Chapter Five - Alek

Alek really wasn't much interested in the other District Reapings. He hardly paid attention when they showed him volunteering for Ernst, and outright ignored the commentary by the reporters. All he remembered from the second district was that their male tribute looked like a bit of a prick. He looked pretty strong, though, which was both a blessing and a curse. Often tributes from wealthy districts teamed up and killed off everybody else one by one, before turning onto each other. Hopefully he'd be as dim as the others back in District 1.

The other Districts went by in a bit of a blur. The others commented on them occasionally, but they mostly just said numbers. He knew what they were doing, and it sickened him. They were judging how easy it would to kill them. They gave the two tributes from District 8 both twos. Riva complained that they would probably be a one in the end, but Volger hushed her.

"Never underestimate your opponent," He told her. "You never know what they may be hiding." Riva huffed, and turned back to the television as the District 10 Reaping began. As always, they started with the female tribute. This year's was named Deryn Sharp.

The camera focused on a girl in the middle of the crowd. At first, she was surprised but then quickly gained her composure and walked as calmly to the stage. As she slipped from her age group, he was able to get a good look at her. She was tall and slender, with boyishly cut sandy blonde hair. Her skin was pale, but he wasn't sure if that was because she was terrified, or if she was just naturally that color. But what startled Alek the most was how blue her eyes were. They weren't like Riva's, whose eyes were always cold. They were clever, and, under different circumstances, he could've said they were downright mischevious. However, that didn't hide the panic she was obviously containing.

"Ten," He found himself saying. The others looked at him with a frown. "She's going to be the hardest to kill. A ten."

"Really?" Riva scoffed. "She looks more like a four, if you ask me." She shrugged her shoulder. "In all honesty, are they sure she's a girl? Looks awful lot like just a boy in a dress to me."

The female mentor smiled, "What makes you think she's a ten, Alek?"

Alek shrugged. He really didn't know why. "Her composure," He bluffed. "All the other tributes who looked like decent competition barely could keep their composure. She, on the other hand, looks relatively calm."

Volger and the other mentor were nodding, while Riva rolled her eyes. "Well, as long as she doesn't take any of our kills," she mumbled, turning back to the screen. An older boy, a person Alek assumed was her brother, was fighting against two Peacekeepers to reach Deryn, but she continued walking towards the stage. When she arrived, they called out the male tribute, a boy who looked near identical to her named Dylan. The two of them were escorted into the Justice Building, and the Announcers began talking again.

"Well, that was interesting!" One of them, Eddie Malone, said. "What do you think, Adela? Could District 10 provide this year's Victor?"

A female voice spoke up, sounding a bit bored. "You never know, Eddie. Their last Victor was a surprise victory. Who knows what we can expect from these young tributes."

The Announcers continued to talk, until the program ended. The Reapings for the last two Districts would come later that day, but Alek wasn't intending to watch.

"I'm going to bed," He announced, standing from his chair.

"But it's still light out!" Riva protested with a pout. "And we haven't eaten yet. You can't be really tired, can you?"

Alek sighed, and began to make up an excuse for why he wanted to leave, until Volger spoke up. "I'm sure Aleksander just wishes to conserve his energy. He is going to need to look his best for the parade tomorrow. How can he do that when he's half asleep in the chariot?" He sighed. "Besides, there's never anybody interesting in the lower districts. He won't miss much."

Shocked, Alek began to turn back to the door. He couldn't believe his luck. Was Volger actually trying to help him?

"In fact," the older man continued. "I might leave myself. Sponsors frown upon drowsy mentors." He began to stand up, and Alek sighed. He knew there had to be a catch.

Volger walked quickly over to the door, and Alek sighed again, opening the door for the older gentleman. With a fake smile, Volger walked through the door and into the following car. Fortunately, this was the sleeping car where Alek's room was located.

As Alek walked forward in the hall to reach the door, Volger quickly stepped in front of him, blocking his path. The older gentleman looked down on Alek with a patronizing frown. "You're going to have to learn better than that if you want to convince anyone in the arena," He told Alek. "It may have convinced Ms. Castlefall, and her mentor, but it will never convince another tribute."

Before Alek could speak up, Ernst continued. "However, I believe you were right in calling that District 10 girl a ten. So, I supposed you aren't completely hopeless." He shrugged, and stepped out of the younger boy's way. "I supposed we'll just have to wait and see." Without another word, the man turned and walked ahead to the next car, where Alek assumed the mentors' rooms were.

Alek stood in the hall for a moment, watching the man disappear behind the sliding door in shock. With a shake of his head, he pulled the door to his compartment open and walked through, running a hand through his hair. Now, not only did he have to deal with twenty-three other people out for his blood, but a strict, and more-than-slightly rude mentor.

Just get some rest, he thought to himself. You're gonna have a long day tomorrow.

Okay, so I have no right to say I'll post again soon or anything. This is an insanely short chapter because, I felt like if I continued to add the parade/makeover scene, it would become way too long way too fast.

I really apologize for the four month hiatus.

My friend has yelled at me for waiting to write, so you all can thank her for this chapter

So sorry again.

-Jules