Chapter 2
After my little chat with Puzzlette, I went to take a nice bath. I striped off my clothes and slid into the boiling water, warm baths always made me feel so relaxed. I laid back and closed my eyes, the bath automatically dispenses soap into the water and this particular scent made me burst into tears. It was jasmine, the flower. Clive always smelled like jasmine.
I slumped over and slid under the water. It was still so hard to believe, Clive was dead, he was never going to teach me to swim. He was never going to kiss me again. He was gone and I just still haven't understood why.
I pushed myself back up, suds covered my head and face. I can just imagine what he would say if he saw me. "You've got something… right there." He would smile and touch my nose.I covered my face with my hands, tears plopped into my palms.
"Flora!" I heard Puzzlette knock on the door, "Are you alright?" I sniffled in.
"Yes," I replied.
"Well, okay then, dinner is in an hour!" I heard her walk away and shut my door. I sighed when she was gone. I didn't want anyone to see me like this; they had seen enough of my breakdowns in the arena. I laid my head back again, just hoping that I could breathe, to stop thinking of him.
After my bath, I changed into a cute little red knit dress and put my hair in a braid tying it with a red ribbon. I didn't forget to put my other ribbon and cog pin on. My ring had stayed on the whole time; I could never take it off. Shortly after primping I headed to dinner.
"Good evening Flora," the Professor was already seated at the table when I walked in.
"Hello," I smiled and sat down across from him.
"Flora are you alright?" Puzzlette was sitting next to the Professor, "Your face is red and splotchy."
"I was…" I looked down at my plate, "I was just thinking about Clive." I heard my voice crack.
"Oh," She slumped back into her chair, "Flora, I'm, I'm sorry," She sighed. I just shook my head and picked up my fork. No one said a word after that, we ate in silence.
…,
After dinner, when I was in my room, watching television, Puzzlette came in.
"Listen Flora, I'm sorry for mentioning that earlier at dinner, really I'm sorry," She sat on my bed next to me, "I didn't mean to upset you."
"It's alright," I placed my hand on her shoulder, "I know you didn't mean it." I smiled lightly at her.
"No Flora, it's not," I was surprised at how serious she was, "I know that what you went through in the arena and I should have known that you were probably crying about the games and I'm sorry."
"Puzzlette, it's fine," I strengthened my grip on her shoulder, "You wouldn't understand, it's totally alright." I smiled again, hoping that she would just nod and go away. I needed some time to think, just not about the games.
"If you insist," She stood up and walked back to the door, "And if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here, alright?" I nodded and smiled at her once again before she left. Once the door was shut I fell back into my pillows and breathed in. Don't cry I told myself Not anymore. I closed my eyes, if only there was a way that I could bring them back. If I could just give them a breath of life, they could just come back, be alive again. I missed Clive, I missed Becky, my fake little sister, I missed Luke's stories about his lost love. I missed his lost love for crying out loud! I threw my hands in my face and sighed out loud.
"Soon enough this will be over, my Victory Tour will end and everything will go back to the way it was." I told myself, but there was no use lying to myself. So I relaxed and lay my head back and I drifted… into… sleep.
…
When I woke up in the morning, light streamed into my room through the curtains. I rubbed my eyes clean. Everything was happening so fast, I wasn't looking forward to my Victory Tour, and it was starting today. I sat up and pulled the covers off; I slid my legs to the side and put my elbows on my knees. I sighed and closed my eyes.
"Today is going to be awful," I muttered. I not only had to face Ilyana's parents, but I was probably going to have to watch her death, which included Becky's, Amelia's, Rosetta's, and Clive's. I stood up and headed out the door that led to the dining car. The Professor was already there, reading a newspaper and drinking a cup of tea.
"Oh, good morning Flora," he smiled warmly at me before looking back down at his paper.
"Morning," I mumbled after sitting down across from him, an Avox set a plate of scrambled eggs and sausages in front of me, "Thank you." I told him before I dug into my breakfast.
"Flora," the Professor eyed me, "Please eat like a lady." I rolled my eyes playfully.
"Come on Professor," I smiled at him, "It's not a big deal," I laughed slightly before shoveling another egg in my mouth. He smiled back at me before looking back down at his paper.
"Good morning!" Puzzlette suddenly sauntered through the door. She sat down next to me, patiently waiting for her breakfast to sit in front of her. "Come on now, I don't have all day to wait for my food!" A nervous Avox ran into the room, a plate in his hand, little pieces of food hopped onto the floor, "Thank you." She eyed the boy before looking back down at her food hungrily, "So Flora, are you excited for your day in District 12?" She asked me.
"Not really," I replied nonchalantly.
"I wouldn't either, it's a sad district, it really is," she explained while placing meat into her mouth.
"Yeah…" I paused, "I guess."
"Don't worry though; I've already got something cute for you to wear." She smiled lightly at me… oh boy this was going to be a long day.
Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, but I'm writing two other fics right now and I kind of had writers block for the last bit of this chapter… Anyway! Two more things, I have a new poll up and hopefully, faster updates are coming up, I'm also going to update Avatar and the Broken Mine hopefully soon, most likely Avatar though, only because I have writers block for the Broken Mine Ok, have a nice day! Peace out girl scout! -Lil
