A/N: This was published on a friend's account before as All Because of Boredom, but I decided to rewrite it and post it on my own account.

My name is Marissa Ellis. And I'm about to do something that most people would think is a terrible idea. I'm about to enter the 74th Hunger Games, as a volunteer. Why? Well, that answer is simple enough.

I'm bored.

Life in District 5 doesn't challenge me. I've had to make my own kind of fun for the past few years. I've been stealing from my neighbors. All of them. They never knew. When that got old, I began to pickpocket Peacekeepers. Sometimes I'd leave them notes in their pockets, or let them see me and try to chase me down. It was such a rush running from them.

But even that got boring after a while. A few months ago, I broke into the nearest power plant. Guards patrolling twenty-four hours a day. It took me about five hours, but I managed to cause a minor blackout in the Capitol. There was a pretty big uproar over that, and lots of people were interrogated. Most people ignore me, though, so my name never got brought up.

I'm certain I can outwit twenty-three teenagers. Once I win, if it's impressive enough, I'll get the choice to stay here in District 5, or move to the Capitol itself. I know which one I'd rather do. I like to think of this plan as my birthday present to myself.

So on the day of the reaping, our official escort Hector Trip is doing the ceremonial name drawing. He's old. I wonder how long he's going to keep doing this. Everyone gasps as usual when some twelve year old girl has her name drawn. She looks anemic. She'll never last and everyone knows it. I stand up and volunteer to take her place and everyone gets really quiet. I stand up on the stage and Hector tells everyone my name. No one applauds.

We're on the train to the Capitol. The other tribute, whose name I've already forgotten, is shaking like a leaf. Every once in a while, he'll glance in my direction, giving me a look that clearly says he thinks that I'm a lunatic. I almost feel sorry for him. Almost.

After a little while, two more people join us. One is drunk. Very drunk. I don't have time to catch his name before he passes out and hits the floor. Of course, I do what comes naturally in that situation.

I'm rifling through his jacket pockets for valuables when the second person clears her throat loudly. She looks very amused, then introduces herself. Her name is Raven, and she's going to be my mentor. She's supposed to help me stay alive during the Games. After a few seconds, she tells the kid to leave for a minute while we talk.

It's a short conversation. She asks why I volunteered. I tell her I wanted a challenge, and she smiles at me. She looks up briefly to indicate the video cameras are watching us, and the rest of the ride is very quiet. She's clearly got something on her mind, though. Despite myself, I'm wondering what it is.

We arrive at the Capitol, and it's as bizarre as I'd always heard. Dyed fabrics, dyed hair, dyed skin... Everything is bright and colorful. It makes my skin crawl. When we pass through the crowd outside the train, I decide to get Raven a present. Sure, it was in someone's pocket, but I think Raven can use a new, gold-plated watch. I tell her it's a gift in advance for the stellar mentoring I'm sure she'll provide and she cracks up, then pockets it quickly. I'm liking her more and more.

I'd forgotten about the parade when I came up with this plan. I hate my prep team, I hate my stylist, and the costume has absolutely no movement capability. Plus, it looks terrible. The way my red hair is styled makes me look considerably younger. However, during the chariot ride, I look over to the left and notice one of the Peacekeepers from District 5. I smile and wave at him, and he remembers me. I can tell by how angry he looks. After that, I'm smiling the rest of the way up.

During one of my conversations with Raven, she tells me that in order to earn sponsors, I'm going to have to interview well with Caesar Flickerman, as well as impress the Game Makers to earn a high score.

Who needs sponsors, anyway? During my interview, I deliberately answer all of Caesar's questions with "Yes" and "No". I have fifteen minutes to show off for the Game Makers. I make sure to miss all of the targets and I get a score of 5, probably only because I know my plants backwards and forwards.

I've had my tracking device implanted, and Raven's come by to see me during the last few minutes before the Games begin. It's the first time we've had a chance to talk without surveillance, and she tells me her idea. It's a great idea. It's actually better than my original plan. She hands me a waterproof bag and I shove it down my shirt before I'm raised up to the arena.

The sunlight is bright, and the Cornucopia gleams. So much stuff. I won't be needing most of it. I have my eye on a small knife three feet away. Black. Sharp. It's time to go, and three seconds after the timer goes off, I'm off the plate, have the knife in my hand, and am running to the forest at top speed. I glance back and see that my district partner has already been taken out. Too bad for him.

That night, I'm having a look around. I spot two things of interest. There's a girl making a fire. At night. Not sure if she's suicidal or just dumb. Either way, she has a backpack behind her, and she never hears me come up and relieve her of it. I'm half a mile away when I hear her screaming, then silence. A cannon fires.

The next day, I'm enjoying some of the food from the girl's backpack and walking around, but I haven't seen or heard any sign of other tributes. I have heard the cannons go off a few times, though. Suddenly, I see a boy limping through the brush. His arms are full of bags and gear. I sneak up behind him and he doesn't even have the chance to draw a weapon before my knife is in his throat. I take a quick inventory. Food? Always useful. Rope? Could be good, and it's light enough to carry. Everything else? Waste of my time.

I'm just leaving his body when a silver parachute comes down. Looks like my efficient kill has impressed a sponsor. Rats. I open it, and there's a note from Raven, along with some flint. Food isn't everything. Don't forget about the poisonous plants in the arena. I hadn't, but now I know how she wants me to pull off my part of the plan. All I need is to find out when it happens now.

I'm looking at the biggest pile of food and gear since the Cornucopia. And it's all piled up just for me. Three tributes leave a fourth one to guard it. Something about this feels like a trap, though. I wait four hours in a tree for them to return from wherever they went, and when they do, I just barely catch the word "mines" on the wind. When they leave again, I run up, and I'm seeing the recently-dug spots in the ground. I do a little dance, hop around a few times, and I'm at the pile. I take what I need and I'm gone. I have to hold back laughing when I run away.

Twenty minutes later, I hear a big explosion. Someone probably stepped on one of those mines. But there's no cannon shot. Odd. But after a little while, one shot rings out. Later still, two shots ring out. Then a loudspeaker tells us that two tributes can win this game if they're from the same district. I wonder who they're trying to benefit with that one. I find out that night District 2 and District 12 still have both their tributes. Well, at least now I know who's going to be on teams.

There's a "feast" in the Cornucopia. Apparently something I need will be there. As far as I'm concerned, I don't need much of anything. I've been doing pretty well. But there might be a message from Raven with information I need. So, I'm the first one there, and the first one gone. After I'm gone with my bag, it occurs to me I could've easily stolen someone else's valuable item. Oh, well.

The only thing in the bag is fruit. An apple has an interesting message carved into it, though. Tomorrow, midday. I make sure to shield the words from the cameras, if they're even paying attention to me, then I take a bite to make them go away. Time to find the other tributes.

I've been following the District 12 pair for an hour and half. Finally, the girl goes off by herself, while the boy picks berries. I get a closer look at the bushes. Nightlock. Here's my chance. I go up, grab a handful of his berries when he's not paying attention, then disappear quickly. I'm a short distance away when I palm the contents of the packet Raven gave me. I have a berry in my hand, and I make a little show of popping it in my mouth. In reality, it's falling down my sleeve, and I'm swallowing a pill that Raven managed to get for me. It works fast. I'm out in less than a minute.

I wake up on the inside of the hovercraft that retrieves the bodies of fallen tributes. Raven's on board, and she's patching up my arm from where she cut out the tracking device. We've done it. The pill she gave me lowered my vital signs, and the cheap tracking device couldn't pick them up. In the eyes of the Capitol, I'm now dead. Raven is smiling calmly at me, and she informs me I owe her a lot for this one. I intend to repay her over time.

Later on that week, we're watching the recap of the Games on television. I see the victorious pair from District 12, and they're actually talking about me for a few minutes. I can't believe what the girl calls me. Such a childish nickname.

Foxface. My goodness.