Under the Moon

Chapter Twenty Six

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

"What the heck?!" I shouted, "Copper?! Shayne?!" Did Copper just kill himself and Shayne? If he had, I had lost my last two remaining friends in the world. I looked down the edge if the balcony as I saw a screaming Shayne and a laughing Copper plummet closer and closer to the ground. Suddenly, halfway down, they came to a sudden halt and sprang back up. Of course, like all tall buildings, the President's mansion was protected by a forcefield. I couldn't believe Copper jumped into one for fun. They shot up toward me and one of Copper's shoes hit me in the face, causing me to fall backwards. The boys landed a couple inches in front of me. "Now that was fun!" Copper said, "Right, Shayne?"

"Um no! That scared the heck out of me!" Shayne exclaimed.

"Of course it did," Copper said wryly, "I liked it. I'm sure Zeze will too! Right Zeze?"

"Um, I don't know," I hesitated.

"Come on, you'll have an awesome time," Copper said.

"You know the green drink you had?" I asked, "Is there anything in that?"

"Haha, no, I'm not high or drunk. Don't worry, those things are just super-sweet, caffeinated stuff. I just get super-hyper when I have sugar or caffeine. Come on then, are you ready?" he asked.

"Sure, whatever," I said. Shayne watched as Copper and I climbed over the edge of the balcony. I stood there, frozen, even though I knew I would be entirely safe. Copper grasped my hand and said, "Ready? One, two, three, and jump!" He jumped, pulling me down with him. I clenched Copper's hand even tighter as we cascaded downwards. The rush was definitely thrilling but frightening, I felt a jolt if electricity, as I bounced back upwards, pulling Copper with me. We flew toward the porch and landed on Shayne. "Hey!" he said, "I'm not your cushion!"

"That was fun!" I shouted, "Come on Shayne! Do it with us!"

"Fine," Shayne huffed. We walked back to the edge. I stood in the middle, between Shayne and Copper who each held my hand. At the count if three, we jumped down. Once again, we shot up, this time, ramming into the Avox who was watching us with an amused expression on his face. Copper gasped when he saw the Avox, "You're still here? Go away! Shoo! This is a private party! You're not invited!" he told the Avox as he shooed him away. After the Avox left, Copper attacked the snacks. He stuffed himself with so many cookies, I wondered if he was going to be able to fit anymore in his mouth. For a while, the three if us just sat there, eating snacks and drinking the bubbly drinks. Then, Copper got up and randomly began to dance. The music was new and popular in the Capitol; it was to be played at many teenage Capitol parties. "Okay, so you want to hear something funny?" Copper asked.

"Sure!" I responded.

"So I have a bunch of really old music. Some of it is so funny!" Copper laughed.

"Let's hear it!" I said. Copper played various songs, starting with a woman he said was named Katy Perry screaming, "Baby, you're a firework!" and finishing with someone who I thought was a girl singing a song called Baby. To my astonishment, Copper told me that the singer was actually a boy, named Justin Bieber. Boys had very strange, high pitched voices in the past. Thank goodness, they didn't talk like that anymore. Afterwards, Copper switched back to the normal music. For no apparent reason, he picked up his glass and tossed the bright orange drink inside at Shayne's face. "What the...?" Shayne said.

"Sorry dude! I was just having some fun," Copper said.

"By throwing a drink in my face?" Shayne asked.

"Come on! Lighten up!" Copper said.

"I'm a mess," Shayne said, "I'm going to go clean up. It's late, I'm going to go to sleep. Good night Zeze!"

"Bye Shayne," I said. After Shayne left, Copper said, "Well I managed to get rid of him."

"I don't get it. Why do you hate him so much? You were pretty nice to each other a few minutes ago, before you threw the drink in his face," I said.

"True. He isn't as bad I thought. But I still don't like him. He's such a nerdy little perfectionist. And he likes you too much. He's like a desperate little puppy dog," Copper said.

"He's not nerdy, he's smart. In fact, he's a genius. And if he's a desperate puppy, then what are you?" I asked.

"Yeah whatever. I'm a, uh, pit bull," he said.

"You know, I prefer a desperate puppy to a desperate pit bull. A pit bull sounds dangerous," I said.

"What's wrong with dangerous?" he asked, "Yes! I'm dangerous!"

"Well you would be a risky friend to have," I said.

"So you're basically telling me that you prefer that kid to me?" he asked.

"No, I prefer puppies to pit bulls," I said.

"What about pit bull puppies?" he teased.

"Oh cut it out! You know what I mean," I remarked.

"So you want me to be like a puppy?" he asked.

"Nah, you can't be a puppy. You're too Copper-like for that. But you can be a labrador," I said, "Tough and friendly."

"Woof, woof!" Copper barked, making a puppy-dog face. I laughed as Copper continued barking. "So, Copper," I said, "The games were rigged from the beginning to make you win. So when you killed people, it wasn't for self-defense. You would have lived anyways," I said.

"No, they couldn't just make anyone who harm me die. That would be unrealistic. Someone would find out. My life was at slight risk too. But I was prepared. I was being prepared for the games since I was born. I would be able to defend myself. I wouldn't die," he said.

"What do you mean you since you were born?" I demanded, "When people are born they can't do anything. How can they prepare for the games?"

"Zeze, this was my fate, my destiny. This is why I was born. To win the games, then to be voted president, to keep the Snows in charge of Panem. But they didn't expect me; they wanted a girl. I was supposed to be a girl. But I was born. Oh well," he said.

"I still don't get it. I don't get what you mean," I said.

"I wasn't born," he said, "I was created. Of course I had my parents genes and all. I am my parents' kid. But their genes were put in a tube, in the Capitol lab. I was developed there."

"So?" I asked, "A lot of people do that recently."

"You don't get it, do you? I was developed. Altered to fit my parents' needs. They couldn't change my gender though they tried. I was changed," he said.

"So you mean..." I stated.

"Why do you think I can climb walls do easily? Normal people can't climb a straight wall two stories. It's not the only thing I can do. I can effortlessly throw heavy objects meters away. I can run dozens of miles without running out of breath. It only takes me a few days to recover from most injuries," he said.

"So you're a..." I gasped, with a disgusted and horrified look on my face.

He interrupted me again, "I see the look on your face. I'm not a monster, Zeze. I'm human. They only changed a few things. Just my physical abilities. My brain is like a normal person's. They didn't change that. And also the way I look is the same as it would be if they didn't change me. I'm naturally this handsome. It's just a few things, Zeze. Don't be disgusted. I'm still human; don't look at me like that!" he implored.

"...mutation!" I finished, with a gasp.