Mikayla chews the food slowly, savoring every bite of her last true breakfast. Her stomach is churning with nerves, but she swallows anyway, willing it to listen to reason. She needs to eat now to build her strength. If only she had slept a bit longer last night, she might be feeling better. The fear of today’s events had kept her up for hours, worrying. Kenton, too, by the looks of him. The twins share a distraught look, then continue to silently shovel hash browns into their mouths.
This quiet is broken by the sudden loud entrance of their mentor, Abbey. Abbey is dressed in her usual comfy blue sweater and jeans, and her poofy hair is disheveled. There is a small brown stain on the edge of her sweater. She licks her finger and tries to blot it out, but there’s no hiding it. She’s been drinking coffee again. Her tolerance for the liquid is so high, now, that no amount of caffeine can truly wake her up. She walks around in a dream-like stupor, making strange comments and kissing heads.
Forgoing the stain for a moment, Abbey reaches for a box of Honey Bunches of Oats and downs the rest of the cereal. “Yes! I achieved something! My work here is done.” She then circles around the table and kisses Mikayla on the head. “Sorry Kenton. I would kiss you too, but I think that might get me fired.”
As Abbey circles back to leave the room, Kenton yells at her. “Wait! Don’t you have any last-minute advice for us?”
Abbey stops. Her hands are shaking from caffeine withdrawals. “Don’t be stupid. Make good choices. Whatever you do, do NOT eat the dining hall cheeseburgers. If they don’t kill you instantly, you’ll be wishing for death in an hour.” With that, she leaves them.
“So unprofessional,” mutters Lauren. “Are you done eating? I think it’s about to time for you to be heading over.”
Mikayla nods.
“Yeah,” Kenton mumbles.
Lauren stands up and gives them each a hug. “Well, good luck out there. You’re such sweet people. It’ll be a shame to watch you die.”
That’s as sentimental as it gets. The two tributes stare at their feet as they make their way to the dressing rooms. The Games will be starting in less than two hours. Time to stop feeling. Time to start winning.
YOU ARE READING
The Kairos Games
FanfictionIn this thrilling spin-off of the Hunger Games, twenty-six lonely college freshmen face up against their worst nightmare: death, at the hands of each other and cafeteria food. Who will win the dreaded Kairos Games? Will it be Becca, with her yellow...
