Eugene Daniels POV
I walked through the double doors to the training room, trailing behind Luke from my District. When we walked in, almost all the tributes were already loosely gathered in a half circle around the head trainer. The head trainer, a heavily muscled woman called Audrey, looked over at us, an annoyed expression on her face.
"You're late." she snapped. Several tributes laughed. I looked over at Luke, to see that he was staring at his feet in embarrasement.
"I'll let you off today, but don't be late ag-"
"Sorry I'm late!" I whirled around as Charlotte Brown from my District burst through the door, her hand raised as if to say 'Yes, I'm here.' Audrey shot daggers at the three of us, and shook her head disdainfully.
"District 3 sure is lazy today." She commented. Charlotte scowled at her, and Audrey smirked.
"Well what are you waiting for? Get over here."
We complied and walked over to the other tributes, joining the large group.
"Today you will be free to go from station to station." Audrey instructed loudly. "If you want to, go for your life and try out the weapons, but in most cases, deaths are because of natural causes. Don't ignore the survival stations. They might just help."
With that, Audrey said that we were allowed to start training and began to walk around the room, making sure all the stations were set up. I looked around at the stations. The careers were all at the weapons stations, trying to intimidate the other tributes. I saw Luke at the plants station and began to walk towards him. He was chatting to someone, but I couldn't see who. It was only when I was a few metres away that I realized who that person was. Charlotte.
I stalked up to Luke and pulled him away.
"I need to talk to you." I said quietly. He nodded and walked with me to the corner of the training center.
"What?" he asked, obviously confused.
"Why are you talking to Charlotte?" I hissed.
Luke immediately came to his friend's defense. "She's cool! I think she should be in our alliance."
I thought back to Charlotte's angry scowl when she was angered, her long auburn hair, her green eyes, her- wait what?
'What the hell?' I thought to myself angrily. 'You hate Charlotte!'
Although I desperately tried to convince myself, part of me didn't buy it.
I laughed coldly. "Please tell me you're joking."
Luke stared at me hardly. "We are hardly going to survive with two people. And I think she could help us!"
I rolled my eyes and gave up. "Fine."
Luke smiled and dragged me back to the plants station. "Charlotte, welcome to our alliance!" he beamed. Charlotte smiled uncertainly, her eyes flickering up to meet mine. I looked away, feeling my face heat up in embarrasement. Luke smirked, obviously amused at our awkward glances at each other.
"Why don't you just admit you two like each other?" Luke smiled innocently, though there was no hiding the amusement in his voice. Charlotte nearly spat out the herb she was trying from the station, her eyes bulging.
"Very funny Luke... No way." I said. My face had gone as red as a tomato by this point.
"There's no denying it!" Luke smirked. "I dare you to kiss!"
"Luke!" I exclaimed. "We are training for the Hunger Games!"
Charlotte looked at Luke, her expression hard. "Really, Luke? That's stupid."
Luke folded his arms. "No it's not. I can see the chemistry"
"You can't see anything." Charlotte shrugged. "But just to prove you wrong..." She turned to me, and suddenly engulfed me in a hug. My eyes widened in surprise. Luke laughed as my face went fire-engine red.
Charlotte glared at Luke. "Satisfied?"
Luke shrugged, still giggling. I sighed and looked down at the plant station. Although I'd rather walk on hot coals than admit it, I wish Charlotte hadn't pulled away so quickly.
No. I told myself. You can't get attached to anyone here.
Fern Steel POV
I aimed my dagger at the target, biting my lip in concentration. I threw the knife and it only just hit the corner of the board.
"Damn it!" I scowled. I looked to my left. Benji was having no better luck, if anything he was doing worse.
"Why don't we try something else?" I asked. I pointed to the archery station, where Eve, Arwin and Shane were shooting at targets. Even from across the room, you could hear Shane cursing at the target as clear as day. Benji nodded and we walked towards them. We arrived in time to see Shane shoot his arrow, only to have it hit one of the dummies from the spear station. He threw a few colourful profanities at the bow and put it back on a nearby table. He saw Benji and I and smiled.
"Hey!" he said. His gaze lingered on me, and for a moment it looked like he wanted to tell me something. But I blinked and the look was gone.
"Well, we are failing at this!" Arwin joked. "Well, Shane's failing at this. I'm fantastic."
I laughed along with her, as did the others. It was true, though. Arwin was quite decent at archery. It was a natural talent for her.
"Where to next?" Eve piped up. I smiled at her small stature and innocent appearance. Her long chestnut brown hair normally flowed in waves down her back, but today it was up in a messy bun. She was such a cutie pie, and the Capitol citizens already loved her. She'd probably have sponsors lined up around the block. Even though on the outside she was sweet and innocent, on the inside she was loyal, fierce, and sometimes just a little too sarcastic.
"Umm... I've been meaning to test out the blowguns." Shane said. We nodded and walked over to the station, luckily, there was no one there.
As the others assembled their gun and aimed at the targets, someone gently grabbed my arm and steered me away from the group.
"Can we talk?" the voice asked. It was Shane.
"Um... I guess." I answered uncertainly. Shane led me away from the group and looked at me.
"I know you kissed Ryan."
I blinked in surprise. "Umm... were you stalking me?"
Shane's eyes widened. "What? No, it's just..." He looked up at me apologetically.
"He kisses any girl he can get his hands on. He's... what would you call it... a player."
I stared at Shane in shock. "A-Are you sure?"
Shane nodded. "Did he suddenly get all buddy-buddy with you? I knew him a while ago, used to be friends with him actually, and he pulled this kind of shit all the time. I'm sorry Fern."
I thought back to that kiss with Ryan. Was all of that just an act? I felt sick to my stomach.
"Bastard." I mumbled.
Shane frowned. "Huh?"
"No, no, not you..." I said distractedly. I walked back to my allies, feeling sort of numb. If I had been so oblivious to Ryan's ways, how many other people had been pulling the wool over my eyes?
Ramona McMarthy POV
Chase, Talia and Demetria stood with me at the plant station.
"Which one of these is edible?" the lady asked. She held out three plants. Chase frowned for a moment, then pointed to the one on the left.
"Correct!" the lady smiled. Chase grinned, and I smiled at him. I loved how when he smiled he got dimples on his cheeks.
"You're so smart!" I grinned at him. Chase smiled and gave me a quick peck on the lips. We had been dating for several months now, and although being reaped for the games was unfortunate, we were still together.
"Uh, guys?" Demetria interrupted. "Can we go to a different station now?"
"Sure." I smiled. The four of us moved to the spears station. As we chose our weapons, Demetria began grinning like a maniac. I stifled a giggle. Demetria's main weapon was spears, and for the past hour or so she had been nagging us to go to the spear station. Demetria hopped on over to the targets like an excitable bunny rabbit as I examined the different spears. There were some with hooks on the tip, some strangely mechanical ones I couldn't even begin to understand, and lots of different designs. I ran my fingers over the cool metal, deciding which one to use. I finally decided on a very simple one and took it over to the target. As I arrived, Demetria threw her spear towards the target with an aggressive yell and got a bullseye.
"Yes!" she squealed happily. "5 out of 5 so far!"
I smiled at her and began lining my spear up for the target. Then I mustered up all my strength and hurtled my spear towards the target. It landed frustratingly short, and I fought the urge to walk up, grab the spear and snap it in half.
"You're doing it wrong." The trainer said, sounding bored and distant. He was probably stuck with the only available job there.
How surprising.
"Would it offend your highness if I could ask for help?" I said sarcastically. The trainer sighed and walked over to me.
"Alright. First off, drop the attitude."
I huffed out a loud breath of air, but kept my mouth shut.
"Great." The trainer sounded pleased. "Now, your hands are too far down the spear. Bring them up a bit."
I did as he told me too, but the spear felt weird holding it that way and I was tempted to switch back to how it was before.
"Now, aim a little above where your target is." The man instructed.
"Why?" I asked immediately. The trainer rolled his eyes to heaven.
"Because your arms are, no offense, not very strong yet, so your throws will probably curve downwards. If you want to hit on target, you'll have to aim a little higher."
I nodded, biting my lip as I concentrated.
"Now lets work on your stance." The trainer said. He put his hands on my waist and turned me around. "Your body shouldn't be facing the target. You won't be able to use any shoulder force."
"Mmm Hmm" I mumbled.
"Are you left handed or right handed?" the trainer asked.
"What does it matter?"
"If your right handed, you want your left side facing the target. If your left handed, your right side should be facing the target."
I moved so that the target was to my left. I gripped the spear tighter, already picturing it soaring through the air and landing that perfect bullseye.
"Alrighty. Just use your body weight to propel your spear through the air. When you throw the spear, you should be using all your shoulder power."
I nodded and leaned back, aiming my spear. Then I surged forward with all my might and tossed it through the air. It landed with a satisfying THUNK into the outer rim of the target. It wasn't a perfect shot, but it was much better than before.
"Tributes! Training time has come to a finish. If you would please leave the training room and head for your designated District floors. After 7pm, the training room will be open for anyone who wants to do some extra training until 11."
I put down my spear and thanked the trainer, then left for the huge double doors. Unfortunately, the spear station was on the very other side of the huge room, so I was the last to go through the doors. As I left, I peeked back into the room, watching the gamemakers as they discussed the tributes. They were nodding their heads and writing down notes. Well, some of them were. Several were just sitting with a glass of alcohol clutched in their hand. I shuffled closer for a better look, but then the door slammed shut in my face and I was left by myself.