Chapter 11 - Annie
The next morning we were back in the gym, patiently waiting for our names to be called to meet with the Gamemakerss. Isabelle had claimed Lucas the moment that they'd arrived (not that he seemed to mind) leaving me to sit by Nixie, who still looked as harmless as she did the first time I'd seen her – but this time, I knew better.
Dagan had been in there for about seven minutes. The tension in the air was thick and it was seething into my pores like melted butter. What could I do once I was in there that would set me apart from the rest of the tributes? Alec was brilliant with spears. Nixie could bring a person three times her size with a sword. Lucas could lift rocks and hurl them onto targets. As the minutes ticked on, my brain began to shut down. I couldn't think of anything. The palms of my hands were laced with sweat.
I should just stop thinking about it. That would be best. Once I walked in there, I would have the chance to assess the situation and determine my best course of action.
The tall woman that we'd met on the first day of training, Atalia, came back into the room, clipboard in hand. "District two: Avani."
The girl stood proudly. The red of her hair made her look like she was on fire and she might as well be. The sureness of her own abilities was evident in the way she flounced down to the other woman and walked past her. I saved her walk to memory. That's how I would enter the room – with a confident stride. Just like Finnick, I would be taking notes of each tribute before me and use it later.
Soon Birch had been called and then Nixie. Lucas looked past Isabelle at me. Was he worried? I couldn't tell, so I tried to muster a smile for him. It felt wrong on my face though. How could I be smiling at a time like this? There was nothing cheerful about it. He smiled too. Moments later, his name was called and I watched his shoulders stiffen from his chair. His eyes found mine as he stood and he mouthed the words, good luck. I did the same. Once he was gone, the impending horror really sank in. I had no idea what I was going to do. This would be what determined whether I was worthy of receiving sponsorship.
The empty chair beside me moved. The girl from District 12 had hit it with her leg by accident. From the other side of her, I saw Alec cooly staring at the door. Him and Isabelle had been avoiding each other again. It crossed my mind that they might be trying to distance themselves from each other, until eventually they no longer believed they were even related. It would surely be easier to kill the other then. The thought of it repulsed me, and I put a gently lay my hand on my stomach – holding tight to the fabric there.
"District four: Annie."
It took me a second to regain the strength in my legs. I hoisted myself off the cold, metal chair and sauntered over to Atalia, with a walk that I desperately hoped emanated strength and insouciance. Atalia motioned me forward and shut the door, leaving us in darkness. I reached my hand out for the wall, just to hold on to something physically in front of me, something real, but then another door opened and I was in another part of the gym, almost an exact replica of the place we had been training in for three days. I took a step forward and examined the place, before I heard someone laugh. My head turned up and I saw men dressed in _, all staring down at me. The one who had laughed wore a mocking smirk.
"Go ahead." Instructed the one in the middle, his arms under his chin as he leaned forward.
All I could hear was the sound of my thumping heart and ragged breathing. It was fortunate that they were far enough to not hear it themselves because they would've easily marked me off as unworthy. On the floor, I found a sword and I reached to grab it. The hilt of the blade feeling rough underneath my fingertips. There was a dummy far off in the distance. I looked around, finding a smaller blade and took it in my free hand. I held it up, my hand shaking, aimed, and threw it. It landed on it's stuffed thigh. That wasn't good enough, not nearly good enough.
One of them leaned back on his chair, his exaggerated sigh echoing off the walls. Without thinking, I ran forward, adrenaline rushing through my veins, and stabbed the dummy through its neck, smashing it on the ground. The sound, once again, loudly bouncing off the walls. I looked up again to see that they still looked uninterested. I searched the place again and this time found rope. I tied some knots, including the one I had taught the instructor at the knot-tying section, and seemed to grab the attention of two of the Gamemakers. I spent the last few minutes tying the most impressive knots I could manage, even weaving a quick tightly-woven bag that I had used to help father catch fish on the yard.
It wasn't much of a summer that year. The fish weren't biting and the days were short. Father spent most of the early morning and late nights out on a boat, fishing with Avan. I would stay behind watching the store, although there weren't ever any customers awake at that time. One morning, I had changed into a diving suit and dove off the pier. I liked swimming because it felt like I was flying. My body was weightless against the masses of water. Seaweed sprouted from the ground, giving me the impression the ocean floor was covered in grass. Just another version of the land I lived in, but here, I was floating. The water was warm with the freshly risen sun and I swam through the crystal waters, my arms taking me this way and that. My father had been right about the fish, there weren't any at all, but my eyes caught sight of something dark red near a coral. I thought it was a lobster, so I swam deeper, father from the outside world and more into mine.
Light bounced off the corals and the water danced with spurts of reds, yellows, and pinks. And then I saw it, beneath a gaping rock were tons of dark red fish, all cluttered together. I immediately swam up after that, careful not to startle them and found a stray piece of rope laying around on the deck. My hands swiftly went to work and tied piece by piece, although I messed up and it didn't quite work sometimes, and finally fashioned a sort of net I tied together as a bag.
I brought home enough fish for our dinner and the dinner of a few others. So many hadn't eaten in days because of the deficiency in machinery and boats; it was my shining moment.
But now, sitting here weaving the same net with the Gamemakers watching, I felt entirely incapable of doing anything that would make me feel that way again.
"You may go." The one in the middle said, waving me off with a slight wave of his dark hand.
I nodded, dropping the rope as I stood. "Thank you." I said as confidently as I could, and found the elevator, passing a pair of tired-looking avoxes, and pushed the number four. The elevator zipped me up and opened at my floor. Lucas was there in the dining room, sitting with Finnick and Mags – both wearing identical faces of anticipation.
I sat down, not wanting to look at either of them. It hadn't gone well. I had bored the Gamemakers, that much was obvious. I thought of Avan, the way he would react when he saw his little sister's score on the television screen of our house in a few hours. Mom and dad would be there, too, equally as dismayed. I wondered who had come to grieve with them the night after my reaping. Had the neighbors come to sit by them and watch the replay of the reaping? Was Fillippa there already accepting the idea that she would lose a best friend in a few days time?
Finnick's words rattled me back to the reality I would've preferred to leave behind. "How did you do, Annie?"
I stared at him, wanting so bad to feel his arms around me and have his warmth comfort me. "I don't think they were paying attention."
Costas had come out of nowhere, "Of course they were paying attention!" he said pointedly, "It's their job to pay attention."
"I was there Costas." I said angrily. "You've never had to go in there have you? So you wouldn't exactly be the best judge of what really goes on in there."
Costas darts his eyes to Finnick and Mags as if I've said something outrageous. But then I realize its because soft spoken Annie seems to have lost her temper. Not that anything mattered anymore, but I probably should've been more careful with my tone. I still didn't feel like I had anything for apologize for, so I just crossed my hands over my chest and sulked.
"I lifted a few things and tossed them pretty far." Lucas said carefully, "And hurled some spears at the dummy."
Mags nodded in ascension, but her jaw was tight, her lips in a serious line. "Good. They seem to like when you have a good eye for a target."
Costas was still pouting in the corner. At times he would shoot a disdainful glare in my direction before he would get distracted with something else. An avox came in to clear the table and I realized I hadn't even touched my food. He took my plate anyway. He had probably seen so many other tributes suffer the same delusions, go through the same tantrums. The room was colder than usual and the smell of freshly-eaten fish still clung to the air. It probably would for a while, the smell of fish always lingered for hours.
"I'm going to my room." I announced, sounding like a child that had been banned from playing with her toys.
Luckily, nobody protested and I was able to shut the door before the tears came streaming down my cheeks. I knew there was nothing that could be done, nothing that could take me back in time. My mother would always say to make the best out of every situation, especially if there was nothing else you could do about. She probably hadn't meant this though. How could she ever imagine the day that one of her very own children would be sent off into the Hunger Games to fight and kill until their own brutal murder. No one could imagine this. And even if the thought crossed your mind, only for a second, you would make sure to shake it off immediately in fear that it would come true.
The subject had never even crossed our conversations, between Fillippa and I. We hated to bring it up, and we thought (or at least I did) that by not mentioning it, it would dull the intensity of it. Looking back, I wondered if we could've offered the other some encouraging words of advice – just in case the worst ever occurred, because now it had and I had nothing to go on.
Mags knocked on my door that evening, alerting me that the scores were about to start. I joined them all in the tv room. Everyone was quietly watching. It was Finnick who allowed himself a cursory glance at me when I entered before fixing his eyes back on the television. I sat by Lucas, who seemed to be the most relaxed of the group. The large ones from District one and two get between the eight to ten range. Birch unsurprisingly gets a ten and Nixie pulls a nine. I briefly wondered what Nixie could've done to impress the Gamemakers. Then Lucas's pictures shows up on the screen and beneath it, an eight. Finnick pats him on the back and smiles. Coasta's is clapping excitedly and Lucas seems to be enjoying the attention.
Now, I'm staring back at my own face. I hold my breath, hoping for score like Lucas's…
Four.
I feel like someone punched me in the stomach. Four?
Almost instantly I find Finnick's face. He's already looking at me, but what I find there isn't at all reassuring. The horror on his face only confirms my feelings. I break out gaze, wanting to see if Mags would react differently, but she had her head in her small, wrinkled hands.
"Don't worry about it." Lucas tells me. Although we both know that only one of us can make it out of there alive and I still don't understand his constant need to cheer me up.
I nod. "You did great. An eight…that's fantastic." I say genuinely, still glad that he stands a chance out there.
The next tributes range between fives and sevens. The blind girl from District 12 managed a three. I almost felt bad for her when I remembered that I had my own problems to worry about. We each set off to our rooms.
I didn't see Finnick that night, but I knew he was out on the roof because I heard his footsteps outside my door and then the sound of a door shutting in the distance. I stared at the roof, contemplating if I would've felt better if I had followed him. I decided there wasn't anything that would make feel better. Not even Finnick.
A/N: Have a lovely day everyone, and please don't forget to review! (:
