Today is Victor's Birthday…
One, two three. Three strikes before the dummy falls over. Once in the stomach, once in the chest and once in the throat. Victor prefers these moving dummies. They seem to "dodge" Victor's blows by moving side to side on a track. He now knows that the previous dummies he used aren't really helpful. No tribute would be staying that still. He is getting more ready with each day. Just now, he hears shouts coming from the climbing course. Instinct tells him to turn his head. The shouts are cheers from a group of 9 year olds. Amandine is at the top. Amandine. At the top. No. NO.
"NOOOO!" Victor lets out a scream and runs toward his sister. All the other people training in the gymnasium stop what they are doing. Weapons clatter to the ground. Everyone has to see the source of this disruption. Amandine freezes at the top of the course. An instructor holds Victor back. He fights momentarily, and then gives up. "Just get her off of that thing." He screams. And so an instructor is immediately sent up to help Amandine get down.
"Victor, there is no risk. It won't happen."
He only vaguely hears the voice which tells him this. That was what they had said. There had been "no risk." It was perfectly safe. There were mats on the ground. There was such a small chance of getting hurt.
Such a small chance. And yet it had happened. It was a "freak accident." She hadn't even fallen that far down. But it was enough. She had hit the ground in just the right place for it to happen. Right on her neck. Just a fraction of an inch below or above and she would have lived. But she didn't. And now she was gone. The only friend he'd ever had.
Victor shudders. The instructor looks at him with a confused expression on his face. Victor's shudders turn into shakes. "Why don't you just hit the showers and rest before eliminations." He pats Victor's back awkwardly. Victor nods numbly. A shower would be good. He drags himself over to the locker room. It's much better when it's empty in here. It's like Victor can just think. He turns the water to the hottest it can get. Usually, with all the other boys in the room, the water is lukewarm at best. With the help of the hot water, Victor slowly drifts off. But they aren't happy thoughts. His mind drifts off to that day, one year ago.
He sits on the edge of his bed, unable to sleep. It will be okay, he tells himself. He will call Pearl. He has her phone number buried somewhere in his chest of drawers. He will explain to her about his family. And he will tell her that they can still be friends, or more, but that they have to keep it a little more secretive. Pearl will sound mad, but only at first. By the end of their conversation, she will be laughing and spewing out sarcastic comments. And Victor will pretend to be annoyed with her sarcasm, like always. But he really likes that sarcastic sense of humor. Victor moves toward his drawer. He's surprised to find out that the number hardly took any time to look for. He stares at the numbers. Not tonight. It's late. She's probably asleep. Still, a small part of him knows that Pearl isn't asleep. He isn't ready yet. Because now, after tonight, he can't help but feel that he's doing something wrong by talking to her. And so he falls asleep.
Victor has the next two days off from training. He's glad for that, sure, but he wants to go to the Center nonetheless. He's 13, which means he should take responsibility for his own training. No one will have to tell him. So he gets into Training clothes and goes to open the door. But something stops him. What if Pearl is there? He just isn't ready for a conversation face-to-face. It would be much easier on the phone. He spends the rest of the day running back and forth from the phone, checking for messages. He doesn't feel ready yet, but maybe Pearl will…. Well, it's probably best anyway. Pearl will need a day to cool down. Yes, that's it. She will just need today to get her head level, and then Victor will call her. He smiles to himself. Everything will be okay.
Once again, he is staring at numbers. It is the next morning. He's been putting this off long enough. It's time. Oh, who cares what his father does! Never mind him! Victor knows what he has to do. He dials the numbers, so slowly at first that the call is ended several times. But finally, Victor gets through.
"Hello?" Victor recognizes the gravelly voice on the end as that of Pearl's father. He even sounds dirty. Victor sighs mentally. He has to go through with this, like it or not.
"Hello, its Victor, Pearl's friend. I-I need to talk to her. I, uhh, I have something I need to explain to her."
There is a long pause on the other end. Victor almost hangs up. No, this just too much. IT's too nerve-racking. But then the gravelly voice returns.
"I should say you do. The night before last, she ran up into her room sobbing, and spent all day there yesterday. She wouldn't tell me a thing. Pearl always tells me everything."
Oh no. This is bad. This guy is mad, and Victor knows it. Is Pearl's father going to yell at him on the phone? What's he going to do? But what he does do next is something completely unexpected.
"I appreciate you calling Victor. I know that you are a good person. And only the strongest young man can call someone else to ask for forgiveness. That's a very hard thing to do. I will make sure to explain that to Pearl, but I have a feeling she already knows. She really likes you Victor and she's always going on about you. I have a feeling you can get through whatever this is."
Victor feels himself blushing. Pearl goes on and on about him at home? "Thanks Mr. Harrison." He manages to get out.
"No problem, boy. But my advice to you is to not let Pearl hang up. She can be stubborn, but I know you will figure something out. Hang in there! I know you can."
Victor nods, then realizes that since he's on the phone, Mr. Harrison can't see him. But he feels better now. He heard what Mr. Harrison said. He's strong!
"Can I talk to Pearl now?"
He hears laughing on the other end. Laughing? "Oh, I'm sorry son. Pearl is at the Training Center now. But I will be sure to tell her that you called."
Victor actually does sigh into the phone. "All right, another day for her to calm down might be best. I'll just talk to her tomorrow."
"Whatever you think is best. It's all up to you, Victor. Only you can decide how this ends, okay? But I trust you'll do the right thing."
And with that, the man hangs up. After the call, Victor feels it would be best to walk Pearl to the Center on the next day. That way, by the time they get there, the issue will have disappeared, and he can concentrate on his training. He makes his way through the mining district, searching for Pearl's address. All the houses here are so small. Victor can't imagine living in one. Unlike the areas of the district Victor has seen, everything here seems gray. There is hardly any color. Victor thinks he knows now what Mr. Harrison's motivation for Pearl staying in training was. Any place seems better than here. He stops in front of another gray, squat one-floored house. It's probably one-roomed too. He raises his hand to knock on the door. Three long bangs echo through the heavy air. Actually, the air does feel what Victor can only describe as "heavy." He has just realized that no one is outside. There are no children running around, no adults strolling and chatting. He does hear voices coming from the side of the house. Since it doesn't seem like anyone is answering Victor's knocks, and now he risks being late for training, he decides to follow the voices. Two men are leaning against a wall, both wearing miner's outfits. Their voices are low and serious. Something seems very wrong here. "Excuse me," Victor says, hoping his voice isn't shaking, "but I was wondering if I had the right house. I was looking for the Harrison's place. Their daughter, Pearl, she has to go to training now, and we were going to walk there together." He wonders why he told them that last part. Oh well, it doesn't matter. But they just stare at him. One of them takes the dirtiest handkerchief Victor has ever seen out of his pocket.
"He doesn't know." Says the other. Know? Know what? The man leans down to in front of Victor, placing his hand on his shoulder. Victor resists the urge to shake him off. Won't someone tell him what's going on?
"Son, Pearl died yesterday."
Victor unwraps the towel around his waist and pulls on his clothes. It's time to stop living in the past. What's done is done. He runs his fingers through his hair. Is there a chance of him being eliminated this year? He was distracted the first few weeks and his performance wasn't half as good as usual. The eliminations of 14 year olds are notorious for being one of the largest. But since then he has been putting every ounce of himself to training. He made a promise to Pearl. He is going to win. So he has been staying at the Center until the lights go out. He comes on weekends so often, he realizes that it's been at least two months since he last saw his sister Amethyst, and at least a year since he saw his cousin Glimmer. Neither his mother nor his father has asked for him to come home for a visit. Victor doesn't care. Suddenly, he reads the time on the clock. Damn! He's missing the ceremony! He practically bursts through the double doors to the gymnasium, but the place is so packed that no one notices him. He comes just in time to hear Amandine's name being read. She has made it another year. Well, of course she has. She's a strong girl. Pearl liked her. He remembers that. She used to play hand games with her in the dining hall. Maybe Amandine reminded her of herself. They both always had something to say. Emory, now 12, makes it through another year. Victor remembers his weapon of choice as daggers. He must be at least adequate with those things. Finally, it's time for the 14 year olds.
"Champagne Lucian"
Mercury Calvert"
"Cornelia Beryl"
"Jasper Pinot"
"Jett Tillman"
"Gloss Terrence"
"Virdinia Hart"
"Luxor Williams"
"Flint Colvin"
"Victor Sybil"
So there it was. His name was last. There is no feeling quite like that of having your name called last. You feel so sure it will never be called, but then, there it is. Victor turns to leave the gymnasium. Crowds are all filing out. Victor can make out his parents talking to Emory's parents, as well as Glimmer's. For some reason, his mother is paying no mind to Amandine at her side. Victor moves over to them. He grabs her hand into his own. She looks up at him with those big, brown eyes of hers. "Victor, how come mommy and daddy aren't hugging me?" She asks. Oh, leave it to Mandi to ask a question that's impossible to answer. He bends down to Amandine. What would Pearl do? She always had the answers for everything.
"Here, I'll hug you, Mandi. I'm really proud of you for making it." He puts his arms around her tiny frame. She rests her head on his shoulder. For a split second. And Victor is surprised to find how perfectly her head fits there. They both stand up, their parents nowhere in sight. Not that it matters. Victor leads her out the doors, but then he suddenly stops. There, fluttering in the breeze, just above the door, is a bright orange flyer. For the Annual Reaping Ball. He stares at it, the words blurring together.
"Why are you staring at that, Vicky?" Amandine's voice brings him back.
"I'm just…remembering." He whispers.
"Remembering what?" She swings his hand in her own, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"The time I learned how to dance."