1
Cato
I was sitting on the train watching the recap of the reaping. Clove was arguing with her mentor about how she should present herself, but I managed to tune her out. I've known Clove for years- it's not difficult to do. As the districts go by, I rate them in my head; most of them don't even deserve a number. The district 11 boy looks a bit threatening but so shockingly stupid that I don't worry, and I feel a pang for the girl, who is so young. She is the only one I feel for because she looks so strong; she could be successful if she were just a bit older. Then district 12 comes on, and there's another 12 year old up. She looks weak, not like 11. Still, it'll be difficult to kill her; I'll leave it to Clove or one of the District 1 careers. Hang on, what is that? A District 12 volunteer? That never happens. It's her sister, that's brave. I've never seen passion like that. She's gorgeous as well. Oh, I want her. Katniss Everdeen, I'll remember that name. Look at the other one; he looks like a puppy dog. He obviously loves her, like most of District 12. "Brutus, what's up with this girl? What do you know about her?" I ask. Brutus turns to the TV and nods, "Not much. According to Haymitch, she and her friend support the whole district with their catches. She can hunt, so you watch out for her. Clear?" I nod curtly and Clove scoffs. "She won't be any competition for us, right Cato?" I look back to the screen, at her, the determination in her eyes, and I agree. I'm lying, I'm worried about her. She's hot, and there's a fire in her eyes that I've never seen before, not on any District 2 girl. But there's sadness too, a sadness that makes me want to hold her and tell her that it's all gonna be fine. But I can't. That's when I decide, she is gonna win this thing. I'm gonna send her home to her sister. I'll get us down to the final 2, and then she can kill me. I've never felt like this before…
Haymitch
They're watching the recap of the reaping and I'm trying to size up my tributes. Peeta seems pretty weedy, hopelessly in love with Katniss and terrified of the competition. However, Katniss is harder to analyse. She keeps her face blank, only flickering when the District 2 male is selected. He is tall, muscular and attractive; he could be a problem for me and Katniss. Peeta notices her flicker, just as I do and his eyes harden, obviously jealous.
She's changed a lot since I last saw her; she's matured and toughened over the years. She's gorgeous and curvy, but strong and muscular. I promised her mother I would protect her, and I will do whatever it takes to get her out of there alive. If that means teaming up with one of the Careers, then that's what I'll get her to do. Peeta starts a conversation about how to win and I start to explain before I realise that Katniss isn't listening, her face blank and her eyes out of focus. "Sweetheart, listen up. I'm trying to explain how you can survive." She stares at me and snaps back into her normal determined self. "Sorry, Haymitch, continue." I turn my attention solely to her, and I describe the best way to go about it. "It's simple. Make people like you. If you do that, you will get sponsors and people will send you gifts in the arena, things that will help you survive." She nods and looks away again, tightening her jaw. Peeta asked another question, something I didn't hear or care about. I ignored him and he tapped me on the shoulder. I swung round, holding a knife to his throat. "Don't touch me again. Go to your room. Both of you go now please." I put my knife away and Peeta scarpered. Katniss made to follow him but I put my arm out to stop her. "Sweetheart, are you ok?" She nodded, eyes glistening and I pulled her into a hug. She sobbed onto my chest and then looked up at me. "What am I gonna do? I have to win this for Prim, for my mom." I just stroked her hair and whispered, "I have a plan. Don't panic darling." Suddenly she pulled away, wiping her eyes, and the fire was back. "I'm gonna win. Thank you Haymitch." She walked away, into her room.
Cato
It's time for the tribute parade. I look hot; our stylists have used my best features to my advantage. Our chariot came out 2nd and the crowd went wild. I've been trained for this, I think, winking at the crowd. I smirk as women swoon. As we pull into the clearing to hear the president speak, I see District 12 emerge. There she is, looking absolutely stunning. Suddenly both of them are on fire; I panic but quickly realise its part of their costume. I'm such an idiot; like they'd really set her on fire. Clove slaps my hand and I return my gaze to the front; shit, I can't believe she noticed. She glares at me; I can almost feel her burning holes in me. "Focus, Cato. I can't believe she's doing this to us. And you're busy fawning over her. I will not die because you're a little bit distracted," she murmurs out of the corner of her mouth furiously. I smirk again, and mutter under my breath, "Jealous, Clove?" She goes to reply but President Snow enters and she shuts up. I know I'm in for it later.
After his speech, I have a discussion with Brutus, who reprimands me for my behaviour. "Stop making eyes at 12. She's trouble." He goes on and on, and I stop listening quickly, looking around the room at the competition. There she is. She looks at me and smirks as her mentor says something about the parade. I wink at her and she winks back, earning me a slap round the head from Brutus. She starts to laugh and the boy, Peeta I think, pulls her away, towards the elevator. I instantly feel angry - how dare he touch her. But she looks back over her shoulder and waves at me, mouthing a single word. Yes! She still prefers me and we haven't even said one word to each other. Brutus and Clove pull me back to face them, Clove furious at my actions. "Come on," she said, "Let's go eat." I shake my head and pull away. "I'm not hungry," I reply, "I wanna explore." Brutus rolls his eyes, and as Clove storms off, he says, "Behave," and runs after her.
Katniss
That District 2 boy is fit. Haymitch said he couldn't stop staring during the parade. I tried to act like I couldn't care less but as I looked at him, I caught him staring back. Haymitch murmured, "See, I told you. Play up to him a little," and I smirked. He winked at me, and I tried not to collapse. "Keep. Your. Cool," Haymitch whispered, and I just winked back. District 2's mentor slapped him round the head and I burst out laughing. Peeta swore and tugged on my arm, guiding me to the elevator. As the doors opened, I turned to see him still staring at me. I waved and then mouthed one word. "Roof." I wonder if he'll come. Peeta tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to him, eyes blazing and eyebrows raised and he immediately backed off. "Sorry. I was just wondering… What the hell are you playing at?" I ignored him and let Haymitch deal with it, going back to my room to get ready.