Chapter Six: Training Scores

Lucy started the throwing knives course with some difficulties, but she vowed to continue as this was a very helpful course. She thought she better give this is a go as it could come in handy whilst in the arena. If a tribute tried to attacked her and then get away, throwing a knife would be easier than fiddling with a bow and arrow...if the cornucopia had a bow and arrow...she was more likely to find throwing knives in the cornucopia. 

"Trying throwing knives are we?" Clove asked as she approached Lucy. Lucy froze and was about to run off when Clove grabbed hold of the back of her shirt. "Don't run off, I'm not going to hurt you." She snapped. "Just because I come from the same District as Cato doesn't mean I'm the same as him." 

"I'm sorry for judging you," Lucy apologised quickly as Clove let go of her training centre top and stopped. 

"I want to help you out, I think you'd make quite a good addition to our alliance...if you had the skils. So that's why I'm going to teach you them." Clove said wisely then grabbed a throwing knife out of her hand and with one click of her hand, the throwing knife went through the air and hit the target perfectly. 

Lucy gasped. "You're really talanted." 

"I know," Clove flipped her pony tail behind her shoulder and smiled modestly. "Heard you're quite  skillful with a bow and arrow but we're here to learn about knives so I'll teach you now." 

Just like Marvel had done, Clove taught Lucy somewhat patiently how to throw knives. It was surprising that she wanted to help a weakling out rather than dismiss her and make sure she died in the arena. 

"I think we'll get along pretty well in the arena, what do you say?" Clove asked as they finished throwing the knives. 

"I think so, and I'll be sure to remember your tips if I kill a tribute," Lucy laughed nervously and tried not to think of how Clove would viciously kill a tribute. 

"Hey, Lucy! Come try out spear throwing!" Marvel called at the other end of the arena. 

"You coming?" Lucy asked Clove. 

"No thanks, I think I'll stay here. But — " she lent forward and began to whisper in her ear. "I'll try and convince Cato that you'll be a good addition to our alliance, OK?" 

"Thank you," Lucy whispered back before running off to join Marvel. 

"Why's Clove getting all friendly?" Marvel raised an eyebrow as he handed Lucy a spear. 

"She said that she wants me in the alliance, she even taught me how to throw knives!" Lucy smiled as Marvel laughed. 

"Don't get too friendly, you could just find yourself in a spot of trouble with her in the arena." 

"I trust her though." 

"You trusted Glimmer too, but look where that got you," Marvel sighed and gestured to the training centre. "I'd kill viciously if she was here, I'd even finish her off myself. Well...I won't now anyway, that'll be your job when you get home." 

"Marvel!" Lucy whined. "Stop it!" 

"OK, OK, I'll stop. But I have faith in you." 

The two of them threw spears together until training was up and they returned to their floor and sat down to watch a bit of Capitol television. Both were nervous about tomorrow's training scores, as to what they would receive from the Gamemaker's. 

"I hope you get something good, Marvel, you deserve it," Lucy said. "You've been training since you were very young and getting a good training score would mean everything to you." 

"It would mean a lot to me, just to wipe the smiles off of the District 12's faces...scum they are," Marvel sneered. "Thinking they're all superior because they had the best tribute parade costume." 

"I think someone's jealous!" 

"Jealous!" Marvel looked at her in shock. "I'm not jealous! I'm just fed up of those two stealing all the attention!" 

"You do realise that you'll get sponsors no matter what, right?" 

"Not necessarily," he huffed as Lucy looked down. 

"You kissed me in the tribute parade, surely that will win us some sponsors. Right?" 

He looked up at her miserably. "Perhaps." But then he looked down again. "Lets just hope tomorrow goes well." 

*      *      *

The clock counted down steadily until it was signaled for everyone to get off of their plates. 

Lucy ran, the scene around her that she couldn't quite make out was not her main priority at the moment, she had to get out of the cornucopia before she was killed. 

"Oh, Lucy!" Cato called, he held a sword in his hand, much like the one in the training centre he had been using. "Spear boy's not going to save you now..." 

"No!" She screamed and ran as fast as she could, but she tripped on something and was suddenly entangled in a net and then something hit her back. 

It was a spear. 

One of Marvel's spears. 

"Because spear boy's part of our alliance," Cato laughed as Marvel joined in with him. "I think he'd like to do the honour of finishing you off too." 

She heard Marvel laugh once more as Cato handed him his sword and then he began shouting at her: 

"Up! Up! It's a big day today!" 

"What?" She asked. 

"Get up!" 

"Up! Up! Come on, Lucy!" Kathleen yelled outside Lucy's bedroom door. 

Lucy opened her eyes to find herself on the floor with her sheets tangled around her, this muts be what she thought was the net. 

 "Come on, now, you want to get a good training score I presume?" 

Lucy un-tangled herself from the bed sheets and got up and swung open the door, startling Kathleen. "There, happy?" She grumbled and tried to forget Cato and Marvel trying to end her life in The Hunger Games. 

"Get dressed, Marvel's already in the — " Kathleen began when Marvel swung open his door, as his door was opposite, Lucy could see that he was exactly the same as her; a sleep full of nightmares. "I stand corrected."

"Go get breakfast, Kathleen, we'll be there in a minute..." Marvel yawned and the two of them kept quiet until the thud of Kathleen's heels disappeared. 

"Thought you'd be up and ready by now," Lucy rolled her eyes, feeling anger towards him because he could easily flip out and be her nightmare Marvel. 

"Even if I'm confident about the games, I'm not confident about the training scores." He replied. 

"Just throw a couple of spears, it'll be fine." 

"I guess it can't be too hard..." he mused. "Well, see you at breakfast." 

"You too," she nodded then walked into her bedroom and slammed the door shut, trying to think if by using a bow and arrow would be enough.

'In a way it kind of tests your smartness' Lucy remembered Rookie saying and tried desperately to think what weapons, or skills, she would use to impress the Gamemaker's:

Bow and arrow. Definitely.

Throwing knives. Maybe. 

Spears. Possibly. 

She had to work to her strengths and the only weapon that seemed to take her fancy was the Bow and arrow, although she was skilled with throwing knives too. Because rather than everyone else, her and Marvel would be at an advantage because they would be the first two to show the Gamemaker's what they were really made of. 

"Bow and arrow it is then..." she muttered and opened up her wardrobe and pulled out the training centre outfit that she'd wear for the very last time. 

*      *      *

"Marvel, you throw them spears like no tomorrow, OK? Lucy, you use that bow and arrow, I heard you're good with it." Gloss prompted at 3:00 in the afternoon as they walked towards the elevator. "Don't speak to anyone when you're downstairs, don't even make eye contact, you just keep yourselves to yourselves. Is that clear?" 

"It's clear," Marvel said as they stepped into the elevator and were whizzed down to just below the training centre floor. 

When the doors opened they realised that they were the last one's there today, because all the other tributes were staring at them. 

"Remember what I said," Gloss ordered in a whisper as her shoved them out and the elevator doors closed and he was taken back to District 1's floor. 

Lucy and Marvel ignored everyone and tried to look superior as they sat down next to each other and stared into the distance but they couldn't avoid Rookie's constant stares. 

'Why does she keep looking at us?' Lucy thought to herself as Marvel gave her a quick glance as if to say: 

'She's trying to figure out what we're going to use in the training centre...but we both know she's going to get a good score.' 

'Damn.' Lucy thought as Cato glared at them. 

"Marvel Sanford, District 1," someone called at the end of the corridor. 

Marvel stood up and walked towards the open door where the voice had come from. Then it slammed shut, causing everyone to jump. Lucy looked at everyone else and saw they were just as anxious as she was, except possibly Cato and Clove who looked very prepared. 

Ten minuets later, the door opened again. 

"Lucy Dime, District 1," the voice called again. 

Lucy's stomach flipped as she stood up and walked slowly towards the door. 

This was it. 

It was the time to show the Gamemaker's all that she had. 

The door closed behind Lucy and she jumped. Lucy composed herself before walking up a few stairs and found herself back in the training centre for the very last time. 

She looked up and saw in the balcony that all the Gamemaker's were watching her intensely and all of a sudden, all that confidence that she had gained in the past couple of day's blew out the window and she was left with little or no experience. 

"You may begin," Seneca Crane prompted as Lucy realised she was still standing there. 

"Thanks," she said in a voice that was barely audible. 

Lucy walked towards the weapons and grabbed the bow and arrow she had only just been familiar with yesterday, her heart pounded against her chest as she aimed for the target...

What did Marvel say about her shoulders? She couldn't quite remember...and how did she hold the bow and arrow correctly? She just couldn't remember. 

So she brought the string of the bow back and let the arrow go, shakily. 

It didn't hit the target. 

It didn't even hit the board. 

It fell straight to the ground. 

Lucy gulped as she grabbed herself another arrow and tried again, she was getting frustrated as her temperature rose...

She let go of the arrow and it lodged itself not even near the target...but at least on the board. 

Lucy placed the bow back and went to the throwing knives station, she figured that the Gamemaker's would be bored if they saw another tribute using the spears so throwing some knives would be the best option. 

She took a few off the rack and threw them quickly, one hit the outer ring of the target and the other fell off. 

'What's wrong with me?' She thought just as Seneca Crane stood up. 

"Thank you, Miss Dime, we've seen enough." 

Lucy nodded weakly and headed out of the training centre. She made her way to the elevator and stabbed the button for District 1 and when she made it to her floor and the doors opened, everyone looked at her. 

She bowed her head. 

"How'd it go?" Gloss asked as he placed his glass of wine down. 

Lucy stepped out of the elevator and looked at the three of them once, before dashing off to her room. She didn't need to talk to them, they didn't need to know what had happened. 

She got out of her training outfit and put on one of the outfit's that Marcel had given her and sat on the bed. She didn't need to think about what had happened at the training centre. It had all just been a bad dream. 

When she woke up she'd be able to go down to the training centre and give it everything she had...but somehow she knew this was reality. 

"It's not your fault, It's not your fault, It's not your fault..." she whispered to herself as she buried her face in her hands. 

But secretly she knew it was no one's fault but her own, she had been the one who'd failed to use the bow and arrows and the throwing knives, she'd been the one who had forgotten everything when she needed her skills most. It wasn't Marvel. It wasn't Gloss. It was her fault. 

Knock, knock. 

Lucy stood up and opened the door to find Marvel standing there. He had got changed since she'd seen him a minute ago into something his stylist had prepared. 

"Just wondering if you're alright," he said as he itched the back of his neck awkwardly. 

"I'm fine!" She laughed. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just seemed a little...off." 

"Don't know what you're talking about." 

"Come on, lets go back to Gloss and Kathleen...before long the training scores will be aired and we'll see what we've got." 

"Um, OK..." Lucy muttered. 

"First, un-do your hair." He murmured as he began un-doing her two plaits that Marcel had kindly done this morning (luckily she hadn't had to put up with Kathleen doing it this time.) 

"Why'd you do that?" Lucy asked. 

"Haven't seen your hair down since reaping day, it looks good like that." 

"Thanks..." she whispered and the two of them walked down the corridor and into the room where Gloss, Kathleen, Marcel and Marvel's stylist were sitting in. 

"You ready?" Gloss asked. 

Not really. Lucy thought. "Yes." 

Lucy and Marvel sat down next to each other just as the Capitol seal appeared on the television and then Caesar Flickerman appeared, sat down behind a desk and holding a sheet of paper that held everyone's scores. 

"Good afternoon and welcome back." Caesar beamed in his signature grin. "You've seen the tributes, they've trained for a couple of days and now they've got their training scores!" 

Caesar waved his piece of paper happily and Lucy tried not to think what was on there. 

"Like always we start off with our first District, the District of luxury...from District 1, Marvel Sanford scored — " Caesar looked at his sheet of paper, as a picture of Marvel appeared in the background, that held everyone's mystery training scores. "An astonishing score of nine! Congratulations, Marvel!" 

"Oh, Marvel! I knew you were going to get a good score!" Lucy smiled and hugged his arm as Gloss and Kathleen cheered wildly. 

"Shh!" Marcel silenced them all as Caesar began talking again, this time a picture of Lucy was in the background. 

"Also from District 1 we have our young lady, Lucy Dime. And in training she scored..." Caesar looked back at his sheet of paper, looked up at the camera again, then did a double take. He this time carefully looked back at the paper. Caesar turned to his right and addressed someone. "Are you sure this is right?"  There was silence then Caesar turned back to the cameras. "Lucy Dime, in training, you have scored...a four. But don't worry, my dear, I'm sure things will be better in the arena..."

Everyone turned to her and stared in shock. Kathleen looked as though she was about to hit Lucy, Gloss had disappointment in his eyes, Marcel just shook his head and Marvel looked worried for her. 

"Look, I'm sorry. You all know that I don't have it in me," she sighed. 

"Poor excuse, young lady!" Kathleen snapped. "Gloss has tried very well to train you but you simply play us the sympathy card! I have never been this disappointed in a District 1 tribute!"

"Oh, shut up, Kathleen!" Marvel yelled and stood up. 

"Marvel!" Kathleen gasped. "How dare you!" 

"I don't care if we're the most appalling tributes you've ever seen. We're much different to the 'other' tributes. So keep quiet and don't criticise us, otherwise I'll pick up on your faults too." 

"Well said..." Gloss whispered, Kathleen hit him on the arm in retaliation. 

"Lets just watch the damn show..." Marvel groaned just as Clove's score was announced. 

After District 2 came District 3 and both Lucy and Marvel were interested to see what Rookie got...

" — A fantastic score of eleven! Congratulations, Rookie!" Caesar cheered and both Lucy and Marvel were taken aback. 

"That was one point off getting full marks!" Lucy gasped. 

"But is it surprising though?" Marvel laughed. 

"No, but it's still fantastic!"

"It's a shame you couldn't of shocked us all like that," Marcel muttered in Lucy's ear.