I suppose you thought I'd do the circus alliance next. I would have but I was lazy and that alliance has like seven members. Funny story though Silver and I are actually going to a real circus tomorrow!
Callum Rosencrans- District Eleven male (18)
The Capitolites milling around the Games building while I made my way to the training room were so weird. To me they all just looked like clowns. They had ugly bright clothes and grotesque painted faces. And they all acted so bizarre. They had accents that made them sound like robots and their facial expressions and body language just gave off the impression that they were small children. They were like those spoiled little dogs rich people carry in their purses. A few of them were even carrying those exact dogs in their bejeweled neon purses.
"OMG! OMG! Are you Callum?"
I hadn't expected to hear my name in that accent. I didn't entirely like the sound of it but that didn't mean the person speaking wasn't nice. I turned to the side and saw a teenage boy half-running toward me.
"Yeah, I'm Callum," I said, at first wondering why someone would flag me down and then all at once remembering the elephant in the room.
"Is it true you killed your girlfriend's mother?" the boy asked.
"She was asking for it," I said, and shrugged. I'd meant it as a joke but the boy clearly took me seriously. His eyes went wide and he recoiled.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," I said. "But yeah I killed her."
"So you're, like, a stone-cold killer?" the boy asked in awe. It took me a second to respond since I was perversely distracted by his lime green hair and the lightning bolts that seemed to have been tattooed in his eyeball jelly.
"No, she deserved it," I started in a more venomous tone than I'd expected. "Sorry. Okay. Here's the story: she was abusive. The kind of person that's an owner, not a mother. Get me?"
"I guess," the boy said, still looking a little apprehensive. "See... I just got some birthday money from my mom and I want to sponsor someone. I thought you might win since you already killed someone. It sounds like you might not even be a bad person."
"No one's a bad person unless the people around them make them bad," I said.
The boy considered. "Then who made the people around them bad?" he asked.
"Uh... I guess it's just bad people all the way down," I said.
"Right," the boy said uncertainly. "So you think I should sponsor you?"
"Sure!" I said, jokingly clapping him on the shoulder. "I probably won't kill you!"
The boy stepped back. "I have to go," he said, and trotted across the room, peering over his shoulder at me a few times.
I don't think he's going to sponsor me. Damn it, I tried so hard to fit in.
Stevie Pagett- District Eleven female (18)
Callum was training with a sword. He looked very strong and brave, like the dashing warrior he always pretended to be. He had such a vivid imagination. He could already see a dozen happy endings for us, even if both of us knew how very slim the odds were.
It was good Callum was taking to training so well since I couldn't really do anything. My mother may have been lying about me being wheelchair-bound at first but after spending years in one it more or less became true. I could stand but I couldn't walk for long without wanting to lean against something. I was getting stronger every day but we only had a very few days left. No, Callum would have to do most of the heavy lifting. It was good we had such endless, true love.
"Come fight with me!" Callum called, swinging his sword invitingly. I looked at the long sword and half-heartedly picked it up. It was so heavy I could barely keep it in the air. I took a swing at Callum and the sword slowly moved through the air in a lazy arc.
"Come on, do it right," Callum coaxed. He slowed himself down to match me and we play-fought for a minute.
"You're just way better than me," I said.
"I am pretty good," he said.
"It's almost closing time," I said, glancing at the clock that said we only had an hour left to train. "Want to get out of here and explore the building? I thought it could be like a real date."
"You think there's a fancy restaurant here?" Callum asked.
"There definitely is," I said, since I'd asked Hlenn as soon as I got out of bed. "Come get me in an hour so I have time to get ready."
Back in my room I dug through the closet that seemed like it went back for miles. You just pressed a button and the racks cycled through like a conveyor belt with any kind of clothes you could think of. Of course I wanted a fancy dress and I went through dozens before I picked a dark red dress with a low neckline. Mom always made me dress like a little girl. I was a woman now and I could wear whatever I wanted. Before I got dressed I ran down to the stylists and asked to borrow a wig. Creme said he didn't know what I was fussing about, since bald was "in", but he sent me back upstairs with beautiful dark brown curls. I hovered by the door wringing my hands nervously while I waited for Callum to come. Butterflies burst in my stomach when he knocked on the door.
The door opened to reveal Callum in a black suit with a bouquet of red roses. "Wow," he said in an awed tone. "You look beautiful."
I tried to respond but I could only smile. I held out my hand and we walked together toward the glass elevator to the top floor. On the roof of the Games building a round glass room circled slowly, allowing the patrons within a rotating view of the Capitol as they ate.
"We have a reservation for Rosencrans," Callum said. The waiter waved us through and settled us at a glass table.
"It's wonderful," I said, looking out at the cobalt-blue and gunmetal-gray buildings that went on and on all around us. I never dreamed I could have a night like this. Callum was across from me, all handsome and manly and romantic. Glamorous Capitolites were all around us and we fit right in. And beyond us the city stretched on forever. It was our night- no mother tying me down. This was my life and I could finally live it.