The First Annual Hunger Games (Book 1)

6. Training

Talon smiles as I walk into the closet. I close the door behind me, just in case there are cameras in the bedroom.

I like your dress. Was it for the parade? He sits down and pats the ground beside him.

"Yeah." I plop down. "My stylist is actually pretty decent."

He laughs. Yeah, there's only a few of us.

I bite my lip. "Do you still see yourself as one of them, a Capitol citizen?"

I don't know. Most of the time I just think of myself as an avox, but sometimes I'm from the Capitol and sometimes I'm a rebel who helped the districts.

"Well whatever you are I'm glad I met you. It's good to have a friend." I lean against him and he leans back on the wall.

We sit there for a few minutes before he has to go. Once he leaves I pick some comfortable clothes and shower. After fiddling with knobs for ten minutes I finally get the temperature right. When I step out I press a button that blows warm air on me, immediately drying me and my hair. I put on the clothes and jump in the soft bed.

I wonder if my family is asleep right now. They're probably worried sick. Training starts tomorrow and after that is the interviews. At least they'll be able to see me in the interviews before we're sent out into the arena. I wonder what the arena will be like, they said it could be any type of landscape.

I roll over and shut my eyes. It's no use wondering about things I have no control over. It seems I've just fallen asleep when an over excited voice comes bursting through the door.

"Aldera! Come on, up, up, up! It's training time, we can't be late. And by we I mean you." I open one eye to see Tullis standing over the bed. She pulls off the covers and pulls me out of the bed.

"Okay, okay, I'm awake."

"There's training clothes in the closet. Come out to breakfast when you're ready."

I stagger into the closet and find the clothes. They're simple; black pants that are fairly stretchy and a dark, short sleeved shirt trimmed in blue with a blue eleven on the back. They fit well. I go into the bathroom and pull my hair back.

Everyone's already seated at the breakfast table and they dig in as soon as I sit down. I load my plate with bacon, eggs, pancakes, sausage, and a number of other things knowing I'll need them for energy today.

"So," Rye starts. "During training today I want you to try as many things as possible. If you know you're good at something don't do it a lot. You need to broaden your skills as much as you can. At the end of training there will be a private session with the gamemakers. That's when you want to show off. I've been told they will rate you out of twelve and your numbers will be public so you want them to be good."

I pause in my eating. "Will anyone's numbers be good? It's not like we really know how to fight."

She shrugs. "I know a few of the tributes fought in the war, so they might know something. But keep in mind fighting isn't the only thing you can be good at. Survival skills will probably be more important than combat."

We finish up our breakfast and head down to the training room. All the tributes stand in a circle around a trainer who gives us basically the same advice as Rye. I notice a raised area where a bunch of adults sit and watch. When he finishes the tributes all disperse to the different activities.

No one really goes to combat except the girl from 2 so I tell Roxen we should go over there. A trainer comes up to us and suggests we try knife throwing first. Roxen and I suck at first but the trainer gives us tips and we get a little closer to the center of the target. We then try out archery. I'm hopeless at it but Roxen is decent, he could probably use it as a weapon in the games.

After a while my arms get tired so we switch to survival skills. We're both pretty good at identifying edible plants so we don't work on it for too long. We work on building fires and the boy from 7 named Kestrel shows us the best types of wood to use. We do knot tying for a bit and I'm pretty good since we have to use them on the farm sometimes.

We take a break for lunch that some avoxes bring to some tables on the edge of the room. I glance up at the adults and see they're getting a very grand lunch with a roasted duck.

I sit down next Roxen and I'm surprised when Kestrel sits at the same table along with the girl from 7. Soon the table fills up and a pleasant conversation carries on through the meal People talk about their favorite meals from home and other things they miss. The boy from 12 jokes that there's nothing to miss from the seam which is where he lived. Somebody asks about the girl I volunteered for and I tell them funny stories about Vixen. Before lunch is over we're all laughing and I don't want to go back to training. I don't want to be in an arena with these people, I don't want to hurt them.

I learn most everyone's name by the end of the day and I wish I hadn't. It's going to be so much harder now that I know who they are, now that I know their stories. None of these kids seem capable of killing another person.

I tell this to Talon that night and it's a while before he responds. The only thing I can say is don't think about it. When you're in the arena maybe you'll forget all those things. He suddenly grabs my hand with one of his. Don't forget who you are in the arena, Aldera. If you make it out it has to be you who makes it out, not a heartless version of you.

I nod. "But I don't know if I can make it out. I can't kill another person."

Just defend yourself. Don't purposely attack anyone, but if someone's attacking you... He doesn't finish the sentence.

I suddenly hug him. "Thank you for your help, I can't imagine going through this without you."

I pull away and he raises his hands to sign something but hesitates. I should probably go. And he leaves.

The next three days of training go similarly except that I find I can handle an axe really well, I guess being from 11 isn't entirely useless. I just hope I can grab one in the arena. Every night I talk to Talon and we grow closer. He tells me about his old life and I do the same. I find myself looking forward to our meetings in my room.

Then training is over and it's time to prep for my interview. Tullis coaches me on walking in heels and how to carry myself. She teaches me to sit up straight and walk with confidence. She also tells me to smile all the time, but I'm having a harder and harder times remembering how.

Rye coaches me on what to say. We decide that I want to come off as confident, but still capable of emotions. The fact that I volunteered helps with that. She tells me a few funny things I can say and makes sure to lecture me on not being sassy, which is a real struggle with these Capitol fools. I hope whoever interviews us is likeable, they haven't told us who it is yet.

The time arrives for me to get ready and Inala comes with the prep team in tow. They do my hair and makeup first, keeping it simple; my hair with it's natural curls and light makeup to accent my features. Inala pulls out the dress and smiles. It's a lot like the first, but this time the leaves are fall colors. The center of the torso is yellow leaves and as they grow out from there they get darker, turning into a deep orange and then a rich red. There's also a necklace made of the darker leaves with a multicolored one in the center.

"It's stunning," I say, looking in the mirror.

"No," Inala says. "You're stunning." I smile and we head out to the entryway where everyone waits.

Roxen nods. "Looking good, Clearwater." His stylist has opted for a suit made of normal material but with red coloring and a white shirt underneath.

"Thank you. You're not so bad yourself." In fact he's very much not bad and I have to force my eyes away.

I turn and face the elevator and see Talon is manning the buttons. While no one's looking he gives me a small smile and a quick thumbs up, before looking back at the ground with the blank eyes of all the avoxes.

"Alright here we go," Tullis says as we enter the elevator.

"This interview is how you'll win the most sponsors," Rye reminds us. "Good luck to the both of you."