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The Training Centre

I woke up soaking wet. My body was drenched in water. I had a thin film of water coating my body, shimmering and sparkling like a pool of water. My pyjamas however remained bone dry, as did my bedding. I sat up, and the water seemed to drip off me in a slow trickle, pooling onto the covers but quickly absorbed.

Disgusted, revolted and weirded out by my strange new power I got up and started the shower. Four different showerheads spouted water at me in all different directions, and blindly selecting a water scent I chose one that seemed similar to the one from my district. Soaps and shampoos squirt out onto my body until I'm all lathered up.

It's almost peaceful. The soft downpour of water slowly beating at my body in a relentless passion. I actually found myself calm, the first time in a long time. Whether it's to do with my power or because I know now that I am nothing special and I am just like everyone else, I don't know.

But I liked it.

Upon returning to my room I see a training kit had been left out for me, it was made of a tough material but after wriggling into it, it seemed to become more stretchy and flexible.

It consisted of tight black cargo pants with multiple pockets. A simple black t-shirt. A jacket made of the tough material and a pair of big black combat boots. I found myself wishing that this was the gear in the games. The clothes would provide protection from oncoming attacks, harsh weather and multi-purpose storage.

I head into the beauty room and see that the mirror had been fixed and replaced. More makeup and perfumes had been set out, along with hair accessories. I tie my hair into a messy pony tail but realising it looks ridiculous when it's rising in the air I take it out. My black hair looks curlier than ever, and it seems as though the black sparkly dust coating my eyes has gotten thicker, and has extended into my hairline. I cursed. I didn't want the damned shit to cover my whole face.

Despite the overpowering dust, my blue eyes seemed much brighter in contrast. They were extremely pale today, which I wasn't used to.

I left my face natural, except for putting on some cream that makes my skin look creamy and normal. It doesn't last and the translucence shine of my skin shines through.

Frustrated I leave my bedroom, only stopping to brush my teeth. I enter the long dining room and see that once again only Alexandria is seated. Today's breakfast consists of eggs, bacon, sausages, black pudding, toast, orange juice, beans and any other full English items you can think of. I had it all.

I didn't speak to Alexandria as I shovelled the food into my mouth, feeling as though I hadn't eaten in days. Alexandria didn't seem to mind, she just observed me silently.

Next to enter was Theodoros. His mood from last night seemed to have improved. He grinned at me as he sat down. His gear was almost identical to mine, apart from the fact he had no jacket and his shirt had slits in the back to let his wings free. He looked like an avenging god of death.

If it weren't for his boyish smile.

I didn't feel self-conscious as I basically inhaled the food on my plate, and returned for thirds, because Theo managed 5 helpings of breakfast before Alexandria told him to stop.

Too busy eating to talk; he hadn't spoken a word to me all morning. But when an Avox came to clear away our plates he began to speak.

"So, hey Livvy." He said with a goofy smile on his face. I roll my eyes at him. I didn't know what I was expecting from him.

"Alexandria." I say, getting our mentors attention. She looks up. "What's happening today then, do you know?"

She shakes her head. "All I know is that at 10 May is supposed to take you to the elevators and you head down to the training floor, which is the same process every year. I assume if there are any differences you'll find out down there." Alexandria says, surprisingly helpful. "You need to do basic training today. You haven't been exercising as much as you should have been so mainly concentrate on your fitness. Weapons and such can be trained tomorrow. And where the fuck is May and Brutus?" Alexandria says irritably. "If he's still sleeping with her I swear to god…" She trails off, looking extremely mad. As in, mad enough to sew the next person who speaks lips together.

It was 10 and May and Brutus still hadn't arrived, so Alexandria walked us down to the elevator.

"Don't fight with other tributes. Make your alliance seem strong, be friends. It will be hard in the games but it will benefit you both. Theo, if you want to flirt with Clio that's fine, it will make her reluctant to kill you."

"What about me?" I ask, hurt that I'm not considered as flirtable. I don't even know. I'm hoping the pettiness is a side effect.

"Yeah don't bother. With your new look it can be used for other uses. I.e. take control of the career pack. You can do it. Iowans from District 1 for god's sake. Their district don't produce warriors, we do. Plus, I thought Annabeth your previous trainer and you had come up with an angle? Deceiving? So don't try out your strengths just yet." I nod in acknowledgment and step in the elevator, Theo close behind.

"Have fun." Alexandria says sarcastically and then we're shooting downwards towards the training centre.

The elevator is cramped due to Theo insisting of having his wings outstretched. He only folds them onto his back when I threaten to pluck each feather out when he's sleeping.

He smiles at me and pulls me into a hug while I struggle to escape.

Yep, I don't know why he wants to be my friend either.

We reach the bottom floor and we're quickly met by two peacekeepers, which is oddly comforting. Two is crawling with peacekeepers, as lots of kids who don't make it in the trials want to become a peacekeeper. 20 years of honourable service and a lifetime of respect.

They walk us down to the centre down chrome walled corridors. They dropped us off at a set of automatic steel doors. We had to prick our fingers, similar to that at the reaping, and press our bloody finger prints into a key pad. I went first and Theo was close behind me.

A black leather armband was given to each of us, a number 2 printed in white. We slipped it onto our arms and walked to the cluster of tributes gathered in the middle of the room.

The training centre was amazing. It was obviously what the training centres in The Preliminary House and in the Agoge was modelled after.

Except this was the real, amazing thing.

There were stations but they were really spaced out, not what I was expecting. Everything was sleek, chrome and advanced. There was a row of stimulations at the back of the centre to put you in a real life situation in the games.

But what really drew my attention was the beautiful array of weapons. But unfortunately I had orders. So I searched to find treadmills and weights and such and found them right in the corner.

When we had joined the rest of the tributes we saw that there was District 7, 3 and 5 still to join us.

Iowan trotted over – something that would definitely be something hard to get used to – with Sunshine following close behind.

She smiled at us, giving us her full wattage and I saw Theo and Iowan already drooling over her. I shared a look with her and she smiled sheepishly, which earned her an eye roll.

Clio and Pisces came over once she spotted us. Clio still looked her regular self, if not a bit pissed off, and Pisces… well I don't know what his expression was. Despite having training to gauge people's feelings and reactions, I couldn't discern his. His face was blank, but as though there was no effort in it. He gave us all a mean smirk, which seemed to throw us all off guard as he was normally the kindest of us all.

Clio snorts and rolls her eyes. "Ignore him; it's some creepy elfy power thingy. He's super mean now, no idea why."

"No I'm not." Pisces replied, his voice musical and entrancing.

"Well whatever. I'm just pissed off that the two water powers went to non-District 4 tributes." Clio said, giving me a look.

I ignored it and gave her a condescending laugh. "Oh Clio, you are free to have mine. I want that god-dammed earth element. District 12 is going down." I say, my cheerful tone taking on a deadly edge. Soon all tension was gone between us and we were eying up the tributes, determining which were the easiest to pick off. The late districts had arrived.

A woman named Hayrile came in and stood before us. Recognising her as an authority figure all tributes stopped speaking and looked towards the woman.

She explained to us the rules of being in the training centre, no fighting etc. and informs us on which stations will benefit us the most this year. She said spread yourself thinly between survival and defence stations, which could be helpful. After lunch we are all going to be taken to a separate training centre to practice our new abilities.

She gives us stats of deaths in the arena, ones that it seems all us careers already know by heart. We are dismissed and are told to start training.

I walk towards the treadmill and am glad to see Theo chasing after me, becoming airborne with each few strides, which looks strange.

We run for a solid 2 hours, with an uphill gradient which isn't too bad. However I am

still drenched in sweat, or what appears to be sweat. It might just be water beading on my skin.

Unfortunately, Theo looks as calm and glorious as usual so that's a bust. I feel my hair begin to curl more in anger as I watch as not a drop of sweat had formed on his body.

For that I punched him. He took a few steps back in surprise but just grins at me. My hair whips around more angrily, and I know it isn't Theo's fault that I'm gross and ugly. I storm off in an angry flurry of hair and head towards the weaponry. I grab a long sword made of obsidian with a black steel handle, a deadly looking weapon. At least I could kill.

I head towards a training mat and ask three Avox's who are able to fight help me train. The trainer manning the mats and he calls them over. The whistle blows. I know the Gamemakers will be watching me, so I plan to give them a show.

I stand stoic as I examine my opponents, a women and two men. They circle me, waiting for the first move. But I am not forthcoming. One of them lunges at me and I move from statue still to a flurry of movement. During the first blows, I concentrated on my defence and let my muscles settle into the rhythm of swordplay.

The woman nails me on the head with the butt and I fall over. My ears are ringing and the world is spinning, but I stand up and swing. Our swords clash and I duck to avoid a swing from the male. He swings again and I jump back. Before he could blink I was back, moving with all the fluidity of water, and I beat him relentlessly with all the strength I had. I twist the sword out of his grasp and whack his head with the butt of my sword.

The air rang with the tintinnabulation of the singing blades and the hoarse rasp of our breaths.

I disarmed the girl and point my sword to her throat. She steps away quickly and I whirl around to block the blade of the final oncoming male.

His weapon slipped past my defences and slashed toward my throat. Luckily, I dodged, laughing as if having a marvellous time. I probably sounded like a crazed psychotic bitch, but I didn't care. I twisted and twirled and dodged, I slashed and thrashed and attacked like a mini tornado of death, moving faster than I ever had.

I swipe at his chest and nip him under his chin. Just a little scratch but it drew a few droplets of blood, and it was deep enough for him to wince. He looks exhausted and tempted to withdraw and surrender, but I barely give him the chance. I attempt to sweep my feet from under him but he jumps and I miss.

The guy slashed backhanded in a return blow, I thrust my blade vertically and catch it before it cuts me in half.

Our weapons catch each other high in the air, and we stand belly to belly, face to face. We were both breathing hard. I smirk slightly and bring my knee up into his crotch. He collapses to the ground with a moan and I kick his weapon from his grasp. With a flourish I bring my blade onto his throat, and slightly teasingly, run it across his neck. I drop my sword to the ground, a clatter of metal ringing in my ears.

I look back to the trainer and he claps enthusiastically. I give him a look of disdain and walk off. I saw Iowan looking over at me, his eyes burning with jealousy. He sees me looking and lets loose a volley of arrows. In his anger he misses most targets.

I walk over towards a station where a few tributes are clustered. It's the knot tying station.

Stood there is Bimbo Medusa Barbie and my counterparts: the three other elementals. Cinder, Cotton and India.

"Hello," I say cheerfully before I can stop myself. All four eyes widen in surprise. I smirk.

"I really liked your costume, Cinder. Your hair looked stunning!" I walk towards them all and stop in front of the coal district girl. She knows I'm up to something, I can see it in the way she cautiously regards me, but I'm all smiles. "I mean, I was shocked when I saw you on the television! Just wow." I never bothered to watch the recap, but I see Cinder buying into it.

The trainer is eying me warily, trying to figure out what I'm up to. The girl blinks rapidly and she finally stammers out a thank you.

"And you," I turn to Barbie. "What's your name?"

All her confidence from last night has gone, and she looks self-conscious as I study the snake skin growing on her arms and face. "Barbie." She stammers out.

"Barbie." I say, testing the word out on my lips. I tilt my head pretending to study her. Then I turn my curious look on all the other tributes. India returns my gaze, looking defiant and ready to kill me. I laugh at her expression.

"No need to look at me like I might bite your head off. C'mon, that's the vamps job, baby Oscar." I joke.

"Shut up!" India snaps. I just stare at her. I raise a razor sharp eyebrow and walk towards her, my movements as lithe as a cats.

"What did you just say?" I ask, slowly and menacingly. She returns my gaze with a tough one, but I see under the façade. And then I get an idea.

Calling up all the water nearby, I feel it slither towards me, pulled towards my body like a magnet. The four girls look down at the floor in shock and horror as it reaches my feet and covers every inch of my skin until I'm shimmering with a light coat of water on. My eyes flare in excitement and my hair floats wildly, whipping round my face and curling and uncurling in the air, twisting and twirling.

I step forwards and place my fingertip to India's cheek. The water immediately leaves my body and is transferred onto hers. I control the small body of water down her throat, and the next thing I know she's on the floor coughing and choking.

"But… you're not allowed to fight other tributes!" Cotton says in fear, looking at me with renewed horror.

I shrug. "Oh no!" I say, mock horror tainting my voice. "Look, I didn't want to come over here and start that, but you need to know I am not someone to mess with. You need to respect me. Are you in an alliance?"

They share looks and look down at India, who is now struggling to her feet.

"Is it that obvious?" She wheezes. I smirk.

"I'm joining your alliance." I say, and they look at me in shock and disbelief.

"Are you shitting me?" India says, looking at me in disbelief.

"Nope. So basically, I am going to pretend to be in the career pack to get really good supplies for us all, and at the first chance I get I'm going to leave and meet up with you guys."

"How do we know we can trust you?"

"You don't. But my plan was that Cinder, Cotton and Barbie hide when the gong rings and you run to the cornucopia. I'll cover your back; you get supplies to last you until I can meet up with you. But to keep up the ruse, if anyone in my pack sees us together, punch me in the head and 'make your escape' okay?"

"How do we know you won't just kill India?" Cinder says defiantly. I give her a look.

"Once again, you don't. She's not totally helpless you know, element being fire? Fire and water cancel each other out. That's the main reason why I want to join you guys, all four elements. We would literally be unstoppable. Plus snake face."

"We're not sure…" India says, looking at the others. I know from their guarded expressions that they would accept. I smile, forcing it to be genuine.

"Yeah I get that. It's okay. But if I'm honest I would be the one with the disadvantage, if Iowan finds out I'm dead, and I have to try find you guys." I say, putting on a dejected face.

"We'll discuss it with our mentors." I smile.

"Okay, well I hope you realise this really is a good decision. I hope we get sleeping bags!" I say, laughing and putting on the façade of being happy to be their friends, allies. "Well, hope to talk to you soon. Bye!"

I walk off and I'm disappointed in my performance. I perhaps shouldn't have come across as violent in the beginning. Oh well. My plan is in motion.

I have half an hour to kill before lunch so I walk over to the tridents and see Clio educating Sunshine on how to hold it.

"Hi guys." I say, and startle them. Sunshine giggles, and I look at her weirdly.

"Hey Liv. We saw you talking to those 4 girls, what were you saying?" Noting that that those 4 girls were all watching me, I shrugged.

"I can't tell you right now, they're watching." I smile and turn away from them, catching the eye of India. She must've seen what she wanted and turned back to learning how to tie a knot.

"Oh?" Clio says, looking curious.

"I'll tell you later, promise." The two girls seem satisfied. "So Sunshine, do you know how to use your power on men yet?" I ask. She giggles again, looking far too girly than to what I'm used to.

"Yes I have. My mentor is so kind; he let me practice on him all night. Just small things like going to get me something, I made him dance non-stop for an hour!" she gasped, giggling uncontrollably, her long eyelashes fluttering.

"Who's your mentor?" Clio asks, trying to get some gossip.

"Gloss! Victor of the 63rd Hunger Games! The one with that cannibal Titus? Can you believe it? I think he really likes me. He's only 25." I scoff at this, she can't be much older than 16. " His sister isn't mentoring this year; she won the year after him you know!" Sunshine said, smiling.

"Yes, we know. Lucky sods to of both won. Whoopee!" Her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Well let's hope a career wins this year. I can't believe last year's victor. District 7 – Johanna Mason? Please, I could kill that axe wielding bitch in a heartbeat. And Annie the year before that? District 4, yays. But she's crazy now, can you believe it. Weakling if you ask me." Clio said nastily.

"Good thing that will change this year." I joke, smiling at them so they knew I didn't mean it personally. That was the hard thing about making friends and allies. You know they have to die in order for you to live. Driven by some sort of compassion that I didn't know resided within me I pulled them into a quick hug before pushing them quickly away, feeling embarrassed.

"You're not really a person who has a lot of friends, are you Liv?" Clio jokes, giving me a warm smile.

I wince. "Not really. But anyway, Sunshine would you be able to convince Iowan to announce a vote for a leader of our pack. Can I rely on you two to have my back?" they nod, smiling at me. Sunshine rushes over to Iowan and we watch in rapt silence.

Sunshine rests her hand on the back of his horse behind, and she was smiling at him in just a nice way it was like he was putty in her hands. And then we saw his face go slack as she sang softly in his ear. It was over soon and we saw him smiling (a rarity) and nodding at her. Sunshine walked off with a flick of her artificial black hair and came over to join us.

"Done," She grins. And before we can say anything the bell rings for lunch.

We are organised into a single file line and taken out of the training centre and back down the corridor to a large room. There are 24 different tables with plush benches instead of chairs. We queue up to get our lunch; somehow the tributes letting the careers get first in line. I'm just behind Iowan, which for some unknown reason angers me. I get a cup filled with prawns and prawn cocktail sauce, and other bits of snack type food piled up on my plate. Mainly consisting of finger sandwiches. I watch greed and excitement spark in the eyes of the poorer district tribute's eyes. To them, this food would save their families for a year. To us, this amount of food would feed our district for a couple of days, maybe a week? It's nice being from District Two.

We sit at the table in the middle of the room and eat in moderate silence. Iowan can't sit on a chair anymore so he kneels with his horse body at the end of the table. I notice that Avoxes are coming round with baskets of bread. One is given to each tribute, as no one is sat together. On our table there are three larger baskets containing the three different kinds of bread… from each district supposedly.

Clio and Pisces immediately help themselves to a fish shaped bread roll with a strange greenish tint. Iowan and Sunshines' bread is perfectly round and fluffy with seeds in it. Personally, District 2's tastes the best. Packed with as much nutrients as possible the dark rectangular wholemeal roll tastes like home.

We play a game of trying each of the others bread. District 1's is really nice, but 4… I couldn't stand. I spat it back out, my face laced with disgust. It was extremely salty and contained seaweed.

Pisces just gave his weird calculating smirk and ate a bite of his, "More for me!" he joked.

Once we had all finished eating, Iowan kindly got up and got us all a drink of this weird yellow stuff the Capitolites called Nectar. It tasted like heaven, it was warm and frothy, tasting of caramel and butter and chocolate. It was divine.

After our fifth helping, Iowan proposed a toast.

"To the best alliance in the history of the games!" he raised his glass and we all knocked ours together, laughing and smiling. The other tributes all look at us apprehensively and I see the four girls watching me with scrutiny. Let them look, I think, I'll get Alexandria to convince their mentors it's the right thing to do.

I realise with a shock that even though we have only just begun training, I have already started the games. I am already preparing for what's to come, setting my moves in motion before we even enter the arena.

I don't know whether I'm disgusted or proud. Proud most likely. There is pride and honour in being prepared, in plotting and scheming against your enemies. After all, it's why District 2 is Panems' main military spot. No one else is more devoted, more ruthless or more desperate to do what is right. Killing children, it's not right. But there is honour in winning the games. The Ruthless Honour. It may not be moral or right, but I have a code to live by. And living this lifestyle, I am not bound by regular honour rules. I will kill children if that's what it takes to win the games. And that's what I intend to do.

"So, Iowan, Sunshine was telling me you have something to ask all of us?" I ask as innocently as I could. Iowans happy mood disperses and he glares at me with hatred. I top up his glass with Nectar.

"Of course." He says, forcing out his words. "I would like us all to vote for who should be leader of our pack. Someone you trust to make the right decisions." He says. "No one must vote for themselves."

And then we go round in a circle. Pisces votes for Iowan. Iowan votes for Theodoros. Theo votes for me. I vote for Theo. Sunshine votes for me. Clio votes for me.

"Well I got the most votes, thanks guys for voting me your new leader." I smirk at them all, saving a nasty one for both Iowan and Pisces. "I won't let you down."

"All hail our mighty lord and saviour, Olivia Bellona!" Theo shouts.

I snort with laughter. "Shut up bird boy."

I see Iowan glaring at me in anger and jealousy. "Olivia, who are you going to pick as your second command?" he asks, almost like a threat. I pretend to mull it over.

"I'll pick… you Iowan. I don't want any hard feelings between us. I want this alliance to be the best ever, like you said. I'd do anything to draw us all closer." I say, and even I'm surprised by the gentleness of my words. Am I becoming nice? God I hope not. No one decent ever wins the games.

The bell rings again and we all sit and wait for our special trainer to come pick us up. Mine is one of the first. It's a bulky male called Decimus and he drags me out of the dining hall before I can barely say goodbye to my allies. At least I hope that Theo learns to fly. He can barely keep himself up.

Decimus takes me to a large empty room except for a water dispenser and a comfy looking sofa. He tells me to sit, while he drags over an uncomfortable looking chair from the corner.

"I have been personally been requested by multiple people high up in the hierarchy to train you, so you better be grateful. This isn't my job. I have nothing to do with the games except watch. So listen up. I am the Capitols best and most well respected mental trainer of all time. To get a hold and conquer your powers, you must first conquer your mind. Let's begin."

And the next 6 hours felt something similar to torture, with only little breaks to drink and dip my hand in water to rejuvenate my strength. We did mental drills of useless stuff like repeating the alphabet backwards until I could recite it as easily as saying it forwards. To complete mental tasks under a set period of time, shorter and shorter each time. an during this he would fight me, so i was concentrating on two things at once. I spent the majority of it meditating though. I was supposed to concentrate on listening to the water outlets in here, and if I could stretch it further towards the other rooms. Once I did that I had to listen to everything without concentrating on one single thing. Thanks to my enhanced hearing I was able to listen to other tributes training in the rooms surrounding us. Decimus was cruel. If I slipped up in any of my exercises he would beat me. Just one punch per mistake. And then I would heal from the water. Each time I healed I felt stronger and stronger and stronger, as though there was water building up inside me, growing with each dose.

And as much as I hated this guy, I admired him. I hated the way that I knew he was helping me. After 6 hours of brutal mental training I could feel myself have become stronger. upon walking in a room I could feel how much water was in the air, I could feel how much water was in the room and where it was. I could hear people's conversations from rooms far away; if I concentrated on solely listening to one conversation I could hear even farther. I could still fight while concentrating on everything else around me. In tomorrow's session I had to practice on how to control small bodies of water while he would tell me to physically carry out another task.

I was dreading it.

I was escorted to the lift and went up to my floor. I looked down the corridor and saw no one about. Had everyone already finished?

I walked onto my floor and saw Avoxes lined up against the wall, which indicates that dinner hasn't started yet. I walked down to my room and with a shock saw Theo laid across my bed.

"Ah here she is. Oh wonderful sea urchin child." he sniggers, obviously finding himself hilarious.

"You're drunk." I state, giving him a withering look. "Why are you in my room?"

"I wanted to show you something!" he says, giving me his cute boyish smile. I roll my eyes. This is something I am not in the mood to deal with.

He leaps off the four poster bed, but instead of landing to the ground his wings unfurl and he starts to soar around the large room. I'm starting to wish that it wasn't so big. He flaps his wings and flies round the room in dizzying circles. I hated to admit it, but he did look magnificent. He wasn't human. He wasn't just a freak of nature like the rest of us. He was something different. Something so powerful and beautiful that move even the most emotionless person couldn't ignore.

"Wow that's cool bird boy." I say sarcastically with a smirk. He lands to the ground with a perturbed expression.

"What's up Livvy?"

"Nothing I just wish you'd leave me alone right now. I'm tired; my training was complete bullshit. See you at dinner." I say, all the while pushing him towards the door. He waves frantically before I nearly slam the door on his fingers. The moment its shut I slide down on the closed door frame and put my head in my hands. When did my life become so complicated.

It was simple. I was going to volunteer for the games. I was going to become leader of the pack through intimidation and fear, not friends. I was going to fake alliance with a weaker group. Kill them off. Kill my own team off. Win the games. Simple.

But what I didn't anticipate was the major complications. That I would actually start to like my allies… Well, some of them. Theo was a great guy, turning into a bit of a drunkard but still. Clio and Sunshine were nasty but I knew I could count on them to have my backs. Pisces was weird; I think I would've liked him if it weren't for his weird personality hes gotten. And Iowan was Iowan. Probably sat at the dinner table right now, wondering why he ever called a vote in the first place but no idea on what to do about it.

I finish moping and run a finger through my hair, not surprised to find it whipping wildly along with my bad mood. I jump in the nice hot shower and dress in a nice outfit before I head down to dinner.

I head to the beauty room and see I look a bit more like death than a controller of water. My translucent skin has taken on a deathly luminous glow, and my eyes are such a dark blue they are almost black. My hair twists and curls in the air as though it is being battered by wind. And the sparkly black dust coating my eyes still reaches into my hairline, reminding me of a superhero mask, however it doesn't cover the bridge of my nose, or go up any further than above my eye lids. Except for the fact that the nice silvery sparkly tint has gone. Now it is just a deep ebony black, so dark it has blue and purple hues. Almost as dark as Theo's wings.

All matching a plain black dress and combat boots.

I walked down to dinner and saw everyone already seated, food piled up on their plates. May however was stopping them all from eating, waiting for me I assume.

"Sorry I'm late." I say as I slip into the seat next to Theo and Brutus. Brutus just grunts and dives into his meal.

"It's quite alright Olivia. How did training go?" May asks, passing over some food for me. It was a traditional celebration meal from District 2. There was all types of mini starters, multiple flavours of soup to go alongside our districts bread. For main there was something I had never had before. Buttered lobster. Apparently those in four eat it a lot, and to commemorate my water powers we were having lobster and chicken (for bird boy). At the sound of chicken being served Theo moans as if he were shot.

"No! Not one of my brethren. Please say you didn't May… oh Christ almighty!" he wailed, stuffing the chicken into his mouth. He really was a strange boy.

I explained to them what I learned and showed them how I could move water. An Avox brought out a jug of it and using my abilities I released it from the jug and turned it into a sphere. After about 10 minutes I got tired so I touched it and immediately I absorbed its' energy. Everyone clapped at my little show except Alexandria. Moody git.

Theo explained how he could fly now, but tomorrow he's going outside and he's going to have to learn how to fight the different currents of the wind and what weather conditions to avoid, which could be useful. In the games he could be a good scout, but there's no point if he gets hit by lightning or something.

I say this out loud and earn disappointed looks from everyone.

"What?" I ask in confusion. "In training you know what we learned. Gotta keep your eyes on the prize." No one responded to me, but Theo stabbed my leg with his fork.

For dessert there was the cake from the previous night that no one had wanted to eat. Today however everyone tucked right in. I had mine with melted chocolate and ice cream. When no one was looking I took a bowl of just the ice cream and chocolate back to my room and ate it on the sly, not wanting anyone to judge me. After I emptied the contents of my mini fridge of all the delicious snacks I used the little speaker pad to order more lobster. Within the next 20 minutes it was delivered to my room with napkins, knife and fork, and these weird pastry balls covered in chocolate and filled with cream for dessert. Which I thought was very thoughtful.

When I went to shut the door I saw in surprise Theo too was picking up a food delivery. He looked at me sheepishly, sobered up now, and ran into my room laden with his food.

He had ordered a whole pie meant for 3 or 4 people, steak and kidney. My mouth watered with jealousy and we compromised, giving half of my lobster and getting half of his pie. He didn't get any free pudding, which I was smug to note.

We sat and talked and joked, but mostly observed which tributes were going to be a threat.

"I wasn't really watching if I'm honest." I admit ashamedly. Theo shrugs.

"In punishment I get a pastry ball". And he then proceeded to put one in his mouth, a mouth already stuffed with pie and lobster.

I squealed in laughter. "That was disgusting! You pig!"

He shrugged. "I was watching that Oscar kid. He was eying everyone up like a potential meal. It was creepy." I shudder and we sit in silence for a while, picking at the rest of our food.

"It's late." I say, referring to my internal clock. "It's about 12.17 and we need to be well rested for tomorrow." Theo nods. He gets up to leave the room and I quickly jump up to give him a hug.

I immediately pull away, embarrassed. "Oh god, I'm sorry for that. It's just, you're a good friend." I stammer, feeling stupider by the second. So I punch him in the jaw. Smooth, Liv, Smooth. He looks at me with a confused expression, and is about to open his mouth but I end up punching him again.

Theo winced. "You need to stop doing that you little psycho!" He snaps. I look to the ground, almost ashamed. That's what happens, then, I realise. I find someone outside my family that I like; I express a weensy bit of emotion and boom! I can't handle it so I use violence. My one true friend. I am just about prepared for Theo to threaten imaginative ways to murder me in the arena, and I think of a few good comebacks when he surprises me. Theo just smiles and suddenly I don't feel awkward anymore.

"Don't worry about it Liv. We've both had a tough life to get here. It hurts me too that we met like this." And he gives me the saddest smile I had ever seen on anyone. He walks off slowly, shutting the door with a quiet click.

I crawl into bed, discarding all my clothes and feeling the soft quilt on my bare skin. For once, my hair is calm and straight, as though it knew the melancholic emotions I was feeling.

In one sentence, Theodoros Gift had managed to express what I was struggling to admit. That I liked Theo. That if I had never volunteered for the Games, we could've been friends. I wished that it all were true. That he would win, and I would meet him in District 2. I would volunteer next year, and we could be friends.

Or maybe something more.

I fall asleep crying softly about what could have been, only if I didn't volunteer.