Author's Note: Sorry if it's not as good as the others. My brother has this newfound obsession with Assassin's Creed and plays it on max volume all the time... horribly failing at trying to focus. And sorry I haven't updated in so long! I feel bad, but I was working on a couple new stories and tend to have a short attention span. xD
I stared at Thresh, confused and somewhat worried. "Yeah, I know you won't kill me... what's going on?"
He shook his head and looked back at me. "You never know what it could come down to. Even if it's not just you and me in the arena, the gamemakers might do something. Other tributes can affect things to." He started to walk away but didn't get far. My speed made it impossible to get anywhere.
"So that's it? You're just going to ignore me for something that hasn't even happened? Come on, you've got so much more sense than this, I'm not as helpless as it seems-"
"Are you?"
That caught me off guard. This whole time in the Capitol, fear fueled some pretty uncharacteristic things. For the most part, though, he had a good idea of who I was. The crying didn't mean anything-if only people could see my family back home. My family... memories came flooding back. There were times we didn't get food for days on end, then when we finally did, I'd sacrifice my meal to younger siblings. Times when we were forced to work so hard, the local Medical Mistress was worried about damaged and broken backs. Local beatings that showed the Peacekeepers weren't afraid of punishing, laws put in place to represent citizens were powerless. Was that why I was acting the way I was? They meant everything to me, despite the horrid conditions we lived in.
"Yes, Thresh, I am. Why don't you believe that?"
"Just go eat before we have to train again."
He stopped talking and turned away, leaving me to eat alone. That's fine, I told myself angrily. Maybe it wasn't anger, but I didn't want to admit it. The next half hour was spent eating alone and trying my hardest not to look in Thresh's direction. There was a million reasons why he might've left so quickly, all spinning around and leaving me with a pounding headache. No, it wasn't supposed to be like this.
"Lunch is over!" A woman's voice called us back into the large room where I didn't belong. Most of the centers were beyond my abilities or content we were taught back home, so there was nothing to do but wander.
"Hey, look at that short girl over there. She'll be easy to kill off." The blond girl who yelled at my friend! A voice inside me said to stay calm, the Rue back home would brush it all off, but the Capitol Rue wanted to do something. "So small and weak, she can't do anything but stare. Can that girl even speak?"
Stay innocent, stay nice... "Yes, I'm very capable of speaking! And as for being small, don't underestimate your opponent. Haven't you ever been taught that?"
The girl advanced upon me with angry eyes. "My name is Glimmer. District 1, where an education is actually provided, so don't tell me I haven't been taught anything. If you have skills then show them. Get up to any area right now and impress me."
I knew that wouldn't happen. To impress a career is almost impossible, and with all the higher level training they receive, nothing surprises them. There seemed like no way out until a young girl with a small frame and gray eyes walked up. She seemed rather intimidated too, but was clearly trying not to show it. But where had I seen her before? She made odd feelings wash up, like some sort of memory was associated with her.
"Stop messing with someone younger than you and move on. Don't you have anything better to do?"
Glimmer flipped her silky hair and laughed, light and tinkly. "Of course I do, but what about you? Sticking up for a lowly tribute who doesn't stand a chance anyways? Leave us alone."
"No." The one syllable held so much power, it almost made me think the smaller girl could win. "If you want to prove your strength, go pick on someone else. Hurting a child years younger than you proves absolutely nothing. In fact, it almost makes you a... coward."
My breath was taken away then. She had so much bravery to stand up to a career, especially this one, who didn't want to back down. "We'll just see who's a coward in the arena! I want to kill you personally, drain every last bit of life from you myself! You'll be running in fear at the very sight of me. UNDERSTOOD?" Her voice was enough to make the whole room stare, waiting intently for the next move. It didn't come from my defender like expected, but from the District 1 tribute again. "Hm, it's not difficult to see why you'd feel the need to help this thing. Weren't you the volunteer girl? Rosie, was that your sister's name?" The smug smile plastered to her face suggested that Glimmer knew her real name but was trying to anger... Katniss. Yes, that's it! Everything I wondered earlier came rushing back, like water breaking free of a dam. Katniss needed no assistance. She could take on anyone alone.
"Primrose," she said quietly, with a hint of venom. "My sister's name is Primrose."
"Is that supposed to be pretty? Sounds pathetic."
"You're pathetic, now stop wasting time."
Glimmer smiled at a crowd of what must've been careers and turned on her heel. Katniss immediatley kneeled down to my height. "Are you okay? Did anything happen?"
I couldn't help but feel happy. This tribute cared for me. "I'm okay. She didn't do anything. Yet."
Her eyes were reflecting hapiness, possibly at me. They were a light gray, the color of stormy clouds, and beautiful. "We should probably get back to training. I'll be there if anyone else tries to touch you." There was a protective edge in her voice, almost a warning to Glimmer that she couldn't hear. Any girl who volunteers for her sister in the games must've been protective. I knew I had a new friend, but watching the blond girl stalk off, I couldn't help but think I had a new enemy, too.
"Okay." Marina put her hand up, flashed a pearly smile, and walked in a straight line. "This is how you should be at all times, especially when you know there's a crowd. Let's start with the wave. Extend your arm like this." She adjusted my position and nodded to herself. "That's good. Now the smile. Big and wide, be happy, you're a great tribute! Let it light up your face! The walk is the hardest part. One leg in front of the other, kind of crossing them, only-"
I walked across the room, just as she demonstrated, and could tell being in public was my talent. I'd do great, but it still felt like there was a gaping hole in me. Every new lesson in the Capitol that drilled into me was just one more step from home. Even so, it might've been luck; the more I'm liked, the more gifts are sent.
The clock changed to 8:29 and I felt my eyes drifting closed. This training wasn't just physically exhausting, it had its mental tolls too. My thoughts swirled around endlessly until Marina snapped her fingers loudly. "Rue? Are you alright?"
What was I supposed to say? Oh, not really. My only friend abandoned me and he was the very thing that kept me going. And I made a new rival, she wants to kill me and this other girl I met. By the way, the other girl is named Katniss and I want her to be my ally in the area, but we can't talk about that. And did I mention it's killing me to realize the Capitol has changed me completely? No, that wouldn't go over well with anyone, so I held my breath and nodded.
She sat down in a red velvet chair and motioned for me to do the same. Capitol people struck me as self-centered, shallow, and clueless, but maybe my escort was different.
"What's really happening?"
My breathing went shallow and rapid. Blood pounded through my head, causing an aching throb, but it all felt minor to the desicion before me. Tell someone and maybe the course of the whole games could change, or don't and forget the risk of looking pathetic and weak. It was drilled into every tribute by now; looks are everything. But maybe there was one more option-reveal half the truth.
"Well, in training today, a career came up to me and... started something. She targeted me, but another girl stuck up for me." I wouldn't even touch my issue with Thresh or the battle inside of me. Even Marina couldn't understand.
"And that's it?"
At that point, all the emotions boiled over. Did anyone really have the nerve to tell me that was it? I didn't care that the Rue in District 11 would stay calm and levelheaded. There was something more important at hand. "Yes, that's it! You people have no idea what it's like to be a tribute! The Capitol supplies no children to fight to the death, maybe that's why you're all so stuck up. Can't anyone here see it from a tribute's point of view? No, they're too dull!"
"Listen to-"
"No. I'm done 'listening.' I want to be heard now."
She looked at the floor, seeming to be in intense thought. Her next words surprised me. "Then don't you worry. I'll make sure you are."
I sat awake in bed for hours, pondering just what she meant. "Then don't you worry. I'll make sure you are." Taking my thoughts up with a gamemaker didn't seem likely. Other kids in the past 74 years had the same exact ideas and nothing happened. Why did mine differ? What made them important? Maybe it wasn't that what, but the who. Still, why was I unique? Nothing added up.
The clock read 10:36. Even though it was my only session with Marina, she'd let me out early since it was obvious there was nothing I needed more. Sleep, sleep was the answer, but it was just impossible with everything on my mind. The only thing that pulled me out of my head was a soft knock on the door. Undoubtedly Thresh. "Go away." He was the last person I wanted to see.
"Please?"
"You made it this way."
"But I can help you."
That made me rethink everything. Sure, it was selfish, but if he really could help... "Like how?"
"You'll see."
Suddenly, I wanted to laugh. Marina was fixing everything. Still, she couldn't fix absolutely everything. And there were just some things only Thresh understood. "You have five minutes to convince me this is a good idea. Come in."
He opened the door slowly and walked to my bed like I was a wild animal, approaching carefully. "So how does this work?"
"Just tell me why I should ever forgive you for today. The whole thing wasn't me, it was your stupid excuse for abandoning a friend when it mattered most. You even added in the worst reason a person could ever have-we might be stuck in the arena together. Come on, that's when we team up and keep each other alive! Who doesn't get that?"
His face showed genuine pain, but I tried to convince myself that was just acting. "And if you died? What's expected of me then? There would be no way to just move on like the gamemakers and all of Panem expect!"
"I'm stronger than you think, Thresh! Stop treating me like I can't handle anything!"
"Are you alright?" His tone was worried, like the voice an insane person might get. There were plenty back home, where thousands of things could drive a person to act like that.
"Yes." Thinking about it, it kind of scared me. I was alright. The big-brother role Thresh played once killed me; every time there was a break down, he'd be right by my side. This time, though, those words held no lie.
I was okay.
The Capitol Rue was taking over. Fast.
