My entire plan has been fooled by a piece of paper. I walk out onto the balcony that overlooks the city. I wonder who my stalker is. It has to be the same person that burnt the boat. I go back inside and leave the hotel. I make my way down the alleys of the Capitol, trying to make sure no one notices me.
I sneak into the back of the shoe store. Greta, the lady who owns the store, is one of the smartest people I know, not to mention she isn't a freak around me like some people. I wait for her to come in the back. It takes forever.
Me, being me, I get up and start walking around. I open shoe boxes to find some very strange looking shoes that must be uncomfortable. How do people wear these things? I walk down the aisles, looking at various shoes.
One shoebox catches my eye. It is blue – green. I pull it out of its spot on the shelf.
"Victors' shoes. Get all of the designs inspired by your victors!" As I scan the box, I find a picture of me holding a trident. The picture is so edited it is funny. I open up the box and find a pair of really ugly blue shoes with tridents as heels. I pick one up and then dig through the box to find the other one.
I go through a ton of paper and cardboard until I find the other shoe. Right beneath it is a piece of paper. I figure that is probably just the price but for some reason, I pick it up anyway. I unfold the paper to find another note written in the same handwriting.
"Congrats on buying your very first pair of Victors' Shoes! Make sure you check out all of the other cool styles!" It goes on to show images of various shoes, from Johanna's brown boots, Enobaria's shiny heels with spikes on them, and Beetee's flats made entirely out of wire. I repackage the box and put it back on the shelf.
Then, my brain puts the pieces together. Whoever wrote the shoe ad must be the same person who wrote the note in the hotel who must have burnt the boat. I think I've found my possible stalker.
I take off down the rows of shoes and push through the door. I find myself back in the alley. I run all the way back to the hotel, not even stopping to take a breath. By the time I am back in my hotel room, I am out of breath and panting. I know it couldn't be Greta. It has to be one of the suppliers.
In the Capitol, the items made aren't delivered directly to the shopkeepers. They go through a processing plant, which in some cases is also a store. There is only one processor for every item made.
I pull out the phone book and look under the processor for shoes. The name is Glory Peter. Glory has been known for his tricks. But Glory himself would never leave the Capitol. I've met him and he is snobby beyond belief and untrustworthy. That means he must have hired someone to stalk me. He would've only hired someone who he trusts.
I decide to use a really stupid service called Facepage, to figure out who he could trust. Rich people make a profile and post what they are doing and pictures of themselves doing it. It is pretty much a place to brag about how awesome your life is.
I call the front desk and ask them for usage of some type of computer. A few moments later, it is delievered via the little tube thing in my room. I open it up and go to Facepage. I start figuring out how to work the site. I find a creepy fan page called I love Finnick Odair. I could've lived my entire life without seeing that.
I finally get to the page of Glory Peter. I scroll down to the information about his family. The only person listed is his sister: Aero. I think I've found my stalker.
I sit for a few moments trying to decide how I'm going to make sure it is her and what my next move is. I decide that is obviously her. I click on her page. Sure enough, one of her recent locations was District 4. Ha.
I scroll down her list of recent posts. One of her shopping brags was fake bones. Who brags about that? It calms me that the bones were fake, at least someone didn't die. It still bothers me that they were in the cave. Where they put there as a scare tactic for me? For someone else?
I decide that my work in the Capitol is done. All my answers now lie at home. I delete all of the history and ship the computer back to the front desk. I pull my bag out of the closet. I try to get to sleep, without success. Finally, morning comes.
I run downtown to the train station.
"Hello. I need a train to D4." I tell the man at the front desk.
"K. It's gonna be about 10 minutes." He tells me. I take a seat. Trains can be requested to go from the Capitol anytime but to the Capitol once a week. I sit awkwardly, flipping through magazines. Another lady walks in wearing my shoes.
The train comes and I get on. The train speeds faster than should be legal to District 4. It spits me off at the station and I head home.
"Hey, sweetie, how was Daniel's?" Mom asks me. Oh yeah, I have to make up some story.
"Awesome. I managed to get away with only one pie." She laughs. Daniel's mom and she were best friends growing up. They were also friends with another girl, who died in the Games. It seems like everyone knows somebody that went into the Games. It would be terrible to watch your friend go through it. I am just happy I never had to mentor Daniel or Noah. We would never get anything done.
"Well, here we have some bad news. Your sister…" She starts. Please don't say she's dead!
Once again, this chapter applies to the contest explained in Chapter 20. I have decided to extend the contest all the way through Chapter 24. This way, Chapter 25 can be special (I just feel like 25 is a cooler chapter to win than 24!) Anyway, remember to review because that is your entry! For official rules, make sure to read Chapter 20.
