Dimitri Muller, 16
District Two Male
He doesn't want to get out of bed at first, but a need for routine urges Dimitri to stumble out of bed and grope for whatever slippers that he had worn last night. He peers out of the window and sees that it's still early morning, the sun still refusing to rise over the Capitol as he pulls on a shirt. Then, he's in the dining room and sipping a cup of cocoa, watching last year's games as he waits for the others to get up.
"This was the moment when Isa realized that she had a chance, you see," the commentator drones on as the screen shows a small, frightened Isa running from the flames and to the Cornucopia in the centre. "Before, she had merely sowed her seeds - joining the career alliance and, as a result, being the only one left at the cornucopia, surviving the feast, getting herself a weapon - but when she got to the cornucopia and prepared herself for Giovanna, that's when people knew that she could be our victor. And she did it!"
"Isn't it, like, five in the morning?" Thetis rubs her eyes blearily, stumbling out of her room and leaving the door open. "I usually sleep in, but that television is so loud."
"My fault, I should have turned it down," replies Dimitri. He sips his cocoa and turns down the volume of the television, the commentators now at a mild hum.
"Oh, I was enjoying listening to that." The two turn around, surprised by the voice of Caleb behind them. "But I have things to do today, so it's good that we got rid of this distraction. Are you two ready for the day?"
"I'm ready to go back to bed," Thetis moans, but perks up after taking a sip of the coffee that Caleb hands her. "Oh, this is good! We've always had poor substitutes that must have been made from acorns or something at the Academy, Dimitri can testify. We made them in our dorms so that some of us could get up in the morning. But this - oh, it's so creamy!"
"Good food here. It looks great, too," Caleb quips, and they all laugh. Everyone's aware that Caleb has been blind for close to three years. "Natalia will be up soon - she's used to sleeping in as well, but Clay and I force her to get up early for this week."
For your week of teaching rule-breakers how to win the Games they weren't decreed to be in? Dimitri thinks for an instant, a scowl threatening to form on his face. He's still uneasy about being here, but he knows that it's the will of the gods - why else would he have been reaped for this year? There was a boy who made a motion to step out of his pen and head towards the stage, but Dimitri had fixed him with such an angry glare that the boy had retreated back inside. No, these were the Games that the gods had chosen for him to be in.
And he will do what they know he has to do.
In what feels like a few minutes, the morning flashes by and it's time for them to head to training. Thetis grabs one last cinnamon bun and heads out the door, Dimitri following right behind her. They head to the elevator and take the short journey down, Thetis yawning as the door opens for them so that they can enter the Training Centre. "Big day today. You ready, Dimitri?"
"I should be." Dimitri walks into the room and sees the other tributes for the first time - the careers, who are all here early except for the two from One, as well as most of the outliers. He doesn't know any of their faces or names by heart, so it's good to see that everyone has numbers on the uniforms that they put on this morning. It'll help him keep track of the rest of the tributes here.
The two from District Six are here next, then Nine, then One finally strolls through the door. "Sorry," Frosty apologizes to no one in particular. "It wasn't the best of mornings to start early."
"Welcome! Now that everyone's here - well, except for two, but one's in the hospital and the other's mentor has an excuse, - we can begin." The instructor seems relieved to see that everyone's here, and finally begins the speech that she must practice for weeks on end to perfect. "This is the Training Centre..."
Dimitri listens attentively, taking mental notes - not on her speech, but on the rest of the tributes. He's already been informed of what she'll be describing to them, all things that he's been told before in the Academy. He knows that he could die of dehydration or some disease hidden in food and water sources, and he also knows that his best bet is to get rid of the rest of the tributes before nature can attack him with a vengeance. Instead, he watches the group and looks for the threats: the cunning gleam in Fletcher's eyes as she points to the weapons, the way that the girl from Five is trying to pay attention but keeps watching the other tributes, just like him, the way that the boy from Seven looks too big to not know how to handle an axe.
When he and the careers finally have their first meeting, he knows exactly what he needs to do.
Yet, he's not sure if he can.
"Welcome, welcome, welcome to everyone!" Thetis gives a lovely smile to the five careers gathered around her, Dimitri close to her. He knows that she's one of the volunteers, one of the people who don't deserve to win, but he can't help but like her. In any other case, he'd like to ally with her through the Games.
But he knows what he needs to do.
"I'm Frosty, and the golden giant over here is Fletcher. He doesn't talk much, so much apologies," Frosty says, cutting off her district partner in mid-sentence. "I've met Thetis, but not the rest of you all. And you are, Two?"
"Not working with you," Dimitri spits. "I don't work with volunteers."
And he marches away, taking a second glance back only when he's far away enough to not see the shock on Thetis' face.
He knows what he's doing is right, he does.
But it's hard nonetheless.
A short chapter today, but the order will make more sense in chapters to come. For now, Dimitri gets to rest easy in his own chapter.
Any thoughts on the chapter? Is Dimitri deluded? Time will tell, but I hope you enjoyed this for now. It's going to be a fun ride into the Games - and there it'll only get wilder. I'm excited!
Enjoy the chapter, and have a great day. Until the next, TheAmazingJAJ