The next morning comes much too quickly. While leaving to find the others, I catch a glimpse of the puffy gray circles under my eyes. I'm going to have to try to hide those if there will be any chance of hiding the whole midnight training fiasco.
Cato and I meet in the hallway again. Fortunately, it is light this time, so we avoid another collision. "Why do we keep doing that?" I demand. He takes too long to answer. "Ugh, never mind. When we get in there, act natural, okay? It would already seem suspicious if we go in at the same time."
We step through the doorway and come face-to-face with our mentors. Great.
Marilla's eyes are even puffier than mine. I notice that they also are slightly red. Nevertheless, she is her usual firm self and glares right at us. "No messing around," she commands. "And no denial. It won't work. We know."
"Know? Know what?" My voice raises an octave as I try to cover for us.
Now it is Felix's turn to try and get a confession out of us. "The District One mentors came by last night," he begins. "And they said something rather odd about the both of you being in the training center. But that can't possibly be right. Can it?"
Unlike my currently frozen, spluttering District partner, I have a plan to get out of trouble. So I put on my best diplomatic smile and push a strand of hair behind one ear. "Let's not think about the past," I say in what I hope to be a convincing voice. "Let's think about the present. So, we'll be going down to the Remake Center in a few hours, right?" This is honestly the only thing I'm not looking forward to. Just thinking about it makes me annoyed.
As if on a cue, Tessa bounces in, as bubbly and colorful as ever. Her massive grin is at an odd contrast with our raised eyebrows, irritated frowns, and, in my case anyway, fake smiles.
"That's right, Clove," she chimes. "It is fantastic there. Before I became the escort for your district, I was on a prep team for District... Nine, I think? Or was it Eight? Anyway, you'll love it!" Shrieking, she bounces up and down.
Three hours later, we leave. Whoever thought to have the Remake Center be five minutes away from the Training Center was not exactly a genius. Really, all they're doing is subjecting the tributes to unnecessary irritation from having to listen to the overly-excitable escorts chatter away about... who knows what?
Turning my head to look out the window opposite to me, I briefly catch Felix's eye. Though his facial expression would be considered entirely normal to me a day ago, I now can't help but notice how forced the smile looks.
I want to say something. But how do I do that without revealing what we overheard? And how do I keep that to myself? To be completely honest, hearing something so awful about the Games is really freaking me out.
'But you aren't the only one who heard,' a tiny voice in my head reminds me. But how do I confide in Cato when it comes to my innermost thoughts and feelings? That would make it seem as if I trust him, and I don't! In one week, the two of us will be locked in the arena together. I highly doubt that anything that even hints about me trusting him would be a smart move.
I force myself to forget about that now. I need to stay focused, something I've always been pretty bad at, if I am to win.
