"I find shelter, in this way;
Under cover, hide away."
Penelope Winnow, 15
District Five Female
I smile as the door to the remake centre is finally shut. Don't get me wrong, I loved all the attention I was getting, but it got to be a little too much, even for me.
Especially when they started asking about my limp. It's not among my top ten topics to discuss, that's for sure. But it always seems to come up, as if it's the only thing about me worth noting.
"Wasn't too bad, now was it?" Evanna asks, smiling at myself and Creighton.
"Not bad at all," I admit, smiling up at the red-headed woman. Evanna is among the nicest victors, or so I gather from watching the games. She always seems upset when she's interviewed after her tributes death, which means she actually cares about her tributes, which is something I don't plan on taking for granted.
"What's up next?"
"Well Creighton, we are going to meet your stylist," Troy answers, looking around for someone.
"Mia, how are you dear?" Evanna greets as an Asian lady approaches us.
"Oh you know, busy, stressed, excited! It is that time of the year!" Of course she's excited, she's never had to worry about the games, unlike the rest of us here.
"Well, we don't want to waste any time! I think we have a real shot this year!" Mia glances at us before returning her attention to Evanna and making a face that makes my stomach drop. It's one of those, 'you got to be joking?' looks, the one that says she has no hope in neither myself or Creighton making it very far.
Evanna doesn't say a word, instead she nods, motioning for Mia to lead the way. I follow, staring at the ground as I pass numerous random people.
We pass through many doors and turn many corners, but I don't look up from the ground until we drop Creighton off.
"This is where the boy's stylist is. Go on in dear." Creighton follows without a word, pushing through the door without so much as a goodbye to any of us.
"Charming," Mia comments, turning on her heels and continuing her trek to where I assume my stylist awaits.
"What's your name?" I look up to see that Mia has slowed down, and now walks in sync with me.
"Penelope, but you can call me Penny."
"That's a beautiful name, and for such a pretty girl! Your stylist is going to be so happy with you!" I smile at the woman's words. Pretty is not something most people used to describe me, not that people talk about me using anything other than words like 'limp' and 'seizure'.
"Are you excited for the games?" Mia asks, after I don't reply for a few moments.
"I'm more nervous than anything."
"Don't be nervous dear, you'll do great!" I shrug in response, knowing that she doesn't truly believe I'll make it any further than the bloodbath. I will though, of course I will. I need to get home; back to District Five, my parents, my life. I won't just give up on it all, I can't. I'll fight, even with my obvious disadvantages.
"Well, here we are! Good luck!" I stop in front of the door that Evanna, Troy, and Mia are all crowded around.
"We'll see you before the parade, don't worry Penelope," Evanna reassures, gently squeezing my shoulder.
I let out a big breath before I push through the door.
I'm met with a large room full of many different things, including a bathtub the size of my room. My old room I guess.
"Hello, you must be Penelope." I nearly jump as a tall, blonde woman appears from behind a shelf.
"Call me Penny," I smile over at the woman, who I assume to be my stylist.
"I'm Poma, and I'm your stylist! I'm sure you've had a busy ride here, so why don't we sit down and chat for a little while. Maybe get to know each other before we begin." Poma extends her hand to where two plush chairs are set adjacent to each other. I happily oblige, drifting over and gratefully taking a seat.
"I'll start by telling you a little about myself. As you know my name is Poma. I'm 29, and I live in a smaller apartment above a nifty little antique shop. I'm single, with no kids, and don't plan on having any." Not exactly sure why I'd ever need to know half of that, but I nod anyways, letting her know I'm listening.
"Now it's your turn," she prompts.
"Well, I'm Penny, but you already know that," I let out a small giggle, receiving one from Poma as well, before continuing.
"I'm from District Five, and I also live in a small apartment. I'm married, with 3 kids," I stay straight-faced through my whole speech, watching as Poma's face goes from intrigued to horrified.
"My husband is also quite the druggy, so there's that," I say, pretending to be sad.
"Oh you poor thing," Poma gasps, sounding horrified as she wraps me in a tight hug.
"Hey Poma?" I say as she returns to her own chair.
"Yes?"
"All of that was a lie, I have no husband or kids. I'm only 15!" I stifle a laugh as I watch as another horrified expression appears on Poma's face, an expression that quickly turns to laughter of her own. We stay like that for a while actually, just sitting and enjoying the other person's laughter. My joke really wasn't that funny at all, but with the combination of my impending doom and hearing Poma laugh, I find it hard to keep a straight face.
"So what's your life really like?" Poma asks after we have both calmed down.
"Honestly, it was great. Sure we didn't have a lot and we faced our problems, but we had each other and we made each other happy. My family is the only reason I plan to win these games."
"Sounds like you love your family quite a lot."
"I do," I answer truthfully.
"Then I guess we're going to have to work extra hard to get you home, eh?"
"I like you Poma," I say with a smile.
"I like you too Penny."
Just like Poma said, I am going to work extra hard to win these games. I have to; I refuse to leave my parents alone.
I'll win these games, and I'll go home and spend the rest of my life living happily with my parents. We'll be happy again, just like we were before our last visit to the doctor. We'll forget what he told us, and live as if everything is normal.
I'm going to win these games, and I'm going to be happy again, because I refuse to live my last few months here on earth unhappy.
Cascade Farlane, 16
District Two Female
"Do you really think it matters how straight my hair is?" I spit as once again one of the idiots deemed my prep team burns my ear with her straightening tool.
"Everything has to be perfect," she replies, pulling at my hair some more.
"No it doesn't. It doesn't matter what I look like." These idiots are intolerable, as if all I need to win is to look pretty. No, looks are nothing in these games. There are more important things, such as oh I don't know, being able to fight!
"This whole thing is a waste of time. Why not just send us into the games already?" I complain, picking at my 'perfectly' painted nails.
No one responds, instead they all work harder, pulling at my hair, painting my nails, rubbing some nasty lotion all over my legs. This is all pointless really. Who cares how pretty I am? Pretty doesn't win the games.
"Almost done, and then we can get you into your outfit!" I send a sarcastic smile to the woman crouched on the floor, the one who is currently painting my toenails. Seriously, who the hell is going to look at my toenails?
"You should see your dress, really it's stunning."
"I hope it's better then what you're wearing," I point out, almost disgusted by the scanty amount of clothing the woman is wearing. She just snorts in response, purposely smearing a little polish on my skin, as if it that would ruin my chances in the games. What it could do though, was ruin her career.
"I'll be sure to show my stylist what you just did there." The panic is clear in her face as she quickly wipes up her little mess.
I smirk, happy that the little brat is scared.
Really, there are so many more productive things I could be doing right now; solidifying my alliance, scoping out the others, practicing my skills. Oh wait, as if I need practice.
"Alright, it's time Cascade! Let's get you into your outfit!" The barely dressed woman scampers across the room, and retrieves a large black bag.
"I'm so excited," I mock, staring emotionlessly at the bag. The woman quickly unzips it, revealing the most hideous thing I have ever seen.
"You call that a dress?"
"You'll resemble a gladiator," someone whispers.
"I am not wearing that," I decide, looking away from it disgustingly.
"You have to Cascade, you don't have a choice," the woman says, though her tone proves she's not as confident in her words as she'd like to think.
"Do I?"
"You do."
I huff, looking back over at the hideous outfit. It's grey for the most part, with a few red stripes here and there. It's rather plain if you ask me, but what's hideous about it is how high it rides; the thing will barely cover my butt! Not to mention how low it rides on the chest.
But, unfortunately for me, slutty girl is right. I have no choice.
I quickly grab the thing, stepping into and pulling it up.
"Zip me up," I demand, not bothering to look at myself in the mirror.
"There you go," someone says after I feel the zipper ride up my back.
"You do look good," another one comments, but I pay him no attention.
A few moments later there is a knock on the door, and low and behold my favorite person on this earth struts in.
"Jasmine!" I cheer sarcastically. The woman's eyes quickly scan over me, before she nods in approval.
"Let's get going."
"Gladly," Jasmine exits the room without another word, and I quickly follow without so much as a thank you to the idiots who just 'helped' me.
Jasmine doesn't acknowledge me the whole walk to the elevator, nor do I attempt to start anything. Definitely not in the mood for chit chat.
It doesn't take long before me and Jasmine are standing silently in the small elevator, as it descends at a rapid pace.
"Good luck," Jasmine quietly says, before the door pushes open and she stalks out, disappearing into the mass of people.
I walk out, quickly scanning the crowd for Colton or anybody really that I might recognize.
It doesn't take me long to spot Colton. He's standing alone; quite awkward looking really, by what I presume is our chariot.
Pushing my way through the crowd, I quickly reach him.
"I see you got a similar outfit." Colton nods, staring down at his matching gladiator suit.
"Have you talked to anyone?"
"No, I was waiting for you."
"Why thank you. District One first?" Colton nods. I turn to see our selected tributes, standing together though neither seem to be communicating with each other.
"You guys look ridiculous," I say as we approach the barely dressed pair from One.
"Coming from you, bitch."
"Tharia," the boy whispers at his district partner, but I pay him no mind.
"Great first impression, sparkles." Really, you can't expect me not to comment on the pairs outfit. They're literally wearing nothing but underwear, and are completely covered in what appear to be sparkles.
"What are you supposed to be? A slut?"
"Bad time to walk in, I presume." I turn around to see a barely dressed pair from Four.
"I see District Two is the only one given real clothes this year," the boy comments, motioning towards the blue speedo he's wearing.
"Well, I guess this is it then huh," the boy from One laughs.
"What?"
"Look at us, the careers, the most intimidating tributes all dressed like shall I say, sluts."
"We're not the only ones." I look around to see that the bikini girl from Four is right. It seems as if there's a little competition going on between the stylists; who can dress their tribute using the least amount of fabric?
"Tributes, please board your chariots." A loud voice says from no where.
"I guess we'll see you guys later," Ralliath says, turning to climb his chariot.
We all disperse without a word, walking back to our designated chariots.
"What do you think?" I ask Colton once we're out of ear shot from the others. In response he just shakes his head. I nod in agreement.
Sure, now we all look like idiots, dressed ridiculously but we're a strong bunch. That much is obvious. And if we follow tradition, we won't last long together. We all have too big of personalities to mesh well together, I can already tell me and Tharia will not be getting a long and who knows about Four.
We won't last long, we all know that, but we also all want to survive. Which means it won't take long for someone to turn on someone else, and the only way to ensure I won't be turned on is if I make sure I'm the first to turn.
Teagan Harper, 18
District Twelve Male
"Oh, you're just going to look so fabulous out there!" My stylist squeals into my ears and I cringe involuntarily. It's not that I don't appreciate her trying to help me, it's just the manner that she helps me in annoys me.
She quickly tugs down on the back of my black boxers, which is all the clothing I'm wearing, and pats some more coal dust all over my body. The dust starts to fill the room as she pats it on, and I cough as the powder fills me lungs and starts to make it hard to breathe. Thankfully, she stops patting on the coal dust and starts to lead me out of the room.
"Oh! Wait one second darling," she says as she scurries back into the room. She comes back out with a bright orange hat with a small yellow light on the front of it that is currently off. "This will complete the miners look!"
Once the hat is situated on my head and my hair is re-positioned by my stylist, I am ushered down a hallway and towards an elevator. Down the other end of the hallway walking towards me is Acelynn, and she is dressed quite similarly to me. Unlike me however, she is mostly clothed. Good. A girl her age shouldn't be exposed so much on national television.
As we get closer, I can see that she has on a longer black skirt that reaches just below her knees, and like me, she is barefoot. She has a similar orange miner's hat to my own, and coal dust is dusted all over her entire body. As we get closer to each other, I can see her blushing, probably from the fact that I'm practically naked and she's only a thirteen year old girl.
Acelynn and I turn towards the elevators and as we turn I see Amoretta standing next to one of the elevators. I greet her with a nod of my head, and Acelynn runs over to her and gives her a quick hug. Amoretta gives a slight chuckle and pushes Acelynn off of her as she laughs. "Acelynn, now you've gotten coal dust all over me!"
Amoretta, Acelynn, and I all laugh but Acelynn's stylist squeals and starts to wait about how her hard work has all come crashing down because of a stupid kid. Amoretta immediately sends a scowl towards the direction of the stylist and ushers myself and Acelynn into the elevator once the doors open. Amoretta pushes a small, circular button with her slender finger and the doors immediately close, leaving our stylists up on our floor.
"Just remember you two; you have to smile and wave. The Capitol laps up that kind of stuff. They like it when the tributes engage them. It makes them feel important and wanted." Amoretta finishes her advice just as the elevator dings and we reach the area below the building. She ushers us out of the elevator and starts to lead us towards the Chariot Rides area. I can see the three career districts congregating at the District One Chariot, and I'm not impressed. They're dressed as they always are; slutty but looking good. No wonder the Capitol always favors them.
"Don't pay attention to the careers, they aren't worth your time," Amoretta advises us and continues to lead us towards our chariot. I spot the District Three tributes by their chariot and I am blinded by their outfit. They have blue, skin tight clothes on them and they have glowing wires around their whole body. I'm not sure what they're representing, but at least they're fully clothed.
We continue to walk down the line of Chariots, and when we approach the District Seven Chariot, Acelynn's eyes light up. Of course she's probably excited, because they're the only other people here that would even think about allying with Acelynn. I myself crossed off that possibility a while ago, even though she is a sweet kid I know allying with her would only mean suicide, and I need to get home.
"Go on and mingle Acelynn," Amoretta says with a smile. "Just make sure when the announcement comes on about the Chariot Rides beginning, you hurry over to the Chariot with Teagan okay?" Acelynn gives Amoretta a smile and a nod before she hurries over to the District Seven tributes. I watch as the kids from Seven beam their smiles at her and quickly engage in conversation with her. Looks like the kid is already doing better than I am.
"I'm going to go talk with Sida and Asher, see if we can't maybe work some things out about pooling out sponsor money together to make it easier to help them out. Don't worry though, I'll keep any money you get separately. Your Chariot is the last one in the line of them. You don't have to get in until they tell you over the announcement." Amoretta scurries on over to the District Seven mentors and I turn around and begin to walk to my designated Chariot.
It's great that Acelynn has allies, now I don't feel so guilty about not wanting to ally with her. I don't necessarily not want allies, but I just don't think any of these people fit what I want. None of them are like Crowe and Sofia, and I doubt that any alliance that I make would last.
I mean I should be good at making allies, since I speak to people rather often with the job I have back in District Twelve. Being the courier, I get to speak to all different people in District Twelve, even the people who aren't in my class. I love my job, and it's always fun to talk to people throughout the District. But again, none of the people here match anyone I've ever talked to in District Twelve, and I don't want to make an alliance that I don't think will work. It's better to go in trusting only yourself and then you won't get hurt.
If only Crowe was here. Being best friends with someone your whole entire life and then leaving in a matter of minutes to go fight for your life really pus a damper on things. It makes me miss him that much more knowing I may never see him ever again. I remember when we first met, and I remember being so fascinated by what he was saying about all the different types of birds.
What I wouldn't give to hear another fact about a different bird from Panem.\
I finally reach the Chariot designated to my District and I climb up into the Chariot. The seat is cold and made of metal, but it's a seat none the less. I stare over into the District Eleven Chariot and notice the girl sitting down in the chariot as far away from her partner as possible, arms and hands wrapped around her body in a futile attempt to cover her over exposed body. I feel bad for the girl seeing as she's clearly uncomfortable with her also overexposed district partner next to her.
Come to think of it, all of the outfits are making a lot of the tributes quite exposed this year. I guess a common theme ran throughout all of the stylists this year: make the tributes look as slutty as possible. I'm sure Crowe and Sofia will get a laugh out of my outfit though, and I snicker at the thought of me seeing one of them dressed up like this.
"Tributes, please head to your designated Chariots. The Chariot Rides are about to begin!" The crackle of the speakers dies out as the voice fades away, and I see Acelynn scurrying over towards the Chariot. I stand up from my seat and offer my hand down to her as she climbs up into the Chariot with me.
"Remember what Amoretta said to us," I whisper in her ear. "We have to smile and wave and pretend like we enjoy this. Can you do that Acelynn?" She smiles up at me and nods. I give a curt nod and a small smile to her and then face my direction to the back of the District Eleven Chariot.
Soon my life will be out in front of all of Panem, and as much as I wish I can cover up myself I know I can't do that. I have to present myself to Panem in a good light, and I have to make the Capitol people like me. No matter what it takes I will survive.
I have to survive. Not only for my family, but for my friends too.
For my district.
For Amoretta.
For me.
Ingrid Nelson, 15
District Ten Female
"Tributes, please head to your designated Chariots. The Chariot Rides are about to begin!" The voice overhead crackles and disappears as all the straggling tributes make their ways to their own chariots. Duncan and I were already situated in our Chariot as we didn't feel like mingling with the other tributes would do us much good.
"This costume irritates me to no end," I whisper to myself as I tug on the skin tight jeans and pull up the pink tube top I'm forced to wear. "I don't understand why we're dressed like this. We're already giving them enough entertainment by fighting each other to the death."
"They just want a good show Ingrid, that's all they want. All this stuff is just to entertain them before they cheer for our blood in the arena." Duncan puts his arm around me and gives me a quick squeeze for comfort and then he lets go. I'm grateful that I have Duncan as a district partner. He's caring enough and it seems like he'd be willing to have an alliance with me. I'm hoping he's not just one of the people that stabs their allies in the back on Night One.
"Tributes: The Parade will begin in one minute!" The announcement slowly dies out and I grasp Duncan's hand.
"We can do this Duncan," I say and he gives a slight smirk in recognition and then the doors all the way in front of us open up, and immediately my hearing is drowned out by the sound of the cheering crowds. I can only imagine Mera in this situation; she probably would have thrown herself off of the chariot before going out in front of this amount of people.
All I can remember is playing in the fields with Mera and Lara when we were little kids. Mera always had the most wonderful fields by her house, and sometimes we would just lie down and laugh in the fields and other times we would ride our horses throughout the fields. I wish I could just go back in time and tell them how much our time together meant to me, but I can't do that.
I have to do what I can in the present. And that means waving and smiling like nothing is bothering me and that I like to be here. If swallowing my pride and acting like this is the greatest thing ever helps me survive, then so be it.
District One rolls out through the large oak doors and I watch on one of the many television screens in the room as they wave and blow kisses to the crowd. I'm pretty sure the girl is wearing just a bra and some underwear, while the rest of her body is covered in glittering sparkles. She has gems spread across her cheeks in intricate patters and she is really playing up the crowd. She's blowing kisses and waving her other hand at the crowd, and I can see why she calls herself a career. She's very intimidating.
Her partner on the other hand is quite attractive if I do say so myself. Focus Ingrid, focus. He seems to be wearing only a version of boxers that are bedazzled with sparkles, and much like his partner he is covered in glitter all over his body. He also plays up the crowd very well, and I can hear the chants for District One all the way from back here. No wonder they're a career district, they really know what they're doing.
District Two seems to be a little less impressive. The girl is wearing a revealing gladiator dress which reveals a little more than it should, but it does make her look very strong and intimidating. Much like the girl from One, she also waves at the crowd but keeps her face stony and just looking ahead. The boy seems to be very awkward in his costume, and he doesn't seem as threatening as the others have appeared to be. He's wearing clunky armor that seems to be trying to represent a gladiator's outfit, but it just isn't working for him. I have a feeling he'll be the weakest link in the career pack this year.
District Three roles out and I can't help but like their outfit. It's certainly creative, and I like how the stylist used their district's staple as the vehicle for their outfit. They sport skin tight blue suits, and then have wires wrapped around the whole of their bodies. They wires seem to glow brighter as the cheers get louder for them, and it's a creative invention. The boy seems to be more into it than the girl, and he's the one of the two of them that seems to be playing up the crowd more. The girl seems slightly bored by all of this, and every once in a while she gives a half hearted wave, but other than that she doesn't seem to do anything.
District Four comes out and I can't help but not be surprised at the skimpiness of their outfits. Looks like the careers are going for the slut look this year. The girl is wearing a simple sea blue bikini outfit, and she's waving at all the people of the crowd. The boy is just wearing a skimpy little blue speedo, and I think I can actually see the outline of something a girl my age should not be seeing. They both play up the crowd quite well, and overall the careers this year are really intimidating me this year.
I snort at the sight of the District Five tribute's outfits. The boy is wearing shiny silver pants, no shirt, and a giant satellite on his head. He seems less than impressed by this, and I can see the look on his face that just screams that he wants this to be over. The girl looks mortified by what she's wearing. She's wearing a short, luminous silver skirt and also has a giant satellite on her head. Neither of them seem to be trying to attract the sponsors which is just going to hurt them in the long run.
As District Six begins to enter the screen, my stomach does a few flips. Not too much longer and I'll be out there.
Don't worry Ingrid, you'll do fine. Focus, focus. Prove to mom and dad why you weren't a mistake. Show them what you can do. Show them that you aren't a burden.
District Six's outfits are a less revealing compared to the other districts outfits so far. The girl has a train conductor's skirt on and she is dusted with some sort of coal all over her, as well as there is a gash going down through the middle of her chest. The boy has a similar thing going on, as he has a train conductor's suit on and some soot all over him as well as his shirt is split open, revealing most of his upper body. They both play up the crowd nicely, and I'm surprised people from Six have that much charisma.
District Seven seems to be dressed like some sort of tree creatures, but with very little clothing on them despite their young age. Both of them are playing up the adorable angle however, and the crowd is lapping it up. I can't even imagine them being killed by someone, but it has to happen if I want to go home to my parents and my friends.
District Eight's costume is rather unique. Their bodies are painted completely white and there seems to be black lines going throughout their body. Their clothes look like clothes that dolls would wear. Oh! I get it. Their bodies look like cracked dolls. Very creative by their stylists. The boy seems to be very uninterested in what is going on around him, but the girl seems to be very into the crowd and is waving at every opportunity she gets.
The Chariot right in front of us begins to slide out through the large oak doors, and I internally squeal. Almost there where everyone can see me.
District Nine has tan jumpsuits covering their whole body and hugging everything that they have. They also have wheat tied into their hair, giving the impressions that their hair is actually just wheat. The boy looks rather awkward as their chariot rolls through the square, while the girl seems to be having the time of her life out there. She's waving, blowing kisses, and the crowd seems to be loving her. I can hear her name being chanted by the crowd, and I can't help but be a bit envious that the crowd may remember her and not me.
Just as I am about to say something to Duncan, our chariot lurches forward and we roll through the doors and into the bathing sunlight. I can feel the sun on my skin as the wind rushes over my over-exposed body, and I force myself to wave and smile. This is it Ingrid, this is your time to shine. Show them all what you're made of. Show mom and dad that you're not the mistake you're made out to be.
I can hear the crowd chanting my name as I fake my smiles and robotically move my hand in a vain attempt to gain their attention. Some of them are still focused on the chariot in front of me while others begin to look back at the District Eleven tributes. No matter, I'm sure enough people have looked at me and I can still hear some of the people chanting my name, so I think I was quite successful.
See mom and dad, I can be successful. I'm not just a 'mistake'. I was put here for a reason.
I'm not a mistake.
Mycroft Koup, 16
District Nine Male
"Well, what did you think?" Maybelle's soft voice asks as soon as the elevator door opens to reveal our floor.
"I think a lot of people liked us," Crescent says, strutting into the room.
"It seems as if we received a fair amount of cheers."
"A fair amount? You guys blew up the place!" Maybelle encourages, motioning for us to join her and Cherry at the table.
"To blow up the place, we would have needed to have something like dynamite. I bet you didn't know that peanuts are sometimes used in dynamite!"
Cherry let's out a loud moan, whispering something I don't quite pick up, but I believe I hear the word brat in there somewhere.
"I didn't know that Mycroft, thank you." I smile and nod, taking my seat across from Maybelle.
"So, I'm guessing this is one of our ever informational strategy meetings?" Crescent says sarcastically, sitting down beside me.
"Tomorrow training does start you know." Of course I know, but maybe Crescent has already forgotten. Though how she could have is beyond me.
"I'm going to need a drink, and something to eat for this," Cherry says, getting up and disappearing into the door that leads to the kitchen.
"She eats a lot."
"Mycroft! That is not something you say." I look over at Maybelle, and see she has a stern look on her face which usually means she isn't joking.
"What?"
"He has no idea what he did wrong," Crescent sighs, and I look at her, confused. I did something wrong?
"It's not polite to talk about how much a person eats, even if it may be true." That doesn't make sense. How is talking about the amount of food a person eats not polite? I was merely pointing out an observation.
"Regardless, it's time to get down to business. I know we talked about this on the train, but you've had enough time to think about it. Will the two of you be allying?"
"It seems only logical, after all, finding someone else would just be pointless when I have a perfectly useful District partner."
"Honestly, not sure if I should be honored, or insulted?" Crescent is a weird one, one who gets confused easily when I talk. But then again it seems as if most people do.
"Regardless, brains over here could come in handy so yes, we'll be allies."
"That's great! Now, will it just be the two of you?"
"Of course, " I say quickly. "Adding anyone else would just complicate things, not only would we risk being back stabbed but we would have more people to look after and we'd be easier targets."
"You mean I'm stuck with just you?" Crescent and Maybelle both laugh, but I don't get it.
"You're not stuck with me, you can walk away anytime you'd like."
"It was a joke Mycroft, learn to laugh a little."
"I laugh all the time, anyways, what else do we need to discuss?"
Maybelle looks down at her notepad before beginning to speak again.
"Next, we need to decide whether or not the two of you shall appear as one, or pretend to have no connection what so ever?"
"We might as well appear as one so we can get to know each others strengths and weaknesses."
"But you'll be labeled as more of a target as a pair."
"They can target me all they want, I can handle them."
Before I can interject and remind Crescent how reckless she's being, Cherry waltzes back in, a tray of food in her left hand and a bottle of something else in her right.
"What did I miss?"
"Mycroft and Crescent have decided to be allies."
"There used to be a cat that ran around my part of town, anyways, he had orange hair just like yours! Did you know cats have 32 muscles in their ears? Pretty cool eh?"
"Shut up Mycroft." What did I do now?
"Cherry," Maybelle whispers, shaking her head at the younger woman.
"What? The kid's an idiot! Who cares how many muscles a cat has or whatever, that's not what he should be thinking about right now! He's going into the games in a few days!" I frown at Cherry's words, not really understanding what she means. Of course I know I'm going into the games in a few days, and I'm not an idiot.
"That's enough," Maybelle scowls, glaring at Cherry. In response, Cherry shrugs, grabbing the bottle she walked in with and pouring a small amount of the liquid into a very small glass.
"Shot?"
"You know I don't drink that stuff."
"I wasn't talking to you," Cherry says, pouring another glass and sliding it, until it rests directly in front of Crescent.
"Is that alcohol?"
"Yes Mycroft, I assume you don't want one?"
"That's… that's bad," is all I manage to mutter.
"Ah what the hell." I glance over at Crescent, and to my surprise I see her raise the glass to her lips and down the whole cup in one swig.
"What are you doing?" I yell, ripping the glass out of her hand.
"Having a little fun. You should try it sometime."
"Do you know all the damage that can do to your brain? Memory loss, blackouts? Let alone your liver!"
"Oh really? Tell me more!" Crescent smiles at me, but as she does she grabs another glass that Cherry has recently poured and downs it without hesitation.
"Come on now Mycroft, we all want to hear all the nifty little facts you have stored up in that brain of yours!" Crescent is almost yelling now, and honestly, it's starting to scare me. For a 15 year old girl, she's quite intimidating.
"What? You got things to say?" Crescent downs another drink, reaching for another one.
"I think that's enough," Maybelle says, reaching for the bottle Cherry and Crescent have halfway drained.
"She's my tribute! I'll say when it's enough," Cherry laughs, pouring two more glasses and handing one to Crescent.
I've had enough. Standing up, I reach for the glass Cherry had poured for Crescent and throw it as hard as I can at the wall, watching with satisfaction as it shatters.
"Mycroft..." Maybelle trails off, three sets of eyes staring in disbelief at me.
"I-I- don't.."
"I think it's time we all got some rest," Maybelle suggests, and for once Cherry agrees.
"Come on Crescent, I'll walk you to bed," Cherry smiles, holding up the still half bottle and winking. Crescent nods, quickly following Cherry as she exits the room.
"Are you ok?" Maybelle whispers.
"Fine." But am I? I've never done anything like that before. I don't know what took over me, but I just couldn't stand and watch Crescent poison herself.
"She'll be fine, Cherry will take care of her."
"But she's my ally, and she's probably dead from that alcohol by now."
"Cherry may be a lot of things, but what she isn't is dumb. She'll make sure Crescent's ok, don't you worry!"
I guess Maybelle's right. Cherry couldn't risk killing one of the Capitol's precious tributes before The Games even start. She'd lose her life.
"Are you nervous for tomorrow?"
"Not at all," I say truthfully. "No point worrying about the future, what happens will happen and there's nothing I can do to change it."
Maybelle nods in understanding, before walking over and beginning to pick up the shards of glass.
"Don't. You'll only cut yourself, and do you know how easy it is to get an infection from a small cut if it isn't looked after?"
"No, but I'm sure you do, and that'll come in handy once you reach The Games!"
I smile, realizing that yes, I do know something helpful going into this.
"I'll call an avox to get this, you just get to bed. After all it is getting late and you need your eight hours, right?" I grin, happy that Maybelle actually listened when I told her about my minimum eight hours of sleep.
"Yes, indeed I do. Night Maybelle, sweet dreams."
I exit the room, but before the door shuts I hear Maybelle swear under her breath, and look back to see her holding a piece of glass. Of course, Maybelle would never make an avox clean up something she could. She's completely selfless, it makes me wonder how she even won her games.
"Make sure you wash that out before bandaging it," I yell before the door shuts.
"Yeah yeah, go to bed!" I chuckle, walking down to my room. Tonight was definitely an interesting one. I gained an ally, and threw a glass, something I still don't understand. But it's in the past now, and there's no point dwelling on it.
Slipping out of my clothes, I slip into bed. There's constant giggles coming from Crescent's room, but it doesn't take me long before I'm nearly asleep.
I really hope I can do this, but realistically, can I?
"Can you hear, when I say;
I have never felt this way."
Shelter by Birdy.
A/N: Hello all! I know what you're thinking right now; is this a dream? Did Cloud Nine really update again?
Yes we are back and should be back to normal updating. Exams really got in the way of myself and Fin writing much (mainly me), but now that school is out for me and only a couple days left for Fin, we should be back to regularly scheduled updates.
The next update should come next weekend, and after that update we only have 2 more pre-Games chapters!
The blog will be updated with alliances as they form, so make sure to check out the blog every once in a while to see the updated alliances!
By the way, if anyone out there watches the World Cup; US is really rocking it ;)
Questions:
1. Which POV stood out to you the most and why?
2. Which tributes do you think will ally with each other?
Thanks for reading everyone, and we would love it if you dropped a review telling us what you thought! Hope to see you all next weeked!
-Ace and Fin