1Riley's POV
I woke up, and glanced at the clock. HOLY GUACAMOLE. It was 7:57 am! I was supposed to report to the dining room at 8.
"Dakota!" I screamed, slipping on my pants. "You were supposed to wake me!"
"I tried 3 times!" She called from the door, shouldering her bag.
"You know I don't think you're serious until the 6th time!" I cried, strapping on my training boots.
"Ok then, I'll remember that next time," Dakota told me.
Bells rang through the Capitol, signaling that it was 8. Dakota grabbed my hand, and pulled me through the door.
We raced down the doors, and thrust the doors to the cafeteria open. We ran past the tables, and my face flushed as Lucas stared at me from 4. We sat down right as the blue haired girl grabbed the mic.
"Hello!" She hollered. "My name is Cynthia Gonzales! I am your principal, and your schedules are being passed out now!"
Right as she said that, a piece of paper materialized in front of me. I grabbed it, and read it.
Riley Matthews-District One~Luxury
8:00-Breakfast
9:00-Excersizes
9:30-Sword and Knife practice
1:00-Lunch
2:00-Bows and other ranged weapons
8:00-Dinner
9:00-Survial Tactics
10:00-Quiet Time
11:00-Lights Out
I folded it up, and slipped it into my boot. I memorized it now.
Breakfast was nice, eggs toast and fruit with milk. Exersizes were ok. It was sword and knife practice I had with Lucas.
"Hey, Riles!" Lucas called, running up to me.
No one had ever called me Riles, yet it seemed so farmilliar. Instead of wrapping my head around it, I gripped the handle of an iron spatha. Wait. Where am I getting all thos vocabulary? I shook my head.
"Boo."
"GAH!" I screamed and dropped the sword.
I whipped around, and saw Lucas there, a mischevious smile on his face.
"Why you!" I stomped on his foot. I sucked my cheeks in, and quickly shoved my foot behind me. I had never done that before. "Sorry," I muttered.
"It's fine," he told me. "I have protective boots on."
"Oh, right," I felt myself blush, feeling stupid.
Something jabbed in the back of my brain, saying this wasn't me. I scowled, telling myself this was me. But deep down I still thought somthing was wrong.
Lucas leaned over, and gave me my sword.
"Thanks," I mumbled, turning around to face a dummy.
It happened like this almost every day. Lucas scared me, I dropped a sword, I stomped on his foot, I apologized, he gave me my sword, I turned to a dummy. Well, that's how it went for a few weeks.
"Boo."
"GAH!" I whipped around after dropping a sword.
I turned and scowled. There, again, was Lucas.
"Hey Riley," he told me. "Meet me on the roof after lights out tonight."
Then he walked away.
I climbed the last rung of the ladder, still unsure about this. Then I pulled myself onto the roof, and, sure enough, Lucas was standing there, looking up at the sky. New Years on the roof I thought. Ok, now I was just thinking crazy stuff.
"So, Mr. Perfect," I scowled, crossing my arms. He turned. "What'dya want?"
He smiled, and walked towards me. He pushed my hair out of my face.
"You know," he told me. "You know that this isn't how things are supposed to be."
"Why would I think that?" I demanded, pushing his hand away.
"Don't you know?" He asked. "Had the nightmares, the weird memories that weren't yours."
"I mean, I guess," I grumbled.
"I do too," He answered.
"Oh yeah," I scoffed. "Guess I couldn't tell that from you asking."
Lucas laughed, and put his hand on my shoulder.
"Riley, Riley, Riley," He said, shaking his head. "This is a problem." He took his hand away as I glared. "Anyways, I'm here if you need to talk."
He scrambled down the ladder, leaving me with only my thoughts.
We didn't talk much after that, until the day we rode back home a few days before the Reaping. Then, Lucas raced up to me.
"Lucas?!" I exclaimed, startled.
"Riley!" he embraced me.
"Woah, cowboy," I told him, pushing him off me. Cowboy? Seriously? I thought. "Why'd you get lovey all of a sudden?"
"Because I might not be coming back," he whispered.
"Why?"
"Because I was chosen to volunteer."