I sit on the edge of my bed and watch all the buildings of the Capitol light up as the sun rises. I'm dreading 10 o'clock. Because that's when I will descend to the underground level and begin my training. In there, I have no Capitol audience or amazing outfits that melt the crowd. It's just me and my skill.
I'm terrified of meeting the other tributes. The deadly girl from 2 stands out in my mind when thinking about training. She will definitely be part of the Careers, and expect us to be, too. I become so scared at this thought that I run out of the room and to the first place I think of without really thinking. Before I know it, I'm slamming the door behind me and sliding down the door onto the ground. I just sit there for ages before his voice brings me back to Earth again.
"Nitya?" he says. I look up into his eyes. He's sitting on the edge of his bed, his smile fades when he sees my tears. He walks over and helps me up. "What's wrong?" He says. He sounds genuinely worried. I explain everything. My fear of being expected to join the Careers. How I'm worried we'll embarrass ourselves with our mediocre combat and survival skills. And the nagging thought that we'll immediately be bumped up to the top of the Careers' kill list when we reject them. He listens intently the whole time. At times I pray that he isn't getting bored with me, but he seems genuinely concerned. After I finish he pulls me into a hug. We stand there for a long time. "You know, you're not alone. Whatever happens I'll still be there for you. We'll pull through." He says. His voice catches at the end of the sentence. He must have remembered that no, both of us can't pull through. There can only be one Victor. And our chances of even making the top 10 are almost zero.
We stand there and keep hugging. At least if I'm gonna die I will be happy. I have held hands with, pulled pranks with and hugged Atlas Perthshire. Maybe I'll even be lucky enough to die in his arms. Actually, just in his presence will be good enough.
What a little optimist I am.
We don't break apart until Nalajerie comes in to call Atlas to breakfast. She stands there in the doorway looking from one to the other. I know how unusual this must seem to her. Two Tributes from the same District, just days away from entering the arena, hugging, being friendly and (seemingly) happy. Actually, from her point of view we might even seem to be romantic together. We're no romantic though.. Or are we, and I'm too busy worrying about the Games to realize? No, I think I would have realized if we were being romantic. Besides, he isn't the romantic type.
"Savera wants you to come out for breakfast", whispers Nalajerie before scurrying out. We walk out obediently, dreading what Savera would say.
"YOU - ARE - ABOUT - TO - ENTER - THE - ARENA - AND - YOU'RE - DOING - THIS?!" She yells, in a spitting rage. We just entered the dining room and Savera's face is as red as a tomato. I don't understand why she's so angry. She probably just dislikes us. She rages some more for a couple of minutes before Nalajerie steps in.
"I'm sorry, Savera, but they need to be downstairs in an hour. Can you let them have their breakfast so they can get dressed and.." Her voice trails off at the end of the sentence, like someone turned the volume down. I think Savera looked at her, because she stepped back into the shadows as she stopped talking. Savera closes her eyes for a second, as if to regain her sanity, then beckons us to sit down.
"So," she says in a carefully measured voice. There's no doubt she's trying to suppress her anger. "We need to discuss strategies for training. Is there anything you guys are good at?"
"I can run fast. Because I play sport in my free-time. I'm really fit." Atlas says with a smile. Not a gloating one, just a smile. I smile too, I don't know why. I can't help it. Whenever he talks I just.. smile.
"I'm kinda strong, and we can both swim very well.. That's about it I guess." I say.
"No, that's not it. You can fish. Both of us can." He playfully points out. I laugh.
"Ok, I can fish. Anything else?" I jokingly enquire.
"Hmm.. Let's see, you're smart. You're a fast learner, and you're a decent runner." He says, laughing. I continue laughing.
"Yeah, ok. But you're smart too, you know!" We both laugh.
"Oh I am, am I?" He says in mock curiosity. I start to get a stitch from laughing now, so I nod instead of talk.
"Ok, I've heard enough." Savera says, somewhat impatiently. "So, let me get this straight. You're both decent runners, although Atlas is faster. You can both fish and swim. You're both smart. Nitya's strong, and a fast learner, and Atlas is the fittest. Correct?" She says. We nod, still wiping away tears of laughter. "Ok, you both need to work on combat skills. Nitya, since you're a fast learner, try to get to as many stations as possible. Especially survival skills. That last one goes for both of you. Never underestimate survival skills. Nitya, as far as combat goes, I would recommend spears and axes. Possibly knives. Atlas, try to go for knife-throwing and swords. Both of you should go for hand-to-hand combat. Remember: DON'T IGNORE THE SURVIVAL SKILLS. They're vital. Got it?" We nod. "Also, since you started the whole 'team' thing last night with your hand-holding and that little prank you pulled on 12, I want you to continue it. Understand?" She says. We nod again, finish breakfast in silence, and go to our rooms to get ready.
Willow has laid out my training outfit for me. A simple blue shirt that absorbs sweat; loose black shorts made of the same thin, light fabric; and blue and white high-top sneakers made for athletic activity. I take a shower first, but I realize before I undress that this is no ordinary shower.
It has buttons everywhere. Each one with a little label under it. I press the buttons labelled 'lukewarm temp.', 'strawberry shampoo', 'raspberry conditioner', 'blueberry shower gel', 'medium pressure', 'nail-polish removal - fingers' and 'blemish prevention serum'. At once, lukewarm water starts spurting out of the shower head. I undress and step in, and immediately blueberry-scented shower gel is spurting out of the shower head too. It covers my body and is then washed away. My already clean skin looks a million times cleaner. Next the foamy pink shampoo is squirted onto my head. And little robotic hands stick out of the walls to massage it in. The conditioner is done. The nail-polish remover is next, then the blemish prevention serum is poured all over my body. It soaks into my skin as the water returns to normal, then turns off.
I step out and little heaters appear and blow-dry my skin clean. Then a little slot opens and a little icon indicates that I should stick my hand in it. Immediately, I feel as if an electric current is being sent through me, and before I know it, my hair is dry and free of all knots and tangles, and is sitting on my shoulders in a straight, silky curtain.
I get dressed into my training clothes and put my hair into a short ponytail. I look in the mirror. I look more like the girl I was just a couple of days ago. No makeup, no flashy fish costume, just me.
I walk out into the dining room, where Savera is still sitting in her seat. Atlas is sitting on the other side of the table. His training outfit is the same as mine, except where it's blue on mine, it's green on his.
"Well, ready to go?" Nalajerie trills. We nod. Butterflies erupt in my stomach and I struggle not to chew my nails or tongue. I walk to the lift with Atlas and Nalajerie, and notice I'm shaking. Before stepping into the lift I take a deep breath to calm myself.
The lift stops at the underground level. Atlas and I walk out, as Nalajerie wishes us luck in her Capitol accent. It's only a quarter to ten, but we're one of the last to turn up. I feel my face burning as I join the others .
I notice the Tributes from 1 and 2 are smiling at us. I try to avoid their glance and stand as far away from them as possible. Atlas follows. A woman is giving an introductory speech. Advising us not to ignore the survival skills, not to fight with each other and reminding us that after 3 days we face our private sessions with the gamemakers. After she finishes talking, she lets us go off on our own.
I gravitate to Atlas and urgently whisper. "What are we going to do?"
"Tie some knots!" He whispers playfully back. It' so random that I have to laugh.
"No, seriously!" I say.
"I'm serious let's go tie some knots!" He says, laughing. I roll my eyes. "If we go over there, we can chat freely without looking suspicious. No one goes over there." He adds in an undertone.
"How do you know?"
"The trainer doesn't look lonely! The negligence his station is receiving isn't having an effect on him. It means he's used to it."
"Wow, that's the smartest thing I have ever heard you say!" I whisper, as we make our way to the knot-tying station. The trainer greets us enthusiastically, Atlas is right.. No one goes to him. He shows us how to set a few simple yet effective snares. This is actually pretty useful. We could use it to capture food. I'm quite squeamish when it comes to the interior of living things, so Atlas can do the preparing.. If he wants to form an alliance with me.
We master a few simple snares and are just moving on to the slightly more complicated stuff when I detect footsteps behind me. I turn around, and the four tributes from 1 and 2 are there. They take a seat on both sides of us, and grab a rope each. I notice the scarred girl from 1 avoids her District partner. I don't think she's overly fond of him. His life isn't going to be very long in the arena. Perhaps he knows it, he seems kinda scared of her.
"So, you guys joining us or what?" The deadly girl from 2 whispers. I can tell that we'll be her first targets if we decline.
"Uh, sure. We're just here so that we can get food if something were to happen to the supplies." I say. Phew. Atlas looks at me slightly quizzically, but quickly catches on.
"Yeah, or if there aren't any. Remember that year the only stuff at the cornucopia was maces?" He says casually. The Careers nod.
"You two work on this, we'll go intimidate the competition." The boy from 2 says. He stands up and walks off to hand-to-hand combat. The deadly girl and the boy from 1 follow, however the scarred girl stays.
"I refuse to go anywhere near him." She says as she settles down and starts imitating what the trainer does.
"Why?" I ask. "Don't you like him?"
"I can't stand him. He pisses me off so much." She says with a scowl. Her voice is soft, not what I expected. She moves her hands around a lot when she talks, too. Atlas nods.
"Come on, we've mastered the basics. We should move on to something else." He says. We get up, and the girl from 1 goes off towards axes. I grab Atlas' arm to stop him.
"I'll go there with her. Savera recommended axes for me, anyway. You go off to more survival skills. We'll swap after an hour, yeah?" I whisper quickly. He nods and walks off to edible plants while I follow the girl. We pick up an axe each, and the girl immediately starts tearing up the training dummies. I just sort of stand there, the trainer notices that I have no clue what to do, so she shows me a good throwing method. I try it out, and manage to hit the dummie's arm. She then shows me how to control the accuracy. I quickly get the hang of it. I may not be perfect, but at least I have some skill with it. Once I get the hang of throwing, the trainer lets me train with the dummies up close. I'm really good at this.
"You're pretty good! What's your name, anyways?" The girl says after decapitating her dummy.
"Nitya, you?" I say as I strike my dummy so hard it flies off it's tether and hits the boy from 11 at the camo station. The girl laughs.
"Ha! Nice one! Anyway, I'm Grier." She says. I nod.
"Nice name." I say with a smile. "Not like the weird names you District 1 people usually have."
"Ha! Honestly, I'd prefer one of them." She says. "Like Sparkle, love that name." I try not to snort. The names District 1 people are used to are ridiculous. It's always been strange in the way of names. I mean, in 4 you don't call your kid Cod, nor do you call kid Quilt if you're in 8.
After I get the hang of axes, I walk over to Atlas, who is doing a test on edible fungi. I tap him on the shoulder and tell him it's his turn to learn some combat. He quickly finishes the test (which the trainer awards 74%) and walks over to sword fighting. Grier stays with me and pulls an info sheet towards her. I'm starting to think she's alright, when I remember that she's a Career, and I can't trust her.
The trainer gives me a tonne of information. After he tells me everything, with diagrams and lengthy explanations, he gives me a test, which I ace. Grier does pretty well on it, too. I ask the trainer how long we've been here, and he says nearly an hour, I walk over to Atlas. He's killing it with the sword. I notice the other Careers have joined him. He sees me and returns the sword.
"Where should I head now?" He asks.
"Go to fire-building. It will be very useful if it's cold. Or if we need a diversion." I say. He smiles and heads over. The deadly girl follows him with a mischievous smile I don't like at all. It makes my blood boil to see her skipping along beside him, laughing, putting her muscly arm around his waist (because she's too short for his shoulders). Grier bursts out laughing. My anger and jealousy must be registering on my face. "What?" I ask, somewhat defensively.
"You like him, don't you?" She says hysterically and louder than I would have liked.
"Maybe." I say, I can't stop myself from smiling when I say this. I don't understand why. I also don't understand why I'm telling her this information. They could kill him in the arena just to get to me. Why have I subconsciously decided to trust this girl? All I know about her is her name and her District. Even the District she's from just screams not to trust her.
She laughs while I grab a spear. It's not much different from axe throwing, except you need more strength for this because it's lighter and much smaller therefore won't travel far unless there's a lot of power behind it. It's much easier to throw slightly heavier objects.
I quickly get the hang of the spear, however Grier isn't as strong as me. "I've always had trouble with spears" she says. We both continue until lunch. I seek out Atlas and find a table. The Careers join us. We eat a great feast, which I know by now is the norm here, and chat. Atlas and I try to keep to ourselves so we can discuss strategy, but the Careers keep bringing us back into the conversation. Everyone stares at us like we're crazy - because they're all sitting separately and silently - while we chat loudly and laugh.
I find out the deadly girl's name is Merope, and how Grier got her scar (sword training mishap), and that the boy from 2's parents died in some giant mountain in his District that is, apparently, the military stronghold for the Capitol, when he was only 5 years old.
The Careers may be hated by all in the Districts, but they really are just normal people, who have an advantage in the Games. They are more than just killing machines, and that makes them a million times harder to kill.