Blyana Wellish,17, District 2 female
I rest my head against the palm of my hands gazing out of the window while we zoom past numerous trees and mountain like structures, the train is moving so fast that it doesn't even feel like we're moving. I've honestly never took time to realize just how large this world is outside of my district, it makes me wonder which one of these districts my mother can be hiding in…
I look over at Hyperion who's sitting on the opposite side of the train examining what seems to be a locket. He seems more calm? For all that talk earlier he certainly doesn't seem to be in a rush to 'kill' me however.
"I thought I was dead? What's wrong, had to reconsider?" I taunt him but he only ignores me.
"Bet you pissed your pants thinking about what I'd do to you if you even thought about laying a finger on me!" I continue taunting him but he once again ignores me and that's when I feel some frustration growing in me. I hate…being ignored!
He puts his locket away and starts making his way towards the table that is covered in a ton of delicacies, most which I've never seen before but I might as well indulge myself so I make my way over there.
He puts several cookies on his plate and I grab a plate looking at all of the cookies they have, there's so many varieties. Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, white chocolate macadamia, strawberry cheesecake and for some reason there's only one snickerdoodle cookie here which Hyperion is reaching for but I quickly snatch it away, take a large bite out of it and nearly choke on it as I let out a snicker.
Hyperion still doesn't respond and starts pouring himself a cup of juice so as I'm walking past him, bump into him and he stumbles slightly dropping his glass as it clatters over the floor. Almost instantly an Avox runs out and begins cleaning up the mess. Hyperion gives me a frustrated look though and i feel good, I won!
"This is really sad, how desperate you are to get a reaction out of me, you got anything better to do with your time?" He narrows his eyes at me.
"Excuse me?" I walk up to his face, I dare him to repeat that!
"What the truth hurts? Maybe if you weren't such a bitch, you wouldn't have to try so hard to get someone's attention." He continues but I quickly smack him across his face and he takes a step back clutching his face.
"The fuck you think you know about me? Don't you ever speak to me like that again!" I bark at him and I see his eyes flaring as a red hand mark starts forming around his face but he still manages to keep his composure and that's when the train door opens.
"Hey youngsters! Look like you two are getting along just fine!" I hear the male mentor Titus sarcastically say and I turn around to face our mentors, the female this time around is Iris, a middle aged woman who I don't care to remember which games she won.
"Titus Rockford, nice to meet you two!" he extends both of his hands to me and Hyperion.
"Hyperion…" Hyperion grumbles.
"Blyana and before you ask, we're being mentored separately!" I inform Titus.
"Which wouldn't make any sense at all considering we're going to be In the same alliance." Hyperion remarks.
"Who told you that lie? I'll make sure your dirty cheating ass comes nowhere near my alliance!' I spit at him but Iris stands in between to separate us.
"Ok Blyana, I'm Iris and if you want to be mentored separately then that's what'll happen. Now lets sit on the sofa, get relaxed and see what competition you'll be up against." Iris tells me and I only roll my eyes before throwing myself on the sofa while Hyperion and Titus sits on the sofa on the other side of the train. Iris flicks on the television and the reapings recap is about to start.
"So Blyana, tell me about your home life." Iris tries to make conversation.
"I live with my father but he isn't home much since he's usually working." I begin.
"I see, what about your mother?" Iris asks.
"She wasn't involved in my life." I bluntly say and I glance at Hyperion for a moment whose looking at me.
"Can I help you with something?" I fire at him but he turns away and continues talking to Titus.
"Let's just start these recaps please, I'm not in the mood to be talking right now." I tell Iris and she nods before fast forwarding the television and it's now on district 1.
The first pair of careers here are rather unique, they're both twins apparently. Both are pretty stocky and are around the same height. The guy seems like a softie but I see the fire in the girl's eyes. I think we'll get along.
The boy from district 3 Acer is just some nerdy bloodbath, like he looks ridiculous, He's wearing a lab coat!
The girl is a fucking weirdo, she licked the face of this bloodbath and is on the stage dancing and spouting out a whole bunch of weird shit, Still there's something about her, like I can just feel some kind of darkness wafting around her, I'll be keeping an eye on her.
District 4 is interesting the girl Ryena is fucking small, Like what is a midget like her doing volunteering in the first place? She seems confident though and she has some spunk as she tells off her escort for being a moron. She doesn't look that tough though, bet I can whip her ass.
The guy, well I'll admit he's handsome and is well built with a noticeable behind that puts mines to shame. He even acknowledges it as he's walking to the stage, he seems like a goofball, but i can tell he'll be strong.
The girl from district 5 is a volunteer and she looks pretty banged up, she also seems ridiculously weak, like is she volunteering just to off herself? must be because nothing about her makes her seem even remotely dangerous.
The boy doesn't really stand out as much, he has a baby face and he's trying to act confident but I can see what a little wimp he truly is but also a tint of arrogance.
District 6 features another volunteer and once again the volunteer looks ridiculously weak. Like is this the new trend? 'I'm so depressed so let me volunteer and throw my life away! Waaah waaah waaaaaah!'.
The girl Paisley is a definite bloodbath as she's only crying profusely knowing how hopeless and weak she truly is and I can't help but laugh a little, so ridiculous.
The girl from district 7 immediately catches my attention, she's probably the most capable looking outlier female I've seen in a while and she curses a bunch of times and I can see that fire and spunk as she storms her way to the stage, I can tell she's been in her fair share of fights and that she can hold her own. Since Hyperion isn't going to be in MY alliance, this girl right here will be an excellent replacement.
The boy Azazel looks like another bloodbath and is acting like the bloodbath boy from district 5 but he seems a little more sincere, I'm not expecting much from him though, if anything at all.
District 8 features ANOTHER fucking volunteer as some tall depressed looking boy mopes his way to the stage, I can see bloodbath all over him, like I'll put him out of his misery! It angers me seeing how many weak and pathetic tributes are going to be in this arena with me!
The reapings for the girl are a little weird, it seems like the escort was about to say a different name but just ended up calling hers instead and almost right after some bald headed hag is on the stage screaming her lungs out. Does she know this girl that just got reaped?
The girl certainly stands out though, her locks of hair colored grey and blue and her dress looking like it was put together using a bunch of different fabrics. She struts her way to the stage and even rips off the bottom of her dress and slings it over her shoulder, wow she needs to be humbled and I'm the girl for the job!
The district 9 girl Elsie looks like yet another bloodbath. I thought the chick from 4 was small but boy this girl here easily takes the cake. I can probably step on her little ass and not even notice. She's trying so hard to hold it together but I can see how much of a mess she is, she won't have to worry too long though, her weak ass!
The boy Harlan looks much more capable. He's a pretty boy and looks like he works out. He smiles and waves to the cameras not wanting anyone to see just what a scared punk he is and Elsie looks at him as he says a couple of unintelligible words to her, but she turns away. Seems like these two got some history.
The girl from district 10, Thea doesn't stand out a whole lot but has to be 'helped' to the stage as she must've froze for a moment upon hearing her name but she manages to regain her composure and marches onto the stage. I see a glint of fire in her so I won't write her off just yet.
The guy now like wow, he is freaking huge! He's probably like 18 or whatever but you can easily mistake him for a man in his 30's. I can literally see the stage shake a little as he takes some steps on it and stands as still as a statue with a cold look on his face. This guy is a must have for MY alliance, and me being the leader of this alliance will waste no time approaching him!
District 11 catches me a bit off guard. The boy, Kade looks pretty weak but also crafty like he has some tricks up his sleeve. The girl though she looks like a career. She walks with so much confidence and strength and I can sense a powerful aura coming from her, this definitely isn't going to be your average district 11 girl, I'll need to keep an eye on her.
Finally for district 12, the girl is a pitiful bloodbath that I just completely disregard but the guy on the other hand, he just seems so happy he got reaped and he's a giant as well, just like the guy from 10. I notice he squeezes the hand of his district partner and she looks to be in obvious pain, he certainly seems like a bully of some sort and I find it a bit irritating, he knows this tiny little child won't be any match for him, why not pick on someone who can actually put up some kind of resistance? I would say he's a candidate to join MY alliance but after seeing that shit, I'll probably kill him before we even get into the arena!
That concludes the reapings though and while there are some stand outs, most of them are just a bunch of weaklings I'm going to crush with ease!
"So Blyana, any of these tributes stood out to you?" Iris asks.
"A few actually, so hopefully these games won't be a complete walk in the park." I state crossing my arms and look over at Hyperion who seems focused on the tv screen, I can't wait to slit his fucking throat!
Kade Jackson,14, District 11 male
"Wow this looks awesome!" I snatch some mysterious looking cake and down it in one bite, This is sooooo good!
I look at Virginia and she's stretching her limbs out before she does a smooth looking cartwheel.
"Hey Virginia! Check out these cakes, they're so good!" I tell her with a full mouth but she gives me an odd glance afterwards.
"It's Verbena." She corrects me.
"Oh yeah! That's right, sorry!" I apologize, crap I seriously forgot her name that quickly? This is so embarrassing!
"It's ok, Kade right?" She walks towards me.
"Yup, you seem better at remembering names than me at least." I joke and she starts scanning all of the cakes and delicacies on the table.
"They even got a kiosk here! They got just about any meal imaginable!" I excitedly run up to the kiosk and look through all of the different stuff they have, I see something called 'Rocky fried Oysters' and it seems good so i push a button and within moments a steaming plate of it slides out of the kiosk.
I look over at Verbena who puts a bunch of fruits on her plate but fruits are boring, I mean muffins are way better, right?
Verbena takes a seat and I walk over towards her with my fried oysters.
"Hey you don't mind me sitting next to you right?" I ask.
"Knock yourself out." She takes a large bite of her honeydew and I jump into the sofa next to her.
"These smell so good, you should try out some of this food they got over there, these are rocky fried oysters!" I tell her before taking a large bite out of one of the fried oysters but the taste catches me a bit off guard, first off this tastes nothing like seafood, it's more like some kind of meat but I continue chewing the rubbery textured meat.
"Rocky fried oysters you said?" She questions.
"Yeah, but this don't really taste too much like seafood." I state still chewing the rubbery meat.
"That's cause it's not a seafood." She informs me and I raise an eyebrow.
"Huh? What do you mean?" I look at her.
"You're eating bull testicles." She grins slightly.
"What the fuck!" I spit all of the contents out of my mouth, jump up to my feet and run over to the table, sterilizing my mouth with any kind of liquids I can find.
Verbena is enjoying the show though as she laughs.
"You're freaking joking me right?" I exclaim as she continues to laugh.
"I'm not unfortunately, those used to be a pretty popular dish in a certain part of the world long ago. The testicles from the bull were skinned, coated in salt, pepper, flour and deep fried." She tells me.
"What? How do you know all of this!?" I down a cup of apple juice in almost an instant.
"A lot of reading." She crosses one of her legs over the other taking another bite out of her juicy honeydew.
"Gosh all I did was make a fool of myself, I butchered your name and ate testicles right in front of you!" I hang my head in shame.
"What, you're trying to impress me?" She gives me a weird glance.
"Well enough for us to be allies at least…" I admit.
"Oh yeah, you did bring that up earlier." She remembers and that's when the door opens and our mentors Pocha and Trifton walk in. Pocha needs to use a cane to walk and Trifon helps her sit on a sofa.
Pocha is quite possibly the oldest living victor in all of the districts but it just shows how wise and experienced she is.
"Why hello there, I'm Pocha." She greets us as Trifton is preparing a cup of water for her.
"I'm Kade! It's such an honor to meet you Pocha!" I shake her hand gently.
"I'm Verbena, nice to meet you." Verbena shakes her hand too.
"Hey there, the name's Trifton!" Trifton hands a glass of water to Pocha and shakes our hands afterwards.
"So I guess the first question I should ask is if you two want to be mentored together or seperately?" He adds.
"Well I kind of embarrassed myself so I doubt she'd want to ally with me." I hold my head down and I can hear Verbena scoff.
"Embarrassed yourself?" Trifton asks.
"I'd rather not talk about it…" I mumble.
"He ate some bull testicles." She bluntly tells Trifton.
"Hey, how can you just say that so casually!?" I cringe.
"Hmm hmm, you can mentor us together though, I don't mind us being allies as long as you pull your weight." She states and I give her a surprised look.
"Whoa really!?" I ask in a shocked tone, she really wants to ally with me? She seems so strong though, not that I'm weak or anything, well maybe I kind of am but still!
"Well yeah, I don't really see anything wrong with that…unless there is?" Verbena gives me a weary look
"N-no not at all!" I clarify, gosh I can't pinpoint it but her energy just seems so intense, like she can literally rip me limb by limb if she wants to!
"So Kade let's start with you, what kind of strengths do you have?" Pocha asks and takes a sip of her water.
"Well I can make a kickass moonshine!" I grin and Trifton laughs.
"That might come in handy, maybe you can get the other tributes drunk to death." Verbena jokes.
"Haha, well I'm good with knives, I can climb and you know, I just know my way around stuff!" I do a toothy grin.
"So you're cunning, that should be interesting what about you Verbena?" Trifton looks over at Verbena.
"I know my way around stuff." She vaguely states.
"Hey you can't just take my answers like that!" I complain and she smirks, but seriously though why does it seem like this girl is hiding something?
"Well…ok well let's start the recaps. You two might even find another ally to add to your alliance." He flicks on the television. It's the careers I'm especially going to be paying attention to, I look at them as a gang, and I'm going to need a gang of my own if I want to compete against them.
The two careers from district 1 are named Nyx and Nox. They look identical? They have to be twins. Nox looks like he doesn't even want to be there though which I find pretty weird for a career. His sister on the other hand looks like your typical career.
The careers from district 2 are Blyana and Hyperion. Hyperion is pretty tall, built and he has a look of anger on his face but I don't know if it's all anger, he has sad eyes…
None the less I think like the entire square is booing him and it makes me wonder what he did to get so much hate. The girl Bylana, yuck her energy just immediately rubs me the wrong way as she arrogantly struts her way to the stage and she exchanges a few words with Hyperion before a small scuffle ensues and they have to be separated. She then declares herself as the victor and I cringe, I already hate this girl.
"What a cocky bitch!" I blurt out accidently.
"Agreed." Verbena agrees with me.
The tributes from district 3 are Acer and Emmerane. Acer looks like kind of a nerd but he also seems intelligent and kind, maybe we can bring him into the alliance?
The girl Emmerane however like what the hell is her problem? She licks the face of Acer then start dancing around the stage like a psychopath saying all kinds of weird shit, like what's her deal?
"She'll be one to watch out for, she's not a regular district 3 girl." Trifton states, yeah tell me about it…
The tributes from district 4 are Ryena and Caspian. Ryena is pretty small but I won't underestimate someone because of their size, she's a career for a reason and I'm sure she busted her ass to get to where she is. taking a look at her, she seems pretty mean but some of it seems forced.
Caspian on the other hand is all smiles and giggles as he jokes about his behind that I totally didn't look at and it makes me wonder why this go happy guy even volunteered in the first place, can he take a life? No of course he can, I mean he is a career after all…
The tributes from district 5 are Dio and Alyona. I can look at Dio and see a ton of arrogance in him, he still looks a bit scared but he's doing a decent job covering it up. He looks like the kind of guy that'll steal your girlfriend away right in front of you!
The girl Alyona is a volunteer and she seems pretty mysterious too like it's just so hard to get a read on her. Her face looks so innocent but why do I sense some kind of darkness underneath it all? Must be all in my imagination.
The tributes from district 6 are Hayden and Paisley. Hayden is another volunteer but it's pretty obvious that he knew the person that got reaped cause the other guy seems pissed off about it.
The girl is Paisley and I feel so bad just seeing her standing there and crying her eyes out like she can feel her impending doom. Still, she seems so nice like I want to give her a hug!
I'm glad a lot of these tributes outside of the careers don't seem very threatening, maybe I'll stand a chance!
The tributes from district 7 are Azazel and Beauregard. Azazel is around my size and he tries to be confident but I can still see he's very nervous, I can tell he's full of energy and sass though.
The girl now like whoa, she looks even tougher than the careers, she's pretty tall and clearly looks like she works out or whatever but she has a similar build to Verbena and it makes me wonder even more what Verbena does. Beauregard is just full of attitude, cursing aloud, claiming the reapings were rigged and she looks like she's close to punching someone in the face, I'll stay away from her but yeah, she's strong…
The tributes from district 8 are Christmas and Genevieve. Christmas is another volunteer but he looks so sad! Like he just gave up on life. I can see just so much guilt and despair on his face and I feel bad.
Genevieve seems like a fire cracker though, first off I love her dress sense, it looks like she made the dress herself and her locks of hair are dyed grey with streaks of blue at the end of them which is also kind of cool. She tears the bottom of her dress off, slings it to her shoulder and I can see just how much determination she has, she'll probably be a fighter.
The tributes from district 9 are Elsie and Harlan. Elsie is so tiny, like soooo tiny! Did they make a mistake and accidently reap her cause she looks younger than 12, more like 9 or 10. She's trying to hard to keep it together but I see how terrified she is, but still she doesn't seem completely defenseless, like she has a trick or two up her sleeve.
The guy Harlan is just beaming with confidence, smiling and waving at the cameras and he tries saying something to Elsie but she ignores him, do they know each other? This Harlan guy seems tough though, like he has some experience.
District 10 catches me a bit off guard. The guy Cortez is massive and looks nowhere near 18! He He looks like someone's father! He has a stone cold look on his face but still, I can sense some good in him, he looks like he'll even be able to give the careers a run for their money though, I can't imagine any of the tributes I've seen so far having an easy time with him. The girl Thea honestly doesn't stand out a lot, but from the little I did see of her, she doesn't seem very nice…
The guy was district 12 is a massive giant as well! But unlike Cortez he just seems full of evil! I hope someone kills him quickly but he's really going to be nothing but trouble! The tiny girl from there Annabeth is so terrified and is crying on the stage and it's even worse when this giant bully squeezes her hand and makes her cry even more, how terrible! This guy needs to fucking die!
"He's definitely the kind of monster to murder his own siblings." I comment.
"Hmm, Looks like we quite the interesting cast this year, any tributes stand out that you might want to add to your alliance?" Trifton looks over at me.
"Some of them do seem nice like the guy from 3, maybe I'll talk to him!" I smile.
"What about you Verbena?" Trifton asks but I look over at Verbena and she seems to have a conflicted look on her face while also seeming a bit zoned out.
"Hey Verbena?" I nudge her arm and her minds comes back to earth.
"Oh sorry, I was daydreaming, did you ask something?" she looks at me.
"Oh we were just wondering if any tributes stood out that we can probably add to our alliance." I infrom her.
"We'll just have to see once we can start interacting with them. Excuse me though, I'm going to take a nap…" she stands up from the sofa and walks to the back of the train where I assume the rooms are? What's with her though? She's obviously distracted about something, just hope she's ok.
Elsie Pengrove,14, District 9 female
The train is moving so quickly as I gaze out the window seeing the numerous trees blitzing by me. I'm leaving home, leaving my district and this may very well be my last time here. I can see my reflection on the glass and I can't help but start shedding more tears as I think of my sister, but my last memories of them is how much hope they're placing on this scumbag Harlan, I'm not denying that I don't need an alliance but still, I'm not some damsel in distress!
I wipe my eyes and look over at Harlan who's putting a bunch of sweets on his plate and they look good honestly, but I'll wait until he leaves because I don't want to be next to him. I start thinking about what I can do once I enter the training facility. I know I'm good with a slingshot so maybe I can use that, but I know I'm likely going to need something with more stopping power if I want to win, maybe I can learn to use a bow? I really don't want to talk to Harlan if I don't have to but I've seen his skill with a sickle and he's rather good at it, maybe I can pick up some tips from him at some point…
"Hey Elsie…" Harlan walks up to me and sits across from me sitting his plate and drink down on a table between us and I give him a glare.
"It's ok Harlan, the cameras are off of you, Cassidy and my parents aren't here so you can quit the nice guy act!" I hiss at him.
"Huh? Elsie I'm just checking on you. Making sure you're ok." He explains.
"Well I'm probably going to be dead soon so yeah I'm totally ok with that!" I sarcastically say.
"I'm not going to let that happen to you, we're going to work together and keep each other safe." He tries to assure me.
"I don't recall agreeing to work with you!" I say through gritted teeth and he lets out a small sigh.
"Look I understand you're under a lot of stress right now but what did I ever do to you to garner so much disdain? If there's anything I did to upset you, please let me know." He tells me trying to sound as calm as possible.
"I think you already know the answer to that!" I glare him and that's when he starts looking a little nervous.
"W-what do you mean?" He nervously asks.
"Hmmph I didn't mean anything but seeing the way you just reacted, it's pretty clear now you're hiding something!" I growl at him and he lets out another small sigh, look at him already falling into my traps, I'm going to have a field day with him.
" I'm not going to argue with you but I think it's for the better if we work together. I'm not saying we need to be friends, just need to co-exist." He offers and my stomach grumbles rather loudly afterwards which is a little embarrassing…
Harlan hears it, looks at my tummy and he smirks. It's the aromas of all those sweets he has on his plate making me realize how hungry I am.
"You must be hungry, I'll get you some apple pie!" He jumps up from the sofa and I grin to myself, This is the perfect opportunity! While he's at the table fixing me up a plate, I slip two tablets of laxatives into his drink and it immediately dissolves. It was pretty easy to get ahold of these, the medicine cabinet in the bathroom had some laxatives and I swiped up some of them.
Harlan returns to the table shortly afterwards and sits a slice of apple pie in front of me with some whipped cream on top of it and it looks and smells really good.
"Well I'll be honest, this looks way better than whatever kind of abomination me and Cassidy were going to bake up in the kitchen!" He jokes and I have to catch myself from smirking, did I really almost laugh at a joke this jerk made!?
"Well I didn't ask for any of this, but thank you." I thank him and he smiles while doing a nod and proceeds to down his entire cup of juice afterwards, perfect!
"I know this is all a lot to take in Elsie and I'm not trying to be a superhero or anything because I'm scared too, probably even more than you but as long as we stick together we'll be ok, as ok as we can be. I'm not going to force you, but just take your time and make a decision ok? And if you ever want to talk about anything, anything at all I'll be here." He assures me and I look over at him for a moment and feel anger rising in me but my eyes start watering afterwards and more tears start coming down my eyes.
"Hey…it's ok." He stands up from the sofa and walks over to me, He has a done a horrible thing and I couldn't bring myself to tell Cassidy the truth because I didn't want to hurt her, but is he truly an awful person for what he's done? This doesn't seem like an act anymore, I know he actually cares but still, I just wish I didn't walk in on him because i won't have a reason to hate him...
He puts a hand on my shoulder but I smack it away and glare him causing him to give me a surprised look and takes a step back.
"I just wish you didn't give me a reason to hate you, I wish you freaking didn't!" I clench my fists and stand up to face him but he towers over me and I'm pretty sure I just look like a little pouting baby right now…
"Elsie…" he begins.
"But you did and it sucks because…I probably could've gotten used to you, but I know your little secret, I know how capable you are of being horrible!" I stomp on the floor and I see a look of guilt spread over his face, he knows exactly what I'm talking about!
"Elsie just let me explain..." He starts.
"I don't want to hear your damn excuses! Now just leave me alone! When our mentors come, you can just tell them I don't feel like talking to them!" I bark at him and with that I storm into my room, slam my door and throw myself on my bed, releasing all of my tears and frustrations into my bed sheets.
Cortez Baker,18, District 10 male
Kayla, Kayla just be ok please. Just as I was about to leave dammit just as I was about to leave she went into labor. I was so close to meeting my little girl and just knowing that I might not ever able to, it's breaks my damn heart! I can't help but worry, leaving her in the care of a bunch of random peacekeepers. Did they know what to do? Were they able to get her to an emergency room in time? Is the baby ok? Is Kayla ok? There's just so many thought running through my head and it's driving me insane!
I look at my district partner who's sitting on the other side of the train and she's quietly painting a picture. We haven't said anything to each other, I mean we're technically enemies so I understand if she just prefers to keep her distance, but it shouldn't hurt to introduce myself right?
I stand up from my sofa and walk over towards her but when I'm near, she turns away from her picture and shoots me a rather unfriendly look but I smile and continue walking towards her.
"Hey there, name's Cortez, Cortez Baker." I introduce myself to her.
"I know your name already." She says rather bluntly.
"Oh uh, well ya' name's Thea right?" I try to carry on this 'conversation'.
"You obviously already knew that, so why waste your time asking?" She gives me a nasty look and I'm taken aback by just how unfriendly she seems. I mean she's probably just stressed out from being reaped and all, I know how nerve wrecking this must be for her but geez!
"Just uh, Tryna' be friendly. Give ourselves the opportunity to properly introduce ourselves." I explain.
"Well you now know that we both know each other's names. Is that enough for you or you want to keep wasting my time?" She gives me an irritated look. I won't ever disrespect a woman, I know how much they go through but still even then, I'm finding it really hard not to call her something that I'll regret later. I'll just stay away from her, I know now that she's just an unpleasant person for whatever reason.
"Alright then, well I'll leave ya' to it." I walk away from her and go over to the table to see a bunch of refreshments and I pick out a spongy looking cake, pour a cup of chocolate milk and return to my sofa. It's not very often I get to indulge myself in sweets like this so I'll enjoy it while it lasts.
Not long after the train door opens and it's our mentors for this year, Charlotte and our victor from last year Oswine Nanshope. They're both very inexperienced obviously but still I'm sure they'll do well!
Oswine looks really nervous but Charlotte greets us with a warm smile.
"Howdy there!" I greet our mentors.
"Hi I'm Charlotte!" she extends her hand to me and I shake it gently.
"Cortez Baker! Pleasure to meet ya'!" I introduce myself and I look over at Oswine who seems a bit intimidated.
"Howdy there! Oswine right? Pleasure to meet ya' aswell!" I extend my hand to him and he hesitantly shakes it.
"Y-yeah…me too. I mean yeah same!" he nervously sputters and I pat him on the shoulder.
"Its alright boy, first day on the job, don't even wanna imagine the pressure ya' feelin' right now, but it'll be fine alright?" I try to encourage him and he nervously nods.
"Wow you seem very sweet Cortez!" Charlotte praises me.
"My momma raised me right, kept my behind in check if I even thought 'bout steppin' outta' line!" I explain to her and she smirks.
"That's what any great parent would do, and her hard work paid off well!" She compliments me and turns over to Thea afterwards, oh boy…
"Hi my name's Charlotte!" Charlotte extends her hand to Thea.
"Don't care." Thea glumly states while still painting her picture and Charlotte seems rather shocked and that's when Oswine walks over to her.
"H-hi I'm Oswine, that's a nice picture you're painting." Oswine compliments her.
"Your opinions don't matter to me." She immediately fires back.
"Hey, they're just Tryna' be nice, introduce themselves to us so we can get acquainted, no reason to be so cold." I comment to Thea.
"It's ok Cortez." Charlotte assures me and Thea completely ignores me as she continues painting, geez the hell's wrong with this girl?
"Well then, why don't we have seat, get to know each other a little better!" I offer Charlotte and Oswine and we leave Thea be as we sit away from her on the opposite side of the train.
"So uhmm, Cortez. Tell us about…yourself." Oswine nervously say and I give him an encouraging nod.
"Well absolutely! My father died before I was born, so my momma had to raise me and my brother by herself. Once I became old enough to pull my own weight, that's when I started workin' as a butcher. Been doin' the job for five years now, and I'm grateful for it cause it introduced me to the love of my life, my fiance Kayla!" I smile but I can't help but worry about her…I just hope she's ok.
"That sounds so lovely! You mentioned you work as a butcher though? That should mean you're quite adept at using cleavers and sharp weapons?" Charlotte suggests.
"Well yeah, might be quite different usin' it on humans, but yeah…" I scratch my head for a moment.
"That's already a great skill to have Cortez, but your size alone will make you a threat, the careers are almost certainly going to try and recruit you." She informs me.
"I know how them careers operate, I'm not interested." I honestly say.
"What about alliances in general, are you open to that?" Oswine chimes in.
"Maybe with one or two people, nothin' more than that though." I respond.
"Alright then, well why don't we start the recaps, see which tributes stand out?" Charlotte suggests.
"Sure thing!" I agree with her and she flicks on the television so I can finally start scouting out my opposition.
Here we are with the first part of the train rides. I'll probably do like 2 or 3 more povs in the train rides and transition into the arrival at the capitol. I do consider the train rides extremely important as that's when most of the tributes usually start interacting with their district partner and there's still a few more povs I'd like to show because of that. I'm so grateful for all of the amazing reviews and I'll see you all soon, Till next time!