The 65th Hunger Games - EDITING

Chapter three

The journey on the train seems really long even if it's only supposed to be a day and a half. Of course, no one really talks except for Ionel, senseless words always flooding out of his mouth. Often, I don't even understand what he's trying to say and every time, I'm told that they are expressions often used in the Capitol.

Viviana stays in her room, probably crying. I prefer to roam free, ignoring everyone. The only victor I've talked to so far is my mentor, Mags. She looks pretty old even if she's not 70 yet. You can see the trauma, the constant fear and the anger in her eyes. She won one of the first Games, the eleventh ones I think. She doesn't talk much. I like her.

In the few sentences we exchanged, she managed to fill me in about the sponsors and the best attitude to adopt in front of a crowd. Just like my parents, she thinks I can use my looks to gain some. Is this really going to work? We both don't know. For some people, their appearance have convinced a lot of the Capitol's citizens to buy them gifts in the arena, but for some others, it just made their enemies want to kill them faster. It's pretty ironic that the one thing that is supposed to help you stay alive may as well be the thing that gets you killed.

"Smile and wave to them. Make them go crazy. Look desirable, unattainable but reachable at the same time." is what she keeps telling me. I know I need to trust her, but I'm having a hard time believing that my beautiful eyes and my tanned skin are going to keep me alive.

Before we arrive into the Capitol, I decide to honor the promise I did to mayor Cerne, or at least for today. It takes a few seconds before I decide to knock on her door. I hear a weak "go away" but I choose not to listen to it. I knock again and this time, she says it louder.

"Viviana? It's Finnick. Can you open the door please?"

"What do you want?"

I don't answer. Her voice was filled with anger, and something else too. Fear? Remorse? Grudge? Sadness? A mix of all of that? I don't know and I'm not sure I want to know. Plus, I don't even know what I could say, I don't even know the answer myself. So I just stand there, lost. After a while, I hear her voice again.

"Finnick?"

"I'm still there. I'm not going anywhere until you open that door."

"Why?"

This time I won't stay silent. I know what to say.

"Because I made a promise to your father."

It takes a few seconds before the door slides open to reveal a broken girl. She changed a lot over the past few hours. She looks like she cried so much that all of the water left her body and the only thing that is left is some bones and some weak muscles.

Suddenly I realize the importance of what my father told me. I can't cry, I can't look weak. Being weak would mean I'd never come home. The chances of that happening are already pretty high, I can't give the other tributes another reason to consider me an easy target.

She looks tired, and hungry too, she probably hasn't slept much and I haven't seen her get out of her room to eat. I don't blame her, the meals are pretty awkward. She moves aside to let me in. As soon as I step in, she falls into my arms, crying. Even if she's seventeen and I'm only fourteen, I'm still taller than her by a few inches. Her head bumps into my chin, which makes me bite my tongue. Blood starts filling my mouth, but I don't pay attention. I hug her back in silence. I wait like this until she stops crying, and then, with a calm voice I offer that we both get out of the room to eat a little something before we arrive. To my surprise, she accepts. I replace her hair behind her ear and take her hand to lead her out of the room. Ionel starts clapping again at our sight. I hate him. I hate the Capitol. I hate all of its stupid population. Again, I don't pay attention to him and stay silent, wishing to be somewhere else. We both sit at the table and eat as much as we can. I explain to her that a few more pounds can't hurt in the arena as we don't know if there is going to be food. She nods and we continue eating silently. Of course, I need those few more pounds way more than her. Even if my family was never part of the poorest, we were never part of the richest and unlike the mayor's family, on some days we had to go to bed hungry. Ionel starts clapping again for no reason. I swear to myself that one day, I am going to kill him. I'm about to tell him to stop when I catch Viviana's look. Her mouth is slightly open. She's admiring something behind me. I slowly turn around and look through the large window. The Capitol. Its way bigger than I thought, even if I've seen many pictures of it in history class. The sun is reflecting on the many windows of the towers. As we arrive at the train station, a lot of people are gathering around the train, screaming in excitement. After exiting the train and realizing the extant of the agitated and enthusiastic crowd, I know that the actions I do now may have an impact on my survival, potential sponsors may be there, watching me. Mags was right. I smile, brighter than I ever have and wave at the group of people, which only seems to make them go even crazier. I'm pretty sure I saw a woman faint but I can't stay there long enough to make sure; peacekeepers are pushing us towards a building.

"Welcome to theCapitol" I say sarcastically, loud enough for Viviana to hear me, but nottoo loud so no one else does.