Clove: The real story

Training

He is perfect in every way, bright blue eyes, gleaming white teeth, a beautiful smile and he is also a hot blonde. He is way too perfect for me. His name -I think- is Cato or something, I am in a couple of classes with him, He has never paid much attention to me and its the same with me to him. It works out fine that way. I sit on my own empty table and watch him chatting and laughing with his friends. I sigh and know that I'll never be right for him. All the girls in his year like him. I am one year below him. He is 16, when I am a small, skinny, pale, brunette, 15 year old. I am boring and hopeless at everything. The only thing I am good at is knife throwing in training. Cato and I train at the same time. I have seen him take the heads off of plastic statues and his strong fists can definitely handle a spear. It will be the reaping of the 74th Hunger Games soon and we only have 6 months to train as long and as hard as we can.

Once the bell rings I hurriedly stand up and speed walk to the training centre. Once i get there I stand next to the door waiting for our trainer Ziro. Once we are all in the training centre I walk to the knife station, passing Cato as I go. He looks up at me with a feisty look in his eyes. I stare down as I walk. Once I have carefully selected a dozen of my favourite knives-called Dragon knives-and started throwing them, I have forgotten all about Cato. I have given up trying to get attention from the others. I know Cato is too busy with sword training.

After training I start to walk out the door when I hear a voice. "Hey Clove" I turn to see Cato running towards towards me. I notice my mouth is hanging open and close it quickly. He stands right in front of me and smiles. "Do you want to meet up sometime tomorrow after school?" He asks. I can hardly believe my luck. Cato is actually talking to me!. I nod my head and smile suddenly feeling too sick to speak. He nods and runs back to his mates who are waiting patiently for him.

The next day is torture going through school, When the end of the day finally arrives, I wait outside the gate for Cato. 1 minute passes, then 2, then a few more and I start to feel like he isn't coming. Then he comes running around the corner. "Hi, sorry I got a little held up" he explains. "Thats okay" I laugh. We walk to the meadow and sit down on a hill. "So I have seen you with your knives and..you are...amazing" He tells me. "Oh..uh..thank you" I blush and look down again. He chuckles. "So I reckon we could have a go at tutoring each other" He offers. "Sure" I reply quickly. I look at his eyes and feel my heart melt. "You know, I have been wanting go talk to you for a long time" Cato starts then pauses. "For how long?" I ask feeling embarrassed. "Uh..well..since....well..since we were about 13 and 14" He stutters. "Woah thats a long time" I smile at him and he smiles back. "You know, we should hang out more often" Cato suggests. I nod my head. "Where abouts are you?" I say quietly so only he can hear. The meadow is empty but I must thing there are people listening to out conversation. "I live west from the meadow, on the great hill, my house is the one next to the tool shop, uh, my Dad works there, ya know, selling plaster and bricks and stuff" He looks displeased with himself. "That sounds interesting" I try to sound interested "my Dad used to be a peacekeeper but..he uh..quit his job and now works as a plasterer" I mutter. Cato smiles. "Do you want a lift home?" He asks. "I would love a lift home" I say as we stand up and walk to his car.

That night I can't sleep, I try and try but can't even close my eyes. I have a large room to myself. I have a double bed next to my large window, the walls are painted a pale purple, the wooden floors are willow and I have a desk in near my bed too. I have four little sisters, Luna is the youngest and smallest, she is 4, Lily is 7, Fauna is 10 and Flora is 12, and 2 older brothers, River is 16 and Copper is 18. 4 out of the 7 of us are going to the reaping this year. District 1 and District 2 are the only Districts that train their tributes for the Hunger Games. I know I wont volunteer this year. My Mom and Dad need me to take care of my little sisters while they are at work. I turn over and climb out of bed knowing that I will never get to sleep. I read book after book until I have re-read all the books and magazines on my book shelf. Then I practise throwing invisible knives at my wall. Mother has banned any weapons in our house. I guess she doesn't want any of us to get hurt with them. When I get bored I walk around my room looking for things to do. I find some marbles under my bookshelf and play with them for a while.
Suddenly I hear a loud wail from my sisters room I get up and run into Luna's room. "Clove! Clove!" She screams as I run to her. "Whats wrong?!" I ask quietly trying to sooth her. She just keeps sobbing so in the end I pull her into me and rock her slowly. "Its okay..everything will be fine I promise" I whisper. Luna and I have been really close ever since she was a toddler. I never want anything to happen to any of my sisters or brothers. I can stop them from being scared of the dark, but the reaping is something even the bravest of people fear. I hold Luna till she falls asleep and I lay her back down again. I kiss her forehead and leave back to my room. Still feeling wide awake, I start to tidy up my books and surf the web for a bit. I start looking at dresses from District 1 to the different kinds of fish they sell in 4 and in the end I have a quick glimpse at Coal mining and weapons before shutting down the computer and walking back to my bed. Its almost dawn now and the bright screen has made me sleepy. I climb under the covers and close my eyes. I don't know how I do it but I finally fall asleep.