Chapter 4 – Private Sessions, An Announcement, and Interviews
Peeta woke up the next morning dreading the event about to come. He was ready to show the game makers what he had, but knew it meant he was that much closer to going into the arena. He drags himself to the bathroom and brushes his teeth. He turns on the shower and sets it as hot as he could stand it. When he got out and pushed the button to dry his skin and hair, he heard a noise coming from his room. He quickly wrapped a towel around his waist and threw open the door. Standing there by his bed was Cato. It throws Peeta for a moment.
“What are you doing here Cato?” Peeta asks, trying to sound calm even though inside he’s freaking out.
“I just wanted to come by and ask if you wanted to train together this morning before the private sessions.” Cato replies nonchalantly.
“Sure. I can do that. What kind of training do you want to do?” Peeta asks getting his clothes together.
“I was thinking maybe the weight station and the hand-to-hand. Is that okay with you?” Cato asks, politely turning his back to Peeta.
“Sounds good.” Peeta says putting on his clothes quickly. “Have you already eaten? Because I can just grab a roll and some fruit to eat on the way down.”
“Yeah, I ate before coming up. I can wait downstairs for you to eat. I didn’t mean to interrupt your morning.”
“You didn’t interrupt and I’ll go down with you. Let’s go.” Peeta says, touching Cato’s arm making him jump. “Sorry.”
Cato just smiles at Peeta. “Lead the way, Peeta.”
The two walk to the dining room. There’s no one there so Peeta grabs a biscuit, a banana, and a bottle of water. He turns to Cato, “Ready?”
“Yep. Let’s go.”
By the time they get to the training room, Peeta has finished eating. He and Cato head to the weight station first. They do some stretches before lifting. They’re on their third set of squat reps when people start coming in. During their workout, they talk about things from their homes. Heading to the hand-to-hand station where they wrestled and practiced some mock martial art fighting techniques, Peeta tells Cato of how his first time hunting he scared off a deer because he had a heavy tread. Cato’s laughter causes some stares. An hour before the bell rings for lunch, peacekeepers begin going around to the tributes that are having their private sessions that day to see what they want to have setup. Peeta and Cato give their instructions and are sent to lunch.
In the lunch room, Peeta sits with his friends. No one questions Peeta about leaving early or him training with Cato. He spots Cato with the other ‘careers’ from 2 and 4. He then realizes that none of the tributes from the even numbered districts are there in the lunch room. By the time he’s done eating, the tributes are beginning to be lined up on the benches and called to their sessions. Clove is the third tribute called. She looks towards Peeta and winks. He smiles and mouths ‘good luck’. She nods and hops to the doors. It’s 30 minutes later when Cato is called. He smiles at Peeta who returns it.
