Of Victors and Tributes

Chapter 5: The Second Day of Training

Somehow, I'm even more exhausted than I was yesterday even though I had over twelve hours of sleep. Since Vestia and I broke Cecelia's idea of doing one station type at a time, she suggests that after lunch we come up to our room to take a break and have some one-on-one time with our mentors. I would rather stay down in the gym acquiring new skills, but Cecelia has a few good tips that could keep us alive. It'll only be a few hours, anyway.

Breakfast is made of thinned batter that is fried with sweet powder, chunks of chocolate, and different fruits. Compared to the soggy crackers that my family is eating at this time, it's positively divine. I'm enjoying the food, of course, but it just makes me yearn more and more for my family and my home. I'd rather be poor for the rest of my life in District 8 than ever have to go to the Capitol again. I think that everybody in the outer districts would say the same.

"Vestia, come up after lunch. I'll send you back down when we're done and you tell Taylor to come up. How does that sound?" Cecelia suggests as we sit around the table. Woof is wide awake today, happily sat besides Cecelia.

"Alright," I reply. Vestia nods her head. Our outfits are different from yesterday, apparently designed by our stylists. I didn't even consider the idea of them making clothes that aren't obnoxious and blindingly colorful. Vestia wears a tight, burgundy shirt while I wear a deep maroon.

"Come, all. I say that you and Woof should join us so you can see your tributes' skills," Koi says to Cecelia and Woof. Cecelia agrees silently, and Woof doesn't seem to have heard him, but he'll be coming anyway. He follows Cecelia around just like the owner of his namesake would follow a human.

The gym somehow still shocks me just like it did yesterday. This time, I look around at more than just the tributes. Peacekeepers line the walls with stun guns, just waiting for a tribute to act up so that they can show their power. The fluorescent lights blind me as I stumble towards Meadow, who's standing besides the obligatory gauntlet that we'll be doing today. We need to improve on things like stability, flexibility, and stamina. We didn't grow up running laps like the Careers.

"Vestia and I will be bouncing around after lunch. We have mentoring," I tell her as we stand in line.

"Oh. Cole and I will probably stay down here, considering our mentor is a babbling drunk," Meadow retorts, crossing her arms. Cecelia and Woof, along with a few other victors, stand at attention around the room. Haymitch Abernathy is nowhere to be seen.

"I can pass on information to you tomorrow. Before we have the evaluation thing," I say.

"Thanks," she replies gratefully.

She decides to go before I do, and she does pretty well. She's thin, much too thin for her height, but because of her size she manages to keep well balanced. She only trips once or twice, and doesn't fall off any of the platforms. She forgets to dodge a trainer only three times, but none of the times was she thrown too off track. I catch the cameras zooming in on me as I clap politely when she finishes.

I struggle a little more than she did with the gauntlet, but I'm happy with my results. I bounce across the platforms with ease, managing not to fall on my ass in front of everybody watching. I struggle more with quickly moving or slowing down to avoid the trainers coming at me, but once again, I don't fall off the platforms. The Careers make it through flawlessly, but most of the others struggle. They either fall or fail to dodge, the girl from Five falling and landing hard on her right arm. After managing to stand back up, she's taken out of the training room. It doesn't matter if she hurt herself, whether or not her arm is broken, she will be sent into the Games despite her status. But as far as she's shown, she wasn't very promising.