Chapter 13: Mentors

"Your birthday is tomorrow" I breathed, rolling over in bed to snuggle Haymitch.
"Reaping day" he nodded. My heart sank at the knowledge that tomorrow 24 children would be taken from their homes and prepped to kill each other. I snuggled into Haymitch, feeling the warmth of his skin under my hands. The warmer weather meant Haymitch no longer wore a shirt to bed. He wasn't ashamed of his scar around me, and I wasn't ashamed of mine. I don't know what Snow would tell everyone had happened. Maybe he would tell them that I did it to myself, which was true. But I'd been provoked.
"We need to play the roles that Snow expects us to. You need to play drunk and I need to play the Victor who couldn't cope with her Games" I reminded him. Haymitch nodded.
"Apple juice has the same colouring as scotch" he smirked, making me chuckle.
"You'll end up with diabetes instead of alcohol poisoning" I teased. Haymitch kissed my forehead and sat up.
"Come on, we should get up, Peacekeepers are going to be roaming around and we can't get caught" Haymitch reminded me. I slid out of bed and had a quick shower before going back to my own house. I kept myself busy throughout the day, noting the Peacekeepers that showed up mid-morning and kept watch over the two occupied Victors' houses.

Morning broke on July 4th and Haymitch and I were led to the town square where the Reaping occurs. I stood on one side of Effie, and Haymitch was on the other. This year the tributes were a fourteen-year-old boy and a twelve-year-old girl. The odds not exactly in their favour. Being that young in an outlying district was never a good thing. Nobody trained the outer districts. It was a matter of pure luck and how you were brought up. Haymitch survived out of spite, I survived because my Gran was a Victor. Holly and James were going to need lots of training in order to have any chance of surviving. The tributes were given a chance to say goodbye to their families and then we were all led to the train.

"This is so fancy" Holly commented as she and James entered the train. I looked to where Haymitch was sitting, drinking what looked like scotch, but I knew wasn't alcoholic.
"Happy Birthday" I mouthed to him. He showed half a smile in acknowledgement, then took another sip. Effie showed the tributes to their living quarters for the train ride and then came to sit by us.
"I don't believe that you two went your separate ways" she hissed, trying to be quiet. I looked to Haymitch, who nodded. He trusted Effie, so I guess I do too.
"We didn't" I whispered.
"But Snow needs to believe it, so please keep this quiet, Effie" Haymitch pleaded, leaning forward in his chair. Effie nodded and then sat back just as the tributes returned for food.
"This is so much nicer than home" Holly smiled, so full of life and excitement about what was coming. I looked between the two tributes and then sighed before speaking.
"What skills do you each have that could potentially help in the arena" I asked them. Wanting to keep these children alive, they were much too young to be in the arena. Twelve was especially too young. Holly and James both looked to me in confusion.
"Aren't you going to teach us?" Holly asked, scared.
"That's your job, right? To mentor us" James added. I looked to Haymitch for help to explain our role. This was new to me, and I hadn't needed training last year.
"Look, we can guide you, but we're not able to teach you everything in two weeks. You have to have some kind of skill that will help you" Haymitch told them. James and Holly looked so lost.
"For example, I used to hunt with my Gran. So making bunny traps was easy, I could eat the meat to survive" I explained. Not that there were any bunnies in my arena, we had some berries that were safe, but no real sustenance.
"You ate a bunny?" Holly asked in shock, her eyes nearly bulging from her head. I shook my head in exasperation, then rested my chin on my hands leaning on the table.
"I give up" I groaned, then looked to Effie. "Your turn to help explain" I said, verbally tagging her in. Effie looked between Haymitch and I and he waved her on.
"Uh, well…I-uh-I guess what they mean, is that they both had survival skills before entering the arena. They knew ways to survive and to defend themselves from the other tributes" Effie tried. The kids nodded along but then turned to Haymitch.
"So how did you feel when you won?" James asked excitedly.
"You'll never find out if you don't pay attention and take in what we're telling you" Haymitch snapped, getting up and taking another sip of juice from the glass. "Wish this was scotch" he grumbled just loud enough for me to hear. I glared at him and he shrugged, disappearing to the Mentor's cart.

"…So I guess I'm good at hiding" Holly breathed after her long-winded explanation about how she hid so well in hide-and-seek against her little brother that her parents went out searching in a panic. I looked at her, just staring. Hiding? That was all she could do? This was going to be difficult to keep her alive. I looked to James, who was trying to show off muscles.
"I'm the strongest kid in my grade" he smiled, posing in his chair. I kicked the chair with my foot and he fell backwards as the chair tipped over. "Ow" he complained, rubbing the back of his head as he stood.
"Your grade has nothing on trained killers from Districts 1 and 2. They volunteer for this after years of training, they'll snap you like a twig" I explained as James righted his chair and sat back down, eying me for any sudden movements.
"So how do I survive?" he asked, his voice wavering.
"You listen to Haymitch, Effie and I" I replied.

The first week of training them was the hardest, and Haymitch refused to watch through the chariot rides, it reminded him of losing Luella. Our tributes were stubborn and inattentive, and out of the two, Haymitch and I agreed that James was going to be too cocky, and Holly was too naïve, neither of them had a decent shot. The second week was a little more effective. James and Holly started to realise the predicament they were in, and the reality of what the Games meant for them. The hugging and playfulness slowed to a stop, and the two started to pay attention to what Haymitch and I were telling them. We were teaching knife-wielding, distraction techniques and how to hunt for food. James took well to a spear, he liked the range of it. Holly preferred the knife, she had terrible aim when throwing, but she liked the feel of something defensive in her hands. By the end of those two weeks, the scores were revealed, with James scoring a six and Holly scoring a four. Neither were high scores, but both were so young that they were bound to score low. Tomorrow, the arena would be revealed, and we would know how well we trained the children from District 12.

Haymitch, Effie and I sat in the square at the Capitol, watching anxiously as the Games started. As we hoped, James and Holly avoided the Cornucopia bloodbath. Both of them grabbing a pack from the outskirts and running for cover. Holly was chased by the girl from 2 and the boy from 1, both struggling to climb up the tree she was hiding in.
"Good girl" I breathed, trying to maintain my composure. James was not being pursued immediately but soon bumped into the girl from 7. The two struck up an alliance and started to look for water and shelter.
"An alliance will help them" Haymitch commented, resting his hand on my knee. I took his hand in mine, trying to remain calm. It was hard with two of our own in the arena with nothing for us to do to help them. Nothing real anyway. We could send food, water, matches, but nothing substantial…except getting James a spear. The cameras revealed that Holly was unarmed, her bag only contained food and water. James' pack contained rope, a tarp and an empty bottle that could be used for water. They two young tributes had what they needed to stay alive for now, as long as they kept away from the career tributes.

Day 5, Holly's luck ran out. She was chased down by the girl from 2 and then stabbed. It felt like someone had ripped my heart from my chest. Holly was sweet, and she didn't deserve this. James was killed on day 8 by his ally. She turned on him, stabbing him in the back with his own weapon, a spear. The same weapon that Haymitch and I had asked a sponsor to send him two days prior. Losing the two of them had me racing into Snow office, slamming my hands on his desk and demanding he reconsider the Games.
"You think you can come in here and make demands?" Snow chuckled.
"I think you're an evil son of a bitch, and you shouldn't be in power" I growled back. He smiled, leaning forward until I could smell the tang of blood in his mouth.
"But I am in power. The Games will continue, and you will do as you're told" he snarled.
"Your threats are getting lame" I hissed.
"You're going to keep watching children die. Twelve is the most pathetic district and has only produced winners by cheating."
"I. Didn't. Cheat" I reminded him. I'd never cheated in the Games. I'd won fair and square.
"One real victor in 54 years. The odds are not in your favour" he snarled. "I hold all the cards here, Miss Baird. You'd do well to remember that" he snapped, slamming his hand on the desk. I turned on my heel and left for my room. How had Gran fallen in love with this monster?!

Author's Note: Apologies for the delay! Life got crazy between my birthday and then work. Willow and Haymitch aren't having much luck with training their first tributes together, but maybe next year? Or not. I haven't decided yet. Maybe I'll give District 12 another survivor. Guess we'll just find out together. Happy reading!