A/N- Like I said before, there is no specific order of perspectives, but the perspective will always have two chapters in a row.
Chapter 13
Glimmer's point of view
I wipe a stray tear from my eyes, calmer than I was before. This is all a part of life, and of growing up. There's no sense in crying over this. And besides, I don't need him. Given recent events, it's probably a good time I stay on my own for a while. It could make transitions easier.
Lost in thoughts, I notice that I made a wrong turn on my way back to Clove. These hallways are so hard to navigate. Why do they have to be so similar? I wind up walking past a classroom just as some history lecture got out. Other tributes start filing out. Nearly all of us are supposed to be there, give or take a few eighteen year olds, including Cato and myself, and several elected to skip, such as Clove and Marvel, who are both seventeen.
I don't know most of their names. It's horrible, considering what I've done to so many of them. But that only strengthens my resolve to convince them that they can trust us. Hiding behind the corner, I watch them, trying to see what I can learn just on observation.
So many of them walk stiffly, seeming uncomfortable in such a new place. A couple keep their heads down, only to be seen looking up slightly, as if excited to be here. But at the back of the group stands a pair of young girls. One of them is Rue. The other one, I remember is from an outer district as well. What was her name again? Something with an R...
Letting Rue see me would not be a good idea. She can't trust any of us, and jumping out behind her wouldn't do any good. But I can't help but take a particular interest in her.
"What you were saying earlier," she says slowly to the other girl. "It was really interesting. Do you really think that they- you know?"
The other girl, an angular-faced redhead, nods. "Yeah, it seems so. It would explain a lot, wouldn't it?"
Rue nods slightly, pondering this. Whatever they're talking about, it seems important. "Why, though? I mean, changing our brains like that? Why?"
My eyes widen so large that I'm forced to tear up again. Is this real? Are they serious? I can't hide anymore, I need answers. "Hey, Rue?!" I call out after her. "What was that you just said?"
Rue turns around faster than I thought she would. Drawing herself up to full height, she stares me in the eye, absolutely silent, like a deer in the headlights, so to speak.
"It's okay, Rue, it's okay." I spread my palms apart and hold them up by my face. "See? I'm not going to hurt you. No one is. I'm just curious. You said something about how someone did something to our brains. What's going on?"
The other girl comes up behind Rue. "We are uncertain of our facts," she says in the same even, intelligent, but haughty tone she used on interview night. "And given that uncertainty, spreading this rumor further could cause false panic. Right, Rue?"
Rue just blinks and walks away, with her friend following closely behind. I leave as well, in the opposite direction, on my way back to Clove.
I find her waiting for me outside Cato's room, the same as she did when I left. "You were right, Glimmer," she says to me. "It's heavy, deep scar tissue. They're looking at it right now, and someone will be in soon to try to remove it. Or shrink and soften it, at least."
I nod. "That's good. Are we allowed in?" I don't want to say anything about the encounter with Rue until we are all together.
She shakes her head. "I asked already. Something about wanting to keep a sterile environment, in case removal is possible. They want to do that in here. Anyway, what happened with Marvel? I heard shouting all the way down here. What went wrong?"
"He did," I choke out. "He's so immature sometimes. I can't stand it!" I sigh. "But I still do like him. A lot. I'm so confused, Clove."
"Boys have cooties, anyway," she says, her nose wrinkled in the classic toddler fashion. "Cato's not perfect, either. None of us are. Are you going to give Marvel another chance?"
"I'm going to have to," I sigh. "Because there is something I've got to tell you, and I need him to be there, too."
