I'm walking out the Training Center with Thera, thinking my first day of training is finally over. But then, everyone is leaded into the same room I was in when I got burned. What are we doing? I've never seen this in the games before, maybe something they always do off camera? No, they never do anything off camera, right?
All the tributes are now in a seat, waiting to be called by district and gender. My seat is beside Thera.
"What the heck are they doing? Are we already having our privet sessions with the gamemakers?" I ask, cause if it is, I'm not ready.
"No way, it can't be. The tributes have to go to the top floor and are called district to district, not put in the same room all at once cause that can end up in trouble." She whispered. The conversation ends after that. I'm still really confused though.
I keep looking at the ground until I hear my name called. My leg shakes from my nerves, what else am I supposed to do? It feels as if my body is numb, the nerves over taking me by the second. I remain like that for a solid ten minutes, until my head drifts from the floor to behide. And it's the girl from seven is staring at me, I think. It may just be that she's facing forward and her bags are covering her face, but it just sends chills down my spine. I stay frozen for a moment, for some reason not being able to move, Then I whip my head around once I was fully able to move my body again.
"Thera Cligtan." I see Thera stand up from her seat and make her way to a small room, and I know I'm next. What the hell am I supposed to do? Ducain and Lentle never told me about it, they told me the privet training sessions in three or four days, not now!
"Neal Roven." I stand up and peacekeepers lead me into a stain-glass room.
"You must be Neal, please extend your arm." I give her my arm as she prepares a needle. A strange orange haired woman, who's eyes look as if a tiger ready to take its prey.
"Um, may I ask why are you doing this?" I ask.
"You'll figure out soon, please relax your arm." She rubs my arm with water and then injects a needle into it. I close my eyes tightly trying to block out the un-bearable pain spreading through me. The needle comes out. I inhale deeply as my arm comes to a relief.
"Good job. Now, please give one of your hairs." She asked in her high pitched Capitol voice.
"Ugh, did you say hair? Like the one my head?" I sound so dumb saying that.
"Yes." I pluck a dark brown strand of hair out of my head.
"Here ya go." I hand her the hair.
"Now, do you know what your blood type is?" She asks.
"No." I answer, there's no doctors in my district, only healers.
"Do you know what your background is?"
"I think my family originally came from an Irish background but I'm not a hundred percent certain."
"Okay then. Thank for your corporation, you may exit."
I walk out the room uneasy from the amount of blood they took. I wobbly make my way to the elevator and press the "7" button. The elevator shoots up and opens quickly. I find that Thera is eating a bunch of sweets on the dining table.
"Oh, Neal! Please sit and have some treats, you must be a little light headed." Lentle gestures me into a chair. I slowly make my way to the dinning table. I grab a plate and place two cookies and some other green thing I can't identify. My hand grips on a spoon and I start to eat the green stuff. Once I finish my first bite, I ask the question that's been bobbling in my head.
"What was that test about?" I ask a bit to loud.
"What test? You had a test?" Ducain seems to be confused.
"The test we had today, you know, the one you didn't tell us about!" Thera slams her fist onto the table, vibrating the entire thing.
"Um, you guys will figure out soon enough, I wasn't allowed to tell you. Not even you Ducain." Lentle lifts her glass to her bright purple lips and takes a sip.
"Hey! Why didn't you tell me? What, I'm not good enough tp know!" Ducain seems offended.
"No, of corse. We are going to figure out very soon. But beside that, how was your first day of training?" She asked.
"I did fine, but Neal made an enemy." Thera comments.
"What!" Ducain yells.
"It wasn`t my fault, she was trying to pick trouble with me!" I yell back.
"Who is it? A Career boy bugging you?" Ducain asks, Thera laughs.
"No... It was District 3, and it was the girl, Saffra." I tell him.
"Is she good? I`m talking fighting skills" Ducain asks.
"Pssh... not that much..." I put my head slightly down. Thera burst out laughing so hard, she almost fell right off her chair. Once she pulls herself together she speaks.
"Not that much? While you were trying to get attention from the gamemakers she had most of their attention." She continues to laugh. "She was able to use nearly every weapon in that room. Face it, she`s better than you`ll ever be." Thera gives me a smirk.
"Well then, make sure you're her friend, or else you can easily end up dead." Ducain takes a bite out of a brownie.
I gradually eat until my body feels as if there`s more blood in it. I push away my plate and stand up.
"I`m going to my room, call me out if you need anything." I speed walk to my room. I change into something more comfortable and jump on my bed, digging my face into my pillow. I hope that in my own room, I have a bit of privacy. I wonder how I`m gonna die. Knife? Axe? Hand and hand combat? Or maybe something worse, maybe even tortured to death. No, have to keep my mind off things like that for a while. But.. What is there to think about? Good thoughts, happy thoughts. But the only happy thoughts I have are with Katri. I remember a warm spring day, full of energy and sun. That was were Katri and I first met, and it was the worse way possible to meet someone.
FLASHBACK
Oh God! I need to hurry before I'm late, again! I run as fast as my feet can go with two buckets in both my hands. I struggle to keep any water from falling out hoping that my boss won't mind a bit of water gone.
Then all of a sudden I run right into someone and water splashes everywhere. Oh no, I'm dead. I sit there on the ground soaked in water, waiting for whoever I ran into to start yelling at me.
"I'm so sorry! Are you hurt?" instead of hearing someone scowling at me, I hear a kind and soft voice.
"No, it was my fault. I was running and wasn't looking ahead of me." I lift my shin to see a brunet girl standing before me, with her hand out to help me up. I accept the help and pull myself to my feet.
"Oh no, I got you all wet." I say, then I think it over.. It sounds... odd.
"I mean soaked.. That's what I mean." I correct.
"Its fine, you took quit a fall there." She's says. "I'm very sorry if your hurt."
"No, it was all my fault." I reassure her. " I must be going now." I shake her hand and run off to my work.
"Neal! Wake up now!"Thera shakes me to wake me up. I drifted to sleep.
"Huh? What?" I ask puzzled and confused.
"Its time for dinner. Get up." I slowly stand up and get out of the bed.
I walk toward the table like a zombie. I come to see everyone is already at the table. I take my seat at the dinning table and stare at the food. I grab my plate and fill it with.. Stuff. My eyes are still heavy from sleep and my body not yet awake.
"You don't look good." Ducain points out.
"I'm just.. Thinking and tired." I rub my eyes.
"About what?" Lentle asks, as she pours water into her crystal glass.
"About his girlfriend." Thera says half laughing half mocking me.
"Maybe, and shut up." I snarl at her. I take a mouthful of chicken in my mouth.
"Besides from Neal's love life, how about you Thera?" Ducain asks.
"What? About my love life? Talk about it to you? Oh fuck no." She says. "If you wanna know, ask me when we're working out a plan for the interviews. Not in front of these two morons. Your probably just high again."
"C'mon! We're all buddies!" Ducain yells wrapping his arm around my shoulder, I shake it off.
"If she doesn't want to tell you, she doesn't have to." I insure him.
After that, the meal stays silent for an hour. I sit there, bite after bite until my stomach is full. Once I finish, I just sit there looking at my empty plate. I really want to break the silence, but with what?
"Lentle, what was that test about?" I ask.
"I told you, soon. Very, very soon." Lentle replies.
"When! And why didn't anyone tell about this? Was I high again?" Ducain says.
"No Ducain, they just didn't tell you. I can't tell you two either."
"Fine. I'm out." Thera stands up and exits the room.
"You know, I'm gonna sleep a little early so I can have energy for training." I rise from my seat and walk away.
I open my door, I see my bed is perfect, like nobody touched it yet. I lie down and drag the covers over myself. I let out a sigh and close my eyes hoping that for a little while my troubles with just go away.