Watching

[TheFoxFacedOne]

Chapter 17: Cole
I swirl the wine around in my glass, watching the liquid lap at the sides like bloody waves. The chatter swims around me like fish in a school, it's impossible to pick out individual conversations. I look up to see that most of the people have left their seats and have gathered in small clumps around the vast room. Most of them are Capital citizens but among them are 23 past victors, who like me have had a young person's life thrown into their hands. The people they meet at this Sponsor Banquet could make all the difference in the Games.
There a three Sponsor Banquets during the Games: the first is tonight after the first day of training, the second is the first day of the Games and the third is when the final eight is reached. This is the time when District Escorts and Mentors mingle with Capital citizens and businesses; their aim is to gain their support as a sponsor. I hate them because it reminds me of just how responsible I am for my District's tributes.
Cassia and Torey are in the corner with a couple of Capital people. Cassia spots me and beckons me over.
"Are, here he is now. Cole this is Flavious Cane and Augustus Reem, former Game makers. We were just talking about how you’re the first ever mentor to be mentoring their own child!" Cassia introduces me to them.
"Our yes, you must be so proud of the boy. He could be following in his father’s footsteps!" Exclaims Augustus as he shakes my hand.
"And you can share his glory if he does." grins Flavious, showing his silver teeth. Anger boils within me as I listen to these people joke and get excited about what my son is about to go through. But I clear my throat and say.
"Well, I can't take all the credit. Torey's as much his mentor as I am, so we'll have to split the glory three ways." Putting on the smile that accompanies this statement is almost painful, but they laugh all the same.
"Of course! We mustn't forget the incredible Miss Lawrence! I'm sure she's a fantastic mentor, nothing ruffles your feathers does it, my dear?" Flavious says, raising an eyebrow quizzically. Her face remains a mask.
"Nothing that you know of." This answer seems capture his attention.
"Oh, is there something you’re not telling me?"
Now I realise why they love her so much: they think she's mysterious. When you're surrounded by people who are as shallow as people like them, someone who's as hard to read as Torey must be completely captivating. They all want to find the human under the armour. And when she does allow you to catch a glimpse of her, she makes feel like you're the only one who's seen it. I don't know if this is an act or not but if it is it's ingenious. She has them eating out of her palm right now as she talks about Jed and Stella, they will sponsor at least one of them for sure.
"Hello, Cole." A voice almost whispers in my ear. I turn around to find a beautiful woman who barely looks older than the day she won the Games. Her blonde hair falls in ringlets around her shoulders and halter neck gown sparkles. By her side stands a man who looks like the male vision of her.
"Ah, hello, Cashmere. I see you and your brother are mentoring this year." I answer nodding to him.
"That must be good for you, Gloss. Who better to show you the ropes than your very own sister?” Cassia adds, trying to bring them into the conversation.
"Yeah, it's an honour to be chosen to a mentor considering I only won a couple of years ago myself and sharing that honour with Cashmere has made it even better," he answers with a smile. But Cashmere isn't interested in this small talk.
"I hope you don't mind if I borrow Cole for a few minutes, do you?” she asks.
"Of course not, you go can ahead, Cole. Me and Cassia will see if we can make an arrangement with these gentleman" Torey says.
We gather in another corner, out of ear shot of everyone else. Almost instantly their relaxed politeness washes away.
"Today one of your tributes showed my tribute up! I believe her name is Stella." Gloss growls.
"Excuse me?!" I splutter, shocked by this sudden confrontation.
"What, didn't she tell you about the treadmill thing? She challenged Chase to a race. The machine went to fast and he fell off. She made a huge scene, everyone saw what happened! The Game Makers were laughing at him!" He seemed to be getting angrier with every word.
"I realise your upset that Chase was humiliated like that, but I don't see what this has got to do with me…"
"You're her mentor. You tell her what to do in training. You..." He's struggling to stop himself from shouting now. Cashmere puts a hand on his shoulder.
"There, there, it’s OK, Gloss. I'll handle this. Why don't you be a darling a get us drink?" She talks him as if he's puppy. He does as he's told, leaving us alone.
"What he's trying to say is we think this was your plan." She says it sweetly but I can see she's as enraged as her brother.
"My plan?! I told her to stay away from the Careers and running! What happened was purely between her and Chase. Why would I want to sabotage his chances?!" I say, appalled by what she is suggesting.
"As one of the most successful Districts we expect some resentment and jealousy. But we have to work just as hard as the others, in fact more so because we have a reputation to up hold." She's says her voice getting higher by the minute.
"This isn't about reputation or winning streaks, Cashmere. It's about keeping our tributes alive."
"What do you think I'm right now?! I'm protecting our tributes by making sure nobody gets the better of them. You think that because I haven't been in this game as long as you I don't know how it works, but I know how these people think, how fickle they can be. One little slip could be the end of you." She answers through gritted teeth.
I open my mouth to apologise on Stella's behalf but my tongue develops a mind of its own:
"You're just ticked off that not everyone's afraid of them." At this her controlled demure shatters. She screams like a five year old having a temper tantrum.
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHO YOU'RE DEALING WITH!!! TWO CAN PLAY DIRTY!!!I CAN MAKE LIFE VERY HARD FOR YOU AND YOUR LITTLE TRIBUTES!!!" There is silence as every head in the room turns to face us, hungry for drama. Gloss appears at her side once again, holding two glasses full of drink. She grabs one without looking and gulps it down. Gloss looks horrified.
"No, Cashmere! That one was meant for..." but it's too late. The colour in her face drains as she clamps a hand over her mouth and rushes to the toilets! The laughter follows her across the room. Something tells me this isn't the last I'll see of her or her brother.

[ilovepeeta]

oooooooo drama

that was awsome

its really cool reading it from a mentors point of view

[TheFoxFacedOne]

oooooooo drama

that was awsome

its really cool reading it from a mentors point of view

Thanks I've always wondered what goings on behind the scenes because I'm sure it can be just as dramatic as the arena sometimes.
I have this really weird image of some mentors gathered around a water cooler saying stuff like: "my tribute owned your tribute!" "yeah well my tributes got a trick up their sleeve",the whole Cashmere and Gloss thing originated from that. It also links in very nicely to what's going to happen next ...

[ilovepeeta]

lol i cant wait

[TheFoxFacedOne]

I'm so happy I finally get to introduce this next character to you! (note: her name is pronounced few-sha in case you weren't sure how to say it).
Chapter 18: Jed
Stella and I have been lying low for most of training, choosing to hang around the survival stations and stay away from the careers again, especially after yesterday and what Dad had told us about Cashmere's threat. Stella's watching the girl from District 3 make snares with the same amount of focus and patience she had when making the dagger, copying her nibble fingers carefully. They sit in silence, quietly acknowledging each other's work with a nod and smile, not wanting to disturb this rare moment of peace. I linger at camouflage station next to them, painting my arm in a mud like brown paint. I wish was holding a sword in my hand instead of a paint brush because I know that's the only skill I have and I need to learn more, fast.
*****
I'm the first to finish lunch and I speed straight towards the sword station. There's no one else around so I can hear every swish of the blade as it cuts through the air. I slash at one dummy after another, knocking them off their unstable feet imagining they’re President Snow and his cronies, the people who dragged me away from my home and my mother to live in this nightmare. It feels good to finally unleash my anger on these lifeless beings as I stab the last one standing in the chest. Take that, President Snow!
As it hits the ground I hear someone slowly clapping behind me. I spin round to see it's the girl from District 1; she looks at me with a smile on her face.
"That's some pretty good skills you've got there, Jeddie" she says, striding over.
"It's Jed", I frown, uncertain of what to make of her apparent friendliness.
"I know. You do pretty well against those dummies but how well do you do against humans?” She asks continuing to move towards me, her sky blue eyes locked on mine.
"I've never used it on humans", I say before I can stop myself, not wanting to look weak. She inches away from my face now.
“Well you’re going to have to sooner later. How about sooner?" she almost purrs.
"Er..W-w-what?" I stumble, trying to step away from her.
"How about you fight someone now?"
"Who?"I ask. She rolls her eyes at this and grins mischievously.
"Me, of course. I'm pretty handy with a sword myself."
"I...I don't know." I murmur, getting nervous. "Dad told me to stay away from the Careers." She laughs her blue eyes light up and her intimating look is replaced by one of beauty. She sweeps her long, light blonde behind her ear.
"Oh come on, I promise to go easy on you. You need the practise and I need a new opponent." The rest of the Careers have come over, wondering what she could possibly be doing with a District 7 boy. Stella wonders over from the knife throwing station, flashing me a curious look.
"Yeah go on, District 7." Kayden sneers. "Or do you need Daddy's permission first." The rest of the pack burst into hysterics.
Embarrassment and anger fill me up, clouding my common sense.
"OK, you’re on!" I probably won't win but if I back down now I'll lose all respect from the Game Makers, who watch this scene from their private box. The girl gives me a wicked smile.
"Great" she walks over to a rack containing a collection of swords. She runs her fingers along the tops of the handles, as if she's looking for a good book on a book shelf. She stops at one with a scarlet handle and pulls it out. The instructor orders us to stand a few feet away from each other.
"Ready?" the girl asks. I nod.
"Then let’s begin!" She says a split second before rushing towards me, blade drawn!
A swing my sword in front of me. Just in time to block it. There's a tremendous clash as metal hits metal. She pulls away. We circle each other for moment before she swings it towards me again. Again I block it but this time I pull away and try to get a hit of my own. Our blades collide repeatedly as we go back and forth across the mat. I can see her calculating every move, handling the weapon with a knowing hand. She's had hundreds of fights like this. But I have adrenaline and instinct on my side. I also have strength and when it’s my turn to strike I put every bit of it behind the sword, forcing her to take a step back. I see the surprise on her face.
"I'm not as easily beaten as you'd expect." I say to her, my face centimetres from her ear. She pushes me away.
"We'll see about that! I've been going easy on you up until now!" she shouts. The Careers cheer as her strikes come thick and fast. I struggle to block them, my lack of experience finally showing. Suddenly her foot shots out and she kicks me in the shin! I scream and double over in pain, losing my grip on the handle. She snatches it out my hand and when I get back up she has one a hare's breath from my throat and the other resting at the back of my head!
We stay in that position for a few seconds, panting and staring into each other’s eyes. Then she releases me.
"Not bad, Jeddie Boy. Keep it up and you might just beat me next time." She says as if we'd just finished a game of chest instead of a sword fight. She walks away with the other careers, leaving me standing dazed in the middle of the mat.
"My name's Fuchsia, since you didn't ask. Like the flower." She calls behind her.
"Well there's defiantly nothing sweet about her." Says Stella glaring at Fuchsia's back. "No offence, Jed, but what were you thinking?! She totally owned you!"

[kittyzapp]

that was good! I figure what is was about too though

[ilovepeeta]

great chaper

[TheFoxFacedOne]

great chaper

Thanks . I came up with the character Fuchsia over 2 months ago and I've been dying to get her into the story ever since!

that was good! I figure what is was about too though

What ever could you mean ?

[ilovepeeta]

i really like her

[TheFoxFacedOne]

Good cause we'll be seeing a lot more of her...