Clove found her Friday to be like every other, quite repetitive and pretty uneventful. The majority of her Friday's went as such: School, training then home. Every child in District 2 under the age of eighteen followed either the exact same or a very similar routine as her own, this was something which Clove could guarantee. And this was simply because there wasn't much else to do in District 2, besides learn, work and train. Everybody in the District lead the same repetitive and mundane life, and possessed no power at all to do anything about it. Everybody except the few. The few that were known as Victors. Clove often complained about the repetitiveness of her life, simply to complain. She knew that there was a way in which she could change her life for the better if she desperately wanted to.
When Clove first heard about this opportunity, she was at the ripe age of six. She was young and had developed a habit of eavesdropping on various different conversations the older kids would shamelessly have around the younger kids. At the time Clove generally found them to be more interesting and informative but as she'd grown up, she very quickly came to the realisation that she in fact should not, have been hearing half of the things she did. One of the conversation she'd heard on particular Tuesday during childhood was about the infamous Hunger Games. The older kids had spent the upmost of an hour, gushing about the games and the glory it bought those who won it; of course at the time Clove didn't know what the term glory meant. But she could tell from the way the kids engaged in the conversation, their jovial tones and the looks of exhilaration they wore when they discussed the games, that they were something special. Later that day when she'd arrived back to her small but humble home, she'd practically begged her mother Cassia Kentwell, to tell her all about the Hunger Games. The truth was Cassia didn't agree with the games, she strongly believed that they were a barbaric and unnecessary practice, that were only set in place to punish the people that played no role in the mistakes of their ancestors before them. However, Cassia also knew that trying to prevent her daughter from developing an interest in the games, was an impossible task and this was mainly due to the fact that they lived in District 2. District 2 was known for its Career District status, along with District 1 and District 4. This simply meant that their District's were known for training their kids in special training Academy's from the age of twelve, in order to prepare them for the games which they would then volunteer themselves for at the age of eighteen. Within the training Academy, children would learn a variety of survival skills, fighting techniques and would train themselves to master the art of weaponry. This was something which would give them an advantage against the majority of the other District's, it was also something however, which very illegal. President Snow and the Capitol, however, turned a blind eye to the fact that these District's broke the law year in and year out. This was because the Capitol very obviously and very shamelessly had favourites, District 1 being the first favourite. Clove's mother realised she was only delaying the inevitable, and caved in shortly after. As she grew up, Clove further learned more about the games and came to the understanding of just how much of a cherished and sacred tradition they were. She quickly understood that whoever participated and won their games would bring honour and pride to their District and in return would be rewarded with a life of luxury and goods.
Age eleven was the age that Clove Kentwell first learned about the concept of the Hunger Games in school, that same year she'd witness her first games. It was here she decided that one day, she'd volunteer and participate in her own games.
Cassia saw the signs, they became increasingly apparent, and admittedly worried her. By the time Clove reached her eleventh birthday, Cassia knew that trying to prevent the inevitable, was a pointless fight.
Once Clove Kentwell set her sights on something, not anyone and not anything would get in her way.
Twelve was age in which Clove was enrolled in the training Academy. This was where she first met the head trainer Leon, his responsibility was to assist every new recruit with finding their footing.
Leon's job's description consisted of things such as walking them through each weapon station, giving rundowns of each station, advising future tributes and generally supporting them with their Hunger Games journey. When she first met Leon, he mentioned right off the bat he could tell there was something special about her. Clove brushed it off, assuming that's something he said to all the kids, not realising that his feelings towards her were genuine. Clove herself, Leon, Safiya the assistant head trainer and every other one of her peers in the District 2 training Academy soon came to realise that there was in fact something special about Clove.
