Constellations | Cato Hadley

Chapter Eight

The final day of training left Ariana Galde with a pit of fear in her stomach. The individual scores are tomorrow and then the next day would be the interviews. She nearly wanted to throw up at how those would go. Scenes of her games would play behind her as she lied to the crowd. Personal questions that she didn't want to be asked. The woman sighed as she laid in her pink silk sheets. The clock on her nightstand told her that it was seven-thirty in the morning.

It was nine o'clock by the time she had met the others for breakfast. Roman and Wren were arguing about helping one another in the arena. Wren said she'd leave him for dead while Roman said that they're on the same team. Ariana inwardly sighed as she thought of Haymitch's name for the group going into the arena, Team Protect Katniss.

"Guys," she said as she reached for the coffee. Wren and Roman still continued the argument. Oliver sat at the other end of the table with his own cup of coffee.

"How long has this been going on?" Ariana asked.

"About five minutes," Oliver said before he took a sip of coffee. Ariana lifted her own scalding cup up to her lips as Serena entered the room. Her eyes were quick to land on the fighting tributes.

"What on earth is going on?" Serena shrieked.

Wren's eyes glanced back and forth from her fellow tribute to her escort. Her tanned arm was pointed in the direction of Roman. "He started it!" 

Roman rolled his eyes and stuffed a croissant into his mouth. His brown eyes burned with fury as Wren continued to point her freshly bitten-off nails in his direction.

"Will you both just drop it?" Serena asked as she sat down. Her blonde hair was long that morning with her new extensions. "We are all on the same team."

Ariana decided to cut in before taking a drink of her coffee.

"And that means in the arena don't kill Katniss or each other." Her brown eyes looked at both of her fellow tributes. Wren pouted as she leaned back against her chair.

"I'm not going to training today," Wren said. Serena's face sprouted a wide grin.

"Then you can start early training with me for the interviews." Her purple sparkly lip gloss shimmered. Wren's hazel eyes rounded as they grew wide at her escort's words.

"Um, no thanks. I'm good," Wren said with a nervous laugh. Seren frowned.

"Oh, well, you'll be stuck with me for a few hours tomorrow." Wren sighed as she thought about the torture Serena would put her through tomorrow.

"I think that's my queue to go change for training," Wren said as she stood up from the table. Roman's eyes watched as the girl left the room. He went to follow her when a hand held him back briefly. Oliver shook his head at the boy when Roman craned his head to the person that had a grip on him. Roman shook his wrist free and tried to catch up with Wren.

Minutes later the pair from Ten was in the elevator and headed down for the training room. Wren kept her gaze focused on the gears that turned in the elevator as they went down but was snapped out of it when Roman waved his hand in front of her face.

"Hello," he said as he put his hand back to his side.

"What?" Wren snapped as she threw a glare at him. The doors opened and she shot out of the elevator with Roman hot on her tail.

"Wren would you just stop!" he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Wren!" Roman grunted angrily.

His movement was quick as he snatched Wren's wrists and pinned her to the nearest wall. Wren let out an 'oof' sound as her back hit the wall harder than Roman intended. The elevator shot up beside them.