Chapter 3
1051 Words
Warning! This chapter involves an eating disorder.
Mase Nary POV
Not many people in District Two have to steal. That doesn't make it any less fun. There's something so thrilling about choosing who gets to keep their riches and who loses them. That feeling of power and control was what lead me to start throwing knives. You can't run or hide from me. If I decide you're going to die, you're going to die.
Ijolite had on her usual getup. This time she was dripping in agates and crystals- an odd combination, but certainly worth a closer look. I wasn't surprised when Avariella volunteered. I did most of my training alone, but I looked inside the Academy now and then. It was plain that her parents, both instructors, used their influence to secure her spot. Avariella looked dead already. Her almost yellowed skin was thin on her jutting bones. She trained hard, but she couldn't have had the strength to throw a knife ten feet. She looked like a morphling.
When Ijolite called my name, she saved me the trouble of volunteering. I wasn't the Academy's top pick, but their current darling, Cyan, had a secret sweetheart he wasn't keen on leaving. As for the other Tributes, they'd fall before me eventually. I looked forward to not having to pull my punches like I did in the Academy. I took Avariella's glasslike hand and stared the audience down.
My father and brothers didn't bother to come see me. Cale was a cadet at the Peacekeeper Academy, and having a thief for a brother didn't score him many points. As for Hector and Dad, they just didn't seem to like me. The feeling was mutual.
As I waited, I thought ahead to the Games and the other Tributes. For years I'd wondered what it would be like to choose not only what people own but when they die, but I'd never had a chance. In the Games, I was not only allowed, but encouraged to express myself. A rare smile appeared at the thought. All those others were just so many threads I could cut whenever I chose, and the world was finally seeing things my way.
Avariella Hanson POV
My stomach growled as I got out of bed. I cleared my smoggy throat, and it ached. I dressed myself in a high-waisted blue dress and started my makeup. I brushed my favorite cotton candy-flavored lipstick across my lips, savoring the sweet taste. When I was done, I still wasn't pretty, but I didn't look as ugly as I felt.
Mom and Dad were both busy going over Academy stuff, so they didn't notice when I ate an apple slice and six peanuts for breakfast. They wouldn't have noticed anyway. They only notice me at the Academy, whether it's for nice dagger work or mixing up left and right again. I slipped outside without a word from either of them.
If they'd known what I had planned, maybe they would have cared. I wasn't the best at the Academy, not by a long shot. If I did what I was supposed to, Tia Deese would volunteer and I could stay safe at home. All of that changed because of one boy.
I was never popular at school. The Career hopefuls looked down on me because I couldn't keep my directions straight. The other students looked down on me because I froze up whenever I was supposed to read something from the board. Then one of them found out why.
"Hey, tard," Jerod taunted, shoving a piece of paper into my face. "What's it say?"
I looked at the jumble of letters and tried to will them into place. After a moment of confusion, I pieced them together
Avariella can't read
I tore the paper from his hands and ripped it up.
"Shut up! I can too!" I hissed, looking around to see if anyone noticed.
"Can not. You can't do anything," Jerod said. "It'd be a shame if anyone was to find out."
That's how I came to start stealing money from my parents to pay off a jerk with a secret. Now it was Reaping day, and I'd show him what I could do.
I watched admiringly as Ijolite swept to the bowl. Ijolite was slender and gorgeous, everything I could never force my body to be. The name on the slip flowed off her tongue with an ease I could only dream of.
"Blayde Evans!" she called. Blayde wasn't even in the Academy, but she was calm as she stood onstage. She knew Tia was itching to volunteer. Unfortunately, I beat her to it. The second Ijolite asked for volunteers I blurted out my claim, and Tia was left glaring at me with such rage I had to look away. In Two, you don't volunteer against the Academy. I guess now they won't like me.
The ground slammed against my feet as I approached the stairs. I was surprised at how steep they were- I was breathing heavily after only three of them. After Mase was announced, I plopped down on the bench backstage and tried to catch my breath.
As I expected, my parents were less than enthusiastic. At least Dad was- Mom didn't show up. According to Dad, she was "busy cleaning up the mess you made".
"I'm glad you're so determined, but you have to respect the rules," Dad said. He sighed.
"I thought this is what you wanted," I said. It's the only thing you ever cared about.
"You're not ready yet," he said. "Now you'll have to be. Don't let us down."
"I love you," I said as he left. That's why I did almost anything I ever did. Did they love me? I could see why they wouldn't. I had no self-control or discipline. I let my body go and couldn't even keep a healthy weight. I read like a toddler and couldn't even tell left from right. They would have loved me if I was a Victor. I don't know if I ever can be.
I don't have dyslexia or anorexia, so I can't claim to get everything right about them. If you live with either, my errors were from ignorance and not malice.
Avariella, or "Ava", used her lipstick as a token.
- Writer
