Submerged

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

While the train itself must have been manufactured in District Six, it was obviously furnished with the luxury goods of District One. I wondered how much money the Capital spends on twenty-four kids, most of whom are destined to die. It was as if they were fattening us up for the slaughter house.

                Dylan and I were each given our own train car with a bedroom, a private bathroom, and a small lounge. As expected, there was an exaggerated seafaring theme. There was literally a giant pool in my room. How did that even work on a train? Behind the large, plush bed was a dresser with drawers full of expensive-looking clothes. At least the Capital was smart enough to give me swimsuits for the pool.

                After I had slipped into a simple, red swimsuit, I walked towards the pool. Well, I didn’t really walk. By the time I passed the bed, I was running. The pool was just deep enough for me to dive, and I took full advantage of it.

                When I bobbed up to the surface, I already felt more relaxed. The water- even with chlorine and who knows what other chemicals- cleared my mind. After a few laps, I decided to just float on my back. I must have fallen asleep, because I woke with a start when Adelyn strode into the room, not even knocking.

                “Delta! Get up! We’re eating supper in half an hour,” she snapped.

                Without waiting for a reply, she sauntered out, mumbling something about ‘ducking district door ashmole dids’. I ignored that.

                I did, however, force myself out of the pool. After a warm shower to wash the chemicals out of my hair, I searched for a sensible outfit to wear, only to find that I was only given dresses. Even worse, most of the dresses were a pale pink. I finally found a grey dress (http://productshots0.modcloth.net/productshots/0097/9407/04add2222ff87fe249f82a6214da9b8f.jpg?1327531617) that wasn’t too fancy or too pink. Instead of attempting to dry my hair, I combed it and pulled it back into a pony tail. My hair was just long enough.

                When I entered the dining car, Dylan was already sitting. I sat across from him, watching him eat. Dylan was stuffing bite after bite of some kind of meat into his mouth. Despite his skinny appearance, Dylan was a well-fed boy. I found it odd for him to be so excited about the food, but then I tasted the steak. I was so accustomed to fish that anything different was a treat.

                Maybe food wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

                I didn’t notice when Adelyn, Finnick, and Mags walked into the room, but they arrived at some point.

                We had several courses for our dinner. After the steak, we ate a salad. It seemed backwards to me, but I decided not to mention it. Then, five trays of sweets were carried out by Avoxs. I tried not to stare at the mountains of sugar, but I couldn’t resist piling a slice of red velvet cake and a frosted cookie onto my plate. Dylan, however, was in complete joy. He had at least three times as much desert as I did.

                “Relax,” warned Finnick with a winning smile, “you’ll be throwing up for days if you eat all of that. And you really want all of your training time.”

                I decided that Finnick was right. I only ate half of my cake and didn’t even touch my cookie. I needed to gain a few pounds of fat, but junk food was probably not the way to go. I silently vowed to eat only meat and vegetables until I entered the arena, and I would make sure Dylan did too. Well, I’d give him tonight to enjoy himself. Whatever stomach ache he fought through tonight would help him agree.

                For me, though, my full belly and the slight vibration of the train were just enough to rock me to sleep that night.

                That morning, our breakfast was, surprisingly, very similar to the food we ate the night before. I did notice that Dylan ate considerably less food.

                After a few minutes of eating, I broke the silence.

                “So, y’all are our mentors.  What do you suggest we do?”

                “I assume you want to stick together,” Mags guessed.

                “Yes,” I answered full-heartedly.

                Finnick seemed to look me over and said, “You don’t seem very brutal, so I don’t foresee you getting along in the career group. If they ask you to join them, it’s a trick. No offence, but you’re not going to get as many sponsors as I did.”

                “Thanks for the pep talk,” I responded dryly, noticing that Dylan was staying out of the conversation. Finnick laughed at my sarcasm.

                “I wasn’t done yet. On the positive side, Delta, you look strong, and you seem like a clever girl. Dylan, well, you have an amazing ally,” then, turning to Mags, he said, “I think we should definitely use the fact that Delta volunteered to protect Dylan to our advantage. She should be portrayed as loyal and brave. Then, we make Dylan an adorable little kid. Hopefully, he’s got some wit.”

                Mags only nodded in response. She didn’t seem to talk much.

                It seemed that the conversation was over. Finnick pulled out a plastic bag and popped a small, white cube into his mouth.