Chapter 8 Chapter Eight Eleven Points

I strode towards the elevator with big strides, carrying the bow and arrow and quiver on both sides of my shoulders while walking. I pushed away Avax who was guarding the elevator, and hit the button on the 12th floor with my fist. The elevator door slowly closed , I went up quickly with the elevator.I want to hurry back to my room before the tears come out of my eyes.I heard someone calling me in the reception room, but I didn't answer, went across the hall, rushed back to the room, locked the door, threw myself on the bed, tears streaming down my face. Something has happened and I've ruined everything!If I had a chance, it was knocked away by the arrow I shot at the tournament organizers.What will they do with me now?arrest?execute?Cut off my tongue, let me become Avax, and serve other "tributes" of Panem Kingdom in the future?How could I shoot an arrow at them, what was I thinking?Of course, I didn't want to shoot them, I wanted to shoot the apple, and they ignored me, which made me very angry.I didn't mean to kill them. If I did, they'd be dead by now.

Well, after all, what does it matter?It's unlikely I'll win anyway.How do they treat me and who cares?What really terrified me was what they would do to Mom and Prim, how much would my family suffer because of my impulsiveness?Are they going to take their meager possessions and put Mom in prison and Prim in orphanage?They're not going to kill them, are they?why not?What do they care about? I should have stayed at the training ground and apologized.Or just smile and say it's just a joke, maybe they'll give me a high hand.Instead, I walked out of the gym with my head held high in arrogance.

Haymitch and Effie were knocking on the door, and I yelled at them to go away, and they finally did.I cried for at least an hour, then curled up in bed, stroking the silk sheets, watching the sun slowly set over the Capitol, the fairy-tale kingdom made of sugar. At first, I thought the guards would come and take me away, but as time passed, it seemed like they would not come.I calmed down, they still need female "tributes" from District 12, don't they?If the tournament organizers want to punish me, they can openly release hungry animals in the arena to bite me.By then, they will certainly not give me a bow and arrow to defend myself.

But before I even entered the arena, the organizers of the competition must give me a very low score, and the results will be announced tonight, so that no one with a sound mind will help me.Today's training is not open to the public. After the training, the competition organizer will announce the results of each player, and the audience will use this as a starting point to place bets throughout the subsequent competition.The scores they give range from one point to twelve points, with one point being an irretrievably low score, and twelve points being a high score, indicating that the player has considerable potential.However, the results themselves do not indicate who will win in the competition, only the potential of the players in training.In the arena, the performance of players varies greatly, and high-scoring players often have a sharp drop in performance from the beginning of the game.A few years ago, a winning contestant scored only three points in the first judging.Of course, the level of scores will also have a great impact on players in terms of sponsorship.Although my archery skills are not satisfactory, at first I expected to get six or seven points, and now my results must be the lowest among the twenty-four.If no one is sponsoring me in a race, my chances of surviving are pretty much zero.

Effie knocked on the door and told me to go to dinner, and I decided to go.The results will be announced on TV tonight, and I can't hide these things even if I want to.I went into the bathroom and washed my face, but it was still red and stained with tears.Everyone was waiting at the table, including Cinna and Portia.Somehow, I wish they hadn't come, didn't want to disappoint them.The success they had so easily achieved in the opening ceremony seemed to be ruined by me without even thinking about it.I sipped the fish soup with a spoon while eating, not daring to look up at anyone.The fish soup was so salty it felt like tears.

The adults were chatting about the weather forecast, and my eyes met Peeta, who raised his eyebrows, meaning, "What's wrong?" I just shook my head slightly.As the waiter brought out the main course, Haymitch said, "Well, that's enough talking, you guys haven't had a bad day, have you?" Peeta took a step forward and said, "I don't know how I did today. When I stood in front of them, they didn't even bother to look at me, as if they were singing some kind of toast song. I threw a few heavy objects, and then they Let me go." I feel a little better hearing that, and Peeta isn't attacking the tournament organizers, but at least he's angry too.

"What about you, honey?" Haymitch said. I was rather annoyed at Haymitch calling me "honey," and I said gruffly, "I shot 'em." Everyone stopped eating. "You what?" The fear in Effie's voice confirmed my suspicions. "I fired an arrow at them, not at them, exactly, in their direction, and like Peeta said, they ignored me, so I just... An arrow shot from an apple in the roast pig's mouth!" I defended myself. "What did they say?" Cinna said cautiously. "I didn't say anything, oh, I don't know, I just walked out of the training ground," I said.

"Didn't wait for the announcement to end?" Effie asked hurriedly. "I declare it over myself," I said.Then I remembered how I had promised Prim that I would try to win the race, and I felt a heavy weight on my shoulders. "Well, that's the way it is," Haymitch said, buttering the egg roll. "Do you think they're going to arrest me?" I asked. "I don't think so, it's tricky to make another change at this stage," Haymitch said. "What about my family?" I said, "Will they punish my family?" "I don't think so, it doesn't make a lot of sense, then the public wants to know what you did wrong and they have to expose what happened at the training ground. But because it's confidential, they can't let the public know, So they don't do that, it's a waste of effort to do that," Haymitch said, "they're more likely to come out and make things difficult for you in the arena."

"Well, that's what they're going to do to us anyway," Peeta said. "Exactly," Haymitch said.I didn't expect them to say that, and it gave me back a little confidence.Haymitch picked up a piece of pork and dipped it in the red wine. Effie frowned slightly when she saw it.Haymitch tore open another chunk of flesh, giggling suddenly. "What did they look like?" I felt the corners of my mouth curl up, "Shocked, scared. Well, they're ridiculous".The situation at that time appeared before my eyes. "There was a guy who fell backwards on a wooden ball."

Haymitch laughed wildly when he heard that, and we all laughed too, except for Effie, who couldn't help but say, "Well, they deserve it. It's their job to watch you show off your skills, you from District 12 It can't be an excuse for them to ignore you." Then she quickly glanced around, as if she had said something wild and unruly. "I'm sorry, but that's what I thought." She seemed to be talking to herself. "My grades must be low," I said. "Only the high score is noticeable, and no one pays attention to the low score or the middle score. Because they know that maybe the player keeps a hand and deliberately gets a low score. This strategy has also been used." Portia said.

"I'm probably only four, and I hope people think of me that way," Peeta said. "I just pick up the ball and throw it a few yards, and if anyone is worse than me, he's at the bottom. " I smiled at him and suddenly felt hungry.I cut off a piece of pork, buried it in mashed potatoes, and munched.It was so delicious.My family is safe, and as long as they're okay, it's fine. After dinner, we went to the reception room to watch the test results.Photos of "tributes" appeared on the TV, and their achievements were displayed below.Professional players naturally get a high score of eight to ten points, and most other players get five points. Strangely, little Lulu gets seven points.I don't know what skills she showed in front of the contest organizers, but she must have done well for her small size. The results of the players in the 12th district were as usual, and they came out last.Peeta scored an eight, and there must have been people watching his presentation.When my face appeared on TV, I dug my palms with my fingernails, thinking it must be the worst grade.Then eleven points appeared on the screen. eleven points! Effie Trinket screamed and everyone patted me on the back congratulating and cheering me on.But none of this seems real. "Must be wrong. How...how is that possible?" I asked Haymitch. "Maybe they like your curmudgeon," he said. "They still have to put on a show, and they need players who can excite the audience." "Katniss, Burning Girl," Cinna said, before giving me a hug. "Oh, wait and see, you still have a nice costume for the interview." "Are there more flames?" I asked. "Well, a little bit." He teased me. Peeta and I congratulated each other, and it was another extremely awkward moment.We're both doing well, but what does it mean for the other?I slipped back to my room as early as I could, with my head covered under the covers.The stress of the day, especially the crying, has exhausted me.I broke through a level and got a temporary relief. The number eleven is still flashing in front of my eyes. In the morning, I lay in bed and watched the sun rise slowly in this beautiful morning.Today is Sunday.It's a day off at home.I wonder if Gail is in the woods by now.Usually all Sunday we have food for the week ahead.Get up early in the morning, hunt and pick wild vegetables and fruits, and then go to the market to exchange.I imagined how Gale would hunt by himself in my absence.Actually both of us can hunt alone, but it's better to do it together, especially when it comes to catching big game.But even when catching small prey, it's good to have someone to help carry those heavy things. In this way, the drudgery of finding food for the family will become a relaxed and happy thing. The first time I met Gale was six months after I had been hunting alone in the woods, when I was having a hard time finding food.It was a cool Sunday in October, and there was a smell of rotting leaves in the air.All morning, I was busy fighting for nuts with squirrels, and in the afternoon, taking advantage of the warmth, I went down to dig "Katniss" in the shallow mud pond.The only meat I got was a squirrel that ran over my feet looking for nuts to eat.Anyway, I can't catch game, because the snow will bury other food, and the animals will always move around.I walked a little farther than usual that day, so I was in a hurry when I came home.I was lugging the sack when I saw a dead rabbit hanging by a string a foot above my head.There was another hanging about fifteen yards away.I recognized it as a trap, my dad used to use it.After the prey is caught, it is hung in the air to prevent other hungry animals from eating it.I've been trying to play with this trap all summer without success.So I couldn't help dropping the sack and thinking about the thing.Just as my hand was about to touch the thin line above the rabbit, someone yelled, "Danger!" Startled, I took a few steps back when Gail came out from behind the tree.He must have been staring at me.He was only fourteen years old, but at six feet tall, he looked like a grown-up to me.I've seen him in the Seam and at school.The same mine explosion that killed Dad also killed his Dad.I stood beside him when he went to receive his medal for bravery in January, another eldest son who lost his dad.I remember his two younger brothers hugging his mother, who had a big belly and was about to give birth. "What's your name?" he said, taking the rabbit off the noose, and he had three others strapped to his waist. "Katniss," I said, barely audibly. "Well, Catnip, stealing is punishable by death, haven't you heard?" he said. "Katniss," I said a little louder, "I didn't steal it, I just wanted to see your trap. The trap I set up won't catch anything." He stared at me in disbelief, "So, where did you get your squirrel?" "I did." I took the bow off my shoulder.I still use the small bow my father made me, but whenever I get the chance, I learn to use the big one.I figured I'd be able to shoot some bigger game in the spring. Gale stared intently at my bow. "Can I see it?" I handed him the bow, "Remember, stealing is punishable by death!" That's when I first saw him smile, and he went from a sinister guy to a guy you want to befriend.It was months before I gave him the same smile. We chatted about hunting, and I said I could get him a bow too, if he would trade it with me; not for food, but for his knowledge.I wanted to set up a trap myself, so that one day I could catch a rabbit full of belts, and he agreed.As time passed, we gradually told each other everything we knew, where to find plums, where turkeys were, and what we had in common.He taught me how to rig and fish.I told him which plants were edible, and finally gave him a bow that I valued dearly.Finally one day, it goes without saying, we became good friends.Difficulties are shared, and blessings are shared, so that the two families have food on the dinner table. Gail gave me a sense of security that I haven't had since my father died.He keeps me company, and my long, lonely days in the woods are over.I no longer have to worry about people watching me from behind, and hunting is much easier.He is not only a hunting companion, but also my bosom friend. I will tell him what I dare not say in District 12; he also trusts me in the same way. I was always happy in the woods with Gale. I call him a friend, but since last year, that word doesn't seem to be enough to describe Gale's place in my heart.There was a pang in my heart.How nice it would be if he were with me now! Of course, I don't want him in the arena, where he won't last a few days before dying.I just...just, miss him.I hate being alone.Does he miss me too?Definitely want to. The number eleven under my name last night is still running in my head, and I can totally imagine what Gail would say: "Well, it must be improved." Then he smiled at me, and I didn't mind Without hesitation, he smiled happily. I can't help but compare my genuine friendship with Gale to the fake friendliness I have with Peeta.I've never doubted Gale's motives, but I have to have my doubts about Peeta.Of course, the comparison isn't entirely fair, because Gale and I were never thrown into a situation where we had to compete with each other for survival, and Peeta and I knew each other's survival meant our own death.How can this problem be avoided? Effie is knocking on the door, reminding me that today is another "very, very important day".There's a TV interview with us tomorrow night.I guess the whole team is going to have their hands full for us. I got out of bed and took a quick shower, being careful when I pressed the button this time.Then walk towards the restaurant.Peeta, Effie, and Haymitch huddle together and whisper something.really weird.But hunger still got the upper hand, I ignored them and filled my plate with food. The stew was made with chunks of tender lamb and dried prunes, served over a wild rice stew.I was halfway through eating when I suddenly realized that no one was talking.I took a swig of orange juice, wiped my mouth, and said, "So, how about it? Today you're going to train us on how to do interviews, right?" "Yes," Haymitch said. "I don't have to wait until I finish eating, I can listen while I eat," I said. "Well, there's been a little bit of a change in plans regarding our current training methods," Haymitch said. "What changed?" I asked, not knowing what our current training methods were.Being invisible to another player is the single most important strategy I remember. Haymitch shrugged, "Peeta asked to train separately from you."