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23
Good-Bye
So much for being friends.
I stood in the middle of the Training Center in embarrassingly tight black pants and jacket while everyone else around me danced around dummies and threw weapons at targets. Troy hadn't even taken a second glance at me before running off in his own direction. I fought the urge and cross my arms self-consciously and tried to spot a station I was interested in. I walked incognito to the snare station, where Finnick had said he had gone. I watched the Careers take shape, Troy molding in easily with their group. He wasn't the biggest there by far, but he acted like one of them.
"You want to learn how to make snares? They're very useful. You can catch food, even enemies, with a few simple knots."
"I'm from Four, I make nets," I said in a shy voice, "I want to learn something advanced."
The trainer nodded and got to work showing me how to snatch someone up in a net with a hidden trigger on the ground. It looked a lot like the one that Finnick used in his games, except after he caught them, he had a trident to kill them. Chances were, no one was sending me a trident. And even if they did, I wouldn't be able to use it to kill people.
I could,however, leave them dangling there long enough to steal their supplies and let someone else do my dirty work.
That's no way to think, Annie.
Actually, right now, it is.
I finished with the snares and pursed my lips, trying to find a new place to go where I wouldn't embarrass myself. What would Pearl do?
Pearl would already be yupping it up with the careers by this point.
I found a station that taught about edible plants. That seemed useful, so I spent a good hour there. I jumped when I heard a snap and looked back to find Troy staring at a broken wooden staff in his hands. I guess he'd broken it on some stuffed torso in the fighting station.
"Well done, but you need to demonstrate more control and technique rather than just brute force," the instructor commented, taking the shards from him. I scowled when he gave the room a cocky grin and winked at me. Did you see that? his face seemed to say. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of looking impressed, so I yawned and turned around to learn more about these fascinating plants.
That wasn't petty at all.
It was lunch time, but I sat at a table with a kid from Twelve, both from Seven, and the boy from Five. In short, I felt like a complete loser. But I couldn't help but feel more accepted and at home amongst these kids rather than try and fit in at a table with all the bronze and muscle.
"Hey there pretty lady," a voice sneered from behind me. The greasy sound of it sent chills down my spine and the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Slowly I turned to find the boy from One, Gerod, staring down at me. It looked like they packed his jacket with steaks, especially with his arms crossed over his chest like that.
"Can I help you?" Could my voice stop sounding like a dying mouse?
"Just wanted to say hello to the prettiest girl in the room. All kinds of things happen in the arena," his voice dropped low and he leaned in to me, "can't put a kiss at the bottom of my list."
I stared at him, not sure what to say. If Finnick was here, he would have knocked the guy out. "Erm...thanks for stopping by."
"I'll be seeing you, sweetheart."
