3. Class Is In Session
Once I had left the Justice Building and headed for the car, I felt alone. I was on my own at this point. The tributes—even Bane—I couldn't trust any of them. I was in for me and me alone. If I had to, I'd learn to fake people out, make them believe I trusted them. Deception could get me far in the Games.
The car was watched as we got driven to the Tribute Train. I looked out the window, watching children go on with their lives, chasing each other, their parents scolding them for it. How I remembered when I was younger. In time, everyone grew up, whether they wanted to or not. That was life. If children managed to survive seven years of not getting reaped, then they could live a full life.
I knew I would live a full life, but I had to win the Games first.
Some adults and children snuck a peek at the car. Everybody inside the car was quiet, even Bane. I expected him to be droning on excitedly about how the Hunger Games was going to be a fun experience for him. Our escort was sandwiched between us. I could hear her nails hit each other as she twiddled her thumbs. Nobody seemed to be close to a nervous breakdown. I concealed my excitement inside.
Once the car came to a halt, four Peacekeepers escorted Bane and me both to the ramp of the Tribute Train. Cameras were once again locked on us. I walked in, pretending to not notice them. Once the ramp was pulled in and the door shut, the train got moving, onto District 2. There were twelve other stops we had to endure. This ride would be ridiculously long.
Bane and I sat in a small cabin room in the train. He was curious about the room, looking at the furniture and all. The Capitol's furniture was more whacky than the furniture in District 1. We were more luxurious, with fluffy couches or leather chairs, or fuzzy rugs. The table legs and chair legs would be lit up with gems of all sorts, from sapphires to diamonds, or from emeralds to rubies. Our specialty should have been gems rather than luxury in general.
As the train huffed its way to 2, I sat near the window, admiring the scenery outside of 1. Being away from my house was an experience alone; being outside of my home district was a huge experience.
"Do we have one mentor or two?" Bane's voice was distant.
"Hmm?" I asked, tuning in fully to him. This was the first time we actually spoke to each other.
"How many victors are still alive, do you know?"
"Not really."
"I hope it's someone who can really help us."
"I would think they would be, they've won a Hunger Games, and being a mentor is their job," I said smartly. Already, Bane seemed like an idiot. Past victors were sucked into helping train future tributes. That was the downside—to many—to being a victor of the Games. You never heard about too many victors who liked training future tributes.
A door slid open, pulling my attention away from the window. It wasn't our escort, so he had to be our mentor. I saw nobody behind him. Lucky him, he trains both of us. If there were two mentors, they'd either train the tributes together or take one to train alone.
He looked at least ten years older than Bane, so he couldn't have won his Hunger Games long ago. His black hair looked groomed and gelled, like some pretty boy model—something I expected Bane to do with his hair. His brown eyes found us. He looked overdue for a shaving too: he had lots of whiskers, making him look older than he really was.
Bane looked elated at the sight of our mentor. Me, I wasn't really that interested right now. The scenery was more attention-grabbing.
"Looks like I've got myself another strong pair, just like last year," our mentor said, a tone of approval in his voice. How could he assume we were strong? With Bane, I could understand, but with me...Unless I had muscles showing and I didn't know it, how could I be seen as strong? I guess he had so many past strong pairs of tributes that he assumed he had another pair this year. "Excellent." He sat down in a lush chair opposite a loveseat.
Bane decided to stop absorbing in the details of the room, paying attention to our mentor. Separating them was a low coffee table, freshly polished. "I've been waiting my whole life to do this and finally meet someone who's been in the arena and lived," Bane said admiringly. Suck up. I rolled my eyes behind Bane's head. "I'm ready for any advice you've got."
"You've got spirit, unlike your counterpart over there." Our mentor's eyes shifted to me. "Are you mute?"
My eyes narrowed. I didn't like to get offended by anyone, especially adults. "I talk," I retorted immediately. "I just don't talk to strangers."
"Well, I'm not a stranger, I'm your mentor. It would be nice to have you over here with us so I don't feel the need to shout across the room."
"Well I'm not budging. Don't worry, I'll listen to you. I'll just keep my eyes on what's outside the window." I darted my eyes away from my mentor and looked back out the window.
"I would prefer you look at me so that I know you're paying attention." Our mentor's voice got cold.
I can play hardball, I thought. Give me that tone, and I'll give it to you right back. Just because you're my mentor doesn't mean you go bossing me around. Give advice; don't command me to do things. That's not your job. I still looked out the window.
Bane cleared his throat, trying to lessen up the tension. "You'll have to have some patience with her," he said quietly. Pft, like Bane actually knows what I'm like. Like I said before—total suck up. "We never introduced each other."
"Well, for starters, I'm Ross Cray," Ross said. His tone seemed lighter when talking to Bane. I could already tell he had a favorite. Fine by me, I didn't need Ross's approval. If he and I were going to butt heads and if he didn't want to train me, I'd train on my own.
"If you didn't know already, I'm Bane," Bane said. "And that cheery girl over there is Crystal."
"Sounds like such a sweet name for such a bitter girl."
My jaw clenched. I didn't know who I disliked more right now: Ross or Bane.
"How much advice do you have for us?" Bane pressed. I shifted, not even glancing at the boys.
"Plenty. I can even show you both my Hunger Games and a few others to help you out. I've come prepared to make sure one of you wins this year," Ross said. Yeah, that 'one' will be me, not Bane. "Of course, we'll get to that later once we find out who you're facing this year. For now, I suggest you both get settled into your rooms. They won't recap the reapings until sundown."
I heard Ross leave. Finally, I could look at the room in peace. Bane looked over his shoulder at me with a severe look.
"What?" I snapped.
"Why are you being so isolated and bitter?" he retorted, throwing an arm over the top of the loveseat. "He's our mentor; he's here to help us. Last time I checked, it was good to get advice from your mentor."
"You already worship him," I snickered, brushing my hair out of my eyes. "Even though you have no idea who he really is, you idolize him already. You two will get along great, you are already."
"That's because I'm eager to learn unlike you."
"Look, I don't need advice from him. I've got my plan from years of training."
"Training against a couch doesn't count."
"Are you calling me a liar?" I finally stood up.
Bane smiled. "You don't intimidate me, Crystal," he crooned. "How can I be afraid of someone who's shorter than me and looks innocent?"
"Pft, I am hardly innocent." I crossed my arms over my chest. "That title doesn't exist for me. My title goes along the lines of 'lethal.'" I smirked.
"We'll see."
I narrowed my eyes, trying to make myself look tough. Bane wasn't afraid like he said. He would be when he realized what I could really do.
I exited the room, searching for my bedroom. I nearly trucked my escort, bumping into her. She made a gasp of annoyance. I stopped and whirled around to look at her. I hadn't noticed that her eyes were a bright brown until just now.
"Excuse me," she hissed, "but just what the hell's got you in a mood?"
"My district partner," I grumbled. "Sorry, by the way."
She brushed herself off. "I'm Sienna."
"You already know my name, so I think me introducing myself isn't necessary."
"Not at all." She gave a weak smile at me, turned on her heel, and walked away.
I found a slide door to my left and found my room. I noticed the train stopped. We must be at District 2.
Two stops down, eleven more to go.
While the train was at a temporary stop, I surveyed my bedroom. It had a walk-in closet and a small bathroom. The closet and shower were high-tech: you had to use a pad of some sort, tapping buttons so you could get what you want, whether it was adjusting the water temperature on the shower or picking through pages of shirts to choose from on the closet's catalog. I was jealous of the Tribute Train, I wished my room and bathroom were awesome like this.
I plopped on the bed, staring at the ceiling. I messed with the moon charm on the choker. I'll have good luck, I'll win these Games, I chanted mentally. I'll come home; Mom won't lose her only daughter.
* * *
I was right when I knew the ride to the Capitol would be long since 1 had been the train's first stop. Each time we stopped at a district, it felt like we were stuck for at least two hours. I went back and forth between my bedroom and the cabin room Bane and I had met Ross in.
Ugh, my mentor. He definitely had an issue with me. So what if I didn't want to listen to him? It wasn't like I had to, I had a choice. That was something Ross had yet to understand.
I didn't see much of Sienna except for that accidental bump-in in the hall. I felt bad about it, even after I apologized. I didn't want to be on bad terms with Sienna. She seemed nice and was just doing her job; I couldn't lose my temper near such a sweet thing like her.
The sun was beginning to set when we all had dinner in the cabin room. Sienna joined Ross, Bane, and I. I refused to sit at the table despite Sienna being there as the only person I didn't dislike. I ate on the loveseat so I didn't have to see Ross or Bane.
I was used to Capitol food since it was pretty much similar to what my family had in District 1. Most of the food was rich, sometimes it wasn't. My taste always got thrown off when the food didn't taste rich; I had become accustomed to the taste.
"So..." Sienna said awkwardly. "How do you like all of this, Bane?"
"It's sort of what I pictured," Bane admitted. I could tell he was finishing chewing his food. "But my bedroom—it's amazing."
"The Capitol gives nothing but the best for the tributes." I could hear the smile in Sienna's voice. "They let you all live in luxury, that way you'll enjoy some of your time being a tribute."
"Were they this nice when you were picked, Ross?"
"I would say a little less high tech, but for the most part, my room was like that," Ross said.
"Crystal," Sienna called, "what about you?"
"It doesn't seem that much different than One to me," I grumbled, scraping the plate with my fingernails. I rested my head on the top of the loveseat, my eyes closed. "Have you been keeping track of how many stops we've made?"
"I think we're close to finishing up."
"We're on what district now? Twelve?" Ross asked.
"Maybe, or Thirteen. It's one of the two. Either way, we're close to the end. After Thirteen, it's a straight shot to the Capitol!" Sienna's voice seemed high-pitched.
"You sound excited," I mused. "Do you live there?"
"Oh yeah. It's a lovely place, but I'm not into all the crazy, new fashion trends that go on there. Though, I am thinking about getting angel wings..."
"Angel wings?" Bane sputtered.
"Mhm. They must not have fashion trends like that in One."
"Not that I'm aware of."
"You're a guy, Bane. Guys don't normally pay attention to fashion trends," I joked.
"Like you're a fashion expert yourself?"
"I never said that. All I'm saying is that girls are better known for keeping up-to-date when it comes to fashion."
"Let's not fight," Sienna intervened. "Save your energy for training."
Right. There was so much to the Hunger Games I still had yet to experience: arriving in the Capitol; being made over for the opening ceremonies; training for the Games; the pre-Games interview, and the Games themselves. No doubt the last leg of my Hunger Games experience would be the post-Games interview and the Victory Tour. I've got to make it happen first, I reminded myself. No dream came true unless you did something about it.
"When can we talk about strategy?" Bane pressed Ross.
"Once we find out who you're going up against," Ross reminded him, "which should be soon. Crystal, do you mind turning on the TV?"
"We have a TV in here?" I asked. I hadn't seen one before.
"It's right in front of you."
Wow, I wasn't really observant if I missed the plasma TV hanging on the wall near the door. To be fair, it wasn't a huge TV so it could easily be passed by.
Feeling a little stupid, I clicked the TV on. We were making a straight shot for the Capitol now, because they were showing the reapings for all thirteen districts. Let's see my competition.
Naturally, the reapings went in order according to district. It was weird, seeing myself on TV. I noticed the horror and shock in my eyes when Bane volunteered himself and made his way up to the platform. I could tell I looked uneasy. I sure felt like it then.
District 2 seemed to have tough-looking tributes. District 3 had two of the smallest ages tributes could be. 4 had two fourteen-year-olds. For the most part, a lot of the tributes looked frightened or ready. District 7's girl volunteered immediately, so she was an obvious threat. Tributes who volunteered in other districts besides 1, 2, and 4 were rare. Ross wouldn't need to tell us this since it seemed like common sense.
I noticed that there were a few age groups that had a decent amount of tributes in them. There were more of the middle ages than the younger or older ages this year.
"We've got quite a variety," Ross mumbled. I jumped; he was sitting on the arm of the loveseat closest to me. I had been so absorbed by the tributes that I hadn't even noticed he was there. "I wonder how many people are going to bet on you two."
"I'm sure a lot will," Bane said. He was behind the loveseat. Sienna stood by Ross, looking a bit uncomfortable.
"It looks like your team is going to be pretty good, like it always is," Ross murmured.
"Team?" I stammered.
"Yes. The Career pack. Does that ring a bell?"
Damn, I forgot. Districts 1, 2, and 4 always banded together, calling themselves the Career pack. They got the name because they were loyal to the Capitol and were always dangerous and did well in the arena. I didn't see how I forgot that since I was a Career. I've been too busy worrying about my mother and doing training to really think about the pack.
"Yeah," I admitted, trying to hide my disgust.
"She doesn't sound like she likes the idea," Bane mused.
"I don't. I work better alone."
"If you weren't a Career tribute, then maybe. But if you're a Career, working alone is a dumb move. A pack six strong is what always happens amongst Districts One, Two and Four," Ross explained.
"Yeah, well, it can be a pack of five instead of six," I growled. "I don't want any part of it."
"But technically you are a Career, so you're obligated to be in it. I joined the pack in my Games. We lasted a while until the Gamemakers started picking us off. We never got a chance to fight each other."
"There's why I won't join. Why join with the very people that could be your murderers one day?" I barked.
"Some packs have been closer than others."
"I can keep going with my opinion all night," I snapped. "You better just stop now."
"You've got quite an attitude."
"Thank you," I said, snickering. Sienna sighed.
"Anyway...when do we get to see past Games and take notes?" Bane asked.
"Tomorrow. Actually, you can watch one until bedtime if you want," Ross thought out loud.
"'Bedtime'? What are we, five?" I scoffed.
Ross groaned and left the room. Sienna bid Bane and I goodnight while Bane dug through tapes of past Hunger Games. There weren't much to choose from—there were only five that were present. I sat on the loveseat as Bane kept going between two tapes, deciding which to watch until night fell. I noticed there was a notepad and pen on the coffee table. This place just has everything, doesn't it? Like the room can read our minds and know what we want before we even think about it.
"I say we hold off Ross's Games for tomorrow," Bane said. He popped in one video and sat next to me, grabbing the notepad and the pen. I folded my arms over my chest, preparing for the Games to watch.
The Games we were watching were the 98th Hunger Games. We fast-forwarded through the reapings and the interviews and got straight to the Games. It was one that mainly involved tributes dying from natural disasters. Rarely any killed each other. The bloodbath at the Cornucopia was mostly tributes trying not to land on the geysers that shot off around them on top of all the madness of rushing to grab supplies and escape alive. More than half died in the very beginning. Others died by earthquake or sinkholes, or even pits of quicksand that looked like nothing. A few nasty tornados hit, and a horrible hurricane caused trees and tributes to fly everywhere.
Mother Nature—or in this case, the Gamemakers—unleashed Hell on the children.
Only one managed to survive it all, being that she had a sixth sense of detecting natural disasters. Whether it was true or not, nobody was sure. All that we knew was that she won her Games that year, surviving all the worst possible natural disasters.
"I hope we don't have a natural disaster Games," I said, unnerved by what we watched. "I can barely tell the difference of whether or not it's just cloudy or it's going to rain."
"Well, we definitely know you won't become a weather forecaster ever in your life," Bane chuckled.
I rolled my eyes at him. "What did you manage to jot down?"
"If we're ever in a natural disaster situation, don't panic and try to think smartly. Umm, try to find a safe, stable shelter—"
"I doubt that's possible in the Games."
"Not if it's a cave or something," Bane trumped me.
I pursed my lips. "What else?"
"If we were ever non-Career tributes, we'd get killed for being stupid and fighting in the Cornucopia."
"Are you being serious or are you joking?"
"A little bit of both. Okay, so maybe the Ninety-eighth Games wasn't the right choice." Bane shrugged. "But it's not like I knew what we would be watching."
"True."
"It's night." Bane looked past me out the window. I turned my head to see he was right.
"How long had we been watching the Games?" I asked.
"Maybe an hour or two? Hard to say, really."
"Well, I'm going to turn in." I rose. "Are you staying up for another Hunger Games tape?"
"Depending on what time it is."
"You do that. I'm going to bed."
"'Night, Crystal."
I didn't say anything back. As Bane sought out the time, I lumbered into my bedroom, changed into a fancy white nightgown I would wear probably if I was married and wanted to seduce my husband. I kept my choker around my neck, it was the only piece of home I had with me now.
As I settled into bed, the silk sheets caressing my body, I wondered a lot of things. My mind was stuck on the Hunger Games. It was hard to not be in that mindset.
Somehow, I became comfortable in bed to where I magically fell asleep without realizing how quickly I did so.