I halt suddenly in my tracks. I hadn't expected Lyme to be here. Before I can register anything, Lyme raises her leg kicking me hard in the side. I clutch the place she hit
"We're even now" she says with a menacing smile.
Enobaria has stuck her head out of the kitchen door
"Lyme! You can't just kick kids!" She shouts.
Lyme raises her eyebrows "but kids can just kick me. Yeah?"
Enobaria rolls her eyes. And disappears back into the kitchen.
My heart starts racing. I'd been doing so well at being in control and now they're trying to sabotage me. I know what they're doing.
"I'll eat at home" I say with gritted teeth
"Not today buttercup" the way Lyme says pet names is not in a caring or sweet manner but more she's sarcastic. It's annoying. "I have to leave soon, so Bari better hurry up" she says.
We stay in a stand off at the door. Seeing if the other would make a move to do anything. Enobaria sticks her head back out the door wielding a spatula.
"Do I have to tell you to do everything? Dining room now, and no fighting" she says
Lyme mimicks Enobaria's demanding voice and rolls her eyes. I try not to but I laugh at it. This makes Lyme smirk. They must be close I mean Lyme calls her Bari.
We both go to the dining room. I wonder if I could make a run for it now. But I know the answer is a definite no. As soon as we sit down. Lyme goes stright into questioning.
"How do you feel about the capitol?" She asks leaning close
"Umm.. what? I mean it's pretty" I'm taken aback by her imidate dive into deep questions.
"No real answers. I need to know if we can trust you. What about snow?" She asks
"I hate him" I mumble
Lyme smiles. "Good"
I can't believe I just admitted that in front of a women I'm not even sure likes me. By her tone it sounded like she doesn't like them etheir, but she's always in the capitol, what if she reporting back to them?
"How do you feel about snow?" I ask
"I want his head on a platter" she says eerily
I didn't know she had such hate for the capitol. I wonder if all the victors do. Enobaria comes bustling into the room holding two plates and one bowel. She places a plate with a full breakfast, eggs, bacon, sausage and toast. In front of Lyme. And a bowel of berry oatmeal in front of me. And she had a plate with pastry's on it. I have realised Enobaria definitely has a sweet tooth.
She's such a brilliant actor. You think you know theese people from watching them all your life. But we only see what the capitol wants us to see. Enobaria couldn't be more opposite to what she presents herself as.
I move the oatmeal around in my bowel and my mouth waters. If I don't eat this now. I'll know I'm in control. It's the ultimate test to see if I'm weak or not. I won't cave in. I watch Enobaria and Lyme eat their food. They finish there's and I'm still left staring at the bowel.
"We're not leaving untill your finished" says Enobaria
I consider her threat there seems to be no way out of it. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. Enobaria and Lime are talking to each other instead of paying attention to me. I look around the room to see if there's anywhere I can hide it. It's a fruitless hunt. I bring the spoon to my mouth covering my mouth with my other hand.
I know it's gross, but it's taking everything in me not to spit it back out. As soon as it hits my tongue I feel the urge for more and more. But I'm scared if I eat more I'll never stop. I'll just finish this bowel and then I can leave. It takes me 20 minutes and a lot of self encouragement to finish it. But I do, I feel terrible. Like I had completely lost control of everything. I push the empty bowel away from me and get up heading twords the front door.
The two women say nothing and just let me go. I walk out the front door and immediately see cameras at the gate. I don't smile or wave at them, I can already see the Victor from last year getting ambushed by the cameras. Instead I walk out of Enobaria's house, past Lymes house and turn the key in the door labeled number 2.
As soon as I walk in I head into the living room, practically throwing myself onto the sofa. I decide I'll go shopping today. To get Cato a birthday present. I know it can't be personal because the cameras will be following me everywhere. Brutus says it's best we avoid each other completely because we're terrible actors. I think his wrong. We've been pretty good at acting indifferent.
I get up off the sofa and open the door again. When I get outside I tie my key to my bootlace again, promising myself that I won't lose it this time. I cross my hands over my stomach as I walk at across to the gate. When I get through the cameras follow me as I'm walking. Well they're just going to get bored.
I was walking for about forty-five minutes when I reach the markets and shops. I can go in the expensive shops now. A plan forms in my head. One that Panem might be oblivious too, but snow will defiantly know. I walk into the home store. There's everything you need in here for redecorating. I head stright to the paints scanning over them. I pick up a white and a pale orange.
I make sure the camera catch the shade of orange. It reminds me of when I first entered the games, when I ran off with Cato after the interviews but most of all it shows allegiance to Finch and her game. I smile at the subtly of this act. A 'you don't own me' to the capitol. And they can't do anything about it.
"They're for my bedroom, I didn't really like the colours it came with" I say to the cameras smiling. I look around the store to find more stuff to match the colours. I get a white bed spread and orange blanket and take them up to the counter. The saleswomen smiles when she sees me. She placed all the products in a heavy duty bag and I wrote out a slip for her.
Slips are like promises you'll bring the money later an pice of paper that's documented with the amount you owe and when you'll deliver it. I thank the lady and say I'll get her the money when all my earnings come in this afternoon. If you do this and don't give the money on time they'll add more to the price and if it gets too much they just come to your home and take stuff.
I walk around the markets struggling with what to buy for Cato. By the end of the day he'll have everything he wants anyway. I suddenly have an idea. And I think it's a good idea as long as I can pull it off. I buy a fire pit to get delivered to my house as well as an outdoor sitting area which has pillows and curves in an L shape. I also buy a glass end table to go at one of the sofa's ends. I also decide I want a lake, like the one in the arena that you can just slide into when it's too warm. But you can't build a lake. So I contracted some of the workers to build me a pool.
For the first time I think I'm actually excited about my new house. When I get there a few vans are unloading the bigger stuff I have. I direct them through into the back garden. I hadn't been in there yet it's pretty plain. A brick wall and big grassy square. The L outdoor sofa gets placed near to my house in the corner so one side is under my window and the other on the brick wall separating Victors villiage and District 2. I put the fire pit in front of it and the end table to the side.
Next the builders come in I tell them to build the pool in the opposite corner so it goes from shallow to deep. And to use a white tile. It's all coming together. I head up to my room with the paints in hand. I let the cameras inside of my house so they can watch the progress.
I cover all the furniture in my room with sheets I found in the utility. There were also ladders and paint rollers there that I remember seeing on my first ever time in the house. I start on the ceeling painting it white. The paint splatters everywhere. I tuck in my necklace so it won't get paint on it but big blobs of paint are already going in my hair and on my black clothes. Also onto my carpet. I decide I'll get a carpenter to redo the carpet white. It takes about two hours to do the whole ceeling evenly. I decide I'll hire the carpenter whilst it dries. When I step out the door I see a peace keeper car. There putting boxes on everybody's doorstep.
I wait untill one comes on my door step. The camera crews have divided also watching Cato gather his earnings. I move mine all into the kitchen and open the first one. First time lucky. I open the box piled high with Panem dollers. Each note representing a 100.
I walk to the men in the pool and hand them a 100 each, it should only be 75 each but what's the point in getting change. The box is wider then me and covers my whole chest I have it to spare. I grab a few of the notes and start the long walk back into town
It's definitely mid-afternoon now. I pay the people I gave slips too and buy a white carpet and hire a carpenter to come tommorw. I also brought a black leather wallet whist I was in the fabric store and put the rest of my money into the pouch sliding it into my back pocket. I get some weird stares from being covered in paint. People probably thought I'd hire someone else to do it for me. But it was fun. And any fun I find I need to grasp it.
I get back home and start on the walls. The orange is a beautiful shade. It's warm and homey. And everything that I'd wanted it to be. I start painting the walls around me. I've barely finished all of them and the skys already starting to dim. I step backwards looking at the work I've just done. It looks great.
I go downstairs to look at the clock in the living room 5:30. I'd lost track of time, I need to get ready for Cato's party. I walk into the kitchen closing the door so the camera crew can't get in. I look through the boxes. Most of it is foods. But I finally get to the bottom boxes. There's about four of them with folded clothes on the inside that each fit the image I'm ment to be portraying. There all dark and sleek. There are no flowery things in here. Just clothes fit for an assassin.
I pick out a burgundy velvet dress which has spaghetti straps and falls above my knees. Peeling of all my paint covers clothes and throwing them to the floor. All the formal clothes in here seem to be figure hugging. I stand by the sink scrubbing all the paint of my arms and legs. My hairs still got paint in it. The colours show up clearly in contrast to my dark hair. I take it out the ponytail and it falls to my waist. I brush my fingers through it knowing that's the best I can do in the time. I wouldn't be able to wash it all and dry it all in half an hour and some of that's already gone. I pull on a pair of socks and put my black boots on.
I turn around to head out the room and that's when I realise, a camera man has his camera wedged beetween the door and the door frame. I wonder how long he had been there. Did the whole capitol just see me undress? A shade of red comes to my face
"Get out!" I shout shoving the camera mans lense out of the door and slamming it shut. I run my fingers through my hair in frustration. Why do they have to film everything. I eventually walk out the kitchen and send a glare to the suspected camera man. As expected they follow me again.
It's 6:00 now so I head across to house number 1. Cato's house.