Chapter 9

"I have an idea," I state. My sword swings at Flame.

He dodges. "Yeah?"

"How about a little friendly competition?"

Flame's face slowly turns from a grimace to a grin. "I'm listening."

"At the axe station, we each get a few axes, then we see who gets the most bullseyes. And, of course, whoever does wins."

"Sounds like a good game, but what's the prize?" He puts down the sword and offers to take mine. I hand it to him and he puts both of them away.

"Uh, enlightenment?"

Flame gives me a weird look. "You're kidding, right?"

"Hey, you act like that's a bad thing. Ummm... Okay, I got it. Lessons on a weapon of the winner's choice."

"That's more like it."

We head over to the axe station, each of us taking a few axes. We stand side by side.

"Ready?" I grip my axe so tight, my already-pale skin turns whiter.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Flame says in a cocky tone. A tone I haven't heard since the reaping.

"Go!"

Flame throws his first axe right off the bat, but misses the bullseye by a few inches. I miss my first too, but it's closer to the bullseye than Flame's. He throws his second axe. It misses, and he swears loudly. My second hits the bullseye, but I miss my third.

As our competition goes on, several of the tributes stop and watch, including a few of the Careers: Silver, Wish, Taylor, Vera, and Electra Embers of District Three. They look impressed, except for Wish, who crosses her arms and glares at me. Jealous, much?

It's tie 6-to-6. This is it. I wind up and take my aim...

I see Bethany out of the corner of my eye. She smiles.

I throw my axe and it gets stuck in the ground. Flame's final axe hits the bullseye. All the tributes clap and congratulate him, but some of them are nice enough to compliment me on my axe-throwing skills. I thank them halfheartedly.

When most of them leave, Flame approaches me.

"You know, I could have beaten you."

"Yeah, but you got a little distracted." He smirks.

"Shut up."

"So what are you going to teach me?"

"Axe-throwing." When he opens his mouth in protest, I say, "Hey, it's all I know. Besides, I could teach you some techniques to throw even better."

But, it turns out Flame doesn't need much teaching. "You're really good, just take your time aiming."

"But not too much time."

"Right, otherwise, you might get killed."

As we clean up, Bethany and Matthew approach us. "Hey," Matthew says. He has a bit of a high voice.

"Hi," I say, avoiding Bethany's friendly gaze. I can't believe I lost because of her. Why does she have to be so...

"So, are you finished up?" Bethany asks casually.

"Yeah," I say. "You can go ahead. Excuse me." I walk out of the room. I retreat to the bathroom. When I'm there, I actually use it. Might as well.

I exit the stall and find Bethany leaning against the sink.

I huff. "What, are you stalking me now?"

"No," she says defensively. "I just wanted to know why you left the training center so fast."

"And you couldn't just wait 'til I came back and ask like a normal person?"

"No. I kind of wanted to talk to you alone." She says shyly.

"Well, next time, just ask me what's wrong. You can't just follow me into the bathroom. That's just creepy." I start washing my hands.

She stands next to me. "Why are you so pissed off at me? Is it because I joined the Careers?"

I drop the towel I'm using to dry my hands. "You joined the Careers?"

"It's kind of a tradition for District Four to do so, isn't it? Besides, I want to at least try to get far in the Games as possible." She tilts her head and looks at me. Oh, she looks so adorable when she tilts her head. Ugh, what the hell am I saying? "Why? Do you hate all Careers?"

No.

"Well, no, not all of them. But-" I look into her green eyes. I scoff and shake my head. "That's not why I'm mad. I'm just mad I lost my game to Flame all because you had to distract me..." I stop. Did I really just say that?

Bethany's concerned expression changes into a huge smile. She laughs silently. "Oh, so I distract you?"

Fuck. "No." I jam my hands in my pockets and look down. "Maybe."

I feel her hand go on my shoulder. I look up.

"You think I'm hot and irresistible," she says. "It's okay."

I roll my eyes. "Yes, I know. I have a real problem. Someone help me!"

She laughs.

"So, you're-?" I trail off.

"I've been flirting with you since Day One and you just got the message?" Her face is close to mine.

"Well, you know, I-I just wanted to make sure..." I get a good look at her full lips and think about kissing her.

The door opens suddenly. Enter a girl with long blond hair tied in a braid and a daisy barrette. "Hey."

"Hey, Elaine." Bethany sounds disappointed. Maybe it's because she ruined the almost perfect moment. "Violet, this is Elaine Greene from District Five. Elaine, this is Violet James from Seven."

I wave. Elaine smiles. She's pretty, but not quite as pretty as Bethany. "Private sessions are starting."
"Oh, we'd better go then," I say.

"Yeah. I have to get back to my meditating." Elaine leaves.

"Meditating?"

"She's a hippie." Bethany explains.

"Oh..."

Line break

"When you're ready, Miss James," Head Gamemaker Oriane Crane says.

I look over to the axe station. There's twenty axes. What could I do to get a decent score? I run my hand over the silver handle of the axe, then get my idea.

I take one axe and throw it into the wall. It lands vertically. I take the next axe and it lands diagonally. I keep going and going. Finally, all axes are used. I step back and admire my handiwork. The Gamemakers look at the wall. Some of their jaws drop, a couple of them gasp in astonishment.

All the axes make words. And the message is "I WILL WIN."

I grin at them and chuckle softly to myself. Oriane Crane nods in amusement. "You may go, Miss James." I nod and walk out, feeling pretty confident. If that doesn't get me at least a 10, I don't know what will.

Line break

It's nighttime. All the tributes gather at the television. The Capitol seal comes up, then the announcer starts to do a quick recap of the Games so far, then introduces the training scores. I lean forward in my seat.

Silver-9

Wish-9

Taylor-10

Vera-8

Riley-7

Electra-6

Matthew-7

Bethany-10

Daniel-2

Elaine-5

Heath-6

Alexandria-1

Flame-9

Violet-8

Zach-7

Gabriella-4

Nathan-3

Xia-6

Peter-4

Ophelie-2

Caleb-6

Kalliope-6

Jace-7

Melody-5

Mark-5

Evangeline-3

The tributes talk amongst themselves. Wish huffs and complains that she got a 9. Boo-hoo.

But I got an 8. Which is pretty good, coming from District Seven! I walk back to my room and take my ponytail holder out. I change into my pajamas. Satisfied and exhausted, I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

All right! I've been home sick, so I finished this chapter! I had to rewrite it, the original draft was so crappy. So hoped you enjoyed this one, next up is the interviews!

Song for Chapter: "Bullseye" by Aly & AJ (Ahhh, the days when Disney Channel was GOOD...)

~LDD