Chapter 4: We ride a choo choo train to our deaths Ivory's POV
Obsidian, basil Turtle and I are ushered by our chaperone, (Janie) into the mayor's house. Basil grinned at the sight of it, but Turtle just made a face.
"I'm home," he grumbled. He was, in fact, the mayor's son.
"At least then you won't get, like, lost in it or something, like that guy did," I chuckle at the memory. I remember, a few years back, a small 12 year old boy got lost in the mayor's manor and they found him four days later camping in the bathroom, lost. "That was hilarious!"
We go around to the sitting area, which I got banned from on my first visit, when we had a dinner with them, and I jumped on the velvety sofas with a battle cry of "YOLO!". And I was further banned from it.
Ella, mom, dad and Aidan sat on one, and Aidan sit on a couch, Aidan making a paper airplanes, complete with paperclip engines and a mini stabilizer.
"Hey," I say, and sit down.
"You'll win, right?" Aidan says, and looks up.
"I'll try my best." I sigh, and Ella hugs me.
"Just try hard, and you can win!" She smiles and I smile back. I see mom bring something out of her purse. I catch a glint of brown smooth…hair?
"What's that?" I ask, pointing to the little doll she removed from her purse. It had a clay body, about only three inches long, it's painted features in a smile, brown eyes, and dark brown hair, with little doll clothes, jeans, boots and a cute blue sweatshirt.
"It's you," mom said simply. I look down at the olive green fuzzy jacket I'm wearing now, jeans, boots and my brown hair. It is. "Grandpa made it."
A lump caught in my throat. I'd never known one of my grandpa's and the other died from a disease from a mining accident. "Which one?" I asked. My guess was proved correct, seeing as I had never known the other grandpa. "Cool." I know saying that was pathetic, but I really didn't care.
"Thanks," I said and hugged Ella, Aidan, mom and dad. "I'll win."
I trudge back and forth, stop to say hi to Basil's mom, who I know well, and marched on, until I found a TV screen. I caught the middle of a sentence.
"-Tessa!" Janie was smiling at the camera, and I saw the reaction of a girl, who was pretty, with short hair, next to another guy who obviously was her friend, the way he winced. The girl walked up to the stage, and a moment later another girl was called, Sunny, who seemed to know Tessa. Then Tessa's guy friend, apparently named Alejandro came up. I winced. A reporter was blabbeling.
"And Tessa goes off with Sunny on her left, to the mayor's place, about a mile away, approximately-"
Gee, they could've added that Sunny was exactly 1,456 millimeters from Tessa, and It would fit right in.
"So they're the tributes from one, huh?" Basil said, Obsidian right behind her.
"Yeah," I shrugged. "They look nice; I'd maybe team with them." Basil nodded.
"Looks like Janie want us up." Turtle said, coming up behind us, pointing at her. We walked toward Janie, who immediately shoved us out and onward to the train, in foot long high heels. I could hear Basil grumbling about them.
We came to the train, a sleek work of art, engraved with different art products, and one piece of duct tape, neon pink, with the words 'DA CAPITUL SUX' in sharpie, which was a really pathetic, lame attempt at rebellion. We boarded the train, and Janie ushered, (more like herded) us in.
"Betty is here next to Sunny and Ingrid next to Tess-"Janie started, but I interrupted.
"It's Basil and Ivory," I said, gridding my teeth.
"Sorry, Isabella," Janie pressed on carelessly. "Meet me in the dining room at six! Cha!"
I rolled my eyes and flopped into my room, crashing into something alive.
"Alejandro!" The thing I crashed into huffed. "It was funny the first few times only, but-"
She cut off. "Whoops, sorry." The girl said sheepishly. "Tessa." She put her hand out. She was the girl from district 1.
"Ivory," I grinned at her, shaking her hand. "Want to come in?" I gestured to my room door.
"Love too, you don't know how boring it is in that plush room!" Tessa said, exasperated. I laughed, and let her in. I immediately recoiled, and bumped into Tessa.
"What are you doing here?" I shrieked, at the red haired boy on my bed. Obsidian sat on one side, chatting with Turtle and Alejandro, from district 1, and Basil was playing a hand lapping game with Sunny, the district 1 girl. But I glared at the red head on my bed.
"Breathing," He said simply.
"Care to introduce me to it?" Tessa asked from my side, glaring at him, for my sake.
"That little lying cheating traitor over there is-" I begin.
"Jeremy," Jeremy said simply, returning my glare. "Long time, no see." He steadily held my eyes.
"Look," I begain. "Get out of my room, why are you here?"
"My job, I run the train." Jeremy said calmly, though I knew he was killing me mentally. "Your mom should've told you, with the connections with my parents' and all."
"You're infuriating," I said.
"Insufferable," He bounced toward me.
"Aggravating."
"Intolerable."
"Shut up."
"You too."
Obsidian, Turtle, Sunny, Alejandro and Basil watched from the bed and Tessa on my side. Jeremy silently left the room. My fists unclenched, and I sat down.
"Gosh, I despise him," Tessa just sighed.
"Come on, let's go to supper." She said, standing next to Sunny and Alejandro.
"You're right." I slipped out the door, Basil behind me.
Supper was an extravagant.
I knew desert would be even better.
Janie delectably whipped her mouth with her napkin. "Would you like dessert?" She asked us. All heads turned toward hear
"Of course!" I exclaimed, whipping my hand on my shirt. Janie upturned her nose.
"I live for dessert," Basil grinned.
"I'd die for dessert," Turtle said. All heads swiveled for him.
"I'd choose a different wording, seeing as we're in the games," Tessa frowned.
"No, really." Turtle said seriously. "Even if it was in the middle of a trap, I'd get in." That brought a laugh.
"Very well." Janie said miffed, waving down a waiter. We ate the cake in silence, savoring it. Finaly, we got up.
"Tiiiiime for beeed!" Tessa stretched. We went our separate ways.
"Hey," I heard someone say. Instinctively I wacked the owner of the voice with my pillow.
"Jeez!" Tessa came into focus. "Get dressed, everyone is hunkering in here in fifteen's time to watch the district three reaping.
"Okay!" I groaned. "I'm UP! I put on a soft sweatshirt, my doll in its pocket, and slim jeans. Soon, Alejandro, Sunny, Tessa, Turtle and Obsidian where dressed and in my room, and Basil in her pajamas.
"Let's watch," Tessa flicked on the TV.
"Here we are!" Janie grinned at the screen, and she walked aside, reveling metal buildings, and tough stuff. I heard her heels, as they clacked to the platform.
"Our girl is.. "Teegan Carter!" A girl, who looked real tough walked up, grimacing slightly.
"And Ethan Oldcap!" Janie revealed a re haired boy, who was average, and skinny for district 3.
"Bet he's a wimp," Basil whispered. "Looks like one of the guys that would pay someone to beat up someone else."
"That happens in your district?" Tessa looked worried.
"All the time, abandoned caves, alleys." Turtle shrugged. Sunny shushed them.
No one wanted to invite Teegan into our little "Watch the reaping" party, and none of the boys invited Etha, so our little group whatched the district 4 reaping together. We pig out in my room, eating waffles with powdered sugar and syrup and enough calories worth of sweets to fill a party. Jeremy didn't return after I saw him first, on my reaping day.
It turns out Janie is loosing part of her enthusiasm. But it's barely reconizeable. She's upright, her manners pristine, when it comes to crafting. And any other time. I swear, she sleeps with her hands behind her head, and her back straight. She introduces, smilling, Chrysanthimum, the district four girl, pretty with a necklace of pearls, and Janie a manicured hand around the girl's hip.
"This, Cinta, is Chrysanthimum, our happy happy tribute from district four!" Janie chirped. Chysathimum frowned softly.
"I'd perfer if you would be ever so kind and call me Chris." She says firmly to the cameras.
"Ooh, I like this one!" Janie gushes. "Maybe if you lose, you can work for me!" Jaie trills on happily, but Chris looks worried in her eyes, her face is a calm mask, but I know her mind is reeling. I can't help worry myself. Turtle would be allowed to go back home, as he is mayor's son, but I might die, or work for the capitol. I would perfer death.
Once, they cut off the loser's touges', but now they just get a special crafting glue applied, that sticks forever. I shiver.
"And let's choose our boy!" Janie cheers at the flowing large crowd, bringing me back toward the TV. I see some of the boys puff out their chets, looking around.
"Jerks," Tessa mutters. "They're just gonna die."
On the screen, Janie makes a show of digging her hand around in a bowl, different than ours, this one is not smooth glass, but a bowl, made of glass, but it's reflective, a mirror. "And our boy is," she takes a breath, along with all of district four. "Connor Swetns!"
A boy comes up, slightly darker skinned from being outside, getting pearls and dark hair, and he's as short as I am, which is remarkably small. Connor stands next to Chris, and they watch as Janie gushes and applaudes at the crowd, and then ushers them off. A stock keeper comes infront of the screen, and the reaping from distritct one comes on, a re-run. Basil slashes at the remote, and shuts the TV off. We sit silently.
"I think we should take a break until five comes on tonight," Sunny says after a pause. "Let's make a woodcarving of eachother, for fun." We all nod, and go to part of the train devoted to crafting, and Alejandro, Turtle and Obsidian go off to have a mini competition, to make a bowand arrows to shoot out the window with only five minnutes to build. It's remarkable. I've seen one go up to 50 yards away.
I take the fun of carving Tessa, in my carving it's from torso, to head, and her hands are spilling all sorts of colorful gems, and we take turns paiting her, and Sunny laughs, adding vivid colorful streaks to it's hair, paint splattering onto the tarps on the floor.
At lunch, I catch a glimps of Jeremy, but that's all I see of him.
At five we hunker in the bunker, for district 5. Turtle clicks on the TV, to reveal District 5, charged with electricity, their speciality being batteries.
"I really wouldn't like to work in district 5, but it looks really cool." Sunny said. I nodded in agrement. Janie was back on the screen, looking charged (literaly), excited because of the distrit's scenery.
"This bowl is so facinating!" She wispered from the side of one of the cameras,, poimting at the bowl. It stood out in the night, like everything else did in the dark, scince it was night, but the bowl changed colors, from a vibrating blue, to a neon green, to vivacious green.
"And our girl tribute will be anounced first!" Janie called, over the bustle of the crowd. To her delight, she puts her hand in the bowl, pulling out a name.
"Peneope Myrah!" Janie says. A girl comes up, and I know she belongs in district 5, since her black hair is wild, like it was stuck in one of their batteries, but it's pretty, curly, and it bounces slighty when she walkes up to the stage.
"Well!" Janie exclaimes, over enthusiastic. "What do you have to say?" She turns to Penelope.
"I'd have to say, I hope Johnny Kresar is selected, so I can kill him freely." She smiled, and waved mockily at a spot in the crowd. Everyone laughed.
"Now, now, we all know you'll have to work at the capitol if you kill someone." She syas, patting Penelope. Work for the capitol? More like being a mute slave. I feel the lights and sparks of electricity from here, and I sway.
"She's got spunk," Alejandro says, drawing me to a reality check. I blink, almost now realizing I wasn't in district 5. Well, I was, but inside a train, the shutters drawn, for cocentration. For the TV, two oposite words. I sudenly remember trying to watch a crafting show while trying to concentrate on homework, Aidan chipring away on my other side. I ache for Ella and Aidan, and Natalie.
"Let's choose our boy!" Janie says, from the Television. I snap back. Her hand gropes around the bowl one more time, and she draws out a slip, coving her mouth, tuning to Penelope.
"The odds are in your favor!" She breathes at a confused Penelope, and looks at the unmoving, wating crowd. "Johnny Kresar!" There were gasps and laughs, and a short boy with a blonde mohawk came up. There was a staring contest of utter confused stares, between Janie, Penelope, Johnny and the crowd. Johnny stole a glance at Penelope, and Penelope looked at Janie like "What the Heck?" and Janie had her eyes on the crowd. Sunny yawed, and clicked the TV off, the last shot of reporters, blabbeling, and intervewing.
"I want to see Chris," Basil says abruplty. We all stare at her. "I just, want to meet her." She goes out, to where Chrysathimum will be. We head silently to our separate bedrooms.
District one. Tessa, Alejandro and Sunny. Check.
District two. Me, Turtle, Basil ad Obsidian. Check.
District three. Ethan and Teegan. Check.
District four. Chrysanthimum and Connor. Check.
District five. Penelope and Johnny. Check.
Five down.
Six too go.
Part two is still in Ivory's POV