87th Games

Avery Vada

“What would the Capitol think!?”

“But he started it” I grumbled. Great. Anything that could have gone wrong for me DID go wrong.

1) I was reaped.

2) I’m now stuck with Arrow, my arch enemy.

3) My Capitol coach hated me.

4) I had no hunting skills and there was no mentor to teach us anything. But at least I could make myself a straw hat, what a fine and threatening skill I had honed from endless working hours in the field. Did I forget anything else? Oh, that’s right.

5) I was probably going to die. Cue bitter resentment.

“No” Arrow corrected “SHE started it” and poked me hard in the stomach.

“Why you little-” I had leapt over my seat, my hands aiming to strangle the life out of him.

Magnus started to shriek and fumbled out of his chair to release my hands. I was clutching tightly around Arrow’s neck and I began to squeeze with all my might.

The sound of laughter echoed through the room.

In complete shock I freed my grip from Arrow. I looked up quickly to see Avery Vada standing there.

“That was one of a  hell of a reaping!” She said enthusiastically, laughing at commotion before her.

I noticed I was somehow sitting on Arrow. “Eugh” I groaned, immediately sitting back in my own comfy leather seat.

“Don’t ya like it over here on my lap, Scar?” If I ever made it alive through the first day, I was going to kill Arrow for sure. 

I was dumb founded. Avery Vada was actually standing in the same train carriage as me! She was my complete hero. She was a career from district one and won the games a few years ago. The best part about her victory was that she never actually killed anyone with her hands or used a physical a weapon on someone. She made a secret tree house and then set snares and traps throughout the entire arena acquiring the highest kill count of the year. That was the same year a boy from my district tripped on a rock and died from the infection. We were laughing stocks.

“When I saw you guys on that wooden stage I knew I wanted to mentor you” she said, plonking herself down opposite from us.

“Wait a second, you actually volunteered to mentor us?” Arrows voice seemed strained. If I didn’t know any better I’d have thought he had been crying, but no, Arrow didn’t possess the ability to care. He was irritating and I was stuck in a train carriage with him for two more hours. My eyes widened in horror. I would be stuck in an arena with him too, for god knows how long.

“What a beautiful surprise, Avery, it is good to have you” Magnus whispered sweetly to her before shooting us a dirty look. “I am so sorry; they are complete imbiciles who can’t control their attitude!”

“No, no, it’s quite alright. The people of the Capitol found them rather funny” she patted him on the knee in an attempt to reassure him.

“They what?” both Arrow and I said in unison. I looked at my fellow tribute and sighed in despair. I didn’t want him to be thinking on the same wave length as me. It was too weird.

“Surely not” Magnus’s mouth was open wide in shock. I silently hoped that a tracker-jacker would fly into his opened gob.

“No, the crowd love you! You’re all they’re talking about. They want to know why you hate each other so much. They think it’s because you used to be in love but recently broke up. I don’t mean to pry, but why did you break up anyway?”