A/N

I am still doing I am A2 but I got inspired to write this last night.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot.

"Get up! Get up Sweetykins! Happy 16th birthday, Galiana!" my mother exclaims as she barges into my room. Her huge violet eyes that have amethysts that trail from the corners and end in swirls loom over my head and she's wearing a suit that's the same color. "Do you want anything dear?" I know she means something on my body, something that would actually define me as someone from the Capital rather than the districts; other than the fact I don't have to participate in the Games.

I fake ignorance, "Well, I'd really like orange chicken, pot-stickers and rice for dinner and lemon bars for dessert," her face slightly sours but her stretched smile quickly reappears.

"Anything else Sweetykins?" she prompts me. No, I do not want to be part of the freak-show here in the Capital that people call fashion, I think to myself.

"Hmmm…how about a pet?" I ask. Real animals aren't allowed anymore; in fact, they're almost nonexistent except for some very remote places out in the wilderness, even beyond the districts. Fortunately, my mom has some great connections; meaning that she is President Snow's daughter. My mom can request that a Mutt be made. Mutt is short for mutation, my grandfather and his scientists create strange creatures for the Games and could make a pleasant one for me.

"Well if that's all you want…"

"Yes it is. Thanks mom," I smile.

"Oh, ok," she gives a quiet sigh. She smiles at me and turns to leave. I look at highlighter pink hair and sigh. My mom has been trying to get me to "capitalize" for years. I have a few things she got me when I was much younger; a twisting silver tattoo on my left wrist that wraps around it like vines and five diamond piercings in my right ear that start in the lobe and trace up into the cartilage. Diamond is my birthstone, because the doctors wouldn't let her pierce my ear when I was only a few weeks old, she waited until I was one year old in April to do it. Since the first time I remember watching the Hunger Games and realized not everyone has dyed skin, tons of piercings, surgically perfected bodies and wear brightly colored make-up, I decided I liked the way the tributes look. They look natural. I have refused anything to be altered on my body.

I get out of bed and shower; at first all the buttons were confusing but now I know how to set my shower to anything I want without even really looking at it. I leave my dark brown hair down it falls around my mid back; I toss on a blue, flowy shirt that complements my turquoise eyes and some jeans and head downstairs. I don't see my mom anywhere; she must be shopping already. I sit down at our table with my dad who is reading the newspaper. My dad, Ai Starson is the current Game Maker; he designs the Games. I am the most privileged child in all of Panem; I live in a luxury paradise and yet I am an outsider because I don't like the Capital "fashion" and don't even enjoy the Games as much as everyone else.

Dad twirls a strand of his shoulder length, blood red hair and looks at me with golden cat eyes over his newspaper, "Good morning Galiana, happy birthday. Your mother is shopping." He is a man of as few words as possible.

"Morning," there's no use in saying more. I summon the nearest Avox. "My usual," I tell her. She nods, because Avoxs can't speak; they have no tongues, and goes to the kitchen. The Avoxs tongues were cut out for some sort of treason. Removing their ability to speak and forcing them into service seems kinda harsh to me but I guess they deserved it.

She comes back carrying a steaming plate with eggs, bacon and potato hash on it. The Avox pours me some orange juice and steps off to the side until we have need of her again. I scarf my breakfast down and leave my dishes to the Avox.

My tutor, Topaz comes in, "Dear, It's time for class! Let's go, go, go!" The plump, orange colored lady with orange hair hustles me to my classroom. I have Math, Tec., History, Science and Reading. It may not seem like much but each class is an hour and 45 minutes. The day is especially long when you have a lady who quite resembles a fruit blathering on about how wonderful the Capital is.

LINE BREAK

I hear the elevator ding as Mom comes into the living room floor. It was a long day of classes with Topaz so I had been watching old seasons of the Hunger Games but I shut it off. "Hey Sweetykins!" uhg I don't like that nickname but I can't do anything; she's my mom and the daughter of the president.

"Hey Mom."

"I got you what you asked for!"

"Great! Can I see it?"

"Sure Sweetykins!" she hands me a football sized box labeled fragile. I open the box and inside is my pet! It looks like the pictures of dogs I've seen. She has chocolate colored fur and emerald eyes. I pet her and she is as soft as velvet and silk combined!

"Thanks so much, Mom! I think I'll name her Cocoa." I laugh as she licks my hand and yaps.

"Your welcome. She is a Mutt so she will be able to talk when she is a little bit older."

"Really?!" I hug my mom tightly. "This is the best birthday present ever!"

"I hope we can top it next year."

"I don't know, that'll be hard," I say while thinking that she will not be able to top this anytime soon. I wish someone would love me for who I am not for who they want me to be. My dad wants me to be a Game Maker and my mom wants me to be like everyone else. I just want to be me. I remember in one Hunger Games there were lovers or something. I'll ask my mom which one it is and I'll watch it sometime.

We have the dinner I requested and then I take Cocoa with me to bed. Less than two months before the next Games; maybe I can pry the location out of my dad since it's so close now. There's a little twinge in my gut that happens every time I think about the Games. Watching them is pretty interesting and they've been around since before anyone can remember but something just isn't right. Having teens kill each other for sport isn't natural. Some of them are so vulnerable, I think of one 12 year old a couple of years ago that survived the Cornucopia and until the count was about 12. One night she was sleeping and the boy from District 1 just snuck up on her, woke her up and as she looked at him in terror, stabbed her through the head with a spear. I cried that night; I had gotten attached to that girl from District 11, she was so sweet and innocent. She hadn't killed anything but animals for food and still survived using ingenuity. I think her name was Abiline.

Maybe I should talk to my grandfather about the Games. Might there be an alternate way to control the districts? Whenever they show the Choosings on TV the districts all look really poor and filthy except 1, 2 and 4. What if we were nice to everyone in Panem and didn't rule through fear? I look at the time on the wall; I had been staring out my window towards the mountains that separate us from the districts. The clock read 12:00. If I want to speak to Grandfather tomorrow I should get to bed. I wonder what he will do when I ask him; I've heard of people who displeased him having "accidents" a few days later. What if he puts me in the Hunger Games?! No, he wouldn't do that to his own granddaughter. I walk over to my large, canopied bed and lay down. Cocoa curls up in my arms.

"Good night girl, sleep well."

"Yap, yap!" she says. I fall asleep, plans boiling in my mind for tomorrow.

A/N

Abiline means grass.

Galiana means princess.

Ai means divine father.

In case you don't know, there are 12 districts. The Hunger Games are held as a punishment/reminder for the districts. Each district has to send 1 boy and 1 girl each year into an area with 22 other 12-18 year olds to fight to the death. The Capital is the city where everyone rich lives and they rely on the districts. Panem is the result of North America after wars and natural disasters.

So what'd you think? Please review! Review, review, review! :)