I burst through the doors of the academy. I know he won't be here. He's set to be a mentor this year, and they stay segregated until the Reaping. I have to find Creon and I have to tell him about Salome and he has to let me volunteer. He has to. I repeat that to myself over and over as I walk in time - he has to, he has to, he has to, he has to. I stride quickly to find him, still panting heavily from running, when he appears out of a side room. He looks furious and imperiously begins to demand answers from me. "Clove! What the hell are you – is that blood?" I look down and I'm not exactly covered in it, but I guess I won't be wearing my best dress to the Reaping either.
He has scarcely stopped speaking when I calmly explain, "Salome is dead. I killed her. You have to let me volunteer this year. I wanted to tell you. I know there are no surprises on Reaping day in District 2. You had to know and I had to tell you. I will be the female tribute this year."
Creon is already a humorless looking man. His wrinkles crease and his frown deepens, but he doesn't look surprised, so I know he already knows why. "I was hoping you wouldn't do anything drastic. You're quite popular within the district, Clove. Perhaps it would not have turned out so badly for you. They likely wouldn't have made an example out of you."
"Creon, you know the only person equal to a Victor is another Victor. If I have to face him again in this district, I will face him as a Victor. Or else I will die in the Arena, but that's better than what would happen to me. They might not have made an example out of me, but he would have. I can kill. I've proved I can kill. I have no option but to win. Choose me now and tell me where Cato is preparing. I'll go join him."
He doesn't respond to me. He walks back into the room he came from, and returns with a dress. It's my size. The tag says CLOVE in his writing. He expected this. I follow him as he leads me down a hall, and I begin to realize why they always say that there are no surprises on Reaping day in District 2. Even if it might be a surprise, no one outside will know. It will look planned on camera. I know I haven't ruined anything, and I can finally begin to close off my emotions. Now, like all those practice days in the academy, I can become a ruthless machine, and I can win.
The next few hours pass in a blur. I stand behind some ropes off to one side as all the other eligible people in our district file in. Cato and I will file in with our age groups as they enter, but we get a last few moments to talk before we officially become the tributes from District 2 for the 74th Hunger Games. I didn't tell him I killed Salome, I just told him that she couldn't compete this year and that I have replaced her. He doesn't care. He's here to win, and he has probably the best shot. If it comes to it, I can kill him, but I'm hopeful that he'll get overconfident and end up another pointless casualty in the Arena.
Aldo sees me standing with Cato and looks confused, then panicked. He tries to catch my eye, but I don't want him to know what happened. I can tell him after I've come back a Victor. Until then, he doesn't need to know more than what will officially be announced – Salome killed herself due to a sudden onset of panic about being a tribute. With no time to re-evaluate, Creon and the other instructors at the academy selected the best female in District 2 to take her place. It all flies by from there. They take the stage and Aditya, our escort, runs through the usual spiel before poising her hand over the bowl of names and asking if, before she chooses, there are any volunteers? There are. We are. We go to the stage and I'm not sure if the crowd is cheering or jeering or voicing their confusion.
They take us back and I instruct the Peacekeeper who is guarding our rooms – I think another classmate of Cyrus's but at this point it doesn't matter – that I do not want to see anyone. I might hear my mother's voice, but I tune her out. The other Reapings are happening and I am choosing my targets. There's a panicked-looking girl from 8. The crippled boy from 10. And then there's the girl from 12, what drama that Reaping was. We don't all have the luxury of such sentimentality, and I'll kill her to prove it. As I'm being led to the train, I catch Aldo's eye. He is standing with my parents and they look jagged and false, though they're trying to beam with pride like they're supposed to. I nod at them curtly before boarding the train.
I look around and see Aditya sitting on a sofa next to Enobaria. She beckons us over and Cato sits down. I stand up. I have to be ready, because short of the moment when I enter the arena, now is when I must be most vigilant.
"Hellooooo, darlings! Cato and Clove, how dear, both C's, you're such a pair!" she trills. "You know Enobaria, of course, from your time at the academy. Your other mentor this year is Brutus, but he's not feeling well will be meeting us in the Capitol. They've taken him already by hovercraft so he can be treated and back to 100% before you get to practicing!"
After all the tension I felt waiting to see Brutus for the first time since yesterday, I almost faint. But I don't. I won't show weakness, not even now. Cato might be my partner in the beginning, but in the Arena, you have no friends for very long. After some consideration, I sit down and make nice with the others. I catch sight of myself reflected in the mirror. I am beautiful, I am poised, and I am deadly. I will win.