Forever Foxface: My Writers Games Pieces

2. The Train Ride

Total word count: 4896
All of District Three is gathered at the train station, where a shiny tube thing (the train I'm guessing) waits. Our escort, who introduced herself as Lillybird Spectral, but told us to call her Birdy, leads the way, followed by me, Neon, and our two mentors, Beetee and Wiress. Beetee's in his fifties, and one of the few other District Three residents without ashen skin. Instead, his skin is light brown, and he wears black-rimmed glasses. His thinning hair is black, and he has a thick moustache and goatee. I can't help but note how twitchy he is. I guess the games left an impression on him.
Wiress has the ashen skin of Three, with short, dark hair in a style that reminds me of a mop. She's in her forties, but her age shows a lot more than Beetee's. She seems shy, but flashed me a small smile after the reaping.
My face is set in stone as one of the train's chrome doors slide open. It's obvious that Neon's crying. His eyes are red and watery, and I'm sickened that there are cameras filming us right now. I feel sorry for him, so I try smiling at him, not a smile saying, 'I look forward to killing you' but a smile saying, 'It's okay to cry, I understand'. It's to no avail, I doubt he could see me through his tears, but there's nothing I can think of to help. I wipe the smile off my face and walk up the train's stairs as the door automatically shuts behind us. Another door opens to my right, and I peek my head inside. "Come on, get moving. Don't be shy. All this is for you, remember?" Birdy chatters so fast it's hard to tell one word from another. We all step in and I look around. Woah, and I thought the Justice Building was nice! It's a long, rectangular room, like the outside of the train, with tan walls that have beautiful white roses, just like the ones President Snow wears, covering them. The floors are dark, just like the ones in my, or used to be my, house, but they look fancier. The rug and curtains are both red with a pink and gold leafy pattern. The massive plush couches, surrounding the biggest TV I've ever seen, are so thick and fluffy I fear I'll sink in if I sit down. Long wooden tables line the left wall, topped with odd-looking food and drinks. I touch everything in sight, to make sure it's real. I'm shocked, amazed and delighted all at once, but I'm also disgusted and upset at the same time. How could the Capitol be so selfish and keep this gorgeous splendour to themselves? Panem would have a much stronger connection if we were all on even ground. But nope, the Capitol can't learn to share, and while they live out their glamorously ignorant lives, we have to suffer.
"This is the lounge room. Here you can relax, grab some refreshments or watch TV. We've got all the other district reapings cued up if you'd like to scope out the competition." Birdy gives a commentary as we move around. I notice there's avoxes in every corner, wearing simple white clothes and bandages across their mouths. Birdy sees my fascination, because she says, "They're just the avoxes. If you need anything, ask them." She pauses. "Although they're not really the chatty type." She adds with a smirk as we move on to the dining room. It's the same shape as the lounge room, with the same wooden furniture and dark floors, but this room has no couches or TV. Instead, a finely carved table takes up most of the room, with matching chairs. The walls here are a simple, elegant grey, something that surprises me, since we're on a Capitol train. The curtains and rug have the same leafy pattern, but they're different colours, being blue, black and creamy white instead. "Here's the dining room. We'll have all our meals here. Because you guys," Birdy pinches our cheeks, "have your reaping so early, we're going to have three meals here, lunch and dinner today, and breakfast tomorrow." Neon and I stumble back slightly when we're released. Wiress gives a tiny sigh as we move on. The next room splits into three separate corridors. How you fit corridors on a narrow train, I don't know. "Now, these corridors lead to your bedrooms, Addilyn on the left and Neon on the right. Each has a bathroom attached to it, and if you need any help or get lost, ask the nearest avox." Birdy babbles. "And that concludes the tour, I hope you enjoy your time here. Any questions?" She sounds more like a hotel receptionist than a district escort.
"What about the front carriages? You never showed us those." Neon asks, though it sounds more like a statement in that gruff tone of his.
"Oh, they're things like the kitchen and storage rooms and all that boring stuff. It's off limits anyway." Birdy responds with a giggle.
"What about the middle corridor? Where does that go?" I ask, pointing to it. "Ah, that leads to the back of the train. You can go down there and enjoy the fabulous view once we get moving." She informs. "Anything else?" We both shake our heads. "Alright then, I'll leave you to settle. Wiress, Beetee, you know where your rooms are." And with that, she left, our two mentors trailing behind. I look at Neon, wondering if he understood the tour, since he's deaf. "It's okay, I know what you're thinking. I can read lips, and understood the tour fine." He states. I'm almost taken aback, even if he did talk earlier.
"Oh, good." I smile awkwardly, something I do a lot, and nod. He almost turns around to leave when I blurt something out, while he can still see my lips. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" He asks, facing me again.
"That you got reaped. And on a quarter quell, too."
"It's completely out of our hands, it's not your fault. Only the Capitol's." He says slightly defiantly, his eyes darting down. "Besides, I don't have anyone to miss me anyway." I can tell he's lying.
"Everyone has someone to miss, and everyone has someone to be missed by." I reassure shyly. At this moment I feel my emotions resurfacing and turn down the left corridor before either of us speak again, or before the buildup of tears behind my eyes spill over.
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'Huh. Not what I expected.' This is my first impression of my bedroom on the train. Though it's still fancy and Capitol-like, it's more sparsely furnished than I imagined. The floor is the same dark wood, and in the centre is a pink and white rug with a swirly pattern. There's a huge four poster bed with deep lavender sheets taking up one wall. An elegant white vanity with green carvings is right by the head of the bed. Next to that is a large window with a... Is that a hanging chair by it? I go over and sit down on the plush purple cushion, causing it to swing gently. I giggle, then continue looking around. To my left is the vanity and bed, and to my right is a small glass table with a notepad on it and two green woven chairs on either side. By the foot of the bed is a walk-in wardrobe with a glass screen attached to the wall by it. The colours clash, but in a good way. My favourite part of the room though is the walls, each stripe a different colour of the rainbow, but in a pastel shade. It's beautiful. My eyes settle back on the glass screen by the wardrobe. I assume the wardrobe's automated, so I get up and approach it. The screen lights up automatically, and an array of buttons appears, each one with words above it. I try sounding them out. 'Ee-nur-jen-kee...' It's no use, the letters won't form in my head. Feeling brave, I press a random button. Uh oh, big mistake! It starts flashing wildly and buzzing quietly. What did I do now? Within seconds, an avox opens the door (which is also automated) and shuffles towards me. He's young, possibly younger than me, with ashy blonde hair and pale skin, like Kenji. A wave of emotion surfaces, but quickly disbands. "Um, why are you here?" I ask awkwardly. The avox points to the button I pressed. I attempt to read it out loud.
"Ee-ner, no, mer-jen-see Ay-vocs Ah-lert. Oh, emergency avox alert. Sorry, I, um, couldn't read the buttons..." I lower my head in shame. "Ha, I'm from District Three and can't even work this tablet." I give a small chuckle. I can tell the avox is smiling behind the bandages covering his mouth. I smile back as he turns around. "You look like my brother, you know?" I blurt out as the avox turns back around to face me. "Kenji was, is, his name." He looks at his feet before giving me another smile behind his bandages and leaving. My chin wobbles, and I know that the dam holding my tears has broken.
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We leave about an hour or so before lunch, though I don't register this fact until it's almost time to eat. I pulled the coral blinds shut as an extra precaution just in case there were still cameras outside, and made sure to stop crying before lunch so it was less obvious. There's a knock at the door, and I press a button on the tablet that opens it. I've been practising with each button, but was careful not to press any that said 'avox'. Birdy stands in the doorway and smiles broadly, her dress different but everything else the same as before. This dress, which is also blue, is sleeveless with a v-neck, completely covered in feathers and sits in a hoop midway down her thighs.
"Ah, hello Addilyn." She chirps, almost sounding surprised. "I see you've found out how to use the tablet. I'm glad that it wasn't too challenging for you to read the labels." Anger rises in me at this remark, but I push it aside.
"Yeah, it was fine. Still took a bit of trial and error though." I laugh, and Birdy laughs too, a weird Capitol laugh that I've only heard on TV.
"Yes, good. Well, lunch is about to be served in the dining room, unless you'd rather eat here, though it'd be much better to eat face to face, don't you think? I've already escorted Neon." She tells me matter-of-factly.
"No no, I'll eat with you guys." I nod.
"Wonderful! Right this way then." Birdy turns on her gravity-defying heels and saunters down the corridor. I trail behind, pretending to be interested as she chatters on about what we're having for lunch. I never pay attention to what we get fed in Three, since I know other families are starving. Besides, food is food to me.
"...We have duck soaked in a creamy citrus sauce, with rice and beans for our main meal. I remember having it at a party last month at my friend's birthday, and it was delectable! And I haven't even mentioned dessert yet. Flower-shaped red velvet cakes! I know, I can't wait either! I spoke with the head chef to clarify our menu. Don't worry, only the best for out quarter quell tributes." Birdy pinches my cheek again, and I reluctantly smile.
"Sounds delicious." I try to put as much enthusiasm into my voice as we enter the dining room. I look out the window, and only just remember that we're no longer in Three. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. A lush green forest covers the earth like a blanket. Oaks, pines, willows, firs, spruces, nature is one of the few things I can actually remember information about. It's hard to tell one tree from the other, since they all blur together into one green landscape. Mountains scrape the horizon, and the peaks reach towards the wispy clouds high up in the sky.
"Addilyn? Addilyn! It's time to sit down and eat lunch, it'll be here in a moment." Birdy says, gently but forcefully. I cling to the windowsill like it's my lifeline.
"Sorry, I've just never seen anything so beautiful in my life." I exhale as I let go of the windowsill and sit down on the wooden carved chair. Birdy smiles, but I can't tell if it's because this is her job or if it's genuine.
"Yes, the view is amazing, isn't it?" Birdy repetitively taps the table with her sky blue nails. I notice Neon's no longer crying, but he's refusing to make eye contact with anyone, just fiddling with his placemat. Wiress and Beetee are having a private conversation, and I'm just, well, I don't even know who I am anymore. The Capitol will probably give me a new identity anyway. As soon as that little slip of paper was drawn from the reaping bowl, the Capitol has controlled me. I doubt that'll stop anytime soon.
"Ah, the food's here." Birdy clasps her hands together with delight as several avoxes carry out steaming trays. They place one plate in front of each person, and I examine the so-called 'delicacies' placed in front of us. A generous sized piece of duck is sitting in a thick orange sauce, with a large pile of rice and a few beans scattered around on the other side of the plate. It looks almost normal for a Capitol dish, but the smell, oh my lord. Birdy motions for us to start eating, and I don't hesitate. I hate to say it, but I understand why the Capitol keeps this to themselves. It's the most delicious thing I've ever put in my mouth. The emotions inside me subside to make room for shoving food in my face. I look up at Neon, and notice a shudder go down his spine. "I know, amazing, right?" Birdy smiles, but it fades when she sees Neon and I shovelling our food in like it's our last meal. Which may be soon.
"Ahem. Well, it would help if we ate with some form of dignity. You'll be on TV soon, learn to behave yourself!" Birdy snaps, but that smile returns to her face immediately afterwards.
"We've already been on TV, remember?" Neon corrects through a mouthful of duck. Birdy doesn't respond. Instead, she changes the subject to Capitol fashion.
"...I'd say that colour switches has become the new animal print. It's all the rage for guys to wear pink and girls to wear blue, as you can tell by my outfit." She's mainly talking to Wiress and Beetee. Not that I care. As much as I'd love to talk about colours and patterns all day, I'm thankful to be left out of this conversation. It doesn't feel... right anymore.
It's not long before Neon and I are finished, and Birdy, Wiress and Beetee are only halfway done. The two mentors chuckle softly. Birdy grimaces behind her fork. After everyone else is finished, more avoxes come in on command and remove our plates. I wonder what it's like to eat this way everyday and not be facing death, or carry the burden of knowing or caring that thousands of people, people in your home country, are starving or ill. The deliciousness of the food has worn off, and the gap left behind is filling with a sense of impending doom. Just as I'm about to crack, dessert comes out. It seems like Capitol food acts as anaesthetic against reality. I don't want to get too used to the painkillers when I'll be thrown into a world without them.
I pick up one of the flowers by its stem. The chefs have replicated a life-sized white rose completely out of red velvet (whatever that is) cake batter and icing. They even came in a vase, like real flowers. I bite into one of the petals, and the sweet richness courses through me like blood through veins. Birdy is the only one eating with cutlery, the rest of us use our fingers. I polish off the first flower in less time than it took to get here, and the others don't last long either. Avoxes take the vases away as everyone goes to different rooms. I head to the viewing area. There's no walls, just a window that goes around in a semicircle shape. Everything else is white: white ceiling, white carpet, white leather couches that line the window. I sit and am surprised how soft the couch is. The view is just as amazing as before, and I'm soon lost in the world beyond the glass window, beyond Three.
I hear the door open, and turn around to see Wiress standing in the doorway. She smiles and sits down next to me. "Gorgeous, isn't it? I remember the first time I sat in these seats. I found it amazing something so different to what I've known my whole life could be so beautiful." She turns to me. "So, as you know, Beetee and I will be your mentors while you're in the games. We've decided that Beetee will spend his time with Neon, and I'll spend my time with you." Wiress says gently.
"Well, I hate to disappoint, but I don't know anything about academics or technology, and can't use it to create electric traps like you. I may be from Three, but I'm dumb, and you can't change that!" I spat, turning away and folding my arms. Wiress looks at her hands, folded in her lap, and sighs.
"It's true that's how Beetee and I won our games, but we never expected you to follow after us, Addilyn, and it's not because of your dyslexia. You're not us, you're you, and you'll develop your own strategy and Capitol identity over time. But that doesn't mean we can't help. We were just like you, but we survived. We have information that could help. Please." Wiress looks at me. I sigh, knowing I'll have little chance without guidance. I don't want my death to be because of ignorance.
"Alright. My friend spoke about the training centre when she visited. Is that important?" I ask.
"Oh yes, the training centre is very important. When you get to the Capitol, you'll be taken to the training centre where you will live and train in skills that will help you in the arena." Wiress begins. "There's many different training stations, some in combat and weaponry, some in survival skills."
"Yeah, my friend told me about those." I chime in.
"Really? What did she say?" Wiress asks.
"Er... She talked about working on agility, not forgetting survival skills and honing the strengths I have now." I recall.
"Your friend is very wise. What were these strengths?"
"Um... I love sport, particularly running and swimming, though I had little practise in Three. I also love art, and making things out of rope. Once I created a snare that made my brother dangle from the ceiling." Wiress and I both laugh at this. "Speaking of my brother, he's been great practise with hand-to-hand combat, and it's helped me get a higher pain torole- tolaro- toilar- tolerance! That's the word." I exclaim. "She also gave a list of training stations I should visit." I add.
"Okay, do you remember what these were?" Wiress asks thoughtfully.
"Um..." I stutter for a few minutes. "Yes! They were camouflage, snare-setting, knot-tying, hand-to-hand combat, and the gauntlet."
"Interesting. Snare-setting and knot-tying will help you catch animals as a food source. Maybe you could ensnare a few tributes. Camouflage is overlooked by most, but your artistic skills could be useful in the arena. The gauntlet, few tributes are game enough to try that one. I bet you'll manage it fine with practise. Anyway, we'll focus more on those when we get to the Capitol." Wiress clears her throat. "I need to explain sponsors to you. They're the people who pay money to send helpful gifts to a tribute of their choice. Things from water to food to weapons to medicine. Anything, even some matches, helps. But you have to earn sponsors by pleasing the crowd. As soon as we get to the Capitol, you'll meet your styling team. You and Neon will have separate teams. They'll prepare you for the chariot ride, where you'll be shown off to Panem." She cups my chin in her hand affectionately. I wonder how many tributes she's seen die under her protection. I'll probably be no exception. "You're pretty, the Capitol will like you. Try and wave and smile at the crowd, maybe blow a few kisses, and they'll swoon over you. For you, I'd recommend coming of as a strong, spirited sweetheart when on camera. They'll eat it up, with that pretty face of yours." Wiress bites her lip and rests a hand on my shoulder. She knows what I'm thinking. "I can't protect you from being judged on your disability, but I can help you prove them wrong. I can see you're a force to be reckoned with, and I've known you less than two hours." Wiress stands up with a groan. "That's enough for now, don't want to drown you in information. It can be hard, I know firsthand. I'll think about what you've told me, and I hope you do the same. Oh, and as a warning, there will be a crowd when we arrive, and it can be a bit much at first. Stay calm and remember what we talked about. Smile, wave, kiss, and they'll swoon. All they want is a good show." She gives a shy wave and leaves me on the couch, where I stay until dinner.
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Birdy finds me again, and escorts me to the dining room. "...We have three courses for dinner instead of two, like we did for lunch." Birdy yaps away. I've gotten used to blocking out people's voices. I nod absentmindedly until our first course gets here. Carrot soup with some strange-looking salad on the side. Whatever it is, it's delicious, and the soup is even better. Second course is roast lamb with mashed potatoes, green vegetables and flower-shaped bread rolls. It's similar to something I'd have in Three, but the portions are bigger and I can literally taste how much more expensive it is. Dessert is a cute caramel pudding with fruit swimming in sauce. Neon and I struggle to eat it, because it's so sticky we can't remove it from the bowl, let alone off the spoon and down our throats. Then I got the spoon stuck to my hand. Even Neon and I laughed. My stomach feels weird afterwards, since I'm not used to so much rich food. Worth it.
Afterwards I head to my room and strip out of my clothes, laying them out on the bed. I grab a towel and head to the bathroom. The shower has more controls than the tablet. Why am I not surprised? At least these have picture labels instead of words. I press a button, and almost die as boiling water hits me. I wince in pain, and turn a random dial in an attempt at relief, which cools the water. Much better. I press another button, which offers me a million different kinds of soap. I pick one at random so I can get out of this death chamber quicker. I have to admit, this feels really good. At least it did until I tried to turn it off. I turned the same dial that controlled temperature. Big mistake. This time, a jet of ice water hit me. I let out a squeal, and stay under the hot water another two minutes to warm up again. After successfully turning off the shower, a machine automatically pops out of the wall and starts blowing warm air at me. I stumble back with surprise and almost slip in the shower. After grumpily regaining my balance, I let the beautiful warm air dry me off. Slipping on a dressing gown from a hook, I head back into the bedroom to discover my reaping clothes gone and in their place blue and purple cotton pyjamas, which I promptly put on. They're cozy.
I drag the Doona off my bed and sit down on the hanging chair by the window, draping the Doona over my legs. The sky is beautiful at this time. It's that fine line between blue and black, with twinkling stars shining down. Amidst all this is the moon, only a sliver of a crescent at this time, like a single feather of a bird suspended in the sky. I can't imagine the same stars I see right now are shining down on District Three at the same time. Are they looking at the sky now too? Do my family miss me as much as I miss them?
Questions are scattered around my head like stars in the sky, until I eventually fall into a dreamless sleep.
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"Addilyn! Wake up! It's going to be a big big day!" Birdy sings cheerily, tapping on my door to get my attention.
"Coming!" I call back. I've been up for the past two and a half hours, but the weird thing was I woke up in bed. I don't even remember getting into bed last night. Then again, I have a terrible memory. Oh well.
I'm wearing a purple tank top with a butterfly on it, jeans and brown heeled boots, as well as my precious rose token. I tried to work the wardrobe, but that, well... I just decided to pick clothes at random. I lay on my bed afterwards and haven't moved since, despite how hungry I've been for the past hour.
I literally pull myself up with one of the bedposts and head to the dining room, where Wiress, Beetee and a sad-looking Neon greet me. Wiress and Beetee smile. Neon glances at me, then looks back down. As soon as I pull up a chair, avoxes bring breakfast. I feel guilty for holding everyone up, but that doesn't matter. The only thing I'm focused on is food. On the plate in front of me is scrambled eggs, bacon, fried potato disc-looking things, a side dish of fruit, and... Toast! I've always wanted to try toast! I pick up a slice and bite into the crunchy bread. Mmm, amazing! Everything I eat is more delicious than the last, but still I can't eat everything. My stomach still feels weird from last night. Neon clears his plate, even scraping up the last of it with his finger, much to Birdy's displeasure, but judging by the look on his face soon afterwards, he regrets it.
After avoxes take the dishes, I head back to my room so I can brush my teeth. In the bathroom there's something that looks like a toothbrush, but it has a button, which I press. I should've learnt my lesson about pressing unknown buttons by now, but this one isn't bad. It just makes the toothbrush head spin. I find some toothpaste from a cabinet under the sink and brush my teeth. Then out of habit, I pull out a hairbrush and run it through my hair for a few minutes. When I face the mirror, I don't look any different, but feel somewhat at ease.
I walk into the lounge room and see that we're just entering the Capitol. Wiress beckons me over to the window, and I stand next to Neon. The train is running over a railway line that is suspended just above a huge dam outside the main city. Beyond that, an assortment of towers rise majestically, their tips gleaming in the bright sunlight as they meet the gorgeous blue sky. Acting as a canvas behind them are the Rocky Mountains that offer both protection and beauty to this landscape. "Woah." I let out a tiny gasp. Neon stands motionless, his mouth slightly open in shock. The train speeds towards the centre of the city, where huge crowds scream and cheer at us. It looks like an art store threw up on everyone. Everywhere I look I see bright colours, oversized hair accessories, wigs, makeup, and the strangest clothes I have ever seen. I swear I saw someone with whiskers. All of them cheering for us, for this sickening sport. Neon turns away with a scowl. Wiress mouths the words, 'Smile, wave, kiss, swoon' to me. I look at the crowd, and back away from the window shyly. I suddenly don't know what to do. I'm now looking at the games in a whole new light. As much as I hate the games, now it's my turn to play. Do I follow Wiress's advice, or let her down? Stick with what I and all of Panem believe, or play this monstrous game in an attempt to survive? I take a deep breath and can't believe what I'm about to do.
I smile and wave, and the crowd goes wild.