Of Victors and Tributes

Chapter 6: The Evaluation

I wake up with my heart pounding and my head aching. I'm really getting tired of waking up like this. Despite the pain, I get up and get dressed in my hand picked outfit for the day. I tuck my pocket watch into my pocket quickly, nearly forgetting it. I'm glad that Farah has made sure that every outfit I wear has pockets.

I join the rest of my Capitol family in the room. I never imagined thinking of these people that way, but here I am. My head still aches, and just like I do every morning, I request something to get my headache to go away. The servants, silent as always, disappear for but a second before returning with a painkiller. I knock it back with a glass of orange juice.

"You two should stay up here longer and be late for training. Today's the evaluation, anyway," Woof says. He, too, is knocking back a painkiller of his own and biting into his breakfast. Unfortunately, we've been greeted with raw fish again. Like Vestia did when we first had it, I decide to avoid the sushi and pick out something else. Something to remind me a bit of my home.

"We need to tell Meadow and the others about our plan for the alliance," I remind him.

"Good point," he says, counteracting himself.

"Remember, the evaluation is the best time for you to show the Gamemakers what you can really do. If you are impressive and show that you have some kind of worth, they may put what you need to excel in the Cornucopia. If it isn't as big as something like a giant tent or a buffet of food, it may be laid out a bit before the actual Cornucopia. You could be able to reach it," Cecelia reminds us, as if after seventeen years of listening to the rules of the Games I could've forgotten.

Very unlike training, the evaluation will not be televised and is completely left in mystery. You'd think that nothing is sacred in the Capitol, but apparently this is, because I've never heard of someone's evaluation show being leaked. If it was even considered, the person with the information would probably be severely punished. Anyway, after the evaluation you're allowed to go back to your room. That officially concludes training. And later that night, you get a score given to you from the private session. The higher the score, the luckier you could be. Or the unluckier, depending on how the Careers plan to take the Games this year. Sometimes they go for the weak ones first, but sometimes they go for the most powerful.

I'm praying that both Vestia and I do well on our evaluation for the sake of our families. I can't imagine my family having to watch me get a 2 on my training score. When Weaver did his private session, he got a seven. I'm not sure what he did, and I'll never know because he didn't return home alive. I like to think that he did the same things that I'm planning to do, considering that we are– were– so similar. Hopefully I'll pull off a score that's a little better than his.

I hate to pray because it reminds me that I'm surrendering myself to the Capitol, but I have no choice. I need to take the chance that there is some higher power that wants to help me through what I'm about to go through. Maybe whoever is watching us will take pity on a poor kid from an outer district, a kid with two little siblings and a sick mother at home along with a dead brother and father. The thought poses a serious risk to my identity, existentially, and I'm desperate to change my train of thought.

Breakfast is finished lazily, so it's time for Vestia and I to head to the elevator with Koi. Over the last few days, I've noticed how he's changed. His face seems sunken, his skin losing its color, and he has been a bit quieter than usual. Despite being annoyed by Koi on several occasions, I'm a little worried for him. I'm still going to need him for the next few days until the Games starts.

"How're you, Koi?" I ask him, though we've reached the gym before he can answer the question.

"Absolutely wonderful," he replies, but I hear the exhaustion in his voice. "Good luck, kids. I know that you'll do well." And he leaves us.