aphrodite₂ [treech]

i i

"Are we here?" asks a small boy with brown hair and a blue hat.

"Quiet, Mizzen," says his red haired district partner.

Mizzen doesn't speak again, eyeing the car door anxiously.

Another twenty minutes pass before someone finally slides the door open. Slide is a nice way of putting it. Clearly the cattle car hasn't been used in ages, the sound of metal scraping against metal assaulting my eardrums.

The person who opened the door bangs against the wall. Probably a Peacekeeper. My suspicions are confirmed when a young man sticks his head in the entrance to the train car.

"All right, you lot, let's move!" he shouts.

Slowly, the tributes towards the front of the car exit, stumbling onto the platform below. When it's my turn, I try not to fall on the concrete, but I trip a little in the process. The chains around my wrists do nothing for my usually good balance. I turn around to help Lamina as best I can.

Once we're both on the ground, I look around the train station. It's pretty big compared to ours back at Seven, which only has one platform. As I'm taking in my surroundings, a girl about my age approaches me.

"Hi," she says. "I'm Venus Abernathy. I'm your mentor for the Games."

I take a moment to get a good look at the girl. I'm glad I do. She's gorgeous, with long red hair that fall down her back in loose curls. She has blue eyes and a heart shaped face. A smattering of freckles span her nose and cheekbones. I feel a blush rising to my cheeks.

Then I snap out of it. She's from the Capitol. She's evil. I instinctively take a step in front of Lamina. The girl doesn't seem like much of a threat, and I can't put up much of a fight with the shackles on my wrists, but I'll do what I need to do if she attacks.

The girl, Venus, offers me her hand. I don't shake it, still kind of shocked that she chose to introduce herself to me. What did she call herself? A mentor?

"Rude," says Venus quietly. "Here, I brought both of you some food. I didn't know how much they fed you on the train."

Venus holds up a paper bag. I don't trust her. I don't want to take it, but my stomach growls and I know Lamina's hungry, so I take the bag anyway,

"Thank you," says Lamina from behind me.

"Are you her mentor too?" I ask, testing how the new word feels on my tongue. "Or just mine?"

"Just yours," confirms Venus. "I was hoping hers would show up, but it's just me and Coriolanus Snow."

Venus points to a blonde boy wearing clothing that matches Venus's. Maybe a school uniform? The boy is speaking to a tribute in a rainbow dress. I don't recognize her; she must've been in the other car.

"Are you allowed to be here?" I ask.

"Probably not," admits Venus. "But I felt that you needed a good Capitol welcome."

"A welcome implies we want to be here," I say. "Which we don't." It comes out harsher than I had intended. I shouldn't feel bad, but I do. At least a little bit.

Venus looks a little sad. I hope I didn't offend her. But she surprises me with her next words. "Believe me, I wish you didn't have to be."

A Peacekeeper approaches us, grabbing Venus's arm.

"Miss Abernathy, you should get out of here," he says. "What would your father think if he knew you were fraternizing with tributes?"

She shakes him off, rolling her eyes. Her face transforms into an adorable smile as she looks up at the Peacekeeper. Suddenly, and surprisingly, I want her to look at me like that.