To make up for the long wait, I want to post up two long chapters. I'll try to speed things up, because I know you guys want to Amethine get into the arena (:
First, I just want to respond to the awesome readers who reviewed! Well, most of you.
Allygrlfrnd: Thank you! Here is the update.
Dancingchocolatesmudge: Thanks! & yeah, Marina isn't really that cold like the rest of the careers, but she will have victims.
Erudite-Dauntless Girl: Haha, I know right! Now, in school I'll nickname the popular people in my school 'the careers' lol. Thank you!
BeatsInAllegro: Thank you! I'm glad that you get a clear idea on how something looks when I describe it. & I will never ever abandon a story, no matter what (: I know, I can't wait for you guys to take a look at the arena.
morgan Bishop: Thanks! I'm happy you like it (:
Cato4ever: Thank you so much! I'm happy you like the story, and here is the update you asked for (:
RainbowTeeth8: Thank you! It's okay if your review isn't long, because it's still awesome! (:
A person (Guest): Your attempt at flaming me is making me laugh right now. You don't like the ending? Well, don't read, then. I could care less about you. You don't even have an account. Oh, and was the swearing necessary?
Thanks again guys for these amazing reviews, except for that low life guest. I really appreciate it! (:
Okay, read on!
"Are you both in the career alliance?" Cashmere asks.
Not even five minutes pass when we step out of the elevator when our mentors and Morraina ambush us and question us like we had committed a crime. Startled with all the questions, Morraina suggested we sit down and eat and discuss it at the same time. We agreed, and that is what we are doing right now.
"Yes."
"Who else did you guys recruit?" Beryl asks.
"The boy from 9, Gary." I say.
"You remember his name?" Gloss asks.
"Yeah, I wrote it down."
"We already know that Amethine has survival skills, so what about you Evan?" Axin asks.
"I okay with setting up snares." says Evan.
"That's it?" asks Cashmere.
"I can make fires and paint camouflage." he says.
"Those will be helpful, but it might not be enough. Tomorrow, visit some survival skills stations." Beryl says. Evan nods.
"You guys didn't tell me about my nickname." I say slicing the roast beef on my plate.
Beryl giggles a little and I shoot her a glare. Cashmere smiles, Gloss looks away, and Axin puts his head down.
"We watched the tribute parade when you went to bed. You guys had the best costumes." Gloss says.
"Don't worry darling, you were amazing!" Morraina says.
"Thanks." I mutter.
"So tomorrow, do we just play with the weapons again?" Evan asks.
"Yeah, but it won't hurt to learn something new." Beryl says.
Training ended at 6, and I want to relax. I finish my food and give it to an Avox. I decide to watch the recap of the tribute parade, since I didn't see it on the first night.
I walk into the den and sit on the couch. I ask an Avox to bring me a glass of water, and when she sets it down I turn the big screen on with the universal remote.
"The tribute parade is one of the most exciting moments, next to the games isn't it Claudius?" asks Caesar.
"Yes it is. I love seeing the different costumes that the tributes have on." Claudius replies.
"There they are!" Caesar exclaims. I see our chariot roll out of the gigantic gates followed by district 2, and the other chariots. I look at my blank face, and Evan's friendly smile.
"District 1- Luxury. Now look at those lovely costumes!" Caesar exclaims.
"The glitters really represent the items that their district makes." Claudius say while nodding.
"She looks like a goddess. A golden goddess." Caesar says, observing the chariots.
After watching everything, I turn it off. I drink all of the water and place it back on the table. I stretch my feet out and rest my hands behind my head. I close my eyes.
"Amethine!" Morraina calls. Dammit. I was so close to falling asleep.
"Yes?"
"Come over here please." she says. I walk over to the table, where everyone is still sitting.
"Do you think we should play a game of 'never have I ever'?" Cashmere asks. Axin and Gloss shake their heads, urging me to say no and Beryl and Morraina nod, urging me to say yes.
"How do you play?" I ask.
"We fill our cups with wine, and then-"
"Wait, wine?" I ask. Cashmere nods eagerly.
"It's okay dear, you guys could have some. I'm sure it won't be a problem. It's just for one night." Morraina says. I have tasted wine before, but on accident. My mom left her glass on the counter one day when I came home from training. I didn't know it was wine, because it was in a regular glass cup. When I drank it I tried to spit it out when I realized that it wasn't juice, but I swallowed it. It tastes bitter, but there was a tinge of sweet grape in it.
"Each of us gets a glass and we fill it with wine. We go around the table and everyone says something that they've never done, and if you have done it then you need to finish the wine in your glass. The last person to get drunk wins." Cashmere says.
"So do you want to play?" Beryl asks.
"Uhh-"
"She'll play! Yay! Gloss and Axin, don't you dare pout. You two said that it's up to Amethine and she wants to play!" Morraina says. I glare at her and she flashes an innocent smile. Everyone else ignores the fact that I didn't choose to play.
I sigh and sit down. Morraina has an Avox fill our elegant glasses with wine.
"Can you please make it full?" Morraina asks. I roll my eyes. I wonder who will win. I say it's either Evan or me that's going to be sober for the night.
"I'll go first. Never have I ever hated my district partner." Beryl says. Everyone looks at me. Even Evan. I sigh and down the wine. I grimace when I taste the bitterness of the liquid and everyone laughs. Evan sends me a puzzled look.
"Okay first off, I didn't hate him. I was just mad with him volunteering." I clarified. An Avox refills my cup.
"Never have I ever kissed Axin." says Cashmere. I grin and look around the table. My eyes widen when Beryl is the one finishing the wine in her glass.
"You kissed Axin?" Evan asks, before I can. Beryl nods, and I see her blushing.
"Yeah, I did. Give me a break, we were both drunk at this party here in the Capitol." she says to her defense. I look at Axin and he nods.
"Okay, my turn. Never have I ever worn a bra." Axin says. The boys have triumphant grin on their faces while Morraina, Beryl, Cashmere, and I finish the wine in our glass, an Avox refills it shortly after.
"Never have I ever kissed a boy." Gloss says with an evil smile.
"You are both sexists." I say. Cashmere, Beryl, and Morraina finish the wine in their glass. Thankfully, I haven't kissed a boy. I'm too busy with training that I don't have time, and also because I don't want to have a love life. I think there are things that are more important than boys.
"My turn. Never have I ever killed anyone." I say. Everyone except Evan, Morraina, and I finish their wine.
"Never have I ever been to the Capitol twice." Evan says. I give him a high-five, because we're the only ones who don't have to finish our wine.
"Never have I ever lived in any of the districts." Morraina says. Everyone except her, downs their wine.
We do this about fifteen more times and Evan wins. Beryl was the first to get drunk, Cashmere second, then Gloss, Morraina, Axin, me, and then Evan. I feel like my head is pounding, and the whole world is disoriented. I fall trying to stand up from my chair and an Avox helps me stand and leads me to my room with a supportive hand.
"Good night!" Beryl says as we're halfway to the hall.
"That's what it feels like to drink, sweetheart." Axin calls.
"Night, don't let the drunk bugs bite!" Cashmere yells.
"Thank you." I slur when she helps me get into my bed. She nods and covers me with the blanket. She exits and I fall asleep.
"Get up!" Morraina says. What a welcoming greeting.
The effects of a hangover are sinking in and I regret my decision of playing that game last night. How could I have been so stupid. I am a career. Careers don't stay up late with their mentors and silly escort to get drunk. I stumble into the bathroom and puke into the toilet. I rinse my mouth and brush my teeth afterwards.
After a long icy cold shower, I'm awake. I put on the training suit, pull my hair into a ponytail and walk outside.
I smile at the Avox who helped me to my room and she returns it. I put some roasted beef, broccoli, and bell peppers on my plate. I join my mentors and Morraina at the table.
The crazy, intoxicated people I was with last night are gone and replaced with serious, no nonsense ones. They don't even mention what happened last night. We eat our food quietly and I send a silent thank you to Evan when he comes out of his room to join us.
"Crazy game, huh?" he breaks the silence.
"Yeah." Gloss says.
"Why don't we forget about that and focus on what you guys should do in training." Beryl says.
"You're just embarrassed because Amethine and Evan know that you kissed Axin." Gloss teases. Beryl sneers at him.
"I already know what to do. Learn some survival skills." Evan says.
"I need to learn new things." I say. Our mentors nod.
"It is time for you guys to leave for training!" Morraina says. I look at what she has on today. A lacey navy blue, see-through blouse and a forest green tank top under. She has a big, matching, bubbly skirt that stops below her knees and makes her look like a cupcake. On her feet are six inch, emerald heels with swirly patterns.
I eat one more slice of roasted beef and dab my mouth with a napkin. I finish my water and wait for Evan to finish his food. When he does, we walk into the elevator and ride down to the training center. The doors slide open and we walk out. My allies are already here, along with the tributes from six and twelve.
Evan walks over to the survival skills station, leaving me alone. I scan the stations, looking for something I haven't learned back home. Then my eyes land on the swimming pool. The pool is the same size as eight elephants. It's divided into two sections: The learning side, where tributes who don't know how to swim can learn and the other side is the speed side, where a tribute swims three laps and get timed when they're done. I know how to swim, but I'm not as good as a district 4 native.
I walk over to the pool, there are no tributes there, just the trainers. I go to the learning side, because it doesn't hurt to learn some new things, and my mentors even suggested it, too. The water is a beautiful turquoise color, but I think there might have been something poured inside to make the water's color very mesmerizing.
The trainers give me a gray swimming suit, which looks like the training suit. A trainer guides me to the bathroom to change, and I walk back over to the pool after I slip into the suit.
The trainer explains the basic dog paddle, which got its name from how a dog looks when it swims. I master it and she explains the breast stroke, it took me some time, but I do an okay job at it. After that, she teaches me a regular stroke, which was really easy to do. When I'm done learning some paddles and strokes, I go over to the speed side.
"Once you hear the whistle, you start swimming to other side. Touch the other side, swim back here and touch this side. You do the same thing, three times." The trainer tells me. He hand me blue eye sockets, which will help protect my eyes from the chemicals in the water. I position myself at the end of the pool.
Fweet! I keep kicking as hard as I can. Just a few more kicks and I put my hand up to touch the concrete. I have some trouble turning around to face the other side, but I manage. I do the breast stroke on my way back and kick with all my might. I extend my hand and feel the concrete and struggle to turn, again. Just one more lap I think to myself. I do the regular stroke and kick. I look straight ahead, the concrete is only seven feet away. The only thing on my mind is to move my hand and legs. Just a few more feet…got it! I smack my palm to the concrete and raise my hand above the water. I bring myself up and look at the trainer for my results.
"9 minutes, and 34 seconds." The trainer says. I groan and face palm. It didn't feel like 9 minutes. I get out of the water and sit on the bench, a trainer hands me a towel.
"Don't leave this bench until you are dry." she says. I wrap myself with the towel. I see a tribute in the pool swimming like it's the easiest thing he or she has ever done. The tribute touches the concrete on the last lap and gets out of the water. No wonder why it was so easy. I should've known why he was so fast.
"3 minutes and 6 seconds." The trainer tells Sebastian. He takes the towel the trainer gives him and sits on the bench next to me.
"You've been swimming your whole life?" I ask. The minute the words come out of my mouth, I regret even asking. Ofcourse he has! He lives in district 4, the fishing district where the citizens swims like fish themselves. What a stupid question.
"Ever since I was six." he says.
"Does Marina know how to swim?" I ask.
"Yeah, she's better and faster than me." he says while he wipes his face. Speaking of Marina, I look around for her. I spot her at the mace station holding a small mace, while a trainer explains something to her.
"How can I swim faster?" I blurt out, this causes him to chuckle a little.
"I can't really explain. It just came to me, and I went with the flow, the current of the water." he says.
I watch Gary's district partner Terraine doing the doggy paddle. It's the first time I don't see her biting her nails, but she still looks to her left and right frantically.
After watching a couple more tributes swim, I feel dry. I go change and walk over to the spear station. The spear throwing station reminds me of home. Despite the different trainers and the tributes, I feel like I'm back in district 1. I throw a spear. Dead center. I imagine myself at the training center back home, Glen is behind me, teasing and saying I have a lousy throw. Amethyst dominating the knife-throwing station, intimidating the other kids who want to try it out. Reina and Evan at the axe station, competing with the other's targets. Shine at the mace station, swinging at the dummies like crazy.
"Hey golden goddess, it's time for lunch."
My head snaps in the direction of the voice, but I don't have to guess who it is. I see Caiden standing behind me, with Vinera. I wonder if they're together. We walk to the cafeteria, put our food, and sit with Marina, Sebastian, Gary, and Evan at the table.
"What are you guys doing for your private session?" asks Vinera. Oh right, that's tomorrow during lunch. I haven't been thinking about that, but I guess I'll just throw my spears.
"Show off my skills with a slingshot." Gary says.
"What about you, Marina?"
"I don't know. Maybe I'll shoot some arrows." she says shyly.
"I mean, it's the only thing I'm good at." she adds.
"Don't say that." Sebastian comforts.
"What are you gonna do?" Evan asks Vinera.
"Throw my axe, destroy dummies." she says nonchalantly. Caiden chuckles.
We leave the cafeteria, once we all finish our food. I bring the water bottle out with me and walk over to the knife throwing station. I pick up a small dagger and throw it. It lands near the center.
"Mind if I join you?" I turn my head and see Vinera. I nod.
She picks up a knife and throws it at the dummy. It lands near the bullseye, just like my knife. We throw some more, until Sebastian calls us to join him and the others at the archery station. We stay at the station until Chalice says we can go home. Second day of training is over, now all that's left is the private session and the interviews, then I can finally get into the arena.
Please take this really long chapter as an apology for not updating for a long time. So, tell me in a review if you think Amethine should tell Evan that their mentors have chosen to keep Amethine alive. The most votes will be used in the story! Thanks for reading (: