Four Weeks to Live
Impression
I stepped into the training area for the fourth time. A couple of Gamemakers looked a bit bored, but other than that they were mostly paying attention. I grabbed the grey paints and tried my best to paint myself into the wall. With every stroke, I grew a bit more nervous. They were watching my every move. I could not, under any circumstances, mess up. After I’d finished up a good portion of the paint, I stood back against the wall, closed my eyes, and hoped for the best.
“Okay. You may leave now.” I heard the head Gamemaker say. Before I stepped out of the training center, an Avox helped my wash most of the paint off. The only thing left to do after that was to go back to my room and wait.
After I ate my fill of the Capitol delicacies served for dinner, I joined Griffin, Lovage, and the morphling in front of the TV. We were all waiting for the scores to come on. It was just a few moments after I sat down that Caesar Flickerman appeared on the screen.
“District 1, Shine, 8. District 1, Velvet, 9. District 2...” He started. I tuned him out after that until I heard him announce my district.
“District 6, Ivory...” I sucked in a large amount of air and held it. The number on that screen in a second would decide my fate, no matter what Moss said. “...6.” He said. Not that bad. Not that good, but still, not that bad. I didn’t completely fail. In the back of my head, I barely heard the sounds of Griffin celebrating. He’d gotten an 8. I listened intently for District 12 after I’d gotten over the fact that I didn’t get a 3 or something like that.
“District 12, Moss, 7.” Caesar said finally. After the anthem played, the screen went black. We would make it through this for at least a little while. That was the only thing I thought of.
I met Moss on the roof again that night. That time, he was the first one there.
“Hey, I told you they’d love it.” He said, pulling me in for a hug. I happily hugged him back.
“Don’t forget, I was the one who said you’d get the better score.” I said.
“So we’re both right, then?”
“It seems we are.” We sat down on the roof for another night of staring at the stars. My head was on his chest as we pointed at any constellation we found. It was a beautiful night. After an hour or two of just staring, with the occasional short conversation, we said our goodbyes. The last thing we needed was to sleep on the roof again. Besides, we had to get ready for our interviews in the morning.
“Okay. You may leave now.” I heard the head Gamemaker say. Before I stepped out of the training center, an Avox helped my wash most of the paint off. The only thing left to do after that was to go back to my room and wait.
After I ate my fill of the Capitol delicacies served for dinner, I joined Griffin, Lovage, and the morphling in front of the TV. We were all waiting for the scores to come on. It was just a few moments after I sat down that Caesar Flickerman appeared on the screen.
“District 1, Shine, 8. District 1, Velvet, 9. District 2...” He started. I tuned him out after that until I heard him announce my district.
“District 6, Ivory...” I sucked in a large amount of air and held it. The number on that screen in a second would decide my fate, no matter what Moss said. “...6.” He said. Not that bad. Not that good, but still, not that bad. I didn’t completely fail. In the back of my head, I barely heard the sounds of Griffin celebrating. He’d gotten an 8. I listened intently for District 12 after I’d gotten over the fact that I didn’t get a 3 or something like that.
“District 12, Moss, 7.” Caesar said finally. After the anthem played, the screen went black. We would make it through this for at least a little while. That was the only thing I thought of.
I met Moss on the roof again that night. That time, he was the first one there.
“Hey, I told you they’d love it.” He said, pulling me in for a hug. I happily hugged him back.
“Don’t forget, I was the one who said you’d get the better score.” I said.
“So we’re both right, then?”
“It seems we are.” We sat down on the roof for another night of staring at the stars. My head was on his chest as we pointed at any constellation we found. It was a beautiful night. After an hour or two of just staring, with the occasional short conversation, we said our goodbyes. The last thing we needed was to sleep on the roof again. Besides, we had to get ready for our interviews in the morning.