CHAPTER 5
I dial Mickey's number and he picks up on the third ring.
"Hey Rose."
"Yeah, hi. I'm gonna bet this year…" I trail off.
"Seriously? You? Wow, I've finally managed to get you interested." I can almost hear his grin through the phone. I roll my eyes and flip through my notebook again.
"Yes me, Mickey. I need advice. How much to bet, but more importantly, who to bet on." I tell him, my eyes scanning the list. I don't know the tributes from 6 and 8, which I'm counting as a good thing at the moment, because I'm already stuck for choice. Mickey laughs.
"Rose, it's your first time. Just bet on the careers; they always win." He tells me.
"Mickey, did you see the boy from 12? He's terrifying. I don't even know why. And the outer Districts… they were just… spirited. You know what they're like usually, and that wasn't true this time. Some of them looked excited." I tell him, almost in a whisper.
"Doesn't matter. They aren't strong enough." He retorts. I sit back on the sofa, annoyed.
"Oh yeah? You don't know that. You bet on that guy from 2 before you even know what he got in training. You don't know them. You don't know any of them." I snap, scowling. I can hear him sigh on the other end of the line.
"Rose, if that's the way you feel, see what they get in training. Watch the parade or the interviews or something and then pick. Even wait for the games, if you want." I can picture him at his house, scowling and leaning against the kitchen counter.
"Fine. See you." And I hang up. Setting the phone down on the coffee table, I sigh. All me and Mickey ever seem to do is fight all the time. I don't know what it is, but it doesn't seem to stop. I honestly think I just need more in a relationship. Someone who I can have adventures with or something. I don't want to have dates where we just go to the park or the cinema. I want to go and explore with someone. Someone I can have a laugh with. To put it bluntly, I need someone more exciting than Mickey.
The thing is, now I have to wait at least a day before the parade shows. Maybe I should see it live… If I watch it on TV I'll see them properly, but I'd like to see it live just the once. Thinking about it, I'll go. It'll be interesting, and I'll get to see the President in the flesh (something I've only done once before, as a little girl).
I call up the ticket office and order a single seat. Much as Mickey can be good company, he'll be bias and a little annoying. I want to at least value them equally. And just like that, I have a reservation in the front row, my Capitol affluence paying off. Turning off the TV, I slip my feet into their slippers and trudge upstairs to my room, Jasmine plodding along behind me. I'm surprised to think about how excited I am for these games when usually I couldn't care less. I'll think more about betting in the morning.
Thank you for reading! :D Please review/follow/favourite or PM me if there are any other characters (preferable not from THG) you'd like to see in the chapters to come :) Sorry they're ll so short (they look much bigger in a word doc). :)
Lucy xxx