To Be A Career (A Very Clove Story)

Chapter 6- To Be Judged

There's a silence as I leave. I walk into my room, and close the door in Glimmer and Cato's faces. As soon as the door is closed, I laugh. Fish Face just got what she deserved. It's perfect. I can practically hear Karma and Gram scolding me from District 2, but it was so worth it. I don't know how long I sit on the bed laughing, but I don't care. It's not like I need the training time. Or the people skills. Because like it or not, we're all Careers, and I'm stuck with them. So I go get a latte. Lattes are a reason for existing, in my opinion. Other than punching Fish Face. And throwing knives.

"Clove, you are my life hero!" Cato says as I walk down the hall to get my latte.

"Yeah, I've been wanting to do that all day," Mr. Marvelous says.

"She was kind of getting annoying..." Glimmer adds with a hair flip.

"Hey, I'm standing right here!" Fish Face protests.

"I don't care," I say. Fishy doesn't say anything.

"So, what are we going to do with the other tributes?" Glimmer asks.

"Well, I don't see any of them as threats, other than Thresh and possibly Katniss," Cato shrugs.

"Good point. And they both seen like distant threats. So I think it's safe to say that one of us will win," Mr. Marvelous says.

"Definitely," I add.

"So, who wants to get a latte?" Glimmer asks.

"Me!" I say as I run down the hall.

"Wait up, Clove!" I hear them say.

"Come on, the lattes aren't going to be there forever!" I complain as I run down the hall. And right into someone. I look up, and see that it's Thresh.

"Are you saying sorry?" he asks me.

"NO. Now move, you're blocking the lattes!" I whine. This annoys him, and I move right past him, and into the lattes. I choose a particularly tasty looking one, and take a long drink. I'm almost done with half of the cup by the time they walk in, minus Fish Face.

"Where's Fish Face?" I ask them.

"She went to talk to Thresh. More like stalk," Cato says. I give out a small laugh. Of course she is.

"Hey don't be so mean," Glimmer scolds.

"Hey, don't be so annoying," I tease her.

"Are you guys going to catfight? Because I find that really hot," Mr. Marvelous says.

"Shut up. And while you're at it, tell Fish Face that before she comes in the room, she better shut up," I add. Fish Face was hanging by the door frame the whole time.

"How long have you been there, Pip?" I hear Glimmer say. Nicknames. I hate them. I drown out their conversation and leave. I might as well start getting ready for tomorrow. I hop into bed, and before I want to, I fall asleep.

"I wake up with the sun, and get in the shower. I put on a black shirt and white pants (what a change up, I know). Today, we show the Gamemakers what we have. I go down to the dining hall, and sit at the usual table. I eat the same breakfast as yesterday except with only one latte. I'm too nervous to eat muchelse. I feel like I might start pacing like Karma. They all chatter mindlessly, and I ignore them. They call us up by District. First, I hear "Marvel Farnette!" and he goes up.

Tick, tock, tick, tock, the clock was teasing me. Glimmer is called what seems like an eternity later, and an eternity after that, Cato goes up confidently, giving me a smile.

After what seems like hours, I hear my name. I know what I'm going to do. I walk in, not even looking at the Gamemakers, and I pick up a knife. I throw it, and it hits a dummy right where its heart should be. I walk over to it, and stab it again. I stab it for a little bit, and then I kick it in the head.

"Thank you, Ms. Sevina, you may leave." I nod and go, that simple.

"How'd you do, Clove?" Cato asks eagerly as soon as I get in the elevator.

"Good. I stabbed the dummy a little, and kicked it in the head. Very fun. How'd you do?" I ask.

"Better than you," he replies as I roll my eyes.

"of course you did," I say sarcastically.

"That hurt my feeling, darling Clover!" he says, equally sarcastic.

"Too bad, get over it," I respond. This brings on a grin, which makes me grin. We get to our floor, and we head down the halls.

"You know Clove, you're not too bad," I hear him say.

"You're not too bad either," I respond, trying to ignore the butterflies in the stomach. Wait a minute, butterflies in my stomach?! What is going on? Why am I asking myself questions?

"Bye, Clove," he says as he walks into his room. I walk down the hall, and into my room. I collapse on my bed.

My thoughts get more jumbled the longer I sit there. Do I like him? Does he like me? What about Glimmer, does he like her? They were flirting. I know Glimmer likes him, or at least more than the other tributes. I can't think of anything to clear my head other than throwing some knives, but that's not an option right now. So I let myself get confused.

"Come on Clove, let's go!" I hear outside of my door. Cato, of course.

"Coming!" I yell as I get up.

"Hi," I say as soon as I get out of the door.

"Hey." We walk in silence for a little, and then I hear him say, "Are you nervous about your score?"

"A little bit. Are you?" I ask him.

"Not really. I know that I'll probably win, so I'm not worried." And now it hits me. I better het over myself fast, because attraction in the arena never ends well. I can't like him.

We sit down at the table with our mentors, who I don't really acknowledge. I watch the screen. First, they show a head shot of Mr. Marvelous, who gets a nine. Glimmer also gets a nine. They show Cato's head shot, and I see ten flashing across the screen. Good for him. I see my face, smirking at me from the screen, and a ten flashes under it. I smile a little, then I watch. District 3 scores pretty low overall; Fish Face pulls a nine, and Fishy gets a nine also. The ginger from Five gets a five, Rue gets a seven, Thresh gets a ten, Peeta gets an eight, and Katniss gets an eleven.

Cato starts swearing, but I just stare at the screen in shock. Cato walks out of the room, pulling me along by the hand. Inside I'm screaming, "He's holding my hand!" but on the outside, I'm shocked and angry.

"How did she pull an eleven?" Cato demands as we meet Glimmer, Mr. Marvelous, Fish Face, and Fishy in the hall. He lets go of my hand, and I pray that my disappointment isn't showing on my face.

"Cato," Glimmer says, looking into his eyes.

"Relax," she says. She takes his hand, and I feel a mix of rage and disappointment. And overwhelmingly, I feel jealous. I can't take it anymore, so I leave. I make it to my room, and I try to sleep. I just lay on my back, staring at the ceiling until morning comes.