Too Clever

Chapter 11

When we arrive back at the Tribute Center, all I want to do is get a quick shower, wash the makeup off my face, and go straight to bed. Tomorrow, the Games start, so I would like to get to bed as early as possible, even though I probably won't get much sleep anyway. But Cordelia has other ideas.
"Why don't we sit down and have a toast to our time together in the Capitol?" she suggests enthusiastically.
"Yes, I think that's a good id—" Lila cuts Nicolas off.
"I think we ought to get to bed now. All of us. Fleta and Alec are going into the arena tomorrow, and as mentors, it's our job to see them off," she says sensibly.
"Well at least let me say my goodbyes, then," says Cordelia. She comes over to Alec and I and shakes our hands, small tears slowly running down her face, leaving thin trails on her gold makeup. "It has been such an honor to be your escort for the past few days, and I hope that maybe I'll see one of you again in the near future. Best of luck, both of you." Then she adds, "And maybe this will be my final year working with District Five and I'll finally get moved up to a Career district."
     "Well, goodnight everyone, and make sure you try to get a lot of sleep; we're going to be up bright and early tomorrow," says Lila.
     As I'm heading to my room to get a shower, Alec stops me in the hallway and says, "Hey, um, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about the way things have been between us. I didn't mean to disrespect you in any way. I just..."
     "I know," I reply. "I forgive you."
     "Thanks, Fleta," he says, holding out his hand. I shake it and continue to my room, smirking behind his back.
     Alec is still trying to get me be his ally. After the way he's been treating me—avoiding eye contact, not speaking to me, competing against me when it came to training scores—it's obvious he's upset with me for not agreeing to ally. So after all that, he just now decided to apologize the night before we leave for the arena. Any sensible person would be able to see that this was simply a last ditch effort to get me to ally with him.
     Well, it didn't work. I am sticking with the vow I gave myself towards the beginning of my time in the Capitol—I will play by my own accords in the Games. And no one will change my mind.
I take a shower and retreat to my bed, curling up in the blankets. What if this is my last night in an actual bed? Or what if I die on the first day of the Games tomorrow and this is my last night ever? But that's unlikely; I'm not going to the Cornucopia where the initial bloodbath will take place. But even so, another tribute could kill me anyway.
I start to cry. I can't be entering the arena tomorrow. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was at home with my family right before the reaping.
Everything I've been doing in the Capitol—the opening ceremonies, training, the interviews—were almost like a distraction from the whole reason why I'm actually here. I haven't had much time to really process the fact that I will be a tribute in the Hunger Games.
Throughout the night, I drift off into periods of restless sleep, only to awake and realize that my nightmares could become reality not even twenty-four hours from now. I dream about losing my family, fleeing dangers in the arena, tributes pursuing me with deadly weapons, and many other things that could happen to me in the Games.
After several hours of this, I decide to grab a snack and distract myself, since I'll never get any real sleep tonight anyway.
I take an apple out of the refrigerator and step out onto the balcony. Cars honk, music plays, people sing in celebration of the events that will begin tomorrow. A huge screen shows Caesar Flickerman interviewing Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane. All of the lights in the city are on, reflecting off windows and making the whole city glow in the night.
The whole scene is beautiful and breathtaking. I've never seen anything like it before. If it wasn't in celebration of the Hunger Games, maybe this would be just the thing to distract me. But this is the Capitol, and the Hunger Games is something they never let us forget.
The lights become blurry as my eyes start to water again. I wipe the tears away with the sleeve of my nightgown, but more of them follow.
I just want to go home. I just want to see Nora and my family again. I just want to wake up from this never ending nightmare.
I wonder if Alec is up too. He probably is; I wouldn't be surprised if every tribute is still awake at this hour.
Something in my mind tells me I have to get some rest. If I am fatigued tomorrow in the arena, it could well mean my death.
I go back to my room and take all the blankets and pillows off the bed and set it all on the floor. I lay down on the blankets and rap them around me like a sleeping bag. Exhausted, I do my best to keep all thoughts of tomorrow out of my head and slowly drift of to sleep.
**********
I look in the mirror and see big purple bags under my eyes; I barely got two hours of sleep last night. Even though I don't feel so tired right now, I know I'll begin to feel the effects of fatigue tonight.
     I brush my teeth and head to the sitting room where Lila, Nicolas and Alec sit talking.
     "Good morning, Fleta," says Lila. "Could you just come with me into the kitchen so we can discuss a few things before you leave?" So I follow her to the kitchen and she continues. "Okay, so we need to figure out what you're going to do when the gong goes off."
     "Oh, I'm not planning on going to the Cornucopia," I tell her. "I was thinking I might try to go back to it later when all the initial fighting is over."
     "Good, that's what I was going to suggest. But just be very careful if you do end up going back to the Cornucopia, okay?" she says.
     "I will," I reply.
     "And do you have any kind of strategy at all?" she asks.
     "Um, I'm not really planning on fighting anyone in a physical sense. I think I'm just going to let everyone else do that. I'll just have to be smart about it." I say.
     "Okay," Lila says. "Rhea is almost here to take you, so I guess this is goodbye."
     "Thanks for the help," I say.
     "No problem. It's my job, right?" replies Lila. I smile at her and head back to the sitting room.
     But then at the last minute, I remember the little orange flower sitting on my dresser. My district token from Calla. I run to my room and quickly take the flower back to the sitting room.
     Rhea and Telesto come to collect Alec and I and we board the hovercraft. Right after it takes off, an attendant comes and injects a needle into my arm. When it enters my arm, a small portion of my skin lights up and she takes it out.
     "That was just your tracker," she explains. "Nothing to be alarmed about."
     I sit in silence the whole way. After a few hours, the windows become tinted, and I can't see a thing out of them. I guess we're nearing the arena, and they don't want tributes to get an idea of it before the Games.
     The hovercraft lands right outside of a building. I follow Rhea into the building and she takes me to a room where I will get ready for the arena.
     "I have a district token that needs to be cleared for the Games," I tell her, holding out the little flower.
     A few minutes later, Rhea enters the room again and says, "All clear." I take my flower and set it on a little counter off to the side.
     "Okay, so let's start getting you ready," says Rhea.
     "Where's my prep team?" I ask.
     "Oh, you won't be needing your prep team for this," replies Rhea. "No need for makeup in the arena. Now, change into that outfit laying out over there."
     I change into a green shirt, light brown pants, a warm zip-up jacket, a thick brown belt, and a pair of soft leather boots that will be good for running. I stick Calla's flower in my pant pocket.
"Is that all?" I ask Rhea, starting to tremble. It's almost time.
"Yes, it is, but would you like some food or maybe a glass of water before you go?" asks Rhea.
It's probably a good idea to drink some water now, so Rhea gets me a glass and I fill it up with tap water from the sink. I sit in a chair and force myself to slowly drain the glass. Then I begin biting my nails like there's no tomorrow. Which, of course, there may not be.
Soon, a female voice says, "Prepare for launch," over a speaker. My stomach drops, and have to take a moment to collect myself before rising and walking over to the glass cylinder that will lift me up into the arena.
The voice begins counting down from thirty seconds, and I step into the tube, wondering vaguely if I might pass out.
Then the platform begins to rise.
And I'm in the arena.
Claudius Templesmith's voice booms out.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let the seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!"