A Secret Love - Cato x Reader

Chapter 18 - Training Day 1, Afternoon

Y/n's pov

*We all walk in the lunch hall and are made to line up. In the middle of the room is a long take filled with hot food, cold food, sweat desserts, everything you can think of. There are 12 tables even spaced out around the long table, each having four chairs. The line moves around the table, getting what they want. I grab a plate and just decide to have a small baguette with ham and cheese, I also have a glass of water. I find a table and sit down and start to eat, but soon someone is standing near the table. I look up and see Wallace.*

"Hey. I saw you on the monkey circles, you did great." Wallace says, sitting down. I wanted to eat by myself, but I guess not.

"Thank you, I didn't get to see you, but I'm sure you also did great." I say being kind. *I continue to eat, and Wallace starts to eat.*

"Thanks. What task do you think you'll go to after lunch?" He asks.

"I think it's a compulsory task, and then an individual task. But I'll go to another survival task." I say.

"Oh. I was hoping I could join you, but I was planning to do a weapon." He says sadly. Please do a weapon, I want to train on my own.

"You do what task you want, we don't have to do them together." I say trying to be nice.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know, but Johanna said we should do the tasks together if we are going to be allies." He says.

"Yeah, allies." I say, looking down eating my food. *I continue to eat my food in silence until I hear a loud girly laugh. I look up to find the source of the annoying laugh and soon figure out it comes from the table containing the careers. I see Glimmer, where the laugh came from, clinging to Cato's arm looking at him. I don't know why, but seeing her cling to him angers me. The way her annoying laugh echoes throughout the lunch hall as she smiles at him while clinging to his arm, and he just lets her. She's the flirt that will cling to him and use him, but when it comes to it, unless he's fallen madly in love with her looks, he will choose his own life over hers. But the way he just lets her cling to him just pisses me of almost as much as Katniss Everdeen pisses me of.*

"Y/N!" Wallace shouts. *I turn to him confused.*

"Yeah?" I ask.

"I said, you should really try this cake I found." He says with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Oh, uh, maybe another day. I'm not really hungry." I say. I'm trying to reduce the amount I eat for the games, not fill myself up on cakes and sweet treats.

"Tributes. Lunch is over." An announcer says. *People get up and put their plates in a pile to be washed up, probably by an avox or fancy capital machines. The head trainer, Atala, is waiting at the door and tells us we have a compulsory task and then an individual task.*

"You will go across the course while trainers swing soft bats at you. Get in a line." She says. *We all get into a line. People start to run across the ascending and then decending blocks as trainers swing at them. It's now my go, and I have decided to go across at a slow pace for me and 'try' to dodge the trainers but let myself get hit a few times.*

"Next." Atala says. *I run up the blocks pausing before each slightly bigger step, 'trying' to dodge the trainers, but letting two or three hit me. I get to the top and go down the side. I don't see how this is important for our survival, so I won't watch the others. I decide to do a survival skill, I see that shelter making is empty, so I decide to go over there. Shelter making could be useful, protecting myself from the element. I sit down, and the trainer gives me a summary of what I'll learn, and I nod, showing I'm paying attention. He shows me way stuff to collect to make the shelter. Someone walls over, and the trainer says something to us both.*

"Why don't you both try do this together? It could help with team working skills." The trainer says. *I turn around to see who I've got to work with. I see a familiar ginger girl, Finch.*

"If it's okay with y/n, then sure." She says. I don't need to work on team working skills as not going to be in a team, but as neither is Finch, and she's not the worst person to have to work with in here, I don't mind.

"I don't mind." I say with a small smile on my face.

"Why don't you collect some things while I summarise the task to you." The trainer says, looking at me, then Finch. *We both nod, and I walk into the forest like setting. I grab a few longish sticks and leaves. I walk back over, and he gets us both to sit down. He tells us both how to set up a shelter, and then he walks off to talk to another trainer.*

"I don't see how doing this together will help, as we are both going into the games solo." I say slightl,  chuckling.

"Yeah, let's work on team working skills when we aren't going to be in a team together or a team in general. Great idea." Finch replies also laughing. *We finish making the shelter while talking.*

"Your from District 7, which is Lumber. Is everyone a lumberjack, or are there other jobs?" She asks.

"Well yeah, most people are lumberjacks or work with wood, but there are other jobs like food marketers, doctors, and things every district would have. My dads a carpenter so instead of cutting down the trees he works with the wood to make things, and then my mums a seamstress so she makes clothes and pretty much all the district comes to her for clothes." I say.

"Oh wow, you must get all the clothes you want, and if your I don't know, wardrobe broke, it would be fixed pretty soon." She says, smiling.

"Yeah, its helpful with my parents having the jobs they do. What sort of other jobs apart from a factory worker do they have in 5?" I ask.

"Well obviously factory workers such as security workers, maintenance, system analysts, but also things like teachers, shop owners, the things all districts would have. But my parents do the more typical jobs in District 5, my dad's a maintenance worker, and my mums a system analyst." She says

"Sounds interesting." I say.

"If you win, what would you do with your winnings?" Finch asks. I guess I never thought about that.

"Well, I'd obviously look after my parents and Elsie. I'd help my friends out where I can when it comes to money. But I guess I never really thought about that... What about you?" I ask.

"Well, I'd again look after myself and my family. My friends were always better of then my family when it came to money so I'm sure they'd be fine. My little sister, Fawn, is only 13, but she's really obsessed with the idea of teaching. So, if she still wants to do that, if I win, I'll supply the fund for a teaching education." She says, and I nod to show I'm still listening.

"My younger brother, Finn, he's 11, he likes the idea of a security manager. I'm not even sure why, I think one time he heard our older cousin is a security guard at one of the big hydroelectric power stations, and I guess he likes the idea of a nice security guard uniform, torch, keys to who knows where. So if he still wants to do that, I'd pay for the training and uniform as it can be quite pricey." She finishes

"Well, I hope the both of them can get their dream job. Your sister in teaching and your brother in security." I say. *A whistle goes, and I turn in the direction of it.*

"Training finished. See you all tomorrow at 10:00." Atala shouts across the hall. *People get up and go to the lifts. I get in one with Wallace, Finch, her district partner, and both from 3. The doors open at District 3's floor, and they both get out, then the doors open at District 5's floor, and Finch and her partner walk out.*

"I had fun talking to you y/n. I'll see you around tomorrow, I'm assuming." Finch says, turning to me with a smile.

"Same, I'll see you tomorrow." I say with a smile as the doors lift doors shut. *We start going up to our floor now.*

"I see you've found a friend." Wallace says, looking at me.

"I wouldn't say friends. We just went to the same task and talked together. She's a nice girl." I say.

As always, if there are any mistakes, please feel free to let me know so I can correct them.

I hope you enjoyed!