"I'm sorry, Zane. I don't know about you, but I enjoy watching the program. We can discuss strategy during dinner." Courtney makes a move to grab the remote from him, and Zane sits back, practically leaning on me.
"No. I want to know how to survive. I volunteered for this and I want to at least have some confidence that I'll come out alive." There we go, he mentioned his volunteering. I sat with my breath held, not only because of what he said, but because I was afraid if I blew out, he'd smell my lunch on my breath. He was still practically leaning against me, holding the remote just out of Courtney's reach. I squeezed my legs tighter and leaned with him against the pillows on my end of the couch. Zane didn't even seem to notice what he was doing. He was just determined to talk about this with all of us.
"You know, Courtney, it would probably be a good idea for all of us to talk about survival as much as possible. Prepare them for what is to come and discuss each tribute," Beetee says this quietly, pushing his crooked glasses up his nose. Wiress nods quietly, still tinkering with her small toy.
"Hmph. I guess you could be right." Courtney sits back and crosses her glittering arms over her chest. Zane smirks and sits back against the couch, and I'm able to relax. Wiress and I are the only two who haven't spoken.
Beetee clears his throat. "Well the first thing I want to tell you two before you ask any questions is, be smart. Don't forget your intelligence when you're in the arena, it could be your greatest weapon."
Immediately I decide to trust Beetee. I don't know what it is about him, but he sounds like he knows what he's talking about.
He's about to say something else when Courtney interrupts him. "BUT. Beetee. You forget that the first few days are all about appearance. We should be arriving at the station tomorrow morning. The five of us will go to our apartment on the third floor where the tributes stay, where you will meet your crew of stylists. The chariot ride is that night which is the first time the public will see you in person, and it's the most important appearance because of first impressions. Then the next night you'll have your interview with Ceasar Flickerman. During the days you will be in the training center. You have two days to train before you face the Gamemakers and they give you your score. Which of course is vital to your survival in the Capitol and whether or not you survive. Then, the Games begin." Courtney seemed satisfied with her answer, and Zane rolled his eyes at her pleasure.
"I'm sorry Courtney, but I don't think that is that important—"
"Actually Zane, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but Courtney is right. With the Capitol, appearance is everything. It's how you gain sponsors, which makes it easier to survive in the Games. You gain support from the public, and you'll be less likely to die."
Zane shut his mouth, trusting Beetee's word more than Courtney's.
"Now if you have nothing more to say that I may have some interest in, I am going to go to my room and freshen up for dinner." Courtney gets up and shuffles out of the room, expertly balancing against the turns and bumps in the train.
"I think it would be best if we all got some rest before dinner, so we'll have enough energy to argue with that," Beetee says while glancing at the door Courtney just disappeared through. I smile to myself and Zane snorts loudly, looking at his lap. Beetee and Wiress both stand up, and Beetee says, "We'll see you two at dinner. We'll talk about more actual survival skills then. I'm sure the whole time you're with us, Courtney will be talking your ears off about the etiquette of appearance." Wiress waves goodbye, and the two disappear through the door.
It suddenly dawns on me that I'm alone with Zane again. He sighs and closes his eyes once more, running his fingers through his long, dark hair.
"You don't have to stay with me, Ebony. We're enemies now."
I nearly jump when he speaks. "No, no, I want to stay."
"You don't have to do me any favors, you know that right?" He sits up and looks at me. His eyes look right through me as he speaks. I feel as though he knows all of my secrets. "Just because I saved your brother doesn't mean you 'owe me' or have to be nice to me."
He brought up saving my brother again. I didn't know what to say, or how to further the conversation other than to say, "Thank you, for that. For saving him I mean. I don't know what my parents would have done if they, uh, lost more than two kids." I stare at my hands wrapped around my legs. I can feel his eyes on me.
"Don't talk like that. If either of us have a chance at winning, it will be you." He sits back, realizing that he may have said too much about some unknown secret he wasn't supposed to know about.
"Uhm, Zane? Can I, uh, ask you something?"
I shift my gaze over to look at his hands. They're larger than mine, and callused. The only work I can think of that would have that callused of hands would be an engineer, but since he's still eligible for the games he cannot have an actual profession just yet. But he has the hands. The hands of a worker.
I can feel his eyes on me once more and I manage to croak out, "Why did you save my brother?"
He sighs and chuckles to himself. "I knew this question was going to come up at some point." I continue staring at his hands. He doesn't speak for a long time, and I can't see his face in my peripheral vision.
"Don't worry about why I did it, Ebony. It was just heartless what they were going to make you do. I just volunteered because I did." I look up and find him watching me. I blush slightly and he laughs. "You seem to be doing that a lot." That makes me blush even more. "Come on. We should get some rest before dinner." Zane stands and stretches while I uncurl out of my tight ball. He extends his hand to help me off the couch, and cautiously I take it. I'm not sure what to think of what Zane said. I'm completely lost and want nothing more than to understand why he would risk his life, or what the comment about being able to win was.
He leads me to the door, still holding my hand, and walks me to my cabin. He waits outside until I shut the door behind me, still questioning everything that had happened.