Jindal and I glare at each other as we are herded in. My dad sits in front of two chairs. The chairs sit right next to each other, the sides were touching. I sit down in one and push as far as I can away from the other chair, I still sit at the far end. Jindal looks at me with a hurt expression. I just stick my tounge out at him.
"Why, you little brat!" He said grinning at me. I glare daggers at him. His grin stays still. Then my dad clears his throat. We both glance at him then settle ourselves down. He smiles at us then begains saying a bunch of things about what we will be doing for next week or so before the games.
"Shut up old man. And listen here, and listen loud and clear. I'm not going to be thrown aside, you will be training me the same as you are training her. And no favorites. We will be treated equal or I'll get you in big trouble." Jindal said, snapping me out of my daydreams of birds and freedom. I glare at him and jump up.
"Don't ever call my dad 'old man'. Or I will kill you for certain in the games. I was actually thinking of forgetting and allying with you." I growl at him. He looks stunned. Then starts blinking rapidly. "What...really? You were willing to forgive. I thought you hated me." He says with bewilderment filling his voice. I roll my eyes. I need an ally and if I need to trust someone it's him.
My dad gets up. "Well, I guess I'll leave you two to figure things out." And then he walks away. I gape at him as he leaves, traitor. Then the sliding door closes shut, leaving me alone with Jindal.
I glance at Jindal. He is still in shock. "I'm not forgiving you for what you did to me. I just said I'll forget." I state not looking at him. He knows me well enough that I'm serious.
"Okay, well I thought you wont want to talk about it. But now that I know you do, let me speak my side of the story." He pauses to see if I will react. I don't. "I was just looking for you when Rally came by. She started pulling me to a corner and telling me to kiss her. I wouldn't cause I love you, and I would never do that. Plus I hated Rally. Then she forced me to kiss her right when you where walking up. She planned it. I didn't want to hurt you. I cared about you so much, I tired to explain but you didn't give me a chance." He looks at me pleadingly. I try to keep a straight face but can't help smiling, relieved.
He takes this as a sign that he's in the safe zone and smiles. But I was just glad to see he said love instead of loved. He still cares for me, and I love him too, but love is a weakness and I can't let that make me not able to kill him. I start crying.
Jindal immediately cradles me in his arms. He was strong, yet soft and warm. I breath in his smell, dirt and sweat. This smell always comforted me. My tears soon soak his shirt. Nobody cared tho. I couldn't stop crying and Jindal just whispered all the things I loved. "Flowers...forests...nature...fields...wings...birds...freedom...please don't cry, I love you." when he said that he loved me I cried harder.
I can't kill Jindal, I can't kill him like I thought.
The next morning I wake up in a new bed, a new room, a new everything. I almost puke. Knock. My dad comes in and he says something that I can't process. I just keep my straight face and go to breakfast. Oh yeah, and new people. I sit next to Dad, Jindal across from me, and freaky lady diagonal from me. I figured out that the old dude died for some weird reason and this was his replacement. But the weird part was that he was only 29.
"Well, this is a lovely breakfast." she says. She was around 28. And my Dad is the oldest here at 39. Jindal is 17.5 and I'm 16. The youngest again. I grab some muffins and a glass of oj. I eat and drink quickly. But I finish second, right after ugly lady. Thats her nick name Ugly.
I stand up and explore the train. I walk through a corridor with doors on either side. I check in all of them, most are bedrooms. Then I see a computer room, but I guessed it was off limits. And also a TV room. But at the end there was one more door that would lead me to the back of the train.
I walk in to see couches and pillows every where, and the walls were all windows accept the one I just came through. The windows show forests. I sit down and watch the forest and can't see the sun, this place will show sunsets. I allow a small smile to play across my lips. Then the door opens behind me.
My Dad comes in and sits down next to me. I glance at him, my small smile gone. I haven't smiled for along time the most was small smiles. "Hey hun. Are you ready?" he asks me. I now turn fully around and look at him. Then I realize he is for real.
"Not today and never will I be." I reply and sit back. He immediately grabs my shoulders and makes me face him. "Hun, I'm serious. Are you ready? I can see you changed. You can kill Jindal, right?" He asks searching my eyes. I don't reply, I can't. I have never disappointed my dad. Never. He realizes this.
"Oh hun..." He sits back with a look of clear hurt. His little baby girl might die, again. But what he doesn't know is that I'm going to survive. I will search the place for a secret passage. Theres always one but everyone is too stupid to see that. How else did my Dad win. He taught me this.
But the again part is pretty scary. And I know you goats want to know what it is. I want to tell you, trust me, I just don't think I can. Well not yet, I think. Maybe I will tell you. Who knows. But not now, not today, I just can't.
I stay in the back room for a long time after my Dad left. Then someone is calling my name. "Esther...Esther! Where are you?" It was Jindal. I stay still, looking out at the forest that was now turning into rolling fields. We are closer now. The door opens behind me, but I don't flinch.
"Hey, I've been looking every where-" He suddenly stops in mid-sentence. I look up at him but he is staring at the rolling fields. There are no fields in district 7, only forests, rivers, and buildings. Yet no fields. He sits down next to me. I smile a full smile, I'm the only one, out of my now only two friends, that has seen fields and hills. A place without trees.
My cheeks start to hurt from smiling. So I go back to my common straight lined mouth. And Jindal frowns when my smile disappeared. "What happened to your smile. It's too beautiful to be hidden. You need to smile more." He protests my straight mouth. I let one tiny smile slip, but it's gone as quick as it had come.
"I don't like smiling. And you, out of all people, should know that." I say, the memories threaten to come back. I get up and leave, being around Jindal makes me smile and smiling brings me back, and I don't want to go back. I am going to stay, for now.
AN: Hey y'all. As you should have guessed the main character is based off of me. And my friend's, who gave me the idea of using her character, user name is Johanna12415. So check her out cuz she is one awesome gal. And if you have any questions just ask them in a review and I will answer in a AN. So that's it. Cya, baby goats! :)