Due to being neighbors with Enobaria, I had ample time to talk to her. She was a consistent guest in our house, much to Magdalena's pleasure. Even though she was not very fond of Enobaria, my mother said that I finally developed the interest to win. I never spent so much time with anyone outside the family like this before and somehow, with my determination for revenge, I hung into Enobaria's words. Aside from planning about my strategy for winning, I had my mentor tell me all about the Capitol and what her work there was. She told me stories about the certain charm of our main city. She said there is a never-ending party there and that Victors, like her, were made the guests-of-honor.
"What about your work there?" I asked Enobaria, leaning forward and meeting her dark eyes. I notice her slight discomfort and I wondered if her job was something to be embarrassed about. "You always disappear. You'd leave for a day or longer."
Enobaria's expression went angry, "You don't have to know. You're better off not knowing." She stood up from her seat inside our living room. I watched as Enobaria approach the big window, she seemed to be gazing at something much more interesting than our conversation now. She went silent for a moment, probably still contemplating on whether to answer my question or not. "Back to topic," Enobaria said finally, "What do you plan about Cato now? He looks deadly; he's strong and talented. He'll be a threat to you if you don't take advantage of what you have now."
"I don't know." I told Enobaria, "I don't know how to make him like me. We don't trust each other."
"He'll have to like you." Her words were firm that I know I had no other choice. "That boy is a threat and we will make it stay that way but not to you. He should be weak for you but a deadly adversary to everyone else." Enobaria faced me again, a smirk playing on her lips. "Make him want to protect you. Play the Johanna card for him."
I raised an eyebrow, "Johanna card?"
Enobaria shrugged at my confusion, as though I should know this already, "She's the Victor who played weak then showed her true side when the arena came down to a handful of players." She walked forward slowly, "Play weak for Cato. No man can resist a damsel in distress, especially not someone as dominant as him."
"I will not play weak for anybody." I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest, "And I certainly don't want to play weak for someone like Cato. He'd look down on me and that's not something I want. I want him to see me as an equal or probably even a superior."
That was the line I would never cross. I, Clove Holt, no matter how small I was compared to any other trainee in the Center, is strong. I wasn't the one to be reckoned with. I was the ideal tribute for someone who valued stealth and speed rather than brawns alone. Being weak for someone like Cato, whom I have loathed for his power, was not going to happen.
"Do you want to win or not?"
Her question conjured an instant response for me, "Of course!"
Enobaria flashed her fangs at me and I shuddered, "Then do it." She leaned forward, "All is fair in love and war. And Clove baby, this is war."
I don't know how but Enobaria managed to convince me to do it. It'll be hard, I thought, I haven't been talking to Cato for almost a week now and he'll think I'm trying to pull something on him if I talk to him today. As I walked towards the Center, I polished the plan I managed to piece together and the excuses I cooked up just this morning.
Cato was outside, leaning on the door with his arms crossed. He was so early that he arrived before our Trainers do. He looked deep in thought, his pale eyebrows knitted closely together. He then lifted himself from the door and opened his bag which was resting on the ground. He pulled out a notebook then began scribbling away, his face finally softening as he wrote. It was a strange sight, I never saw him mellow out like this. Maybe I was wrong about him again...maybe he wasn't brutal.
Slowly, I went to him but not saying anything. He stopped writing when I arrived but didn't speak, he just continued, as though I wasn't even there. My eyes continue watching him for awhile. I smiled weakly when I saw his hand - he was left handed. I don't know what it had to do with anything but I just appreciated the thought of knowing it.
"Stop staring." He growled softly. He still didn't look up from his notes.
"What's that stupid thing?" I asked, one of my eyebrows raised.
Cato looked up, a frown across his features. He capped his pen and together with the notebook, threw them in his bag. He leaned back on the wall, "Did I do something right to make you decide that you wanted to talk to me again?" He said this in a very bitter tone that I wouldn't be surprised if he punches me.
"Nothing, I'm just bored." I lied.
"Awesome. The great Clove is talking to me because she's bored." Cato mocked me, obviously angry now.
I frowned, "Why are you the one angry, Byrnes? You were the one who said our friendship had an expiration date." I looked away, searching District Two for an interesting thing to lay my eyes on.
"God, are you that stupid? Of course we have to limit this." He gestured at our position on the ground, we were arguing but we sat so close together. "This is going to distract us in the Games and I don't want that. I told you that I need you to have a clear head. I don't want you to kill yourself off before the finale." His cheeks were red but Cato was trying not to explode. He was known for his temper, why wasn't it showing now? "We are going to give them a good show until the end."
"Trusting will always lead to caring, Cato."
Cato sighed softly, "I never said I didn't care about you too, stupid." He finally looked away, "I just said this friendship will dissolve in the arena." I was surprised with his words. Did he really say he cared for me too? "We are ruthless fighters from Two. If the other tributes find out that we care about each other, they'd pick on our weaknesses then all of our life's works will go down the drain. I can't have that." I didn't speak, I just let him go on. "Everything won't matter when you're faced with the choice between life and death."
Even family?
"When we're in that arena, you will not care if I told you my life's story. I don't think I'd even remember anything about District Two when I'm running for my life or defending myself from potential death threats." Cato said, as though it was the most normal thing in the world. And it was. For us, I mean. "Just enjoy the moment, Clove. Isn't it possible for you to accept anything considered normal?" He gave me a weirded out look but I was almost glad when he did - it meant he wasn't angry with me anymore.
"It depends on what normal is."
I can't do it. Whatever Enobaria put in my head was already erased and forgotten. I will not be able to do something as low like that to Cato. If it was any other person - any other stupid person in this district I don't care about - I would but this is different. Cato Byrnes actually meant something to me and even though I don't have any names for it right now, I know he's important.
Cato just smiled, "You're not normal. You're not capable of any kind of human interaction." He laughed aloud, pure mirth in his face. "You are so different from the other girls I know. Most of them would just start telling me things about them, expecting me to be impressed." I knew this, of course, he's quite the popular one. "But you don't do that."
"I don't need you to be impressed. I don't need anyone to be impressed." I shook my head, a few strands of my dark hair fell in front of my face. I was about to tuck them behind an ear when Cato reached out and did it for me, "I like doing things for me, not for anyone." This was another lie. I do things to impress the only person who made her opinion matter to me.
Magdalena.
He didn't comment on it any further so I took the opportunity to ask him questions, "How does it feel to be big?"
Apparently he thought it was funny because he just started laughing again, "Well," When he finally stopped, Cato's lips were twisted into an amused smile, "I like being big. It makes me feel dominant and in control. Powerful. It's as though nothing can touch me, nothing can take me down." He smiled at his own words, "How do you feel about being small?"
"Fuck, Cato, when are you going to stop taunting me?" I punched him in the arm. His eyes were crinkling in the side, out of delight.
"You're just so easy to poke fun of." He chuckled, "But no, really. How does it feel?"
I shook my head but thought about his question. How do I feel about it? "I dunno." I stretched my legs on the ground and leaned on the wall, "It depends. I like it when I can slip through people's grasps. I like it that it gives me speed. I hate it when big people like you beat me up. I hate it that I have to carry a knife pack to have people intimidated. I hate it that people underestimate me." My list went on and on but I knew I had to stop. So I did. "I hate it."
His eyes were on me all the while and he didn't turn away, "You hate it that much, huh?" As a reply, I just shrugged, telling him that it didn't matter now. "Don't. I mean, there are Victors who won because of their height."
"Oh yeah? Who?" I raised an eyebrow.
"There's uhhh," Cato was silent for the longest time before he managed to give me an answer, "Annie Cresta?"
I laughed, "Annie Cresta hid in most of her Games, she won by sheer dumb luck." I particularly hated that year. Imagine a Victor who went mentally insane after seeing her district partner get beheaded then winning just because she was the only swimmer in the bunch. "Her year is probably worse than that year with the ice."
"Alright, maybe giving her as an example isn't a good one." Cato joined in with my amusement, "There's that girl from District 6."
My nose scrunched up as I remembered the detail he left out, "Morphling addict." It was obvious that he couldn't think of any more and I just didn't care. Small tributes last long enough but mostly, they die under the hands of bigger ones. "Let's just face it, Cato, no one below 5'5" has ever won the Games." It was a close call though, I was about 5'4".
Cato shook his head and pursed his lips, "I know one more. I can recall she was even smaller than you. 5'2", I think." I turned my eyes on him and waited for his answer, "Magdalena of District Two."
My eyes narrowed and I looked away. For the first time in the day, I scrambled up to my feet and brushed off dirt from my pants. Cato didn't say anything, he must've felt when he mentioned my mother, I was immediately upset.
It was a good thing Calla and Blank arrived just in time to break the awkward silence between us.