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Chapter two, Today is the day ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
After the boys are starting to exit the training center, Septimus can longer see the woman in white.
He is only staring at an empty room. There are no shadows, no marks on the glass or even a glimpse of doubt. There is nothing for him to see.
They must have gone to her, he thinks. They must be on their way to judge either or not they have made the right choice by picking them both to represent the district. It makes him sick to his stomach; doubting his kills. Doubting the way his blade will tear apart the tributes. He needs to know if they are doubting him, doubting the way he kills. Only rumors about his soon to be partner have been heard. Some claim to have heard that she can turn men into stone, some say her eyes are as purple as a bruise after a few days of healing. There is only one he knows to be true; she is not from home.
It is the second time she has ever step foot in the Academy, that much he knows. The news had been yelled in their dorms, the boys were screaming it in the cafeteria. She is an intruder. There is no need for rumors when even their mentors were silenced by the brief mention of her. It wasn't meant to be her. She had stolen Gloria's claim, an intruder had deprived her from what was rightfully hers. Septimus had seen Gloria a few times, mostly during the Reapings. She would watch him from afar and he would glimpse back at her. He remembers her smile the most, the way she would grin at him any time careers would volunteer. It was supposed to be them. Gloria and Septimius winning the Hunger Games.
It has been a year since he last saw her officially. She had tackled him to the ground and he had almost punched her. Are you scared you're going to lose, she had asked him. Everyone was staring at them until she bursted out laughing. The rest of the walk was made of them making bets on who was going to win. Turns out they both lost and a girl from the lower district won. It was the last time they talked. Then they mostly heard rumors about each other. Septimus knows he won't see her. It would be admitting defeat and she won't do it. He would be surprised if he can even get a glimpse of her.
It should be her— Septimus wanted her to be Gloria.
It doesn't matter anymore. She lost the fight and she doesn't get the chance to volunteer. He will and they might never speak to each other again. He will keep on hearing rumors about her and how she lost her mind in isolation. He will know about how she starved herself and refused to speak for the entire week after her defeat. He will hear all about her until he forgets her. The same way everyone forgets careers who didn't win the games or careers who fought for years and didn't get the chance to volunteer. Septimus will forget her too. He wishes he wouldn't but he will.
Septimus wonders what Gloria thinks of the female career's speech. What can she possibly say to a crowd full of strangers that wants to eat her whole? What can she possibly have that Gloria doesn't? He wants to know— he needs to know who he is going to kill.
