Three
The next morning is the first day of training. Mother is staying in the escort room in the tribute building so it is Zuzanna who wakes me up at five in the morning to prepare to be Atala's apprentice. I shower quickly and then dress in the mandatory black pants, black tank top, black jacket, and black boots. I braided my hair and then pulled it into a bun, glancing at myself in the mirror. I actually considered wearing makeup before shaking off the thought. What was getting into me? It was training, not a looks showcase. "What do you think?" I asked Zuzanna, walking out of my bathroom. "Passable?"
"I see no reason for your mother to get upset," Zuzanna said with a smile. "Now eat before you're late." I obediently sat down and dug into the melon Zuzanna had placed on the table. Normally I would have protested that she was babying me by not letting me do anything but today I was running late so I said nothing. Jacques was waiting for me with the car running when I bolted downstairs into the parking garage.
"Running late, aren't you miss?" he said with a smile, opening the door for me.
"Yeah," I said breathlessly, climbing in so he could shut the door behind me. Then he slipped in the driver's seat and pulled out, heading for the tribute building. The training room was in the basement so I took the stairs two at a time. Luckily I burst through the doors just on time.
"Good to see all that running helped with something," Atala said with a wry smile and I grinned.
"Definitely," I said as a few of the other trainers chuckled.
"Sit down then Reese," Atala said. "I was just filling in everyone on their jobs today." I nodded and sat with protest. The training room with Atala was one of the only places I wasn't treated specially because I was Seneca Crane's daughter. Here I was just another girl. "Good," she said when I sat. "Zayden you'll take the sword area today." Zayden was in his mid thirties with dark hair and piercing grey eyes. His no nonsense look often enough managed to keep the Career tributes that dared his station in line. "Jax and Calla you have the spear and knife stations." Jax was tall, blond, and twenty-four. Calla was two years older than Jax, her younger brother, at twenty-six with white blond hair. Both shared pale blue eyes. There were bows and arrows at the spear and knife station but most stuck with spears or knives.
Atala paused a moment, considering, before continuing. "Neo take the agility training area and hand to hand combat." Neo had just turned 40 last month. His dark brown hair was turning grey and his brown eyes could see straight into your soul. He and Zayden both were well known for not taking any nonsense. "Saren take the edible plants station. Ness you have fire station." Saren and Ness were twins, twenty-seven, with dark hair that had cobalt streaks through it and black eyes. "Mateo you have snares and memory testing." Mateo was thirty-one with vivid red hair the color of blood and golden eyes. "Sayre take camouflage. Reese, you and I will be floaters. Now get to your posts." We all nodded and split. I almost slammed into twenty year old Sayre who smiled at me and pulled her gold hair over her shoulder, her brown eyes gentle. We at the training center were probably the most normal looking people in the Capitol.
As soon as the doors opened the tributes began to filter in. The Careers from 1,2, and 4 were the first ones there, stepping into their assigned circles but calling to each other and laughing. I followed Atala to the back of the room to wait as other pairs stepped inside in their training clothes. Finally Atala glanced at the clock and nodded to herself, standing fully and walking to the center of the room.
"All right everyone," she called, instantly catching their attention. "I am Atala, the head trainer at the Capitol. That means my word here is law. This here is Reese, my apprentice. She is going to be part of the panel that judges your skill along with the gamemakers instead of me this year." Instantly whispers rushed through the room as I forced the surprise not to show on my face. This was as much news to me as it was to them. "That means try to impress her."
"With your skill," I added. "That does not mean try to make me part of some competition where you find out how many Capitol girls you can sleep with before you go to the arena." I sent a scathing glance at Cato, Marvel, and the boy from 4. The Careers were usually the worst offenders. "If you try it I will personally take you apart."
"I couldn't have said it better," Atala said calmly. "Now remember to stop at the survival stations. Poisoning or infection can kill just as quickly as a knife. Use your time wisely." She paused to look around the room. "Begin." Instantly they moved out of the circles, the majority heading for weapons training. The exceptions were the tiny girl from 11, the red head from 5, and the pair from 12.
"Am I really helping judge," I asked Atala as the noise of training started up.
"Yes," she said squeezing my shoulder. "Now go scope out the tributes." I nodded and headed down toward the circles where I could get a temporary vantage point. The girl from 12 was working on snares so she wouldn't lack for food. The girl from 5 was zooming through the memory station and the one from 11 was working at the edible plants table with Saren. I turned then and headed for the weapons area. I had trained with almost every weapon in here but my specialty was the bow and arrow, something the girl from 1, Glimmer, was butchering with her poor skill. Jax and Calla had both tried to help her but she shrugged them off. I decided to try insulting her into letting me help instead of asking her if she wanted help like Jax and Calla were likely to do.
"You're an awful shot." I made sure to say it loud enough that Marvel, Cato and Clove could all hear. Marvel and Cato both laughed but Clove only smirked, mostly focused on her knife throwing which was better than mine.
"You try it," Glimmer snarled, shoving the bow and quiver into my arms. I met her eyes steadily for a moment and then knocked and arrow, pulling the bow up to full draw and aiming before firing. A perfect bulls eye. Then I handed the bow and arrow back to Glimmer. "Line up," I ordered and she did as she was told. She let me help her for three minutes before shrugging me off. Her aim was somewhat better but she still stunk. I saw the girl from 12 watching Glimmer and smirking some as her partner worked on some truly excellent camouflage.
"You're pathetic Glimmer," Marvel said, trying hard not to laugh as he launched a spear into a dummy's chest right where the heart would be. He was downright lethal with a spear, unlike his partner who was turning out to be useless.
"What good are you anyway?" Clove sneered. Her niceness last night seemed to have worn away overnight but I didn't mind. I had known there was more to Clove than a confused little girl anyway. After all she had volunteered. Glimmer huffed and tossed down the bow and arrows, stalking off. Jax rolled his eyes at me and Calla held in snickers. At this rate it would be a miracle if Glimmer got higher than a two. I helped a few other tributes before I saw Cato. He was at the sword station under Zayden's instruction but the grey eyed man wasn't helping the blond boy at all. Instead he was watching as Cato decimated the dummies. I couldn't help but stare for a moment. Evidently in 2 it hadn't been good enough that Cato was pure muscle. He had to be utterly deadly as well. I swallowed hard and had to force myself to look away. I was decent with a sword but Cato could probably kill me in a matter of minutes. I was acutely glad I wasn't a tribute.
Atala called break for lunch then and most the trainers left with tributes after cleaning up their stations and readying them for the afternoon. I managed a secret wave to my father who gave me a wink and a smile before leaving for lunch with the other gamemakers. I gulped down my lunch and headed back into the training room. I picked up the knives Clove had abandoned and began throwing. My specialty were really shurikens. They were sharpened spikes of metal that had first been used in feudal Japan by the ninja to assassinate those in power.
After destroying several dummies I had built up enough confidence to head to the sword station. Atala had told me yesterday that I needed to work on my skill set there every lunch this week but after watching Cato I was doubtful I would ever been good enough. I tested a few before finding a curved Saracen blade. It was light enough for me to handle and I always worked better with the more obviously curved blades for reasons that I didn't quite understand. I worked through the basics before moving into the more complicated skill sets Atala had begun showing me. "You're getting better." I turned and grinned at Jax who grinned back. "Mind if I give you some advice?"
"I would be most grateful," I said. He nodded and walked over, adjusting my stance slightly.
"There," he said. "Less of a chance of you cutting yourself with that blade." I nodded, twirling it slightly before starting my exercises again. I stopped when the other trainers entered, not desiring to hear a flood of advice I would barely be able to register. I spent my afternoon staying at the weapons area with Atala helping tributes who had never used a weapon gain basics skills before they were dismissed for the day.
"Want to eat supper with Sayre, Saren, and I?" Calla asked, just as I was about to leave.
"Sure," I said with a grin.
"Good," Calla said, grinning back at me. We walked across the street to Elora's, a small cafe that specialized in teas and sandwiches. We had all ordered when Sayre announced she had news.
"What is it?" Saren asked. "Are you pregnant?"
"You're dying your hair purple," Calla suggested dryly.
"You don't really exist," I said brightly and Sayre rolled her eyes at all of us.
"No stupids," she said, laughter obvious in her tone. "I'm engaged."
"What?" Saren and I yelped at the exact same time
"When did this happen?" Calla demanded.
"I've been dating the same man for a while," Sayre admitted. "Since high school actually but he didn't have a real stable job as a stylist but after being inducted as a new stylist for the Hunger Games he proposed to me."
"Wait," I said. "Is he the new stylist for 12? Cinna?"
"Yes," Sayre admitted, flushing.
"Well this calls for a toast in congratulations," Saren said as our tea and sandwiches arrived. She lifted her tea cup like it was a glass of champagne and we all copied it. "To Cinna and Sayre on the occasion of their engagement."
"To Sayre and Cinna," we repeated, clinking our tea cups together. I was happy for Sayre, truly I was. She was perhaps one of the most grounded Capitol citizens I had met that was close to my age and she deserved happiness. That didn't stop me from thinking about a certain boy with blue, blue eyes from 2 though.
Author's Note: Thanks to EmmaCrane (I'm actually glad you hate her mom! It lets me know I've done a good job with her!) for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing of the Hunger Games that you recognize!