Oh, I forgot to put this in the previous chapter. Yes, B is an avox. I found it fitting. Nice to see that people have voted on the poll. I was interested at some of the results, and if you haven't done do so now. I like seeing my readers' speculations. At the time of writing this, the only characters without any votes are Izzy, Noah, Leshawna, and Duncan. Curious. Oh, and some of the Careers are hypocrites, as you'll see in this chapter.
District 1
Justin POV
I hate the mornings. So freaking much. So hard to get up, my hair is all messy, and my eyes look terrible because they're so tired. My skin looks terrible too. God, it takes so long for me to get moving, and it's so hard to look good while doing so.
I groan. I need my beauty sleep, otherwise I look hideous. I'm sure the people in the Capitol understand that, after all. Yet my fellow Careers with the exception of Lindsay seem to look down upon me. It's strange. They don't explicitly say they dislike me-I don't see how they could dislike me, of course. But that Alejandro seems to talk down to me, like he's better than I am. Ha! Him, better than me? He's got nothing on me. NOTHING, I tell you.
So he got two votes out of three? Who the hell cares? He acted so superior to me, like he was better in every possible way? Did he have girls swooning over him when we were in the parade? No? I didn't think so. I'm going to stab him in the back before he can do any damage. Then the others will respect me enough to allow me as their leader, and using a combination of the Cornucopia's goods, and my sponsors, we will dominate. Then I'll stab everyone else in the back and come home as the victor!
Sounds like a plan. Pft. I don't really care for any of them. Not even Lindsay. And apparently, according to Duncan, we've got one more ally, the girl from 5, Courtney. The unspoken implication is that she is going to be Lindsay's replacement. Heather is a skinny bitch with attitude problems, Duncan is an asshole, and Eva scares the shit out of me. I haven't spoken to Courtney at all, so I wouldn't know anything about her. And I've already made my thoughts on Alejandro quite clear. What a self-centered asshole.
Breakfast is over, and 10:00 comes around. Lindsay and I walk down to the Training Center. Lindsay is chatting about some fashion design she saw one of the Capitol people wearing, and it's all I can do to keep a faux-polite smile on my face. I'm not going to have to deal with her for much longer. Everything's going to be okay...I can win this...I'm handsome, talented, and charismatic. I think I've got this in the bag. Yep! I smirk to myself.
The two of us walk into the training room for the second time, and we sit down next to the Careers. Alejandro flashes his obviously fake charming smile in our direction.
"Ah, friends. Glad you could make it." Lindsay giggles. I scowl at him.
"Yeah, whatever," I retort.
Eva rolls her eyes. "You had your chance to be leader, Justin. I guess you weren't convincing enough."
"I swear, if you just give me a chance, I'll be a much better leader then Alejandro could ever be!"
Duncan coughs something that sounds suspiciously like "Horseshit," and I hiss through my teeth at him.
"Oh, come on guys!" Lindsay says cheerfully. "I'm sure he'd be a good leader, but Alejandro won fair and square! Oh, but Candace didn't vote! You weren't here yet! Sorry Candace!"
The girl from 5, Courtney, I believe, looks baffled. "My name is Courtney. And judging from what I've seen, I would vote for Alejandro."
Alejandro bows sardonically in my direction. "The votes have spoken, my friend. Just like they spoke yesterday. And even if Courtney had voted for you, it would have been a tie between me and you. Which means we would have had to have a tiebreaker. But that is besides the point. I won. I'm in charge."
I growl. "If you say so, Al."
"Don't call me that."
"I'm sorry, Al? Al, I couldn't hear you. Could you speak up, Al?" His eye twitches, and Heather shoots me a warning glare, but what could possibly go wrong? He can't hurt me. Until the Games begin, I'm invulnerable. I allow myself to look a little smug about the fact.
"Do you have a death wish or something?" Eva asks rhetorically, and Duncan looks like he's really enjoying the drama unfolding between us.
"Justin, I respect you as a teammate and all, but I would advise you to be quiet now," he says softly. His voice is quieter now? Ha ha! Wimp! What kind of person gets quieter when they get angrier?
"I'm sorry, you're talking too quiet now, Al. My beautiful ears can't hear everything, you know."
I grin at him. He can't touch me. That would be breaking the rules. Alejandro sighs, and stands up, a tranquil expression on his face.
A split second later, my mouth lets out an involuntary retch as he clutches one hand on my throat. Alejandro leans close to me and whispers in my ear.
"You call me that one more time, I'll bruise your so-called beautiful face until it looks like you were born a muttation," he whispers gleefully. I gulp, and nod to the best of my ability. With a polite smile, he lets go and falls back into his seat. I cough violently, and Duncan laughs. Eva actually smiles a little bit, and Courtney still looks unsure of herself. Face flaming red, I clench my fists and attempt to calm myself.
I'll kill him soon enough.
District 4
Duncan POV
I must say, the Capitol, the Careers, all of it are a lot more entertaining than I thought it would be! So much drama, so much hatred...that Justin guy is a riot. Him and Al...man, that's going to be interesting once we get into the Arena. The new girl Courtney is interesting too. She has some survival skills, that's for sure. Some combat skills as well. She'll be a valuable ally if and when Lindsay gets herself killed first thing.
Alejandro and Heather...they either hate each other or love each other. Or both, really. Why decide between one of them? Justin can go fuck himself. I'm certain he's already tried. Arrogant, narcissistic prick. I smirk as I watch him attempt to use an axe, and throw his shoulder out. Complaining all the way. Man, the thing about these tributes is that they're just so easy to make fun of! Maybe I'm just trying to get my mind off my own insecurities by being a bully, but it works.
I don't even need to learn survival skills. As long as we control the Cornucopia, we've got it in the clear. So why bother? Hmn, maybe I'm being a bit short-sighted here. In the long run, it would be arrogant to assume that I'd have the Cornucopia at my disposal through the entire game. I start walking towards the survival stations. That one dorky-looking guy with a thin frame and long, gangly arms gets in my way at the fire-starting station. District 3, I believe. Harold, was it?
"Out of my way, dweeb," I growl at him, grabbing his arm and yanking him out of the way. He lets out a startled yell, and suddenly I feel a sharp pain in my leg, and I stumble. He kicked me! The fucking asshole kicked me! How dare he? I seethe at him, and draw my fist back.
"Whoa! That's enough, dudes!"
The boy from eight, Geoff, I believe, grabs my arm, and I snarl, trying to break free. "We shouldn't be fighting each other this early. Just chill."
"Tell that to him! He started the fight!"
Harold clears his throat. "Actually, you roughly jerked me out of the way, so technically you started the-"
"Nobody cares! Geoff, let me go so I can beat his face in!"
"Dude, you might want to rethink that," Geoff says, and he points behind me. A lot of the other tributes have stopped and are looking in our direction, confused by the sudden noise. I roughly shove Harold to the ground, trying to calm myself.
"Excuse me? Geoff, was it?" Oh great, Alejandro's here. He graciously helps Harold to his feet and turns to me and Geoff. "I'm terribly sorry about Duncan's behavior. I assure you, it won't happen again. Dear me, I've been having to make a lot of apologies lately. Alas, it isn't my fault, of course."
He shoots me a pointed glance.
"That's cool," Geoff says. "But getting into a fight here? Not cool. Especially when you're fighting someone like..." He struggles to find a flattering word for the assclown. "Harold."
I roll my eyes. "Whatever. Just don't get in my way." I turn and walk away. I hear Harold coughing some, and I content myself with the satisfaction of knowing that I can kill all of these people when I get the chance. And oh boy, am I looking forward to that chance.
"Having some trouble controlling your temper, Duncan?"
Little Miss Courtney walks up next to me as I arrive at the plant station. Fucking boring concept, but it's apparently important, so I might as well. I clench my fists. "You can say that. That Harold gets on my nerves."
"You can kill him in the Games. Don't blow your cool now. I would've thought that Eva would have blown up by now, but she seems content to just sulk around, not offering any input."
"Say, don't you want you being in the Careers to be a surprise?" I ask condescendingly, really hoping for this girl to fuck off. Or fuck with. Either way is fine with me.
"Yeah," she says, as if that thought was obvious.
"Then why are you here?"
She looks flustered. "Well, there's no one else at this station, so I thought-"
I jerk my thumb to her right, where the boy from her district is sitting in the middle, doing nothing, just like yesterday. He flashes a sardonic and rather feminine wave to Courtney, and her face glows red with rage. "You little..." She grabs me and slams me against the wall.
"Hey, how is this my fault?" I ask, playing the innocent.
"You let him know we were here," she hisses in my ear. "He probably didn't notice or didn't care."
"Well, you're certainly not making things any better with the position you have me in right now," I snark. "Gonna make out with me? I'd rather enjoy that."
She draws me close to her. Our faces are only a few inches apart. Then she slams me back into the wall again. "Not. Going to. Happen." she says calmly, and lets go, walking away and leaving me to my own thoughts and an innocent whistle from the trainer at the station who had watched everything.
"Shut up," I tell him, and start trying to learn how to tell what plants are poisonous and what aren't.
I kind of wish I could tell which tributes are poisonous or not. But sadly, there seems to be no station for that.
District 7
Bridgette POV
Calm. Peaceful. Tranquil. I cannot allow myself to hate these other tributes. They are just as much victims as I am. But...some of those Careers are making it so. Hard. That boy Duncan? A bully and a coward. Picking on Harold, a tribute maybe half his weight and three times the health problems? Not cool, and definitely not endearing in the slightest. It seems as though these Games are bringing out the worst in people...I mean, I scarcely had a negative thought about anyone before now. But now seeing all these jerkasses and pricks really is starting to get to me.
Okay, Bridgette. Just calm down. Don't sink to their level. I need to be noble. I need to show that I am my own person, not the Capitol's pawn. And that means to treat the other tributes with kindness and respect, no matter how infuriating they might be. I won't become a killer just for the Capitol. I must not become a killer at all. I don't want to become...a monster. I'm not going to win this. No tribute in twenty-two years has ever won the Games without killing somebody. But I can break that streak, right? Right?
I sigh. I've spent the first day of training and thirty minutes of the second day of training at the survival stations. I've learned how to make fire, how to swim, how to hunt (only if necessary). I already knew a lot of what berries are edible or not before even coming here. Okay...what else do I need? I don't want to resort to physical violence. But it could be necessary...but I don't want to kill anybody. Okay. I'll go over to the weapon training now. But only for self-defense. That will be all I use these weapons for.
The girls from 6 and 8 are at the archery section, chatting away about who knows what. It both delights me and saddens me that at least some of these people have become friends, especially knowing the end result. I mentally smack myself. We can change the end result. We can still show our defiance. And I can't be sad now. I need to show them that I am not afraid. That they don't own me. That I will not have died in vain.
I pick up a sword, testing the balance. One Career is at the station, the girl from 4, Eva. She moves like a whirlwind, slicing apart hologram after hologram after hologram, no pity or remorse, just a blank, professional stare on her face. One of them tries to get the jump on her and she smashes her fist into it, disintegrating the figure. All in the space of twenty seconds. She brushes herself off, and hangs her sword up, roughly brushing past me. I pick up a sword, taking a deep breath. Okay. I can do this.
I swing my sword horizontally at a charging hologram, wincing as it is sliced in half. "Is there anything just for defensive techniques?" I ask the instructor, and she nods. The holograms now wield swords, and attack me. I block, and a mechanism in the sword mimes the feeling I'd get if I'd clashed blades with another sword. I block another, and kick one of the holograms in the knee, and continue using defense until finally the holograms get past it and skewer me. Okay. I could probably hold off a real opponent long enough to escape.
I place the sword back up. Okay. I'm good for now. That's enough weapon training. "You having trouble with using weapons too?" The voice comes from behind me, and I turn. The boy from 11 stands there, looking unsure of himself. I nod in response.
"Yeah. I don't believe in violence. I'm only at this station for self-defense."
He nods. "Yeah. I'm DJ. I...don't like violence either...but I have a big build from working back at District 11, so I think I should be good for the most part."
I laugh. "Bridgette. I'm from District 7."
We shake hands. "Yeah. I volunteered for this kid from my District. Probably didn't even weigh a hundred pounds. He would have been dead." He sniffles a little bit.
I smile reassuringly. "That's interesting. I volunteered too. I did it for my best friend. We were planning to start some form of rebellion in the future. Peaceful, of course."
He smiles back. "That's noble. I guess we both gave up our lives to save someone else."
"Hey! We're not out of the count just yet!"
He shrugs. "We kind of are. Most of the victors have come from the Careers. They've got all those scary people who could kill a person in the blink of an eye. It's frightening."
"Don't be scared of them. They're just as much pawns as we are."
"True...but they're a bunch of cowards and bullies. Apart from that girl from 1, Lindsay. She's just a little..." He twirls his finger around his ear.
I laugh again. "I wouldn't say that. She seemed really sweet when I talked to her. She doesn't belong in the Games. I do wonder why no one volunteered for her."
"Maybe they were running short on volunteers," he says nonchalantly.
I sigh sadly, shaking my head. "Poor girl. I don't plan to have an alliance, but if we meet each other in the Arena, let's not kill each other, okay?"
He nods, smiling. "Okay then. See you around, then. Nice talking to you."
DJ starts walking away. "Hey, DJ!" I call to him.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think that you could convince other tributes to show signs of defiance in the Arena?"
He scratches the back of his head uncertainly. "We'll see."
District 9
Trent POV
I slump in a heap against the wall. Okay...chill out. The boy from 3, Harold, I think it was was talking about how repeating a phrase over and over again can make a person feel better and forget about their worries, if only for a moment. I start murmuring under my breath; I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine.
For a moment, one brief, joyful moment, I forget about my troubles and am completely focused on the mantra. Then, it all slips back into focus. Gwen. Our mentor. The conversation Billy and I had yesterday during the training session. The fact that the girl I love is most likely going to die. I clench my fists and grit my teeth. I'm done crying. I'm done being a weakling. I'm done being the guy who cries about the fact that the girl he has a crush on is a dead woman. No. No more. I'm done, no no no no no no no no no.
Okay, just calm down. Let's run over the facts. Objectively, no unneeded emotion. Deep breath, in and out. Billy wants me to make an impact on the audience, so that there can be a reason for my getting far. Apparently, Gwen refused his offer of him helping her get far in the game. I have decided to take Billy's deal. He'll do what he can without making it look too suspicious. But what I haven't told him is that I'm going to try to get Gwen out of that Arena alive. Only if she...if she dies will I actively try to win.
According to him, there are interviews the night before the Games begin, hosted by Blaineley O'Halloran. He says I should be my cool, level-headed, guitar-playing self, and not this quote unquote "worrywart." He is very unsympathetic towards me or Gwen. It's pretty obvious he only cares about his own selfish interests, but I'm going to use those selfish interests and powerful connections to hopefully keep Gwen alive. Unless he's bluffing...no, I can't allow myself to think about that. I must NEVER allow myself to think about that.
Okay. I need to train. Yesterday I was suck talking with Billy, so yeah, I need to use all the time I can have. Okay...weapons. I should learn how to defend myself. I mean, I've been in a couple of fights before, but never against swords or axes or maces or any of that shit. I need to defend myself, and possibly kill someone if the time comes. Do I have the stomach for it? Do I have the heart for it? Do I have the guts to kill a person? I...I don't know. True, there have been times that I've wanted to kill someone, but I'd never have followed up on those threats...
The girl from 2 is training with axes, and I decide to head over to that station. Wouldn't hurt to see how one of the other Careers fights. I need to be smart about this, not emotional. Emotional behavior will only get me killed. But I still need to be emotional to get the audience on my side...how the hell am I supposed to do that? Whatever. Doesn't matter, moving on.
"Excuse me?" I ask the girl from 2 mildly as she throws an axe into a target. She turns to me and narrows her already thin eyes.
"Fuck off." She turns back around and continues her training exercise. Well, um...that was something.
"I...I'd like to train here," I try again, not really expecting to receive a different answer. This is more to see how they act around non-Careers.
She turns to me again. "Fuck off."
"This station doesn't just belong to you, you know," I spit out at her angrily. "There are others here, not just yourself."
She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. "Fuck. Off."
"You should really watch your language, you know," I retort. "Just let me through."
"Do I have to stab you to get you to go away?" she sneers in the manner of a teenage girl.
"What's your name again? I need to remember it so I know who you are when I kill you in the Arena." It's a little arrogant, sure, but arrogance is the Careers' second language.
"Well someone's sure of himself," she says condescendingly. "The name's Heather. And you're this close to making me break the rules and slit your throat."
"I'm terrified," I say sarcastically, only to have the trainer at the station come between us.
"No fighting. Not after what happened with that poor boy from District 3 earlier today. And then I feel bad for that Alejandro...always having to control his team..."
Heather seethes, and stalks off, dropping the axe on the floor. The trainer picks it up and apologizes to me for her behavior. "A lot of the Careers have a really inflated sense of entitlement," she explains. "It comes from being born in the districts of victors."
I nod. "That makes sense. Thank you." I pick up an axe and start training. Decent so far, I could probably hold myself in a fight for maybe thirty seconds against a non-Career. Less for an actual Career.
After I've finished, I sigh, and take a seat. This is tiring...I get up anyway. I need to train. No matter what. But not for me. No, no, as long as Gwen is still in the game, I need to help her succeed. She is my everything. Maybe it's stupid, maybe it's shallow, but I don't give a damn anymore.
I need to get Gwen out alive.
District 12
Sierra POV
Okay, so maybe I'm freaking out a little bit too much. Maybe I'm being stupid trying to get Cody out instead of myself. Maybe I'm making too many enemies by being overprotective of him. But I think it's rather justified, in my opinion. Those Careers are brutal, but they seem to have some problems working together. Alejandro from District 2 has spent just as much time breaking up fights as training. Duncan is just a bully, Justin is hot but pathetic, Lindsay is too sweet and innocent, Heather is a bitch, and Eva is Eva.
Oh yeah, I've also taken it upon myself to learn all the other tributes' names. There's Justin, Lindsay, Alejandro, Heather, Harold, Izzy, Duncan, Eva, Noah, Courtney, Owen, Katie, Tyler, Bridgette, Geoff, Sadie, Trent, Gwen, Ezekiel, Beth, DJ, Leshawna, Cody, and then me. All twenty-four! And that was even in order of district too. Although I'm not really sure how knowing their names is going to help me much in the Arena...I could taunt them? That's the only thing I can think of that could potentially be helpful.
I've also tried figuring out how they operate, what makes them tick. But a lot of them seem pretty indecipherable. As morbid as it sounds, I've been trying to figure out which tributes are most likely to die in the Arena's bloodbath. I try to ignore the fact that District 12's tributes are generally some of the first to die. We must break that streak, and hopefully we'll get our first victor. Not me. Cody. I don't deserve it, and the thought of forever being haunted by his death while training more tributes to be slaughtered doesn't really appeal to me.
The Careers need to be cut down to size. And the best way to do that would be to kill their leader, Alejandro Burromuerto. I watched the Games with his brother in it. Jose had relied on his cunning, turning other tributes against each other before the Games even began. He killed the rest of the Careers in their sleep and kept all the supplies to himself. Then he'd waited and slaughtered anybody who came his way. I doubt Alejandro will use the same strategy. It would be boring, plus, he always flares up whenever someone talks about his brother.
I don't care if the other tributes think I'm crazy. Maybe I am crazy. Maybe I'm completely insane and should be locked up in a mental hospital. But no, I'm just going to die. And with any luck, I'll die saving Cody. Once again, guilt for my mom plagues me. Would I really give up my life for a boy I liked? As opposed to my mother, back at home, most likely feeling absolutely miserable? I don't know anymore...but I can't let myself be indecisive.
"That's enough for today!" The trainer's voice rings out throughout the room. "Once again, you will be eating with your fellow tributes. I like what I've seen today, despite some of the fights. I wish you all the best of luck."
The twenty-four of us file out roughly, just like yesterday. Pushing and shoving galore. After getting myself something to eat, I sit down next to the boy from 6, Owen, who is shoving food into his mouth at an extremely rapid pace. Cody sits down to my right, eating slowly and watching Owen in fascination.
"A+!" Owen exclaims excitedly. "Man, the food here is so awesome!"
"It is, I suppose," Cody sighs. "It kind of makes me angry though. But we've already talked about that, so-"
"I can talk about food all the time!" the energetic Owen says excitedly.
"We know you can, Owen," I giggle, despite myself. "I think the Capitol will love you."
"As long as I don't fart on stage, I'll be fine," he laughs. "That would be embarrassing."
Cody laughs, and it's all I can do not to swoon. "Who knows? The audience might find it funny."
"No, they won't," I say simply. "No one likes toilet humor."
"I disagree, I think they will-"
"No, they won't," I reiterate, more strongly this time, and he decides to drop the subject.
"So, what all did you guys train in?" he asks conversationally.
"I tried the edible plants and animals station today," Owen says. "It was interesting. Also I tried the rain-catching station. I did decent, I guess." He goes back and gets more food, and starts eating again. Cody and I turn to each other and shrug.
"I tried camouflage," Cody says, yawning. "It was pretty good, I thought I'd done a pretty good job of it."
"So what do you guys think about those private sessions with the Gamemakers?" I inquire.
"I'm kind of scared," Owen chimes in with his input, and goes back to eating.
Cody shrugs again. "I'm not particularly nervous. I can really tie knots. I should have it in the bag."
"I'm pretty strong," I say, trying not to sound full of myself, "and I think I could really do some damage, so yeah, I'm not too concerned about the private sessions either."
"Unless my nerves get the better of me," Cody says nonchalantly, and I nod in agreement.
"Don't worry too much about it," I say, taking a deep breath. "Then we've got our interviews. Should be interesting."
Owen and Cody give their forms of agreement. We finish eating in silence, and I think about what's to come, about the Arena, about everything. It's just this bizarre feeling I get in my stomach that gets the better of me.
And in the middle of my deep inner monologue, Owen gets up and gets another tray of food.
District 3
Harold POV
Gosh. That Duncan is one mean son of a bitch. My wounds aren't serious, despite my assorted coughing and breathing problems. The mean are generally cowardly, though, so I daresay that I'll outlast him, or at the very least, die a memorable and honorable death. I really wish karma worked the same way in the real world as it does in fiction. I hope he gets what's coming to him...okay, yeah, that's not very noble, but I'm facing my death proudly. So yeah. Suck on that.
But yeah, I probably need to figure out how to not attract attention, and how to get around my allergies. It's going to be a difficult task, for sure. But I can handle it. I accept that I most likely will die, but I definitely won't go down like a wimp. I need to be honorable. But how to get around my allergies, is the question...I mentally go over my flash cards again for what to do in each Arena scenario. Desert, tundra, forest, jungle, snow, flatlands, all of it. I have it all right here in my head. I can just avoid anything that might trigger an allergic reaction.
The Careers are going to be a problem. They're deadly, but as a whole they're overconfident, and that is what I need to exploit in order to outwit them. How do I do that though? I can't go rushing into the Cornucopia. That would be certain death for someone like me. So, in every situation, I need to get rid of the Careers' supplies. That is their key to victory. So if I can destroy their food, their weapons, their supplies, we could turn the tide. Okay, so let's go over in extensive detail every scenario in every possible Arena...
Okay, why am I tormenting myself? I sit with Ezekiel, Beth, and Izzy. Ezekiel and Beth seem to be talking about something about wheat, while Izzy is wolfing down her food fiendishly. I eat slowly at my not-so-full plate. I had to compensate for my multiple allergies by not getting some of the food. I found out the hard way on the train what a lot of my allergies are, thanks to the fancy Capitol food I'd never even seen before in my life.
"So, what are your plans for the Arena?" Izzy asks in a chipper voice, trying to break the monotony. "Izzy has a plan! How about you?"
Ezekiel is about to respond, but I interrupt before he can say anything. "I feel like that you would use our plans against us so you could kill us. So we would lie, unless you were expecting us to lie, but then we would tell the truth. It's an infinite spiral without a logical answer," I say proudly.
She sticks out her tongue at me. "Generally, when faced with that choice, they'd just choose the first option, so you probably would just lie because it wouldn't get me anything."
"I have no idea what you guys are talking about," Ezekiel says relevantly, prompting a laugh from all of us.
"Yeah, I didn't know," Beth says jokingly, elbowing the pale, skinny boy.
Izzy yawns. "But yeah, I wouldn't use it against you. I'm not even lying. That wasn't a lie either. Or that! Or-I'm really bad at this, aren't I? I would never try to kill my friends. Maybe some of those stinky Careers, but not you guys?"
Ezekiel laughs. "Heh heh heh...stinky."
I nod. "I plan to find a way to get rid of their supplies. And I know I'm going to die. But I shall die-"
"With honor. We know," Izzy interrupts, prompting another laugh from Ezekiel and Beth.
"Aren't you guys scared?" I ask the tributes from the livestock district. Beth's face instantly falls.
"I'm terrified," she whimpers. "But I'm trying not to think about that right now, just like everyone else."
Ezekiel shrugs. "I'll just go to Heaven, eh. I'm not worried anymore."
"That's admirable," I say calmly. "But yeah, I'm still mortified at the thought of a spear running through my chest-" I stop, because I see Beth's face starting to turn green. "I'm sorry, Beth. I didn't mean-"
"No no," she says, trying to smile. "It's okay, I know you didn't mean any harm. It's just..." She sighs.
"What do you plan to do in the Arena, Izzy?" Ezekiel inquires.
Izzy grins. "I've got a plan. But I ain't telling ya. Sorry. I'm in it to win it, no matter...well, um...you know..." She looks a little saddened from the fact that everyone else sitting here is most likely dead meat.
I shrug. "It's okay. If you're not going to tell us, that's alright. And I'm glad you're going to try to win."
"Thanks!" she chirps, all happy again. She's always had the ability to change her mood like that in an instant. I've seen it, even though I didn't know her that well back in the District.
"You're welcome," I say, taking a slight bow, and Ezekiel finishes his food, sighing in a satisfied manner. Beth continues eating, and Izzy has been done for a couple of minutes now. The training has been rough, but I feel like I'm ready for the private sessions with the Gamemakers. According to my mentor, Chris McLean, the Head Gamemaker, is a sadistic, self-centered asshole. But he loves a show. Well, if he wants a show, I'll give him a show. Just like I plan to give a show to all those people out there.
It's certainly going to be an interesting couple of days.
