[9] - Rochelle
A/N - A huge shoutout to a Guest who left over ten new reviews on Bleeding Hearts, Ultimate Crown, and this story - it felt like Christmas to wake up to so many reviews, and it meant a lot to read your thoughts on the stories! (And shoutout to runying for always supporting these stories as well!)
~S
The elevator shakes a bit as Diego and I enter. "Going down," I hear a lady say as the doors close behind us.
Our capsule is silent as we begin to move downward. I glance over at Diego to see him looking back at me, waiting for me to speak.
"I heard voices last night," he prompts me. His room is next to mine, so he must have overheard August's visit. "You don't look injured, so I'm assuming it wasn't August..."
"It was, actually," I admit, and Diego's eyebrows shoot up his forehead. "He realized his mistake, finally. He wants to work together."
"And?" Diego asks, still watching me. "What did you say?"
"I agreed," I sigh. "I might have to sell my soul to get anywhere in the Games, but I have to do it. Sorry, Diego. I feel like I'm abandoning you. And Astrid, too."
"Don't be sorry," Diego says, finally returning his eyes to the doors in front of us. The elevator is beginning to slow. "What I told you yesterday was honest. Don't feel tied to me. Do what's best for you."
I've spent enough time around Diego to know that he's not being completely genuine, but I don't have time to confront him about it. The doors in front of us open, and the tiny kids from District Three enter. The elevator is silent for the rest of our journey.
"Meet your new family in the Arena," August says proudly, leading me to his group of cronies. I choose not to mention how horrible that analogy is considering that we'll all be killing each other eventually.
"Nice to meet you," a stocky boy with short, blonde hair says, offering me his hand. "I'm Calder."
I spot the number 4 on his shoulder - this must be Princess' partner. "Rochelle," I reply, taking his hand.
"And this is Zinnia," August says, pointing out the girl from Two. Her long, black hair is pulled back, revealing a clever-looking face. I can just tell that Zinnia is trouble by looking at her; my years on the streets of District Eight taught me that much.
"Princess, come over here!" August calls, and his District partner bounds over like a lap dog, her blonde curls bouncing behind her.
"It's such a pleasure to finally meet you," Princess gushes. I think if she smiled any wider, her face would split in two. "Rachel, right? You look like you'd be lethal with a knife. We've got to spar sometime. You're hanging out with the real fighters now, so you better act like one, right?"
"Uh, sure," I choke out, unsure of what to say. As August turns to look for another Career, Princess' eyes flash, and I see something unsettling in her eyes. Princess is grinning at me with a look of pure excitement, yet her eyes are filled with hatred.
"That's Pollux over there," August tells me, pointing at a muscular boy across the room. "He probably won't talk to you very much. He's pissed that we even included Calder. Don't worry about him."
"I can do that," I sigh, my eyes fixed on the boy. He's hacking at a practice dummy with an unwarranted amount of aggression.
"We're going to spar," August calls to the others. Princess pretends like she can't hear him, but Zinnia offers him a curt nod.
"Hold your sword with your right hand, but use your left hand for extra support when you need it," August instructs me, and I slowly curl my fingers around the hilt as if I've never held a blade before. I've convinced August that I have no fighting experience, so I need to act like it. The less August sees me as a threat, the less his friends will, and the farther I'll go.
"So, what's the deal with the pairings?" I ask August as we exchange a few blows. He's moving almost in slow motion, giving me plenty of time to feebly wave my sword at him and block his attacks.
"Well, it's a bit of a mess," August admits. "We're all across the board, really. Obviously, we're working together now. And Calder was with us from the beginning."
"Right," I say, moving my sword to block his latest attack. "I saw him with you yesterday."
"Zinnia's partner is the boy from Three," August continues. "His name's Jasper, and I've barely seen him since we got here."
"I'm sure Zinnia's not too happy about that," I say.
"She's not," August confirms. "But they've struck a deal, apparently."
"A deal?" I ask. Now I'm interested. What deal could Jasper have possibly made with Zinnia?
"Yeah," August says with a laugh. "He agrees to hide in the Arena and avoid being killed, and she agrees to not kill him."
"Sounds like a fair trade," I joke back, but I know I need to change the subject before August gets any ideas. "And what about Pollux?"
August snorts. "He's been lashing out at everybody since we got here. He's refusing to acknowledge his partner. It's the girl from Nine, I think. He's gotten all sulky because his hard work was all for nothing. He's practically given up, but he's making it our problem, too."
I remember the girl from Nine from the Parade; we were the last two girls to be assigned to our partners. Only now do I realize how lucky I am to be in my position and not hers. I don't know how different we really are, though; I mean, the Pollux of today sounds almost exactly like the August I met yesterday. I choose not to mention this to August.
August swings his fake blade at my shoulder. My wrist wants to lift my sword to my defense so badly, but I know I can't go too long without a slip-up. I force my wrist to flick my sword down, and August's blade collides with my shoulder.
"Sorry," I say to August. "Got distracted."
"Wow, a real warrior you got here, huh, August?" A voice calls from behind me. I turn to see Pollux approaching. He towers over me and looks happy at his ability to show it.
"She's learning," August defends me. "At least I'm trying to work together with my partner."
"Whatever," Pollux scoffs. "She's gonna die no matter what. You're acting like she's gonna add anything to our group in any way. Trying to convince us that she can help us just so you can save your own ass. That's not gonna work on me, pal. If you want her in the group, she'll have to prove herself."
Pollux is acting like I'm not here! I can feel my rage from last night welling back up, but I have to hold it down. I clench my fist as hard as I can behind my back. Some men have no respect.
"I don't care what you think, Pollux," August spits. "If you don't like her being in our group, you can go off on your own until your partner gets murdered. Rochelle's with us, and if you have a problem with that, you can get out."
Pollux just yawns, turning on his feet and walking away toward Zinnia and the others.
"We'll see about that," he calls back.
"Thanks for defending me," I tell August earnestly. "I am trying, I hope you can see that."
"I do," August reassured me. "What I said is true. I need you to survive, I don't need Pollux. If he doesn't like that then I can do without him."
August and I decide to set down our swords and train with a bow and arrow, which I think will be even easier to pretend to be bad at. I'm filled with a sense of elation - everything is falling into place now. I'm a member of the Careers, whether they want me to be or not. And with the most powerful killers on my team, my path through the Games is clearer than ever.