Gideon Cabot, D10
Emmie and I are briskly escorted down to the Training Center. Once everyone arrives, the top trainer, Wyatt, talks briefly to us about the difference stations and the importance of survival skills. We when are dismissed to wander about, the Careers immediately jump to action at the weapons stations. I ignore them completely, walking straight to the camouflage station.
The District 9 boy follows me. "I'm Ethan," he says, sticking his hand out.
"I'm Gideon," I answer, shaking his outstretched hand. We chat about various things while playing around with the paints. We both found the tribute parade hilarious.
"Did you see me? I was grain!" Ethan shakes his head in disgust. "It was most definitely not real. I couldn't stop sneezing!"
"They probably thought you were insane," I add. "A District 9 kid being allergic to grain!" We laugh and joke about our idiot stylists until Wyatt calls us in for lunch. I hadn't realized how much time we spent at the camouflage station alone. I'll have to get around to the other stations later. At least I know how to blend into a boulder now.
I would imagine the worst thing about living in the Capitol is having all this food and never knowing which to eat and what to not eat. All of it looks amazing. How am I supposed to choose? I guess there's only one way. Eat one of everything.
Once I'm done filling my plate to the brim, I find a place to sit. Ethan waves me over to where he's sitting. Emmie and her newly acquired friend sit with us. I think she's from 8, but I'm not sure.
Sure enough, she originates from the textile center of Panem. "My name is Calico. I'm from 8."
We introduce ourselves and dig in. I notice I'm not the only one who piled more food than they can handle onto their silver plate. Everyone eats in silence until I notice something strange. My eyes wandered to the Career pack, for whatever reason, and a new addition caught my eye. Quietly sitting next to the buffest tribute here is the tiny District 11 girl.
I nudge Ethan in the arm and silently point to the table. His face mirrors my confusion. We lean in and tell the girls.
Whispering, I say, "Did you two see the 11 girl do anything special today?"
Emmie shakes her head but Calico nods. "She passed the laser challenge in less than a minute. Didn't touch a single laser."
"What's the laser challenge?" Ethan asks me. I shrug, just as clueless.
"The laser challenge is a trial where you have to maneuver around different obstacles without touching a laser, which are shooting across the room all over the place," Calico says. "You take a knife in with you to stab targets that pop up from the ground. They," pointing to the Careers, "watched the whole thing."
"They must have offered for her to join their alliance," Emmie whispers.
I sigh sadly, looking down at my last remaining bread roll. "She won't last long with them."
My new friends look at me strangely. "Why do you say that?" Ethan asks.
"Have you seen these kids? They're brutal," I reply. "As soon as it's down to just them, they'll turn on each other so fast it'll make that girl's poor little head spin. They'll take her down as soon as she becomes too heavy a burden to carry."
Just after I say this, Wyatt calls us to attention. "Lunch is over, kids. Let's get going."
