Chapter 13. – Cass Oceansong
I wake up in the sea blue room with the waves stenciled on the walls. "Up up up! It's a training day!" Plinia is calling from outside the door. I groan and call, "I'm coming!" Three days of training are all I get before my interview and I'm thrown into the arena. I'd better eat so that I get some padding before I go in. I go to the wardrobe and it brings me a pair of green pants and a tight blue t-shirt. I look at myself in approval in the mirror; I look like a girl from District 4. I get myself to the table and pour myself a glass of blueberry juice. I sit sipping it and take in the conversation between Plinia and Rigg.
"See if you can make alliances," Plinia is saying. "They will help you in the arena." "Yeah, but then I'm going to have to kill my friends," Rigg protests. Plinia ignores him. "Go and try out all of the equipment, and take in as much knowledge as you can in three days," she says in her annoyingly upbeat voice. I take a long sip of the blueberry drink. "When do we have to go down?" I ask. "In about ten minutes," Rigg answers before Plinia can open her mouth.
In ten minutes I'm having an anxiety attack and biting my nails as I stand in the elevator with Rigg, going down, down, down into the basement where the training stations are. The doors open and we step out into a large gymnasium filled with weapons. Almost all of the tributes are already assembled in a circle. The District 2 tributes give me a dirty look. I notice the angry District 7 girl, Oak I think her name is, and the tiny District 5 girl with the blue eyes. I take my place next to the District 3s, both of them thin and as nervous as I am. The lady in the center waits until the final tributes, the ones from District 11, come in, then she starts to speak.
"Hello tributes, I am Elisna and I am the head trainer here. In this room here there are many different stations you can go to, including ones that help you with your survival and ones that help you train with a weapon. Combat between tributes is strictly forbidden; if you wish to train with someone, there are assistants on hand to help you. Enjoy."
With that we all scatter. I start biting my nails again and look around for an empty station. I spot the fire making station and I head over there. The trainer seems happy to have me, and within twenty minutes I have mastered making a fire by rubbing two sticks together. I allow the trainer a smile and leave the station. I take a deep breath and head over to the spear throwing station, where the formidable District 11 tribute is throwing spears like he has always held a spear in hand. I shakily pick up a spear and throw it as hard as I can at the target. It whistles past the District 11 male tribute and barely misses his head. I gasp and clap my hands to my mouth. He slowly turns around with a menacing look on his face. "You shouldn't have done that, 4. You don't want Buck on your bad side." "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't realize!" He gives me another look and stalks off to hand to hand combat.
I feel a tap on my shoulder and I jump a mile. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you!" It's the pretty dark skinned girl from District 11. "It's okay," I say, still breathing heavily. "Don't mind Buck. Well, you should mind him actually, but just stay out of his way." I nod. "I'm Willow. Willow Greentide." "Cass Oceansong," I say, shaking her hand.
For the rest of the morning, Willow and I stay together, going through the knot tying station, the edible foods station, and the camouflage station. Willow is actually very gifted at camouflage, and I discover that I have a talent for tying knots. When the bell rings for lunch, we go and sit at a table together and start discussing our home lives, though misty eyed. "I have only my mum now, since my dad died two years ago," Willow says. "I help my mum with the little ones a lot when I'm not in school or in the field. I have two little sisters, you see." I say, "I have three sisters that I love so much." She cocks her head and says, "You volunteered for one, didn't you?" I nod, too choked up to speak.
After lunch we go back to the three stations we had already been to and master the more difficult parts of each. When Rigg and I go up to our room, Willow rides with us until her floor. After he gets off, Rigg asks, "What's her deal?" I shrug. "I think I found myself an ally." He doesn't say anything to this.
"So, did you make any friends?" Plinia asks. Riva is also staying with us, to get us ready each day I suppose. Rigg scowls. "Friends? I'm going to kill them, so I'm not going to make any friends. Nothing is stopping me from getting out of that arena alive," he says in an angry outburst. I stare at him aghast. Plinia shakes off his comment and turns to me and repeats her question. I nod. "I think so. I think I'm allies with the female tribute from District 11." Plinia nods. "Good choice, Cass!" I barely hear her, through my thoughts towards Rigg. If he will do anything to get out of the arena, I now know that Rigg, my district partner, is fixing to kill me.