Boot Camp

16: Old Version

"You're kidding, right?"

Axel is always one for surprises, but I wasn't expecting this.

"Never done this before?" he asks. I shake my head.

I didn't expect he'd be taking me to learn archery. The one sport I have called ridiculous for years. And the one thing I didn't expect this camp to have. Actually, what does this camp not have?

"How big is this place?" I ask. "Every day a new section pops up."

"Oh, this camp is full of surprises," he says, walking over to grab a bow and a quiver of arrows. In front of us stand multiple targets with their bright blue, red, and yellow rings and a small forest yards away.

"And you're sure one of them," I mumble. He glances at me but says nothing, placing the quiver by my feet.

"Archery is different than other sports," Axel says, picking up the bow and locking in the arrow, holding his arms up into the correct position. "It's not about defeating others. It's not even about winning. It's all about you and your target." As he says that, he releases the arrow and it flies straight ahead, hitting the yellow center. My jaw drops.

"Hold up here, Katniss Everdeen," I say, walking towards him and making him chuckle. "How long have you been doing this?"

"Not that long. I'm just good at it." I scoff, rolling my eyes. "Do you want to learn or not?

"I think I'll pass," I say, holding up a hand. "Archery's not really my thing...more like my sister's."

"Really?" he asks. "And you never thought to try it out?"

I kick a small rock to the side. "You already know I'm not one for sports. Which is strange because she played almost every one when we were growing up."

"What, did it make you feel bad?" he asks. My lips curl in amusement that he's interested in this conversation.

"Well, what do you think? She played every sport, which made her my dad's ideal child," I answer quietly. "It's not that I'm jealous. I wish I was more like her when I was younger. It's stupid, I know."

"Not really," he replies. "No one wants to be a loser."

I smack his arm. "Did you just call me a loser?"

"No, I would never," he replies, his white teeth showing as he smiles. "Really though, why did you feel you had to be just like your sister? You have a lot going for you."

I fall silent for a moment, contemplating. "I guess it had less to do with her and more to do with my dad. I wanted him to like me as much as my sister. He went to every one of her games, he always supported her, and they could talk for hours. Our relationship was never like that."

We are quiet after that, as if each of us were thinking about something similar.

"Want to learn how to shoot this arrow now?"

I stare at his waiting expression and give in. "Fine. Teach me."

He hands me the bow, which I realize is much heavier than it looks. I hold the arrow in my left hand, and Axel stand behind me. His hands come over mine, guiding me on how to hold the bow correctly. I can smell the strong cologne on his neck, and it makes me go weak slightly.

"Listen to exactly what I say," he tells me. He angles my arms and head into the proper form, and I shift around for a while until he says I have it correct. The arrow zips through the air when I release it, making me shriek, and it pierces the blue area of the target. I stand in shock for a moment as I realize it actually hit the target board.