Chapter Two: Scores
Flora was tossing and turning on her bed again before leaning up. Dinner was not long ago. She left her room and went into the stairway. Climbing up to the roof and stepping outside. The night was cool outside as she can still hear the crowds of the Capitol people chattering about the upcoming game.
"Hey." Peeta's voice came. Flora turned and saw the other two. She smiled weakly and nodded at them.
"Let's go to the garden." Peeta spoke. Flora nodded and followed him. The garden was full of flowers and trees. Hundreds of windchimes. So many that it would drown out anything they would say.
"A boy and a girl. They ran away. I remember Gale and I hiding. The sky was silent and then a hovercraft was there. They were running from something. The boy was impaled by a spear from the craft. They shot a net and caught the girl." Katniss spoke. They were talking about the Avox they saw earlier. Flora was deep in thought as they spoke. An Avox was someone who committed crimes and had their tongues cut out.
"It's barbaric." Flora spoke softly as they nodded in agreement. Looking at the different types of flowers that were in the garden. Roses. Daffodils. Amaryllis. Lavender. The sweet smell was overwhelming.
"Where do you suppose you thought they were going?" Peeta then asked.
"I don't know. District twelve is at the end of the line. They must have been from the Capitol." Katniss spoke. Flora felt her heart beat rather fast. Were there Capitol people who were against the Games? Maybe there was hope for the future after all. Even if she wouldn't be part of it.
"I'm heading to bed." Flora spoke softly as they nodded. She stood up and went back inside. She bumped into Effie and bowed a little to her.
"Sorry." Flora spoke softly. Her eyes caught the blue ones as Effie waved her hand.
"No worries dear. But do head to bed." Effie spoke as Flora nodded. Effie gave her a hug. There was a new smell. Strawberries. It didn't make her stomach growl. Instead, it made her head spin. She was a slight pink for some reason. She quickly went back to her room. Pondering on why the strawberry smell invaded her mind.
Flora had woken up early. Her head was pounding from lack of sleep. There was a change of clothes for her. Tight black pants and a long sleeve tunic. She put her hair up in a simple pony before putting on her sneakers. Feeling comfortable in her outfit before heading out of her room. She was in simple clothes and it felt better than the Capitol clothes she had worn. She took her spot at the table and ate a few eggs and drank some orange juice. Feeling full already since she was still not used to so much food. Katniss and Peeta had already finished as well. Haymitch was talking about the other tributes.
"You want to watch out for the Careers. District one and two usually team up together. They win almost every year."
"Almost" Effie spoke with a smile. Flora ignored this.
"You best do well to either make an alliance with them or stay clear of them." Haymitch spoke.
"Well, I wouldn't even trust an alliance." Flora spoke. Feeling all eyes on her, she shrugged.
"Anyways, I will be coaching each of you separately." Haymitch spoke.
"Why?" Katniss asked.
"Say if you have a secret skill the other doesn't want to know." He replied.
"You can coach us together." Flora responded as they all nodded in agreement.
"Alright. What can you do? I know you can shoot, Katniss. What of you Peeta and Flora?" Haymitch asked. "Are you any good with the bow and arrow?" He asked Katniss.
"She's amazing! My father buys her squirrels all the time. Hits them in the eye every time." Peeta beamed.
"Peeta's strong. He can toss a hundred pound bag of flour above his head with ease." Katniss spoke.
"What's that got to do with anything?" Peeta asked.
"Might come in handy with hand to hand to survive." Katniss replied back with annoyance. Flora's mind drifted off as she was back at her shop in the basement. There was a target. Throwing knives was something she was great at. Plus she could identify edible plants and what not. She could also make medicine from the plants.
"I have no chance of winning! None! My mother said that district twelve finally has a chance of winning and she wasn't talking about me!" Peeta snapped. Her mind came back to reality. Flora felt her heart fall. "She was talking about you, Katniss." He added. Flora looked at her plate of food.
"I want her by your side the entire time in the arena." Haymitch spoke. "Go meet Effie in the elevator." He added as Flora got up with Katniss and Peeta. Heading out finally to the training center. Flora never felt so alone as of now. She was standing close to Effie who was humming. Katniss and Peeta were quiet as well on the other side.
"Alright dear. Head down the hall and you'll be there." Effie spoke as she waved her hand forward. She felt Effie's other hand on her back as she gently nudged Flora forward.
Once inside the hall, Flora went straight to the survival area. It seemed most of the tributes went straight to fighting with weapons. Flora rolled her eyes as she found a machine that had every single plant life ever recorded. Raising a brow as a redheaded girl was on it. Flora had her hands behind her back as she watched. Someone was timing her as she went through the buttons. She had finished.
"Eight minutes. Not bad." The man said as the girl was beaming. She smirked at Flora before taking her leave. "Want a go?" The man asked as Flora nodded.
"Alright, find all the edible plants." The man spoke. Katniss came next to her to watch. "Ready? Go!" As soon as he started his timer, Flora looked at the big screen and began. Easily identifying the plants as she pressed the buttons. Her fingers were fast as her hands moved quickly as did her eyes. She had finished.
"Three minutes and twenty seconds. We have a record! I am going to go and record this." The man spoke and left.
"Haymitch said to hide our talents until scoring." Katniss hissed. Flora rounded on Katniss.
"That wasn't my talent." She spoke as Katniss raised a brow and heard shouting.
"He took my knife! I know he took it!" The voice of Cato was shouting as he went after the tribute who injured his leg.
"I didn't touch your knife!" The brown headed boy shouted as peacekeeper guards came in. Flora looked up as saw the little girl Rue. She touched Kantiss' shoulder who looked at her. Flora pointed to her eye and then upwards where Rue had the knife. The girl was smiling brightly. Flora smiled as this. If a little girl like Rue can use stealth, she would want to be an ally with her. She went back to her area she was in. Katniss was with her as they worked on lighting a campfire. Success. They smiled at each other before looking around and saw Peeta. He was hyper focused on something. Curiosity got the best of them as they walked over to Peeta. Flora's eyes went wide as she saw his hand. It looked so perfectly matched to a tree next to them.
"I used to decorate cakes in the bakery." Peeta explained.
"Oh." Was all Katniss said.
"That's amazing." Flora spoke softly.
"You have a shadow." Peeta spoke as they all turned and saw Rue hide behind a pillar.
The three days had passed quickly. Flora could feel the gamekeepers and others watching her. People in different colored robes but mainly purple. They were watching them. Taking notes on clipboards. They stayed cleared of their main talent stations. Saving those for the private session for the scoring. Flora felt her hands itching to pick up the knives before pushing the thoughts back. She learned a lot there. With Katniss and Peeta, they learned how to make shelter, make snares and traps for the game. Flora had never thought she would be learning this. Katniss made it seem so easy to do.
"I assume the arena is going to be a forest." Flora spoke as they looked at her. "We are learning the basic things for the forest." She explained. Katniss's eyes widened. Knowing for a fact at least Katniss had a chance to survive. Rue had joined them at some stations. Flora felt her heart ache for the child. She was smart with plants like her and Katniss. It was a plus. Flora had hoped that the bigger and stronger tributes would take each other out and die from some sort of infection. They had finally finished with the training halls and headed back to the penthouse. Flora felt exhausted and took a shower. They would be getting scored tomorrow and find out at least by dinner time. So they had thirty tributes to go through. Flora sighed as she wanted to skip dinner but Effie wasn't having it.
"Strength." Is what she said that all Flora could make out from the perky woman. Today Effie had on different colors but always seemed to make everything match. Flora couldn't help but admire the woman for her talent of colors.
"You look snazzy today." Flora spoke to Effie who she could have sworn saw a blush upon the woman's cheeks. Flora had pushed through dinner while listening to Peeta talk to Haymitch about Rue. It seemed that the younger tributes never made it far. Flora frowned at this as she took a drink from her cup. It tasted like apples. She poured herself more before drinking more. Finding out it was apple juice. Apparently this became her favorite drink until Effie introduced her to something called Strawberry lemonade. What was it about strawberries like Flora liked so much about? Shrugging as she pushed the thoughts away. Feeling a touch on her shoulder. It was Effie reminding her to head to bed. She nodded at the colorful woman with a hug. Strawberry smell again. She had finally left to bed and not knowing, she had actually fallen asleep as soon as she hit the pillow.
There were several knocks on her door.
"Up up up! Big big big day!" Effie's voice was on the other side before her door opened. Flora groaned a little.
"Five more minutes?" Flora asked while pulling the cover over her head.
"Come on Flora. Time to get up dear!" Effie spoke as she could hear the clicking of the woman's heels. Then a whoosh! Her blanket was now off of her. Flora sat up and glared at Effie. Seeing the woman sigh with a soft smile. Her eyes soften from the glare. How could she stay mad at this woman? This woman who grew up in the Capitol and had no outside life like she did in the districts. 'Maybe my death will help bring a better future.' Flora thought. She smiled at Effie this time who returned it with a beam.
"There's that beautiful smile! Now get ready! You have the session soon!" Effie perked up before leaving. Flora put on the clothes from the training center but the top was different. It has her district number on the sleeves. Which were short. She saw Katniss and Peeta were already ready to go. She hadn't eaten because she chose to sleep in today which was unusual. They followed the tributes down the hallway. Since it went by district, they would be waiting for a while. The line slowly got smaller and smaller. Flora looked up to see the sun shining half way meant it should be noon soon.
"Katniss Everdeen." A computerized voice called Katniss. Watching the girl stand up and leave. Flora could only hope that Katniss did good. Since none of them had even touched their weapon talent.
"Flora Solstice." The voice called. Flora stood up and walked past Peeta who was the last one. Walking inside the door and into a larger room. It seemed the keepers and others were at alert. She raised a brow wondering what Katniss had done.
"When you are ready Ms. Flora." Seneca spoke as she nodded at him. She walked over to the knife throwing station and picked up a few of the metal knives. She smiled as they fit her hand perfectly. She nodded to an assistant to start. The targets began to move. Flora took a deep breath and a stance. Quickly and forcefully throwing them. Hitting each target. Perfectly. Then the assistant came out of nowhere. Flora was ready. She was quick and agile. Moving with ease as she sidestepped. Dodging every move the man threw at her. Using the knives in her hands to deflect the ones thrown at her as she threw more at the targets. Her reflexes were off the charts as she moved. She was fast.
"Enough." Seneca spoke. Flora nodded and set the knives back down. She turned her heels as Peeta was called in. She stood in the elevator as it took her back to the top floor. She went straight to her bedroom to change out of the clothes. Hearing a knock as her door opened. Well, one thing she knew for sure; no privacy.
"Come dear! Scores soon!" Effie beamed as Flora followed the woman into the sitting room where Katniss and Peeta were sitting. Peeta was done already? Wondering what he had done with the weights.
"Hello ladies and gentlemen! The moment you've been waiting for!" Flickerman shouted with his smile. That creepy smile with his perfect white teeth. Too perfect in her opinion. "From district twelve. Peeta Mellark scored an eight." He said as there were gasps and smiles.
"We can work with that." Effie smiled.
"Flora Solstice. Ten." Flora's eyes went wide. How?
"Amazing!" Effie nearly shouted and squeezed her shoulder.
"And Katniss Everdeen with a score of eleven." Flickerman spoke. More gasps.
"To Katniss Everdeen! The Girl of Fire!" Cinna toasted Katniss as everyone followed. Flora sighed as she raised her glass. There was no smile upon her face. She could feel Effie's eyes upon her for some reason. She looked to the side and took a drink. The alcohol burned down her throat. Not sure if there was any care since they would be going into the Games soon. There was a lot of chattering about Katniss' score. Flora got up and left unnoticed.
It was not long when she found herself on the rooftop again. Standing in the garden while inhaling the scent of the flowers. She sat down on the ledge of one of the flower beds. Gently touching the petals of the pink roses. The softness of the petals that left their scent upon your fingers after touching them. She leaned in closely and saw it was a hybrid rose that the Capitol made. She ripped off the rose head and squashed it in her hand. Watching the juice from the petals drip between her fingers. The scent of the rose was now stronger. Anger rose inside of her again. How could they take the beauty of nature and make it a disgrace? Same as when they created the Jabberjays. In time mockingjays came into existence. Mockingjays. The symbol of the pin district twelve gave Katniss. The old symbol of the rebellion from several years ago before they were even thought of being born. Flora had sighed softly as she finished picking the rest of the hybrid pink roses. Once she was done, the scent was overwhelming her. She left the rooftop back down to her bedroom. She decided to take a shower to get the scent off of her hands. It was lingering but at least it was light. She sat on her bed once done. Letting her hair air dry. There was amazing technology that will instant dry her hair but she decided the better of it.
Taking a deep breath as she went back into the dining room only to find Effie in there.
"We keep meeting like this." Effie spoke softly with a smile. The woman was drinking a small cup of tea. Flora poured herself some as she sat down. Effie was watching her.
"What's your story? I know Katniss' and Peeta's, but not yours. You don't seem to speak much." The woman spoke while drinking a sip.
"What do you want to know?" Flora asked softly. It seemed Effie was the only one kind to her along with Cinna.
"Tell me. What's your story in district twelve?" Effie asked.
"My parents passed away when I was young. My mother died from sickness due to the lack of medicine. My father died in the mines along with Katniss'. I was taught how to make medicine from herbs and what not that my mother's shop sold. We sold flowers too. My mother loved flowers as did I. Hence my name." Flora spoke softly. She wasn't going to tell a Capitol woman about her using the medicine to help others.
"You poor thing." Effie spoke as she hugged Flora. This time she was a little tense but relaxed into the hug.
"I never thought my name would be called. Then again I expected it. My name is in there several times." Flora spoke.
"Why would it be?" Effie was confused. Did this woman not know?
"Before Katniss and I became friends, I had to put my name in more times to get extra food. Rice and flour. You see. District twelve is the poorest district Effie. The food we have isn't enough to feed everyone." Flora frowned. She looked at the blue eyes. It seemed to show sadness in her eyes.
"I never understood why people did that. Get extra time put in the reaping. Now I understand. I am truly sorry Flora." Effie spoke softly. She was still hugging Flora and for once in her life. She did not mind the physical contact. The smell of the strawberries again. Flora found herself with her eyes closed from the hug. She pulled away quickly and shook her head.
"I should head to bed." Flora spoke as she stood up.
"Oh. Alright. Get some rest." Effie spoke as Flora nodded and left the dining room again. It felt odd. She never opened up to anyone before. What was the difference with this woman? She is a Capitol person who supports the Hunger Games. It frustrated Flora. Then again, from what Katniss had told her. There were some that thought of the Games as barbaric and should be stopped. Maybe someday the Games will be stopped. Someday that people will look back on history and not repeat it. Until then, Flora had play the Game. Until then, she was a piece in their Games.