The streets of my cold home are quiet when I wake. As I lie in bed for a moment, I briefly wonder what we will learn in training today. Then, I remember: today is the reaping.
I jump out of my warm bed too quickly, resulting in a shiver down my spine as my bare feet come in contact with the cold-as-ice floor. I rush over quickly and slide on my shoes, cursing under my breath. But nothing can keep me down too long, because this year is my year. The trainer assigns the volunteers each year, and after the training exams, I was selected.
As I'm getting dressed, my sister Leona suddenly and unexpectedly barges through my bedroom door. After I've finished yelling and her cowering, I ask, "What did you want, anyway?"
"I- I'm sorry, Cato, Mother told me to remind you to meet that girl in the square today before the reaping," Leona answers.
Ah, yes. Clove. Leona's reminder is helpful, but I'm not about to apologize.
"Yeah, I know. Now, get out. And learn to knock, while you're at it!" I say.
She backs out and closes the door carefully. I walk over to my window and look at the mountains. I choose this room for this reason only: I can see everything from the window. The mountain, the training center, and a little ways along the road, the square. The only three places in 2 that I like to go. The mountain because it is where my father works, and every time I go, his co-workers praise me. The training center, because it is where I can be myself and it has trained me for this day and because of Clove, my friend and soon-to-be ally because she was also chosen to volunteer this year. The square, because it's where I spend all my free time and have the best memories with friends.
Enough sight-seeing, I think. Time to go.
"Good morning, Cato," my mother says warmly as I enter the kitchen. I give her a nod and focus more on what's for breakfast. "We don't have much, but I can make something if you like." I shake my head and grab bread from the table. "OK, then. Good bye, Cato!" she says quickly as I'm walking out the back door. Soon I'm on the road to the square.
As I walk, I realize that word of my selection for the arena this year has gotten around 2. When I walk by people on the street, I receive congratulations and praises and slaps on the back. There's even this group of kids the start to whisper when they see me, and when I walk by them they say all at once, "Hi, Cato!" I give them a nod and they start giggling and run away. Then a girl watches me walking by and she blushes when I notice her. By the time I reach the square, I'm smugly grinning to myself and almost forget why I'm here. My pride's at its fullest and I don't even notice her until she speaks up.
"Wondering if you were even going to get here," Clove says. I look at her and smile again.
"Why? Were you running out of patience? "I say and take a step towards her.
She steps forward as well, so that we are now standing literally face to face. "A little cocky this morning, are we?" She says in that deceptive little purr of a voice.
I inhale deeply and reply in a low tone, "Well, passerby hasn't exactly let me forget that I have a reason to be prideful."
Her eyes flutter down then back up quickly as she pretends to take me in for the first time. She crosses her arms. "Well, obviously you're worth something close to my skill, or they wouldn't send you out there with me."
I grin and look directly into her eyes. I'm vaguely aware that if anyone but Clove had challenged me so openly and sarcastically, I would be furious. But I dismiss the thought, because it doesn't matter.
"Come on, we've got more important things to do than stand here gazing at each other like children," Clove says, but as she turns, she looks me in the eyes one last time with her most devilish grin. How in the world did she manage to say any of that without bringing my wrath on herself?
We walk away from the Peacekeepers and camera crew that are preparing for the reaping. Clove is leading the way, and as we talk, I realize I have no idea where she taking me. I pause for a moment on a street I am sure I have visited a maximum of once in my lifetime.
"Where were we going again?" I ask her.
She stops and looks at me. "I thought you were taking us somewhere."
"No, I was following you," I say, getting slightly worked up.
She laughs and goes back to being seductively evasive of my anger. "Well, it seems you've managed to be confused by my presence again, Mr. The-Wall-Is-My-Target."
I remember the day she's referring to. I was ten years old and at training for the first time. She was standing off to the side of the rest of us, looking at me the way she is now. Well, I picked up a spear and was tossing it, hitting the mark every time. The teachers told me that this was most likely to be my weapon when it happened. I was going to throw the spear again when I saw her, grinning at me in a way that demanded that I look into her eyes. Because she was to the right of me, the spear in my hand flew to the left. I only snapped away from her gaze when I heard the other kids shrieking and jumping out of the way. The spear stuck in the wall. The teachers scowled and scribbled things down on my record. All the kids were laughing at me. When I looked back to the girl who had distracted me, I found her cruelly laughing like to rest of the kids. I charged out the door and ran home. The next thing I knew, I was sitting on my bed in my room. That was when I realized, for the first time, someone had done something unthinkably mean, and I wasn't angry. Just embarrassed. The next day at training, the distracting girl came over at break time and introduced herself as Clove. From then on, we were friends. Even at the age of ten, Clove had a way of getting anything she wanted from anyone.
"I guess I have," I say to her.
"Yes," she says, back to a normal tone. "Well, if we both weren't looking, then I guess we just took a straight path because we were both waiting for the other to turn." She turns and walks away.
Sure enough, after a while of walking again, the square comes back into sight. When we reach it, I look around. People are starting to gather. It must be almost time to start. I turn to Clove and find she's already walking away to sign in. I shrug to myself and sign in, too. We'll see each other in a matter of minutes, anyway.
"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!" The familiar voice cries. My heart is pounding against my rib cage. As the woman on the stage calls out the girls' name, someone called Mira Lamagna, Clove steps forward and volunteers. I grin again and ready myself to take to the stage. The woman reaches into the bowl and pulls out a name. I don't even listen to her call it. After every head turns and looks not at the boy who was called but at me, I inhale deeply and say loudly, clearly, and with all the pride I've held this morning, "I volunteer." The crowd parts like the Red Sea. I walk the path to the stage and take my place next to Clove. The woman asks for my name and I give it. Clove and I shake hands.
"And there you have it!" she says. "The tributes of District 2! Do they not deserve a round of applause?" The crowd erupts into cheers and then they're leading us away, into the Justice Building, were we will say goodbye to our family and friends. First to come is my mother, father, and Leona.
"Oh, Cato! I just KNOW you're going to win!" Leona cries and giggles. I give in and smile down at her for the first time in my life. She giggles again, pleasantly surprised.
"Cato, you should have taken more breakfast this morning. You know how you can get when you don't eat enough, and it would have been-"my mother starts to say but my father cuts her off.
"Actually, he knows how he gets when he has to breathe," he says. I shoot him a look, even though his snide remark about my anger is true.
My mother looks at him darkly, too, and clears her throat. "Well, I just wonder where he gets that from. Anyways, good luck to you, Cato." She hugs me tightly, and even though I grimace, I don't push her away.
"Remember what you were taught. Come home. Make me proud," my father says, and his goodbye thankfully contains no physical contact.
"Cato?" Leona's small voice asks. I look down at her. She's looking up at me with her hands behind her back timidly. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Leona," I say.
"Our time is almost up," says my father. I nod. He shakes my hand. Leona runs over and reaches up to me. I sigh and lift her onto my shoulders. My mother hugs me again. Then the Peace-keepers are there.
"Time's up," one of them says. I set Leona down and my family walks out the door. I wait, but it seems that no one else is coming. I sit down and wait for the Peacekeepers to take me to the train. The door opens and I rise, expecting it is time to go, but am surprised by the two main trainers form the center.
"Tania? Darren?" I ask.
"Yes, Cato. We came to see one of our best students off," Tania says with a smile. I smile back.
"There was no way we'd miss saying goodbye. We just came from Clove," Darren adds. This brings on a smirk.
"What kind of state is she in?" I ask truly curious.
"To be honest…" Darren says, trailing off.
"She's in a rage, for lack of a better word," Tania finishes for him.
This confuses me. "Why?" I ask, but they both just start mumbling. We waste most of the time with me trying to get them to tell me what's wrong with Clove. "Fine," I eventually say. "I'll just ask her on the train."
Their eyes get huge. "That's not the best idea," Darren tells me.
"Why not?!" I demand. Tania starts to answer, but the door swings open and the Peacekeepers order them out. I sit down for another minute. The door opens again.
"Come on," The Peacekeeper standing there says. I rise to my feet and he leads me to the train.