Shortly after the Reaping, a handful of Peacekeepers escort Cato and I into separate rooms of the Justice Building. Like most things in District 2, the room is luxurious; it has a tan, plush carpet, a deep red velvet couch with two matching, overstuffed armchairs, a mahogany coffee table and a sturdy bookshelf sporting a thin layer of dust. It's probably some sort of waiting room, but today it serves a different purpose. This is where my friends and family will come and say goodbye to me for the next hour. I don't expect anybody to show up, so I sit down in one of the cozy armchairs and wait for the time to pass.
After what feels like 45 minutes, there's a knock at the door and two Peacekeepers enter the room. It couldn't have been an hour already… could it?
Three figures usher in behind them and the two men in uniform leave, closing the door on their way out.
"Clove, we're so proud of you." The woman says, putting her hand on my shoulder.
I brush it off and stand up, taking in the three strangers. The woman next to me is petite, like me, with dark hair and pearly skin. The man by the door is tall and slender with tan skin, black hair, and dark eyes – eyes like mine. Then there's a boy, who can't be more than eight years old, who looks just like the man, but with the woman's blue eyes. After a few seconds, I finally recognize the two adults.
"Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?" I ask, clearly taken by surprise at their arrival.
"We wouldn't want to miss seeing our firstborn off to compete in the Hunger Games, now would we?" My father replied.
"Wait, firstborn? I thought I was an only child."
"Oh, we must've forgotten to tell you sweetie." My mom said. I cringe at the word 'sweetie'; I was never one for pet names.
She gestures to the skinny boy, "This is your 7-year-old brother, Lykos."
I guess I should feel something – anger, pain – but I feel nothing; these people are strangers to me. But still, how do you forget to tell your daughter that she has a brother? Clearly I'm an afterthought to them. They probably forgot I even existed until they heard my name at the Reaping.
"Seven? Shouldn't he be training?" I inquire out of curiosity.
"We only need one child to bring us glory." My mother said logically.
I stop to process what she just said and, next thing I know, I'm shouting at my parents.
"So what, that's all I'm worth? That's my sole purpose in life? To bring you fame, fortune and glory?" I scramble for more words to say, trying to find the right words to make them hurt.
"Clove…" My mother starts, but I cut her off.
"No, don't 'Clove' me. You two are rich, selfish bastards! You don't even care about me. If you did, you would've tried to contact me over the past nine years. But no, my parents don't love me enough to do even that!" My eyes are stinging with tears from my frustration and my hands are shaking.
My father opens his mouth to start speaking, probably to try to comfort me, but before he can get the words out I pick up a book off of the shelf and throw it past his head, making it hit the wall behind him.
"Get out!" I shout, reaching for another volume to hurl at them.
Before I can throw it, the two Peacekeepers from before rush in and force my family out into the hall. As soon as they're gone, I collapse into the chair behind me and try to clear my head.
Too soon, the door behind me opens again, this time revealing Alexios, my trainer.
"Hey, Clove!"
"Alexios!"
He catches me in a big hug that lifts me off of the floor. It was the kind of embrace that I should have gotten from my father 10 minutes ago, but that doesn't really bother me; Alexios has been my father figure since the first day I entered the Training Center.
"Okay, now let's be serious for a second." He says, releasing me from the bear hug. He takes a deep breath, running his hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. "You're as prepared for these games as your ever going to be, but you have to remember not to get too confident; that'll be easier for you than it will be for Cato. Also, spend time studying the other tributes, finding their weak points, and building smart alliances. Lastly, remember that you have an audience that you have to please; do whatever you can to get those sponsors because they may end up saving your life."
"Thanks, Alexios. I won't let you down."
Right on time, four Peacekeepers burst through the door – two to take my instructor out of the building, two to escort me to the train. As we walk out of the room, Alexios turns and gives me one last piece of advice.
"Oh, and Clove, keep a level head and don't trust anyone."
With that, he disappears around the corner and I walk out the front doors of the Justice Building to board the train to the Capitol.
Minutes later I am standing on the boarding platform next to Cato. Neither of us smile and wave at the photographers or the crowd; instead we just stand there, looking like the vicious Careers we are.
After what feels like forever, Agatha Churchwell ushers us onto the train. And when the doors close behind us, I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding in.
"Your mentors and I will be expecting you in the dining car in two hours." Our escort says, pointing to the door behind her. She turned to go through the doorway, but stopped in her tracks to give us more instructions. "Your rooms are through that door. Enjoy!" And with that, she was gone.
"Come on." I say, grabbing Cato by the shirt and dragging him into one of the two rooms past the door Agatha just gestured to. Much to my surprise, he didn't meet me with any resistance.
Once we reach the room, I shove him into an elegant wooden chair along the far wall.
"Feeling a bit aggressive today?" Cato asks with a devious twinkle in his eye. "It's okay, I would be too if my parents abandoned me nine years ago."
"How did you –"
"Thin walls." He replied with a smile.
"Anyway," I say, my tone indicating that my family is no longer up for discussion, "I'm here to propose an alliance."
He sits in his chair, mulling it over for a good minute or two. "No."
"Why not?" I ask impatiently.
"Give me one good reason to make you my ally." He says, standing up and walking towards me.
"You should ally up with me because you're not just going to get by on brute strength; you need brains – you need me."
"And what's in it for you?" Cato asks, standing only inches from me now, probably trying to intimidate me. He's almost a foot taller than me, so I have to crane my neck to look him in the eye.
Because it'll be easier to kill you. "Two fighters are better than one."
He ponders this for a moment, and then I see something click in his eyes – like a light bulb just went off.
"Well Englewood, today is your lucky day." He sticks his hand out for me to shake. "You've got yourself an ally."