Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!
I added a cover photo. It looks almost exactly like I pictured Lacey, but I imagined Lacey's hair to be a little darker. Anyway, I would like to say this again… I don't own the picture. The amazing picture was taken by Tanneke Peetoom, otherwise known as Tanneke Photography. :) I also don't own the song I put in here. That is Clumsy Little heart, and it is sung by the band Every Avenue. :D
By the way… I pronounce Styarr like Sty-are. Some people have told me Star… and others pronounce it as Sty-er. I don't really know how it is actually pronounced. (It is an actual name) You can call him whatever you want. :P
I hope you like the chapter! It's a short chapter because I spent too much time looking for a cover and I split the chariots in half. That's also why it is late… sorry about that. Next is training… so that should be longer. Would you rather I wrote each training day separately (Three chapters, around the length of chapter 3, and would be up sooner) or would you prefer one chapter for all of the training days (Longer than chapter 2, but would take longer to write. It could possibly no update this weekend)?
I see colors. No shapes, just blurs of bright colors. I blink and my vision focuses, revealing that those colorful blurs are people; people who are screaming our names and pointing at us. I start to tune out the voices and soon all sounds form together into white noise. I smile brightly and wave a few times. Everyone seems to love me, and I get caught up in the moment. I normally don't like bring the center of attention, but it's actually nice now. All too soon the moment is over and our chariot slowly rolls to stop in front of the president's mansion. The last couple of chariots pull up around us and soon the president steps onto the balcony and begins his long boring speech that I decide to not pay attention to. Instead I look around at all the other tributes.
Flame, the district 1 female, is wearing a really short golden skirt with a belt made of diamonds and a bikini top made of jewels. She has little diamonds in her hair and tall red heels. Her lips are blood red and she is smiling seductively. She looks like the girls Emma always described; I think she called them sluts.
Cameron, the district 1 male, is wearing a golden suit that is diamond encrusted and a tie made of rainbow gems. He is rather short for a career and he is young for one too. I'm guessing he is around 14 years old. He has a smirk on his face and he but he is glaring at his district partner. I have to admit, he would be what I considered good-looking if he wasn't glaring at people. I am still staring at him when he suddenly looks my way and makes eye contact with me. He grins lopsidedly and I want to look away, but I can't will myself to. I blush and soon the other careers, and about half of the other tributes are glancing back and forth between Cameron and I. I smile sheepishly at him and look away, quickly looking at the next tribute, Blair, the district 2 female.
Blair is wearing an Athena costume. It has a long white dress and golden armor. Her dark brown hair is up in a ponytail and she was wearing very little makeup. She has a malicious and bloodthirsty look in her eyes and I quickly looked away from her because she is glaring at me with a menacing smile on her face.
Storm, the district 2 male, is dressed in a golden metal armor skirt and no shirt, which reminded me of a gladiator. He practically radiated pride, confidence and strength. He has a sword by his side and he too is glaring at me while wearing a cruel smile. I swear if he was closer he would have picked his sword up and cut off all my limbs by now.
Sadie, the district three female is wearing a thick strapped dress that stopped just above her knees. It is made from tons of colorful wires and was a little chaotic if you ask me. Her district partner, Evan, is wearing a similar outfit except his is a suit and the tie lit up. He looked pretty bad, since his red hair clashes with the blinding tie and practically makes it impossible to look at him.
Alice, district 4's female tribute, looked extremely uncomfortable in her costume. She is wearing a light blue bikini and has an inner tube around her waist. Her light brown hair is put up into a high ponytail and her bright green eyes are lined with blue eyeliner. She looks really pretty and I can't help but feel slightly jealous of her. She looks about my age, and I begin to wonder if every girl my age from district 4 looks like that.
Before I can finish looking at all the tributes, I hear the President Say, "Have a Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor!" as our chariots are rolled away from the mansion and we are paraded back through the city. Everything is once again a blur of colors and loud noises. I smile and wave until we arrive at a new building, the training center. It's huge and all I can do is stare in awe as our chariot rolls through the giant doors that swing shut behind the district 12 chariot; leaving the loud noise and blinding colors behind.
I hop out of our chariot and blink a few times so that my vision returns to normal. My ears are still ringing and I have a feeling that they aren't going to stop ringing for a while. As I look around, I realize that Sephoria, Evanna, and Styarr aren't here yet. I decide to wait here until they arrive, so I sit down against the wall that is right next to our chariot. Soul must have wandered off somewhere while I wasn't looking. As I wait for my mentor, escort, and stylist to arrive, I sing a song that Emma loved and used to sing all the time.
Swear she's okay
Don't need a witness to her feelings
She watches them escape, the good ones get away
So cut and paste
And the stitches are revealing unraveling this way
Makes her feel ashamed.
All around her people stare as she slowly falls apart
Picking up pieces of her clumsy little heart
It's hard to know where you're going
When you don't know where to start
But that's just life, and that's the hardest part
That's the hardest part…
"You are a good singer," an unknown voice says, causing me to jump. I look up and see Cameron leaning against the wall. I blush slightly and stand up slowly.
"Uh…. Thanks?" I reply. I honestly have no idea what else to say. He's a career, why would he even bother talking to me?
He laughs, and somehow knowing what I am think about, he says, "I know you are wondering why I am talking to you. I don't exactly know why I am to be completely honest. I think it's because you seem interesting… or maybe it's the fact that you are cute and dressed as Little Red Riding Hood."
I laugh, blushing again as I say, "Me? Interesting? I don't know how you got that idea, but I'm glad you decided to come over here. You seem nice."
He chuckles quietly and smirks, something scary flashing in his eyes. I take a step back but unfortunately realize that I am now against a wall and that we are completely out of everyone's sight. He closes the space between us and puts an arm on the wall on both sides of me. He smirks again and whispers, "I seem…. Nice? I think that you need to rethink that Lacey. I am a career after all. I'm one of your biggest competitors, and you need to remember that you aren't exactly strong enough to fight me. You aren't even strong enough to fight Alice. I don't want to hurt you, but you need to remember one thing. I'm not nice. Don't ever call me nice. Ok?"
I really want to laugh at him, or to show him exactly how strong I am, but I remind myself that I have to stay in character, so I widen my eyes in 'fear' and nod quickly.
He smirks and takes a step back, winking at me before walking away. I watch him until he turns around a corner and is out of sight. I smirk and chuckle. He will be in for a big surprise in the arena…
I take a minute to get back into character before I walk out from behind the chariot. At the same time, Styarr, Sephoria, and Evanna walk into the room. I grin and skip over to them, causing several people to stare at me. I guess I should get used to that, it happens pretty often.
"Hey guys! How did I do? It was so much fun! My ears won't stop ringing though… capitol people are loud! Have you seen Soul? He wandered off somewhere and I haven't seen him for a while…" I say, talking fast enough that my words start to blur together.
"Whoa whoa slow down Lacey! You did amazing, the people love you! Soul went to our floor. Come on now, it's getting late and you need to get some sleep. Tomorrow is the first day of training." Sephoria says.
"Ok Sephie! I'm tired anyways… and I can't wait for tomorrow, training will be fun! I think I'm going to start with climbing, or maybe camouflage. Camouflage is like painting right? Oh I love painting! Maybe I should learn to throw a knife. Knives are so cool! What do you think Sephie? I mean, you are my mentor after all, it's your job to tell me what to focus on, right?" I ask, trying to speak slower but failing.
Sephoria chuckles and answers my question by saying, "Yes, it's my job. I'll tell you what to focus on in the morning. Now let's go to our floor."
I nod and start skipping down the hall.
"Lacey! That isn't the right hallway! Let me lead." Sephoria shouts.
"Oh," I say, blushing slightly before adding, "Oopsy."
I walk back to them and follow Sephoria down a different hall which leads to a flight of stairs. I grin and start running up the stairs before stopping and turning around just as Evanna and Styarr groan.
"I think we will go take the elevator. You two have fun with the stairs." Styarr says as he turns to leave.
Sephoria laughs and replies, "Ok, you go do that." Then she turns and starts running up the stairs after me.
Seven flights of stairs later she stops and opens up a door which leads to what I am assuming is our floor. I walk through the door right after she does and almost instantly stop walking, which leads to me getting hit by the door.
Our floor is so fancy! I don't really want to touch anything because it all just looks so perfect and I feel like anything I touch would break. Everything is a shade of green or brown, and it feels so inviting and it reminds me of home. I shake my head and step through the doorway, finally letting the door swing shut. It closes loudly and echoes through the room, making me jump slightly.
"Your room is the fourth one on the left. It's hard to miss. I'd be careful though, I think that Evanna redecorated it just for you," Sephoria says, chuckling while saying the last part.
I nod and walk down the hall until I reach the fourth door. She was right, it is hard to miss. Evanna put 'Lacey' on the door in glittery swirly letters and covered the rest of the door in pink hearts and unicorns.
I groan and open the door slowly, and I'm not exactly surprised to find that it looks like a glitter bomb exploded in my room. The walls are painted a sparkly light pink with a border that has fairies and unicorns on it. The floor is white and the ceiling is a giant painting of a unicorn galloping across a rainbow, which happens to be in a pink sky. The bed is covered in pink fluffy pillows and has unicorn plush animals on it. I really want to rip everything to shreds, but without turning around I know that someone is watching me. So instead of banging my head off the wall like I want to, I hop up and down and clap, giggling as I spin in circles. The person laughs and I instantly recognize that it is Soul who is watching me act like a six year old. I stop spinning and face Soul, still grinning.
"Hey Soul! I love my room, don't you? It's so colorful and sparkly and pretty!" I say in the girly voice that I have now perfected, giggling quietly at the end. Oh god I should tone it down a little before I throw up.
"Yeah sure. It's really… interesting I guess. I just wanted to say goodnight. Good luck sleeping in here… it's so bright, too bright for a room if you ask me." He says, glancing around the room slowly.
I shrug and say, "I don't think it should be too hard. Besides, the bed is really fluffy so that should make things easier."
"If you say so. Anyway, goodnight Lacey. I'll see you at training tomorrow."
"Night Soul! See ya in the morning!" I call out, giggling again.
He rolls his eyes and shuts the door. I get up and go to the bathroom, shower quickly, and change into a white tank top and pink fuzzy shorts. I fasten my necklace around my neck, the weight of it making me smile. I then creep out into the hall and to the stairs, walking up them quietly until I reach the top. Sephoria had told me all about the roof, and it seems like the perfect place to be alone. I'm still going to train at night in the training center, but tonight I just need a calm place to strategize, and being outside always helps me think. I open the door that leads to the rooftop slowly and quietly, freezing almost instantly because there are voices. At the moment, a male is talking. I instantly recognize the voice as Cameron's, and I realize that the careers are having a meeting up here. Slowly, I slip through the door and shut it silently behind me. The wind covers any little noises that I possibly make, and I'm really grateful for that. Being caught spying on the careers would be bad. I look around for a hiding place, quickly deciding to climb on top of the roof of the stairwell. I climb silently and lay down flat, making me impossible to see from below. Of course, I can't see what the careers are up to, but I really only need to be able to hear.
I stay completely still, not making any sounds at all, listening to their conversation. Well, half listening, I mean, I don't really need to listen to them brag about how amazing they looked in the tribute parade. I can easily identify Flame, Cameron, Blair, Storm, and Sebastian, but I don't hear Alice. She's a career too, so why isn't she up here with them? I continue to only partially listen to their conversation until they say something that grabs my attention.
"So Cameron, what do you think of Lacey? I mean, you two were staring at each other during the tribute parade. Do you like her?" Flame asks.
Cameron chuckles and says, "She's interesting… and she's cute I guess. Cute isn't the right word. Angelic maybe? She's got that sweet and innocent look. Then there is something else… I can't figure it out. I think that's what interests me. I can usually read people pretty easily, but I can't figure her out. I have a feeling that she's hiding something. If she wasn't so young and little, I'd say that she was hiding a secret talent, but I overheard her mentor talking to her escort, apparently Lacey has known her mentor for years now. She is as weak and little as she looks. I don't know…. Maybe I do like her. I'd say that I have a crush on her, but half the time I'm thinking about how wonderful it would be to torture her to death. I talked to her earlier, after the tribute parade. She's a really good singer, but she's more childish than I had expected. She called me nice. No one calls me nice. She also gets terrified really easily, I scared her and I doubt that she will be talking to me again."
I have to bite my arm to keep myself from laughing. Cameron, the district one male, a career, is crushing… on me. I find it funnier that he thinks he scared me; my acting skills must be really good.
"Oh my god! Cameron you totally like her! Cameron and Lacey sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I…" Flame sings out, getting cut off by someone punching her. "OW! Cameron calm down, I'm just messing with you."
Just then, the door to the roof swings open and I assume everyone turns to face the newcomer.
"Well well well… look who showed up! Sorry, you weren't invited. Unless you want to get humiliated, I suggest you leave." Blair says, chuckling darkly at the end.
"No. I need to talk to you. I think I could be a good addition to the career pack. I'm strong, fast, I know all about plants and medicine; I know how to hunt down animals… and people. I can throw a spear, and I could easily kill a person without a weapon. I'm your biggest competition, so why not add me to your group and make me an ally instead of an enemy?" The unknown voice says. The only thing I get from this is that the person is a male.
"We don't need any more allies. The career pack is already big enough. So why don't you fu-" Sebastian starts to say, but is cut off by someone else saying, "Let him stay. If he is as good as he says he is, then we have a good ally. When we are in training, we can find out if he is bluffing or not. If he is lying, then he becomes our main target and we kill him during the bloodbath. If he betrays us, then we hunt him down and torture him to death. If he thinks he's good enough to join us, then we should give him a chance. He could make the career pack stronger than it has ever been." The person who spoke is a young female, speaking quietly and softly, but the whole career pack stopped talking and listened to her. It has to be Alice, but why does she have so much respect from the rest of the careers?
"Ok. You can stay; Alice seems to think you are a good addition to the group. Who are you exactly?" Storm asks.
"I'm Brandon from district 6." The boy replies.
"Alright Brandon, we have some things that we still need to discuss. You start training with us tomorrow, we will see you then." Storm says and Brandon runs off of the roof, the door slamming shut behind him.
"She speaks! I was honestly starting to doubt if you ever talked Alice. It also seems like you can judge people well, and you are good at reasoning. There is something you could do that would really help out. I need you to figure out everything you can about the other tributes. Try to figure out who our biggest competitors are, and who is going to be easy to kill. Anyone that you think could be useful… and also, spend some extra time trying to figure out certain people, I'll tell you who at the end of the night. Can you do that?" Blair asks. I'm going to assume that she is the leader of the careers.
"Yeah I can. It should be easy." Alice says, laughing quietly.
Hours later they have worked out a strategy, given Alice of list of tributes to spend extra time trying to figure out, and separated all the tributes into two groups, easy targets and biggest competition. They decided that Alice needs to try to figure out everything about Soul, Brandon, Sadie, Skye, Xena, Scarlette, Axel, Jasper, Munro, Elora, and, most importantly, me. I'm only on the list because of Cameron, and I'm only most important because he wants to know everything about me. I swear I'm tempted to tell him to fuck off and that I don't like him… but that would ruin my character. I listen as Alice reads the two lists aloud. Apparently Soul is their biggest competitor, and I'm the easiest target. If only they knew just how wrong they were….
Soon they leave and after a few minutes I climb down, walk back to the district 7 floor, crawl into bed, and quickly fall asleep.
Well that's the chapter! I'm sorry that its a few days late… don't kill me!
Review? Maybe… possibly? It would make me happy! Thanks to all of you who have reviewed the first three chapters.
I'll hopefully have the next chapter up in a week… but I need to know which way you would prefer for me to write training. :)
Thanks again!