At dinner I sit between Oakley and Mable and across from Tyler.Tyler is next to Julia and someone I still don’t know. Mable is at the head of the table and next to Julia and I. I am still unsure of who sits at the other end. Oh well, most likely I will die in a few days and none of this will matter. Or maybe, just maybe, I will be crowned victor.
When as the food is served my mouth begins to water. A traditional capitol dish, Is the first thing the blue eyed blond haired avox places on the table. It is stew of some sort. It contains lamb and figs or prunes or maybe dates. Then the main course comes. It looks amazing, it is some kind of fish with lemons and capers on it. YUUM! The avoxes leave the food on the table and head back to wherever they came from. My eyes scan the entire table quickly. Oakley must see the hunger in my eyes because he looks at me and laughs almost silently, so only I can hear. He once again wraps his pinky around mine and begins to eat. This time I actually eat as much as he does.
“So, will we start training tomorrow?” Tyler asks
“Yeah. You guys better go and kick some ass out there.” Oakley replies almost inaudible because of how much food he has in his mouth.
“I am kind of worried. I mean what if all the other tributes are mean and try to kill us in the training center because we know nothing, and we will die first in the arena anyways?” I ask
“Hey.” Oakley says with any remaining food in his mouth gone.
“You, won’t die first. You are going to be crowned victor in two weeks. And besides it won’t happen, the peacekeepers will get to you before anything happens. And don’t worry, you’ll be fine. There will be many other people who know even less than you so.” Oakley says, I can tell he believes what he says. I just wish I could too.
“Hey, what are you implying? That she will beat me? No way in hell that’s going to happen!” Tyler proclaims rather rudely. Oakley gets up from his seat and places both of his palms on the table forcefully.
“What the hell did you just say? No, really? I want to know, cause’ this chick is going to beat the living shit out of you. And if she doesn’t, I’ll personally send a parachute to you with a miniature bomb inside that will kill you and only you!” Oakley moves away from the table and storms to his room.
“He can’t do that.” Julia pipes in “Sponsors can’t send bombs.” WOW! That’s all she can think of to say.
“Tyler, I am sorry. He overreacted. And most likely I’ll die first. I will make sure he doesn’t send you a bomb too.” I say really sorry for what just happened.
“It’s fine, he’s a ticking time bomb. We all knew he was gonna pop sooner or later.” Tyler says still being rude
“I am going to pretend you didn’t just say that, and let him send the bomb, but only if I don’t kill you first.” I stomp off and, find my way to Oakley’s room.
He is on the edge of his bed with his elbows on his knees and his hand on his face. Crying. I walk over to his bed and sit on my knees in front of him. I grab his hand and try to comfort him anyway I can. I put my other hand on his leg and move my thumb back and forth in an attempt to calm him down. He looks up at me, his big blue eyes are filled with tears, and his face is red and swollen again. He quickly hangs his head back down.
“It’s going to be okay, I will kick his sorry little ass all the way across the arena.” I say trying to make him smile. He lifts his head back up again and smiles at me. I stand back up and place one hand on either knee and then I lean forward and his his forehead. His muscles relax a little underneath my palms.
“And after I kill him, I’ll come back to you, I promise” I kiss his forehead again, grab his wrist and lead him to the bathroom.
“Let’s wipe these tears away, and just focus on the games. Kay?” He nods his head and sits himself on the marble counter once again. I pat his face down once more and the swelling is mostly gone.
“Thanks.” He says in a monotone voice
“Hey, you’re my mentor. If you can’t keep your crap together than how will I in the arena?”
“You’ll do fine. You’re going to win after all.” I hope so...
“Let’s go get some raspberries.” I say. He laughs. It brings a smile to his face so I’m fine.
“What?” I ask
“Like I said, all you eat are those damn raspberries.” I laugh this time. We walk into the kitchen and take some raspberries from the fridge. It’s almost ten, but not quite. I eat a handful and so does he. I put them back in the fridge. I head into the sitting room and plant myself on the couch, and turn on the TV Oakley sits next to me and intertwines his hand with mine. I lay my head on His shoulder and drift off to sleep. I wake up being carried to my room in Oakley’s arms. He pulls back the sheet and places me in my bed. He kisses my forehead and begins to exit, before he can leave I have to ask,
“Stay with me?” I plead. without another word Oakley snuggles up beside me, wraps his arms around my waist, and I am fast asleep.

After I finish my remaining raspberries and lemonade I decide to take a shower. I walk into the this time realizing how big this room really is. The countertops are either marble or granite, I can’t tell which. They sparkle as the bright lights reflect off of them. And the shower is enormous. It has twenty plus showerheads easily. And so many different settings, pressure, temperature, scent of soap, type of soap, all sorts of different options. I put everything on medium and select the raspberry soap. After I finish my fruity shower I put on some sweatpants and a tank top. I find some slippers in my closet and slip those on too. I decide to bring out my dishes so the avox don’t have to deal with them.
When I get into the sitting room everyone turns and looks at me funny. I don’t understand. Oakley isn’t out here. I wonder where he is?
“Why are you all staring at me?” I ask
Mable walks over to me and grabs my hand, she leads me back to my room. She drops my hand and shuts the door.
“I don’t know what you’ve done, but whatever it is keep doing it.” She says
“What?” I ask still confused
“Well, You see, Oakley hasn’t been the same since the games. He has always been so serious, and angry. We tried to help him, but nothing has worked. Then as soon as you and Tyler got here, he’s acted totally different. His spirit is lighter, he isn’t angry anymore, and he’s... He’s happy again.” She tells me
So that’s my district partner’s name, Tyler. Wait, why is he all of the sudden happy. He has to train people to try to cheat death.
“I still don’t get it.” I say still confused
“It must be you, all of us have been with Oakley from the start and he hasn’t changed because of us. He hasn’t spoken to Tyler yet, so it must be you.” She explains “I don’t know what you’re doing, but it’s working. Maybe he just needed a friend, but I am not sure.”
“Okay, he’ll be fine for a little while, but what happens after I go into the arena, and after I die?” I ask
“Well, you’ll just have to win then, won’t you?” She spins on her heel and exits
I guess I’ll have to win if I want Oakley to be happy. I still don’t understand why, me, of all people make him happy. But I do, so I have to try. I need to work my butt off in training. I need to score a high number in private sessions, and wow the capitol in the private interviews. This is going to be tough, but I’ll try.
Oakley burst through the door peeling me out of my thoughts. He has a worried look on his face. It’s gone as soon as he sees me though. He rushes over to me and hugs me around my arms, not letting me hug him back. He kisses my forehead and places me back down.
“What’s wrong?” I ask
“Oh... Nothing.” He says. I can tell he is holding back something.
“ Tell me, what’s wrong? I can tell.”I demand
“I didn’t know where you were, and I got worried.”
“It’s okay, I’m right here.” I say and stand on the tip of my toes wrap my arms around his shoulders awkwardly because of the height difference. He leans down and wraps his arms around my waist. He buries his face in my neck and begins to cry. As he silently sobs his tears dampen my hair. I just let him cry until he’s done. Several minutes pass like this and he lifts his head up and looks me in the eye.
“I don’t want you to die. You can’t go in the arena.” He says still sobbing. I wipe away his tears and kiss him, because that’s the only thing I think to do. He kisses me back innocently.His lips are salty and moist from the tears. I his mouth is warm on the inside but his lips are cold, almost icy.He releases his lips from mine and pulls his head back to look at me. His tears seem to stop, but his face is still red and swollen. I look up at him and smile.
“I’m gonna do it.” I say
“What?” He asks confused
“ I am going to win, and come back to all of this. Come back to you.” I tell him hoping I will be able to do as I say
“Promise?”
“Yes, I promise. There is no way anyone can beat me if I know you are waiting for me.” I smile up at him again and this time he smiles back down at me.
“Come on, we’ve got to go clean you up!” I say trying to be enthusiastic. I grab his hand and lead him towards my bathroom.
“Why does your bathroom smell like raspberries too?” He asks. I can tell there is a smile from ear to ear on his face without even looking.
“I took a shower earlier and used raspberry soap.” I reply. He laughs and sits down on the counter next to the sink.
“You know, I thought you smelled like raspberries because you ate them so frequently. Not because you shower with them .” I laugh and he just smiles at me. I turn on the water and let it run cold. I grab a face cloth and hold it under the water until it is completely saturated in water. I turn off the tap and wring out the towel. I wrap the cloth around my hand pat Oakley's face until all the red spots are gone. He hops off the counter and grabs the towel from my hand. He quickly spins it around and whips the towel at my bum.
“OW OAKLEY!” I whimper. He laughs and throws the towel on the counter.
“Sorry, I had too.” He says still laughing like an idiot
“Really? Did you really have to do that?” I ask sarcastically
“ I said I was sorry.” He says in a sarcastic voice placing his hand on his heart. Just then Mable walks in with a happy, trying-to-be-angry look on her face.
“Come on! Time for dinner!” She says obviously trying to to enforce her capitol accent. Mable is actually pretty normal for someone from the capitol. Her hair is strawberry blonde, usually curly and framing her face. She has a regular skin tone, but she wears heavy make-up and bright clothing. The clothing she wears is bright and colorful, but simple and elegant. She seems pretty young too. Late twenties to early thirties I’m guessing. But I guess you never really know in the capitol.

After the parade I changed out of my dress and into some little shorts and an oversized tee shirt. I was surprisingly hungry when I got to my room on the fifth floor, so I decided to have a snack more raspberries and lemonade. YUMM! Oakley walked in and laughed at me. I didn’t understand why.
“What’s so funny?” I asked
“Is that all you eat?”
“What?”
“All I have seen you eat is damn raspberries!” he said sarcastically
“ OH! No, they are just my favorite food. We don’t have many in my district.”
“I know, we’re from the same district! Silly!”
“Well, If I am going to die in a few days, why not eat what I want?”
Before I know it I am in Oakley’s arms. He just barely lifted me off the ground by my hips, but I like it.
“Don’t you ever say that again! You can do this!” he said sternly
I think I am falling for Oakley. I have only known him for a day, and I am going to die in a few more. I better step up in training if I want to come back to him. He kisses my forehead and places me gently back on the ground. I never realized how tall he is, he has at least a few inches, I think.
“Oakley, how tall are you?”
“What?” he asks laughing at my question
“ How tall are you?”
“ I am 6’2. Why?”
“ I never realized how tall you were until now, and I just wanted to know how much taller you are than me.” I say trying to explain as best I can
“So how much taller am I?”
“ A foot, I am only 5’2”
“Wow, I knew you were short, but not that short!”
“ Oh, I’m sorry, are you making fun of me?” I ask sarcastically
“Yes I am.” he replies with a devilish grin
“Just let me eat my god damn raspberries!”
“No, we’re going to play a game,”
“What game?” I ask suspiciously
“It’s called give me my raspberry. I just now made it up.”
“ I can tell.” I say trying to pretend to be unamused
“Okay, here’s how it goes, I ask you a question and you reply honestly. Then you get a raspberry. You can ask me a question and I’ll answer honestly. I don’t get a raspberry though.”
“Okay.” I say
“What’s your favorite color.”
“What?” I ask taken back by the plainess of his question
“It’s pink right? At the reaping you were wearing a pink dress.”
“No! I hate pink! I like blue.”
He hands me a raspberry and chew it slowly while I think of a question.
“ After you are crowned victor, did you get to chose if you were a mentor or not?”
“ Yes and no, there are only a few victors from five. Me, Julia, Jackson, Brad, and Sophie. Sophie and Brad are a bit too old for mentoring, so Julia and Jackson volunteered.”
“Then why are you my mentor?” I ask confused
“ Calm down, it’s my turn for a question.” He winks. “Who did you leave in your district?”
“ My dad, and a few distant friends I hardly ever talk to.”
“Really, that’s it?”
“Yes.” I say confused “Hey! I get two raspberries now!”
“Okay fine.” He says trying to stifle a laugh
“So, why are you my mentor?”
“Uhh... I … Ummm... Volunteered to be your mentor after I saw you get reaped.”
“Why?”
“Because, I thought you were really pretty, and... umm... I wanted to protect you.”
“Oh, give me my raspberries. I’ll answer all the questions you want if you’ll answer mine.”
“Okay.” He gives me back my raspberries and looks deep in thought for a moment
“Did you leave anyone special in your district?” he asks “Like a boyfriend.”
“No, I’ve only had one boy ever catch my eye.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I have only known him for a little while.”
“Really?” He asks with a tint of sadness in his voice
“Yeah, he’s really tall too. Like a foot taller than me.”
“What?” he asks, the playfulness back in his voice
“Yeah, it’s this boy from my district, he already won the games once.” I say trying to be playful, but still meaning what I say
“Oh really, there is this one girl I happen to like. She’s really short and she just recently got reaped.” He say, I can tell he’s excited
“Oh really,” I say trying to sound sad
“Yeah, and she’s named after a flower.”
“Oh,” I say still trying to be sad
He pats me on my thigh closest to him, then he stands up from the bed and walks toward the door. Before he leaves he stops and half turns around, he winks and exits. All I can do is try to wipe the huge smile off my face.
@thehungergamesclique

Sorry it's so long...
 
As I depart I realize I am not leaving much, only a few distant friends and my Dad. I don’t even see him really, he’s in the coal mines everyday until well after I am asleep and before I wake up.
My district partner and I board the bus. What was her name again? I can’t remember. I have seen her in school before, but I don’t recall her name. I’ll figure it out. I turn my emotions off, they’re gone. I am just a cold walking body. I don’t want to be here. I had a life before. Now, I might as well be dead. It’ll happen. But I’ll try. I promised him I would. Maybe I can come home. No, it won’t happen, don’t think it will. Ever.
The train is very big, and fast. The eating compartment is bigger than my house back in district five. I hate that. They have transportation bigger than a house for 2. I go to my room and change out of my god awful dress. It’s itchy and scratchy and pink. I don’t like pink. I go back to my room and change into some yoga pants and a ribbed tank top. Then I put my hair back up into a high ponytail and I head back to the other compartment and see my mentors, they don’t seem happy with me. I wonder why.
“Did I do something?”, I ask
" Yes, you did.” says a tall strongly built man with chocolate hair no longer than two inches. His eyes are blue and filled with disappointment.
“What’d I do?” I ask truthfully not remembering what I did
“ Broken mirror? Remember that?” He asks
I forgot about that. I was just frustrated. I guess that’s why I turned my emotions off. I look down at my hand, it’s covered in blood and splinters of glass poke out of them. Whoops.
“Sorry, I got angry.”
“You can’t pull stuff like that in the arena.” He says. “You’ll kill yourself before another tribute has a chance.”
“But I am going to die anyways, just look at me.” I explain
“You can do this.” he tells me pulling me into a hug. I don’t even know him, but I except his hug. He is strong, and manly, he seems young too. Good thing. It comes back to me. He was the victor last year. He’s only 17 or 18.
I release from the hug, and my emotions come rushing back. I break down and sob. He pulls me into a hug again and brings me back to my room. He sits down and lets me cry in his lap with my head on his shoulder and his arms wrapped around me. he just rocks me back and forth and tells me everything will be okay. I want to believe him, but I can’t After I stop crying he tells me we have to eat. He grabs my hand and brings me back to the eating compartment. I let him.
I sit next to him, I still don’t know his name. I am really not hungry. He can see I am not going to eat, that I am going to just sit here. He wraps his pinky around mine under the table and nudges me to eat. I eat some raspberries, and a little miniature loaf of french bread. I can’t stomach much. He simply nods and continues to eat. His finger still intertwined with mine. When everyone finishes eating, we start to talk about training, the parade and everything else Hunger Games related. I still don’t know any names. I finish talking and go back to my room.
I sit on my bed for a moment and wish I was back at home. But I am not. I go to my bathroom and try to turn on my shower. After a few failed attempts I manage to set the shower to 45 minutes of hot minty goodness. I think I hear something at the door, must be nothing. I step out of the shower and look around for a towel. I can’t find one. I must have forgot to get one. I just assumed there would be one in here.
Well this is my room. I’ll just go to get one from my room. I open the door to my room just as he enters with a bowl of something.
“Hi.” I say casually
“ he turns around to leave and he trips. The bowl shatters. Why is he leaving he’s the one who came in here in the first place?
“ CRAP! I AM STILL NAKED!” I practically scream so all of panem can hear. He’s still on the floor. But he’s giggling.
“ It’s not funny.” I say irritated with him as I go to get some clothes on.
“How did you forget you were naked?” he asks with a laugh
“I don’t know, I guess I just didn’t have to remember since this is MY room!” I reply now fully clothed.
“Why’d you come in here anyways?” I ask
“ I noticed all you ate for dinner was raspberries so I came to bring you some more. And to... you know.” he trailed off
“What?” I ask honestly not knowing the answer.
“Check on you.” he responds
“ Why? I’m fine. And I don’t even know your name.” I say upset by the fact he thinks I need saving.
“It’s Oakley.” He says
“Iris”
“That’s a nice name, as in the flower, right?”
“Yes, it was the flowers at my parents wedding. They didn’t know what they wanted to name me and waited until I was born, then my mom died during my birth and my dad didn’t know what to name me, so he named me after my mom’s favorite flower.”
“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry.” He says pulling me into yet another hug, this time he leans down and kisses the top of my head.
“It’s fine.” I respond “I brought it up.” I say looking up at him
He kisses my forehead this time and leaves without another word. I fall into a deep sleep and I am rudely awoken by Mable, my district’s announcer person at the reaping, I don’t remember what they’re called.
Apparently we have the tribute parade today. I hope I don’t look stupid, like all the other tributes from previous years. I am actually really scared to go to the parade. I get dressed and make my way to the main compartment. Oakley and my district partner are sitting there waiting to arrive at the capitol. Oakley looks at me and smiles, he adds a playful wink too, I just roll my eyes. We sit and talk about nothing until we get there.
I step out of the train and I am escorted to a building where they will “fix” us for our stylists. I think Oakley could see I was nervous, he wrapped his pinky around mine and brought me to my prep team. He kissed my forehead and whispered in my ear,
“They look crazy I know, but they’re nice. I had them.” I laugh and he walks away.
They strip me down to nothing and lay me on the table. They hose me down with scorching hot water, then wax every inch of me. Then scrub me with a brush, and hose me off again, They pluck my eyebrows, and give me to my stylist. I can tell she’s crazy. Oakley was wrong. She puts me into a dress without a word. it’s huge and yellow. I must be the sun, natural energy. Nevermind, I like her. I literally glow. The fabric is luminescent and shines brightly. She hands me some golden slippers and makes a twirling motion with her finger. I spin around. She then looks at my hair.
“What should we do with it?” she asks
“I normally put it in a ponytail.”
“Good, do it. And then you can leave.” she says
I put it up, and before I know it I am on a chariot. I was the only one glowing. I felt like everyone was staring at me, but if they liked it, that meant more sponsors. Good. I’ll need it if I want to live. What am I saying? A hours ago I wanted to die. What is happening? @thehungergamesclique

I made this template, Hooray! Go ahead, use it!

I want some snow

Diamonds in the sky,

I decided to make a set before I fell to sleep.