Chapter 8

The noise is immense. I look round, smile and wave. My heart is racing. This is mad, I think to myself. These people are going to watch twenty-three of us die. I've grown up watching the games, not questioning what it does to a person. But now I'm part of it, I can see through the Capitol's brutality.

The carriage comes to a stop and President Snow steps onto the balcony. He goes through the usual speech. I block it out. I've heard it 15 times before. The carriage rolls slowly into the training centre and we get off. Julius, Cecilia and Xavier are there waiting for us.

"You did so well!" Julius beams at us. We both nod. He knows that we'll be dead in a couple of days, and so do we. That's the inevitability of the games. Only one can survive. "Well done girls. You both looked beautiful, and the pinkie finger holding was just adorable!" Cecilia squeals. The four of us go into the lift, press the fourth floor button and step into our 'living' quarters for the time we're going to be here.

It's like a whole new world. The expanse is massive. As soon as we step out of the lift I am blown away. There is a raised platform to our left which contains a table with about ten places to sit, and to our right is a huge living space with sofas and cushions and chairs with a big TV to watch whatever we need to on. Behind the TV there is a window that looks out on the Capitol and his window seats. There are about 8 wooden doors a little way down from where we stand, which I presume are the bedrooms. The colour scheme is blue and green and the floor is blue carpet or wooden planks.

"Like it girls?" Cecilia asks us, with a smile.

"Yeah. It's different..." Kate manages to say. I just nod.

"Great. So, your rooms are the first two doors, and you will have an hour to get ready before dinner. Clothes and everything are provided for you in your rooms and Avoxes will be on hand if you need anything,"

"What are Avoxes?" Kate asks

"They're traitors to the Capitol. They have had their tongues cut out so they can't speak." Julius explains. I let out a small sigh. Again, the brutality of the Capitol is showing.

I take the first room, Kate the second. The room itself is almost as big as my house. The bed is bigger than the one ion the train and is clothed in a green and blue bedsheets. There are two green and blue sofas. There is a sort of window with a little controller so you can scroll through which scene you want. I scroll through and see a beach with a sunset. Quickly, I change it and push it out of my mind. I don't want to be reminded of home right now. But my mind wanders there. What are my parents doing? Did they like the parade? What did they think of Me? What did Caleb think of me? I poke my head round a door, which contains the bathroom. There is a toilet, a sink and a shower. Very minimalistic for the Capitol.

I take off my dress, roll my shoulders a bit and get in the shower, punching random buttons until I find a nice mix of saltiness, pine and water temperature. I wash my hair in the horrible smelling stuff that prep washed my hair in, step on the mat and am instantly dry. I find the most minimalistic clothing I can wear (a black t-shirt and brown trousers) and sit on the bed. Then, I decide to put on a pair of shoes and socks and go to Kate's room to chat with her.

"Hey," I say when she lets me in.

"Hi," she says.

I give her a quick hug. Her slight frame presses against mine. She smiles up at me.

"The parade was hell. Prep was hell. Xavier is hell. This whole thing is hell. I hate it Laura. I just want to go home," she says.

"Don't worry," I tell her, but in my head I'm thinking the same as her. I hug her again, just to give some reassurance that she's not alone. We're both in this together.

"I was going to volunteer for you if we both hadn't have been picked," I whisper. She looks at me gratefully but looks hurt.

"Laura. You wouldn't have had to do that. And you know it," Kate says. Just in time for dinner.

We go to the table, and I sit next to Kate. There is only Capitol food, so I dig in with whatever I want. I don't really know what any of it actually is, but I eat it anyway. I'm hungry. No one is really talking, we're mostly just eating. I look up from my food and notice a new person at the table. A victor, presume judging by his looks. He has tanned skin, wide shoulders, blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. He's around twenty-four. I finish my mouthful and speak to him.

"Who are you?" I ask, feeling slightly awkward.

"Talon Coomber" He says plainly. I nod.

"So you're a victor then?" I say.

"Of course I'm a victor. I won the games when I was 17. The 43rd Hunger Games." He says. I nod again.

The sweet course arrives, but I only have a bit of cake. I don't fell in the mood for sweet stuff right now. Cecilia and Julius congratulate us on our entrance at the parade and I decide to go to my room. Jaden tells us that trainings at ten tomorrow morning, and we should meet Cecilia at the lift. He also tells us he'll be deciding what to actually do in training for the rest of the time we'll be here. I get back to my room, and with nothing to do, I just wait for Jaden and Talon. There is a knock on my door.

"Hi Laura. We need to discuss training strategies." Jaden says. The both of them come in, and sit on the sofas. I sit down too.

"We know what you're already good at, we've done the same things as you. But do you think you'd be able to get good at anything new or hone in on another skill?" Talon says.

"I'm rusty on knife throwing, climbing, fire making, traps and edible plants. The rest I'm all right at. I could brush up on a few skills. And I have no idea what to do for the gamemakers." I tell them.

"Good. So, concentrate on those skills that you're rusty at tomorrow and do a few other things. Be careful not to show your strengths too much, but do show a bit because you're a career. Great. Do well tomorrow." Jaden finishes, and they leave.

I throw on a pair of pyjamas and get into bed, sleeping deeply.