The Price of Fame and Fortune (Hunger Games)

12

Dinner that night was tense. I avoided my mother by quickly showering as soon as Trent and I entered the seventh floor. Johanna and Blight hadn't bothered to come up straight away. Not that I had an issue with that. I've never feared Johanna more than right now. I humiliated her, taunted her friends kids in the hopes that they'd kill me and pretend I'm suicidal. 

And now I'm stuck at the table. Stuck sitting across from a seething Johanna Mason. She hasn't touched her food. Instead she's staring me down while holding a glass of wine she's yet to sip. As if waiting for me to speak and explain. Only I'm not fucking going to.  I've sunk in my seat and stirred my peas around my plate going on ten times now to avoid looking at her.

Clement was actually trying to diffuse the tension. He keeps talking about our costumes. "...to be fair, the two of you weren't on fire like District Twelve. But I thought the both of you looked rather delightful in your tree costumes. And who doesn't like looking at pretty trees, huh?".

Trent gave a small. "Yeah". But it was enough for Clement.

He dabbed his face although I didn't see any food on it. "Well, I think they were some of our districts best costumes." He then leant over and nudged a passed out Blight. "Better then those twig costumes we had last year anyways".

I sighed somewhat depressingly and it was the sarcastic chuckle of my mother that had me looking up at her. She rose an eyebrow at me. "Having second thoughts, Victoria?".

I gave her a glare and stabbed one of my peas. "Nope". I stared at her mocking face and decided to smirk. "Why, are you Johanna?".

Maybe if she raised me herself she'd know why I wouldn't do anything to go against Trent. Instead, I'm in stare down with my own mother and worst yet, I don't know if I'll win it. Or what my punishment will be if I lose. 

She smirked back at me and took a long sip of her wine. "You remember what I told you in the clearing?". She indicated to Trent. "You're choosing wrong and in this game wrong means death".

Everyone was silent and I watched as all the colour drained from Trent's face. As if, Johanna's sentence had struck every cord in his system. I tore my eyes from Trent to my mother's wild angry eyes. Angry tears were brimming in my own eyes and I stood to match my mother's dominant stance. "I don't care. I'm going to do what's right because I'm nothing like you".

A look of the upmost amusement crossed her features. She cackled and I was a bit taken back that she cupped my cheek. Johanna was many things to me but she's never given me any sort of physical affection before. It thew me that much that all the anger on my face had instantly shifted to startled confusion. 

She levelled with me until I was staring into identical blue eyes. "But that's where you're wrong Victoria. You and I are exactly alike. And when you're in that arena with an axe in your hand you won't even know who you are anymore because like me, it's all you know". 

She gave me a smirk that had made me shuddering in fear before dropping my cheek and walking off to her room. Leaving me standing there, with a confused Clement and a sickly looking Trent. All the while I was breathing rapidly trying to make sense of the fact that my mother touched me. Admittedly, it was slightly condescending and to freak me out enough to drive a point home, she wins. And maybe, just maybe she knows me better than I do.

We were escorted to training by Clement. Both Johanna and Blight hadn't bothered to wake to greet us before breakfast. Not that I really wanted to face Johanna after last night. She'd confused me more than ever and a major part of me longed for her to just ignore my existence like she used to. 

We both wore matching black exercise gear with an embroidered '7' on the right shoulder. We were one of the last districts to arrive. Everyone was gathered behind a man with a clip board who was making a speech. Things like, "don't fight each other in here", "dying from thirst is just as easy as dying from an infected wound". ect.

I noticed that the game makers had a box above the training floor. Staring into their faces had my stomach doing flips. Distant and entertained looking faces. Eagerly pointing at people like Satin, Terrance, Liam and well, just anyone remotely famous in this room.

The man with the clipboard continued talking. "..all mentors are watching you together behind that mirror". Oh shit. I turned slightly behind me and sure enough there was a giant mirror instead of a wall. Well, technically it's a two way mirror. I felt my palms instantly start to sweat. No wonder Johanna and Blight weren't at breakfast, they were already here.

And just like that we were left to our own devices. I took a deep breath and turned to Trent's casual smirk. "So, what first?".

He looked around and I watched as Satin pulled Fragrance eagerly over to the knife throwing station. Both of them laughed happily while throwing knives in sync. The beautifully famous cousins aren't just pretty faces then. Trent tore his eyes down to me and followed my line of sight to the two of them. "Well, that's impressive".

"I'm better". 

I blinked in surprise. Not all having expected it to come out of my mouth. Trent surprised me by chuckling and I couldn't help the giggle that came out of my mouth. Satin paused mid throw and looked at me over her shoulder. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance. I bit my lip stopping my laughter. In fact, I noticed that the majority of the tributes were staring at Trent and I. 

Fuck. 

Okay, so it might've looked like we were laughing at their knife throwing...And they weren't bad. Not at all, they're typical career level good. I'm just more precise, and harder trained. I could take them out if I had an axe in my hand and they were armed no problems.

I closed my eyes and lifted my head up. My mother was right...wielding an axe is all I know.  Looking around me, I realised why she didn't take it too hard that I turned down her alliance. She's trained me that well since the age of three that theirs not really anyone here who'd stand a chance. 

Except, then I heard it. A grunt that had me opening my eyes and staring at the tanned adonis across the room. The Capitol golden boy who wielded a trident like it's an extension of his arm. No technical errors, no hesitation and...I recognised it. The type of expertise from knowing only one thing your entire life. Every tribute, even the cousins from One. They'd all switched staring at us and now watched Liam Odair in a trident simulation. All of us staring in dreaded fascination. 

The only person who stands a chance against me. The only person just as famous as me. The only person trained as well in a weapon as me. The person my mother went to an effort to ally myself with so I wouldn't have to face him. Liam Odair...the boy I encouraged to gut me in the arena. 

I felt my hand subtlety grip onto Tent's just as Liam finished his sim and only just realised everyone was staring at him. His sea green eyes locked onto mine across the room before he tipped his head at me and smirked. All the while I didn't even know if I was still breathing.