A/N: Long time, no update. I apologize for my lack of writing this story. And my other one. This time, you can blame another band trip, more Science Fair stuff, HARRY POTTER, an English Internal (For which I just wrote an essay for the Hunger Games.) a couple of short stories for English, (My definition of short was 4,200 words. Whoops.) and a couple of end-of-term tests.
Anyway, I'm back for now. So, chapter ahoy!
The two weeks allotted for training passed faster than could have been imagined by any of the twenty-four tributes, not to mention their mentors.
"She's doomed," Haymitch could be heard muttering into his little flask of spirits. He had not doubt that Fayna would die – she didn't have the wit, courage or strength to win, even in a field of pampered children who have never lived with any degree of hunger.
The tributes themselves were either dead scared, extremely confident or so clueless they could barely remember the days of the week.
On the last day of training, as per usual, are the private sessions with the Gamemakers. Although, this year, the tributes are being assessed by Coin herself, along with her own Gamemakers.
As the tributes waited to be called, almost every single one of them was trying to decide exactly what to do to impress the Gamemakers – and Coin, for that matter. And, let's be honest, Coin doesn't really seem like the 'easily impressed' type, does she?
So, the tributes waited nervously, except the few tributes who fit under the 'clueless' category. They were just sitting there, oblivious, although one, a seventeen-year-old girl by the name of Azaria Pond dreamily asked why everyone was being so quiet. This resulted in a glare from tributes such as Ryker and Jessamine, and a murmur of agreement from other, unthinking tributes, all wondering the same thing.
This was one of the only parts of the Games that wasn't completely televised, and many of these new tributes really had no idea what they had to do. Even more so than before, if that were possible.
Each tribute was called in alphabetical order according to their first name, starting with a boy named Abdon.
After about ten tributes had already faced the Gamemakers, Eryx entered the gymnasium, still quite unsure of what he was going to do. He stared at the Gamemakers with President Coin sitting in the centre of the table, petrified for a moment.
Coin raised an eyebrow at Eryx and he suddenly began to move, not completely aware of his actions. He tried to remember what he'd done in the past two weeks, but came up blank. Typical that all that training would leave him now, when it counted.
Now is not when it counts, he suddenly thought. It doesn't count until you get into the arena.
Eryx decided then it didn't matter what he did – just as long as he knew he could survive the actual arena. He began circling the room, trying to find something to do. In the end, he lifted a few weights and mutilated one of the dummies with a small knife. He stepped back from the dummy, breathing heavily and dropping the knife. Every Gamemaker at the table looked towards Coin, who nodded briskly.
"You may leave," she waved her hand at Eryx, and he didn't hesitate in leaving the room.
When Fayna entered the room, she just stood in the centre for a good five minutes. Coin and the Gamemakers exchanged glances and Coin glared at Fayna.
"Well, get on with it then," she urged, irritated.
"Oh. Oh, right," Fayna muttered, before not moving her stance at all, but beginning to speak.
She launched into a full, ten-minute long speech about how amazing she was, not at all thinking about how inflated her ego was.
"... And that's the amazing tale of how amazingly amazing I am," Fayna finished, giving a little bow. "Feel free to shower me with flowers."
"Uh, we were hoping for something like a skill," one of the Gamemakers said.
"I can shove my whole fist in my mouth," Fayna declared eagerly. "Want to see?"
"You may leave," Coin told her in a monotone, clearly perplexed at the stupidity of that girl.
Jessamine tried to enter the gymnasium with an air of superiority about her, but as soon as she saw President Coin, her calm demeanor vanished. She tried to take a deep breath and concentrate on what she was supposed to be doing, but Coin spoke.
"Well. Miss Snow," she said, as if her name left a horrid taste in her mouth. Jessamine shot a glare at the President, who, for the first time in her life, wasn't her grandfather. She ignored the thought and picked up a spear, running at a dummy and skewering it through the heart. Before the Gamemakers could even react, she'd pulled out a knife and forced it through another dummy's head. Then, she picked up a sword. And went about slicing almost everything in the room. No-one could say she wasn't destructive, and she certainly seemed fearless. One of the Gamemakers made a small comment about her being unusually fierce for a pampered city girl – a comment Jessamine caught, which made her throw the closest thing to her (a large dumbbell) as far as she could, and it hit the forcefield with a hiss.
She stood, panting in the middle of the gymnasium, completely out of ideas for anything to do that she hadn't already done.
"Thank you, Miss Snow. That will be all," Coin's voice carried in the silent room. Jessamine nodded absentmindedly and left as quickly as she could. As much as she hated to admit it, Coin scared her. It was clear she wanted to erase everything she could of her grandfather's. Her dad was already dead, and it wouldn't be long before Coin got her mother too. The only way she could survive was to win the Games. After that, Coin couldn't touch her. It was literally her only hope.
Ryker weighed her odds as she stood in front of the Gamemakers. Admittedly, her chances didn't seem the best, but Ryker was determined, as always, to survive. She picked up a bow and arrows and tried to remember what Katniss had taught her over the fortnight of training. The truth was, half the time Ryker ignored her because, being an arrogant teenager, she thought she knew best.
Now, though, she regretted her ignorance as she tried to at least get the arrow in the direction she wanted it to go. Luckily, it hit the bullseye and Ryker had to restrain herself from jumping for joy. She picked up a knife and threw it in the same direction as the arrow. Unbelievably, the knife split the arrow. Ryker's eyes widened in shock, and the Gamemakers were all muttering to each other. Ryker kept a cool expression and went about throwing things all over the room. Some things hit brilliantly, other things did not, but as Ryker was being dismissed, she had a good feeling about how she went. She figured if she could continue this throughout the Games, she should be back home within a month.
A/N: Ten points for anyone who catches the Mean Girls reference. As a side note, Mean Girls is the best movie to quote. Ever. "I can't invite you to my party, because I think you're a lesbian." "Boo, you whore!" etcetera. It provides many lulz at school.
Anyway, review? Even if it's just to kill me for never updating...
