gravitational pull // sunrise & laney

There’s an art to observing the other tributes, but I definitely haven’t figured out the knack of it. Some – the careers – move around the training center like they own the place, like they will not be leaving it along with the rest of us. They bring to mind the bullies from my home, and I try not to flinch away from them when they yell or yield fear and intimidation as a weapon.

Still, I’m drawn to them. Maybe because I don’t understand them. Maybe because, despite their terror, they remind me of home.

That’s why I end up watching Laney. She’s got the bones of a career, but there’s something else there– something I can’t quite pinpoint. I tell myself that I’m trying to find solidarity, just like the rest, but it’s a surface belief. In reality, she's a mystery I want to get to the bottom of.

Dissonance in my thoughts keeps me at bay for a few hours, hovering in her orbit. I revolve around the stations surrounding hers, straying to the edges of my comfort zone. Sooner rather than later, I’m completely drawn in.

I stride up to Laney with a smile. ”I noticed you training. You’re really impressive.”

Will she destroy me? My guess: probably.