#janitstrain

Violet licked her lips and turned to the group in the room - she was surrounded by boys. Her district partner, her escort and the other boy that looked to be around her age. She didn't know his name nor did she remember which game he won. He looked tall and he was handsome, his eyes sparked curiosity and his overall mysterious character intrigued Violet immensely. Violet didn't want to talk to anyone, she no longer had anyone to talk to - she was alone. It was only her in this game and Violet knew it will only be her once she enters the arena. That was okay with her because she would rather not have any emotional attachments if those even happened in these games. 

Violet stood up and walked past the three boys in the same cart as her before walking off to find some alone time. She enjoyed being alone - away from everyone - she was used to it and she grown to love the peace and quiet. Violet walked into what was labeled 'her room' and glanced around. The room was better than the one at home, the furniture looked so expensive - Violet felt that one touch would destroy the fine wood.  

I nod at Iris’ suggestion, prompting her to continue peppering me with questions.

“What are some of your strengths? You’ll want to be sure to use them to catch the attention of sponsors, in training, in the interview, and obviously, in the arena,” Iris inquires.

I don’t like talking about my strengths, never have. No matter how hard I try to be humble about it, I feel cocky talking about something that I’m good at. But, I guess now isn’t the time to be reserved. I need to lay it all out on the table if I intend to come out victorious, which I do.

“I can grapple, I know that. Prison made sure of it,” I say.

Nodding, Iris responds with, “That’s a good strength to have, you’ll want to build it up in training. There’s usually a hand-to-hand combat station, or something of that nature.”

“I did a lot of manual labor in prison. It definitely built up my strength,” I tell her.

“Good, good. That’ll come in handy, it always does. You can always use strength to your advantage when doing anything in the arena. Remember that.”

“I’m used to surviving with little accommodation. Food was never in abundance in prison, and neither was clothing, blankets, and basically anything that is part of everyday life for most people,” I state.

“A good strength to have. Another one that will come in handy in the arena,” Iris remarks.

I’m running out of things to say, whether it be because I don’t have any strengths left to list, or that I can’t think of any more from being put on the spot. Luckily, the airing of the reapings is introduced, and our mentoring session concludes for the time being.

Naturally, District One is first. I can remember from when I had a television that District One’s reaping was always so uniform, and the one for the Fortieth Games is no exception. The escort rips open envelopes, announcing the chosen tributes this year. Neither look shocked or too upset, although some of the other eligible kids there do.

The escort for District Two gives a long ass introduction before the girl is chosen and the boy volunteers. He seems confident. Before I can make any more judgments, the screen cuts to the reaping for three.

I find myself zoning out at this reaping. It’s neither unusual not interesting, typical of the outlying districts.

The chosen girl from four makes quite the scene. Apparently the girl designated to volunteer chickened out at the last minute, resulting in Fantasea being sent off to the Justice Building. Her attitude is entertaining, to say the least. Following the scene that she makes, the male tribute is reaped.

District Five’s reaping is uneventful, as in it’s just as normal as the one for three. Then we get to District Six. I watch as the girl is reaped, and then as I volunteer. Finally the boy is chosen and I’m off screen. I didn’t realize how awful I looked up there in an orange jumpsuit. But I looked confident and sure of myself, so who gives a fuck? Certainly not me.

The District Seven female is reaped. She attempts to run away, but is then promptly escorted to the stage by peacekeepers. The boy looked almost happy to be reaped. I couldn’t exactly decipher his thoughts on screen, but I got the sense that he wasn’t sad to be sent off into an arena in which the rules were simple. Kill or be killed, with it being understood that cannibalization is frowned upon.

The girl from eight, Jayne I think her name is, is chosen by the escort after she drops the first slip. Someone screams her name as she gets on stage, but it was clear that she was too shocked to react. Once the boy was reaped, District Nine came.

The girl didn’t even bat an eye upon being reaped. She simply walked on stage and stood there, looking out at the audience with indifference. For the District Ten reaping, a girl is reaped, followed by a boy who makes just a bit of a scene before mounting the stage and shaking hands with his chosen partner.

A girl with bright red hair is chosen to compete as the District Eleven female. A bit hesitantly, she treks to the stage, seemingly avoiding eye contact with someone in particular. The boy, Arias, seems dazed on stage. A typical reaction to being reaped.

The girl looks calm, but with shaky hands, you can tell she’s frazzled. As for the boy, he seems upset, but not too upset. Thunder erupts before the reapings conclude.