The Demi Games

A Train Nicer than My House

(Reyna)

After the tributes got their final goodbyes to their families, they're brought onto a train, where cameras are everywhere. Luckily, there are not many concentrated on me, as I am not the object of interest. That goes to this year's District 2 tributes: Cato and Clove. Both volunteers, and both look as if they've been training for this moment their entire lives.

Being from here, they have.

Everyone from District 2 has. Technically, it's illegal, but it's been happening for so long that nobody cares anymore. The tributes from districts 1, 2, and 4 - known as the Career Tributes, or Careers - always train and prepare for the Games. That's why they win more times than all the other districts combined.

I was the youngest tribute to ever win, at the age of thirteen, five years ago. Three years ago, Clarisse won for our district. Unfortunately, there hasn't been enough time for me to find her and talk to her about what's happened, and she will not be with me on this trip to the Capitol.

Two previous victors are chosen every year to mentor the newest tributes. I got chosen to mentor Clove. A man named Brutis is in charge of Cato.

There are a few minutes where the tributes stand in the doorway of the train while the cameras click and and flash away, then they're ushered inside and the doors close. The train starts moving.

Brutis and I don't need to officially meet our tributes until dinnertime, giving the tributes and us some time to shower and get dressed into more practical clothes. I decide to do the same, after giving up on talking strategy with Brutis. He won his games through sheer strength, so it makes sense that he's not really the strategy-type guy. But that's only going to make things so much harder with training our tributes.

My feelings are divided on the way that I want the games to go down, however, and not many of the options are in my district's favor. I already know that they're not going to win, because neither of them are main characters. And though I don't know who, I know at least one of us is actually in the Games, and I don't want them to die.

But what if there are multiple? If it comes down to that, things get complicated. Only one person can win, so how are we all going to get out of this? It feels impossible.

An hour later, I'm eating dinner, which comes in courses. A thick carrot soup, green salad, lamb chops and mashed potatoes, cheese and fruit, a chocolate cake. It's more food than I know what to do with, so after the second course, I stop eating and just pick at what's on my plate, too full to touch another bite. The capital is extravagant to the point of extreme. It seems ridiculous to me that anyone could eat this much in one sitting, but of course, the capital escort, a man in about his thirties who seems completely unable not to look like he's wearing literal clown makeup, eats every serving without a problem.

We go to another compartment to watch the recap of the reapings across Panem. They try to stagger them throughout the day so a person could conceivably watch the whole thing live, but only people in the Capitol would do that, since none of them have to attend reapings themselves.

One by one, we see the other reapings, the names called, the volunteers stepping forward or, more often, not. We examine the faces of the kids that will be the competition. A few stand out in my mind. Nico is the District 1 boy tribute, volunteering before the chosen is even said. Obviously he knows he's got to go in. Then I watch what I've already seen go down, with both Cato and Clove scrambling to be the tributes. In District 3 Leo's called forward, and of course he makes a point of smiling and waving and acting like he won some big award. Percy gets chosen in District 4. A fox-faced girl with sleek red hair from District 5. Will, in District 9. A twelve-year-old girl from District 11, who looks ten at most. A girl volunteering for her little sister in District 12, desperation impossible to miss in her voice. The girl and a blonde boy shake hands, and the program ends.