Chapter 7
Gale POV
I got to wash the little make up off my face and shower off the smell of whatever Portia put on me. Again, Charlie's and my rooms are next door, and I can hear her singing again, a different song this time:
You can crash and burn this time
As I leave it all behind
These scars won't breath anymore
Sounds like a goodbye
So bury you alive
Your six feet down getting lower
Going no where
It's not complicated
I'm just over it
Don't tell me that everything is all right
Don't tell me how to live my life
I'm breaking through tonight
She hums the rest of the song, and the water stops which means she's gotten out. I follow, and under Effie's instruction, go to bed early. The thoughts of our plan to rebel in the arena force a smile onto my face and I drift off into a happy sleep.
Charlie's POV
"So Haymitch, what's the plan for training?" I say biting into my toast.
"Well, I would stick together, don't make allies but be polite with non-career districts, and most importantly, DO NOT show your skills. Try something new and save your talents for the private sessions."
Effie takes us down to the gym, and we are greeted with Atala, who tells us that weapons are important, but so are survival skills. Then we are free to do what we want, and hand-in-hand, Gale and I go over to edible plants. We both know quite a lot from Katniss, but finding out which poisonous berries we can use for suicide would be useful.
After meeting the girl from 5 who looks like a fox, and the little twelve year old from eleven (who's name I find out is Rue), we are all dismissed to lunch. I sit with Gale at a table towards the back of the room, the careers sit together, and the other tributes sit with their district partners or just by themselves.
"What do we hit next? We can't do edible plants, snares, knives or bow and arrows. That leaves us hand-to-hand which the careers are always on, short range weapons, survival skills and that's it really." I point out.
"Bows, get better but don't show that we can actually use them." He starts sternly, but continues: "you need all the practice you can get." He says pushing my shoulder, and I laugh a little too loud, because all the tributes are looking at us, well me. Some look with admiration, happiness, friendliness, hostility, and the careers are giving me a dirty look.
When we go back we go to bows, and find that the careers have split up, and Glimmer is shooting at targets, missing the bullseye, but looking proud so the other tributes here are scared. Gale and I go simultaneously, getting the trainer to countdown, then firing at the target. We both find that the strings are tighter, so our aims are a little off to start, and it's quite funny, deliberately missing to make us look bad.
The short range weapon station is free, so we head over, and I can't shake the feeling of being followed. We ask to train together, and are given plastic versions of the weapons, Gale has a sword and I have an axe. We fight for quite a long time, but quite badly again to seem weak. Gale could easily take down one of the careers with a sword, but our height difference makes me quite hard to catch, and I'm quite good with an axe. I make a mental note to do that in my session, throw or show off with an axe.
By then the day is finished, and we report our day to Haymitch, he's happy with us, as you can just make out from the minority of him that is sober, and we both retreat to our rooms to shower.
I sit on our roof with a music player that Effie lent me, enjoying what I know will be one of the last days I will ever live, and my last free one with being monitored. I bounce a ball against the forcefield surrounding the roof, catching it as it retaliates to me.
Hey there! As always thanks for reading, please leave a review and follow and favourite if you are enjoying it! Hope you all had a fab Christmas and a happy new year - I'm currently in Mediera so I have a lot of time for writing, so I'm hoping to keep updated: I'm going to aim for once a week. Thanks again,
Abi :)