Sorry for the delay everyone! Here's chapter 8, we hope you like it! (:
Maysilee
I still can't seem to be able to stop smiling from my conversation with Haymitch earlier. I can't deny it now; I do feel something for him. I might as well admit it, as least to myself, before I possibly die in the Games. It's funny, instead of increasing my anxiety; having finally accepted to myself how I feel makes me more at peace with myself. I don't have to be at war with myself anymore on weather or not I will take him down if it ensures my ticket home. The answer; I won't. There's no way I can look at Haymitch and stab him in the back. I just hope he won't do that to me. Part of me doesn't think he will, I think he likes me too; if anything at least as friends. But another part of me wonders…
I've been lying on my bed for awhile after I took my shower and changed because I figured I still had awhile before dinner started. And just when I am thinking about heading to the dining room there's a knock at my door.
"Maysilee, it's time for dinner!" comes Rosale's voice.
"Coming!" I call back.
I follow Rosale and we go collect Lucy, Jarod, and Damon. Next we move on to Haymitch's room, but when Rosale knocks on his door and calls his name no one responds.
"I'll go look for him." Grumbles Damon. And with that he goes off in search for Haymitch. I wonder where he could have run off too…
"Okay, well let's head to the dining room then." Rosale says.
When we enter the dining room we are all surprised to see Haymitch sitting at the table.
"Hi guys. Where's Damon?" he asks.
"We went to all of your rooms to collect you and you weren't there, so he went looking for you." Rosale tells him. "Well, it's a nice surprise to see you here before everyone else, Haymitch!" she adds.
"Yeah, well I got bored." Haymitch replies.
"So, how was your guys' training today?" asks Rosale.
"It was okay. I just went around to some stations and learned some things." Lucy says.
"Same here. That's all I did." Jarod utters.
It seems like we all had the same strategy and I kinda feel like a copy cat when I say, "I went to a few stations and tried to master the concept as best I could and then moved on to the next station."
"Mine was ok. I went to pretty much every station. I didn't really irritate anyone. Except the Careers really seem to hate me for some reason. But I swear I didn't do anything!" Haymitch responds.
"Problems with the Careers?" Damon walks in. "What kind of problems?"
"They all headed for the elevator and there wasn't enough room and one of them looked at me and Maysilee and told the others to press all of the buttons so we had to wait longer." Haymitch explains.
"They always do something like that. They like to provoke the other tributes to try to cause a fight." Damon says as he sits down. "They did stuff like that in my year, too."
Well it's a good thing they didn't hear the little exchange Haymitch and I had about them then.
Damon continues on to tell us, "Well, you still have two more training days with them. Then you are in the arena together. I would suggest not angering the Careers unless you are ready to kill them. Don't retaliate to anything they do and just ignore them. As soon as you fight back they are going to put you on their hit list and you'll be the first one they go after."
Haymitch seems to ponder what Damon just said as the rest of us talk about what we might do during training tomorrow.
"I think I'm just going to go to random stations again." Lucy imputes.
"Same here. Though I might check out some of the weapons." Replies Jarod.
"Weapons are important, but make sure you learn some of the other survival basics like learning to start a fire." Damon says.
"I'm going to continue trying to master as many stations as I can." I contribute.
Damon doesn't offer me any feedback. Does that mean he approves? I hope so, because he doesn't seem to be helping me prepare for the Games very much.
As our meal start to come to an end Rosale announces, "You guys can get up whenever you want tomorrow. Just as long as you are at the training center at nine. Unless Damon wants you up early for something?"
"Nope. But I would suggest you eat breakfast before you go down to the training center instead of sleeping in until eight fifty-five. It's easier to train when you aren't hungry."
He heads over to the door and stops. "Oh, Lucy and Jared, you might want to consider what Haymitch and Maysilee are doing. It's easier to get through the days if you partner up." He walks out the door.
Whoa, so maybe Damon has been paying closer attention to what I do than I expected. So maybe he really didn't offer me feedback because he does approve of what I'm doing! That makes me feel somewhat relieved.
"What exactly is it that you guys are doing?" Jared asks somewhat grumpily.
"Well, we ate lunch together." Haymitch replies.
I try to think back to what we've done together that would lead the Damon saying that but I can't really think of anything. We didn't talk at training except during lunch and we haven't talked strategy or anything. Maybe he's referring to the fact that we talk as if we are friends; which I consider us to be. But does Damon suspect that there's more to it than that, at least on my side?
"And why would Damon tell us to do what you were doing if you just ate lunch together, then?" Jarod demands of us.
This is going to rub Haymitch the wrong way… and sure enough it does as he replies angrily, "Because Maysilee and I are bonding. We are friends. And you are just some jerk who is feeling sorry for himself alone in the corner"
"Ok then, if that's all it is. I don't believe you, though. You guys are just not telling us so that you can win." Jarod accuses.
"Well, no duh!" Haymitch shouts. "This is a competition. Nobody wants to die and everyone wants to win so that they can go back to their families. Is it so wrong that Maysilee and I have become friends? We are helping each other through the days until we are thrown into the arena."
"If Damon is telling me and Lucy that we should be more like you and do what you are doing, then I want to know what it is! We have a right to know!" He shouts at Haymitch. "You are a liar and have an unfair advantage for the Games!"
Haymitch stands and leaves the room angrily. I run after to try to calm him down. I soon catch up with him and I lay my hand on his arm to stop him, "Haymitch, calm down, he's just a jealous, lonely jerk. Don't let him get to you, you're better than him."
"It's just, I was telling him the truth. We… you and I, we aren't letting ourselves… What I mean to say is, you and I are friends." He tells me. "And we are helping each other through the process. And you're right. He is a jerk. And I don't get why he blew up on me. Calling me a liar and saying that I had an unfair advantage? Where did he get that from? And what does he think we are doing? I just don't get it."
"He blew up in your face because he's jealous. You got Damon's attention and he didn't. I think he believes we are in an alliance…" I pause. We haven't talked about alliances before. Does he want me to be in an alliance with him? I've thought about asking him but I have been to shy ask him. We are friends, so I'd be pretty hurt if we turned my offer down.
"That's just another thing I don't understand. Why does Damon notice me when he hates my guts?" he confusedly asks.
"I'm not sure…maybe your attitude towards him reminds him of himself when he was our age?"
"Maybe." He then adds, "It must be hard for him. To mentor all of the kids from Twelve that are tributes, only to watch them die. Maybe that's why he's so hostile and a drunk."
"I'm sure it is. If I had to mentor tributes each year just to watch them die I would probably not being a very happy person to be around. But that still doesn't give him a right to be rude to us."
I start thinking about what life will be like if I win. I'd move to the victors' village and each year I would mentor tributes alongside Damon. That doesn't sound like a fate I want. It's bad enough knowing the kids that are reaped, but having to mentor them too, knowing that they will most likely die? That's got to be hard, and I start to sympathize with Damon a little. But like I said, while he might be unhappy we don't deserve to be treated like this. You never know, one of us just might win…
We've both been caught up in our thoughts as we start to make our way towards our rooms and before I know it we have reached my door.
Haymitch seems slightly distracted as he says, "Goonight Maysilee."
"Goodnight Haymitch." I respond. I look into those troubled grey eyes for a moment before I turn around and open by door.
As I start to close the door behind me I hear Haymitch call, "Oh, Maysilee?"
"Yes?" I reply.
"Thank you." He tells me.
"For what?" I ask.
"For being there." He responds. And with that he takes of down the hall to his room as I close the door shut behind me.
Haymitch
After I get out of the shower, I get dressed and head to the dining room. I'm actually the first person there this time. I sit down and wonder if I'm in the right place. This is the dining room, right? They didn't move dinner to a different place, did they? I'm really doubting myself when the door swings open and everyone walks in. Well, everyone except Damon.
"Where's Damon?" I ask.
"We went to all of your rooms to collect you and you weren't there, so he went looking for you." Rosale replies. "Well, it's a nice surprise to see you here before everyone else, Haymitch!"
"Yeah, well I got bored." I say.
"So, how was your guys' training today?" Rosale asks.
"It was okay. I just went around to some stations and learned some things." Lucy answers.
"Same here. That's all I did." Says Jared.
"I went to a few stations and tried to master the concept as best I could and then moved on to the next station." Maysilee tells us.
"Mine was ok. I went to pretty much every station. I didn't really irritate anyone. Except the Careers really seem to hate me for some reason. But I swear I didn't do anything!" I say. I'm hoping to find out what exactly their problem is. Or do they always act like that?
"Problems with the Careers?" Damon walks in. "What kind of problems?"
"They all headed for the elevator and there wasn't enough room and one of them looked at me and Maysilee and told the others to press all of the buttons so we had to wait longer." I explained. Maybe I'm blowing this way out of proportion.
"They always do something like that. They like to provoke the other tributes to try to cause a fight." Damon says. "They did stuff like that in my year, too."
Damon and I are actually having a civil conversation. That's a first.
"Well you still have two more training days with the Careers. Then you are in the arena with them. I would suggest not angering them unless you are ready to kill them. Don't retaliate to anything they do and just ignore it. As soon as you fight back they are going to put you on their hit list and you'll be the first one they go after." Damon adds.
Damon is only confirming what I was thinking about why the Careers hated me. They don't. At least, not yet. They are just trying to pick out targets to go after in the beginning. And if I fight back, they are going to pounce on me when we are in the arena. I guess it's a good thing that I didn't do anything yet.
I eat my food while there is another conversation going on between the others. It's good food, too. Pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon bits, cranberry sauce, and corn.
"You guys can get up whenever you want tomorrow. Just as long as you are at the training center at nine." Rosale says. "Unless Damon wants you up early for something?"
"Nope. But I would suggest you eat breakfast before you go down to the training center instead of sleeping in until eight fifty-five. It's easier to train when you aren't hungry."
He starts heading over to the door and stops to turn and look at us. "Oh, Lucy and Jarod, you might want to consider what Haymitch and Maysilee are doing. It's easier to get through the days if you partner up." He walks out the door.
"What exactly is it that you guys are doing?" Jarod asks. I may be mistaken but he seems a little angry that Damon approves of what Maysilee and I are doing and not what he is doing.
"Well, we ate lunch together." I say. I wonder if Damon has been watching us all along. I wonder if he can tell that I care about her. Or if he just thinks that we are close friends. I wonder if he actually feels sorry for us?
"And why would Damon tell us to do what you were doing if you just ate lunch together, then?" Jarod demands. Yeah, I was right. He is angry that Damon told him to be like me.
"Because Maysilee and I are bonding. We are friends. And you are just some jerk who is feeling sorry for himself alone in the corner." I snap back hotly. I think about what Damon could've seen. We ate lunch together today. We held hands on the chariot. But I don't think he would've seen that. I walked her to her room. But he had already gone to his…
"Ok then, if that's all it is. I don't believe you, though. You guys are just not telling us so that you can win." He accuses.
"Well, no duh!" I shout. "This is a competition. Nobody wants to die and everyone wants to win so that they can go back to their families. Is it so wrong that Maysilee and I become friends? We are helping each other through the days until we are thrown into the arena."
"If Damon is telling me and Lucy that we should be more like you and do what you are doing, then I want to know what it is! We have a right to know!" He yells at me. "You are a liar and have an unfair advantage for the Games!"
I am so tempted to kick his butt, but that is against the rules. I could get myself killed for that. Or make my family suffer. So I do something I would never do in District Twelve, I turn and leave the dining room and Maysilee is right behind me.
I keep walking until I am halfway down the hallway, then Maysilee touches my arm.
"Haymitch, calm down, he's just a jealous, lonely jerk. Don't let him get to you, you're better than him.
"It's just, I was telling him the truth. We… you and I, we aren't letting ourselves… What I mean to say is, you and I are friends." I stumble around for the right words. Well, I wish it could be more than that. "And we are helping each other through the process. And you're right. He is a jerk. And I don't get why he blew up on me. Calling me a liar and saying that I had an unfair advantage? Where did he get that from? And what does he think we are doing? I just don't get it."
"He blew up in your face because he's jealous. You got Damon's attention and he didn't. I think he believes we are in an alliance…"She tells me.
"That's just another thing I don't understand. Why does Damon notice me when he hates my guts?" I ask. This really confuses me. We are practically jumping down each other's throats on a daily basis.
"I'm not sure…maybe your attitude towards him reminds him of himself when he was our age?" Maysilee answers. I think about this. Maybe she's right. Maybe I am like him. Or maybe he thinks I've got a better chance of winning than Jarod does.
"Maybe." Am I just like Damon? What does that mean? If I win, am I going to end up an alcoholic and argue with all of the tributes of District Twelve that I have to mentor? I sure hope not. But maybe he has reason to be like that.
"It must be hard for him. To mentor all of the kids from Twelve that are tributes, only to watch them die. Maybe that's why he's so hostile and a drunk." I share with her. It's got to be.
"I'm sure it is. If I had to mentor tributes each year just to watch them die I would probably not being a very happy person to be around. But that still doesn't give him a right to be rude to us." She says. I think about it. As hard as it must be for him, you'd think he'd feel more sorry than hostile.
We stop at her door.
"Goodnight, Maysilee." I say
"Goodnight, Haymitch." She responds. She starts to close the door. I start to walk down the hall to my room.
"Oh, Maysilee?" I turn and call.
"Yes?" She answers.
"Thank you." I tell her.
She looks confused. "For what?"
"For being there." I answer and head to my room.
When I get to my room, I lie on the bed and try to get to sleep.