"Meet your mentor, Tiberius Stephens, winner of the 32nd Hunger Games."Valora said as we entered the train. Tiberius was sleeping on the couch. I had met him many times before at social events. My parents told me to avoid him, as he was a Morphling. And, boy, did he look awful. He had dark circles under his eyes and his hair was falling out. Valora cleared her throat and tapped his shoulder. He bolted up, looking around, his eyes wild. Then, he calmed down and looked at us.
"Ah. Two more cows for slaughter."he said, shaking a lot. His skin was this disgusting yellowish color. It was hard to look at him. He sighed and took out a small bag. I couldn't look.
"I told you not to do that in front of the kids."Valora said, slapping him on the arm. Titus was just smiling away, eating all the food on the train.
"I don't care. They won't live much longer anyways."he said.
"Tiberius!"Valora yelled.
"Well, it's true. They're gonna be dressed up all nice and purty and then they're gonna be sent to their grave. Whether it's by dehydration or an axe or stabbed in the back or ele..."he said, seeming to go on and on. I had enough.
"Can you just give us some advice?"I asked quickly, shutting him up. He laughed.
"So, the Pearl of District 6 can't bear to hear one of her possible fates. How hilarious."he mocked.
"Tiberius, give them advice. That is your job after all."Valora said, rubbing her head and pouring herself a drink. She took off her wig, revealing beautiful red hair.
"You want some advice? Okay. Run. Keep running until you can't run anymore."he said, leaving the cart. Valora sighed and poured herself another drink.
"Great. Just what we need. A Morphling and an alcoholic."Titus said when we were the only ones that showed up for dinner.
"As if the odds weren't in our favor already."he said, digging into the chicken. I noticed something about Titus. He loved to eat.
"We'll have to make the best of it."I said, quietly. Titus wasn't very talkative. He was very reserved, yet he held this commanding presence about him.
"By the way, I meant to ask you earlier. Why are you called the Pearl of District 6? I never understood that."he said. I sighed. I always dreaded when people asked this question. Probably because I never knew the answer. My father said it was birthright. My stepmother said it's because of what I did when I was little. My mother said...
"I saved my mother when I was young."I replied after a moment of thinking.
"Your mother?"he asked. I nodded and took a sip of my drink.
"How?"he asked. Another question I dreaded.
"Well...she became...very sick. Too much Morphling in her blood. So...I donated a pint weekly...to keep her alive. It didn't work. She slipped into a coma. But, she didn't die. That's why people call me that because I would do anything to save another person."I said, shaking a little. I took another sip and took a bite out of my salad. It was silent. Titus seemed to be pondering this.
"So, you're very selfless and devoted."he inquired.
"And, you're very quiet and reserved."I countered. He chuckled and raised his glass. I raised mine in return.
"Happy Hunger Games."he said.
"May the odds be ever in your favor."I quoted. We downed our drink and continued eating. He seemed to be thinking again.
"I'm not that reserved."he said. I raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I appear that way to people because...I'm a deep thinker. I'm normally so wrapped up in myself that I fail to see what's going on. I only let certain people see what's going up here."he said, tapping his head.
"At least you two have something in common."Tiberius said, finally coming into the dining car. I sighed, dreading having to spend thirty minutes with him.
"Let's talk strategy."he said, surprisingly, laying files on the table. I picked one up titled Hiding. I shuffled through it, reading it. It was, as the title implied, all about hiding. Basically, you run off into the woods, hide, and try to survive off the land. I put it down and picked up another called Killing. I passed it to Titus, shaking my head. He nodded and put it down.
"For Olivia, I propose the Little Darling file. Since you're already the Pearl of District 6 and everyone knows your story, this seems like the best options for you. Titus, I believe the Surviving file is more your style. Oh! That rhymed! Yay!"he said excitedly. I picked up the Little Darling file. Basically, it's land enough sponsors to survive on and just hide in a tree somewhere.
"Are you sure this is the file for me?"I asked. Big mistake.
"Do you question my judgement?! Who's the mentor here?! Huh?! Well, if you think you can do a better job, be my guest, you stuck up prisspot!"Tiberius yelled, the Morphling controlling his emotions. Titus picked up his knife but I held up my hand, telling him to stop. I waited for the moment to pass. I learned to deal with this people, people like my mother, from a very young age. He took a deep breath and calmed down.
"Alright. Check out the other files. I don't care."he said, eating some food. I smile and flip through the other files. He was right though. The Little Darling strategy was for me.