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

Chapter 7

I lie down on my bed and wrap my sheets over my body, wishing I could sink into them forever. I stare up at the ceiling and close my heavy eyes, but they only snap open again. There is no way I could sleep tonight. I lay there and wait for.... something. I needn't think of my past. I already do that. A lot.

   Instead I got up after a half hour of doing nothing. I stood up and wrapped myself in a blanket. I walked down the dark hallway, and didn't turn on the lights. I could see well, though. I walked in front of the TV and turned it on. I made the volume low so I didn't wake anybody. I wanted this time for myself.

   It flicked on and I curled up on the couch. I glanced at a pile of video tapes on the floor, and I picked the basket up. I sorted through the videos. They were all marked a number. They were the Hunger Games, all the way back to the first one.

   I picked one at random and placed it into the TV. I wanted to distract myself from what lies in the day tomorrow. Caesar showed up first and started to talk about the 59th Hunger Games. This was nine years ago, when I was eight. I remember this year. It was the year when they had to survive in an abandoned city.

   That sounds easy, but it wasn't. They had snakes, poisonous gas leaks, oil leaks, wild dogs, and more. Most of those buildings were destroyed, but some of them stood up. It was horribly hard to find a tribute in those Games, if I could remember. The Careers were the first to die off, because they accidentally fell into acid from some pipes. That left only six left, and that part went on for a week because they were all so well hidden.

   I watched as person after person died. Caesar and Claudius Templesmith popped up on the screen every once in a while to tell us what happened, or what something is.

   I watched that video until my eyelids started to droop from the brightness of the TV, and the darkness around. I got a pillow from the couch and rested my head on it with the blanket over my body. I watched the video sideways, and I struggled to keep my eyes open after a while. Then I closed them and gave into darkness.

* * *

   The lights flickered on, and I snapped open my eyes. I wearily sat up and glanced over the back of the couch. Who stood at the lights was an Avox who was clearly surprised to see me there. The Avox girl had soft blond hair and gray eyes. She put on an apologetic glance and flicked the lights back off.

   "No, it's fine." I told her. She looked at me and blinked, then turned the lights back on. I yawned and sat up to see her more. "It's fine. I needed to wake up anyways." The Avox got a relieved look and walked over to me. She looked down at the videos, and started to put them back in order. I took out the 59th Hunger Games video and put it back in its case. I handed it to her, and she put it in the box.

   "Thank you." I said. She looked up at me and smiled. She put away the box and walked away with her head down. She started to set the table, and I got up to go help her. I took a plate and set it down alongside her. She kept on smiling with her mouth closed and kept looking up at me. I knew she was looking, and I didn't look back up as I helped her.

   Soon the table was set. I brushed my hands on my night clothes. She dipped her head gratefully to me.

   I took that as a thank you. "You're welcome." I said, non-sarcastically. This was the least I could do to help her before I left. I felt like I needed to owe her something.

   Alicia showed up in the doorway. She gasped, "Johanna! Why were you helping that beast? That is not your job."

   I glared at her. "She's not a beast! If anything, I am, so shut up." I brushed past her shocked face and entered my room again. I looked around. She must've cleaned it up while I was on the couch. I picked up something on the bed. It was a uniform.