The sun shines through the window, signaling me that it's time to get up. Thanks to Marcus, I got a good night's sleep. I remind myself to somehow thank him later.
Today will be our private training session with the Gamemakers. We have ten minutes to impress them with our skills, and we will receive a rating of how well we did on a scale of 1-12, one being the worst, twelve the best. I heard that it would be nearly impossible to achieve a twelve, and that the Gamemakers were hard to impress.
That didn't do anything for my nerves.
I take a quick shower then head straight to Marcus' room for breakfast. When I get there, everyone is already there and the food is on the table.
"I went ahead and ordered your food for you," Marcus tells me. He motions to the plate next to his. Fried eggs, sausage, and orange juice. My favorite. I thank him and sit down to eat.
"Is anyone else nervous about the private training later?" Kennedie asks.
"Not me. I'm going to blow them away with my amazing skills," Evan says.
"Or lack of," Kennedie counters. Evan sticks his tongue out at her and she laughs. The rest of us laugh too.
"I'm definitely nervous," I admit, stabbing my eggs with my fork and bringing them to my mouth.
"Me too," Max says. "What about you Sarah?" Sarah looks up from her pancakes shyly and nods, before her head is lowered once again. Father comes in soon after, all ready for the day.
"Well well, what do we have here?" he asks.
I chew up my food and swallow before I answer. "Dad, this is Kennedie, Max, Sarah, and of course you know Evan," I say. "I want them as our allies." He raises an eyebrow and gives Marcus a questioning look. Marcus nods. I look over at the other four for confirmation, since it might have slipped my mind to ask them. Evan smiles and gives me a thumbs up, and Kennedie nods. Max does the same, and even though her head is turned down, I can see a small smile from Sarah.
"Well it's nice to meet you kids," he says. "Hey, Evan, how's your mother?"
"She's good. She had another kid if you haven't heard. Her name is Michelle. She turns 2 in about 4 months," Evan replies. Dad seems a little surprised.
"Wonder why she didn't tell me," Dad says. It is his sister, after all. I know they don't get along too well, but they usually put up with each other and let each other know about big events that have happened. Evan just shrugs his shoulders and continues eating his food.
Putting it aside, dad gets down to business "So, Annelise, Marcus, today I want you guys to spend some time at the weapons. Get warmed up before your private sessions later." We both nod in understandment. Dad leaves, with 'mentoring matters' to attend to, as he put it.
When we all finish our breakfast, we head down to the training room and spread out. I go to the sword station, while Marcus goes to the gun station. Sarah, Max, and Evan go to work with the knives. Kennedie decides against weapons, and instead goes to work on an obstacle course. I watch Sarah, and how she lands right on target every time with her knives. Max definitely rated her skills truthfully.
Turning my attention back to my own training, I pick up a sword. It is silver and starts out wide at the base, but slims out and ends with a sharp point. I practice on a dummy the instructor sets up for me, slicing it and stabbing it perfectly on the targets. The instructor gives me a few tips to improve my accuracy and speed, and I catch on quickly.
Once I have made it through two dummies and start to lunge my sword into the third, I notice a few others stop and watch me, so I purposely miss so they won't think much of it. It works, and they go back to their own trainings.
When I finish the third dummy off, I grab a new sword. This one has a curved blade, making it look very deadly. I immediately grab another dummy and cut it in half. The blade glides through it effortlessly. Some more moves, and I have it finished off with the praise of the instructor.
I decide my time is up and move to the knives station with the other three. We all take turns throwing the knives. Six out of the eight times I throw it, I get a bulls-eye. The other two times, I'm slightly off, but pretty close. Again, Sarah hits the bulls-eye every time.
"You are really amazing at this Sarah," I compliment. I notice a light red cross her cheeks, making her freckles stand out.
"Thank you," she says quietly.
Then we bounce around from all the different weapon stations. Some come easy for me, others, not so much. I'm a mess with a spear, missing the target by about a foot each time. This stations instructor is busy with another tribute whose skills greatly exceeded my own, leaving me to figure it out on my own.
After another attempt, I sigh in frustration as it lodges on the wall behind the intended target. I grab another one, preparing to throw it blindly, when I feel someone behind me. Marcus grabs my arms just as I'm about to let it fly.
"You're not going to hit anything throwing it like that Sapphire," he says.
"I don't care. I'm getting frustrated," I say. He chuckles and grabs hold of my right wrist, guiding my hand to show me how to throw it. When I let it go, it flies, hitting the target, only a few inches off from the center.
A victorious smile breaks on my face "Thanks," I say.
"Any time." He steps back and I grab another spear. I try throwing it by myself the way Marcus had showed me. It takes a bit, but eventually I hit the center. Marcus congratulates me when I do and I decide to show Marcus how to use a sword in return.
"Back for more?" The instructor asks.
"Just showing my partner here how it's done," I say. He nods and leaves me to show Marcus, knowing I could do it just as well as him. Marcus flings it around a few times, slicing the dummy, and stabs it in the stomach while I shout out instructions. It's off a little bit, but still pretty accurate.
"Not bad," I compliment.
"I could have done better, but I didn't want to steal all your glory," he jokes. I roll my eyes.
"If you say so." He takes me to the gun station next, and is surprised to find out I can shoot with accuracy.
"You're a better shot than you look," he says.
"Thanks… I think," I say.
He laughs. "Just kidding." I put the gun back on the rack carefully, then grab his hand.
"Follow me." I guide him to work on snares, since our time with the weapons is up. The instructor shows us a bunch of useful snares, some for catching animals, others for catching tributes. Evan and Kennedie join us, while Max and Sarah are working at the knot station.
We finish off at the edible plants station. We wanted to save what was left of our energy for our training sessions that were coming very soon.
Soon comes quickly, because the next thing we know, a voice comes over the loud speaker telling us to meet in the dining room. They serve us lunch while they prepare to assess our skills.