Daughter of the Games (Sequel to Pregnant in the Games)

Chapter 18: Be Ever in Your Favor

Dedicated to louisgirlfriend_2001 for completing the survey!

"Big day," Ivan said, breaking the silence that had ensued for many minutes.

All of us are sitting around a table, eating breakfast. The nerves have silenced us. Grey's looking very tired this morning. Ivan told me that she had a rough night with her illness. Ni looks tired, too, his dark green eyes lacking vibrance. Even Raven looks like she's had a rough night. She's chewed off some of her fake talons.

I didn't get much sleep, either. All I could think of was my score. 3. Potentially the lowest score in Hunger Games history. I'm Crystal Erwin. My parents were amazing tributes. They got scores of 12 and 11. And I got a 3. 

Sure, the score wasn't really my fault. I couldn't help my hallucinations. But it's still a dissapointingly low score. I can imagine Dad sitting in front of a TV with Drea and Cane, nervously biting his nails. Gale and Rayne would be there, too. Then my score is announced and all he can do is wonder what I possibly could've done so badly to get such a low score. Then Cane would make a joke to break the tension in the room. Something about him being the more skilled sibling. Drea will smirk a little, unable to manage a full smile. She'll kiss Cane's cheek, trying to make him feel better (assuming that the two are a couple now). Rayne will tell Dad how talented I am, how I'll do great. Gale will go on a rant about how Luke rigged my score so that I wouldn't get sponsors. All the while Dad will sit silent. 

"I still don't understand why we're not doing interviews," Grey stated. 

"I've told you why," Raven replied. "Luke ordered no interviews. So there's not going to be any interviews."

I bit my lip. When I heard that Luke wouldn't let the interviews occur, it made me uneasy. He wants to avoid questions. He wants to avoid too much publication. Maybe I could've saved myself with the interview. I could've made the Capitol fall in love with me. The sponsors would've forgotten about my score if I just gave them something else to talk about. 

"How are you feeling, Grey?" I asked. 

"I'm good," she replied, not looking up from her barely-touched food. 

"You should eat more. Who knows how much food we'll get in the arena?" 

She looked up at me. "I'm not really feeling it today," 

Ivan put his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. She looked at him and smiled meekly. He gave her the same smile back, their genes creating the same lines on their faces. I thought of Cane again. Will I ever see him again? Will I ever be able to have a brother-sister exchange again? 

"Do you want your last medication dosage?" Raven asked. 

Grey nodded. Raven took a bottle of pills out of her pocket and passed them across the table. Grey opened the bottle and turned it over, the last two pills she has falling out. She breathed a big sigh, put them in her mouth, and took a small sip of water, swallowing them like they were second nature. Worry gnawed at my stomach. This is the last dosage she gets. What will her health become when we're in the arena? 

"You got a score of 11, Grey," Ni said to her. "I'd be shocked if the sponsors didn't send you all the medication you need and more." His eyes carried the same worry I felt, but there was also a soft compassion to his eyes, too. I smiled a little. The more time I spend around Ni, the more I'm forgetting about his schizophrenia. He's not insane at all. He's just a little broken. For me to hate him for that is hypocritical; I'm probably more broken than he is.  

"Hurry up and finish your food," Raven ordered. "We're going to head down to the hovercraft in fifteen minutes." 

I finished eating my food and ran to my suite. I breathed in my surroundings for the last time, although I wouldn't really miss them; this room has been full of misery for days. I've spent hours staring at these walls, fretting over different things each night.