Here's Chapter 2! This one is a bit longer. She sees Cato in this one, but there should be more interaction in upcoming chapters.
Disclaimer: I still don't own this. Suzanne Collins does. Suprise there, right?
Next time I wake up, I don't quite understand anything. I don't even know where I am. Whatever bed this is, it's comfortable. I look around to see some sort of wooden furniture with a large mirror in the middle. I stand up to look in it and see my reflection. That's right; I'm a tribute. The question is, where am I?
Katherine decides to barge in the room to tell me that I missed Dinner and adds that we should be arriving in the Capitol soon. Then, she scolds me for sleeping so much starts rambling on about how I need to be on a sleeping schedule so I don't keep them up every night. I like sleep. The only reason that I may not be able to sleep is because I have some sort of an anxiety disorder. Thankfully, nobody has ever seen me in the middle of an anxiety attack except for my mother.
After her rant, Katherine leaves the room and I decide to look around a bit. I find myself wondering into the bathroom. The white and polished room is rather small compared to the Acadamy's, I note. I guess this one is just for me, though. Bobblehead had mentioned that we were nearing the Capitol, which means that soon I'll be in the hands of a stylist. I hope they don't dress me in one of those ridiculous fishnet costumes like they did to Finnick. I suppose that would be quite an attention grabber, but it would mainly just look ridiculous.
I turn back into my room and find a big screen of some sort. It resembles a television, but it's flat. I look around and find a remote so I can turn it on. The screen is a lot brighter than any T.V. I have seen. Soon, the picture pops up and I can recognize the Game's announcers Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith. They're showing the recap of the reaping. As much as I hate the idea, I decide that it wouldn't be a bad idea to size up the competition.
First up is District One. They show the boy, Marvel, getting reaped. He didn't volunteer, but he looks as if he's been trained. He doesn't look to surprised, but he still walks a bit stiffly to the stage. His district partner, Glimmer something or other, volunteers much like Riley did. I'm not sure why she did, she looks like your usual priss who would cry is she broke a nail. Sometimes looks are deceiving, but anyone named Glimmer shouldn't be that much of a threat.
After they finish talking about One, is the reaping of Two. They call the girl first this time. She's small and looks like she's about twelve. I'm about to get really pissed at the capitol when they announce that she volunteered and she's only thirteen. If she's only thirteen and volunteered, she'll be a threat. The bloodlust in her eyes is easily noticeable. I learn her name is Clove. Then, their escort pulls out the tribute boy's name. Again, before she can read it, you can hear a person volunteering. The croud parts like the Red Sea and a tall blonde boy walks to the stage. He's definitely trained. Everything about him seems trained. He also seems very arrogant, however. Arrogance in the arena could easily get you killed. He announces his name is Cato with a highly cocky grin.
Up next is District 3. Neither of them are volunteers and they look to be about sixteen. I can barely see the girl's bottom lip start to quiver before she stops it. I respect her for that. Staying strong can be hard if you're pretty sure you're going to die. I would know.
Next, they show my reaping. I ignore Riley's volunteering, but pay close attention as the screen shows Katherine calling my name. In the background, you can hear Caesar and Claudius questioning my last name. Of course, they'd catch onto that. Then they start putting two and two together and commenting on my looks. They're comparing every little aspect of me to Finnick already. I notice that I can't see my hands shaking from earlier, so at least there is a plus. I look strong. My head is held high, but I can't help but giggle a bit when I see my glare at Natalie. I hope she rots in hell. Maybe if I'm lucky, she'll get into some sort of accident while I'm gone.
I don't get to watch much more of the reapings before my door is being pounded on. I open the door to see the one and only Finnick Odair standing on the other side. He looks pretty flustered and I try to hold in a laugh, but fail with a small snort. Way to go, Lila. "Um, hi? Can I help you? You're Finnick, right?" I say as I try to cooly hold my hand out. He pushes it away and retorts with an accusing, "I think you know exactly who I am." "What are you trying to say?"
"Who are you and how are we," he points between me and himself, "related?" I decide that since he'll probably be mentoring me, I should tell him the truth. I sigh and state, "You're my uncle, I guess. Mom never told me much about you. She said that you guys really didn't talk much after your games. I don't real –" I try to continue but I'm cut off. "Wait. You're Kendra's daughter?"
"Yup," I say as I pop the 'p'
"Didn't she –," he starts to say but now it's my turn to cut him off before he can talk about my mother's death and I end up in tears.
"Yeah. Two years ago. Nobody knows what happened. It's just 'I'm so sorry for your loss.' 'Let me know if I can do anything for you.'," I say with airquotes, "While it was nice for the sympathy, it passed after about a week. Everything was empty promises, I guess," I finish quietly saying it more to myself than to Finnick.
Before I know what's going on, I'm being pulled into a hug. I wasn't expecting it, but I return the gesture almost immediately. It's a bit awkward. Not hugging anybody in two years can make you a bit rusty, I suppose. I'm the first to pull back, but he tells me how he's going to do his best to get me out of the arena and how once I'm safe, we'll sort everything out.
He's surprisingly nice for someone who looks so self-absorbed every time I see him. I judged before I got to know a person again. Stupid girl, I think with a small sigh. Sometimes I'm grateful for the little voice in my head; it makes me feel not as lonely as I probably should. Other times, I just want it to go away and let me try to think for myself. You can't learn from your mistakes if your head is yelling at you 24/7 not to make them.
He leaves me with a kiss on the forehead and I turn back to the screen just in time to see the reaping in Eleven. I notice that the boy tribute, Thresh, is already on stage. He's huge – nearly the size of Cato. However, he seems less than ecstatic to be there. I notice him stiffen when their escort calls the girl tribute's name. It's someone named Rue. I look around the screen and realize, to my horror, that it's a little girl. This has to be her first reaping. She looks absolutely terrified and I'm sure that I'm not the only one who notices the tears streaming freely down her dark cheeks. I hope I'm not the only tribute whose heart breaks at that moment, too.
My mind is still on little Rue when they switch to the District 12 reaping. I don't pay much attention, but I learn that the guy's name is Rye and the girl's name is Elena. I don't even have to look to know that they aren't trained; Tributes from twelve never are. I decide to go back to sleep before I start crying over, well, everything. I could cry over my silly life, the fact that it will most likely be over soon, how it will end, or there's always just thinking about poor little Rue. Once that thought crosses my mind, the thought of not crying seems to be thrown out the window and I find myself sobbing into my pillow before I drift back to sleep.
I wake up around 5:30 in the morning from an almost comforting, usual nightmare. Almost every night for as long as I can remember, I've had nightmares of different ways to die. I thought if anything I'd dream of the arena last night, but instead my weird brain decided to have me think up something where I was having fun in a hovercraft, jump out of it somehow, and end up safely on the street. Then, I had bent over to pick up a gold coin I found and a car pulled up and some lady shot me. The end.
It was actually a nice dream compared to other ones. At least this time it was a short, quick death. Over the years, I think the only other one that ended that fast was when I had my head chopped off with an axe in our basement back in Four. I think I was about 4 then. Seeing violence on the television frequently can really mess with a kid's head.
My thoughts are interrupted when Katherine once again bursts into my room – without knocking, I might add – to tell me that we've arrived in the capitol and I would meet my stylist shortly. I look down and notice that I'm still in my reaping dress, but I could care less as I follow my stomach into the dining room where I find a nice, hot tray of cinnamon rolls.
God bless this hellhole.
I'm on my seventh roll when Katherine, Finnick, Riley and some other chick walk into the room. Finnick eyes the tray questioningly and I respond with, "What, I was hungry, okay?" but it ends up sounding like mumbles because I forgot that I still had food in my mouth. Believe it or not, I actually have manners, but if food is put in front of me, I'll eat it. Nobody understands why I'm so skinny seeing as I eat fatty foods like a pig whenever I'm around them. I blame it on either my metabolism or me being a vegetarian. I have never been a fan of eating anything that once had a face. I feel bad whenever I even walk by the meat station at the Acadamy.
I find out that the random woman standing with Finnick is the other mentor that is assigned for my district, Talia. We greet each other and I try to remember her. She won the 72nd games, which is probably why I don't remember with it being around when my mom died and all. She's only 18, so it gives me hope to know that she was my age when she won. I think I might actually like her. I'd much rather hang out with Talia that Katherine or Riley even.
Soon though, I'm being pushed out the train and into the building where my stylist will make me look pretty, as Katherine said. They all break apart and I am pushed into a room with three odd looking women. I don't bother learning their names because I doubt I'll be friends with people who are circling me much like a lion stalks its prey. They tell me to, and I quote, strip and lie down on the table.
So, are they trying to make me look decent or am I getting raped? I try to think, humorlessly.
I feel something warm running down my leg and I'm hopeful that my nerves didn't make me pee on myself, but I'm soon corrected when I hear a ripping sound and pain shooting up through my entire leg. I've shaved my legs before, but nothing like this. If this is pre games, just kill me now. I'm not sure how long this takes, but soon I'm being sat up and they practically smother me in lotion. They fix my eyebrows while someone paints my toenails a shiny blue color.
After the the spa like part of the session finishes, they leave and I come face to face with a woman who I infer to be my stylist.
I have a feeling that I'm going to have Lila be a very sarcastic character. Sorry about not having Peeta or Katniss in this, but I put in someone named Rye. Think of him as Peeta's brother. I wouldn't be able to kill them. I put Rue in there though, so there can be your tearjerker eventually.
Here's a fun fact: I have nightmares where I die almost everynight. The axe dream and the one where she took a coin off the side of the road and got shot are both real. I've had dreams where I'm going to a Taylor Swift concert (love her), my shoe falls off, I bend over to get in and end up getting my throat slit by some random guy. Whoops.
Please review. Constructive critisism, suggetions on where to take the story, certain parts to put into the story, anything really. It's always welcome. (:
