Venus
"So, Venus. Or can I call you Vennie?"
That settles it. My district partner is an idiot. Jax catches sight of the look on my face and laughs, a gigantic boom that fills the carriage and drowns out the chug of the train. "Watch yourself, Claymore," he warns. "Last time I saw a girl looking like that the guy who did it wasn't a man for much longer!"
Everything the exuberant mentor does is big, everything he says is loud. It's a relief after the pressing silence of the Justice Building. Even Chase said nothing there. I guess they couldn't think of anything to say and left me to babble away, just endless sentimental trash, so that it was almost a blessing just to get onto the platform with the cameras flashing and shouting for my attention.
I finish chewing my mouthful and decide that dignifying the stupid question with a reply will at least stop him doing it for a small while. "My name is Venus," I explain carefully. "My parents called me that for a reason and it wasn't so that cocky fools could make me sound like somebody's dessert."
Claymore has tuned out, his gaze fixed firmly on a spot just above my head. He nods a little. A lot of effort must have gone into his appearance because not a strand of his hair moves. "Cool. My parents named me Claymore because they wanted a girl."
"Cool," I echo, prodding at the stew with an elegant knife that's no good for throwing. It's not hard to not sound at all interested. Perhaps if I mimic him, he'll realise how absorbed he sounds. It works on some of the others.
"I don't like my name being shortened either," he offers.
Obviously not.
A huge, putrid belch bursts from our mentor's side of the table. Jax is leaning backwards in his dainty chair - it creaks a little under the weight of solid muscle - and rubbing his stomach with an almost impossibly satisfied grin.
"Speaking of desserts..."
"Don't worry, Venus - not Vennie, of course not Vennie - you won't have to get along with him for that long. Idiot like that is likely to get bloodbathed, just like...now what was his name? Tall, dark hair. Not Jax; he's alive right now, isn't he? So who was it? A few years ago now. Got a nine or a ten, something like that. Anyway, it doesn't matter. So just try and get along if you can, it won't be for long. Who knows, he won the tournament so he's got to be of some use, scare some of the younger ones away, probably..."
The room falls quiet as my thoughts move away. I must have been talking to myself again. I laugh a little to cover up the quiet but it sounds forced and that's almost worse, so I stop and look around.
It's a nice room, better than my place back home. The bed is twice the size and - I hurl myself onto it - twice as soft. It practically swallows me. Outside the window, craggy mountains wind past; the train is plunged into the dark. We must be in a tunnel. The lights in the room are soft and gentle, and they illuminate the elaborate carvings on the wardrobe. There doesn't seem to be anything particularly special about them, just intricate patterns of leaves and flowers. I run my finger over them. There aren't any pine needles so these can't be trees from Two.
Inside the wardrobe there's only one outfit. That makes sense. We won't be on this train much longer; soon we'll be in the Capitol. The actual Capitol, with buildings that stretch higher than mountains, sparkling in every different colour of the rainbow. Streets full of beautiful people and a thousand different voices throbbing against bright lights. All these people cheering and waving at me, for me.
I wonder who my stylist will be.
It's obvious just by looking at the dress hanging there that they were expecting someone taller. Irritation brushes against the vivid excitement that the Capitol always brings up. They could at least have checked who won the tournament. They can pretend that they don't know about it all they like, but everybody knows that they do.
With a sigh, I remove the dress and slip into it. It's not just too long, it's also too baggy around the shoulders. The deep purple colour is good, but I can't wear it. Going into the Capitol in a dress that doesn't fit could automatically undo the work I've put into my interview training. First impressions count and I'm already at a disadvantage for my size and for not looking as strong as the other Careers. Luckily the boy from One doesn't look up to much at all; he had to be dragged from the crowd by the Peacekeepers. How embarrassing. If I was his family, I'd be ashamed.
So, the Career group. Me, obviously. The girl from One - Luxury? The one who danced up onto the stage and shouted at one of the other girls. Now that's attitude. It wouldn't be tolerated here; you wait until the call, declare yourself, make a quick speech about pride - though Claymore droned on forever - and that's that. No fuss. We want to win, not to make a spectacle of ourselves. Well, most of us do. I try to. Messing up the speech wasn't my fault. Junia looked like someone had stuck a dead bird in her hair and I couldn't stop laughing at it. Chase thought it was funny, anyway.
The girl from One wouldn't have laughed. Judging by the look of her, she'd probably have said something sharp and witty. I'll have to try and avoid talking to her. She'll mock anything I say, most likely.
The pair from Four, too. Both of them are strong, though the boy doesn't seem to be able to stay still. Something in the way he leapt onto the stage and flung his arms out reminded me of Kale, though he looks completely different. Kale is bulky, for a start. Elton, if that's his name, looks more like me in stature, but I'd bet that he's stronger than he looks and is probably very fast too. The girl, who has a name I can't pronounce, seems very confident without being arrogant; Claymore could learn from her. One to watch, I bet. She could be the type who goes along with us then kills and makes a quick getaway. Dangerous. Maybe the Careers aren't the best idea...
Something large booms through the corridor and the door crashes open, followed quickly by Jax launching himself in. I can't help a small shriek, even though I'm decent.
"Jax! You should knock!"
He laughs his usual deep chuckle and hurls himself into the chair, surveying me quickly. I shuffle, looking at the floor. I know that he's sizing up my strengths and weaknesses, and that he's my mentor and it's his job, but I still hate it when people do this. It just makes me feel even smaller. It doesn't help than Jax is at least six foot seven. Even sat down he's nearly taller than me.
"Wear your reaping dress," he suggests. "That suited you much better. You've got a good smile, so use it."
I just nod. I've been told this every day for the last five or so years, but the mentor's presence is comforting and the repetitiveness is almost like a lucky charm. Though of course we're discouraged from such frivolities. That's for the tributes who think they need luck. Jax slaps his leg for no apparent reason.
"So I'm guessing you've got your tactics sorted, right? Show the other Careers who's boss?"
I shake my head, remembering my earlier misgivings. Then I catch the look that blasts across his face and try to change it to a nod instead, which results in an odd head wobble that could be anything. "No," I splutter. "I don't like the Careers. I mean, I don't like the look of these Careers."
Jax raises a bushy eyebrow in a surprisingly subtle gesture. His eyebrows look like somebody glued a shrew to his head. Before I can stop it, a giggle bursts from my mouth. "Sorry! It was just..."
"No, no, laughing is good!" he assures me, clapping his gigantic hands together. "Last year's didn't say anything. Made it hard for me to do my job, I can tell you! Look where that got them! What's wrong with the Careers?" He sounds friendly enough, but layered under that are the tones he used in the arena, subtle threats lurking away. It's obvious that if I insult the Careers, I insult him.
"Nothing...they're just stronger than me," I admit, hanging my head. It's hard to admit, but there's something intimidating about sheer muscle that all the training in the world can't erase. I know better than to think I could beat any of them in a straight fight. Still, my cheeks burn a little and I turn to look out of the window so that Jax, about as close to a typical Career as you can get, can't see. We're out of the tunnel and streaking across a plateau, the sun setting behind craggy peaks. Lights glimmer on the hills in the distance. District One? It must look quite a lot like Two, though based on the reaping videos, it's much more decorative and shiny. The citizens are, anyway. And they'd never fumble their way through a speech or say the wrong thing in front of one of the most famous Careers of our time.
"Jax?"
"Yeah?" he asks. Chase says 'yeah' all the time. Mother hates it, saying that it's no way for a future Peacekeeper to speak. Chase says that he'll speak properly in the future, then. I pause, looking for a way to frame my question that doesn't sound stupid.
"Do you know what the Quell is?"
“Not a chance! They’re keeping it very hush-hush, though they all seem to be very excited about it! But we can talk about that later. It might be better for you to stick with the Careers. You get a free pass in just because of your district and your training; it’d be a shame to waste that advantage, right?”
I suppose he’s right. And very few people are foolish enough to attack the Careers. They also get better access to food and water, as long as they guard it properly, which I can make sure of. It might be safer there. I don’t have to get along with them, since for me to win, they have to die.
“Okay. The Careers it is then,” I sigh. For a second there’s no noise except the chunter of the engine and Jax’s breathing. I remember from his Games that he snored badly. But it’s not enough to drown out the horrible feeling of silence, so I gabble, “But if Claymore calls me Vennie one more time…”
Jax laughs, slapping his leg again. I think he likes Claymore. He probably understands him, whereas I’m just some awkward girl with enough wits to win the tournament but not to say a speech on stage. "Don’t worry about him! He won’t do it again!” – I find that hard to believe – “So, we don’t have much longer left, so it’s time for us to decide on an angle to play you at, a character the Capitol can really get behind! I did the big and scary – not that it was that hard! –but something tells me that won’t work for you. What're you best at?"
I know the answer to that straight away. "Making an idiot of myself in front of people," I explain, throwing myself onto the edge of the bed and tugging the satin of my dress up where it threatens to fall off my shoulders. "Apart from that, I'm good with knives and...well, anything long distance, really. I don't like getting up close to people because they can hit me first, then. Though I'm quite quick, I guess. Not as quick as my brother Chase, though. Mother says that's because..."
"Focus, Venus!" Jax interrupts. I jump. I hadn't realised that most of that was out loud. He beams at the look on my face.
"Okay! Right! Well, how about we wait to see how training goes, then? First, though, the Parade!" He stands up, somehow managing to make it sound like he jumps, and promptly hits his head on the fuzzy roof. It must hurt because it makes a huge cracking noise, but he doesn't even blink. Instead, he just grins, showing two rows of perfect teeth. At least, I assume it's a grin. It looks more menacing than anything, and I automatically back away a little.
"Is it...is it fun?" I stutter, just because I can't think of anything else to say.
"That depends," he answers, throwing open the door with one hand. "The Parade - and the preparation for it - is the bit that they can't train you for."
"Is that a good thing?"
"Junia will be here soon to warn you what to expect. I think she's still powdering her nose!" My mentor, the pride of District Two, chuckles, a deep sound that seems to come from the floor. I don't think we'll ever get along, even if he does get me sponsors. He's too...big.
"Jax?"
The door has already closed. I am alone with just the noise of the train.
I throw myself back onto my bed, attempt to adjust the shoulders of my dress again, and start singing to myself.