The next morning, all of us eat silently in our compartments dining room. Our larger mentor and Fabian fill the awkward silence by gorging the breakfast loudly. Me, Dena and Blaine are correctly using a knife and fork (Blaine has hers in the opposite hands because she's left-handed) The boys just threw their cutlery aside and dove in headfirst. When Fabian emerges from his now spotless plate, most of breakfast is covered around his mouth. Our mentor looks like he's wearing a mask of wet meat, he grins, but chunks of brown slop cover his yellow teeth.
I hear Dena retch silently and painfully, and drop her cutlery on the table. She cringes as she trots around our male mentor, then stands in front of Fabian and me confidently. Fabians mouth is open, like a fish. I smirk at how stupid he looks.
"Right I'm taking you down to training now. Chop chop." She claps her hands, then turns towards Fabian "Dear you have a little something round your mouth" I snort loudly and cover my mouth with my hand. My eyes are surprised and laughing. Fabian looks humiliated and his face is turning slightly pink. He messily wipes his face with his bare hand, and then wipes the mess on his hand on his training uniform, constantly grimacing.
Our training uniforms are the same as all the tributes. Accept the stitched number 6 on my arm. They're a simple black t-shirt and leggings, with a red stripe running down the sides of my body. They're very stretchy; it feels like I'm wearing rubber. We ride silently in the lift, Dena between us. She bugs us about how to make a good first impression on the game makers. Blah blah blah. Then the lift snaps open that sends a jolt through my body.
It is a large hall filled with different stations, almost all of them with gleaming weapons. The game makers are in a small podium, not really listening to us, or noticing our arrival. Which is odd because we are late. We slip into the crowd of tributes, and the women rattles off the rules. When she is done everyone fills the spaces of the hall. I'm still standing in the middle. The careers practically ran to the spear section, and are now admiring different blades. I would adore using one, but I feel I need to keep this secret to myself. Secure under my belt. I scurry off to the one station empty. I don't really need to know about game and plants. I actually know a bit about it. Some of Mona's books (I wince at the name) contained plant names and uses. And I buried the information in my head, in case I ever needed it.
And I needed it now.
After about 1 hour, I know at least 50 ways to use a blunt stone or a knife. My hands aren't suffering that bad, so I go over to the knot tying stations and am weaving small baskets before I know it. I use lots of material, Bamboo, twigs, and vines. I am struggling to create a seaweed basket, when I see feet crunching the fake foliage.
I gasp and my head snaps up. It's not a career, thank god. But it is a tribute. By the number on her arm, she's from district 7. She has very long straight hair, up to her waist. The ends up to the half point of her hair are black. I guess by the capitol. Her face is in a heart shape, and she has a faint sprinkle of freckles on her cheekbones. She doesn't smile. She just sits next to me, cross-legged, grabs some bamboo and tries to copy my technique. I smile and continue what I'm doing, pretending I don't notice her.
I look at her work after a few minutes. Her brow is furrowed in concentration and her basket is a mess. I gingerly tap her on the arm, and she jerks her head up if she just heard a gun shot. I hesitantly hold out my hand, wondering if she understands my gesture. She looks at my hand, then at her basket. The realization hits her like a brick, and she casually hands it to me while smiling.
"Thanks" She sighs and stretches out her legs and sits more comfortably. This evaporates all the tension. And I decide I like her. A bit.
"No problem." In my head I'm listing all the possibilities of an alliance. It won't happen, but my hopes are already up.
"Have the careers given you any trouble yet?" She asks.
"Nope. Why, have they given you any"?
"Sadly." She points to the tall boy from district 1, who just threw a spear through the heart of one of the dummies. "He called me a woodchuck, and kicked me in the leg when the game makers weren't looking" She said it so casually, I would have been furious if it was me.
"Your in District 7. Right? Snag an axe from the cornucopia and beat them till they bleed." I pause. Then shudder. The hunger games are really turning me into a sick killer by the minute.
She laughs. "If only it were that simple." She says dramatically. I know what she means; I just spoke about the cornucopia like it was a skip in the park. It's a bloodbath
"How's the boy from your district?"
"Nice enough. Bit quiet though. He hasn't said nothing ever since he got reaped" She nodded at the pale, lanky boy with a dirty blonde bowel haircut. "What's yours like?"
"A pig. A rat. I hate him. So much, and he hates me"
"Whoa! Someone's a bit feisty!" I laugh and hand her back her basket, mended completely. She takes it and throws it into the fake forest behind us. I just laugh and roll my eyes.
Later, I am standing in the middle of the hall with my tray. I wish I could get to sit with the district 7 girls. I just wish I knew her name. But she's attempting to talk with her tribute boy who won't listen to her. I really don't want to linger, so I scan the tables, most of them bare with one tribute eating on their own. Some are crying into their tray. One boy is leaning back in his chair, playing with a fake leaf from the forest.
Rory Hawthorn.
I stroll over and drop my tray down opposite him. He says nothing just raises his eyebrows. I smile kindly, but he doesn't react. I am suddenly starting to regret sitting here.
"Hello Rory" I say if we've known each other for years
He smiles. "Hello Viola".
He smiled. Good.
He stares at me while I eat my mashed potato, then snaps into a normal position again.
He looked exactly like his brother. Gale Hawthorn. Katniss' cousin. I almost asked him why Gale did not volunteer for him in the reaping. But then I figured Gale is about 20 now. Over 18.
I don't want to ask him about Katniss and Peeta. I want him to feel that I'm only here to talk to him. Which I am.
"Have you been in your districts mines yet?" I blurt out.
He looks at me. And I have a fear that he's ignoring me.
"I went down once on a school trip once, I'm not old enough to work there yet. It was weird. it smelled funny as well " He wrinkled his nose. I smiled. I was determined to keep the conversation going. "Do you know how the trains work, because you're from District 6?"
"Of course I do"
He leans forward, and says quietly "Then can you get us out of here?"
I sigh, " I feel the same way too. I want to go home". I will not cry here. I will not.
Tributes are now finishing their meals and heading back to the stations. I get up and turn my back on Rory. Without looking at him, I say "Rory can you do me a favor?"
"Urm…Yeah?"
"When I die… try to win please"
Then I walk away from him before he can say anything else.
I see the district 7 boy waddle off to one of the stations. I catch up with him.
"Excuse me. What's your district partners name?"
He looks surprised. I think because I'm the only tribute from another district that has spoke to him. His eyes are a very light grey. Like light smoke. He looks at the ground.
"Tanneth"
"And what is your name?" It feels rude to leave him out.
"Al"
I nod and walk off. I need to stop leaving like that, but I can't help it.
Tanneth. Al. Rory.
Allies?
