Chapter 6

The bedroom I'm staying in probably costs more money than my entire house and the closet is loaded with so many outfits, it's probably taken hundreds of dollars to fill. Every fabric was soft and top quality, but a lot of it was stuff I would never wear, either too formal, or too complicated. Eventually, I settle on a light cream colour top and some darker pants. They're light, feeling almost like air. Back at Twelve, all the clothing is heavy, dark and hand made. Here, the stitches are so small I can hardly see them. I've only seen clothing like this on Cecily, who was also one of the richer girls in the district, but even her fabrics seem like something I'd find in a dumpster compared to this.

By the time I get back to the main apartment, the food is already on the table. I had never seen this much food in my life. There's a full pig, cooked, of course, even with an apple stuck in it's mouth, with condiments covering it that I never even heard of, like Saffron and Pijme. They taste amazing, but I can barely eat any of it, they're so rich. Dessert comes along and my mouth drops open. It's a three story chocolate cake, with icing covering every inch of it. I take a slice, but I can't even come close to finishing it. In the end, with all five us eating a slice, there's still two stories of the cake left.

Aiola looks at it with vague indifference, "Pity it was served last, don't you agree?" Then, her face lights up, "Does anyone want more? I'm sure we have some Orange in here."

"An orange?" Rilien asks, "I'd like one."

Aiola smiles at him, "Oh good! Joanna?"

She shakes her head with a look of disgust, "I'll pass." Gee, wonder what made her hates oranges?

Aiola's spirit doesn't damper, "Either of you?"

Both Blight and I shake our heads. I'm so full I can't even imagine somehow fitting an orange into my stomach. Aiola stands up and begins going through the cupboards. Finally, she pulls out a ornate glass bottle filled to the brim with neon orange liquid inside. She pours it into two small glasses and flashes a brilliantly white smile, "There we go, problem solved!"

She hands one to Rilien, who looks at it suspiciously, "There's no alcohol in here, right?"

Aiola laughs like it's the funniest thing she's heard, "Of course not!"

Rilien is still eyeing the glass, but he ends up bring it to his mouth to drink.

"Oh no, Rilien," Aiola explains, "Don't drink it here, go to the bathroom!"

"The bathroom? Why would I do that?"

"Silly me, sometimes I forget just how uncivilized the districts are. It makes you sick, Rilien. So that you can enjoy more cake."

He slams the drink back onto the table, "Why would I poison myself!"

"So you can eat more cake," She explains, slowly. She has genuine bafflement on her face.

Rilien shakes his head, "I'm not drinking this."

AIola shrugs, "Oh well. If you don't mind, I'll excuse myself." She takes her neon orange drink off the table and takes it to the bathroom with her.

Blight coughs loudly, sarcasm laces his voice, "Now that the lovely Aiola has left, we have more important things to discuss. Strategies, for the training centre," He clarifies.
Rilien and I nod.

"You have three days to gain any skill you want. Use the axes to impress the careers and Katniss, I'm assuming that you're not joining them?" Blight asks.

I nod.

Blight doesn't look happy with my choice, but he doesn't mention anything, "Don't use the bow then, alright," He told me, "No one will expect someone from Seven to be able to shoot."

"And go for the climbing skills and survival skills, alright, we all know we don't need another joke about a tribute from Seven falling to their death from a tree," Johanna tells us.

"That's never actually happened before though," Rilien states. He freezes and scrunches up his nose as we all hear Aiola's retching noises. He moves the orange drink further away from him.

"Tell that to Coren Millington's district partner," Blight says, "And don't stay too close to the weapon training. You can already use an ax."

"Right. I'm exhausted, so I'm going to bed," Rilien declares, pushing his chair back and heading up the stairs. It sounds like a good idea, so I follow.

Two hours later, I still can't get to sleep. I hear some movement from the living room, so I investigate. I find Johanna staring at a pristine white envelope on the table. She looks nothing like the feisty quick witted victor I know. Johanna sits on the couch, looking defeated. She is wearing elaborate makeup and a tight, short red dress on. She doesn't look Johanna, instead, she just looks like a Capitol woman. If it wasn't for me knowing her, I could easily dismiss her as just another face in the crowd.

The second I made a noise, she looks at me, all alert. The illusion is broken, gone is the Capitolian woman and Johanna the victor is back. She relaxes a second later, "Katniss. Go to sleep," She orders, "You'll need it."

"Is there anywhere I can go, other than, you know, here?" I asks.

Johanna sighs, "You're on lockdown, but the roof is generally clear. There's a field around it though, so don't try to jump."

How many tributes had tried to jump to their death before the Games? "Thanks," I tell her, heading to the roof.

Just like Johanna promised, the roof is empty. I go up to the edge and just look down. There is the busy Capitol, cars speed around, people crowd to place to place and every direction I look has a party going on. They're all loud and wild, but from thirteen stories high in the air, I can't hear a thing. I just sit on the ledge for an hour, staring at the Capitol, wondering if the field Johanna told me about really exists. With my legs dangling over the streets below, it feels, for the first time since the Reaping started, that I can control my fate. It's an illusion, because the forcefield probably a meter below my feet and I wouldn't jump, even if there was no forcefield, because I have a family relying on my survival. I watch as the moon rises higher and higher into the sky and I decide to go back to the apartment.

Unlike how it was before, nothing in the tribute centre is moving, except me. It's dark too, without the natural sunlight lighting up the centre. I press the 7 button on the elevator and wait until I reached my floor.

Johanna had disappeared, so I walked to my bedroom and slept. It was one of the best sleeps I every got.

Yay, another chapter is finished!