Chapter Text
“Now Euphemia, you will not sully your clothes during playtime. You hear me? These clothes are not for playing! I do not want any excuses when I come and pick you up, you will be at the gate without a speck of dirt on those clothes or else you will be in big trouble!”
Her mother’s voice seemed to echo inside of her head, it was as if she were still there standing beside her whispering furiously into her ear. She could never understand why her mother needed to repeat herself, she always behaved. She always followed her mother’s rules. She was far too aware of the repercussions of disobeying her mother’s fastidious rules regarding clothes or etiquette or posture. Her older sister hardly ever visited any more but she could still see when she closed her eyes the vivid purple bruises across the backs of her legs after disobeying their mother yet again.
The playground was full of laughing children, running carefree with their friends before the bell. She straightened her already rod straight spine and smoothed down her lily white designer frock, tracing the tiny embroidery beneath her fingertips to soothe her nerves. It was a terrible habit that her mother despaired of ever fixing her of but she loved to feel the tiny stiches and see the patterns in her head.
A tall man with a head full of hair as white as her dress approached across the grass. He looked gently down at her and then glanced to the clipboard in his hands. She felt the nerves in her stomach relax a little much to her surprise. The man smiled brightly and spoke.
“Euphemia Trinket? Welcome to our primary school, the 12th District Academy. I’m going to be your head teacher, my name’s Mr Abernathy. I hope you enjoy your short time with us here, it’s almost a shame that you’ll be moving on so quickly with our current year 6 to high school after the summer.” His relaxed tone made her even more at ease and something inside her prompted her to speak.
“I am certain that the time will pass pleasantly here. Excuse me Sir, could you please call me Effie? I much prefer it over Euphemia.” She asked.
She didn’t know what possessed her to ask it and was horrified at herself at the impropriety but as soon as she had said it she desperately wanted him to allow her the change. She wanted to carve out something that was just her own in her new school. Asking it made her feel bold and even though she knew her mother would find out and punish her for the informality with a stranger, she strangely couldn’t find the normal fear that would create.
“Aren’t you a proper little miss?” He asked, delighted. “Well since you asked ever so politely I will most definitely call you Effie. Now, Effie, won’t you come with me I’ll show you to your classroom and get you acquainted with your teacher.” He gestured towards the school building just as the bell rung for the first lesson of the day, the children stopped their games and headed towards the open classroom doors. She smoothed her hands over the fabric once more and nodded to herself and followed his lead.
As they walked over to the classroom door she looked at the students around her. Groups of girls or boys all chattering animatedly away as they began the long slog through till lunchtime. In her observation of her new classmates she forgot to focus on what was ahead of her until she slammed into someone.
“OI! BLOODY WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING!” A boy’s voice yelled in her ear.
She pulled away from the boy in horror at being so impolite as to walk into someone and opened her mouth to apologise but was beaten to speaking by her teacher.
“Language Mr Abernathy! If I hear that kind of language again I will be having words with your parents!” Mr Abernathy snapped at the boy.
Effie looked between them in shock. She wasn’t sure she had heard correctly. The boy grinned cheekily at the teacher.
“Grandpa, you know they won’t care about a little word like that!” He shot back.
She felt her mouth open at his words. Her teacher rolled his eyes and then glanced towards her.
“Don’t call me that in school please. I’d like to introduce you to this ill-mannered oik, my grandson Haymitch. Haymitch, this is our newest student Effie Trinket and I would like you to apologise now that you’ve tried to walk through her.”
Haymitch cast his glance over her and she felt the distain for her appearance immediately. She knew what he was seeing. Her long blonde hair done up elaborately in braids, her pristine white dress which screamed money and her feet in miniature high heels. She looked every inch her mother’s daughter and was proud to be.
Just as Haymitch was judging her, she looked him over too. Scruffy short blonde hair, an ironed but untucked blue shirt and grass stained shorts and his feet covered in trainers which looked five years past new. Compared to her own ensemble he was dressed practically primitively.
She held out her hand delicately towards him, already cringing inside at the prospect of touching his sweaty hand and smiled sweetly. Her mother’s rigorous training prepared her for uncomfortable meetings.
Chin up. Eyes bright. Smile on.
Haymitch roughly grabbed her hand with his own shook it once. She blinked, shocked at the handshake she wasn’t expecting but kept her smile fixed.
“Effie Trinket, pleased to make your acquaintance.” She said crisply.
“Sorry about walking into you.” He dutifully parroted.
“Apologies accepted, it was after all an accident.”
She took her hand back and folded them together, clenching her hand into a fist as to not touch the material of her dress with it.
Mr Abernathy sighed a little, clapped his hands and gestured towards the open door in front of them.
“Come along children, otherwise you’re going to be late! And that wouldn’t do, now would it?” He said.
Haymitch snorted and strolled through the door, Effie quickly followed him appalled at the idea of being late on her very first day. After they were both herded through the door Mr Abernathy closed the door firmly behind them.
Effie glanced at the door and then to her dress. She let out a little gasp when she noticed a minute smear of green on her formerly pristine dress, a little bubble of fear cropping up at the prospect of her mother seeing it. Haymitch cast a glance at her when she gasped and saw the grass stain. He frowned in confusion at her apparent horror and ducked into the closest door to them.
Before she could ask to be directed to the nearest toilet to clean the hem Mr Abernathy placed a hand on her shoulder, pushed her beyond the door way and began to walk briskly down the brightly coloured hallway.
“Now I know that we will only have a few months to get to know each other and that you will be leaving with your parents to the Capitol after the summer term,” He paused and looked to her for confirmation to which she nodded. “And that you came from a private school, The Keeper and Escort Institution for Refined Young Ladies. That’s quite a name for a school!”
Effie smiled at him, showing just the right amount of teeth and replied.
“Oh yes, my mother and grandmother attended when they were young and myself and my sister both attended. It is quite the school, the best in the county. I was ever so sad to leave when my father moved us here.”
He smiled compassionately at her, thinking that she was missing her friends. Effie knew her school was the best in the county however she never liked being there but it was what he expected her to say. Amongst her peers she had always been ‘Constance’s little sister’, her sister’s reputation ruining any chances she had of ensuring lasting contacts with her schoolmates. It was a source of embarrassment for her mother and herself that even though she excelled in the subjects she was most definitely excluded from the most important aspect, the elite social life, due to her sister’s antics during her time there.
He stopped by a door with bright yellow flowers painted around the frame. He placed a hand on the door handle and turned to her.
“This is Mrs Sparrow’s classroom. I’m sure that you’ll enjoy yourself, most of our students do. If you have any worries do feel free to ask her and she will be able to help, if not I am always available.”
Effie stared at the bright door in horror. Art. Paint. Charcoal. At Mr Abernathy’s urging she stepped up to the door, she took a steadying breath and knocked smartly on the door; she heard a little noise of amusement beside her and the door was pulled open by a brightly dressed woman.
The woman smiled brightly at her, knowing eyes lighting on her immediately and she felt her apprehension about the mess fade. It was as if the woman had known what she was fearing and was going to steer her right. Mr Abernathy placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and urged her forwards.
“Mrs Sparrow, this is your newest student, Euphemia Trinket. Well I’d better be off, I hope you settle in nicely Effie and remember if you need anything do just ask.” He reminded her softly and walked off down the corridor, leaving her in the charge of the woman before her.
Mrs Sparrow smiled even brighter and opened the door wide for Effie to pass into the room. She tapped sharply on a paint splattered table cover and the class quickly quietened for her to speak.
Effie found her nerves coming back in full force with all the other children’s attention directly on her. As if on an invisible cue she smiled at her future classmates, perfect and welcoming just as her mother had taught her, her spine straightened and she tried to make her face as pleasant as possible. Once the class had fallen silent Mrs Sparrow began to speak.
“Ladies and gents this is our newest class member, Euphemia Trinket. I want you to make her as welcome as I know you are all capable of doing!” She pointedly looked at a boy sitting with his back to the class doing something with watercolours. “Yes, I mean all of you. Even you Martin.” She spoke with a crisp accent, familiar to Effie as her own but not nearly as severe as her mothers.
Effie wondered for half a heartbeat whether she and Mrs Sparrow came from the same sort of people but when she took in the flowy yellow shirt and the paint splattered jeans and the shiny and copious necklaces Effie couldn’t imagine her sitting down for afternoon tea with anyone like her mother or the society women she had grown up around.
At the mention of his name Martin turned just enough to look at the newcomer, rolled his eyes and turned back to his project. Mrs Sparrow let out an amused huff and spoke under her breath ‘little devil’. Effie couldn’t believe how her teacher let the boy get away with being so rude. It was unimaginable to think that this was to be her teacher for the coming term, she recalled the only time she had seen such behaviour at her last school and that ended in the young girl being expelled for disgraceful manners.
Mrs Sparrow half turned to Effie and smiled gently at her.
“I know it’s a bit of a shock coming here after your previous school but you’ll quickly learn that we might not be the most rigorous school nor the strictest but our students are the brightest by far.”
She waved to a girl who sat sketching a flower pot on her table filled to the brim with hyacinths, the vivid purple and blues nearly obscuring her face.
“Iris, can you come her please? I would like to introduce you to Euphemia, she’ll be sitting next to you this term.” Mrs Sparrow called to the girl.
At the mention of her name Iris flicked her gaze to the two of them, Effie noticed how solemn her face was but how curious her eyes were. She gently placed her pad and pencil on her desk before moving to greet her new classmate.
Effie pulled on her most gracious smile and extended her hand towards the other girl, they shook hands slowly contemplating the other.
Effie took in the girl’s powder blue skirt and white t-shirt; she could see that her outfit certainly wasn’t designer but neither was it off the rail. She ran her eye over the hem of the skirt and internally gasped, for sitting all around the hem in subtly shining embroidery were horses. Intricate horses running round the fabric through fields of perfectly formed flowers, Effie couldn’t help but want to know who designed it for her as it was a rival to and even surpassed some of her own clothes.
“Hey, Euphemia. I hope you’ll like it here.” Iris spoke quietly.
“Good afternoon Iris. I do think I’ll enjoy my time here, thank you.”
Mrs Sparrow urged them to their seats and worked her way round the class to her desk. Effie followed the quiet girl to her table and took her seat.
“Do you mind if I see what you’re drawing?” Effie asked.
Iris silently passed her the drawing pad and awaited her opinion. Effie took the pad and felt herself smile at the image on the paper, drawn in careful lines were the flowers on the table. Beautifully shaded and nearly real enough to touch but what caught her attention most were the giggling fairies resting on the petals or flitting around the plant. Each creature had its own individual style, some in ball gowns others in combat boots and leather jackets. Effie couldn’t imagine being able to draw such beautiful images with just a pencil and her imagination. Her mother always said that imagination was a poor use of her time, taking away from being present in the here and now and Effie always followed her mother’s edicts.
She handed back the paper with slight reverence being extra careful not to smudge any of the lines she had admired. Turning to Iris she smiled properly, naturally.
“It’s beautiful, you’re so talented!”
“Thank you, Euphemia.”
At her words Iris smiled brightly back at her and the ice was broken. The two girls began talking like there was no tomorrow, covering likes and dislikes, dreams and fears. By the time the lunch bell rang they were fast friends.
As they were leaving for lunch, Effie stopped the other girl with a touch to her arm.
“Please, you simply must call me Effie. I do so hate being called Euphemia; I was called that after my grandmother. It’s an awful name!” Effie exclaimed.
“Well I think it suits you, but Effie does roll easier off the tongue!” Iris replied.
“You know Iris, I think you and I are going to be friends forever.”
“You know what, Effie, I think so too! Forever and ever!”
The girls giggled and left to play in the afternoon sunshine.