We walk into the training center to find that no one has arrived yet. The only people present are some trainers that are organizing their stations.
"Good morning girls." Saline greets with a warm smile. Saline is a trainer in charge of the knife throwing station. She became very fond of Amethyst and I when she saw our skills. Saline is very pretty, explaining why a lot of boys go to her station. Her light blue eyes compliment her light brown hair and white porcelain skin.
"Good morning." Amethyst and I say back.
Saline is one of my favorite trainers throughout the training center. One of the things that I admire is that when someone doesn't get something right, she helps them improve. Patience is a trait that she possesses. Something that most of the trainers here should learn about.
Amethyst stays and talks with Saline while I walk over to the spear throwing station. I guess Glen hasn't arrived yet. With very little trainers here, I blame Amethyst for having us arrive too early.
Glen is the trainer for the spear-throwing station. He's been my mentor ever since I took an interest in spears. He is the opposite of Saline;he has very little patience. One time this boy Dylan didn't hold the spear right, and Glen lectured him about having no talent and being a weakling for a career.
I remember the first time I tried out the spear throwing station. After getting the hang of it, I was decent with throwing spears from afar. It's a challenge when it's your first time, but if you're like me and calculate the important things, it won't be too long until you get better. Glen barely gets impatient with me. He says that I'm his best student, but when he does, I would always have a snappy, witty comment to my defense.
Picking up a three foot spear with a diamond shaped shaft, I twirl it around then position myself to throw. I throw it and it lands right on the bullseye. I'm good at any type of spear, but when I get into the arena I'd prefer using the smaller ones since they're lighter and easier to carry around.
Glancing at the knife throwing station, I see that Amethyst is already getting started with her knives. I focus on my spears and throw another one. Dead center.
"Warming up early in the morning, I see." I turn around and see Glen standing with a dark blue duffle bag clinging to his right shoulder.
"Yeah, I just want to get some practice in before the reaping."
Since I'm volunteering this year I want to do some last minute training with spears and other survival skills. When I get to the Capitol, I'm going to have to go through the tribute parade before we're all allowed to train. For me, that's a long time.
The reaping is tomorrow and I want to make sure that no one in the 18 year old girls division isn't planning on volunteering. This is my year and if someone else tries to ruin it for me, I'll have no problem teaching them a lesson. I waited for all the trainers of the survival skills stations to arrive. When they do, I walk away from the spear throwing station and walk over to the snares station. The trainer Dustin was helpful, and in no time I learned the basic types of snares that are useful for catching animals that will make a great meal in the arena.
Before noon, I've tied intricate and complicated knots at the knot tying station, identified berries that are either edible or deadly, identified different medicinal plants that can heal burns and tracker jacker stings, and learned what materials are good for making fires.
After a visit to each of the survival skills stations, I go back to the spear throwing station. I see three people trying it out, but none are as good as me. Among them is a girl who manages to hit the dummy, but it is nowhere near the bullseye. She has dark brown hair, which is not very common here in district one with almost every female having blonde hair.
Elaine, I believe is her name. I recognize her. She usually goes to one of my father's jewelry shops with her dad. Sometimes I'd see her around the training center and noticed that she's good with a bow and arrow. She's probably trying to get some training in case she gets reaped. Unless she's going to volunteer. I will find out.
"Tighten your grip." I tell her, standing right behind with my arms crossed.
She's about to let go of the spear, but turns around quickly. When she sees me, she turns back around, tightens her grip on the spear, like I told her, and throws. It was nice throw. It landed about four inches near the dummy's heart.
"Thanks. Amethine, right?" She asks kindly, with her hands hanging by her side.
I nod. "No problem. I barely see you here at the spear throwing station. Are you going to volunteer?" I ask, ready to threaten her if 'yes' comes out of her mouth.
"No way. I'm just trying everything out, in case I get reaped. I'm not planning on volunteering anytime soon." she responds quickly. It's obvious that she's getting nervous.
"Oh. How old are you?"
"Sixteen."
"Just like my sister. Do me favor? Tell your friends who plan on volunteering to wait until next year. It's my year, and if anyone else tries to ruin it, I'm gonna get them when they least expect it." I say firmly.
She nods eagerly. "Well, good luck. I'm going to go to the knot-tying station." she says, walking away quickly.
Good. If I can scare a little sixteen year old, then it'll be no problem threatening an eighteen year old into not volunteering. I hear the lunch bell ring, signaling that it's time to eat. In the training center, there's a cafeteria that provides lunch for the trainees. We get a full hour lunch break, and when you hear the bell ring again, it's back to training.
"Hey Amethine, wait for me!" My head snaps around to find Shine jogging in my direction. As stupid as her name sounds, Shine has been one of my closest friends ever since we were kids. We first met when she went shopping at my dad's jewelry shop with her family. Both of our fathers got along, and later along the way, we did too.
"I hope the lunch is good. I will not eat if they serve that disgusting honey baked chicken dish again." She says in disgust, her blonde hair bouncing as we walk.
Don't let Shine's girlishness fool you. She's skilled with a whip and is lethal in hand to hand combat. We walk into the huge, blue double doors and see that a lot of trainees are already seated at tables with their trays. Shine and I grab our food which is roasted chicken topped with green vegetable sauce that tastes great.
Our other friends Reina and Evan join us at the table. Reina and I met here in the training center a few years ago, and at first we hated each other, but started to notice that we were alike in some ways. She use to have blonde hair like Shine and I, but she was tired of having the same hair color as everyone else, so she dyed it fiery red. She matches more with that color.
Evan and Reina have been dating on and off for five years now and are still going strong. Most girls here in district one go crazy for him, and that doesn't stop Reina from telling them to back off. She is very possessive with him, but that's only to claim him as hers and warn other girls that are interested.
"Are you still volunteering?" Shine asks.
"Yes, and there's nothing that's going to change my mind." I say drinking from the bottle of water that was also provided.
All of a sudden the three look around awkwardly. Reina is staring into Evan's eyes as if she's urging him to do something. They know I'm not stupid, and that I can sense something is going on.
"What?" I ask, slightly annoyed.
"Nothing. We're going to really miss you when you leave for the games." Reina answers.
I'm still not convinced. I know something is not right, but I don't bother to ask what it is and they don't volunteer to tell. We finish our food and discuss what angles might fit well for my interview, which is on the night before all the tributes enter the arena.
"How about sexy and devious?" Shine suggests.
"A big no. District one female tributes always act sexy, but not me. Look at where it got them, they probably won over a fair amount of sponsors, but most don't make it out alive." I say harshly.
This is completely true. Everyone expects the district one female to take on the sexy angle for her interview, but I'm not using that. Most district one female tributes who use that angle aren't taken seriously and are usually killed first among the career alliance.
"But I think I could pull off the devious part." I say, sounding grateful to Shine's idea.
The lunch bell rings and we exit the cafeteria. Shine and I say bye to Reina and Evan who walk over to the axe station. I suggest we throw spears and Shine agrees.
All of my spears land on the center of the dummy's heart. Shine manages to hit the dummy, but barely gets the spear to hit the bullseye. Once I mastered the art of throwing spears, Shine begged me to teach her. Back then she was horrible and the trainers were having a hard time teaching her. I've tried every teaching strategy, but she is just unteachable. The only thing she accomplished so far was holding the spear right and managing to make the spear stick onto the dummy.
Since training ends at three o'clock, and it is currently one o'clock, Shine and I just continue throwing more spears then decide to move on to the knife throwing station. Ofcourse Amethyst is still there, throwing her knives and watching them land onto the dead center of the dummy's head. I'm not too bad at throwing knives, since Amethyst and Saline gave me a few helpful tips.
Shine is the opposite whatsoever. Her knives can't stick. I muster all the strength I have to hide my laughter, but I fail and so does Amethyst. Shine tells us to shut up.
Time flies and we hear the bell that tells us training is over. No trainee is allowed to stay back and train more, but tomorrow the training center will open at seven o'clock and the trainees are allowed to come and train up until ten. This only happens on the day of reaping.
I say bye to Shine. Her house is just around the corner of the training center so it won't be that far of a walk for her. Amethyst and I say bye to Saline and we walk out of the training center, ready to head home.
I hope you liked it! Thank you for reading (: