"You're seriously going to volunteer?"

I glanced up towards the dark, shaggy-haired guy that was sitting next to me on the otherwise empty beach. I shrugged slightly before returning my attention back towards the net that I had been making. I always knew he wouldn't take the news lightly, even though he should have seen it coming.

"Alanta. People die in the games. You know that, right?"
"Of course I do. What do you take me for? A fool?" sighing slightly, I tied a final knot on the net before examining my handiwork.
"But volunteering? That's insane."
"If I'm not called, I'm putting my name forward." As I looked up to him, I could tell he was far from impressed, waiting for an answer to why I was going to volunteer. Although I knew that any response I gave him wouldn't be good enough. "Luke, listen. It's not just me. My parents are counting on me to volunteer too. After all, I have been in training for this since I was six..."

The contrast between Luke's life and mine was enormous, and I expected him not to understand. I come from the richer part of district four, whereas he comes from the poorer half. I was an only child, yet he had four younger siblings to take care of. I purposely put my name into the reaping bowls more times because I wanted to be a part of the games. He put his name in to stop him and his family from starving to death.

"You can't Alanta, yo-"
"Why are you suddenly being so protective? You must have known for a while that I was going to volunteer, unless you somehow have been completely oblivious to my training?" I snapped, sounding harsher than I meant. He stared at me with a frown before looking down to the ground and shaking his head slightly.
"I'm sorry, okay? This year is my last chance, and if I don't volunteer I will 'bring shame to my district and family', as my father said last night,"
"And you listen to him?"
"He is my father."

An awkward silence followed. He didn't exactly get on with his own father, the two having had plenty of heated arguments, and once or twice I'd even seen him with a new bruise forming on his face that he had been trying to hide from me. Neither one of us said anything for a few minutes, so I returned my attention back the the net I held in my hands, studying it intently. Soon enough I spotted a fault in it. It was only small, but it was still a mistake. Cursing under my breath I threw it to the floor next to me before pushing myself to my feet and heading down towards the sea in front of us. Picking up a pebble, I threw it as far as I could, watching it as it skimmed the water a few times, eventually disappearing under the surface after a dozen meters or so. I waited for a moment before taking another, smooth stone from the beach.

I glanced down towards my reflection on the surface of the water. My chestnut-brown hair was pulled back messily into a bun with a few strands hanging loose in front of my face, although it would usually fall just to my shoulders. I stood at 5'7 - not too small, yet not too tall. I was happy with both my height and weight, and also with the fact that I had an extremely athletic build. True, I wasn't incredibly strong, although I made up for that in my speed and agility, and that was a bonus.

"And there's nothing I can do to change your mind?"

I glanced back over my shoulder momentarily towards Luke - my oldest and probably best friend - shaking my head a little before returning to face the sea.
"I'm sorry I just..." pausing, I skimmed the next pebble across the surface of the water, letting out a sigh, "I've got to Luke, I have no choice."

Silence. Then I heard footsteps.

I turned, frowning as I saw that Luke had gotten to his feet and was now walking away from me, not even glancing back. Well that was just great. The last thing I wanted was to lose my best friend on my last day of being in my home district. I didn't know why he couldn't understand. He knew that one year I was going to volunteer. He had to have known. That's what careers did each and every year, after all. It was nothing new.

"Luke?" I called, but he didn't acknowledge me at all. If there was one thing I hated, that was being ignored. Especially to people close to me. I kicked a couple of pebbles where I was standing out of frustration before starting after him, calling his name a few more times. "For God's sake Luke! You knew this was coming! You can't just pretend that this whole career thing is new to you, even if you're not one yourself. Would you jus-"
"Just what? Pretend to be happy for you? I thought that you only trained to keep your father happy. I never knew you seriously wanted to take part in the games. I don't know why anyone would actually want to kill twenty-three other people just for fame and fortune! It's sick, Alanta. I thought you were different."

His sudden outburst left me stunned. Luke had always been the quiet sort - he never raised his voice, and he certainly never had a go at anyone. With a scowl, he turned back and continued walking, leaving me alone on the beach, slightly confused by what had just happened.

Either way, I was still volunteering for the games tomorrow. But now I was simply more determined to win.

It was little under an hour later that I arrived at the training center. The majority of the others were already there, seeing as it was only ten - the beginning of the day really. It seemed like I was one of the last to arrive.
"Ahh, Alanta. Decided to finally show your face, have we?" a voice I knew all too well called.

It was none other than Shilo Montague. Me and her, we used to be the best of friends when we were younger. But then things... Changed. I began excelling in the majority of my training, whereas she fell behind. She soon turned incredibly spiteful when I was given the opportunity to volunteer for this year's games. Being eighteen too, it meant that this also was her last chance, and she sure as hell didn't want to miss out.

"What do you want, Shilo?" I was already in a foul mood from earlier, and it didn't help to have her sneering at me all the time.
"You were supposed to turn up thirty minutes ago, that's what. If you can't turn up for your own training sessions how can we rely on you to even turn up for the reaping?"
"Shove off, alright? I'm here to train, not to speak to you."
"It's not as if you even have a chance of winning this thing anyway. It'd be better if you really didn't show up."

She was beginning to pace back and forth in front of me now, and I could see the hate for me in her eyes. The two of us were generating a bit of attention by now, and some of the other, younger careers were watching with interest.
"Oh, so you think you're better than me now, do you?" I growled at her, irritation rising. She was like a terrier - once her eyes were fixed on something, she didn't give up easily.
"I don't think. I know."
"You probably couldn't beat anyone in this room. Now leave me alone and go train some more. Maybe you'll actually get somewhere in a few years."

I began to walk away from her, although I found myself stopped by her again as she stepped in front of me.
"Okay then. Let's prove that. You and me. Right here, right now."
Glaring at her, I could see she wasn't going to let up any time soon, and already some of the trainers were looking over in my direction. I couldn't refuse a fight whilst they were watching, or I would probably lose my place to volunteer for tomorrow's reaping, so I had no choice but to accept.
"Someone get me a sword."

Moments later one of the trainers had gotten the two of us weapons, and made sure that the spectators to backed off; them forming a circle around the two of us. I heard some of the younger careers talking to each other. They were only in their first years of training, and they still had a lot to learn about the games.

I stood my ground as Shilo began to circle me, trying her best to seem intimidating. It wasn't working. This went on for a few seconds before she lunged at me, wielding her small fighting sword - her favorite weapon. I knew that she would be the first to make a move, so I was prepared for it, and easily deflected the attack with my slightly longer sword before she got too close, turning to kick her in her gut before she composed herself. Grunting, she stumbled backwards, doubled over for a moment or two before standing straight and swiping at me again. This time I ducked under the blade to avoid the hit, sweeping her legs out at the same time. She ended up on the floor, staring at the ceiling as she realized what had happened. I approached, I stood over her for a second, amused by some sort of insult she had muttered under her breath.

"Better luck next time. Maybe you should practice with a few of the new recruits," I mocked, causing her to scowl up at me. Giving a slight shrug, I turned and started to head away, a couple of the others congratulating me already. But before I had a chance to react, I felt a hand grab my foot, yanking it from underneath me and causing me to land roughly on my front. Instinctively, I rolled over onto my back, just in time to spot Shilo making another lunge for me. There was a dark look in her eye, and I instantly realized that she wanted more than to simply win the fight.

My hands came up to catch her wrist, dropping my sword in the process to make sure I stopped the knife from reaching it's target - my throat. I knew I was in trouble right there and then - she was far stronger than me, and we both knew it. The trainers probably knew that too, but I have never seen them break up a fight in the training room - not unless one of them were seriously injured that is. And seriously injured to the trainers meant close to death.

Carefully re-adjusting my hands to a better position for a stronger grip, but making sure I kept the blade from my throat, I brought one knee up so my foot was flat against the floor. I didn't know if it would work or not, but I pulled the blade down towards the empty space beside my head, surprising her and leaving her vulnerable as I let go of the knife, pushing off the ground with my foot and also using my now free hands to flip her off me and on the floor beside me.

Without hesitating, I scrambled to my feet - as did she - and before I had a chance to reclaim my weapon she was heading towards me again, thrusting her sword in my direction as she got close enough. I jumped backwards out of it's reach, bringing my fists up defensively before she lunged at me again, out of blind fury. I dodged to the side, the blade nicking my shoulder as I moved. Ignoring the wound for now, I brought one of my fists up, and before she knew what was happening it smashed into her jaw. As she turned back to face me, I sent another fist flying her way and she stumbled backwards with the impact, probably having lost a tooth. I began to make another lunge for her, but was halted as she spun back, the knife slashing across my face.

I cursed in pain, taking a few steps backwards as a hand rose to touch the deep wound across my cheek, just under my eye. I hissed and drew my hand back as a shot of pain rose up, knowing there was no time to fuss over it, seeing Shilo swing her blade towards me again. I evaded it by ducking to one side, turning and grabbing her wrist - twisting it upwards with a loud crack. She gasped and dropped the knife before backing away slightly, nursing her possibly broken wrist as I bent down to pick up the blade.

With her good hand seriously injured, and no other weapon within a meter of her, we both knew that I had won the battle. I glanced down towards the knife in my hand for a moment before throwing it, watching as it embedded itself in the ground centimeters from her feet.
"I told you to back off, didn't I? Now leave me alone," I growled, glaring at her for a moment with a scowl before turning and slowly walking away. The crowd instantly parted as I approached, appearing to know that I was in no mood to deal with them too.

I headed for the first-aid room, knowing that I should probably clean out the injury before it got infected with anything. Last thing I needed was blood poisoning the day before I volunteered for the games.

"So uh, that was some nice fighting out there. I can see why they chose you to take part this year."
I didn't even have to look up to know who it was. Everett Donnelly. The boy that they had chosen to volunteer alongside me. He'd been trying to catch my eye for years, even though it was against the rules for us to have relationships. It would ruin our focus on our training, and would make us reluctant to leave for the games if we had a relationship, apparently. Either way, it had never worked. I didn't even particularly like the kid. We were the same age, and he thought he was hilarious and good-looking. I had to completely disagree.

Running the tap, I cupped my hands together before splashing the water onto my cheek, hissing slightly as it irritated the wound.
"What do you want Everett?" I growled, turning off the tap and standing up straight to examine my injury in the mirror above the sink. I paused for a slight moment as I spotted him in the background of the reflection, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed and a slight smirk across his face. His brown hair was kept extremely short - unlike Luke's - and his skin was rather pale. He stood at about 5"10, a few inches taller than me, and was wearing simple, light clothes like everyone did for training.

Diverting my eyes from his reflection, I focused on examining the cut to my cheek, knowing my small shoulder wound could wait. It looked like it was going to take a couple of weeks to heal, if anything. I didn't mind though, it might make me look more of a threat tomorrow, when I volunteer to become a tribute. After all, it was clear that it came from a blade and not a simple accident, so if it looked like pain didn't bother me, sponsors might become more interested.

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering if that's how you'll behave towards me when we're in the arena," Everett replied, attempting to be funny in his own little way.
"Only if you're planning on being this annoying," I retorted, not seeing the humor. I did see him stand up straight and take a few steps towards me, however. "Don't even think about it."

He paused mid-step, tilting his head slightly, "Why, what did you think I was going to do?" he questioned, apparently amused.
"Something I'm not gonna like. You're a jerk, Everett, and I'm not interested, now back off," I warned him, turning to face him properly instead of watching his reflection in a mirror. He chuckled a little before ignoring my warning and taking a couple of steps closer, only glancing back as one of our trainers appeared in the doorway.

For a few moments, our attention was focused on the short woman with blond hair that was tied back into a messy ponytail. She studied us both for less than a moment before speaking.
"You guys can go home if you want, spend your last day here with your family or whatever," she informed us, giving us a slight nod before vanishing again.

I sighed in relief at the news. Last thing I wanted to do was to stay and train with Everett for the rest of the day. I'd been talking to him for less than five minutes, and he was already seriously getting on my nerves. Grabbing a bloody cloth that I had been using to try and stop the bleeding from the injury on my cheek, I instantly made to leave, slinking past Everett who watched in disappointment as I made to leave.
"Can we walk home together, at least?"
"Not a chance, Everett, not a chance in hell."

A/N: Of course, I don't own the Hunger Games. I'd love to, but I don't. xD

I love reviews. Absolutely adore them. I like to know that people are actually reading what I write, and are enjoying it. If they're not enjoying it, however, I also like to know why, and what I could do to improve. So yeah... Review please people! ^^

And don't worry, she'll be in the Capitol in the next chapter. I thought I should just give some background information about her before properly starting this story. :3

But thanks for reading! c: