The Hunger Games: Mentors

Chapter 4- Training Day

DAPP'S POV

I wake up earlier than I should. It's only 4:00 AM. Its not like I was going to get any sleep anyways so I crawl out of bed and head to the living room. As I pass the rooms, I can see that Amira is awake too. I softly knock on her door.
"Come in." She whispers. When I come in she's sitting on her bed hugging her knees.

"Couldn't sleep either?" I ask gently.

"No." She said looking down.

"Are you nervous for training today?" I ask her, trying to make conversation.
"Yes. I want to make a good impression, but I also don't want to paint a target on my back for the career tributes." She says, avoiding eye contact with me. I realize that the reason she doesn't want to be friends with me is because she knows she will have to kill me, watch me be killed, or just see my picture in the sky in a couple of days.

"I get it." I say

"Okay, I'm headed out to the living room to grab a muffin or something, do you want one?" I ask her politely. I can tell she is emotionally damaged so I try my best to stay calm, and to speak softly in front of her. I've never met Amira face to face, but I do remember going to school with her. She was from the Seam, and I remember always wondering what her life would be like, since she has a fair amount of money, for someone from District 12.

"No thanks." She says, smiling at me for the first time since I've met her. If I could, I would align with her instead of somebody else, but I won't be doing that. I won't get attached. I can't. The gamemakers wont make the same mistake as last year, so there is absolutely no chance of me coming home with her. There wasn't going to be a chance of that happening anyways, but I can't help but look at her and feel something. A feeling of pity, maybe, but It's not romantic feelings. Maybe it was seeing her being stripped apart from her perfect Seam family, or the fact that her eyes are the most gorgeous I've ever seen, but I feel the need to protect her at all costs. Even if that means risking my life to save hers. She probably has more reason to live, anyways. Time passes slowly. Every minute feels like an eternity sitting alone with my thoughts. Finally, It's time that I head to the training room. I get dressed in the uniform the Capitol has selected for me, and meet Amira at the front door. Haymitch, Effie, Peeta and Katniss are also waiting for us there. A short ride down an elevator later, we are at the training center. I walk in and my ears are immediately pounded with the sounds of grunts, weapons hitting dummies, and metal hitting the floor. Amira looks at me, and I can see the fear in her eyes.
"Its okay, follow me." I say. and she nods. We walk across the room, and I can feel every pair of eyes trailing me. Expectations are set high on my District this year, because of what happened with Peeta and Katniss last year in the games. I walk over to the section with the spears, and pick one up.

"Watch this." I tell Amira, and she looks at my hand, her eyes wide at the sight of such a huge weapon. I look ahead to the large dummy, and throw my spear. It lands right in the center of it, near where the heart would be if it were a human.

"Wow. Amazing." Amira says, nodding in approval. I turn around only to see every single tribute staring at me in awe. Even the careers are looking at me. The training captain gives her usual speech, and the day goes faster than I expected it to. The next two days of group training whiz by, and before I know It, we are expected to show our individual assessments. I sit in the room with Amira, and the 22 other tributes who are waiting to be assessed as well. District by District, the tributes are called down. Before I know it, its already my turn. I head down to the training room. I pick up the same spear I have been using for the past three days, and head to the opposite end of the room. Standing there, I launch the spear straight into the target, hitting it directly in the center. Gasps can be heard from the gamemakers lounge, and I do this a couple more times, and I start to wonder if maybe I can do this with other objects too, like knives. I take a small knife and go to the other end of the room again, launching it at the target, its hits the middle too. This goes on for a while, with a variety of different weapons. The gamemakers seem to be impressed by the time my individual assessment is over. I head back to the penthouse, and sit with the group on the couch, patiently waiting for the results. Once the evening comes, so do our scores. Each district goes by, and the numbers are average. The career tributes scores range from 7's to 9's, and the rest of the districts average scores are around 6. Our district is next. Amira's score is shown first, and she scores a 7. Impressive for someone who has never held a weapon in her entire life. My score is last. A few seconds pass, and my score shows up on the screen.

12.