AN: Thanks to those of you who have already added this story to their story alert and favorites (: R&R!
And again, I don't own the Hunger Games at all. The fabulous books belong to Suzanne Collins.
I sigh, thinking about what I've got myself into. I know I'll be a bloodbath. There's no way that I could win this thing. I'm pyro and hydrophobic. I bet the arena's going to be something with fire or water… I shudder, just thinking about it.
Toffie ushers Jabari and I into Justice Building where we're to say our final good-byes. My first visitor is Plum. Her eyes are red and strained, showing obvious signs that they've been wet with tears. Seeing me, tears appear again. I try not to cry, to stay strong. I've become a master of pretending to be stronger than I am. Especially for my little sister. "Plum? Listen to me okay? I will do everything in my power to get home," I assure her.
"You shouldn't have taken my place, Sadira,"she chokes out between tears.
"Your family needs you. They won't make it without you."
"How will I ever repay you?"
"You don't need to. Trust me."
Suddenly, peacekeepers cut our meeting short as they come in to take Plum away. I sit on the bench, barely sitting down before my mother and my sister fall into the small room. "Sadira!" my sister shouts.
"Lily! Come here," I motion her to come closer, and I take her into a hug.
"Sadira, remember that we love you, and we're proud of you," my mother says.
"I know. No matter what you see on the screen, remember that I'm thinking of you okay? All they want is a good show." I'm talking to more to assure myself than them. My mother gives me a locket. I suppose it's my token in the arena. I open the heart-shaped piece of metal to find a compass on one side, and a picture of our family on the other, including my late father. "It's beautiful," I tell her. Suddenly, the peacekeepers come as I barely have time to shout, "I love you! Remember that…"
Jabari and I face each other awkwardly on the train, not knowing what to do. We're supposed to be listening to Toffie as she rambles on about all of the train's luxuries, but Jabari and I know both know that the other isn't listening. Even though Jabari is 100% extroverted back home, he's suddenly become shy. Just then, our mentor comes in, District 11's fourth victor at the 45th Hunger Games, Laxman Jet. He was 16 at the time, just like me, and was able to win by tricking the Careers and killing them. From there, natural occurrences took over to kill the rest. "Hey guys! I'm sorry you have to be here," he said. I immediately began to like him because he knew what we were going through, and I knew he was going to be a good mentor. Jabari got straight down to business. He leaned forward to put his elbows on his knees and looked at Laxman. "Can we begin talking survival strategies?"
"Sure thing!" Laxman exclaimed. He sat down and we began shooting questions.
"What's the first thing we should do once the Games begin?" I ask.
"Grab the closest pack by you, and run away from the cornucopia."
"Don't we need weapons?" Jabari asks.
"If you choose to go for the weapons, make sure that you grab one quickly, and try to stay away from the careers to prevent certain death," he says with a chuckle," Do whatever you can to stay alive"
After talking about survival for about half an hour, Laxman begins talking about interviews and what our angles are going to be. "Sadira! Let's begin with you," Laxman says to me. Hm… What should my angle be? I'm not very small, but not big and muscular either. I was fast and agile. Those were my strengths. I was good at making friends, but hated big crowds.
"Uh… I'm not sure what my angle would be. Any ideas?" I asked Laxman.
"Well, the ideas are endless. Mysterious, tough, friendly, weak, devious…"
In the end, I ended up being friendly. I didn't want to go in the Games alone anyway. I'm going to try to make some alliances during training. Jabari was going to be tough, and he had the muscles and looks for it as well. Pleased with what we had completed in a day's worth of time, we headed over to the viewing car to see who our fellow tributes are going to be. I sat next to Laxman and Jabari, suddenly finding my face turn red hot when he accidentally brushed my hand with his. Snap out of it, Sadira. You're going to be killing him in a few days. Or worse, he'll be killing you.
In District 1, there were of course, two strong, well fed, ecstatic-to-be-here Careers. I never bothered to learn their names, knowing that they would never let me into their pack.
District 2 was no different. In this district, the girl tribute caught my eye. She was tiny, only 12 years old, yet volunteered? What was she thinking? Their district trains for the Hunger Games and most can't wait to volunteer once they reach the ages of 17 or 18. They feel like they're doing a good deed to the capitol if they volunteer. But it still left me wondering, why she would volunteer at such a young age.
District 3 had two, small children (the girl was 13, the boy was 14), but they both had wicked looks on their faces. Their district specializes in technology, and I don't even want to know what they have on their minds on how to win.
District 4 had kids who had nice looking swimmer's bodies, but that was typical, because of their district's fishing background. They've had a few victors, and are pretty strong. I might make an alliance with them. "We should team up with them,"Jabari says, seeming to read my mind. I nod, and bring my attention back to the screen.
District 5's tributes don't look like anything special, but District 5 is very clever, as they specialize in power. Their ingenuity is strong, and they shouldn't be under estimated. They could be useful as well.
Transportation was District 6's specialty. They are known for their district-wide morphling addiction. That could be a problem, but no one should be under estimated in the Hunger Games, but no one can be trusted either.
District 7 specializes in lumber, which means they're strong. I didn't remember the girl's name, but the boy, Roscoe Willow, definitely stood out to me. I couldn't stop staring at his stormy grey eyes. I would definitely take him into my alliance. Jabari suddenly stiffened next to me, with a hint of jealousy. No, that couldn't be right. "He looks pathetic," I heard him mutter under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear. Could Jabari be jealous? I shook my head.
Textiles and strict security are District 8. There have been rumors of rebellions starting there, but I won't believe it. Anyone who rebels against the capitol is mad. Their tributes looked scared at the reapings, but I guess we all did.
District 9 specializes in textiles, having factories that make uniforms for the peace keepers. Nothing really stood out at their reapings. I didn't really pay attention.
Livestock is what District 10 is specialized in. They try to act tougher than they really are. I rolled my eyes at the ecstatic boy who volunteered. He was tiny, yet was happy to volunteer. I wonder what his plan is in the arena…
I averted my eyes at District 11's reaping, not wanting to relive the past's events. I can hear myself volunteering, not believing it only happened yesterday. Then I heard Jabari, volunteering for his brother. I looked over, and smiled at him. There was a tear running down his cheek, and I rubbed his back. He looked at me and returned my smile.
District 12 is a very poorly treated district, with the peacekeepers bending the rules, giving sympathy to the district's citizens. Starvation is a big problem in the district, but again, the capitol doesn't lift a finger to help them. Their tributes are small and look like they aren't well kept. I shake my head with sadness. Just another reason to despise the capitol.
After the reapings, I excused myself to go to my room. Jabari volunteered to walk me to my room and I smiled at the invitation. We stopped at my door and we exchanged our good-byes. Is there a possibility that Jabari likes me? He has tons of girls back home, yet chooses me. I'm flattered, until I remember that we're going to be fighting to the death in the area, in less than a week from now. Tomorrow, we're arriving in the Capitol. Then off to training where we will see the strengths of our fellow tributes. Yay.
I stepped into the warm water of the train's showers, tempted to try the various buttons, but stopped myself, wanting to crawl into my bed and stay there. After quickly changing into some pajamas that were laid out for me, I got under my covers, thinking about all that's happened. After hours and hours of thinking about home, and the Hunger Games, and my competition, I finally fell asleep.
Thanks for reading! Please review! I know that this isn't all correct. Most of this stuff happened off the train, but I was watching the Kid's Choice Awards while writing (to see 1D & Josh Hutcherson) so I kinda got distracted… haha!