Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or The Hunger Games.
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Chapter 9
It's our last day of training today. We will train in the morning before performing in front of a panel of committee members. They will give us our scores, which will be broadcast to the Districts. If you have a high score, you will have a higher chance of getting sponsors to help you out in the arena. The scores go from 1-10, 10 being the highest you can achieve. The tributes from One, Two, and Four tend to score the highest, but most other tributes score somewhere between 5-7. I do hope to get a good score, or else I risk not getting sponsors. No sponsors pretty much equates to not surviving very long.
But what will I possibly perform in front of these judges?
Lindsay keeps harping on how I am good with animals, but it's not as if I can bring a horse or a cow into the room. In fact, I do not even know what will be in that room. No doubt for Quinn it will be a set of knives and for Puck it will be something to show off his brute strength, but I have no clue as to what they will leave out for me. If I am lucky, they will leave a variety of objects and I can just play around with all of them, hoping to come across as multi-talented.
"Are you nervous?" Lindsay mutters to me as she stretches next to me.
"Are you kidding? I feel as if I'm going to puke," I mutter back.
She side-steps away from me, in case this is true. "I am sure you will be fine."
"Same with you," I reply. Lindsay and I have been getting along better since our talk on the train nearly a week ago. I will be sad to see her die…that is, if she dies before me, which I do not think will be the case.
"Look out!" A voice yells from behind me, and I leap out of the way just in time to avoid being run into by an angry-looking Finn, who seems to have a sort of feud going on with Puck. This baffles me; usually the Careers agree to get along and form an alliance with each other.
"Thank you," I turn to give my gratitude towards the owner of the voice.
"You're welcome," the girl smiles at me. "I'm Hannah. You're Damian, right?"
I nod. "Yes. You are from Seven?"
She shrugs. "It's not the best, but it's home."
I'm dying to ask her about Cameron.
I want to know if she's his girlfriend.
I want to know if he is in love with her.
I want to know what he is like, what his voice is like.
I look around the room, but I do not see him. "What are you looking for?"
I blush. "Nothing," I mumble. "So…why is Finn angry?"
Hannah checks to make sure no one is listening and leans in. "He and Quinn are romantically involved. Puck keeps trying to get her to notice him. There is talk that he will kill Finn and steal Quinn away…well, for as long as she lives, anyway."
I swallow. "Oh." I am about to summon up the courage to ask her about Cameron, but they call the training session to order, and we split up.
The scoring session goes in order by District. I stare at the wall and watch all of the other tributes leave, one by one. Some of them seem to take no time at all. Some of them are gone for ten minutes at a time. I do not make eye contact with anybody. My confidence is not very big to begin with, and I certainly don't want what little I do have to be destroyed by staring into the eyes of some of the better contenders.
Lindsay's name is called before mine, and I watch her throw her shoulders back, hold her chin up, and stride towards the room, to no doubt show off her pyrotechnic abilities. There are only four other tributes left, and they are silently awaiting their turns.
They call my name.
No, I am not ready for this.
I am not ready for this at all.
I shakily make my way down the hall and into the room. A committee of people stares down at me from behind a wall of glass. I suppose it is to keep them safe from any rouge weapons. I scan my options; I am afraid of harming myself with the bigger, sharper weapons. I am not physically strong, so I do not go near those tools. I instead make my way towards the ropes and begin to tie a complicated knot that my father taught me when I was younger. I cannot tell if they are impressed or not. I back out of the room, nearly tripping over a rack of swords. Embarrassed, I stagger away, fleeing from the room before they can lower my score any further.
When I tell John this story, he shakes his head and scolds me. "Damian, this is one of the most important things that happen here in the Capitol. If you do poorly…"
"I know, I know. I don't get sponsors and then I die quicker."
He gives me a warning look. "I'm just saying this for your well-being."
We settle around the television later to receive our scores. Not surprisingly, the Careers score in the 8-10 range. The others fall between the 5-7 range.
I find myself holding my breath when Seven is announced.
Cameron scores a 7.
I feel Lindsay staring at me as I stare at his picture on the screen, but I do not care.
If she sees me staring, she sees me staring.
It is not as if I am falling in love with Cameron.
He just…intrigues me.
Lindsay grabs my hand when the scores from Ten are announced. She scores a 7, which is not bad, and John smiles approvingly.
I score a paltry 5. John is not happy. "You should have scored at least a 7," he chides.
"I am sorry," I grumble.
I can kiss my chances of survival goodbye.
I will not be receiving sponsors unless someone takes pity on me.
I will die fairly quickly.
Perhaps one of Quinn's knives will stab me.
Perhaps one of Kurt's swords will slice me open and leave me to bleed.
I hear people go insane and beg for death.
There are people I could not kill. Lindsay, I could not kill her, even if she insisted that I do so. Hannah, I am not sure I could kill her, either.
I could never kill Cameron.
Would Cameron ever kill me?
To be continued…
