Balance
Laura entered the room nervously. It was supposed to be private training time, but the professionals also evaluated them and conversed with their colleagues. After the 7 days of training were up (an hour each day in the training room and 30 minutes with the trainers), they would all gather after breakfast on the 8th day to see their ranks. It was from 1-22, 1 being the lowest rated person and 22 being the highest.
Laura was sure she would at least not score last, she wasn't that bad. But she was afraid of a low rank. Her mind wandered to Carmilla as she put her hands in the pockets of her sweatpants and looked around. Carmilla was really good, it wouldn't surprise her if the girl got a rank of 22. Then again, the others she had talked to seemed to be very skilled too.
She was interrupted from her thoughts by a tall, scary looking woman sweeping into the room from a door on the other side. The room had a wall of weapons on one side and different dummies/targets on the other. The walls weren't just normal stone, they were painted pitch black. She shivered and watched the woman grab a clipboard from the wall before coming to stand right in front of her. She had blonde hair held back in a high ponytail and a sharp jawline.
"First, some questions."
Laura nodded and tried to avoid the trainer's penetrating stare.
"Do you have experience with any of the weapons or methods in the training room? Here's the list."
Laura stared down at the paper. "Um.. I joined the fencing team but quit after 2 practices, and that's it. I mean, I guess I use a knife to cut steak, but I don't think that's what you mean. And then the training room, but that's different..
The woman nodded in response. "Favorite of those on the list?"
She sighed and looked down the paper. "Uh, dagger."
After minute of the only sound being the scratch of a pencil, the woman hung the clipboard back on the wall. "You can call me Grace. Now, let's see what you can do." She tossed Laura a dagger, who caught it perfectly. Admittedly, Laura had played around with throwing the dagger up and catching it for a while in the training room.
Grace taught her different techniques with the dagger for 10 minutes, but for the rest she taught fighting strategies and moves with no weapons. When she left, she was tired even though it was only 30 minutes.
She glanced to her right and saw Carmilla emerge from her room, the others doing the same shortly after. It might seem like a waste to have 22 rooms instead of using just one, but they went all out for the games.
Fitness was from 8-9 so Laura and the rest were herded there immediately after exiting private training. There were a lot of different things to do in the gym. There were exercise bikes and other things that Laura didn't know of in the right half of the gym. On the top left was mats and laminated paper instructing how to do lunges and other workouts. The bottom left was where the door led into, and there was a long pull-up bar on the wall. There were also weights on the ground and a rope hanging down to the right of the door.
Carmilla went to the pull-up bar, and Laura restrained herself from following. She interested her and seemed so mysterious, but she was also right. Getting attached was a bad idea.
She went instead to the mats and did some different things before going to lift weights. Danny and Mel were also there, as was Carmilla- still doing pull ups.
"Hey Laura," Danny said with a smile. Laura smiled back and began lifting.
After a few minutes, Danny broke the silence. "So, wanna join the Summer Society? We are forming a group that is way better than Kirsch's."
Laura glanced at Mel. She was probably in the group too, judging by her encouraging grin. "Sorry, but I don't think I'll join any groups."
Danny frowned. "Well, if you ever change your mind, tell me."
"Yup," she replied. It was painfully awkward for a time until Laura decided to just try out an exercise bike for the remaining time.
-----
After fitness was just an hour long period to get ready for bed. It was basically free time since it didn't take long to get ready. Laura was about to go join JP and LaF in playing Mario Kart on the tv when she saw Carmilla slink up the stairs and changed her mind.
Carmilla searched for another set of stairs and let out a sign of relief when she found them. They led up to the roof, and she made sure the door was unlocked before closing it behind her. She sat down and gazed up at the night sky. When a hand tapped her shoulder she startled, her heart beating faster than she thought possible.
"Sorry," Laura said. She bit her lip nervously.
Carmilla calmed down and sighed. "It's fine, I just wasn't expecting anyone. Speaking of that, why are you here?"
Laura moved closer to her so that their legs touched. "I followed you. You're like, the only one who isn't in a group or anything. It made me curious."
Carmilla smirked. "Stalking me, are you?"
She shook her head fervently. "No, no! I was just... I don't know. You were nice to me, and you haven't really talked to anyone else besides Will and arguing with people. I guess I was wondering... why?"
"You're cute," was Carmilla's reply.
Laura huffed in annoyance. "Come on, that can't be the only reason, you broody vampire."
"Im not a vampire, just extremely pale, ok? And well.. I'm kinda drawn to you. You're so innocent, so hopeful and bright. I see it in your eyes when you talk to the other district members. It's like you've forgotten where we are, what we're training for. Even though it's just the first day of training, I'm dreading the games. On the train here, most people were crying or talking about how we're all doomed. You talked to LaF and cheered them up. Then, today, you cry about killing them. Are you even worried about yourself?"
Laura looked surprised that she'd said so much. She looked at the stars for a few moments and then back at Carmilla.
"I hate this whole thing. Overpopulation? That doesn't justify having two matches to the death every year. It frustrates me that I was selected. I'm not afraid of dying, my dad kind of does the worrying for me. I'm just mad that I couldn't find a way to stop this somehow. It's not right. Still, if I can't stop it, might as well enjoy the time we have left and encourage others to do the same. I'm kind of hoping as the days go by, the games will just... cease to exist. I don't know. That makes no sense, I know. You probably think I'm crazy and naive for thinking I could ever help."
Carmilla gently placed a hand on Laura's which were in her lap.
"We can balance each-other out, cupcake," she said softly.
Laura looked at her and then up at the stars. She wasn't exactly sure what Carmilla meant, but she didn't ask. She turned her hand over and interlaced their fingers together. Maybe they could be friends for these days before the games. It made her shiver to think of what would happen when they had to fight each other, but she pushed the thought from her mind and focused on the sky.
"I've always loved the stars," Carmilla says after a few minutes. "I like to think of how small we are in comparison. We're nothing to that light."
She nodded and squeezed her hand. "Such a philosopher."
Carmilla laughed and looked at her watch. "We have thirty minutes until we have to be in bed."
"Okay."