The 76th Hunger Games

Chapter Seven. Lets talk.

I awake to a loud knocking running through my head. I don't remember falling asleep, only sitting on the wooden floor with my back against the wall crying and thinking about the people and the things I will miss when I die in the arena. The whole night I had been dipping in and out of dreams on the cold hard floor. I dreamt about the day my father and brother died; it is a common nightmare for me. I see the images of that awful event flash across my vision as clear as when it first happened, I can't forget it no matter how hard I try.

I begin to raise myself off the floor to open the door. There is no doubt that it will be Johanna hiding behind the blue paint, leaning up against the door frame with a smirk across her face, I don't want to see her, but I don't suppose I have much choice. As I push myself further away from the wooden floor boards a splinter injects itself into my palm, it sparks fresh blood as the wooden needle burrows its way beneath my skin. A crimson bubble rises on my palm and I can't help but laugh to myself that even in a room with nothing or no one around I still manage to draw blood. I wonder if it would be possible to kill myself with a wooden stake crafted by hand from the floor boards; at least then the rebels wouldn't be able to kill me themselves and I wouldn't have to live with horrifying fear in the arena. But if I go into the arena there is a chance, it may be a very small chance, but there is still a chance that I might come out alive; there would still be a tiny beacon of hope left. But if I killed myself now there would be no chance, no hope left. I have no option but to go into the arena.

The knocking on my door comes again, but harder and louder this time. I sigh as I get to my feet and walk towards the door. The knocking stops as I reach for the door nob, Johanna must have heard the creaking that the floor boards produced as I stepped over them. I open the door to reveal Arrow standing with his hands in the pockets of a pair of worn brown trousers. I was surprised,

"I was expecting Johanna to be ready to greet me on the fabulous morning." I say with fake enthusiasm.

"Yeah, sorry about that but your stuck with me." A smile on his lips fills the silence before he continues, "She told me that she was supposed to wake all the tributes up this morning and invite them to breakfast, but she said that she would prefer it if is she didn't have to see you and that you would find your way to breakfast."

I scowl, but at least I had made an impression. "Those don't sound like Johanna's words." I say raising an eyebrow.

"Your right." He smiles but doesn't explain any further.

"Well what did she actually say?" My eyes remain fixed in a determined stare as my hands plant themselves on my hips.

"I don't think you would be interested to hear it Scarlet."

"You don't know what I'm interested to hear and what I'm not." I know he is trying to wind me up, but I can't help my voice from rising. He acts like an annoying older brother but he is only fourteen; one year older than me. Arrow pauses for a moment before saying,

"You seem to have got on the wrong side of Johanna Mason. Would you care to tell me why?" He seems genuinely interested in why Johanna doesn't like me but I don't see why it's any of his business.

"No I would not." I answer simply.

"If you tell me what you did, I will tell you what she told me." I consider the offer, and don't hesitate to agree.

"Okay, deal. But you have to tell me what she said first."

"Fine, but if you don't keep your end of the deal I will make sure that you are the first to die in the arena." He says the sentence so easily, it's almost as if dying doesn't bother him. A cold shudder runs down my spine at the thought of the arena but I try to disguise how uncomfortable I am thinking about how I am going to die. I stand up straighter and try to laugh as I say,

"Too late, that's already taken care of." I point towards myself and say "President Snow's granddaughter, remember? I already will be the first to die."

Arrow doesn't laugh instead he offers me a sad smile and gestures to the small pile of clothes outside the blue door. I don't think I have ever seen a person change moods so quickly; before he was mocking me and arguing now he seems sympathetic- he really is like an older brother; annoying but caring.

"Maybe you should get changed Scarlet. I will wait out here for you and then I will show you to breakfast." He steps away from the door and I bend down to pick up the clothes. He must have seen right through me, I thought my acting was better than that. I tried to act strong so that he couldn't scare me, or at least so he couldn't see that he scared me.

I close the door as I head back into the empty room- my room- to change. I pull on a pair of worn out stretchy grey trousers which are comfortable enough and then slide into a black tank top with a frayed hem. The clothes had provided me with were not uncomfortable or completely torn, but they aren't what I'm used to. These clothes don't smell of my mother and of my home, instead they smell of dust and of strangers. I wish I still had the dress I wore to the reaping, then at least I would have something which was close to home. But I don't know where it is, after I went to my stylist I didn't see anything from home. They have probably destroyed my dress, just like how they want to destroy me.

I am still bare foot but the rebels didn't provide me with any footwear so I suppose I am stuck like this. I pad across the room trying not to let my feet slide across the floor boards because I am now aware of how easily it is to inflict splinters. I open the door to find Arrow still waiting, leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the hall. He smiles at me, but he doesn't let his teeth break through his lips.

"do you want breakfast?" He asks pushing himself away from the wall. I nod and smile back at him before raising an eyebrow and questioning him.

"So tell me Mr Arrow, what are your experiences of the games so far?" I ask in my best interviewer voice.

"Why would you like to know?" Suddenly the Arrow was back to the person I thought he was. The sympathy he was giving me was starting to worry me.

"Well I thought I would like to hear what it is actually like after the opening ceremony, somehow I think that what I experienced wasn't exactly planned." Arrow gives me a questioning look but doesn't push me for an explanation as we enter the elevator.

"Well, after your little out bust we were all delivered to our rooms and given dinner." He reached out and pressed the button marked "G" making it glow orange.

"At least you got dinner." I say with a smile trying to make light of our horrible situation. But Arrow just laughed,

"Hardly, I was given just one slice of mouldy bread!" He made a face and I returned it with equal disgust.

At home the bread never went mouldy, we always got fresh bread from the bakery everyday. We got a choice of all 12 district's bread, my favourite was the bread from district 4, it was always so deliciously salty. I doubt I will ever taste that bread again; only the horrible mouldy bread which Arrow speaks of.

"Why did you come to show me to breakfast this morning Arrow?" The elevator bounces to a stop making my head feel as if it were floating. His brow creases in thought and his green eyes glow.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Maybe because your supposed to be trying to kill me?" A smile fixes on his lips,

"Not yet I'm not. There is still three days before we enter that God forsaken arena." I smile too, knowing that we still have three days.

A lot can happen in three days.