Just a Game

Chapter Two

"Make me proud." Those were the last words my uncle had said to me before he died. Of course, being the person I am, I push past everybody and walk up to the stage after volunteering for some random kid.

"Cato Hadley," the Capitol announcer says, after I introduce myself.

I look over to my right and see Clove on stage as well. I don't know exactly how to feel. But when I spot my sister perched on my dad's shoulders, I see that she's frowning. My mother is tight-lipped, and my father seems to be confused.

"These are our District 2 tributes for the 74th annual Hunger Games." The announcer begins to clap, and the audience does as well. "May the odds be ever in your favour."

We are then ushered into the main building: City Hall. I'm escorted by a single Peacekeeper. Their movements look familiar despite the uniform march they are trained to do. The door shuts behind him with a click. It echoes around the empty room. The walls are plain white, and the floors are cold concrete. I shiver slightly. The air-conditioning was on high. I was cold, and alone.

"Cato," my sister cries, launching herself into my arms, as she would do everyday after school.

Behind her are my parents. Neither of them are crying, but they are both solemn. My mom hugs me first, enveloping me in her warm arms. I can feel that she is tense.

"Mom," I say, gripping her arms. "I'll come back."

I finally see a tear trickle down her cheek. "What if you don't?" she asks.

"Is that a lack of faith in me?" I ask, raising an eyebrow,

"There are 24 of you kids in the arena, Cato," my father reminds me. "And there's only one victor."

"I will be that victor."

"Cato, listen-"

"No, dad, you listen. Ever since I was three years old, you've been teaching me how to fight, how to survive. You've taught me to always believe in myself, and to always have faith. I lo- I trust you, dad, and I will win for you all."

My dad just looks at me. Finally, he sighs. "Thank you, Cato."

"No!" Comy cries, again. "Don't leave, Cato. Don't die."

"Comy," I say, trying to calm her down. "I won't die." I don't even know if I believe in myself. I know that I'm most likely going to die. But I have to try. "I won't."

The Peacekeeper comes back in. "Time's up."

"I'll miss you all," I say, kissing my sister's forehead.

They are led out and the door shuts once again. The lights overhead flicker. Now, I am really alone.

**********

I see the scenery flash by outside the train. The announcer, whose name I found out is Rolt Youngblood, taps me on the shoulder. His hair is a light green afro, and his eyes are an unnatural pale purple. To be honest, his appearance scared me.

"We're almost at the Capitol."

"Okay." I turn away from the window and see Clove with her head in her hands. "Clover? Are you alright?"

"Shut up, Kate." She stands up and treads over my foot. I wince and on impulse, I grab her arm. "What?" she snaps.

"I need to talk to you."

She hesitates. As soon as she opens her mouth to talk, Rolt announces that we're at the Capitol. I look out the window to see a large crowd of what my grandfather would've called clowns. They are so oddly dressed, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

The moment we step out of the door, I can tell that this is nothing like District 2. Rolt and our mentor, Brutus, lead us into the remake center. There, our prep teams get us ready. After washing my hair, and scrubbing my skin raw, I am taken to my stylist. She looks just like all the other Capitol people I've seen.

"Cato," she says, shaking my hand. "Congratulations."

I just nod.

"I'm Yanah, and I'm going to be your stylist." She looks at me up and down. But not the way that some girls look at me at school, but as if I were a piece of clothing. "I have your outfit ready."

Yanah dresses me in an outfit, not unlike the ones that ancient Roman gladiators wore, as we learned in history class. The breastplate is a solid gold color. Underneath that is a simple white tunic that felt rather airy down below. She put sandals on my feet, and as a last touch, a golden helmet upon my head.

"Oh, god," I say, when I see myself in the small mirror.

"Do you like it?"

I look ridiculous. "No," I say, biting back a couple of other unsavoury words.

Yanah ignores me and takes me back out to the chariots where a few other tributes already are. Thankfully, some of them had even more interesting outfits than mine. Especially District 4's fish-themed jumpsuits. At least I didn't have as many pink sparkles as the District 1 outfits. The male tribute didn't seem particularly happy about that.

I go and stand on the chariot and fidget with my tunic. It's probably the first and last skirt I will ever wear. Clove comes and stands next to me. She's wearing the identical outfit. But at least on her, it looks good.

"You look nice," I say to her.

She makes a face at me. "Thanks." She looks at me. "You look pretty."

I sigh. She was right. I had a lot of make-up on. There was much more blush then necessary on my cheeks.

The chariots suddenly lurch forward. I see the lights from the city appear. I can hear the crowds scream. Clove smiles and waves at the crowd. I do as well. Might as well try and get sponsors. I glance behind me and see the District 12 tributes holding hands. Kiss-ups.

President Snow makes his annual speech, and then we are taken to the training center. On the way there, Clove taps my helmet.

"Sorry about earlier on the train," she says.

"It's alright. I'm sure my foot will be fine by tomorrow."

She smiles. I thought that she looked better when she did. Prettier.

"So what were you trying to talk to me about?" Clove asks.

I forgot about that. "Uh, it's no big deal, really."

"Come on, you can tell me," she presses. "We probably don't have too much time together anyway."

"Don't think like that," I say curtly.

"But you know that."

"You don't have to remind me."

She holds her hands up. "I'm sorry. Again."

"I think that we should just stop talking for now."

"Okay."

So we ride to the training center in silence. The city air is warm, and smells like gas. The buildings surrounding us are tall and eccentric in their shapes and colours. It would be enough to give my history teacher a heart attack. We finally arrive at the training center, a plain grey box contrasting highly with the rest of the city, greeted by our mentors.

I yawn the second I step off of the chariot. My eyes are drooping shut as well. I don't realize how exhausted I am until I feel my legs begin to give out under me. I catch myself on the chariot before I fall.

"Time for sleep?" Brutus suggests.

Clove and I nod in assent. I see her eyes are red. I'm not sure if that is just from being tired.

"Big, big day tomorrow!" I hear an announcer cry. Her sing-song voice annoys me and my tired senses. I turn to see her ushering two tributes dressed in all black past us. They were the ones holding hands in their chariot.

District 12.

A/N: One chapter until the games begin! <3 Jaycen