Songs & Seas | Hunger Games

II.

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THE TRIBUTE TRAIN is fancier than Maria had ever seen even in the Justice Building. Archer hadn't let go of her hand since the ride to the station. Devina was milling around them giving a very long-winded explanation of the decor of the train car. It all looked expensive. Maria was honestly afraid to move for fear she'd break something. The room shined with gold and silver accents the floor was carpeted a clean white which explained why Devina instructed them to remove their shoes.

Four Avoxes came out of one of the doors holding platters of various kinds of foods. Archer's jaw dropped and he quickly let go of Maria's hand to go inspect the goods they'd be given. Maria's eyes narrowed calculatedly. Meanwhile, Archer had already begun to stuff his face. Jams and creams lined his lips as he continued to sample the many options.

"Oh, dear lord child!" Devina shrieked in horror pausing her previous statement about the fabric of the curtains. "Use your manners! Were you raised by savages?"

Maria looked at her with disgust embedded in her gaze. "Don't mind her Archer," Maria waved him on and he did. "Eat as much as you like," She sighed before taking a seat at the table beside the younger boy who was still stuffing his face.

Sucking in her lips Devina turns from the younger girl and switches on the tv to 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 could really do that since none of them have to attend reapings themselves.

One by one, they see the other reapings, the names called, Examining the faces of the kids who will be in the competition. Maria could understand the thought behind volunteering if you're capable. Not because it's a patriotic action but if you're a strong healthy eighteen-year-old boy who has some basic fighting skills then it makes perfect sense for you to volunteer rather than risk the potential of a scrawny twelve-year-old kid like Archer stepping into the arena. It was an honorable choice for most and sadistic of the few who only wanted to kill.

Two people entered the cabin drawing the group's attention to them. They paused in the doorway feeling the tension in the room. Devina pouted in the corner with her back turned to the fourteen-year-old who was passing the younger boy beside her a glass of water.

"Thank the lord!" Devina gasped gliding toward the pair who looked at her oddly. "Children!" she clapped the pair looked up at the sudden sound. "This is Rhett Finch," she held his arm as she smiled flirtily up at him making him remove her hand from him. "And Cecelia Zenik. Your mentors."

Maria's eyes narrowed on Rhett. She'd seen him at the pub a few times when she sang there. Cecelia however was big in the community. After the games, she became a teacher for some of the younger kids. Maria never had her but she had been told she was kind.

Devina pointed a long manicured finger at them. "You have two mentors so that means one for each of you excluding Mr.Woof who is indisposed. Some districts only have one so they have to share so actually you two are very lucky." Maria scoffed rolling her eyes, catching the woman's attention. "Something you'd like to say dear?"

"Lucky?" Maria furrowed her brows and the woman nodded. "We're being sent off to a competition to the death for people like you to enjoy," she waved her finger at the dressed-up woman. "Yeah, we're real lucky," she leaned back in her chair. "Luckiest corpses in the world."

They all stared back at her with stunned expressions. Cecelia was smirking as if she'd just gotten an idea while Rhett had his eyes narrowed in thought.

"And what, we have to act like we're grateful?" Maria continued with a revolted look on her face. "We have to get you Capitol scum to like us as if you even care about us at all. You give us your food, and fancy shit to what? Make yourselves feel like you're helping us when you're actually killing us." Devina didn't respond she just swallowed looking down at her feet. "Bullshit."