Scarred | The Hunger Games

1.

I mean do I go up? No one here knows who Novalie looks like. If I don't go up, what are they going to do about it? I look around like all the other girls behind me are doing, trying to blend in with the crowd. As I'm looking around, I make eye contact with the woman who registered me in. Fuck, I have an identity now.

She turns to the peacekeeper, signalling them to me. They begin to approach the 14s section. Fuck, they're coming for me. I know there's no point in running, but I don't know what else to do. I try fight through the crowd of girls, managing to actually push past a lot of them, due to the training I do back home with Otti. Oh no, Otti.

The peacekeepers grab my arms, pulling me to the platform, but I only fight harder. Otti needs me, I can't leave her alone. They push me onto the stage, and by then I know its no use to try run. If I run now, the whole district will be looking for me. I won't be of any help to Otti. 

"Novalie! Oh, can I call you Nova? Nova, I see you were quite shocked right?" VeVe says to me. I just nod, my arms heavy by my sides as my eyes glaze over while I'm lost in my own thoughts.

Oh my god, we don't even have access to the games at home, Otti just has to assume I either got arrested or killed. She won't even know I got reaped. 

"Now for the gentlemen!" Otti is going to wait for me, for hours, and the glowing dot on her hand is going to fade, just like her hope for my return.

"Otto Gage!" She's going to come out of that tree in a few hours, and she's going to have to think of a plan, think of ways to survive. She's going to be alone.

The crowd of boys in the 12s section part, to reveal a boy with brunette bangs. He's short, and skinny, like my little Otti. His face is pale, a look of fear and confusion upon his face as he begins to walk up to the platform. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, your tributes for the 72nd Hunger Games, 14 year old Novalie Tream, and 12 year old Otto Gage!" VeVe announced as she indicated for us to shake hands. "May the odds be ever in your favour!"

I reach my hand out, offering a comforting smile to the terrified kid in front of me. He grabs my hand to shake, and I can feel that his hand is sweaty with nerves. This poor boy in front of me, he is scared, so so scared. 

They take us away to farewell any family or friends. I have no friends. And my family. She's hidden in a fucking hollow tree right now. And there is no way for me to tell my baby sister that there's a 96% chance that I'll never see her again, that my murder will be brutally broadcasted to narcissistic skanks in the Capitol. 

***

Our trip to the Capitol wasn't the longest, but wasn't the shortest either. The train was velvety, the carpet, sofa fabric, everything was velvet. There was mountains of food laid on the tables, foods I had never seen before, of all colours and textures. Normally Otti and I just had bread, something I normally stole, or fruit, something we grew or harvested.

 VeVe told us to "get to know each other whilst I get our wonderful victors, your mentors." Otto and I sit on chairs facing each other, separated by a little coffee table. Otto doesn't break out in conversation, and I stay quiet as well, thinking he didn't want to talk. He begins picking at the skin on his fingers. 

I gently put my hand on top of his. "Hey, stop that, you're going to be alright." 

He looks up at me, tears in his eyes. "It's pretty much impossible for me to win. I'm 12 for god's sakes!" 

"You know, I have a little sister, and she is so much like you, kid." I ruffle his hair. "She's short, and skinny, and adorable like you. I train her, and make sure she is fine on her own. The difference between you and my baby sister is this fire I see in her eyes to survive." I wipe away the lone tear on his face. "You need that fire, Otto." 

He smiles at me. "Nice pep talk." 

I chuckle. "Thanks I try." 

"What's her name? Your sister." 

I debate for a moment if I should tell him Otti's real name, but I knew if I did, it would really help us connect. "Ottiline. Otti for short. What a coincidence right?" I lean over, resting my elbows onto my knees. "But let's keep Otti between you and I alright? Don't need the Capitol trying to find my innocent little sister." He nods. I trust Otto, but I needed to make sure Otti was still a secret.

VeVe return with the only two victors of District Eight, her heels obnoxiously clacking against the train's timber floors. "Otto, Nova, this is Cecelia and Woof." Cecelia offers a soft smile, whilst Woof just nods in acknowledgement. 

Cecelia stood a few inches taller than Woof and I, but still shorter than VeVe, especially in those heels. "I'll help mentor you," she gestures at me, "while Woof mentors Otto."

Otto shots me a nervous glance, and I give him a nod of reassurance, both of us separating to talk to our mentors. 

"So, you're 14?" Cecelia asks me as I put some jam on my bread. We ate bread plain at home, cause we didn't have sugar to turn berries to jam. "Mhmm."

"Family? Parents? Siblings?"

I cringe as she asks about siblings. "With all due respect, I guess, you are supposed to tell me how to survive right? It's not a get-to-know-each-other pep talk." She smirks at me.

"So a sibling to go home to?" Fuck.

I give her a look, showing how much I didn't care, how much I just wanted her to tell me how to survive, how to get back home, get back to Ottiline.

"Alright, alright. Let's start simple shall we?" I nod, showing my engagement. "Don't go to Cornucopia, there's no point in fighting against the Careers, not unless you have training, do you have training?" 

I mean I trained by myself, but not to kill. I always knew there was a chance I'd get caught, but I never figured it'd be during the reaping. I trained to fight out of the grasp of a man, a peacekeeper. I trained to run as fast as I could, maintain speed, hold my stamina. It never occurred to me that I should have trained to kill.

I shake my head. "I'm fast, good at running, and I have a good stamina. And I know what plants are good and bad." I shrug. "Not that much else I can do I guess."

"No, no, that's good, most people in District Eight have bad stamina, and can't run fast cause of how urban it is. Besides, they've almost never seen actual plants before." She says reassuringly. "You thinking of going lone wolf or getting allies?" 

I think for a moment. "I'd be happy to team with Otto." She grimaces.

"Look hun, if you want to survive, you'd be better off without him."  

"No, he's a scared 12 year old boy. He needs someone." She looks at me in sympathy, before smiling.

"You're a good kid. If one of my kids got reaped, I'd be glad that you're the one they got reaped with." She sort of pushes my hair back behind my ear. 

I felt my frown soften. "You have children?" My tone was snappy earlier, but hearing about her family kind of showed me she was human, that she wasn't just a victor who killed her way to the top.

"Oh yes, two girls and a boy." She smiled softly. Woof and Otto return. 

"Alright Cecelia, my tribute wants an ally with grumpy over here." I glare at him.

"Perfect, Nova also wanted to team with Otto." Otto looks relieved, like he was nervous I didn't want to team with him, and maybe if he didn't resemble Otti so much, I wouldn't have.

"Well, at least we got that sorted out," Woof announces just as we pull into the Capitol. People of all different hair colours and skin tones stood at the windows, trying to see Otto and I. "Say cheese." Woof says sarcastically, rolling his eyes at the Capitol folks.

And I do, I smile graciously at them, grabbing Otto, and ruffling his hair in front of them. "You'll be alright, and if you don't feel it, you have to pretend, ok?" I whisper to him with my arm around his shoulders. 

"Nice, playing the part of caring, protective older sister and little brother who'd do anything for his sister. Good on ya kids." Woof winked at us. Exactly what I was thinking.