A VERY GOOD GIRL

The Hunger Games One-Shot

Effie Trinket was a very good girl with a very dark secret. Short one-shot.

Effie was a very good girl; she was as delicate as a flower. She never swore and she always smelled like lilies in the spring. Ever since Effie was a little girl, her mother told to keep her bible tight in her arms and standards as high as a cloud. She learned many things over the years: sit straight, do not frowning, stay small, never have a shiny nose, and go to church. There were more, but the needles she secretly kept inside a little case rendered her memory of such duties beyond recall.

No one knew about the secret hidden inside of a lonely suitcase because ladies with class did not have little dark cases. They did not have little dark secrets.

She went along with her daily life, though; her standards grew as she did. Effie fell into a routine. She traded flicking pencils to flicking napkins, and she exchanged her magical fairytale storybook for a bible. Her days were consumed with splashes of perfume, cordial invitations, repeated visits to local shops, and quick stops at Schrafft's for the sweetest candies.

It was not a coincidence when she caught the eye of suitable gentlemen. These men would remind her of how pretty she was. Sometimes it felt like one fling after another, but she always remained a good girl in the eyes of the public, never allowing a bad reputation to sink in. Being a classy woman, Effie only used needles alone after a terribly hard break-up. The drugs reminded her that she was beautiful and that there were more men out there to swoon over her.

Years passed before the people in her life began to notice dramatic changes in Effie. One particular old friend whom she secretly wished was more than a friend first noticed the changes. She tried to contain the side effects of the drugs, but nothing could help keep the little hell inside of her at bay. The day her secret little case was found was the day she realized hell was not a place to go—it was something people harbored inside of them.

So Effie remained a classy woman even when she found herself in a new place. A doctor visited her almost every day, and she was placed in a specific white room when days became too hard. She sprayed her perfume every day until the bottle dried. She read her bible every morning and night. Treasured silver was brought out on special occasions, but with Effie, every day was a special occasion. Her pretty things shined and stayed vibrant. Even her little case of needles remained clean.

Effie was a good girl; she was as delicate as a flower.

Author's Note

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone enjoyed this short one-shot. For those of you reading my other story, Finding the Strength, you all know I am taking a small "break," and sadly that break must continue because I have big news… I am the new President of my sorority. It is a huge honor, but sadly it is a busy job, so I unfortunately will be consumed with my presidential duties. However, I might surprise my FTS people with a little update within the next few days. Please review!

Be brave, everyone.