I woke up before anyone else. I took a shower, and changed into the training outfit that had been left on the edge of my bed. I twirled slowly in front of the full-length mirror, trying to convince myself that this wouldn't be so bad. The black shirt and pants was a little tight, but I was pretty sure it was made to be like that.

When I left my room, I ate breakfast alone, except for an Anox girl, who only greeted me with a nod. George came out soon after me, and sat beside me. I was already done, so I fiddled with my earrings.

"You'll want to take those out," George said, startling me. I slowly nodded, taking them out gently and wrapping them in a yellow napkin. I hastily placed them on my bedside table, sitting back down before our mentors and Violet appeared. Edina nodded to us, and we silently followed them to the elevator.

We were the first at the training building. I shivered; it was rather cold, but I assumed it would warm up once everyone was here. The door opened again to reveal the District 1 tributes, Cornelia and Marcus. They were arguing.

"I don't need protection, Marcus!" Cornelia said sternly.

"Lia-" Marcus began, but when he saw us, he pressed his lips together, turning them white. Cornelia smiled a bit, and walked over to stand by me, Marcus on her other side.

"Thank you for making him shut up," the redhead said to me, and I giggled. Cornelia smiled, then turned to talk to Marcus again.

"Just you and me, remember?" George whispered to me, and I bit my lip and nodded. Cornelia seemed nice, but what she said was probably true: she could take care of herself. But I could still remember how everyone jeered at her and pushed her toward the stage; I felt a bit bad for her. I was distracted by my troubled thoughts by the door opening again.

"'Sup losers," a boy with light, curly brown hair said. It was Noah, from District 2. Beside him was Brenna, the female tribute. Right behind them was District 7, Beatrise and Albert. Albert whispered something to Beatrise, who giggled. Brenna whipped around, narrowing her eyes.

"What's that you say about Noah's parents?" she accused. Beatrise paled, and took a step behind Albert. Albert just glared at Brenna and pulled Beatrise by the arm over to stand by Marcus. Brenna tossed her hair, and talked quickly and quietly to Noah. Noah clenched his fists, looking ready to punch someone.

"Are we starting already?" everyone turned to see a girl with dark brown hair with highlights of lighter hair. "Guess it wouldn't be past District 2 to take out the competition early." Beside her was a tall boy, who had messy dirty blonde hair and muscular arms.

"Patricia and Gary of District 12," I whispered to George, who nodded. Noah unclenched his fists for some reason, looking at Patricia, and both tributes stared at each other with angry expressions. Noah looked away, and stood beside Brenna and pushing me out of his way to stand by Cornelia.

"In order by District, Spark," Noah said, smirking. I turned red. Spark was a name other kids had used to tease me in school, but other Districts used it to humiliate us, telling us that our job wasn't important.

"Ignore him," George whispered to me, and led me to stand in our designated spot. It was marked on the floor with a five. The door opened again, revealing a girl with curly red-orange hair and a boy with spiky blond hair holding hands. I blinked, but my eyes weren't fooling me.

"They reaped people who were dating?" I thought, dumbfounded. "That's just cruel. Stacey and Carlos probably don't like that." Sure enough, Stacey seemed to have a permanent glare on her face, and Carlos just looked mad.

"Aw, how cute!" Brenna laughed, though she was hanging on Noah's arm. Noah smirked, and poked Cornelia and Marcus, who both just nodded.

"That's not very nice," said a brunette girl in the doorway. The District 4 tributes had arrived: Hanna and Gordon. Gordon whipped his black hair to the side, rolling his eyes. He looked at me, inclining his head to her, as if saying, "Look what I have to deal with!" I smiled, and Gordon did too.

"Do us all a favor Hanna," Gordon said. "And shut up." Hanna turned red, and some of the other tributes laughed. I smiled at the girl, who just looked away.

"We're allowed to talk to each other?" District 4's male tribute Toni asked as he and Kristina entered. Kristina nodded to him, her short black hair shining a little as it moved. Toni nodded, but both were still quiet after that.

Fiona and Horace were silent as they entered, both looking like animals about to be killed. Gilbert and Vikki of District 9 were also quiet. Vikki kind of surprised me; her hair was dark and her skin pale, though she must work in the fields. Barry and Lauren of District 10 came next. Barry had a weird squint, and Lauren walked with an aura of the tough popular girl who could ruin your life with a single smile.

Last, Joshua and Gloria arrived. I caught Joshua's eye, and he gave me a small smile. I smiled back. Gloria saw us smiling, and grabbed Joshua's shoulder tightly, whispering in his ear. His smile disappeared, and he looked away. I felt hurt; had I done something wrong? The pair stood in their spot, and right away, a door opened on the far wall. A woman was standing there. She had tan skin and black curly hair. She was wearing the same black outfit as us, and her narrow eyes commanded attention.

"Alright tributes," she said loudly, "this is where you will train for the Hunger Games. We can teach you all the survival skills you'll need to survive: hunting, weapons training, plant identification, camouflage, and many other things. Instructors will be at each station to help you if needed, and I will be watching all of you. No fighting. Now start!" Everyone immediately headed to different stations. Noah led Cornelia, Brenna, and Marcus to the group of weapon training stations. Noah grabbed a sword and began to spar with the instructor. Cornelia, Marcus, and Brenna began working with the spears. I couldn't keep track of anyone else except George.

"I'm going to plant identification," he told me before heading away. I stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do.

"Hey," I turned to see Joshua, "You want to work with me?" Joshua was a bit taller than me with ginger hair and freckles. I nodded, following him to the knives station.

"I'm Josh," he said as we began practicing, "I'm 14. You?"

"Lucia," I replied, "I'm 14 too." He was silent for a moment.

"Got family at home?" he asked, staring at and fiddling with the knife in his hand. I nodded.

"Mom, Dad, Caroline, and Harry," I said. I didn't stop throwing the knives until one finally hit the dummy in the leg. Josh stared at it.

"I've got a mom, dad, an older brother, and a little sister," he said, pausing for a moment. "Fleur was crying when I left. Tell her I love her when you get back, okay?" I blinked, faintly surprised. He nodded, put the knife down, and headed over to the snare station. I knew right then I wouldn't be able to attack Josh. I also felt even more focused on getting home. I turned, grabbed the knife, and threw it.

A direct hit to the heart.

Author's Note: Finally! I've been so busy lately with school, jazz band and show choir starting, and writing other challenges. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Jamez S: Glad you're enjoying it! I hope you liked this chapter.