So.... Yeah. I've probably been gone for the past two to three weeks because of school. Yes. The form of torture the government pulls on us chidders to limit our use of imagination, fun, and completely disintegrate our hopes and dreams into fine hills of dust.
And I caught a cold.
So.... Yeah.
DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING
The next day, Wing woke up to an empty bed beside him. As he rubbed his eyes, he picked up a short note on Otto's bed.
Library.
Wing laughed a little; he expected as much. He bathed quickly, and when he exited his room, Shelby and Laura met up with him.
"So then, where's Silent Snowy?" Shelby asked jokingly. "He's in the library, apparently." Wing replied.
"Why don't we visit him then?" Laura suggested, and the other two nodded.
As they walked across the vast structure of the Accommodation Area, their heads swiveled at its grandiosity. They passed by teenagers of their age, who also seemed amazed by The Island like them. Suddenly, Laura had a strange, faraway look on her face.
"What is it?" Wing asked, looking at her curiously. Shelby caught wind of the conversation, and turned to her as well. "It's just…. I'm just wondering how this place has been functioning for these years. I mean," she added. "Sure, the countries pay a lot to send their representatives, but honestly, that can't be enough to run this massive place."
"They must know how to handle their money then." Shelby said. "Either this place is very good with money, or Maximilian Nero has been planning this for his entire life, thus prompting him to save up on his money."
Laura was silenced, though she still stared at the grandness of the place.
When they arrived at the library, many people were already there, most of them reading up on The Island. Wing guessed that they were as interested in it as anyone else was. The three of them split up, not really to find Otto; Laura wanted to read up on the place as well, and Shelby tagged along. Wing set off to find Otto in the labyrinthine library.
After a short search, he found Otto in a nook in the rather far part of the library. Wing was rather taken aback when he saw that his friend was going through the entire bookshelf nearby. Otto was intently reading what looked like his thirty-second book, even if Wing knew that Otto had only left the room a few hours before he woke up. Otto didn't notice Wing's arrival, nor did he notice the fact that his own stomach was rumbling.
"Hey, Otto." Wing said, though the other boy didn't seem to notice, too engrossed in a particularly thick book he was almost done reading. The book looked quite old; its spine was reduced to threadbare, and the pages were yellowing and the letters were fading. Still, Otto was so very keen on reading the thing.
Wing snapped his fingers in front of the boy's face, catching his attention. Otto wasn't surprised or anything; he kept a straight face when he snapped from his concentration. "Oh, hello there Wing." He said, putting own the thick book. The title page faced them, though Wing could only barely read its title.
"What's this about?" Wing asked, picking the ancient thing up. "Oh, it's nothing really. It's just an old history book." Otto replied.
"The Bloodred Midnight War?!" Wing said, sounding shocked. Otto gave him a meaningful look. "I just wanted to know some details on the War." He said. "This place was created because of it. Right?"
"R-right…" Wing said nervously. The War took a lot from the world, even himself.
Still, Otto seemed unaware of the shock on Wing's face, as he stuffed the book back in a shelf. "Shall we eat?" he asked calmly, though Wing could tell that Otto was hungrier than he thought. His stomach was rumbling like a lion.
"Sure." Wing replied. They exited the library, and once again met up with the two girls.
"So then, are we going to eat yet? I'm starving!" Shelby said, and Laura giggled. "Oh really now? I remember that you ate five servings for dinner yesterday."
"Well, with a big family, I don't really eat that much. But now, I'm taking the advantage." Shelby retorted. "Whatever you say… though I still don't understand how you're keeping yourself so thin while stuffing yourself." Laura said.
"Natural-born talent." Shelby replied.
Like yesterday, the four of them walked to the Dining Hall, which, sadly enough, was a Shroud ride away from the Accommodation Area. When Shelby found that out the day before, she groaned audibly, as did Laura. Wing kept a relatively (keyword 'relatively') straight face, while Otto twitched. They rode together, landing in an undignified heap. Luckily enough, they weren't embarrassed, as many other competitors were the same.
When they arrived to the Dining Hall, the four of them rushed out of the Shroud they were in. They lined up for their food, Wing spotting Nigel talking with a rather bulky person around his age.
"Nigel!" Wing called out, calling the man's attention, Nigel waved back. The man who was talking to him smiled cheerfully, and waved as well. "I'm guessing that's the son of Heinz Argentblum." Otto commented. Wing nodded. "I suppose so."
As the line budged up a little, Wing took the time to take in his surroundings. A lot more people were in the competition, more than he had expected. There were at least a hundred tables, each for six people. That was more than enough for the quota of two hundred. Wing noticed a grand table at the front of the hall, where Nero sat along with a few people he did not recognize. Wing surmised that they were the instructors, or rather, field marshals for the games. They certainly seemed fit in a certain category.
The four of them sat at a table, Laura poking at her food uneasily. "What's wrong?" Wing asked. Laura smiled back anxiously. "Just queasy, I suppose. I mean, after this breakfast, we'll have the first competition, right?"
This was news to Wing. He hadn't checked up on the schedule on the Island, so he was rather disoriented still.
"I honestly hope that it won't be me." Laura said, poking her food once more. There was an awkward silence, until Otto reassured her, something no one expected him to do. "Don't worry." He said. "They'll be giving the fighters a head start with their battle, and larger countries will be pitched first." When he realized what he said, he blushed scarlet, and started poking his food hastily. Even if it wasn't much, the three were surprised at his words. They sank back into their quiet stupor.
"May we sit here?" a girl asked, breaking the thick atmosphere. A girl around their age (obviously) stood by their table with long black hair tied in a ponytail, and light caramel skin. Someone looking similar to her stood behind her.
"Go right ahead." Shelby offered, and they sat down.
"Well… hello." Said the girl. "I guess it'd be best if we introduce ourselves."
"Go right ahead." Wing replied, mildly interested with the pair. The girl heaved a breath.
"I'm Maya Teresa Rizali, this is my sister Rosa Bellarmin Rizali, though she'd rather you call her Billie." She said in a clean accent. Or rather, no accent at all. "We're the representatives from the Philippines."
"But why are there two of you?" Otto asked. "Oh, seeing as we're a rather… detached country, we had to get two representatives." She replied, digging into what seemed like a cross between a sausage and a… something.
"So are you four going to introduce yourselves?" Billie asked. "Oh, sure." Shelby said. "I'm Shelby Trinity, representative of the U.S."
"I'm Laura Brand, from Scotland." Laura said. "Wing Fanchu, Japan."
The group looked at Otto. He sighed. "Otto Malpense, Britain." He said, almost exhaustedly.
"Right then, now that we've introduced each other―" but before Maya could say exactly what they were going to do, Nero stood up, and the entire hall quieted down.
"In a few hours," he said grandly. "We will officially open the Battala de Paz program. Please finish your breakfasts, return to your rooms, and you will find special clothing for the beginning of the competition, to be worn at the opening ceremony." He smiled at the rather nervous-looking lot.
"Thank you, and let the games begin."
Now that I've read the first book of the Hunger Games, I've realized how similar they are O_o
Anyways.... Read and Review!