Let The Games Begin // Billie Eilish

Chapter 4

The sound of a high pitched alarm ringing throughout the room wakes me up. I open my eyes and I honestly forget where I am for a few moments. I'm slightly startled by my unfamiliar surroundings - a large and spacious room, metal walls, and a hard, uncomfortable camping bed.

Then I remember.

We all gradually sit up in our camp beds as a dozen maids scurry into the room, holding clean uniforms and towels, encouraging everyone to get up.

I sheepishly stand up and make my bed. I undress into a towel and head towards the bathroom for a shower. There is a line of about five people ahead of me, so I have no choice but to wait while I try to keep my eyes open. The players surrounding me are all making small talk with each other, while blatantly side-eyeing me and giving me dirty looks. No one has attempted to speak to me since the physical assessment yesterday. And I know why.

Now that they know how weak I am, no one wants to pair up with me. I'm the runt of the litter. No one wants to befriend me because they don't want to end up as my partner. To be honest, I'm okay with that. I'd rather not get emotionally attached to any of these people. They're all gonna be gone in 2 months.

All except one.

My bets are on either Millaus or Billie. They were by far the strongest players yesterday.

So it's no surprise when I look over and see about 3 girls talking to Billie while she's brushing her wet hair in the bathroom. However, she's just blankly staring into the mirror, ignoring their obvious attempts to woo her. She's already dressed in her uniform, which fits a little baggy on her.

"Uh hello? Skippy it's your turn" I hear the person from behind me yell, followed by some chuckles around the room. The volume of it alone snaps me out of my trance.

I quickly turn around, to notice the girl from Block 1 staring at me with a rude grin resting on her face.

"Oh, sorry. I'm still half asleep" I attempt to joke a little, but it's clear she's not in the mood for humour when she just grimaces back at me.

I step into the shower and wash as quickly as I can. When I'm finished, I get dressed quickly and head straight back to my bed. I sit down and tie my boots, dreading the day ahead.

Today is the first official training day. We are gonna be taught basic techniques to enhance our physical agility. I hope they've hired the best trainer, cause it's gonna take a lot of training to get me anywhere close to agile.

"Players, you must make your way to the training room" a voice calls from the intercom. Everyone rapidly leaves the dorm in a single file. I try to situate myself in the middle, with the aim of blending in, similarly to how I did yesterday at the selections.

And look how that turned out for me.

We eventually reach the training room, a place that will become very familiar within the next 2 months. The boxing ring has been moved to the side, while all sorts of equipment is now scattered around. Sage is in the corner talking with someone in a red bodysuit. I notice people already splitting into little groups. How is it that I feel like such an outsider amongst a group of people who are in the exact same boat as me?

The only thing that separates me from them is my inability to throw a punch and my inevitable death. I guess that's enough to make people steer clear of me. To be fair, I wouldn't want to be partnered with me either.

I walk over to the camouflage station. It's the least intimidating form of self-defence, and perhaps the only chance I have at surviving. I sit down criss-crossed on the floor, pick up a paint brush and start mixing the brown and green paint to create a colour that resembles wood.