Moiré

"Hello, Moiré."

I'd know that voice anywhere. It belongs to my sister Mauvre. I snap my head up to see her standing just inside of the door. There's a look of pity on her face and it annoys me.

"Why are you the only one not happy about this?" I ask. She gives me a surprised look.

"Do you hear yourself?" she asks. "You're about to go into an arena and fight to death with twenty-three other kids and you're excited about it?"

"Of course. I've been training for this my whole life."

"Which I disagree about, but that was Dad's decision, not mine."

"Why are you so bitter?" I ask. Mauvre opens her mouth to retort, but thinks better of it. Her face softens and she walks to the window. She doesn't look at me when she talks next.

"I don't want you to die. It doesn't matter how many years of training you've had, something could still go wrong. Hell, the gamemakers could kill you if they're feeling that there's no action. You know? Brian couldn't possibly teach you how to survive unforeseen attacks like that."

"No, but he taught me how to fight," I respond. "The Academy is top notch, Mauvre. You wouldn't know seeing as you refused training."

"Because I don't want to die before I turn eighteen!"

Her sudden outburst shocks me. She hadn't raised her voice since the moment she stepped in here. But now she's mad at me. Why? Because I agreed to be part of the Hunger Games. And she thinks I'm going to die. The whole idea becomes ludicrous at once. Not my participation in the Games of course, but the thought of me dying in the arena. It's not going to happen.

I get up from the chair and walk over to my sister. I take her hands in mine and look her in the eye. "Mauvre, you worry too much. My training has made me a strong contender. I know I can beat out everyone else. You'll see me again in a few weeks time." She has tears in her eyes now.

"I believe in you sister," she says, reaching out one of her hands to stroke my cheek. "But I can't help worrying about you. Promise me that you'll win."

"Promise." We both grin simultaneously, setting us into a fit of giggles.

"Times up." The peacekeeper is back, standing in the doorway. I hug Mauvre tightly before she leaves. I promise her that I'll come home alive. She kisses me on the cheek before turning to walk out of the room.

Now there is no one else to come see me. I said goodbye to my friends yesterday so they didn't have to come here to the Justice Building to do it. I wished the kids at the Academy good luck with their training so I don't have to see them and my parents came in earlier.

I'm alone now, waiting for Leila to come collect me. She's our escort and will be traveling with us to the Capitol. I want to get going already. All of this waiting is driving me crazy.

I can't wait to come out of that arena as victor.

Blaze

"Don't touch me." I say, shoving away the peacekeeper's hand. He's trying to lead me down the hall to my room in the Justice Building, but I know where I'm going. I don't need someone to physically take me there.

As I turn the corner, I catch a glimpse of Moiré entering the room at the end of the hall. I smile to myself. She's tough competition. I've trained with her for ten years at the Academy here in District 1. The Hunger Games is what we live for and it's finally here.

The room I'm forced into is the first one in the hallway. It's strange how I'm at the start of the hallway and Moiré is at the end. It's as if they're trying to keep us apart, but they still want us to know each other is close by.

Strange.

The door opens almost the instant it shuts. I'm not surprised to see my two friends Leonis and Grandis bound into the room. I get up from my chair laughing and embrace them both.

"I'm so jealous of you," Leonis says. "I wish I could go into the arena this year."

"You should've beaten me out in the competition." I joke. This year, the Careers at the Academy had a competition to showcase the skills we had learned for the Games. There were two winners, one from the boys and one for the girls. The district was told to vote for the winners of this competition, me and Moiré.

"You know we had no chance." Leonis responds. I laugh. It's true. I was an animal out there. No one was going to stand in the way of me participating this year. It's the Quarter Quell. The victor of these specific Games will be held in high esteem for years and years to come. Who could resist?

"Listen, you've gotta go in there and attack right off the bat," Grandis says. "You need to intimidate the other tributes."

"Don't show your weak side." Leonis adds.

"And be careful. You never know what the gamemakers might throw at you."

"Learn how to make a fire in training."

"And how to find edible plants."

"Knowing where water is couldn't hurt either."

"But definitely get your hands on an axe or two."

"Yes. You're the best with those weapons."

"Guys, enough," I say, laughing. "Are you practicing to be mentors or what?" Leonis shakes his head vigorously, setting us off. I'm laughing so hard that my stomach hurts. Finally I pull myself together and get serious.

"You two better train hard while I'm gone, okay? Leonis, you're gonna have to find a new partner, 'cause obviously I won't be there anymore. Once I'm victor I won't need to be at the Academy. Who knows, maybe I'll come visit sometimes."

"Time's up."

I look past my friends to see a peacekeeper standing in the doorway. I nod at him and give my friends a hug. "I'll miss you guys. Take care." They let the peacekeeper drag them out and the door shuts.