Even though I did not see Finnick during training, thoughts about him constantly bugged my mind. I couldn't focus properly, and I even (almost) attempted to eat a mouthful of nightlock at the edible plants station had Monika not stopped me.
"Annie!" She shrieks, smacking my hand and forcing me to drop the berries in surprise.
"W-What?" I ask, blinking as I regain my focus.
The berries tumble onto the mat.
"Those are nightlock!" Monika says, her eyes wide with horror. "You tried to eat them! They're poisonous!"
I frown as I study the berries in my hands. How could I not have noticed...? "O-Oh, y-you're right..." I stammer. "W-Well," I try sheepishly, "It's a good thing you're going to be my ally then, right?"
Her worrying look immediately fades. "Allies! Of course!" She beams, taking my hand to officially seal the deal. I'll have to inform Finnick later...
But talking to Finnick is the last thing I want to do.
We stop talking when Davis comes walking toward us, together with a couple of other tributes. "Hey, look. It's the poor District Four girl and that other girl," one of the girls in his group (Karat) says. "I'm scared already!" She pretends to shudder, and her other "friends" howl with laughter.
I scowl.
They do not want to anger me right now, because:
1) I was mad already (thanks to that certain Finnick Odair)
and 2) When I got mad, I tend to become a little...violent.
Monika stares at Karat with wide eyes, and instinctively I grab a handful of nightlock and throw it at her with all the strength I can muster. She moves her head swiftly to avoid the berries, but since I had thrown so many, some hit her directly in the face and smudged it.
She wipes the juice away with a furious glare at me. "Well well well," she tuts, "I'll have to avoid flying berries in the arena, won't I? Because they'll certainly kill me." She lets out an infuriating laugh as she beckons to her group. "C'mon, let's go. She is so not worth being a Career," she says loudly.
It appears that she's their leader.
"I never wanted to be a Career anyway!" I yell after her.
She responds with a "Hmph!" and tosses her hair back in my direction. Davis manages to give me an apologetic look before he follows them.
"I'm sorry," Monika murmurs, studying the ground. "It's because you're with me so nobody else wants to be allies with you."
"It's not you, Monika," I object fiercely. "You're a very nice girl. In fact, I feel sorry that they don't want to know you."
She blushes. "R-Really? You think so?"
I smile reassuringly at her. "Why, of course! You're the only person who has treated me like a friend since the Reaping," I say serenely. What about Finnick? A small voice asks in my head. Trying to get rid of all thoughts of Finnick, I suggest, "Why don't we go to the camouflage station?"
Monika grins back at me. "I think I'll stay here a bit longer. You go ahead, Annie."
"If that's what you want..." I shrug, sidestepping the knife-throwing station (the Careers are currently there), and go to the camouflaging station for more practice.
A few minutes later, another girl come to join me. I notice that the number on the back of her training uniform is twelve.
District Twelve, huh?
We work in silence for a while, and it's actually she who breaks the silence first. "Not a Career for someone from District Four? That's new," she comments. She's not being rude about it. She was just...curious.
Apparently she had witnessed my earlier exchange with the Careers.
"That doesn't concern you, does it?" I mutter. "It's not like I wanted to be Reaped, anyway."
I usually don't go all whiny and have attitude problems, but I can't help myself. People shouldn't be judged based on which District they come from.
She holds out a hand to me, and I notice that it's covered with paint. "I'm Lillia," she introduces.
Liliana...
I wonder how my friend was doing back home. Is she worried about me? Or is she spending time with her boyfriend?
I'm probably never going to find out.
"Annie," I say, though I'm sure she already knows who I am.
I take her hand, and it's not long before my own is covered with wet paint.
"Nice to meet you," she says formerly, then resumes her work as if nothing had happened between us.
My attention shifts to a station not far from me.
Oh, the rope tying station! I look at it longingly.
Screw Finnick's strategy. I need to do something with my hands, and painting was not going to cure my distracted mind. I move toward the station as if I was pulled by a magnet, and I snatch a piece of rope without hesitation.
It feels extremely good in my hands.
"Now I see why my brother likes you so much," a voice muses from beside me.
I jump.
Davis is kneeling next to me, a piece of rope in his own hand.
"Don't creep up on me like that!" I snap, taking a deep breath to calm my thudding heart.
"What do you mean by 'Creep up on me'?" Dave asks innocently. "I was making so much noise, you could hear me from District Thirteen!" Of course, it's impossible to hear anything from District Thirteen—since there aren't anyone there anyway—but he was over-exaggerating. At least, I hope he was. It would be pretty bad if he did make too much noise.
I flush with embarrassment. "Okay, I may have been just a little...too focused," I admit reluctantly.
Sitting down next to me, Davis mutters, "I wish I can tie knots as well as you and my brother."
"I can teach you if you'd like," I offer politely. I figure that Finnick will never be able to teach Davis his skills, and there wasn't a big chance that Davis will be the one to win the Games. If he did win...I really don't want to think what will happen if he wins.
"Thanks," Davis says, smiling genuinely.
Silence.
Oookay...That's nice. Where in the world am I supposed to start?
Davis gives me a look, clearly expecting me to start instructing him.
"S-Show me what you know first," I manage. I do not know how to teach people. Perhaps it'll be better if I die in the arena, so I won't have to mentor future tributes and watch them die because I failed.
"Good idea," Davis says casually, and takes the rope and began bending and twisting it. He holds it up for my opinion. "I only ever watch Finnick tie ropes," he explains. "I've never actually learned."
The rope-tying trainer, a man named Debti, decides to leave the two of us alone.
I take his rope and study it. "This is too loose," I say, pointing to a particular knot, "See here? It'll never hold. Let me show you what I mean..."
"How come you're so good at tying ropes?" Davis asks.
"My dad," I answer simply.
When Davis gives me a questioning look, I elaborate, "He was a fisherman, and whenever we had broken nets, he would ask me to fix them. I had a lot of practice, I guess." I smile humorlessly.
He must've noticed my using of the past tense. "I...see," he says. "Did he..."
"Die?" I finish for him, and Davis flinches at the bitterness in my voice. "Yeah. It was a boating accident."
"My father died in a boating accident, too," Davis says quietly.
I want desperately to tell him the real reason why his father had died, but if Finnick had not told Davis before, then he must have good reasons not to. I am also moved that Finnick has told me something so private.
"Boating accidents are rather common in District Four, aren't they?" I ask dryly.
"I suppose," he mutters doubtfully. "Why did he have to die, Annie? That's what I want to know." His voice comes out in a soft growl.
I have a feeling that he knows. At least, he knows that his father's death wasn't just an 'accident'.
It's not fair.
I think of Dany, brutally murdered in his Games. Ellie, shot dead by the Peacekeepers. My father and Finnick and Davis's father, mysteriously killed in boating accidents.
Why? Why did anyone have to die?
It's all because of the Capitol.
Who will be next...?
Disclaimer: I am not from the Capitol, so of course I don't own the Hunger Games.
No Finnick/Annie fluff in this chapter. But she does deserve to be spared from his arrogance and bond with others once in a while! ;)