Training Day III:
Blush Belfleur, District One
''Are you upset?'' I tease Gari, strutting around the main area of our apartment. ''Do my words make you uncomfortable? Are you flustered?''
''Kind of,'' he says. ''You're an extremely annoying bitch who knows how to get under anyone's skin. I'm surprised you haven't been kicked out of the alliance yet.''
Laughing out loud, I grab a lock of my own hair and toss it over my shoulder. The open blinds allow incandescent and illuminating lights to brighten the form of my body, making me shine even brighter than I already do. ''Kick me out? You thought! They would never dare do that, I'm everything to that alliance.''
''You're the most tiring person I've ever had to deal with, you know that?'' he asks. Lifting himself up with the support of the arm chair that he was currently resting on, he shakes his head and says, ''What could they possibly want from you? You're probably the most impotent one out of all of them.''
''Or so you say,'' I quickly retort.
''Whatever!'' Gari snaps, scratching the top of his head. ''Don't you have somewhere to be?! Why are you still here, what do you want from me?''
His words make a gleaming, sadistic smile spread across my face. ''Now... Now we're getting to the good part.'' Slowly approaching him, I push him back down onto the chair and slap his hands off of the arms; then I replace where his hands were with my right leg up, our bodies incredibly close. ''I want you to understand that I'm going to win this thing, whether it's with your help or not.''
''Uh huh, you're gonna get far without my help because you're experienced, right? You don't even understand the dire situation that you're in.''
''What the hell can you do about it?!'' I shout. I've never seen Gari falter as much as he has when I raise my voice at him. This past hour of me taunting him has really done its damage. Much to his chagrin, he's losing at his own game. After a moment of silence, he coughs, keeps quiet, and gives me the upper hand – and this is how it always goes when I verbally battle with someone. ''That's what I thought.''
Unexpectedly, his lips brush against mine. Not innocently – not at all – like a tease, but hot, fiery, passionate and demanding. I really want to pull away before I lose myself but I can't seem to... In this minty moment, my senses are seduced and I can't even think straight.
''Blush,'' Gari whispers slowly, prolonging each letter of my name as if to savor it. My lips quiver as I try not to smile, my heart fluttering at the sound of his voice as I clasp my hands on either side of his face. ''I missed this.''
''M-Me, too,'' I admit. The course of action has changed so quickly, I wasn't expecting to go down this road. Might as well take advantage of it. Gari basically hauls me up and holds me up by my waist with one hand, using his other hand to stroke my cheek.
It's such an erotic position, though I can't help but smile.
''Listen, a lot of mistakes were made in the past, I'll admit that,'' he says, ''but I can make it up to you. With my help, I promise that a lot can be done. Your safety in these Games is guaranteed with me around, don't forget that.''
Lifting my chin up and staring deep into my eyes, he chuckles. ''Remember, with me around, anything's possible. I'm basically second-in-command when it comes to this pathetic country of ours.''
Keeping my mouth closed, I hold him closely and place my head on the crook of his neck, keeping my face away from his line of sight. It's extremely hard for me to keep my body from shaking, as I'm trying extremely hard to hold in my laughter.
It's funny how boys work; one moment you're fighting with them, the next moment you offer yourself up to them – whether accidentally or not – and their entire perspective of you changes. How disgusting. But, oh, it's just manipulation at its finest. You do something so minimal that makes their hormones go crazy and then you get what you want.
After all, do what you need to in order to get ahead.
Beckett Leighton, District Five
The targets in front of me all line up in order of shortest to tallest, then they separate and go off in their own direction. I hold the machete in my hand extremely close to me, to the point where it could pierce through my chin if I had some sort of spasm with my hands.
I'm in this holographic chamber thing. With the control keys, the trainer outside changes the clear scenery into an arid one. It's extremely dry, and incredibly bright sun causes sweat to trickle down the side of my cheek. Unfortunately for me, the bright sun causes me to take my sight off of the three holograms.
From my peripheral vision, I see one hologram jump straight at me with a spear in hand, aiming for my collarbone. I guess reactions take over and I throw myself back, eyeing each direction, trying to make sure that another hologram doesn't try to sneak up on me.
But how ironic, that as soon as I say that, the shortest one literally appears right in front of my face and grabs my shirt, brings its head down onto my forehead and pushes me back. My feet eerily skid across the dirty rubble, and blindly, I swing my sword and manage to hit something.
Peering up, I spot my machete sinking in right beneath the hologram's heart. As it begins dissipating, it shoots its arms up and holds onto my machete, not allowing me to remove the weapon from its tight grip. It doesn't matter, though, because I completely abort the machete and begin dodging left and right as the last hologram that didn't attack begins swinging a dagger at me.
I hold my hands up, like I'm trying to compromise with them – but then I realize that I'm not in the Arena yet and that these aren't living, breathing tributes. Something hits my left shoulder, though, and it begins burning like hell. Hesitantly turning around, I spot a spear protruding through my shoulder.
My mind goes into autopilot, and despite the burning, excruciating pain, I run forward, while the opponent is still holding the spear in its hands, and rip my body away. Maybe it was by accident, but I drop to the floor as soon as I hear a whirling sound and barely manage to avoid the soaring spear.
It's like nothing actually happened, because as soon as I look up, the target that threw the spear is hovering over me, dagger in hand. These Capitolites program these things to be heartless... It literally just killed it's co-operative partner and the only thing that was on its mind was to grab a weapon.
Closing my eyes, I let out a deep breath and just wait for this to end. A siren goes off and a robotic voice starts repeating the word 'Dead'. The trainer from before quickly marches in here, lifts me up to my feet, and starts scolding me. She has no limitation, though, and unlike most people, she's not hiding the fact that she doesn't like me.
''You're ridiculous! Why would you just drop to the floor like that and take it?! Do you not want to live?! My job is to help you, and it seems like everything I've taught you these past three days has been for absolutely nothing!''
I don't say anything, but instead keep my mouth shut and grin. It looks like she's boiling up on the inside. Maybe it's because I'm not stooping to her level and reacting the way she wants me to, so that's causing her to... react.
''You're weak!'' she yells, poking my chest forcefully. ''You show no sign of wanting to survive at all, and you're just so... irritatingly calm! I've wasted too much of my time trying helping you, just get out!''
Keeping my cool, I walk out of the chamber just as she instructed. She's upset, which would make me want to compromise with her, but I honestly just don't have the time for that. I tried, and maybe I just have to try harder. My reaction time wasn't perfect, but I did the best I could.
She probably talks crap about me behind my back to the other trainers, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if she did. Of course she does! She's gonna be rooting for you to die, Beck. You even heard her, you wasted her time when she could've been helping a more sophisticated and productive tribute. You're just a joke!
Clutching my fist, I try to stop my body from trembling. I'm not gonna cry, and I'm not gonna let people on and see that I'm upset, so I keep walking forward, despite not seeing where I'm going. My head's facing the ground, and I just don't know what to think.
I accidentally bump into someone and stumble backwards. Looking up, I begin apologizing. ''Sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen. My mistake for not looking at where I was going.''
''Oh, it's no problem at all!'' the boy says, a little bit too enthusiastically. I'm not familiar with him, but I gotta say that his hair stands out. ''I was the one who was actually approaching you. I wanted to come ask you something after observing you for a while. Hope that doesn't sound too weird...''
We both begin chuckling together. Waving my hands, I say, ''No, no, it's not weird at all, I get you. What was it that you wanted to ask me?''
''Well, first off, I guess I should introduce myself, right?'' He holds his hand out and begins speaking again. ''I'm Poet, from Six. Secondly, holy crap, your teeth are perfectly white! I've never seen someone with teeth as shiny as yours! You could honestly be a Capitolite because of that one trait of yours.''
''I'm Beckett, from District Five, and thanks!'' I laugh. ''And I suppose, but really, thanks for the compliment. But... you said that there was something you wanted to ask me. I don't mean to sound impatient, but what was it again?''
''Oh, my bad!'' he says. ''Well, I wanted to ask if you would be interested in joining an alliance with my partners and I? Currently, we have three people – me, my District Partner, and the Eleven boy – and we'd love to add one or two more people. Unless you have another alliance, then that's fine.''
''No, no, I'd love to join your alliance!'' I say, a little bit too quickly. I didn't even give myself a second to think about the offer, but I do prefer being around people. It gives me a safe haven to get away from my thoughts.
''Really? Great!'' Poet cheers. ''Come on, follow me, I'll introduce you to them. Oh, and I saw the trainer yelling at you. Don't worry about her, she's just salty that her hair isn't as puffy as she'd like it to be. You did well against those three holograms, but now you have people with you, so you won't be alone if anything similar to that happens. Okay?''
A small smile spreads across my face, and I'm overwhelmed with delight. I haven't been my usual playful, sarcastic self today, so this is a great change.
But... why exactly did he look towards me? There are plenty of people here without allies... Will I just be a scapegoat, or do they genuinely want me?
Loralei Tenaris, District Eight
''Wow,'' I whisper to myself. Clarence – my caustic, condescending partner – found two allies before I could even find one.
Well, it doesn't matter. See, I would dedicate the remaining time that I have left to go after allies and end up acquiring more than him, but none of these tributes here could handle me anyway. Besides, most of them seem to have found allies that they're set on keeping.
Better for them and better for me, I suppose. It'd be hard to keep track of what I plan on doing while also making sure that they were safe.
The only tributes that I spot who are alone are the boys from Seven and Nine, and the girl from Ten. She's been so weird and quiet, and I don't really like it. So introverted and secretive... But she doesn't fade into the background as much as she wants to; everyone knows her as the only Outer District Volunteer.
Right now, she's throwing a couple of knives at a target, hitting close to the bullseye every time. How interesting, that with only three days of training, she's already able to use a weapon like a professional. I'm just glad that not everyone who gets picked for these Games has that much dedication, because it'd be one hell of a competition if that was the case.
Sighing, I turn back down to the book in my hands. It was on one of the book shelves near the farthest wall of the Training Center, and it just stuck out to me for some reason. The print was different from all the other ones that I had seen, the font was smaller and even the color made it stand out.
Luckily, I got my hands on it first. My Mentor told me that I'd want to look in every corner of the Training Center and not just heed the advice that the trainers give me – maybe she was referring to the books as well. Who knows?
In the book it states, ''As science and science fiction merge, we unravel the ancient mysteries of the human experience. If indeed entities exist beneath the surface of the planet, they would not live in molten rock but in space ships. And as the tectonic plates are breaking – it is either by their doing, a knowledge that the consciousness hologram that creates this reality, is ending so they no longer have to monitor from below, or they emerge as the plates naturally break apart.''
. . .What does that mean, though? Ancient mysteries of the human experience, entities beneath the surface of the planet, and tectonic plates breaking? The only thing I know about tectonic plates is that if they rub together, an earthquake occurs. Everything else is a blur to me, and it's all quite ambiguous, to tell you the truth.
Maybe—
''Um, excuse me,'' someone interrupts my thoughts. I look up from my book, meeting the eyes of a trainer. ''Yeah, I'm sorry but, you see, you've been doing nothing but reading books every single day that you've been here, and I know that it's none of my business, but—''
''It really is none of your business,'' I reply, cutting her off this time.
''—but, it's getting on my nerves. You've been wasting your time and I do not understand why. What combat knowledge do you have for this competition? Another tribute just wasting their precious time, only to end up dying quickly, I guess.''
''Wow, someone's tetchy!'' I laugh. ''It's just that, well, you see,'' I mock her, ''I'm really interested in this book, and you should really just back off my business. Besides, your job is to wait for tributes to ask you for help so that you can inform them on things, not walk around and invite yourself into what they decide to spend their time on. Now, I think there might a tribute looking for you at your stand, you might wanna go back.''
''So you go from a quiet little girl who's reading a book to a grown up who snaps at any second?''
''Well, if you knew me, you would understand that I'm a very contradicting person, sweetheart,'' I say as I close my book, drag myself up, and callously flip her off.
The look on her face shows nothing but confusion. It's funny because she then glowers at me, and oh, how much I love it when people look at me that way. Just watching their facial expressions turn upside down and twist and turn is so interesting.
''Tributes,'' a voice calls out from the Center's speakers.''If you would, please make your way outside of the Training Center. Your individual sessions will commence shortly. Line up in District order from girl-to-boy fashion. Choose wisely on what you want to show us because your training scores do matter. We will call yours names forward one by one, so be ready. Your time will be limited, so think quickly, and good luck.''
Well, I chose a good time to stand up. I won't be in there anytime soon, so let's see what I come up with.
Sawyer Fira, District Seven
Pushing through the double doors, I'm welcomed with icy cold glares from each Gamemaker sitting in their spacious booth. It's as if they're expecting something remarkable that will make their eyes pop out of their skulls. Wonderful...
''Sawyer Fira,'' I bow, introducing myself.
''You have five minutes, Ms. Fira,'' one of the Gamemakers – presumably the head – says. ''Knock yourself out.''
''Oh, what fun!'' I sarcastically remark. ''I'll make sure to do so.''
''Sarcastic, huh?'' the same Gamemaker makes out. ''Well then.''
From the weapons rack, I grab a felling axe – which is quite light in my hand, since I'm extremely used to this – and lumber towards a dummy, dragging the head of the axe behind my foot. There are dummies stacked all around the Training Center, with some of the white cloth on the floor. Guess other tributes had fun with them.
I'm almost there, to the dummies, when I begin to feel the awkwardness. A Gamemaker leans in forward, observing me extremely close. Their surveillance makes me feel extremely uncomfortable.
''Hey, can you stop being a creep and staring me straight in the face? You should be looking ahead at what I'm going to do, not me!''
''I'm sorry, but it's hard to take my eyes off of a pretty lady.'' The creep makes my skin boil. My fist is suddenly white-knuckled around the handle of the axe, and I just want to send it flying through the glass and into his skull. ''My eyes are basically glued onto you.''
The group begins laughing, except for one of them, who looks at me stony-eyed. ''Shut the fuck up, you assholes!'' I scream. ''Don't fuck with me like that! You guys are nothing but a bunch of pussies who hide behind a laboratory all day and plan out ways to kill children, so if I can request one thing before I possibly die, it's that you stop being annoying little cunts and give the tribute the satisfaction of not having to be bothered by you any longer!''
The laughter secedes and dies out, and each and every Gamemaker is now quiet. ''Two and a half minutes left, Ms. Fira. I'd suggest you hurry up and impress me, or change your strategy to something more simple and less talkative but more effective.''
''No, I'm sticking to what I decided to show you,'' I retort.
''Stubborn as well, are we?'' He currently leans back against his chair. ''Continue, then.''
With a sigh, I raise my weapon above my head and strike down vertically, aiming to land a gash in the dummy's ribs. I learned this in my training, the dummy's ribs will deteriorate the person's strength to an extreme and allow for additional attacks; such as a low blow to bend the opponent over and attack their clavicle, rendering at least one of their arms useless.
Using my free arm, I use my forearm to strike a major nerve pathway in the jaw region, forcefully knocking the dummy down with a single blow.
''Time's up, Ms. Fira.'' The Head Gamemaker calls out.
I care not to look at them and speak a single word. Instead, I turn away, place the axe back in the weapons rack, and walk out of the double doors. Barely any tributes remain in the hallway, and it's kinda weird that all of them are staring at me.
''What,'' I let out, ''don't have anything else better to stare at?''
''No, I'm just curious as to what happened in there. Anything you can let me – or us – know?'' someone asks.
''No!'' I respond, quite harshly, actually.
''So hostile. They make you mad in there or something, so you act like an ass to me?''
I don't know who this boy is or why he's even speaking to me, but I want nothing to do with him or anyone else here.
''Honestly, no,'' I say. ''This is just my regular disposition. Get used to it.''
Taisiya Danshov, District Nine
Why are they looking at me like that?
''You have twenty-five seconds left, Mr. Danshov,'' says a Gamemaker.
He looks so tired of me, like what I've done so far has been the most pitiful performance he's ever seen in his life.
''Get me an Avox!'' I order, shooting my arms outward.
I'm trembling. The shiv in my hand is so misplaced that it could easily cut me if I slip up one time, but I just can't stop. They just keep staring at me..! Like I'm some sort of idiot, a menace if you will.
''Mr. Danshov, you have exactly ten seconds remaining and you would like an Avox? Do you understand how little time is left?''
''Yes, and you're wasting it!'' I snap, unable to keep my mouth shut. ''Just get one, I still have time!''
Surprisingly, one of them waves their hand and a Peacekeeper fetches an Avox – this short, innocent-looking blonde boy with freckles speckled all over his cheeks and nose. The boy stands in front of me, his eyes locked on mine, and a small smile takes over my lips.
Just as I stop shaking and bring the shiv up, a young Gamemaker says, ''Time's up, Mr. Danshov.''
...What? The words that he just spoke don't seem to be real. My mind is absolutely surging with perplexity, I just don't understand. I slowly slump with one hand in my pocket, not even bothering to feign making sense of what he just said. I glance upward, my mouth pursed but slightly open and loose. My eyes are so fixed that they eventually become watery and my eyesight turns blurry – but I'm not tearing up.
''What do you mean 'Time's up'?'' I mumble under my breath, barely audible to anyone else. In fact, everyone begins looking around. Even the Avox gives me a puzzled look. Shaking my head, I continue to stare forward without wiping my eyes.
''Um, Mr. Danshov, is there something that you have to say? And what exactly are you staring at?''
No answers from me. Moments go by without a single word spoken, and finally the same Gamemaker opens up his mouth again. ''Alright, get him out of here, boys.''
Just as a Peacekeeper takes a step towards me I lash out, wrapping my entire arm around the Avox's neck, strangling him with all the power that I can muster. I pin the blade of the shiv against his right cheek, pressing down as hard as I can. ''What do you mean my time's up? I just started!''
''Yes, five minutes ago, Mr. Danshov.''
''Shut up!'' I yell back, digging the shiv deeper into the Avox's cheek. He begins squirming and shaking, clawing at my arm to let go. I just can't, though, I'm not finished yet. I can't control myself or my emotions.
''What more do you have left to show us?'' An elderly man stands up, pointing for a Peacekeeper to grab me and remove me from the building, only to be stopped by the young Gamemaker again, who steadily focuses his eyes on me.
''You wouldn't let me show you what I wanted to just a few seconds ago, why are you curious now?!'' I ask, yelling as loud as I possibly can. ''Because you're scared that something bad might happen here? Is your precious little Avox important to you?''
This was the first idea to pop into my mind, to show them that I've got more. Maybe I'm not the most attentive and don't do well with my time, but they rushed the chance that I rightfully deserved to be patient with.
''You dimwit, I could care less about that Avox! Go ahead, kill him, we have plenty more in the back!''
Laughing almost maniacally, I swerve my arm down just as the Gamemaker who was waiting to see what would happen yells to me that what I've been doing is enough. I stop in my tracks, staring down at the struggling man who's face has turned a pale sheet of ghost white, his teeth tugging at his lower lip.
''You may care about him,'' I say, ''but I don't, and I have my session to finish.''
''Grab him!'' I hear.
My hand reaches only so far down that the shiv enters the Avox's cheek and pierces his skin – though I don't know how far deep – before I'm tackled to the ground. The Avox falls to the floor, reaching for his cheek as his screams are inaudible due to his missing tongue. It must hurt. His tears show just how much pain he's in, and the blood seeping through his mouth gives you an idea of how serious the wound is.
It's funny how that's the last thing I see before a sleeper hold puts me out in minimal time.
Hold up. Was that Demetri I saw before I fainted, though?
Vendetta ''Shadow'' Ischyroe, District Ten
After a Peacekeeper drags out an unconscious District Nine boy and carries him into an elevator, my name is called. I creep into the Training Room, quietly walking forward without sparing a glance at the Gamemakers.
Immediately I begin working, cutting them off before they can say ''Five minutes, Ms. Ischyroe.''
''Someone's ready to work...'' I hear in the background. ''Kinda weird, don't you think? I mean, she's shown no emotion upfront so we can already guess what type of tribute she is. Another Outer District freak, I suppose.''
Wrong. I snap my head to the right, staring at them with an unnerving gaze. ''What you think doesn't matter,'' I say, just loud enough for them to hear. All of them return a sardonic smile. Forgetting them, I return to what I was going to do.
I speed walk to the knives rack and pick up two combat knives that I can use for either throwing or melee fighting. After that, I turn my attention to the camouflage paint and start working on myself. It doesn't take too long to paint my arms and legs the color of twig brown and the rest of my body a realistic shade of bush green.
To add more to my disguise, I even paint leaves on my body from head to toe. After about a minute and a half goes by, I pace myself to the forest-based section of the facility, where a bunch of shrubs and small Lodgepole pine trees are located.
When reaching my destination, I call out to the Gamemakers, knowing that I don't have much time left. ''Please send out five Peacekeepers and have them come after me. I'll be waiting,'' is all I say before taking off into the small indoor forest.
From afar, I can see the intrigued looks on the Gamemakers' faces. Only a few moments later I hear the stomping of multiple boots slamming into the ground, and I prepare myself for the silent hunt. Letting out a deep sigh, I yell, ''Come and find me!''
Second by second they get closer, and I'm able to distinguish their conversations. ''Maybe she's in a bush,'' one of them says. ''Let's split up to see who can catch her first. Winner gets twenty percent of the losers' next paycheck. Deal?''
''Deal!'' the rest of them say unanimously.
Hiding right behind one of the trees, I suck in my stomach and hold in my breath as a Peacekeeper slowly creeps by, chuckling under his breath as he whispers something extremely confident.
He completely misses the sight of me, despite rotating his head back and forth and even staring directly at me at one point, but my eyes were squinted enough for him not to notice my sclera. I quickly push myself off of the trunk of the tree and cover his mouth with my hand, place one of my knives near his throat, and throw myself backwards as I pin him to the floor.
''Ooh, she's good!'' I hear a Gamemaker clap in the background.
The Peacekeeper sighs deeply as the attack knocks the wind out of him, which causes another Peacekeeper that was close enough to hear the confrontation run over here. I quickly dive into a small bush, blending in perfectly, and wait for the next Peacekeeper's footsteps to grow louder.
Just as I'm sure he's right there, I swiftly jump out of the bush with my knife raised, aimed at the Peacekeeper's neck. The surprised look on his face almost shows fear, but I doubt that's what it actually is. Under the great tree, I pretend to curve my knife downwards, grab him by his shoulder straps, and toss him into the bush.
Just three more, I think to myself. There's hollering in the background – the Gamemakers are getting a kick out of this. Instead of staying where I was and waiting for more Peacekeepers to find me, I go after them. There seems to be two Peacekeepers working together up ahead, both of them laughing with one another like this is a game.
Think... I tell myself. A simple but effectual idea forms in the depths of my mind. Picking up a small pebble, I waste no time in tossing it at a tree left of the Peacekeepers. A loud bang emits from the tree and both of their necks snap towards the sound. Now running, I sneak through bushes and listen as one of them yells ''Hey!''
The knife goes flinging out of my hand, traveling at a speedy velocity, and impales itself in one of their hands. Whichever one the knife hit, it doesn't matter, because they're both confused and lost – one of them also in pain. I sprint out of my hiding spot – but I do everything in order to make sure that my footsteps are quiet – and knock them both back from behind by launching myself at them and sending my knees forward.
As both of them are on the ground, completely incapacitated, I stomp my foot against one of their temples – though not too hard, just enough to knock him out and not kill him. Turning to the second one, I raise my foot up and don't have enough time to bring it down before he says ''Wait, not yet!'' We stare at each other, gazes stone-cold and focused, before he continues. ''H-How? And when?''
''By the time you'd figure that out,'' I breathe, ''it would be too late for you, just like it'll be too late for all these other tributes.''
After my brief sentence, I descend my foot and slam it into his temple, too. Nothing but silence now, and just one more Peacekeeper left. Not sure what I want to do, but—
''Time's up, Ms. Ischyroe!'' I look up, only to meet the eyes of impressed Gamemakers. They all begin speaking among themselves about me, and I take this opportunity to leave.
''Though, before you depart, we have a couple of questio—'' They pause just as I sneak out the door. ''Hey, where'd she go?'' I hear, just as their voices begin to dull. Dammit, that girl's never to be seen, and the one time anyone gets a good glimpse at her she's gone just like the wind. Again...''
And that's how it'll always be – for now, at least.
Demetri Calderon, Head Gamemaker
Bobbing my head back and forth, I ask, ''Are you all ready?''
Wanson, Celia, and Reginold, my crew, all shake their heads in unison. The first tribute's, Blush Belfleur's, holographic picture appears up underneath our center surface. ''Her performance was...'' I trail off.
''Seductive?'' Wanson finishes my sentence. Letting out a laugh, he leans in forward. ''That helped her out, in my opinion, but she didn't show much of what you'd imagine a 'true' Career to be like.''
''Yeah, her looks are all that she's got going for her,'' Celia groans. ''I say a Seven.''
''Eight,'' I object. ''Don't forget that she has a lot of skills with poison. The girl's smart, she knows how to make her way around.''
Everyone nods their heads in agreement – even Celia, despite the fact that she rolls her eyes in what seems like jealousy. I chuckle to myself before replacing Blush with Adonis. ''Ah, Adonis. I think we can all agree that he deserves a Nine?''
''Exactly what I was thinking,'' Reginold says. ''The kid's incredible at long distance, has perfect aim, perfect vision, and isn't too shabby at close combat. But... he's not very serious. And I think that that could be his downfall if he doesn't pick up his act.''
Agreeing, I put in Adonis's Training Score on the holographic keypad and swipe next. ''Now we've got Sigrid. Thoughts?''
''The girl was serious from the get-go, and she showed a lot of resourcefulness. She could be a threat, a major one, but her personality is... might I say, terrible?'' Celia responds. ''She's hiding something, and it's obvious to see that, but this might anger her teammates – assuming she has any – and cause conflict. I say she deserves a Nine. For being one year less experienced, she's fairly mature enough to do well.''
''Exactly what I was thinking,'' I nod. Next up is Atlas's radiating smile, and sure enough, Celia jumps up in elation.
''Give him a Twelve!'' she begs.
''You're way in over your head with this one,'' Reginold comments. ''I'd give the kid either a Nine or a Ten. He showed promise of great skills, his personality was charming enough to give you an idea of the surplus amount of sponsors that he'll receive, and he's got a bit more than traditional combat.''
''His survival skills weren't half bad either,'' I add. ''With all this, I think it's safe to say that he deserves a Ten?''
''Yes.''
Next up is the District Three girl, Cathodette. ''She... didn't show much initiative during her time. She doesn't deserve anything above a Five because not much was shown. She had a bit of knife combat, but that was sloppy and ineffective. It's almost as if she doesn't care if she ends up dead or not.''
''I say a Four is perfect for her, don't you guys agree?'' Wanson asks. ''I mean, her knife skills weren't the best, but they were superior to that we saw of many other tributes.''
''Agreed,'' Celia and I say.
''An A for effort,'' Wanson laughs.
''Are you retarded?'' I question, staring at him like an ashamed parent. ''Where do you get these quotes from?''
''Don't worry 'bout that,'' he smirks. ''Moving on?''
Emil's idiotic, knuckle-headed smile appears on his profile. I begin tapping the table with my fingers, not exactly sure where to go with this one. ''The kid's not an idiot,'' Celia says. ''He's smarter than we all give him credit for, and he's fooled everyone of us at least once. He created a couple of electronic devices out of simple equipment in this facility that work just fine, and only in five minutes, too! His technique with a sword is amazing for a Non-Career, and his intelligence is unmatched by anyone else's that we've seen so far.''
''The kid deserves an Eight,'' Reginold adds. ''The only thing holding him back is his annoyance, his attention-craving personality, and his troublesome traits.''
''An Eight it is, then?'' I ask – everybody agrees.
The District Four tributes both receive a Ten each. Clarice Auden is incredibly skilled and takes what she wants, either forcefully or willingly. Her problem is that she seems... unhinged. Something about her makes us feel like she'll lose control soon, and it'll either help her or hurt her, so we all played the safe game.
Zeppelin, on the other hand, is sort of the opposite of her. He's got control and is very leader-like, and he shows an impassive trait of no feeling. We never see tributes like that enter the Games and go out the same way. His skills are incredible, and he might be the leader that the Careers need – District Four is exceptional this year.
This next tribute makes me smile. Cassia Abbey, one of the most engrossing tributes I've met in years. ''I absolutely love this girl,'' I smile. ''She's entertaining, hilarious, and ditzy. Don't you guys think that's incredible?''
''There's nothing incredible about a girl who's trying to flirt her way to a good score,'' Wanson rolls his eyes. But there's no way he can hold in his stifled laughter. ''Okay, it was kinda incredible, but she doesn't deserve anything high.''
''Let's give her a Three for trying,'' I suggest. ''Her weapon skills weren't good – at all – but she did know how to hold a knife properly.''
Up next is Beckett.
''His smile is gorgeous,'' Celia states. ''The kid deserves a Six. His machete fighting wasn't too bad. Maybe it wasn't incredible, but since you've all been so generous with these female tributes, how about we give one of the males a chance, too?''
''Hmm,'' I ponder it. ''I guess that could work.''
''What?'' Reginold laughs. ''He deserves a Five; his performance wasn't extraordinary, nor was it boring. It was just plain, I think a Five suits him.''
''Oh, well,'' I shrug. ''My word is final, and he gets a Six.''
''Weak.''
''You can say so.''
Up next is Bree Andersson. ''Seven,'' I say confidently, not needing to look at the others to tell that they're nodding their heads in agreement. She showed a great skill of bravery, determination, and is incredibly keen, but her overconfidence doesn't allow her to score any higher. ''She's definitely got potential; don't know how far she'll go, though, but I'd love to see her excel most of the others.''
''And our last tribute before a short lunch break,'' I groan. ''Poet Monroe. Thoughts?''
''He's too nice.''
''Too soft.''
''Kid's got nice hair, though.''
''Ugh,'' I sigh. ''You guys are so useless. When I say thoughts, I mean opinions on his skills. Yes, he is too nice; yes, he is too soft; yes, he does have really, really nice hair, but his work with a machete was passable, and his survival skills were striking. I'm giving the kid a Five, any disagreements?''
''Nope. When's lunch?''
''Right now.''
As I stand up, I can't help but feel my heart drop. I'm just handing out these scores, and it's almost like I don't feel any pain from doing so.
Have I forgotten that I was in the same position as these kids not too long ago?
Ceres Golovin, District Twelve
I sit on the edge of the couch and sway my legs back and forth nervously. Up on the screen, the District Seven boy's face appears and his Training Score does as well. A Three isn't too bad, right? Of course it is, you know that. Don't ask stupid questions when you already know the answer to them.
Sighing, I watch his image disappear and get replaced by his partner's. Unlike him, she does well and earns a Seven. That's the type of score I want, but I know that I didn't do anything exceptional to get a score like that.
The District Eight girl receives a Six, while the guy receives a Five. Most of these scores really make me curious – just what exactly were the Gamemakers looking for? What did these tributes do to get those certain scores? What went right and what went wrong?
The next District, I believe, just surprises everyone. Neither of the two did good, to be honest. The girl, Rhea, got a One. And Taisiya got a Two. I've seen Rhea constantly cry, and it made me feel bad because she so desperately needed help from someone. And her partner... I'm sort of and sort of not surprised that he got a score like that. He's always been so cryptic and hostile, I've just never thought of going anywhere near him.
''Where's Ocelot?'' I ask, looking around. He's nowhere to be found, but I spot Calieh leaning against the kitchen counter.
''Probably in his room speaking with Joydin. But don't worry about that right now, you should really pay attention to the scores,'' he says, coughing in between his sentence.
I nod my head and avert my attention back to the television. District Ten's female tribute got a Ten... And she's a Non-Career! I think she completely stole the show away from everyone else. There's no way I could imagine anyone not being surprised by this; I'm slack-jawed.
When her image is finally replaced by that of her District Partner's, I snap out of my trance. He got a lower score of a Seven, but it's still a good score. This is really interesting to me because most of the tributes this year have gotten significantly high scores.
How ironic is it that the next two tributes both get decently high scores as well? – Both received Sevens, and those are District Eleven tributes! It's good to never underestimate anybody, but we haven't seen anything like that in years. I'm happy for them and everyone else who's gotten a good score, but...
''You're up next, Ceres,'' Calieh says.
''Yeah...'' I smile weakly.
''You ready to see what you got?'' he asks, just as my face appears on the television screen, my look showing the face of a worried but hopeful girl.
''As ready as I'll ever be.''
A/N: Ayeee! It's been forever, I know, like three months or something? Sorry for the long wait, guys. I really can't make up any excuses and say that I was busy, even though I kinda have been. I mean, school started again and it's like the most important year for me because Colleges and stuff are looking at my grades a lot and I'm like... trying not to be as goofy and shit as I've always been. But I still am, and it's worth it, but I owe you guys an update and an explanation. Not gonna lie, I lowkey thought about just writing a summary for this because I've been fucking around in life and just been having a lot of shit on my plate at times, but I remember that I promised that I'd never give up on a SYOT and I won't be anytime soon.
I can't lie and tell you guys that updates will be back like they were when I first started this story, but I'll try to get shit poppin' again. And yeah, I know, I was being a little bitch last chapter and complaining about writing these 9000 words or whatever and here I am sorta doing it again this chapter. -_- Yeah, the thing about that is I am done with these close to 9000+ word chapters, but there are certain chapters where I think I'll have to do them; such as chapters like the last day of training (this one), the Interviews, which are up next – and ugh, expect another long break with that chapter if I'm being honest, but I'll try to work on that – and certain chapters in the Arena where I'll have these big as plans that'll totally make you guys say, ''WTF DID YOU JUST DO?!'' I hope.
Otherwise that, I'm actually fucking done with these long ass chapters lmao. Also, I'm sorry to those of you who've PMed me like four months ago and I still haven't responded. I'm an asshole, I know, but I'll get to that sooner or later. I'm not ignoring y'all, I'm just being a procrastinating lil' teen who's livin' life. And if this chapter wasn't satisfactory, I'm sorry, I'm hella rusty after writing literally nothing for months and only doing school essays and shit, so all the ideas that I had for this chapter went completely down the drain and I had to think of less interesting shit. And excuse my errors or whatever, y'all know I'm not totally down with proofreading ;) But on a serious note, I can promise that when I hit the Arena, then updates will become a little bit more frequent. I'm really fuckin' with the Arena ideas and stuff that's about to go down when the actual Games hit, so yeah. Oh, and lemme know what you guys thought about the Training Scores. They're on the blog, too, if some of you missed them for some reason. I might've been a bit too generous, but I kinda like what I ended up with.
That's all for now, really. I'll see you guys whenever I can, hopefully with a quicker update, though. I'll see y'all next time, bye! ^-^