Chapter 2~ Trains of Thought

The District 9 Lovers

Warmth. Love. Perfection. Those are the three things I feel. Bruno lets out a contented sigh. It's a lovely day.

Bruno whispers in my ear, "When we are older and our parents allow it, we will be married."

I nod my head and reply, "That would make all my dreams come true." Bruno started as a friend that developed into a crush of sorts. I laugh thinking of the day I first realized I liked him. But that crush has long since matured into something more, something greater. Mimicking him, I let out a long sigh. Ah, how great it is to be in love...

Bruno and I sit as close as physically possible. As much as I tried to stop them, tears have begun rolling down my cheeks. I stare at Bruno, but he doesn't look at me. He is too angry. Too scared. Too pained. The moment our names were pulled from the pile and we were selected as tributes, any happy future for us together vanished, like a wisp of smoke.

"Would you like to see your mentor?" IA, our capitol representative asks.

"No," Bruno says through clenched teeth, "Just leave us alone."

IA quickly leaves the train car. For a capitol girl, she's pretty nice.

Bruno turns to me and gazes into my eyes, "Clara," he begins, "I want you to know that I won't kill you. Even if we are the last two left, I'll die first."

"I won't kill you either. If we are the last two left we shall kill ourselves before we hurt each other," I respond.

He smiles at me. Oh, God how I love his smile. I cup his face with my hand and pull him into a kiss. Bruno and I kiss frequently, but this one is different. This kiss is sad, I realize, this is a goodbye kiss. Neither of us break away, and I'm glad for it. I just want to sit in his arms forever. But I know forever doesn't exist. Forever was snatched away from us the day we were chosen as tributes.

After the kiss is over he embraces me tightly. I squeeze back, never wanting to let go.

He whispers those same words from long ago in my ear, "When we are older and our parents allow it, we will be married."

I respond, "That would make all my dreams come true." My voice breaks and I am crying again.

I cry because it is unfair. There are so many things I haven't done, so many things I want to do. I want to have a wedding. I want to be a mother. I want to have a happily ever after.

Bruno pulls away from the hug and says, "Clara, we don't have time to wait until our parents allow it."

I blush furiously. He cant mean that... We are young still...

But he does. And the next thing I know I am being carried into Bruno's private room and as he pins me against the bed I think, "This is the first and possibly the last time we will see each other like this."

"I love you, Bruno."

Those are the last words I say before I am made senseless from lust.

The Brain From District 8~

Everyone looks at me with pity. I pity myself to an extent, given the circumstances, but not as much as they do. Even Kiyoteru looks at me with pity, and he's got it just as bad as I do. Well, maybe not as bad. He's 18 and I'm only 12, giving him the physical advantage. But I have an something that he doesn't. I have my wits.

My mother, Misuzu Kaai, is possibly the most educated woman in district 8. Although, in a district where the majority of the population are mindless factory workers, wits aren't usually appreciated. But my mother taught me everything, and I intend to use her knowledge as much as I can.

A representative from the capitol waltzes in. "My name is Tone Rion, and I will be telling you everything you need to know about being a tribute!" The woman has a ridiculous name and a ridiculous outfit to match.

Tone Rion jabbers on and on about the rules and regulations of the hunger games. Kiyoteru listens intently, but I don't bother. There is nothing this woman can tell me that I don't already know.

What I need is a strategy. I don't have any fighting experience and I don't think I could kill anyone. I don't know how to hunt or what plants are safe to eat and I'm from an underlying district so my chances of snagging a sponsor are zero to none. What I need is an alliance, but who is going to align themselves with a worthless 12 year old girl?

"Ooh!" Rion squeals, "The broadcast is about to start!"

I barely stifle a sigh. On the broadcast all of Panem will get to see how weak and worthless I am. Rion blathers about some useless thing I probably already know about and I stare out the window, barely paying attention. The T.V announcer begins.

"My name is Ruko Yokune and I'm here with game maker Piko Utatane!" Piko brushes a lock of white hair from his face and speaks,

"Thank you Ruko, this year's tributes look very interesting. This will be a very exciting games indeed."

I shudder. Something about Piko's voice sends shudders down my spine. Something about that man is just wrong.

Ruko continues in a charismatic way, "An without further ado, let's look at our tributes! From district 1 we have Miku Hatsune and Mikou Hatsune"

A picture of the boy and girl from district one appears behind them. They look so perfect, just like every other tribute from district one. I don't listen to them announce the tributes from district two or three.

"...and from district 4 Lily Katsuya and Oliver Akita!"

I look at Oliver's picture and in an instant I have an answer to all of my problems. Who wants to align themselves with a worthless twelve year old girl? An equally as worthless twelve year old boy.

The Forgotten Girl From District 10~

I remember everyone from my school thought my name was weird. Aoki Lapis means blue princess. They would always tease me and tell me I was "far from being a princess" and I would laugh and shrug and pretend it didn't bother me even though it did. And now when I think about this now I realize that none of it matters. I almost want to laugh, but I can't.

I look to my right and see Kaito staring out the window, watching the countryside fade. The train moves remarkably fast, so we should be in the capitol in less than a day. Up until today I never really noticed Kaito. Sure, I knew that he was an upperclassman at school but I never talked to him. Until today. Today he comforted me and said he'd remember me. He doesn't even know me.

But as much as he doesn't know me, I don't know him either. Will his parents miss him? Does he have siblings? Aunts? Uncles? Cousins? Friends? Did he have a girlfriend? Was there a girl he liked that he never got a chance to confess to? Does he have regrets?

I shake my head, trying to free my mind from all of these questions. I don't have time to worry about him. I need to worry about me. For once in my life I need to be selfish.

But even as I try to think about my strategy for the games, my mind falls back to Kaito. Who is this mysterious boy, no, mysterious man who dried my tears and helped me in my most vulnerable state? How does he plan to win? Will he remember me? Or were his words only talk to get me to stop crying?

I put my face in my hands. I'm hopeless. I'm never going to win. But at least someone will remember me. I look to my right and glance at Kaito. Somehow I can die happier knowing my memory will live on in this mysterious man