THE MISSING LINK ✧ GLOSS HUNGER GAMES

4 | MY MENTOR, THE IDIOT

The package lands a few feet above me, and just as I reach for it, I hear Mac stirring below me. I carefully look down and find him pushing himself to his feet and rubbing his eyes.

"What is it?" he asks.

"God, again." I shrug.

I quickly grab the parachute and drop it down to him. Mac catches it but doesn't open it. Instead, his eyes are still trained on me as I climb out of the tree. When my feet land in the snow, he finally speaks.

"What did you just say?"

I quirk my head and motion to the parachute.

"The package," I explain simply. "There's a little message on there from God."

Mac looks completely speechless. His jaw is slack, and his eyebrows are stuck in his hairline. Slowly, his eyes move from me to the small tin, and then back to me. A smile then blooms on his face.

"God," he repeats, his entire face lighting up. "Sapph, did you just say this is from God?"

"I..." I trail off, and my face scrunches in confusion. "Yes?"

Mac looks down at the note, his eyes scanning it quickly before turning back to me. I can tell he's fighting back laughter.

"Sapphire," he says. "The G stands for Gloss. Not God."

I stare at him for a long moment, and if my cheeks weren't already pink from the cold, then they surely would be now from embarrassment.

"Oh."

"Oh," Mac mocks. He shakes his head as he laughs, reading the note one last time before handing me the package. "Here. It's yours anyways."

I take the tin from him and am grateful for its warmth. My eyes scan the top.

When you see red, run. – G.

"Gloss," I repeat, turning back to Mac. "Who's that?"

"Your mentor," Mac answers. At my blank look, he continues. "He's the guy who was assigned to you after you volunteered–"

"Volunteered?" I ask, cutting him off.

"Yeah," Mac nods casually. "Volunteered."

My eyes widen, and my chest starts to feel tight.

"Wait, I volunteered to come here? I wanted this?" Mac nods again slowly, and I gasp, shouting, "Was I stupid?"

Mac looks just as shocked as I am. "What? No."

"Then why the fuck would I volunteer to come into this hellhole?"

"Because it's an honor," Mac says, and I realize he's not shocked. The boy is offended. "The winner brings pride to their district."

"I don't give a shit about honor!" I yell. "Fuck the pride and the honor and the other bullshit you believe. I mean... volunteered?"

"Hey!" he shouts, and my mouth slams shut. "I volunteered, too."

"Well, of course you fucking volunteered," I say, motioning to him. "Look at you, with your knife throwing and your indifference to murder. You're built for this... I think. But I'm not."

"You were, though," Mac says. "There's a reason you beat out nine other girls for this."

"Nine other girls wanted this shit?" I scream. "Can we trade places or something?"

"No, Sapphire!" Mac shouts. He drags a hand across his face, showing his exhaustion. "Can we please just continue our conversation?"

"Sure, but like... nine girls–"