I'm finally back! Chapter 16 is close enough, I guess (I'm almost done with it, too!) Review time!
ArtemisCarolineSnow: Thanks! (casually doesn't mention that I have no idea what ASWCB means {homeschooled = partially clueless to abbreviations XD})
Annabeth-TheTributeThatLived: Me neither, it sounds bad and Capitolite-ish to look forward to the Games but it really isn't! Blarp!
Gabby Delacour (Guest)- Yeah, kind of lol. Katniss gets better, though. Me neither, the interviews (I think) will be kind of interesting. Her stylist is an OC, so is Linda's (thankfully.) My sister actually made the stylists for her stories, but I plagiarized them. Unfortunately, Cinna is dead :-/
Reader4life (Guest)- Thanks! The next chapter is here! Obviously, and as if it didn't take long enough. Yeah, Wendy Mass could have at least put an epilogue to Every Soul a Star or something... We are going to the library soon and I hopefully will be able to get The Candy Makers. :-)
Lya200 (Guest)- Uh, turns out they're cousins XD. But I can see how you would think they end up shipped together... kinda. Felitimus forever! (Yes it is what it sounds like, unless it doesn't sound like Felicia x Septimus) lol
Drama queen365 (Guest)- Thanks, I'm glad you like it! To tell you the truth, I probably would too, unless I didn't feel like yelling at anyone. Rose isn't a drama queen. That makes sense, though. I was trying to make a reference to Clove there (My favorite character) because Thresh thought she killed Rue and then he got a rock and... well, we all know how it went from there.
Guest- Yeah, me too! I like reading them to see how other people do their 76th Games versions, and I haven't seen Snow's granddaughter as being twelve, so that was part of what encouraged me to write this. Yeah, I didn't think that out very well, in the original version Amor wasn't related to Plutarch and he was reaped by chance, like every other character. But then, well... this happened. So yeah, another example of how pitiful this story used to be.
fancraz4198: Thank you! Yeah, half of the stories I've read about Snow's granddaughter have her be all blood-crazy and such, but I've always thought of her as innocent and sheltered. Yeah, I'm trying to get some humor out of Katniss being in the Games twice but not having the slightest clue how to mentor. Yeah, Rose gets a basic idea on it in.. what, the next chapter maybe? I dunno.
On with the story!
Rose
"So, what are you guys planning to do? You know, once the Games start," I say, trying to break the silence that surrounded us once we sat down in the cafeteria. We were already done with our food, but we had to get more on our plates since it's somehow polite to get a lot of food in the Capitol.
I also realize that I haven't talked this casually for a long time. When I was living in the Capitol, and not preparing to fight for my life, mom told me that it was only polite to use 'sophisticated' words and not 'small' words. I know how silly that sounds now, but with the ridiculous accents that most Capitolites have their voices altered to sound like, it sounds better than using smaller, more pronounceable words.
"Well, I'm not sure," Bambi replies uncertainly. "If I don't die in the bloodbath, I guess I'll just hide out, and wait for there to not be very many people left. I won't kill anyone unless my life depends on it, I've already decided that. After that, try to survive, but I'm pretty sure I won't make it that far."
She looks down at the end, and Zinc gives her a sympathetic look. I'm pretty sure that Zinc and I are the only people out of our little group that know about Bambii's memory. I'm also almost positive that that's why she picked to kill as few people as possible, and stay out of everybody else's way. If she survives, then she probably doesn't want to have a lot of fighting burned into her memory.
"Well, I'm going to try and get out. Not make any unnecessary kills, but just try and get as far as I can. I won't kill any of you guys, though. But I want to see my family again," Amor says, but I can tell he wants to see Lizzy again too. He slightly glares at Bambii, probably thinking less of her for giving up.
"I don't have any family to see…" she mumbles, only loud enough for our group to hear.
"I'm pretty much the same as Amor," Linda says. "I want to live, too."
Just like Linda, being so blunt about answering a simple question.
"I'm going to try and hide from everyone else. I'll get a bow from the Cornucopia, if there's one far enough from the entrance, for self-defense. I'm not sure what I'll do if I have to kill someone…" I say, trailing off at the end. "I want to see my family, as well as my friends that aren't here with me, again, but I'm not sure how I'll be able to do that without killing a few people."
"The Games change people," Zinc says quietly, before continuing. "Anyways, I think that I'll try and hide out as well. There's not much to go back to, other than a few friends, a bit of family, and more money and fame than before. But that's more than some people have to go back to…" he looks at Bambii, who is sitting beside him, out of the corner of his eye, and I can't help but wonder if Bambii's dad is still alive.
"Like who?" a snarky voice asks from nowhere. We all turn, only to see the Careers standing a few feet away from us. Itis steps forward, showing that she was the one that began talking.
"What do you want?" Zinc asks with an annoyed tone.
"Only to congratulate you for giving away your strategies," Felicia states calmly.
"Yeah, we'll make sure that there's no bow for you at the Cornucopia," Bonus says, pointing to me. He then focuses on Bambii. "And we'll look out for your ugly blue hair."
Zinc tenses at this, and his blue eyes widen. Bambii looks back down, her mentioned blue hair falling in front of her face.
"We'll also make sure that all of you end up dead," Atlas says. From what I've heard of him, he isn't very smart.
"Meaning that you'll never see your loved ones again," Pomeline says. Amor narrows his eyes, and I can tell that he picked up on her wording of 'loved ones.'
Yeah, he was definitely thinking of Lizzy. Weird timing to think about Lizzy and Amor's interesting relationship, but okay then.
"If there's even anyone left you care about," Contire says, turning the focus back to Bambii.
"They were picking on Amor yesterday," Linda whispers to me. "It didn't work very well, but that's how they know about… you know, whatever he and Lizzy have."
I nod my head in understanding.
"Or, who knows, they may all be dead. Having no one you care about, that's a shame," Felicia says, as if there's a hidden meaning behind her words. I try to figure it out, but eventually give up. All I know is that Felicia is acting… surprisingly calm.
"But you'll still remember them. You'll always remember them, no matter what. Even if you try to forget about them, they'll still be there. Haunting you forever, even though you did nothing wrong to them. In fact, they might have been the ones to do something bad to you. No matter how hard you try to forget, no matter how hard you would want them to be forgotten, they will be burned into your memory… forever. Isn't that right, Bambii?" Itis asks mockingly, a cruel, twisted smile on her face.
Amor and Linda look at her with confused expressions, obviously trying to figure out what's wrong with her. I look at Bambii and Zinc, noticing that the older girl is shaking, her hair still hiding her face. Zinc has his arm around her, trying to comfort her, while staring daggers at the entire Career pack. He looks as if he's about to explode with anger.
For some reason, I notice that Septimus is the only one that hasn't spoken. I look at him, and notice that there is definitely something familiar about him. I feel as if I've seen him before, not very much, but just enough to remember him.
I focus back on the scene my friends and the Careers are making, realizing that Itis has just finished saying something else.
"Did you hear that?" Linda asks me quickly, her eyes as wide as humanely possible.
"Uh, no… I got sidetracked, what did she say?"
"…Nothing you need to know."
That means that it's something inappropriate for my age, so I understand. Zinc jumps out of his seat, his eyes blazing with anger.
"You know, why do you just keep bullying us?" Zinc yells, completely losing his temper. "Why can't you go make up things about someone else? We haven't done anything wrong to you, we've tried to keep out distance, but you keep going out of your way just to make us feel bad! You keep lying about us, and we don't appreciate that! It's not nice, it's completely unnecessary, and it's not helping you at all! Do you actually enjoy making other people feel bad?"
Bambii, who was crying not even a minute ago, has now looked up, staring at Zinc in disbelief, gratefulness and… awe? Okay, there's something going on between those two, and I'm beginning to believe that it's the same thing that's going on with Amor and Lizzy.
The Careers are staring at Zinc, not sure what to say. Finally, Felicia turns to Atlas.
"I think we went too far," she tells him quietly, not meaning for anyone else to hear. She does a pretty good job, too, since I can barely hear them. Still, I can't believe that Felicia is actually not trying to rip our throats out.
The Games change people… For Felicia, I can't help but wonder if this is a change for the better, or for the worse.
"I think that you're becoming soft. They'll be dead in a weak, what does it matter?" Atlas snaps.
"Felicia's right, we should be nicer," Septimus mumbles.
"Then that makes two people that are unfit to be in the Careers," Atlas sneers. Felicia narrows her eyes.
"You know what? You're just so arrogant that you think that it's fun to insult people. Well you know what? I've had enough of that for a lifetime!" Felicia responds.
"That's enough, you two," Septimus says, grabbing Felicia's arm as she tries to tackle Atlas to the ground. Atlas laughs at her, and she glares at him. She doesn't try to hurt anyone, though. Septimus releases Felicia's arm, and her face turns a bit pink. I give her a suspicious look, but no one else noticed. Her face turns back to normal as Septimus turns back to us.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes sincerely. Atlas narrows his eyes, not liking the idea of being showed up by someone younger than him, while Felicia just stares at me. I realize that I was the only one listening, but the rest of the Careers were still bullying my friends.
"That's okay," I tell him. He turns back to where the majority of the action is, and I begin wondering where I know him from. I decide to picture him a few years younger, and my mind instantly matches it.
Wait a minute… He's my cousin? We don't look anything alike.
I remember that my family doesn't have family reunions very often, and the last one was a few years ago. Huh, makes sense.
I hear everyone; including some of the Careers, gasp. I tune back into the conversation, but there's nothing left to say.
"What?" I ask.
"Weren't you listening?" Linda asks me.
"No, I was trying to figure something out. What was it?"
"Itis called Bambii… something really bad," Amor says, changing his words after receiving a glare from Linda. Bambii, on the other hand, has begun crying. I look down at my plate of untouched food, knowing not to press for answers. Still, I wish there was something I could do for my friend.
Out of nowhere, Itis lets out a screech. My head darts to her direction, and her face is covered in… mashed potatoes? I look at Zinc, who is standing triumphantly, a big scoop of mashed potatoes having just been scooped up and thrown at Itis. I've got to say, even though it isn't nice, that I wish I had that kind of courage.
Itis, however, has not let this go unnoticed. She throws her bread at him, and he dodges it. It hits Amor in the head, so he flings a spoon full of green beans at Itis. She, having just dodged a mysterious piece of meat thrown by Zinc, doesn't notice them until they make contact with her shoulder, a few getting in her hair. The meat hits Contire, and she throws another piece of meat at us. It hits Zinc, who has just thrown some of his green beans. They hit Bonus, who throws a piece of cake at Amor, who dodges just in time to catch Linda off guard, the icing on it smearing across her face. She joins in, throwing a chunk of mystery meat, and it hits Atlas. Pomeline joins as well, teaming up with Contire to enlarge their food supply. Atlas throws mashed potatoes, which hit Bambii, which get tangled into her hair. She doesn't do anything, just looks down at her plate. She finally pushes it to Zinc, giving him more ammunition. I give mine to Linda, who splits it with Amor.
At this point, I've lost track of everything going on. It's just a blur of action as I watch my friends have their first battle with the Careers. I move to the other side of the table, sitting by Bambii. She's alternating between looking down to avoid getting hit, and watching Zinc. After a minute, Septimus and Felicia sit down beside us.
"I'm not participating in the food fight," Felicia explains quickly, "because it's pointless. It's unnecessary, dumb, and a waste of food."
"That, and I dragged her over here," Septimus says, lightly elbowing Felicia.
"Yeah, and he's not joking either."
"I don't doubt that," I say. I look at Bambii, who doesn't notice that they're even here. She stares at her hands, and I feel a pang of pity for her. I've never actually been bullied before, but I know it must've been horrible. Felicia notices this, and looks at Bambii. I tap her on her shoulder, and she almost jumps out of her seat. Seeing that it was me, she relaxes a bit, still wary of Felicia and Septimus.
"Hey, don't take what she said too seriously," Felicia says. "Itis never means anything that comes out of her mouth. It's all lies, really."
Bambii shrugs, but I can tell that she's feeling a bit better. Still, I can't help but wonder why Felicia is acting so… different.
Suddenly, a pair of hands grabs my shoulders, forcing me to stand and turn to face them. I see a bunch of Peacekeepers, all grabbing someone and making them stop throwing food at each other. I look around at all the others, noticing that Felicia, Septimus and I are the only people that aren't covered in food. Bambii has a little in her hair, but nothing else. Zinc flings the remaining spoonful of his broccoli at Itis, before a Peacekeeper grabs him. Another Peacekeeper grabs Bambii, yanking her up from the metallic bench. She whimpers, and Zinc tries to break away from his tormentor, only to have another hold him back as well.
"Now, can anyone tell me what happened here?" The Peacekeeper holding Bambii back asks. Linda's eyes widen slightly at the voice. Pomeline slowly raises her hand up, wiping away a bit of maple syrup that got on her eyelid.
"There was a food fight. Are you blind?" Zinc asks.
"And who started it?" the Head Peacekeeper asks, digging his fingernails into Bambii's shoulders.
"Who started what? The food-throwing, or the insulting?" Amor asks, answering a question that was the answer to another question with yet another question.
He thinks for a moment, before answering, "It doesn't matter, just who started the fight?"
"Well, Itis started the insulting," Linda says calmly.
"But Zinc started the food fight," Bonus finishes.
"Zinc just began the food fight because of what Itis said…" Bambii whispers to herself. I still don't know what the Career said, but if it got Zinc angry, then it must have been awful.
"I just insulted them because of something they said to me!" Itis wails, a fake tear dripping down her cheek.
"Told you she's a liar," Felicia mumbles.
"Zinc Flickerman, you are to come with me," the Peacekeeper says. "Anyone who can give me an accurate description of the unusual happenings at lunch today will be appreciated."
"But what about training?" Zinc asks.
"You are dismissed from training for the remainder of the day," the Peacekeeper informs him.
Zinc sighs, but doesn't argue with the Head Peacekeeper. They release all of us except Zinc, and I feel angry that they bought Itis's story. Bambii walks over to Zinc, and I realize that, with her exceptional memory, she could tell the Head Peacekeeper exactly what happened. Zinc mumbles something to her, and she shakes her head. I can't hear what they're saying, but I wish they would speak louder.
Finally, the Peacekeepers leave, taking Zinc and Bambii with them. I guess no one wanted to risk losing training just to give the Careers false justification. I guess that, once the Peacekeepers found out about Bambii's memory, they would be in deeper trouble for lying anyways.
A few Avoxes enter the room with cleaning supplies and begin to clean up after the incident. I feel sorry for them, so I try to help. I wipe the table off with my napkin, making sure no Peacekeepers see. I know the punishment for helping an Avox with their work: the Avox is executed. I'm not sure why, but that's the law. An Avox gives me a wary yet grateful look, and I smile, before putting my tray in the sink and heading back to the Training Center with Linda and Amor.
Okay, I apologize that after a month of not updating, this is all you get. But hey, it's kind of starting to pick up. I think.
Anyways, one thing you've completely missed out on; my best friend is moving. Well, I say "is moving," I mean "moved." They (her and her family) left yesterday morning. In case you don't know, I live in Missouri. Emily is moving to Louisiana. As you can tell, that makes things complicated. We're keeping in touch over Facebook, but... it's still not the same :-/ I haven't fully processed that they've moved yet, it feels kind of unreal to me to be typing this. Anyways, if you're a Christian, please be praying for my family and for Emily's family, if not then please wish us luck.
So enough of that I guess, nothing else noteworthy has happened that I can think of... Oh yeah, my cat is having more kittens. Yay! Other than that, nothing.
Thank you, everyone who has read, reviewed, followed, and favorited this story! It means a lot :-)
Oh, and guess what? I
Still can't think of an ending sign,
~Dawn101907