Johanna Mason- 68th Hunger Games (EDITING- ON HOLD)

Chapter Five

   "So?" I whip around to face Alicia. She ducks her head, like she's trying to avoid me even though I stand right in front of her. "Tell me."

   "You know how your mother and you were poor?" she asks smally. I can feel Cetus' hard burning gaze on me as I look at her with my arms crossed. "Well, your mother.... she...."

   "She what?" I ask. I suddenly understand, hitting me painfully in the chest. It feels  like somebody just stabbed me in the heart, and then twisted it into my ribs. "She... she had me put in for money?" I ask weakly. "She sacrificed me, her only daughter, so she could make more money?"

    "No! She.... she was taking a gamble and lost. I'm sorry, dear." Alicia glances up with a sad, synthetic yellow-eyed gaze. I back up away from her like a caged animal. I feel like my heart is torn in two, and one half was tossed out the window. I rip off my vines in anger and throw them on the floor. I run back to my room, stupid childish tears flooding my eyes. I slam my door hard and I try to wipe away my tears.

   Not bothering to take off my costume, I fall onto my bed and curl up in a ball, wishing to disappear. It isn't the Capital's fault, but my own mother's stupid choice. She gambled me over some money the Capital will probably take away anyways. If I can't trust my mother, who can I? I can't trust anybody like that ever again. Nobody.

   I heard a knock on my door, but I leave it be. Nobody opens the door, but they walk away with the soft pattern of footsteps after I don't answer. I am alone on my bed, dragging no blankets or pillows to comfort me. I curl tighter instead and wish to just fall asleep, to get this day over with. My breathing is muffled and hot between my knees, but I don't look up. I want badly for my life to be over then and there instead of a certain painful death in an arena with nobody closely related to my liking.

   I wake with covers over my body, and my head on my pillow. I lift my head and peer around. I remember what had happened. . . yesterday? Did I fall asleep through the rest of the day? I look at the clock on the wall, but it's too dark to see the spindly hands on the large wall decoration. It isn't the next day, but in the middle of the night. I whip open my covers and strip off my costume. It leaves red marks where the tight spots were on my thighs and stomach, where I curled into it.

   I walk into the bathroom door and climb into the shower. I turn on the water and feel the warm water glide down my tear-stained face. I wash my body and hair that takes almost a half hour, and I finally decide I can't hide here anymore.

   I dry off and put on some plain clothes from the dresser. I open my door and gaze down the hall before walking out. Nobody's out here, and I realize it's dark. I don't have a window in my room, no doubt they don't want us escaping. I sneak out into the huge, empty space. My footprints echo loudly, not even air conditioning ruining the peace. I breathe in the cold yet soothing air, feet feeling the plush carpet beneath my feet. I look around to see a bright dot blink when I step through the doorway, just near the floor. I bend down, kneeling next to the small luminescent dot. A sensor. I snort and stand up, walking to the door. I turn the knob out of curiosity-- it's locked, obviously. I turn back towards the kitchen, where no real food ever gets cooked, something I learned real quick. I take an apple in my ahdns, taking a bite out of the juicy fruit. We had a lot of these in District Seven-- apples were always sold after the trees were knocked down after blooming season. This one was unnaturally big, unnaturally red and full. No real apples were like that-- only the kind they use this special growing fertilizer in. They usually tasted worse than the regular apple.

   I walk over to the couch and sit down, apple in hand. I stare up at the ceiling, eating my apple carelessly and not caring if I woke up the others with my chomping. There was no way I'm falling back asleep tonight. This place is already hard enough to fall asleep in.

   A light flashes on my face, blinding me. I stand quicker than my body can handle, and I immediately feel faint as I stare into the glare of the light. They lower it, and I blink the spots out of my vision so I see an Avox staring at me, looking fearful, even in the dark when it's nobody out here except us. I shake my head, trying to clear the green spots that light up when I blink.

   He walks forward, and I can finally make out some details of his face. Dark eyebrows, light, fun eyes. His hair is blonde, but is full of shadows, creating an illusion of black hair. The first thing I think is that it looks odd, dark eyebrows and light hair, like he dyed it or something. A red line runs across his cheeks and meets in the middle of his mouth, giving the impression of a gag across his face. He's dressed in red, with splashes of white here and there.

   He hands me a glass of water, gesturing for me to take it. He points to my mouth, then gives a thumbs up. When I give him a confused look, he points to the camera, then shakes his head.

   They can't hear us.

  "Do they know we're out here?" I whisper. "I mean, can I talk to you?"

   He smiles, nodding eagerly. He takes out a piece of paper, as if waiting for this moment. He writes something in an old pen, and hands it to me. I read it swiftly as he shines the light on it.

    It reads, "If you make it back, please tell my mother at the butchers his Hasani is okay."

   I glance up, dumbfounded. He gives me a small, forced smile, closing my fingers together over the note. He backs up, walking back into the room on the left of the kitchen, glancing briefly back at me before disappearing into the darkness once more.