Panem High School

Training

Finch's POV
I was up at dawn on the first day of training. I brushed my hair back into a messy bun after taking a nice long shower and got dressed in the clothing laid out for me. It's black pants, a black and red shirt with my number area on the back, and black combat boots. I arrived at breakfast and saw Svetlana looking at me in bewilderment.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing, I just always have to get the tributes to wake up. You're here early." She said as I sat down and was served by a young boy Avox.
"Thank you." The Avox froze and Svetlana's look of bewilderment turned into a somewhat mix between a glare and a look of shock.
"You don't speak to them."
"What? Why?"
"Avoxes are punished criminals. They committed acts of treason towards the leaders. They are subjected to a life of semi solitude, they serve us. You only speak to them when you have an order. They don't deserve to be treated like humans."
"Isn't it bad enough that you cut off his tongue? Do you really have to treat him like he only exists to serve you?"
"He does only exist to serve me, and for as long as you're on this train, he serves you too. Avox, you may go." He ran off.
"You don't even know his name?"
"Of course not. Now, if you want to last on this train you'll learn to hold your own tongue."
"Or what?"
"Or what-"
"Svetlana, calm down. Let me talk to the girl, I'll knock some sense into her." Genera said as she entered the room. Genera took me by the arm, my breakfast left unfinished, and dragged me into her room. She pointed to a chair and I sat down.
"Look, no matter what you're gonna say, you have the right to know that I won't be listening to a word of it." I said as she scurried around her room.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Shh." She said and minutes later she finally sat down in a chair across from me.
"I was temporarily freezing the cameras they hid in here." She explained.
"They? How do you know how to do that?" I asked her, impressed.
"They are the Capitol and how? Where do you think I disappear to all year?" She must be talking about the 3rd area. They're a bunch of brainiacs.
"Why am I here? What's so important to say that you can't have them know? Aren't you just gonna tell me how we need to respect the Capitol and the leaders and all of that junk?"
"No, are you kidding me? What is wrong with you?"
"Excuse me."
"You need to be careful. People like Svetlana are just two calls away from making you end up like that Avox boy. You can't just say those things to someone from the Capitol, you'll get us all killed."
"It's the truth."
"To hell with the truth. That doesn't matter here. You should keep your head down and stay quiet, that's the only way you can survive."
"So I'm just suppose to sit here quietly and watch as they mistreat people?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Well, I can't do that."
"You're gonna have to. That mouth of yours will be the death of you."
"I still don't understand why you had to turn off the cameras. You're still defending them."
"Not in a minute I won't be. In fact, there's something you should know. Something that could change everything, hopefully for the better."
"What is it?"
"Well, let's start from the beginning, shall we?"
Rue's POV
After eating breakfast, all of the tributes from 11 followed Leto into the Training Center, where we were told to wait for the other tributes. We stood in a crowd around Atala, the Head Trainer, and finally the crowd from 12 showed up and we could begin the day.
"Welcome tributes, this is the Training Center. Here is where you'll be spending most of the next three days. You will learn new skills, practice old ones, and prepare yourself for the Hunger Games. Fighting with other tributes is strictly prohibited, if you need a partner, feel free to use one of the other trainers. I run a tight ship here, and I expect you all to obey the rules and respect the head of each station. Size one another up, make allies and enemies, and make sure by the end of the third day you're ready, because after that you have to show the Gamemakers your special skill, have your interview, and then it's off to the arena. Good luck and have fun." Atala explained and the group broke apart. I found myself unsure of where to go, but was quickly approached by Gale, Katniss, and Thresh, so I didn't have to guess.
"We train separately today, together tomorrow, and separate again the third day. Learn survival skills, they're mostly more important than weaponry. If you have a special talent, avoid that station. Most of us are probably underestimated, let the Careers keep thinking that. Then, when they least expect it, we strike." Thresh said, Katniss, Gale, and I hanging onto his every word. So we split up. Gale went to Archery, Thresh went to Knives, Katniss went to Knots, and I went to Maces, again. I am determined to at least hit one of the targets this time. Besides, I already know the Careers are looking at me funny, I'm a freshman who's allies with two juniors and a senior, it's not normal. After training at Maces for almost an hour, I've hit the target on the outer ring five times. Before I can do anything else, I turn my attention towards Cato Hadley's shouting.
"Get out of the way 7, we're training here now. Move." He shouted at my friend Ivy, who just gaped at Cato, his friend Marvel James, and his girlfriend Glimmer Cantrell. I studied the scene, they're at Swords. Ivy quickly ran over to Climbing, and I got an idea. I went to Climbing and began to climb the monkey bars, they go around the whole facility. When I reached a pit stop, a fake tree, I noticed a girl with bright red hair was also on a branch of the tree. I smiled at her and she returned it.
"I saw you staring at Cato, was that one of your friends he was screaming at?" The girl asked.
"Yes, my name is Rue." I replied.
"Rue, that's a pretty name. My name is Finch, are you planning on getting back at him for yelling?"
"Yes, I was going to steal his last sword, once he gets his second to last one."
"It'll anger him, that's for sure, but don't go for his sword. That's way too heavy and big for you to lift without him noticing. You see that girl over there?" Finch pointed towards a tiny girl at the Knives station. His best friend, Clove Sevina.
"Yes."
"Take her knife. It's way lighter, plus she'll get really angry and that will catch Cato's attention. Once he finds out someone took her knife, he'll get even more pissed than if someone took his sword. It's a win-win."
"How do you know that?"
"I've studied him, in prep for the games. I know his strengths and weaknesses. Clove is one of them, whether either realize it or not. Even if they're mad at each other right now, Cato knows that Clove's relationship with her knives is probably not healthy, but should be respected."
"Thanks."
"Anytime. Good luck." With that she climbed away and was gone. I went back on the monkey bars and went to the pit stop next to the Knives station. Clove was too busy throwing her other knives to notice me steal the last one on the rack, so I quickly ran off with it and began to climb the net. It's extremely difficult to do it with one hand, but I managed to get a safe distance away before Clove noticed her knife was gone. I watched from a comfortable place in the net as Clove began to yell, which caused Cato to walk over to her, proving Finch right.
"What's going on?" Cato asked.
"Someone stole my last knife." Clove muttered, but I could still hear her from up here. Cato looked around and spotted the closest person to the knife station who had a smirk on their face. A guy from 6 was obviously holding in laughter at Clove's reaction, even though he didn't do it. Cato charged over to him, Clove following him with a glare.
"DID YOU TAKE HER KNIFE?? WHAT THE HELL, MAN?? SHE WAS USING THOSE, YOU CAN'T JUST TAKE THEM!!" Cato yelled, grabbing the guy's shirt collar and pulling him close to his extremely angry face.
"I didn't take her knife. I should have and I could have, but I didn't." The 6 guy said.
"Who else could it be? You're the closest person, so give me back my knife before the two of us snap you like a twig." Clove growled, but the 6 held his arms up to reveal he didn't have anything. Cato and Clove stalked away, muttering how ridiculous this is. I looked around for Finch, but she was nowhere in sight. Instead, I caught Katniss's eye and she noticed the knife in my hand and smirked. I smiled and began to climb down. Once no one was looking, I put the knife back and ran over to the Slingshot station. It's my best weapon, but not my best talent, so I should probably practice it some more so that I'll have something offensive in the games. Training was hard, I spotted Finch with a group of people, including the 6 I framed, and saw them working on Snares. The Careers were very successful in scaring the other tributes, including myself, but as I ate at the same table as Thresh, Ivy, Gale, Katniss, and some of Ivy's allies, I still couldn't bring myself to Career bash. Sure, Cato and Clove are a little crazy, Glimmer is a little on the dimmer side, Sagara is sorta mean, and Marvel is kinda arrogant, but they don't deserve to be bashed for that. I mean, they're the antagonist of my story, but what about their story? I have no idea how their lives must be like. Most of the parents in the Career areas are way too focused on the games, maybe all of this is just a defense mechanism or something to please their mom or dad. I don't really know, no one does, so I'd rather not talk bad about them. I understand why Gale or Katniss might hate them, they've probably done really bad stuff to those two, but I don't see how talking bad about them is going to get us anywhere. Maybe it's just me, maybe I'm a pushover and too nice. Maybe I'm just too young to understand that not everyone is a good person. I choose to believe that they are though, that there's at least a chance. I don't know how I would be able to survive if I didn't think this world is full of good people, life would be too horrible.
Katniss's POV
The second day of training was difficult. Gale and I could agree on stations, Rue would just go along, no argument, but Thresh had an entirely different idea. He must've planned out the day or something, because every time we wanted to do a different station than him, he got madder than Effie Trinket when I stabbed her precious table. She and Haymitch got on my nerves and I really didn't care that the table was mahogany. After a while, I just decided that since Thresh is a senior and has been doing this for a while, that I'd just let him take the lead. Most of the stations he wanted to do were on my list, he just had a specific way of doing them. Gale however, he was making things extremely difficult. I know he's only apart of this alliance because of me, but he should at least try to get along with Thresh. I mean, Thresh did voluntarily become allies with Rue. He didn't have to do that. In fact, most people are saying it's a huge mistake on his part. He had a real chance of winning, but adding his new allies will definitely take away that chance, but he did it anyway and he hasn't complained about it. At least not in public. I guess I respect him, he's like this gentle giant who cares about Rue. He doesn't want her to die, that's obvious. It's probably why they became allies in the first place.
Glimmer's POV
I'm the third one in my group to go for the presentation of skills, and I have no idea what I'm doing. I mean, I do, but I don't.
"Glimmer, we already talked about this-" Sagara said. Gloss and Cashmere had sat me and Marvel down to talk about what to present last night. Marvel was easy, Spears, but I on the other hand wasn't so lucky. We finally agreed on Archery, but I'm horrible at it.
"No, I'm horrible at Archery. I'm gonna get a 3 and then I'll have no sponsors and then-" I exclaimed.
"You'll be fine, just relax. You don't have to be perfect."
"Yes I do, this is the Hunger Games we're talking about." I spotted Clove glaring at me. I feel bad, I never meant to hurt her. I mean, I know Cato's only reason for agreeing was to anger Clove, but I don't think either of us really wanted to hurt her, Cato just wanted a reaction. I can understand that. Clove is so robotic sometimes, it's hard to know where you stand. I'm sure Cato just wants to know that she cares. Considering I don't even know what they're fighting about, I'll just have to assume that's true.
"Cato!! Get over here!! Your girlfriend needs you!!" Sagara shouted, causing everyone in the room to stare at Cato and I. My cheeks turned red and Cato glared at everyone until they turned away.
"What's going on?" Cato asked.
"Glimmer is freaking out about showcasing her talent for the Gamemakers."
"Okay."
"This is the part where you comfort her."
"Oh, right." With that, Sagara walked away, having taken one look at the scowling Clove and decided to maneuver her away from us. I turned my attention back to Cato.
"You don't have to-" I began.
"Yeah, thanks."
"So, how many ways has Clove thought of killing me?" Cato chuckled and visibly relaxed.
"36."
"36? How is it that you're her best friend and the one who's getting back at her, and I'm the one who's probably getting beaten with a baseball bat?"
"Clove cares about me too much. Plus, she knows she can't beat me." I raised my eyebrows, not believing a word he said.
"Really?"
"No. She's thought of 57 different ways of killing me."
"57? That girl has way too much free time on her hands." Cato laughed, but I could tell he was forcing it.
"Wow, you can barely do it, can you?" I said to him in awe.
"Do what?" He asked.
"Be upset with her. You literally refused to speak to her less than a month ago, you almost killed me and Marvel for saying her name. Now, you love the fact that she's thought of 93 ways to kill the two of us."
"I do not, she's crazy."
"Just admit it, you miss her."
"I do not."
"You do too. I can tell, it's in the eyes. Cato misses Clove!!" Within seconds I went from happily teasing Cato to being held against the wall by Cato. He had taken my arm and twisted it, pushing me against the wall. My head slammed against the wall as Cato's anger took over.
"Shut up, I do not miss Clove." I've known Cato for a long time. Not as long as Clove has known him, obviously I'm not a 2, but for a long time. I know he's mentally unstable, it's understandable, most 2s are. His rages happen at the slightest thing. For example, bringing up Clove when he's angry at her. I know he's dangerous, but he would never hurt someone he cares about. I count myself as one of those few, the others being Clove, Sagara, Marvel, and Willow. That's why I'm not scared right now, most people would be. I mean, Cato is a huge guy. He's been training for years, which has resulted in him having big muscles and his overall build is terrifying. I didn't quiver though, I looked him straight in the crazy eyes as I rolled my own.
"Sure, whatever you say." He let me go, but glared at me until he calmed down. I stood with my arms crossed, waiting.
"You know, it's really not convincing to the people around us that we like each other when you look like you want to kill me." I remarked.
"No kidding." Cato replied. My name was called and I tensed up.
"Wish me luck."
"Luck. You'll do fine, Glimmer."
"Thanks."
Clove's POV
After Glimmer went to showcase her skill, Cato joined me and Sagara. No one brought up his attacking Glimmer or said anything about the obvious tension in the room. Sagara just happily talked as Cato and I refused to acknowledge the other's presence. No matter what Willow made us promise, I'm still mad at him and vice versa. I'm mad that he treats me like a damsel in distress. I'm mad that he's dating Glimmer just to get back at me. I'm mad that Glimmer said yes and that she was so accepted by his family. I'm mad that Cato is mad. I don't even know what I said to anger him. I mean, I know I was crossing the line a little when I brought up the whole boyfriend thing. Our friends tease us about those things all the time and we ignore them. Ever since people started thinking we were dating that topic between us has sort of been Don't Ask Don't Tell. We don't talk about that stuff when we're alone, we stay far from it, because then things get weird. I just don't understand why he's so upset, I mean, I'd get it if he was angry for, like, a day, but this is ridiculous. So I said I didn't want him to be my boyfriend? So what! I highly doubt he wants me to be his girlfriend, so what's the big deal? Is he really so shocked that a girl his age doesn't like him in that way? News Flash: Sagara doesn't like him in that way either, and neither does that Finch girl or Everdeen or Madge Undersee or a bunch of other people. I was ranked almost the same place as him, and he still had the nerve to tell me to be careful around Ajax. As if. Honestly, Cato is so clueless sometimes. Why would I ever let that Capitol moron use me? Has he met me? I could easily kill Ajax and make it look like it was Cato, no problem, and he's worried that Ajax is getting the wrong impression of me? Idiotic, know nothing, son of a major bi-
"Cato Hadley." My thoughts were cut short by his name being called out. How long have I been glaring into space? Must've been a while since they've progressed from junior 1 girls to junior 2 boys. Stupid Cato, now I'm distracted. I wiped the glare off of my face and took a deep breath.
"Good luck." Sagara stated. Cato stayed silent and nodded his head at me as he walked away, beckoning me to follow. I stiffly began to follow him. Why am I so nervous? It'll be easy, it's just a stupid game. Except it's not, to my mother it's everything. That number will decide how many sponsors I get, along with the interviews tomorrow. I'm not a very likable person, so I have to do good in this part or else I'm screwed and will have to rely on Cato, which I do not want to do. The guy before Cato has yet to finish, they called him early so he would be prepared. Cato stood across from me, glaring.
"What?" I asked.
"It's incredibly difficult to hate you when you so obviously can't calm down without me." He arrogantly stated. I scoffed and rolled my eyes.
"Is that why you brought me over here? To talk yourself up in front of someone who could literally stab you in the back?"
"No, you're here because you're my partner and we need good sponsors. In order to get good sponsors, you have to woo the Gamemakers and the Capitol. All offense intended, you're horrible at making friends. I'm seriously shocked at how you even have me and the others, so I'll have to carry your deadweight during interviews. It's only fair that you overwork yourself in the showing of skill."
"I am trying so hard not to slap you right now." My hands clenched into fists, which he quickly unclenched, holding my hands with his own and not letting go as he continued to speak.
"Relax, don't let anyone get to you. Especially not me. The Gamemakers are mostly asses, they'll pay more attention to picking food out of their teeth than to you. Don't let that faze you, make them want to look at you. Whether I'd like to admit it or not, you and I both know you're gifted at knives. Don't show them anything but that, do crazy tricks, massacre a dummy, I don't care. Do what you have to do to get a good score. Remember, Brutus and Enobaria are hard on us for a reason, they know we're their best chance at winning. That means we're the real ones representing 2 out there, so you better be amazing."
"Why am I so nervous?"
"It feels as though this is the world. That everything is counting on this, it isn't. The world won't stop if you don't do good, your mother's might, but as a whole nothing will change. I know you just want to win so your mom leaves you alone, but don't stress over this. In the end, it's just a school game. You'll do fine, Clover, you always do. Just relax and do what you do best. You like throwing knives, remember?" I nodded and the guy told him he had to go. Before he did, I spoke to him.
"You don't get to have a temper tantrum, Cato. Keep in mind what you told me. I know you, and I know that you'll get angry if they don't immediately pay attention to you. You can't have a rage though, the time for that is over. It's fine if you explode on me and Glimmer, but do that in front of the Gamemakers and you might be removed from 2 altogether. You know what the Capitol thinks of us, that we can be a danger to ourselves and to others. You better not be in a cell with all the other lunatics by the end of this. Good luck." I tore my hands out of his grip and he walked into the room where the Gamemakers were impatiently waiting. A little less than an hour later I had taken Cato's spot. I recognized some of the Gamemakers, Seneca Crane, for example. I also saw Slate, he's interning to become a Gamemaker, that's his excuse for lack of contact. I'm too busy planning the next games, Mother. Surely you can understand that. Sorry Clove, but I can't just leave the Capitol whenever you want, I have a job here and I'm needed. Needed my ass, they have him ordering food over the phone, I can hear him from here. I stormed over to the throwing knives and made my first 4 selections. I sent all four of them into the heart of each dummy. Then I took another four and used my non throwing arm (left) to do the same exact thing. I took the last 4 and used one to cut down the climbing net, one to make the tank of water (where you can showcase fishing abilities) explode and start gushing out water, one that landed exactly in the eye of one of the flopping fish, and the final one to completely shred a sword dummy into strips. By the end of it I was exhausted, but they all clapped, except for Slate who was ordering my mess be cleaned up. They dismissed me and I quickly muttered a thank you and left. As I walked down the empty corridor to the elevator, I ran into Ajax.
"How'd you do?" He asked, walking beside me. I kept in mind what Cato said, but didn't let it get to me, I can handle myself.
"Good." I replied.
"I'm sure you did." We rode the elevator in silence and he ran off once we reached the floor for 2s. Not that I'll ever tell Cato this, but I don't really have any other friends outside the group, so it was awkward for me to sit there alone. The last time Cato and I spoke on this floor was the first night, ever since we've avoided each other. Cato eventually noticed me, and when I raised my eyebrow in question he nodded positively.
Translation: Did you do good? Yes.
He was sitting with some of his other friends and I sat alone, thinking, until the scores were announced. Marvel got a 9, no shocker there, he's great with spears. Glimmer got an 8, that's the lowest a Career normally gets, but for Glimmer it's amazing. Cato got a 10, again, not a shock. I bet they gave him a 10 before he even started.
"Clove Sevina, area 2. Score of... 10." Caesar read and I let out the air I had been holding in. I glanced at Cato who was smirking happily.
"Congratulations Clove, I knew you could do it. Such a small size too." Ajax commented and ran over to hug me. I didn't hug him back, I just tensely waited for him to get the message and let go. Which he did, after several awkward moments. He excitedly skipped away and I looked over to where Cato was and saw him glaring and shaking his head at me. I shrugged. I think it's pretty obvious that I didn't force Ajax to hug me. Cato needs to relax about this whole "He's Gonna Assault You" thing. It's getting really out of hand. Back to scores, that guy in 3 who sits next to Glimmer, apparently his name is Pexey, got a 7, which is pretty good for a non Career. A girl Glimmer talks to, Lanni, got a 4. Sagara got a 9, she's probably pissed that Cato and I beat her, but at least she wasn't worse than Glimmer. Finch, who I've now decided to call Foxface, got a 5. That's interesting, she has to be good at something to get a 5. Most people who aren't good at anything get 3s and below, so she has some knowledge. I wonder what. The guy who stole my knife has a ridiculous name, Turbo. He only got a 5. I could easily take him out, now that he has a target on his back he better run. Thresh, a senior who's an ally with the little 11 girl, got a 10. If he hadn't already made bad allies, I would've suggested an alliance, but it's not worth the trouble now. That girl, Rue, got a 7. Now that has got to be the biggest shock ever. This girl is tinier than me, she's 14 and comes from 11, and she did better than at least half of the people competing. That's crazy, what could she have possibly done? Hawthorne got a 9 and Peeta Mellark got an 8. I wonder what Mellark did, iced cakes? Made little flowers or fake berries? I mean, I guess he's decent when it comes to size and strength, but come on. How good could he really be in comparison to Cato or Thresh? They finally got to Everdeen, and Caesar looked like he was having a spasm. she must've done really poorly, like a 1 or something. That's the only explanation, unless...
"Katniss Everdeen, area 12. Score of... 11!!" Caesar read and the room went silent. How could that have possibly happened? Valda is the best from our area, probably the best period, and she got a 10. How is it that stupid Everdeen got an 11? Caesar continued to read scores, but after he read Madge Undersee's, a 6, Ajax realized no one was really paying attention and just shut it off. We're all pissed off, but whatever anyone was going to say was drowned out by Cato. He's been hating Everdeen more and more ever since her float took attention away from ours. Now he's gotta be way past his normal rage, and that's not a good sign. His other friends backed away, probably the smartest thing to do in this situation. Of course, someone has to take him out before he explodes, looks like that will be me. I stood up and threatened him with the knives he knows I keep in my hair so he'd leave before exploding. We made it to my room, closer than his to the viewing room, before he began to get scary. I closed the door and sat down on my bed as he began to throw things. The lamp was the first to go, then some of the training books and binders that are kept in here. He continued to scream and destroy as I just sat and watched. That's really all you can do while he's having a rage. You just sit there and watch him destroy anything and everything around him. If you get involved too early he'll just throw you around too. I remember the first and last time I tried to stop him, it resulted in me going unconscious for close to an hour, Cato repeatedly apologizing once I woke up. Cato eventually calmed down, panting as he tried to control himself.
"How does she do it? We've been working for this moment since we were kids, most of our lives revolve around this game. How is it that she gets an 11 and the most attention at the parade and all of these compliments that she doesn't deserve?" Cato spat.
"Everyone thinks she's so special, but she's not. She's just another 12, except she's got a loud mouth. She has personality, something to work with, even if it isn't much. Most 12s barely speak once they're in the Capitol." I remarked.
"When we're in the arena, she's mine."
"Whatever keeps you from chopping our heads off." He rolled his eyes and left my room. I turned in for the night, secretly watching my roommates' reactions to the mess Cato made (which was hilarious), and dreading the thought of having to practice for interviews tomorrow morning.