A/N : I am truely sorry for making you wait so long. I was almost done with the chapter when my compter got a virus and they had to wipe all of the memory. Anyways, here is chapter 10
My SYOT is one tribute from being complete so I would be truly grateful if you guys would post me a tribute. Either male in D9 or in D7. I have one tribute that will fit either and am just waiting to see which spot will fill first. FIRST COME FIRST SEVRE
Disclaimer: Not mine
Chapter 10 – Training
Sarra
Garet stood to go into the arena to try and hide his longing for his father but it was clearly present on his face. I fast walked to catch up to him and grabbed his hand. I did this not only to comfort him but because I have been longing to feel the warmth of his hand against mine.
Without saying a word, we continue into the arena and both of us are dumbstruck by what we see. The room is by far the largest I have ever seen and the walls are pure white with the gold MockingJay seal painted on them every 30 yards or so. The only thing that betrays the purity of the room is the densely packed dirt floor. The Game makers are in a medium sized room off to our left and about 30 feet above the floor of the training room. There is a glass window to protect them from something like Katniss' now infamous private training session when she shot at them with an arrow.
All of the tributes are called into the center of the room where a woman is standing on a small podium. She tells us about the schedule for the next two days of training and then sets us loose on the stations around the room.
"Where do you want to start?" I ask Garet, still caught up in the gold mural of the MockingJay symbol painted on the floor.
"How about we start with knot-tying and work our way clock-wise around the room. That way we can do everything and not worry about weapons until tomorrow afternoon."
"That sounds good. Let's go." I say, grabbing his hand to pull him towards the knot-tying station.
We spend the next two hours or so working our way around the room until we meet up with the Drexel twins at Camouflage.
After a moment of silence, Garet says, "What have you two been doing so far?"
"Not much, just wandering around this place." Says Drexel one, the boy. "We have been thinking, do you guys have any allies yet?"
I glance at Garet before speaking. "Not yet. Why? Do you two want to ally up with us?"
"That is what we were thinking, if it is okay with you two." Drexel two says.
"I think that is a wonderful idea. The four of us working together as a team would be great." Garet says while I nod vigorously beside him.
After they leave, Garet turns to me and says, "They will make good allies. They'd do anything to protect the other."
It takes me a minute to realize that he is talking about the Drexel's still. "I agree, until the end when they have to choose between them and us."
"Hopefully we won't have to kill them or them us. Maybe the rebels will let multiple people win, or worst case scenario, they are both killed by someone else." Garet says.
"Let's ally with them but try not to get to attached, that way when they do die, we won't be crushed by our guilt." I say.
Garet says he agrees, and then we move on to our sixth station, edible plants. We stay here for a long time, knowing that this could be extremely important. By the looks of the plants, the arena will either be dense forest, or tropical.
After our sixth station, everyone was called into the middle of the room for more instruction. We were told that training was done for today and that training started bright and early the next day.
Then we were dismissed and everyone returned to their respective floors. On the elevator ride up, Garet turned to me and asked, "Have you thought about what you are going to do for your individual session tomorrow?"
"I have an idea for what I am going to do if that is what you are asking." I reply, which is the absolute truth. I know what I am doing but how I am going to do it is still a mystery.
"That is good. I still have no idea. To bad I can't just sit and talk to the Game makers." He says. "That is the only thing that I am good at."
"That's not true. You are good at way more than just that. If I were you, I know exactly what I would do." I say, mad that Garet's self-esteem is so low.
"And that would be what exactly?" He says curiously.
"If I were you, I would-" Before I can finish the elevator doors open and Katniss, Peeta and Dalphina are waiting for us.
~~Ħ~~
"How'd training go?" Katniss asks, almost instantly when the elevator doors open.
"It was good. We made some allies and tried to stay away from the weapons. Those are for tomorrow." Garet says confidently, unfazed by the sudden change in conversation.
The five of us walk towards the dining room while Peeta and Katniss take turns quizzing us on the Drexel twins and the other things that we did in training today. The conversation continues into dinner then slowly drifts to our interview strategy.
"Sarra, we established that Garet will try and charm the crowd, what is your interview strategy?" Peeta asks, turning his gaze from Katniss to me.
"I think that I am just going to be myself and answer the questions truthfully, if that is okay. Hopefully I will get some sympathy for growing up without a mother and with a father who as away more than he was home." I say fighting back tears. This was the first time that I had talked about my family since the rebellion.
Garet notices my emotional state and asks, "Sarra, are you okay?"
"Yes. It's just that I haven't talked to anyone about my family since they were killed." I say, giving up on controlling my emotions and leaning over to cry on Garets shoulder. This is also the first time that I have shown anyone but Garet my emotions.
"I think that will work for you interview. What about you Peeta?" Katniss says, trying to right the conversation.
"I will defiantly work. Especially if you get your emotions involved like you did just now." Peeta says confidently. This combined with Garet's quiet reassuring voice slowly calms my sobs.
That night I once again have trouble falling asleep but instead of waiting for Garet, I go to him. As I walk down the hall, I see that his doors in partially open and there is a dim light on inside.
"Garet? Are you awake?" I whisper as I push the door further open.
"You know it. Come sit down over here. I could use your company." He replies.
I walk over and sit next to him on his bed. "What's on your mind?" He asks when I slide up closer to him.
"Everything, that's the problem; I can't stop thinking about my family, the games and how I feel right now."
"Same, minus the family part. You are the closest person to a sister that I have ever had and no-one else in my family survived the war. I wish that we didn't have to go through all of this; for the sake of our sanity." He says, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I know. Dalphina is starting to get on my nerves." I say. I can't help but smile when I think about the obnoxious escort.
"At least we have Katniss and Peeta. On a different subject, what was your family like? I have been curious ever since you hinted to them at dinner." Garet says as he turns and looks me in the eyes. I am mesmerized for a moment by the intensity of his deep green eyes.
"Well, if you really want to know, my family was different because dad was never around. There was me, my mom and Jamie, my younger brother…" I proceed to tell Garet all about Jamie, my dad always being away, and what life was like without a mother.
After I finish telling him about my life, I say to him, "It is getting late. I should probably head back to my room."
Before I can stand to go back to my room though, he puts his hand over mine and calmly says, "You could sleep here tonight. There is plenty of room and we both could use the company."
"If you insist." I say, smiling.
We both climb into his monstrous bed and say our goodnights. I lay there listening to Garet's steady breathing for a minute before I drift off to sleep. For the first time since my mother died, I fall asleep smiling.
A/N : The next chapter will have the private sessions and maybe the beginning of the interviews depending on the length. For those of you reading, what perspective should I do the next chapter in? Peeta? Katniss? Garet? Sarra? I am clueless. Give me your ideas in a review. R&R, they make my day.