ This is our home now.”
But it doesn’t feel like it. This house so huge with countless rooms, making him feel so much smaller than he is. A mansion filled with valuable things, although it feels empty. This isn’t home. Home is back in District Two, home is at school with his friends, with Marcus, with his family.
Why hadn’t anyone come and said goodbye?
His Ma gives him a kiss on the forehead. “Go on, the driver is outside.” She places a bag of gumdrops in his hand. “Make some friends.”
Sejanus walks out of the house and into their driver’s car. This is one of the few times he’s been in a car, seeing as they didn’t have a need for it back in District Two. He has a feeling he’ll be in cars more often now.
They pull up in front of the Academy. Sejanus is nervous, but he guesses it’ll be nice to meet new kids. Sejanus thanks the driver and approaches the school. It’s big, much bigger than the one he attended in District Two, so much so that he gets a bit lost before finding his class, room 17-B, in a separate, smaller building for younger grades.
Sejanus takes a deep breath before twisting the doorknob and walking inside. All of his new classmates are grouped together at the front, and Sejanus feels tempted to try and approach them.
No one said goodbye back in Two.
Sejanus sighs and finds a seat in the back of the class. He observes the group of kids. They all seem to be deep in conversation, and none of them notice him. Except for one.
A blond, curly haired boy with blue blue eyes, who looks to be more content listening to the chatter rather than chiming in, glances his way. Sejanus sees his eyes crinkle in confusion, probably because the boy doesn’t recognize him. The blond gets distracted by something the girl next to him says, and he turns away from Sejanus, replying to the raven-haired girl.
Sejanus fiddles with the zippers on his backpack until their teacher comes in. She gives them a three page booklet on double-digit addition and subtraction, and tells them to finish by recess. Sejanus knows he’s good at school; he was the best in his grade in the tiny school they had in District Two. However, he soon realizes that these kids are quicker than him. Sejanus notices that the blue eyed boy finished in a matter of minutes. The boy turns in his booklet and goes back to his seat, reading a book to pass time.
Sejanus is the last one to finish; he feels disappointed in himself. It isn’t as if he is not smart enough, he just takes his time on each and every question. He walks up to the front, and still no one notices him. The bell rings for recess, and all the children race outside.
Sejanus stands alone, clutching his gumdrops tightly. He sees that one kid, the blond, is farther away from the big group; sitting on the swingset and reading his book. The raven-haired girl is trying to get him to join them, to which he looks to decline.
Sejanus grips his gumdrops tighter, watching all his classmates chase each other around or ride slides on the playground.
Make some friends. His Ma had said. Sejanus approaches one of the girls on the playground, the loud one.
“Hi,” Sejanus says timidly. “I’m Sejanus Plinth. Can I play with you?”
It seems everyone has finally noticed him. They all look at him before whispering to one another. Sejanus catches bits and pieces of their whispers.
“...Heard Ms. Stewart talking about a new kid…”
“Me too…District…”
The kids turn back to Sejanus, and the loud girl starts speaking. “Uh, no thanks, District. We don’t want you here.”
The blue eyed boy seems to overhear and looks over quizzically before turning back to his book.
The others join in, calling him district scum and Sejanus just doesn’t understand why these kids are so mean. What was so wrong with being from somewhere else?
He walks away from the playground dejectedly. He feels tears forming in his eyes, and plops down on a picnic bench near the swingset, hastily wiping them away.
Sejanus looks up at the boy on the swingset.
Maybe he’s nicer than them. He thinks, before walking up to him.
“H-Hi.” Sejanus is aware of his voice warbling. The boy looks up from his book. “I’m Sejanus Plinth.” He outstretches his arms holding the gumdrops. “Want a gumdrop?”
The boy eyes him with a blank stare; Sejanus can’t tell what he’s thinking, although he does notice the boy glance down at the gumdrops a few times with an expression he vaguely remembers seeing a lot in Two. Eventually, he looks to come to a conclusion.
“Sure.” The boy reaches into the bag and takes a blue gumdrop. Sejanus notices a quick falter in his blank expression, a flicker of great satisfaction. “Thank you.”
Sejanus wipes the remaining tears in his eyes and sits on the swing next to him. “What’s your name?”
“Coriolanus Snow.” Coriolanus eyes the gumdrop bag again, so Sejanus gives him the whole bag.
“Thanks,” Sejanus smiles. “You didn’t make fun of me.”
Coriolanus shrugs. “It’s just silly. You being district doesn’t change the fact that teasing is immature.”
“Snow,” Sejanus says. “That’s a cool last name. There were mountains in Two. They had snow on them.”
Coriolanus looks uncomfortable when Sejanus mentions District Two, so he stops.
Coriolanus pushes himself on the swing a bit. “Thank you for the candy.”
“Welcome.”
The bell rings for the end of recess, and Coriolanus hops off his swing. “You have an accent, by the way.”
“Oh.” Sejanus frowns. “Is that a bad thing?”
Coriolanus shrugs. “I suppose. The other kids will make fun of it. You should try to hide it.”
This doesn’t make the dark haired boy feel very good. “Oh.”
Coriolanus walks off to join the other kids, and Sejanus follows further behind.
Later that day, when Sejanus gets to the house, he feels better than when he left it. When his Ma asks how his day was, he doesn’t want to disappoint her. He tells her it was okay, how he maybe made a friend. This makes her smile, so Sejanus is happy too.
At night, curled up in the covers in a bed that does not feel like his, he falls asleep to the memory of a pretty boy with blond hair and sky blue eyes.