Tribute Training Academy
Proudly teaching District Two's Victors since 2546
Class Schedule:
Cato Racewell
7:00-8:00 Career Cardio
8:00-9:00 Hand-to-hand Combat
9:00-10:00 Weapons
10:00-11:00 Strength Training
11:00-12:00 Strategy and Survival
12:00-12:30 Break
12:30-13:30 Human Anatomy and it's Weaknesses
13:30-14:30 Tribute and Sponsor Presentation
14:30-15:30 Independent Training
We look forward to another promising year and are confidant a victor will come of it. We thank our students and student guardians for their hard work and dedication.
"Cato! What's that your reading there dear?" My mother's sickeningly sweet voice calls. "Nothing" I mutter. But she's already skipping over to me and snatching the large white envelope from my hands. "Oh, good! You've been accepted into the T.T.A. again. Your father will be so proud! Lartius, come see this!" I roll my eyes and am about to climb the stairs and go to my room when my mother grabs my wrist with an iron grip.
I groan as my father comes around the corner and into the kitchen. "What is it Lavender? I'm kind of busy right now." He says with irritation. "Your son's been asked to attend T.T.A again." My father snorts, "Call me back when my son's a Victor." I feel my hands ball up into tight fists as I grit my teeth angrily. I rip my wrist free from my mother's grip and without even thinking about it, punch my father right in the face before storming out of the house. I can hear my father hit the ground and my mother shriek in alarm before the front door slams shut behind me.
I take off running, from nothing or to nowhere in particular. I'm just running because I can. Its probably a long time before my lungs finally start to burn and I feel like I'm trying to breath in fifty pound weights has the cold dry air provides me with much too little oxygen. I slow to a walk. It's cold and windy outside but it feels sort of nice after running so much. I realize for the first time that I stormed out in just boxers. Oh well, I don't care very much right now. I look around to see where I am and realize I'm not far from Clove's house, so I decide I might has well go there since I don't have anywhere else to go.
I knock on the door and Clove smirks when she sees me. "Did your parents kick you out and leave you with nothing but the clothes on your back?" she pauses, "Or butt I should say since there are no clothes on your back." I smile, "Don't even joke Clove, I know you think I'm hot, your probably freaking out internally right now." I grab her shoulders and start jumping up and down, impersonating an excited child. "OMG! Cato's at my door! OMG! Cato's half naked! Now he's touching my shoulders!" I make my voice go high and make a super girly shrieking sound. Clove winces, "Never make that sound again." I laugh. "I won't if you let me in" I tell her.
She moves out of the way and lets me in before closing the door.
"So what happened?" she asks me as I plop down onto the couch. I shrug and tell her casually, "I got accepted into TTA, punched my father, stormed out of the house, and went for a-" I pause to see what time it is,"two hour run in my boxers, then I thought I come bug you." At the last part, I smile at her briefly before looking back to the TV. She raises an eyebrow at me, "Why did you punch your father?" I grunt, lay down on the couch and start flipping though TV channels. "Because he's an asshole." I make my tone firm so she knows to drop the subject. She takes the hint and looks away muttering the word "Okay" and drawing out the 'a'. With that she goes up stairs and returns a minute later with a pair of basketball shorts that she tosses to me. I give her a questioning look, wondering who's they are. "Who's are these?" I ask as I unfold them to see how big they are. "My brother's, they should fit." I nod and put them on.
I've only met Clove's brother, Jupiter a few times. He won the Hunger Games when he was 18 and he's 22 now, he lives in the Victor Village with his new wife, Cinnamon. I never understood why Clove has to go to Career Training if her brother is already a Victor, usually it's the first born child- and that's that- end of story. Clove never talks about her father, so I'm not sure where he is or if he's even alive. Her mother on the other hand is a rather odd woman to say the least. Shes never home when Clove is because she works whenever Cloves home and is home during the time Clove is at training. I'm pretty sure Clove's mom is a prostitute based on the way she speaks of her and the strange hours that she's out. Who's making her train then? Her mother certainly isn't, she couldn't care less about Clove or what she does for all I can tell, not her father because he isn't around, and certainly not her bother, Clove's brother actually cares about her and hates the idea of her going into the games. He sure doesn't care for me though. In fact, he hates me because he thinks I'm a play boy (which I guess is sort of true), that I banged Clove, caused her to fall in love with me, and now I was just stringing her along, not telling her that I didn't love her back and taking advantage of her vulnerability. The whole second half of course is not true, I've never even kissed her before, much less slept with her- well I guess to be fair there was this one time when she...well you know... 'Did me a favor' but we were both drunk.
"What's the matter with you?" I snap out of my thoughts to see Clove staring at me like I'm crazy.
"Nothing, I'm fine." I mutter as I go into the kitchen. She sits at the bar stools while I raid her fridge. "Don't you have anything good to eat?" I complain as I open random drawers in the fridge. I'm not really hungry, I'm just trying to keep myself occupied. "There's chicken wings in the freezer." I open the freezer and grab the box. "Cool, do you want any?" She nods. I grab a plate from the cabinet and dump the wings onto it before throwing them in the microwave.
"So did you get accepted?" I ask her. She nods again and hands me her schedule. "We have Cardio, Weapons, and Presentation together." I inform before passing the paper back to her. She nods. "What are you an avox?" She rolls her eyes. "No, my tongue is right here see?" she sticks her tongue out at me. "Well then why don't you use it?" "What do you want me to use it for?" she asks in a slightly seductive tone. "Well not for talking, that would get annoying." I use my 'flirting' voice. "Hmmm" she says as she pretends to think about it. "Can I use it to tease you?" "Depends how you intend on doing that exactly." As much as I like flirting with Clove and all, I really need this to stop soon. As much as I want to, I can't sleep with Clove. That would mess everything up. Luckily I'm saved by the bell, the timer for the chicken beeps the second Clove opens her mouth, about to reply. I rush over to get them and change the subject, "Thank God, I'm starving." Clove looks agitated for some reason.
It isn't until late that night that Clove asks me, "So are you going back to your house?" I wince at the idea of having to go back there and face my parents. But on the other hand, staying here probably isn't a good idea either, that's just way to tempting, Clove and I alone at night. "I think I'll go to Scarlet's." She was insistent on ensuring me that her parents were never home on Saturday nights, I wasn't really in the mood for the thing that I'm sure we would end up doing but I have to stay somewhere and both, here and home aren't not options.
Before I have time to register what's happening Clove punches me in the nose and I feel the pain pulsing along with the thick wet blood that is pouring from it. I run my fingers along the bridge of my nose to make sure its not broken. I try to contain the blood with my hand as I stand up and make my way to the bathroom sink. "What the hell was that for Clove?!" She follows me to the bathroom. "Sorry," she mutters in a way I know means she isn't really. I lean over the sink and try to not get my blood all over. She hands me a cloth and I hold it to my nose while I wash off my hand and the sink. I look at her expectantly, waiting for an explanation, but Clove just avoids my eyes and makes it clear that I'm not getting one. Two can play at that game.
"Why did you punch me?" I demand. She tries to act normal, "I thought you would move before I got to you, I gave you like a whole three seconds to react and you just sat there like an idiot." I know that's a complete lie, my reflexes are a lot better than three seconds. "No you didn't. I'm gonna ask you again, Why did you punch me Clove?!" She glares at me uncourteously, "I told you why." I'm getting annoyed with her now, she won't even tell me why she punched me in the face! My free hand clenches into a fist, the other still holding the bloody cloth to my nose. I toss the cloth into the sink. I take a deep breath and try to calm down. "Clove, your starting to piss me off and if you don't tell me soon then I might lose it and hurt you." She looks terrified, good she should be afraid of things that might hurt her. "I... I..." she stutters. "Spit it out Clove!" I demand. She mutters something inaudible. "Louder" I half yell. "I didn't want you spending the night with Scarlet!" she yells.
My eyes widen and I turn towards the sink, clutching it with both hands, suddenly feeling like I need the support. I have to give myself a second to calm back down. "Well, say something" she utters. I let go of the sink and stand up straight, catching a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror, but looking away quickly when I see someone that isn't myself and my normally blue eyes, are almost black. "Fine, I won't stay a Scarlet's." I tell her as I brush past her roughly and leave the bathroom. I stomp down the stairs and spend the night on Clove's living room couch.