District 4: Kantix Kosmelt's POV
After two hours of sitting in a slightly smoky parlor room, I am even bored with sighing from boredom. Camille and Marco still haven't gotten back from their scouting exhibition. I am literally dying of boredom. Bliss isn't fairing any better. While sitting in this room with her, I have picked up on the fact that she gets sea sick easily. I have seen her almost throw up at least four times. She tried to cover each time up with a casual cough that she blamed on the smoky atmosphere. I nodded each time and pretended not to know the truth. But now, we need something to talk about. "You get sea sick, don't you?"
Bliss looks at me and turns a shade of pink. "No, well, not really…yes. But I didn't know until today so I wasn't able to come up with a better cover-up. I'm sorry." I laugh at that which calms the flush on her face.
"I didn't assume the girl from 1 would have ever been on a boat so you don't have to apologize." Bliss nods her thanks, but this settles us back into uncomfortable silence for another five minutes. Counting the number of smoke clouds that appear out of nowhere again proves to be boring and I break our silence again. "You don't have to answer this since I may be prying, but what's up with you and Marco?"
She doesn't respond right away, but she doesn't look appalled at my asking either. She seems to be pondering it. "I don't know what we are or what's up with us, honestly. Sometimes I hate him and other times I feel almost in love with him again…"
"Again?"
"You don't want to hear that story," she tells me with a small smile.
"I think I kind of do, but you don't have to tell me," I say with a dramatic sigh in the middle.
"Well now I feel obligated to tell you, like you will die if I don't," she says with a larger smile after a small laugh.
"Die of boredom, yes."
"Fine," Bliss says and takes a deep breath. I guess it will be long. "We started dating when we were both fifteen. He was charming and sweet. We dated for about a year. It was his sixteenth birthday and I was making a wonderful, home-cooked meal in his kitchen when I heard noises from his bedroom. I went up to his room to find him with some slutty girl who was in our class. When I asked him what he was doing, he said to me I wasn't the first and asked me why I should think I would be the last. That was the end of our love affair."
"Wow." That is all I can say. Well, not really. "Isn't he the world's biggest asshole?"
Bliss laughs. "Yeah, he cheated on me and now he is bossing me around. And I still might have feelings for him. What is wrong with me?"
"Not what's wrong with you, but what is wrong with him. He is a by the book asshole. That is what the book says, cheat and lead violently. Of course, assholes can't read the book so…"
Bliss is laughing really hard now. I smile as well. I didn't really assume I would be laughing at all in this game. Of course, I didn't come in ready to give up my personality and just kill like Marco. I just didn't think I would find someone that could be a real ally. "Enough about me," Bliss says as her laughter dies down. "What about you? Do you have anyone special back home?"
"How long do we have?"
Bliss laughs a bit at this. "Well, it's Camille and Marco. They are either hooking up or they're dead so I think we have enough time. Come on, I just told you my very romantic story, spill yours."
"Well…"
Red, an interesting choice of color for the room where I will be saying my final good-byes. I assume the Capitol is sending a message. Your child has almost no chance of escaping this and their blood is on your hands. It is your fault this is happening, your fault.
I know I am not going to cry. It is not because I want to seem tough for the audience. I want to be tough for my family. I need to prepare them to be strong. If I can. I don't have time to figure it out. My parents are being ushered in.
It doesn't take more than two minutes to say good-bye to my parents. I love them, but they know there is someone more important I need to say good-bye to. My parents give me tearful farewells before they are taken out. I only have one more visitor. Kalela comes in, her eyes red from crying. I try to smile at her, but I am in danger of crying as well. The realization of how much I will miss her hits me hard the minute I meet her eyes.
She doesn't run into my arms immediately. She speaks first. "I need to tell you something. It is the wrong time, but if I don't tell you, I might never…" She doesn't have the heart to finish, but I know what she means. This might be the last time we are together. I know exactly what she needs to say and it is what I need to say too.
"I like…"
"I lo…" We both trail of as we try to profess our feelings at the same time. "You go," I tell her. She wipes at way a tear that slips out and nods.
"I like you, Kantix, a lot. I'm going to miss you so much." I have been dreaming of this moment all along, yet my heart breaks when I hear her words. She doesn't love me. She likes me, just likes. I should be relieved she even feels the feelings I have halfway. Somehow though, it isn't the same. The girl I am in love with isn't in the same place as me. And now she never will be.
Now she runs into my arms. We kiss our first kiss and I do feel the spark I knew I would feel. But the fact that Kalela doesn't completely return my true feelings for her taunts me and the sparks that just occurred. What if no fireworks were going off in her head? What if…
"She doesn't know you love her?" Bliss asks when I finished, a frown on her face.
"Well now she knows how I feel," I say as I motion to the many expertly hidden cameras in the room. Bliss shakes her head and continues to frown.
"You know that is not what I mean. Why didn't you tell her? Maybe she was afraid you weren't there yet and didn't want to say it without being sure," Bliss suggests.
Now I shake my head. "I saw it in her eyes. Maybe she didn't even like me really. The fact that I was leaving forever made her fall for me. Anyway, I wasn't going to embarrass myself by telling her if she didn't feel that way. I wasn't going to let the last time we were together be awkward."
"What are you talking about? That may not have been the last time you will see her. But if you act like that you will. Come on, you could kick Marco's ass if you wanted to," Bliss says with a reassuring smile. This only causes me to frown.
"You have a lot to live for. I'm sure you have a wonderful family and you will find someone far better than Marco when you get back…"
"Stop, you don't know that. Trust me; you have a lot more to live for than I do. I have no family to go back to and I don't think I can ever find someone. I don't even have a life after this if I do get out. I didn't come here to win."
"Why?" I ask, suddenly confused. I have heard tributes who say they have no family and nobody special. I have even heard tributes say they don't want to win. But I have never heard anyone say they don't have a life to get back to. I didn't peg Bliss as a girl who came into the arena for suicide. "What do you mean no life to get back to?"
"You can't tell any tribute about this, okay?" she asks me. I nod. I also didn't peg Bliss as a girl with a secret to hide. Well, it won't be a secret for long. The whole Capitol probably has their eyes glued to the screen. I bet people have already bet on what her secret is. But no one will be hearing this from me.
"I promise."
Bliss leans a little closer, maybe in hopes the Capitol won't pick it up. Of course, that is a fool's hope. The Capitol knows all. "I have cancer."
District 4: Camille Booth's POV
"Is this little mission over yet," I complain again, but it falls on deaf ears. Again. Marco is thirsty for blood. No one has died since the bloodbath this morning. Now it is almost nightfall and the lack of fights to the death is killing Marco. At least he makes frustration look hot. If not, I would have been gone by now.
"Patience, love, patience," Marco says to my complaint. "We have found evidence of tributes. I'm sure it is just a little further." I roll my eyes at his comment about evidence. Our "evidence" is a few bread crumbs we found thirty minutes ago. The trail ended when we left the room we found the crumbs in, but Marco is sure the bread droppers are around here somewhere.
I stomp my foot on the ground. My stomp rattles the nearby plants and causes Marco to turn around, the early stages of anger in his eyes. "What was that for," he asks through gritted teeth.
"We have been walking for two hours chasing nothing, but air. Give it up! It is over," I sneer at him. "We are going back now." Marco takes my information in before nodding.
"I agree, we haven't been very productive, but…" He comes in very close to me to whisper in my ear. "Want to get a few sponsors? How is that for productive?" I shiver as I feel his arms for around my waist. Finally, we are chasing something worth catching. I give him a smirk in response and push Marco softly into one of the walls. His lips land on mine and soon we are doing enough to get every pervert in the Capitol to sponsor us.
It is after five minutes of sponsor ensnaring when I hear it. The music. I pull away from Marco or more push him away when the soft melodies reach my ear. "Do you hear that?" I whisper, craning my neck to listen more closely. Marco stops breathing in order to hear, but soon nods. I straighten out my dress and he fixes his tie as we walk towards the music. We find it flowing out of the dining room we had left hours before.
It is not an empty room any longer. The tables are full of every delicacy the Capitol probably has to offer. The lights are all spreading a soft glow over the whole room. The music comes from thin air, a beautiful and full orchestra playing every note to perfection. Each chair is pulled out, expecting occupants. In the middle of the largest and grandest table, is a present wrapped in silver wrapping paper and a giant, blood red bow. It has the makings of the perfect party. Or the perfect massacre.
Marco's voice is in my ear. "The first feast has begun."
…..
The first feast has begun. Next up are Kat and Dexter. Also, thank you for two hundred reviews! And another thing, I have been reading some stories and I came across a SOYC that let someone write a guest chapter. I thought that was pretty cool and I was wondering if any of you would be interested in writing a chapter for this story. It would actually be nice since I have finals week in a couple of weeks. Just put a comment in your review if you would consider doing it.
Capitol Question of the Day: Who do you think will come out of the feast victorious?
Reviews are appreciated. Peace, Love, and All That Jazz.
-Emma