Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
____________
As soon as we got into the training center, Blaze immediately went off on his own. I wasn't complaining. I saw a trident, and smiled, moving towards it. There were men there who helped spar with us, and I tried not to use all of the tricks that Finnick had taught me. I didn't want to be predictable. I wondered what my father would say, if he saw me right now. I frown because I don't know how they're doing, and I just want to see them again. My mind drifts towards Finnick. I need to tell him to deliver a message if I die in the arena. I spend some time throwing my trident into dummies.
An hour later, I see the girl from District 3 in tears, trying to hide herself from everybody. She's near the rope tying station. I walked towards her, causing her to flinch. She's terrified. "I miss home, too. Do you want to try tying some ropes with me?" I ask her. My uncle was the best at knotting ropes. I liked to think I had learned a little from him.
"Why are you being nice to me?" The thirteen year old asked, shaking as she did in the chariot.
"Because I'm scared, too. I really miss my family, and it would be nice to to have an ally here." I tell her as she follows me towards the ropes. I hand her one, and begin looping it.
"Why me? Why not the girl from 1?" She asks, and I look at Moxie; the girl from 1. She's got long brown hair, and seems to be familiar with almost every weapon. The girl from 2 is similar; she's tall, but is tiny. She's got brown hair and brown eyes, and she's climbing up the obstacles pretty well. I notice she's pretty much claimed the Katana swords. I'm unsure of the female district 2's name.
"They'd turn on me in a second. They've been waiting their whole life for this. We've been in the corner praying that it wasn't us. We can help each other." I tell her, helping her tie a knot. For the first time, she smiles. It's not for long, and it's not big, but it's a smile nonetheless.
"My name is Azure." She says, fixing her glasses. "I'm Coralia." I tell her. We stay near the ropes until I ask her if there's anything she is familiar with, and she tells me she's good with technology.
By the end of the training, she's shown me a couple of things, like how to properly use coil wire. I can see Blaze glaring at me, but I can't bring myself to care. I think of something.
"When the games start, run. I'll be right behind you." She nods.
***
I like to think I did well during individual assessments. I had shown my skill with a trident, my mind thinking of Finnick coaching me while I threw them towards the dummies. I had tied my feet with a rope, knotting it tightly before going underwater. They seemed to be impressed by how quickly I untied it. Zedoary Ashonte was a lot of things, but he wasn't inattentive. He had kept his eyes on me the whole time, and it had almost made me more anxious. I'm sitting next to Mags while we're waiting to hear our scores; she motions to ask me if she can braid my hair, and I nod, letting the woman mess with my hair. Affron is sitting next to Mags, and he reaches his hand out. "You're gonna want to put this piece of hair-" He's cut off by Mags slapping his hand away. He puts his hands up in surrender. Finnick walks in, and Blaze is the first to speak.
"Underfell made an ally. Figures she'd team up with someone weaker than her." Finnick sighs. He looks towards me. "Making allies is a good thing. I'm glad you found one. Just be careful." He tells me. We stop talking as Caeser's face shows itself on the screen. I shift in my seat when I hear that the boy from 2, Colt, scored a perfect twelve. I frown when I hear that Azure scored a two. I glare at Blaze as he makes fun of the poor girl. I hang my head low, not wanting to look at Finnick.
"Blaze Keenwood, District 4, coming in with a nine!" Blaze seems satisfied with his score. That is, until Caeser reads mine.
"Coralia Underfell, with an...eleven!" My eyes widen, and Finnick pulls me into a hug, telling me he's proud of me. Verena is clapping, and Affron is being over dramatic, but I smile anyway. Mags squeezes my shoulder, and for the first time, I feel like I actually stand a chance.
I'm surprised to hear I'm the highest scoring female. Lily is a close second, though.
"I think this calls for some wine!" Affron exclaims.
"I couldn't agree more." Verena says shortly after.
"I'm going to head to my room for a little while." I smile, walking away from them.
There, I think of ways to protect Azure. With the lowest score, she would be the easiest target. Was telling her to run without me a good idea? I was going to try my hardest to grab a weapon and follow her. I don't know why I feel the urge to protect her; maybe it's because of how scared she was. I wonder if she has any siblings. How would they feel about our alliance. One think I knew for sure; we couldn't both win the games. Though, if it came down to the two of us, I don't think I would have the heart to kill her.
It's hard to imagine a world without the Hunger Games. I know it hadn't always been like this, and it makes me wonder what happened to make things so bad? They don't teach us about the time before the games in school, I suppose they don't want us getting any ideas of freedom. Instead, they drill the facts about the Dark Days in our heads. How stupid it was of the people to rebel.
If we once lived without the games, would we again, even if it was far in the future?
