Chapter 5
I wake up and sit on my bed for a long time. I'm thinking about how my day would have been if I hadn't been reaped. It's too early for anyone to be up. I've only been asleep for three hours.
I hear someone screaming. A girl screaming. I walk outside of my chambers and to Katniss's door. The screaming is coming from inside. I don't think she's in danger, maybe she's just having a nightmare or something.
I walk back to my chambers and lay on my bed. Katniss is still screaming. I can't do anything to help her, her door is probably locked. I can't fall asleep now, so I just lay on my bed and listen to Katniss's screams with a frown.
After a few hours, Katniss stops screaming. I let out a breath. I didn't sleep while Katniss was screaming. I fall asleep, when I wake up, I take a shower. The showers in the Capitol are wired. They're too complicated with hundreds of buttons.
Once I get out of the shower, I find that someone picked out my cloths, they lay on my bed. I put them on, and go back to the bathroom to check my appearance. I walk to Haymitch's room.
When I get there, I find Haymitch sitting on his bed staring at the wall. I sit down next to him. He turns his head. "What are you doing here, kid?" Haymitch asks.
"I came to see if you were coming down for breakfast." I say.
Haymitch lets out an annoyed breath, then stands up. We walk out to the dinning room. Katniss is already eating. I grab some food and sit down. Today is the first day of training. We get three days to train along side the other tributes. On the third day of training, we get to show the Gamemakers what we can do and they give us a score. The highest score anyone has gotten is a ten.
"So, let's get down to buisness. Training. First off, if you like, I'll coach you separately. Decide now." Haymitch says.
If we were coached separately, I wouldn't get to see Katniss as much. "Why would you coach us separately?" I ask. Katniss looks at me then back at Haymitch.
"Say you had a secret skill you might not want the other to know about." says Haymitch.
Katniss and I exchange a look. I look back at Haymitch. "I don't have any secret skills." I look at Katniss. "And I already know what yours is right? I mean, I've eaten enough of your squirrels."
"You can coach us together." Katniss says, and I nod.
"All right, so give me ideas of what you can do." says Haymitch.
"I can't do anything, unless you count baking bread." I tell him.
Haymitch shakes his head. "Sorry, I don't. Katniss. I already know your handy with a knife."
"Not really, but I can hunt. With a bow and arrow." says Katniss.
"And you're good?" Haymitch asks.
Katniss hesitates. "I'm alright."
I frown. "She's excellent, my father buys her squirrels. He always comments on how the arrows never pierce the body. She hits everyone in they eye. It's the same with the rabbits she sells the butcher. She can even bring down deer." I say.
"What are you doing?" Katniss looks at me.
"What are you doing? If he's gonna help you, he has to know what your capable of. Don't underrate yourself." I say.
Katniss looks a little angry. "What about you? I've seen you in the market. You can lift hundred-pound bags of flower. Tell him that's not nothing."
"Yes and I'm sure the arena will be full of bags of flour for me to chuck at people." I say. "It's not like being able to use a weapon. You know it isn't."
Katniss frowns. "He can wrestle. He came in second in our school competition last year, only after his brother." says Katniss. I'm surprised she remembered that.
"What use is that?" I ask. "How many times have you seen someone wrestle someone to death?"
"There's always hand-to-hand combat. All you need to come up with is a knife, and you'll at least have a chance. If I get jumped, I'm dead." says Katniss.
"But you won't. You'll be living in some tree eating raw squirrels and picking people off with arrows. You know what my mother said when she came to say goodbye, as if to cheer me up, she says maybe District Twelve will finally have a winner. Then I realized, she didn't mean me, she meant you!" I say.
"Oh she meant you." she says.
"She said 'she's a survivor, that one.' She is!" I say.
Katniss takes a roll off her plate. Katniss sound eleven years old when she speaks. "But only because someone helped me." I look at the roll in he hands. She remembered how she through the bread.
I shrug. "People will help you in the arena. They'll be tripping over each other to sponsor you."
Katniss looks up from the roll. "No more than you."
"Well, then. Well, well, well, Katniss, there's no guarantee there'll be bows and arrows in the arena, but during your private session with the Gamemakers, show them what you can do. Until then, stay clear of the archery. Are you any good at trapping?" Haymitch asks.
"I know a few basic snares." says Katniss.
Haymitch nods. "That may be significant in terms of food, and Peeta, she's right, never underestimate strength I the arena. Very often, physical power tilts the advantage to a player. In the Training Center they will have weights, but don't revel how much you can lift in front of the other tributes. The planes the same for both of you. You go to group training- spend the time trying to learn somethings you don't know. Throw a spear. Swing a mace. Learn to tie a decent knot. Save showing what you're best at until your private sessions. Are we clear?" Haymitch asks.
Katniss and I nod.
"One last thing. In public, I want you be each other's side every minute." says Haymitch.
I don't want Katniss with me at training. Watching me mess up on different things. Both of us start to protest but Haymitch slams his hand down on the table. "Every minute! It's not open for discussion! You agreed to do as I said! You will be together, you will appear amiable to each other. Now get out. Meet Effie at the elevator at ten for training."
Katniss bites her lip then walks back to her room. I follow behind Katniss. Once Katniss gets to her room, she walks in and slams the door shut. I chuckle and walk into my room. I lay down and end up falling asleep.
I wake up and see it's almost ten. I walk to the elevator. Katniss isn't here, at least I'm not late. Kantiss walks over to us, biting her finger nails, she realizes it, and stops.
The training rooms are bellow ground level. The training room is a huge gymnasium filled with weapons and obstacle courses. It's not ten yet, but we're the last tributes to arrive. The other tributes stand in a circle. They all have a cloth with their district number pined to the backs of their shirts. Someone pins a '12' to my back.
Katniss and I join the circle and Atala, the head trainer steps into the middle, and explanes the training schedule. We can go to whatever station we want, experts on the skill wait by the station, tributes are not to exchange in any combative exercise with other tributes, we can practice with assistants. Atala reads the list of the skill stations.
When Atala releases us, Katniss stands there. "Where do you want to start?" I ask. I wait a minute for an answer but I don't get one. Does she zone out? I nudge Katniss's arm and she jumps. I stop myself from laughing, because she doesn't seem like the kind of girl who takes people laughing at her very well. "Where would you like to start?" I ask again.
Katniss looks around the Training Center. "Suppose we tie some knots." Katniss says.
"Right you are." I say.
We walk to the Knot Tying Station. No one else is here, the trainer seems pleased he has students. When the trainer finds out that Katniss knows how to do snares, he shows us a knot that leaves another tribute dangling from a tree. I don't pay attention.
We both work on the trap although I don't think I'll be using it in the arena. I wont go to the Cornucopia, so I can't get rope, unless I steal some, or sponsors send me some. We master the trap, and I pick out the next station. Camouflage. You use mud or berry juice on your bare skin to help you blend into the earth. This is something I could do in the arena. Katniss watches other tributes, she must not be interested at all.
"I do the cakes." I tell Katniss.
She turns to me. "The cakes? What cakes?"
I frown. "At home. The iced ones, for the bakery."
Katniss looks at my camouflage arm. "It's lovely. If only you could frost someone to death."
"Don't be superior. You can never tell what you'll find in the arena. Say it's actually a gigantic cake-" I begin.
"Say we move on." Katniss says.
I nod.
For the next three days, Katniss and I go quietly from station to station. The Gamemakers watch us and take notes. We eat breakfast and dinner on our floor, but at lunch, all twenty four of us tributes eat in a cafeteria together. Katniss and I sit alone, and try to keep up a friendly conversation.
It seems like the little girl from District Eleven is following us. I think her name is Rue. I honestly didn't notice her until today.
Today, we wait to be called into the main training room for private training sessions. They call each tribute out, one by one, because we're from District Twelve, we have to go last. Once Rue is called, Katniss and I are alone. Ten minutes later, they call me.
"Remember what Haymitch said about being sure to throw the weights." says Katniss.
"Thanks. I will. You... shoot straight." I say, Katniss nods and I walk into the main training center. Shoot straight? Your usually better with words then that.
The Gamemakers sit in their seats, but they look board. I throw the weights around. The Gamemakers don't pay attention. I don't care what score I get. I don't want to win. Katniss has to win. And if she doesn't, I don't want to go back to District Twelve, where I will be reminded of Katniss.
The Gamemakers excuse me, and I head to my floor. Once I get there, I sit on the sofa. Haymitch, Cinna, Effie, and Portia sit with me as we wait for Katniss. Eventually, we hear the elevator doors open. I turn around on the sofa just in time to see Katniss storm right past us, and slam her door shut.
"Oh, dear." Effie says.
Haymitch stands up and walk to Katniss's room and starts knocking on the door. Effie and I approch Haymitch.
"What happened, Katniss?" Effie asks.
Katniss shouts for us to go away.
Effie and Haymitch start to walk away. I look at the door. I reach up and touch the door nob. Then I walk back into the sitting room.
We watch TV but all I can do is wonder what Katniss did, and why she was so upset.
"I should ask Katniss if she wants to come to diner." says Effie.
"Don't ask her. Tell her, she can't be missing meals." says Haymitch.
Effie nods and walks to Katniss's room.
Moments later, Effie comes back. We walk to the dining room, and take our seats.
"Where's Katniss?" asks Haymitch.
"I told her diner, was ready, if she doesn't want to come, she doesn't have to." says Effie.
Haymitch opens his mouth, but closes it as Katniss walks in. She sits at the table and avoids eye contact with everyone. The adults start talking, but I don't pay attention.
Katniss finally looks up at me. I raise my eyebrows, as if I'm asking what happened. Katniss shakes her head, and I let out a breath. How could I ever get her to have feelings for me? It wont mater soon, anyway. I'll be dead.
The Avoxes start serving the main course.
"Okay, enough small talk, just how bad were you today?" Haymitch asks.
"I don't know that it mattered," I say. "By the time I even showed up, no one even bothered to look at me. They were singing some kind of drinking song, I think. So, I threw around some heavy objects until they told me I could go."
Katniss looks up from her food and smiles.
"And you sweetheart?" Haymitch asks. Katniss smile is replace with a scowl.
"I shot and arrow at the Gamemakers." says Katniss.
Everyone looks at Katniss. "You what?" asks Effie.
"I shot and arrow at them. Not exactly at them. In their direction. It's like Peeta said, I was shooting and they were ignoring me and I was just, I just lost my head, so I shot an apple out of their stupid roast pig's mouth." says Katniss.
"And what did they say?" Cinna asks.
"Nothing. Or don't know. I walked out after that." says Katniss.
"Without being dismissed?" Effie asks.
"I dismissed myself." says Katniss.
"Well that's that." Haymitch says, buttering his roll.
I roll my eyes. No one at this table cares if we live of if we die. They're just hear because they have to be.
"Do you think they'll arrest me?" asks Katniss.
"Doubt it. Be a pain to replace you at this stage." says Haymitch.
"What about my family, will they punish them?" she asks.
Haymitch explanes that it wouldn't make sense to punish Katniss's family because to do that, they would have to announce what happened at private training sessions, and they wouldn't do that. I nod.
"More likely, they'll make your life hell in the arena." Haymitch adds.
I frown, why can't Haymitch shut up? "Well, they already promised to do that anyway." I say.
"Very true." says Haymitch. "What were there faces like?" Haymitch asks.
Katniss laughs. "Shocked. Terrified. Uh, ridiculous, some of them." she says. "One man tripped backward into a bowl of punch."
Everyone starts laughing except Effie, but she is smiling. "Well, it serves them right. It's there job to pay attention to you. And just because you come from District Twelve is not excuse to ignore you." says Effie. "I'm sorry, that's what I think." she adds.
Katniss smiles at Effie. "I'll get a bad score." says Katniss.
"Scores only matter if there good, no one pays attention to the bad or mediocre ones. For all they know, you could be hiding your talents to get a low score on purpose. People use that strategy." says Portia.
"I hope that's how people interpret the four I'll probably get. If that. Really, is anything less impressive than watching a person pick up a heavy ball and throw it couple yards. One almost landed on my feet." I say, hoping for a smile from Katniss. Instead, she grins. Then, Katniss looks back down at her food and eats again.
After we're all finished eating, we go to the sitting room to watch the scores on television. They show a picture of the tribute first, then the score appears below it. The career tributes usually get the minimum of eight as their score. Most of the other tributes get a five. I get an eight. Katniss's face appears on the screen and under flashes the number eleven.
We all start congratulating Katniss. No one has got an eleven before.
"There must be a mistake. How could that happen?" Katniss asks.
"Guess they liked your temper, they've got a show to put on. They need some players with some heat." says Haymitch.
Cinna grins. "Katniss, the girl who was on fire." he says hugging her. "Oh wait until you see your interview dress."
"More flames?" Katniss asks.
"Of a sort." says Cinna.
A few hours later I wonder what life with Katniss would be like. I would bake, she would hunt. But the thoughts only make me upset. This won't ever happen, I'm going into The Hunger Games. I frown and thing about what the future holds.