Today we head to Capitol.
The train station was a bustling of activity as teachers struggled to get excited students into line while we waited to board the train. I looked into the distance and into the direction we were headed, and only saw mountains and trees. It was not uncommon for people to travel now, ever since we had entered democracy. As the poverty levels and travel bans were lifted, people were encouraged to travel.
"Capitol is nothing much, really. It's a very sad place." Gwen, my best friend remarked beside me. Her family is made up of a generation of tailors and majority of the population in District 12 bought our clothes from them. They are also avid travelers and Gwen has already been to Capitol multiple times. She had told me a long time ago, that the people of Capitol never smiled, and they dressed in the most gloomy colours. Sometimes there were beggars in the streets and often people ignored them. Our history books taught us that before the war, the people of Capitol engaged in wastage and a life of superficiality and vanity that should be abhorred. They were enjoying their glamorous lives while the people of the districts were suffering from poverty and starvation. And my mother, the Mockingjay, was the source of inspiration for all rebels, who eventually won the war.
"They claim that we're all being treated as equals now," Gwen said quietly, "But the hatred for Capitol is always there."
I watched her distant dark eyes and realised that this was what I liked about Gwen. She's highly intelligent and extremely intuitive. She always knows when I'm feeling down, and is also fiercely loyal to her friends. Her short dark brown hair that frames her heart-shaped face, large eyes and small nose gives her a look of delicateness and she may very well be the prettiest girl in our district. The teachers hurried us up the train, and Gwen and I headed to our allocated compartment. As I settled into my seat, someone else entered our compartment. I could recognize that overwhelming presence anywhere. Calum.
"Hello, Primrose Mellark," he said simply, and gave Gwen an inquiring cock of his head.
"I'm Gwen." She gave him a full smile, and I thought, even the cool, level-headed Gwen is not immune to his charms.
"Hi Gwen," he said, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was an odd number in my class and I'll have to join both of you." He slid into the seat beside me, and I almost jumped. Gwen raised an eyebrow at my reaction and I knew I had a lot of explaining to do later.
The rest of the train ride was quiet. I looked out of the window most of the time, watching other districts go by, and wondered how life went on there. I envied Gwen for being able to travel, while my parents had always preferred to stay in District 12 and at home.
It was so awkward in the compartment. There was tension in the air and from the corner of my eye I could feel Gwen's unwavering gaze on me, while Calum was simply quietly staring into space.
"So Calum, have you been to Capitol before?" Gwen suddenly asked, cutting through the thick silence.
With a slightly stunned look on his face, he replied, "Never."
His monosyllabic answer did not provide much material for us to continue the conversation, and only emphasized on the air of distance he always had around him.
When we finally arrived at Capitol, he said goodbye to us and went on to join his class.
"You like him." Gwen said, and it wasn't a question, but a statement. Before I could even answer, she continued saying, "he seems perfectly boring, though."
I felt slightly offended by her words, but I must admit that he's not much of a conversationalist. Trying to avoid Gwen's accusing gaze, I looked around the train station of Capitol and realised that Gwen was right. It was a gloomy place where all buildings were either white or gray, causing me to feel out of place in my bright yellow dress. The people also dressed in dark or muted colours such as black and brown. After the war, the new government seemed to have really been determined to bring an extreme change to the once colourful Capitol. This blandness was a stark reminder to the people of Capitol that they no longer had the luxury to engage in wastage, and that they are now under the power of a new government. It deserved the reputation as the capital of Panem, though. There were more buildings around in a clustered fashion, and many people walked along the roads as they carried out their daily activities. There were small roadside stalls by the train station that catered souvenirs for tourists from other districts. But the people all had similar expressions. They were often downcast and their eyes were to the floor.
We were herded towards our first stop, which was the current government building, previously President Snow's mansion. It was here where my aunt had perished, at this magnificent building which seemed to bear no signs of a war taking place here except for a small plaque installed at the entrance that read, "In Memory of the Lives Lost for the Freedom of the People".
"This is now the government administration building and was previously the house of President Snow, who had died during the war in a public execution initially intended for the Mockingjay to carry out…" Our history teacher, Mrs Fisher's voice trailed away as I felt many pairs of eyes on me. I continued looking at her unblinkingly and she looked away. "Eventually he choked on his own blood while President Coin was killed by the Mockingjay. Now, if you notice the architecture of this building…"
I tuned her out from this moment onwards, and tried to imagine my mother standing here twenty years ago, watching her sister die and also being in front of thousands of people as she killed the president. What could be going through her mind then? It was difficult to reconcile the quiet woman I've always known to one who had in fact led a rebellion.
"Are you okay?" Gwen asked me.
I smiled in response, but I was so caught up with my thoughts that I had no words to reply her. We boarded a bus and headed off to our next stop, the arena where the Hunger Games were held. As we approached the arena, I could see the large expanse of space it used to occupy before it was destroyed and made into a memorial. It had been replaced with marble slabs and transformed into a square, and 12 marble towers rose in the centre of the square and was positioned in a circular formation. Each tower represented each district, and the names of the tributes who had died during the Hunger Games had been carved at the base of the towers.
Calum's class had already arrived, and when our eyes met he gave me a soft smile of acknowledgement. Our classes took a walk around the circle of towers as each of us put out a hand to feel the cool marble against our palms and also close our eyes in prayer for the lives lost. This was it. This was the place which had brought my father and mother together and also the place that stripped the dignity of the tributes and robbed them of their sense of humanity. Father had told me once, in private, that before entering the arena he wanted to retain some part of himself and not lose himself in the cruel game that Capitol had created. He vowed to himself not to turn into the savage beast people expected them to become, and give the audience that satisfaction. He wanted to die as himself. That was the most he would reveal to me about his experience of the games, and as for mother, she had never said a word. "Your mother has suffered a lot," was what Father simply said when I asked about her.
After that we were left to roam around the area ourselves to do some souvenir shopping. Gwen and I went to some stalls by the streets, and I bought a mini jabberjay for Gaius which is actually a voice recorder. As Gwen was still choosing gifts for her large family, I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around. Calum looked down at me as he said, "Want to explore?"
Mutely, without thinking, I nodded my head. It wasn't until a distance away before I realised that I should've told Gwen that I was leaving her for a moment. But Calum was already a good distance away from me and I decided to follow him instead.
"This place is depressing, isn't it?" He asked me as we maneuvered our way through the busy square where tourists haggled for prices of the souvenirs.
"I guess the people of Capitol haven't fully recovered from the war yet," I said.
Without warning, a glint appeared in his green eyes and he grabbed my hand. "Come on," he said and pulled me away from the square and to a quieter district where the dull buildings stood. He led me into an alley and I didn't notice where we were heading because I was too busy staring at his large hand around my wrist.
"Look, Prim. I can call you Prim, right?" I looked up at his face and noticed that he was nervous. "I've… always been intrigued by you."
The meaning of his words took some time to sink in and his closeness took my breath away. I couldn't think of anything to say because the thoughts in my mind refused to settle. Is he about to confess something? Or does he simply mean friendship? Or maybe he's intrigued because I'm the Mockingjay's daughter. A lot of people are always curious about me. I took a look at our surroundings. It was a narrow alley and I didn't know where we were. What was he planning on doing? My heart started to palpitate as I thought of the many possibilities. Then he started to lean in and instinctively I closed my eyes.
What I had anticipated did not happen, but instead I was yanked backwards by hands that grabbed onto both of my arms, and opening my eyes, I saw that two masked men were holding Calum back. Looking to my sides I realised that I was as well. Panic and fear lodged the scream in my throat. I opened my mouth but was unable to make any sound, and before I could, one of the men held a cloth over my mouth. I took in a scent of chemicals, and could feel my vision getting blurry.
The abrupt release of their grips on me startled my eyes open. A figure appeared from behind me and deftly delivered two stabs from the knife on his hand for both men holding onto Calum before they could even react. He stood panting slightly behind Calum, and I noticed that he was slightly taller than Calum, with messy dark hair and eyes of such dark blue that they appear to be almost violet. His face had streaks of dirt and it was hard to decipher his remaining features. All of sudden, Calum sprang towards me, grabbed my arm and ran. I stumbled a little but his strong grip continued to pull me along. I took a look back, and our saviour was watching us. His mouth was opened and I faintly heard him saying something but we were already too far to hear it clearly.
Panting heavily, we finally reached where our buses were parked and the teachers reprimanded us for running off. I wasn't listening to their words at all as I stared at Calum blankly, still disbelieving what just happened in the alley just now. He refused to look in my direction and hung his head low as his teacher gestured him up the bus. I boarded my bus and took my seat beside Gwen. Are you alright? She asked me. What happened? Why are you panting? I couldn't answer her, because the shock had not worn off yet.
I swore that the name the guy had called out just now was Calum.