"Cazzie Blye!" My name ran out over the silence. Orien, my district escort, smiled as he beckoned me onto the stage. People who knew me turned, shock and sadness already spilling over their faces. I was still dealing with the shock part. Could it be that I was going to participate in the 20th Annual Hunger Games? Was I about to go into an arena where I was likely to die within the first few minutes of combat? That was my name he had called, wasn't it? Cazzie Blye of District 9? People were pushing me out of my seat now, and I walked mechanically to the stage.
I shook hands with Analex Loverose and Nergan Mil, my new mentors, who were smiling sadly as they congratulated me. I managed a smile, then collapsed onto a chair as they called Maxis Madrone, a sixteen-year-old boy I hardly knew. They were going through the final motions as I sat there blankly, not yet feeling afraid but definitely feeling unprepared. I guess I would be as prepared as anyone after the Games training, though. I just had to hope I would be good enough to win. How likely was that, though?