A Caged Bird: The 67th Hunger Games

Chapter 4

I wake up a mere few hours later, but no amount of sleep can make me feel rested after the events of last night. Brant and I were up until four in the morning. Glancing over at the clock, I see that it is only 9am. Rami is outside my door within seconds of my waking, telling me to wake up and that breakfast will be ready soon. So I guess I’ll be running on 5 hours of sleep today.

I slowly drag myself out of bed and change into more appropriate clothes. The fitting tee shirt I slip on is too long and comes down below my butt. Looking through the rest of the clothes offered in my closet, I frown when I discover all the shirts are like that. It must be a new Capitol fashion fad. Well, as long as I’m dressing like the Capitol, I think to myself, grabbing a skin tight pair of sheer leather tights. Lastly, I slip on a pair of jeweled flats set out for me.

When I enter the main car where breakfast is to be served, Rami’s face lights up.

“Piper! Why, you look marvelous!” He gushes, “Who knew you had such fashion taste?!”

I roll my eyes and take the seat at the table next to Brant. His face is one of amusement when he sees my outfit.

“Oh hush, Brant.” I say, shoving his shoulder. It barely moves him. There must be some kind of muscle in him. Rami looks at me like I’m crazy. It takes me a second to realize why: Brant never said anything. But they don’t understand him like I do. Rami is still staring at me, waiting for me to explain what he so obviously missed. I give a glance to Brant to see if he’s ok with me explaining for him, and he nods.

“Rami, Brant has given me consent to explain to you why he doesn’t speak. I know it will be hard to understand because in the Capitol only avoxes don’t speak. But Brant can’t. He has a tongue, but he was born without the ability to speak. He is a mute. However, that doesn’t make him any less of a threat as a tribute. I still think he’ll do well in the arena.” I glance over at Brant and he smirks. Rami’s face is one of confusion.

“So…whenever I was trying to talk to you yesterday, and you weren’t responding, it was because you couldn’t?” Rami asks Brant, and he nods in approval.

Just then, Mags walks through the main car door. Her hair is salt-and-pepper, but mostly salt. Her skin doesn’t have many wrinkles for her age, but because she’s a victor with access to all sorts of Capitol procedures to keep you young-looking, that doesn’t strike me as odd. Her hair was wavy and long, unlike my wavy, shoulder-length hair. I keep mine shorter because of swimming, but I guess now that she’s a victor she doesn’t need to swim all the time. Her fish and everything else is provided for her. She is surprisingly fit for an older woman, and also fairly fit for a victor. Usually when someone wins, they have all the food they could ever want, and no obligations, so they gain weight quickly. Clearly, Mags has willpower and moderation.

She saunters over to the table and sits next to Rami, across from me. She notices something is up by Rami’s facial expression.

“I missed something big, didn’t I?” She says, glancing towards me.

“Depends what you consider ‘big’.” I answer.

“I knew it. I’m always late and miss something. So you two are my tributes?” She asks.

“Yes, I’m Piper Allardyce.” She smiles.

“And you?” She says, looking at Brant.

“This is Brant Driftman.” I say. She looks at me confused.

“I asked him, not you.” She clarifies.

“Well, you see, that’s the ‘big thing’ you missed. Brant can’t speak. He’s mute.” I explain. It takes her a second to react.