The 76th Hunger Games

Chapter 18

     I open my eyes and shield them from the bright sun. I immediately get out of my sleeping bag, because it is sweltering hot. "Good morning, sunshine!" Mason shouts from the base of the tree. I climb down and stand next to him. I smile and stretch."Good morning." I say back. I walk to my backpack, open it up, and eat some mashed roots for breakfast. Clove is by the pond, dipping her feet in for relief of the beating sun. I pull off my socks and boots and join her. Mason sits beside me, which is a pleasant surprise. I think he may trust me more now. After a few minutes, I wipe the sweat from my forehead for the nth time. "I can't take this." I say, and peel off my shirt and pants.

"Jonette? What in the world are you doing?" Clove asks, dumbfounded. I smooth out my white camisole and matching undershorts. I stare at her and smile. "Bathing." I answer, and jump into the pond. The smooth stone underneath my feet doesn't scratch them at all. The pond isn't very deep, so my shoulders stay above the water. Clove looks to Mason. "I'm going over there."Mason says, pointing at a nearby rock. Clove shrugs and joins me. I let loose my braided bun, place the pins and elastics on a large flat rock, and dunk my head under the cool, clear water. I swim to the bottom and blow bubbles. I bounce back up and look at Clove. She's  right beside me, enjoying the nice swimming temperature of the pool, and Mason is washing up behind a row of cattails. I poke Clove and giggle. "You're it!" I squeal, and dive under the water.

     "You're it!" Clove shouts triumphantly. I sit on a moss covered rock that protrudes from the surface of the water. I pant and catch my breath. "Let's stop, relax, and wash off a bit, alright?" I call. Clove nods and starts combing her fingers through her hair. I step back into the water and do the same. I scrape off the dried blood, dirt, and grime that has covered my skin from my time in the arena. I sit back on the rock and do my hair in a tight french braid. This will keep it out of my eyes for sure. I sink back in and float on my back. There's not a cloud I can see in the blue, blue sky above me. The sun shines brightly, merciless to us tributes who have a real chance of dehydrating. I flip over and lie face down in the water, blowing bubbles. I am not envious of those who do not have a nice, cool pond to relax in.

     I step out of the pond and sit on one of the rocks to dry my underclothes. Clove hops out as well and wrings out her dark hair. "You're leaving it down?" I ask, because it may be better to keep your hair our of your eyes when you're trying to make a getaway. Clove smiles and nods. Mason joins us, using mud to stick his hair vertically up. I laugh at the attempt. "Stylish hairdo." I tell him. He smiles just a little bit. I realize now that I've never seen him smile before. "Yup. It took a long time to get this perfect." He says.

"I'm going to weave a basket." I say, completely off topic. I leave the two District partners to talk while I gather river grasses. I start to weave them in a circular fashion and finish in only minutes. Being from District 8 does have its advantages. I fill the basket up with water, and surprisingly, no water leaks through. I hand the basket to Mason and he pours it over his head to get the mud out of his hair.

     Minutes of silence pass and my underclothes are dry enough to put my clothes on over them. I don't, though, because it's just too hot. I couldn't bear wearing my long pants. I lounge about, dipping my legs into the water. Clove is dressed, but I just don't feel like doing the same. I yawn and lie on my back. My stomach grumbles and I sit up. I dig in my bag and pull out a beef strip and some more roots. I eat it to tide me over until later. "I have an idea!" Clove announces. "We should go back to the Cornucopia. I mean, just in case the Gamemakers hid something, so only the really clever tributes would find it." She explains. I smile. That is good. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go? Mason, could you please guard the camp? We don't want anyone stealing our stuff." I say. He nods and me and Clove take off.

     We enter the golden horn and look around. Nothing so far, but when I travel deeper in, almost to the end, I see a tent pack that nobody bothered to take. I almost whoop with joy before I hear the footsteps behind us. I turn around and see the boy from District 1, holding a sword with an evil grin on his bruised face.