Cirrianetta (book 2): The Awakening

Chapter 3: The Gameplan

Lavina came by to accompany us on the train back to District 2. we could move to the Capitol if we chose to, but seeing as i hate them i decided against it. we play a lot of poker on the train, which i'm really good at.

"how did you get so good at this?" Lavina asked me after she busted in the 3rd round. i laugh and look down at my feet nervously.

"she won the tournament 6 years in a row back home." i smile, still a little sheepish. Lavina folds her arms with jealously.

"well that's not very fair is it, now!" she says with her annoying Capitol accent. i pull a royal flush and bust out Sage too by the 7th round.

"where do they get the name Texas Hold 'Em?" i ask curiously.

"i think that was one of the 50 united states."  Lavina says, still mad at losing in poker. she goes into the TV viewing room to watch Panem's next top model. ew.

"hey, you should go on that show, i think you could probably win." he says with a hint of seriousness. i scowl at him. which makes him look down awkwardly. i smirk and say

"it wouldn't be fair i'd win by a landslide!" we both laugh and i look up superiorly making him roll his eyes at me.

"just deal! big blind's on 12." he furrows his eyebrows and starts intensely studying his cards. i laugh at his concentration and he frowns at me.

the next morning we arrive back in the District and have the Harvest Festival, where the the entire District gets an extra supply of food for that month. tomorrow i have to go to the training facility for the Career tributes from our District and share about my experience to help out the kids planning to volunteer for the Games.

the backyard behind my new house is big, so i had a training trampoline put in for my gymnastics work. but its fun to play around on it when Sage comes over.

Sage's parents don't really like me that much. they said i was a bad influence on Pia, that her big brother was in love with a murderer, and that the two of them are constantly publicized and on television in the Capitol that everyone despises. so i haven't been to their house since before the reaping back in May.  it kind of saddens me... i have to help my boyfriend lie to his family about having a  job and paying him money just so he can come over to my house whenever he wants. they still dont know i was with him in the Capitol and they thought he was on the victory tour to help out with community rebuilding projects because they think he is a master brick-layer. our district has the most boring industry. Masonry. at least some Districts have enjoyable things to do like swimming or climbing or stuff like that. but bricks? thats pretty boring.

i get to the training center early and run into a girl that looks about 16, my age.

"hi, i'm Daniella!" she offers her hand and we shake. she looks really excited to meet me. " i'm the volunteer for the 57th Games!" she says boastfully.

"oh, well then. i wasn't a career but i can definatley say no matter what, it's not a very pleasant experience." she giggles. this doesnt seem like the normal Career tribute you meet. a lot like me. " so is there a male volunteer this year?" i ask looking around at the empty room.

"well, Raze was supposed to. hes 15. but he twisted his ankle and has to go through training another year, so no!" man. this girl is way to cheery. she reminds me alot of Lavina. eh. still if shes going to the games and i have to mentor her, i want to help her as much as i can.

"well why don't you show me what you can do.i gotta say, this looks alot like the training center in the Capitol!" i say nervously. she smiles happily before grabbing a spear and thrusting it at a dummy. she hits the silicon body right in the head, from about 100 feet away. big deal.

"beat that, short stuff." i scowl at her. i draw my signature x on the back wall at 560 feet away. do a front hand spring and land the spear perfectly in the center. her jaw drops, and she crosses her arms angrily.

"thats how you get a 12 as your training score." i say  gently putting the spear back in place.

"how did you-" she says before i interupt her.

"gymnastics and accuracy." i say proceeding to the matt where i do about 15 different flips and cartwheels in a row. "now what are you not so good at?" i ask her, while shes still stunned at my skill.

"i guess... edible plants." we walk over to the edibility station in the gym and i try to pretend i know what i'm doing.

"well..... can you hunt well?" i say sheepishly. " i don't know this stuff. but a good strategy in the games is either join the careers or spend training finding other people who can do what you can't like i did." i finish more confidently.

she thinks it over for a minute before saying " i guess so. what should i do about the other tribute from District 2?" she asks. thats a good question. i killed Savv because i hated him and he deserved it.it takes a minute but i figure it out well enough.

" well. you could make an alliance with them and then offer to take the first watch and kill him off. you know gain his trust and defy him."  i say nonchalantly. she smiles and nods vigorously.

"is that what you did?" she says curiously.

"no... Angry Eyes hated me, but i bothered the crap out of him and luckily he found me so i got to kill him. which i planned to do the whole time. but that had to do with past relationships." i say embarrased.

"well i like that plan. i have a good feeling i'll win this thing. i mean i'm 17 and if you won it with no training at 15 and are mentoring me i think i'll make it back too easily." she says happily. if only she knew shes not close to as good as she thinks she is. but i like her so i'll do whatever i can to get her out. its a little awkward though. shes 17 and her mentor is only 16. and shes like 8 inches taller than me. shes intimidating and kind of scares me. but no one saw me coming and i won so maybe she has a chance. after lunch we get bored with training and skills and i just start teaching her some basic gymnastics. me and her have become really close in the last week. i could really use a friend since i'm still a little distraught over losing Blare last year. " so did you hear about the girl who got killed by the gamblers betting so much on you?" she says. i lean my head back and flop down on the mat.

"uh....yeah....Blare. she was my best friend...." she looks down in an ashamed like way.  i still have nightmares, much like all victors, of the games. although, some of mine involve Blare's murder, since it ties in with the murders i witnessed in the Games.

she only looks sorry for a moment before shaking it off. that will do her well in the games, so she can shake it off when a tribute dies or when she has to kill. but for some reason she doesn't look like the kind of person who will have guilt in killing. its a common trait among trained careers. i try to push the memory out of my mind, but it only barley subsides.

training has gone really well, you can tell she has been training for years. i refuse to get really close with her.seeing that there is only a 1/24 chance she won't die in the arena. which is another reason i don't get why people choose to enter the Games.