\\I'd Rather Be// {Bane}

Pettissa Arnold

I've just finished my energy bar when a girl walks up to me. She introduces herself as Blitz Howard, and says Mr. Zakros directed her to me. Well, that was fast. I don't try to stop the smirk that appears on my lips as a result of her words. She thinks she's better than me. She thinks whatever training I have prepared for her isn't worth her time. She'll be a difficult one, but at least I'll have some fun with her.

"You can take off that belt," I say. The belt around her waist is decorated with various blades. There's even a sword there. I have no doubt she knows how to use them all. I walk over to a mat that no one is using and gesture for Blitz to follow me. "We'll be starting today with push-ups. Fifty for a start, and we'll see how it goes from there."

I sit down on the mat, then get into a position for push-ups. "I expect you'll be able to keep your back straight the whole time. And I want you to go down this far." I demonstrate, bending my arms until my face is about an inch away from the mat. Then I straighten my arms and do it again. "If you mess up, you'll have to start all over again. Ready?"

I stand back up again and wait for Blitz to either get into position or start protesting. My eyes find Mr. Zakros, who is only about ten feet away, supervising. his eyebrows are raised as he looks back at me, no doubt wondering why I'm having Blitz do push-ups. I roll my eyes at him. A smile cracks across his face. He knows that whatever I'm doing, I must have a reason. And I do.

Pettissa Arnold

I watch as Blitz does her push-ups the hard way. I remember being like her, trying to prove to everyone that I was better than them. Trying to prove that I was far superior, and they should all follow my example. Or perhaps that's not what she's doing at all. Perhaps she's just one of those people that likes to defy authority and will do whatever they can to be difficult. Another possibility is that she's looking for attention. If she's anything like I was when I was a Career, and what I'm still like now, it's a combination of all of these things.

Blitz's arms start shaking before she's only halfway done. I'm amazed she can finish at all. I'm not sure if I would have been able to, if I had been doing the same thing. I admire her for having such good form, even when it was getting very difficult for her. "Next?" she says. I shake my head at her. She did a good job, but she didn't do what I asked. I can't let her think she can get away with whatever she wants.

"I don't think you were listening when I gave you my instructions." I get down on the mat again and demonstrate a push-up again. "Like that. Sixty more push-ups, and this time, the way I asked. Showing off won't get you anywhere with me, Ms. Howards."

Pettissa Arnold

I have to admit, this girl has grit. There's not many Careers here who could do the amount of push-ups I've asked of Blitz. Oh, there's plenty that act tough, but hen you ask them to do something to prove it, they find a way out. Pretenders, they are, and not deserving of a place here. But you can't really kick them out just because they can't bench the 250 they're boasting of. Those people are afraid of failure. Blitz here is a determined girl, and while she may not like to fail, she certainly seems not to mind risking it.

I would ask her to do sit-ups next, but I think she's proven to me already that she takes training seriously. She's strong and determined, and she's shown it. I'm satisfied with that. Also, she knows how to take orders. That may not seem like a good thing, but at some point in everyone's life, they have to take orders. Even me, as head-strong and self-confident as I am, know that taking orders every once in a while is not bad thing. In some instances, it may even save your life.

"If you'd like, you can go get a drink. When you get back, I'd like you tell me what sort of training you've been doing so far. What things you're good at, what you think needs improvement, that sort of thing. Then we can really get started."

Pettissa Arnold

While Blitz is off getting a drink, I settle down at my table again, taking a sip from my own bottle of water. I'm trying to come up with different ways I can train her, depending on what training she's already had. I think back to my own training days, which weren't all that long ago. The drills that I was put through are still used here, as is evident just by looking around the center.

When Blitz gets back, she lists off the things she's good at. I like that she doesn't try to sound humble and hide how good she is to me. It's better if a person is confident in themselves, and doesn't mind bragging a little bit now and then. But of course, too much confidence can be a bad thing. All someone has to do is look at me and see that's true. I was always so sure I'd be picked to go in the Games. I gave up so much because The Hunger Games were more important to me. I broke up with my own boyfriend, the one person who understood like me no one else. He gave me an ultimatum-him or the Hunger Games. It's not hard to figure out what I picked.

Of course I regret ending things with Roland. He was amazing and perfect, and he understood me. But I guess he always deserved better. I shake myself out of these thoughts, trying to focus on the moment instead. It surprises me that Blitz didn't mention any practice hand-to-hand. It's always good to know how to defend yourself without a weapon, especially in the Games, where you don't know for sure if you'll actually get one.

I lead her over to an unoccupied mat. "We're going to try a little hand-to-hand. Let's start with you trying to block. I'll throw some punches at you, you block them, and we'll see how you do. Okay?" I wait until her hands are in a ready position before I put my hands into fists and ready myself. I remind myself to put enough force behind the punches that they'll reach Blitz, but not so much that I'll give her anything more than a bruise.

Pettissa Arnold

One of us is gonna be here and
One of us is gonna be running
Off alone into the great unknown.

When Blitz tells me she's ready, and her hands are in position, I throw my first punch. I aim for her face. Her arm comes up quickly to block it. My next punch is in the same area, but with my other hand. When she blocks that one as well, I aim for her stomach. She blocks it nicely. Though she didn't add hand-to-hand to the list of things she's good at, she might as well. As far as I can tell, she's pretty good. Then again, she's only blocking, and that's fairly easy.

I try throwing the punches a bit faster. She blocks them for a while, and after a few minutes, I manage to catch her on the shoulder. I'm breathing hard by now, so I pause to catch my breath. "You're not too bad at this." I don't know why I've complimented her. Compliments make people weak and cocky. They make people believe they're better than they really are. And if someone gets too confident, they'll start thinking they can do things that they really can't. Things like getting into the Hunger Games. No, it's much better to always be working hard, hoping to someday be good enough to get compliments. Maybe that's a little twisted, but looking back, I think that's what I would have preferred.

"Why don't I block now? We'll go until you land a punch on me." I won't go easy on her. I'm going to block her punches like there's no tomorrow, and show her that nothing about this is easy. You can be great at sword fighting and horrible at hand-to-hand. It doesn't matter. Skill has nothing to do with getting in the Hunger Games. And if her ultimate goal isn't to be in the Hunger Games, then I don't want to train her anymore. I don't like it when people become a career just because their friends are doing it, or because their parents want them to. People should want to train because they're serious about being in the Games. Any other reason isn't good enough for me. I have no respect for people that don't take this seriously.

You're not me, you're a model of freedom
All you need are your kicks when you need 'em
Come and go, caught that slow.

Pettissa Arnold

With one hand off the side,
We get farther away in the blink of an eye.

"If I wasn't bad at this, you wouldn't have landed a punch." Well. This girl sure knows how to piss a person off. I shouldn't have even wasted my breath complimenting her. Just goes to show, compliments are good for anyone. "Ready?" she asks, clearly mocking me. God, this girl. Why did Mr. Zakros think it would be good idea for me to train her? Did he do it just for laughs? If so, that man has a sick sense of humor.

Blitz throws her first punch before I'm ready, but I still manage to block it. More punches come my way, and I block them all. From the force behind her attacks, I'd guess she's really determined to hit me. Well, too bad for her, but I'm just as determined to block her. The fight continues for a few minutes. Blitz starts sweating, and I might be, too. I'm too focused to tell. Suddenly, she grabs my right arm and punches me in the ribcage. It doesn't hit me too hard, but I stagger a step backwards anyways, more from the shock of it. She cheated. not that people don't cheat in the actual Hunger Games, but...

"This is stupid. Why practice punching alone? It's a real fight that counts." Before I realize what I'm doing, my right hand flies out and slaps her hard across the face. Even after I realize what I've done, I don't let any emotion show on my face. I know I shouldn't have done that, but I don't regret it. Blitz really and truly pissed me off. My face stolid, I tell her, "I was under the impression that you wanted to learn something here, so excuse me if I was wrong. While you have every right to think this is stupid, you should probably keep such opinions to yourself in the future. I've never trained with you before, so I'm just trying to get a feel for what you can do, so I know what there is to improve on." I give her a second to soak in my words. "And yes, maybe the real fight is all that counts sometimes. Punching, kicking, grabbing, tripping, all of that makes up a fight, and more. But the Hinger Games aren't fair, and they certainly aren't predictable. Take a look at Heron Kimberling. She has no legs. Do you think she's going to be kicking anyone anytime soon? Do you think she can fight exactly like she used to when she did have legs? She probably has to rely on her arms more than ever."

I walk back to the table where I left my water bottle and pick it up. I think of one last thing to say to Blitz, so I turn around and face her again. "From our time together, I'd say there's one big thing you need to work on. You need to learn how to suck it up and do what you're told. Because in the arena, that might be the difference between life and death." I don't try to hold back the acid that creeps into my words. I want her to remember this, want it to be a lesson. I don't want today to be something she forgets easily. Then I stalk off towards Mr. Zakros, who, I realize, has been watching me since I slapped Blitz.

"I'm sorry Mr. Zakros, but I don't think I can train Blitz." He raises his eyebrows at me. "You're a lot of things Pettissa, but I wasn't aware a quitter was one of them." He puts a hand on my shoulder as he walks away, towards Blitz. Even after he's long gone, his words stick with me. Because he's right. I'm overconfident and cocky, but I never quit. Never. So why start now? I turn around to see Mr. Zakros talking to Blitz. I can hear his words.

"I'm really sorry about this, Blitz. We can schedule you for a private session with another trainer, free of charge, if you'd like." I don't give Blitz a chance to answer, because I run up to Mr. Zakros' side and answer for her. "That won't be necessary. Blitz is my student, I'll train her." I swallow hard, and decide to take a bit of my own advice. Suck it up. The three words I live by. Suck it up and admit you're not always right. Even though I believe I can do anything (most of the time), that doesn't mean that everything I say and do is exactly right. I still want Blitz to learn something from my words, but I want to be able to teach her more. So I swallow up my pride and say, "That is, if Blitz will have me."