Disclaimer: Too tired to think of some witty joke about how I'm not Suzanne Collins. Sorreh.
I stare at Karma, not wanting to believe it. Sure, I had almost no chance of ever having her, but now it's pretty much impossible. She doesn't believe in love!
I get up and leave the room. I hear her yell, "Well, goodnight to you too!" before I close the door. I crawl into my bed and force myself to sleep. Big mistake. I dream of Karma- nothing new- but she's yelling really insulting things at me.
"Ha! Love you? You may be dreaming, but this isn't a dreamland where everything is the way you want it!" She yells. "And why did you volunteer? You are so stupid! This isn't Katniss and Peeta we're talking about. I love you about as much as I love my stupid mother!"
"Why?" I ask, not able to hide the hurt in my voice
"It's obvious: Love doesn't exist. And loving you is some stupid fantasy that will never, not ever, happen." She walks towards me, so close that our noses are touching. "Never." She whispers.
I wake up, panting. Overnight I've broken into a huge sweat. Effie bursts into my room and looks delighted that I'm already awake.
"Oh, goodie! Your awake! Breakfast is in five minutes, so be ready!" She squeaks. I don't get ready, I just simply follow her into the dining room. I sit in a chair and stare at the brown liquid in the cup by my plate.
"It's called hot chocolate." Peeta tells me as he walks in. "Try it."
I take a sip and instantly regret it. It burns my tongue and it's too hot to swallow, but I shut my eyes and swallow anyways, burning my throat.
"Ouch." I say. "That hurt my mouth, Peeta."
"Sorry. But in my defense, it is called hot chocolate." He says. Just then, Karma bursts into the room, arguing with Effie.
"Because I'll look stupid!" Karma yells.
"Oh, you'll look so pretty!" Effie pleads. "Please?" I notice that Effie's holing a lacy purple dress that balloons out at the bottom and has a lot of ruffles.
"No! Sorry, maybe some other girl next year. Gosh." Karma yells. She eyes the cup of hot chocolate. "What's that?" She asks.
"Hot chocolate. Careful, it's hot." I say. Then I realize how stupid I must have sounded. Of course it's hot! Anyway, Karma and I scarf down our breakfast and then meet with our mentors.
"So, Casey," Peeta says, getting right down to business, "What are your specialties?"
"Oh- that's easy- camouflage." I say, remembering all the times I concealed myself in trees or bushes or something, looking at Karma for hours. My face burns and I know I'm blushing. "And I can build traps." I say.
"Great! Just what Karma will need." Peeta says.
"Wait- what?" I say. "What do you mean?"
"Well, Katniss and I planned for you to be allies with Karma through the whole Games. In fact, Katniss is probably telling her this right now." Peeta says with a shrug.
I slap my hand on my forehead. "You did what?" I yell. "I can't- I don't… why?"
"Because, it was either that or you join the Career pack. And coming from somebody who had no other choice- me- that's not the best idea. Now, you want to be the last two standing, right?-" I nod- "And you want her to win, right?-" I nod again. "Okay, then it's settled. You two are allies. Don't worry, it'll be fine." He says with a reassuring smile.
"Okay." I say. We spend the rest of the day talking strategy until dinner.
At dinner, I'm about to take a bite out of my pizza slice when Karma bursts through the door again, running on a full-on sprint. Effie is chasing after her, running as fast as she can in those ridiculous high-heels, holding the same dress from earlier.
"Just try it on!" Effie begs, panting. Effie tries to come close but Karma backs away, feeling for something on the dinner table. She grabs a ladle and hides it behind her back. Effie starts to run again but Karma fills the ladle with something they call gravy and positions herself in fighting stance.
"One more step and the dress gets it!" She threatens. Effie squeals, puts her hands up, and drops the dress. "Good." Karma says and sits down.
"So, Casey," Karma says, still panting a little. "I hear we're allies now." I nod my head, chewing my crust. Karma looks disheveled and her hair is a mess. I'm guessing Effie was chasing her for a while. Karma grabs a hair-tie from her wrist and puts her hair in one on a high point on the back of her head, letting he bangs fall in her face. She has the perfect Seam look, as do I, except I have bright green eyes instead of grey for some reason.
I finish my pizza, eat mashed potatoes, and go straight to my room. I flop on my bed and fall into a dreamless sleep, which was much more peaceful than last night. The next morning, Effie wakes me up extra early to tell me my prep team is here to make me "camera-ready" for the opening ceremonies because we've arrived late in the Capitol late and have to get ready on the train. Three women come into my room. They all look like they went swimming in a liquid rainbow.
"Oh. My. Gosh!" One of them screams. "You are just so handsome!"
"I could just eat you up!" Squeals another one.
"Okayyyy," the third one says, "We'll be back in two minutes. Take off your pj's while we're gone."
Then they leave. I unbutton my shirt and slip off my pants and undershorts. Then, I realize they haven't left me any clothes to change in. I hear their voices in the hallway, run to the bathroom, grab a towel, and wrap it around my waist just in time.
They come in and see me sitting on my bed and frown. Then, without a word, one pulls me up and rips the towel from my waist. I instinctively cross my arms across my naked body.
"Look, you have a nice body. Nothing to be ashamed of." Another one says. I slowly open my arms and fight the urge to retrieve the towel. They squeeze my arms and my stomach, fussing over how hard and "toned" my muscles are for a thirteen-year-old boy. I decide I don't like them. One of the ladies goes to the door and opens it. I run to the bathroom and hide behind a door, not wanting anyone else to see me. She returns with a big sparkly box and a massive bag that I'm assuming holds my costume. The two other women sit me down on a chair and start fixing my hair.
"Excuse me," I say, "Can I put my towel back on, please?" My voice sounds scratchy because I haven't talked since I woke.
"No. Sorry honey." One says.
"Wha- why not?" I ask.
"You need to get used to this." Another says. I sigh. This is so embarrassing! Once they finish my hair, they move on to my face, brushing something on random parts of my cheeks, chin, and forehead.
"Stand up now." One says. I do as I'm told. They open the bag and take out a pair of undershorts and an undershirt. I slip them on, my comfort returning. Then, they take out a suit that's completely white. At first, I think there's nothing special about it, but then I notice big black patches that look like coal dust and the rips in it. The theme is that I just escaped from a coal mine. I slip on the pants and button up the shirt. Then I put on the jacket and they hand me fingerless gloves.
They squeal in unison and turn the mirror to face me. I have to admit, I look good. The black makeup on my face gives the impression that the coal has rubbed off on my skin. Somehow, they made my black hair look like it's been touched by coal as well. The rips in my clothes make me look like I was stuck in a mine for days.
They roll up my sleeves and tell me to flex as much as I can.
I blush. They give me shoes and rush me to a huge building. Peeta and I wait outside for Katniss and Karma, then I see them- or rather, I just see Karma, because everything else suddenly disappeared.
Karma's outfit is coordinated with mine, but she looks breathtaking. Her super straight- short- hair is down for once, and her bangs are pushed back by a dirty, white crown. She's wearing fingerless gloves as well, but they come up to her elbows, ripped and dirty. And she's wearing a dress! She never wears dresses! Not even skirts! Even on reaping day she wore shorts that were mistaken as a skirt. Anyway, her dress has one strap, the other "ripped" off. Her dress is tight but it's looser right under the hips and it's as long as right above her knees. Her legs, arms, dress, and face are covered with "coal dust". The white clothes pop off her olive skin. She wears boots that stop at her ankles and have a small heel. The other heel is "broken" off. The only part of the costume that makes me uncomfortable is the cut in the front of her dress, diagonally across her chest. I try my best to look away from there.
"Hey, you look great." she says to me.
"It's- it's nothing compared to you!" I say. I spin my finger around and she sighs. Then she twirls once, the bottom of her dress flies out like a white, blooming flower.
"Yeah, thanks." She says. Someone pushes us into the stadium and onto the horse-drawn carriage. The crowd erupts in cheers, making my head pound. Karma grabs my elbow, waving with her other hand. I follow her lead and wave as well. My waves are boring though. She's flopping her hand around and bouncing up and down. At this moment, she reminds me of a little girl. Her huge smile, her energy. I couldn't have asked for something better to look at right now.
She catches a flower between her teeth that was thrown from the audience. She takes it out and tickles my cheek with it. We start laughing, and I'm sure we're taking up all the camera space right now.
Sorry, Careers, I think to myself. Then I remember my prep team's advice and flex my arms, trying to make it look accidental. Obviously, it works. I see a nearby group of girls scream, point at me, and jump up and down. I wink at them and they go absolutely crazy: blowing kisses rapidly, screaming louder, jumping higher. Another group of girls give me the same reaction. Everything I do seems to drive them crazy; I brush my hair out of my eyes with my fingers and the number of teenage Capitol girls that are overreacting multiplies. Wow.
Suddenly, I feel the blood in my left arm pumping. I look at Karma and see her hand constricting my arm. I use this as an excuse to hold her hand, and she doesn't seem bothered.
With a flick of my wrist, I catch a flower that was thrown from the audience and tickle Karma's neck with it. She's taken off guard and giggles. Yes. She giggles. She covers her mouth as if she just said something completely foul, but really, she just uttered the most sweetest sound I've ever heard. It rang out like bells. I love bells now.
The day is over too soon for me. We go to an unfamiliar building where we'll be staying until the Games.
"I can't wait to take this dress off." Karma mutters. I don't want her to, she looks amazing. She disappears into a room with a sign that has her name on it. Mine is right next door. I plop on my new bed, smiling. The sound of Karma's giggle rings in my head, only interrupted by the sound of her shower next door. Shower! I've never been in a shower before! I kick off my shoes and my costume then turn on the water.
"Aah." I moan. After thirty minutes of showering, I put on my undershorts. No shirt. I'm too tired to find one.
I'm about to crawl into bed when I hear a knock on my door.
"Come in." I say. Karma walks in, looking slightly awkward.
"Casey?" She says.
"Yes'm?" I reply, honestly clueless about why she's here.
"I'm…. I'm scared to sleep in my room." She says.
"Why?" I ask.
"I just am… I was wondering if…" She trails off, looking out the window.
"Would you like to sleep in my room tonight?" I ask. She nods her head, happy that she doesn't have to say it. I scoot over so that she has room. She hesitates, then walks over to my bed, putting her head on the opposite side of mine, sleeping upside down.
"Thank you." She murmurs.
"Good night." I say back.
I drift off and fall asleep. I sleep for about a few hours when I'm awakened in the middle of the night, feeling Karma stirring, fast asleep. She turns over, her head right next to mine. Her hands curl up, and she moves in closer. She's still saying "Thank you." in her sleep.
"Your welcome, love." I say, even though she can't hear me. I close my eyes, knowing my dreams will be good tonight, so joy spreads through my body.
A/N: My first A/N for this story, yippee! I was going to post this in the morning today, but I had a volleyball game. *whispers* We won. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING: The theme song for this story is called Hero by Regina Spector. Youtube it please, it makes the story so much better in my opinion! Whenever there's a sad/intense part, the song plays subconsciously in my head so I decided to make it the theme song for this story. I'll be sure to make it pop up somewhere in the middle of the story. Also, this story is going to be a book series. So this is going to have a book two, three, and possibly four. I'm not making any promises, but that's my plan as of now. Lastly, to Ever Autumn13, the love is one sided because Karma doesn't believe in love so yeah… So thanks for reading! And thank you to my first three reviewers: Ever Autumn13, InkConqueror, and Catchsomezzz!
~Telling Time Backwards
P.S- I always feel like I'm forgetting something! I've been muttering "Shnaggin' flaggin' laggin'" to myself all day because I keep forgetting. (that's just what I say when I'm mad- I also say "Yes'm, so that's why Casey said that in this chapter)