Lunch is served in a long hall just off the training room in which the walls are lined with dozens of carts covered in every conceivable type of food. I reach for a plate, pile it with every piece of protein I can see, and when I eventually have everything I could possibly eat I scan the room for a place to sit. There are enough tables for us all to sit separately if we wanted, but the careers, as has quickly become the norm, have gathered on one table and are talking loudly together. I briefly consider joining them just to see their faces, but disregard this as one rebellion too far and instead sit on a table by myself near the back of the room, as far from anyone else as possible.
I dig into my food, intent to store up as much energy as I can, and watch as the other tributes slowly file in, fill their own plates and sit. Mostly they do the same as me and sit alone; a few sit with their District partners, but even they do not speak, and the only sound in the hall is the noise of the careers congratulating themselves on their morning achievements. I ignore them and focus on my plate, slicing through a thick steak as I try and figure out which skill zones to suck at after lunch.
"Hey."
I glance up in surprise at the voice that comes from in front of me. It's the beautiful dark haired boy from District 10, the one who I locked eyes with at the opening ceremony, the one who stood beside me this morning. He is tall, a good 6 inches on me at least, with dark, dark brown hair, almost black, that falls into his equally dark brown eyes. As I finally get my first up close glimpse of him I realise why I thought he was familiar before; he is strangely similar to Darin, the boy from my District who I looked at but never spoke to. I have no idea why he's talking to me though, and I watch uncomprehendingly as he places his plate down next to mine and slides into the seat. Caleb. That's his name. I remember it just as he says it himself.
"I'm Caleb. From 10." he adds, tilting his arm towards me to display the bright red number adorning his sleeve. I am opening my mouth to reply when he continues.
"You're Tyla, right? District 7."
My mouth hangs open as I gawp at him like a fish, and he grins, his smile warm and wide.
"I remember you from the reaping. The way you walked through the crowd like that. Pretty unforgettable. And it looks like it wasn't a one off."
He nods his head towards the careers, who I notice have quietened slightly since they spotted we were sitting together. They are shooting us confused glances, and they are not the only ones; all the tributes have noticed, and we are suddenly the sole focus of everyone's attention. That's not surprising, as I can't imagine it's common for tributes to befriend each other; it seems pointless even for those from their own District, let alone different ones. It is usually only careers that team up, and they do it for their own purposes, to help cut down the numbers before they turn on each other. Everyone knows that friendships are a waste of time, since we will eventually kill each other anyway. So what is this boy's angle? I regard him with suspicion and open hostility, and it must show on my face as he starts when he looks up at me before raising an eyebrow.
"You don't mind do you? I didn't fancy just listening to that lot prattle on. Figured they aren't the only ones who can sit together"
His eyes flicker back to the career table and I relax a little, as this makes sense to me. I can understand wanting to take the careers down a peg or two, and he know this; it is an impulse he has already seen me act upon. I still don't trust him, but I can see that what he is doing is simply an extension of my own actions earlier, designed to knock the careers off their self-appointed pedestals. This thought helps me discard at least a little of my suspicion and I shake my head, finally swallowing the food that has been frozen in my mouth since his arrival.
"It's fine," I say, and he nods. We lapse into silence, and whilst I have no intention of filling it, I'm irritated that where before it was irrelevant now it is noticeable, almost loud in its obviousness. We eat wordlessly as the silence drags on, and eventually he clears his throat.
"Learn any decent knots?"
I look at him sharply, my defensiveness back up. He was watching me? I'm glad of Peyton's advice, as even if he was, he will have learned nothing of my true talents, nothing that could give him anything on me. He tips his head slightly, returning my frosty gaze with a smile.
"I was at the site right by you, the archery range. Not one of my skills it's fair to say. I could have been standing a foot away and I would still have missed. It's like the whole room has been set up to prove how useless I am."
I can't help but smile slightly at his cheerful admission of his own failings. It's somewhat disarming, and despite myself I can't help but immediately warm to him.
"If I'm forced to build a shelter then I'll be dead in a day," I hear myself admit grudgingly, and he laughs.
"And this was just our first go! There's two more days of this to come!"
I smile back, but this time I don't answer. A small admission as to my lack of talent at building shelters seems harmless-it seems he may have witnessed it anyway- but I don't want to carry on down this line of discussing skills for too long. He's too easy to trust, this boy, his smile to warm and relaxed for me to ensure I won't let something slip, and I can't afford to forget Peyton's advice- to trust only myself. Besides, he's already admitted he was watching me, and that in itself is reason to keep my guard up, so I say nothing, and once again we lapse into silence as we continue to eat.
"What do you think of the food?" he asks eventually. "Pretty great huh?"
"Amazing." I can't help but enthuse. "Unreal. It's like nothing I've ever tasted before."
It occurs to me that the food may not be as much of a novelty to him as it is to me, given that the steak I am currently eating is a product of his District, but when I say as much to him he raises his eyebrows incredulously.
"You're joking right? That's District 10's finest you're eating there, no chance we'd ever get our hands on that. Just because we rear the meat doesn't mean we get to eat it."
This surprises me, as I had always envied Districts 10 and 11 for their easy access to food, but then I think of the cold winters where we watched helplessly as every scrap of wood was shipped out of our hands whilst our own houses remained freezing, and I feel foolish for ever thinking otherwise.
"No, I guess not." I say finally, which seems inadequate given the naivety of my statement. I wonder if it's worse, to have food in front of you and not be allowed to touch it; to know that someone else is enjoying the food you worked for while you are starving. I've never really given much thought to the other Districts, just always assumed they must all be better than mine, but I'm suddenly curious about this boy, about the life he lived back at District 10, about his family, if he had them. He must have done- he's too warm, too confident, his eyes too friendly to have been raised in the isolated manner as I was. I feel inadequate, suddenly, and once again I'm curious why it's me he's chosen to speak to.
"Do you know your District partner?"
My question surprises him, and he looks uncomfortable as he shrugs. "Not really. Her name's Rhona, she's younger than me. I kinda recognized her but we've never spoken."
"Same" I nod, and we once again lapse into silence. I wish I hadn't mentioned it now, as thinking of home has made him look miserable, his eyes suddenly sad and lifeless. I don't like that the anxiety on his face is bothering me so much- why should I care if this boy I've only just met has life in his eyes or not? His life will be over soon enough anyway. I tell myself this, and yet I still wish I could think of something to say to cheer him up again. I can't think of anything adequate, so instead I turn back to my plate, and we finish eating in the gloomy silence brought about by my own social inadequacy.
Eating such a gargantuan lunch has reminded me how few days I have left in which to be well fed, and with this in mind I head straight to the edible plants table as soon as lunch is over. I have managed to feed myself well in the wild, but only because I can throw with enough accuracy to skewer a rabbit or wild bird without any problems. Plants are something I know nothing of, and I'm determined to cram my head with as much knowledge of them as possible. When I have gone over every plant on the stand at least three times I move onto the edible insects table and do the same.
The afternoon is nearly over when I finally concede there is nothing more I can learn here, and I find myself stood gazing at the axe display, contemplating the briefest of goes, when I am shouldered aside so roughly that I almost fall. The air is forced from my lungs and I turn, winded, to look into the confrontational face of Onyx, taking deep breaths as he creases his face into a mocking smirk.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realise this space was taken."
I smile at the nonsensical imitation of my own actions from earlier and cock my head at him pityingly.
"That's ok. You can't help being stupid."
Anger sweeps across his face as he lifts an axe, bearing down at me, his teeth bared in an ugly grimace. I take a step away, instantly clasping my hands behind my back to highlight to any observers that I am most certainly not a voluntary participant in this forbidden altercation.
"You think you're so smart, don't you 7," he spits, his mouth almost frothing as he sneers right up in my face.
"Not especially smart, no" I breathe in response. "Just a whole lot smarter than you."
Fury flashes across his features as he processes my remark, and he steps forward, axe held high. I've managed to maintain my stance but my heart is pounding, and I am just about to flinch away when the towering figure of Atala steps between us, her hand catching Onyx's wrist as she twists the axe from his grip.
"Physical altercations between tributes are strictly forbidden" she tells him smoothly. "One more incident and you will be banned from the training room. This is your only warning."
Onyx glowers, but her silent authority is undeniable, and he slinks backwards as she places the axe on the stand and walks away. I dare not look around the room as I am sure people will be staring, so instead I look back at Onyx, making me look braver and more rebellious than I feel. He narrows his eyes when mine meet his and clenches his fists, his jaw stiffening as I hold his eyes in what must appear to be bold defiance.
"Watch your back 7" he snaps. "Because you're mine now. And dead or alive, I aint' leaving that arena until I've felt your neck snap in my hands."
My stomach dives as he turns and storms away and I turn back to the axe table, my eyes raking over the weapons unseeingly as I reprocess his words in my head. Great, I think morosely as the gong sounds, indicating the end of our training time for the day. My first enemy.