Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! (: They were all very encouraging, so thanks! I want to thank those of you who have voted on whether or not Amethine should tell Evan that their mentors have chose to keep her alive. Please vote if you haven't yet! (: The next chapter will be about the interviews, and the last chapter before the arena! (: I'm excited to write about those, so I'm going to try my best and update quickly.
I just want to respond to one reader who I can't reply to through PM.
Guest: Thank you! Yeah, Caiden likes to tease her, by calling her that, but there will be another lady for him. I promise you'll find out more about him and Vinera's relationship.
Please read the author's note at the end of the chapter (: It's kinda important.
Okay, enjoy! (:
"Amethine, get up! Today is your private session with the Gamemakers!" Morraina says. I keep my eyes shut, trying to pretend that I'm still asleep.
"I know you're awake!" This woman must've read my mind. I stay still, hoping that she'll walk out and let me sleep.
"Fine, sleep in and miss your private session. You're going to regret it, when you see a big zero next to your picture when the scores are announced." Morraina says. I groan and roll over.
"Come on, get up."
"Why do you always wake me up first?" I ask.
"You're the difficult one to wake up. Waking Evan up is easier, all I have to do is say his name." Morraina says.
I sit up and she walks out. I walk into the bathroom, take and shower and brush my teeth. I put the training suit and boots on and tie my hair into its usual ponytail.
I put my food and sit down next to Cashmere. I eat thinking about what I should show the Gamemakers. I'm good with spears, but the more, the merrier. They'll probably get bored if I all I do is hit the bullseyes with a spear. They've probably seen the same thing over and over again with the Careers. The brute tribute that's good with a sword, the tribute that never misses with knives, and the tribute who can throw spears.
Maybe learning gymnastics could be used at my advantage. But it's been eleven years since I did a flip, so any memories of it will be foggy. I still remember how to do a hands-free cartwheel, because it was my favorite move. A memory replays in my head.
The green grass in our backyard looks so peaceful, it's calling me to come and play outside. I bring Amethyst outside, because she is one hyper child for a five year old. I do a hands-free cartwheel and plant my feet firmly on the ground. Perfect landing. Amethyst giggles and tries to mimic me.
She does a tumble and hits her head and laughs as she rubs it. I laugh too, and do a different flip. She would do her tumble after I did another flip.
We stopped when our mother came out of the house and scolded me for teaching Amethyst something dangerous. I talked back, saying that she was the one that copied me and it wasn't my fault. My mother sent me to my room and told me not to come out, unless I was hungry. So, I was pretty much grounded. I laugh lightly to myself as I think about that. Cashmere looks at me questioningly, as if I were psycho, which I did probably look like.
I just look down at my plate and poke the food with my fork, ignoring her questioning gaze. Evan walks in, fills his plate with food, and sits next to me.
"Where are the others?" he asks Cashmere, since she is the only mentor present.
"He's probably at the sponsor station, setting everything up."
"What's the sponsor station?" I ask.
"The sponsor station is a building where all the mentors for each district have their own rooms. In that room, is a bunch of high-tech computers that you have to operate when all the tributes get into the arena. The computers are used for sending sponsor gifts into the arena." Cashmere tells us.
"Is Axin the only not here?" I ask. She nods.
"Believe it or not, he's a computer whiz." she says.
"Why don't you want to go?" Evan asks.
"I'm not really good at handling all that Capitol advance electronics. Axin is the tech savvy mentor, I'm the pretty mentor, Beryl is the tough mentor, and Gloss is the easy-to-talk-to mentor." she says. Evan laughs and I roll my eyes.
"Are you guys excited for your private sessions?" Morraina asks.
I nod, keeping my eyes on my plate. "Yeah." Evan says.
"I know you'll both do great." she says. I smile back. "Thank you."
"Do you guys even know what to do?" asks Cashmere.
"Use my sword." Evan says. Cashmere thinks it's good idea, and nods.
"Try and use another weapon, too. They probably won't bother to pay attention to you if all you're going to do is stab a dummy." she says and Evan nods.
"How about you?" she asks me.
"I'll probably throw my spears, and some gymnastics." I say. She nods.
"One more thing, when you're done with your sessions, come back here." Cashmere says. We both nod our heads.
"I think you two should head down, now." Morraina says.
We nod and get into the elevator. We walk out when it stops, and realize that we're the only ones that have arrived. I don't mind the fact that Morraina sent us down early, because I can throw my spears without any interruptions. Evan and I split and make our way over to our favorite weapons.
The trainer nods curtly, because he knows I don't need any tips. I nod back and pick up and throw it, and watch it stick to the small red dot on the dummy. I pick up a smaller spear and twirl it around, I turn around so my back is facing the dummy. I turn swiftly and throw it. Bullseye. I hear some kind of thumping side and crane my head to see what it is. The noise is coming from the hand to hand combat station. The trainers are cleaning the blue mat. I smirk when I remember the last time I visited a hand to hand combat station, which was when I kicked Zeya's ass.
I want to see what kind of moves these Capitol trainers can teach me, that's if it's something I don't already know. The trainer is a middle-aged woman with a slightly muscled body and shoulder length, midnight back hair. She seems delighted when I walk over, probably not a lot of tributes go to her station.
"You don't seem like the kind of tribute that would come here." she says.
"Guess you're in for a surprise." I say.
She teaches me some moves that I already know, so I ask her to teach me something different.
"Different, huh? Hmm…oh! The chuckle berry maneuver." she says with a snap.
She tells me to stand on the left side of the mat, while she stands on the right.
"Tackle me." she says. "But when you get a grip on me, stop. I'm going to explain something to you." she adds. I nod.
I run at her and position myself to knock her down, with my shoulder at her stomach. I stop, just like she said.
"Okay, so this is where the move comes in handy." she says. "Speed is an important part, so you need to act quickly. So, if you're ever in this situation when a tribute charges at you, this will help."
"You know where the spinal cord is, right?" she asks. I nod. Back at the training center, they taught us about the human body, and which places will be good to strike and kill your enemy. Once they explained everything about it, they had us take writing and physical tests. The writing test had questions about the human parts. Like 'List parts of the human body that will cause the whole body to get paralyzed when struck.' I passed it with a 96%.
For the physical test, they brought in dummies with sensors and fake blood, so it would have a close resemblance to a real human body. The sensors detect if the injuries were fatal and blood would pour out if you injure the right spot. I passed that with a 100%. Trainees would don't pass the test have to study and take it again, but they would be behind in other lessons.
"What you're going to do is elbow the spinal cord. When that happens, the attacker's body will be paralyzed from head to toe and fall, so that will you give a chance to kill him or her." she explained while landing her elbow on my spinal cord softly.
"Got it?" she asks. I nod and let go. "How can I make sure it'll work?" I ask.
"What, you don't trust me?" she asks. I grin.
"No, I just want to see it." I say with my arms crossed.
"Lance." she calls over her shoulder.
"Yeah." A guy with blonde hair answers as he jogs over.
"This girl wants to try out a move." she says to him.
"Which one?"
"Chuckle berry maneuver." she tells him and he just nods. I can't believe he's willing to get paralyzed all over his body. Maybe it's his job and he gets paid to do it. I'd kill someone before I agree to do that.
We stand at opposite ends of the mat. He gets into position and charges at me. When he's three feet in front of me, I get into position and brace myself. Speed is important. Do it quickly. He latches onto me. Now! I yell at myself in my head. I lift my elbow and hit it against his spinal cord. I didn't do it too fast, because we both fall and he's on top. I use all my strength to shove him off and he rolls.
"It works." I announce. Poor guy, the only thing he can move is his eyes.
I look around and see that the trainer isn't here. Where is she? She walks over with a syringe in her hand. There's green liquid in it. She kneels down over Lance and opens his mouth. She pushes pump and the green liquid falls into his mouth.
"It'll take a few minutes for it to sink in, then he can get up and running." she says.
"Just a few? Wow, these Capitol medicines really work wonders" I say, amused.
"Welcome to the Capitol." she says with a smirk.
"What's your name?" she asks.
"Amethine."
"I'm Cynthia." she says.
"What district are you from, Amethine?"
"1."
"The luxury district. So your district is responsible for all these whacky clothes,"
I laugh. "That's us."
"Would you like to learn any more moves?" she asks. I shake my head. "But that chuckle berry maneuver will really help, thanks." I say. She smiles and nods graciously.
I turn and walk away. "Hey." Cynthia calls. I turn and look at her.
"You've just earned a sponsor." she says.
"Thank you." I say with a nod.
I walk over to the shelter making station. I know how to make shelters. But with my experience over at the hand to hand combat station, I know they'll me teach something I don't know. I see six tributes gathered around, Maggie from 11, Bonnie and Timothy from 10, Latteine from 6, and Mina and Calvin from 12. When I join them, Mina just ignores me and goes back to chewing her nails, Maggie stares, and Bonnie scoots away.
The trainer teaches us how to make a cover that provides shade. You find two trees that are parallel to each other, and not too far apart. You need twelve clean cut branches, meaning there are no leaves. You place six branches in horizontal lines, and make sure that the gaps on the side match the width of both of the tree's trunks, therefore it'll be easier to slide onto the tree for support. When you're done arranging six branches horizontally, take the six other branches and arrange them in a vertical line over the horizontal branches. You'll them have a crossed pattern of branches, and to make them stick, you'll need to tie them with Sierant leaves, which are really sturdy.
After that, you slide the sticks on the tree's trunk, it's your choice on how high you'd like it to be. Then you place alot of leave on the branches and you'll have shade. The trainers says that it's only for shade, not for shelter. Shade, so the arena will probably be hot. Stupid guy, doesn't even know he just revealed the climate of the arena to me. I do an okay job, but the problem with me is how I align the branches. Latteine, though does a really good job.
Chalice announces that it's lunch time so I make my way over to the cafeteria. Marina catches up with me and we walk there together. We fill our plates and sit down at a table. Gary, Caiden, Evan, and Vinera join us.
"I'm so excited for my private session!" Vinera squeals.
"Are you just going to swing your axe?" I ask.
"Yeah." she says.
We continue eating our food in silence. When I finish my food I take a drink from my water bottle and wait. Beryl told me that the tributes wait for their name to be called in the cafeteria, starting with me and ending with the district 12 male, Calvin.
"Amethine Gemmis." A peacekeeper calls while reading from a piece of paper in his hands.
The other tributes watch me as I exit the room. I put a grin on my face and strut out of the cafeteria confidently. The peacekeeper escorts me to a big room and slides the door close. I walk forward and the wall slides up. It's like there's always something behind the walls.
I walk into training center. There must be different ways to get in here, one being the elevator, and two being a hallway near the cafeteria. Who knows how many other entrances lie near. The Gamemakers watch me walk in from the balcony.
"Amethine Gemmis, district 1" I say, the head Gamemaker Juliusen Donals nods his head, signaling that I begin.
My feet take me to the spear throwing station. I pick up a spear and throw it. It lands right on the middle of the heart. I pick up another one and throw it. Dead center. I don't bother looking up at the Gamemakers as I pick up another one and throw it. Two minutes go by and I've already thrown five spears.
I take one spear and walk seven feet away from the standing line. I feel the Gamemakers' eyes on me. I grip the shaft tightly and run and do a hands free cartwheel and let go of the spear once my feet are on the ground. I watch the spear, and it hits the bullseye of the head on the dummy. I grin and grab another spear and walk away from the standing line again. I turn my back on the dummy and do a backhand spring and throw the spear once I stand upright. Bullseye.
A few of the Gamemakers applause. "Thank you, you are dismissed." Juliusen says. I nod and walk out. I get into the elevator and ride up to my floor.
"How was it?" Axin asks.
"Nice to see you, too." I say sarcastically.
"It was fine." I add with a smirk.
Morraina has invited both mine and Evan's prep team to see our scores. I sit in between a very excited Priney and Cashmere. I can't sit still. I keep moving around in my seat , I'm surprised it's not bothering Cashmere or Priney.
"As you all know, the tributes are scored on a scale from 1-12 based on three days of careful evaluation." Caesar says.
A picture of me appears with my arms crossed and an evil grin planted on my lips.
"From district 1, Amethine Gemmis." Caesar says. I lean forward in anticipation.
Priney gives my shoulder a reassuring squeeze and I smile at her.
"With a score of...10" Caesar says. Before I can smile my prep team, Evan's prep team, mentors, and Morraina squeal with joy and give me pats on the back. Priney gives me a hug, and I return it.
"Good job, darling!" she says.
"Thank you. The Gamemakers probably liked my chariot outfit." I say in a joking manner, and she laughs.
Cashmere tells us to quiet down just as Evan's picture appears.
"Evan Fortis with a score of...10" Same squeals of happiness come from our mentors, both prep teams, and Morraina.
"How delightful! Both tributes from district get a 10." Caesar exclaims. Caiden gets a 10 and Vinera earns a 9. Marina gets a eight and Sebastian a 10. The other tributes don't get really high scores except for Gary, who gets a 8.
"That's all for the scores, good night and may the odds be ever in your favor." Caesar says, and the screen goes black.
"That was amazing! Great job on the scores you two! Now all that's left is the interviews!" Morraina says. Ugh. That's what I'm going to dread.
Another long chapter, YAY! I really hope you enjoyed it and if you didnt please submit a review stating why, KINDLY. Constructive criticism will be appreciated, flames can burn along with Katniss's dress. Hehe :P Anyways reviews are awesome! Again, I want to thank the readers who submitted an awesome reviews!
Anyways, I'm going to give you guys a heads up on updates. I'm starting school tomorrow, but by the time you're reading this, I'll probably at school already. So if things are busy at school, I may not have time to update alot. (Which I really hate) I apologize in advance if I don't update for a long time. But I solemnly swear that if I have time, and I don't have anything else to do, I'll update (:
Sorry for the long author's note, but I had to let you guys know. Thanks for reading! May the Odds Be Ever In Your Favor! (: