The heart has its reasons that reason does not know.
The parade has finally needed and our mentors and stylists rush over to us.
"Good job," my mentor gives me a nod of approval. "You looked scared the first part, but you managed to pull it together. I think it'll be good enough to win us some sponsors."
A wave of relief washes over me and I smile. I'm grateful to hear news of the possibility of sponsors.
My stylist turns to me, "Well, I say you could of smiled a little more, and maybe waved once or twice, but I suppose it will do."
I nod and think to myself that that is the closest thing to a compliment I'm ever going to receive from her, and I decide to accept it.
"Well," says my mentor checking his watch, "It's getting late and tomorrow is a very important day. The first day of training. So we should head up and get some rest."
We follow my mentor back to the floor and as soon as I enter my bedroom I collapse on the bed exhausted. My mind is swimming, and my body feels a thousand emotions. I need to focus. My mentor is right tomorrow is a very important day. Its the time when you get to see what everyone's made of, and they get to see if you're going to be their prey. I feel nervous thinking about this since I'm not the best at wielding weapons. But I stay calm and tell myself that I am quick and smart. There must be some stations that are built for that. The more I think about the possibility of there being a station to show off intelligence and speed, the more confidant I feel. Maybe I'll be able to get a good nights rest after all. I close my eyes and turn onto my side.
But I won't be getting the nights sleep I wished for because she is still in my mind. The beautiful tribute. Her smile, her eyes, her face, her stunning parade outfit.
No I need to focus. I need to focus on getting home. On getting back to my family. I manage to replace this girls face with the faces of my family members. They are the ones that are important. Not some career tribute. I'm smart and I realize that I can't focus on an attraction to a career in exchange for my life. Is it even an attraction? I'm confused, and I hate this blonde girl for making me lose focus. Frustrated I sigh and flip over. I take a breath and close my eyes and focus on my family. I focus on my mother and how she used to sing to me when I was a little girl, I focus on my father and how he used to race me down to the local store, always letting me win, I focus on my sister and the endless nights we spent together playing games and talking for hours on end about anything and everything, I focus on survival. I smile and I go to sleep thinking about my family back in district 5, unfortunately I dream thinking about the hazel-eyed girl.
I wake up and groan. Although, I don't remember much of my dream it's evident that it revolved around the parade and one tribute in particular. But today is the first day of training, and I force these thoughts out of my mind. I am going to focus on training, and how to survive.
My mentor spends the entire time lecturing the boy and me from my district on what to do. I listen to every word he says intently by the end of it I have figured out a plan. I will show off my intelligence for the first parts of training, and then I will proceed to show off my skills and reflexes. Our mentor wishes us good luck and we are led down the hall towards and elevator by an Avox.
As we step in the elevator I realize that today is the day I will see the girl from district 1 again. At this realization I can feel my heart stop beating and my hands begin to shake. The boy from my district, Ignacio, looks over to me.
"You okay?" he asks
I nod and try to focus my mind on anything but the tributes from district one. If I am going to stay in this game I need to focus. The elevator dings and we have reached the training floor. We step out into the hallway and proceed down to the doors marked with the words, Tribute Training Hall. I take a deep breath and push open the large gray doors. Inside it is huge, and its set up looks just like I would of imagined it to be. In the corner of the room, there are dummies with targets on them. Up against the wall lays a rack of knives, crossbows, and bows and arrows. Along the sidewall lays a camouflage station, a plant station, and other tables set up to provide us with information on the basic survival skills. Though I highly doubt anyone will spend much time at these stations, I would assume everyone's anxious to show off their skills with the weapons that lay on the other side of the room. In the center of the room there's an obstacle course with different pillars that a tribute will need to jump on. It looks fairly easy except for the trainers that line it, ready to do anything to get the tributes to fall. Next to that are some more dummies, and a rack of swords and other handheld weapons. In the far left corner are trainers waiting to be spared against the tributes. The roof of the training center is lined with nets, and the station next to the door has a rope to climb. At last, I see the station that I will surely be spending the most time at. On the back wall, rests a large screen, in front of it a keyboard. This is no doubt a station for testing reflex, and knowledge. Things I excel at. I smile and think to myself that maybe it won't be so hard to lay low during training and spend the entire time showing off my smarts opposed to my skill with weapons. Suddenly, a tall African American woman in the center of the room claps her hands together and shouts.
"Tributes! Gather round! I know you're all very anxious to be showing off your skills but first we must lay down the regulations. We wouldn't want any disruptions now, would we? Come and gather around!"
All of the tributes walk over to her, and the trainers come to arrange us so that we are standing in a circle around her. I look around the room examining the other tributes, hoping to catch a glimpse of the blonde beauty that captivated me yesterday. I don't see her though, and realize that she must be standing behind me. I sigh and focus my eyes on the woman in front of me.
"Welcome to the training center! Here will be a time to show your skills, and a time to learn new ones. I would highly advise you all to spend at least a little time at the plants, knots, and fire stations. Over half of you will most likely die from disease and hunger than from an actual weapon."
I hear a chuckle to the right of me and look over to see the girl from district two smirking.
"Not if I can help it." she mumbles to herself.
The woman glares at her, and then continues.
"As I was saying, take this opportunity to help you learn how to survive. The game makers will be watching your training, and at the end of this week you will be assessed and given a score out of twelve. Remember no fighting with the other tributes. You'll have plenty of time for that in the arena."
The girl from twos face breaks out into a grin and the expression on her face is deadly. Just being around her makes me feel nervous. The woman dismisses us and all of the other tributes rush off to the other stations. The careers, run off to the weapons, and most of the others head off in the direction of the obstacle course. I notice the small girl from 11 is heading towards the ropes, and the two tributes from 12 are perhaps the only ones who have listened to the game makers advice and I watch as they proceed to the plants station. I hesitate for a moment, unsure of what to do, until I remember the screen, and I make my way over to it.