The Games We Play

The Hunger Games

I shrugged, I was not going to answer that question. I wasn't sure about what my answer should be. Cato seemed satisfied, he left the pitcher with me and proceeded to go but I stopped him, "Cato?"

He turned to me with – if I got it correctly – expectant eyes. We stood there for almost an awkward two minutes which only broke when I shook my head and shrugged. What I wanted to say was trying to fight their way out my brain and unto my lips but my tongue would not budge. I could not say anything, I could not say the things I wanted to say without coming out like a complete softie.

"Uh, nothing."

Cato stared and nodded, "Okay."

It bugged me the whole night and I was restless when I went back to my bed. I did not want to regret not allowing things to slip out of my tongue but I was afraid – I was a coward, afraid of the truth. It was not the games itself which made me nervous, it would be what would happen in that unknown arena. If I win, Cato will die and I did not want to lose... I had to go back for my grandmother. It was a difficult thing to think about and my head ached the moment I heard someone knock on my door.

"Cloveeee-eerrr~" Junius said in a sing-song voice, "Get up! It's a special day."

If you don't stop calling me Clover, the Hunger Games will start right now. You will be my first kill. I thought silently as I sat up and rubbed my face with a hand. "Yeah yeah, I'm up." I growled. He was the only person I will be with up till the Games. Enobaria and Brutus already said their goodbyes before we were dismissed to our beds – today, they will only be in the Games Headquarters, handling sponsors for us.

I don't know why but I didn't feel like myself today. I felt... nothing.

The next thing I know, I was up in the hovercraft, cringing in a bit of a sting when a woman injected me with what they call a tracker – it was this device which tracks all the tributes in the arena, no matter where they go. I could not wait for the Games, I actually wanted to get it over with. I couldn't wait to eliminate my competition because it was just now, in this hovercraft, that I realize...the Games is starting and there was no way to end this but win.

Finally, we arrived in the Arena and was escorted down to the Launch Room which only I will be using in the history of the Games. The Gamemakers try to keep the Arena as diverse as possible. You see, there was a time in History when they used only one Arena and for years, it seemed fine but everyone got tired of it eventually. Deaths came and the Game ended in just three days. The first exciting Arena they used was a war site and with that, things got interesting and the Games lasted for two weeks because the Tributes had places they could hide in. Ever since then, the Gamemakers started being creative and changed Arenas immediately after one got used to keep things attractive for the audience.

The Launch Room contained a dining area (where a small feast was prepared), a shower room (the tributes woke up too early to even take a bath), and a changing room (the clothes we would use in the Arena was there). It was also the home to a cylindrical plate which would rise up to the Arena. This is the last proper place I will be till the discomfort that the Hunger Games provided. I was not that scared that I will lose what I needed to survive.

"Clover!" Junius entered the room with a bright smile on his face.

Why is he here?

"Do you need any help changing?" He looked at me as though he was excited at the prospect. I knew he wasn't normal. Junius looked at me in awe, as though being in the same room as me was so special and such a high privilege – he hadn't been like this before. It might be since, for the Capitol people, being with tributes was the greatest feeling ever when in reality it was not. They treated us like celebrities and somehow, regarded us with a special kind of respect. Besides, he was actually the last real person I would be with before entering the Games. He would have bragging rights on being in the same room as me if I won the Games. If I don't...well, he can bury me in his memory and await his next tribute to dress up.

I shook my head and continued being silent as I did everything I needed to do. I changed but did not eat because I don't think my stomach could take in food now. I was nervous to the point that if food ever touch the pit of my stomach, I'd throw up. Though I do know that breakfast is important and it was since it would be our last real meal. I just wasn't hungry.

"Are you ready, Clove?" My stylist continued asking as he helped himself with my breakfast. I said nothing. "Aren't you hungry? Do you mind?" I groaned in reply as I pulled my boots on. "My, isn't this exciting? This actually isn't my first Game. I had been styling for six years but this is my first for District Two. I had been styling for District Six before."

Junius actually continued with his story and I didn't really listen from my position on the wall. I just know he was still telling because I could hear his voice. His voice made me feel calmer because I was actually not thinking of the Games but I was concentrating on how I could silence him without spilling any blood. I wasn't that successful because my thoughts filled with ways on how I could murder him with just the bread knife on the table. This satisfied me immensely.

Until the countdown resounded in the room. I looked up from my reverie when I heard the female voice say "Ten seconds." I turned to Junius who stopped eating and squealed in delight. "Go ahead Clove! I think it's starting." I lifted myself from the wall and walked towards the plate. I stepped inside the cylindrical tube and stood firm before it could move. After a second, the plate started to rise and I felt my heart race. I was actually worried it would run out on me.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin!"

My eyes were met with a bright light and I squinted because the Launching Room was a bit darker. The moment my eyes adjusted to my environment, I saw a clear green field which was surrounded by large trees. The other twenty three tributes were still in their position, undoubtedly formed a circle around the Cornucopia. This is the place for the bloodbath – the first battle in the Hunger Games – where half would lose their lives trying to acquire a weapon to use.

I saw Cato, who was a few plates near me. He met my eyes for a second and then nodded. We both posed to lunge as the countdown neared.

Something resounded from high above.

The Hunger Games finally started.