❊Isadora Coral Baird (Beffery)❊

"Wow, that's gigantic!" Isa looked around in amazement. They had just entered the large building, which was probably the house of the tributes. She had learnt this from Lecan, Janine refused to speak to her for some inexplicable reason."I wouldn't describe it as huge. They're building one three times as big for the next Hunger Games," Janine replied, annoyed. Apparently she could now talk to Isa again."Why a new one? This one is in good condition."

Janine replied with a dismissive smile. What did Janine have against her all of a sudden?Shortly afterwards, the three of them were standing in a strange glass box. Janine pressed a button and suddenly the box moved upwards. She was amazed to see how everything below her became smaller. Lecan seemed more relaxed about the whole thing.When they reached the top, a woman and a man were waiting for them."Hello!" Isa greeted them politely. She felt Lecan's hand on her shoulder."Isadora, you'd better leave that alone." She looked at him in confusion. She just wanted to greet them in a friendly manner, there was nothing wrong with that."I'll explain it to you in a moment." With this answer, Lecan got out of the glass box. Isa and Janine did the same.

They entered a spacious room with a table, a corner with sofas and some pictures."Your mentors are waiting in your rooms. You can discuss your tactics with them." Janine showed them whose room was behind which door."Hello?" Isa entered her room shyly. "Isadora Beffery? I'm your mentor, Amylia Mitchell." Isa was confused. What exactly did she need a mentor for? "My what?" The woman smiled at her. "You don't know anything about the games, do you?"

 "Well, I know a bit more by now."

"Janine told me about you, you hardly know anything. I'll explain everything to you, then you can ask questions. It's best if you sit there!" She pointed to one of the three armchairs in the room. When Isa had sat down, Amylia began to explain.Isa nodded during her explanation. Some things were beginning to make sense, but not everything.

"And what do you get out of being my mentor?" Apparently Amylia Mitchell hadn't expected this question. "Well, if you win the Hunger Games, I get a certain amount of money and social recognition.""And if I get out of it, what do I get?""Actually, the same as me, but you would also get a house in the village of the winners.""We get the same thing, with the difference that I'm locked in an arena for life while you watch me?""You can put it like that."Isa didn't really know what to make of it.

"We should talk about your strategies in the arena and during training."Isa nodded a little absently. She was starting to get scared of this unknown arena."Maybe we should start with your strengths. What could help you survive in the arena?""Er, I think I know my way around nature quite well. But I also like to sing!""Singing won't help you in the arena either, you can't kill anyone with it.""Kill anyone? I don't want to kill anyone! Singing helps against fear." Amylia let out a sigh."This are the Hunger Games, no tribute can get away from it." Isa looked away. She would never kill anyone. No matter if she was in an arena or not."Good, you definitely need allies. During the three-day training period, you should look for mediocre tributes, so your chances of survival would be higher. Without allies, you'll be completely at the mercy of the careers.""What good are allies to me? If they betray me afterwards, they're of little use to me. And who are careers now?""That's why you have to see who you can trust and who you can't. The careers come from districts 1, 2 and 4. They train for the Hunger Games, volunteer at 17 or 18 to win the games.""Megalomaniacs, then?"Amylia nodded.

"That means they have more victors than any other district," Amylia added."Good, I think I can find allies.""Very good, next we need a strategy for the time in the games. When the starting gun sounds, try to run around the carnage, but still to the cornucopia. Whatever you can get hold of can save your life later.""I thought the bloodbath was the most likely way to die.""Exactly, that's why you'll be walking around the outside."Isa wasn't sure if that was the best idea, but Amylia had a lot more experience than she did.

"Once you've survived the carnage, you've done the hardest part. It's best to hide with your allies so that the careers can't find you. Towards the end, it's best to betray your allies at night, because you won't survive a duel during the day.""You said I need allies I trust, which logically means they have to trust me too. I don't betray anyone who trusts me.""It's the Hunger Games, Isadora. You can hardly trust anyone in the arena anyway. Every tribute wants to survive and return home."

Isa swallowed. If only she had never run away. Her mum had no idea where she was. And she couldn't find her father here.Now she had to go to the Hunger Games, and the way things looked at the moment, she would only leave as a corpse.

"Well, I think that's it for strategies for now. Let's go and eat.""Is it the food from the train? It didn't taste good at all."Amylia laughed softly."No, there's more choice here, you're sure to find something you like."

Lecan and his mentor were already seated at the dining table, and Lecan was very enthusiastically explaining the ways in which he could die.Judging by Lecan's face, he would love to demonstrate all the different ways of dying to his mentor.Isa quickly sat down next to Lecan, she didn't want to sit next to his enthusiastic mentor.Lecan's expression changed from annoyed to relieved when he saw her."I can't stand it with this guy," he whispered to her.

What do you think of Amylia?Will she be a good mentor?Do you think Isa will find allies?