Chapter 2, Part 3

A student of the future faces overwhelming odds during a life-threatening tournament.

I wrapped my shirt around my breasts and held my shorts around my hips as I walked down the hallway to the five student dormitories. A couple of people gazed at my body as I walked past, but I made sure no one got any ideas. Through body language and eye contact, I sent a clear message: Don't mess with me. You'll regret it. I closed the door of the dormitory behind me and found the first available cot, dropped my clothes on the floor, and slithered into bed.

 

The cool sheets against my bare skin felt quite comforting. I stretched out on my back just as the lights turned out. I laced my fingers together, rested my forearms on the pillow, and, after resting my head in my hands, gazed at the empty ceiling. After a moment of pause as my troubled heart settled down for sleep, I instantly realized there would be no getting rest for me tonight. The cot felt like the cousin of a rock, the pillow like the cousin of dark matter, the blankets like the cousin of a woolly mammoth. 

 

Joy.

 

For a while, I stayed up thinking. Thinking about the game plan. Thinking about home. Thinking about family. Thinking about my new social life here, and my new life altogether. And I thought about the Warden. My Warden, who sported black and gold. I hated him, but there was no denying he was gorgeous. I scoffed when I realized I had a silly smile on my face, which was quickly followed by lots of hushes as people tried to sleep. Every part of me screamed at me, telling me to avoid him, telling me he was bad news. Yet I was intrigued, like one is intrigued by the top predator of the food chain... No matter how much I told myself no, though, I just wanted to learn more about him.

 

Yet why should I? What would I learn? It's not like we could sit in front of a warm fireplace together and have a heart-to-heart chat. I didn't want that... right? He was an adult, and I would be merely a child in his eyes. If he saw me as much other than that, I would kill him the first chance he gave me.

 

Sleep, Jade. There's plenty of time to contemplate death and murder and killing tomorrow.

 

Joy.

Author's Note

This is an old work of mine, written when I was fifteen, inspired by a dream that I had. I discovered the work recently and liked it, so I have decided to revisit it. I will likely do a lot of editing and may add on to the story, or I may scrap it entirely. I would love constructive criticism over every aspect that could be improved.