So I have a feeling you all might like this one...
Enjoy c;
Training for the bloodbath might just be as scary as the real thing.
Demetrius and I arrived second to the last at the training center wearing our black and red uniforms. On our arm, the number "1" was etched into the fabric in gold. My hair is pulled back into a bun, thanks to my prep team's hairstylist Venus. She also cut my bangs a little more so they wouldn't bother me, and she washed out the blue highlights in my hair. She wrapped a pink bow around the bun, to Cinna's request. Demetrius's hair is normal, minus the blue highlights and glitter from last night.
We stand in a circle with the other tributes while we wait for Two to arrive. I look around and scour the tributes, as Cashmere prompted me to do this morning.
I see the tall girl from District 11 and see her hair is not pulled back, frizzing wildly all over the place. She's dark-skinned, with large, light coral lips and piercing green eyes. Her hair is black as night. She's standing beside her male tribute counterpart, a boy a bit smaller than her but just as muscular. He has a short buzz cut with the same color of hair as the girl tribute. He has dark brown eyes.
Turning to the other side of the circle, I see the twins. One boy, and one girl, both with silky red hair. The boy's is long, falling to his ears and covering his forehead. He has sea green eyes and freckles the color of sand. His sister is a mirror image of him, with stick straight hair in two high pigtails.
Beside us, Alex and his female counterpart come to stand next to us. The circle is in numerical order, therefore they end the circle. Alex is beside me, and he nudges me. I look up to him and he smiles, mouthing 'good morning'. I smile back.
The girl beside him nudges him to pay attention. I look over at her, and see she has tamed her hair, actually it being darker brown now and waving down in a side ponytail. Her skin is clear and ivory, actually very porcelain- something I wouldn't have noticed in the Tribute parade. She's tall and slender, and I can almost bet she's eighteen.
Alex rolls his eyes and turns, winking at me. Demetrius nudges me as well, and I turn.
District Two has arrived. The male is strong and dirty blonde, like the generic District Two tribute. His counterpart is a girl a bit shorter than him but equally built with black hair, hair so black it was almost blue. In a slick ponytail, only her blunt bangs covered her forehead.
A woman comes towards the center of the circle, standing on the podium. She's dark skinned, with a slick bob with curled ends. She has a track suit similar to our own training clothing, but hers says 'Head Trainer' on her breast. She clears her throat.
"Welcome to the Training Center," She says, "Each of you has been chosen to fight to the death in the 76th Annual Hunger Games. Each of you will represent your Districts in this game. This is the Training center. For four days, you will train in this facility to prepare for the Games."
She turns to the other side of the room. "There are about fifty stations around this room. You all will have at least seven group exercises today, and after that, you may go off on your own. I do highly suggest you hit the survival skills, because the not all of you will die by hand. Half of you will die by dehydration. One fourth, hunger. One eighth, weather."
Turning back to us, she ends her speech. "Therefore, choose wisely. One rule: Do not get in altercation with any other tributes. You will have enough time for that in the arena. There are trainers on hand for hand-to-hand or arm-to-arm combat. Other than that, good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor. "
She steps off the podium and walks away. Our group gets called to line up in order of District to sprint distances and dodge items.
Demetrius and I are first.
We walk up to our spots and see the first distance, at the end of the room. Demetrius shrugs, and I prepare in a semi-runners stance. I'm the one who did track, and you can tell the difference between Demetrius and me.
When the buzzer sounds, we ran. I was a lot faster than Demetrius, by far, and behind me I hear a smack. Demetrius has bumped into an object. I look forward and see an object swing at my head. I roll forward on the ground and continue running. I reach the end of the course without breaking a sweat. I look back at the Tributes and Trainer.
Their eyes were wide, and all mouths were hung open.
I smiled, then took my place in the start of a new group drill.
After the first seven drills, we're dismissed for lunch break. I excel at the first four, running, and I even do pretty well at two more, climbing. The final one, an obstacle course, I did satisfactory. I finished the course.
All through the day, I've been watched by District Two. Not to mention that I get to steal glances at Alex.
I line up for lunch on my own, and it seems I am the only one there. The lunch bell has sounded, but I am the only one who has already completed the obstacle course.
Sighing, I grab a tray and serve myself a salad, then grab a chicken salad sandwich. I reach for a water bottle, when someone is beside me.
"Hey, District One."
I look up beside me and see the District Two boy. I answer as I take a water bottle. "Hey, er, Two."
"The name's Gerrit. Nice to finally meet you," He takes my hand holding the tray on the table and kisses it. I jerk it back quickly.
"Uh- nice to meet you too. I'm Lillianne."
"Oh, we know who you are."
I turn to the other side of me and see the girl from District Two. She holds a tray of sushi in her hands, with a water bottle on it. "Your the president's granddaughter, Lillianne Snow."
"Yeah," I say, nodding and walking away to an empty table, "That's who I am."
"Well, I'm Cybele." She says, nudging me playfully. I start to get a little weirded out, but I remember what they're doing.
They're recruiting me as a Career.
"Hey!" I turn to see Gerrit motioning at the twins. "You! Four! Come sit with us. You too, Eleven!"
The twins and the two dark-skinned giants stared at us as we sat at a table in the middle, and eventually did come to sit with us. Demetrius slid in beside me.
"So Lilly," Demetrius says, unscrewing his energy drink's top, "What do you think of our little team?"
"It's Lillanne." I say, sticking a fork in the salad, "And I guess it's fine."
He rolls his eyes. "You really don't get it?"
I take some lettuce in my mouth. "Get what?"
"Why we picked Four and Eleven." He whispers. I chew, nodding and taking it in. Then I shake my head to contradict my earlier answer.
"We picked them for obvious reasons," Gerrit says across from me, unwrapping a sub sandwich. "The twins from Four are small, but they have skills with nets, traps, and the spear and trident." The twins sit across from each other in our table, looking up at us meekly.
"Eleven is pretty obvious too." Cybele remarks, pointing her fork at the tall figures walking our way. "They're fast- but not as fast as Lillianne- and they can work hand to hand combat. I think the girl can use an axe too, because I saw her eyeing that one in the weapons rack."
The teens from eleven sit now, and stare at each other as if having a silent conversation with their eyes. Finally, the female turns to us, her hair bouncing wildly.
"What do you want?"
She spoke for all of us, at least for me. Demetrius smiles at Gerrit, raising his eyebrow.
"We want to be allies." Demetrius says.
At the word, I see the twins look at each other with looks of disbelief. But Eleven is still narrowing their eyes suspiciously.
"Why us?" The Eleven girl asks, crossing her arms.
"Why not you?" Cybele answers. "You're strong. You're light. You're tall. You intimidate those losers."
I feel a sting in my chest when she calls the rest of the tributes losers. But I keep quiet, picking at my salad.
"So what do you say?" Gerrit prompts. "Allies?"
Four and Eleven take judgement on each other, looking at every aspect and probing their bodies and looks.
"We're in," The Eleven boy says.
"We'll be allies with you all," The girl from four says.
I'm a little taken aback from the girl from Four's voice. It's even squeakier than I thought it would be. Now I'm certain it was her first year in the reaping. Her twin nods eagerly.
"Well then, now that that's settled," Cybele remarks, clapping her hands. "Names?"
"Demetrius."
"Gerrit."
"I am, of course, Cybele."
The girl from Four cocks her head to the side. "I'm Dezidora. But you can call me Dezzy."
Her twin crosses his arms. "Marcel. Dezzy's brother."
The boy from Eleven tears his sandwich in half. "Anko."
The girl glares at us. "Korto."
They all turn to me. Really?
"Um-"
Before I can say my name aloud, someone is calling me with authority in their voice.
"Lillianne Snow?"
My name echoes across the lunchroom, and twenty-three pairs of eyes fall upon me. My fork falls.
I stand up nervously. "Um…here?"
A woman in a monochrome colored dress and black heels was standing at the door. Her pink glasses were on her nose, looking around the room. She held a tablet of silver.
"I need Lillianne Snow." She says again, more urgently. I step forward awkwardly.
She sees me, then eyes me up and down. Finally she comes to me, whispering skittishly.
"Your grandfather has requested a word with you."
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