Second to last full chapter I wrote. I don't really like this chapter at all, but whatever. Hope you enjoy! I might actually write more, if only because I enjoyed this so much. Thanks Anon reviewer for reading eight chapters of crap and reviewing!
* The next morning, Rome and I pace nervously in a waiting room with the other tributes. No one is talking. Judging by the many sick expressions I see, they are just as nervous as I am.
I try to think of what I'll do during my private session. I often mess up when I'm nervous, and my stomach churns when I think about messing up in front of them. Maybe I'd be so off, I'd hit one of them with a knife.
Katniss has said to just do my best and relax. But I am not one for relaxing, and I know Rome isn't either. He has told me that he will probably do something with arrows, then toss around some things. He looed nervous as he had said this, but not half as scared as me.
What if I hurt myself? I'd get a one for sure, maybe a two at best. The Gamemakers would laugh at me.
I sit down next to Brinna. We are only on District 3, and she will be next. Her eyes are closed and she's smiling.
"What are you thinking about?" I whisper. I can't imagine how she could be so relaxed.
"The Gamemakers in their underwear. And making nets. And sunny days in the water," she whispers back, eyes still closed. "If you think of happy things, the pressure melts away."
I lean back in my own chair and close my eyes. I try to think of the Gamemakers in their underwear, but I come up with nothing. Why am I so nervous? I wish I was like Brinna.
Her name is called, and she strides into the Training Room confidently.
And it goes on like that. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Then 12. My stomach plummets as they call my name.
The Gamemakers are all looking worn out and tired, eating from the buffet in front of them. A few of them smile when they see me, giving nods of approval.
I try my best to return their smiles, then go over to a table where hundreds of weapons are laid out. Maces, Arrows, Knives. I shy away from the complicated ones, going for the knives. I choose the shortest ones,
As I pick it up, my hands knocks something to the floor. I blush, and reach down to pick it up.
It's lighter fluid.
A spark of inspiration hits me.
I smile, really smile, for the first time today. Then I scour the table, coming up with a box matches.
The Gamemakers look up at me curiously, and I try my best to ignore them. I unscrew the cap off the bottle of lighter fluid and splash it on them and my knives. I strike a match and light the knives on fire.
Almost all the Gamemakers have their eyes trained on me now. One of them is transfixed, staring at me in mid chew. Roasted potatoes fall out of his mouth.
I feel almost crazy with excitement now, and I laugh manically, picking up a flaming knive. The hilt remains on fire, and my fingers become a little singed. I aim, and throw the knife as hard as I can.
It flips through the air and lands straight in the dummy's forehead. It immediately catches fire, the whole thing going up in flames.
I repeat it, again and again hitting the dummies hard, until they are all burning, looking like people roasting at the stake.
I watch them for a moment longer, until the Gamemakers tell me I can leave. I nod, say goodbye, then walk out the door, smile still plastered to my face.
Rome looks at me curiously, but I only shake my head. The smell of smoke follows me all the way back to the twelfth floor, where Katniss is waiting for me.
"How did it go?" she asks, a hopeful sort of tone in her voice.
I'm still smiling, not really believing what I just. "I think it went great."
She nods. "Good. Excellent."
I skip all the way to the dining table, where my bravado doesn't wear off until Rome comes back. By that time, I feel a bit more calm.
He looks like he's been waiting to ask me what happened the whole time. I tell him about the burning dummies, and he cracks a smile.
"I was wondering why there were smoking piles of ash where they had been," he says.
"What did you do for them?" I ask.
"Mostly shot things. I think they were impressed." He looks a bit like he's dreading his score, though.
"Anything else?" I raise an eyebrow.
He chuckled. "An arrow bounced of the wall and whacked a Gamemaker in his face. It didn't hurt him or anything. He said it was okay."
I laugh too, and we both bolt down our dinner, ravenous after the day. Then we all crowd around the T.V., anxiously awaiting our scores.
Most of the tributes get fours and fives. Brinna somehow wrangles an eight. The brown haired boy with the freckles, the Career, gets a ten. The other careers all score eights and nines.
Rome an I hold our breathes as District Twelve comes up. Rome's is first. A seven. Our breathes woosh out in amazement.
Then it's my picture flashing across the screen. I wait for the number.
An eight. The number is flaming, a knife stuck in the bottom loop. Rome laughs at that. We high five.
Katniss looks impressed. "Good. I'm sure you have some attention on you now." She smiles in a satisfactory way, and leans back into her chair.
We celebrate with sweetened milk with cocoa mixed in, until, full and sleepy, we stumble off to bed. For the first time since my name was drawn, I feel hope.