So it turns out I broke the review button (I know, I'm pretty darn skilled to be able to pull that off) by deleting an old chapter that I didn't need. It just had my tributes' bios in it…but it should be working now! Yay!
Mixing up the format today! No Sasha! Yeah…he's too cool for parties. And this chapter is mostly about the party, and the reality of the Games and their friends probably dying is finally dawning on them.
We're going straight to Ryan! And he's in a happy mood, because he's discovered that you can steal shamrocks from the edible plant station of the Training Center, and he has a nice supply now.
Enjoy!
Ryan
The Avoxes don't seem to appreciate us having a party and ordering lots of stuff. I don't know if it's because they just don't want extra work, or if they think it's going to get them in trouble. I don't really know how you could justify punishing the servant though; that just doesn't make sense.
I offered them shamrocks for good luck since I have a lot now, but they said no. Well, technically, they didn't say no, since they don't talk, they just shook their heads and waited for Tea's next enthusiastic request.
"Oooh, guys, this is looking amazing!" Tea squeals, admiring the glowing streamers, the silk tablecloths, and the pastel-colored food. Keldon, however, is having second thoughts.
"I don't know about this, Ryan. Are you sure we're not gonna get in trouble?"
"What else could they possibly do to us, Keldon?" I laugh. "There's nothing to worry about."
"What about our friends? The ones in the other arena? What about them? We haven't seen them, we haven't heard anything about them; how do we know they're not already in the arena? What if the Gamemakers take it out on them?"
Well, I must admit, I hadn't thought about that. I actually haven't thought about our friends much at all. Dad always used to tell me that joking around and acting like an idiot was a way of coping, and I guess that's what I've been doing. Jaylon Thomas, that's who is going into another arena because of me. My best friend since I was three. He's not strong or tough; he's going to die.
"Who's your friend, Keldon?" Tea asks gently, stepping up behind him and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"His name is Timon. But if they hadn't been short on guys, it would've been someone else." Tea nods in realization and backs away from Keldon, mouthing the word "girl" at me.
"My best friend from grade school is going in there," I say, staring at my feet. "I didn't even get to give him a shamrock; they just came in during goodbyes and tore him away." I've been ignoring the memory, blocking it out by thoughts of humiliating Careers and throwing parties, but I know that I leave here without a coffin, it will haunt me forever.
I haven't heard any other tributes talk about their friends, so I know they're thinking the same thing.
"My bestie, Renee. I think you know her, Keldon, she had a crush on you for the longest time, before she found out you were younger than her, that is," Tea says, a smile playing on the corner of her mouth at the memory. "Who almost went in, Kel? Maybe I know them."
"Mykal Duncan."
"She your girl?" I ask.
"She might've been."
"I do know her, Keldon. I mean, I know who she is," Tea says, snapping her fingers as if she's just remembered an important fact. "Man that sucks, really. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, me too, man. But don't worry, we'll get through this. Just talk to Evangeline, she's helped me sort through all kinds of problems."
"That your girl, Ryan?"
"Hell, no. I don't have a girl. Evangeline's what my dad always called the evening star. She helped him work up the courage to propose to my mom."
"That's sweet, Ryan, but I don't think a star is going to do anything."
"No, really. Shamrocks help too. And I got lots of them, and so far, the Careers have completely ignored me. If that's not good luck, I don't know what is."
"Oooh, I hadn't even noticed that!" Tea exclaims, regaining her bubbly demeanor. "You're right, that is good luck! Maybe they don't even know we exist!"
"That's what I'm countin' on, my friend," I say, giving Tea a high five. We take one last look at the Avoxes' handiwork on the roof before Keldon and Tea head down to the seventh floor and I return to the eighth.
Penny
Six o'clock is coming quickly and Tyler and I are getting ready for Ryan, Tea, and Keldon's party. I've been to several parties, but none of them have ever been like this. Well, I don't know what this is going to be like, but I'm pretty sure that it's not going to be similar to any eight-year-old's birthday party I've ever been to.
Dante and I are alright. He didn't tell anybody about what I'm doing, and I'm thankful for that. If they knew I was trying to figure out ways to trick them into prolonging my own life, I'd lose all of my allies, and we've worked so hard on making sure we have a wide variety of skills. On my own, all I'd have is my knowledge of plants and my pathetic archery.
Not what you usually see in a victor.
I find a pretty pale pink dress in my closet and slip it over my head. It falls to my knees in a beautiful silky curtain, rippling whenever I move. Not knowing what to do with my hair, I weave it into two french braids on either side of my head, just like it was for the Reaping.
Feeling satisfied, I skip out to dinner with the escort, our stylists, and Tyler, who are all waiting for me at the pastry-adorned table. Metella sits prim and proper with her rainbow hair meticulously arranged into a pile on top of her head, which really looks very silly. I don't know how having rainbow hair makes her feel special, and I probably never will. Tyler looks very tired, although he's a little bit dressed up for the party in a white dress shirt with a navy blue tie. Tyler and I eat in silence while Metella and our stylists chatter away about new breakthroughs in the fashion industry.
"What do you think of Shayna?" Tyler asks me suddenly, looking up from his plate.
"Shayna?" How do I play this? Do I pretend to love the girl and risk looking to dependent, or do I diss her and give Tyler the idea that I'll be the first one to turn? Well, let's see. He's asking, so he either likes her a lot or hates her a lot. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, so…first one. "She's great."
"You think so?" Gosh. Could he be any more cryptic? I think not.
"Yeah, I do. She brings out the best in everyone, I think."
"I think so, too." He doesn't say anything else, and I'm relieved. Love isn't encouraged in the Games, seeing how most of us will die. Look how Peeta Mellark turned out.
Once we're done eating, Tyler and I excuse ourselves, sneaking out to the elevator. Metella is too dim-witted to notice, and the stylists really don't care what we do, so sneaking out is fairly easy. When the elevator door opens, I'm surprised to find several tributes already inside. Jax and Ariel, standing awkwardly in the back, Paisley, the girl from Three, Thomas, who is attempting invisibility, and Shayna, who is in a gorgeous teal dress similar to mine and bouncing excitedly. I smile at her and she grins back, practically glowing. Tyler bows his head almost subconsciously and stares at his feet until we reach the penthouse, District Twelve's floor.
"Dante, I'm just sooo excited for the party, aren't you? Tea told me there's cake and music- oh, Paisley, you're here!" The girl from Twelve stops tormenting poor Dante and rushes to talk to the girl from Three, who's glancing around nervously as if the girl might talk her head off. I giggle. By the looks of it, she might.
"Hi, Dante," I say, walking up to him, flanked by Shayna, Tyler, and Thomas.
"Hey, guys," he replies casually.
"So, I hear you got a nine," Thomas says. "That's not half bad." Dante rolls his eyes.
"Not that it even matters. We don't have sponsors."
"Well, yeah, but if the Gamemakers like you, maybe they'll be less likely to kill you with flesh-eating woodpeckers," Thomas counters. I laugh while Dante and Thomas continue to debate training scores, Tyler joining in, bragging about his eight, which isn't bad either. Slowly, Shayna and I make our way up the small flight of stairs that we're told leads to the roof, Shayna ranting about the party, her eyes glittering.
"Bring on the bass! I'm so ready for the Par-TAY! Finally, an excuse to dress up a bit! Anyways...God Tyler's just do dreamy I could die... Did...did I say that out loud?" Suddenly, she looks about ready to beat herself up. I giggle innocently, playing the little girl angle.
"He was asking about you earlier," I tell her. Shayna stops in her tracks and jerks her head towards me. If it's possible, her eyes are glittering even more.
"Really? What'd he say?"
"That you bring out the best in people." I start walking again, faster, and Shayna scampers after me.
"Penny! You can't just give me life-changing information like that and walk away! What else did he- Ooh, they have the colorful drinks!" Shayna notices the refreshments, and prances over to a table stocked full of weird, colored drinks. Some of them are glowing. I make a mental note to steer clear of that table. One should never eat things when they haven't the slightest fathom as to what they are. That's what Mama used to tell me when I was little.
The roof looks amazing. The sun is setting now, and unseen lights are glowing, changing colors and shapes on the stone floor. Tables of refreshments are all around, and an area is cleared out in the middle for a dance floor. Glowing balloons and streamers are everywhere, sending an eerie glow reflecting off the people. Peppy Capitol music blares from invisible speakers, surrounding me on all sides. How three tributes managed to pull this off, I have no idea.
The rest of the tributes are arriving quickly. I note the absence of Sasha and a few other tributes whose faces I can picture but whose names I can't remember, and wonder why they decided not to show. Ryan, Tea, and Keldon stand next to the mountain of cake they've ordered, nibbling at it absentmindedly, cracking jokes and laughing. How can they be so carefree when tomorrow we have to appear before the whole of Panem and be likable? Well, I guess they already are likable, so it's not a big deal for them. Maybe I should ask Ryan for one of his shamrocks he's always going on about.
I still can't decide what angle to go with. Tough is out of the question. I'm thinking I may go with the little girl approach; make everyone feel sorry for me. That's what I've been doing so far, and I'm thinking I should go with what I know, right? Unfortunately, Dante'll see right through me.
"Should I go for it?" Tyler comes up behind me.
"Go for what?"
"Should I ask Shayna to dance?" I scan the sea of tributes and find Shayna, twirling in her dress with her eyes closed, lost in the music.
"Yeah, Ty. We've only got two more nights till we're all at each other's throats. Make it count."
"Alright. Thanks, Pen." He punches my shoulder lightly and approaches Shayna. When she sees him, her eyes light up, and although I didn't hear Tyler ask her, she nods excitedly. I smile as a slow song comes on, perfect timing, I know, and they dance across the floor. Tyler's a pretty sucky dancer, but Shayna helps him, and before you know it, he's practically a pro.
I weave my way through the dancing and find Dante and Thomas standing in the corner of the roof, nibbling on ice cream cake and not talking. I feel sick for a moment, thinking that Dante might have told Thomas, but then I realize that if he had, Thomas would probably have confronted me already. As much as I hate it, Dante's awfully hard not to trust.
"Don't like dancing?" I ask them, grabbing a piece of cake from the table.
"I just came for the cake, anyways," Thomas grins, holding up his plate.
"Nice," I laugh. As if by some unspoken agreement, they both step away from each other, making room for me between them.
Guess I am the pathetic little girl after all. For the first time since I've gotten here, I allow myself to think about Tiffany, who, although I love her to death, is most definitely the pathetic little girl in the other arena. I blink back tears, knowing I'll never see her again.
Jax
Against all odds, this party isn't half bad. The music is loud and wild, Ariel's standing next to me making it look like I actually have a date, and even though I just ate, the food is magnificent.
"So do we have to play this thing here?" I hiss in Ariel's ear, referring to the fake romance we've devised.
"As much as it makes me want to puke, I think so," she whispers back. "If we just do it in the arena, the other tributes won't believe us. It'll mess everything up if they confront us." What do you know? The girl's got a brain on her.
"Alright, just remember you asked for it." They're playing a slow song right now, and even though I'm pretty sure it's almost over, I drag Ariel out to the dance floor, pulling her close. She drapes her arms across my shoulders and we step back and forth, not really dancing, but not standing still, either.
"So I hear Noah pissed off Sasha," I tell her, keeping my voice low.
"Yeah. Told him he had no chance of winning." I let out low whistle of appreciation.
"That's gutsy. Even I don't contradict Sasha."
"Eh, I might," Ariel shrugs. "But he's made decent decisions so far."
"Think about it. Has he made any decisions since the first day of training?" Ariel looks up, letting the last three days flash before her eyes.
"You're right. The only thing he did was tell us to intimidate everyone else. It's mostly been Noah."
"It's like I told you, we need to watch out for him."
"Yeah. The boy from Twelve, too."
"The guy who hangs with the wimp and the little girl?"
"Yeah. He got a nine, Jax. I've been training my whole life, and I got an eight."
"Alright, so he's on the list, too. Who else?"
"The girl from Five, Malia, I think her name is," Ariel says without hesitation.
"Why her?" I laugh.
"Look at her." I find Malia in the crowd, leaning against the table dipping strawberries in the chocolate fountain. "Can't you see how angry she is?"
"What do you mean?" I scan Malia up and down, but I don't see what Ariel's talking about. Until Malia senses my gaze and looks up. Her dark brown eyes hold more fire and scorn than even Ariel's, and her posture is stiff and unyielding. She regards me with a steely glare, and it's obvious how much she loathes me.
"Don't you see?" Ariel asks me, her dark green eyes trained on mine. I look back at her.
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Wouldn't want to be around her when she finally blows her top, would we?"
"My thoughts exactly." The song ends and we leave the dance floor, not feeling like jumping up and down like idiots.
"Wanna go get a drink?" I ask Ariel, referring to the mysterious glasses of colored drinks on one of the tables. Keldon is replenishing an odd pink one, which automatically makes me think that it must be good.
"Sure they're safe?" Ariel asks skeptically. "I'm still not sure how I feel about Capitol food."
"Oh, yes, Ariel, I'm sure they've given us poison, especially since we're going into the arena for their entertainment the day after tomorrow," I say, rolling my eyes.
"Okay, fine," Ariel laughs. It amazes me how well we're getting along tonight. I almost have to remind myself that she's faking it, and I am too.
"Hey, Keldon, what're these?" I gesture to the pink drinks.
"Oh, they're really good. They're really sweet…the escort gave me and Tea some on the train, described it as cotton candy," he explains, smiling. "Ryan loves them; he says he's had three already." I can tell he's trying to be friendly, being one of the hosts and all, but you can tell the last thing he wants to be doing is talking to us. Ariel must sense this too, because she tells him he doesn't have to hang around, and he leaves, returning to Ryan and Tea.
"Wanna try one?" Ariel asks, staring at the pink liquid suspiciously.
"Sure." I grab two and hand her one. "Cheers." We tap our glasses together and raise the mysterious, cotton candy flavored drinks to our lips.
Ariel
I'm about to take a sip of the drink when the distinct, medicinal scent of it reaches my nose.
"Jax! Don't you dare drink that!" I fling the glass out of his hand, and it shatters on the floor, spreading the beverage everywhere. Everyone stares at us, shocked, but two Avoxes rush over to clean up the mess, and the rest of the tributes quickly return to what they were doing.
"What's the matter with you?" Jax snaps, still staring at his now empty hand.
"Keldon lied! Those aren't the drinks he said they were!"
"Oh, yeah? Well if you're so smart, what are they?" I motion for him to step forward, and I stand on my toes to reach his ear.
"Jemima showed me those the first night here," I whisper, the memory fresh in my mind. "She said that at really special parties, where there was a lot of food, sometimes they would pass around these drinks that make you throw up so you can keep eating. She showed me one, asked if I wanted to try. It smelled exactly like those. Just a different color."
"Really? Maybe all Capitol drinks smell the same. Now we've made a scene." Jax looks annoyed that I've ruined his drink, but if he really wanted one and if didn't believe me, he would've reached for another one by now. I tell him so.
"Fine," he growls. Eager to find his dignity, he says, "So that bastard and his friends set us up."
"Yeah. The pair from Seven and the boy from Eight."
"Do we confront them?"
"Might as well let them know they're a target. Otherwise, hunting 'em down will be too easy," I say with a smirk. With a sharp nod of his head, Jax whips around and parts through the crowd, searching for the group. We find them in a corner close to the stairs, huddled in a small circle.
"Hey," I say, poison lining my voice. "So those drinks, yeah, they don't taste like cotton candy."
"How would you know? You didn't try one," the boy from Eight laughs. "I thought they were pretty good."
"Shut up, Ryan, it's over," Keldon hisses. Tea bites her lip nervously.
"We're not as stupid as you think we are," Jax barks, stepping forward. "And we're gonna get you. All of you."
"Alrighty. Well, thanks for letting us know," Tea says brightly, masking her fear. "We'll…we'll just be going now." She grabs the boys' hands and leads them to the center of the dance floor, bouncing to the beat.
Jezza
Now this is what I call a party. I own the dance floor, spinning in psychotic circles, allowing my hot pink strapless dress to twirl around me like a whirlpool. This is what I was made for: city life, parties, and hot pink dresses.
Unfortunately, the dream ends promptly at midnight. Now I know how Cinderella must have felt.
I think Paisley is going to agree to be my ally. I think. I hope. I think now that she's gotten to know me, it's becoming increasingly unbearable to send me to my death, which, if she doesn't agree to help me, is exactly what she'll be doing.
I decide to go be social.
"Hi, Paisley!" I squeal, trying not to trip in my pink high heels. "You look totally fabulous!" And she does. Paisley is wearing a gorgeous lavender dress that hugs her body and is decorated with silver rhinestones. It's very girly, and she never struck me as a girly person, so I'd be willing to bet her escort or stylist forced her into it. Her beautiful hair is woven into an elaborate updo and embellished with sparkles. I expect her to scowl at my compliment, but she actually smiles at me.
"Thanks, Jezza. You don't look half bad either." I back away, holding my hand to my chest, hurt.
"Half bad? I thought I looked beautiful! You have no idea how long it took me to pick out this dress, bribe my escort to give me her matching shoes, and curl my hair, and you say I don't look half bad!" Paisley is unapologetic, shrugging casually.
"I said what I meant, Jezza," she says.
"Fine, whatever. But I'll have you know, my stylist said he was going to do my hair up exactly like this tomorrow because it looks so great," I inform her, patting my platinum blond curls. "Anyways, Paisley, you gonna be my ally yet?"
"I thought we had already agreed." My heart stops. Yes! Paisley's gonna help me! Not being able to stop myself, I throw my arms around her and jump up and down, which is challenge in heels.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I screech. Paisley shoves me away.
"You're an idiot, Jezza," she says bluntly.
"I know. But you love me anyways!"
"Yeah," Paisley laughs, "keep telling yourself that. Maybe one day it'll be true." I laugh at her comment and drag her onto the dance floor. She turns around awkwardly for several moments, but before long, she's just as wild as me.
When the clock strikes twelve, nobody takes any notice.
Well, there you have it! Our tributes have had the time of their lives, but they're starting to realize that their lives may be ending very soon. Will they spill to the Capitol? Will they ignore Caesar completely? Only time will tell.
And that brings me to the subject of the interviews! So, I may need some help with this. I think I'm going to do this like the Reapings: 3 chapters from Marjorie, four districts per chapter. However, please keep in mind that these will take me a while. I will have to bury myself in the tribute bios in order to come up with answers to these questions. However, it would really speed things up if you'd like to PM me some questions and answers for your tribute, if you want. If you want to be surprised, which I would probably want, then please don't!
I hope you liked reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! R&R!
~IceTigers