𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬 ➜ 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗢𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗿

Chapter Two - The Candidacy Announcement

Groggily, I climb out of bed, get changed and make breakfast. I barely got any sleep last night, pondering my decision, and struggling to accept my conclusion. My stomach warmly burns and my heart beats rapidly in a foreboding warning, like the last seconds of an alarm clock, almost as if my body is aware of the improbability of my future.

I force myself to slowly eat a bowl of porridge, only getting a few mouthfuls in, before running to the bathroom and throwing it all up. What am I doing to myself?

*

'Morning!' I exclaim sweetly as I hand my mother her bowl and gently pat her scorching head with a cold cloth.
'Hey, baby,' she smiles.
Last night must've taken a drastic toll on her, because she looks rougher than usual.
'Don't touch the alcohol today. You need to rest.' I explain sincerely.
'I'll try, baby. For you. But you don't know how hard it is. Especially when your father comes to visit me.'
Her eyes well with tears, and I know I've just opened an overflowing can of worms.

I glance at the clock, and my stomach sinks as I realise that I should've left already.
'Mother, I'm running late to my PT session with Pearl. But Cordelia will be round soon. Or you can just wait and we'll talk later.' I inform her.
She falls into a trance and her eyes lose focus as she stares into nothing, almost as if she's watching a movie. Her hand outstretches whenever she sees my father. Perhaps she believes he's actually here with her, holding her. My mother doesn't even acknowledge me as I leave the room.

Sluggishly, I trudge to the Training Academy. I take the short cut along the shore. I don't normally take this route, due to the amount of sand that piles up in my sandals. My mind is blank in misery as I realise that my life and the lives of those that I love is about to change drastically and irreparably.

*

'Naia! What time do you call this?!' Pearl jokingly exclaims as I eventually speed into the PT room off the side of the main Training Centre.
'Sorry, rough morning.' I sigh.
'I can see! Goodness, did you sleep at all last night?' Pearl frowns as she analyses my probably exhausted, puffy face.
'Not really. Anyway, I'll get to the point. I want to be a candidate for this year's Games.' I explain hurriedly, before my increasingly growing fear convinces me to keep my mouth shut, or tell her the opposite.
Pearl's expression morphs from concern to excitement as she takes in the significance of my words.
'Oh darling! You've finally come around! Oh, I am so excited, Naia!' she practically jumps up and down in her uncontrollable exhilaration.
I become detached from my body throughout Pearl's enthusiastic rambling. There's no turning back now. I'm going to the Hunger Games.

Any comfort I usually feel when throwing knives is absent, due to my brain picturing a young child's head as the target. I'm going to have to kill children. I feel like throwing up.

My unease only grows throughout the session, as I continue imagining all the innocent lives that I will have to take in order to stay alive. That's only if I get selected. Doubt seeps in. What if Miriam gets selected over me? This realisation spurs me to train as hard and as painfully as I can.

When my PT session is over, I move to the main Training Centre and continue to push my body to its limits, and perfect my skills on every station. I only stop to take a sip of water or go to the toilet. I can't let Miriam beat me.

I practice long into the early evening, until I'm the only trainee present in the vast gym. Eventually, I get kicked out by a staff member, alerting me that the Academy is closing for the day.

I spend every long, gruelling day building up to the Candidacy announcement training, ignoring my body's cries of outrage and agony.

*