Simon never got his chance to ask Nora about her discussion with Chris. They were never alone, so he never had a chance to bring it up. He decided that he would bring it up the first time he had a chance.
Once they arrived at the capital building, they went straight to the twelfth level. "Neco is going to be Jellybean's stylist," Cole whispered to Simon. He nods and goes to his room, which was the same room he had last year. He came into this room with a certain mission on his mind.
He walked over to the nightstand on the left side of the bed. He opened the top drawer and found Alice's notebook. He sighed in relief when he saw that it hadn't been found by the capital. He tucked it under his shirt and went to find Nora.
He went to Nora's room, but it was empty. "Thanks for finding my room," a voice from behind him said. He turned around and saw Nora. He didn't respond to her comment while handing her the notebook.
"This is the notebook that Alice gave me the day of my reaping," Simon explained. "It's full of advice that you probably won't get from Cole. It really helped me in the arena, and I think it will help you."
"I don't think that I'm supposed to have this," Nora said.
"I know, but if you hide it, it will help you greatly," Simon said. Nora bit her lower lip, making it clear that she was thinking about something. She walked to the nearest trashcan and tossed it in.
"I'm sorry," Nora said, before walking off. Before Simon could have a verbal reaction, his phone vibrated. He saw that he had a text from Bram.
Bram: Do you want to go for a walk?
Simon: Of course.
Bram: Perfect. Meet me in front of the building in ten minutes.
Bram and Simon walked down the streets of the capital, holding hands. The citizens of the capital watched them, wanting to see their new favorite couple. It wasn't uncommon for victors to date each other, but Simon and Bram were a same-sex couple from different districts.
"Have your tributes been kind of secretive?" Simon whispered.
"Yeah," Bram whispered. "My cousin has always been quite secretive and closed off, but then Conner was the same way. I think some of the tributes are planning something, and I think it has something to do with district thirteen."
"How would they know about district thirteen?" Simon whispered. "We only learned about it threw Pilar. Not saying that you're wrong, though."
"You do bring up a good point," Bram whispered. "We should probably keep a close eye on them when we can. We'll be with them when they're not getting ready for public appearances or at training. That gives us a decent amount of time to collect intel."
Simon nodded as Bram checked his watch. "We should get ready for the opening ceremony," Bram said. "I'll save you spot in the bleachers so we can watch it together."
"Ok," Simon said. They then turned around and began to walk in the direction of the capitol building.
Simon sat beside Bram on the bleachers. It was seven-thirty, which was twenty minutes before the ceremony was to begin. Bram kissed Simon's forehead. "Any clue what the outfits are going to be this year?" Bram asked.
"No clue," Simon said. "But I know that Neco is returning for this year."
Simon nods and they talk while they wait for the ceremony to begin. Soon, they heard the sound of trumpets, signifying the beginning of the chariots parade. They found themselves holding the hands of each other as the chariots passed by.
The first ones to go by were a pair of twins from district one. Their mom had won the Hunger Games one year, and their father one the next games. They fell in love and ended up having twins, Cashmier, and Topaz.
They seemed to be the only ones in the stands who were being quiet. Everyone else was hooting and hollering, but they just quietly watched the chariots go by. Nora and Chris were holding hands. Nora was wearing a long black dress, and Chris was wearing a black suit. They had red sparks coming from their outfits, making a beautiful homage to last year's outfits.
They formed a circle near the town hall stage. The choir kids sang their song before Springe came and gave his speech. Simon pretended to be interested in his speech, but he was just staring at Nora. Her face seemed to be blank as she heard the speech. Simon was still in the process of trying to figure her out.
"This commences the beginning of the third quarter quell," Springe announced. "May the odds be ever in your favor."