Peter Grane (D9 M 13)
For my training session, I've got two things I plan to do; trap-making and knife throwing. Although I'm not particularly outstanding at knife throwing, I still consider it my best weapon, because I'm not strong enough to even lift most of the other weapons. The reason I'm showing the Gamemakers knife throwing is because they're always biased towards tributes with weapons. An okay swordsman always gets a better score than an okay berry identifier. I'm hoping the knife throwing will boost my score by one or too. The thing is, there will be no harm done if I completely fail at knife throwing. If it causes me to get a bad score, so what? The only part of the Hunger Games that actually matters takes place in the arena. All this frilly stuff we do before it is all for show.
Once my name is called over the loudspeaker, I walk into the training room. The girl before me must have done something really impressive, because they're all talking rapidly and excitedly. I walk over to the knife throwing station and pick out five knives. When I throw them, only two hit the target. I'm fine with that because 40% is in fact right around my average. The next time, I also make two out of five, but during my third attempt I make three. However, I'm so proud of myself that I totally bomb my next attempt, and only hit the target once. I decide to leave it at that and begin the next stage of my training session.
I grab some supplies off of the trap-making station, and drag them to the center of the room so that the Gamemakers can get a full view of my skills. The first type of trap is called a Single-Looped Sepan. Basically, it's a large loop that hides under leaves and other forest debris. When stepped on, it tightens around the ankle, and whoever or whatever is caught in it is anchored to the ground. The second trap I make for the Gamemakers is a Iroquois Tripwire. Like the other trap, it hides under forest debris. When activated, this one triggers a net that will fall down from the nearest tree, trapping the victim. Once I'm done with my presentation, the Gamemakers dismiss me. Although, I make sure to put all of my supplies back away before leaving.
Most of the scores have been pretty high. I hope my score is high too, but I understand if it isn't. I'm certainly not the most intimidating or talented tribute. At last, Tristan Honeybee announces District Nine. "Peter Grane, with a score of four." I'm happy with a four, so I smile. A four isn't the lowest score of the night.
Harvest Anson (D9 F 18)
I sit outside of the training room, waiting for my session. There's only six other tributes in here, besides me, so it's eerily quiet. At last, my name is called, and I walk into the training center. I can immediately tell that the Gamemakers are getting bored. They're all talking, or picking at their food. "May I begin now?" I ask.
The Head Gamemaker looks up. "Oh, yes, sure. Go ahead." He gets the attention of a few other Gamemakers, so I begin my session.
I first head for the weight throwing station. Back in District Nine, I used to throw wheat around all the time, so weight throwing hasn't been too much of a stretch. I throw my weights around for a few minutes; the Gamemakers look pretty impressed. Next, I take the berry test, to show the Gamemakers that I'm well-rounded. I end up getting a 96% on it, which is definitely a solid score.
Finally, I decide to display my weaponry skills. I throw a dozen spears first. Nine out of twelve of the spears hit the target. Next, I throw a dozen knives. Eight of these hit the center of the target. I walk over to the Gamemakers, announce that I'm finished, and they dismiss me.
I'm kind of nervous to see my score. There's been some really great female scores, such as the girl from District Two's eleven, the girl from a District Five's eight, and the girl from District Six's seven. Those will be hard to beat, or even match. At last, I see a picture of my face flicker onto the television. "Harvest Anson, with a score of eight." Wow; I'm very proud to have earned an eight. There was a career who didn't even score as high as me. I'm sure she's very angry.
Osborn Trevis (D10 M 17)
I hope that Harvest did well during her training session. If she did, the pressure is all on me. Harvest is very talented, so I'm worried that she'll get a high score and I'll get something three or four points less. Our alliance won't look too impressive if only one of us gets a high score, so I need to do my best today.
"Osborn Trevis, please report to the training center now for your private training session." I stand up and walk through the doors. Once I'm in, I immediately look over at the weights. I've been training a lot with them, and have gotten pretty good. Working long hours in the livestock fields of District Ten has paid off.
Once I've reached the weight station, I grab one of the mid-sized weights, and use all of my strength to launch it far. It sails through the air, and lands further than I thought it was going to land. I commend myself for throwing an excellent first shot, and continue to toss the weights around. My next few shots are either equal to or further than my first shot, which is great news. On a particularly good throw, one of my weights nearly sails into the wall. A few minutes later, I begin to get tired. The distance of my throws start to decrease. I make sure to push it out, though, because I want to show the Gamemakers my resilience. At last, my fifteen minutes run out, and I'm dismissed.
Harvest got an eight, which is an excellent score. I know there's no way that I'll get an eight, since all I did was chuck some weights around. Harvest probably had a three or four part performance, since she's good at so many things. I'm very glad that my score comes right after Harvest's, because I don't think I'd be able to handle any more suspense. "District Ten; Obsorn Trevis, with a score of six." I shrug, not really sure if I'm happy or sad about this score. I guess I'm kind of neutral. Compared to the rest of today's scores, it's average, but it is two points under Harvest's. I hope I didn't disappoint her.
Swirl Winters (D10 F 13)
It's so quiet in here. Back when the careers were in on the fun, I could barely hear myself think. Now, it's just me, four others, and the silence surrounding us. When my name is called, I try to keep calm. If I get too nervous or frantic, I won't be able to do my best. I stand up and walk into the training room.
Once I'm in, I jog over to the climbing wall. After harnessing myself on, I begin to climb up it. I try to ignore my sweaty, slippery hands and just focus on the course. It works a little bit. I end up reaching the top of the wall six seconds faster than I ever have before.
Once I've climbed down, it's time for stage two of my training. I pick up five throwing knives and launch them all at the target. Four of them hit the center of it. During my next round, I shoot five for five. I decide to push my luck a little more and throw one last round. Four of my knives hit the target. I'm proud of myself for shooting thirteen for fifteen.
At last, it's time for my grand finale. I take one of my knives, and place it in between two of my toes. Next, I place my hands on the ground, kick my legs up, and find myself in a handstand position. While in the handstand, I pull my one leg back, and launch the knife at the wall, not particularly aiming for the target. My knife manages to stick, which is all I was hoping for. I do this twice more; the second time my knife doesn't stick, but it does during my third throw. When I'm done, the Gamemakers dismiss me. They look pretty impressed.
I'm really anxious to see what I got for a score. Since I'm only thirteen, and don't look very intimidating, I'm counting on my score and my interview to get me sponsors. At last, it's time for Tristan to announce my score. "Swirl Winters, with a score of eight." Sweet! An eight will get me sponsor points. Considering that I'm only thirteen, I'm sure many people will be impressed.
Ryland Yakavitz (D11 M 15)
I'm super nervous for my training session. I'm not really good at anything, so it's going to be hard for me to get a score that's even average. "Ryland Yakavitz, please report to the training center now for your private training session." I take a deep breath, stand up, and walk through the doors.
I first head for the knot tying station. I spend much of my time here, showing the Gamemakers the different types of knots that I've learned how to make. It's nothing exciting, but I've gotten pretty good at it. Once I'm done with my knots, I move on to traps. Using some of the knots I've already made, I make two different types of traps. They're both used for trapping small mammals with; one drops a net over the victim, and the other works sort of like a glorified mousetrap. Once I've finished my traps, I look up at the Gamemakers. I don't have anything else to show them, so I'd like to be dismissed. I notice that only about a quarter of the Gamemakers are actually paying attention to me. "You may go," one of them says.
The scores have been very high this year. I'm very scared to see what I got. I know my score won't be anywhere in the range of most of these scores. "District Ten," Tristan announces. "Ryland Yakavitz, with a score of four." I frown. I'm disappointed, but not too disappointed. At least it's not the lowest score of the night. A four is roughly what I expected to get.
Cherry Fairbanks (D11 F 16)
The mood in here is so dull. The only tributes who still remain in the lunch room are the pair from District Twelve and myself. Every so often, one of them will whisper something to the other, making me feel as though they're a couple on a date and I'm that awkward third wheel who just twiddles their thumbs and stares out into space. Finally, I'm called in. I hop out of my seat and walk into the training center.
I first walk over to the station with the poisonous berry test. I touch 'begin,' and start filling out answers. When I'm done, my score flashes onto the screen; a 92%. Next, I take the survival skills test. Survival skills is what I've been focusing on during training, so I hope to do really well. I end up doing really well, getting a score of 96%.
I look up at the clock. I've got about thirty seconds left. What can I do in thirty seconds? The answer comes to me pretty easily. I ready myself, and then begin to sprint towards the center of the room. Once I gather enough speed, I fly into a cartwheel, and then into back handspring. I smile up at the Gamemakers, the buzzer rings, and I'm dismissed.
Mapelle and Nylah got such good scores. I hope I am lucky enough to get a five like Mapelle, or even a seven like Nylah. I know it's not likely, but I can still hope. "Cherry Fairbanks, with a score of five." Wow! I can't believe I got a five! I'm so happy!
Cobalt Cave (D12 M 14)
Misty and I are the only ones left in the lunch room. Being from District Twelve sucks. I wish the Gamemakers would be fairer, and went from the highest number district to the lowest number district for either the training sessions or the interviews. I hate how they favor the first few districts like this. It's no wonder that District Twelve has so few victors. "Cobalt Cave, please report to the training center now for your private training session."
"Good luck," Misty says. I thank her, and walk into the training center.
The first thing I notice after walking into the room is that almost no Gamemakers are watching me. Hopefully, when I begin my performance, they'll start to look. I walk over to the fire-making station, and grab some twigs, sticks, and branches. I make three separate fires. Once I'm done, I walk back over to the first fire. Starting out easy, I start this one with a lighter. Once it burns for about a minute, I dump a bucket of water on it.
To Iight my next fire, I use a match. Once again, it isn't too hard. Once this one has burned for a minute, I put it out, and move on to my last fire. I start this one by rubbing two sticks against each other quickly enough to create a spark. This one takes me the longest to start. When I do get it started, I let it burn until the buzzer rings. Then, I pour water on it, and leave the room.
There's no way I got a good score. My score is going to look really sad when compared to the many high scores given out this year. "And last but not least, we have District Twelve," Tristan Honeybee announces. I don't know who he's kidding; District Twelve is almost always least. "Cobalt Cave, with a score of three." Well, I guess it's around what I expected.
Misty Danielson (D12 F 13)
It stinks, being the last one waiting for my private training session. The silence is starting to creep me out. It makes me wonder if I'm being watched. At last, for the last time, the loudspeaker blares to life. "Misty Danielson, please report to the training center for your private training session." I stand up, and walk through the doors into the training center.
When I walk in, I can see that the Gamemakers aren't at all interested in what I'm going to show them. I clear my throat to get their attention. Three or four of them look up at me. Accepting that that's the best I'm going to get, I begin.
I walk over to the camouflage station. This station doesn't even look like it's been touched yet, unlike stations like the knot tying station, which only has three tiny ropes left. I get to work with the camouflage, covering myself in leaves, sticks, and mud. When I'm done, I walk in front of the Gamemakers, and twirl around so they can see my whole body. Not an inch of my skin is exposed; everything is covered. It would be hard to spot me if I was hidden in a bush, or something like that. Since I'm all done, I wipe everything off, and the Gamemakers dismiss me.
Cobalt got a three, which surprised me a little. I know he can do better than that. Though, I shouldn't speak until I see my score. For all I know, I could get a three too. "Misty Danielson, with a score of three." Yup; I just ate my words.
Training Scores:
Glint Sulf: 9
Alexandrite Dazzle: 8
Mason Riley: 10
Jessie Hart: 11
Jarvis Scholl: 5
Jennette Parke: 3
Sheldon Thompson: 10
Marina Ebony: 7
Eridan Keating: 6
Tadalynn Shipka: 8
Peyton Stanley: 4
Nylah Tracks: 7
Rory Cedarbee: 6
Mapelle Green: 5
Lukas Cottingham: 7
Aria Law: 9
Peter Grane: 4
Harvest Anson: 8
Osborn Trevis: 6
Swirl Winters: 8
Ryland Yakavitz: 4
Cherry Fairbanks: 5
Cobalt Cave: 3
Misty Danielson: 3
Sorry guys; it was a Harry Potter week, Blood of Olympus came out, and my soccer team made playoffs, so I've been a bit preoccupied. Time is honesty my biggest enemy right now. :-/ Once November comes, soccer will be over, and I'll have much more time to write.
Next chapter will be the interviews (which will be from the POV of Tristan Honeybee). It should be a shorter chapter, because I'm really excited to get to the Games. I don't want to spend weeks writing an interview for every single character. After that, it's off to the Games! :-)