So hungry!!! [Dee] //blitz

Perhaps she should have made a greater effort to meet the other tributes, but she wasn’t one to sit at another table and at that point, it was clear the groups that were being formed. It was also clear to Anni that she was going to be alone going to the arena and most likely an easy target for all those big groups. So she sat by herself at an empty table, picking at the food on her plate. She knew she needed to eat, to build up her bodyso she would have a chance of surviving—these would be the last meals she would ever have—but she hardly had the appetite to take more than a few bites.

Her fork was moving across the plate with no clear purpose when she heard a boy’s voice above her. Without moving the rest of her body, her eyes flickered up to see who it was. It was the District 11 boy, holding a plate of food that still looked hot. He was asking to sit across from her for some reason she didn’t understand. She nodded her head, wondering if he too was alone or if he was going to try to torment her. She knew better than to trust the other tributes, always keeping her guard up, but they couldn’t all be bad, right? Some of them had to be just as frightened as her. “You’re from District 11, right?” It was a question with a very obvious answer; she had watched all of the district reapings and the number on his uniform gave her the answer. She didn’t know how else to start the conversation, though, and she hated the tense silence that always happened when no one was talking. "Why aren't you sitting with the others?" she asked bluntly. Surely, he had been sought out by the other tributes.

She didn’t know who he was other than by his district number and gender, but she let out a little laugh when he said he didn’t trust them. And he thought that he could trust her? Or maybe he just wanted a place to sit. She smiled as she looked at her half-eaten food. She understood what he meant by not liking big cliques—she was rather shy herself—but she didn’t know what to show any sympathy. He was just another tribute after all.

But when he gave her his name, she knew she had to at least return the favor. “Hi, Ari. I’m Anni.” She went back to picking at her food, before looking back up at him curiously. “You say you don’t trust them. Then why would you trust me?” Going through the motions, she scooped a bit of lunch and ate it, mulling over what she had just asked. “I don’t trust you,” she said earnestly before eating more of her lunch. She wasn’t even that hungry, but it felt like she needed to do something other than stare at the boy who sat in the seat across from her.

"But you seem pretty interesting."

Anni couldn’t maintain her stoic expression anymore when he responded. He had such a logical way of thinking that was rather welcoming compared to the brute force she had expected from the other tributes, especially the volunteers. After all, no one was crazy enough to do that unless they were confident they were going to make it. “Sorry, I’m not laughing at you. It was just a good response, I had to appreciate it.” Anni was talking a lot, uncharacteristic of her, but for some reason, she felt almost obligated to explain her laughter.

Her expression went back to indifferent as he responded to her observation. He didn’t really add much, seeming to think she was “interesting” as well. If anything, she was certain that he had said that either out of respect or confusion because there was really nothing interesting about her. He asked for her name meaning he had not heard her, something she was not surprised by. “I’m Anni,” she repeated, speaking a little more clearly before eating the last bit of her food.

“Why did you volunteer? Not many people do from District 11.”

She didn’t really see how the answer was complicated so much that it was flawed. She had heard about the conditions in District Eleven, but barely, and it was difficult for her to imagine a place that was so terrible that a kid would volunteer to go to the Hunger Games just to escape. Not only was he trying to escape, he was coming into the mentality that he was going to win the Games. How else was he supposed to be helping his family? Sure, he would be one less mouth for them to feed, but she really couldn’t comprehend any other solution besides winning the Games and bringing some fortune to District Eleven.

She nodded slowly, but she kept her puzzled look on her face. Yes, he was definitely interesting, but Anni couldn’t quite pinpoint why. Deciding that this conversation would not go anywhere if they lingered on the question of him volunteering, she changed her posture and decided to treat him like someone to talk to, not someone she would have to face in a fight later on. “So what do you think of the training?” Anni considered adding how terrible she was doing in the training center, but knew better than to disclose such information to a potential enemy. But if he was a potential friend, wouldn’t she want him to know so that he could help her? The atmosphere of the Games was starting to screw with her mind.

Anni noticed how he was eating the food with such a fervor that she could not understand. Maybe it had something to do with the difference between the two districts, but Anni didn’t know how it was possible for someone to eat so quickly without upsetting their stomach. She could see from his facial expression that training wasn’t a topic that he wanted to talk about, but he answered her question rather smoothly and vaguely. She had no idea if he meant that he was doing poorly or he just had a little room for improvement. The only indicator she was able to glean was that it wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t jumping from joy.

He pushed the question back onto her, and she squirmed in her seat, feeling a little uncomfortable. It was much harder for her to make small talk than she thought it would be, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to tell him how badly she had been doing in training. “It’s alright. I’m learning a lot, which I suppose is good. I just wish I had more time.” She was aware that her last sentence could indicate how poorly she was doing, but she really didn’t think much of it. There was really nothing she could do if he decided that he was going to be her enemy in the arena.